VIGORNIAN·
THE HEADMASTER - SUMMER TERM, 1959.
[G. A. G. Hardman
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Editor: J. G. K. FLOWER-ELLIS.
Photographic Editor: G. A. G. HARD MAN.
Assistant Editor: N. R. HAVELY.
THE VIGORNIAN
The ,King's School Chronicle
TA MEN AI6AKTA MAN0ANO, TA ,6'EYPETA ZHTO, TA nAPA 0EON HITHIAMHN
VOL. XVII No. 1
We regret due to circumstances beyond our control, the Vigornian could' not at the end of last term as irite,nded. Since then Mr. D. 1\1 Annett has taken up his. appointment as Headmaster. On behalf of the School we, would like to welcome both Mr. and Mrs. Annett to .the King's and to wish them every happiness for the future.
"' .. The' Edit()rs feel that ¥r. retirement, .bespared·the-usualEdltortal ill ord,er that pnde of place may be gIven .. t9an appreciation' of all that -lie has done' for the School. Mr. and Mrs. house in Dorset, and with them go the good wishc:;s and' affection. 9f an Vigomians, past and present, who have known <and, 'have it.-. V t;zlete.
MR. R. KITIE:RMASTER
Mr. F. R. Kittermaster was educated at Rugby School and the Royal Military Academy, WOQlwich. He served in the Royal Field Artillery from 1918-21, and later took up appointments at the Prince of Wales College, Dehra Dun in India, and at the Duke Qf York School in Dover. 1nl 928 he was appointed to Canford School, Dorset; and had a long and distinguished career as Housemaster until 1942. While coping with the work and tribulations of a busy schoolmaster, he still. found time to take a First Class Honours degree in English at London University.
Mr. Kittermaster came to the King's School at a difficult time - one of the most difficult times in the School's history. In 1942 the War was still on, and the School had only recently returned from its exile in CricCieth after being evacuated therein the early part of the War. There were about 150 boys and the School was heavily in debt. During his period in office the number of boys has increased to 600, with a corresponding increase in the number of To cope with this growth, buildings had to be expanded, and the past seventeen years have seen the formation-of Choir House and of the Junior School at St. Albans, the extension of the New Classroom Block, the refitting of the Old Science Block and, perhaps the crowning achievement, 'the completion of the Winslow Science Building.
It is impossible to discuss adequately the influence that a Headmaster may have upon any School. So many results of his work are intangible, and can be judged only by people who have worked and lived in the school itself. Many boys will remember the unfailing interest shown by Mr. and Mrs. Kittermaster in many of their activities,' and the generosity with which they supported them. These qualities are the most important, and it is for these above all that they will be remembered with thankfulness and affection.
MR. R. C. PEDDER
Vigornians young and old will feel a sense of loss when the School reassembles in September without Mr. Pedder. He has a familiar and well-loved figure in the school since 1929, when he came as a temporary 4
THE, VI GORNIAN
, ' 1,• ' Scie1!-ce Master. years at King's he has given, unstmted encouragement ,to many Of the School's actIvIties and he was responsible forJhe formation oLthelScol,lt and was,Scoutmaster for 10 years;, In 1938 he succeeded Mr; Burnett as Housemaster to the Hostel and retired from that position only last year. '
Mr. Pedder was educated at the Royal NavafC611ege, Daitm6utl1, and served in the Royal Navy inhoth world wars before' retiringin"1945 with the '-rank of Commander. In<the First War he waS on active service at sea and'in the Second War was Commanding Officer of the' Public Schools; Entry at Dartmouth and Eaton Hall.
During the summerlVlr.:Bedder is his house in the Lake District and later he part-time teaching, in a: neighbourirrg school and, in his some. fishing;. ; , , ' ' " :' " ,:' •• ,
Mr. and Mrs. them our very sinceregpod wishes for their future happiness,t()gether with those of past; members 'of t:4e' Seh-QQl, for whom they havej workeqso hard and by whom ;they are held in high esteem.
'MISS L. D. FORWARD' .
Miss Leslie Forward left at' half-term and. will be greatly Miss Forward, first came to Worcester ill 194Z the Staff· of the' Choir School and joined usa year later' when, the Clloir S.chool was merged with King's. She was an inspired,teacher'of 'and past and present members will remember with' gratitude the lessons they had with her in those subjects in the lower part of the schoo1. We wish her a long and happy retirement.,
IN MEMORIAM - GEORGE'SMITH
The zoth of January last saw the passing away of a well-known and much liked O.V. in the person of Mr. George H. Smith at his home in Ludlow. He was a day boy at the school from 1879 to 188z 1 and during that time was also a cathedral chorister. He was, one of the. first to enter the Choir School when that establishment was first opened. At the time of his death he was the senior member of the Cathedral Old Choristers' Association, and as sucJ1 became a Vice-President of the Associatio,n in 1951. He has followed a career in music throughout his life, possessing a very fine bass voice. He was a lay clerk in the Cathedral,from 1891-194Z, organist at St. Helen's church for 39 years, music master at the King's School for 26 years and at the Royal Grammar School fox 12 years, and also gave 50 years' service to « Berrow's Journa1." The latter part of his life he has spent at Ludlow, where he, was a most regular and faithful member of the Parish Church Choir right up-to the Sunday before his death. '
His was a very cheerful and charming personality, and he was extremely popular with everybody at the King's School, with his colleagues in the Cathedral Choir and with many generations of choristers. Everyone in Ludlow who knew him had a real affection for him, and he was thought to be one ot the kindest and gentlest people imaginable. He was buried at Ludlow on Z3rd January 1959. May' his soul rest in peace.
H.J.K.
,1959
THE· VIGORNIAN
.
SCHOOL ACTIVITffiS
THE .SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT - CHRISTMAS, 1958
This, the final School function of the year, is always awaited with pleasure. The audience is in a pleasantly relaxed state, and is not disposed to be hypercritical. The boarders, having but lately come from. the cheerful, even slightly alcoholic surroundings of the House Suppers, were already in festive mood, so the stage was set for a most enjoyable evening. If those sketches be selected which, had an applause-meter been present, would have caused the unfortunate instrument to burst under the volume,. it is hoped that those not so singled out will feel no slight at the o.nUssion.
THE HEADMASTER AND MR.
,It is hoped that the School contains no boys of the sort portrayed by the Headmaster. Were there any, the masters' resignation rate would show a sharp increase, mainly as a result of nervous disorders. However, what more can be expected when the sole, unwilling victim of Detention is under the supervision of an equally unwilling master on the day of the Old Boys' Match?
THE HEADMASTER, MRs. KITTERMASTER AND MISS FORWARD.
After seeing sketch, one can uncjerstand why the ChuJ,"chhas difficulty in finding candidates for the priesthood. If all clergymen have this to contend . let 'all prospective candidates take note and beware. .
REDDICK, WATKINS, HAVELY, N. R.
Despite a slight lapse, this sketch provided considerable amusement, notably to a certain Reverend gentlemen near the footlights, who was quicker than most of the audience in" placing the quotations. 'l'he Bard might have viewed it with feelings, but on the whole his opinion would have been favourable. '..
DREW, JONES, P. J. AND L0;NG.
This piece was most excellently contrived and performed. Each performer came in on his cues with commendable quickness, and the sketch provided one of the highlights of the evening.
THE HEADMASTER, MR. FERRAR, MR. WII.sON. . .'
Quite the most amusing performance.of the evening. Mr. Ferrar, as the Period villain, showed us what an actor has in him been lost to the stage (possibly of theComedie Francaise?) by his becoming a schoolmaster, and the poses struck QY 'the Headmaster as the father were well in the characte.r of the classic situation. Mr. Wilson's performance as son, daughter, butler and bobby was ably acted and amusing.
If the reader finds these notes a little unbalanced, let him take into account the potency of draught cider coupled with the cold night air and a narrow window-ledge.
SPEECH DAY 1959
Speech Day 1959 took place in an orthodox manner and a College Hall crammed to an uncomfortable capacity. Yet the.rewere two reasons why this Speech Day,will live in the memories of those who were present. Firstly, it was the Headmaster's last Speech Day and due tribute was paid to his highly successful conduct of the school's affair,s" during the past eighteen years, by the Dean in his opening speech, The latter remarked that
1959
the ultimate test of· a .good is the ease with which he hands over the reins of to his . He observed that such a' changeover had been tried out at the start of the Christmas term and from its obvious success he drew the logical inference. The Headmaster, after making his annual report, in which he appealed for support for the of his • many money-raising Fete,·on June 13th,in aid of the proposed new Boathouse), replied 1;0 this tribute by quoting a letter he had receive4 from a parent of an ex-dayboy:
" Since he left the King's School he has been missing something, but I do not know what it is."
