The group in the Forum with their student tour guide

Alumni celebrate 40 year reunion back on campus

A group of Exeter alumni returned to campus last week to celebrate 40 years since graduation.

The reunion was organised by two alumni, Hilary Thomson (English, 1978) and Douglas Maccabe (Economics and Economic History, 1978), part of a closeknit group who have kept in touch since graduation.

The group, who knew each other from Exeter not just through classes, but halls of residence, house sharing and rugby playing, took a tour of campus with current student Callista as part of their get-together. Some hadn’t been back in 15+ years and were surprised how much campus had changed.

Penny Crouch (Law, 1978) who helped organise the tour said: “We had our reunion in Topsham as a number of us lived there for the second and third years, and we had dinner in a private room in the Salutation which was one of our old haunts (so much so that I have a photo of us giving the landlord and his wife a card and some flowers when we left!). 

“It was great to be back on campus. While much remains the same, I think the biggest change is the openness that we had on campus has gone. For example, you then could see from outside the Great Hall right across to Cornwall House and Lafrowda, and the Amory Building but now the trees have grown so much you can’t any longer. And of course there was no building between Mardon and Birks – just green open space!”

The group of friends all meet up regularly in smaller groups, including catching up with classmates in Australia, the USA, Kenya and China. This time back in Exeter with their partners/spouses were:

• Penny Crouch née Curtis (Law, 1978)
• Tessa Griffiths née Keefe (French, 1978)
• Philip Lawrence (Law, 1978)
• Russell Lynch (Russian, 1978)
• Douglas Maccabe (Economics and Economic History, 1978)
• Rob Mankiewitz (Accountancy, 1978)
• Ian Thomson (Law, 1978)
• Hilary Thomson née Butler (English, 1978)
• Philip Walsh (Law, 1977)
• Colin Wilson (Economic History, 1978)

The group on their tour in the Forum and outside Reed Hall

Date: 12 October 2018