On the 19th August a group of 20 OKC members from the year 1979 gathered for a reunion. Organised by Steve Bradshaw, they met at the Sun Inn in Richmond-on-Thames for a buffet lunch before moving onto the Cricketers on Richmond Green and finishing at the White Cross on the Thames for an evening meal.

Steve said ‘There was genuine joy and unbridled excitement as connections and friendships were relit after 44 years. Those from the class of 79 were more than pleased to see each other.’

Grafton Morrish 2022

The 2022 KCS Old Boys scratch team will soon head up to the Norfolk-based Grafton Finals for the 39th time since 1975. 48 teams play (having qualified from over 100 school entries) in the knock-out finals over the weekend.

A tough Grafton Morrish draw awaits, against Loughborough, then Canford or Malvern (2021 runners-up, winners 2005-2006) in the ‘round of 32’, at Hunstanton GC on Friday 7th October.

The ‘Oxbridge’ Blue-based OKC team is Alex Gems (OK 2009) Captain, Matt Reynolds (OK 2010), Tim Jukes (OK 2016), Alex Nielsen (OK 2018), Mike Choong (2004), Ajay Patel (OK 1996) and Peter Crowther (OK 1972). The average KCS player’s handicap is two, and our thanks go to the OKC for their support.

We have 205 KCSOB games between five of us (won 123, halved 21) in Norfolk, with Alex Nielsen and Tim Jukes making 2022 debuts. The OKC team had 4 finals (winners 2001 & 04) in the Noughties decade but sadly none since.

Uppingham (winners 2012), Millfield (2021 – Holders) and Sedbergh (1984) are in our quarter. Any Sunday morning semi-final might optimistically involve Charterhouse (winners 2015), Epsom College (winners 2017) or maybe Dollar Academy from over the Border.

The full draw can be seen at the new GMGA website: graftonmorrish.org.uk

The 32 losing Friday teams play in the Plate on Saturday morning, at which point the four best qualifiers play in Sunday’s Plate knockout, alongside the main event.

/ Peter Crowther

The Old King’s Club mourns Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III and his family.

Nadhim Zahawi was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Minister for Equalities on 6 September 2022.

He was previously Chancellor of the Exchequer between 5 July 2022 and 6 September 2022, the highest office held by a former pupil of King’s College School.

We are looking forward to seeing Nadhim at our annual dinner at the House of Commons on 25 November.

Through the energies and organising skills of David Holland and Bill Bellenger, and after a 2-year pandemic enforced break, 18 Old King’s Club cricketers and former staff were entertained to a day of cricket and reminiscence at Lord’s on Friday, May 21st 2022.

From left to right:

Jeremy Hein (OK 1962), Dr Bill Bellenger (1966), Bernie Kingston (1966), Christopher Day (former JS Staff), Geoffrey Silman (OK 1966), Dr Alastair Cook (OK 1968) & Steve Buchanan (OK 1967).

Others present were:

David Holland (O 1966), Nigel Robson (OK 1964), Andrew Lang (former master i/c cricket at King’s), John Spalton (OK 1969), Peter Grant (OK 1962), Kelvin Walton (OK 1964), Clive Barnett (OK 1967), Mark Taylor (OK 1972), Stewart Holton (OK 1972), Dudley Owen-Thomas (OK 1967), Tony Hein (1960 and former master i/c JS cricket).

Date: Saturday 21st May
Time: 11am – 2pm
Venue: Goals Tolworth, Kingston Road, KT5 9NT
Surface: 3G
Match Format: 5-a-side
Tournament Format: Group stage then knockout rounds
Cost: £20 per person; £15 per student

We are back! After a turbulent couple of years we are delighted to announce that the annual KCS Old Boys 5-a-side tournament is returning on 21st May. It will be taking place at Tolworth goals and the first games will be kicking off at 11am and the tournament should be wrapping up at around 2pm.

In terms of the tournament format, there will be a group stage followed by knockouts. There will also be a plate for teams who don’t make it into the knockout stages. Post tournament there will be a presentation ceremony, followed by food and drinks in the clubhouse.

The deadline for submissions is 14th May so keep them coming in! It is worth noting that unlike past tournaments, this is a 5 a side tournament rather than 6 a side, and there is a squad limit of 7 for each team. It is also worth noting that this is open to all old boys even if you don’t have a full team from your year, and even if you are not currently involved in the club set up, which consists of three sides including a vets team. This is great way to get involved to see what we’re about and show what you’re all about!

This promises to be a fantastic day for the club and is a great opportunity to play football with some old mates, current schoolboys, and maybe even some past teachers!

Put the date in your diaries and submit your teams to Mati Ortiz (OK16) on 07908 341192 or Chester Gash (OK16) on 07946473892. After a couple of years without the Camplin’s League it is great to be back doing what we love, and we can’t wait to see you all down there!

Members were invited to join Duel Day which took place on 23 March 2022 at the Savile Club. It commemorates the anniversary of the duel fought in March 1829 between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea and is always celebrated around this time of year. Members commemorated Wellington’s role in the founding of King’s and after dinner David Tamby Rajah (OK 1985) played the part of the Earl of Winchelsea.

