OA Day & McGill's Gaudy reunion
10 June 2015
Sunday 7th June 2015 was a glorious day in several ways, it was OA Day and over 130 Old Aldenhamians (OAs) returned to School to meet friends, share lunch and give thanks in a special Chapel service. The sun shone brightly making it the perfect day to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. The food was excellent and stories of past and present flowed freely. For some OAs it was their first time back at Aldenham since leaving 30 years ago or more, many enjoyed a few laughs with their former teachers and two former Housemasters were able to compare notes with the current Housemaster of McGill's. The focus this year was on McGill's House and most of those who attended the celebration were Old McGillians from every decade since the 1930s right up to 2014, ages ranged from 18 to 92. The oldest McGillian present was 87 year old, Doctor John Moxon (M1942-45) MBE, he had travelled from his home in Somerset taking the opportunity to stay with his daughter, who lives in Harpenden and kindly acted as his chauffeur on the day.The Rennie family was out in force, with Andrew Rennie (M2006-13) who had just celebrated his 20th birthday the day before, joined by his brother Carl (M2003-10) and his father Simon (SHO1970-74). Other ‘OA’ brothers present included James (M1968-72) and Neal (M1970-75) James-Crook, David (M1956-61) and Nicolas (M1959-64) Leigh-Hunt, Henry (M1968-73) and Jeremy (M1969-74) Llewellyn-Jones, Nick (M1979-83) and Jonothan (M1982-87) Moss. Clare Yeabsley’s brother, Paul McCarty (M1987-92) also came to support the event.After meeting for coffee in The Wells Centre, Sixth Form Common Room, which many remembered as the School Shop and Tuck Shop, there was an opportunity to look around McGill's House, where a very warm welcome awaited from the Housemaster, Mike Yeabsley (CR2008-Present), his wife Clare, (nee McCarty K1988-90) and their family. A group of current pupils had also given up their Sunday lie-in to act as Ambassadors and talk about their experiences at Aldenham today.During a Service of Thanksgiving in the Chapel, the newly installed memorial listing the names of OAs killed in World War Two was dedicated. Martin Stephen (SHE1949-53), whose father, Alfred Bodger Grant Stephen (SH1913-19) is commemorated, laid a wreath at the foot of the memorial as a sign of respect and gratitude for the price paid. Martin travelled from Bristol with his close School friend and Best Man, Robin Geldard (M1949-52), who lives in Devon. Those who visited the House were delighted to see that the Honours boards, destroyed by fire in 1991, are being replaced – a lot of work has been done to make this happen by the previous Housemaster Paul Dunstan, his wife Jo and Mike Yeabsley who is now seeing the job through to completion. The Headmaster, James Fowler, and the President of the OA Society, Neil Sutherland addressed the guests during a drinks reception before everyone headed off to the Dining Hall for a splendid lunch. The afternoon was spent reminiscing and taking in the familiar surroundings. There was a lot to see, with a Junior Fives tournament in play, an art exhibition set up and a 20/20 cricket match to watch on Top Field. Tea and cakes were served to round off the day at the Cricket Pavilion before bidding farewell to friends, old and new.