Indefatigable Old Boys, How Patrick Purser formed an Association
You can find other articles on the Purser extracts in the Anglesey Informer index below this article.
I realised there was something missing about the Indefatigable which set it apart from other schools. There was no association which boys could join after leaving to enable them to keep in touch with their ‘alma mater’, and with their schoolmates.
Once they had left, the school seemed to lose interest and wash its hands of them completely. Unless they bothered to visit us, we never learned how successful, or otherwise, our influence over them had been.
This state of affairs I thought was deplorable and suggested to Bob that we should start an Indefatigable Old Boys Association. Neither he, the Governors nor the staff were impressed with my idea, thinking it a waste of time.
However, after many months I was finally given the ‘go ahead’ to try and set up such an organisation. I received no encouragement or support from anyone save for a personal £100 loan from Bob himself.
I wrote a short article for the “Sea Breezes” magazine and put advertisements in the local and regional press and on the Merseyside radio, calling on any Indefatigable old boys to contact me at the school.
Now you can keep up with the latest news and articles by subscribing to our free Anglesey Today Newsletter. Just complete the simple form below. It's as easy as 1-2-3! Very slowly I began to get replies from middle aged and elderly men who fondly remembered their days at ‘Indie’ and would be delighted to help in the formation of such an association.
With this positive response I wrote back and informed each of them that an initial meeting would be held at the school at the end of Prize Day in 1983.
They would be welcome to attend the festivities and an evening buffet supper would be provided by the school. A Chairman was appointed. And an annual subscription of £6 was agreed. Meanwhile I had written up a Constitution, with the approval of the school solicitor. This I presented to the meeting, and it was formally accepted. I retained the offices of Secretary/Treasurer and editor of any future newsletter which might be produced. So successful was the recruitment that within twelve months I was able to repay Bob’s loan, and within a few years, the membership had risen to over two hundred. The bi-annual newsletter had developed from a couple of foolscap sheets produced on the school Gestetner, to a professionally printed magazine with coloured photographs and illustrated cover. Our Annual General Meetings took place after Prize Day when an outside caterer would provide a superb buffet meal. From the very start wives were encouraged to take part, and their efforts in running ‘bring and buy’ sales, raffles and the like produced some very welcome revenue! Many boys, or their parents on their behalf, engraved and inscribed souvenirs, and these were sold to the members. I felt proud of my ‘creation’ which had flourished despite the scepticism! The raison d’être of the OBA, as it was now called, was centred around the school and its activities; to give financial assistance when asked. To this end the Indefatigable Old Boys, over the years, made donations for specific projects - a bicycle shed - library books - a £600 annual bursary, and many more, to the tune of several thousand pounds. It was the Indefatigable Old Boys who took the ship’s crumbling figurehead to Liverpool and completely rebuilt it, with the intention of returning it to the school. Alas, when ‘Indefatigable’ was forced to close down the figurehead, now in pristine condition, was presented to the Liverpool Maritime Museum at the Albert Dock, where it now proudly stands outside the restaurant. We hope you enjoyed this latest extract of from The Indefatigable Years, 1977-1991. Related Articles: Indefatigable Years, 1977-1991,
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