Old Princethorpians

Congratulations to Peter Scarisbrick Miller and Phillippa Watkins who are set to marry at Princethorpe this summer. Phillipa takes up the story.

We both attended Princethorpe College, Pete from 1999-2005 and Pippa from 2005-2009, we met through a mutual friend in 2008 and have been together ever since. Although there is only one year that we overlapped, there is one full school photo with both of us in it. It’s crazy to think that when that photograph was taken neither of us had any idea we would be getting married 13 years later!

Since leaving Princethorpe; Pete graduated from Coventry University with an MDes (Hons) in Industrial Product Design and Pippa graduated from the University of Lincoln with a BA (Hons) and Masters in Architecture.

We though that having our wedding ceremony at ‘Our Lady of the Angels’ at Princethorpe College would be a fitting tribute to the time where out paths first crossed. We will be getting married in June and following the ceremony we will be heading over to Dodford Manor to continue the celebrations. We are now regulars in the Princethorpe congregation and are thoroughly enjoying spending some time back at school. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Father Teddy for his time, support and guidance with our marriage preparations.

Currently we are living in Warwickshire, in a bungalow which we have just renovated and extended. Pippa is still working to become a Chartered Architect and Pete is the director of a company currently working in partnership with Jaguar Design.

You may remember we shared engagement congratulations to Ruth Dyke and Simon Magill in the Trinity 2017 edition of the Old Princethorpians' newsletter. We were delighted to hear from Ruth earlier this year and she takes up her wedding news below.

We got married on 28 May 2017 at Cotswold House in Chipping Campden. We had a beautiful ceremony followed by a reception in the grounds of the hotel, luckily the sun was shining all day! 

Simon and I originally met back in 2003 in Leamington Spa when I was 16 but lost touch. We met again through mutual friends of Princethorpe in 2010 due to his sporting connections to the College and we've been together ever since. 

Simon is a financial advisor and I am a food buyer at Daylesford Organic Farm. We're looking forward to our first wedding anniversary as we're due to welcome a little girl just a few weeks before!

Many congratulations again to Ruth and Simon - we can't wait to hear news of your new arrival! 

Congratulations go to OP Tom Mylott on his engagement news! Tom who left Princethorpe in 2007, recently started his own company and is a licensed Business Parter with Purplebricks. His wife-to-be Vicki Tattersall is a manager at Jaguar Land Rover. He continues his update below.

I attended Princethorpe between 2002 and 2007, and it's not just Princethorpe’s ethos and core values that helped shape my future, but also a school trip!

In 2007 I went on the rugby and hockey tour to South Africa. The culture and scenery were spectacular and I knew that one day I would return. It was during a returning trip here last November, while watching the sunset over Table Mountain, that Vicki agreed to be my wife.

Now back in the UK, we have since set our wedding date for November 2019, when we will be tying the knot in front of our friends and family at a rustic barn in the Cotswolds.

Lovely to hear that Princethorpe helped play a part in Tom’s engagement plans – we wish you all the best with your upcoming wedding plans!

We received some lovely news in January from OP John Naylor that he and his wife Tricia welcomed an early Christmas present back in December.

Ralph Diego Naylor was born on 20 December 2017 weighing 8lbs 3oz. John comments, "It was the perfect Christmas present and George (now 22 months old) seems a very proud brother... so far!"

John left Princethorpe in 2001 and now works as a Stockbroker and his wife Tricia is a Digital Content Creator.

Congratulations John, Tricia and George! 

OP Tommy Ames (who left Princethorpe in 2005) and his wife Maria welcomed a lovely early Valentine's gift on Tuesday 13 February 2018. 

At 10.06am, Archie Thomas Ames, weighing 8lbs 11oz was born to Tommy and Maria. Mummy and baby are doing well and Tommy comments, "we are both madly in love with Archie!". 

Congratulations to you both!  

It was with enormous sadness that we learned of the death of Fr John Mannion, in Galway, on Sunday 3 September 2017.

John Mannion arrived at Princethorpe in the early 1970s as a teacher and a newly-ordained MSC priest. He was a natural academic, a scholarly scientist and had keen senses of vocation and justice. There was little doubt that he had chosen to be ordained in order to make the world a better place and he was a great champion of those who were less fortunate.

He resonated immediately with the Sixth Form: possibly because they were nearer his own age, but also because the work included a good dose of academic rigour and he gave his lessons in the way of a university lecturer, which gave his students the taste of fast note-taking and the need to become independent learners. And yet for all his learned style and seriousness, he always had a twinkle in his eye and was happy to help anyone who didn’t understand or found the going tough. He also had an excellent sense of humour.

