1 Tene Propositum SUMMER TIMES The Journal of the Old Scarborians’ Association Members of the Association are former pupils and members of staff of Scarborough High School for Boys Volume 69 – May 2015 Old Scarborians’ Association Web address: http://oldscarborians.org Price £3.00 1 www.MsAglobalsolutions.com PROBLEM SOLVING ISN’T SOMETHING WE DO AT ...IT’S MSA… WHAT WE DO AT MSA” 1 SUMMER TIMES—MAY 2015 EVENTS DIARY 2015-16 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2015 The AGM will be held on THURSDAY 3rd December 2015 at 7.00pm at Scarborough Rugby Club. All members are welcome. ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER 2015 FRIDAY, 4th December 2015, at 7pm for 8pm, at SRUFC, Scalby Road, Scarborough. (The club premises are between Scalby and Burniston on the right hand side of the road after leaving Scalby village) Price £27 which includes limited wine. All Members are welcome. Please use the enclosed form and book as soon as possible. Contact Bob Heaps with any queries, 01723 365597, E-mail: [email protected]. ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENTS 2015 Dates for 2015 will be Dr Meadley Cup, Thursday 21st May and the TA Smith Cup —Stableford, Thursday 13th August, both at North Cliff Golf Club. A dinner will follow the second event. Please contact Dave Ellard for further details. 01723 373116 E-mail:[email protected] ANNUAL BOWLS MATCH 2015 FRIDAY, 28th August 2015. Manor Road Bowling Club. Please contact Chris Found for details 01723 882343. E-mail: [email protected] LONDON LUNCH 2016 PROVISIONALLY, the London Lunch will be held on Friday OR Saturday depending on venue — 8th or 9th April, OR 15th or 16th April. Full details and a booking form will be enclosed with the November 2016 issue of Summer Times. Please keep these possible dates free in your diary. Please send items for the November 2015 Summer Times to Peter Newham, (address on page 2), as soon as possible please, but to reach him by 15th August 2015 at the latest, to fit in with holidays, print schedules etc. Items sent by e-mail are of great help, otherwise please type or write your letter and mail it on to him. 2 CONTENTS DESIGN & LAYOUT 1. Events Diary 2. Contents/ Committee Contacts 4. Editorial & Presidential 6. Officers Reports 8. Press and PRO/ Hon Life VP 9. From Here & There 19. Scarborough Lunch at 80 20. Patrick Argent 21. Obituaries 28. Donald West and the Scarborian. 29. Brian Razzall and Easter Parade 31. We don’t need no Edyukashun 36. Don Barnes’ Travels 39. Ian Scott further writes 41. 1938-39 Football photo 42. ATC 44. The Scarborough Dinner 45. Class of ‘54 45. Westwood 47. In more reflective moments 51. Famous former literary pupils 52. Appreciations 1964 The Scarborian 54. Books and Study 55. Nostalgia 56. After a good lunch! 57. Late obituary—Ted Lester 59. Trivia David Fowler Farthings Publishing 8 Christine House 1 Avenue Victoria Scarborough. YO11 2QB Tel: 01723 365448 E-mail: [email protected] SUMMER TIMES PRODUCTION: EDITOR Peter Newham ‘Badger’s Rise’ 8 Southcrest Hunsbury Hill Northampton NN4 9UD Tel: 01604 767895 E‐mail: [email protected] EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2015/16 PRESIDENT Howard Acklam 19 Redcliffe Close Osgodby SCARBOROUGH YO11 3RG 01723 584061 E-mail: [email protected] VICE-PRESIDENT Peter Newham ‘Badger’s Rise’ 8 Southcrest Hunsbury Hill Northampton NN4 9UD Tel: 01604 767895 E-mail: [email protected] SECRETARY Bob Heaps 67 Newby Farm Road Newby SCARBOROUGH YO12 6UJ Tel: 01723 365597 E-mail: [email protected] TREASURER Chris Found Pinewood Cottage Silpho Scarborough North Yorkshire. YO13 0JP Tel: 01723 882343 E-mail: [email protected] 3 COMMITTEE: BOWLS ARCHIVIST INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS Chris Found Pinewood Cottage Silpho, Scarborough YO13 0JP Tel: 01723 882343 E-mail: [email protected] Peter Berry Paul Allen SUMMER TIMES EDITOR POSITION VACANT. A VOLUNTEER REQUIRED URGENTLY PLEASE! 01723 362633 01723 355389 MAGAZINE ADVERTISING Chris Found Pinewood Cottage Silpho Scarborough North Yorkshire. YO13 0JP Tel: 01723 882343 E-mail: [email protected] MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Geoff Winn ‘Kingfishers 5 Beech Court North Street, Scalby, Scarborough, YO13 0RU Tel: 01723 362414 E-mail: Winn.geoff@talk21.com Peter Newham ‘Badger’s Rise’ 8 Southcrest Hunsbury Hill Northampton NN4 9UD Tel: 01604 767895 E-mail: [email protected] WEB SITE MANAGER http://oldscarborians.org Bill Potts 3636 Edison Avenue, Apt 104 Sacramento CA 95821-2750 USA Tel: +0019165149974 E-mail: [email protected] PRESS & PUBLICITY ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Patrick Argent Flat 3, 11 Fulford Road, SCARBOROUGH YO11 2SH Tel: 01723 501151 E-mail: [email protected] Colin Adamson 01723 364373 Patrick Argent 01723 501151 Mick Bowman 01287 634650 Don Graham 01723 850177 SPORTING EVENTS - GOLF Dave Ellard 74 Longwestgate, Scarborough YO11 1RG 01723 373116 [email protected] HONORARY LIFE VICEPRESIDENTS Frank Bamforth Mick Bowman Chris Found David Fowler Maurice Johnson Peter Robson Geoff Winn 01723 364432 01287 634650 01723 882343 01723 365448 01262 470272 01723 859335 01723 362414 4 EDITORIAL Whilst this Editorial can hardly be described as a literal appeal for new blood for the Association - and indeed, when I joined some mere 14 years ago I deluded myself that I then was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed myself (eheu fugaces labuntur anni!); it is an obvious truism that if the Association is to remain in rude good health a further injection of enthusiastic "younger" members is very much needed, not only to keep the contributions to the Magazine afloat, but to bolster and augment the Committee in their work on behalf of the Association. Much of this work is unseen and therefore unacknowledged, but for many years, going back before my time, a small hard core of dedicated Officers, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, have contributed a great deal of time and effort to its organisation. Whilst long may they continue to do so, an influx also of willing younger Woodlanders would greatly add to the Association and it's effective continuance. Howard, our President has, I know, tried to canvass interest among Members, and I make no excuse for using this Editorial for further preaching the message. As a Member whose own school life spanned both Westwood and then more marginally Woodlands, (although I plead guilty to a basic allegiance to the School in the Valley), I am conscious of the essential combined nature of our history, and that our remaining future increasingly will revolve round life at Woodlands Drive as we know it! However, here endeth the lesson, at least for this Edition, on the basis that, as ever, all contributions from whoever, wherever and whenever gratefully received! Peter Newham (1954-61) Editor PRESIDENTIAL Another year passes and the Old Scarborians Association is still alive and kicking, even though the School closed some forty two years ago. Once again I must pay homage to all those on the Committee whose regular attendance has helped us to continue and I give my special thanks to all the Officers of the OSA - Peter Newham (Vice-President and Editor of Summer Times), Bob Heaps (Secretary), Chris Found (Treasurer), Geoff Winn (Membership Secretary) and David Fowler (Publisher of Summer Times). I would also like to thank Dave Ellard for organising the annual Golf Competitions at North Cliff Golf Club and Chris Found for organising the annual Bowls Competition at Manor Road Bowling Club. Regarding Committee Meetings, I 5 would like to put on record the regular attendance of Peter Robson (even though he ‘retired’ from the Committee some while ago) and Mick Bowman, another former Officer of the OSA who continues to travel from Guisboro’. *I understand that Peter has recently moved away from the area and will not be able to make future meetings, though he should be in attendance at the London Lunch. These two, along with other members of the Committee, also always turn up at our twice yearly ‘Stuffing Meetings’ when we regularly still send out approximately 500 copies of Summer Times to OSA Members throughout Britain and overseas. It has also been very much appreciated that Members have continued to support both the Scarborough Christmas Dinner - where we had over seventy Old Scarborians in attendance last December - and also the London Lunch; though we would always be delighted to welcome more attendees at both these functions. The London Lunch in particular has seen numbers diminish somewhat over the years and we need to continue to encourage as many as possible to attend - particularly those from the Midlands and the South to further supplement the regulars who travel from Scarborough and points north. We have had a wonderful regular venue over the last three or four years at the RAF Club - though we may be having a change in 2016, subject to suitable arrangements being made. In fact Chris Found did look into the possibility of having the ‘London Lunch’ at York in order to try and boost the numbers attending. Alt- hough generally in agreement that it was a very good idea, the Committee have voted to retain the London Lunch in its present form (in London) at the moment, though the York option has not been ruled out if numbers in London continue to decline in the future. The 2015 London Lunch will again be held at the RAF Club in Piccadilly. The Scarborough Christmas Dinner held at the Rugby Club continues to attract good numbers and it has been excellent to see that a goodly number of ‘younger members’ have attended over the past two or three years. The venue has proved excellent for both the Dinner and for our Committee Meetings over quite a few years now, and helps continue our Associations links with Scarborough RUFC. It is noted that Peter Newham is continuing to ask members for ‘copy’ for Summer Times; though somehow the magazine still seems well filled with relevant print running to its usual 64 pages. So please do support Peter (along with David Fowler) by putting your memories ‘on paper’, and help continue the flow of relevant memories for print in the magazine. It would be particularly relevant if more of the ‘younger members’ of the OSA could apply themselves to this task - it is those younger members who we need to attract as the future of the OSA - in particular, these being former pupils who attended the ‘new’ school on Woodlands Drive. The Members who have written in from that era, have had ‘different’ but still interesting things to say and their memories are just as relevant as those of their forebears. I look forward with cautious opti- 6 mism to the continuing future of the Old Scarborians Association. Howard Acklam (1960-64) SECRETARIAL Firstly a belated Happy New Year to you all and I hope you enjoy this edition of ‘Summer Times’ as I know many of you by the phone calls and other correspondence I get, sincere thanks go to our editor Peter Newham and also David Fowler whose hard work ensures the continued publishing of the Magazine. The Association had a very successful Christmas Dinner at the Scarborough Rugby Club with nearly 80 attending. This continues to be a very well attended event and if you have ever thought you may like attend please do so; you will be made very welcome and may meet some old and new friends , I know I do every year. I do get requests from time to time from Members trying to connect with old school friends and I try to help out when I can, our members have migrated to all parts of the UK and indeed the world so if anyone would like to re connect on their travels, I am sure myself or Geoff Winn could put you in contact if you wish. I must thank Geoff for his sterling work in tracking down former pupils and persuading them to join the Association, I am sure he would appreciate any help doing this if you could help. At the time of writing I am trying to organise the London Lunch which falls this year on April 11th; this is the same day as the ‘Boat Race’ which starts at 5.50pm so I myself am hoping to try and get to watch this event as I have never seen it live before, I will give a report in the November edition. We discussed as Committee earlier this year a possible change of venue as numbers are dwindling, or even holding it another location? York was suggested, so if any of you have any ideas please feel free to contact myself or any of the Committee.. Bob Heaps (1967-74) TREASURIAL We are jogging along living off our fat but keeping our expenditure well under control. A small profit of £37 was made on the Christmas Dinner mainly thanks to the generous Member who did not attend but sent £100 towards the cost of wine. Our stock of ties is almost exhausted but I have just placed an order for a further 50 of the same design at the request of the Committee. At present we have £8,280 in the bank most of which is on deposit at a very derisory rate of interest. Any suggestions from Members of how to get a reasonable rate of interest on our accumulated funds will be gratefully received. Geoff Winn continues to hound quali- 7 fying non-members for a subscription and I must congratulate him on the small trickle of successes which he has. A decision has been taken to subsidise the London Lunch slightly and I hope that this will bring in a few extra diners. Chris Found (1951-59) MEMBERSHIP SECRETARIAL The past six months seem to have been a relatively quiet period on the membership front, but I am sure I shall regret having said this when a new rush of membership applications flood in!! I can always dream. However, I can report a few new members and would particularly mention one of these. When we were putting the last issue of ST to bed, the copy for Chris Garner came up and someone on the committee said “I think he has moved permanently to the Algarve”. I checked this with Simon Ward and it was in fact correct so, as I was about to leave for the Algarve, I agreed to meet him for a drink at Four Seasons Country Club in Quinta do Lago where we are both members, to hand over his copy personally. Little did I know that on that same day I would meet Brian Stanley, another old boy, on the local golf course as we had been drawn to play together in the weekly Country Club competition. Brian was just over for a few days’ golf with a business friend so it was pure chance we had been drawn together. It turned out that Brian had been going to the club for nearly as long as we had, but on different weeks so our paths had not previously crossed. When I realised he was not an OSA member, I passed over to him my copy of ST together with a membership application form extracted from Chris Garner’s copy. No pressure, but if you come across an old boy who is not a member in similar circumstances, please make sure you encourage him to join. Amongst those who have died, I would especially mention my predecessor as membership secretary, Colin Hurd, who passed on an exemplary set of records for me to follow. New Members Brewer, Peter 1970-73 Parkin, Stephen 1942-49 Stanley, Brian 1970-73 Ward, Duncan 1967-74 Re-discovered Robinson, Bryan 1964-71 Deceased Ankrett, Frank 1946-52 Bennett, Stuart 1947-55 Bland, Jim 1942-49 Holmes, Frank 1937-45 Hurd, Colin 1952-58 Lester, Ted 1933-39 Speight, Jack - Wiffen, Carl 1939-47 Some of the above have died this year, 8 too late for obituaries to be written. Please let our ST editor have your recollections of a contemporary for the next issue. Geoff Winn (1949-56) PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER The November AGM of the Association marked the retirement as Press and Public Relations Officer of a committee stalwart, Maurice Johnson (1941-6) on his move to Nottingham. Maurice, during his tenure, has done so much not only to raise our profile with the local Press, allegedly by a combination of charm, bribery and coercion, but also to promote, encourage and even subsidise the London Lunches at a number of prestigious venues. His contribution will be much missed, but we hope to see him as a Member for many years yet! It is pleasing that Patrick Argent (1970-3) a member of the Committee, has "volunteered" to take over the function, though the now mere weekly nature of the Scarborough News does little to assist! A Profile of Patrick appears separately in this Issue. CORRIGENDUM Apologies to Norman Overfield, whose obituary of David Howden appeared in the May 2014 Issue of the Magazine, for the inadvertent transposition of several sentences in the final paragraphs. Fortunately they, which I would like, whether true or otherwise, to blame on the computer transition from Microsoft Word to Publisher, rather than careless proof reading, did not significantly alter its sense, nor appeared to be noticed by any other reader, assuming there to be such! HON. LIFE VICE-PRESIDENTS Whilst it is not usual in the Magazine to reproduce the perhaps pedestrian Minutes of Committee meetings of the Association, the recognition at the 2013 Annual General Meeting of the sterling service given by several of its long -serving Officers by the award of Hon. Life Vice-Presidencies should be more expressly acknowledged within the Association than by the mere increase in the names so listed on Page 3 of the Magazine, which Members may not have noticed. Geoff Winn and Chris Found have served and continue so to do to in several capacities, including respective terms as President, and rightfully have now been recognised and joined the other distinguished Officers, past and present, who would and should figure on