OLD
MONOVIANS' RE-UNION.
(Saturday, January 17th,
1920).
| The first after-war
Re-Union-of Old Monovians took place on Saturday evening, January 17th, at the
Holborn Restaurant, when about 130 guests assembled. Mr. G.A. Millward, M.A.,
the headmaster of the Monoux Grammar Schoool, was chairman, being supported by
Mr. J. Higham, Mr. B. Spivey (brother of the late Headmaster of the School),
Mr. A.H. Prowse, Mr. J. Edwards, M.A., Mr. J. Topliss, Mr. L.C. Belchambers (of
the staff of the Monoux School), Capt. Turk, Mr. H.R. Greenwood (hon. secretary
of the Old Monovians' Club), Messrs. Dickinson, Allpass, Goodchild, Popplewell,
and others.
The evening opened with the Royal toast
and then Mr. Greenwood read the names of 60 Old Boys who had fallen in the
Great War, coupling with them those of Mr. and Mrs. Allpass and Mr. Spivey. In
his remarks he dwelt especially on the question of a permanent memorial to the
Old Boys who had given their lives in the War and a record of all those who had
served, numbering 460 or 470. Some apology, he thought, was due for the
lateness in settling this question, as most schools had already completed their
Rolls of Honour, etc. They had, however, been handicapped. Mr. Spivey died at
the beginning of the War, two years elapsed before Mr. Millward was appointed
headmaster, and soon after his appointment he joined the forces and went to
France. There only remained Mr. Prowse with anything like a detailed knowledge
of many successive generations of Old Monovians. But he had his hands quite
full in the discharge of his duties as acting head of the School; and here Mr.
Greenwood paid a tribute to the work done by Mr. Prowse in spite of many
difficulties and drawbacks. In 1915 a list of Old Boys serving was compiled;
the governors had 500 copies printed and these were sent to those whose names
appeared on it. In 1917 Mr. Greenwood was called up and the list remained in a
state of incompleteness. In 1919 a lot still remained to be done to it. They
were in need of information and it was to be hoped that members would do all in
their power to complete the list. In November last an advertisement inserted in
the "Walthamstow Guardian" for information about those who had served only
brought six replies. A meeting would be held shortly to consider what form the
memorial should take. A memorial meant great expense and many donations would
be required. Mr. Greenwood drew attention to the foundation of "The Monovian,"
remarking that an Old Boy was needed to edit the section reserved for them.
This plea, it will be remembered, was also put forward by the editor in the
last issue of the magazine. This Section, devoted to the activities of those
who had left the School, would be a means of keeping them still in touch with
one another. After the singing of the School song Mr.
Millward replied. He wished that present scholars could have heard the way the
song had just been sung. He referred to the way Mr. Prowse had conducted the
School in the troublous times through which they had just passed, and spoke of
the loyalty he had shown since he (Mr. Millward) became headmaster. He hoped
that the re-union at which they were present would be the start of many
activities on the part of the Old Boys. It would be beneficial for present boys
to be brought more into contact with them. He would like to see many Old Boys'
clubs formed, which would regard it as part of their duty to look after present
members of the School. He had been pleased with the way in which Old Monovians
had not failed to introduce themselves to him and thus assure him that their
keenness for their School had not abated. He hoped the appeal put forward by
Mr. Greenwood, who was sacrificing very much of his hardly-earned time, would
meet with a liberal response. |