Brackenber: 1956

Here is the Class of 1956 at Brackenber House School.

Malcolm Lennox kindly provided the photograph.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Dr Kevin Vaughan, a fellow pupil at Brackenber from 1953-59, has sent me the following information:

I recognise all the teachers except the lady at the end. Next to Mr Craig is Miss Rankin, then Miss McKeown, then Miss Gilbert. I think Miss Rankin's first name was Zena, not Zoe!

To the other side of Mr Craig is Norman Henry (I am two rows directly behind him, rather skinny!), then Ronnie Hunter, then Mr T P Sheehan, then Dennis Fergusson, then Mr Walmsley (spelling?) then Mr Williams who was an old boy who came to teach temporarily.

On the front row at one end is A W P Coutts, and at the other Smith, Anthony Malcomson, J A M Grant. I also recognise several of my contemporaries. After my parents moved to England, I spent my last year at Brackenber as a weekly boarder and spent the weekends with friends.

There was a small two bed dormitory where boys would occasionally stay. John Craig and Ronnie Hunter were the two masters who also lived on the premises and I got to know them both quite well.

One of my amusing memores of the school routine is that when they had finished eating lunch but before the boys where allowed to leave their seats, John Craig and Norman Henry would always get up, walk to one end of the dining hall and smoke a cigarette - it was always Mr Henry who offered Mr Craig a cigarette, never the other way round!

First published in January, 2010.

The Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava

When the 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava died in 1988 without issue, Clandeboye estate passed to his widow Serena Belinda (Lindy) Rosemary, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava (1941-2020).

The marquessate expired following the death of the 5th and last Marquess.

Lady Dufferin inherited a considerable fortune at the time, not least due to the Guinness connection.

She also inherited the beautiful Clandeboye Estate, near Bangor, County Down, and a London residence in Holland Park.

Clandeboye Estate comprises about 2,000 acres of prime Ulster woodland and gardens, making it one of the finest private country estates in Northern Ireland.

Lady Dufferin had a great passion the Arts, painting and conservation.

Clandeboye Golf Club has now become an integral part of the estate.

There is a memorial to the 1st Marquess in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.

I have written an article in April, 2009, entitled The Four Great Ulster Marquessates.

First published in August, 2009.  Dufferin arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Royal GCVO

20th November, 2017

The Queen has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following promotion in the Royal Victorian Order: 

GCVO

To be a Knight Grand Cross:

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM GCVO GBE

For Services to the Sovereign.

New Twitter Address

I have changed my Twitter address and display name to @timothyferres . 

Everything else is the same and business as usual.

Duke of Gloucester in Belfast

The Duke of Gloucester this afternoon opened the extension of the Somme Nursing Home, 121 Circular Road, Belfast, and was received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast (Mrs Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle CBE).

His Royal Highness later visited Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast, and was received by Colonel Mark Campbell CBE DL (Deputy Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast).

Prince Richard this evening attended the Festival of Remembrance Service at Waterfront Hall, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast.

New Dean of Belfast

The Board of Nomination has approved the nomination of the Venerable Stephen Forde, Archdeacon of Dalriada, in the diocese of Connor, to be appointed to the Deanery of the Cathedral Church of Saint Anne, Belfast, on the resignation of the Very Reverend John Mann.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Ven Stephen Forde, Rector of Larne and Inver with Glynn and Raloo, is a native of Rathfriland, County Down, and later lived in Downpatrick and attended Campbell College in Belfast.

He gained a degree in architecture at Edinburgh University before training in theology at the Church of Ireland Theology College, Dublin.

The Archdeacon was ordained in 1986 and was curate at St Mary's, Crumlin Road, Belfast, until 1989 when he was appointed Chaplain, or Dean of Residence, at the Queen's University of Belfast.

Furthermore, he was a minor canon of Belfast Cathedral, from 1989-91.

In 1995, he was appointed Rector of Booterstown and Mount Merrion in the diocese of Dublin, and during this time was Chaplain to UCD and Chaplain to Blackrock Clinic.

He returned to Connor in 1999 as Rector of Larne and Inver with Glynn and Raloo, and was appointed to the rural deanery of Carrickfergus in 2001.

The Archdeacon is married to Fiona, a staff nurse at Antrim Hospital. They have three children.

Potato Farls

Like Ulster potato bread or farls?

I devour it like nobody's business.

I came across this delightful video clip of Rosemary demonstrating how she makes it:-

Prince Charles in NI

THE PRINCE OF WALES is today visiting County Londonderry.

His Royal Highness is visiting Eglinton Community Centre and YMCA Londonderry to meet local residents, farmers and business owners affected by the flooding in August, and speak to volunteers, emergency services and officials assisting with clean-up efforts.

At Eglinton Community Centre HRH will meet local residents, some of whom remain in temporary housing, and the volunteers helping them to rebuild their homes.

Prince Charles will also speak with representatives from the emergency services, including local Police and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, and officials who continue to work on repairing the damage caused by the flooding.