what used at School to be known as “the Honours Board” , if we had one, (though happily some of the original School boards still remain in existence, so - Sic, not yet Transit Gloria Mundi!) -In addition to both Geoff and Chris serving terms as President of the Association, both have put in long service in other posts and continue so to do, Geoff currently as Membership Secretary assiduously searching for, cajoling and coercing the new membership we need to keep the Association going (even 3 more on the night of the Annu- 9 al Dinner), and Chris continuing to juggle the finances as Treasurer and ensuring that we remain financially healthily afloat! The Association continues to owe a real debt of gratitude to them both ! yesteryear last time and I believe ended up in a casino till quite late! Many congrats. on another excellent edition of Summer Times. I do hope more 'Woodlanders' decide to put pen to paper about their times at SBHS. FROM HERE AND THERE Rick Ware (1956-63) writes….. John Whitehead (1961-8) writes… (…. and attaches the following picture, to which one is similarly tempted to append a further Shakespearean quote from Jaques in “As You Like It” in respect of the Seven Ages of Man in relation to second childhood, as demonstrated by his apparent close empathy with what he assures me are his grand-children’s furry friends, Keith and Boris! ) Inspired by the picture and report of my near-contemporary Mike Corbyn refusing to grow old gracefully (ST vol.68 p.36/37) and the Shakespearean misquote (ha!), I thought I’d own up to being similarly afflicted with falseyouth syndrome. Wind back. Does I enjoyed Ian Scott's piece. Hopefully that will flush out yet more contributions from younger Old Scarborians. Could you forward this to him please. I stand corrected by Richard Watson about Robert Palmer and Shetland, (but why let false memory and the truth get in the way of a good story ) ? PS. I now think a sweet tax would be a good idea! Ian Scott responds… I'm glad there's been some response. I've had a couple of personal emails too. Old School friends like Mick Mulvana and Dave Ward, whom I hope should be booked in for the December reunion dinner. I'm looking forward to the giving and receiving of insults as a continuation of last year! We had a great time recounting stories of 10 anyone else remember at Westwood a quiet and good-looking boy called Allen Palmer? At age 15 he formed a group called,’ The Mandrakes’ and later became known world-wide by his first name, Robert. Well, at about the same time another musical group within the School was preparing for fame. This was to be a jazz trio comprising Steve Male on saxophone, Malcolm Trott on piano, and me on drums. We rehearsed at Steve’s mother’s dance studio on Valley Road. Malcolm was very good and Steve was ok. I was clueless and, anyway, only had one drum. After leaving school and having practiced a bit (and acquired more drums), I was somehow recruited into a local group. My first outing with The Musketeers was at the ‘El Sombrero’, formerly the old so-called Rollerena down Vernon Road. (On guitar/clarinet in that group was local architect, Dennis Hitch who has since played drums around Scarborough everywhere and with everyone and, I hope, still does). I don’t remember if we had a second gig – probably not. Groups were sprouting up like mushrooms about this time and the scene in Scarborough was dominated by Jonty and the Strangers and The Sherburn Panthers. I was lucky enough to hook up with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson and his group, The Wildcats’. (I’m sure Marty Wilde was mighty relieved when we changed the name to The Flames). We then became The Dave Kirby Five. Dave was a Londoner, a bit of a wide-boy but he had performed at the Star Club, Hamburg and had a great R & B repertoire. At some stage Derrick ‘Chow’ Boyes joined us on piano. Both Hutch and Chow were brilliant and in 1966 went on to play with Dave Bowie’s band The Buzz at London’s iconic Marquee Club. Venues we played most often were; the ‘Condor Club’, (now ‘Bacchus’) Scarborough’s own Cavern Club down narrow steps from a Greenfield Road entrance. The shortlived ‘2 Flite Club’ in London Inn Yard. (more narrow steps, two flights going up this time). The ‘Candlelight’ at the bottom of Bland’s Cliff was another and we played each Thursday at The Belle Vue Club, Filey; (narrow steps again, down with awkward dogsleg). I hope these names stir some memories with my contemporary ‘old Scabs’ who may have frequented these now-defunct dives. Perhaps even seen us play. In 1965 in an amicable split I was replaced by Dave Pinkney of The Panthers who was really a much better drummer. Dave disappeared and the group was re-christened The Tennesseans. I eventually sold my drums and that was goodbye to all that, or anyway so I thought. Come 2002 and with lots of water under the bridge I’m overdue for a mid-life crisis. I spot a second-hand drum kit in Cash Convertors. Having vetoed a Harley-Davison or a mistress on noise grounds, Sally (‘er indoors) suggests I just buy them and 11 stop beating the cutlery on the table, pounding on chair-arms etc. and generally driving her mad. So that’s what I did. Now, three drum kits and 12 years later, I’m lucky enough in retirement to keep busy gigging and having a great time doing it. The best thing is that when I take the stool and pick up the sticks - I’m 17 again. Only now I can actually play the darn things. So - Malcolm, Steve! If you’re reading this, how about we give that jazz trio another try? You’re only young twice after all! Alan Green (1937-44) writes...... (The Secretary’s Report in last October’s Issue referred to a very generous contribution toward the cost of wine at the Annual Dinner made by Member Alan Green, and his accompanying latter, which is now reproduced below)…. “Brief note from 1937 vintage. Thank you for Summer Times May 2014. Read with interest, as ever, noting only in passing the shrinking number of recognisable names. They say that nostalgia ain't what it used to be, but it's certainly alive and well in this household - perhaps not a lot else to keep minds occupied. The Association keeps in good heart, thanks to all you energetic Committee Members, which brings me to Frank Vokes, query 1938 vintage, and good friend of over 60 years. Do you have any news of him please? We corresponded and met up periodically right back to Scarborough Cricket Festival post war period, occasionally meeting up with Steve (J M Stephenson, also 1938) for visits to the Palm Court for the Christmas Dinner until Steve died 3 or 4 years ago. Frank married a Dane and spent his academic years at Trondheim University, ended up as Emeritus Professor of Geology, his life work since graduating from Leeds. I've lost touch when the annual exchange of Christmas cards dried up from his end in 2010/11, whilst we continued until we gave up last year. Telephone calls produced nil response. There were 2 daughters, both in jobs in Norway but we never had contact details. Any information would be welcome. Aside from Frank, I noted a few errors in Summer Times, hardly earthshattering, but it is obsession with detail that keeps my brain active or pointless! Peter W Hugman He was 1940-43 (or 44) not 46. He went to sea as a 17 year old cadet with the Ellerman Line and saw war service in both the Atlantic and Pacific. 5 Service medals to prove it! John (JD) Farquahar (1934 -41) did not die aged 87. He was born in 1923 and died, aged 90 in 2013. He spent 2 terms at Wadham College Oxford in my time (48-52) on a 2nd Devonshire Colonial Service Course. I can record some hilarious goings-on at Wadham, chiefly with attractive nurses at the John Radcliffe Infirmary. John was married briefly to one of them, during his Forestry Service in Tanganika. He had a car in Oxford, a new 12 Morris Minor, a rare treasure among us impecunious undergraduates. a lovely man, a life full of varied interests. John Beck (37-44) - an observation, not a correction! My exact contemporary. They lived in Scholes Park Drive, not far from my old home at Ivanhoe, Burniston Road. I knew John's house well, delivering newspapers for 2 years from Cross Lane Post Office, but never seeing beyond the front door. DF Saunders (not JF) Exeter College Oxford - soccer Blue Captain of Pegasus when they won the Cup at Wembley (1951) against Bishop Auckland I think. A full house. I was there. Desmond (DC) Connor (37-44?) If not reported already, Des died on 2nd May 2014 aged 85. Born Sept 1925. Another contemporary. Des went up to University (University College Oxford) home to Steve, Frank Holmes, David Francis and several other Old Scarborians. His death was recorded in the Times 07 May 014 - he died in Exeter Hospice. I have kept in touch with his sister Rosemary (SGHS) who lives in Letchworth and who taught our son Alastair during part of his 9 year stay at St Christopher's; slightly nutty vegetarian school where Michael Winner, expupil, claimed he ate grass during his wartime stay at the School. The boys used to sneak out at lunch time for pork pies and sausage rolls at the nearby corner Post Office shop. Sorry if I've gone on a bit. At 88 I'm more long-winded than ever. Happily Shirley and I are relatively fit, if slightly bored after 55 years of travel and only a half acre of garden to keep us in trim. In decent weather I can manage 3 hours of strenuous work a day with hedges and tree hacking the main problem. The vegetable patch has produced to date 50 pounds of courgettes, a good amount of runner beans, lettuce, spinach etc. I've planted 400 leeks which should see me through the winter, and then some! Scarborough, sadly, is a bit too far to contemplate for the Dinner or to see my sister Brenda up in Burniston (handy for the Dinner - not an expensive B and B). Do hope you have a successful evening on 5th December. The finances look very healthy without adding to the pile so, perhaps you could utilise the enclosed donation for a glass or two of wine for all the thirsty visitors. I doubt you will be entertaining many teetotallers on the night!” Bruce Rowbotham (1961 1966) inspired by the reference in the previous Magazine to the Birthday tea for Bill Foord writes in his praise…. I was browsing online through the November 2014 edition of Summer Times and I was struck by a couple of obituaries of lads I remembered from 13 my era, a plea from the Editor for contributions and a report on the 90th birthday tea for Old Scarborian Bill Foord. It's more than 50 years since I last saw Mr. Foord and I will be one of the thousands of pupils that passed through Friarage School during what I now know were his 33 years of service there. Here are some of my memories that are thankfully too soon to be an obituary, but might make print and ease the burden of the Editor. From September 1955 to July 1961 I was at Friarage Junior School whilst Mr Foord was teaching. He was a tall and athletic man who wore circular horn rimmed specs and commanded respect from everyone. Firm yet tolerant, he was a natural teacher who really understood children. Together with Mr. Bogg they also ran the football team. The team trained at a dingy gymnasium hall, that is still there in St Sepulchre Street, twice a week after school. Teams of “3 a Side” practising Trapping, Heading, Chesting and Passing. Our first game of the 1960/61 season was played after school at Overdale. Mr. Foord had a Ford Consul car with a column gear change and bench seats. Somehow this car, together a Standard 10 belonging to our music teacher, Mr Greeenley, managed to transport 3 teachers and 11 boys to Overdale School. Long before seat belts, smaller boys sat on the knees of the bigger lads, everyone had boots with their laces joined together, worn like bootlace scarves around their necks. With eternal encouragement he coached and coaxed us from the sidelines as we suffered a 6 – 2 defeat from the formidable Overdale. The season progressed and we finally finished as runners-up to Overdale at the end of the season. As the spring of 1961 came our class was issued with a cricket bat and 3 wooden stumps set into a wooden block to take into the playground. Thereafter the most valuable currency any boy had in his pocket was a tennis ball, the final ingredient of a game. With a 10 minute break in the morning we could not play cricket in the usual tedious 5 day format, or even the 1 day 20/20 format. Instead we played the frantic “Tip it and Run” to ensure everyone had a chance to bat. 60 Fielders ran around at a furious pace chasing the ball whilst those tempted to field closely hoping to take a catch also had to dodge the bat as it was flung down by the batsman sprinting to the bowlers end. Any ball bouncing back off a wall had to be caught one-handed. Amid all this an equal number of girls skipped, ran around or played their own games in oblivion. Collisions or being hit with the ball were frequent, yet no one ever got hurt. Skinned knees were the norm in those days. Mr Foord coached us in bowling technique and must have winced inwardly at the efforts of the batsmen who were obliged to lash wildly at every delivery. At his encouragement I became a “Junior Member” of Scarborough Cricket Club. I gave him 7 shillings and 6 pence for the subscrip- 14 tion and he obtained the membership for me. The membership card was a small red folded card that brought reduced entrance fees to matches and also use of the nets at North Marine Road every evening after 6pm. It was in the nets that we could concentrate on our batting. This time with a proper cricket ball and wearing pads and gloves. All very professional. That summer I bought my first cricket bat from Appleton and Days in Huntriss Row; he showed me how to prepare and maintain it with linseed oil. Mr Foord taught me how to polish the ball and use the seam as a bowler, also the basic “Forward Defensive Stroke” as a batsman, so that I could defend the wicket in a measured way without the frantic panic of dropping the bat and running to the bowler's end every time I touched the ball. The final benefit of Junior Membership came in September with reduced entrance fees during the Annual Cricket Festival to see teams like T.N. Pierce's X1, Yorkshire v MCC, Gentleman v Players, and of course The Tourists. For a small boy armed with an autograph book this was heaven and knowing Mr Foord somehow managed to get my autograph book into the Pavilion. Yes - I still have my autograph book and it's precious contents! The better you came to know him, the more you saw his humorous side. When two 11 years old protagonists were caught settling their differences in the school corridor I remember his voice booming out, “George Westwood... If Douglas Ram's arm was meant to be twisted up his back..... he would have been born that way...” Well that brought an end to that! I left Mr. Foord and Friarage School in July 1961 and went on to the Boys' High. Until I read the November Summer Times, I never knew that Mr Foord was an old Scarborian himself and this might explain his most significant act in steering my future. After sitting the second part of my 11 plus I must have been a borderline case as I was called for an Interview at Woodlands. I had 3 days notice and every lunchtime beforehand Mr Foord coached me through a series of mock interviews. Of course on the day, my parents did their best, sending me off in my best clothes and polished shoes, but surely the advice and guidance of Mr Foord carried me through. When I left Friarage School I'm sure I said goodbye to him and all the other teachers but maybe I forgot to say a big enough thank you. So here and now I want to say, “Mr Foord. Thank-you Sir.” Dave Hepworth (1951-8) writes … 2CRR ... 