The annual cross country fixture between the Old King’s Club, King’s pupils and King’s staff took place on Saturday 26th February on a beautiful day on Wimbledon Common.

The race had a good turnout, with many OKs running and supporting the annual fixture. The 4 km event saw stiff competition, with the final results being very close. It was won by upper fifth pupil Caleb (U5L), who ran it in 15:22, Shivoham (L6M2) did well to clock 15:57 in second place, and Hugo (U6L1) followed in third place with a time of 16:20.

Special thanks to cross country captain Sam D (U6L2), who helped Mr Reekes mark and unmark the course, and Hugo and Ally (U6MAC2). Thank you also to Kevin Hawney for showing his support, as always, and for putting his name to such a stellar event.

2019/20

In March 2020, under the guidance of Jack Stephenson (OK11) the 1^st XI were on course to challenge for their first Arthurian Premier League title when, with just three games to play, the season was brought to an abrupt end due to the lockdown – with just one point separating them from the Old Carthusians at the top of the table, who they were due to play in the very next fixture. Despite its anti-climactic end, the season was a record-breaking one for the team on several fronts, including going an entire calendar year in 2019 undefeated in a competitive match.

2020/21

The 2020-21 season was dominated by changing government guidelines related to the pandemic, making it impossible to play out the league season, which was brought to a premature end after only nine games played. The highlight of the season, however, was the progress of both 1^st and 2^nd XIs in their respective cup competitions. The 1^st XI reached the semi-final of the Arthur Dunn Cup after a dramatic late turnaround in the quarter-final against the Old Tonbridgians, but unfortunately suffered a bitter defeat against Old Salopians, cutting short their quest to reach the prestigious final after many years of hurt.

The 2^nd XI, under the leadership of Cameron Wilkinson (OK14), went a step further, however, making it to the final of the JLC competition against all of the bookies’ odds, dominating opposition from the division above in Old Harrovians II and Old Chigwellians II. On the day the boys put in a courageous performance but narrowly lost out to a strong Old Ardinians outfit.

The Vets XI also had a strong run in the Derrick Moore Vets Cup to the semi finals that was ended by Old Brentwoods, but there was plenty to be proud of as they comfortably dispatched the previous year’s holders, Old Foresters, and knocked out another fancied team in Old Etonians.

2021/22

The 2021-22 season began in impressive fashion, with the 1^st XI unbeaten after three games in the Premier League and scoring 13 goals. The 2^nd XI has had a mixed start on the pitch but has continued its long tradition of recruiting fresh talent and boasts a youthful and enthusiastic core squad who are improving and growing together with every season. The Tilles Trophy (named after former Club Captain Mike Tilles OK02), staged in a stadium annually in preseason and contested between the 2^nd XI and Vets XI, was closely fought for much of the game with the 2^nd XI eventually running out 4-1 winners.

Despite a  season largely disrupted Covid and an unthinkable amount of injuries, the 1^st XI find themselves in the quarter-final of the Arthur Dunn Cup with Old Etonians welcoming them on 12th February, the 2^nd XI contest their final game of the season on the same day knowing a victory over Old Alleynians III puts them in a good position to be promoted, and the Vets XI contest their Derrick Moore Vets Cup semi-final, also against Old Etonians, hoping to go further than they did last season.

All three teams will also be in action in their annual matches against the school 1^st XI, 2^nd XI and 3^rd XI at Kingsway on Saturday 19th March.

Club setup

The club currently plays its weekly Saturday home fixtures at Imber Court in Thames Ditton, with training on Monday evenings at Battersea Park. Our club is made up entirely of KCSOBs, ranging from OK97-OK21, with the majority of our 1^st XI and 2^nd XI playing squad ranging from OK11-OK18. We always welcome new recruits so please do get in touch through the OKC website, any current players you know, or our social media if you want to get involved!

Club Committee: Ramon Selvakumaran (OK07), Greg Stoddart (OK07), Jack Stephenson (OK11), Cameron Wilkinson (OK14), Joe Stephenson (OK14), Ali Marshall (OK14), Calum MacQuater (OK12), Henry Hodgson (OK15), Pete Bullivant (OK13)

Vets Committee: Mike Tilles (OK02), Max Camplin (OK99), James Badgett (OK99)

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

The December 2021 newsletter is now available online. Click HERE.

The 2021 Annual Dinner was held at the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools’ Club. The new Junior School Headmaster, Ted Lougher, was guest of honour. Dr Anne Cotton, who will take over as Head of King’s next academic year, accepted the invitiation to represent the school at next year’s dinner. Robin Reeve, Past President of the Old King’s Club and Head Master 1987-1997 and Anthony Evans, Head Master 1997-2008 attended. The vast majority of those present had left King’s in the past decade, including twenty-two OK2015s.
Adrian Steger (OK 1971) hosted the evening, although he was not able to attend in person.

