About six months ago I spent and hour [or two] researching my time at Clapham and COXA and put it to paper. What happened next has snowballed.
And this is where the "GETTING OLD" bit comes in... I wrote an article for the Website [which I found this morning] - the idea was to publish it to generate interest in the Clapham College Database - but it took off early and my article was "buried", this morning I've added it below along with stark figures of the numbers from each year who attended Clapham.

1897 to 1921 have come from the Attendance Book - where the names addresses and d.o.b were listed.

1922 to 1943 are only lists of names from another Old Clapham book - but few details.

1943 to the "closure" has been filled by COXA members contacting me and adding Pen Pictures [Laywers still sifting the Chairman's list!].

The database now stands at 4,300 names of boys who had attended Clapham College. If my calculations are correct I'm still about a thousand short.

I appreciate my chances of getting more details on 1934 and 1938 are remote - but I'm still searching.. I'm more hopeful on the "1940s" - ESPECIALLY 1948 and 1949 - COME ON - as Delia would say "lets be having you!!"..only SIX and 17!!

Then there's the gaps in the 1970s and 1980s.. you are all still out there.. what about Teachers and their REGISTERS.. please help!

If you have a look at the list below you can see where the gaps are I'd still appreciate more help - to fill those - if you want the full lists published on the Website [or sent to you - my email dmacdonald441@btinternet.com ]- just ask [then add to - or amend].

