JOHN Hamel has an encyclopaedic knowledge of high school classmates which should come in handy when they reunite this weekend. While some haven’t seen each other in a lifetime, when the weekend comes it will be just like the good old days for some of the alumni of Armidale High School. The golden oldies of the graduating classes of 1952-55 will gather in the city from Friday to relive memories and catch up with old friends. Max Browning OAM is one alumni who still resides in Armidale. What he learned at the school had stayed in the decades since.  “I think I had leadership opportunities at Armidale High School and I carried those experiences with me later in life,” he said. Keith McIntyre is a graduate of the class of 1953 and an organiser of the reunion. He said the class of ’53 expanded its reunion to other years because some alumni were becoming too old for travel and because they wanted to keep the tradition going.  “It was decided that the average age for these people was getting between 77 and 79 so we invited a few people from the years following to see if we can pass the baton,” Mr McIntyre said. Mr Hamel said out of the class of 1953, 13 out of the 41 had died. Some prominent alumni from Armidale High School include former University of Canberra vice-chancellor Don Aitkin and deputy director of the Australian Orthopaedic Association David Davidson, both of whom are attending.
