Photograph by: Alan Routledge, Harmony Photographic, West Sussex  Tel: 01903 856200

Yes 388 turned up for the biggest reunion ever.  At least 13 were juniors when they attended the school, although many of us had no idea there had ever been a junior department at Tal Handaq.  More importantly, 25 of those who joined us were staff members and, most remarkable of all, 5 were headmasters.

The date had been agreed at the Bicester reunion when Rog Wilkin announced that we would meet again three years hence.  By October 2000, plans were in hand and the committee met before Christmas to set the wheels in motion.  By mid February 2001 the invitations were ready for dispatch and the jungle drums were already echoing around the globe.  With Rog still serving in the RAF, it was agreed to use the Officers' Mess at Colerne for the event.  Numbers grew and the proposed venue was moved to the Bristol University Air Squadron function room at Colerne, with a small marquee attached to the side.  As acceptances flooded in, it soon became clear that the venue could not accommodate the potential numbers.  The station commander was approached, the marquee company consulted, and it was agreed that the whole event should be relocated within a marquee inside the aircraft hangar (insulated from inclement weather).  The marquee could then be increased in size as numbers dictated.  Reunion plans gathered momentum!

Delighted by the enthusiasm with which our ever increasing membership greeted the news, committee members were faced with the awesome task of catering for the wide span of ages, tastes, music and accommodation requirements.  New members were being found and acceptances continued to roll in up to 24 hours before the event.

As so often happened in Tal Handaq years ago, committee banter resulted in a slight detour - 3,500 miles to be precise (see The 'Old School Bell' Project).  Committee members returned from Malta with the latest news of the school and photographs of the presentation on board HMS Illustrious in Grand Harbour.  Final plans for the reunion were nearing completion.  Only a week to go and the physical hard work, before enjoying the fruits of our labours.

By 1100 hours many guests, keen to make the most of the day, had already gathered in the hangar.  Those of us involved in the set-up were enthusiastically drawn into conversations over the collection of  photographs and memorabilia displayed on large notice boards in front of the reception area.   Press releases and photographs of 'The Old School Bell' presentation in Malta, together with photos and memorabilia collected by the committee over the years, were a source of amusement and comment.  Fashion through the ages, depicted by school sports and drama groups, as well as bathing belles, reflected the history of the school from 1947-1978.  Enthusiastic guests continued to add to the collection as they arrived by posting their own pictorial memories alongside those already displayed.

Contrary to the concerns of many of our newer members, the reception area soon became a hubbub of excited chatter and, regardless of their age or era at the school, they became enveloped in the aura that was 'Tal Handaq'.  It was clear that little changed over the three decades of school life, except perhaps the 'pop stars'.

To ease congestion at reception, colour coded badges were laid out alphabetically for easy recognition.  Some ladies were convinced they had been overlooked, until they remembered to search under their maiden names.  Those uncertain of recognising classmates waited in the wings until a long lost friend reached for their name tag, whereupon they moved forward, introduced themselves and stepped back in time.

By 1200 hours most of the guests had arrived.  The marquee, dressed with navy bunting spelling out 'RN School Tal Handaq, Malta 1947-1978', reverberated with the sound of laughter and the constant exchange of happy memories.  Headmasters and staff gathered in the 'Staff Room' where easy chairs had been set aside for their comfort.  Pupils who were brave enough to approach, were warmly welcomed and had no fear of punishment on this occasion.  As the Bucks Fizz flowed, the years unravelled and classmates regrouped.  In addition to re-establishing contacts with many old friends, new friendships which had sprung up from more recent Internet connections were also cemented.  Throughout the event, many found answers to questions which they have pondered over a number of years, like "Whatever happened to . . .?" or "I wonder where he/she is now?".  Others will have left with almost as many questions unanswered.

Lunch was served.  A longer queue than ever formed outside the canteen at Tal Handaq!  The headmasters and staff had to be escorted through the ranks to avoid them dying of starvation before reaching sustenance.  The combination of large numbers and groups engrossed in conversation added to logistical problems and extended the lunch service, for which we apologise.  This problem will be addressed for the next event.