Nadhim Zahawi (OK 1985), who has won praise for his handling of the vaccine rollout programme, has been promoted to Secretary of State for Education. His focus will be on overseeing the catch-up of children’s schooling after the pandemic. The photograph is from the Old King’s Club 2014 annual dinner, hosted by Nadhim at the House of Commons.

In July 2020 1XV captain George Taylor (OK 2012) climbed the height of Mt.Everest (8848m) via the clubhouse stairs over 24hrs, attracting significant sponsorship which was split between the club and NHS Charities Together. In recognition of the charity fundraising, and other community focused activity, the rugby club was awarded the British Lions ‘Origin’ Club of the Month for June 2021.

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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.

The King’s College School archivist, Dr Lucy Inglis, gave an introduction to the records under her care at a well attended Zoom talk.

The school and Old King’s Club archive contains a variety of documents, artworks and objects all of which help to shed light on the history of King’s, revealing its rich heritage. From 19th-century admissions registers to current school magazines, from early accounts to films of science experiments (one involving radioactive materials), almost every aspect of day-to-day life at the school is captured. There is a large collection of photographs – evocative images of the site and its changes, of students and of staff. There are programmes for theatrical, musical and sporting events and information about school societies. There are even items of uniform, silver trophies and old equipment from the science labs.

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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 Old King’s Vets team (for those aged 35 and over) is really ramping up this year so anyone interested in some occasional fun, social football will certainly find a welcome reception! That friendly versus the 2nd XI will see leavers ranging from 1998 through to 2019 battling it out!

Every Monday on Clapham Common – Pre-season training and fitness – 7pm-9pm/dark
Saturday 22nd August – Club Day/Friendly – open to new players and trialists, followed by drinks and food at the Pig & Whistle Pub (hopefully)
Monday 24th August – 2nd XI vs OKC Vets (35+) – 7:30pm KO
Saturday 29th August – 1st XI vs Old Etonians

All games take place at our home ground in Southfields and kick off at 11am unless otherwise stated.

For players interested in joining or getting involved, please see the following contact details:

Ramon Selvakumaran – ramon_s13@hotmail.com – Club Captain
Jack Stephenson – jack.stephenson93@icloud.com – 1st XI Captain
Mike Tilles – miketilles@hotmail.com – Vets Football

The annual fixture between the Old Boys and School where the 1st XI Old Boys ran out 4-1 winners against the School to take the Kane Cup. The 2nd XI and 3rd XI games also resulted in wins for the Old Boys.

The 2019 Old King’s Club Dinner was held in the Great Hall at the school. A fine meal was accompanied by good wine, music, speeches and laughter. Deputy Head John Galloway represented the school and proposed the toast to the Old King’s Club.

The guest speaker was Professor Michael Scott (OK 1999).

“During the past financial year support from King’s College School Lodge No.4257 enabled us to directly assist over 2000 people, and positively impact the lives of hundreds more.” Gregory Alleyne, Wimbledon Guild 2019

In February 2020, the Metropolitan Grand Lodge, which runs London Freemasonry, donated a further £4000 to the Wimbledon Guild.

The Grafton Morrish competition (KCS winners 2001; 2004) held on 5/6/7 October 2018 involved a re-draw following Loretto’s absence.  KCS Wimbledon were selected, by lot, to re-balance the draw, playing against Canford at Brancaster, instead of Seaford College.   

KCS top foursome of Alex Gems and Matt Reynolds endured a tough Friday, a 2&1 loss against Canford, played in a light breeze.   Then a splendid 3,4,4 finish by Peter Crowther and Mike Choong enabled a win by two holes. Fate dealt the third pair of Rory Codd and Paul Mortlock a cruel finish. Two up with two holes to play, having eagled both the 7^th(490 yards) and the 14^th(430 yards) holes, the latter with a Codd three-wood, the Canford duo cruelly holed a 55-foot putt from the very front of the 17^th, with KCS well-placed 30 feet from the hole.   A KCS-car-crash followed down the 18^th– despite a fine drive.   The deciding 19^thhole was not well-contested.   This lost KCS the match and placed us into the Plate competition. Four leading Saturday qualifiers would contest the Committee Bowl (KCS winners 1984; 2006) at 6,900-yards long Hunstanton on Sunday. Whitgift lead the way on Saturday, with just 70 scratch points (i.e. 23 points each).

Qualifying on Saturday morning, enduring continuous Brancaster northerly force-7 rain squalls (e.g. the 129-yard 4^thhole played a firm 5-iron) that had many schools withdrawing, the Matt Reynolds (2010)/Alex Gems (2008) ex-Oxford Univ. vanguard pair thereafter came out swinging.  In Sunday’s Whitgift semi-final, and the Committee Bowl final, they had two victories on the 16^thhole. The sunny morning saw a solid 4&2 victory off the Blue ‘tiger’ tees (two birdies, 4 bogies, 10 pars).