8 DAYS MY WHOLE world changed soon after leaving School - I got my first set of wheels! It was a very modest set, a 1936 Austin Seven, but to me it was priceless, worth every penny of the 30 quid my Dad paid for it. There were many funny little tweaks long - forgotten by modern motors. For a start, the windscreen opened outwards, which was very welcome on a summer's day, and the wiper blade (just the one! ) could be moved by hand in emergencies. Also, the 15 back seat was inflatable, just the job for sitting up Oliver's Mount holding -a young lady’s hand while watching the lights of Scarborough. It certainly beat the back row of the Odeon. But I digress ! Best of all to me, was the registration plate - the unforgettable CRR 8. The car had previously been owned by a local insurance agent, and was already a familiar sight as it rattled round town. It was to become more so. But first plans for my pride & joy were quickly dashed. Far from whipping smartly from story to story in my job as a junior reporter on the Scarborough Evening News, my Editor told me in no uncertain terms that I couldn't charge expenses for petrol. UGH! So it was to be a just a funmobile No problem. Friends like Freddie Drabble, Chris Found and sundry members of the Rowing Club enjoyed the freedom that CRR 8 gave us. There was a memorable moors trip 16 down the 1-in-2 hill to Littlebeck. The return journey was more of a struggle, but we MADE it. And Sutton Bank also took a lot out of the old girl but again we struggled to the top in clouds of steam ... Freddie and I even managed a week's holiday to Norwich and BACK. A slipping clutch all the way home wasn't much fun, though. But no-one could forget a certain Old Scarborians' Christmas dinner at the St Nicholas Hotel. Afterwards we were all in VERY high spirits, and singing young gents hung from every bit of the old girl as I roared round the Square trying frantically to shake them off. I managed to lose them all safely, but the metal No Parking sign someone had thoughtfully hoisted onto the roof was still there. As we shot across Newborough at midnight into Freddie's road the damn sign fell off the roof with one hell of a clatter. I got Freddie home OK, but didn't hang about to wave goodnight! Among my best memories though, was when I was summoned to serve on a Coroner's jury. As I collected my totally unexpected - five bob fee from the Coroner's officer, I asked why I had been chosen. He replied with a grin: "D'you remember getting a parking fine six months ago? Well that's where your name was picked from, “adding: "But I'll have your guts for garters if that ever gets into print." It never did -UNTIL NOW!!! Maurice Pennock (1944-9) writes via Geoff Winn Looking at some of the old photos (page 18) brought back a few memories, though dimmed from well over 60 years ago. One in particular I think I remember vaguely was when we played cricket against Coatham School Redcar when I was captain and it seemed I made a fine decision. I had just taken off one of our quicker bowlers and Llewelyn, a slow bowler, had bowled just one over. We took a wicket at the other end and in came a big strapping player – their umpire was a teacher who had just left Scarborough High School that term for a post at Coatham. As he passed me he quietly said put Jackson back on as this batsman “murders” slow bowlers – I did this, although it would have looked to be a strange decision, but it worked as we got him out that over and we went on to win the game! The Old Scarborians won the prestigious Hospital Cup in 1944 with a team which included Ted Lester and Geoff Dennis. I remember seeing this match when Mr. Rossington took an absolutely superb running catch in the outfield at the Trafalgar Square end at North Marine Road. Ted Lester’s father was our family’s butcher and I was thrilled when he got me Ted’s autograph – I would be 12 then – little did I realise that a few years later I would be playing table-tennis both with and against him. As well as playing cricket for Yorkshire he also became their scorer for many years. I think he will be about 92 or 93 now and I understand he was at a gathering last year which might have been the Yorkshire Awards in Leeds! In 1950/51 there was a table tennis 17 team called Quads which comprised later Old Scarborians Peter Robson, Don Barnes, Ron Hutchinson and myself. Peter was our star man with a 62% winning record - the other three of us were all under the 50% mark but we still finished a creditable fifth in the first division. Peter’s wins included one over Ted Lester who was one of the top players in Scarborough when we beat the team which finished second – and he also won the Junior singles that season (Ron was Runner-up). A newspaper cutting I have shows that a 17 year old D.W.Barnes won that title the following year actually beating Peter in the final. One teacher on a photograph I remember as being very popular was Norman Stoddard. When he took us for PE he would often let us play hand -ball and if one side was losing badly he would join in and play for them. I also remember seeing Mr. Freeman with his arm in a frame after being shot. I found a photograph of 46/7 with Mr Freeman (without the frame) and of the Colts Rugby team of 46/7 with myself on it which surprised me greatly as I was scared stiff of playing the game and am sure I just got rid of the ball very quickly by kicking it away. Dave Hodgson is on that same photograph. He later became a keen fell runner winning the 1958 and 1960 Burnsall Fell Races, his time in 1960 remaining the amateur record for 10 years. According to an article in the Yorkshire Post he finished fourth in the 1958 Three Peaks Race, and later was president of the race’s association. The race web site does not seem to mention this but states he finished second in 60/61/62 & 64, and ran it 21 times! My brother Dennis was a keen rugby player and was in Old Scarborians teams for some years after leaving school before sustaining a very bad knee injury which ended his playing days. He continued to be connected with the game until his death in 1998 being a keen supporter of Maidenhead Rugby Club. Another photo on the website has Mr. Bradley on it – he was head of the prep school when I joined. A very tall man, who would pick us up if he wanted to talk to us eye to eye. Photos next pages: Firstly, the Rugby team 1947: back Mr Freeman, Cudworth, Langrick, Pennock, ? , Hodgson, ? , middle Wharram, Stanley Wallis , Haddington, Ffoulkes, Pickering, ? , ? , front Howard, Green U 14 Cricket 1946: back - Burden, Moore, Mr Colenutt, Hartley, Langrick, ? , ? , Bremner, Frank, Pennock, Turner, front - Jackson, Barnes Colts 1947 : back - Frank, Cudworth, Llewelyn, Burden, Watson, Turner, Mr Hovington, middle - Edwards, Atkinson, Pennock, Jackson, Dixon, front Rines, Barnes 2nd XI 1948 : back - Mr Hinchliffe, Turner, Watson, Brown, Stockdale, Moss, Pennock, middle - Frank, Llewelyn, Greenwood, Lee, Featherstone, front - Bastiman, Burden Peter Berry has also produced the attached with names. The only one missing is the sunburnt boy on the 18 back row. The others are as follows: Back; Lionel Howden, Ron Colley, Bertie Bassett, ? , Billy Barton, Mr Francis Middle; Don Barnes, David Merri- weather, John Yeadon, Peter Midgley, Barry Dove Front; Walter Rogers, Gordon Pottage 19 SCARBOROUGH LUNCH – WHEN YOU ARE EIGHTY! Following a lunch at Scarborough on the 22nd of October last attended by Peter Berry (1945-50), Peter Robson (1945-53), Colin Moore (1945-50), Derek Fawcett (1944-50), and Barry Christopherson (1945-51), Peter Berry has forwarded the following exchange of reminiscences:- 20 Colin Moore writes ;It was good to meet some faces from the past. Pity some had to miss. Enclosing images taken yesterday (see photos) not as good as I had hoped... The lighting wasn't a help, but at least everyone is recognisable. Peter Berry writes :It was great to talk to two who I had not had a proper conversation with for 64 years ! Colin is at the back on both photos and the others left to right are Deryk Fawcett, Barry Christopherson, Peter Robson and Peter Berry. Sadly three called off late for medical reasons but sent their regards and hope to attend in 2015, which will be 70 years since we started at SBHS. Apart from a very enjoyable chat the points which arose are as follows. Where do we hold next year’s lunch? York was the only suggestion because of train accessibility, but , so far as I know, we do not have a resident who could arrange. I thought Scarborough would attract more than Lincoln but I was wrong for a variety of reasons. Who runs the lunch which would depend on venue. When do we hold it? The only suggestion is the first week in September. I avoided the summer because of grandchildren only to lose at least one who goes away for the winter. It was my first conversation with Deryk for 64 years! He stayed at The Southlands in West Street because his daughter wanted to visit. I still have my Arnold cap but the blazer has disappeared! I had hoped for a larger attendance because of family etc. connections but all these years later they must be thinning. Obviously we are all getting older and our old pals are spread South Coast/London Area/West Country/Midlands and Yorkshire which makes travel difficult. If they do not want to make a holiday here we shall have to compromise, but where? Even those that live in surrounding villages are thinning, as Peter Robson goes further north to live near family. If you know the answer please let us know. The early September suggestion was to fit with a holiday in the Dales. Come for a coffee if you visit Scarborough or something stronger if I pick you up ! Peter Midgley writes :I did visit Derek Fawcett a few years ago when I went down to Henley to play golf. He lived very close to the course. You must have been disappointed that several of the class had to drop out. Here’s hoping something can be organised for next year! We must have been very smart in our new uniforms from Beales when we all started 70 years ago! PATRICK ARGENT (1973) Committee Member Dublin-born Patrick Argent is a graphic designer, design journalist, events organiser and college lecturer. Educated in schools in Dublin and London, with his parents he emigrated to Yorkshire in the 1960's and continued his education at Scarborough Boys High School. After training in art and design at Scarborough Technical College, he studied design at Hull College of Higher Education before establishing his graphic design studio in 1983. His clients have included English Heritage, Alan Ayckbourn, Royal 21 Shakespeare Company, Asda Stores and McCain Foods, amongst numerous companies and organisations. As a journalist he has written regularly for The Independent newspaper in addition to contributing to various professional design journals and websites in the USA, Holland and Britain since 1996. He is a former editor of CSD magazine, the journal of the Chartered Society of Designers, the professional institute for design in the UK. Since 2000, he has regularly organised lectures on design by many leading industry figures that have included Sir Peter Blake, Sir Christopher Frayling and Milton Glaser amongst others. In education he has taught graphic design at University of Lincoln and at Yorkshire Coast College and has acted as an academic adviser to the University of Hull. He currently teaches parttime at Scarborough Sixth Form College. OBITUARIES Jack Speight Extracted from the Scarborough News 20th November 2014 “Farewell to Jack Speight”. One of the most prominent former education figures in Scarborough has recently died at the age of 93. Jack Speight was the former Deputy Headmaster at Scarborough Boys High School and latterly Deputy Principal of Scarborough Sixth Form College. He was born John Granville Speight in Leeds in 1921, the oldest of three children. He grew up with his brother Derek and sister Ann in the deprived area of Holbeck in the city where his parents ran a corner shop. By his own determination and with much encouragement from his family, he succeeded academically, attending Cockburn High School. Showing a lifelong keenness for all sports, in particular rugby union, cricket and boxing, he achieved the title of schoolboy boxing champion of Yorkshire. Entering higher education he enrolled as an undergraduate student at Leeds University, gaining a degree in Physics. Unable to serve in the armed forces due to a perforated eardrum, he spent the period of WW2 working at the Cavendish laboratories in Cambridge, despite having had ambitions to be in the Royal Air Force. After the war, joining the teaching profession as his vocation, he began his career at Morecambe Grammar School as a science teacher in addition to coaching the rugby and hockey teams. During this period he met his first wife Ina, also a teacher, who he married in 1948. Living in the region, he greatly enjoyed walking in the Lakeland hills as an activity in his spare time. After the birth of their first son Clifford, the family returned to his West Yorkshire roots, where Jack taught physics at Castleford Grammar School. His passionate love of sports continued, playing in both local and county rugby teams in addition to a role as a school team coach. 22 After his wife's father became ill and being advised that the sea air world be beneficial for his health, the family moved to Scarborough in 1955, Ina's parents joining them to live in their house in Scalby Road. Jack and Ina's second son Robert was born in 1956. An unforgettably commanding and influential figure to thousands of local grammar school pupils, Jack Speight taught in Scarborough for almost 30 years, initially at Westwood and then at the then newly built Boys High School in Woodlands Drive from 1959. In his much admired teaching as a Physics Master, although being precise and thorough with theory, it was in his particular use of practical work, in experiments and meaningful demonstrations that he brought the subject alive, inspiring many of his pupils to become scientists and engineers. With the introduction of the comprehensive system into secondary education in the mid-1970's, he joined the Sixth Form College until his retirement in 1985. Ina died of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 58. In his retirement his main interests were that of golf, being a member of the North Cliff club and as both a committee member and chairman of the MS society. He married his second wife Priska, in 1983 living in Newby. Jack's first son Robert died in 2007 after living most of his adult life in Spain as a teacher and musician in Granada and Madrid. Richard Seymour, one of the world's leading industrial designers and a former Scarborough Boys High School pupil, remembers Jack Speight, stating: 'We knew him as 'Digger'. Noone knew why, but it had a vaguely malevolent ring to it. A calm figure of authority on one hand, but nemesis to the miscreant who would dare step out of line. The thought of being hauled-up by the Headmaster was a chilling-enough thought, but to cross Jack Speight was something too scary to contemplate ... even the other staff used him as a symbol of righteous retribution. 'Who would have guessed that behind this mask of authority lay a delightful man of warmth and dignity? He came to my last talk at the Library and smiled at me from the audience ... how the wheel turns!" Also referring to his 'Digger' moniker known to so many, former pupil Peter Lassey recounts: "I remember it being traditional to have a nickname for the most colourful of our teachers and Jack was one of those, notorious for his iron hard demeanour and discipline. Underneath, of course, was a hugely compassionate man and one who I have always remembered for his patience advising me during a critical period at the end of my time at the school" Howard Acklam, current President of the Old Scarborians Association (OSA) for former pupils and staff at the Boys High, in paying tribute said: "He was well respected by many of the students he taught, over his many years at the school in which he always instilled a great sense of purpose." Graphic designer and teacher Patrick Argent recalls: 'Jack Speight was the overlord, the absolute rule of law within the Boys High School. The archetypal image of the authoritarian school master, yet he was also this mild-mannered, quietly spoken mentor whose pragmatic, no- 23 nonsense wisdom gave everyone a sense of direction, drive and commitment in our studies Essentially he made us all proud to be part of the then grammar school system." Honorary Life Vice-President of the OSA Mick Bowman also commented: "He was a major character and had a positive influence on all those who knew him. Education and the world are poorer for his passing." Freddie Drabble, solicitor and leader of The Sons Of Neptune marine conservation group, added his own tribute in stating: "There were few indeed on the SBHS staff who you might have regarded as a friend. 