Mission Statement

The purpose of the Old Campion Association is to help past pupils and their families to continue their

connection with other Old Campionites and with the School. We exist to support both the School and all

past and present pupils. We work together with the Governors, the Headmaster, parents and pupils past

and present to ensure the continuing success and prosperity of our School.

Jack Chester Tournament

On Saturday 19th October we will be holding our annual rugby tournament in memory of Jack Chester an old boy who died in September 2010 after a brave battle with cancer.

Jack joined our sixth form in 2007 from The Royal Liberty School in Romford and immediately became an integral part in the life of the sixth form. He was a keen sportsman and became part of our senior rugby squad from day one! He was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma shortly after joining us and this was when we really got to know Jack Chester. He accepted the tragic news stoically and made the decision to meet it head on with courage and determination. He managed to tour in South Africa with the Senior Rugby squad in 2009 and although by then he was unable to play he still made an impact on and off the field.

He finally lost his battle in September 2010 but he left Campion with a lasting legacy and we have since raised in excess of £70,000.00 for Teenage Cancer Trust of whom Jack was an ambassador. The following is an extract from the eulogy given by Keith Williams at his funeral.

“Just over three years ago I and many others at Campion met Jack for the first time. Looking back now, it seems incredible that in such a short space of time this young man has had such an amazing impact on so many lives! He was the new wonder kid in the team, great ball handler, good runner and somebody, just like Mr Friel, who could talk the hind legs off a camel! In the first few months in the Sixth form, we saw Jack become fully involved in all aspects of school life as if he had always been there. He would take time on Fridays to come along to mass and listen to the wise counsel of Father Sean and it was only recently whilst talking to his family I realised what an impact Sean had had on Jack.

When he was first diagnosed with the illness, he like any other person must have been frightened but he never showed it. He accepted all the treatments and the medications, everything that was thrown at him and didn’t bat an eyelid. Despite his illness he wanted to continue his studies and would drag himself out of bed to do last minute revision. He would get good news about remission, followed by bad that it had come back but would accept it all with his never give up attitude! When he was too ill to come to school we would take him round protein shakes to build him up and when he picked himself up he would come bounding in to school with a big smile and hugs for the female office staff, especially Tina, Pauline and Maureen!

He sat in my office one day and told me his vision for the future. He wanted to write a book about his experience with cancer, something which might help others deal with the situation. He wanted to go to university to become a Physio and thirdly he dearly wanted to tour South Africa with the senior rugby squad! He was offered a place at university to study Physiotherapy and he achieved his ambition to tour South Africa with Maureen as his minder. He couldn’t play but on the days when he wasn’t too tired he

OLD CAMPION ASSOCIATION

Newsletter October 2013, Issue 3

James Patterson Memorial Fund

On Wednesday 23rd October one of our old boys, William Wallis, will take part in the

Moonride Halloween Event to raise funds for CRY in memory of James Patterson who died suddenly

from an undiagnosed heart condition in September 2005.

He has set up a Virgin money page and if would like to contribute the web address is

Www.virginmoneygiving.com/williamwallis

All donations greatly received for this worthy event!

Parent’s Association Christmas Fundraiser

Games

Chocolates

Christmas Cake

Decorating Competition Gifts for the

whole family

Carol Singers

Winter Pimms & Mince Pies

The Campion School

Christmas Bazaar

Saturday, 30th November

Bacon & Sausage

Christmas Rolls

Santa

Adventure “Down Under” by Blane McKie

On Monday 24th June I set off on a thirty one hour flight to support the Lions in Australia in their second and third test matches!

I kept telling everyone that I wasn’t worried about the journey and that the time flies by. I was forgetting that the last time I did that journey was in 2005 on the school rugby tour with 40+ friends to pass the time away – not on my own, with a hangover and with a 10 hour stop off in Hong Kong!

I had arranged to meet up with Dave McEwan, another old boy in Hong Kong during my stopover and we had dinner and managed to watch the Lions vs Melbourne Rebels before continuing my onward journey to Melbourne. This was my first visit to Melbourne and managed to have a tour of MCG Stadium and watch an AFL game there. The locals enjoy telling visitors that they’re “just not into Rugby Union here”. Hmmmmmm!!!

I had arranged to meet up with a group of Campion Old Boys spanning ten different year groups, at Federation Square on the night before the test match, amongst whom were Dave McEwan, the Sherman brothers, the Darling brothers, Ben Duncombe, Tim Dowling, Martin Gahagan and Pat Clarke to name but a few! A great night was had by all despite the fact that we didn’t manage to all meet at the same place at the same time, “blind leading the blind” comes to mind! Those who did make it arranged to meet again for an Old boys pre-match lunch and to enjoy a Manic Preachers gig in the Square.

The 2nd test was unbelievable – the roof on the Stadium was shut and every chant sounded much louder as everyone gathered for the kick off! The crowd were primed for another Lions win and the Aussie fans looked defeated before the sides even ran out. Sadly this was far from the case and the Lions were beaten by a better side. All of a sudden the people of Melbourne who “just aren’t into rugby union here” became huge Rugby Union fans…….funny that!! As much as I would have preferred a 3-0 whitewash it set up a mouth-watering prospect for the 3rd test in Sydney.

