120
2 Chris#
year frequency was introduced.
A very special reunion took place in 2008 to mark
the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the 70
th.
Since then we have endeavoured to meet at 2-year
intervals and we last met in this way in 2010.
About this time, we also introduced the idea of a
‘Mini Reunion’, essentially a small group of us,
meeting informally for lunch on a 6-monthly basis.
Five such occasions later, we judge this
arrangement to be working well.
On 9
th
June this year we will be having our next big
[Maxi’] ‘get-together’ and we hope to see
as many OB’s, exGLBers,family and friends
present as possible.
Please do your best to be make the
occasion…remember
there will not be another
opportunity of this kind
until 2014!
See the back page
for full details
Newsletter of Old Boys & Friends of 70
th
London BB Company
REFLECTIONS
The OB’s Association was created in 1948.
Over the 60-odd years since then, there have been
many occasions when a special effort has been
made to get OB’s, their families and friends
together.
The first such recorded ‘get together’ was in 1958,
when some 40 OB’s met for a Jubilee Re-union
Dinner marking the 50 years history of the 70
th
London Company. The only picture we have of the
event is shown on Page 6, where we see some of
the senior boys in the company at that time having
the honour to act as waiters on their illustrious
elders.
The next recorded OB’s event was in 1978, when a
group of 16 ‘relatively young’ OB’s, put on a
traditional bugle band display. The audio recording
made at the time sounds pretty impressive…
considering the then ages of the performers!
Ten years later, in 1988, an endeavour was made to
repeat this musical feat, now with the advent of
film to be able to record both sound and sight. The
event was again nostalgic and very enjoyable, even
if an understandable fall of musical quality was
evident!
Also around this time, the hitherto 10-year gap
between reunions was considered perhaps a bit too
long. Mindful of the advancing years of OB’s, a 5
2012
is of course is our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year. Inside Chris Buss recalls the very many occasions in the
history of the 70
th
London Company when boys and officers have been in the presence of the reigning monarch and
members of the Royal Family. Neil Pheasant tells the story of one particular royal occasion: his meeting with the
Queen at Holyrood in 1983 to mark the Centenary of the formation of the Boys’ Brigade.
We can be duly proud of all these Royal associations
It is pleasing that OB’s are continuing to put ‘pen to paper’, albeit with an understandable modesty, to give an
account of their memories of the 70th or indeed of their time post 70
th
, pursuing careers and hobbies. Our thanks
therefore to Dave Golder and Barry Rowbotham for ‘coming up with the goods’ here.
If you have yet to write something for
Reflections
… why not have a go!
In this Edition…..
Edition
7
April 2012
Reunions Past & Future
When I was asked by Alan Rance to write an article for
the 70
th
Old Boys Magazine, I thought ‘what on earth do I
write about?’ Alan had suggested some memories of 70
th
life from my time in the company – from Life Boys in 1951
to leaving as a Warrant Officer in 1968 – or, maybe, what
I had been doing since then. The problem with the latter
suggestion is that probably very few of us lead lives that
are sufficiently interesting for others to read about.
However, when I got to thinking about my 17 years
involvement with the 70
th
, I realised how important a
time it was in building my character and the inspiration I
have been able to draw on from the lives of the people I
came into contact with in the company. The officers in
particular – from Ivy Clark and Vera Bowbeer in Life Boys
to ‘Skip’ Porter, Arthur Bowbeer, Roly Clark, Peter
Knights, Gordon Ferryman, Fred Bateman and Brian Flint
in the company section – all were Christian men and
women that we could all look up to and try to emulate in
the way that we led our lives. In addition, guys like
Martin Nightingale, set a very high standard and showed
an example to the rest of us ‘erks’.
I spent the whole of my working life (apart from the first
18 months) in local government, so was involved in
serving the public in various ways, and I have always tried
to do this to the best of my ability. This is simply a trait
(be the best that you can be) that was instilled into me
by the teaching we received in the company (and possibly
at home also) – and I am sure that there are many old
boys who can relate to these feelings.