'Digger' was that exception as his approach was on a man-man basis, not master and pupil. He was a man with no edge. What you saw was what you got. "That to me was an exceptional gift in a schoolmaster in the 1950s. I have no doubt that he ever changed. He didn't have to. He injected the common man approach into the classroom. There are far too few with the 'Digger' common touch" Jack Speight died peacefully on 3rd November at the Rambla Nursing Home on Scalby Road in Scarborough where he had lived for the last ten months of his life. He is survived by his wife Priska, his eldest son Clifford and his grandchildren Joseph and Ellen”. James Arthur Bland (1942-9) (a reflection by J G Lee) Jim (above) was a well respected and popular pupil at Scarborough Boys’ High School from 1942 to 1949 having previously been at Central Primary School. During his time at SBHS he was a member of the School Army Cadets and was in possession of a number of “Best Shot” trophies. However his major “trophy” of this period was to meet Rita Jackson, aged 13, at a Youth Club Event at the 24 Olympia taking part in square dancing. Rita was his partner at the dances and throughout the rest of his life. Jim and Rita were married at St Mary’s church in Scarborough in June 1954 and, whilst living in South West Yorkshire their two daughters, Angela and Julia were born. Scarborough never left their blood because Rita’s parents’ house in Tennyson Avenue became their base for holidays with much time spent in a beach chalet on the North Side. In later years grandchildren Vicky, Sarah, Ben and Charlotte revelled in active holidays, organized by Jim. Great grandson William arrived too late for the beach hut, but, nevertheless, thrilled his great granddad. Neville Thompson’s meeting with Jim in their first year at SBHS led to a life-long friendship between their families. He and Jim attended a school camp at Gunnerside which was also attended by a group from the AngloNetherlands Sports Association from Flushing. Jim and Neville used to cycle prodigious distances, including rides to York where they visited Neville’s relatives. Apparently during 1943-1945 the central reservation on the A64 dual carriageway was used for storage of ammunition, what appeared to be large shells. A good job that the road conditions were such that there was very little traffic to contend with ! Once Jim had learnt to drive he used to borrow his Father’s Lanchester to take Rita, Joy and Neville for country drives in North Yorkshire. Happy memories! In his final year Jim was a Prefect and, as was the fate of most of us on leaving school, he went into the Army on National Service, being posted to the Army Preliminary Education Corps, where in Oswestry, Bodmin, Norwich and Colchester he taught those with literacy difficulties. On leaving the Army Jim joined Marks and Spencer as a trainee. (This begs the question, “was his Army role a good preparation for a career in retailing”). Jim spent the rest of his working life on a tour of North and South-West Yorkshire, training in York and Bridlington before holding managerial posts in Harrogate, Sheffield, Bradford, Wakefield, Rotherham, Chesterfield, Castleford, Keighley and Dewsbury. Although I knew Jim during our early years at School we did not become close friends until we both became involved in Drama and Music. Jim achieved “stardom” very early with his cameo role of Dick Deadeye in the School production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore (produced by Gerry Hovington and musically directed by Arthur Costain). This was the first time that Jim’s acting ability and superb bass voice came to the notice of the wider audiences attending the performances. The following year he starred as Macduff in the “Sam Rockinghorse” (alias Eric Rice) production of Macbeth. In this role Jim’s large stature and strong speaking voice made for a great performance – this was particularly realistic when, one evening during Macduff’s sword fight with Macbeth, a front row member of the audience was heard to say “How do they do that? It looks like real blood!” Truthfully, it was and Jim’s forehead had to be plastered as soon as he left the stage. However 25 the show, in true tradition, carried on. The following year the chosen performance was Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. This gave Jim the opportunity to sing the role of Pirate King, which he performed in outstanding fashion, with his big stature, strong deep bass voice topped by a huge, black curled wig and a large “Jolly Roger” flag. In this production I played the tenor role of Frederick and Jim and I had a wonderful time rehearsing and performing the duets in the show. One feature I remember well was the “Paradox” trio where we were joined by “Ruth”, a contralto, played by one of the Junior boys, which received acclamation at every performance. The “female” lead , a soprano, was another Junior called Ben Cook, who I believe was the Head Chorister at St Mary’s Church, and his rendering of the solo, ”Poor Wandering One” was outstanding for a treble. During our time in the 5th and 6th forms Jim and I both took singing lessons with Claude Keeton, the organist at St Mary’s Church, and conductor of both the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra and Choir. We were always encouraged by Arthur Costain, who began to arrange for us to perform at various concerts and Speech Day. This was a bone of contention with me because Jim always got to sing “macho” songs – often from the repertoire of famous singers like Owen Brannigan and Geraint Evans eg. “Drake’s Drum”, “Leaning”, whilst I, who was the rugby playing, athletic guy, had to sing songs such as “Linden Lea” and “English Rose” – not good for the image! During this time “Brad”, Mr Bradley, the Deputy Head, asked Jim and I to visit several of the old peoples clubs in Scarborough, which we continued with for two years, to sing for the folks after their afternoon tea. One of the duets we sang was “The Gendarme Duet “; this was great fun and, yet again, Jim’s voice was most impressive. A few years ahead of Jim and I was the very well known local bass, Don Kynman who is a former pupil of SBHS, and I cannot help but say how lucky the High School was to have Don and Jim, two outstanding bass singers, through its doors during such a short period. Don and Jim both sang as “semi-professionals” after they left school, Jim’s audiences were mainly in Yorkshire Working Mens’ Clubs and Rotary Functions. In more recent times Jim and Rita went on numerous cruises where they re-visited their love of dancing and have joined me in Cheshire, on an annual basis, in order for us to visit Buxton for the Gilbert and Sullivan three week festival. A real joy. Jim will be greatly missed, particularly by family, but his sense of fun, kindness and great singing talent will live in our memories. It is true to say he was “The Pirate King”. Colin Hurd (1952-8) Howard Acklam writes…. I had an E-Mail from the Rugby Club earlier this afternoon. I'm very sad to report the death of Old Scarborian Colin Hurd. He hasn't been well for a 26 long time but always battled bravely on in stoic fashion. A great friend of Colin's from his Rugby days - Brian Collinson - who some of you will know, also passed away very recently and I'm sure that will also have been a big blow to Colin. Colin played rugby for the School as well as the Old Scarborians in their regular Boxing Day games against Scarborough. He also played for Scarborough 1st XV over many years, playing or the Club from 1958 to 1966. He was also President of Scarborough RUFC during 1988-89. of the Association for a number of years"I started playing Rugby at Scarborough in 1958 and played mainly for the 1st XV until 1968. I was then persuaded to play for the veterans team for a few years and finally retired in 1975. After that I was Secretary of the Club from 1973 to 1979 and President in season 1988-89. Since that time I have done very little because of work commitments. I played cricket in Scarborough from 1967 to 1981 mainly in the second team but for some seasons in the first XI. From 1975 to 1979 I captained the second team in the East Yorkshire Cup competition. I was mainly a batsman and scored over 5000 runs during my time at Scarborough. I served on Scarborough Cricket Club main committee from 1977 to 1998, a continuous stint of 21 years, ending up as Vice Chairman mainly to do with the cricket side of things. Before that I played at Cloughton and have now returned there as Secretary. After I retired from Scarborough Building Society I took a temporary seasonal job at the Town Hall helping in the cash office counting and banking the cash from car parks etc. I am married to Kate and have a daughter Nicola and a son Richard." Stuart Bennett (47-55) Our thoughts will be with his family . Extracted from the committee profile of Colin published in Summer Times of May 2003, - Colin having served as a Committee member and subsequently Membership Secretary From the Rose Bruford College website “We were saddened to hear of the passing of Stuart Bennett on 28 January 2015. Stuart was a pioneer in the theatre 27 for young audiences sector and was instrumental in developing the Theatre in Education (TiE) movement in this country in the 1960s and 70s. collection of film and written material from his days at the Cockpit to its archive and was on the advisory committee for the Centre when it was established in 2011. Despite recent ill health Stuart continued to be an active advocate for theatre in its broadest sense and his towering frame and seemingly unending energy will be greatly missed by those who knew him” Bill Redman (1946 – 54) Stuart joined Rose Bruford College in the mid 1970's, teaching on our BA Theatre Arts programme before becoming Director of our groundbreaking BA Community Theatre Arts programme. In 1982 Stuart took up the role of Director of the Cockpit Theatre in London and then went on to work as the Refugee Theatre Co-ordinator at the Inner City Theatre, Hackney. He taught and wrote about working for, by and with children and young people and in 2005 edited the book 'Theatre for Children and Young People: 50 Years of Professional Theatre in the UK'. Stuart continued to have a longstanding relationship with the College which he continued most recently in his support for our Theatre for Young Audiences Centre. He donated an extensive writes; Stuart was a man of many talents. Over the years we went our separate ways and certainly we did not always agree on educational matters, but there was a bond created at the SBHS and Westborough Methodist Chapel Youth Club which never disappeared and as we reached our seventies we revived this friendship with warmth. Stuart was a talented sportsman. He played rugby for the 1st XV for three years and was a Victor Ludorum. When he did a spell of teaching in Leeds he played at Moortown Rugby Club, but despite his promise at club level, his interests were elsewhere. It was typical of Henry Marsden that he should casually suggest that Stuart should apply to read English at Downing College, at that time under the eccentric Fred Leavis certainly the most prestigious English department in the country. Stuart was successful and after two years National Service in Germany where he was a radio mechanic and developed a lifelong passion for Wagner, he took up his studies. After Cambridge Stuart had a suc- 28 cession of jobs - BBC radio producer, Probation Officer, teacher, before he found his true vocation - the role of drama and the theatre in education. At school and at college I had not been aware of such intense interest. He had been Polonius to Steve Williamson’s Hamlet, but I suspect that it was in his work after university that he developed this passion for 'Theatre in Education.' In the volatile field of drama Stuart made an impact. He lectured in the Community Theatre Arts Course at Rose Bruford Drama School and became Director of the Belgrade Theatre in Education Company in Coventry and later Director of the Youth Arts Centre at the Cockpit Theatre, London. Inevitably he became politically committed in Equity and the Drama Teachers Association. In 1992 he became Head of Education at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden. Former colleagues at his funeral ceremony testified to their debt to Stuart as a source of inspiration. Stuart could be stubborn. He refused to retire and continued to teach, write and motivate. He refused to accept that he had cancer and remained positive to the end. He refused to remain in his London hospital and released himself to attend an Old Boys' dinner in Scarborough. He had marked in his diary the date of this year's London Dinner. His interest in the Old Boys' Association and Scarborough remained undiminished. Our sympathy goes to Teresa and his children who looked after, with love and care, such an in independent spirit. DONALD WEST AND THE SCARBORIAN Several copies of "The Scarborian" from 1935/6, including the May 1935 first Issue under that title, have recently been forwarded by Michael West, the son of Old Scarborian Donald West. Donald, who died in 2013, was School Captain in 1935, then attaining a State Scholarship. The Magazine, which was principally a School Magazine, also records the formal rebirth of the Association in that year, and includes a final few pages devoted to its activities, which were largely sporting. The first Annual dinner was at the then Cambridge Hotel with three substantial courses for 4/6d; and, interestingly, Donald's copy of the menu contains the autographs of many attendees, including the Headmaster H W Marsden, who extolled the virtues of the Association, which he hoped would prosper into the future - a correct prophesy given that this year is the 80th Anniversary of the reformed Association! A printed application form for Membership (at a princely 2/6d) was also attached (and it was difficult to resist the temptation to now send a completed copy to our Membership Secretary Geoff Winn with half a crown in some Old Money to provide him with food for thought!) 29 BRIAN RAZZALL and EASTER PARADE And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter parade. Michael Herman (1937-47) I wonder if anyone has memories of the school revue held around Easter in 1938 or perhaps 1939, and of Brian Razzall leading the performance? A detail of wartime history unlocked my recollections of it some years ago, and they might be of interest. I entered the Prep as an eight-year old in September 1937. The Christmas school plays under Eric Rice were well established by then, but they were followed once - and in my recollection only once - by a revue at the end of the winter term, held in a church hall halfway down Westborough, perhaps in Falsgrave. Its theme and theme-song was ‘Easter Parade’, the tune and lyric we still know well :In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade. I'll be all in clover and when they look you over, I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade. On the avenue, fifth avenue, the photographers will snap us, And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure. Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet, It had been written by Irving Berlin for a musical comedy in New York in 1933, repeated in London under another name in 1935. We must have all got to know the lyric on what we then called ‘the wireless’. It appeared later in the ‘Easter Parade’ film of 1948 with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, and you can still buy innumerable versions of it on CDs and DVDs. I hardly remember anything about the revue as a whole. I have a dim recollection that there was a school orchestra as part of it, conducted by Harry McNicoll who taught history under Biff Smith, and I have memories of Dennis Pennock and perhaps Bernard Barrett from the Prep among the violins. Was the school orchestra an ad hoc creation, or did it have a continued existence? Even if it did, it must have expired with the war. But everything is dominated by the memory of Brian Razzall who acted as compere, and must have been a gifted comedian. My recollection is that he more or less stopped the show, with the audience shouting ‘give us more Razzall’. I had never known anything like it. I remember that my father, taking me as a fatherly duty, reported at home what a surprisingly good show it was. I wonder whether any programmes and notices of the performance survive. Razzall was a senior boy, about to leave school, and this was my only knowledge of him; but with an impressionable eight-year old the memory stuck. 30 Came the war, and Razzall was killed in 1943. He had become a Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot, and was lost in the battle over the landing at Salerno. Harry Marsden usually announced such wartime losses briefly at the morning assembly and did not normally produce substantial obituaries; but I recall that for Razzall he produced a moving notice for The Scarborian, the more impressive since it was exceptional. It reflected his deep feelings about the wartime deaths, and his eye for quality. Razzall was of course one among many, and the world moved on. In the General Election of 1945 his brother Leonard Humphrey unsuccessfully stood as Scarborough’s Liberal candidate, and lost (Gilly Gray stood for the party in the School‘s imitation election and of course won). I believe Leonard was a barrister and became a Taxing Master, an office for the oversight of barristers’ fees. His son is now Lord Razzall, a life peer, prominent in the Liberal Democrats. I have no other knowledge of the family. That could have been the end of the story, until I came by chance to an addition. It was in a memoir published in 1995 by a New Zealand officer (‘Cappy’ Masters) about the Dominion’s allvolunteer contribution to the wartime Fleet Air Arm, and it includes an account of Razzall’s death and part of his official report on it of 15 September 1943. Razzall and Masters were sublieutenants aboard the carrier HMS Unicorn, flying Seafires, the nautical version of the Spitfire, and part of the fleet supporting the Salerno landing. With two other pilots they were flown to Sicily to collect replacement Seafires , and the group of four took off for the 240 mile flight back to the carrier over water with Razzall leading them. They met a group of American Mustang fighters which made to attack them and forced them to use up fuel escaping at full throttle. Visibility then deteriorated and after an hour and a half Razzall contacted an RN vessel for a course to the carrier. The stilted language of the official report then conveys the group’s agonising failures to find the carrier and the unsuccessful attempts to get emergency directions with fuel running out. They eventually turned for the Italian coast but Razzall ran out of fuel and sought to bail out about seven miles before reaching it. Masters writes that ‘I shall never forget the simple but poignant message that Brian Razzall relayed to us as he was about to bale out “I’m getting out now chaps. Best of luck to you”. . . . What happened when he disappeared into the hazy fog no one will know.’ Masters speculates that with a dead engine he might have got trapped by the back of the cockpit and dragged down by the centrifugal force. His body was never recovered. Of the other three, one bailed out and the other two (including Masters) were able to crash land virtually on the battlefield. The account is in A.O.’Cappy’ Masters, Memoirs of a Reluctant Batsman (London: Janus, 1995). So it is a sad story: death not in heroic aerial combat, but in war’s manifold risks and confusion: one of so many almost unrecorded tragedies. I add it here to complete my memories of Raz- 31 zall, ‘Easter Parade’ and the School orchestra. Can any readers add to them? Was it really the outstanding success I remember, and if so why was it never repeated? WE DON’T NEED NO EDYUKASHUN! Ian Scott (1962-70) writes….. ‘THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE’ ………. or so our parents and elders told us way back when. In response to Dave Eade’s article in the May 2013 edition of Summer Times, I decided to put a little thought into his suggestion that we have a wealth of information from experiences gained in all different spheres of the education world. I am old enough now to see ‘new ideas’ being suggested that were, in fact, common practice back in the 60’s when I was at the Boys’ High School! I do admit that my knowledge is somewhat limited as I remained teaching at the same school from 1974 until I retired two years ago! Why, you may ask, did I remain in one establishment for my entire teaching career? Well, after completing my geography degree in London, I decided to apply for a PGCE at Hull University, (sorry non-teachers, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education or teaching qualification!) I had missed the North, having been ‘Darn Sarf’ for three years. I thought I possibly may teach, or even run my parent’s hotel in Scarborough, as my father had just passed away. On completion of my post grad year in ‘ull, (during which I still managed to travel home most weekends to play rugby for Scarborough and to generally socialise), I started to look for a teaching post in or around Scarborough. Impossible! That area of North Yorkshire was an elephant’s graveyard for teachers. I was even looking as far away as Ripon, Northallerton and York, with no success. It was then that a friend and fellow Old Scab, Richard Watson, (son of the late Bob) got in touch and informed me there was a geography teaching post available at his school, Kirkham Grammar in Lancashire. Ideal, I thought. I phoned, arranged an interview and was offered the post. Why, then, did I accept a job ‘over the border?’ Well, I have to confess, I was actually born in Lancashire, but made the pilgrimage east with my parents, when a child of only seven. So I was, and still am, a naturalised Yorkshireman! However, in the 1970s, I did have a fiancée teaching at Raincliffe! Problem? ….. you bet! Especially as the previous year she was teaching in Manchester and had moved for us to be closer together! I do know every inch of the dreaded M62! The deciding factor was the type of school Kirkham was. It was similar in ethos to SBHS but much older. It even looked a little like Greyfriars in the Bunter books! It was founded in 1549 but on a different site. It was a voluntary aided grammar school. For those who didn’t study the boring history of education…. (9.00 am lecture on Mon- 32 days Hull Uni ….. often not made by me!) These schools were run by a local education authority but owned by the school’s governors. The school trust itself paid about 25% of the costs. The boys (yes, it was single sex) were selected by the much maligned 11+ exam and we had an intake of two forms, each of about 30 pupils. Not dissimilar to the High School in Scarborough, when I started many years ago! Yes, it was selective and ‘yes’ it did cater for the more academically able. Elitist? Well yes, I suppose so, as entry was based on intellectual ability! If you failed the much feared exam …. You went down the road to the Secondary Modern. So in 1979 with ‘comprehensivisation’ taking place all over the country, Lancashire Education Authority offered to make us the junior part (the first two years!) of a larger amalgamation with the local secondary modern. This was despite the fact they had no 6th form on their site, as we had. Our school Governors decided that ‘it was not a good option to amalgamate’ so they decided to ‘cease to maintain’ or go it alone and revert to independence as years later the LEA would probably have decided to eventually have their secondary school on a single site and give ‘The Grammar’ back to the Governors’ Trust! Consequently Kirkham Grammar School ceased to be LEA maintained and became an Independent, Co-educational School. The irony of this was that the pupils already attending KGS had to have their whole education paid for by the LEA, even up to 18, which most of them did! So this guaranteed a certain financial income over the transition years of early independence, in a locality where there were many competitors both in the private sector and two selective, free grammar schools all within 23-30 miles! I stayed there for my entire teaching career! 38 years at the same establishment because it offered similar opportunities to what I can remember I had at SBHS. Yes, we did play a lot of competitive sport (too much some would say!) Extra curricular activities were abundant. Music, drama and outdoor pursuits thrived. Staff voluntarily gave their spare holiday time to take ski trips, French tours, music and art trips to Europe and New York and, of course, numerous rugby, cricket and hockey trips all over the world! Yes, it was a private school and all these quite expensive activities came on top of the termly fees for education and there was also the option of boarding for those living further afield or in the armed forces. Elitist again, but based this time on wealth even though an entrance exam had to be taken! Any economist amongst you may realise that all available places had to be filled for the school to be economically viable and private schools rarely publish their entire entrance examination results! I recently started to compare and reflect on the variety of opportunities we all had back in the 60s at SBHS, at 33 the state-funded Woodlands Campus (a word not used in those days….. far too American?) Not just the academic curriculum we followed, with the usual core subjects with options for General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level, (as it was then). But I remember Russian being taught along with French, German and Latin (what has happened to modern foreign language teaching in our state schools in recent years?). All three sciences were offered and not the watered-down, wishywashy General Science as taken nowadays! I seem to recall the A stream (nowadays called banding, rather than the divisive streaming!) took their English, Maths and French O levels in the 4th form (now year 10!) and then added English Literature, Use of English and, I think, Statistics in the next year! This was about 10 or 11 O levels for the brighter boys by the time they were 17! But what else did our SBHS education give us outside the classroom environment? We had a Sixth Form Union which organised regular, joint meetings with the girls from the Girls’ High School over at Stepney. I seem to remember visiting speakers, films, debates and even joint dances were allowed. The end of term often saw a ‘Revue’ on similar lines to ‘Beyond the Fringe’ or ‘Monty Python’ well before Cleese, Palin and Chapman et al, but just as silly! All these were written and performed by budding thespians from our 6th form. The ‘Noel Speakeasy’ was based on ‘Gangsters and Molls.’ I believe ‘The Untouchables’ TV programme was popular at the time! We also celebrated the end of A levels with a rousing chorus of a song written by the late Rob Southwick of ‘Mandrakes’ fame: ‘Sunny Days and Summer Nights, now the exams are through….no more worries, no more strife…!’ ‘We’ve finished our A levels, now is the time for revels….. Straight to the man called Pete, his belly hides his feet….’ This referred to working at a local ice cream establishment during the summer hols! Certain sketches had to be vetted by the Head, Percy Gardiner, and I remember a classic quote he used from his services career which has stayed in my mind ever since: ‘We used to have a saying in the army, Scott – you can have wit without sh**!’ He objected to certain names we used in a spoof of ‘University Challenge’ – ‘Emily Shaftswell and Leica Rabbitt were not exactly ‘Billy Bigbollocks’ (quote PAG) but he didn’t really like Isaac Hunt or Hugh Jarce! What exactly was the UNA Youth Group? I seem to remember having a car treasure hunt and ending up at a country pub for a booze up! Was this before the days of the breathalyser and drink driving? Or was this just another excuse to meet girls from the Convent or Girls’ High and to see how many we could fit in a car? The winner was Rich White with nine in a mini! The other times we invited females to our all male bastion up at Woodlands was for the annual dramatic productions. Initially it was the late, great Samuel Rockinghorse, but later on in my 6th form time it was a young English master called Tim Hulse, who took over the Rockinghorse reins. ‘The Alchemist’ 34 in modern dress was a huge success and a photo has been produced in this magazine and is also on the Old Scabs. web site. This was followed the next year by ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ another great production and then ‘L’Avare’ by Moliere. I never understood that play when I failed French A level in 1969, but in English as ‘The Prodigious Snob’ it seemed to make sense! I suppose what I am trying to say is that we were all very fortunate at SBHS in having quite a well thought out and varied education back in the dim old days of the 60s when the much-maligned 11+ selection exam was still very much in evidence. The academic push was there but also there was the opportunity to enjoy competitive sports (as long as it was rugby and cricket or athletics!). There was also a wide variety of extra curricular clubs and societies along with a wealth of educational and leisure trips. Admittedly sports trips never went international as they do nowadays, but the world was a much larger place then and cheap packages and overseas flights had not become as accessible as Having experienced many changes throughout my teaching career, I can say honestly that not all of them have always been for the good of all. For instance the introduction of GCSE in 1988, I thought it was a little less demanding, (certainly in my subject,) than the old O level and unquestionably did not always stretch the more able student. I remember the first task on the NEA Geography Paper 1 in 1988 was a simple map of the National Parks of England and Wales. The pupil was then asked ‘How many National Parks are there?’ – this was to test if the less-able could count, I suppose? Not ‘What is a National Park and describe their distribution’ as it would have been set at Ordinary Level! – that would have been far too difficult for the less able candidate! I agree that the old O level GCE and CSE catered for completely different abilities, just like the secondary grammar, modern and technical did in the 50’s and 60’s. But the ‘bog standard, one size fits all’ will never work in education, where we are dealing with a wealth of differing individuals, characters, interests and personalities. I truly believed in the initial aim of the Comprehensive system to offer all children all possibilities and every opportunity, whether academic, sporting, social or whatever, to see where ‘every child could achieve and gain success’. This was to replace the anachronistic system of labelling a child ‘success or failure’ at the tender age of 11. To reduce outlay and running costs, the educational bean counters decided to provide this revolutionary, new system under one roof with the creation of ‘super comps’ some with over 1500 pupils! But have they really worked? Yes, there are both good and bad State schools, just as there are in the independent sector. Changes are ongoing, some for the better, as many schools now are deciding to become City Technology Colleges, Church Schools, Specialist Sport or Performing Arts schools and ‘Academies’ or ‘Free 35 Schools’ which have ‘opted out’ of Local Authority control. Does this remind you of a similar, previous system? Am I experiencing a certain déjà vu here? There has even been a recent suggestion that some state pupils should attend certain classes, (in, say, Mandarin!) at the nearby private school… I thought ‘Assisted Places’ disappeared years ago? I remember when Gordon Brown was PM wanting pupils from the local comps to share the benefits of attending Combined Cadet Force and similar activities like the Duke of Edinburgh Award that public schools enjoyed. At that time I was the Commanding Officer of Kirkham Grammar School CCF and the PM thought a liaison between schools would ‘prevent feral youths roaming the streets’ (Quote). He suggested this without any funding or provision of staff from the neighbouring school! Our parade was after they had finished school at 3.00pm! and none of their staff were prepared to attend…. as they say in Yorkshire ‘Tha’ never does owt for nowt! The proposed link between our schools never materialised! I believe since then, only three State Schools in all UK have initiated cadet contingents using MoD funding! If I knew the answer to this educational conundrum, I would be the Secretary of State. As a mere teacher of 38 years experience, I think that over the last 30 years or so, politicians from all parties have altered the system. They have tinkered with differing policies, introduced innovations (and reintroduced older ideas!) and transformed the future of our children and are now realising that, compared with the standards of education in many of our European partners, we are no longer leading the field as we were a few generations ago. Even some of the less developed countries in the world have more successful education systems. I am sure that anyone who has visited the Far East, Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia… (need I go on?) will have seen the pride that their children take in, not only their school and education, but also their appearance in school uniform. Stand outside the local secondary school in the UK and compare! However, in defence of the independent sector, there has been a huge increase in pupils from overseas, especially the Far East, seeking places at our established Public Schools! Significantly, private education is a product that the rest of the world is keen to acquire. Pupils from the booming economies of China, Korea and even Russia are a fast expanding cohort. A dozen or so independent schools, led by Harrow, have even set up lucrative branches and franchises in the Far East, selling British excellence in education at a premium. Yet what the world covets is often much criticised in this country. If state education were uniformly excellent, like many of the remaining state grammars, the new academies and top performing comprehensives; then independent schools would have no reason to exist and probably would struggle to survive. Bad schools do not exist because there are good ones ‘creaming off the best’ and the good ones cannot 36 be blamed for the bad being bad. Not until all state schools achieve standards of genuine excellence and reject a culture of tolerating mediocrity or ‘levelling down’, will the situation change. Parents, meanwhile, should be free to choose their children’s school, and not be pilloried for doing so. Rant over…. I hope that has been food for thought and we all still value what we gained from SBHS, even if it was merely lasting friendships? Was our school well ahead of its time or am I slightly biased? Please feel free to respond with your feelings, memories, gripes, whinges and comments on your experiences of the educational system of either today or yesteryear. I look forward to responses and reaction to my beliefs. Just a little post script for those of a more socialist persuasion – in 1965 there were more working class Oxbridge undergraduates than today! Don’t get me going about the lowering of university entrance standards for State School students!! That could be another article! DON BARNES (1946-53) continues his 1966 travels (see May 2014 Edition) …French-speaking Haiti was a different proposition. Ruled by dictator "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his brutal "tontons macoutes", Haiti had much poverty and, because of recent bad press, few tourists. I found it an absorbing and exciting, if at times frustrating and unnerving, country. The Hotel Oloffson, at which I had arrived with an American 37 friend from the plane, was an unconventional and intriguing Gothic gingerbread mansion in a lush tropical garden on a hill overlooking Port-auPrince, the bay and the mountains. It had been originally built for exPresident Sam, who, like many other Haitian dictators before him, had, after a brief period in office, come to a nasty end by assassination. Al Seitz, the owner or manager, an extremely relaxed and apparently easy-going guy, had welcomed us with rum punch and stories in his office, pointing out the "Gielgud Suite" and the rooms occupied by Graham Greene when he was researching his novel "The Comedians", set, some of it, in this very hotel (the "Trianon") and featuring among its characters the manager himself ("Brown") and the little, simpering, dancing, government tourist minister who was to appear at the festivities that evening. The hotel, known as the "Greenwich Village of the Tropics", and for some time a haven for actors, artists and writers, was later to welcome Jacqueline Kennedy and Mick Jagger, but not, unfortunately, when I was there! Greene's novel had turned out to be such a compulsive and savage critique of the Duvalier regime that he had swiftly become "persona non grata" in Haiti, though kindly remembered at the Oloffson. A pleasant young taxi driver who had attached himself to me, and who was often to be found waiting outside the hotel, became a helpful guide in the teeming streets of Port au Prince where the Iron Market was a magnetic hub for the sale of all