Pocklington School held its annual Armistice Day service on Tuesday 11 November 2025 at the Memorial Pavilion, a landmark dedicated to Old Pocklingtonians who gave their lives in both world wars. This year’s ceremony attended by pupils, staff, OPs and guests, carried special significance, marking 70 years since the Pavilion was opened in 1955 and 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

Assistant Head, Gareth Hughes addressed the gathering, recalling the legacy of Sir Percy Simner, a former Head Boy, founder of the Old Pocklingtonian Association, and decorated First World War officer, who presided over the Pavilion’s dedication in 1955. The memorial appeal following the Second World War not only funded the Pavilion but also provided the school’s First XI cricket pitch. Today, the Pavilion remains a solemn tribute, housing the names of all Old Pocklingtonians who fell in service.

The ceremony also highlighted the enduring importance of remembrance beyond history. Gareth Hughes praised the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, which continues to support veterans and their families with rehabilitation and care. “Remembrance must include not only the past, but also the needs of the present,” he said.

This year’s observance introduced a major update to the school’s Rolls of Honour. Originally unveiled in 1921 with 49 names, the First World War roll grew to 59 by 1955, alongside a Second World War board listing 51 names. However, recent research revealed omissions and inaccuracies. A dedicated team comprising Old Pocklingtonian Richard George (74-81) and former staff members Stephen Elliott (84-88), Dr David Dyson (88-18), and Paul Bennett (04-21) spent considerable time and care examining archives, military records, and family testimonies. Their work identified 18 new names, including 13 from the First World War, four from the Second World War, and one from the Spanish Civil War. Two previously listed individuals were confirmed as survivors.

Among those newly commemorated is OP William McLellan. Earlier this year, his family contacted the school, hoping to confirm stories passed down through generations that William and his brother Donald had both attended Pocklington in the 1920s. They were researching their family history but had no firm records or photographs.

Thanks to the team mentioned above, they were able to confirm William and Donald’s dates of birth, find references in the Pocklingtonian to their time at the Scool, and locate William in the 1928 whole-school photograph. He attended from 1926 to 1929; his brother Donald from 1926 to 1930. Both William and his father had worked at Rowntree's in York before their respective wars – a quiet continuity interrupted by global conflict. After leaving Pocklington, William served in the Royal Navy in the early 1930s, aboard HMS Ramillies. He was a proud sailor and a keen boxer.

William was killed on 14 February 1941, aged 27, while serving aboard the SS Daldorch. He was wounded during an air attack over the North Sea, defending his ship. He was buried at sea and is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. His father had died in the First World War, serving with the Scots Greys, and after the retreat from Mons, was killed in September 1914 as the British Expeditionary Force began its advance towards the Aisne. McLellan’s grandson and his wife attended the service to hear William’s name read aloud for the first time.

The ceremony concluded with the reading of these names and the Pavilion’s enduring epitaph:

“You that live on mid English pastures green, remember us and think what might have been.”

ROLLS OF HONOUR — ADDITIONS AND SURVIVORS (2025)

FIRST WORLD WAR (1914–1919)
ADDITIONS:
Stanley Douglas ALLDRED
Osborn George de Courcy BALDWIN
Alfred Henry CHELL
Edward Hughes DODGSON
George IBBERSON
Robert Neville Caldecot MARSH (born at School)
William Edgar Forsaith Wood REES
Harry RUSSELL (Staff)

Richard Mark STUBBS
Robert Oakley Vavasour THORP (Staff)
Hugh MacDiarmid TURNBULL
Charles Guy WESTON
Charles Edward YOUNG

SURVIVORS (Previously included in the Roll):
John Cecil BURBIDGE
William Alec HOLLAND (Staff)

SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936–1939)
Edward George PETRIE

SECOND WORLD WAR (1939–1945)
ADDITIONS:
Gordon Alfred CHANDLER (Staff)
Peter Dennis MACKIE
William McLELLAN
Edward Derek THACKERAY