Lorettonian Society

Those who know Clare know how passionate she is about Loretto. The School has always been a big part of her life as her late father, Major Charles Gordon Sherriff D.S.O. (1935), was a very proud OL. As soon as Clare was able to join Loretto in Sixth Form she followed in her father's footsteps and her two children, Amelia (15) and Hugo (7), are also now Lorettonians. Clare's friends at School soon became like family and she still speaks to many of them on a weekly basis. In fact, her three bridesmaids were all Old Lorettonians, as are her children’s godparents! Clare went on to study History of Modern Art and Design at Northumbria University, before completing a Diploma at Leiths School of Wine. She then worked in marketing for Jaguar Cars and as the account manager for Volkswagen UK with Global Advertising Agency DDB, before returning to her more creative side in 2008 by studying Interior Design at KLC. Following this Clare owned her own interior design business and, more recently, she has also studied Health Coaching.

Honorary Life Vice-President

Gavin G.C. McDowall (Hon)

Gavin McDowall was educated at Barnard Castle School and read Mechanical Sciences at Cambridge (Downing College). He worked with Metrovicks/AEI in Manchester then taught on the Isle of Wight for two years before joining Loretto in 1966 to teach Physics. He was House Tutor in Pinkie from 1967 until 1974 when he followed Chris Barclay Smith as Housemaster of School House until 1989, returning to Pinkie a visiting tutor until he retired from Loretto in 1996. He served in the CCF for 30 years (including 7 years as OC CCF) latterly being i/c RN Section and he was in charge of the sailing at Fisherrow for the same time. His involvement in the Musselburgh community has included serving as Chairman of Musselburgh Round Table, Commodore of Fisherrow YC for 7 years, President of the Old Musselburgh Club and is also on the Musselburgh Conservation Society committee. He was Secretary of the Lorettonian Society for twenty years from 1989-2009. In retirement he has visited most European countries in his campervan.

Chairman

Colin B. Davidson (1983)

Colin was educated at Lyford Cay School, Nassau, Bahamas and Loretto (1973-1983) and Westminster Hotel School, London (1983-1986). He was Head of Seton House and Editor of the Lorettonian magazine whilst at Loretto.He worked in various hotels in London before moving to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple where he stayed for 33 years. Initially he ran the catering at Middle Temple but for the last decade prior to his retirement in July 2021 he was the Director of Membership and Development. He also runs the administration on a dairy farm on Anglesey. In his spare time Colin enjoys motorboats, gardening and shooting as well as his 3 dogs.

Honorary Secretary

Charlie T.G. Craig (1987)

Charlie Craig was born in Dumbarton in 1968 and left Loretto in 1987 (Pinkie). He graduated (MA Hons) from Aberdeen University and spent the first 8 years of his career in Asia and London managing the outsourced recruitment operations for a global investment bank. Back in Scotland he talked his way into becoming the Operations Director of a successful craft brewery where he was responsible for all aspects of the business. He left there in 2011 and he now runs his own management consultancy advising SME’s on how to maximise their buying power and reduce their costs. Still trying to play cricket and tennis but now spends more time beside a hockey or rugby pitch, with his wife Fiona, supporting his daughter (who joined Loretto in the Third form in autumn 2015) and two sons.

Honorary Treasurer

Neil K. Robertson (1993)

Originally from Glasgow, Neil moved to the Middle East with his parents when he was 3, initially Bahrain, then Saudi and Dubai. Neil joined the Nippers as a boarder in 1983 and continued as a boarder at Loretto until 1993. He then went on to study at The University of the West of England at Bristol (UWE), however, dropped out as his chosen course was really quite dull…. Which is ironic, as he then went on to become an accountant. He now works in the City and lives in west London with his wife, three children and dog. In his spare time Neil enjoys cycling, skiing and golf.

Executive Committee

Jack J. Kelly (1982)

Jack left Loretto in 1982, having been at the School for ten years. Graduating from the University of St Andrews with a MA Honours in Economics, he joined Arthur Andersen’s London office in 1986. Articles as a Chartered Accountant followed, as did a two-year secondment to Australia and four-year secondment to Poland. Jack entered the national partnership of Arthur Andersen in 1998, and the worldwide partnership in 2001. Andersen, as it was then known, collapsed some eleven months later (no responsibility attributed) and he became a Partner with Deloitte. There he worked as an Audit Partner, then the National Quality & Risk Partner, and then a North & South Europe Quality & Risk Partner until his retirement in 2024. During this time Jack lived in London with his wife, Karen, and child, Maddie. He was Chairman of The Lorettonian Society’s London branch from 2007 until early 2025, when he retired to Scotland. Upon relinquishing this role, he was invited to join the Society’s Executive Committee - an offer which he was delighted to accept.Jack has connected with many OLs via social media, and regularly updates his year group and encourages them to participate in OL events. His experience in accounting, corporate governance, risk management and mentoring will be of huge benefit to the Society.