Peter Crowther (1972)/Mike Choong (2004) turned back the clock in their Whitgift semi-final, against a foursome pair including a two-time English Mid-Amateur Champion. Crowther played his 114^thKCS match in Norfolk, and Choong was competing in his 4th final in 5 years’ appearances. A Hunstanton back-nine of 4,5,4,4,2,4,3,4,4 in light winds brought a 2-up semi-final victory, winning the 14^th, 15^th, 17^thand 18^th, and 2-1 match win overall.

Rear-gunners Rory Codd (1997)/Paul Mortlock (1996) had lost their semi-final anchor match 4&3 to two Old Whitgiftian Royal St. George’s members. They fell behind, early, and failed to hole any putts at crucial times.

In the final, after lunch against 2017 Committee Bowl holders Loughborough, the Reynolds/Gems top pair reeled off 3 birdies and 7 pars in the first 10 holes, for a 4-up lead against a 1 and +1 handicap combination. They held on, after that, for a fine 4&2 win.

Codd and Mortlock, again at the rear, turned on the gas for the final, thrashing the Loughborough captain & his partner by 7&5, grinding out 10 pars in their 13 holes.  This victory made up for their rather sad Friday!  Crowther and Choong finished in some style 444434264, but lost to Loughborough by one hole in the dead rubber.  This capped a very pleasing week, with everyone playing well, all contributing points in a KCS team including two debutants.

Members joined together for a chance to catch up and socialise at the Naval & Military (In & Out) Clubon on St. James’s Square, thanks to Major Neeraj Shah RAMC (OK 2006). SEE FACEBOOK

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.”

Members of the Old King’s Club met at the King Harald V room at the Naval and Military (In & Out) Club to commemorate the anniversary of the duel fought in March 1829 between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea. SEE FACEBOOK

Having re-established their place back in London 2SW at the culmination of the 2013-14 season King’s have enjoyed a solid four seasons back at Level 7 finishing 5th, 6th, 8th most recently 4th.

Whilst the side finished last season impressively with 21pts from 25, this campaign has been better again as the team started well and has gone from strength to strength recording a series a victories, each one with a four try bonus point. This culminated in win number seventeen last weekend over Farnham and with a maximum 85pts achieved it meant that King’s were confirmed as league champions and were promoted to London 1 South. This achievement was made all the more special by virtue of being the first side in the English rugby pyramid to achieve this double honour and having done it at the very earliest opportunity in mid-February.

Coached by Sam Richards (OK 2005) and captained by Tom Dugarin (OK 2007) with able support from on-field captains Will Slater (OK 2008) and Joe Mason (OK 2009) the success has been built on a core of players whose association with the club goes back many years and several of whom have played together through the Mini, Junior and U21s sections. Allied with some wise heads who have been involved in senior rugby for a number of seasons, the formula has proved to be a winning one.

Level 6 is the highest the club will have competed at and will come with the added mileage associated with travel not just to Surrey and Hampshire but also E & W Sussex, Kent and even Essex. It is a 14 team league so there will also be 4 more fixtures to fit in to the season calendar. Still, all these challenges shall be embraced and hopefully overcome of course.

Before then though there remain five games left to play – Twickenham (A), Old Emanuel (H), Old Reigatian (H), Old Cranleighan (A) & Old Alleynian (H) – and the team will have to maintain the high standards set to this point if the umblemished record is to be maintained!

Regardless of what remains in 2018-19 this has aleady been a season to be proud of, we hope you’ve enjoyed what you have seen and will continue to lend your support in the next couple of months and the years to come.

On Saturday, 5th of January, three old boys teams, including circa 40 old boys took on the School first, second and third XIs at West Barnes Lane at 11am.  This was the first time that the old boys have managed to get three teams together for this fixture and we were very much looking forward to the event!

On Saturday 8^th December, members of the Old King’s Club, the King’s College School staff and the King’s College School pupils gathered for the 11^th consecutive Kevin Hawney Cup race on Wimbledon Common.

It was a good mixed turnout and a competitive race. Despite an unfortunate wrong turn on the course, all runners finished and Hector Revill, representing his brother in the 4^th form, won the race in a very good time of 15:10 over the 2.7 mile course. He was closely followed by Morgan Rennie in the L5th.

The race was a great opportunity for OKs to catch up and to have a cup of tea afterwards and we look forward to hosting the 12^th race next December.

This year’s Annual Dinner took place at the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools’ Club. The black tie event, in the presence of KCJS Headmaster – Dr Gerard Silverlock, turned out to be an enjoyable evening. We look forward to 2019’s.

This year’s careers fair was held in the Great Hall on the 7th of November. The formal part of the evening ran from 7-8.30pm and brought together members of the Old King’s Club whom were interested in presenting. We had volunteers presenting careers in the following areas:

– Psychology

– Chartered Accounting/ CPA

– Computing, including cyber security

– Biomedical scientists

– Biochemists

– Biotechnologists

– Design Engineers 

– Physicists

– Digital content industry

– Sports Industry

– The Arts – actors, artists, graphic artists, musicians, photographers, curators

– Sports Industry 

– Marketing, including social media marketing

David Buckley (OK1980), Honorary Secretary, hosted autumn drinks for around 100 OKs at the Naval Club in Mayfair.

