Archive Updates

This page gives more detail about recent additions to our archives :

JANUARY  2025
Click here to see latest updates to our archive material.

AUGUST 2024
Thanks to fomer teacher Jonathan Hughes we now have the last missing edition of Acorn. 
A new set of photos around the Mansion just after closure from here.

DECEMBER 2023
Please click here for items and links relating to the late Tom Weston. 
Thanks to the kind permission given by Mrs Ann De Fleury, many reports and other school related documents and papers relating to her late husband Anthony De Fleury (OT301 - North) are now available to view from here. 

NOVEMBER 2023
Thanks to David Howell three new photos appear in the cricket gallery plus three more in the football gallery and two more in the Rugby Gallery

DECEMBER 2022
Thanks to Matt Stones we have been able to add several calenders and a later version of the prospectus  to our archive:
Also thanks to Matt we now have a fully searchable copy of Acorn 7 in the OWN and Acorn Library

JULY 2022
A new CCF photo from 1964 supplied by John Howard. 
Several new
CCF photos supplied by Steve Sarchet are now now in our CCF gallery
         + a copy of an articlal about Ottershaw from the "AIR Cadet" magazine from 1975.
Thanks to Richard Hawkins OT681 we have two new photos in our gallery. 
        a) is of the fountain in the mirror pond from 1964. 
        b) from the same year of the Mansion from the golf course.

MAY 2022
Thanks to Robin Whyte, we have now been able to add all the missing copies of OWN to our library so now there is a full set amounting to 7939 pages!

JANUARY 2022
Thanks to Malcolm Alison, we have now discovered the following items which are now in our Gazette achive:
    The Gazette number 1 and number 8.
    Newsletters number 6 ,   7,   8,   9  &  11,

 DECEMBER 2021
Thanks to George Hutton we now have several new items in our archive. They include:
    a)    An admission acceptance letter from Mr Dodds from 1967.
    b)    School fees bill and receipt from 1972.
    c)    A statement of a personal account from 1971.
    d)    A letter asking for parental consent for boy to join the CCF. 
    e)    A letter asking for consent to attend a CCF camp 1968.
George also supplied four images which appear here.

OCTOBER 2021
We discovered an RI exam paper from 1968

JULY 2021
Angus Palmer has supplied a copy of a letter from AE Foot to parents about improving handwriting which is now in our Administration archive section.

JUNE 2021
Lists of names from the 1953 and  1954 school photos have now been added to the gallery.
Peter White has supplied the 1959 school prospectus which can be viewed from here.
Alistair Newman-Chimed, a former pupil of Shiplake College has provided the score record for rugby matched played against Ottersahw School in the 1970s
Please click here to see the results - which are not very flattering for our home teams!

MAY 2021
Thanks to Malcom Alison we have been able to start to add material to the website archive from material whch has been stored on paper in the lofts of various members' for many many years. We have started with the following items but more will follow in due course. Click on items to view copies of the pictures or click on the galleries to see the items plus any descriptions:  If you can add any information about any of these items or name those in the photos please let us know.

Website page:                        Item to view:     
Athletics gallery             -    Glory moment for Malcolm Alison 1968.
Special events                  -    A new gallery of photos from the 50th anniversary 
CCF gallery                        -    NCOs in 1964
                                                   -    Names on the above photo
                                                   -   1) On army exercise in late 1960s 
                                                   -   2) On army exercise in late 1960s 
                                                   -   3) On army exercise in late 1960s 
Staff gallery                       -   Mr Curtis with unknown boy
                                                   -   Mr Burrow demonstrating on the potters wheel
                                                   -   Masters in the common room in the later 1960s
                                                   -   Ralph White with Tom Weston and others
Boys at School                 -  1)  Boys petition against closure
                                                  -  2)  Boys petition against closure
                                                  -  3)  Boys petition against closure
                                                  -   Sixteen Soc 1956
Soccer gallery                  -  Team from 1979
Other Activities             - 1) From open day 23 June 1979
                                                  - 2) From open day 23 June 1979
                                                  - 3) From open day 23 June 1979
Newspaper cuttings    -  Millionaire's mansion becomes a school
Admin documents        -  Letter from Mr Foot re pocket money
                                                  -  Pupil's pocket money book

APRIL 2021
Geoff Green has supplied a new photo of interhouse rugby from 1963 or 64.
It can be found  alongside other photos in our Rugby gallery  Can you name anyone in it?

