The Vigornian Summer 1955

THE VIGORNIAN 'i

SCHOOL OFFICERS

Head of the School . ..

School Monitors

Heads 'of Houses :

. .School House

Castle House

The Hostel

Choir House

Chappel House

Creighton House

Captain of Football

Secretary of. Football

.Captain of Cricket

Secretary of Cricket

Captain of Boats

Secretary of Boats

Captain of Hockey

Secretary of Hockey

Captain of Fives

Captain of Athletics

Captain of Shooting

Secretary of Shooting

Secretary of Swimming

Captain of Boxing .,

Librarians

J.C.B.Coks

. G. I. Owen, J. R. King; N. T. Vincent, J. A. R. M. Harris, M. T. Baker, C. M. T. Gleave, A; R. Hunt, A. M. Edwards, R: Thorn, C. B. Drewett, B. J. S. M. Lynn, C. A. W. Ive, I. A. Dickinson, R. B. Lightfoot, H. B. Shouler, J. M. Drury, P. A. D. Brown, D. P. G. Westgate, A. L. O. Jerram, B. J. Williams, D. C. Handley. P. C. Sykes.

G. I. Owen

· J. C. B. Coles

· N. T. Vincent

J. R. King

A. M. Edwards R. Thorn

I. A. Dickinson

'. P. L. Costeloe

J. M. Drury

D. P. G. Westgate

· N. T. Vincent

P. B. Isherwood

'A. R. Hunt

P. C. Sykes

, A. R. Hunt

J. R. King

B. R. Parsons

A. M. Edwards

C. A. W. Ive

· R. L. Rowley

N. T. Vincent, J. A. R. M L Harris, M. A. Lees, D. P. G. Westgate, A. J. 'Tinkel, G. M. Jones, R. N. Hughes.

Secretary of Debating· Society

Secretary of Music Society

D. A. T. H. Reddick

I.F. Hastie

Secretary of Literary Society A. R. Hunt

Secretary of Art Society J. R. King

Secretary of Che.ss Club M. T. Baker

Secretary of Science Society M. Rowe

Secretary of Natural History Society· G. A. Langstone

Editor of The Vigornian M. A. Lees

Assistant Editors

N. T. Vincent, J. C. B. Coles, A. L. O. Jerram, D. P. G. Westgate, A. R. Hunt, D. A. Pickering

HONORESSCHOLAE

P. J. BULMAN. Open Scholarship in Mathematics and Physics at Caius College, Cambridge. .

M. A. LEES. Meeke Scholarship in History at Hertford College, Oxford.

J.K. GRIEVES. State Scholarship in History.

H. H. SCURFIELD. State Scholarship in Mathematics.

D. J. COOK. State Scholarship in History.

P. J. BULMAN. State.. Scholarship in Mathematics and Physics.

M. A. LEES. State Scholarship in History.

C. RIGG. Technical State Scholarship.

THE VIGORNIAN

The Worcester Cathedral King's School Chronicle

TA MEN MAN0ANO, TA ZHTO, TA nAPA 0EON HITHIAMHN.

VOL. XV No. 3

EDITORIAL

At last we have excited some criticism from our readers. True it is mainly unfavourable and as yet comes only in a small trickle, but it is a beginning. Our readers might be surprised to know that most of our criticism is selfcriticism since many of us feel that there is something radically wrong with The Vigornian despite recent changes. When the editors come together to discuss policy, we feel that there is much dead wood in the magazine which should be cut away. So much is formality, so 'much is dictated by tradition, so much is conservatism in its worst form. There are those who are opposed to change merely because it is change-the old school tie suffocates us. The Vigornian is becoming a mere record and therefore we have decided, upon some new changes.

How many of us seriously wish to preserve a record of the days on which Holy Communion was celebrated by the School? All who were once boarders know that it was celebrated twice a term at least and presume that this is still the case. Are you really interested in who passed Certificate 'A' Part I, for surely this exam. is so ludicrously easy that we ought only to print the., names of those who failed it! Do you not feel as you read through the Society Notes that they are hideously conventional, and do you not realise that anybody who felt the least interest would have attended the society meetings and would not therefore require a pathetically rehashed precis of proceedings? Even for those who did not attend the meetings through apathy or inability the Notes can be of little value since they are so superficial. But· they must continue-convention decrees it.

Most of the criticism has come from sport-mad Englishmen who desire more information. We regret that we are unable to give more space to sport than is already available, but we are experimenting in some directions. For example we are cutting out the Prospects, which are usually faulty forecasts, and the Fixture List which might be obtained elsewhere. In their places we hope to give detailed results of the matches of the 1st XI, 1st XV or 1st IV as the case may be-in the interests of economy however other teams will ha.ve to be listed by the number of games won and lost as in the last edition. We hope to give at least one full page of print to the ma.jor sports in future in the form of notes and also information on characters as previously.

There are certain other changes in the magazine of varying importance. We have decided to rid ourselves of the School Notes as being a tedious formality, and also to abandon the Library Notes for the same reason. Neither will you find a Prize List in this edition for we feel. that all interested parties would have been at Speech Day. We feel however that the Honores Scholae -being a rather rare species-should receive a mention as before.

There have been complaints that the magazine is dry and lacking in humour. We agree, but we ask you in all fairness to judge for yourself from the recent experience of the Editors. We poured a small amount of gentle, harmless satire upon a certain institution and we received a stiff complaint • in reply. This is where we are so tied down in England-everybody is afraid of treading on other people's toes. We cannot have a good laugh at ourselves because, being rather pompous and self-inflated, we refuse to see how ridiculous we really are.

If you have any criticism---constructive, even if unfavourable-then it will be warmly welcome, for the editorial staff is broad minded. Incidentally' if one word of this appears in print then we can consider that a miracle has taken place-the Englishman's love of freedom of the press has been extended to that most totalitarian of institutions, the Public School.

SUMMER, 1955

THE VIGORNIAN

o.v. NEWS

ENGAGEMENTS

J. E. BLACKFORD (Day Boy 1942-49) to PATRICIA MORGAN of Cardiff.

A. E. BURGESS (Day Boy 1943-44) to MARJORIE JANE COLBERT of Malvern.

T. H. BURGESS (Day Boy 1944-48) to MARGARET JOAN BOMFORD of Westwood Park, Near Droitwich.

R. B. TIDY (Day Boy 1943-46) to VALERIE, daughter of MR. and MRS. SOUNDY of Shillingford, Oxon.

BffiTHS

R. BOUGH (Day Boy 1943-47). In April 1955 atWimborne, Dorset, to his wife Mary (nee Milward) a son-Nigel Terrence.

}>. W. HUGHES (Day Boy 1941-46). On 4th June, 1955, t<;> his wife Gillian (nee Harrison) a sister and brother for Alyson and James.

A. E. PEPPER (Day Boy 1932-37). On 9th August, 1955, to his wife Margaret (nee. Steward) a son-Jonathan Nigel.

A. W. R. H. PETIIGREW (Day Boy 1929-37). On 18th March, 1955, to his wife Audrey (nee Shirley-Jones) a daughter-Alison Frances.

MARRIAGES

P. D. CLIFrON (Day Boy 1937-44). On 2nd April, 1955, to Miss HILARY DAWN COOK of Worcester.

D. J. HARRIS (Day Boy 1933-4). To Miss MARy ANGELA CASHMAN of Aghada, County CorK.

A. MANNION (Day Boy 1941-48). To Miss MARY HENCHER of Worcester.

A. N. H. MARKs (Day Boy 1943-48). To Miss MARy FRANCES BEARD of Worcester.

K. PAPPS (Day Boy 1943-49). To Miss ANN CLAPTON of Worcester.

M. J. WELLS (School House i937-43). On 14th August, 1955, to Miss AUDREY PATRICIA JAYCOCK of Kingswood, Surrey.'

DEATHS

CANON JOHN DUNCAN DAY (1892-19°0). Headmaster of Stanford School, on 21st August, 1955.

D. C. P. HARRIS (Castle House 1927-30). On IIth January, 1955, in Athens • after a short illness.

G. D. C. HARRIS (Day Boy 1942-44). On 21st May, 1955.

C. D. E. FLAVELL (School House In February, 1955, in a Motor Cycle accident. .I

REv. F. C. FULLER

Died in 1954.

SPORT

Cl WHO HAS THE CUPS "

Rugger Cup.

Cross Country: Individual Team (Sen.) (Mid.)

Hockey Fives

Section Shield

Chess: Individual Team Boxing

Cricket Batting Bowling

Swimming

Rowing:

Senior IV's.

Junior IV's.

Junior/Senior Sculls

Senior/Junior Sculls

P.T.

Shooting: Team Individual

Sports: Senior Middle.

Junior . Senior Mile

Senior Relay

This year we began

School

B. J. Williams & R. Thorn (Creighton)

Choir

Choir

Choir

School

Choir

M. Day (Choir)

Choir

R. L. Rowley (School)

Choir

J. R. Gaston (Castle)

J. R. King & P. L. Costeloe (Choir)

Choir

Not rowed this year. Do.

J. L. M. Fletcher (School)

J. D. Lambert (Creighton)

Castle

-Castle

B. R. Parsons (Castle)

Creighton Choir

Choir

R. Thorn (Creighton) Creighton

ROWING

rowing at the beginning of the Spring· term. Unfortunately the weather somewhat curtailed our training and we did not do as much rowing as we had intended. The 1st and 2nd crews were rowing on swivel pins for the first time.

In the first boat VINCENT, ISHERWOOD and LYNN came from year's second IV, while ANDERSON came from the fourth IV to stroke the crew. The crew this year was rather light,averaging a little under twelve stone.

The first IV ,received a setback in the first week of the summer term and it was impossible to row, one of the crew being unfit. We then- settled down to some hard work. The order of the crew was changed two days before we went to Abingdon. At the start of the race we gained a lead of palf-a-Iength. Abingdon had a much higher rating and soon drew level. After the halfway mark they steadily drew away despite our' tens 'and finish, winning by four lengths.

