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Forty-six Old Elizabethans, parents and other representatives drawn from a broad range of professions gave QE boys and their parents expert help in planning their futures at the School’s 2017 Careers Convention.

A major Year 11 event, it seeks both to pr ovide detailed information about career paths that boys and their parents are already considering and to encourage them to consider fresh options as well.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was a thoroughly successful evening. We had a very large number of guests, and conversations with a number of boys since the convention suggest that they found it very useful, particularly enjoying meeting our many visiting OEs.

“A significant number of our boys will undoubtedly become lawyers or medics, and the stalls hosting representatives of these professions were certainly busy. However, our leavers, in fact, follow very diverse career options, so I was equally pleased to welcome visitors from the creative industries and the public sector, to name just two.

“My thanks go to all of the guests who gave up their time to assist the next generation and to my colleagues for organising such a large event.”

The Careers Convention was based in the Shearly Hall, where most of the representatives were based for the evening and were available for conversations with the Year 11 boys and their parents.

They were grouped into the following areas:

- Banking and Finance
- Built Environment
- Creative Arts and Media
- Engineering
- Law
- Medicine
- Professional Services
- Public Sector
- Science
- Miscellaneous

There were also eight 20-minute talks given in nearby classrooms on topics ranging from Dentistry and Life in the City to Study Abroad.

The evening had begun with an opportunity for the OEs and other guests to meet each other for wine and canapés in the School’s Café 1573 prior to the arrival of the boys and their parents.

Positive verdict on old boys’ dinner where Robert “Judge” Rinder was guest speaker

With good numbers in attendance, excellent food and memorable speeches, this year’s formal dinner for alumni was by common consent one of the best in recent memory, according to the Headmaster.

Guest of honour Robert Rinder (OE 1989–1994) brought both TV glamour and the sharp insights of an experienced international barrister to the 122nd annual dinner of The Old Elizabethans Association, while alumni spanning the generations enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with each other and make new friends.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was a terrific evening. The attendance represented an increase on previous years and Rob delivered an address that was not only characteristically entertaining but also rather profound.

“It was excellent to see so many of our ten-year leavers (those who started their final year in 2007) back with us. They helped make it a truly memorable occasion.”

Formed in 1886 as an informal dining club, the association took on its present form in the 1920s. Its current President is Ken Cooper (OE 1942-50).

In his speech, Rob Rinder reflected on what he has taken from the School, while thanking QE for the “gift” it had bequeathed to him. He especially thanked his Headmaster Eamonn Harris, who was in attendance, together with my immediate predecessor, John Marincowitz.

He praised QE’s burgeoning alumni network, urging that it should be nurtured and utilised: all old boys should get involved to help pay back the “debt” that each owed to the School, he said. QE had, after all, provided them with a “public school education” for free!

Some recalled that when Rob appeared on BBC TV’s Room 101, the pet hate he had consigned to the basement torture chamber as the worst thing in the world was “school reunions”. The Headmaster remarked: “I trust that his experience at the dinner – his first-ever reunion event at our School – went some way to changing his mind about this!”

In his own speech, Mr Enright took considerable pleasure in highlighting the fact that the academic year thus far has been notable for the large number of alumni reconnecting with the School, many coming to visit for the first time since leaving. &l dquo;They have uniformly offered support to the boys by volunteering advice, interview practice, work experience placements or sponsorship.

“It has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and engagement of our old boys; it is something we hope will only continue to grow as we pursue our aim of building a strong and active network of alumni, focused on supporting each other and, crucially, the boys currently at the School,” said Mr Enright.

QE’s First World War Victoria Cross recipient honoured

School and military representatives joined civic dignitaries to unveil a commemorative paving stone in honour of an Old Elizabethan who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions on the Western Front 100 years ago.

Captain Allastair McReady-Diarmid’s attempts to regain enemy territory near Cambrai in France were successful, but he was killed in the action and was awarded the VC – the highest award in the UK’s honours system – posthumously.

The paving stone close to his birthplace in Grove Road, New Southgate is one of a series being laid around the country and unveiled on the centenaries of the deaths of VC recipients.

Among QE representatives attending the ceremony organised by Enfield Council were: Headmaster Neil Enright; one of his predecessors, Eamonn Harris (1984–1999); Head of History Helen MacGregor; the Combined Cadet Force with three CCF staff members (Mev Armon, Charlie-Maud Munro and Richard Scally), and Old Elizabethans Martyn Bradish (1962–1969), Ken Cooper (1942–1950) and Alan Solomon (1951–1957).

Military representatives included Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the VC for saving members of his unit in Iraq in 2004. He joined QE’s CCF on parade. Lieutenant Colonel D W Utting read out the VC citation.

Guests were welcomed to the ceremony by Councillor Doug Taylor, the Leader of Enfield Council. Also present was Ann Cable, Deputy Lieutenant for Enfield. The unveiling of the stone was carried out by the Mayor of Enfield, Councillor Christine Hamilton, and by a member of Captain McReady-Diarmid’s family. It was followed by prayers and by a bugler sounding the Last Post and Reveille.

Born Arthur Malcolm Drew in 1888 in Grove Road, New Southgate, Captain McReady-Diarmid was the son of Leslie McReady-Drew and Fannie. The family later lived in Barnet and he attended Queen Elizabeth’s School. He then lived in his mother’s native Jersey for a short period, before moving with the family to Acton, West London, in 1905.

He joined the army at the start of the First World War in 1914 and a year later married 27-year-old Hilda, the couple setting up home in Dursley, Gloucestershire. He changed his name by deed poll to Allastair Malcolm Cluny McReady-Diarmid, apparently because there were so many other Drews in the Middlesex Regiment.

The Account of the Deed – an official summary of the events which led to his being awarded the Victoria Cross – records: “On the 30th November/1st December 1917 at the Moeuvres Sector, France, when the enemy penetrated into our position, and the situation was extremely critical, Captain McReady-Diarmid led his company through a heavy barrage and immediately engaged the enemy and drove them back at least 300 yards, causing numerous casualties and taking 27 prisoners. The following day the enemy again attacked and drove back another company which had lost all its officers. The captain called for volunteers, and leading the attack, again drove them back. It was entirely due to his marvellous throwing of bombs that the ground was regained, but he was eventually killed by a bomb.” His remains were never found.

The VC is given to members of the British armed forces for gallantry in the face of the enemy. The medal bears the simple inscription, ‘For Valour’.

Captain McReady-Diarmid’s VC was presented to his widow at Buckingham Palace in 1918 by George V. In 1927, his daughter, Alison, wore it when the Prince of Wales opened the White Rock Pavilion in Hastings and spoke to the prince of her pride in her father. He was also honoured during this year’s Act of Remembrance at the School in November.

His medal is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, while Captain McReady-Diarmid’s name is listed on memorials in Cambrai, in Dursley and on Jersey.