Come rain or shine, Commemoration Day, or ‘Commem’ as it is known, has been held at Sherborne School since 1878. The format of the day, an Abbey service followed by prize-giving, has remained largely unchanged ever since. We hope you enjoy this selection of documents and photographs from the School Archives of Commemoration Day at Sherborne School. For further information please contact the School Archivist
The first Commemoration Day was held at Sherborne School on 30 July 1878 at the instigation of Headmaster E.M. Young, seen here in 1878 with the (all male) teaching staff outside School House.
On Commemmoration Day in 1879 the newly-built School Room (BSR) was formally opened by the Earl of Shaftesbury.
The Carmen was sung for the first time at Commemoration Day in 1887.
The score was written by Director of Music L.N. Parker with words by Headmaster E.M. Young.
The 1889 Commem programme.
The tradition of boys wearing a button hole at Commem dates back to the 19th century. In 1889, Edward Dixon (a 1890) wrote ‘The Ballad of the Button Whole, or Sherborne Commemoration Lay.’
The 1891 Commem programme.
Commem speeches in the BSR on 25 June 1896. At this date the stage was at the north end of the BSR. The Headmaster F.B. Westcott is addressing the audience of parents and boys. Seated on the stage are masters and governors. Mrs Harper, the widow of the former Headmaster, was invited to Commem to unveil the Harper Memorial window in the School Chapel and can be seen on right of the stage using an ear trumpet.
Commem refreshments on the lawn in front of School House and the library, 1903. The female guests are sporting a fabulous array of hats and dresses.
Commem in the Big School Room (BSR) in 1904. Stay awake everyone!
Commem luncheon set out in a marquee in the Courts in 1905.
The 1918 Commem programme.
The Headmaster’s invitation to Commemoration Day 1923.
A Swedish drill display by the whole school was a long-standing tradition at Commem, as seen here in 1927.
The Swedish drill display in the Courts, Commem 1927.
In 1930, a Gramophone Recital was given at Commem in the Music School (now the Drama School).
The Swedish drill display by the whole school at Commem 1930. Before the BSR was extended to the south, parents were allowed to sit and view the proceedings from the roof of the Cloisters.
Parents and masters in their gowns in the Courts at Commem in the 1930s.
Parents enjoyed watching a diving competition at the School’s outdoor bath (now the site of the Pilkington Labs) at Commem in the 1930s.
The Swedish drill display by the whole school at Commem 1938.
PT display in the Courts at Commem 1938.
Bishops Lovett & Lunt, both Old Shirburnians, attended the Commem Abbey service in 1947.
The Commem dress code in 1948.
In 1950 Sherborne School celebrated its Quatercentenary with a special Commem. The guest speaker that year was His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the most Rev. Geoffrey Fisher, seen here with Headmaster A.R. Wallace and Headmaster-elect R.W. Powell.
Gym squad display in the Courts, Commem 1950.
Gym squad display in the Courts, Commem 1950.
The Old Shirburnian XI take to the field at Commem 1950. (left to right: J.R. Norris, R.F.S. Chignell, C. Bell, P.H. Wakely, J.S.W. Lush, A.E. Day, R. Eglington, M.R.G. Earls-Davis, M.S. Glennie, D.C.P.R. Jowett, R. Eglington)
The CCF band perform in the Courts at Commem 1950.
A CCF drill squad in the Courts at Commem 1950.
At Commem 1958 David Pegg (f 58) was dangled over the Upper from a Bristol Sycamore flown by his father Test Pilot Bill Pegg!
The guest speaker at Commem 1959 was Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein. Monty presented the School with a copy of his Memoirs (now in the School Archives), which he inscribed: ‘Presented to Sherborne School in the hopes that the boys of this great English public school may find in this book some principles which will be helpful to them. With my best wishes, and my hopes that Sherborne will continue to produce men of character who will be of real value to our nation at all times.
Montgomery of Alamein F.M. June 1959.’
Queuing for the Commem Abbey service in1961.
An art exhibition at Commem 1961.
A science display at Commem 1961.
Commem tea in 1961.
Enjoying the cricket match on the Upper at Commem 1961.
Preparation for the Lyon House tea at Commem 1965.
Lyon House boys enjoying the Commem tea, 1965.
At Commem 1979 the guest speaker was Sir Derman Christopherson (a 34) FRS, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Commem entertainment outside Abbots Acre in 1983.
Andrew Joly (m 84) enjoying some peace and quiet in the Courts on Commem Day in 1984.
Umbrellas were an essential accessory at Commem in 1984.
A (boy’s) guide to Commem dress taken from the 1989 Westcott House magazine.
Thankfully, the wet weather programme wasn’t necessary at Commem 1993.
Rupert Maclaren (e 95) entertained visitors with his bagpipes at Commem 1995.
1999 was wet….
Boys at the Commem Abbey Service in 2009
Leaving the Commem Abbey Service in 2009.
Boys enjoying Commem lunch in 2009.
Homeward bound after Commem 2009.
Setting out the chairs in the Courts under ominous clouds for Commem 2017.
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