The OHAFC celebrated the 60th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Club with a magnificent black tie dinner at the Queen’s Club in west London on Friday evening. Ninety guests attended the occasion and were treated to a menu of prawn cocktail and fillet of beef, before awards were handed out, the traditional game of heads and tails was played and guest speaker Jim White of Sky Sports and Talksport Radio fame entertained those present with tales from his career.

The event, superbly organised by Paul Molloy and Fred Woolley, marked a triumphant return of the biennial dinner to the OHAFC calendar following a five-year absence due to Covid 19 and the Queen’s Club proved to be a perfect venue, the intimate dining room providing a stylish backdrop for the evening’s festivities.

Following drinks in the main bar, guests were seated and led through a footballing version of the Lord’s Prayer by Harrow School Lead Chaplain, and 1st XI football coach, Reverend Nic Tivey. OHAFC President Quentin Baker welcomed everyone and, following the excellent first two courses, introduced Chairman David Lederman to present the awards. 3rd XI skipper Joss Awdry was re-awarded the Jubilee Cup for his victory in last September’s Festiphil tournament. Joss was then back up on stage almost immediately: following a round of applause for the 2022 winner Will Payne, Joss was then presented with the 2023 Bert Worthy Young Player of the Year Award to mark the sterling work he has done with the 3s. Following an acknowledgement of 2022 winner Fraser McGuinness, 2nd XI stalwart Max Curry was then presented with the Charles Clover Brown Award for his superb years of service to the OHAFC, both on and off the field. Before a final, special award took place, Geoff Taunton-Collins being recognised for his magnificent nine years of 2nd XI captaincy - which has now come to an end - with a framed OHAFC shirt signed by many of the players he has skippered over the past decade.

It was then the turn of Arthur Dunn Cup winners Piers Bourke and Harry Hoffen to lead the guests through the Heads and Tails game with a magnum of champagne up for grabs for the winner. Harry managed to cajole the room into buying back in following a losing guess on several occasions, thus ensuring plenty of money was raised to help the Club. At the end of around a dozen flips of the coin, the final came down to Jennifer Wyn Evans against Alexi Pittalis, with the former guessing correctly much to John’s evident delight.

Deputy Head of Harrow School Stephen Harrison then proposed the Toast to the Club with an enjoyable and detailed look at some of the highlights from the OHAFC archives – each table was provided with a booklet detailing a historical timeline of the Club, lovingly prepared by Fred Woolley. It was wonderful to hear Stephen highlighting the continued backing of the OHAFC from a school perspective with links between the two as strong as they ever have been. The re-introduction of the fixture between the Beaks and the OHAFC was also mentioned, although Dr Harrison conveniently ignored the actual result when claiming the Beaks had won on Founders Day...

Talksport Radio host Jim White, the man most famous for turning Transfer Deadline Day into an event of almost national importance on Sky Sports, then took to the stage, delivering an interesting look back on his twenty years of sports journalism and providing stories about many footballers past and present. It was clear that Jim’s contact book is a treasure trove of superstars both sporting and non-sporting, with rumours later circulating that Rod Stewart had been in touch regarding an invitation to the 2026 Dinner!

The evening concluded with drinks in the bar and congratulations to the award winners. A selection of photos from the event are now available on OH Connect here with further photos due to be added shortly.

Many thanks to all who attended the evening and we look forward to welcoming you back in two years' time.