| OBA - History |
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History of the Association By Andy Root, Old Bredonians Chairman To begin with, I need to make an admission. I am not 100% certain of some of the Old Bredonians Association’s history, because there are few official records, particularly in the early years. But the following information will give you a brief insight into the birth of the association, what it has achieved and who the main players have been. Bredon School opened as a boys-only boarding school in September 1962. Within a few years, Bredon Old Boys Association had been formed by the first groups of leavers, with support from influential schoolmasters including the Founder, Colonel Sharp, and Brian Llewelyn Thomas. Some of its first pupils are still active as members of the association. Jaco Ott, who was one of the first, is currently President of the association. Terence Foley was another one of the originals, along with Ivor Lockhart and Richard Allen. Annual Highlight As the numbers at the school increased, so did the association. Yearly meetings were organised with a view to encouraging past pupils to return to the school. During these annual visits they would attempt to destroy the school 1st XV at rugby and, importantly, would laugh about what had really gone on during their school days. As these stories were passed on to the current pupils, the history of both the school and the association gradually took shape, creating a very special atmosphere for the annual fixture. This atmosphere was essential in increasing the number of supporters attending the hotly contested event each year. Indeed, there was so much will to win the rugby match that the school insisted all current pupils watch. When the school was arranging the fixtures, the 1st XV wanted to know the date for the Old Boys fixture immediately, so their planning could begin. They could not afford to lose to the Old Boys, with so much at stake and so many pupils, staff and parents supporting! Into the 1980s Along with a change in fashions, the 1980s brought an equally dramatic change in the development of the school, with new buildings, new pupils and a new way forward under the Headmastership of Brian Llewelyn Thomas (‘BLT’), who had returned to the school in 1977 after an absence of 10 years. Neil Blackford was instrumental in keeping the association on track during these times. Neil was assisted in the latter stages of his chairmanship by Phil Stanley, who eventually took over the reins. In September 1989, the first girls were introduced to the school, which not only gradually transformed the school but also required a name change for the ‘Old Boys’. The association became the Old Bredonians’ Association (although many members still refer to it as ‘Bredon Old Boys’). Parting shot Around the time of his retirement in 1992, Brian Thomas made a request that the Old Bredonians’ Association should be kept alive no matter what. Phil Stanley had taken note of this parting shot and ensured that the support from the school was even better, encouraging influential characters to become involved in the running of the association once they had left. There was also great support from the school admin. supremo Simone Fletcher, who offered masses of support to the association by keeping in touch with old boys and girls as they stepped into the real world. In 1994, I had my first involvement in the association, becoming chairman the following year. It felt quite easy at the time, because most of the hard work had been done by my predecessors. All we had to do was organise a team and everyone else would turn up on the first weekend in December for the rugby, the last weekend in March for the hockey, or the last weekend in June for the cricket. And the atmosphere was phenomenal!! Difficult years However, by this time there were in fact problems at Bredon School – problems which eventually came to have a major impact on communications between the school and the association, and then on the development of the association itself. The sadly premature deaths of Headmaster’s Secretary Cynthia Atkins in 1993 and of Brian Thomas in 1996 dealt a huge blow to the administrative assistance the school had previously given to the association. A number of changes of leadership at the school added to the difficulties. The Old Bredonians committee and its members found all this very hard to deal with and struggled to produce reunions to the standard of the past. Re-building the association As the new millennium dawned, Kevin Cromwell was an inspiration in beginning the work of resurrecting the association. The predecessor of this website appeared. Personally, I remember Kevin organising a tremendous get-together for leavers of the late 1970s/early 1980s. If I remember correctly, there were 40 Old Bredonians who attended along with partners. William Neale and I showed up as younger members of the committee and were overwhelmed by the support. By this time, changes in the law meant the OBs were no longer allowed to play the school 1st XV at rugby, so that fixture was replaced by the BLT Memorial Trophy match between the Chairman’s XV (older Old Bredonians) and the President’s XV (younger Old Bredonians). Looking at the size of some of the senior OBs present, William and I were not looking forward to the match the next day! Luckily the majority had a few too many drinks and could not produce the standard of rugby that we had feared. Things were slowly starting to get back on track at the school, with support from David Keyte, who arrived as Bursar in late 1999 and was rapidly promoted to General Manager. This created a knock-on effect within the association, with several younger members showing up and getting involved in the events. Support from the school for the association has continued since David's appointment as Principal in September 2005. What’s happening now? The Old Bredonians’ Association is in a healthy position, both financially and in terms of the number of members. Our main challenge at present is to encourage participation. If you are reading this as an Old Bredonian, please come along to association events whenever you can, get in touch with us with any suggestions for improving the association and encourage your friends to get involved too. |