I’m pleased to report that we managed to retain the Old King’s Club v. Old Kingstonians trophy on 18 September by a score of 3-2. Quite an exciting day, as we were level until the end of the last match.

As the OKs remarked, this was the closest they have come to winning the trophy. It now has OKC as the winner for every year we have played for it since ints inception in 2013. In fact we have won the match with/without the trophy since we first met in 2010.

Individual results were:

Druckman and Phillips – Won 4 and 3

Taylor and Gregory – Lost 6 and 5 to a very fine performance by their captain, Richard Wickerson – no shame here!

Gems and Damon – Lost 2 and 1

Grover and Messent – Won by 2 holes

McGinn and Lovett – Won 4 and 2

/ Peter Taylor (OK 1961)

This year’s competition was played at Bramley GC with a shot-gun start for the 72 players. The weather was beautiful being hot with a light breeze and the course was in fine condition despite not having seen any rain for ages. The star of our team was Lance Condon with 37 points, which made him runner up to the best score on the day of 42 – well played Lance. Jonathan Poole had a good round scoring 32 points but the other three, myself included, failed to get into the thirties.

The winning team was from the Old Tiffinians with 175 points from five players, which is a remarkable average of 35 points. Bramley provided an excellent lunch for us all and one of the organising team, Brian Collison, set up a bar tab for every player’s first drink -thank you very much Brian and Martin. The competition will be organised by the O T’s next year and the year after at a venue to be decided by them.

Graham Cox   July 2018

The Wimbledon Guild, the local charity that provides people in Merton with help and support in times of need, has linked up with King’s College School Lodge Number 4257.

KCS Lodge, an accredited activity of King’s College School’s Old King’s Club, has chosen Wimbledon Guild to be one of their non-masonic charities. Speaking about the partnership, Wendy Pridmore, chief executive, Wimbledon Guild, said: “Linking up with local organisations and companies is key to helping us in terms of raising awareness of our services, fundraising and increasing our volunteer base. Our services help people throughout the borough of Merton in a variety of ways, particularly assisting those who are lonely and isolated through our outreach team and befriending service. With over 120 activities a month we encourage people to get out-and-about and be part of new social groups and take up new pastimes. We also help many who are struggling to deal with everything that life can throw at us through our counselling services and bereavement support team. In addition, through our small grants programme we can help those in desperate need to purchase essential goods they cannot afford. Support from groups such as KCS Lodge is vital for us to continue to provide these services and we very much appreciate the support and help they will give us.”

Richard Criddle, a member of the KCS Lodge and Treasurer of the Old King’s Club, explained why they have chosen Wimbledon Guild as one of their supported charities: “The excellent community support and services run by the Wimbledon Guild resonate with Freemasons in Surrey – and in particular the members of King’s College School Lodge who are part of the local community and keen to do their bit through charitable giving and voluntary work. The Lodge is very proud to support the Wimbledon Guild wherever possible, and we hope this is just the beginning of our long-term patronage of their work.”

The Triangular Match between OKC, Kingston Grammar School OB’s and Raynes Park OB’s was played at Surrey Downs GC on 24^th April. The course is relatively new and was the venue for last year’s match, receiving good reports from the players. The weather was excellent for golf but we were outplayed by the KGS team. For the 18-hole stableford match we scored myself 36, Graham Morris 34, Lance Condon 30 and Micky King and Andrew Copeman both 29 – total 158. The winners were the KGS team with 38, 36, 34, 33 and 30 – total 171. The star on the day was Brian Vennard of the Raynes Park OB team with a magnificent 42 points and he walked away with the Martin Fielding cup. Oddly enough he happened to have with him his handicap certificate – I wonder why?

The Spring Meeting was at Malden GC on 24^th May with 15 OB’s teeing off. I played with Michael Choong whose handicap is 3. Playing with someone of this level of skill is a new experience for me and it was rather humbling, since I have played quite well recently with mid 30 scores on several occasions off my 18 handicap. Michael’s saw every stroke of less then 200 yds as a possibility to get close to the pin for a birdie. This he achieved four times in the first nine holes but he also got three bogeys thus scoring one under par for his round with 70. Naturally he won the Blades Cup.

The stableford Bill Cox Cup was a very closely fought matter. M. C. got 40 points but was not eligible, since he had already won a cup. The scores were very close with Peter Messent 36, Neil Price and Lance Condon both on 35, Graham Morris and Peter Taylor both on 34 and John Oliver on 33. Next came Chris Diacon on 32 and Fred Grover and David Cross were both on 31.

The Blades Cup was initiated by George Rowland Blades (1868-1953), who lived in Sydenham, Kent and was a pupil at KCS (in the Strand at that time) leaving in 1886 to join his family printing business, rising to become its chairman. In 1913 he was elected to the Corporation of London, he served as Sheriff of London from 1917-1918 and was Knighted during his term of office. In 1918 he was elected to Parliament for Epsom until 1928, he was created Baronet of Ebbisham, which is the old name of Epsom, in 1922. He was Lord Mayor of London from 1926 to 1927 and was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1927.

