Martin Williamson (2&3 South 1980, pictured) is the Chairman of the Old Cranleighan Society (OCS) as well as the School Archivist. Here he digs into the archives to show how Old Cranleighans (OCs) have given the School in the past. Today that support continues with the Society’s support of the Cranleigh Foundation.
Cranleigh’s old boys have been supporting the School since the earliest days and the Old Cranleighan Society continues to do so to this day.
Over the years this support has taken various forms. In the first few decades old boys contributed in small ways with endowments to a variety of buildings as well as providing much needed equipment.
The formation of the OC Society in 1898 led to more structured giving, the first example being the construction of the Merriman Block (now the MMS) in 1906. The School’s Golden Jubilee in 1915 was marked by the donation of the large field which is now known as Jubilee and Clare’s Oak. The Jubilee Memorial Pavilion, Library, Reading Room and Speech Hall followed in the 1920s. And so the list goes on, with the latest contributions being towards the funding of the refurbishment of the pavilion and the ‘Leaving’ war memorial outside the School Chapel.
Throughout Cranleigh’s history support has also been given to deserving individuals who would not have been able to come to the School. This has traditionally been in the form of individual assistance as well as dedicated endowment funds, but since the establishment of the Cranleigh Foundation in 2007 we have directed all out support to that. The links between OCs and the School are as strong as they have ever been.
On behalf of all OCs I wish every success to the Cranleigh Foundation Week.