The Headmaster concluded by saying:
"When I leave here I, too, shall be missing though I shall have difficulty in putting it into words, I shall know in my heart what it is." .
The second item of note in this memorable Speech Day was the guest's speech made by the Rt. Hon. Lord Elton, who, with a fine disregard, for precedent or formality spoke before the prizegiving. His Lordship coinmenced with a pungent and witty condemnation of guest 'speakers, compelled to speak on the subject of e<iucaJ:ion about which they know nothing. lIequalified this statement by saying:- .
" 13ut believe' me there. is something solemn about such speeches there is always something solemn in the of a good man struggling with adversity." .
Lord EI1;on went on to say that there was butane word. of advice that, he could. ,give to the school:-
" I hope you are finding the most valuable lessons are those you know you are learning."
He observed that the prime art was that ofcareful.thOll-ght and " ail eye for
FInally' Lord EIton stressed the importance of spiritual education as a source of "strength, wisdom and. courage."
COMBINED CADET FORCE
ROYAL NAVY SECTION
The formation of. the R.N. 'Section at the beginning of the Easter ·Term brought a welcome change of colour to'the ranks of the C.C.F. on Saturday mornings .. SILt. Vivian as Officer-in-Charge, has a small but keen nucleus of cadets who should all have passed their fust test to become· Able-bodied Seamen by the end of the Summer Term. Acting PettY OfficerWakley, Leading Seamen Sheffer and D. H. Smith and other cadets will have their knowledge put to the test in September when they will undertake most of , the training programme for a fresh intake. ,
The Section's Headquarters in the C.C.F. hut behind the Gymnasiutn has still to be properly furnished; at the moment piles of cordage and .other Admiralty'stores, for want of adequate storage look far from' ship-shape.
The Section had two day's training in H.M.S. CAMBRIA, Cardiff on 13th and 14th March, concentrating on boatwork. A, visit there each term is to be hoped for. Certainly Lt.-Cmdr. Haig and his staff are most hospitable and these outings bring a bit to the training. Two cadets went to sea, in H.M. MIS ST. DAVID, a modern Coastal Minesweeper.
-WINTER TERM.
SECTION
, The Section made for three destinations this term on Field Day. Company went to Clistlemorton, 'B'Company to Bringsty and the recruits did elementary w()rk. on the Battenhall ground. ,
A squad of N.C.O's. paraded on Remembrance Sunday and attended the Commemoration Service. The march-past was, as usual, successful. During this term the following promotions were· made :
Sgt. Hook to Company Sergeant Major.
To Sergeants :Cpls. Drew
Dudley
Smith, G. C. S.
To Corporals :L/Cpls. Hardman
Smith, D. H. Loveless Pierson
Wheeler
Smith, B. J. Preece, P. Rich
Hook, D. J. Head Trace
To Lance Corporals:Snr. Cdt. Coleridge Andrews Wakley
SPRING TERM.
Dyer
Eames Cammell.
Byrne Tetsell
Sheffer
Chalke
Tringham
Jones, P. J. Suckling. Holliday Hammand Potten
Williams, K. S. Pearson Lowson
Field Day this term was held in fine Spring weather - 'A' Company pas$ing a delightful day in Eastnor Park and 'B' Compan:y at Bringsty. Once 'again very few candidates failed the Certificate A. 8
THE VIGORNIAN
••
SUl\iMER, 1«)59
As usual at the end of the term the House Section Shield was held. This
time Captain, Ireland inspected the squads and complimented tllem all on
their tum-o,ut and drill. School House retained the; Shield, Choir House and Chappel were aclose second and third. The Hostel came fout1;h, Creighton fifth and Castle. were last.
TERM.
So far this term we have had the General Inspection only. The ceremonial parade took place on College Green. This·year the Lord Lieutenant of the County, Admiral Sir William Tennant inspected the Company and took the March-past. Afterwards he complimented the whole C.C.F. on their and bearing -a very encouraging comment for the 50th anniversary of the Cadet Force.
The following promotions were made this term:To Corporal :L/Cpl. Hill.
To L/Gpl.:
Cadets Usherwood Austen Clarke Nicholls Moss Dimmick Pearce Woolley Havely, R. N. Carey
IBaldwin, A. T. Kemp GWynn Randle Rogers Jerram . Fletcher McLauchlan Hall, R. A.
ROYAL AIR FORCE SECTION
The R.A.F. Section was formed at the beginning of the Summer Term under the command;of F/Lt. Aldridge and FIO Andrew and will be expanded next year.
There has, unfortunately been a considerable delay in the arrival of the, uniforms and they did not arrive in time for the General Inspection. hoped, however, that they will be here in time for Field Day. This has been arranged at the R.A.F. Station, Gaydon on Friday, July 3rd, when the Section will have its first flying experience.. ' Camp will beheld during the Easter holidays. ,
It i&
RUGBY FOOTBALL - CHRISTMAS TERM 1958,
The School XV, after opening the season most dismally at Brecon·aq.d Bromsgrove, went on to develop very well indeed and eventually finished up with a record of seven wins and four losses. As a result of the improved standard of football during this and previous. years it is to be hoped that tWo new fixtures may be arranged and that Mr. Logan may be prevailed upon to send a side to the Public Schools' Sevens next Easter.
MATCHREPORTS\
v. CHRIST'S COLLEGE, BRECON. (Away). Lost 11-3.
Altogether an unattractive game, lost by bad tactics. The ball was kept in never-ending loose mauls and rarely reached the back line. Wadley scored the School's only try, a good one, after a break from the loose by Dyer.
v. BROMSGROVE SCHOOL. (Away). Lost 11-0.
, The complete ineffectiveness of the pack gave the opposition mastery at forward and this they turned to good account, aided by the XV's persistent inability in defence. The back·line, however, displayed' at times an attacking potential.
v. HEREFORD CATHEDRAL SCHOOL. (Away). Won 3-0.
With the pack reorganised after the debacle at Bromsgrove the week before, the XV now showed its teeth for the first time. Playing as a fast,' well-knit, intelligent unit, the pack achieved all-round mastery' at once. Through its speed it reduced looses to the minimum and fed its threes: Only a prohibitively small pitch and the opposition's first.,.c1ass tackling restricted the score to a try which was touched down by GARDNER after a breakaway on the side line.
'D. DEAN CLOSE. (Away). Won 19-14.
A game of violent contrasts. At half-time, after some inspiring play at back and forward, the School was 11-3 up, both WADLEY and ]ACKSON touching down after smart breakthroughs. WOOLLEY converted the latter into a goal and also kicked a penalty. Afterwards, however, the XV disintegrated rapidly, and five minutes before no-side the score was 14 all. The School just scraped a lucky goal to win.
v. WALLASEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL (On Tour). (Home). Won 12-·3.
Putting on a really cracking display, particularly at forward,the XV produced one of the finest games of football for some years. The pack scored from a breakthrough from the first lineout and thereafter never lost its supremacy, subduing a good team by driving' its pack into the ground by speed, determination and,above all, good football. Bell touched down the first two tries and Woolley added two penalties.
'D. WORCESTER TRAINING COLLEGE. (Away). Won 19-0.
•
v. WORCESTER ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL. (Home). Won 14--0.
A disappointing game in many respects. The pack was not as effective . as had peen hoped at this end of the town and feared at the other. The.tights' 'went to the School, the lineoutsto the opposition and the loose was shared. After half-time, with the score at two penalties by WOOLLEY and a try by WADLEY through AUSTEN, the pack disintegrat'ed as it did at Dean Close, and the only score was a forward try after a breakthrough from the lineout.
v. ELLESMERE COLLEGE. (Home). Won 8--0.
Being distinctly beaten by the best pack the XV had so far met, the School was lucky to win -a victory it owed partly to the ineffectiveness of the Ellesmere back line and partly to the covering of its own back row. The School threes made the most of their few chances, W ADLEY going over a first rate try and WOOLLEY converting. The latter then closed the scoring with a further try.
v. WARWIC:& SCHOOL. (Away): Lost 6-.3.