sorts of local produce. A voodoo ceremony with hypnotic drumming and subsequent 38 trance, and a cockfight in a small enclosed arena (cockpit I suppose), with continuous betting on the outcome, were both gripping if not entirely pleasant experiences, but I was much taken by informal exhibitions by local artists of strikingly colourful and naive paintings and the haunting Rara music of groups parading through the streets below my hotel. Drums, tin trumpets and bamboo horns make a strange, poignant sound. "Rara music is a Lenten processional music with strong ties to the Vodou religious tradition. It has been commonly confused with Haitian Carnival since both celebrations involve large groups of dancing revelers in the streets. Rara is performed between Ash Wednesday (the day after Carnival ends) until Easter Sunday (or Easter Monday in some parts of Haiti.) Rara bands roam the streets performing religious ceremonies as part of their ritual obligations to the "lwa" or spirits of Haitian Voodoo." One day I took a small military plane to fly to Cap Haitien on the north coast of the island. We were on our way to visit the Citadelle of selfstyled King Henri Christophe. Early the next day we travelled through sugar-cane fields about 20 miles inland to Milot, transferring there to small horses for the guided ascent to the citadel. The steep two hours climb up a rough stony path, past tiny staring children outside poor mud huts, was almost too much for the old, scrawny horses, but eventually the prow of the fortress was in sight, thrusting majestically from the mountain top and dominating the plain which stretched to the sea. In ditches at the side of the path we noticed abandoned cannons and shot. The spectacular ramparts revealed hundreds more cannon (375), with British, French and Spanish inscriptions, and many pyramidal stacks of cannonballs (15000), some left abandoned and at random in the overgrown and neglected interior. We enjoyed the breathtaking views and heard the distant chanting of women working in the fields far below. We were regaled by our guide with horrific tales of Henri Christophe and the construction of the citadel. A former slave, he had played a prominent part under Toussaint Louverture in the slave rebellion of 1801 which expelled the French plantation owners and established the first "black republic". Having soon disposed of the president Dessalines, Henri Christophe set himself up as "King" of the northern half of Haiti, establishing a court and nobility to secure his position. Conscious of the need to defend his kingdom against possible French incursions, he built, with slave labour, a series of fortresses, the principal one being the Citadelle Laferriere, the construction of which took 14 years and cost some 20,000 lives. In 1820, having suffered a stroke, King Henri Christophe, afraid that his enemies would avenge his cruelty, took his own life, legend has it, with a silver bullet and was buried in a pit of quick lime in the courtyard of the citadel. A monument marks the spot. The French never returned. During the descent to the valley the horses seemed more sure-footed and we were soon able to stop at the ruined 39 Chateau of Sans Souci, Henri Christophe's grand palace, symbolising, one felt, his delusions of grandeur with its grand staircases, vast halls cooled by underfloor running water conduits, balustrades and formal gardens, evoking perhaps the status of Frederick the Great. "The Baroque staircase and the classical terraces, the stepped gardens reminiscent of Potsdam and Vienna, the canals and basins freely inspired by Versailles, impart an indefinable hallucinatory quality to the creation of the megalomaniac king." On reflection it is perhaps easy to mock the pretensions of the "megalomaniac king" and to deplore his cruelty, but these are two remarkable edifices constructed by recently freed black slaves. With its elaborate system of water supply and cisterns and its colossal defensive walls which render the fortress well nigh impregnable, the citadel is one of the best examples of the art of military engineering of the early 19th century. More recently declared by UNESCO to be World Heritage Sites, the citadel and the palace could be thought of as "symbols of liberty, the first monuments to be constructed by black slaves who had gained their freedom". Haiti had proved to be a captivating place, doubtless rendered more exhilarating by the knowledge that Papa Doc, who had recently proclaimed himself “President for Life”, and his conspicuous henchmen were not too far away. I believe that was why his mincing "Minister of Tourism" turned up at the Oloffson dances, keeping an eye on the newly arrived visitors. Ian Scott further writes….. (Attaching copies of documents which most of us have long forgotten but provide a nostalgic memory of life in a different world a long time ago…) “I’ve recently been going through some old files/drawers and found something that you may find interesting, or may be suitable for the Archives. I entered SBHS in 1962, (Woodlands, of course!) and found these rather interesting letters from the Education Authority and also from the Head, Perc. Gardiner (lovely sentiment in the “what is expected of new pupils”): “ADMISSION TO GRAMMAR SCHOOLS. 1962 Dear Sir (Madam), I have to inform you that the Education Committee offers your child Ian Scott a place from the beginning of next term at Scarborough Boys High School . The conditions on which places at grammar schools are offered are set out below. (1) The pupil must be ordinarily resident within the administrative county of the North Riding, and must be of the age prescribed in the Committee's regulations. (2) The place is offered on the understanding that if the pupil's progress is satisfactory he (she) will remain at the grammar school at least until the end of the Midsummer Term following his (her) 16 birthday. If a pupil's aptitude and ability are such as to warrant re- 40 maining at the grammar school beyond that age, the Education Committee hopes that parents will take the fullest advantage of the facilities offered by the Committee and will not take their children away from school at the age of 16. For pupils over compulsory school age maintenance allowances are available where hardships might arise through keeping them at school. (3) The tuition given in the grammar school, including the provision of text books and stationery, is free. Further benefits are available in cases of hardship; information as to these benefits is given on the enclosed sheet. (4) Where the distance between home and school is not less than two miles, the Education Committee will pay the cost of transport. Where it appears that transport may be necessary, a form of application for a travelling allowance is enclosed, which should be completed and returned at once. In exceptional cases, where the Committee considers it impossible for the pupil to travel daily, a boarding allowance may be granted. (5) In any dispute or question which may arise the Committee's decision shall be final and binding. If you wish to accept this place on your child's behalf, will you please complete, detach and return the form at the foot of this letter. Please note that in addition you must send his (her) birth certificate (or a copy of it, which may be obtained from the Registrar of Births on payment of a fee of 6d.), along with a stamped addressed envelope for its return to you. No covering letter apart from the form below is necessary. Notes for Parents of New Boys 2. The Autumn Term begins on Wednesday, 12th September, and new entrants should arrive at 10 o'clock. 3. Pupils may cycle to school if they wish, although cycle storage accomodation is somewhat limited. Boys cycling are expected to take or to have taken recently, the cycling proficiency test. 4. Midday meals are provided at school for those who require them at a cost of 1/per day. Payments are made weekly on the first day of each week. Occasional attendance at lunch is not permitted in other than exceptional circumstances. Pupils staying for school Lunch are not allowed outside the school grounds during the lunch break. 5. Pupils are expected to wear school uniform, details of which are enclosed. Parents are asked to co-operate in maintaining a high standard in this respect, for uniform helps boys to acquire a sense of belonging to and pride in, their school. 6. Pupils must change into the regulation dress for games and physical education. 7. Parents are asked to ensure that great care is taken over books and stationary. These are issued "free" to pupils, but they are very expensive upon the public purse. All books and equipment necessary for your child's education are provided by the Authority. However, it would be beneficial if you could furnish him with the items mentioned below, which would be invaluable personal belongings throughout his school career:- a Bible (special attention to clear print), the Pocket Oxford Dictionary, A set of geometrical instruments. This need not be elaborate, but 41 should include compasses, protractor and set squares. 8. A games and societies subscription of 2/6d is collected each term is used to foster a number of out-of-school activities which are an essential part of school life, and particularly to meet the cost of entertaining visiting teams and substantial travelling expenses in away matches. 9. Homework in the first form should not exceed one hour per evening except that at the week-end a little more may be set. The amount will increase gradually as the pupil moves up the school. Parents should ensure homework is done and provide reasonable conditions for it. 10. Regular attendance is absolutely vital, and boys should not absent except through sickness or where the parents annual holiday time falls in term time. It is not possible to permit additional holiday except in very special circumstances. Boys must bring a note after absence addressed to their Form Master. If absence exceeds three days, the school must be informed, either by note or telephone. 11. National Savings. There is a National Savings Group at the School, its purposes being to foster the habit of regular saving. All new boys are encouraged to join. 1938-39 FOOTBALL PHOTO (see last issue) from Maureen Atkinson , daughter of Old Scarborian and Yorkshire cricketer Ted Lester (1932-9) “Dear Editor, - My father Ted Lester was delighted to see the photo submitted by Julie. He was able to name all the Scarborough Boys High School First team, as he was the goalkeeper. He dates the photo 1938 or 1939. (See p42) Dad went on to be goalkeeper for Scarborough. He played cricket for Yorkshire and then became their scorer. He went to Bill Ford's birthday party, and also named the football team on the Julie Ellard photo as shown.” Geoff Lee (1942-50) also writes….. Photo on p18 of last Summer Times:Back Row (4 from left) I think is Ted Lester (Played in goal for Scarborough as well as cricket for Yorkshire) Front Row(4 from left) I think is “Con” Johnson – Geography teacher who became MP for Rugby. As does Revan Tranter (194252 ) …. I really must congratulate you, Peter, on putting together such a fine November issue of Summer Times. With the upcoming May issue, how fortunate readers will be that they no longer have to wade through anything from me (assuming they did in the first place). By the way, in the photo on page 18, without a doubt that’s “Kong” (or “Con”) Johnson, second from the right, front row –geography teacher and future Labour M.P. for Rugby. Splendid guy. And I’m pretty damn sure that’s the famous Yorkshire batsman Ted Lester, goalkeeper, third from the right, back row. God knows what team it was. Obviously Johnson and Lester were adults (Ted left school at 16) – as possibly were just one or two of the others. Have you already had some rather more enlightening info. than mine? 42 NB: The original photograph is shown again on the following page with names as now established: Back from left: Dick Candler; Denis Saunders; Vic Smith; Ted Lester; ? Hall; ? McWhan; Front from left:: Peter Potter; Paddy Waterhouse; John Fletcher; Jim Johnson; Bill Cranstone. ATC The Rev. Chris Ledgard (1952-59) forwards the following extract From AIRMAIL – (RAFA Quarterly Magazine October 2014) in connection with the Article by Ray Kidd in the last issue of Summer Times, and adds “ I came across the enclosed review in the Magazine and two days later Volume 68 arrived! You might like to make reference to the review for the next Edition, It may help Ray’s sales! Having been ATC chaplain at Brize Norton , Whitby and Selkirk plus participation in the Scottish 50th Anniversary Service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh you might say I had a vested interest!” :“Although the first air cadet unit was raised in Bournmouth in 1928, the first squadrons to be formed in a privately funded national organisation were part of the Air Defence Cadet Corps in 1938. Thousands of youngsters joined and were able to learn about aircraft, aerodynamics, navigation, mechanics and other subjects not taught in schools. The organization was to become known as The Air Training Corps (ATC) and as war loomed it was considered a useful RAF recruitment tool to attract potential airmen and ground crew. 43 Throughout the war ATC cadets supported the home defences by fire watching, as messengers and as observers, working alongside the Home Guard, the fire services and other vital organisations During the second half of the 1900s the corps continued to thrive. Girls were now included and retired RAF officers and other ranks continued to take an active part in each squadron. There are now over 900 squadrons within the U K, providing the same skills to modern youth and teaching them the importance of personal responsibility and teamwork via annual camps at RAF stations, adventure training and flight experience. This book looks at all aspects of the Air Cadet's history and tradition, including the RAF sections of the Combined Cadet Force attached to public and grammar schools. It concludes with an analysis of what subjects and courses are currently available with many past and present illustrations. About Ray Kidd OBE: Ray Kidd OBE joined 739 (Scarborough) Squadron Air Training Corps in 1947. Following national service with the RAF and time with the Royal Observer Corps, he returned to the ATC in 1964. Appointed to the Central and East Yorks Wing Staff in 1974, he was responsible for adventure training and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. He was appointed to command the former West Riding Wing ATC in 1980, followed by the Central and East Yorks Wing from 1983 to 1988. As a civilian, he has held many posts, currently that of Wing President and Corps Historian. From 1990 to 2002 he chaired a D of E working party to foster interest and participation in the Award by Top: Ray Kidd, OBE and bottom the cover of his book. 44 the three cadet forces. Ray is a life member of the RAF Association, firmly believing in the need for close cooperation between the Air Cadet Organisation and Service charities. “ THE SCARBOROUGH DINNER This year a more welcoming Scarborough greeted attendees at the Annual Dinner at its usual venue, the Rugby Club on Scalby Road, after the frosts, snow, ice and high winds of the last 4 years, culminating last year in this humble scribe abandoning his journey in the face of the railway network being brought to a standstill by a flying roof at Doncaster station. A welcome attendance of some 73 Members also provided the usual convivial if not progressively more boisterous gathering at which friendships were renewed, anecdotes and updating of ailments cheerfully exchanged, and friendly abuse and gossip bandied between contemporaries, to the accompaniment of good food eased down by the usual necessary lubrication! In fact, scabrous anecdotes of several Members, whose names, to protect them, inter alia from their wives, will not be disclosed, included the alleged claim that the pupils of the various Girls schools could be identified by the colours of their respective knickers (though whether this was based on mere scientific observation, close encounter or even collection is not a matter for a family magazine such as this!) Suffice it that this scribe, with his keen Editor’s ear, overheard in part even more lubricious tales of our youth from another adjoining table, - and only the receipt of contributions to the Magazine (decent of course) from those concerned will remove any threat of exposure! It was particularly gratifying to see an increasing attendance from the "Woodlanders", who very much represent the future of the Association, and hopefully will accordingly play a similar increased part in its future organisation and activities. In welcoming those present, Howard Acklam, our President, drew attention to the splendid attendance of Old Boys from far and wide, which reflected the current health of the Association after so many years, and it was gratifying that this included so many "Woodlanders" who represented the future and our continued existence! He applauded both the effort involved in the production of the Magazine by the Editor and David Fowler and the continued hard work by the other Members of the Committee, particularly the Membership Secretary and Treasurer throughout the year. A resumé of the sporting and other events during the year, including the London Lunch, was followed by a plea for greater support for this in 2015, and hopes for a subsequent venue at the House of Commons In 2016. Support for the Lunch was essential to ensure its survival. Acknowledgement of the sad passing away of several Members during the year was then followed by the introduction of our Speaker, old Boy Steve Williamson. 