Our 2026 Annual Lunch will be held at The Red Cow Allestree, DE22 2DZ at 12.30pm on Sunday 8th November 2026 following our remembrance service.
If you are attending and wish to order your menu choices for both you and your guests please complete the form at this link:
A full menu is attached to the form.
We really do wish all those who can attend will do so as we would love to see you there.
"Visiting Bletchley Park was a truly enlightening experience. Walking through the halls where history was made gave me chills. The exhibits are incredibly well-curated and offer a deep dive into the world of codebreaking."
Emily R.
"A must-visit for anyone interested in history or technology. The stories of the codebreakers are inspiring, and the interactive displays kept us engaged for hours. I left with a newfound appreciation for the unsung heroes of WWII."
James L.
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
A group of Old Derbeians recently went to Ypres to dedicate our plaque in St George's Chapel. We also visited some of the graves of ODs who fell in the Great War.
Please see our short video below. Thank you.
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.
All members will soon be able to access all the archive materials painstakingly stored and digitised by our archivists over the past years. From old class photographs to historical articles and so much more, you will be able to immerse yourself in material relating to days gone by.
Further information on how you can gain access to the archives will be posted shortly.
The 47ers met again this year on 21st July at their usual venue The Georgian Hotel in Friargate, Derby. It was a remarkable meeting because it marked 75 years (three-quarters of a century!) since they first met as second formers in 1947.
Those attending from the left in the photograph were:
Viv Andrew, Brian Moult, John Wilkinson, Dave White, Russ Jones, Eddie Hunt, Peter Smedley and Godfrey Webster.
It was a memorable meeting and we agreed to meet again in 2023.
Russ Jones (1947 - 55)
It is with deep sadness that we post the passing of Roger Bate - Old Derbeian 1957-1964. Roger had been battling with cancer for about 2 years and passed away this morning at 9am Tuesday 17th March 2026. RIP
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Please place the event in your diary and either join us in person or via MS Teams on the link above. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
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