Neil C. Henderson (1984)

Originally from Elgin, Neil’s parents moved to India when he was eleven, which started his boarding school life at George Watson's before moving to Loretto in 1980. Neil was in Seton and left Loretto in 1984. On leaving the School, Neil moved initially to Winchester and has subsequently lived in various parts of East London and West Essex since 1987. Neil re-engaged with the School at Annual Dinners from 2009 and has been on the Executive Committee since 2013, regularly attending meetings and various social events in both Edinburgh and London. Neil is currently Director of HR at University of West London and has worked in Higher Education since 2002, having previously worked in local government and the Metropolitan Police. Neil was a keen rugby player and triathlete; nowadays, his pursuits are somewhat more leisurely such as fine wine, whisky, theatre, travelling, playing ‘at’ golf and swimming. Most of his spare time, though, is taken up being a father of four children aged 16 to 30.

Philip M. Cook (2003)

Having attended Loretto from 1998 - 2003, Philip was involved in many of the sports the school offered, including Rugby, Hockey, Cricket, Squash and Tennis. Due to this affiliation with the school, Philip maintains an interest in the schools sports development, in particular Cricket. Having attended Northumbria University studying a Foundation course in Design and Technology, Philip took up a role with the family business in transport and logistics, focusing mainly on sales and business development. It was from there he moved to London and started a career in Estate Agency, being exposed to both a domestic and multi-international client platform with dealings in property assets in excess of £50m. After 15 years Philip relocated back to Scotland with his family, continuing his profession remotely advising clients on their real estate interests in London.

Olivia A. Mackenzie (2013)

Olivia was born in Edinburgh and joined the Nippers before heading into the Senior School, leaving in 2013. Her three siblings (Eliza, Flora and Kit) also attended Loretto. Olivia made significant contributions to the School's sports teams, representing both the Hockey and Lacrosse first teams for four and three consecutive years. Alongside team sports, she also ran competitively for Edinburgh Athletics Club and Scotland and, in doing so, become the two-time winner of Bruce Cup for Athletics in 2012 and 2013, and made history by becoming the first female recipient of the Keith Geddes Award for Sportsmanship. After heading to Manchester for University, she moved to Sydney for three years where she continued to travel and start her career in Workplace Change Management. Now living in London, Olivia maintains strong ties with many of the friends she made at Loretto and continues to run for enjoyment.

Nico Sharkey (2018)

Nico thoroughly enjoyed his time at Loretto, with extracurricular activities playing a big part in his experience. He was Deputy Head of Hope House, played for the Pipe Band – including at Lords Cricket Ground – commanded a Watch in the CCF Navy section and played for the Rugby XV for a number of years, including during a tour to South Africa. Many of Nico’s long-term friends are his friends from School – he even lived with a few OLs after leaving! He hopes that, through the committee, he can help bring an even wider community back together. After leaving Loretto in Sixth Form, Nico went straight into the family business to obtain an IT Apprenticeship. He stayed there for four years before joining Baxters of Scotland. Here he undertakes a wide variety of tasks, including travelling across Europe to their sites and protecting against cyberattacks and other threats.

Central Committee

Keith D. Brodie (1966)

Keith has been on the Executive Committee since 2018. He is married with three children and six grandchildren, all mercifully living in Sydney. He retired from the position of Group HR Director of the News Corporation in Australia, for whom he worked in that position and as Company Secretary for 25 years. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he graduated from the University of Dundee with an LLB in 1970, before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland in 1973. He emigrated to Australia in 1978 and, since then, has been actively involved with sports administration. In 2000, he received the Australian Sports Medal for services to Australian hockey. He has been a director of various rugby league clubs in Australia as well as a director of the ACT Brumbies. He served as a rotating chairman of the National Rugby League Board for a number of years. He also has a keen interest in motor sports. Since retirement, he lives on a small farm about 80 miles south of Sydney. He is a volunteer bushfire fighter and was awarded the National Emergency Medal for work during the big fires in his district in 2019. In his own words, he is ‘living the dream as he advances with dignity to decrepitude’.