The Eglinton Community Centre served as a place of refuge for those displaced by flooding and a coordination point for volunteers in the immediate aftermath of the storm.


HRH will then visit YMCA Londonderry, near Drumahoe, where he will meet representatives from the local farming community.

The Prince's Countryside Fund has partnered with Rural Support NI to offer Emergency Fund support to farm businesses in the area to assist with long-term recovery.

His Royal Highness will also speak with members of a multi-agency group who were also on standby for Storm Ophelia which struck Northern Ireland earlier this week.

The YMCA provides a valuable after-school programme and has a long tradition of offering team-based sports and fostering good community relations.

The Prince of Wales will view the YMCA's sports pitch, which was heavily damaged during the August flooding, and learn about the effect its loss has had on the local community.

Mount Stewart Visit

I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon at the National Trust's Mount Stewart estate on the Ards Peninsula, County Down.

My visit was timed to enable me to have a light lunch in the tearoom; and invariably I choose their soup.

The Bay Restaurant, as it's called, was doing good business, so I joined the queue and perused the chalkboard as I waited.

Potato and leek soup with wheaten bread was my choice.

It didn't seem to be seasoned much (which is fair enough), so I added adequate salt and pepper myself.

There was a sizeable boy or cub scout camp on the estate yesterday, by the way.

They had set up camp in the large overflow car-park field, at the far end.

After lunch I wandered in to the shop and had a quick look at the Christmas cards.

The Trust used to sell delightful cards which featured their big houses and parks, though I haven't been able to buy any like that for many years.

A pity, because nowadays I have to look elsewhere for my cards.

Thereafter I proceeded towards the Rose Garden and Dairy (both are closed for major restoration work), where I managed to catch an intriguing glance at the preparatory work in the garden.

Thence I walked through beautiful woodland, back to the mansion house gardens.

It's generally recognized that Mount Stewart has one of the finest gardens in the British Isles.

There's certainly still abundant autumnal colour in the flower-beds.

Before I motored home I went briefly into the charming village of Greyabbey.

Among other new shops, there's an Asian fusion kind of restaurant called "Tuk-Tuk", and they even have one of those Tuk-Tuk jalopies featured outside the porch.

Frieda the Warbler

Lately there have been several occasions when I've had visitors to Belmont GHQ and they missed me.

I happened to be upstairs at about 8pm last night when, on checking my emails, a pal advised me to check my door-bell.

Accordingly I went downstairs to the porch and depressed the button.

By Jove, NCS was right.

The door-bell or, to be more precise, the chimes weren't working.

There was a clicking noise coming from the chime box every time I pressed the door-bell button, though.

This morning I got to work (!), with step-ladder, cotton-bud, WD-40 oil and old cloth.

Now this contraption goes by the name of the Friedland Warbler Mark Two.

I proceeded to thump and agitate it; meddled with the spring and clapper, oiled it slightly; cleaned half a century of dust away.

It came to life again! The old girl is warbling away to her heart's content.

All visitors are forthwith apprised that there will be no need to thump the window or door.

Baron Carrickfergus in Belfast

THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, Baron Carrickfergus, has today paid a visit to Belfast.

His Royal Highness visited Inspire, a charity and social enterprise which fosters wellbeing in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

HRH met mental health counsellors and service users before officially opening the charity's new offices.

Prince William then travelled to the historic Titanic Quarter to see the work of Lagan Search and Rescue lifeboat service.

His Royal Highness watched a live demonstration of a rescue mission in the Abercorn basin - which involved the deployment of a lifeboat, quayside response and rescue swimmers - before meeting a number of the volunteers.

One of the helicopters from the recently established Northern Ireland Air Ambulance service was parked alongside the harbour.

This evening Prince William will attend a dinner of the Irish Guards Association (Ulster Branch).

Mobile-Friendly Blog

Following a prompt from Google, I have amended the blog settings to enable a more mobile-friendly appearance on mobile phones.

I hope those readers who tend to follow me on their smartphones will notice a difference.

I’m grateful to Google for bringing this feature to my attention.

ELIZABETH I

Her Majesty ELIZABETH I, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith

Heritage Weekend

Of course the European Heritage Open Days have been held this weekend.

I paid my first visit this morning - quite spontaneously in the sense that I only decided to go today - to the Old Museum Building, College Square North, Belfast.

Incidentally, an ancestor of mine once lived at 22 College Square North during the Victorian era.

This was my very first visit to the Old Museum.

The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society appears to have its GHQ here now.

One of the staff kindly gave me a tour and afterwards I took advantage of their half-price publications offer by purchasing The Architectural Heritage of Malone & Stranmillis, and Tollymore: The Story of an Irish Demesne.

During the afternoon I drove to Scrabo Tower, a memorial to Charles, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.

I bumped into an old National Trust volunteer pal, Ron, in the first floor exhibition room, where we had a very good chin-wag about local Trust affairs (!).

