STOURBRIDGE OLD EDWARDIAN CLUB

ED-Words  Newsletter
April 2023

I am pleased to report that the club is trading well and attracting a higher-than-expected number of bookings. Congratulations to Tim and Tracey who do so well in attracting business. 

With regards to the future direction of the club I will be holding a Development Committee shortly to discuss ideas of attracting new business, increasing membership, and trying to reduce our operating costs to sustain the club.

On the social front I attended a very enjoyable Chinese banquet at the end of January.  Thanks to all those that supported this event and Tim and Tracey who prepared a sumptuous meal.

Other events are being planned and details of those are in this newsletter. I would like to hold an event to celebrate the Coronation and any ideas of what we could do would be very welcome - musical evening, special meal, speakers etc ?? 

In conclusion, I would like to thank the Vice President Clive Bowen-Davies for stepping in and chairing the General Committee on my behalf due to my absence because of my house move.

King Ed’s College is expanding.

With an ever-growing student population the college have been looking at other spaces within Stourbridge Town Centre to enable us to support the growing numbers. We have recently taken possession on the unit above Tesco which will house the Henry Hickman Library, opening up the library space for additional study space for students during the day. The college has also taken possession of 12 Coventry Street which now houses or excellent careers team, allowing for an expanded service to meet their needs. We have also agreed lease of a unit on Lower High Street which will be converted into two additional classroom spaces.

We have also applied for funding to build a new teaching block in the location of the former gatehouse. This will provide the college with an additional 13 classrooms and allow us to cater for our growing student population.

(Ruth Taylor KEVI College)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS are visible on our Events Calendar.

Of immediate interest, and to reserve your place,  the St.George's Day Dinner and celebrations are happening at the Club on Monday 24th April. For more information CLICK HERE>> .

RECENT EVENTS
We held most  successful evenings during March:

• St. David's Day Night and Dinner  CLICK HERE>>
• John Sparry lecture  CLICK HERE>>

In addition, the "day out" at Ludlow Races was much enjoyed by all who attended -  with special thanks to Tim for making it all happen.

Unfortunately, owing to the demise of three past  Presidents and one other, who isn’t too well, we have lost a few contributions, so I am appealing to anyone out there who would like to support the Club during these very challenging times with their £5 contribution every month".

If anyone is interested, please contact Clive Bowen-Davies on 01562-886207 or 07881450839 or clive.bowendavies@btinternet.com.

Special note from the Hon. Sec ..."As someone who has won £250 in the last 3 months on the 50-Club lottery I can confirm it is good fun, good value and a good chance of winning.... so don't delay and get in touch with Clive...." 

If you're not in it, you can't win it!

This is another  reminder that some months ago, we  have responded to the request raised at the AGM last December to make it easier to get in touch with the Committee and have issues addressed.

Please consult the CONTACT section of the website where you will see clear directions of which electronic from to complete under which circumstances to get responses addressed in the fastest and most efficient way. In particular, ensure any issues affecting membership (fees, fobs, applications etc) are addressed by completing the Membership Issues form and they will be sent directly to the personal email box of the Hon. Membership Secretary for prompt response.

Likewise, any issues which you want addressed by the General Committee should be sent via the "Feedback Questions" form. We presume everyone is totally satisfied with everything as we have not had a single response in the last 3 months following the initial AGM request but please feel free to get in touch as described.

We are always deeply sorry to lose our members through ill health. In recent weeks we especially remember: 

• Roy Dunwell - the well known local vet whose previous  surgery was no more than 200 yards from the Club. He passed away in his nineties, was well known, well liked at the Club and was a member for more than 70 years.
• Donal O'Mahony who is well known to the Catenian fraternity.

Our thoughts are with families and friends.

Zigi throughout his life believed that the Holocaust should act as a reminder of the capability of humans to kill their fellow humans in such a brutal way, and he dedicated over two decades of his life to visiting schools to lecture on the values of humanity using his own experiences as a back-drop.

It was during my year as President of the Club that Zigi visited Stourbridge and gave a lecture at OSH. From the close association of our Club and the Old Foleyans and being aware of my interest in military history, I was invited to attend his lecture.

Zigi was a Polish Jew, and, at the age of five, his parents had divorced, which was disapproved of, and he was told that his mother had died. He was brought up by his father and grandparents. In 1939, his father fled to Russia to avoid Nazi persecution, believing that the danger applied to Jewish men only and not children and the elderly.

In 1939, the Nazis entered the town of Łόdź, where the family lived, and created a Ghetto. There, Zigi was made to work in a metal factory making munitions. The Ghetto was liquidated in 1944 and the inhabitants, including Zigi, were transferred in overcrowded cattle-trucks to Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, and, after a few weeks, sent to Stutthof concentration camp near Gdansk where he was made to work in the railway yards. In March 1945, he contracted typhus in consequence of a forced march to the German naval town of Neustadt in Holstein, surviving due to the help from his friends.

On 3^rd May 1945, he was liberated by the British Army and spend three months in hospital recuperating. He then remained with his friends in a displaced persons camp.

In 1947, via the Red Cross, he received a letter from a woman who proved to be his mother, and he came to England to live with her and his stepfather.

Here he settled down and became a British citizen, married and raised a family. The one striking aspect of Zigi’s observations that I vividly remember was his total lack of bitterness and resentment.

He was a keen football fan and in 2012 he had the “greatest honour of his life” in addressing the England squad before their European match in Poland.

During his lecture in Stourbridge, he was asked which team did he support - Poland his country of birth, or England his adopted home. He unequivocally stated that he would always support England as it was the country that had saved him from death and had given him an enjoyable and fulfilling life.  I also recall the lecture was scheduled to end at 8.p.m. but it went on until 10.p.m.

In 2016, Zigi was awarded the British Empire Medal for his work with the Holocaust Educational Trust.

It was a great privilege to have met Zigi with his positive attitude to life, despite what he had endured in his earlier life. He was a true ambassador of Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

Zigi Shipper B.E.M. 1930-2023.

We have been kindly donated a set of historic prints of the School ranging from 1858 to how the School would appear in 1931 after the construction of the new Assembly Hall. 

Mr J.E. Boyt, former Headmaster, presented copies of these five prints to each of the guests present at the Club Annual Dinner held on 11th October 1930, and afterwards also presented copies to the Masters and Monitors of the School.

The prints are shown below and we intend to suitably frame them to be displayed In the Club.