If you are a paid up member of the association and have received issue 46 of the News and Views magazine you will have been alerted to the fact that we now have audio files for you to reminisce about. Follow the links in the text or use the dropdown menus to reach the files you want.
But first, a warm welcome. If you are not a member and would like to belong to the Association, and so be invited automatically to the next event, as well as regularly receiving news and views from your fellow Old Wealdens, contact Keith Mayes, Membership Secretary,
Our main event is the Association's Annual Reunion, traditionally held on the last Saturday in April. We would love to see as many Old Wealdens as possible this year on 27th April 2024 in The Memorial Hall.
Reunion pictures and stories from 2022 are in the June 2022 e-News, on the Newsletter tab. It was such a happy day and that June 2022 newsletter, will give you a flavour of just how good a day it was.
If you are wondering about the change of venue, by the way, here is the story, as told by Kay Haig, our Secretary, explaining the necessary move away from the old school site. If you look at that June 2022 Newsletter, you will see that our old school is now 'new' too, and we were able to visit it as part of our Reunion this year. Meanwhile, here is the background to the move.
The Memorial Hall, High Road, Harrow Weald
This new venue has memories and close associations for many members, and was very successful for our reunion in 2019 - but why the change from the school site?
A few years ago we were sad to hear that the old school building had been put up for sale and was no longer available for our reunions. Instead the College Principal kindly offered us the use of the Newton Building and we accepted it gladly. My first day as a fresher at the School was spent in an upstairs form-room of the Newton Building (then called the “new” building) with lunch downstairs in the refectory, collected from a serving hatch attended to by dinner ladies wielding scoops of instant mashed potato. On seeing it again, the building looked the same to me as it did in 1963 but with one fascinating difference – it had been given a name!
But times change and the Newton Building is now undergoing major refurbishment in line with proposals to move construction students onto the Weald campus from smaller centres in Harrow. This means, sadly, that the Newton Building will not be available for our reunions in future and so we have decided to hold them down the road at the Memorial Hall, High Road, Harrow Weald.
It has been a huge privilege to return to our School year after year and relive our school days with our old school friends. However, we (the Committee, that is) found ourselves with a choice – either to accept the College’s kind offer of the use of their new refectory on a weekday during the Easter vacation, or to hire the Memorial Hall on the nearest available Saturday to our usual date. Both of these venues, though smaller than the Newton Building, have much to offer and have adequate space. In the end, though, we felt we had to consider the fact that if the Reunion was held on a weekday, our guests would be travelling to and from the venue during the rush-hour. This would be particularly difficult for those who live far away and would add considerably to their journey time. It is for this reason that we decided in favour of the Memorial Hall. It is open on Saturdays whilst the College is now closed at weekends.
I used to walk past the Memorial Hall on my way to school every day but until a few weeks ago I had never been inside. This choice may have the disadvantage of not being our familiar School but it held mystery for me and therefore counts as a memory. In a quaint early to mid-twentieth century kind of way, the Hall hasn’t changed much over the years (or looks as though it hasn’t). It pre-dates the School and is indeed now home to the School’s WWII honours board, after changes in the College meant it could no longer be accommodated there. Our regular November remembrance, with the wreath that is laid by Heather Bickerton on our behalf, has created a real bond with the Memorial Hall, and so there is a connection there for all of us. Perhaps the Hall will conjure up memories for those who, unlike me, did get to see inside it all those years ago.
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