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APPOINTMENT OF MANAGER
A/T Stubberfield T. (1952A) As I take up the reins as Manager of the September 49'ers
website, this would be an apt moment to pay tribute to George Millie, founder
and retiring Manager of the site. George
has made his endorsement in the message following this one and I thank him
for his kind words and trust he has placed in me. Whether or not I can live up to his expectations will only
become apparent after a goodly spell in the chair. Started as a place to record details and memories of his
own intake 49B (September 1949) the website has grown steadily to become a
treasury of articles recording Arborfield life as we experienced it, warts
and all. George worked alone to
gather photographs, documents and memories into one place for all those interested
in our history. The site is open to
all, free of charge and registration, a fact that has been noticed and commented
on by many. The quality and style of
presentation runs through the site from start to finish giving it an almost
corporate identity. Arborfield lads
have appreciated this and have been willing to make available their
memorabilia for inclusion in the pages.
Indeed, their articles now cover the time from the opening of the
school in 1939 to it's closure in 2004, a remarkable achievement by George. He has previously stated that the site
really belongs to all those who have contributed over the years and those who
regularly log on to keep up to date with new articles. That they do contribute and do log on is
in itself a great tribute to George. Twice in it's history the site has been lost from the
internet, once in questionable circumstances and once due to a hardware
failure at the host site. Everything
had been backed up safely but it was an enormous task each time to reload all
the material to the web. To do it
once was hard work. To do it twice
was sheer graft. Both times George
set about his task with determination and single mindedness, and completed
the work very speedily. Now health concerns have led to George standing down as
Manager, and I really feel for him.
To be cut off from something that has been a major interest in your
life takes some coming to terms with.
The withdrawal symptoms could be as bad as the stress of the job you
are leaving. So it's with some relief
and pleasure that I will have George sitting by my side as mentor and advisor
for a while yet. George, Marion and
the medicos will recognise when the time has come for George to step down
completely, and selfishly I hope that wont be too soon. To George, on behalf of so many Arborfield lads, I say
"Thanks George for all your hard work and dedication in creating the
September 49'ers, a remarkable archive of Arborfield life. Time now to enjoy some R&R with Marion
and your family, a retirement hard earned and richly deserved. Stand easy lad." Trevor STUBBERFIELD (52A) Published: 15th. December 2006
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