Sad to announce the passing of Michael Jones, a Gloucester lad who became a respected journalist and political commentator.
Michael was the first son of Glyn & Betty Jones. Some may remember Glyn who went into business with his Brother in Law Les Browett opening a betting shop ’Jones and Browett’ close to the Wagon Works and Morelands Match Manufactory on the Stroud Road. Peter, Michael’s younger brother worked for many years at Impregnated Diamond Products in Gloucester and continues to live in the city.
Michael was born in about 1937 and attended the Crypt School between 1948 – 1956. I believe Michael’s first steps saw him in a lowly job at the Citizen/Gloucester Journal in the late 50s where he worked his way up and from where eventually he joined the then Manchester Guardian. As a respected journalist he later worked in Hong Kong and also on The Times, Daily Telegraph and Financial Times. He retired as Associate Editor (Politics) of the Sunday Times in 2002. Thereafter he worked closely with Betty Boothroyd on her autobiography. For many years he lived with his wife Sheila in Orpington where their own family grew up. Michael was a much older cousin of mine and a fascinating chap to talk with. RIP.
Originally posted by Chris Coopey in the “Gloucester: A trip back in time” Facebook page
We’re sad to announce the death of Charlie Partridge from cancer. He was at the school from 1964 x1971 and lived in the Longlevens area of Gloucester . He went to work extensively for the BBC and was the Editor of BBC Radio Lincolnshire for over 21 years . He was a keen cyclist, skier and supporter of Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City. We send our condolences to his widow Jill and their three sons .
Charlie’s funeral will be on Tuesday 26th August, 12.30 at Welton St Mary’s church followed by a family cremation. There will be a wake at the White Hart hotel in Lincoln.
Some years ago, a close school friend of mine organised a reunion for our year and his brother’s year.
It was very successful and almost 30 people turned up from the two years, some of whom I had not seen since my school days. We all had a great time catching up and finding out what everyone had been up to, finding out how well people had done, who had married, who had kids, reminiscing about the good old days and our time at school and as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn’t help feeling that we were actually missing a trick!
To me the perfect time for a reunion is the annual dinner when everyone from all the different years turn up and catch up with each other. It’s made for it. So, this year I plan for the annual dinner to be a ‘reunion dinner’ and hope that you as an Old Cryptian will do your best to come and catch up with other members of your year. Try and get as many of your school friends to come along to represent your year and we can all have a great time finding out what we’ve been up to and next year we can do it all over again. Let’s make it an annual event.
Since I’ve become President of The Old Cryptians, I’ve bumped into at least 2 friends who I haven’t seen since school and have enjoyed immensely finding out about their lives. They said they would come to meet up with fellow school friends from our year and would tell those that might not be on social media or on the email list of The Old Cryptians’ Club.
This year the annual dinner will be on Saturday 29th March 2025. It’s also the same day as Gloucester play Bristol Bears; so, if you’re into your rugby, you can make a day and night of it.
Our AGM takes place at 6.15pm, drinks 6.45 and meal at 7.30.
As part of the reunion theme, we are holding the event at the school in the school hall and I’ve organised for several tours of the school, so you can see just how the school has grown since you were last there. Please get in touch if you would like a tour of the school.
So please come along, if only to catch up with friends you haven’t seen since your school days.
Let’s make this reunion dinner a success and continue for many years to come.
The memorial service for Kevin Cumming will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 10th April at the St. Nicholas Methodist Churh, Topsham in Devon.
Donations in memory of Kevin for Axe Valley Academy can be made at the service or c/o Peter Frank Turl, Funeral Directors, 16 Victoria Road, Topsham, Exeter, EX3 0EU.
We were informed of the sad passing of Kevin Cumming this week. Kevin was assistant head teacher at the Axe Valley academy in Devon, where he was a much loved and valued member of staff for the past 23 years, having initially joined as head of ICT.
Kevin is fondly remembered by his contemporary and recent OC’s President Steve Knibbs, as well as our current President Simon Smith.
It’s clear from the tributes on-line that he was a highly regarded member of staff, held in great affection by both the teaching body and students alike. For now, you can read those on the Axe Academy front-page here and on Facebook in the embedded link below.
We are delighted to let you know that our Annual Dinner will take place on Saturday 23rd March 2024 at the Crypt School. The price of the event will be £36.50 for members, £39.50 for non-members and £25.00 for current sixth formers/students/21 & under. There will also be a bar (cards or cash) for pre-dinner drinks and wine to accompany the meal. The dress code will be smart casual.
The guest speaker will be Rob Holliday (1970-77). Rob has had a varied career in aviation as an Airline Captain and Flight Safety Manager. He also found time to represent GB at rowing, winning medals in the World Championships.
Our AGM will also be held on the above date, details of which will follow in the coming month. The timings for the evening will be;
6:15 pm AGM 6:45 pm Drinks 7:30 pm Annual Dinner
If you wish to attend please visit our dedicated website page here, where you can provide us with all the necessary details and pay securely with debit or credit card, powered by SquareUp payments. This route will reduce our administration burden and is the quickest way to sign-up.
Last year we welcomed 75 of you and we look forward to building on the success of that event this year. Please feel free to circulate this invitation to others you are still in touch with so we can make this an event to remember.
