No.127
OW Squash
RP Johnson (H, 05-10) reports: The
OW squash team has gone through
a tough few years competing
in the annual old boys’ squash
tournament, the Londonderry
Cup. The aforementioned ‘tough’
run, lamentably, holds a rather
considerable time-scale of some 67
years: to put a historical perspective
on the matter, when the OWs last
reached the final of the Cup Sir
Winston Churchill was still Prime
Minister. A new look OW team,
however, has begun to show signs of
success comparable to our venerable
Sen Men from 1952: the unseeded
OWs become shock semi-finalists in
last year’s tournament.
Queen’s Club played host for
the season’s first match against
the Old Wellingtonians. A rather
underwhelming 3-2 victory was
secured, before facing the Old
Tonbridgians in the 2 nd round. Theo
McWhirter (I, 06-11), experiencing his
first season in the OW team, fell to a
tough loss against a tricky opponent
while Christian Portz (H, 05-10),
following a Christmas training plan
inflicted by his elder brother, returned
to his competitive best at 4 th string
with a fine performance, supported
by Alex Portz (H, 04-09), Richard
Johnson (H, 05-10) and Charlie
McCall (F, 91-96).
Semi-final opponents Lancing College
were reigning champions and it was
at this critical juncture that the OWs
encountered a selection crisis. Mike
Poole-Wilson (I, 88-93) ably filled our
gap at no.5 and Matt Hall (Coll, 99-
04), now residing in Spain, ensured a
man-of-the-season award by travelling
over to strengthen the side at no.4.
The OWs were 2 down after the
first two matches until Hall secured
victory and Johnson recovered from
a poor start and two-game deficit to
bring the match level. Portz the elder
made the most of his superior fitness
to win his match.
The Trusty Servant
A 67-year run finally broken,
the final was held at the Royal
Automobile Club. True to form, the
Old Millfieldians fielded a strong
team, including ex-world no.2 Peter
Marshall. This proved the OWs
downfall as 4 of the 5 strings lost
competitive matches by 3-0 scorelines.
67 years on, the OW Squash team can
safely be considered ‘on the up’ once
more. If you are interested in joining
the OW squash team, hearing more
about our results, or connecting with
other OW players, please do get in
contact. [email protected].
Obiter dicta
PL Halling (E, 01-06) advises: On
Tuesday 18 th June the Choir and
Band of the Chapels Royal will
give a gala concert – Sing We at
Pleasure - to celebrate the life of Peter
Parker (Coll, 46-51). Peter made an
enormous contribution to the life of
the Chapel over fifty years and was
especially supportive to the music.
The programme will include Mozart’s
effervescent Exultate Jubilate for solo
soprano, some madrigals (which Peter
loved) and Haydn’s thrilling Nelson
Mass. Tickets for this performance
are likely to go very quickly so please
buy early to avoid disappointment.
www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/
explore/sing-we-at-pleasure/#gs.1eyomb.
When purchasing tickets please select
the option to have them delivered to
you, rather than collecting on-site, if
possible.
And also: I am setting up a sea fishing
club with a friend - sadly not an OW
- with a boat based on the Sussex
coast. I wonder if it might be possible
to advertise to OW fly-fishermen?
It would be fantastic to get some
Wykehamists on board. We are
interested in marine biology, fisheries,
and the sea in general. plbhalling@
gmail.com.
OWTC
Winchester College Cross Country Results, Saturday 2nd March
Win Coll vs Old Wykehamists and Old Etonians
Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Name
Morris, Charles
Brockman, Will
Stringer, Mark
Doolittle, Anthony
Shaw, John
Kerr, Robbie
Pascoe, Jack
Wilson,Tim
Balfour, Hugh
Danylyuk, Richard
Dvorak, Mayes
Lenon, Andrew
Tellwright, Tiger
Nottingham, Tom
Corry, Nicolas
Dodd, George
Gentile, Gabriel
Lloyd, Jasper
Chute, Richard
Lloyd, Gary
24
School
OE
OE
Win Coll
OW
OW
OE
Win Coll
OW
OE
Win Coll
Win Coll
St John’s
Win Coll
Win Coll
OE
OE
Win Coll
St John’s
OW
Wellington
Time
37.35
38.22
39.20
39.35
40.14
41.00
41.30
41.36
42.19
43.34
45.06
45.07
45.40
45.40
45.48
46.15
48.38
50.31
53.14
59.01