OLD DERBEIAN SOCIETY

4 February 2012 - OD Centenary Gala Concert

A Gala Concert will be held in the School Assembly Hall on Saturday 4th February 2012 at 7.00 p.m. when the following Old Derbeians will be appearing in a programme of Classical and Popular items: Michael Harris (1958-65), Andrew Nicklin (1958-65) and Ben Bloor (2003-10), amongst a number of other performers including the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Derby.

Tickets for the above event are available at a cost of £15 per person.

Tickets are available by writing to: - The Bursar, Derby Grammar School, Rykneld Road, Littleover, DERBY. DE23 4BX marking your envelope 'Old Derbeian Society Concert'. Please enclose a crossed cheque, made out to Old Derbeian Society to cover the cost of the number of tickets required and do remember to include a stamped & addressed envelope for the return of the tickets.

Tickets for the concert will also be available in Derby by personal application at the Assembly Rooms Booking Office and at Foulds Music Shop.

Old Derbeian Society President

President's 2011 message ...

Society Centenary Year 2011-12

There is a growing sense of anticipation for the unique opportunity to celebrate the Centenary of the Old Derbeian Society, which was inaugurated in October 1911. Planning for this auspicious year is at an advanced stage and it is a wonderful opportunity for ODs to make it a memorable celebration year. There will be a number of opportunities for ODs and their guests to meet up and review the past and to see the present. The events currently planned are listed on the dedicated Old Derbeian Society Centenary page. Please note these forthcoming dates in your diary. Why not contact fellow ODs from your years at School and make up a party for one or more event during the Society's Centenary Year?

Reunions of the Class of 1950

Having left Derby School in 1955, and with the objective of trying to trace a few of his long-lost contemporaries from the Class of 1950, a member of that intake who was (and still is!) resident in Australia, arranged with the then Derby Evening Telegraph to have an appeal, illustrated by an old form photograph, published in its pages some time during May 2000. He had not kept in touch with any of his old class mates since leaving the School forty five years earlier so he was delighted when he received about a dozen responses to the appeal. As a consequence, in August 2001, a memorable reunion was held in The Midland Hotel at which thirteen members of that 1950 Class were in attendance.

Thereafter, a wide and lengthy search began to see whether or not it was possible to identify the whereabouts of others from those who had entered the School all of those many years ago. This process was not an easy one and a variety of detective activities had to be undertaken over a period of several years before a conclusion was reached. However, the efforts proved to be most fruitful with every surviving member of the Class successfully being located and contacted.

Since the initial reunion back in August 2001, well-attended annual gatherings have been held and, in more recent years, the events have become so popular that two get-togethers have been held each year. It is the collective memories of the time at Derby School that have provided the inspiration behind these regular gatherings together with the particular enthusiasm of a small group that undertakes the task of organisation. A two-page annual newsletter also is prepared as part of the task of keeping everyone in touch.

On 23 August 2011 the Class of 1950 reunion, held in the Dolphin Inn, attracted a record attendance of twenty four and, additionally, the Old Derbeian Society Archivist, Barrie Sheard, also accepted an invitation to attend. The usual cordial and spontaneous interaction between old friends ensued and, afterwards, courtesy of the restoration developer, a party of eighteen took a journey down memory lane to pay a visit to St Helens House and the other associated buildings that had played such a large part in their early lives. This nostalgic event brought to an end a perfect day.

John Dring (1950-55)

Why not see whether you could set up a similar gathering of the Old Derbeians from your intake year? You can never know what might be turned up when you & your fellows take a trip down memory lane!

A brief letter to the Editor of the Old Derbeians Society website at may well set you off on the trail of the members of your year of entry.

Stalwart OD John Hall Booth Retires

Retirement of Committee Member John Hall Booth JP, MA, BA

It was with very mixed feelings that the officers and committee members of the Old Derbeian Society learned at the society's January 2011 Annual General meeting that "Jonny" Booth, one of our longest serving committee members as well as a past Chairman and past President of the society, had decided, upon recently celebrating his seventy-ninth birthday, not to stand for re-election again.

On the one hand, John's fellow committee members were reluctant to lose the initiative, energy and dedication with which for three decades he has fully committed himself to playing a leading role in attaining the objectives of the Old Derbeian Society Committee. On the other hand, John's ultimate aim for veteran committee members to make room for new and much younger members of the society, including former pupils of the new Derby Grammar School, is recognised as being the only logical way forward.

John Hall Booth JP attended Derby School from 1942 until December 1949 and subsequently gained numerous academic and teaching honours including BA and MA via Durham University (Bede College), Nottingham University, London University and the Open University.