On the following Wednesday we rowed fifteen miles and this helped to weld us into a crew.

On Whit. Saturday we entered the Maiden IV event at Worcester Regatta. Our first race was with Linden RC. We lost half a length on the start but were soon level and we continued to draw away to win ,by 1-1 lengths. In the Second round we met the Worcester Royal Grammar School first IV and had a much easier race than the 1-1 lengths verdict suggests. We met our thit:d

THE VIGORNIAN

IV in the semi-finals and won by one length. The final was against King's School, Peterborough, who had beaten the second IV in the other semi-final. We kept level at the start and, on lengthening out, our longer stroke took us up and with a good finish we won by three-quarters of a length. '

On Whit. Monday we raced in the Evesham Regatta School event. We rowed Prince Henry's Grammar School in our first heat and won easily. In the semi-finals we met Derby first IV, a strong' powerful crew, who quickly gained a let:lgth lead and despite our efforts they took our stagger at the finish and won by three lengths. We rowed rather poorly; there was not much power in our stroke and' the rating was low.

Monmouth were our next visitors and we won this race by two lengths. Our fixture with Prince Henry's was cancelled as the river had burst its banks.

We went to Hereford and won a comfortable race by three lengths. This year we went to Marlow at our peak. On Friday we were drawn against Canford and Nottingham High School. We had the centre station. At the start we lost a length to Canford and half a length to Nottingham. By the time we had reached the Abbey, five furlongs, all the crews were level' answering each others 'tens ' We gave a very strong finish and rowing well and· asa crew won by half a length. There Was never water between any of the boats and this race was probably our best of the season. JONES, B. E., our cox, steered an excellent course sandwiched as he was between the other crews and he gave us much moral support when it was most needed. ,.

Our semi-final was against Abingdon and Eastbourne; again we had the centre station. We did a poor start and lost a length to Abingdon and Eastbourne largely because stroke side missed a stroke as the latter crew took our, water and hit blades. We caught Eastbourne but at the half-mile Abingdon drew away and won by three lengths. We beat Eastbourne by half a length. Abingdon went on to win the event.

The last race of the season was against the O.v's. For the first half of the course the race was level but we were able to draw away over the latter part of the course and win by three lengths.

The second IV seemed to specialize in close races and rowed with great spirit. They won the Maiden event at Evesham after a dead heat in the final with Derby second IV.

At Stratford they were compelled to row on fixed pins and lost their race to Burton Leander.

At Monmouth they won the Junior IV Cup.

The third IV showed great determination and they were the first third IV to win their Maiden. This notable effort they made at Hereford Regatta when they also. had a dead heat in the final with Worcester R.C.

Rowing in the Schools Race at Monmouth Regatta they beat Hereford Cathedral Schools first IV by one length and were only beaten by three feet in the final when they just failed to catch Monmouth School's first IV.

The fourth IV had a poor season and did not come up to expectations.

L YNN and ISHERWOOD formed a pair for Stourport Regatta but after an accident at the start in which they lost two lengths, they were beaten by one length by Bewdley Rowing Glub.

This year 105 boys have done rowing, an all time record.

Finally we should like to thank MR. KNIGHT, MR. FRISByand MR. JOHN for all the hard work they have done in order to produce the crews which have carried ,the name of the school so well this year.

ROWING REGATTA

The senior IV's and senior sculls were not rowed this year, the latter as there were no boats. The former was cancelled becaus'e half the crews row , on swivel pins and half on fixed pins and it was considered unfair to race in different boats. The final of the Junior IV's had to be cancelled as one of the

THE

" boats was damaged on the way to the start. This.was a great pity as all the crews had worked hard and there was promise of some good racing. The sculling produced some good races.

The final Results were:- /"

Junior/Senior Sculls.-FLETCHER beatL IELD easil Senior/Junior Sculls.-LAMBERT beat COTTQN by half ength. Junior Sculls.-RENoLQ beat JAMESON easily. Cox's Sculls.-B. E. JONES.

COLOPRS

P. B. ISHERWOOD, B. S. J. M. LYNNand R. D. F. ANnERSON were awarded first IV colours.'

B. E. JONES was awarded first IV Coxing colours.

The following were awarded 2nd IV Colours and 1st IV Caps: J. A. M. HARRIS, C. M. T. GLEAVE, M: T. BAKER, H. G. VAILE.·

Tpe following was awarded 2nd IV Coxing Colours and I st IV Coxing Cap: .L. R. M. STIMSON.

The following were awarded 1st IV Caps : P. B. VENABLES, J. M. FLETCHER, P. A. D. BROWN, M. RoWE.

The following was awarded a 1st IV Coxing Cap: A. D. L. MILLS.

THE 1ST IV

As the records show, the School IV has had a successful season. It has only been beaten twice, not quite so good last but very nearly.

R. D. F. ANDERSON has proved to be a strong ahd reliable stroke. He was . comparatively inexperienced but soon learned to control his crew. ,

B. J. S. M. LYNN at " 3" backed him up excellently and helped the bows to maintain a good length.

P. B. ISHERwooDas Secretary has done a great job both in the, daily running of the Club and in organising the School Regatta. At Stroke his rowing suffered from a rather highly strung temperament but at " 2" he was long, steady and, although a trifle heavy handed, pulled a good blade.

N. T. VINCENT was another case of a light Captain, and consequently had to row at bow. He still suffered from " knee trouble" in consequence of which his blade was not always in line with" 3'S" but he could always be relied on to pull more than his weight.

. B. E. J ONES can only be described as a really first-class Cox. His assurance in handling his boat and in helpful coaching played a large part in making it a successful season. . /

1ST IV

Date Venue Result Margin'

Sat. May 28th:

Abingdon School A

Sat. June 4th :'

Monmouth School H

Wed. June 8th:

Prince Henry's Grammar School, Evesham H

Sat. June 11th:

Hereford Cathedral School A

Sat. May 28th:

Worcester Regatta

LindenR.C. ....

Worcester Royal Grammar School

School 3rd IV

King's School, Peterborough

Lost 4 lengths

WQn 2 lengths

Cancelled .:/

Won 3 lengths

Won Maiden IV's.

Won If Won If lengths

Won I length

Won ! length

THE VIGORNIAN

Date. Venue Result Margin

Mon. May 30th:

Evesham Regatta

Prince Henry's Grammar School, Evesham

Won 3 lengths Derby School Lost 2 lengths

Sat. June 18th: Marlow Regatta

Canford School

Nottingham High School

Eastbourne

Won t length

Wori i length

Won t length Abingdon Lost 3 lengths

Sat. July 9th :

G.V's.

R Won 3 lengths

2ND IV

Won Maiden IV's at Evesham Regatta and Junior IV's at Monmouth Regatta.

Races won: 12. Races lost: 3.

3RD IV

Won Maiden IV's at Hereford Regatta.

Races won: 13. Races lost: 5.

4TH IV

Races won: 4. Races lost: 8.

5TH

IV

Races won: 2. Races lost :0.

HOCKEY

The playing of Hockey became the major sporting activity this year in the Spring Tenn. Fixtures for the 1st XI were increased in number, and two new teams were fonned, playing two matches each.

The game was approached with a great deal of enthusiasm right from the start of the tenn. Trial games were held in the fonn of House Games, and, from these, players were chosen for the various groups.

As in previous years the lack of pitches, or rather their inaccessibility, plus poor weather were our greatest obstacles. The School Field was not used , until March 16th, and then within a week it was once again out of commission. A feature of the weather was the severity of the frosts which often ,made our 'dangerous' and unplayable. ',,' "

The first match of the season was played at home against J. M. CASH'S XI ;' on Perdiswell. This match was placed at the beginning of the season to give the XI some much needed practice before tackling other schools. The result Was a 4-0 win for the School. The forwards moved well, but tended to hold ori to the ball too much; while the defence, which was not really tested, was also guilty of the same fault. DRURY, on the right wing, scored a very well ' taken hat-trick. Thanks are due to MR. CASH for raising a team, and for, all those 'members of the staff who played. ,

It was at this stage of the season that the weather hit -Gs most, postponing one fixture and restricting some much needed practice. '

IOur first match against anotJr school W'as at home against·Hariley Castle, to whom we have had to bow so low in past seasons, and this year we lost 1-0. It was a disappointing game that we might easily have won, the only goal being a weak affair and coming directly from a defensive error. The result of the match, however, lay with the attack who failed to take full advantage of any chances created for them by a hard working defence. The defence were too inclined to push the ball down the middle hopefully rather than tactically in. the effort to clear their own twenty-five.

Four days later the XI met Hartlebury G .S. at home, and the same team which had been so ineffective in the previous match showed its capabilities i ; by winning clearly 4-0. The marking and covering of the defence was excellent, lVE in particular playing a very good game, and the accurate distribution of

the ball in clearing was a feature which led as much as anything' to our con­

vincing win. The forwards combined extremely well, moving very fast with

plenty of thrust on the wings and in the centre. SYKES and. BROWN at inside

both played intelligently, finding their men well and creating many opemngs.

A second match with Hartlebury, which was the only match played on the School Field, resulted in a goalless draw. This match showed again some of the lethargy of the Hanley Castle game. It illustrated the lack of coordination between defence and attack. The old habit of holding on to the ball for too long was once again prevalent in all departments, so that actual scoring chances were few and far between. These faults were also noticeable in our opponents, so that there was little of merit in the game.