Although the School pack had most of the ba11, the m\ld clogged every attempt at movement. Warwick kicked through a dropped pass in the first half to score and in the second touched down a good try in the very corner. MORTIMER ran beautifully to score, encouraging the team to an all-out effort. Though pressing hard for the last ten minutes, the pack just failed to' get home.
v. MAGDALEN COLLEGE SCHOOL. (Home). Won 12-0.
Following an inauspicious start, when the opposition just missed a penalty, the School went on to win by two tries and two penalties to nU. The first try was a pushover, only scored after several unavailing attempts; the secon,d a cut-through by WOOLLEY. The pack gained the, initiative at an early stage and maintained it.
v. a.v's. Lost 3-0.
Deplorable conditions and pitch led to a hard forward battle soon
dominated by the a.v. pa«k under the inspiring leadership of COSTELOE. Despite this superiority h()wever, they failed to get home until late in the
game when LENNARD went over for a splendid 'Classical' try. A most
enjoyable game. '.
AWARDS
The following were awarded Rugby Football Caps for the season 1958-9 : Reddick, J. A. (Wallasey G.S.) Austen, ]. M. (Wallasey G.S.) Nicholls, B. A. (W.R.G.S.)
The following were re-awarded Colours:
Dyer, P. . (Wallasey G.S.)
Gardner, M. ]. (Wallasey G.S.)
Wadley, L. G. (Worcester Training College)
Barton-Smith, S. S. (Magdalen College School)
The following were awarded Colours : ,
Nicholls, B. A. Mortimer, R. Hook, D. ]. Bell, D. R. Andrews, R. P. Jackson, A. C. Coleridge, S. J. D. Usherwood, R. Woolley, M.
(Dean Close). (WallaseyG.S.) (Wallasey G.S.) (Wallasey G.,S.) (Wallasey G.B.) (W.R.G.S.) (W.R.G.S.) (Magdalen College/School) (Magdalen School) 11
SUMMER, 1959
THE VIGORNIAN • HOUSE MATCHES
The Senior Seven-a-Sides, played at the end of the Christmas Term, were won by Choir House, who beat Chappell 12-0, School 3-0 and Castle 11-6. Choir House also won the House Fifteens, played in the first fortnight of the Spring Term when 'flu was rife. This meant that all the matches could not take place, but the winners played and won all theirs, beating Creighton 42-0, Chappell 25-0, Castle/Hostel 19-0 and School 3-0, in what proved to be a crucial match .
CHARACTERS
NICHOLLS, B. A. He never played a poor game. He always gives of his best and is a first class team player.
REDDICK, J. A. C. H. He became an excellent pack leader and was always striving to make his pack do the right thing. His hard play was example to the rest of the forwards;
DYER, P. He is quick about the field in attack and defence, but his game falls just below first-class through his inability to pass a ball correctly.
BELL, D. R. His first season in the School XV, he acquitted himself very well. He is tough and quick about the field.
ANDREWS, R. P. As blind side wing forward he played some very good games. Most competent in defence and was always up with the ball.
JACKSON, A. C. He is a natural footballer. Has a good 'pair of hands and kicks well. He should, with more experience, develop into a very good stand-off half.
USHERWOOD. He tried hard, but lacks speed off the mark though his defence was sure.
COLERIDGE, S. J. D. His game improved throughout the season. flis tackling was very good but his best kicking came from his left leg alone.
WOOLLEY, M. He has speed and a certain skill, but an unwillingness to ". have a go" lost him many scoring chances.
WADLEY, L. G.He began the season poorly, and we had to wait to midseason to see him play his best. He has the weight and speed to become a most effective centre. .
AusTEN, J. M. He played very well in his new position. His running and kicking were first-class .. He gives the threequarter line a certain stability.
BARTON-SMITH, S. S. As a scrum-half he is a most competent " ninth forward." His all round play is very good but his service-tended to be erratic.
MORTIMER, R. His line-out work is good and his play in the loose most intelligent.
HOOK, D. J. He never gave up trying and despite his lack of weight was always in the thick of it.
GARDNER, M. J. After a lazy start he developed into a first-class forward. His only weakness is untidy binding in the scrum.
The thanks of the Rugger Club are due to :
Mr. LOGAN, for his unremitting efforts to train the 1st XV into a good team, and for the time he has given. up to Senior Rugger in general.
Mr. STACEY, for his welcome and valuable help in the 1st Group.
Mr. VIVIAN, for his unflagging endeavours with the 2nd XV.
Mr. BUTLER, for moulding an U.16 XV which is, one feels, going to provide a valuable stockpile of able players in the coming season.
Mr. BALLANcE and Mr. LEoNARD, for all their time spent with the U.15 Group. /
Mr. ALDRIDGE and Mr. ANDERTON, for their hard work among the exacting denizens of the U.14 Group.
THE VIGORNIAN 1959
Ht>CKEY
SPRING TERM 1959
This season is without a doubt the best the School has Each team that was played was beaten and it was a great disappointment that the match" with Bromsgrove Second XI was cancelled. The defence played well througliout the season although it allowed a few goals to be scored by stupid mistakes. The attack settled down very quickly and played very well to the edge of the circle but on the whole it was a little reticent in shooting. The weather prevented only one game being played but the first two matches were on very wet pitches.
MATCH REPORTS
v. HARTLEBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. (Home). Won 4-1:
This game was played on a very soft pitch, so footholds were not too secure and dribbling was difficult. After the School had given. away three penalty corners they settled down and AUSTEN scored with. an angled shot from the right wing. WOOLLEY added 'another goal before half-time and in an even second half WADLEY and WOOLLEY brought the score·t04-o. Hartlebury scored when the School goalkeeper thought a shot was from outside the circle.
v. PRINCE HENRY'S GRAMMAR SCHOOL, Evesham. (Home). Won 3-2.
Once more the School was a little slow to settle down. Within ten minutes the School was two goals down and WATKINS had saved a penalty bully. They then began to pull themselves together, especially the wing halves, JACKSON, who had a very good game and BARTON-SMITH, who made a competent debut. ' Just before half time WADLEY a fine goal. After the interval the School equalised through WOOLLEY and AUSTEN scored the winning goal soon afterwards. Great <;redit is due to the team for the way they fought back after the early setbacks.
v. SOLIHULL SCHOOL. (Away). Won 2-1.
This match was played in pouring rain but nevertheless it was the best match played by a School team for a very long time. The School attacked for. long periods in the first half but it was not until after half-time that they went ahead when WATKINS scored from one of many short corners. Solihull came more into the game in the second half and equalised as a result of.a defensive blunder. Mter this the team threw everything it had into attack and not long before time MORTIMER scored the winning goal.
v. HANLEY CASTLE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. (Home). Won 2--0.
The pitch was very wet and soggy and the hockey was therefore not of the highest standard. The School did not play as well as they were capable of doing but the goalkeeper touched the ball once only, and'that only in the first half, such was the School's superiority. WADLEY and WOOLLEY scored for the School; one in each half. Apart from some breakaways.,by their left inside not much was seen of the Hanley attack but their defence did well to keep the score down to two.
v. P. G. L. CURLE'S XI. (Home). Drawn 2-2.
This match was played on Perdiswell and was a most enjoyable game. During the first half the School played as if overawed by the ·opposition but in the second half they overcame their sense of inferiority .and played some good hockey. Mr. Curie's XI scored first, then AusTEN equalised just before half time, but Mr. CurIe's XI regained the lead very quickly. The second half was ,really very good, and near the end MORTIMER /scored the equaliser and a first-rate game was over._ '
THE VIGORNIAN
v. OLD VIGORNIANS. (Ho/ne). Drawn I-I.
The O.V's. fielded a very strong team and this produced an even game for the first. time. The pitch was fast and firm. The game was played; at a fast pace throughout and although the first half was goalless there were several near misses. The game reached a climax in the last quarter of an hour wheri WOOLLEY and ,WADLEY between them got the ball in the net, and almost the restart HAZELDINE scored for the O.V's. From then on both sides came' very near in a tremendous finish. Our thanks are due to' G. S. W. THoMAs, brought the team together. . , ,
FIRST XI CHARACTERS
MERSON-DAVIES (Goal). At times made some good saves, but rather unpredictable and unreliable.
EASTMEAD (Goal). Came late into the side, but should be a tremendous. asset next year. Positions himself well, has a strong kick and is very sound in his stopping.
LYON (Right. Back). A trifle temperamental, but at times brilliant. Very fast arid a powerful hitter.
