The OW Charitable Trust


Helping OWs participate in socially impactful projects across the world.

The OW Charitable Trust

The Old Wellingtonian Society Charitable Trust (OWSCT) was set up in 1992 to provide charitable assistance in support of both Wellington College’s educational objects and the Old Wellingtonian Society’s objective of providing a ‘whole-life community’ for the alumni of Wellington College. Its sole source of funds are gifts from OWs.

The OWSCT also administers the Herbert Old Wellingtonian Trust and the J L Bevir Memorial Fund, which have been combined into the OWSCT. The identities of these trusts (see below) have been retained for the award of grants, scholarships, and bursaries, but their assets have been pooled.

The OWSCT’s other function is to provide OW prizes, tankards, and medallions each year for National and International recognition in Sports and the Arts.

The Bevir Memorial Fund

The J L Bevir Memorial Fund was set up in 1928 in memory of the man who was at Wellington as both boy and lifetime teacher and was co-founder of the OW Society and the Wellington Yearbook.

The Trustees award grants to suitable applicants to assist them with the cost of projects overseas that are socially desirable and character-developing. They are intended to supplement money raised by self-help and sponsorship and are primarily for those on a post-school gap year, but medical students doing an elective during training and other older ‘young’ OWs are welcome to apply.

The Herbert Old Wellingtonian Trust

The Herbert Old Wellingtonian Trust was established in 1955 under the Will of Lt. Col. G.M. Herbert D.S.O. (A 1894), who left the residue of his estate in memory of his three nephews, all OWs, who gave their lives in the 1939-1945 war. The Trust was established to help, in cases of hardship, with the education of the sons and daughters of OWs, whether at Wellington or at another school.

The Wilfred House Language Scholarship

The Wilfred House Language Scholarship, funded by the three children of Wilfred (Harry) House and by the OW Society, has specific and academic focus: to enable modern linguists at Wellington to improve their French, German or Spanish through spending several weeks living and studying overseas. Wilfred (Harry) House was Master of Wellington from 1941 to 1956. Before coming to Wellington, he was a Fellow and Lecturer in Modern Languages at Queen’s College, Oxford, where from 1924 to 1939 he also administered a Foundation which financed four undergraduates each year to spend their vacation abroad to master a country’s language and pick up some of its culture.

The Melissa Morgan Memorial Fund 

The Melissa Morgan Memorial Fund, established in 2004 in memory of Melissa Morgan (Ap 89), is available to Old Wellingtonian girls, under the age of 25, to help fund, by means of a grant, a structured, enterprising, and original Gap Year activity, in the UK or overseas, before or after attending University.

The fund existed originally under the auspices of the OW Charitable Trust but is these days administered by Wellington.

Our Previous Grant Recipients

Ophelia Vesely (C 22)

29 August 2023

Ophelia is a recent Old Wellingtonian (C 22) and 2022 Muir Scholarship recipient, which aims to support an OW to carry out independent research addressing a contemporary global issue. Having learnt about the horrific events that are occurring in Ukraine from the relative comfort of the UK, Ophelia wanted to try and help victims of […]

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Freddie Coughlin (T 22)

29 August 2023

“It has just been the most incredible opportunity and I couldn’t recommend it to future OWs enough.” Freddie is a very recent Old Wellingtonian (Head of College, 2022) and 2022 Bevir recipient. After leaving College, he decided to take a gap year to gain experience and hands-on insight into different aspects of politics and international […]

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