| About the OGA |
| The Old Georgian Association (OGA) comprises of ex-students and
staff of the Laidlaw Memorial High School of St. George's Homes,
Ketti, Nilgiris District, Tamilnadu, India. The OGA is an
Association registered under the Tamilnadu Societies Registration
Act 1950. The Association envisions an active community of past students and staff of the school and fosters the exchange of information between the past students living in any part of the world. The OGA also strives to keep the bonds between the past -students and the old school fresh and active by encouraging regular re-unions in the school premises as well as elsewhere. The OGA is managed by an elected council of Office Bearers who take office for a two year term. Once in two years an election is held at the General Body meeting at school to elect the office bearers. The OGA maintains 3 bank accounts which hold the funds collected by the OGA from Life Memberships and Annual memberships. These funds are utilised by the Office bearers as per the dictates of the Executive Committee. Any ex-student of St. Georges is entitled to become a member of the OGA as are ex-Staff members of the old school. The prescribed application form for Life/Annual membership of the OGA can be viewed/downloaded by clicking here. Prospective OGA members are required to print out this form and have the same filled out and posted to the address provided therein along with membership fees by cheque/DD drawn in favour 'Old Georgian Association'. The current fees for Life membership is Rs. 2000.00 (Rupees Two thousand only) while the Annual membership fee is Rs. 300 per annum. The following persons at the School office will provide Old Georgians with any assistance regarding their membership: Ms. Hemalatha Wheatley or Ms. Leena They can be contacted on phone during office hours 0830hrs - 1630hrs IST on +91-(0)423 - 2518090 A brief history of the OGA: During the time of Principal Mr. E. Clarence Smith (1931-1937) old students of the school were encouraged to re-visit their alma mater - informal gatherings of old students were common during the Mr. Smith's time. However, it was only in 1941 that a formal Old Georgian Association was mooted under the then Principal Mr. M.A. Wynter Blyth (1941-1945) and Headmaster Mr. E.A. Hammick. The OGA had muted progress and generally served to invite old students to the school for the Annual Speech Day. This practice continued during the subsequent Principalships of Rev. C.F. Ash (1945-1957) as well as Mr. E.A. Hammick(1957-1976). During the tenure of Mr.Hammick, the OLD GEORGIAN ASSOCIATION was formally constituted with Mr.Hammick as its President and Sister Peggy Ricketts as the Secretary. All Old Georgians were invited by the School to the School during the SPEECH DAY, which normally fell in the first week of May. The Old Georgian Reunions were normally spread over three days, with Past vs. Present student games and athletics, entertainment programs performed by the present students for the past students, a SALE & FETE for children, and a Grand SOCIAL in the School Dining Hall. These Reunions normally wound down with a Chapel Service for Old Georgians at the School Chapel. From the year 1977, Mr.Walsh took over as the Principal of the School, the OGA ritual continued, albeit in a subdued manner. In the year 1981, Mr.Gardner succeeded Mr.Walsh and the school took on with a renewed vigour the mission to become the best school in the Nilgiris, in education, sports and games and in all other extra/co-curricular activities. There was a lull in OGA activity during the early years of Mr. Gardner's Principalship. Mr.Hammick relinquished office as the President of the OGA and Sister Peggy Ricketts became the President. In 1986, the OGA was formally wound up and the available funds were handed over to the school's foundation children fund. In 1989, the School celebrated its Platinum Jubilee (75 years) for which a large number of old students were invited. At the time a group of pre-1980 students visited Mr.Hammick in his house at GOMATHY in Ooty and invited him to come for a brief holiday to the South, which he gladly accepted. To co-memorate the visit of Mr. Hammick to Sivakasi G.Ashokan(1975), N.R.Krishnamoorthy Raja(1969), T.R.Thamilarasu(1976) and Babu Rajasabhai(1976) and Sattar Sait(1972) organised a Reunion of Old Georgians at Sivakasi on the 23rd and 24th of June 1990. It was at this re-union that a proposal was mooted to revive the Old Georgian movement with Mr.Hammick as the head of the new Georgian Association. Mr. Hammick declined the offer of Presidency of the OGA citing failing health and instead suggested that N.R.Krishnamurthy Raja be the new President. The new Georgian Association was named the Georgian Alumni Association (GAA) to differentiate it from the earlier Old Georgian Association. It was proposed to have one Reunion every year at a place agreed by the members. Old Georgians of Trivandrum, Rathna Shekhar, Lulu Thomas and Koshy Ninan came forward to host the next Reunion at Trivandrum in 1992 and the subsequent year the Reunion was organised by the Kottayam Georgians, Dr.Romesh Mani, P.A.Eapen, P.K.Elias, C.P.Poulose, Moti Jacob, Dr. Mathew Abraham, Bobby Bhaskar, Susy Thomas, Jagan Jacob and others. By the year 1993 under the continued Principalship of Mr. Gardner the School agreed to hold one Reunion every year and the first Reunion at School was held in 1993. At the General Body meeting held during that re-union all previous associations of Georgians were merged into one OLD GEORGIAN ASSOCIATION, in which N.R.Krishnamurthy Raja was to be President, G.Ashokan was to be Secretary while Lajupathie and John Zachariah were Vice Presidents & N.C.Neelakantan was the Treasurer. It was agreed that the Reunion at School should be in July every year on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the second week of July. An additional Offsite Reunion was also to be held every December. In keeping with this norm, re-unions were organised every year at school and offsite reunions were held in Pottapatti, Bangalore, Kutralam, Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore again, Coimbatore again, Calicut (Kozhikode) and most recently in Mysore. With the coming of the electronic age it has become possible for the OGA to keep its globally spread out flock informed of its activities, news from school and the activities of OGs all over the world through the OGA website - www.oldgeorgians.com and through the unique e-group through which Georgians in 15 countries stay in daily touch with each other via email. Any Georgian can and are encouraged to, register at the OGA website free of cost and become a part of the e-group by sending a blank mail to oldgeorgian-subscribe@yahoogroups.com |