The Old Wellingtonian Society

The OW Office is situated at College and is run on a part-time basis by the Society's Secretary and Assistant Secretary. It is open 09.00am - 5.00pm on weekdays. Whilst enquiries of a genealogical nature can be undertaken, they must of necessity take second place to normal business, and may therefore not be immediately answered.

THE OLD WELLINGTONIAN SOCIETY was founded in 1890 to:-

• further the interests of Wellington College and its past and present members and, in the words of the Society's founder, to keep former pupils in touch with each other and with the school.
   
• maintain a Register of names of all who have passed through the College since 1859 and the addresses of all those alive.
   
• arrange reunions and other functions for Old Wellingtonians.

These aims are met by the Society undertaking the following principal tasks :-

• production of the Wellington Year Book each September, covering the activities both of the College and Old Wellingtonians for the previous academic year. The Year Book  is sent free to over 7,000 members of the OW Society and to all pupils and staff annually.
   
• maintenance of a computerised database giving details of all past members of College including teaching staff. This includes addresses where known. The OW office will release addresses to bona fide OW callers, but will not allow any access for commercial purposes.
   
• production of the Wellington College Register. This is published approximately every 10-12 years, the latest (11th) edition covering entrants up to the Summer of 1996. The index includes almost 20,000 names, plus biographies of all those believed to be still alive. Copies are available at £5.00 from the OW office, or £8.50 if posted to a UK address.
   
• the organisation and financial support of sporting activities for OWs. The Clubs and Societies have individual Secretaries for each sport. Activities include Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Squash, Tennis, Rackets and Real Tennis, Golf, Shooting and Sailing. Grants made by the Society for the various sports currently total £4,500 per annum.
   
• presentation of prizes to current Wellingtonians both for academic and sporting achievement, and medallions to those achieving success at sports at national level.
   
• organisation of various reunions at College, usually twice a year, and other social functions for Society members. This includes regional reunions, which the Society wishes to encourage and extend.
   
• organisation of reunions and functions in various countries abroad, by a country OW Representative who is generally a resident of long standing who can act as a point of contact and assistance for OWs arriving in that area.
   
• administration of Charitable Funds. The three principal funds are the Herbert OW Trust, mostly used to support OW parents paying school fees who have unexpectedly become financially straitened, whether their child is at Wellington or another school; the OW Society Charitable Trust, which maximises the prize funds available to the Society for distribution to current Wellingtonians, and the JL Bevir Memorial Fund, founded in 1928 in memory of the man who co-founded the OW Society and had an enormous influence on the College in its earlier years. This now generally supports newly-fledged OWs on enterprising and selfless activities, such as Gap year projects of all types, and overseas medical elective tours.
   
• support for College in providing assistance with fund-raising appeals.

The OW Society is run by a Committee of 24, plus ex-officio members, and the Committee represents all generations and includes three ex-members of the girls' House, Apsley.