Once all were very well fed and watered, Rog Wilkin called the committee together to face the crowds.  He attracted the attention of the gathering and attempted to put into words the feelings of the moment.  Rog will forgive me for saying that he could not begin to explain the pleasure felt by committee members as we looked out at the sea of friendly, smiling faces.  Each major reunion todate has been bigger than the one before; this time it exceded our wildest expectations.  As he said at the time: "It's all thanks to you - it's only because there are people like you out there, that we can make it happen".

Rog relayed the story of 'The Old School Bell' project.  Now successfully returned to 'Liceo Vassalli', the bell is proudly displayed in all its glory on a polished plynth in the headmaster's office.  He passed on the good wishes of the present headmaster, Ronnie Attard, and librarian, Michael Cassar and drew attention to the vase which they had presented to the Association.  Rog also launched an appeal fund, intended to raise money to cement the relationship with Liceo Vassalli.  Many of you may recall the marble tile of an anchor which was located in the floor of the entrance to the school hall.  We have expressed our interest in preserving the tile as a final memorial to the happy days of the RN School Tal Handaq, when the proposed rebuild takes place and all recognisable buildings are replaced.  The fund will provide for this work to be carried out, and any surplus will be used for a more tangeable education award for the new school.  Please contact a committee member if you wish to contribute.

Rog continued by expressing our delight at the number of staff, and particularly the number of headmasters, who had made the effort to join us for the reunion.  He took the risk of singling out those headmasters who were improperly dressed, and promptly presented them with 'old school ties'.  Captain Law (58/60, 70/74 & 76/78)
added his thanks, not only to all those who had travelled so far to make it such a memorable occasion, but also to the committee members, station commander and all the staff on site who had contributed to the success of the day.  Finally, despite the wide range of school years spanned by those present, everyone appreciated Rear Admiral Bellamy's (51/54) words when, as the oldest surviving headmaster of the Royal Naval School Tal Handaq, he added his own vote of thanks.

Indeed, on this occasion there were past pupils from every single year of the school's existence - 1946 right through to 1978.  Headmasters and staff represented every year from 1951.  Guests joined us from all four points of the UK, including: Fife - Scotland, Cardiff - South Wales, The Isle of White - Hampshire and Norwich - Norfolk, and also from Australia, Malta, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA and West Germany.

Once again, to record the happy event, we called upon the professional expertise of our very own photographer, Alan Routledge (61/64).  Gathering 388 people outside the hangar in a large orderly group and then separating staff and pupils was no easy task, even under the watchful eye of five headmasters.  With each reunion the photographer is required to climb ever higher in order to squeeze everyone into the frame.  On this occasion a ladder was used to gain access to the roof of the squadron administration block from where Alan conducted the photo call, trying with some difficulty to gain the attention of those who were still catching up with their news.  Once again he reminded the crowd, headmasters and staff included, that they should "pay attention and look intelligent".  Realising that he wasn't going to achieve either, he continued his task, not noticing the Tal Handaq schoolboy humour that had once again set in - his classmates had removed the ladder!!  Knowing the likely culprits, however, he immediately accused 'JACKSON' (61/64) and 'JAMIESON' (62/64) who sheepishly replaced his means of escape, the latter with a familiar grin. 

We would like to thank Alan, not only for his support on the day, but also his subsequent work distributing copies to all those who attended, within a week or two of the event.  It was suitably fitting that Alan should win one of the raffle prizes drawn during the course of the afternoon.  His prize was an aerial photograph of Tal Handaq, taken shortly after the 'Malta in the Millennium' reunion visit, courtesy of Keith Poulton (50/51).  And so the day continued, with memoribilia on sale, memories swapped and more raffle prizes won, including a Tal Handaq sweatshirt, a school plaque, an 'old school tie', a set of prints from John Lowe (61/65) sketches of The Mikado (1962 TH school production), Marsovin wine and a four pack of 'Simonds Farsons Cisk' among other items.

