THE GRAHAM SEA TRAINING SCHOOL REUNION 2002..... AT "THE NEW GEORGE HOTEL"

2002

R E U N I O N

DWas Held on

Saturday 2nd of November at :-

What an Night!... TERRIBLE!!!

But Thankfully that was only the Weather! - Everything else about the Evening was, to Quote one of the other chaps I overheard

"Bloody Great !"

Difficult to know where to start in Thanking people but :-

Firstly for providing the Function Room, the superb + very generous Buffet, All for Free Must be Rocky + Debbie Rowe - bbBrilliant.............

Not forgetting of course Nick Barr for proposing the idea in the first place + then following things through to organise it with Rocky,......... Eric Welburn + myself mostly just giving moral support!

A special mention to Peter Robinson who had the forsight to bring a camera to record the occasion! (CLICK Here to View Pictures) also to Mick Tadman for his assistance contacting Mr Rippon

Last but not least Everyone attending, some people coming quite a distance on a very rainy evening, but well worth it I'm sure you'll agree.

What You Missed!

I think most people will agree that the highlight of the evening was the arrival of our old GST teachers, Mr Grant + Mr Rippon. Right up to the last moment we were not sure if they would be able to make it !

Very sad to see that Mr Grant (81) is now suffering badly from the affects of Parkinson's disease (although by all accounts he still had been keen to attend) However despite this he still seemed able to recall past events and all the old boys who had a chat with him during the course of the night, even those who were at GST back in the 1950's!

We extend our thanks to Mr Grant's daughter and also Mr Rippon for escorting him to the reunion,and again to Mr Rippon( still very fit + active) who brought along two original full school photographs from 1964 and 1973...............(see letters below)

I think it was a nice touch that our old teachers received a spontaneous round of applause on their departure ...well deserved!!

So who Turned Up

Well 31 "Old Boys " signed our Reunion Register, however there must have been at least a dozen others who avoided doing so !!

Please Tell me if I've not named someone you know who was there, but I haven't listed below.

Bob Delaney

gsts@o2.co.uk

Mr Bill Grant	Mr Jack Rippon
Peter Robinson	Graham Bird
Mick Taylor	Jess Pelucci
Wilf Taylor	Jim Rowley
Mick Tadman	Dave Myers
Clive Murray	Baz Buncher
Alan Chapman	Bill Cammish
Mike Barnes	John Ward
Pete Arliss	Steve Martin
Jeff Barnes	Tom Newton
Roy Haylett	Tom Rowley
John Barker	Mick Watts
Bill Wood	Mick Sheader
Paul Knight	Derek Whitehead
Bob Knight	Nick Barr
Dave Cape	Eric Welburn
William G Stewart	Bob Delaney
Harry Stringer	Who've I missed?
Steve Thomas	Please let me Know!
Gordon Russell	gsts@o2.co.uk

Dear All,

On behalf of Mr Grant and myself I would like to thank you for the reunion of the Graham Sea Training School.

It was a real pleasure to be there + especially to see so many of you, obviously proud of your association with that unique establishment.

I personally was so pleased to be able to accompany my good friend Roy Grant, somewhat frail but so strong in spirit.

All good fortune to you,

Sincerely

William Rippon

My Dad W R Grant. wishes to thank you and all the other members of the old GST school for the memorable reunion last saturday. It gave him enormous pleasure to see you all again,it lifted his spirit so much to meet again with all the "characters" from those golden years such a long time ago and he is very grateful to you for organising this event and for this inspired idea to get together. I am sure it was appreciated by everyone present.

It turned out to be a most special evening of memories + laughter, a celebration of the creative and spirited atmosphere unique to the school, he always talks about how lucky and priveleged he was to find a post in such an unrivaled school it had everything conducive to a good rapport between teachers and boys - smallness, beauty, a common maritime interest and career pathway , discipline yet freedom of expression and humour. I am sure the present educational system could learn a lot from such a school. In particular dad will never forget the respect and kindness showed to both him and Mr Rippon. Dad was extremely touched by the standing ovation and chair ride downstairs as he was leaving. it meant such a lot to him and is testimony to the great character of both the school and the boys.

Although dad has many health problems and is unable to communicate easily he wishes to convey how much he enjoyed the occasion and both my mother and myself are so grateful to you all for giving him such a happy and stimulating evening.

With thanks and best wishes

Yours sincerely A.H. Grant (Miss)