It is with immense pleasure that Jonathan Grew (C77), President of St Gregory’s Society, announces John Scanlan (S54) as this year’s Old Gregorian Medallist.
The OG Medal was conceived with the aim to recognise the outstanding contribution an OG has made either to Society as a whole or to St Gregory’s Society and this year’s recipient has made contributions to both Society and St Gregory’s Society on a large scale.
During the Prize Giving Ceremony on Saturday 1st July, the President spoke about John’s various achievements and his continued endeavours to support Society. John is a Papal Knight, awarded for his charitable work for the church and a Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, working to support Christians in the Holy Land.
In addition to the above, John has been awarded the Cross of Officer of the Royal Order of Isabela Catolica: CRIC, which was awarded by HM King Juan Carlos and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recognition of his contribution to better relations between Spain and England. Many OGs and Spanish families will be familiar with the Triennial Madrid Weekend, initiated by John and his late wife Marina many years ago, aiming to bring all associated with Downside together and build upon the relationship between Downside and Spain.
Downside is an incredibly special place to John as are OGs and over the last 50 years, John has been a constant figure within the Downside community. He is a Vice-President of St Gregory’s Society Council, offering his wisdom for over half a century as well as managing to attend sixteen OMV Lourdes Pilgrimages.
Congratulations John, a very worthy winner of this year’s OG Medal.