Unfortunately our last fixture against P. G. L. CURLE'S XI was cancelled because of the weather. This was a great disappointment to the team as our opponenets included several players of note, from whom we had hoped to learn a great deal. r Three boys, HUNT, GAsToNand RANDLE played in the Schools County trial matches. All did well and GASTON was selected to represent the County. GASTON had an excellent season in only one goal passing him in four matches. The back department was filled by lVE and DAY, who proved themselves a successful combination. lVE, a player of experience, was the mainstay of the defence, while his partner at back, who was comparatively new to the game, soon showed a natural ability. The centre-half position was filled by RANDLE, who was reliable in defence, but who tended to hold on to the ball too long in clearing. HAZELDINE, a young player_ of promise, had a good season at right-half; while the left-half position was shared by COLES and JAMES, neither of whom was really successful. The two wing men, DRURY and SCHUTE both played well at times, the former not quite reaching the standard which he showed promise of attaining. SYKES, at inside right, was the mainspring of the attack, always playing a thoughtful and constructive game, and with a more accurate shot more goals would have come his way. The inside-left position was shared by JAMES and BROWN. The latter proved to be the more successful, showing glimpses of real ability. HUNT at centreforward, though a little clumsy in stickwork, was always a very hard worker who led the team vigorously. He was an enthusiastic and efficient captain both on and off the field.

The 2nd XI won both their matches against Hartlebury G.S. and.King's Norton G.S. without conceding a goal, while the Colts did well, defeating

Samuel Southall School, and losing by the odd goal in three at Bromsgrove in. a very close game. In these elevens there were several young players of note from whom much is expected in the future.

The House Matches, played on the knockout basis, provided some excellent hockey. Th.ere was a close game between Castle and Choir in which both sides had to combat the weather, in the form of sleet showers, before they could get down to the business in hand. Perhaps the best game from the point of view of hockey was the School-Choir match, which the latter won 4-1. Choir thoroughly deserved their victory, proving t,hemselves to be a very good team with no apparent weakness in any departnient, and so they went on to win the House Cup in a rather one-sided final, defeating Hostel 8-0.

1955

THE VIGORNIAN

Finally, our sincere thanks are due to MR. CURLE and MR. CASH for their keen interest in our hockey, and for doing so much to further the game in the School.

The following were re-awarded 1st XI Colours:P. C. Sykes C. A. W. Ive

The following were awarded 1st XI Colours :J. R. Gaston J. M. Drury

C. R. Day J. G. Schute

SCHOOL MATCHES

1ST XI

Date Opponents

5-2-55 J; M. Cash's XI

Hanley Castle G.S.

. Hartlebury G.S.

16--3-55 Hartlebury G;S.

22-3-55 P. G. L. Curle's XI Cancelled

2ND.

XI

Hartlebury G.S. Home

King's Norton G.S.

I

COLTS XI

Samuel Southall School

Bromsgrove

1955 was on the whole a very successful season for Fives, and it was a

year in which several advancements· were made by the School; namely the

cformation of an Under 16 IV, the entrance of the School to the major Public

Schools Fives Competition of the year, and a new fixture with Cheltenham

where we were introduced to the game of Rugby Fives and won our match.

The 1st IV won four of their five matches convincingly, and lost the odd one by a margin of six points in a very even and exciting at Malvern.

These six points could be explained away by the disadvantage of playing away on strange courts; but nevertheless our Junior IV overcame the .difficulty

to win well by thirty-six points, and they also won clearly at Cheltenham. This Under 16 IV played extremely well in their first year together, and

should in future years make a very formidable team.

In the Easter holidays the School was represented at the Public School's Competition held at Whitgift School, Croydon. It was our first year, and it

proved to be an unsuccessful 'blooding' from the pdint of view of results,

for unfortunately both pairs and all our four singles entrants were knocked

out of the competition. However everybody thoroughly enjoyed the experience,

and other Schools did at least learn that King's Worcester was on the map as far as Fives were concerned. The Competition was for Rugby Fives, a game

which we are not used to, as it is in a court without a buttress. It is hoped that the School will be able to send a IV for many years to come, for much experience and knowledge of the game can be gained. The main

difficulty lies in accommodation in London and I would like to say "Thank You" to those who helped us out this year.

THE VIGORNIAN

The following was re-awarded his colours:J. R. Gaston

The following were awarded Colours:-" D. A. Raderecht T. E. Thomas

The Under 16 IV deserve note; they were :P. J.Randle N. P. Skeates

P. L. Costeloe

C. B. Reyilaud

SCHOOL MATCHES

1ST IV

Date Opponents Venue Result For . Against, 6-2-55 Old Vigornians Home Won 120 9 1<)-2-55 Cheltenham College Away Won 144 104 23-2-55 Hereford Cathedral School Home Won 120 20 8-'3-55 Malvern College Away Lost 87, 93 12-3-55 Hereford Cathedral School Away Won 120 36

UNDER 16 IV

1<)-2-55 Cheltenham College Away Won 134 48 8-'3-55 Malvern College Away Won 119 83

PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPETITION SINGLES

A. R. Hunt lost to an opponent from Sutton Valence School,' 7-11, 9-11. '.

D. A. Raderecht lost to an opponent from Durham School, 3-11, 2-11.

T. E. Thomas lost to an opponent from St. Paul's School, 5-11, 0-11.

DOUBLES

A. R. Hunt Lost to Bedford Modem, P. J. Randle } 7-11, 3-11.

T. E. Thomas } D. A. Raderecht Lost 5-11, 5-11

SWIMMING

The Swimming Sports were held at the Sansome Walk Baths on Monday, - July 11th. There was one important change as MR. H. E. NICHOLLS had decided to hand over the task of arranging the sports-a task he had perfonned for many years with considerable success-to one who had more time to .spare. His successor, MR. G. D. C. JOHN, had been well briefed by him and everything went smoothly.

The Swimming Cup changed hands this year, going as it did by a large margin to Choir House, led by another American R. B. LI'GHTFOOT. Points 1st Choir 46 2nd School 27 3rd Creighton 25 4th Castle 18

5th The Hostel} I'" 5 5th Chappel

1955

THE VIGORNIAN

Under Water'Race. I. Luton. 2. Gleave. 3. Dickinson. Junior Free Style. I. Ballard. 2. Jones, B. E. 3. Lambert. Open Free Style. I. Fletcher, J. 2. Callan. 3. Anderson. Junior Breast Stroke. I. Potter. 2. Marshall. 3. Blakeway. Open Breast Stroke. I. Ramsay. 2. Costeloe. 3. Sheffer. Junior Back Stroke. I. Mapp. 2. Reynaud. 3. Lambert. Open Back Stroke. I. Day, C. R. 2. Anderson. 3. King, J. R.' Plunge. I. Dive. 2. Grieves. 3. Reynaud. Diving. I. Day, C. R. 2. Jones, B. E. 3. Stimson. Relay Race. I. Choir.· , 2. Creighton. 3. School.

As MRs. KITTERMASTER was unable to attend, the Headmaster presented the Cup, and we would like to take this opportunity of thanking him and also the other members of the staff who acted as judges.

CRICKET

We have noted a gradual improvement in the eleven during the course of the sellSon, especially in the standard of fielding, which has been said tQ. be the best for some years. Both the bowling and the batting were unfortunately inconsistent in the early part of the season. This was mostly the result of three' weeks of very bad weather, when we were unable to touch bat or ball. The weather also made the wicket soft and unattractive, particularly to the bowlers. With the arrival of better weather, however, the harder wickets gave more life to the bowling and enabled the batsmen to play more strokes. We would like to stress that two of the three matches lost only evaded our grasp by a few runs. All the team was pleased when our main match of the season, against Worcester Royal Grammar School, resulted in a win by 102 runs. We must not forget the success of the other school teams, who won a large percentage of their matches.

'Our first match, against Dean Close, was played at home. The Visitors won the toss and batted on a hastily prepared wicket and proceeded to score 163 for 3. In an effort to catch this total, the school finished 20 runs behind with 4 wickets standing. J. R. GASTON hit an attractive 43, ably assisted by J. M. DRURY who made 35. COSTELOE, who had taken the only Dean Close wickets, contributed an undefeated 25.

Our fixture with Shrewsbury was unfortunately cancelled on account of the weather, as was the Hereford Cathedral School Match. Our next match was against a very strong County Club and Ground side, who batted first and scored 196-9 declared. The most successful bowler was J. C. WOODALL who took 3 for 61 in 18 overs. The School eleven had scored 126 for 9 when stumps were drawn. P. C. SYKES hit a sparkling 46, but was the only b!itsman apart from J. R. GASTON (19) to look comfortable.

When the eleven visited Magdalen College School, Oxford,the home side were put in to bat and were bowled out for a moderate I I I. The most successful bowlers were J. oR. KING and J. C. WOODALL. The School's batting was disappointing and looked weak, apart from a stubborn stand by T. E. THOMAS and P .. L. COSTELOE. The latter batted with great concentration for 32, but the innittgs closed 10 runs short of its objective.

It was a very hard and fast wicket on which the School openers began the innings at Bromsgrove School. Mer early. escapes they progressed well, D. P. G. WESTGATE scoring 34 and J.R. GASTON 22 P. L. COSTELOE (21) , and T. E. THOMAS (21 not out) again' batted stubbornly and put on 38 runs for the sixth wicket. At tea, when the score stood at 152 for 8 wickets, a

THE VIGORNIAN SUMMER, 1955

declaration was made, but the Bromsgrove batting immediately took command of the ineffective bowling and, by very enterprising cricket; passed the school total with 8 wickets and five minutes to spare.

On another hard wicket Malvern College "A" XI batted first and w:ere all" out for 180, the best .bowling coming from J. R. KING and T. E. THOMAS, who both bowled intelligently to their field. Owing to lack of time; most of the School batsmen fell through trying to force the pace. They were, however, to a certain extent redeemed by a magnificent innings of 83 by J;R. GASTON, who was out in an effort to keep the bowling. His innings included IS fours.