I suppose one of the more interesting things that I was
involved in during my working life was town twinning. I
was first given the task of doing this in 1985, when the
Chief Executive of the local authority I was working for at
the time decided he didn’t want to run it any more, so
handed it over to me. It was a link with a German town
and I thought ‘Help, I don’t speak any German, how do I
cope?’ Fortunately, the person I had to have most contact
with spoke very good English, so we got on fine. One
thing I have found is that other countries often put us
Brits to shame when comes to speaking other languages –
we often seem to think that if we shout loud enough (in
English) everybody else will understand. My experience is
that if we take a little trouble to learn a few phrases in
the other person’s language and then have the courage to
use those phrases, people will meet us halfway and will
do all they can to help.
Page 2
Town twinning often gets an unfair press as people
sometimes see it as an opportunity for council members
to travel to exotic places. In fact, the vast majority of
these visits are spent building links with schools, sporting
clubs and other organisations who are keen to set up
exchanges so that their pupils/members can experience
life in another country and make friendships with people
in other countries who share the same interests.
I have been involved in this for nearly 30 years, and am
still involved although I have been retired from local
government for over 10 years. It is a source of real
satisfaction that links that were set up 20 years ago are
still active. If you want to be involved in this, contact
your own local council to see if they have a twinning link
with a foreign town and then join the local Twinning
Association to participate in the visits – you will have a
really enjoyable time.
Since that first link with the German town of Neumunster
in 1980, I now look after links with towns in France and
Virginia, USA.
This is just one aspect of my life that is perhaps a little
out of the ordinary. Another is the 12 years that I have
spent as a magistrate – but maybe that will have to wait
for a later edition.
Barry Rowbotham
Hands Across the Sea…
Barry Rowbotham tells of his Town
[Gravesham] Twinning experiences
Barry receiving a presentation of wine from the Cambrai
Twinning Association to mark his retirement after 26
years as Secretary of the Gravesham (Kent) Twinning
Association. Barry's wife Jacquie is on his right.
Page 3
Money
Matters
The latest ‘mini’ reunion took place at
last October at the Victory Inn,
Staplefield. Mid Sussex
It was particularly pleasing to have
Brian Flint as our special guest.
Those present from left to right:
Gordon Macpherson
Ray Hill, guest [Ron Sale’s brother in
law]
Brian Yard
John Ward
Alan Bilyard
Dave Richardson
Keith Holbrook
Brian Munroe
Keith Bilyard
Alan Verrills
Martin Richardson
Brian Flint
Jack Fishpool
Martin Dennis
Another ‘mini’ reunion is
planned for Monday 16th April,
at the Victory Inn
‘Mini’ Reunion October 2011
A year ago we signed up with a company to host the 70th OB’s website. They have provided a good service but
have
invited renewal for the coming year and are asking nearly £50, double the previous amount! On investigating, I have
discovered that this is the normal practice in this business sector and that the size of the renewal fee is par for the
course - one lives and learns! Thus far, feedback regarding our website has been positive, but in these
circumstances, the question arises as to whether we wish to see it continue. And if so, how future hosting renewal
fees will be met.
By way of some financial background…the current balance on our account is £146. The regular outgoings are mostly
in respect of the distribution of
Reflections
. For edition 6, this came to £20, but we are currently fortunate in
having our 40 or so mailed copies printed free of charge. (actual printing costs would be around £70).
We would appreciate any feedback on this subject. Further information will be available at the June Reunion,
where we can discuss in full. Should you not be able to attend and have thoughts or questions, please get in touch
beforehand. Thanks
Dave Richardson
Page 4
Stephen Rock). As for the 1983 Holyrood event, the boys
were inspected by the Queen. Two years later members
of the steel band met the Prince of Wales at an event in
Mitcham.
The final meeting with the Royal family was in 2005 when
Ronald Frank and Ben Lettman received the Daily
Telegraph Shield from HRH Duchess of Gloucester.
The 70
th
London Company can be duly proud of its many
and diverse associations with the Royal Family… and
something we can all reflect on in the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee Year.
Chris Buss
In the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year it is appropriate to reflect
on the many links the 70
th
London Company has had with the
Royal Family.
The first such occasion, for which there is a record, was the
1943 Royal review. Les Wright attended on behalf of the 70th
where he was part of the contingent that was inspected by
George VI and other members of the royal family. Les was also
the first recorded member of the Company to receive the Kings
Badge. He topped off his visit to see the Royal Family at
Windsor and with a trip to the 7th London GLB display the same
night!