, WATKINS (Left Back). Had a very good season1;>oth as player and captain. Rather slow in recovery but an excellent stopper. A strong tackler and a very powerful hitter. .
BARTON.,.SMITH (Right Half). An excellent player but by no means a stylist. A great tryer and a strong and persistent tackler.
GARRETT (Centre Half). An excellent defensive player. Always sound and reliable, but should introduce more variety into his distribution of the ball.
}ACKSON (Left Half). A most polished performer' who improved with every game. Should be really outstanding next year. I Very fast, a fine tackler and a sensible distributor though he must hit harder.
AUSTEN (Right Wing). A match winner who scored several vital goals. Very fast and varied his centres well. Not always given enough of the ball, but always dangerous when he did have it.
WADLEY (Inside Right). Fast and hard working but at present' rather clumsy. Scored one or two very good goals, but must gain a little more control and use the ball more.
WOOLLEY (Centre Forwatd). A thoughtful and greatly improved player. , Excellent control and stickwork, but a little slow at times in distribution and' ' shooting. \ '
MORTIMER (Inside Left). A fast, hard worker who improved. with every game. Will be a very strong force when he learns the value of the cross pass.
GOLDIE (Left Wing). A little disappointing, perhaps because he. was never really fit. Always a trier he took the ball well, but was less successful in
crossing it hard and at the right time.
SECOND XI
'D. Hartlebury Grammar School
v. Prince Henry's G.S. / v. Solihull School
v. Hanley Castle G.S.
v. King's School, Gloucester
(H) Won 6-0
(H) Lost 2-3
(A) Won 2-1
(H) Won 6-'0
(A) WOh 3-·2
The side had a very good season mainly due to the experience of most of its members. SMITH, B. J., played very well and DAVENPqRT had many very good games for the side.
• 14
v. Samuel Southall 'A'
COL'US XI
(A) Won 4-· 1
v. Samuel Southall 'B' (A) Won 6-0
v. Prince Henry's G.S. (A) Won 2-0
v. Prince Henry's G.S. 'B' (A) Lost 2-0
v. Nunnery Wood 'A' (A) Lost 3-0
v. Nunnery Wood 'B' (A). Won 2-0
v. Solihull School (A) Won 3-0
After a comfortable victory over the Samuel Southall School, the team went to Evesham and played on a fast ground and against asiqe, which, for its size, had the better ball control. The match against Nunnery Wood was a disaster; in the circle the forwards were seized with paralysis, while the defence were unreliable and often out of position. It was not until they went to Solihull that they first began to look like a hockey side. The defence was settling dow!) and in the first half the forwards went like a bomb, playing together, and. showing that verve which can only result in goals. Time and again the home circle was attacked and, had it not been for sonie good saves by the SpIihull goalkeeper, the score might well have been higher. A return match with Nunnery Wood avenged our defeat earlier in the term.
SCHOOL v. STAFF
The School turned out in force to watch this match, which was played on the School Field under excellent weather conditions. The Staff's early attack, led by Mr. SUTCLIFFE, came to naught, but the School forwards seemed completely bewildered by Mr. CURLE'S rapid movements. Shortly after this the first member of the Staff literally fell victim to his over-enthusiasm, landing at the feet of an opponent with a· resounding thump.
A great variety of golf strokes were used during the game, not,however being confined solely to anyone side. Needless to say, no-one stopped to replace divots, although in some cases the craters left by their removal were a menace to life and limb. The Staff.goal was ably defended by the SERGEANT:J.\!IAJOR, who, however, appeared to bethinking of other things when the ball was in his area. On being interviewed at the goal..:.mouth, he was found to be shy of the camera, and expressed a hope that the ball wouldn't come his way - as it happened,a· vain hope.
Shortly after the first goal was scored,· ]AQKSON drove the ball neat\y into the County Ground, and'while it was being recovered, a second goal was scored by WATKINS .. Mter a period of experiment, Mr. LoGAN discovered the true purpose of'a hockey stick,and thereafterused.his joyfully as a grapplinghook, uttering strange cries (pres:umably Welsh) the while.
Mter a later, somewhat· unfortunate goal, the SERGEANT-MAJOR was asked whose side he was on, but declined tp reply. At last the Staff, in the person of Mr. CURLE, scored, to the accompaniment of the School's generous cheers. Mr. BUTLER was observed to follow Logan"s example, with considerable success. The ever-vigilant goalkeeper gracefully acknowledged the spectators' appreciation of his defence of the goal during the final attack of the match, which ended in a 7-1 win for the School. '. Anonymous comment: "We was robbed."
HOUSE MATCHES
Bye -Choir ')
Hostel Hostel rChoir School } 3-2 J 2-1
Chappel }. Crei.ghton Creighton .. 2-2, 4-0 ·castle } Bye -Castle 2-1 IS
Choir 3"'2
AWARDS
,
The following were re-awarded Colours:
P. G. Goldie
W'. P. Garrett
J.M. Austen
R.Mortimer
The following were awarded Colours:
A. C. Jackson
L. G. Wadley
M. Woolley
J. M. Lyon
S. S. Barton-'Smith
Our thanks are due to Mr. CURLE, Mr. ANDREwand Mr; BUTLER for all their hard work in coaching the teams. Mr. CASH and Mr. HAzELDINE are to be thanked for helping with the umpiring.
, We would like to thank Mr. LANE for his efforts in getting the ground into the best possible condition. . ,
CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING
SPRING TERM 1959
Colours were re-awarded to B. N. GERRARD arid awarded to D. A. SHEFFER, J. M. DOWNIE and P. C. BROOKS.
RESULTS
Feb. 14th School Cross Country.
Feb. 18th 1st v. Hereford Cathedral School. (H) Lost 49-3 I.
Feb. 21st 1st v. Bromsgrove School. (H) Lost 56-23.
Feb. 28th 1st v. C.W.T.C. (H) 'Cancelled.
Mar. 4th U.I7 County Schools (Rubery). Won.
Mar. 7th 1st County Senior Schools (Kidderminster). Won. 2nd County Senior Schools (Kiddenninster). loth.
THE VIGORNIAN
B. N. GERRARD finished eighth in Ms only race of the season at the annual County Schools Championships at Kiddenrtinster. Next came BROOKS (10), DOWNIE (II) and SHEFFER (13). The 1st team won the trophy comfortably with 82 points, next being W.R.G.S. with 126 points. The 2nd team had 367. points to gain tenth place out of twelve teams.
Other runners deserving special mention are, M. E. R. HOOK, A. J. WEBB and C. HARRISON.
Thanks are due to all those 'members of the Staff who helped with the organisation of the races and; in particular, Mr. CASH, whose unfailing enthusiasm and experience made our efforts possible. The team would also like to thank those boys who acted both as stewards and markers throughout the term.
FIVES
SPRING TERM 1959·
During the Spring Term we managed to arrange five matches -a slight improvement on, last year. . . , The First IV consisted of CoLERIDGE andWOOLLEY (1St pair) and WATKINS and HOWELL (2nd pair). They all played with a large degree of enthusiasm if not. with outstanding success. " '
For the first match of the term on January 31st, we visited Bloxhatn· School and lost rather heavily (116-53). The IV was weakened by the loss of COLERIDGE as he had not had the distinction of having had mumps, of which Bloxham had a solitary case. His place waS taken by B. J. SMITH. The Colts, weakened by the absence of HAMBLIN, were beaten 42-120.
For the second match of the term on February 21st, we entertained Hereford' Cathedral' School at home. We found that the difference in the to coUrts and the encouragement of the Dean made a lot of difference and we won 176-67. The Colts only played one Hereford pair owing to 'flu and won comfortably 60-15.
On March 4th we had a return match at Hereford alid again managed to win 177-78. This time BRAZEL was promoted to the First IV as WATKINS was unable to play. BAILEY played for the Colts.
On March 12th we took on Malvern College on their own courts and this proved beyond our capabilities though some of the games' were close and the 1st pair even won their last game 18-16. The final score was 1-20-58 to Malvern and the Colts lost II 8-41 .
o We entertained Malvern in our own courts on March 17th. Here we did' t· a lot better and almost all the games were very close. The first pair won on points but the second pair were not quite strong enough to make a victory possible. The score was 177-83 and the Colts score 61-121.
The Fives House matches were won fairly easily by School House with Choir House the runners-up. .
We thank Mr. CASH very sincerely for his help, interest and encouragement throughout the season, especially as he has so many other sporting commitments in the school. Next year it is hoped that we may be allowed to have a master actually in charge of Fives.