A start was made at 11.3° on the School ground agamst W.R.G.S. and, having lost the toss, the home side were put in to bat. By lunch 73 runs had been scored, of which D. P. G. WESTGATE made 32 and J. M. DRURY 38. Mter play was resumed, P. C. SYKES continued and with many good shots took his score to 31. P. L. COSTELOE also batted well and was the fourth School batsman to reach 30. He was eventually out for 38. Capable batting, which had produced 18o, was backed up by some good bowling and a miraculous catch by A. R. HUNT. The best performers with the ball were P. L. COSTELOE (6 for 29) and J. R. KING (3 for 39), and our were dismissed for 78. .

With confidence restored the eleven played their next match against Warwick School. The School, who batted first, made a good start, J. R. GASTON. scoring a praiseworthy 37 and D. P. G. WESTGATE a rather slower 26. When the first wicket fell at 50, J. M. DRURY came in and dominated play with an excellent 62. The innings was declared closed at 164 for 9 and the Visitors replied with a rather shaky 123 for 8, J. R. KING taking 4 for 31.

The School season closed with the match (starting at II .3°) against the Old Vigornians, at which the School batted first. J. R. GASTON (20) and D. P. G. WESTGATE (25) gave the School a fairly good start, but the best innings of the day came from P. C. SYKES who made a masterly 69. The innings was declared closed at 210 for 7 wickets. P. L. COSTELOE, who had made 23, also bowled well, claiming three victims for 17 runs, but the most successful bowler was T. E. THOMAS, whose accurate off-breaks broug1:lt him 4 wickets for 9, the best piece of bowling of the year. The Old Vigornians' innings closed at 101, the School winning by 109.

Lastly we would like, on behalf of all those who play cricket, to thank MR. LANE for his unceasing hard work and encouragement.' As the river flooded the ground twice during the term, he has had added difficulties. For his perseverance and help we are most grateful. Our sincere thanks are due to MR. BAILEY and all members of the Staff who have helped to make this season such an enjoyable one.

RESULTS

1ST XI

Opponents Venue Result For Against

Dean Close, Cheltenham Home Drawn 143-7 163-3 (Dec.)

Shrewsbury School 2nd XI Home Cancelled

Worcs. County Cricket Club and Ground Home Drawn 126-9 196-9 (Dec.)

Hereford Cathedral School Away Cancelled

Magdalen College School Away Lost III 101

Brornsgrove School Away Lost 152-8 (Dec.) 153-2

Malvern College "A" XI ... Away Lost 163' 180 Royal Grammar School Home Won 180 78

Warwick -School ... Home Drawn 164-9 (Dec.) 123-8

Old Vigornians XI Home Won 210-7 (Dec.) 101

HOUSE MATCHES

Creighton-bye } H.ostel } Creighton I Hostel Castle. . .

Choir } Choir }

ChappelChoir School-bye

1ST XI CHARACTERS

Choir

J. M. l)RURY (Captain).-His batting this year has not been quite as consistent as last year, but he has had some very useful and forceful innings. Perhaps he is not as good a tactician as one would wish, largely due to inexperience, .. but this failing was largely balanced by enthusiasm, magnificent and at times brilliant fielding, and a confident and business-like approach to the game. His calling and running between the wickets were first class, and he has set a very high standard for the future.

D. P. G. WESTGATE.-His batting this year has been corisistent, but he has ., developed a hurried and jerky movement to fast bowling. He must learn to play" all the way" to fast bowling. Quick and alert in the field. A poor runner between wickets.

J. R. GASTON.-A sound and enterprising batsman with good all-round attacking shots. Good in the field when close.

T. E. THOMAS.-A useful all-rounder. His batting is dour if not classical. Came into form late with his off spinners, when he finally learned to control his direction and length. Good in the field.

J. R. KING.-Opened the bowling with medium paced inswingers and this year he has bowled with accuracy and consistency. Quick and alert in the field.

H. B. SHouLER.-He has tried to bowl off spinners. His direction and length have been fairly consistent but he dbes not impart suffiCient " spin" or "work" on the ball. Is developing into a useful bat. Rather slow in the field.

P. L. COSTELOE.-A very useful all-rounder, with more promise as a bat. He must try to use his full height when bowling and maintain his direction. Good in the field.

P. C. S)'KEs.-He has developed into a good forcing bat. He still lacks that little bit of confidence which would make. him really good. Very good in the field and a useful change bowler.

A. R. HUNT.-His batting has been rather disappointing, largely because he plays too much with his right hand, and secondly because he plays· too soon to slow bowling. Very good indeed in the field.

C. A.W. lVE.-Has kept wicket well, and improved with every step. Particularly good on the leg side. A dour defender with the bat:

J. C. WOODALL.-A promising left-arm leg-spinner. He keeps the ball well up to the bat, but at the moment his direction is erratic. Slow in the field.

GOLF

Although a return match against Malvern College could not be arranged this term, the interest in the game has increased greatly. C. G. JONES and T. P. B.HOPKIN are to be congratulated on reaching the final of the Junior Cup at Worcester Golf and Country Club. The free golf lessons under the " Boys Foundation" scheme have again been kindly given by MR. F. C. BARTI.AM whom we all thank very much for the time he has spent with us. The new members this year have made 11 very encouraging start and it is hoped that we shall see many new faces at the lessons next year.

BADMINTON

The Badminton Club is now fully established and a School match was played against Grammar School. The team consisted of:­

H.Shouler B,eaumont 1st pair

P. Sykes and J. Bufton 2nd pair.

M. Sloan and I. C. Brown 3rd pair.

The result of this match was a most convincing win for the School by. 8 matches to I.

We are trying to arrange more matches for the Spring Term. It is hoped that it may be possible to run both a Senior and a Colts team.

We to take this opportunity of thanking MR. KNIGJ:IT for all the work he has dohe in ensuting a firm footing for the Club. We also thank MR. CRAWFORD who has taken on the position of President.

Next term there will several vacancies in the Club, but once agam membership' will have to be limited, since we' only have one court.

SUMMER, 1955

C.C.F.

C.S.M. P. J. BULMAN, who left at Easter, is the younge'st of three brothers, all of whom have held this high position in the corps. It is doubtful whether any other family Can claim a similar honour. C.S:M. DAY succeeds him.

General Inspection this year was held. on June 16th in College Green. BRIGADIER C. R; BRITTEN, M.C., D.L., who was the inspecting officer, was very favourably impressed by the and he requested a free':'half in reward. Mention must be made here of-the band who were in better form than has been witnessed for many years past. The credit for this must go to DRUM/SERGEANT who, in the absence of DRUM/MAJOR THORN who was in Germany, drilled the band to a peak of perfection. On Speech Day a further display l was given on College Green, together with a drill demonstration.: 68 cadets passed the first part of Certificate "A," and 41 were successful in Part II.

On Field Day needles.s to say, it ramed. "A" Company visited Bringsty Common and "B" Company went to Bromyard Down. Most of the senior N.C.O.s were absent for this event, as tlieywere engaged with G.C.E. examS.

For camp this year a return to Castlemartin is to be made. Let us hope conditions there have improved upon former occasions•

•22 SHOOTING

The N.S.R.A. results will not be printed here, as they appeared in the last issue of the magazine. This year, the VIII won nineteen matches out of twenty-five. It is some time since as many as six matches have been lost in a season. A new feature this year was a match for the second VI II. This they won. Let us hope this idea will be developed in the future as it forms valuable. training for first team experience. At the head of the " Country Life" averages was PARSONS with 87.47 out of ninety. KING, ANDERSON and BULMANalso exceeded 87. In the " Country Life" competition, the first team was placed sixteenth for the second successive year, and the second VIII came sixtyeighth. A general increase in standard was noticed in the scores of the one hundred and thirty-four entries. In this competition, KING scored the "possible" of ninety. Results of the" Country Life" matches are as follows:

Opponent

We They Result

Ellesmere College 696 w.o. Won

Bloxltam School 681 645 Won

Wrekin College 689 W.o. Won

Bromsgrove School 698 638 Won

Sebright School 676 555 Won

Shrewsbury School 693 648 Won

Sutton Valence School 696 .70 3 Lost

Ellesmere College 695 W.o. Won

St. Edward's School, Oxford 693 664 Won

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth 7 0 5* 672 Won

Malvern 682 653 Won

Elizabeth' College, Guernsey 681 686 Lost

King's College, Taunton 678 671 Won

Harrow School ... 680 663 Won

King's School,' Canterbury 693 W.o. Won

Dean Close School, 1st VIII.s 7 0 3 675 Won

Dean Close School, 2nd VIILs 647 5 84 Won

-This score is a school record. "w.o." indicates "Walk Over" or "Wash Out."

Iilthe House Competition, C'astle retained the Team Cup ·th 183 out of 200, the same score as last year. The Individual Cup was won Parsons of Castle House, who scored 49 out of 50.. .

We are glad to be able to report that shooting colours are no being awarded. These have gone toB. R. PARSONS, D. T. HOLT, P. J. BARmrrT, R. D. F. ANDERSON, J. R. KING and D. CURNOCK. ..,

.303 SHQOTING

For the first time practice w:as put in throughout the year, but weather conditions prevented much advantage being gained from were disappointing because of lack of match experience and of practice at 500 Yllr.ds. The C.C.F. Competition at Tyddesley Wood saw us placed fifth, point behind the teams placed third equal. At Kirigsbury an, unfortunately low total in the team event was alleviated by HOLT who came third in the " Longstaff Cup" and received a bronze medal. An expedition to Pirbright during naIf-term was enjoyed by all even though the weather made shooting impossible. As always, the main event of the year was the Bisley rneetingat which HOLT and BARRETT won" Schools Hundred" badges. This is the second time HOLT has so distinguished himself. The VIII made a very good I, start in the " Ashburton Shield" at the 200 yards range, being seventeenth with 249 out of 280. Unluckily this standard was not maintained at 500 yards, and we finished in forty-first place, although our score was eighteenth highest and only twenty-six behind the winners. Ninety teams competed.

