The Old
Pocklingtonian
Personalia
and has performed twice a year ever since either at
the Oxford Playhouse or The Oxford New Theatre
in various productions ranging from Carmen through
Gilbert and Sullivan to Grease; with a whole variety
in between!
John E Richardson (34-39) remembers playing Fives
at School with his brother, the late Bill D L Richardson
(29-35).They only had one pair of Fives gloves and had
to share until Bill left. They both became reasonably
proficient, but because it was not a recognised sport at
that time no colours were awarded.There were house
competitions and he and Bill both upheld Wilberforce.
The highlight of John’s sporting career was when he
was 16 and the Headmaster, Percy Sands, a Cambridge
blue, challenged him to a game of Fives. John enjoyed it
but he can’t remember the score!
Mike Stathers (62-69) had a successful career as a
journalist, becoming chief reporter of the Yorkshire
Post. Thereafter, for more than 20 years, he was senior
consultant and owner of one of the region’s leading PR
and public affairs consultancies, The PR Company, until
retiring in 2014. He is a former member and chairman
of Shiptonthorpe (his home village) Parish Council
and has served on a number of local community and
business groups. He stood as a conservative candidate
in the local elections in May 2015 and was duly elected
for the Wolds Weighton ward.
Tom Stoppard (51-54) joined the Queen at Windsor
Castle in April 2015 as a Member of the Order of
Merit. Widely respected as the most exclusive club
in the world (it is restricted to 24 members), the
Members of the Order of Merit meet every two
years at the invitation of the Queen. Past members
include Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill,
Mother Teresa, Thomas Hardy and Nelson Mandela.
The Order was founded by Edward VII in 1902 and
members are chosen by the monarch – an honour
awarded to individuals of great achievement in the
fields of the arts, learning, literature and science. As
reported elsewhere in the magazine, Sir Tom was
given a special award as “the greatest living playwright”
on 30 November 2014 at the 60th London Evening
Standard Theatre Awards in recognition of more than
a half-century of work that has won him an Academy
Award and four Tony Awards. His new play, The Hard
Problem, took to the stage at the National Theatre in
January 2015 and received mixed reviews. It was Sir
Tom’s first play for the stage since Rock ’n’ Roll in 2006,
and his first for the National since his trilogy, The Coast
of Utopia, 2002.
Bernard H Walker (38-45) remembers playing ‘fives’
at School and winning the athletics cup. He was House
Captain under Housemaster R T E ‘Reggie’ Allen.
Jack Wilson (39-46) remembers quite large crowds
around the Fives court with people standing on chairs
to see in through the only aperture over the heads
of those who managed to get to the front. He recalls
that Pocklington played Rugby Fives – as distinct from
Eton Fives – where you had the in-built buttress which
made it much more than simply hitting the ball at the
wall. The ball was hit with H