Old Ealonians Association

The Diamond Club Christmas menu proved to be very good, and most of us chose the carvery which was roast turkey or roast pork with plenty of well cooked vegetables.  This proved to be a very enjoyable meal.  Unfortunately, the service in the restaurant was very slow, probably due to a lack of staff serving.  However, those who chose to have a dessert rather than a starter agreed that it was worth the wait.

At the end of the meal, Bert Longhurst distributed copies of another edition of his brilliantly drawn Swan Uppers Gazette.  They are always eagerly anticipated and this year's one proved to be as amusing and entertaining as ever.

Sadly only three of us, Alan Rowland, my wife Carol and I, participated in this guided London Walk from the Embankment Tube Station on Tuesday 13 September 2011.  Our guide was Stephanie, a tall and buxom Londoner who had in a previous existence been a large-animal keeper at London Zoo, looking after the elephants and rhinos till a bad back forced her to seek other employment: so she had become a blue-badge guide.  She proved to be a fount of knowledge as she started by explaining why the Embankment was built and how it got its name when the sewers system came to Victorian London.

We then crossed the river on one of the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridges that flank Hungerford Railway Bridge to the South Bank.  During this crossing we were caught in a sudden shower of rain, but it soon stopped and then the sun came out.  We walked along the South Bank towards Waterloo Bridge.  Unfortunately, the Royal Festival Hall was closed for a function so we could not go up to the upper floors in order to admire the view of the buildings North of the Thames, but the National Theatre was opened so we able to use its facilities.  We then walked under Waterloo Bridge, which we learnt had been built by female labour during the Second World War.  Before we got to Blackfriars Bridge we turned into the Gabriel's Wharf area to explore the Victorian backstreets of Lambeth and Southwark, which still exist virtually unchanged to this day.  Gabriel's Wharf contains a very good restaurant, which Carol and I can recommend.

Thanks to preservation orders, the Victorian streets we then walked through still retain the same frontages as when they were built for the Irish navies who originally lived there.  The Irish labourers built the docks which were a feature of the South bank of the Thames and the area is one that Charlie Chaplin would have known as he grew up before going to America.  The coming of the railway to Waterloo and London Bridge meant much of the track was built on overhead viaducts through the rows of Victorian houses due to the marshy land in the area.  Under the viaducts' arches many small businesses were set up and some still exist today.  It is a fascinating area, which is frequently used for making period films and television productions.

All too soon the guided walk came to an end as we emerged from the back streets in front of the Old Vic, which was formerly the National Theatre.  It had originally been a Music Hall before becoming the home for Shakespearean plays in London.  I can remember as a teenager being enthralled by the performances of a young Judi Dench playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Joan of Arc in Shaw's Saint Joan at the theatre.

It was time to thank our excellent guide who had answered all our questions throughout the two-hour walk with patience and enthusiasm.  As rush hour was approaching and Waterloo Station was nearby, Carol and I said our goodbyes to Alan and immediately set off for home after a very enjoyable tour of a different London.

The Savill Garden forms part of Windsor Great Park and claims to be one of Britain's greatest ornamental gardens.  Covering 35 acres of contemporary and classically designed gardens and exotic woodland, the garden was created in the 1930s by Sir Eric Savill.  It began as a woodland garden, with native oak, beech and sweet chestnut trees, but has since evolved by incorporating many new plants over the years.  The new Rose Garden is now open and contains 28 different varieties of roses that have been brought together to provide a stunning display, when in bloom.

A sunny day in mid-August saw a small group of Old Ealonians and their wives meet for a tour, organised by John Holdstock (52-59) and his wife, Trish.  Attending were Alan Rowland and his wife, Dorothy, and Brian Edmondson and his wife, Jackie.  As John and Trish live locally and hold annual membership cards, they were able to take Dorothy and Jackie in as their guests, leaving the gentlemen to pay for entry.  This proved to be a welcome start to the afternoon and was further enhanced because Trish spotted discounted copies of the official guide being offered for sale in the shop.  These provided nice souvenirs of the visit.

In Memory of W.E. (Bill) Humphries, 1919 - 2011

Bert Longhurst

Bill died in the early hours of 31 May 2011, aged 92.  The day before, 30 May, was his 92nd birthday and he was well enough to spend some time with his relations, but just died peacefully overnight.  The funeral took place in the Chapel of Staines Cemetery (TW18 4JQ) on 9th June at 10.30am and I was able to represent the Association.

In Memory of Raymond Charles Reffold, 1937-2011

School years 1948-55

Keith Hutton (1942-46)

The Association's Newsletter (Spring 2012) recorded the news that 'Reffold', as he was known to his close friends, had died in 2011 in Thailand.  The mystery shrouding his last few years makes sad reading for the Old Ealonian who enjoyed a full life and a promising career brought tragically down when he was stabbed by a school boy at Raynes Foundation School in Stepney.

Two of his closest friends have spoken of their knowledge of his early years.  David Padbury met Reffold when both were National Servicemen at RAF Steamer Point, Aden and after demobilisation, found they lived near enough to keep in touch.  Reffold went up to Oxford to read Modern Languages at Oriel College and on graduation, joined Martin's Bank as a management trainee.  After a year or so he decided that banking was not for him and he became a teacher, joining the languages department of Orange Hill Grammar School for Boys, Edgware.  He later went to Raynes Foundation Church of England School, becoming Head of the languages department and then Deputy Head Master.

His teaching career came to an abrupt end when one of his pupils, a disturbed youngster, stabbed him in the back, the trauma having a profound effect on his life.  After a long period of convalescence, he decided to abandon teaching in the UK and moved to Thailand where, for a while he had a bistro.  Cool drinks under seaside palm trees seem to have revived his spirits as did his ownership of a succession of amiable pet dogs.  Both Padbury and Evans had spasmodic contact with him during the Thai years, without knowing precisely how he was occupying his time.

Roger Evans knows that, during his first years at school in Ealing during WW2 - prior to Ealing County - Reffold was evacuated to Wendover, and was looked after by two ladies of whom he became very fond.  He continued to visit them, and the attachment was probably closer than that with his own family.

It was in 1961, while at Orange Hill School teaching French, that he had met Evans, who was teaching English and where there began a life-long friendship, often travelling to France and Greece as well as in the UK.  Sadly, it was Evans who had the unpleasant task of collecting Reffold's blood-stained clothes after the stabbing incident.

The trio of friendship was one of almost eccentric good humour and to be in its company were encounters to be savoured.  Reffold, the Old Ealonian and his chums were welcomed at the Association's Annual Dinners on several occasions and shared some possibly wry exchanges with their fellow diners.  Padbury, Evans and I meet two or three times a year, always happy to recall the boy known simply as Reffold.