The first of our 150th Anniversary Lectures was a tremendous success. John Killingbeck (Former Staff 1964-1986) told the story of our founder, Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly, to a packed Library on Friday evening. There was not a spare seat in the house, and one OMK had travelled all the way from Pembrokeshire for the occasion.

John took us through the remarkable life of Admiral Kelly, a Devonian who left home at the age of 13 to join the Royal Navy as a Midshipman. Current pupil Seb, who is exactly the same age as Admiral Kelly was at that time, read a letter Benedictus had written to his family while serving on his first ship, creating a particularly poignant moment.

John's wife, Jenny, also read a report from one of the slave ships Admiral Kelly had intercepted later in his career. The report was so detailed and shocking that audible gasps could be heard throughout the audience. To know that this account later became an important piece of evidence in the campaign to end the slave trade made it all the more powerful.

We also learned that Admiral Kelly lived a remarkably simple life, saving as much money as possible in order to fulfil his ambition of founding a school in Devon. Sadly, he never lived to see his dream realised, as the school opened ten years after his death. However, his legacy lives on, and we can all take pride in having such an inspiring founder.

John's lecture was a fitting tribute to a man of extraordinary generosity and vision, whose legacy continues to shape Mount Kelly 150 years after its foundation.