Although essentially a school teacher (including Headmaster of St. James' CE Junior School for 17 years) John Booth has always been a man of many parts. Despite being a confirmed life-long bachelor, and for many years the sole carer of his widowed mother, he has proved to be a loyal and considerate friend to the many ladies attracted to him by his personal charm, neatly trimmed beard and impeccably formal style of dress.

Following his National Service infantry training with the King's Royal Rifle Corps, John served as a Royal Army Education Corps training Sergeant with the Royal Signals Regiment. In life generally, his various very active fields of interest can be summarised as:-

• Scouting - at all levels including District Commissioner and Assistant County Commissioner.
• Rotary - Rotary Club of Derby South (Past President and Paul Harris Fellow).
• Church - Deputy Church Warden of St Augustine's Church Former Steward at Lichfield Cathedral
• Community - Justice of the Peace
• Derby Community Relations Committee
• Governor - Derby Grammar School (12 years)

In conclusion, John is an incredibly kind man and deeply concerned for others and their welfare. He is extremely generous with his hospitality and will be greatly missed in the general management of the Old Derbeian Society. He will be a hard act to follow and all of his colleagues and friends wish him continued good health and happiness.

Norman Chapple OD

Honorary Secretary Retires

G.Stanley Smith, Past President and recently retired Honorary Secretary of the Old Derbeian Society was known as "Stan" from his early school-days at Amber Valley, by all his family and indeed by everyone.

He was President of the Society for the years 2006 and 2007 and he was thrilled to be elected and spoke many times of the honour which the Old Derbeians had bestowed on him.

Stan had the foresight, along with the late Alan Sanders, to see that the future of our Society was with the pupils leaving Derby School after the days of St. Helen's House, the pupils who attended Derby School whilst it was sited in Moorway Lane and then, subsequently, with the boys and girls leaving the new Derby Grammar School. During his period of office Stan was an active President, travelling from his home in the Wirral to attend many Committee meetings, functions and events in the OD calendar. Often the distances and timing of meetings necessitated him staying over-night.

At Amber Valley re-unions Stan was accompanied by his wife Joyce and also at other Society functions including the annual Derby Dinner in November. Again staying overnight enabled them both to attend the OD Remembrance day Service at St. Helen's House. As our President, Stan stressed the importance of inviting all Old Boys to become involved in the Society affairs and he instigated the President's letter to welcome individually the new ODs as they left School.

At the Society AGM in January 2008, Stan relinquished the Presidency and was then elected Honorary Secretary. This presaged a busy period in the history of the Society, increased correspondence and utilising new technology in order to keep ODs abreast of developments; Stan took all this in his stride. The Society numbers increased as did the frequency of Committee and sub-committee meetings often involving long travel for him. With sadness he has now tendered his resignation which was very reluctantly accepted at the AGM on January 27th 2011.

Stan and Joyce have indicated that they will continue to support and attend OD meetings and reunions they will always be made very welcome.

A.R.Thomas. February 2011

Latest Newsletter and Society Mailing

The 2011 newsletter has now been published. An electronic version is now available to download and keep.

Over the next few years the Committee of the Old Derbeian Society plans to move its mailing procedures and main contacts with the membership into the 21st Century by adopting e-mail and the website www.oldderbeians.com as its medium of communication and also as a means of containing costs and reducing its carbon footprint.

Members are therefore asked to kindly inform the Society of their up-to-date e-mail address and to note that any future changes will need to be notified to the Society if mailings are to be received.

In addition to being circulated by e-mail the Annual Newsletter and enclosures will be available each year on the website and will be capable of being printed, by downloading, if a hard copy is preferred.

Members who have not yet forwarded an e-mail address or who have changed their e-mail address within the last twelve months are asked to contact the Secretary.

"The New Derbeian" Newsletter

Derby Grammar School former pupils' newsletter. For recent news of your Derby Grammar School colleagues click on the link below.

New Derbeian Newsletter 2010 (PDF)

Old Derbeian Society Archivist

In an endeavour to ensure that our School past is remembered, recorded and not lost due the passage of time the OD Committee, at their September 2010 meeting, agreed to the appointment of an Archivist. They appointed J. Barrie Sheard, who is an OD himself and a recently appointed Committee member. Barrie was at Derby School from September 1945 to November 1950 when he left to follow his chosen career.

We are anxious that anyone (OD's and their respective families) with records of their time at School including photographs and other written material considers contacting Barrie, through our e-mail address, so that arrangements may be made for their collection. Barrie still lives in Derbyshire, down in Shardlow, so this makes this relatively easier for everyone.

Obviously some documents may be personal family photographs and treasured items - we, the OD Society, will arrange for them to be copied electronically and recorded so that the originals maybe returned safely.

We look forward to a 'bumper' response.

Click here to e-mail the Old Derbeians