The Blades Cup is actually ‘The Old Kings Golf Society Challenge Cup Presented by G R Blades Esq. 1910’ and has a Birmingham hallmark made in in 1910. He won the cup in 1911. George R. Blades was a founder member of the KCS Lodge in 1921 and presented the Lodge with a Bible dated 1622. The first “King James” Bible was published in 1611. The first Bible in modern English was published in the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547).

Graham Cox May 2018

Members of the Old King’s Club participated in King’s longest standing tradition: the re-enactment of the Duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea over Catholic Emancipation and its founding. SEE FACEBOOK

The 1884BC (Old King’s Club) crew for the 2018 Head of the River Race was excited to lay down a marker at the club’s first attempt at this prestigious event. 5 of the crew, including a teacher and current pupil, would be racing for the Old King’s Club for the first time.

Starting just in front of a quality crew from Cork Boat Club (Ireland), the crew was under pressure early on but did well to keep Cork behind until past Barnes Bridge. As the race progressed, the OK crew found itself in a bubble and worked hard to keep chasing crews from SC Zug (Switzerland) and Uppsala Academic RS (Sweden) in the distance.

The final result of 145th from 313 entries, in front of many established clubs such King’s College London A crew and just behind the Germans from Berliner RC, is a great platform to build on and a benchmark to take on and better next year.

Special thanks go to current King’s lower sixth boy Matthew Cabot for joining the crew.

Cox: Hugo Forshaw (OK 2013)
Stroke: Fred Crawshaw (OK 2016)
7: Alex Oldroyd (OK 2016)
6: Matt Cabot (KCS until 2019)
5: Dr. Richard Winchester (Teacher of Chemistry & Head of King’s Rowing)
4: Will Nelson (OK 2015)
3: Fraser Harris (OK 2011)
2: Alex Robey (OK 2013)
Bow: Jack Elkington (OK 2012)

It was so lovely to see girls from most of the years who have left the school return to play in the annual tournament. The standard was extremely high and it was a very competitive event. The Old King’s girls were able to field three strong teams and took part in a round robin event. The day was won by the current King’s College School 1st VII with the 2016 OKs coming runners-up. It was a fantastic event and we look forward to more girls returning next year. Thanks go to the school for supporting this event, it was very much appreciated.

Nicola Edwards, Head of Girls’ Games, KCS

The 1st XI go into the Christmas break in the top half of the table thanks to a fine recovery following a fairly ignominious start to the season. Four of the first six games ended in defeat, including a 2-3 Arthur Dunn Cup first round loss at Eton, which left the OKs languishing in the relegation zone of the Arthurian League Premier Division. However, a six-game unbeaten run has seen the side climb the table steadily and progress to the last-16 of the AFA Senior Cup for only the second time in our history. Wins against Old Tonbridgians and Old Chigwellians (both 2-0) were coupled with hard-earned draws against Old Carthusians and in the return fixture against Tonbridge while progress in the cup was secured with a 2-1 victory over Old Bromleians and a 5-1 dismantling of UCL Academicals.

The side has been led for the second year running by Alex Angel (OK 2010) and he has been ably assisted by the senior player group of Ben Harries (2008), Oly Hewitt (2011), Jack Stevenson (2011) and Nick Perry (2003). Perry is far from being the only “veteran” in the side as Andy Tyler (2001) has has a fine season in goal and Jonny Corbett (2002) has embarked on a record-equalling 11th consecutive season in the 1st XI. Centre-back George Dunne (2013) and forward Barney Oates (2011) have come into the squad this season to prove that there is a bright future for the club.

The 2nd XI also find themselves with 12 points from nine games and looking up the Division 2 table rather than down. Solid victories against Old Harrovians II (2-1), Old Lancing II (3-1) and Old Carthusians III (2-0) were interspersed with losses against Old Carthusians II (twice), Old Alleynians (1-3), Old Etonians II (1-3) and regrettable last minute defeat in the return fixture vs Harrovians (1-2). The OKs saved their best until last, though, when they faced an Eton side who had only lost once all season, including a 3-1 victory against us in September, and ran out 3-0 winners following an inspired performance.

Ramon Selvakumaran (2007) is in his fifth year as 2nd XI captain and is ably supported by vice-captians Charlie Westcott and Maz Tappuni (both 2005). There is a blend of youth and experience across the rest of the squad with regular players ranging from 2002 leavers through to 2013 leavers.

The 3rd XI mid-season report reads “room for improvement” as they find themselves at the foot of Division 5 South. An unkind fixture list left the side with a run of very tricky games at the beginning of the season while some inconsistency in availability has meant some regular chopping and changing of personnel.

However, a much kinder post-Christmas fixture card and a new leadership team headed up by young captain Rory Desmond (2011) means that the side enter the New Year full of hope.

One notable development at the club this season has been, thanks to the ever-strengthening relationship with The School, the introduction of a number of school 1st XI players to the club. This has proved a real success with eight Upper Sixth boys representing the Old Boys throughout the Autumn Term with the most notable being Matt Burditt, who won the man of the match vote for all three XIs during his first five games for the club.