My Article
Scotty [Donald] Macdonald 1963 to 1972 - Since I left Clapham College in 1972 I thought I’d always remember my time there, it was not always a very happy place, looking back I was a little bemused by the education and some of the teachers, but the friends and laughs I thought would stay with me forever – I never questioned that – but over time one has to make an effort...
Clapham College 1970
My final years at Clapham in the 1970s were a really happy time, mixing with the teachers – being treated like adults, long hot summers& winters with proper snow, long hair, Levis, Rock Music, and “World Health Meetings” with the girl’s schools, life was sweet. Cecil Pocock became Headmaster, and he made me the School Captain; sitting A-Levels and planning for University became secondary goals compared to planning the School Disco, 1st XI football and Old Boys Football on Saturday afternoons. Ernie Larkin enticed me away from Clapham, the Nightingale, The Windmill and the Alex, and I was drawn to the Fellmongers Arms, the Temple Bar, the World Upside Down and Dun Cow around the Old Kent Road. There were occasional Heavy Rock nights in the Uplands Tavern or the Magdala in East Dulwich..... friends / parties and concerts at Colleges...
All this and my part-time early morning job at Marks & Spencer in Brixton led to thinking why leave London? The purchase of my first motor bike meant it was a London Uni for me, transport, p/t job, friends, music, Old Boys football.... why leave the place..
Clapham Friends
After 25 years of Clapham football, Tours, a thousand games of “Stop” and a multitude of social events, different Clubhouses [although none ever touched Norbury – the Mecca of post match events] and drinking holes, I retired into my family and work. The Chairman’s Lunch became my only contact with those friends from the 60s and 70s [well not really - both my brothers-in-law Kevin [Charlie] Bond and Richard [Tubby] Lucas, my best-man Mick [Blod] Grice and my neighbours Paul & Tim Hixson and John Boyd are all Clapham College boys], but I never thought I’d ever lose my Clapham “roots”.
Over the past decade I’ve been to the odd event at Norbury, most Chairman’s Lunches, done a few speeches, met up with the COXA Chelsea Supporters Wing [ Phil, Vic, Dave, Tom et al] and far too many funerals.... sad, so sad.
Then .........Clapham / Old Boys Legacy
So I decided as I moved into semi-retirement the Old Boys were bound to want a 61 year-old-voluntary worker ... and surprise, surprise I was right.... after the latest Remembrance Day Service a truly solemn, yet great COXA Event, I popped down to Norbury for the Hall of Fame Evening and am meeting up with Frank Barretta in December to plan something for the Chairman’s Lunch...
I have offered to help put together a “Legacy of the College and the Old Boys” so that someday soon anyone associated with Clapham can find information that they can relate to; information about friends and old classmates, possibly contact them again and meet up. I’d like ANY Clapham/COXA Memorabilia you have... photos are good, but information about yourself [see my pathetic attempt to construct my “Clapham Footprint”], tell me you Clapham stories, identify yourself by your House, your Years at Clapham [or with the Old Boys] – how you would like to be remembered then – what you are up to now [and where you are]. Add your profile to the Website – BE AT THE CHAIRMAN’S LUNCH IN JANUARY 2013 AT THE OVAL,
I have hundreds of Clapham & Old Boys stories – I am going to spend some time sorting out “fact” from “legend” where stories told over and over again [mainly prompted by Colin Garvey] have been hyped up to the point where I sometimes don’t recognise some of them myself!
WE’D REALLY like you to join in....
The true Legacy of the Old Boys lies with the 500-odd current active members – but if each of you has three contacts from SW12 [or County Road] – that quickly swells to 2000.
In the month of November this year, half a dozen old boys added something of interest to all / some of us on the Website... this needs to be more of us and then we need to interact with the Website .. even if it is to complaint ... at least we’ll know there is some life out there in “COXALAND”!
The Chairman’s Lunch – Building the “Clapham Bible/Encyclopaedia
We want everything you have on Clapham/COXA to fill the many gaps we have... many in the last 20 years... we need experiences.. photos and details .. so here goes...
Scotty [Donald] Macdonald - Canterbury “A” Clapham 1963/72 [Old Boys football 1969 to 1986]
1. Clapham College Memory – has to be the Terry Clegg “incident” in the Old Washrooms [nothing sexual] and Abercrombie at the School Disco.
2. COXA Memories [sorry every one is an essay] but I suppose Football Tours; being above reproach at “STOP” – careful Dave; Derek Rowe, Stan Miller & Eamon Taggart [R.I.P.], School 1st XI Cup Final Night at Norbury, scoring five times against Crusader Insurance, beating Sinjins 24-1 & Adeyans 2-1 [as we only had eight players], knowing Dave Leathem & Wilson Bowers [for different reasons]
3. Current Profile –Taught Geography, was Deputy Head at St Thomas the Apostle [for ten years] now semi-retired living in Beckenham, married for 37 years, watching my large family grow up. Still enjoy Rock Music [and going to concerts], following my beloved Aston Villa and meeting Old Boys.
4. Current COXA Contacts - As I stated earlier:- Chelsea “crew”, relations, John Boyd - we get drunk on whisky once a year in my hot-tub, Eric Tope, Bob James, Brian Sanders, Graham Hudson, Colin Garvey and Simon Cowdry at the monthly Mushroom Club Meetings.
5. Below is my pathetic effort at rebuilding “The Year of 1963” at Clapham
Time and old age has affected me more than I thought ......
a] Couldn’t remember more than 30 boys out of the 66 in my Year!
b] Couldn’t differentiate between “As” and “Alphas”
c] Only remembered the odd House they were in...
d] Cheated-used Prize Nite List –apologies for those with only initials [and the 10 missing souls]
The “As” 1963 The “Alphas” 1963
Bogdanowicz Premi Brett Tony
Boyd John Browne
Bransfield Maurice Cole J
Bryder Brian Corrigan K
Clarke [Nobby] Coughlin K
Cook Maurice Dippel Tadius
Evison Kenneth Dobing R
Fitzgerald Arthur Dolan K
Fitzsimmons Frank Evans J
Frasca Paul Goggarty Brian
Grace Gerald Grice Michael
Gregory Gary Guyatt P
Griseri Paul Hixson Paul
Haire Michael Jeffers Eamon
Hunter [Barry] Finbar Jones P
Kelly Tim Kearns Brendan
Macdonald [Scotty] Don King G
McGrath Mick Kirby J
Pozzoni Paul Larkin [Ernie] Larry
Nix Paul Manktelow Paul
Speight Danny Mansfield A
Vierier [S] McNama K
Wall Richard Morrissey Jimmy
Westcott Ross O'Shea Mick
Reid Jimmy
Roszcowski Mark
Siwecki Paul
Taggart Michael
Tehan Paul
Wloch George

Half Term - off to Ibiza this morning - Scotty

Out there somewhere are the old classmates who can help fill the gap left after the ravages of time...

Scotty