The university's story began in 1890 as Britain's second polytechnic - Woolwich Polytechnic.
We became Thames Polytechnic in 1970, incorporating teaching institutions such as Dartford College and Avery Hill College in the 1980s, and later evolving into the University of Greenwich in 1992. While our name has transformed over the years, the memories, friendships, and formative experiences of our alumni remain deeply ingrained in our legacy.
In 2024, we reached out to our wider alumni community to reconnect with those who we haven’t heard from in a while, and we were delighted with the uptake and responses we received. As a result, many alumni shared their fond memories with us from their time studying at Woolwich and Thames Polytechnic.
Interestingly, many alumni detailed how they met their partners when they were students and how they are still together today. So, with it being Valentine’s Day we decided to share two special alumni love stories!
Sharing alumni stories forms part of our ongoing efforts to reconnect with our alumni who studied before we were known as the University of Greenwich and to preserve the rich history of our community. If you have a story to tell and share, we would love you to get in touch at alumni@gre.ac.uk.
Lynda & Graham Williams
Thames Polytechnic
In 1979, Lynda Williams (HND Business Studies – Marketing & French) met her husband Graham Williams (BA Business Studies – Marketing) while studying at Thames Polytechnic. She shares with us her time at Thames Polytechnic between1977 and 1980 and their shared memories and what they’ve been up to since:
I met my husband Graham at the rugby club at Well Hall in 1979. This was the hub of social life if you were a rugby fan. I was Lynda Davies and a devoted Welsh rugby fan, from South Wales…Graham from West Wales.
Rugby was the common factor and following a few nights out with the usual rugby crowd I asked him out on a date as a dare with my flat mates! His face was painted blue at the time following a punishment for a transgression on a rugby tour... that was in May 1980. He said OK and we met in The DG (Director General) pub in Wellington Street in Woolwich. The pub is now the site of a Tesco supermarket, but the portrait of the DG does still hang in a government building close by. We have been married 40 years this September!
We both have great memories of discos at Thomas Spencer Halls of residence and the Cellar Bar. There were also many fancy dress parties over the years in various flats and houses. Pub crawls in Greenwich were also a great Saturday night out. Toga parties were the most popular following the release of National Lampoons Animal House in 1979.
One highlight of those days was Graham coming runner up in the Miss Thames Poly contest. He was beaten to the title by a front row forward dressed in a tutu and tiara! Punk and new romantics were very much the fashion at the time but for me it was jeans and rugby shirts with the odd punk outfit at parties.
After uni, Graham went into sales and I eventually worked in publishing. We married in 1985 and bought out first house in Bexley Village. We worked in London, so had a great time during the 80s making the most of London life. In 1989, we took a year off and bought a round-the-world ticket and travelled through Southeast Asia then Australia, taking in a Lions Rugby Tour, a trip to New Zealand and Fiji before heading to the States to drive across America from LA to New York. We still love travelling today.
After almost 48 years we still meet up with those great friends we met in 1977 and 78. 15 years ago, we made the move back to Wales for work and to see more of our ageing parents.
We now live in Cardiff and retired 7 years ago so have plenty more time to travel and watch rugby. Many of our friends from that time too met and married at the Poly and are still together today.
Mark & Wendy Chatterton
Avery Hill College
Mark Chatterton was studying a PGCE and training to be a primary school teacher, when he met his now wife Wendy Chatterton during her final year of a BEd course at Avery Hill College, which became part of the University of Greenwich in 1985. Mark shares with us his memories from that time, including his first impression of Wendy and what they’ve gone onto since finishing their degree:
I remember at the party that Wendy was wearing a white blouse with black skirt and had long brown hair. A few days later she saw me singing and playing my guitar down “The Dive” (the student’s bar which was an old underground air raid shelter). We soon became an item, fell in love and were married less than two years later.We met at Avery Hill College – I had a room in Jeffrey Hall which gave me a view of all the students going into the dining hall. Sometime in the first term I noticed Wendy walking past and didn't think any more of it. Then at the beginning of the spring term I got invited to someone's 21st birthday party in Bronte Hall on Saturday 12th January 1980, (I still have the invite). Wendy was there and I had a few dances with her and talked to her.
There were many fond memories of our time together at Avery Hill. There were plenty of things going on socially at Avery Hill at that time including a regular disco every Friday evening in the halls of residence and occasional bands playing up in the main college site across the park. During the summer term we went out on a “riverboat shuffle” which was a disco on a ship that cruised up and down the river Thames in central London, which was very enjoyable.
After uni, we both ended up as primary school teachers, both ending up as deputy head teachers in our respective schools. Back in 1980 I lived in Cheshire and Wendy lived in Essex, so it was difficult at first maintaining a relationship living so far apart. I eventually moved into a flat in London and then moved over to Essex so we could be together. We got married in December 1981. In 1996 we started the education publishing company, MW Educational whilst we were still teachers. It produced educational home learning materials for primary aged children, including 11 plus practice papers and SATs practice papers, which went on for over 30 years until we both retired.
Today, we have now been married for over 40 years and have three children - two boys and a girl who are all grown up now. Our daughter continued the family tradition of going into teaching and is a primary school deputy head, surprisingly in the same school that Wendy spent most of her teaching career. We also have two grandsons who play a big part in our lives, as we have helped to look after them since they were babies.
We have gone to plenty of gigs over the years with our favourite artists being U2, the Human League, Simply Red, Coldplay, Kate Bush, Wishbone Ash and the Who. In our spare time we also enjoy travelling, especially visiting historical places, and going on cruises. which is a long way from the “riverboat shuffle” disco ship on the Thames from our uni days.
Alumni reunion, Saturday 10 May 2025
We will be hosting an alumni reunion in May 2025 celebrating our collective journey from Woolwich Polytechnic to Thames Polytechnic to the University of Greenwich (for alumni who graduated before 2000). This reunion will be more than just an event, but a chance to rekindle the bonds that shaped your university experience. We hope you’ll be able to join us, please note official invites will be sent via email soon so please ensure we have your updated contact details.
If you would like to be actively involved as a volunteer or have experience organising reunions and feel you can offer some ideas or feedback, then we would love to hear from you. Email alumni@gre.ac.uk.
Join our Woolwich & Thames Facebook Group
We recently created a new Facebook group specifically for Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic alumni who graduated before 1992. We want to create a space that offers you the opportunity to connect with one another and collaborate with the University of Greenwich on a more regular basis.
Have you ever missed your student days? Would you like to reconnect and reminisce with us and old friends in the run up to the reunion and into the future? By creating this meaningful space for alumni, we hope this will encourage more diverse voices to participate as volunteers, attend events and continue to be active members of our alumni community.
Please request to join our alumni community group so we can reconnect with as many of you as possible: Woolwich and Thames Polytechnic Alumni Group on Facebook.