Half Colours were re-awarded to M. WooLLEYand awarded to J. ,WATKINS and T. HOWELL.
SUMMER, 1959
THE VIGORNIAN
SCHOOL SOCIETIES
The. Members and Officers of the Societies concerned would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Kittermaster for their kindness and hospitality in making their drawing-room available for Society meetings. \
LITERARY SOCIETY
CHRISTMAS TERM.
October 5th, 1958-" A History of English Tragedy." Talk by Mrs. R. D. Knight.
October 26th, 1958-" The' Playboy of the Western World" by J. M. Synge.
November 16th, 1958-" The Winter's Tale" by Shakespeare.
During the absence of the headmaster in the first half of the Christmas term, Mrs. Knight very ably took over the supervision of the society. She herself gave a talk at our first meeting and traced out clearly and accurately the development of English tragedy from the early miracle plays and moralities. to Shakespeare's masterpieces. .Sho showed. how Marlow eventually rescued English tragedy from its subservience to the influence of Senecaand how reaped the benefits. She read extracts from several thus contrasted the dramatic effectiveness of" Gorboduc," " Ralph Roister Doister" or "Gammer Gurton's Needle" with the great plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare, written only half a century later
For a change in both time and mood we read at our next meeting J. M. Synge's cc Playboy of the Western World." The artificial .in which the play is written made it difficult to read, yet the subtle combination of broad, farcical realism with soaring and' bewitching poetry made it an interesting experiment. . '.
. The last meeting of the term was really hard work. We read cc The , Winter's Tale" in unabridged form. Nevertheless, this beautiful play, in which several members of the staff 'were kind enough to conclusion to the society's activities during the' Chris take part, was a tmas term.
fitting
S.
J.D.C.
MUSIC SOCffiTY
The first two meetings of the Christmas Term were held in College H,a}l with the aid of a high fidelity gramophone from Johnsoh's Radio;. This reproducing apparatus filled the Hall with sound of such clarity and quality that to anyone listening in College Green the world's best musicians might have been assembled in strength at the King's School. What a pity the school does not possess equipment capable of doing real justice to the Society's records and to those of the lunch hour concerts. The. next meeting. was a Piano Recital given· by Miss MARGARET STEVENSON in the Headmaster's drawing room. The large number of boys present heard Miss play works by Bach, Chopin and Mozart,all of which were much appreciated.
Mr. MASTERS, an Old Vigornian, gave a very interesting talk on "The Beggar's Opera;" illustrated by records.
In the Easter Term two talks were given. The first by Mr. BARNETT on the less well-known music of the great composers - music which one would never hear played on a request programme because of its nature but which ought to be heard because of its beauty. The other talk was given by Mr. NATAN, who presented, hy way of a change, "The Merry Widow," by Franz Lehar, an opera which is becoming more 'popular in this now that some fine English recordings are available. '
1:HE VIGORNIAN
1959
The final meeting of the year was in two parts. The first half was the usual Members. night· G. LANGDON, N. J. WRIGHT, M. STEED and G .. HARDMAN played the piano. A. P. JACKS ON played the Violoncello and G. STEADY played the comet. A male voice choir, consisting P. PREECE, M. PIERSON, R. LOWSON, J. M. AUSTEN, N. BRIGGS and M. LEWIS, rivalled the soloists in quality with arrangements of Tom Bowling and Deep River.
The latter half of the evening was devoted to the playing of Mr; KNIGHT and Mr SUTCLIFFE who entertained the members present with piano duets ranging from Mayerl to aach - all equally delightful and very much enjoyed.
Finally JIlay we thank Mr. WEST for his help and encouragement and all those who have contributed to the success of the meetings throughout the year.
G.H. A.G.W.
ART SOCIETY
The first meeting of the school year took the form of an exhibition of some of Mr. VIVIAN'S paintings,and after a short talk by him members were able to inspect the paintings at close quarters. The new. Visual Aids rQom was packed for the next meeting when Mr. H. C. PURSEY, A.R.I.B.A., gave us an insight into the many problems and responsibilities confronting an architect in the design of such a building as the Winslow Science' Block, which he designed. The third meeting of the term was another excellent practiclll demonstration' of the art of portrait painting, by Mr. T. L. VIvIAN"and it was a pity he was so by time. As usual we had a" night "at the Jast meeting' of the term,'. when a series of talks were given by melllbers on the theme of " Photography and Art."
Mr. VlvIANentertained us again, at the beginning of the spring term, with a well-illustrated talk in which he explained the importance of the Cubist .Movement in modern .art. This was followed, at the n.ext meeting, bya visit from Mr. PRINs,a very well-known lecturer, who gave us a lavishly illustrated talk entitled " The Beauty and NecessitY of Modem Art.'" The last meeting of the term saw members travelling to Malvern, as guests of the Malvern Film Society, to see the film "The Picasso Mystery."
As usual the summer activities of the society take us on sketching trips, and this term we are going to visit Ragley Hall, Spetchley Park and Harvington Hall.
A.B.B.
FILM SOCIETY
Once again the Film Society has proved to be very popular entertainment on Saturday evenings, especially with the boarders. The policy was to obtain first-class contemporary films recommended by members of the school as being very good in their particular fields. As a result the films for the Christmas term were :
" Innocents in Paris."
"A Hill in Korea."
"The Long Arm."
" Simon and Laura."
" Tiger in the Smoke."
" The Baby and the Battleship."
For the Easter Term we were fortunate in. being able to choose films from catalogues of other firms which were affiliated with different film
companies and circuits. This that an even wider choice was available than before, so the following films were shown in the Easter Term:
cc The Ladykillers." ,
cc A Town Like Alice."
c,c The Admirable Crichton."
cc Footsteps in the Fog."
cc The Good Companions."
The latter film arrived eventually after -a three-day delay due to a clerk's error and, to the audience's amusement, appeared on the screen in a rather diminished form of Cinemascope, occupying about half the usual screen area. Let us hope that this' is an omen of the shape of things to come.
May I thank, on behalf of members of the society, Miss Roy for ordering' the films and untangling diplomatic tangles, and ,all the members of the society who have helped with suggestions, appreciations and with erecting the various pieces of apparatus, especially Messrs. WHITE and A. G. WILLIAMS,
G.J\.G.H.
scmNCE SOCIETY NOTES
Since the beginning of the Winter term the Science Society has been expanding rapidly. Not only has the number of members, risen but also the termly meetings have been greatly increased and a Natural History Section has been formed.
The first meeting of the school year was attended by well over a hundred boys and took the form of a film show in College Hall. The films shown were:
cc Mirror in the Sky."
cc The Microscope."
cc Years of Achievement."
On November 17th the senior members visited the water-works where they peered through the fog and darkness at the feat of engineering Which supplies Worcester with three million gallons a day, The party was conducted around the works by two very able officials who described the processes very well and dealt competently with the numerous questions.
The whole of the senior school attended the first part of the meeting on December 1St when the society was addressed by a representative of the RB.C. centre at Evesham. He spoke on Electrical Engineering in general and showed the film The Enquiring Mind," Afterwards the society saw three -more films: '
" Bats."
cc Measure for Measure." "Down a Long Way."
The Spring term started with. another film show, on February 2nd, when the films were :
cc Test Flight 26 3."
" The Story of Alfred Nobel."
CC'Ammonia. "
cc The Human Brain."
All the films were of an exceptionally high standard and the attendance was the highest yet.
Mr. GILMOUR, from the Engineering Department of Birmingham University, came down on February 16th to give a most interesting lecture on Oil. He described in great detail the search for oil, its extraction and the cmmtless uses to which it has been put. Mr. GILMOUR preceded his talk with a film 'about the drilling of oil in many parts 'of the world called cc The New Explorers. "
At the meeting of March 2nd an6ther set of high standard films, all in colour, were shown. They were:
" Power Cable Laying."
" History of the Discovery of Oxygen."
"How a Nuclear Reactor Works."
" The Power to Fly."
Due to the lateness of many members the first film was shown twice.
On .March 16th a party of senior members paid a visit to the Morgan Crucible Works. After an extensive tour of the buildings the group bombarded their hosts with questions which were discussed over a cup of tea.
At the time of writing the highlight of the Summer term appears to be the scheduled visit on July 18th when the society will follow in the foot-steps of the Shah and visit Harwell.