We moved on to Sydney on the Monday. Sydney saw more Old Boys join the tour in the way of Chris Jones, Mike Carter and Luke Tilly. The city was alive with red shirts from the day we arrived – a big social media campaign was underway to #turnsydneyred and it certainly did. I stayed with Ben Duncombe and managed to meet up with a number of other Old Boys who now live and work in Sydney, including Mike Church and Paul Roberts. The remainder of the week flew by and we managed to fit in a cruise of the harbour, visit the Zoo in Manley and devour the world famous 1KG steak in Hurricanes restaurant!

On match day the bars around Darling Harbour were alive with renditions of Swing Low, Fields of Athen Rye, Flower of Scotland and Jerusalem! On the way to the Stadium we were interviewed by Channel Nine asking for our predictions on the score! The atmosphere in the Stadium was electric but intensified when the Lions scored in the second minute! The atmosphere just got better with each try scored by the Lions and when the Aussie fans started to leave the stadium around the sixty minute mark, chants of “cheerio, cheerio, cheerio” and “is there a fire drill” could be heard resounding in the stadium!

It was a truly unforgettable experience and I have already started my fund for 2017 in New Zealand!

Reflection by Father Andrew Headon

“All I ask of you is that wherever you may be you always remember me at the altar of God.”

“Read this message, pass it on to seven friends and you will receive a blessing.”

No doubt you receive e-mails too which conclude with these or similar words.

I confess that I very rarely, if ever, pass them on. Sorry! It’s just that I’m not superstitious; and I think such requests play on superstitious minds, having said that, however, it is my experience that some things happen in threes. One of them is the recurrence of the saying, “All will be well, and all will be well, and you will see it yourself, that all manner of things will be well.” When these words of Jesus, said in a vision to the 14th C anchoress, Julian of Norwich, are read or heard by someone, they often crop up on two more occasions in the following days. They come from her book, Revelations of Divine Love, thought to be the first published book in English by a woman. The subject of the book is Christ’s revelations to her of his passion, the power of the cross and the promise of a share in the glory of his resurrection. All will be well for those who abide in his love.

This quote was one of three on the prayer card printed for the funeral of Mr Philip James Moloney, Headmaster (1965 – 1980, d. 17 March 1988) and given to those of us who were at his funeral which was held in the main school hall.

The second quote on the card comes from St Monica, the mother of St Augustine of Hippo. St Augustine was a wayward youth who had lost touch with God, “going off the rails” much the same way as had the Prodigal Son. St Monica prayed ceaselessly for her son to come back to the Church; and her prayers were answered. Years later, Augustine, in his book, The Confessions, writes of a tearful deathbed conversation he had with his mother which took place at Ostia, Rome’s port. She said to her son, “All I ask of you is that wherever you may be you always remember me at the altar of God.”

November is the month when we remember at the altar all our deceased family, friends and loved-ones. Beginning with All Saints and then All Souls, many parishes now have a special Mass in the weeks that follow to which are invited especially the recently bereaved of the past twelve months. Those who have attended these Masses have said what a comfort it is to share their mourning with others who have experienced a similar loss and to know that others are praying for them as well as their deceased.

The School has its own Mass on Sunday 10th at 4 p.m. in the main school hall. Coming together as a community to pray for the dead is a powerful expression of our faith in the resurrection and that one day “all will be well.” It is also a faith that they, the deceased, are in communion with us and are still somehow united to us.

This sense of fellowship is beautifully expressed in the final quote which Phil Moloney chose for his prayer card. St Thomas More writes to his daughter, Margaret, the day before his death: “Pray for me and I shall pray for you and all your friends that we may merrily meet in heaven.” In the new funeral rite, the priest begins the final commendation with the words, “We believe that the ties of friendship and affection which knit us together in this life do not unravel with death.” Let us thank God for all our friendships made through the School; let us pray for the work of the alumni association in furthering those ties of friendship and affection; let us try to be present to one another and our “faithful departed” on 10th November in prayer if not in person at the School.

Finally, by all means pass on this poor reflection to all on your mailing list but more importantly, let us pray for each other at the altar of God… and listen out in the days that follow for Our Lord’s words to Julian of Norwich.

Where are they now?

More Blasts form the past! If you can identify yourself or someone else, we would love to hear from you with your

recollections!

Here is another photo from our memory box, see how you fare with this one!

2nd year form group 1980’s

Sixth form 1980’s

And finally……….!

Dates for your diary

Saturday 19th October Jack Chester Memorial Tournament

Venue: Campion School

Time 10 am onwards

Come along and enjoy some good rugby and hopefully see Campion regain the

Trophy!

Food on sale

Sunday 10th November P A Memorial Mass

4pm Main School Hall

Friday 29th November Gathering to celebrate Campion Day

Venue TBA

Saturday 30th November Christmas Bazaar

Venue Campion School Main Hall

11.30 am—2.30 pm

Saturday 7th December Rugby Tour fundraising dinner dance

Venue Campion School Main Hall

Tickets £35 (available via M Leech at school)

Thursday 19th December Carol Service Corpus Christi Collier Row

If you would like to send an article/photos for our next edition, please e-mail them to me at

oldcampions@thecampionschool.org

Maureen Leech

Alumni Secretary

AUCTORE DEO!