SCHOOL ACTIVITES

DEBATING SOCmTY

During the winter months of the past year only four debates werel)eld by the society, circumstances beyond our control causing the cancellation:,.of two. This was a great pity, for the debates we had were popular successe'$, probably because the topics chosen were mainly controversial. The attendance grew with each debate until at the final meeting there were 86 in the house:, The few meetings we had went very smoothly despite such drawbacks as the>,,-, fusing of the lights half-an-hour before the beginning of a debate, ora guest" speaker being unable to visit at the last moment. They were enjoyed by all regardless of whether the motion was a serious or lighthearted one. There is···.·, an interesting point here however; it seems that the vast majority of the SchooL' prefer a light-hearted moti<:>n' and seldom attend the others.

The first two meetings have been dealt with in a previous issue of this:'.: magazine so it only remains for me to say that they were fair successes. The .'

third had for the motion a time-honoured controversy in disguise and it simply said: " It is better to be a pessimist at 25 than an optimist at 50." Opinions' were numerous and varied, the main speaker covering most of the salient. points quite satisfactorily, though it was perhaps a little obvious that MR.' LANGSTONE did not believe a word of what he was saying in proposing the motion. The House had a great deal to say on the matter; discussions ranged between optimism about cricket and its weather, and pessimism about insurance policies and between" National-Gnashers " and Dr. Shweitzer. The opinions delivered were varied, witty and relevant; after much amusing talk the motion was put to the vote and defeated by a wide margin. .

The second debate of the Easter term proved to be one of the more successful meetings' and we had a packed house. The motion before the

house was: "A better educational system than the English Public School should be devised to prepare us for democracy and to combat the oncome of Communism." The speeches delivered for and against the motion by MR. ROWLEY and MR. BULMAN, respectively, were both excellent in their way. The proposer touched upon such subjects as political and military leadership, the attitude of mind of the modem boy, and delivered the opinion quite forcibly that the product of such a school now proves to be a narrow-minded, snobbish and sophisticated young man, totally incapable of the great privileges of command and leadership, and he was convinced that it was high time a new system was devised. The hone opposer made it quite clear in his most decisive and well-delivered speech that the Public School of today is more than satisfactory and achieves its object admirably; furthermore he said that no better system could possibly be devised. At this debate the Spivs Union furnished several witty speeches. MR. HENDERSON-NICHOL will be remembered for quite a time as chairman of this Union, for his ideas of education were vastly different from any previously expressed. Surprisingly enough the motion was defeated by a narrow margin.

Judging by the increasing attendance at this Society, next term's meetings should again be successful. Although many senior members are leaving this term one can look forward to many fine debates for there are some good speakers left in the house. May I take this opportunity of inviting any O.V.'s to speak at our meetings, for they are always welcome and their talents would be greatly appreciated.

Finally we should all like to thank MR. JOHN for his guidance this season.

LITERARY SOCIETY

The comparative shortness of the Spring term restrjctedour number of ,meetings to three; these were devoted to readings of "The Tempest," " French without Tears" and " Dear Brutus."

William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" provided the society with a full but extremely enjoyable first meeting. This play was of double interest to many members as it appeared on the English certificate syllabus for this year; thus there was a somewhat larger attendance than usual.

At the .second meeting we. sought light with Tere!1c.e " French wIthout Tears." ThIs to be a '. Although we had no one to fit the bathmg beauty, we dId cultIvate a reasonable rendering of the odd sentences in French.

Our last meeting was devoted to a reading of " Dear Brutus " by James Barrie. This play evolves round the mysterious figure of" Lob" and " Lob's Wood," providing a strange background for Barrie's philosophy, which was not really appreciated from a single reading.

Before closing these notes I would like to offer the societies thanks to the Headmaster and MRs. KITTERMASTER for their continued help and hospitality towards its activities.

MUSIC SOCIETY

The first meeting of the year was a longer one than usual, starting at 7 p.m. instead of the normal 8 p.m. The reason for this was that we were undertaking the somewhat lengthy task of performing Mozart's "Die Zauberflote " on long-playing records. The early start enabled junior members, who have to leave at 9 p.m., to hear the whole opera.

At the second meeting of the Winter term, MR. R. D. KNIGHT gave a talk on Beethoven, which he illustrated very ably upon the piano.

MR. WEST was our next performer, and he gave his annual organ recital in the Cathedral. The programme was interesting, and varied in style from Bach's" C minor" to Cesar Franck's " Piece Heroique." "

At the last meeting of the term, MR. H. L. WILSON presented some of his collection of long-playing records. This meeting was more lengthy than usual" because during the second half of the evening we enjoyed a whole Beethoven String Quartet.

Because the last meeting of the music Society was due to fall on the last Sunday of term, we only had three meetings in the Spring term.

MR. WEST again stepped to the fore, this time with records. We heard the seldom played B flat minor piano concerto of Chopin, Goldmark's Spring Symphony and a selection of songs performed by Kathleen Ferrier.

At the second meeting, MR. R. D. KNIGHT again entertained us, this time with the aid of MR. SUTCLIFFE, who introduced a programme of piano duets dating from early to modern times. Everyone enjoyed their lively performance immensely.

To round off the year, we had our customary members' night. This proved as popular as· ever, and the usual amusing time was had by all.

Our thanks are once more offered to MRs. KITTERMASTER, who hasso often proved herself the perfect hostess and patroness.

In passing, it might be added that the choir paid another visit to the Schools' Choir Festival at Gloucester, an outing which has now become an annual event.

ART SOCmTY

The first lecture of the term was given by MISS J OYCE AUSTIN. She showed the Society some photographs in colour which she had taken herself of many different types of buildings in Wales and the Midlands, showing how

local stone was used in the majority of the constructions.

At our next meeting MR. HOPCROFT gave us a " Tour of the Alps" on

colour slides. He had taken these photographs himself using the new colour process. The photographs were really wonderful and eve'rybody enjoyed his talk.

SUMMER, 19S5

THE VIGORNIAN

For the third meeting the Headmaster kindly procured some films on art which were shown to the Society in College Hall. Several of the films were of a very modem nature and gave much enjoyment to those present.

During the Summer term we held three sketching expeditions to large houses in the neighbourhood. The first was to Whitboum Court where all thoroughly enjoyed themselves walking around the grounds and sketching the house from various angles. The second expedition was to Havington Hall, where everyone was too interested in looking round the house to do any sketching. The third and last visit was to Rouse Lench Court near Evesham: Here, as at Whitboum, we were not allowed into the house but enjoyed ourselves going about the large garden. .

As usual our meetings took place in the drawing room of the Headmaster and MRS. KITTERMASTER to whom we owe thanks. for this privilege and for their interest in Society. We extend our thanks especially to MRS. KITTERMASTER for her great help in the sketching expeditions and also to MR. VAWDREY who acted as our chauffeur.

CHESS CLUB

The Spring term saw the continuation of the season's chess. The School' open chess team played the remainder of its Worcestershire School Chess. League (Div. 2) matches. .

Results :­

v. Sacred Heart, Droitwich (won S-I).

v. Hanley Castle Grarnrriar School (won st-i).

v. HartlebuJ;"Y Grammar School (won 4-2).

v. Blind College (lost 1t-4i).

The match with the Blind College saw the termination of the season's league matches. Of the seven league matches played the School won five. Their performance was sufficient to win the league (Div.2) and gain ptomotioJ,l to the open division for next season. '

Two friendly matches were also played, the first against King Edward's School, Birmingham, which the School lost (2-S), and the second against the Staff which the School 'Open' side won.

Also during the Spring term the Inter-house Chess Competition was held. This was won by Choir House for the second year running when they beat School House' by 2t-1 i after a replay of the final.

During the Spring term the V.IS'S also played inter':school chess although not in a league. :­

v. College for the Blind (lost).

v. Sacred Heart, Droitwich (won).

An V.14'S team beat the Worcester Royal Grammar School by seven matches to one.

A highly commendable performance was also put up by S. C. GRAHAM and M. DAY who bo.th pblyed three times for the County Team and gradually rose in board seniority. P. J. JONES also played once for the County.

Finally we should like to thank MR. H. BALLANCE for his unceasing help and advice.

VI FORM CLUB

In the Spring term we held· four meetings, one of which was in compensation for the Winter Dance which was cancelled because of illness. The first meeting was a Social, followed a fortnight later by a Debate and Dance. The motion, that "This House does not believe that the cow jumped over the moon" was proposed by MISS ARMSON and T. B. TATE and opposed by MR. BROWN and P. ROBERTSON. N. T. VUiJCENT was in the Chair. Mter a rather sparse response from members of the House, we danced until 10.30 to the music of the Blind College Band.

The third meeting was a talk in our :Reading Room on " Professionalism in Sport" which was followed by a youth Magazine in College Hail. Our .last meeting of the term was a at the Perrins Hall., ,

. The Summer term opened a talk on Detective fiction in College Hall and was followed bY;ETeis evening oh June 24th which, we are pleased to say, was won by A. M. E ARDS and MISS P. HOMER. Then came a Dance at the Alice Ottley School ich was ·most enjoyable for all. As usual we finished the term with the Annua General Meeting at which N. T. VINCENT handed over the Treasuryship to H. Ho SHouLER.We wish next year's committee members H. B. SHOULER and H. G. VAILE a most successful and enjoyable year and hope that the club will faithfully pursue its cultural and social aims.

SCIENCE SOCIETY

The first full year of the Science Society has now ended with the Society accepted and flourishing.

. On January 31st we held the first meeting of the Spring term which was a film show in College Hall. The films. shown were :­

(1) Lord Rutherford - speaking on the atom.

(2) A better breed - about genetics.

(3) Vision and the structure of the eye.

(4) Highlights of Farnborough 1952.

The ironfounders "Hardy and Padmore Ltd." were visited on March 16th. We were shown in turn the melting shop, wooden patterns being made for the moulds, the making of sand moulds and the final casting of the metal into the moulds. Finally we witnessed the casting of a piece of machinery weighing about 3! tons.