John left Princethorpe, as we did, in 1975. His first posting was to a comprehensive school in a deprived area of Liverpool, where he found the experience very hard. Many of the pupils didn't want to be at school and were very challenging. He then travelled to South America, possibly Nicaragua, to work with the local communities. John also visited Texas regularly, where he lived and worked for some time. He visited prisoners on death row and was very much against the death penalty, quoting the commandment, Thou shalt not kill. He returned to Ireland and eventually retired, but still said Mass daily for the nuns at a local convent.

John broke off his connections with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the 1980s, but latterly, in ill health, he was back in touch with members of his ordination year, and at his funeral members of the MSC Galway community were in attendance. John was last at Princethorpe for the Old Princethorpians’ summer supper in June 2015, marking 40 years since leaving and he kept in close touch with the Year of 1975, many of whom he had taught Biology.

Martin Holland OP (1968-75) writes: I met up again with John 30 years after we left Princethorpe. In June 2013 John spent a week with me at my house in the Swiss Alps. He had been a little unwell and I invited him out for some mountain air. I had some maintenance to do and the idea was that John would take it easy and rest in the sunshine whilst I worked, but he would have none of it and insisted on helping me with my DIY. When he arrived I noticed that his arms were virtually covered in blue and red marks which were one of the symptoms of his condition. By the end of the week his arms were virtually clear, so I think the mountain air and sunshine did the trick. During our week together we had lots of time to chat and I asked about his life after he left Princethorpe.

John was extremely kind and caring. He was never afraid to challenge the establishment, whether it was to save prisoners on death row or in deed to challenge things he disagreed with in the Church or in central government.

Alex Darkes OP (1968-75)

Picture shows John Mannion helping Martin Holland in Switzerland in 2013.

Old Princethorpians were sad to hear of the death of former Princethorpe College teacher and Fr Tom Hewitt MSC after a short illness. He was 71.

Born in Rugby, Fr Tom was inspired by the values of his family, a strong faith, a firm belief in all that is good in the English tradition, and a special love for the game that is named after his home town – as well the sport of cricket.

Having completed his secondary studies at Rugby School, he went to St Andrews University where he obtained an honours degree in Mathematics. After graduation he worked as a Maths and Physics teacher at Princethorpe. It was here that he heard the call to religious life and priesthood.

He entered the novitiate in 1970 in Moyne Park, Co. Galway, Ireland, and went on to study theology at Milltown Park, Dublin, where he acquired a Licentiate in Theology. During this time, he developed a love for long walks and bird watching. For Fr Tom holidays consisted of two weeks walking in the Highlands of Scotland regardless of the weather.

After Ordination Fr Tom returned to teaching at Princethorpe College then after two years he moved to a pastoral ministry in St Albans where he served for six years. He then volunteered for the MSC Missions and was appointed to South Africa where he ministered for ten years. 

In 1994 Fr Tom returned to England and after a short rest he took up parish ministry in St John the Baptist Parish in Tamworth. Despite a busy life in Tamworth, Fr Tom's love of learning continued, he studied for a second degree in English Literature with the Open University and later graduated with an MA from Heathrop College.

Fellow priest, Fr Charles Sweeney said, “Fr Tom strived to bring the presence of Christ to all, and through his gentle personality and caring ways he showed the loving and forgiving Christ that enabled the sick to come into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  We will all miss him, and his wonderful outlook on life.”

Just two days before his death, Fr Tom issued the following message, “Dear Friends, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the magnificent support you have shown me over the past six weeks; God has shown his love for me through you all.”

While many people will remember the gentle ways of Fr Tom, his love of sport was well-known and he could easily get carried away when his beloved England were involved, either in rugby or cricket. One Saturday afternoon Fr Tom was celebrating 5.00pm Mass at a convent and on the same evening England were playing Wales in the Six Nations rugby.

Fr Tom kept the Mass short and then asked the Sisters if he could watch the second half of the game in their community room. They agreed, and even took him supper on a tray. Unfortunately, when England scored an unexpected try, Fr Tom forgot about the tray of food and coffee on his lap and leapt up to celebrate - scattering food and drink everywhere!

The first to admit that he was not a practical man, he had a keen sense of humour and was always able to laugh at himself, telling many stories against himself and how he got things wrong.

Fr Sweeney added, “The expression of appreciation and thanks that have poured in since his death bear testimony to the great work that he has done in the parish. His smile, attention and care for each individual, his support for families in bereavement and for the sick and dying were for Fr Tom a powerful expression of God’s love and he will be remembered for his care in their time of need.”