Run like a Stag  - all images from the book can be viewed from here.

Bertie Bassett recently submitted a wealth of material which can be viewed from this link.
Items include photos of pupils at school, the grounds plus items made at school as well as
a range personal items and photos.

George Hutton  (OTT 26 West) has supplied 8 new photos which now appear our galleries:
2 photos  -   Boys at School
2 photos  -   CCF
4 photos   -  Gymnastics 

MARCH 2021
Martin Gosling has supplied a new photo of cricket players from around 1955 and
a photo of himself and Guy Bransbury after school at Mons Officer Cadet School

FEBRUARY 2021
From the  Anthony Delwiche archives we have now been able to publish a series of photos from the 2006 Families Day.
Soon we hope to include a few videos taken around the same time.

John Burrow has supplied three photos which now appear in our Old Boys and Music galleries.
Smokers from the 6th form in 1967 on the mansion roof. - Can you identify any of them?
John Burrow and Phl Atfield on a Swiss camping trip in 1968
The choir and orchestra in we think 1963 - can you help identify the people?

Steve Bennedik has provided several new items for our archive:
Summer Calendar from 1973:
Headmaster's letter to parents on confirming details for a new boy:
School Fees for 1969
Staff List from mid 1960s
Oh what a Lovely War programme
The Strong are Lonely programme
OSOBS Summer ball programme 1975
Revised Short history of Ottershaw Park
Soccer Fixtures 1971

OCTOBER 2020
Recently, Josh Lovegrove discovered his parents had kept a number of documents from his school days. These have now been reproduced in our new archve section of personal documents. We are also hoping to obtain more such documents soon from the family of another old boy who sadly died a few years ago.

Also added to our gallery are a few more photos the Mansion, the formal gardens, Cricket and athletics sections.

MAY 2020
The items below had been supplied by several people in around 2008,  (in the main by Neil Carter OT253 West and Mike Leggett OT493 East), for use in the book "Run Like a Stag". 
Much of the material submitted was never used in the book and sadly lay forgotton for many years.

In March 2020 we  rediscovered the existence of these "lost"  archives, and now with the kind permission of both Mike and Neil, have  made the material available for all to view.

In the main the archives are in the form of photos which have been added to several of the website galleries which are listed below.
There are also some documents, and some 8mm film footage shot on parents day in 1960:

You can visit the following sections to view the new photos, videos  and documents by using the links below:
Boys at school             Where several photos have been added - many with names but can you put names to others?
Classrooms                    New pictures of the teaching areas of the school
Formal gardens          This section now has several new pictures both in colour and black and white
Playing fields                Some new shots of the sports areas and the cricket pavillion
Aerial views                  Three new views of the Park from the air
The staff                          More pictures of those who taught us
Plays                                  Several more photos from school productions
The chapel                     Images of the old chapel which existed before the gym was built
Activities                        Here are new images in many of the sections from various sports as well as the CCF and Estate Work
Sports documents    Three selection lists for Rugby matches
Drama documents    More programmes from drama productions
Video1                             Colour film shot my Mike Leggett's father on parent's day in 1960, 
Video2                             Part of the same film but with added audio commentary by Mike.

We also hold a film report made in 1977 about the pending closure of the school. Click here for more.

If you are able to identify events or people in any of our archive material, please contact us at  itmanager@osobs.com

The aim is to include more photo archive material soon from "Run like a Stag".
Meanwhile  we are constantly looking for more material to add to the archive and ask for your help.
Please visit this page to see what is required.