If you would like to keep up with results and tables then please visit fulltime-league.thefa.com

The winter months are a time of the year when most crews are grinding out the miles on the ergo and establishing a strong base of strength and conditioning on which to build for the summer. Whilst that may be the case for the current KCS 1st 8+, who recently excelled against the best junior crews in the world at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the 1884 Boat Club are not ‘most crews’.

At KCSBC’s 2017 Festive Races, the Old King’s Club (1884 BC) crew took to the water in the aptly named “King’s Gift” with one thing in mind: setting the record straight after the controversial dead heat verdict of last year’s race. The conditions: an overcast tideway afternoon with just a hint of a tailwind breathing down the course. Perfect conditions then, for stroke man Charlie Buchanan to lead the boys out onto a punchy rate 42 rhythm, which he did with characteristic elan. This was reinforced by some familiar faces in the bow 7 of the boat. Once again, however, the old boys fell victim to underhand tactics from the youngsters, conceding a half length lead before the race had even begun. Cox Hugo Forshaw showed great composure, as his crew overhauled the deficit in the first three quarters of the race and in the final dash to the line it was all to play for. The big effort from 1884 was starting to show and the school boys began inching back.

The official verdict: too close to call in yet another race that will be remembered as much for the controversy surrounding it as the rowing.

Bow: Jack Elkington (OK 2012)
2: Fraser Harris (OK 2011)
3: Alex Nelson (OK 2013)
4: Alex Robey (OK 2013)
5: Nick Elkington (OK 2016)
6: Alex Duncomb (OK 2013)
7: Ollie Hines (OK 2013)
Stroke: Charlie Buchanan (OK 2014)
Cox: Hugo Forshaw (OK 2013)

Lord and Lady McColl of the King’s College Alumni Association hosted the Old King’s Club annual dinner in the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace at the House of Lords. Lord McColl welcomed the members of the club, Paste President Robin Reeve spoke about his long career and colourful characters he had encountered at the school, the Chairman Alexander Malmaeus thanked Lord and Lady McColl and proposed the toast to King’s College School and Andrew Halls proposed the toast the Old King’s Club. SEE FACEBOOK

The Old King’s Club won its annual friendly golf match on 19 September by 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 on a cool but sunny day, with the greens and fairways looking as ever in excellent condition at Royal Wimbledon GC. This means the OKC has won this match every year since the fixture was inaugurated and our name appears on the Claret jug for every year since 2013, when the trophy was first presented.

Individual results were as follows:

Peter Taylor and Giles Fallowfield v Richard Major and Adrian Koertzen – Won by 1 hole
– after 14 holes we were 3 down, but an excellent last four holes by Giles saw us nick the result on the 18th.

Ian Hay and Lance Condon v Andrew Lodge and Richard Wickerson – Won 4 and 3.

Jonathan Howitt and Jonathan Poole v Gordon House and AN Other – Lost 4 and 3.

Andrew Copeman and Peter Messent v Paul Healey and John Elvidge – Halved.

Fred Grover and Will Starrit v Roy Bray and Graham Cox (KGS, not KCS!) – Won 2 and 1.

Captain Richard Major duly presented us with the trophy, and Peter Taylor will engrave it for next year. We also invited OKs to be our guests at a similar time in 2018.

A moment’s silence was held for for Roy Haslehurst, the previous Old Kingstonians captain, who sadly died from a heart attack last week.

A close fought match, with all of the matches going to the 18^th hole, between KCS Old Boys and Old Cranleighan golfers resulted in a win for KCS Old Boys by 2 and half matches to one and half. The match was four ball better ball format, the OKC winning pairs were Giles Fallowfield and David Cross, Scott Lloyd and Jonathan Poole. This annual match was played on Wednesday 26^th August at the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club with excellent sandwiches to follow. The next match is on Thursday 24^th August against Old Tiffinians. Chris Diacon chris@diacon.co.uk would be pleased to hear from former pupils who would like to play in future matches.

This year’s competition was played at Bramley Golf Club and for the first time it had a Shot-gun start, which worked very well indeed. There were 60 players playing in 20 three balls so there were two groups at each of the two par five holes. One group started five minutes before the Klaxon (Shot Gun) so that they had played their second shots as the Klaxon sounded and the other group could drive off without delay. At no time during the round did we have to wait for the group in front of us nor did the group behind us have to wait for us.

For several of our team, this was the first time that we had played at this course, which was our excuse for not scoring terribly well. We could not actually blame the course because it was in fine condition with excellent greens, good lies on the fairways but quite a lot of bunkers, which was, in part, my personal downfall.

At the end of the round there were naturally a lot of golfers heading for the clubhouse and changing rooms. As luck would have it we were fairly close by and quickly dived into the showers then got out of the way for the others. On arrival in the bar we were greeted with the news that the first drink was already paid for by one of the organising team, who is a member at the club, and there was wine already on each table. Thank you very much indeed.