Finally I would like to thank Mr. J. H. FRISBY for his help and enthusiasm whil.:;h have been so vital.
M.W.T
.
NATURAL HISTORY SOCmTY
The Society was restarted in the Winter Term of 1958 and since then we have made several expeditions to Pirton Pool to watch birds and collect dragonflies and plants. On May IIth a party went to SlimbIjdge Wildfowl Trust where we spent an enjoyable afternoon. Several more expeditions, including pond-dippinga,nd an ecological survey, are being phmned for the rest of this term.
The Butterfly 'collection has been completely reorganised by A. J. WILLIAMS and some tanks have been set up in the Biology Laboratory containing specimens of pond life.
, Our thanks are due to Mr. SUTCLIFFE and Mr. LOGAN for providing the transport for our expeditions to Pirton Pool.
• M. E. TAYLOR.
WINSLOW SCIENCE LIBRARY
With the completion of the Winslow Science Block it was found desirable to gather all books on Physics and Chemistry into one room where they might be consulted arid borrowed. To meet this need the Science Library was inaugurated at the beginning of the Winter term. The books were collected from the most unlikely places, including School House and the sacred Sixth Form Library, and in spite of many difficulties the library was soon open, offering not only a mine of information for the Physicist and Chemist, but a haven of peace and quiet where he may work.
At the moment the only disruptive influences arethe unpunctual returning of books, particularly by those boys who are in a position where they should know better, and the continual tramplings of the herd of chemists searching in vain for their Copper Sulphate and bench dilute Sulphuric Acid. , Finally the librarians wish to thank Mr. J. H. FRISBYand Mr.,M. SHAYER for their advice, help and interest.
J.E.L., M.W.T.J.R.T. K.S.W.
DEBATING SOCmTY
The first meeting of the Christmas Term took place in the Reading Room on Saturday IIth October. It took the form of a mock trial in which' WYNNEJ ONES was accused of " depositing the Volkswagen in a fives court on the night of 20th July 1957." Counsel for the defence was DUDLEY,. and for the Crown and Anchor GERRARD, with Mr. ANDERTON as judge. Counsels and 21
witnesses were so amusing and theit stories so well constructed that members of the society found ,it hard to believe that there was no script and the trial was indeed unrehearsed and spontaneous, and the accused promoted so much laughter during the course of the evening that it seemed hardly fair to find him guilty. .
The second meeting of the term was on Saturday 22nd November, to debate the motion " That the present boom in popular records is an indication of the low mentality of the. modern teenager." 'rhe motion was proposed by PREECEand WYNNE ]ONES and opposed by P. }ONES and BELL, and lost by 29 votes to. I I, with 6 abstentions. .
At the beginning of the Easter Term a meeting took place in the Winslow Laboratories with Mr. SHAYER and a few interested members of the school. The outcome of it was that there would be a series of shorter debates supplementing those on Saturday evenings, with the two-fold purpose of (a) training speakers by experience in speaking from the floor and to it ina more intimate surrounding and (b) encouraging more interest in the society as a debating society rather than as a solely Saturday evening entertainment alternating with the films. As a result of this pieeting five Wednesday debates were held in addition to the two Saturday ones already advertised. A list of motions, speakers and results follows:.
Wednesday, 4th February. "Rugger is a gentleman's game." Proposed by HARDMAN and RICH, opposed by DUDLEY and GERRARD. Defeated. by 5 votes to 2.
Wednesday, IIth February. "War must be avoided at all costs." Proposed by'DREw and G. SMITH, opposed by WAKELY and COTTON. Defeated by 16 votes to 6.
Saturday, 14th February. "The public house is more beneficial to society than the public school." Proposed by HARDMAN. and WYNNE-}ONES, opposed by COTTON and WAKELY. Defeated by 35 votes to 16 with 6 abstentions; Wednesday, 18th February. "This house regrets snobbery." Proposed by G4RRET and CROW, opposed by WYNNE-}ONES and WEBB. Defeated by 12 votes to 7. .
Wednesday, 25th February. "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Proposed by COTTON and WAKLEY, opposed by WYNNE-}ONES and WEBB. Carried by 7 votes to 3.
Wednesday, IIth March. "The first man on the moon should be a politician." Proposed by HARDMAN and DREW, opposed by LOVELESS and LowsoN.· Defeated by 5 votes to 3.
Wednesday, 18th March. "Religion is the opium of the people." This final debate of the term was proposed by Mr. A. L. STACEY and opposed by Mr.F. R. LOGAN and PREECE. The motion was eventually defeated by 21 votes to 4 with I abstention after some very absorbing speeches, at once serious and amusing, by Mr. STACEY and Mr. LOGAN, and by Mr. BUTLER from the .
As a result of the Wednesday debates Mr. SHAYER'S contentions proved well-founded. The audiences, although smaller than those at the Saturday debates, were of quality rather than quantity in that they all spoke confidently and well, and as a result the Saturday meetings were better for enjoyment and speeches than could otherwise have been achieved with no' practice.
For this 1 must thank the memberli> of the committee, the speakers and in particular Mr. SHAYER for giving up so much of his time to the society.
G. A. G. HARDMAN.
VIth FORM LmRARY
At the beginning of the year much work was done by the librarians in reshuffling various sections of the library, and this had its inevitable results when stocktaking took place. There was a considerable di,gcrepancy between the books listed in the catalogue and those actually on the/shelves. However, 22
many have now mysteriously and the 'library is now begipning to run more smoothly. ' '
The Spring Term was notable for the introduction of a reference section, something that had been in mind for a long time but which we had had to do without because of lack of space. It is hoped that this will be of convenience . to borroweI'$.
The number of boys who have been keeping books odt longer than the prescribed period shows no sign of decreasing despite the recent increase in fines. These offenders provide the library with a steady income, and a quite considerable sum has now been transferred to the library funds.
We are indebted to'two former members of the school, J;>. J. JONES and P. M. RICH, who on leaving each presented a book to the library. We feel that this is a custom to be encouraged among school leavers.'
Finally, our thanks are due to Mr. FRANKLIN and Mr. FERRAR for their continued guidance, and support.
CHRISTIAN UNION
The Christian Union is n<1W steadily increasing in strength. Though still a great deal smaller than it ought to be it now has a respectable number of boys at every meeting. •
Bishop STUART has again been kind enough to allow us tqe use of his study for our Bible readings - one hopes this does not sound too forbidding a term. What we do is to study a particular book of the Bible (this year it has been St. John's Gospel) every two or three terms, discussing points 'of interest as we go along. Nothing is formal. Everyone is free to agree, disagree or criticise as much as he pleases. We invite some of the professed atheists, agnostics and communists to come and see what we do.
We had two talks from outside speakers, both of 'which were very well attended.1 At the first one, Bishop STUART gave us a very interesting talk on Communism in South Africa. He provoked much discussion and was asked numerous questions.
At the next meeting Mr. J. ELGOOD came along to show us slides illustrating John Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress." He outlined the story as he went along, and his paraphrase of Bunyan's message gave us much food for'thought.
We would like to thank Mr. H. M. BALLANCE and Mr. P. ANDREw for all their help and encouragement.
P. J. jONES.
THE SCHOOL WINTERSPORT PARTY
This year the school party went to St. Moritz-Bad, a well-known Swiss holiday resort. The party was somewhat small in, spite of repeated appeals and broken promises, and eventually we had only six boys and Mr. NATftN, having lost J. BARRATT, O.V., on Victoria Station. These were A. T. and W. BALDWIN, M. C. PIERSON, R. CRELLIN, D. WHEELER, and M. DUDLEY, the last two making up for any numerical shortage.
The journey was practically uneventful, the exception being when a French" Wagon" conductor'\\ras reminded "Ne poussez-pas " (Don't push your luck) when he advised an anonymous member of the party that he should be in bed. Other this, the journey was very pleasant' and the scenery typically Swiss, upon which I don't think I need enlarge.
We soon 'settled down in our modest hotel - the Veltlinerkeller. Here we were provided with very good meals, a piano which D. "Piano" WHEELER soon claimed, and a proprietor's daughter, whom M. DUDLEY monopolised. . The beginners soon settled down to ski-ing in one of the finest resorts in Switzerland, and after only two days most,of the lowet slopes were mastered. I 23
D.J.E.
