Rose Bowl Reunion 'Year of 1959'

Rose Bowl Reunion for Leavers of 1959

Dave Baker (1952–59) organised a successful reunion on Saturday 5 June 2004 at the Rose Bowl, the home of Hampshire County Cricket, at West End.

"In the summer of 2003 I drove to Derby to see Mel Austin and we resolved to organise a Reunion for the Leavers of 1959. Fortunately, in October of 1958 there was a panorama photograph taken of the whole school, which was then a rare event. We studied the photo and identified 58 who qualified for the Reunion. We actually named 55 of them, which is a high rate considering we last saw each other 44 years ago!

I set a date of June 2004, which is 45 years since we left school, selecting the Rose Bowl as the venue. Armed with lists from the OTA, the Friends Reunited website and 192.com, I set about trying to find as many as I could. The final list of attendees looks rather pathetic, but it is a monumental job tracking down old school friends.

There were 14 OTs present including Alan Lintott from Johannesburgh SA, Ron Swann from Blackburn, and others from the Midlands and the West Country. A wide-ranging list of topics was discussed, but mostly 'old times and members of staff' provided the basis for the conversation. Recognising old colleagues was not a problem although 45 years had obviously changed a few profiles. A hot buffet was supplied and the evening rounded off with congratulations to Dave Baker for making the event possible and commiserations to Mel Austin, who was there in spirit but unable to make the journey because his seventh corneal graft was giving problems."