Douglas G. Coughtrie (1974)

Douglas has been secretary or chairman of the North East England branch for many years and is now chairman of the North and Midlands branch. He is a semi-retired primary teacher, living in Whitley Bay. When not growing dahlias and chrysanthemums on the allotment, he supply-teaches in local schools which brings him into contact with the full panoply of life in the North East. He occasionally bumps into the odd OL when out and about! Married to Sue, he has two sons, the eldest of whom, James (2001) was himself recently married. No grandchildren yet that he is aware of!

Peter M. Miller (1985)

Peter was born in Thurso, Caithness in 1967. Initially educated at Halkirk Primary School and Blairmore Preparatory School, he came to Loretto in 1980 where he was in Schoolhouse. After Loretto, Pete went to Napier College where he achieved his B. Eng. (Energy Engineering) in 1989. He then moved to Santa Barbara, California to surf and in 1993 moved to Ventura, California for “better surf” Pete married Helena in 1994 with daughter Sophia born in 1997 and son Liam born in 2002. Pete is currently managing companies in the transportation and electric vehicle business. When not surfing he enjoys good beer and good company!

Robert J.H. Rigg (1987)

Robert did the full 10 year ‘stretch’ at Loretto from 1977-87, finishing at Head of School House. He studied Economics at Cambridge picking up 3 Fives Blues and captaining the Stymies (2nd) Golf Team along the way. He did sufficient work (maybe too much!) to get a job as a currency trader in the City where he worked from 19991-2005, including spells in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. From ’05 he was based in Singapore and ran a number of businesses in the sport and live music space. He returned to the UK in 2017 and put down roots in Bath. Being child free he enjoys the luxury of weekends spent playing golf and reading the weekend papers over leisurely pub lunches.

Steve J. Tait (1991)

On leaving school in 1991, Steve joined the Royal Navy where he served both above and below the waves. In 2000 he moved to Hong Kong and became a consulting project manager in Hong Kong working for numerous consultancies and corporates in the technology, financial and insurance industries, with a focus on M&A, process alignment and managing complex programmes. He is a founding director of T8, a business administration and services provider that manages a number of large associations and sports clubs and helps smaller businesses setup or expand into Asia. A keen sportsman he is still known to play rugby for the Pirates and hockey for Valley. He became secretary of the Lorettonian Society in the Far East in 2001 or 02 it’s vague and involved a few beers. OL’s old and new are always welcome to get in touch when passing through. Steve lives on a houseboat in Hong Kong with his wife Sharon and children Kyle & Keira.

Gavin A. Hammon (1994)

Gavin lives in the East Village in Manhattan, New York. He has been living in the states for the last 11 years of which 5 were in Venice Beach, California. Currently he works in residential real estate sales for The Corcoran Group but also manages to work as an actor when the roles come in! He has a daughter Charlotte who is now 3 years old with his fiancee Andrea. Currently serving as secretary to Pete Miller in California, I have had the pleasure of catching up with some OL's that live nearby. I am glad to report that John Scott and Baz Preston are both doing very well.

Justus P.N.K. van Lare (2000)

Justus is a Construction Cost Consultant and works closely with Property Developers in the London Market. He works at Deloitte Real Estate and specialises in the Private Residential Sector. Justus worked in Edinburgh becoming a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in 2009 after graduating from Edinburgh Napier University in 2007. Not immune to the economic recession, he moved to the capital in 2011 and acknowledges he is now a Londoner… In January 2015 he married Monicka (nee Davey) in Melbourne Australia. His best man was Matthew Wight-Boycott (OL 2000), now a Squadron Leader in the RAF. He is in touch with a number of OLs predominately from his year group. Since leaving Loretto in 2000 he studied General Engineering at The University of Aberdeen and was actively involved in the Officer Training Corp representing the Army in Scotland on tours to Cyprus and getting Army Rugby Colours. In 2004 he decided Engineering was not the career for him and relocated to Edinburgh to study. He still enjoys sport and in 2013 represented RICS Matrics at the Surveyor 7s Rugby Festival in Richmond beating Jones Lang LaSalle in an exciting final that went to extra time.

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