J. BALDWIN unfortunately his 'ankle slightly while ski-ing on the third day, but this was the only mishap.
On this subject of ski-ing, I feel at this point that the great display of M. DUDLEY and D. WilEELER deserves mention. 'I'hey were both first-year ski-ers, but unde,terred by 1:his apparent handicap they were soon able to tackle the higher slopes, these being reached by funicular railway Consequently they were able to enjoy speedy runs down, though care was often sacrificed to .obtain that speed.
R. CRELLIN, a bronze medallist of the previous year, spent a quiet time ski:-ing, and we were unable to _persuade him to tackle the higher slopes. M. PIERSON, another second:-year ski-er, seemed to enjoy the ski-ing very much and was always willing to join in the fun. This year he took the Bronze· medal test and passed it with the commendable mark of 25- out of 28.
We usually spent the late afternoon in the famous Hanselmann cafe, where we enjoyed' some good English tea,· which always made a pleasant change. We were here fortunate to see that eminent beauty Princess Soraya, though she didn't seem overawed at having the pleasure of our company.
In the evening we usually started off by playing bridge, and then, when the cheating of M. DUDLEY and D. WHEELER became too obvious, we withdrew to the next-door cafe. Here we introduced some original English songs to a high-spirited gathering of Italians. .I
All in all, then, a very enjoyable holiday was had by all, and we were very sorry when it came to an end, as all good things must.' I hope this artiCle has brought it home to would-be members of any party what an enjoyable time we do have in Switzerland, and how much worth-while a holiday of this sort is. I hope, therefore, that more boys will join the party next year, and help to carry on this worthy tradition. .
Finally, we owe many thanks to Mr. NATAN for taking the party and for shouldering all the worry that the arrangements for travelling, etc., must surely have caused him. Without his tolerant spirit the party would not have been half as successful as it undoubtedly was.
A.T.B.
POST SCRIPTI,JM
I regret I shall probably be unable to organise another wintersport party at the coming Christmas holidays. For the last three years the party was not supported in the way it had been during the years 1947-1956. I may point out that the overhead expenses were not raised during these three years though hotel, rai,lway fares and other incidentals have steeply ,risen in Britain and abroad. While being in Switzerland last winter I found out from four other public school parties that their expenses were much higher than ours and that they stayed a shorter time abroad than we actually do. In order to resume this so enjOyable venture in future I must be assured of the support of 15 boys.
ALEX NATAN.
THE BOHEMIAN AND THE BEAT
The oddestoccurrence in the last decade is not the new writers, new techniques that have appeared, bllt the rise of the Bohemians. The Bohemians, of course, like the poor, have always been with us, but qnly recently have they become the centre of attention. For they are the artists, musicians,. not forgetting the immortal Cpelsea layabouts, those who wish to create, but have not the intelligence to do so,.
Its rise in this country can be traced iiltwo stages: first came the coffeebars, which provided a meeting-place for the far-flung Bohemians where ,the' obligatory jeans, sloppy sweater,and dufHecoat form a uniform of their own.
The second stage was the cult of the Outsider, which is the handbook of the coffee-bar addict existentialist. These, then, were the Angry Young Men about whom Colin Wilson raved, living in Italian restaurants, ill-lit bars, jazz cellars, and bare apartments furnished with a hi-fi set, cushions on the floor, a Cubist print or two on.the .walls and precious little else.
The generation is formed of people like our coffee-bar Outsiders, who, I might add have nothing to do with the beat of jazz nor their existentialist .' uniform .. It sirnplymeans beaten, down, finished, washed up. The pose is said to have begun in N ew York's Harlem because some negroes did not like appellation happy savages thrust upon them: Their irritation made them and it was from this mode of living that "'cool" jazz evolved. The' craze developed throughout the States in a nihilist movement with two camps. One held the coca-cola drinking rock n'rollers while tQe other contained the indifferent cool cats. The former have human feelings and are' therefore square, while the other belong to the Yeomen cult treating life in the manner of a thriller. While one is square the other is termed hipster and will never say, « I know B\.Jtch," or « I like Shakespeare," always, « think I don't know Butch,"or "Don't think I don't dig that crazy' Shakespeare." It is a short step from the' Beat generation to the James Dean fan club, like method acting gone wild.'
However, society needs the generation and the Bohemians as' much as the body needs its blood. But if a recession begins again and there is once more poverty in Britain, then Hipsters and the Bohemians will seem nothing more than a tiresome and joke.
SMERDYAKOV.
SEA-DEW
I was walking one day Amid the warmth of Summer Early in the room When dew was fallen. .A shoot Of grass' I From off the ground, and Tasted. Stopped I, amazed; For 10. Dew of this grass No common Dew, But with savour Of the sea. Wondering I paused. The ground Seemed unto me to beckon And, yielding to her call, I , Drank of . Sea-dew.
Since have I searched, but ne' er I have found my salty Nectar. In vain, with slowly breakjng Heart, have I searched. o God, For my Shall I never Find thee, my Life-blood? M.C.P.
WHEN 1)ARKNESSFALLS
The last red glow ,of the dying day tinged the black bars of cloud that lay sombrely over the western hills. A pale after-glow, green-hued like Arctic ice, spread' faintly upwards to where the stars glittered like hostile eyes in the -blue-black aether. Far on the eastern horizon, angry clouds, were riven by the lurid light of a huge, haze-encirCled moon. The air was as. still and cQlq. as an Alpine pool; shimmering mist rose from the black, ,bubpling Dog-pools and snaked with .sinuous fingers amongst the age-riven of rowans and thorns, whose twisted roots ·delved like clutching tentacles into . the morasses about the· stream., . The mournful scream of an owl floated down from the tagged gill-wood, and its author flitted wraitWike to his· hunting among the wind-contorted pines at the moor's edge. Small bats wheeled over the face of the moon, whose pale beams gave to the great rocks of the moor the appearance of an everadvancing. spectral army, or lent strange shapes to the coiling
To the Watcher,. crouched .at his lonely vigil by the wind01JJ of ihe hut, the ,scene had a quality of timelessness. As his eyes grew dim with strain, consciousness of the present slipped from him . . .. '.
From where the thinning pines of the great forest met the moor, came the lone howl of a wolf, immediately taken up and answered from a dozen widelyseparated spots. There could be seen converging on an ancient pairs of greenish lights, set close together; and now the distant howls sounded nearer, ever nearer. A thousand frightened eyes peered out from holes and , bushes as the lean Children. of the Night stole past on velvrt feet; eyes gl.owing palely like the lights that danced and flickered above everY hole and hollow.
THE VIGORNIAN SUMMER, ,1959
With the rising moon came a wind from the North, soft, yet cold and , keen as a sacrificial knjfe; and on, the wind were borne strange sounds, and the cold mists _assumed strange forms. From over the far, untrodden wastes of heather came a low sound, as of distant drumming, and with it came the deepchested, ye't faint, bugling of hounds. A bugling, yet such as never was heard before. On, on it came, louder and ever more fierce, and with it came the moan of a mighty wind, though scarce a twig stirred in the forest.
Even the wolves had ceased their howling, and lay pressed to the earth about the stone, ears flattened to tawny heads, evil eyes bright and watchful. Waiting. Listening. Nearer swept the sound, and with it came a blast of wind
so chill that the oily bog-pools and black quaking morasses were rimed with frost. Louder, nearer it came - yet beneath all was a silence as still as the
tomb. Nearer came the thunder of iron hooves, the laboured panting of straining
breath, the nerve-freezing bay of great hounds. And above all else, the screams
and piteous cries of the pursued, the tormented, the damned souls; ever pursued by the life-chilling laughs of their tOlplentors. On -, past -, away with a moaning rush of wind, such that great trees bowed and clashed their hoary
heads together and the mists were swept heedlessly away. And out of all , ,beneath all - all, the' great stillness.
Then, softly, from the brow of a distant hill where stood a rudely-embattled church, there came the crowing of a cock, and the soft rose,glow of dawn lighted the eastern sky. '
A coal fell from the dying hearth; the Watcher stirred, groaned, and sat up right, A leaf fell from the calendar above him, drifted before his eyes. October the thirty-first -' All Hallows E'en - the dawn of All Saint's Day •..
J.G.K.F.-E.
A LOST ART
Weadel- (one' I \ not two as in' Weadell Time' by J. Kinsford.;Robinson) dudgeoningis almost a lost art, and in factis only practised by the few remaining members of the Bosbury family, who can trace their descent as far back as the Mocass St. Act.
Weadel-dudgeoning requires great skill, an iron nerve and a dudgeon. The weadel is a very elusive creature usually found amid clumps of' Hamicus Potorifistus, which grows only in the tiny hamlet of South Wetherington, where the Bosbury family has its family seat.
