OC Day

Sunday 14th June saw the biggest OC Day in memory, with an estimated 800 people turning up to enjoy a glorious, sunny day packed with events, exhibitions and sports – and to witness the opening of the new Memorial Pavilion, renamed in honour of the 296 OCs who have, over the years, given their lives in the service of this country.

The day got off to a flying start, quite literally, with a stunning Red Arrows fly-by, which included Old Cranleighan Zane Sennett (2&3 South, 1994), now known as Red 2. Then it was on to some excellent matches between the OCs and current Cranleighans, in Netball, Hockey and Tennis – while the first round of the prestigious Cricketer Cup kicked off on Jubilee, with the Haileybury Hermits opting to open the batting, and the OCCC taking up their positions in the field as they set out on their quest to at least equal last year’s performance and make it to the final.

OCs gathered around the boundary, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the various exhibitions and attractions – the older guests enjoying the displays of times past, present and future; the younger guests headiong for the bouncy castles and ice-cream van – until lunch was declared at 1.00pm, and everyone headed for the lunch marquee, where the School’s catering team had done a sterling job at preparing enough Hog Roast to feed, if not the five thousand, at least 800 eager OCs! At which point it was clearly time to settle into position around the boundary, and watch as the contest hotted up – with the Haileybury Hermits finally all out for 186.

The Cricketers’ break for lunch heralded the start of the Opening Ceremony for the new Memorial Pavilion – with Mike Payne, Liaison Officer for the OC Society, introducing Dudley Couper, who has just taken up the post of President of the OC Society upon Vivian Cox’s sad death last month. After a few words thanking the Haileybury Hermits for agreeing to move the match to Cranleigh especially for OC Day; the Head, Guy Waller, for the School’s generosity in hosting the day; and the grounds staff for all their hard work in preparing such magnificent grounds, he in turn introduced Roger Knight, OBE to open the Pavilion.

As a former Housemaster of Loveday, Captain and President of the Surrey County Cricket Club and Chief Executive of MCC, Roger Knight was perfectly suited to the role – displaying his combined love of both Cranleigh School and Cricket in a speech that emphasised the importance of sport not only at school, but also afterwards, and which expressed his pleasure at seeing so many OCs continuing with their respective sports many years after they have left. The Memorial Pavilion is a shining example of this bond between current and old, representing as it does a unique effort between the School, the Cranleigh Foundation, the OC Society and a number of extremely generous individual OC benefactors, with the latter two between them contributing a remarkable £420,000 towards the project. The result is a Pavilion that will provide a spectacular focus for Cranleigh sports teams, ‘past’, present and future.

There then followed a wonderfully relaxed afternoon, with the Staff Dixie Band entertaining the crowds from the Pavilion balcony, and many OCs heading off to tour their old stomping grounds; to take a cooling dip in the outside pool; to meet up with old friends and acquaintances; or simply to kick back and relax, and enjoy what proved to be an incredibly exciting afternoon of OC cricket – spearheaded by OC and Kenyan international, Seren Waters, whose innings of 103 not out dominated a performance that concluded with the OCCC team leaving the field at 187-1, having won by 9 wickets.

All in all, a glorious day for all involved – and a new benchmark for OC Days to come!