A History of MTOBA

Compiled by Noel Wylie in conjunction with Denvir Drury in its Centenary year 1990

It appears that the original initiative for the creation of the Association came from the then Headmaster, the Reverend Canon Armour, when he invited a large number of Old Boys to luncheon on the occasion of a cricket match in July 1889 between an Eleven of Old Boys and the School Eleven. At this he proposed making the event an annual reunion and also that an Association of Old Boys should he formed. During the following months various moves were made and finally the Head summoned a further meeting which resulted in several resolutions, including the following:-

1. "That as from the 1st day of January 1890, an Association be formed consisting of former pupils of Merchant Taylors' School, Great Crosby."

4. "That the objects of the Society to be to form a bond of amity between former pupils of the School and masters of the Merchant Taylors' School, Great Crosby, and these objects to be effected by an annual reunion, and, if found practicable, the support of some charitable object to be hereafter determined."

At the first committee meeting it was resolved that "…the Rev. Canon Armour should be the President of the Society so long as he remains Headmaster of the School."

Thus the Association formally started its career on New Year's Day 1890, with some fifty members, and the inaugural dinner was held soon afterwards in Liverpool at the Bears Paw, on Saturday March 22nd 1890.

The first important event of note occurred in 1910 when the government of the School was transferred from the Merchant Taylors' Company to a local Board of Governors to which various organisations had the right to nominate members: county and district councils, Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool Universities and, most importantly from our point of view, this Association. In fact the influence of the Association on the Board has often been quite strong since frequently the representatives of other organisations have also been Old Crosbeians. The climax came in 1928 when H. E. Gardner, who had been the original Clerk to the Governors, became Chairman of the Governors, to he followed in 1957 by Ronnie Williams, and his three successors - Bob Thompson, Geoffrey Watmough and John Bebb, who is still serving.

Recruitment of new members was a matter of concern at regular intervals, particularly since Canon Armour's first two successors were rather less than enthusiastic in co-operating with the Association in this matter. It was really not until after the Second World War, when Mr. York was Headmaster, that matters improved after he nominated a master to act as Liaison officer with the Committee, and from that time onwards facilities were freely given for officers of the O.B.A. to talk to senior boys and explain the advantages both for them and the School of joining the Association. A strong and dedicated O.B.A. is one of the best allies that any school can have and this can clearly be seen in the striking contribution in support of the School in the last forty years.

After both World Wars much of the business of the Committee was concerned with War Memorial Funds: that after the second war consisted of the Book of Remembrance inside the main entrance to the School and later in the Memorial Gymnasium project. In 1953 an Endowment Fund was formed into which the Memorial Fund was merged, and this later became known as the Friends of Merchant Taylors'. Subsequently, in 1983, a Charitable Trust was formed which has been of enormous advantage to the School.

In the late sixties and early seventies the Association's own financial situation became a matter of prime concern, finally threatening to end it's very existence. As a consequence of inflation, the old system of Life Membership was yielding a totally inadequate income and had to be replaced by Annual Membership and subscriptions at a more realistic level. One result of this has been that in 1977 a contribution was made to the Scholarship Fund of the School, and in 1978 and in subsequent years further support has been given in the way of Bursaries.

On the social side, right from the very beginning, the annual Dinner in Crosby or Liverpool must be considered the chief event. In the 1920's and 1930's smoking concerts were very popular and later dances which became a regular annual event from 1947 to 1969; in 1970 to mark the School's 350th anniversary a May Ball was organised and this continued annually until 1979.

Another significant facet of the progressive development of the Association was the formation of local branches in other parts of the country after the Second War. The first proposed was for London, but the promoters found inadequate support in 1948. However, the London Dinner was successfully launched in 1952 and has been a regular event since then. In 1953 a branch was formed in Edinburgh which has also seen an unbroken series of dinners up to date. A West of England branch dinner was held in Gloucester in 1955 and in Bristol in 1950 and 1957 and in Cheltenham in 1963. After a lapse this branch was then revived in 1982 in Exeter and successful dinners have taken place there annually since. In 1958 a branch started to cover Yorkshire and the North-East and that too had an interrupted career. In 1963 a Midlands branch started and dinners have been held intermittently at different centres. Following a campaign in 1982 an inaugural dinner was held al Llangollen, and dinners were revived in the Midlands (Birmingham), West Country (Exeter) and in Oxford and Cambridge and more recently in Cumbria. This desire to renew old friendships has not been limited to this country, since there are an increasing number of members scattered across the world. There have been functions held in Canada and the United States since the seventies and more recently in both Western and Eastern Australia and New Zealand, with the latest activity in Hong Kong.

A pleasing development in recent years has been the links that have been forged with the Old Boys Associations of the two other schools associated with the Merchant Taylors' Company. Firstly in London with the OMTs at Northwood and secondly with the Old Wulfrunians of Wolverhampton Grammar School. This has extended from attendance at one another's social functions to a regular programme of various sporting fixtures.

Sporting activities have always been part of the programme of the Association. Cricket should perhaps take pride of place since the inauguration of the O.B.A. took place on the day of a cricket match against the School and that match has been an important and regular feature ever since. Next comes tennis, for the Tennis Tournament was a major, weeklong, event from the start and continued after the First World War until 1931. II is probable that the Camels' Cricket Week, which started in 1928, was responsible for this demise. An attempt to restart the Tournament in 1947 proved impracticable: however, regular matches have been held against the School throughout this lime

The Golf Tournament began in 1908, was played (except for 1910) until 1914 when the war stopped it, revived in 1924 and has been played regularly thereafter.

Rugby matches against the School have been played annually for as long as most of us can remember, and in recent years matches both at rugby and cricket have been arranged against the OMTs of Northwood.

February 1990

A History of MTOBA

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