Once a year on October 3rd, for that is the only date on which the weadel is in season, the Bosbury family collect their dudgeons, now heirlooms and the most prized objects kept in the Mirror-room, and set off across South Wetherington Moor, in search of the weadel. They lire a very determined ' group of people, dudgeonsat the ready, for the last, and admittedly the first, time a weadel was dudgeoned was on October 3rd, 1756 by a drunken member of the family.
I saw no report of a dudgeoning in the local paper of this area, which I take weekly because no other paper lights fires like it, and so I presume that the hunt was once more a failure. This is a pity because the family is in danger of extinction through a disease which is confined to their line and which doctors have failed to diagnose, although they have noticed that the bacteria disease, when applied to a blooming turns it a violent shade of green. ''
SUMMER; 1959
THE VIGORNiAN'
And so it rather seems as thOllgh weadel-dudgeoning 'is to die a rapid death, one more of the crafts 01 the primitive people of South Wetherington which will be lost· to the world.
(Adapted from the 'Chronicles of Rutland' by Stamford. D. Rust.) ANoN.
NO TI'l'LE
His hands were gradually slipping from the girder, they had no colour at all and every bone stood out clearly. He had no sense of pain ,or panic: all that he was aware of was a ring of blurred, almost terrified face's above him. His mother was among them but she wept and no longer looked. Somebody was shouting something and a rope was lowered to him. It swung slowly nearer him and eventually brushed his face and swung to and fro in front of him. With.a last desperate effort he pulled away his. feft hand and snatched at' the swinging rope, but all was lost.· His right .hand seemed to crack under the extra strain and he suddenly slipped out of sight. There was no scream, but an unearthly silence. As he fell he turned slowly over and over; everything was spinning round him, first the girders of-the bridge, the steep banks and lastly the river below.
Then suddenly he was falling no more. Everything was all right. He was a small boy seated at a. table and there were many other children around him. "Perhaps it is my birthday" lie thought to himself. He turned round to make sure and there were the lighted candles on the cake and his mother standing by. No sooner had the vision come than it was gone and merged into another scene. He was again seated at the same table and this time his mother was hurrying him up. He glanced around him; new uniform, new satchel. He soon realised that it was his first day at school. He was prepared for the next change and this time he was shaking hands with his headmaster was aware of applause. There were all the parents: it was. prize day. FoUowing seemed to be a whole string of scholastic successes tennin!1ting with his brilliant university career. Now he had left school and was in his; laboratory experimenting, only to meet with failure after failure. He was striving to do the impossible and what would almost seem life itself. Fate' had destined it to happen by sheer accident, and when it'did happen he didn't fully understand its colossal significance. He had now done it and was just beginning to comprehend what nobody else could, nor ever would now, understand.
Now he was falling again and was fully aware of the rushing air cutting through his clothes. Panic seized him: he diddt want to die any more, he had kept his secret well, too well, and now 'he would die with it. He made an effort to scream but no noise came. He was, however, conscious of someone ,else screaming his name - the familiar voice of his mother echoed round hi$ head. The water rushed up to meet him, he was no longer turning over. He was suddenly shattered into reality as he hit the water. His mind was confused and suddenly he was quiet again. All was pain; all was green and then . . . all was nothing. R.}. WalTE.
EPIORAM
Love is blind, say; But. blind man's hearing better thrice Than seeing man's. So love must make a man Grow bold at what he hears, Must make him wiser for his years In what he hears; And for what he does -not see He does not see his love grow old And perish - happier he. M.C.P.
THE AVENGER
He lay in bed thinking, casting his mind back to that night, exactly a year ago, when he had seen his brother die. It gave him a feeling of elation to think that he knew something that no-one else in the whole world knew. He had seen his brother die, yes, but he had done more than that, he had been the Cause of his death.' It had been an extremely difficult thing to do, but he had succeeded. Sometimes it frightened. him a little, but what was there to be frightened of? The worst part had been the inquest, waiting to hear the verdict, suicide or murder.
It had been all right, though. He hadn't really ever doubted what the decision -would be. Suicide, the coroner had said, and there had been the end of it. The brother whom he had hated more as each day went by was dead, the victim of prussic' acid
The air was oppressive that night and he could not sleep. Outside in the garden everything was motionless On an impulse, he got out of bed, put on· his slippers and dressing gown, then wep.t downstairs. . Opening the french windows he went out, intending to walk to the fountain. His feet crunched on the gravel path, and then there was silence once more as he crossed the lawn. Within a minute he had reached the fou:ntain and was sitting down by its side. He closed· his eyes and listened to the gently falling waters.
, Then, suddenly, he sensed a change in the atmosphere. He opened his eyes and looked around. Down on the bottom lawn something was moving something which was coming nearer . . .
It seemed to float in the air, yet there was not the slightest trace of a breeze that night. It appeared to be in the shape of a balloon, and he watched it, fascinated, -as it came closer. Gradually a queer smell drifted towards him. He couldn't place it, and for a minute or so he sat thinking hard, whilst all the time, very slowly, the form floated through the air towards him
He had his eyes fixed intently on the ground as he thought. , The smell growing stronger, and for some unaccountable reason he felt as though it were a warning, and that it was imperative that he should remember what it was before it was too late.·
he knew. Throwing up his head he cried aloud, "Bitter Almonds." Even as he said this he saw clearly what the shape was. Not three feet from his own face there was another . . .
The mouth was convulsed in a hideous grin, and the whole of the apparition was of a livid hue. At the same time it exudeq. the sickening smell of prussic acid . . . /
1959
THE VIGORNIAN
" John." he croaked. He tried\o turn his eyes away from the ghastly spectacle, but he found himself utterly unable to do ,so, f9r the eyes of the spectre hypnotised him. Powerless to prevent himself, he rose to his feet . . . the head moved slowly away . ... he followed . .• •
H'e had stopped beneath atall tree. Suddenly, he found that his eyes were to move . . . he looked upwards .'. . the branches above were enveloped in darkness . . . he looked d9wn again .. . '
The apparition had gone. Weak as, he was with .fear; he began to run, but he had not gone more than a few paces before he found himself irresistably attracted by t4e tree. He could not take his eyes off the branches Before _ he realised it he was standing beneath it once more . . . something was tightening round his neck a rope. He made one final dash .forward for safety . . . it was too late. With a lurch he was pulled off his· feet and drawn slowly up into the blaek mass of foliage.
Choking and gasping for breath he jerked and writhed in the air . . . a thousand brothers with puffed and blackened faces seemed to swarm around him .' from a thousand lips came peal upon peal of maniacal laughter
From the east a ray of light shone out. Dawn had come. '
C. J. W. ALLEN
•
• CORRESPONDENCE
CHOIR KING'S scaOOL, WORCESTER.
20th May, 1959.
To the Editor of The Vigornian·
. Sir,
On thum1;>ing through one of your more. recent copies, I noticed that on a single. page containing two ultra- or pseudo-modem poems, the word " death" occurred no less than eight times. I would humbly suggest that this is not only a waste of space, since the school as a whole has no unquenchable thirst for. such morbid lyrics, but is also either the expression of an unbalanced perspective, or else of rank hypocrisy on the part of the "poets."
If, however, I am mistaken - if there does exist in the school a, militant leagu@of"undertaker"poets,whythen-.
" For God's sake let us sit upon the ground, And tell sad stories of the death of King's."
I beg to remain, Sir,
Your obepient servant, N. HAVELY.
SCHOOL HOUSE, 7th March, 1959.
To the Editors of The Vigornian
Dear Sirs,
We have on a number of occasions recently tried to use the Sixth Form Library to find information on a range --of subjects and in particular to use the EncYclopaedia Britannica. Once it was impossible to· see the titles on the books in shelf, since two light bulbs were missing. The Encyclopaedia was found after much searching, but since the index belonged to a different edition from the remainder of the volumes, it was again difficult to find what was required. .
In general, there is no pretence at overall organisation here. The floor has not been polished for time indeterminable. More than half the light shades are .broken. and scraps are to be found on every shelf, and half of these are full of class textbooks, which would be more suitably stored in cupboards. ,
Thus, what ought to be an invaluable facility for all senior members of the school, artists and scientists alike, is lost.
Yours sincerely,
D. T. HOWEL:r..
P. E. PREECE. D. M. WYNN-]ONES. /