The last meeting of the Spring term was held jointly with the Christian Union in College Hall, when the REv. L. J. LAWREY gave a very interesting short talk and film entitled" God and Creation."

At an Extraordinary General Meeting at the end of the Spring term C. M. T. GLEAVE was elected Vice-President in place of P. J. BULMAN.·

Only two meetings were held during the Summer term.

The first was another film show in College Hall. The films shown were : (I) How an aeroplane flies. Parts II and III (Drag and Thrust). (2) Atom smashing and the discovery of the neutron. (3) The Microscope.

The last meeting of the year took the form of a visit to the English Electric Co. Ltd. atStafford. We saw large rotating machinery, alternators,transformers and generators in various stages of manufacture,and a· number of smaller articles such as household meters being assembled. The Company generously provided us with an admirable lunch and tea. The Annual General Meeting was held on the bus when the post of working president was abolished and C. G. JONES was elected Secretary in place .of M. ROWE.

Finally may we sincerely thank MR. FRISBY for his activity and enthusiasm throughout the year.

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

The acquiring, through the goodwill of the authorities of the local golf course, of a large natural habitat to work on had achieved the desired purpose of introducing a measure of unity of effort into the Society. Scope has been provided for study of plant, freshwater, insect, and bird life. The opportunities opened up by this acquisition, however, have not been met to the full. The chief drawback has been the weather, the streams being in flood and covering the surrounding ground for the best part of the May-June period. This spoilt the good work started in the early part of the }erm on the plant and freshwater life. Secondly this term is one of exams; and much after-school activity, thus cutting our time down to a minimum.

SUMMER,

1955

THE VIGORNIAN

The weather improved and exams. over, great progress was made with freshwater and insect life, though the initial start on plant life was never picked up again. Rather annoying is the interference from numerous small children who visit the ground and to whom we have lost several of equipment. It is regrettable' that there should have been a noticeable drop in enthusiasm by the younger boys, though there was a corresponding increase among older members. It is to be hoped this will be when the " old men" of the Society have left us.

Finally, we must again our appreciation to MR. LOGAN, and desire no more than his continued gUiClance:-----.._-_. ' -

CHRISTIAN UNION

Last term was one of consolidation after a good start in the 'Winter term. At a meeting at the beginning of term for discussion on the term's programme, it was decided to hold regular meetings in the lunch hour for Bible Study every other week. At these meetings we began studying subjects from " The Spirit's Sword" which proved most helpful. Attendance at these meetings, though not large, has been encouraging.

During the term we also continued with Open Meetings after school in College Hall and these were quite well attended. Early in the term we invited the REv. BAMBERfrom Holy Trinity Church, Malvern, to come to speak to us. ' He spoke on " The life and work ofa Parson."

Later in the term we had another visit from THE REv.L. J. LAWREY, the Travelling Secretary of the Inter-Schools Christian Fellowship. This time he showed a" Fact and Faith" film, "God of Creation" to a joint meeting of the Christian Union and the Science Society, Everyone present was most impressed with the film. .

This term's activities have been rather curtailed by examinations which began towards the end of June, and it was impossible to arrange any meetings after these started.

Before this, however, we held Bible Society meetings in the lunch hour every other week and we continued with studies from" The Spirit's Sword."

We were invited by the Worcester Royal Grammar School Christian Union to join with them on May 20th for a visit:Jrom the REV. L. J. LAWREY to their school. He showed an Inter-Schools Camp film and afterwards

spoke about the importance arid activities of the various camps.

On June 13th we invited MR. MARTIN-DoYLE, the well-known Worcester " eye specialist, to speak at one of our meetings. He gave us a most interesting talk.

Since examinations started the following week this was made the last meeting of the term.

Once again we should like to thank MR.' H. M.' BALLANCE Jor his help and guidance throughout the term.

FILM CLUB

An air of professionalism has followed the introduction of incidental music to our fortnightly film shows.

The following films have proved to' be the most popular of our termly selections :Scrooge.

The Happiest Days of Your Life. They Were Not Divided. The Blue Lamp.

" THE VIGORNIAN

THE MISER

CAST:

Valere ­

Elise

CUante

Harpagnon

La Flecne

Master Simon

Frosine ­

jacques ­

Mariane

justice of the Peace

justice's Clerk

R. L. ROWLEY J

T. E. THOMAS

J. A. R. M. HARRIS

I. F. HASTIE

-A. R. HUNT

N. T. VINCENT

C. B. REYNAUD

C. A. W. lYE

S. J. D. COLERIDGE

T. P. B. HOPKIN

R. B. LIGHTFOOT

Seigneur Anselme ].L.

I do not think it would be any exaggeration to say that the School's production of " L'Arare" by Moliere has proved to be its greatest success for many years. Sitting back and thoroughly enjoying the story as it unfolded and admiring the unsuspected talent shown by certain of the cast', I became aware of a depressing sensation seldom experienced by critics-would there be anything to criticise? Eventually I decided that there were weaknesses but that they were mainly attributable to Moliere and-not to the cast or the producer.

rfhe work of the critic is often unenviable for while he watches the play he may be well satisfied, but when he comes to analyse he will find it a case of " murdering to dissect." The dramatic structure of " L'Arare " is essentially weak--or should we say that it is 'top-heavy?' Whereas in Shakespeare one usually finds a series of characters each with his foil,. Moliere's play depends excessively upon the chief character around whose person the others like satelites. The genius of Shakespeare is that his characters are not painted in monotone but have light and shade, depth and surface moods. His heroines are not merely noble, virtuous and loving every time we see them-0phelia has her madness, Cordelia her rashness.. But Moliere's heroines have a tendency to be like Sir WaIter Scott's-very submissive, father-loving, midying love, conflicting duties and so on according to the well-worn formula.

One can see this familiar pattern working out in " L' Arare," There is the usual story of thwarted love; a mean father with a marriage policy directed by financial motives stands between his children and their happiness. Yes, Yes, you say impatiently "The Bride of Lammermoor.', The story was probably original in Moliere's day and it is only more recently that the fo,rmula has become so well worn. And yet this old theme succeeded in producin'g numerous amusing incidents as between father and son, and also several entangled situations. But the dramatic emphasis is always upon the one same trait in the character-the meanness of the father and the poverty of a pleasureloving son. We see Macbeth or King Lear from several different angles, but never " L'Arare." This weakness is not obvious during the performance of the play but one can see on examination that most of the characters play very straighforward parts, and that a high standard of acting and a certain amount of comedy are therefore necessary if the interest is to be maintained.

CIeante, the son, played by J. A. R. M. HARRIS was amusing even if shallow. His gestUre and tone of voice when surprised by news of his father's intentions towards Mariane were praiseworthy, and much amusement arose out of his attempts to embarrass the Miser by ordering a rather more feast than the latter would have wished. These scenes of comic relief did much to alleviate the rather insipid love-making of Moliere's play. We note with approval that HARRIS' diction has' improved considerably and he can now be heard at the back of our vast hall.

Valere, played by R. L. ROWLEY was impressiv€f and very convincing even if rather too closely moulded to the well-worn formula. One pretty girl, one awkward father and one desperate suitor usually produce a situation in

THE VIGORNIAN

which the suitor joins the hou$ehold so that he might be near the daughter. Again the love-making tended to produce a stifled yawn and the. re-union with his father, Seigneur Anselm, was rather tedious and fantastic also, but the speech on the use of flattery was very well delivered and the situations which arose out of this affirmation of policy provided further comedy. In one scene Valere is tormented with uncertainty ina dilemma in which he has to flatter the Miser and yet show him that he has no right to force his daughter -into a union which is against her wishes. Here Rowley portrayed the typical French courtier admirably. His gesture, his tone of suggestiveness, his troubled, sidelong glances to Elise were wonderfully executed.. Again when explaining to the Cook the need for tact and manipulation, hi.s tone of voice and the calculated movements of his hands were" Just so."

T. E. THOMAS was again seen in the female role which we have come to expect of him. This time he played the part of Elise, but I do not think it..offered him such scope for· his naive-maiden act as did the part pf Cecily Cardew in "The Importance of being Earnest." As in the case of Mariane, whom we will discuss in a minute, the part of Elise is <passive' rather than <_active,' and as such she tends to lack the initiative necessary if she is to play an inspiring or major role. Furthermore Elise is another of these idealised maidens who tends to become rather nauseating-I await with eager anticipation the day when the School calls on THOMAS to take the leading role in a dramatisation of Flaubert's "Madame Bovary."

A newcomer to the School stage was S. J. D. COLERIDGE who played the part of Mariane with great conviction. As in the case of Elise this part is rather difficult since the character was created not for her own sake but as a source' of conflict between father and son. This practice of Moliere's of creating secondary characters merely to throw more light on the main players and the plot often results in a rather uninspired dialogue for the person concerned and it is to COLERIDGE'S credit that C< he kept his end up " so well. The steady is no less important than the brilliant player.

It would'seem to be a peculiarity of Moliere's that he cannot combine the art of character portrayal with the formation of a good plot. The main characters are so lost in the plot that their personalities are rather monotonous; but the minor characters such as Master Simon and J acques, the Cook and Coachman, not being closely linked to the plot' are cleverly portrayed. In the first instance N.T. VINCENT provided us with a neat little sketch of a Jew bringing together the creditor and the debtor only to find that they are father and son. Again one must praise' the acting-the avarious gleam in the eye, the lustful mutterings' and the anticipation with which he rubbed his hands together all combined to de1iniate this little sketch. The Cook played by C. A. W. lVE was a caricature rather than a portrait and as such afforded the audience much entertainment. . When not engaged in making a meal out of nothing, or in changing into his coachman's uniform this poor servant was learning by bitter experience that neither flattery nor truth would get him far in this world. Once again it is the situation in which he finds himself that creates the amusement. I am not quite sure whether seventeenth century France would have appreciated the North British accent but it was certainly effective in twentieth' century England.

