A former staff group recently saw two of its founding members stand down after 25 years of organising lunches and get togethers for former employees of the university.

The Paisley Academic Lunch Society, or PALS as it’s better known, is the name adopted by a group of retired members of staff. The group has origins going back to 1997 when a small number of former staff from the then University of Paisley, including John Wylie MBE, Professor Willie McEwan OBE, Harry Adams, George Haig and Samuel Monaghan, started to meet on a regular basis for lunch.

Word spread of the retired staff group lunches and very quickly the membership grew. Most of the members of PALS were former business, engineering and science academic staff but membership was open to any former member of staff. At its peak, the group boasted membership of over 80 members that included former heads of department, university secretary John Oswald MBE and a former Principal Professor Richard Shaw CBE.

Seeking to formalise the group, John, Sam and Harry formed a committee and created a constitution. With John Wylie as Secretary and Sam Monaghan as Chairman, the PALS developed into a former staff social club that held 4 lunches throughout the year and a special lunch at Christmas.

John Wylie, former Head of External Relations at the then University of Paisley, said: “PALS was really born out of friendships that were made at Paisley College, and then University of Paisley, that we wanted to continue once we had retired. Harry, Willie, George, Sam and I would meet at the long gone Brabloch Hotel in the early 90s and the group just naturally grew – so much so that we had to move venue to the Paisley Golf Club to accommodate all the new members.”

At the last lunch organised by John and Sam, UWS Director of Fundraising and Alumni Nicola Smith thanked them both for their hard work over the 25 years and the PALS continued contribution to the University. The Fundraising and Alumni team will now take up the reins of the former staff group and develop the idea to incorporate former staff from all years and all campuses.

“Sam and I are pleased that this will happen,” added John. “And we look forward to being ‘ordinary’ members of the new group which we recommend to all staff.”

If you are a former member of staff and would like to know more about the former staff group please email alumni@uws.ac.uk