Tony Rolph, John Mattison and David Ryall reunion
OLD SHOREHAMERS REUNION
John Mattison, David Ryall and Tony Rolph had attended Shoreham Grammar School in the mid-forties and had not met since 1947. Until 5th March 2012. Here is Tony’s report on their reunion.
The three of us had lived in close proximity to each other in Lancing and, as well as travelling to and from school each day, would also meet up in the evenings and week-ends. Then, when the war ended, John and David moved back to different parts of Surrey.
The re-union came about when I read an article in the Shoreham Herald reporting how a certain David Ryall had entertained the residents in a Care Home, reminiscing from his career as an actor. There was an accompanying photograph which had about 0.05% resemblance to the 11 year old boy I had known. But bearing in mind my memories of that young boy having a particularly good singing voice and an extrovert nature, which could well have led to the stage, I concluded that it could well be the same person. Eventually we made contact, and it transpired that he was still in touch with John, who, in fact, had been his accountant for the last 50 or so years. Thus the re-union was arranged after a gap of 65 years.
What happened to the three of us along the way? As indicated, David did take to the stage and has had a most distinguished career. His accomplishments and roles to date are far too many to mention, other than that he spent eight years with Laurence Olivier’s company with the National Theatre at the Old Vic. And more recently he appeared in the film “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and on television as the grandfather in the series “Outnumbered”.
John and myself were of a different calibre, made of sterner stuff altogether. Not for us a career of having to stand on stage in front of an audience of several hundred people and recite the same old lines night after night. Boring, boring, boring! Seeking more challenge and adventure in life, we both trained to become Chartered Accountants. Poor David, never to know the thrill of getting your first Trial Balance to actually balance! Sad really.
So, on the 5th March, we met at Shoreham station. It was not a case of instant recognition, but eventually we sorted out who we were. In the morning we wandered around, remembering revered establishments such as De Marco’s ice cream parlour, where we were able to buy an ice cream for the first time for more than six years. Saunders Café and Samuelson’s also came to mind. Naturally we looked around where the old school buildings had been - the school itself, the playground, the chapel, the rifle range, Westover and the bicycle sheds.
We had lunch and David was able to produce a meticulously kept diary from 1944. It included a list of “Boys I don’t like!” He also had a sketch book from his school days. We talked about the teachers, with Mr. Marsh and Dora Barrel receiving much prominence. We recalled having to take gas masks to school and the underground air raid shelter, where some 200 or so bodies would come into close contact. It was airless, damp, dark and smelly.
We remembered too the daily ½ pint bottle of milk that was issued to each of us at break time. The vivid memories were of having to drink this in the winter, when the top would be frozen. It later transpired that we had fathered 14 children between us and we put this down to the secret ingredient formulated by the freezing of the milk!
In the afternoon, the College had kindly arranged for us to be shown around the current premises. Sarah Morgan spent an hour showing us around the school with all the wonderful facilities that now exist. It was quite an eye-opener, a million miles from the Pond Road establishment. A comparison cannot be made because there is no comparison. Although it has to be said that the ethos and flavour of the old school are still there. We enjoyed looking at the old school photos on display and recognised ourselves in the 1946 whole school photo. There were also photos of all Headmasters and we pointed out our Headmaster, Mr Barrell, who was Head from 1941 – 1946. We also saw the old school cane, kept safely now in a cabinet, and David remembered this, with not so fond memories!
Following the tour, we were privileged to be invited to have tea with the Headmaster, Jim Stearns, Ashley Warner and Sarah. We were treated royally. It was the perfect culmination to a truly memorable day.
Tony Rolph
John Mattison, David Ryall and Tony Rolph
John Mattison, Tony Rolph, David Ryall and Jim Stearns