1951 saw a double royal occasion. Here massed BB bands were
marched into Buckingham Palace as the finale of the Festival of
Britain relay run and where the baton was handed over to
George VI. The massed bands were led by Brian Rance. Many of
the 70th boys who were in the massed band also took part in the
battalion band item in the Royal Albert Hall in the same year
where the guest of honour was the then Princess Elizabeth.
In the late 1950’s many of the senior boys from the 70th took
part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s award and presentations of the
Gold Award took place at Buckingham Palace. The first such
honour was for Alan Rance and Ralph Price in 1961. Further
visits to receive Gold Awards were made by Ray Parker, Will
Ward, Michael Davis, Roy Norris and Brian Newman in 1966.
There may have been others since but unfortunately the
company archive isn’t complete.
The next record we have of a royal connection is 1983 when Neil
Pheasant, Carl Osborne and Phillip Charles were part of the
London District Group who took part in the Royal Review at
Holyrood as part of the Boys’ Brigade’s Centenary Celebrations.
[see next page for more details ]
From the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s there was a flurry of the
70
th
’s connections with the royal family. Starting with Barry
Green and Andrew Johnson meeting the Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh at an event involving uniformed youth groups. In
1989, the company sent a contingent of boys to the opening of
the new National HQ in Hammersmith where they met Prince
Edward. The following year the company gym team performed
in front of Prince Edward.
In 1991 Nicholas Doyley and Prince Onyemachi were stewards at
a Buckingham Palace Garden party. Ten years later Daniel Buss
and Wilfred Rockliffe had the same honour.
1994 saw another Royal Review, this time at Windsor when eight
70th boys took part (Micah Archer, Eze Nwatuobi, Nathan Asare,
Michael Scott, Jason Hall, Jabbu Siphika, Paul D’Silveira and
The Royal Family and the 70
th
Chris Buss reflects on our Royal History
1951
1989
1943
Roy’s Custom- Built
Bee Shelter
The biggest event of the early 1980s was, of course, the
BB Centenary and the 70th had various events to
celebrate the occasion including a cycle ride to Brigade
House to hand in a message of celebration for the Brigade
President and a special Drill Parade at Longley Road on
4th October – at the very hour the BB was founded a
hundred years before.
That 4th October was my third wedding anniversary
which, thanks to the expert instruction of Peter Ellis on
BB history when I first joined the company, is a date I
never forget. For me, 1983 brought a personal BB honour,
second only to serving as the 70th Skipper. By some
unknown and undeserved process I was selected by
Wandsworth Battalion to be one of their representatives
at the Centenary Royal Review to be held at Holyrood,
Edinburgh on Saturday 2nd July.
I recall that we had to turn up at Tooting Bec Common
the evening before, to be transported to Edinburgh
overnight in old Greenline Coaches – fine for a ride from
Sutton to Boxhill but noticeably lacking in comfort for
100s of miles driving north. We arrived at dawn to be
guided into a large parking area somewhere near
the city centre, decamping to stand in the dawn mist
with hundreds of other sleep walking and disoriented
individuals. Sandwiches were handed out for breakfast
and we were soon shepherded off to spend the morning
marching up and down the Royal Mile and round Holyrood
Palace grounds in rehearsal for the big event in the
afternoon.
It was a marvellous event. There were more bands than
the biggest Battalion Church Parade –Brass, Bugle and
Pipes and Drums with rank upon rank or Boys and officers
filling the expanse. Accents filled the air as the drill
commands were shouted from company to company.
They were all there: Glasgow and Highland, Lancashire
Royal Memories
Neil Pheasant meets the Queen [with a few others]…
Page 5
and Yorkshire, Belfast, Brummie and Welsh, with our own
accents of the south too. Old acquaintances were seen
and nodded to, not just from Wandsworth, but Mid-Surrey
and West Kent, together with other Boys and men with
whom common bonds had been formed at the Royal
Albert Hall or various National Competitions.
We stood for a long time but it was worth every aching
calf to hear Her Majesty The Queen talk to us. Never did I
feel the BB was just so big, so vital.
The journey home was the reverse of the one up,
seeming all the longer as a home-going. We arrived back
at Tooting Bec Common at 5am missing two nights sleep,
but having gained something very special by way of
memory and inspiration for the coming BB session.
Neil Pheasant
The 70
th
OB’s website has recently been updated to add Company Display programmes to 'Archives'. These
include fascinating records, covering nearly 70 years of Company history from the 1940s to the 2000s.
