From Our President

Peter Lever (G 62-66)

Eleven years locked down (up!) at boarding school have been the perfect training to cope with the current situation!

The Suez crisis of 1956, the Asian flu epidemic of 1957 and the Big Freeze in the winter of 62-63 were all highly disruptive events. These past four months however have been a period that none of us is ever likely to forget or wish to endure again. The health scare has demonstrated the fragility of life and will result in a reappraisal of how we focus our lives in the future.

In April one of our most illustrious OSBs died at the age of 108. Alfred William Frankland MBE was the acclaimed father of allergy medicine. He attended St Bees between 1926 and 1930 on Foundation North. He was a consistent supporter and benefactor to the School Charity, particularly at the time of its demise. His life and accomplishments are an example to all OSBs and we should be extremely proud that he was one of our number.

He was frequently in the public eye, always smartly dressed, and more often than not sporting an OSB tie. He was a truly remarkable St Beghian.

While reflecting on members who are no longer with us, I remember Peter Michael Howard Brandwood, 'Brandy' (FS 61-66), whose obituary appeared in our January Bulletin. 

Michael was a contemporary of mine, a member of the Lime House School gang, who came to St Bees in the early 1960s, Jack Tassell, Rolo Twitchin, David Rowlands and Jonny Turnbull also being members; there may well have been others, my apologies for any omissions.

Michael was a ‘big guy', no need to jump in the line out, he just needed to lean in the second row of the scrum, but he was very competitive and hated losing! For me there were three particularly endearing features that Michael possessed. He was extremely kind, he was very fair, often standing up for the underdog, and he was committed to all things St Bees. It is a personal sadness that Michael never became our President. He was a true 'gentle man'.

This month the Society will be communicating with all members on a matter that requires your urgent consideration:  the Society requires members' financial support to ensure its future.

For the past three years, as Society President and a School Trustee, I have devoted much of my time to keeping the dream of the new St Bees School alive, my wife would say 'all of my time'!

With Mark George, Chairman of the Trust, who demonstrates a religious dedication to the project, and Danny Wang, CEO of Full Circle, who has an insatiable appetite for his educational dream for St Bees, we have encountered many seemingly insurmountable problems. We have never entertained thoughts of failure. I now approach the current financial challenge to the Society with no thought of failure either.

The Society has been facing financial uncertainty for some time, complicated by the issue of Lonsdale Terrace, as alluded to in my President's report in the  January 2020 Bulletin.

During the school's closure, the Society and the Guaranteed Trust Fund have financially supported the School Trust while also funding the outgoings on Lonsdale Terrace. The Society no longer receives income from the use of Lonsdale Terrace nor has it had any new membership income since the school closed. With ongoing uncertainty over the sale of the Terrace and the final financial outcome, the OSB Committee has decided to introduce an annual subscription fee for all OSBs, present and future, to support and develop the Society. There are a number of important considerations associated with this decision:

The need for the Society to be self-funding and not dependent upon financial support from the Guaranteed Trust Fund, whose financial resources, under its current articles, are primarily for the development of education at the school; the need to broaden the appeal of the Society to all age groups through a more proactive approach, with a greater inclusion of lady members; an expansion of the Society’s role in embracing all the St Bees Schools, the UK 'mother ship' and the developing Chinese schools, combined with  the necessity of fully engaging through social media with all members of the St Bees community, OSBs and pupils, at home and overseas. These goals can only be achieved if the Society's own financial funding is secure.

The Committee proposes that the Society arranges for termly membership fees to be paid by all students attending the St Bees Schools, the one in the U.K. and those in China, which will automatically make such pupils members of the Society when they leave.

Together all these measures will help to finance the administration of the Society and provide the necessary financial resources to extend the Society’s current social programme in a more diverse and creative fashion.

All OSBS are urged to sign up to a subscription, for without a high level of participation it is possible that the future of our Society will be in doubt.

Although OSB Day this year has had to be cancelled, it is envisaged that our new President, Howard Graham (FS 80-87), will take over from me on the 19th September and I wish him good fortune and hope that he derives the same pleasure from the role that I have had in the knowledge that he is a part of the school's tradition and history. It may be possible to hold an OSB event later in the year at which I can introduce Howard personally to OSBs. It had also been intended to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the founding of St Bees Priory Church. All this remains to be seen, but in the meantime, thank you to everyone for your support during the term of my Presidency.

Peter. G. Lever
President.

 

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The St Beghian Society    
St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

         Tel: (01946) 828093      Email: osb@stbeesschool.co.uk      Web: www.st-beghian-society.co.uk