Afterwards I motored down the hill to St Mark's parish church, Newtownards, which has been beautifully restored.

The Stewarts, Marquesses of Londonderry were patrons and benefactors of St Mark's.

All in all, a more enjoyable day than I'd expected.

HMS Intrepid

HMS Intrepid (L11) docked at Limassol, Cyprus, 1987.

JAMES I

His Majesty JAMES I, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith

Prince Harry in NI

PRINCE HENRY OF WALES is today carrying out engagements in Northern Ireland.

HRH was welcomed by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mrs Joan Christie OBE.

His Royal Highness officially opened Northern Ireland Ambulance Service's new £5.6 million station, which combines Ballymena Ambulance Station and North Division Headquarters.

During the afternoon HRH will visit Belfast, where he will undertake a number of engagements, and hear about the Northern Ireland National Citizenship Service and the Amazing the Space programmes, which bring young people together who might otherwise not meet.

Prince Harry will later be among hundreds of guests at a garden party at Hillsborough Castle, County Down.

The event, which was attended by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last year, has been hosted annually by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 1984.

CHARLES I

His Majesty CHARLES I, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith

QUEEN ANNE

By the Grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.

First published in September, 2013.

GEORGE I

By the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.

First published in August, 2013.

New DL

The Earl of Caledon KCVO, Lord-Lieutenant of County Armagh, has been pleased to appoint:

Mrs Georgina WALSH
Annasamry
Summer Island
Loughgall
County Armagh

To be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County, her Commission bearing date the 25th July, 2017.

Lord-Lieutenant of the County

GEORGE II

By the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire

First published in August, 2013.

GEORGE III

By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith

First published in August, 2013.

GEORGE IV

By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith

First published in August, 2013.

VICTORIA

By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India

First published in August, 2013.

Baronscourt Fête

Hard to believe it was two years ago (June, 2015) that I travelled down to Baronscourt, the Duke of Abercorn's stately home in county Tyrone.

A summer fête was taking place within the grounds in order to raise funds for the Woodland Trust's Centenary Woods project, one of four flagship woods being created throughout the United Kingdom to mark the centenary of the 1st World War.

I began the day with a visit to Baronscourt House, where there were guided tours by Lord Anthony Hamilton, the Duke's brother.

I had earlier encountered the Duke and Duchess near the stately porte-cochère outside the house. 

Stable-yard entrance

Inside the mansion house, Lord Anthony conducted tours of the principal rooms, including the main hall, the Rotunda, the long gallery at the garden front (the present garden front used to be the entrance front).

There is a charming little children's play house (below) within the formal garden beside the House.

Baronscourt boasts an array of old masters, including portraits by van Dyke and Panini, to mention but a few.

Ducal arms

I reminisced with Lord Anthony about his period as custodian of Florence Court estate, County Fermanagh, during the late 1970s.

At lunch-time I made a beeline for the stable-yard tea-room, where ladies of Baroncourt parish were providing delicious cream teas, sandwiches, and pastries.

Later, I ambled towards a display of army trucks, including one mighty beast which had two bunk-beds behind the driver's seat.

At two o'clock, Peter Archdale conducted an informative woodland walk.

Deep in the woods, there is a replica of a Russian Dacha  (the Duchess is patron of the Pushkin Trust).

Dacha replica

Irish cobs

I left for home at about four-thirty.

First published in June, 2015

The Prince Henry

A photograph of my late father, Major Thomas Ferres TD, being presented to Field Marshal His late Royal Highness The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, KG KT KP GCB GCMG GCVO (1900-74).

Prince Henry was appointed Field Marshal in 1955, so this picture would have been taken at some time in the 50s or early 60s, I think. My father was a captain at the time.

Prince Henry was the third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and thus uncle to Elizabeth II.

He was appointed potential regent for his niece, when his brother (George VI) came to the throne in 1936, and was required to stay in the United Kingdom until she came of age in case her father died and she ascended the throne under age.

HRH served as the 11th Governor-General of Australia, from 1945-47.

At his death, Prince Henry was the last surviving Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick.

The Visiting Card

A gentleman's or lady's visiting card used to be de rigueur in the past; whereas even today, in the Internet Age, they survive in the form of a business card.

Traditionally, visiting cards have been in differing sizes for men and women and I gather that the classic man's size was 3" x 1½".

They were very simply laid out, with merely the name in the centre, often the address at the bottom left, and one's club to the bottom right.

I happen to think that they still serve a useful purpose.

Cognisant of this I searched the Internet for printers who specialize in such cards; and I discovered Blush Publishing, based in Flintshire.

Nobody in Northern Ireland seems to specialize in the kind of products that Blush sells.

I contacted two in County Down and might I suggest that they have a look at the Blush web pages.

They use heavy cotton paper and the cards are printed using the letterpress method with vintage Heidelberg presses.

I can apprise you that I am delighted with my new visiting cards, which is why I'm expressing my appreciation in this article.

EDWARD VII

By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India

First published in August, 2013.