Some of the programmes include a Captain's Report on Company activity at that time, each providing a
wonderful insight into our history, the 1941 report especially so.
Please get in touch if you have an idea for additional website material. Two such are to include a gallery
of photos organised by Camp, Displays, Formal Groups, Band etc. and to add Battalion Events, inc. Sporting
Competitions (in the 1980s and 90s), to ‘Archives’.
Dave Richardson
Our Website Updated
…
Page 6
Above
: Selected serving 70th boy’s had
the honour of waiting on their illustrious
seniors. Some look a little anxious at the
daunting prospect!
Waiters left to right:
Ralph Price; Dave Swallow; Dave Golder
Peter Essam; Peter Ellis; Richard Brown
Gordon Davis; David Shaw; Alan Rance
Jack Fishpool; Barry Rowbotham
The First OB’s Reunion? -
13
th
December 1958
OBs present:
[
those we can make
out from the signed
menu]:
G Macpherson; L Owens;
R Sale; J Penny; H Porter;
A Bowbeer; E Gabb; R Hurst;
H Bird; A Wakefield;
V Hopkins; ? ; G Bateman;
W Want; P Knights; B Shaw;
P Moore; S Dawson;
D Packman; V Price; J Ward;
A Short; A Goldsmith;
J Kensett; L Stacey;
D Fisher; T Goodson;
G Fishpool; K Holbrook;
I Macpherson; ? ;K Hill;
B Flint; R Clark;
M Nightingale; G Blake;
D Strachen; L Heath.
Page 7
Those Big Battalion Church Parades…..
Dave Golder remembers
Post Office
stamp: The
Boys’ Brigade
issued March
1982 to mark
various Youth
Organisations
A ‘First
Day
Cover’
now
valued
at
£2.50….
Hold!
…..attending were:
426
Boys,
59
Officers & Warrant
Officers and 28 Staff Sergeants ….
….also present: CLIFF RICHARD!
Whilst looking through our family papers
for photos of my time as a member of the
70
th
for a possible article, I came across
three orders of service for Battalion
Church Parades. I seem to recall that
these were annual events that were held
at various churches in the area. Several
of these parades were held at churches
at the
other
end of the South London
area which the battalion covered and as
we always marched to them both ways
they could take up the whole of Sunday
morning and early afternoon as well. I
have no idea as to how many companies
there were in the South West London Battalion in those days but there
must have been in the region of 25 – 30 most having at least 25 boys in
membership.
One of the programmes I have is that for the parade held on 3 May 1964
held at Northcote Road Baptist Church and I noted that numbers attending
were: Boys 426 Officers 59 Warrant Officers and Staff Sergeants 28. Most
companies had a drum a bugle band although a couple had B Flat flutes
and the 88
th
had a very good silver band (and nearly 100 boys). Another
[shown] was held at Methodist Central Hall in Tooting Broadway in June
1966 (now M & S? ) when Cliff Richard sang – quite a catch and I heard one
of the flute bands playing Congratulations as they marched to church.
Dave Golder
An Occasion not to be missed!
Our ‘Maxi’ OB’s Reunions happen only every 2 years, so if you miss this one… you’ll
be that bit older next time!
Date:
Saturday 9
th
June 2012
Location:
Sunday School Halls, Tooting Junction Baptist Church
Time:
2.00pm ‘till 5.00pm
Who’s invited:
All OB’s, ex. GLBers and their families and friends
The Programme:
largely one of informality, with ample chance to mix with chums, old
and new. There will also be the opportunity to sing some favourite BB Hymns - words
provided!
Refreshments:
Drinks and biscuits on arrival.
Mid afternoon, we will be served with lush cakes and more drinks
Cost:
Nothing, although we hope you will be willing to give a donation to help cover our
expenses
Car Parking:
There is very limited car parking at the Church. Roadside parking is
available, but you will need to pay and display
IMPORTANT:
For catering purposes, please let us know if you will possibly
be coming and who you may be bringing. Contact Dave, details as below
Looking forward to seeing you there…
POST SCRIPT
POST SCRIPTPOST SCRIPT
POST SCRIPT
: We welcome all comments and suggestions on
Reflections
Please contact either Alan Rance:
alan.rance@tiscali.co.uk
01491 839164 or
Dave Richardson:
davri22@gmail.com:
01323 483066
www.70thlondonoldboys.org.uk
Page 8