We are currently undertaking to clean up the War Memorial on the grounds of St. Helens House. It now needs some attention, and your committee has adopted this as a project for 2024.

Clearly, there is a cost to this and we will be asking ODs new and old for a donation towards the cost which we hope you will feel able to give.

A newsletter, the contents of which are reproduced below, will be circulated shortly giving details of how you can donate, meanwhile if you need further information please contact our treasurer David at treasurer@oldderbeians.co.uk

Hello once again from your Old Derbeian Society, we hope this newsletter finds you healthy.

Many of you will know that the war memorial stands on the grounds of St. Helens House and has done so for many years. It is a legacy to the Old Derbeians who fell in the two World Wars and serves as a place to remember them at remembrance services and for visitors to the house.

The memorial was first in place at St Helens House and dedicated on 11th November 1921. It was removed to the new school at Moorway Lane in September 1966 and re-erected at St. Helens House in March 1991, where it stands today.

As with all old edifices, it is looking its age and is in real need of a facelift if it is to continue as this centrepiece in the grounds. As such your committee has decided to undertake a cleaning project for the memorial and also at the same time to add two names which were missed when the memorial was commissioned.

Of course, there is a cost to this project, and we are asking ODs, old and new, to consider a donation towards the cost. Our best quotation for the work is approximately £1600, which we feel is within the realms of what we can afford to pay with the help of our members.

I therefore appeal to your generosity to donate what you can to this appeal and help us to secure the legacy for many more years to come.

You can donate by bank transfer to the society account below, or send a cheque to our treasurer David, Zydzienowski at the address below.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and for considering donating.

Best wishes,

Alan Draper 1957/62
President.

Bank transfer to:
Royal Bank of Scotland
Old Derbeian Society
Sort code: 12-09-26
Account No: 00635202

Ref: Memorial Donation

Cheques to:
The Treasurer
Old Derbeian Society
The Corner House
59A Hall Farm Road
Duffield
Derbyshire DE56 4FJ

We said late last year that we were working on bringing the archives to be more redily accessed and available to all members. Well our archivist, Maurice Cass, has worked tirelessly to achive our aim and we have now posted the first of the links on this site at https://www.oldderbeians.co.uk/current-archives/

We are now working on further content and organising photos to be more easily available so watch this space.