Another actor making his first appearance was J. L. PROCTER who played the part of Seigneur Anselme. Unfortunately the particular scene in which he appears is full of rather tedious dialogue of an explanatory nature. Perhaps seen Smetana's C< Bartered Bride" and quite a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan of late I am becoming rather tired of touching family reunions or remorseful nurses who make tearful confessions that years ago they " switched the babies " by mistake. It is one of the definite weaknesses of the play that this long passage of explanation covering twenty years of the Anselme family history is allowed to drag on with so little action or comip relief. The fault was Moliere's not PROCTER'S. I think he made the best ofa rather bad job and I hope he gets a better chance in the next play to show the abilities which I think he has.

Frosine, by. C. B. REYNAUD, is essentially a "go-between" and the part involves considerably more-dialogue than action. To play the part convincingly' the actor must be able to manipulate his speech so that a hint or an insinuatjon shall come over with just· that correct amount of emphasis. There must be that note of persuasion when' talking to the Miser, and the flash of inipatience when she is·alone with her own thoughts. Again, it was not an easy part to play in such a way as to hold the interest, but I think REYNAUD deserves due credit for his performance.

One of the more interesting of the minor characters was La Fleche played by A. R. HUNT. Since he is the ringleader in the resistance to the Miser and eventually succeeds in carrying out the robbery, he naturally arouses our interest and sympathy. He carried the role of defiance very well and drew much laughter by his comic attempts to cross the stage:with the treasure chest in the presence of the miser.

Mter the robbery the Chief Magistrate and his Clerk, played by T. P. B. HOPKIN md R. B. LIGHTFOOT respectively, arrived to make investigations. The former did as much hum-ing and har-ing as his profession required, showing great knowledge of technicalities but little enthusiasm for action. The Clerk meanwhile pulled a series of faces as the case proceeded and finally dissolved into tears at the family reunion.

And so to the Miser himself. Nothing short of the most hearty and sincere congratulations can suffice to praise IAN HASTIE for his wonderful performance in the leading role. The school has previously seen him in female roles where he has acquitted himself favourably but has never given us any idea of the powers that are within his reach. Seldom does one find such wonderful spirit that it can carry the play practically by itself.

For his voice there can be nothing but praise. One moment he would be croaking and wheezing as he enjoyed some joke, and then the croak would take on a suspicious lilt and become sharp and quick, and then n.ext moment it would break into a fit of short-breathed fury. And then with hunched-back and an awkward gait he would hobble away waving his walking stick. Perhaps the best scene oiall is that in which the. miser realises that he has lost his money. One moment all is despair, doubt and even terror as he realises, horror-stricken, what has befallen him. A suspicion fleets across his mind and its outward track moves across his face, his breath comes quickly, his movements are jerky, uncertain, but as conviction comes upon him he grows more decisive and his broken voice rises in a crescendo of threats until breathless he gasps, " I'll hang 'em all and if that is not enough I'll hang meself."

A pathetic figure indeed, but often a source of humour. The audience came to await the furtive gasp, "There's somebody in the Garden," and to show its approval as he hobbled off waving his stick. We came to expect the next epigram concerning his meanness; we delighted in the wrangling between father and son over the menu for " the feast," and at the end we had come to love the old skinflint so much that we are as happy to see his treasure restored to him as to see a toy restored to a child. Despite the nature of his character, the miser completely won the hearts of the audience, and the applause as .the lights faded around the little hunch-backed figure surrounded by money must have spoken for itself. Congratulations.

And now it only remains to thank our Producer, MRs. KNIGHT and our hard-working cast for the imagination and enthusiasm which must have gone into those long hours of rehearsals. And let us also recognise that " they serve who only stand and wait" - our thanks go also to MR. H. L. WILSON, our Stage Director, the Stage Prompters R. N. HUGHES, M. W. S. SLOAN, B. R. PARSONS and N. F. G. ANDREWS, Also to C. M. T. GLEAVE for the stage lighting. and finally to J. L. PROCTER, J. R. KING,'R. B. LIGHTFOOT, A. G. DAVIES and others who, under the direction of MISS M. C. CAMPBELL, made and painted the scenery. / M. A. L.

THE VIGORNIAN

CONTRmUTIONS

THE CLOCK TURNED BACK

The Towy is the river of Cam'larthenshire; its source is amid the wild wastes of the Great Welsh "Desert" '- "a bleak, treeless and uninhabited plateau of about three hundred square miles in area.: This mother of the river winds its way along the valleys to the south of Plynlimmon.

The Towy flows through a steep and straight valley, past the haunt of the famous Welsh bandit Twm-Shou-Catti and into a series of rocky gorges which overhang deep pools, in which all kinds of weird monsters and ghosts are predicted to dwell by the superstitious Welsh. It was on the banks of this river where it bursts from one of the rocky clefts, where it flows rippling over

the pebbles, that two people of this modem world were lqcky enough to play the part of their primitive ancestors. The hands of the clock turned back some three thousand years.

On the banks of the river there are tall ferns six feet high, amongst which red-berried rowan trees and hazel bushes grow. Through this tangle we hacked our way until we found a clearing within a few yards of the river where we could set up our camp. Mter chopping down ferns we began to build. A stout branch eight feet long and two fork branches formed the framework of our primitive dwelling. Upon this we built a lattice of ash on which we tight bundles of fern. The roof was made waterproof by a baked mixture of grass and mud.

Our hut completed, the next essential task was the finding of food. We managed to kill two rabbits with catapults and in the evening twilight we set ourselves down to roasting them above a roaring log fire. Our wooden spits frequently caught fire as a result of which our meal was constantly precipitated into the hot embers. Eventually the. rabbits were pronounced done, and, after scraping off the ash and charred flesh we set about tearing them. apart with out teeth and hands in real primitive style. We finished our meal with hazel nuts from the nearby bushes, and so we prepared ourselves for bed. The night was warm and we fell asleep to the hooting of the owls and the murmur of Nature. When we awoke in the morning and had recovered from the initial surprise of seeing dense foliage above our heads we took a dip in the river. Our breakfast was composed of a few pieces of crude bread, baked on a hot stone, and a handful of hazel nuts.

Our visit to the past soon over, we set out for camp and semi-civilisation with mixed feelings. We had lived fot a day, a life of primitive simplicity without the worry of atom bombs, Greek irregular verbs or the bustle of modem life. We had, it is true, only experienced the brighter side of primaeval life - had it rained that night, had we failed to catch those rabbits, had we met with a sabre-toothed tiger, then the tale might have been different.

J.L.M.F.

THE COLLEGE GREEN

In my last article I introduced you to the brief history of the monastery gate house, The Edgar Tower. It now remains for me to enlighten you further on the history of the other buildings about the College Green. Some of you ,may wonder why the Green is built as it is; the reason is that the present buildings are built on the foundation plan of the monastery courtyard. \ This then is the first significant point about our school close--the College Green of today was the inner courtyard of the monastery of yesterday.

To the north of the' Green lies the main body of the Cathedral Church and Monastery; the history of these buildings would take up many volumes of The Vigornian before it could satisfy the interested reader, so I intend to consider those buildings that have a ,significant connection in one way or

another with the School. Briefly, the monastic buildings on this side of the courtyard comprise the church, the cloisters, the chapter house, the dormitory, the guesten hall, the sub-prior's, dwelling, the almonry, the refectory and the kitchens.

The Almonry stood on the site of the present Deanery to the west of the Edgar Tower; it was' the ,duty of Eleemosynarius (the Almoner) to supply alms and provender to the poor at. the gate. Some of the earliest records of a school here pertain to an almonry school for the Lodge Chapel choirboys . in the early 13th century. ':Although it was strictly against the Benedictine rule to have young boys as inmates of a monastery it nevertheless became a secret fashion to have them for the choir. Thus it was necessary to have a place of board and education and at Worcester they were lodged in the almonry where they were further educated by the monks themselves.

Some fascinating records pertaining to the School arid its pupils may be seen in the Cathedral Library.

The ruins at the rear of the Deanery are those of the original Guesten Hall. This institution functioned quite independently of the monastery having its own endowment, and its purpose was that of entertaining visitors to the city. The building was erected in the early fourteenth century. and remained standing until the last century when it fell into dilapidation beyond repair; The fine timber roof however is still preserved over the Church of the Holy Trinity at Shrub Hill. I

To the north of the Guesten House is the ruined Priory and to the west stands The Chaptet House. The Cloisters lie to the south of the Church and the Refectory runs along the entire length of the south cloister. The dining hall is built over a sub-vault of Norman masonry, the present hall beingo{ the fourteenth century. The original refectory stood to the height of the present building. It was lighted by windows of the same dimensions as those of 'the undercroft which were placed traditionally high up in the walk The whole structure had a flat roof of timber and lead which was supported by three columns ranging up the centre of the building. The only relic of the original Norman refectory is the rare and beautiful Majestas that adorns the eastern wall. It must have been a treasured relic even to the monks as it was specially preserved at the great rebuilding in the fourteenth century. Since paintwork has been revealed on the Reredos, and it is definitely known that, the cloisters ' were adorned with frescos, it is almost certain that the hall was adorned with mural work. The present building is the largest school hall in the country. At the Dissolution of the Monastery in 1541 the refectory ceased to function as a dining room and the new King's School took it over as their school-room. The hall appears to have always had a gallery at the rear; in the days of the monastery this served as the buttery. A further point of interest is the staircase iD the north wall. This staircase was the access to the sill from which, according to Benedictine custom, devout passages were read during the course of the meal. The ceiling and wall panelling were installed at the restoration in the last century.

The Headmaster's house to the west of the College Hall is built on the ruins of the sub prior's dwelling. To the south of the Headmaster's door, on the site of the small lawn, was situated the refectory kitchen. ,This was an octagonal building and remained standing until the 18th century.