By late afternoon those not staying in the local area reluctantly began their extended farewells, with Commander Bellamy, like many others, determined to find and shake the hand of all those staff and pupils of his era.  Others gathered in front of a VDU to watch a recording of the 'Malta in the Millennium' reunion visit, courtesy of Sylvia Henley (62/63).  In the past reunion events have concluded at this point, with small groups moving off to local pubs or hotels.  On this occasion, however, an evening event with live music and supper ensured that many stayed on to make the most of a truly remarkable day.

As the musicians gathered, one of Rog Wilkin's students sat by the stage plucking away on a banjo.  Before long Keith Holmes (61/64), who seldom travels without his mandolin, was drawn to the sound.  Keith, keen to try the banjo, arranged a quick exchange of instruments and an impromptu melodic session was enjoyed by all those in the vicinity.  Then a full pop group, led by Rog Wilkin and ably supported by brother Lindsay (60/63), Colin Mustoe - husband of Janet Mears (60/62), and members of the Bristol University Air Squadron Band, took to the stage.  Suddenly the 'sounds of the 60s' filled the marquee, reverberating around the huge aircraft hangar and out into the still evening beyond.  The area in front of the stage was cleared and the chattering was replaced by jiving, twisting and shaking couples, encouraged by many who sang along to the well known lyrics from their teenage youth club years.

Finally, those of us caught up in the organisation and management of the day were grateful for an opportunity to spend a little more time with old classmates, tutors and even newfound friends.  Where had the day gone?  If some of our exchanges were brief, we are sure you will understand.  Forgive us - let's make them longer next time round.

An event of this magnitude would not have been possible without the support of numerous individuals, not all of them directly connected to the RN School Reunion Association.  We hope those on station who supported us, and were caught up in the excitement of the event, particularly the staff and students of the Bristol University Air Squadron, enjoyed it as much as we did.

We are indeed indebted to you all and we offer a huge vote of thanks to:

 • Squadron Leader P Woodley RAF – Officer Commanding Bristol University Air Squadron
 • The Staff, Students, Admin and Air Traffic Personnel of Bristol University Air Squadron
 • 21st Signals Regiment Officers’ Mess Staff
 • Warrant Officer E Jessell and the Catering Staff of 21st Signals Regiment
 • Mrs Carole Rowlands, Mess Manager of the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess
 • Sodexho Defence Contracts for the catering
 • Nic Mines of Mines Leisure Hire for the Marquee
 • Anne Wilkin (No1 Klingon) for the beautiful flowers and Tanya for her tireless help
 • HMS Flying Fox for the bunting
 • VT Aerospace
 • The Civil Aviation Authority
 • Main Gate Security Staff
 • HMS Sultan and HMS Illustrious for their part in the bell restoration project

and of course:
 • The Klingons for their patience, and
 • All former staff and students of the Royal Naval/Service Children’s School Tal Handaq for being there

In order to overcome long access delays due to large photographic images being published on this page, we are offering you the option of accessing the photographic images on the 'extra' REUNION photo pages and we will add to the photos as we receive copies.  We have scanned the REUNION 2001 photograph above in 3 sections, left, centre and right views, in the hope that you will be able to enlarge them to a reasonable degree.  In an effort to retain some 'quality' the photos may take time to load so choose your access time accordingly!!  If you wish to 'grab' any photo to be able to view off line on your own system, point at the centre of the picture, click your right mouse button and 'save as' a graphic file to your own hard drive.

• REUNION 2001 Photograph in sections
• Separate group photos of some of our attendees

ELECTRONIC LINKS

Our web pages were first published on the Internet in August 1997.  The Tal Handaq 'electronic fraternity' is now well established and the site can be found by most 'search engines'.  The numbers on-line continue to increase and now exceed 800.  The 2001 reunion spread the word even further and the alumni association totals 1650+ members.

JOIN US

NOTE: The form cannot be completed on-line.  You MUST block, go to FILE, cut & paste into your mail.  If you have any difficulty, contact me and I will mail the form to you.  Even more simply jot down the questions and just send a numbered 'e' mail of answers.