For some reason lost in the mists of time, Pinewood has virtually no records of its older Old Boys. So, when under the influence of an attack of nostalgia I decide to organize an Old Boys event for my own vintage, I found that the school had a few names but no addresses. However, although the school was unable to help much in compiling a guest list, Philip Hoyland and his team (particularly Jim Bischoff) could not have been more encouraging and helpful in all other respects.

 

To assemble an invitation list required a great deal of networking -- and not just by me. My own Old Pinewoodian network amounted to no more than a dozen names, mainly family. That dozen also had their own networks -- and so on. Initially it was quite slow going; but when an email to one Carnwath yielded four more positive replies from other Carnwaths, the momentum began to develop. Eventually after a couple of months trawling (and thanks in particular to the use of emails), a list was assembled of over 60 names with email addresses and a further handful who, despite a Pinewood education, haven’t yet mastered the technology.

 

Of roughly 70 eligible OPs that were contacted, 40 chose to come to the lunch -- and, of these, very few had set foot in the school since leaving. Several others sent genuine regrets about not being able to get there; and a very small number made it clear that a Pinewood reunion was of no interest at all.

 

Putting this into some perspective, Pinewood in the fifties was a school of about 80 boys; and so, during the period 1950 – 1955, about 160 boys would have attended the school and been ‘eligible’ for the lunch. Sadly, the invitation list covered only 44% of those eligible, and I apologise to those whom I failed to contact.

 

As I did my networking, I began to see Pinewood in a new light. If one judges a school by what its alumni go on to achieve, Pinewood comes out pretty well. This group of about 160 boys went on to produce:

 

            1 Cabinet Minister

            1 Law Lord

            2 Knighted Ambassadors

            1 Newspaper Editor (broadsheet!)

            1 respected Conductor

            1 Orthodox Bishop      

            The stroke of the Cambridge VIII

 

There are also several others who have enjoyed notable success in the armed forces, in business and in the legal profession; and there will, of course, be others whose successes I have yet to hear about. The school can take great credit for what its  Old Boys have gone on to do.

 

The lunch itself was a very good occasion and seemed to be enjoyed by all (including a dozen wives who were brave enough to join us). The school did us proud in both the organization of the day and the catering. Henry Boddington spoke with vivid recollection about ‘The Trinity’ (Magga, Matron and Nurse) as well as about Geoff Walters, Mr Knapp and Patrick Mackie; and was followed by Philip Hoyland who described the school as it is today and outlined some of the ambitious plans for the future.

Colin Senior