The Watergate at the bottom of the western slope leading to the river was built out of the generosity of the cellarer in the fourteenth century. The sandstone vault-work is original though the house above has been built and demolished many times·throughout the centuries.

The' house on the slope, now occupied by Canon Briggs, stands on the site of the dwelling of Tumbarius. It was his duty to maintain the, tombs in the church and to collect the offerings at the shrines of St. Oswald and St. Wulstan

Since the Edgar Tower had been seized by the castle in the earliest days of the monastery the boundary of that fortification would have been altered to

SUMMER, 1955

THE VIGORNIAN

the north side of the Green, so that those buildings to the south would no longer have belonged to the monastery. It is probably for this reason that so little is known about the nature of these buildings since the monks no longer had cause to put them on record.' However from the scanty records available some information has been

The houses in the south;,.west corner of the Green stand on the foundations of the monastery bakehouse-the house in the corner is still known as the "oven/' Adjoining the bake-house on the site of the laboratory block were barns and stables and the malt-house or brewery was situated on the present site of Castle House. To the east of this there was a lead foundry. The foundry was an integral part of the building since all roofs were of lead. Adjoining the foundry, on the site of The Hostel, was the granary. There are no records to identify the eastern building!:! though it is known that the organist occupied a house opposite the almonry for many years." Soon after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the buildings were put to other uses. The'lead foundry was removed to the north side of the Cathedral and the granary was taken over by the school as boarding accommodation. The building to the east became the singing school where the choirboys' of the Cathedral Church were educated after the fashion of the King's School but with the additional choral curriculum. The Choir School was abandoned in 1860 when the choristers were educated at the King's School but the school was revived again in 1882. However at the death of' Mr. Davies the Headmaster, and former Master of the Children of H.M. Chapels Royal, the school was amalgamated with the King's School.

P.A.D.B.

RUGGER

The empty pitch, the the autumn sun, The clapping as the players take the ground, The quick decision as the coin is spun. The taking of position. All around The crowds of schoolboys, jostling on the ropes, Are quiet, as a player kicks ahead; The sudden rush, the break,1:he soaring hopes, The tackle, and those expectations dead; The lineouts, where true justice is a farce, The scrums, the ball from out the melee clawed, The movement of the threes, the final pass, The semi-madness as a try is scored; Impressions such as these are often found When watching rugger on the King's School Ground.

J.W.L.

THE STONES

In contrast to the stifling heat of the day, the night was cool, all the land around was fragrant and the dark air inviting. Not a cloud stood in the sky, not a sound crept from the sleeping houses on the hill. Low on the horizon the moon shone full and the motionless ruins before us cast long shadows of impenetrable blackness.

We stood listening for a moment, our throats dry. Suddenly, a harsh creak came from the tall stones before us. I felt the blood ebb from my face, and my companion clutched my arm in a convulsion of fear. Silence. Then another creak, louder than the first, and a faint, flickering light seemed to dance above the low stone in. th.e centre of ring. My c<;>mpanion put his mouth close to my ear, and saId In a shaky whIsper, " Why dId we come here ? Some urge is drawing me nearer to the ring!" So it was in my case. A soft, 160

silvery voice seemed.to say tO'me, " Come, my friend. Come, and rest awhile. You are weary. Come, come ' " Scarcely knowing what I was doing, I slowly advanced to the outer ring of stones, my friend by my side, looking glassily ahead. '

T}1edim light above the low central stone penetrated but a short distance, leaving the tall stones in blackest shadow. A thin, clammy mist was enveloping us, and suddenly a vague, unreasoning fear seized hold of me. I recalled childhood tales of goblin!?, witches and bogies and every shadow assumed a grim, menacing, shape. We passed under the tottering cross-stones and suddenly became icy cold. The Voice called again, "'Come, rest is here. Come." The silence grew upon us, heavy, oppressive. Then, with startling a chorus of creaks from all sides. For an instant, the spell was broken. We spun round, -but to out horror we saw Them! To the left, to the right, behind, before; all round, They stood, the mystic dwellers in the stones of the moor !

We flung ourselves back to a great monolith near the outer circle, pressed our backs to it, shuddering with uncontrollable horror! The writhing mist came down, the night enveloped us like a pall, and They came out. Hideous faces drawn into fiendish grins, evil eyes aglow with devilish mirth, they surrounded us! A pale moonbeam broke through the veil of mist, shining on to Something which sat at9P the Flat Stone, the pale flame flickering around it. A thin voice called, " My children, my children, let us dance, let us show these mortals how the Korigans can dance." At this,' a frightful shriek of a unholy mirth arose from the strange creatures around, and straightaway they began to dance. May never mortal eye see such a dance again. Round they whirled, in ever faster circles, till our eyes dulled with the strain of watching. Pale, flickering fire sprang up from beneath their feet, and dim shapes flitted above us in the mist, On and on went the, mad dance, until the pale light of dawn whitened the eastern sky, and the whirling figures dimmed and slowly vanished. We had not the strength to move until the sun was high in the sky; then we struggled to our feet, and tottered over the heath, to the tiny hamlet. When we had gone to the' accursed ring, we had been two strong, able-bodied men, but when we returned, our hair was white, our cheeks sunken in, and the stubble upon Now, twenty years later, we still dream of it, the dance of the the strange little people whirling round and round, round". .'

J.G.K.F.E.

The prize for the best contribution has been ,awarded to]. G. K. FlowerEllis-Editor.

25 th July, 1955.

Dear Editor, -...

I should like to use your fine magazine The Vigomian for' the purpose of .expressing my profound thanks to the members of the School, the Staff, the Headmaster' and Mr$. Kittermaster, and to the Governors of the School for making my stay in Worcester such a fine and personally profitable year. It is amazing how much one gains in a year such as I have experienced. It is not solely through the textbooks that one gains but in every contact with a people not different from oneself yet foreign and in possession of natutallydifferent ideas and opinions. I am sorry indeed to find that there will be no American. here next year but I hope that future years will see a resumption of the 'exchange in which more Vigornians take part, for it is truly an honour to represent one's country abroad. Again my manifold thanks for a memorable stay.

Sincerely,

RICHARD B. LIGHTFOOT.

To the Editor of The Vigomian

Dear Sir,

May we draw your attention to the inefficiency of those in charge of the Reading Room? At times there is no basket; literature many weeks old is left around in a tom condition, while weekly magazines such as Picture Post and Illustrated wander for two or three days after delivery, before reaching their places. Sometimes newspapers reach the Reading Room hours late while at other times magazines never arrive at all. The Schoof has been forbidden to tear the periodicals, but the Times often arrives mutilated, while in other magazines whole pages are missing. The bookshelves are disgustingly untidy, and the occasional tidying of the magazines is not sufficient. May we ask for stricter enforcemeht of Reading Room Rules? In break and the dinner-hour it is impossible to use the Reading Room owing to the of younger members of the School.

Could we also request that .the relief in the School Garden Summer House be thoroughly washed? This is in la filthy state, and the large hole in the plaster should be filled in as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

I·A.W.

J.L.M.F.

R.F.J.S.

To the Editor of The Vigomian , 23 rd july, 1955.

Dear Sir,

The awarding .of " Shooting Colours "to the Eight has caused consternation among members of the School. The Games Committee was never approached about the matter but it was all done behind its backs. For a corps activity, in which only members of the corps are allowed to participate, to encroach on our civilian Colours is not right at all. To crown all they intended having t he second IVQlazer with the blades replaced by crossed rifles I What audacity ! Yours, / "-,DISGUSTED."

THE VIGORNIAN

To the Editor of The Vigornian

Dear Sir,

In reply to the Editorial in the last issue of this Magazine, this reader has prepared a criticism largely based on that issue which he hopes may be of some to those it may concern.

'Tfle outstanding fault of The Vigornian in its present form is waste of paper. This is especially blameworthy when contributions are cut down on the excuse of lacJr of space, when half of the page on which the article appears is left blank. Surely this, is not the way to encourage the contributions so urgently requested ? ;'

With no disrespect to the staff, is it necessary to devote a whole page to supplying their names? After all, anyone sufficiently interested has only to consult a Public Schools' Year Book in a reference library. (This is not a rf!gular feature, but was put in by special request.-,EDITOR).

"School Officers" and "Valete" are essential for record purposes, and need no alteration, but here special attenti,on to accuracy must be exercised. School Notes are also important, but need each item occupy so much space?

At least half of page 103 of the current volume is wasted. A further example of bad spacing is provided on page IIO, and why were the greater parts of pages III, II4, anq 121 left vacant? Surely such expensive and unnecessary wastage could easily be avoided.'

If advertisements are needed to enable photographs to be printed, they should be admitted, provided they are of a suitable standard. Such a policy should serve to make The Vigornian more of a living organism and less of an historical charter. With regard to a pri!e for the best contribution, the scheme suggested by the editors should prove satisfactory, even if rather slow to gain popularity.

A list of the whereabouts of the School Cups should appear at least once a year. This would help to widen interest in these trophies, most of which are of considerable age, and might even prompt better treatment ,of cups than has been noticed in some houses of late.

One final criticism. Do not the editors consider the VIth Form Library notes in their new form are rather futile? Such a clist of new books is readily available to all those interested on the Library notice board, and a short paragraph touching happenings within that sacred room might add a touch of comic relief to an otherwise humour-starved VigQrnian; \ I remain, Sirs, Yours, etc.

B. R. PARSONS.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It is the cost of print and not the cost of the paper which sends the price up. Even if we used smaller print and exercised the utmost economy of paper, but kept the same amount of print the cost would not be substantially lessened.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We should like to take this opportunity of expressing our thanks for the receipt of the following school magazines; we tender our sincere apologies for any omissions:

The Wulfurnian; The Monmouthian; The Wolvernian; The Hancastrian; The Worcesterian; The King Edward's School Chronicle;, Girls' Grammar School Magazine.