The winning team were the Old Reedonians, who were making their first appearance at the competition, and scored 165 points from their best five players. This is of course equivalent to 33 points from each, which is a very good and consistent score. The runners up were the Old Hinchleyans just one point behind on 164. Our best score was David Cross with 32points, Philip Gregory got 31 points and Micky King came in with 29. The rest of us, Jonathan Howitt, Richard Burgess and myself, all managed a disappointing 26 points and Neil Lovett had a game to forget.

Graham Cox

Students from Oxford, Cambridge and from 5 other universities attended the bi-annual Universities’ Dinner which was held at the Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall. Pre-dinner drinks, a three course dinner followed by coffee and port were enjoyed in the Edward VII Room. Lively and learned discussion was enjoyed throughout the evening.

Members joined together for a chance to catch up and socialise over a glass of wine at the Old King’s Club drinks reception at the Oxford & Cambridge Club.

The annual Old King’s Club Golf Society meeting with Old Paulines took place on Tuesday 13th June at Kingswood Golf and Country Club in glorious weather, with the course in great condition.

Unfortunately, the OKC could not match the conditions with a win, losing eventually by 1.5 to 3.5.

Individual results were as follows:

Paul Druckman and John Tiller – Lost 4 and 2
Jonathon Howitt and John Oliver – Lost 5 and 4
Philip Gregory and Micky King – Lost 3 and 2
Giles Fallowfield and Richard Burgess – Halved
Peter Taylor and Fred Grover – Won 5 and 3

Despite the loss the match was played in excellent spirit, and a very sociable hour spent in the clubhouse with post match refreshments.  As an aside, Giles Fallowfield had  attended a Champagne tasting event prior to his arrival on the first tee.   However, despite having taken several sips and then admitting to swallowing the sips, he and Richard  nevertheless managed a creditable half.

It was most welcoming to see John Tiller, Jonathan Howitt, John Oliver and Philip Gregory playing in a friendly match for the first time, and we look forward to many more appearances from them.

Appropriate post match speeches were made by both captains, and an invitation extended to Old Paulines for the next match at Royal Wimbledon GC in June 2018.  The opposing captain, Robert Silverstone, was thanked for his organisation on the day, as the host member at Kingswood, and the subject of a suitable trophy for the annual event was agreed on.  Robert kindly agreed to do the research.

We now look forward to the next friendly match against Old Whitgiftians at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club on Monday 3rd July.

The search for a new source of playing shirts continues.

Peter Taylor

Eric Springthorpe’s (OK 1949 & ex-staff) association with King’s was almost lifelong. He entered the school on a Surrey Scholarship at 11+ and represented the school on the cricket field in the 1st XI and left with a place at Oxford to read Botany. Sadly, family finances were such that he had to turn this down in favour of a place at King’s College London, where he gained a 1st in 1952. This was followed by National Service where he served as an officer in the Royal Artillery and was posted to Germany, where he often managed to find time to visit the opera in Hamburg. He brought his academic and intellectual prowess to bear on the problems of accurate range finding and devised new procedures that were subsequently adopted by the army.

Released from National Service, his first teaching post was at Emanuel College in Wandsworth, moving after three years to KCS as a junior member of the biology department under, then Head of Biology, William Barker, remaining at the school for the rest of his career. Barker and Springthorpe collaborated on a new textbook to support their teaching called A Concise Biology (1963). Having succeeded Barker as Head of Department, Eric authored two further books to support the changing style of teaching and curriculum in the late 1960s-70s, including: A First Biology (1967) and Introduction to Functional Systems in Animals (1973). Eric was respected by boys and colleagues alike; fair and firm, his teaching was epitomized by his quiet authority. He was a thoroughly professional teacher who took great pains in his lesson preparation and marking. He was also renowned for the clarity and beauty of his diagrams and for explaining difficult concepts and bringing them to life. The strong foundations he laid enabled a constant stream of boys to go on to read science and medicine at leading universities. Out of the classroom, Eric was a popular 6th form tutor and also took part in the training teams in rugby and cricket, but his passion was tennis, which both his sons picked up. He found himself drawn into the organisation of the Independent Schools LTA with which he was associated for many years into his retirement. His legacy is the Springthorpe Cup for which all the ISLTA 1st round losers compete.

Following retirement, he and Katie moved into a wonderful converted eighteenth-century barn in Norfolk, where they created a garden and immersed themselves in village life and followed their passion for travel, with trips to Europe, Egypt, Turkey and the USA. Eric became both reader and treasurer at St Mary’s, Starston, and a compiler of crosswords puzzles for the parish magazine; he joined the local choral society and Probus; and both he and Katie volunteered to mentor local sixth formers to help them apply for university and work. Sadly, following the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Eric’s health deteriorated very quickly, and he spent three years in a hospital/care home before succumbing to pneumonia, pre-deceased two and a half years by Katie. A quite family cremation took place on 12 April 2017.

The Duel Day dinner was held at the Athenaeum Club on Pall Mall. A reenactment, pistols and all, commemorates a duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea in 1829. Alexander Malmaeus  and Richard Bates led the Old King’s Club. SEE FACEBOOK