Who was Clifford Hardiker Ingham? ARCHIVES

Clifford Hardiker Ingham MA, affectionately knower as ‘Butch’, was born on 17th June 1905, the son of an engine driver, which no doubt kindled his deep and lifelong interest in railways. He attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying Classics and Ancient History at the University of Manchester. He graduated in 1929 and returned to do his Master’s Degree in Classics in 1934/35. He also studied for Part 1 of the Classical Tripos at Cambridge in 1939/40.

Before he came to Bolton, Clifford taught at no fewer than seven schools, including a spell at Bradford Grammar School, where one of his Sixth Form pupils was one CDA Baggley. He was appointed to the Classics Department at Bolton School in September 1942 and from the outset he embroiled himself in School activities. He was a regular supporter of the Geographical Society, the International Study Group and the Poetry Society. In May 1944 he formed and became President of the Railway Society, a position he held into his retirement. At other times he was active with the Junior Literary and Debating Society, the Philosophical Society and the Student Christian Movement and produced plays in the Hopefield Theatre, not to mention becoming President of the Nautical Society in 1959.

He also arranged for cross country to become an organised sport for senior boys. He donated a cup for cross country running; this trophy, now known as the Ingham Cup for Outdoor Pursuits, has been competed for by the Houses to the present day. He encouraged the playing of rugby and coached and refereed games for many years. He also found time to be an outstanding, inspirational teacher!

Significant as these diverse contributions to School life were, however, they are not why he is generally remembered. His legendary status among senior Old Boys is attributable to the hikes and trips he led and the famous trek camps in particular. Between 1942 and 1982, invariably accompanied by his wife, Muriel, he took boys on over 100 such expeditions. During the war years and immediately afterwards his trips were confined to the UK, with Scotland being a regular destination, but, following his first foreign trip to Brittany in 1948, the European treks became established. From the early 1950s a group would set off each year for destinations including Spain, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Scandinavia and Lapland. Given his classical scholarship, he was drawn to the classical sites of Greece, Italy and Turkey and so many trek camps were based in these countries.

Many Old Boys reading this article will have their own particular stories to tell about Clifford and Trek Camps, but the following extract from a tribute in the 1982 Boltonian will no doubt evoke a number of memories:

“He was a man of infinite resource — who else could commandeer a tram in Helsinki, force open a bank in Budapest during a national holiday or halt a crowded international express in a remote Hungarian village to pick up his party in a reserved carriage? Who, but CHI, could bamboozle Turkish customs officials into granting exit visas for unfranked passports without a word of Turkish, or coerce Austrian railway police in Salzburg without a word of German, or so convince a Spanish Mother Superior that he was leading a party of devout Bolton schoolboys on a tour of European shrines that all camped for the night within the lush convent grounds, attended by the nuns who served bread, honey and milk to the hungry ‘faithful’?"

Foreign travel is now accepted as the norm, but when Clifford Ingham started his trips, the country was still living through the austerity of the post-war years and few boys had ever been abroad. The quality of amenities on the trips was often very basic indeed, but this did not seem to cause any concern to the boys who relished the sense of real adventure. These were character-building experiences which developed the boys’ self-confidence, broadened perspectives and established lifelong friendships.

Clifford retired in July 1970, but was immediately reappointed on a part-time basis and continued to lead trips until his ‘final retirement’ was announced in 1982.

After he died in 1986 a group of Old Boys, led by Roger Dobson (Class of 1966), launched an appeal to raise funds in his memory so that future boys might be able to share the same experiences of the great outdoors. The outcome was the Clifford H Ingham Bursary Fund, which sponsors all manner of expeditions and treks, with support extended to include the Girls’ Division. Awards continue to be made from the Clifford Ingham Fund, although the responsibility for making those awards now rests with the Scott Bolton Trust, of which Governor Tim Taylor (Class of 1979) is Chairman of the Management Committee.

Meet the Archivist

Eric Fairweather

If you have a question about the School’s history or would like to donate to the Archive any photographs or artefacts from your time at School, Eric would love to hear from you.

E: development@boltonschool.org