A History of Giving
Philanthropy throughout our History
Archivist (Atkinson, 2012-2017)
As someone once said, “you may leave school, but it never leaves you”; which is very true of Mill Hill, but not entirely true of me. I knew when I left Mill Hill over 5 years ago that I would never truly leave the Foundation, particularly with my younger brother still at Mill Hill for another two years. However, I never expected to return to my beloved school as the new archivist! Truthfully, it was always a fantastical dream of mine to return here as a teacher, but with teaching quickly revealed not to be my vocation, I thought that the end to the unrealistic notion. Yet
clearly fate had other plans. A chance meeting with Jane Sanchez, Deputy Head during my time now Head of Mill Hill, at the Call to Remembrance Service last year resulted in this wonderful new opportunity. Almost half a year later, I’ve settled into the role and continue to fall more in love with this magnificent place every day – discovering new, incredible pieces of Mill Hill’s history day after day, that I eagerly share with anyone I talk to, whether they want to hear it or not!
A Philanthropic Foundation
With the role, I have learnt more about the history of Mill Hill’s inception, especially how the school was built by philanthropists. As Roderick Braithwaite so aptly described it in his book, ‘Strikingly Alive’, “on 17 March 1806 the Committee of the Protestant Dissenters Grammar School had declared their intent to provide for the temporal and Eternal Interests of their Children’s children to the remotest Generations”. In essence, the Committee founded the school to not only provide a
well-rounded education for the benefit of their children, or even their grandchildren, but also for all possible future generations of children to come. Whilst the world outside has changed drastically over the centuries, Mill Hill School stayed and remains true to its core values. This can be seen through the generosity of the school, its staff, and pupils, but especially its alumni; the unwavering generosity of Old Millhillians has exhibited Mill Hill’s founding value of philanthropy
best.
Sir John McClure
This can be seen throughout the centuries, such as the period following Sir John McClure’s passing in 1922, when the alumni rallied around Mill Hill during its time of loss. Seeking to honour their late Headmaster, the Old Millhillians immediately
began raising money to fund a new scholarship for the school, the aptly named ‘McClure Scholarship’. In just under two years, they managed to raise £4,000, which equates to £269,310 in today’s money! Eventually, over the decades, a trust was founded to better maintain and manage the distribution of the donations Old Millhillians still continue to contribute to. The recent McClure Memorial Trust Concert at the Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Square raised over £16,000 to help
provide yet more pupils with the support they need.
World War II
Even the war and evacuation of Mill Hill to St Bees during World War 2 couldn’t dampen the philanthropic heart of the Mill Hill community! A group of Northern alumni, led by Richard ‘Dick’ Auty, formed the Yorkshire Bursary Group in 1939, seeking to financially support the evacuee pupils at ‘Mill Hill on Sea’. The Group continued to fundraise and donate to the School for the duration of the war and, by 1945, around 21 boys were on Yorkshire Bursaries. Following both World Wars, the
alumni continued to establish several philanthropic endeavours to support Mill Hill School. In 1920, the Old Millhillian War Memorial Appeal and Scholarship Fund was created with the objective of providing bursaries for the children of fallen alumni to attend Mill Hill. The generous donations also enabled the construction of the WarMemorial, that still sits proudly along the Ridgeway today. Just over 20 years later, the Restoration and Memorial Fund was established in 1945 to fund bursaries and scholarships for the children of the new fallen, and to add the new lists of the fallen
to the Memorial.
As I now continue to walk past the War Memorial on my way to work, I am still struck by the immense generosity and philanthropy that has gone into making the Mill Hill Foundation what it is today. I like to picture the future generations of pupils
and alumni who, after we are long gone, will continue to walk past these testaments to our founding principle, and enjoy the education the Committee promised them all those centuries ago.
