OA Stories

Henry was paralysed from the top of the shoulders down in an accident whilst on holiday when he was just 17. In this OA Story, Trevor Llewelyn take him back to that day, and the incredible journey that he has been on since then. Not only did he find his own path to recovery, but he has gone on to become an inspirational public speaker, artist and author. Henry also discusses how setting routines and goals are key for him.You can view Henry's artwork and find out more about his two books, The Big Little Things and The Power in You, here.We apologise in advance for some blips in the sound quality of this film.

James Hutton-Mills followed his grandfather and father to Dulwich College and was the eldest brother of five to attend the College in the 1980s and 1990s. Here he speaks to OA Stories about his time as a student and a boarder before reflecting on both a successful twenty-five year career in the city and a recent renewable energy project he is developing back in Ghana, which he hopes will have a real and lasting impact on global climate change.

Adrian Brettle left the College in 1990 before achieving a first class honours degree from Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1994. He went on to gain a PhD in American History at the University of Virginia.Highly respected in his field of the American Civil War, Adrian has been widely published in conference papers, journals, books and across social media. He even has a museum exhibit in the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. Currently he is a lecturer at Arizona State University and has just published his first book titled ‘Colossal Ambitions: Confederate Planning for a Post War World’. In it he considers a future in which the Confederates were fighting not just to retain what they had but also to gain their future empire. It was received with extremely positive reviews …’the most unique work on the Confederacy to appear in many years. No other historian has so completely researched and presented the harrowing ways that Confederates envisioned their nation.In this OA Story, Adrian reflects on a career whose path did not immediately take him into academia and where he considers the opportunities and challenges in his post ‘Colossal Ambitions’ world. 

In todays OA Story, and part of our special Olympics Series, Trevor Llewelyn interviews Tom Farrell, former Chaplain at Dulwich College. Tom was a Harrier when he first represented Great Britain in Melbourne 1956 as a 400m hurdler. He then went to Rome in 1960 running the 800m and reaching the quarter-finals. In addition to his appearances at the Olympics, Tom represented England in the 440 yards hurdles at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and in 1960 set a British record of 51.0 seconds at the White City in an international match against Italy.Tom then went to his third  Olympic Games  in Munich 1972, this time as one of a team of eight chaplains  to be on hand to offer spiritual advice to competitors.Tom was the College Chaplain from 1974 through to 1981.

Emeka realised very early during his time at the College that his power, speed and agility could be put to good use having set a new sports day record in the discus in what he regards even now as ‘my first proper competition’. He had clearly found his forte and within a couple of years was the English Schools Under 15 title holder with a World Age Best for the Senior (2kg) discus next to his name.In 1997, Emeka became the first British athlete to win a gold medal in the discus event at European, Commonwealth, World or Olympic level when, on his last throw, he won the European U20 event in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Although at 21 the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney proved just beyond his grasp, four years later he achieved his place in Athens with a personal best of 64.93m.

Oliver will compete at the Paralympics between Wednesday 25 August and Sunday 29 August, and you can listen to an in depth interview with Oliver as part of our OA Stories podcast.Oliver was born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS), a condition that prevents Oliver weight bearing or straightening his left leg. After training to be an Architect for six years, Oliver took the decision to change direction and explore the limits of what was possible with his condition, as well as tackling the way people viewed disability.‘The biggest challenge was not my leg or the fact that I could not walk, but society’s perception of me and what I was capable of. Four years ago I was told I would never be an athlete, so if you are young and having a tough time: I get it, that was me too. I encourage you to dream big, make every moment count, and don’t listen when they tell you to ‘take it easy, play it safe’ ’.Having been challenged by a doctor to find a ‘real sport’ and not just the ‘Spartan’ obstacle course races he had been entering, Oliver took up wheelchair fencing, and within five months had represented Great Britain. In a very short space of time since then he has competed in seven World Cups, a European Championship and won a Bronze medal in the Team Epee in World Championships in Korea in 2019.Oliver will travel to Tokyo as one of four wheelchair athletes in the British team.

We turn the tables on our presenter Trevor Llewelyn OA, as the Master, Dr Joe Spence marks Trevor's retirement from the College after over 30 years with his very own OA Story, starting in 1972 as a pupil. His athletics career, which started at the College, and for which he still holds the record for the high jump of 2.07m, continued as he competed for Team GB at the Eight Nations Games in Tokyo, and represented Wales in the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, 1982, finally jumping a personal best of 2.20m on home turf in Crystal Palace. In 1987, Trevor returned to Dulwich to teach Geography, progressing to Head of Geography in 1988.

In 1978, Peter Hogan OA (1963-1970), was asked by Pete Townshend of The Who to set up and manage his Magic Bus bookshop in Richmond. So began a relationship with publishing that that has lasted over forty years. After a stint as commissioning editor for Townshend’s company Eel Pie Publishing, Peter worked as a press officer for Rough Trade Records during the early days of The Smiths. Later, as an author, he wrote about music and film for magazines such as Melody Maker, going on to write books about, amongst others, The Doors, Queen and Velvet Underground.In the late 1980s, Fleetway magazines spotted his talent and hired Peter as a comic book editor, although it was not long before he began to write his own scripts; in particular for 2000 AD, and then DC Comics.In 2011 he began work on a title (in collaboration with artist Steve Parkhouse) that after a decade, has brought him overnight success. His graphic novel series ‘Resident Alien’ tells the story of an alien who crash lands on Earth and passes himself off as a small town doctor. Peter is aware that his creation has ‘touched a nerve’ and that ‘the time was right for a change from aliens who wanted to invade, probe, or eat people (or all three), and that the world was more than ready to embrace a story where the alien is the guy that you are rooting for.’ There is no doubt that both the viewing public and Sky TV agree, as this low key, off kilter, fish out of water tale has just been commissioned for a second series.

Dulwich College has partnered with two young OAs - Alec Bannister (2005-2016) and Cam Henderson (2011-2016) - to help combat ‘holiday hunger’ in Southwark.The pandemic has had a devastating impact on children’s access to food. In London alone, 400,000 children currently face food insecurity, and right here on our doorstep in Southwark, increasing numbers of children are eligible for free school meals, leaving them vulnerable to holiday hunger outside of term time, during weekends and school holidays.  At a time when global communities are facing extraordinary challenges, Dulwich is committed to making a difference wherever they can, especially in the local community. Alec Bannister and Cam Henderson, inspired to help combat holiday hunger amongst children in Southwark, have launched an initiative to raise funds to support Kitchen Social: Take & Make Boxes, part of the Mayor’s Fund for London, to provide healthy recipe boxes to children during school holidays.Visit the JustGiving Page.