Neville has sent in the following account which ODs of that generation will find interesting reading, and evoke some special memories.

Neville Walker matriculated from Ogilvie House 1960, and his brother, the historian, Michael Walker was also in Ogilvie House and matriculated in 1957. Charles Bothner, thinks Neville, was a border, a year behind him (actually School H, 1962).  Brian Rhodes, Frank Coley, and Jonny Myerscough were all at Bishops (details below).  Brian and Jonny are deceased and Frank Coley (1958G) has returned to Australia.

Neville writes:

"On Monday January 4th, 1965, I left Cape Town bound for Liverpool via Las Palmas on the SS South African Seafarer, a Passenger Cargo ship. Accompanying me were Charles Bothner (1962S) and Tony Farr (not an OD) who later became the Managing Director of Safmarine in 1989.

We were delegates from the University of Cape Town to a student conference in Helsinki, Finland. By coincident my brother Mike Walker (1957O) was the Assistant Purser on the Seafarer.

The event we were attending was the annual AIESEC conference. AIESEC, founded in 1948, is an international "youth-run" and led, non-governmental and not-for-profit entity that provides young people with business development internships. South Africa joined in 1958. 

The voyage was long, and uneventful the ship docking in Liverpool on Monday, 1st February. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for a subsequent voyage as the ship ran aground in a terrible winter storm about 50 metres off the Green Point Lighthouse on Friday, 1st July 1966.

As was the custom then, on arrival all Colonials headed to the Overseas Visitors Club in Earls Court. Here you could buy cold Castle Lager and Fosters. It was also here that I met up with Brian Rhodes (Brian Michael Rhodes died in London on 21 July 2011 after a long fight against a brain tumour. He was at Bishops from 1957-61).

Brian had just bought a used Bedford Dormobile campervan whom he named Henk, .

He was going with Jonny Myerscough (Bishops, 1961 Matric) and Frank Coley (1958G) on a skiing holiday in Austria. I asked if I could join them, and duly arranged to meet them in Kitzbuhel after I had attended the conference.

And so, on Tuesday March 16th 1965 my Continental adventure began. It would last until Monday, 31st May.  In Kitzbuhel the group was staying at a lodging called Haus Silesia. This was to be my last week of comfort, for once on the road Henk became our accommodation.

Coming from Cape Town I have never been any good at snow skiing. So, I was happy to be heading soon to the warmer climate in the south. Four sleeping in a van was a tight squeeze. However, Frank had to get back to London so on reaching Germany he left us.

Our route south went via Madrid and Barcelona. Henk was reliable up to a point. In Madrid the sliding door of the van fell off in the Plaza Major. The chaos that ensued was unforgettable. The Traffic policeman whistle in mouth jumped down from his stand and went ballistic. Brian calmly collected the door, and we were on our way leaving the chaos behind.

The highlight of the trip while there were still three of us was the Cote d’Azur. The weather was warm, the beaches inviting, even the pebble beach in Nice. At this stage Jonny left to return to London. Sadly, I would never meet up with him again. He was such an engaging personality.

Brian and I continued our journey via Central Spain to Portugal. After Gibraltar, Tossa del Mar on the Costa Brava, we tried our luck at the Monte Carlo casino. We were heading east to Athens which was to be my jumping off point. I had secured a 6-month student exchange program starting in June with Quantum Incorporated in Connecticut in the States.

The trip through Italy via the then republic of Yugoslavia was to follow. We ran out of petrol on the Italian and Yugoslavian border and entered pushing the van to the nearest town. It was here that I learnt the only two words I know in the Serbian language “Dubro Pivo” meaning good beer.

Rather than heading down the Dalmatian Coast we took the inland route via Belgrade, Zagreb, and Skopje enroute to Athens. Whoever had been taking the photographs had stopped taking them. Either that or I didn’t get them for my album.

Athens was my final stop. Brian retraced the route to Monte Carlo where Henk finally conked out and Brian abandoned it on the local tip.

In Athens we did the usual tourist things - Parthenon and so on. We meet up with a few lads from Bancroft, Zambia. One of them gave me his copy of D H Lawrence’s banned novel “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” as he felt I was too naïve and needed further education.

Returning to London via Thessaloniki, Stuttgart and Paris my journey ended on Saturday, May 30th.

An eye-opener for a learner traveller. Somewhere on the journey someone offered me LSD and I thanked him but replied that I had already exchanged my money. 

Lots still to learn. Bishop’s classical education doesn’t make you street smart."

ODs who have stories of their OD colleagues are welcome to send them in with a few photographs, to the school historian/archivist/ODA Dr Paul Murray.  [email protected]