Remembrance Day 2022: We Will Remember Them

On Friday 11 November 2022, the whole School gathered in Worcester Cathedral for the Service of Remembrance; as ever, it was a profoundly moving and poignant occasion. We were delighted to welcome representatives from the OV and Hon OV community, including both serving and retired members of the Armed Forces. Our OV Club President, Julia Annable (née Simcock, Co 85-87) laid a wreath on behalf of all OVs, and prayers were led by Andrew Maund (Hon OV).

It was an honour for us to welcome OV Squadron Leader Rhianon Webb (née Lloyd, Br 92-99) for the day, who gave the address during the service. Speaking from the pulpit, Rhianon explored how remembrance is a living thing, focussing on Captain Lisa Head, a High-Threat Ammunition Technical Officer who lost her life in Afghanistan in 2011, and how we must never forget those who give their lives for their country. Following her address, 15 members of the current CCF then each stood in turn in their various places around the Cathedral to commemorate the 15 members of our Vigornian Community who died in action in 1902 or 1942.

Following the service, Rhianon joined Headmaster Gareth Doodes and OV guests in College Hall. As space is still limited in the Cathedral due to the ongoing roof repairs, we were only able to welcome a small number of OVs and Hon OVs to the service. It was, though, a lovely opportunity for the different generations of OVs to catch up, recognising what Remembrance Day means to them, especially for those OVs currently serving and retired, including Lt Cdr Ed Sutcliffe Royal Navy (Retired) (Cl 82-92).

While at King’s, Rhianon was an active member of the school community. She was not only in the CCF (RAF) section, but also represented the School in netball, was a member of the Archives Club and a Prefect. On leaving school, Rhianon went to Nottingham University, sponsored by the RAF, where she read French and German. She joined the RAF in February 2005 and has undertaken many roles since as an Air Operations Officer.

Rhianon’s work has been primarily with fast jets and support helicopters, interspersed with Headquarters roles. In addition, Rhianon was deployed to Afghanistan on three occasions: first as a Harrier Operations Officer, supporting the provision of close air support for ground troops, and then twice as a Mobile Air Operations Team Leader, providing advice on support helicopter operations to ground forces and managing helicopter landing sites across Helmand. Until recently, Rhianon was the Specialism Advisor for Air Operations personnel across the RAF. She is currently Assistant Chief of Staff in the Puma Helicopter Force Headquarters.

Having thoroughly enjoyed learning languages at King’s, and the opportunities and experiences that have presented themselves because of studying languages, Rhianon was keen to speak with current budding linguists in the School. She joined Head of French, Catharine Yates (Hon OV), in her classroom at the top of School House; as Catharine explains, “Rhianon spoke to Fifth Form Languages pupils about her time at university, the ongoing role of languages in her career and her sponsorship from the RAF. The pupils greatly appreciated her sharing her experiences.”

Rhianon then joined Diana Drew’s (Hon OV) Fifth Form linguists. Diana added, “Having taken part in exchanges at King’s and studied French and German at university, Rhianon was able to inspire Fifth Form linguists with accounts of how she had used her languages whilst in the Armed Forces. It was thrilling to hear her story of being dropped off by helicopter into a Moroccan Air Force base; because she was the French speaker, she was given the task of communicating with the Moroccans in the control tower of the air base!”

Head of Alumni and Business Development, Hannah Sparrey, then accompanied Rhianon on a tour of the School, starting with the Annett Building (or ‘New Block’), which was where Rhianon’s house, Bright, had been based when she was at King’s. Whilst there, Rhianon spoke with Andrew Swarbrick (Hon OV) about how she did maths GCSE a year early so she could go on to do further maths. Interestingly, although further maths is still a GCSE option, it is taken alongside maths, rather than being a GCSE taken early.

Visiting the Matthew Armstrong Library in School House, Rhianon caught up with Librarian Marion Capell (Hon OV) and discussed their joint love for singing. Rhianon recalled being in the School Choir and hiding in the full-length lockers when David Brookshaw (Hon OV and Former Head of Music) tried to round them up!

Walking around the ‘old’ sports hall and swimming pool, Rhianon commented on how familiar the whole site was, yet different at the same time. The Keyes Building, a new addition to the site since Rhianon’s time at King’s, impressed her immensely, the climbing wall in particular.

For lunch, Rhianon was joined by Sixth Formers Abi G and Zac C, who are both interested in a career in the military, as well as Head of Sixth Form Josh Hand (Cl 91-01) and Head of RAF CCF Rachel Roberts (Hon OV). Rhianon spoke with Abi and Zac about their current roles in the School’s CCF and their future plans. The students found speaking with Rhianon incredibly helpful as she gave advice on applications to the Armed Forces, including which experiences and skills to mention.

Rhianon added, “I thoroughly enjoyed coming back, seeing some familiar faces and being welcomed so warmly back into the King’s fold. I really enjoyed chatting to so many wonderful people in College Hall and around the school. Thank you to all who took the time to chat and good luck to Zac and Abi.”

Our many thanks indeed to Rhianon for generously giving so much time both to honour The Fallen and to support our future OVs.