45 Steve then entertained us with a series of amusing vignettes of his legal career since School and University and referred to the continued bond with other Old Scarborians, in particular the late Gillie Gray QC, whom he regularly encountered during parallel legal careers. Bonds such as these from School had endured and were reflected in the Dinner. The informal exchange of reminiscences, stories, jokes and further renewal of acquaintanceship then continued into the night! Among those present were.... ATTENDEES (E&O excepted): Howard Acklam (60), Colin Adamson (65),Patrick Argent (70) Phil Austin (58), Guy Barnish (55), Barry Beanland (50) Mick Bowman (54), J Brinkler (50) Dave Burnley (54), M Cammish (52), I Cook (71), A Copley (64), I Copley (63), Peter Cook (62), Mike Corbyn (54), Fred Crosby (49), Norman Davies (62), Peter Dawson (50), Freddie Drabble (51), Brian Devenport (56), Dave Eade (55), David Ellard (69), Rodney Emms (58), Peter Exley (57), Chris Found (51), John Found (49), David Fowler (49), R Fletcher (71), Jim Goodman (63), Paul Gridley (54), Mark Harland (64), David Hartley (65), Bob Heaps (67), Alan Hickman (63), Joseph Jaconelli (58), Bryn Jones (72), Mike Lester (49), John Mann (50) N Martin (72), D McDonald (62), Keith Milner (49), John Mitchell (47), Roy Moor (62), Mick Mulvana (62), Peter Newham (54), C O’Connor (45), Norman Overfield (48), E Owston (41), John Oxley (59), W Potter (69), Alan Readman (59), Colin Rennard (60), Howard Reynolds (48), Clive Roberts (54), P Robson (45) Ian Scott (62), J Settle (72), Ken Short (52 ), Albert Storry (48), Malcolm Storry (46), Trevor Thewlis (54), D Ward (65), Simon Ward (62), G Wardell (72), Dave Watson (59), Andrew Wilson (70), G Wilson ( 57), N Wilson (72), Steve Williamson (49), Mart Wilson (54) Geoff Winn (49), Bill Wood (58). CLASS OF ‘54 As a demonstration that we are, at least nominally, in the land of the living, the pictures on the next page, taken on Mike Corbyn's iPad at the Dinner, features the vintage and well represented year of '54 as follows (left to right)Mart Wilson, Mick Bowman, Dave Burnley, Dave Watson, Peter Newham, Paul Gridley, Mike Corbyn, Guy Barnish, and Clive Roberts. Mike very rashly also forwarded the attached further picture of his adventures in Malawi, apparently explaining the advantages of being an Old Scarborian and the attractions of the School to a receptive, albeit gullible audience! WESTWOOD The Editor The annual trip to Scarborough for the Dinner in November gave time for a nostalgic wander down the roadway leading down to the Westwood School, which, from the exterior, appeared just as I remembered it and, hesitating by the doorway, I was accosted by a young fellow who I wrongly assumed to be a mere student, (a sign of my 46 age!) but turned out to be a very pleasant Lecturer in Fine Art and Art History at the School of Creative Arts, who now use the building as their local Campus. Talking to him, I did briefly cross the threshold; the large hall now being 47 an almost unrecognisable theatre format, much as in the Alan Ayckbourn Theatre in the Round days, but the basic structure remained, the gym however now being a library with mezzanine floor. My host referred to an archive of artwork dating back to a period "between late 50's to early 60's, which they would like to do something with, and thought it might have something to do with our Members" - Given however that the School moved to Westwood in 1959 this seems unlikely, and I did not follow this up, though he also referred to the opportunity of organising an Old Boys Tour in the future , which may be of more interest! IN MORE REFLECTIVE MOMENTS… The Editor In more reflective moments, I sometimes wonder how, when the recollection of where I put my glasses a few minutes ago and the names of the friends whom I regularly meet seem to elude me, why many memories of life some 60 years ago seem crystal sharp to the point where I can reconstruct an article for the Magazine, albeit that there is some reassurance to me that I appear not to be the only one, so maybe we are all in the same boat! A psychologist, or perhaps more ominously a gerontologist, may have an answer, but perhaps it is best not thought of in that context! –– the Past may be another Country, but occasional excursions into the past may still have considerable attractions, albeit that the grandchildren may see it as an amusing sign of advancing dotage! Perhaps rather sad to contemplate a lot of old men (Is there a collective noun for this?) reminiscing about their schooldays, ….. but we are what we were … C. H. BRADLEY From the Scarborian November (1959 “Brad.” was born at Freiston in Lincolnshire in 1895. Boston was his home town. His brothers were farmers, and farming was the background of his early life. He was at home in the fertile fields of the Fen country and his boyhood adventures were along the shores and dykes of the Wash. After leaving Boston Grammar School Brad. was caught up in the First World War and when Armistice was declared he was with the advancing Armies in Belgium as 2nd Lieut. in the Lincolnshire Regiment. He completed his training as a P.T. instructor at Sheffield, after which, in 1922, he was appointed Games Master at Scarborough. The High School then had just begun; it was one of the two Schools formed when the co-educational Municipal School ceased to exist. Scarborough was Brad's. first and only school. He was well suited for the post. He had skill at soccer, hockey, cricket, tennis, golf, fishing, camping, moun- 48 taineering; in fact, almost every outdoor activity except swimming. He was of imposing height, 6ft.3+ inches, he had charm of manner and a smile that could win anybody. From the start it was evident that he was a "born" teacher and had in full measure the sense of vocation without which no schoolmaster can be wholly successful. He identified himself completely with the persona of the School. He understood young people and was happy working with them. The Games Master is, of course, in a fortunate position, because what he has to offer is always palatable. Under Brad's organisation games flourished on a grand scale the early 20's were the great period of School hockey, with famous players in the county teams; in cricket there was Herbert Dennis and Eddy Lester of Yorkshire; in soccer, Billy Nicholson of the Spurs and Denis Saunders, Captain of Oxford. Brad. was at his best on camps, where his special qualities as a leader and an organiser had full scope. It might be said that logistics was his strong point and there is no doubt that, had circumstances conspired to make the Army his career, he would have risen high. He was expert in fieldcraft and could do any job there was to be done better than anyone else. He could inspire others to work for him and he knew how to delegate authority. His treks abroad were planned with imagination. They were an adventure and a lasting memory for all who took part in them. The high peaks were always the objective; in England it was Scawfell Pike; in Wales, Snowdon; in Scotland, Ben Nevis; in Germany, the Zugspitze, and it was fitting that the culmination should be the summit of Mont Blanc in 1938. When he gave up Physical Education towards the end of the War, he taught in the Junior School. One might have thought that the most active period of his career was over. In fact, it had not yet begun, for it was at this stage that character alone brought him honours and influence which were not in the least of his own seeking. He was the unanimous choice of the Staff for the office of Deputy Head Master; he was appointed a County Magistrate and later became Chairman of the Bench; he became a teachers' representative on the Divisional Executive and Chairman of the Further Education Committee. He was Secretary of the local Scout movement from 1922 to 1938 and District Commissioner from 1938 to 1946. He had always been interested in the Youth Hostel Movement from its beginning in 1930 and in time he became a member of the National Executive. His work was chiefly with the International Committee and when he became Chairman of this, he automatically became a member of the Committee of the World Federation of Youth Hostel Associations. 49 http://www.Farthings-publishing.com [email protected] 01723 365448; M 0779 1900 465 Why not Advertise in Summer Times? Summer Times is published twice a year and is mailed to around 500 members, world wide. Additionally, the magazine appears on our web site in colour. And the prices to advertise? Full page outside back cover £70; Full page inside covers £65 Full page inside £55; Half page inside £35; Quarter page inside £20 Details from: Chris Found, ‘Pinewood’, SILPHO, SCARBOROUGH. YO13 0JP E-mail: [email protected] Phone 01723 882343 50 It is an astonishing tribute to his personality and worth that, 4 years ago, he was elected President of the World Federation by the delegates of the 22 nations concerned. He begins his retirement by a voyage round the world, visiting Egypt, India, Japan, the States and Canada at the invitation of the Youth Hostel Associations of those countries. Truly a wonderful career! “ H.W.M. MR. H. RICHARDSON Mr. Richardson was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School in the West Riding and was the School's champion gymnast. He entered Leeds University in 1912, graduating as B.Sc. Honours, Class 2, in Mathematics, and later as M.Sc. In 1916 he came to teach Mathematics and Physics at the Scarborough Municipal School. As he said "I came for three years. I have been at the School 43 years. If I stay much longer, I shall be getting into a rut." He thus created a record for length of School service. The old "Muni" School was a very happy place, the social side of its life being particularly satisfying, and it seemed to be a disaster when in 1922 the School divided into the Boys' High School and the Girls' High School in the Valley. He has been closely connected with the financial side of the School. He started the War Savings Association in 1916. He was Treasurer of the School Games Fund from 1922 to 1959 which paid for all the School's games fixtures. From 1922-26 he organised the School Clothing Department and after much difficulty with the Patent Office he managed to secure the registration as a trademark of the School motto "Tene Propositum", "Stick to Your Purpose". In 1926 he was Treasurer of the Leeds University Development Scheme for the Scarborough area. His other Treasurerships included the School visits to the Wembley Exhibition in 1924 and the Festival of Britain in 1951; the School War Memorial in 1948, the School Jubilee Celebrations in 1952 and the Isherwood Memorial Fund in 1954. From 1929-33 he was the Careers Master. From 1939-44 he was Secretary of the North Riding Secondary Branch of the National Union of Teachers and was School Correspondent for the N.U.T. until his retirement. During the war years he was a member of the Scarborough Special Constabulary. He was on the committee of the Old Scarborians' Association. He was Housemaster of Kingsley House for twenty years and recalls with pride that from 1950-54 Kingsley won the premier award of the Raymond King Shield for five consecutive years. Mr. Richardson was appointed Head of the Mathematics Department in 1927 and his main task has been to organise and teach Mathematics from the 11-plus stage to University en- 51 trance. Mathematics is such a vital subject for so many careers that every effort has to be made to enable boys to reach the Ordinary and Advanced Levels in the General Certificate of Education. The "below average" boys have been of special interest to Mr. Richardson and he has seen many successes achieved as the result of hard driving and patient effort. He has found the most gratifying satisfaction of long service to be that of discovering that there is hardly a career or University success in which Old Boys, now in responsible positions all over the world, have not remembered their debt to the Mathematics Department in particular and the School in general. "Pythagoras" was an obvious nickname. Since he was only 5' 2", he was inevitably known as "Tich". The origin of his other nickname of "Pike" is much more obscure. His best known remark was "Watch the board while I go through it" and we shall long remember his masterly and humorous presentation of School balance sheets. The School owes him a great debt of gratitude for his forty-three years of quiet and loyal service and we wish both Mr. and Mrs. Richardson long and happy years of retirement. V.H.S. FAMOUS FORMER LITERARY PUPILS The Editor Whilst the days of our mixed sex predecessor Municipal School are now long past the memory of even the oldest current Members, with the School split having occurred in 1923, Articles in previous Magazines on former pupils which nevertheless seem to have attracted interest include the celebrated Authors Leo Walmsley (1892-1966) and Storm Jameson (18911986) The former, who travelled to the School from Robin Hood's Bay, still has the Walmsley Society (www.walmsleysoc.org/Leo.html) devoted to his works and memory, and his books are still available . The 1935 film, "Turn of the Tide” the first to be produced by J Arthur Rank, scion of the Hull flour family, was based on his novel " Three Fevers”. Its venue," Bramblewick" was based on a thinly disguised Robin Hood's Bay, where it was filmed, and the competing relationships between several fishing families, and starring Niall McGinnis and Wilfred Lawson, can also still be purchased as a historic DVD. Storm Jameson, a traveller from Whitby to the School, whose first short story, whilst still at School, was published in the then School Magazine, and rediscovered recently and reprinted in Summer Times, has fared less well at the hands of posterity. Despite her over 40 books, being nationally celebrated and surviving to a ripe old age her literature has all but vanished from memory. Her biographer, Jennifer Birkett, lists 47 novels, a handful of plays, scores of articles, several critical or topical books and, tellingly, a variety of memoirs and autobiographies. Indeed, the autobiographical impulse appears to have been strong, and many of Jameson's novels are based on her own life. Reviewers 52 claimed that “this tension between the fantastic and the real, between selfinvention and the bedrock of fact, is characteristic of her writing... and there was a lot of writing. Jameson was unbelievably prolific”. It was said that these two factors the sheer volume of writing, on the one hand, and the quantities of autobiographical material, on the other - pose formidable challenges to the biographer.. Hers was a life marked by unrelenting hard work. The mass of published material is an indication of Jameson's work ethic as a professional writer (and, at times, journalist, editor and publisher) and of her need to support herself, her son by her first marriage, and, for a time, her second husband, Guy Patterson Chapman, as he established himself in his own careers. Out of curiosity, historic interest and possibly even devotion to the Scarborian cause, your Editor has assiduously trawled second–hand book shops with very limited success in pursuit of her output, but must report not only that most proprietors had never heard of her, or assumed she was male, that the subsequent struggle through the books, though very well written and literate, did not really repay the effort. APPRECIATIONS FROM THE AUTUMN ’64 ISSUE OF THE SCARBORIAN Mr. E. D. Colenutt “Mr. Colenutt died on May 10th, 1964, after a short illness. He was educated at Weymouth Grammar School and University' College, Southampton, and had been Chemistry master at our School for thirty-three years. He had a flair for organisation, and for many years he looked after the School Tuck Shop in a highly efficient way. For as long as we can remember he was business manager for the school plays at Christmas which involved the most meticulous attention to detail in the sale of tickets and the allocation of seats as well as careful control of the finances. After the war he organised Junior Camps at Robin Hood's Bay and at Bainbridge in Wensleydale, and the success of Senior Camps was in no small measure due to the efficient training which Juniors had received as his campers. From 1956 onwards the traditional Whit Camps in Scotland became well-established and Edgar took charge of the catering and cooking. He was never ruffled, his counsel was wise, he shared responsibility and as a railway enthusiast he was a knowledgeable travelling companion. For many years until 1959 he organised the school swimming and throughout he was a stalwart of the School choir. Such loyal service for thirty-three years has left a deep mark for good on our school and as colleagues we shall long remember his friendly tolerance and deep sense of humour. V.H.S”. Mr. H. F. Freeman “Herbert Frederick Freeman came to this school in September 1928 as a 53 young man straight from Cambridge. He taught mathematics here until he left at the end of the Summer Term of 1964, and he was Senior Master from September 1959. His approach to Mathematics was a forceful one which compelled interest and attention, inspiring both a liking for the subject and respect for its teacher. Physically, "Ferdie" was, and still is, wiry and tough. He was a useful