“Our aim has been achieved. We have indeed met every year. Not even COVID could stop us, thanks to Zoom. We have patronised a wide range of venues over the years, notably Inverleith. Some of the early gatherings were rather lively and not without incident, but we are now certainly older and, we hope, wiser.
Our Diamond Jubilee lunch was held at The New Club, Princes Street on the Friday closest to the 60th anniversary of the day we left school (Friday 26 July). There was an excellent attendance of 24.
Adam McBride began the formal part of the proceedings by welcoming everyone, with a special welcome to Grant Shannon who was joining us for the first time.
He then read out five apologies.
Thanks were extended to James Murray for facilitating the use of the venue and liaising with the management.
The 60th anniversary was an occasion to reflect on the past. We recalled classmates who were no longer with us:
Les Arnott, Kenneth Bigam, Ian Brooks, Roddy Campbell, Iain Coyle,
Graham Grant, Roger Gray, Stuart Henderson, Tom Hood, Graeme Millar,
Alan Norbury, Ron Scobie, Robin Watson and Graham Wilson.
We stood in silence to remember them.
We also recalled George Allan, one of our former teachers, who had died in October 2023. George was a guest at our 50th reunion. We were represented at his funeral.
Paul Maxwell, another of our former teachers, had been invited to join us, but was unable to attend. Everyone signed a card wishing him well.
Adam then mentioned a number of our classmates with whom we have lost contact over the years.
Various memorabilia had been brought along. Adam had a copy of the Service for Leavers as well as the Stewart’s College Song, and this prompted a Toast to the School. He had also found a letter dated December 1969 from Hugh Stevenson when he was in Yugoslavia (as it then was). Adam invited Hugh to read out this letter which provided much hilarity. This was probably the only time that Hugh had not been present at one of our gatherings. Adam thanked Hugh and others who had an almost perfect attendance record for their strong support over the years.
Calder Benzies had brought along a collection of photographs which he had compiled while acting as the school’s archivist, and these generated considerable interest.
Thoughts then turned to the future. We agreed to meet again. deo volente, on a Friday late in July 2025 close to the 61st anniversary of leaving school. The exact date would be confirmed in due course.
Informal chat then ensued for quite a while before we all went our separate ways.”
Adam McBride