games player and he took great pleasure in the countryside, sometimes spending holidays farming. On school camps, he became the recognised leader on the Advance Guard and those in the main party came to expect as a matter of course that the camp would be established and in good running order when they arrived. For many years Mr. Freeman was responsible for the accounts and for much of the official "arithmetic" of the school. It was he who was the making of the tuck shop, taking it over when it was in poor shape and making it the feature of the school, which it still is. When Mr. Freeman became Second Master on the retiral of Mr. Bradley, it seemed the ideal choice. People felt that he had the qualities for the job, everyone liked him, he did not "get across" people. And Mr. Freeman proved a good organiser; he took responsibility; he has a temper, but he lost it much less often than most and he has left an impression of forbearance and courtesy. The School has lost one of its best members. We should remember his example and we will wish him good health and much happiness in his new home and job. J.R.L.” Mr. V. H. Smith “A graduate of King's College, Cambridge, Mr. Smith joined the staff of our school in 1927 and two years later was appointed Senior History Master, a position which he has fulfilled with distinction ever since. He immediately took a lively interest in school activities and introduced the mock elections at general election times which have remained a feature of school life ever since. He founded the school library, organised the History Society and his Friday night discussion group, at which numerous senior pupils received their initial training in public speaking, will be remembered by many with pleasure and gratitude. He was a very good camper and missed few of the annual camps, at home or abroad, which have been a regular feature of school life since before 1930. From 1940 to 1963 he carried out the arduous task of Editor of the "Scarborian" and he was a familiar figure at all school events which he reported accurately and with evident pleasure. He became Ruskin 54 housemaster in 1940 and has also been secretary of the Scarborough branch of the United Nations Association since 1945. He was secretary of the North Riding Branch of the Assistant Masters Association for thirteen years and also secretary of the North Riding Joint Four Secondary Schools Association from 1932 to 1964. These honorary posts involved many journeys to Northallerton, long discussions and delicate negotiations for which his colleagues owe him a very great debt of gratitude. Mr. Smith has been an excellent colleague and a dedicated schoolmaster whose long period of devoted service will leave a deep impression on school life. We shall miss his genial good humour and his great wealth of information about schoolmasters' problems which he placed at everyone's disposal. We wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement. L.B. BOOKS AND STUDIES Editor Am I alone in being a nostalgic anorak in revisiting not only some of the venues of my youth, but also, and even more questionably, some of the subject matters of my studies, partly out of curiosity and partly a desire to see whether my responses and understanding 60 years on are still the same. Amazon, Abe Books and use of the computer means that much of the relevant material is still retrievable (though I am still trying to recall de- tails of the specific Latin primer which Jack Ellis used on us - anyone out there remember it?) - unfortunately however, in the context of French Literature, Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon, and Le Grand Mealnes by Alain-Fournier presented as little fascination on a reread 60 years on as when part of "A" Level French with Les Brown and Harry Wilson, although De Maupassant as a storyteller was marginally more entertaining. Maria Chapdelaine also suffers from being in old style Canadian French, with its own distinctive vocabulary, albeit that this is cross-referenced in an addendum. In fact an appreciation of Le Grand Mealnes featured in an article in the Telegraph recently, which, had it been available for plagiarism some 55 years ago, might well have contributed to a better exam result! Geography, another of my preferences, still features "Monkhouse's Physical Geography," albeit many Editions on, but with various chapters significantly changed in the light of advances in knowledge that make me feel quite antiquated! English literature as an "O" level subject presents less of a problem, Dickens and Shakespeare remain a constant, and, personally, repeated involvement with the School Play, with two years as prompter, means that large chunks of Macbeth in particular still inexplicably come to mind when, ironically, recollection of my recent movements regularly eludes me. Whilst these specific works may be of no interest to others, and with a 55 better memory I could maybe dredge up more, I am sure there may be similar triggers to the past for other Members, though whether such a retrospective trawl has been similarly undertaken by them, or is even worthwhile, is questionable ( -- as would perhaps be what a psychologist would make of all this!) Anyone else with anything to add on this subject? NOSTALGIA by Mike Mansfield (1952-60) There seems to have been a request from some Old Scarborians for a little less nostalgia in the scribblings of contributors. This is a pity for that may be all the recollections we have and are not seen as nostalgia by the senders. I myself remember with pleasure the visits to Gala Land the so called underground umbrella for the crowd on the South Bay beach to retire to when the rain showers of a typical Yorkshire summer occurred. For a modest admission you could hear the Don Pedro Orchestra with its Latin American flavour and two or three pneumatic ladies who gyrated in front to mesmerise small and bigger boys. There were the clown’s heads that swung to and fro on a stall to swallow balls to award prizes if you obtained an unreachable score and the wax works where the figures were approached down a corridor-like display area. This was alright until you turned round to leave and wondered if anyone moved behind you particularly the ancient fireman with his brass helmet that I remember well. An amazing coin operated machine was the radio rifle a shooting game that punctured a film still in the machine that was projected onto a screen several feet in front so that you could obtain the result of your efforts when the game ended and the film fragment dropped out for you to keep. I wonder if anyone has one of those today. There was also a small roller coaster or big dipper with cars that took two persons facing each other so that one always rode backwards for a real thrill. Before the war in the thirties there was an Aquarium and a Camera Obscura close by I am told by others much more antique than me. Now when I visit Scarborough and walk down from the South Cliff to the Valley Bridge I catch a view of the old school and remember with joy not the hard times battling the academic demands, but the practical skills taught in Woodwork and Geometrical and Engineering Drawing by Messrs. Dutton and Perry. In the loft there is still a small table that I turned the legs for on a lathe in the basement woodwork room. It was then a very modern piece that had a laminate top made with two pieces of the new stuff called ‘Formica’, as the school only had a few samples of this revolutionary material. It did not provide much to further my chosen career in Clinical 56 Chemistry but now provides me with hours of pleasure using my own lathe after retirement. The garage workshop is my hiding place as the wife cannot grasp the idea of tools and a workshop in the back bedroom. Good enough for sewing but not woodwork. If only modern educationalists would recognise the value of a couple of hours a week spent in a workshop teaching simple mechanical skills instead of the value of running a travel agency or worse still a ‘gym’ that charges you for life shortening chemical diets and overpriced trainers both shoes and personal, then the modern man would be able to rewire a plug or replace a defective tap washer instead of being in need of professional help. However I still walk several miles a week and eat lots of pies and Yorkshire Puddings, so life is not at all bad. I will have to stop now or I might remember some more of the value of reminiscence. AFTER A GOOD LUNCH! In the absence of sufficient more interesting contributions there follows “mug shots” from the 2014 London Lunch of several Committee Members, with name rank and number as listed, taken by Howard, our PresiOBITUARY dent, who is accordingly to blame for TED LESTER (1933-9) this, –– their inclusion as space fillers by Mike Rines perhaps encouraging other Members to be more forthcoming with more Ted Lester, who died on 23rd March, exciting replacement material in aged 92, was one of my boyhood hefuture !!! roes and later a most congenial colleague in the Scarborough cricket 57 ream. He had had left the High School before I joined in 1941, but I watched him score a torrent of runs for the Scarborough club at North Marine Road. He went on to play for Yorkshire 2nd XI, where he again scored prolifically, and took a lot of wickets with his offbreaks. He had played one first class game, against the RAF in the 1945 Festival, but his County Championship debut was against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1946. And, because he was my hero, I can still remember that he got 47, caught Heane bowled Woodhead. The Yorkshire Post’s J M Kilburn commented that his drives were ‘rackety’ and, looking back on his style, I recognise the description. He did give the ball a sort of wristy slap, but his late cuts and leg glances were of the most delicate. Yorkshire were very strong in those days, and he did not yet get a regular place. This left him free not only to continue to play for Scarborough, but also to play for the Old Scarborians against local villages in the Evening League and the Hospital Cup. This was not something that was always appreciated by other teams – particularly when Bill Foord was in the side as well. I remember that in a match against Cayton Ted was run out backing up, without the bowler having given him the customary gentlemanly warning. Cayton justified this dastardly act on the grounds that it wasn’t fair for Ted to be playing, and the Evening News gave a lot of space to the furore that followed. But Peter Robson recalls Ted later suffered from a dirty trick that had more serious consequences than the Cayton incident. He was nicely set on 37 at Bramall Lane against Bradman’s all-conquering 1948 tourists, and was run when he went down the pitch to do some ‘gardening’. At a time when the England selectors were desperate to find someone to fight back against the Aussies, Peter reckons this might have cost Ted dear. In 1947 he became a regular member of the Yorkshire side, and in that glorious summer when Denis Compton and Bill Edrich tore up all the batting record books, Ted was not eclipsed. In only seven matches he scored 657 runs and came third in the national averages at 73.00. He must then have been very much in the test selectors’ minds. He scored centuries in both innings at Northampton, a feat repeated in 1948 against Lancashire in the Roses match, an achievement no other Yorkshire batsman has equalled in a Roses encounter. He was in even better form in 1949 when he totalled 1,801 runs and hit his career-best score of 186 against Warwickshire at Scarborough. He played in 232 matches for Yorkshire, scoring 10,616 runs and hitting 24 centuries, six of them coming in 1952 when he hammered out 1,786 runs and averaged 49.61 He was regarded by those in the know as the finest player of medium pace bowling in the country. That might sound like damning with faint praise, but overlooks the presence in those days of great medium pacers 58 such as Alec Bedser, Cliff Gladwin, and Reg Perks. I suspect that one of the reasons Ted did not accumulate more runs was that he never forgot that cricket should be played for pleasure, and he just loved giving it a whack. In one Yorkshire v MCC Festival match, after Ted had got a duck in the first innings, I heard Alec Bedser, a generous and gentle Cockney giant, describe how he had bowled him an easy one down the leg side in the second innings to give him a single to avoid a pair. ‘Do you know what that facking Ted Lester did?’ he demanded in his humorous Cockney tones. ‘He only hit me into the road!’ In one game for Scarborough, late in his career, Ted opened the batting and was out to the third ball of the second over -- with his score at 26, including two sixes into that same road. After quitting the first class scene, he captained Yorkshire’s 2ndXI for a number of years, and when he was too old for that he acted as the county’s scorer. Not many clubs can have had such a loyal servant. He was also a great all-rounder. He was at one time the Borough’s regular goalkeeper and was the town’s table tennis champion. When Ted retired from County Cricket, The Cricketer magazine printed what might have seemed, to anyone who did not know him, an outrageously extravagant tribute for the enjoyment and sportsmanship he had brought to the game. 59 Above: Ted (centre) with Mike Rines (left) and Revan Tranter (right) taken at a reunion at the old school building a few years ago. Revan is one of the world’s leading authorities on Yorkshire cricket and has been a great Lester fan. He was a great but very modest written to Councils : sportsman, and at a time when there were some pretty rough diamonds in 1. It's the dogs mess that I find hard to swallow. the Yorkshire team I never heard a bad 2. I want some repairs done to my word about him. cooker as it has backfired and burnt my Ted leaves his wife Mary, and two knob off. adult children. 3. I wish to complain that my father twisted his ankle very badly when he *** put his foot in the hole in his back pasTRIVIA sage. 4. Their 18 year old son is continually Ah, the beauty of the Engbanging his balls against my fence. lish language !!!! 5. I wish to report that tiles are missing Extracts from letters 60 from the outside toilet roof. I think it was bad wind the other day that blew them off. 6. My lavatory seat is cracked, where do I stand? 7. I am writing on behalf of my sink, which is coming away from the wall. 8. Will you please send someone to mend the garden path. My wife tripped and fell on it yesterday and now she is pregnant. 9. I request permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen. 10. 50% of the walls are damp, 50% have crumbling plaster, and 50% are just plain filthy. 11. I am still having problems with smoke in my new drawers. 12. The toilet is blocked and we cannot bath the children until it is cleared. 13. Will you please send a man to look at my water, it is a funny colour and not fit to drink. 14. Our lavatory seat is broken in half and now is in three pieces. 15. I want to complain about the farmer across the road. Every morning at 6am his cock wakes me up and it's now getting too much for me. 16. The man next door has a large erection in the back garden, which is unsightly and dangerous. 17. Our kitchen floor is damp. We have two children and would like a third, so please send someone round to do something about it. 18. I am a single woman living in a downstairs flat and would you please do something about the noise made by the man on top of me every night. 19. Please send a man with the right tool to finish the job and satisfy my wife. 20. I have had the clerk of works down on the floor six times but I still have no satisfaction. 21. This is to let you know that our lavatory seat is broke and we can't get BBC2. 22. My bush is really overgrown round the front and my back passage has fungus growing in it. 23. He's got this huge tool that vibrates the whole house and I just can't take it anymore. …And something else Having reached that certain age, I have been the recipient of a test kit from the NHS Bowel Screening Programme. Whilst I consider this to be a tremendous initiative in assisting in the early detection of bowel cancer, how do I answer my grandchildren when they ask “did you enjoy Pooh-Sticks, Grandpa?” A recent article reported that confectionary manufacturers were discreetly shrinking the size of their chocolate bars. Is the same thing happening to men’s underwear, or am I getting old? Has anyone noticed that, despite global warming, lavatory seats are getting colder? 1 St Nicholas Cliff, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 2ES Tel:01723 368161 Fax: 01723 371547 Web: www.palmcourtscarborough.co.uk Email: [email protected] Commanding a wonderful town centre position, the Palm Court Hotel offers an uncompromising commitment to quality, service and comfort. All 41 bedrooms are en-suite and are well appointed, offering wi-fi access throughout. There is guaranteed free, secure undercover parking available unique for Scarborough town centre hotels. Our elegant dining room serves the finest cuisine using the best fresh seasonal ingredients, complemented by a selection of wines from around the world. The Palm Court hotel is the perfect place from which to explore, relax and enjoy Scarborough, the beautiful coastline and the North York Moors, whether for business or leisure. Special Offer Packages available throughout the year 1 Published for The Old Scarborians Association. 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