Editorial

THE PETERITE

Vol. XXXIX FEBRUARY, 1947 No. 214

EDITORIAL

It is a long time since we have known a term which has been so marred for us by tragedy and misfortune. Reassembling as we did under the shadow of , the death of Archdeacon England, which we could record but briefly in our last issue, we were struck a further blow by the tragic loss of Tony Holmes, to whom we pay a tribute elsewhere in these pages. There were, too, anxious days when Stuart Macpherson, now happily quite recovered, was so critically ill. Finally, Mr. K. H. Rhodes startled us by collapsing, after refereeing a rugger match, with what proved to be a heart attack. The seizure necessitated for him complete rest and quiet, and for the greater part of the term, while he was recuperating in Scotland, we were deprived of that friendly and sympathetic influence in our daily lives which all of us, both staff and boys, have learnt to value so highly ; and which, perhaps, as the alarming episode warned us, we have too readily assumed. We were grateful, indeed, that he was able to return to us in January for the beginning of the new, term. It was good news, too, that the latest report of the medical specialist was encouraging, and he is not, as was once feared, to be condemned to a life of inactivity, which would have been so utterly uncongenial to him. Peterites of all ages will, we know, join us in wishing Mr. Rhodes a resumption of that unbroken good health which this anxious interlude interrupted so unpleasantly.

In accordance with the decision reached at the meeting of the O.P. Club in July last, this and subsequent issues of The Peterite" will be distributed from the School to every Old Boy. It may, perhaps, be an appropriate moment to appeal to Old Peterites to help in developing the Old Peterite section of the magazine. In the years of war it was inevitable that our "O.P. News" was almost exclusively devoted to Service activities, war-time honours and decorations, and the tragic tale of casualties, and it is with relief that we find ourselves able to record once again more trivial, perhaps, but certainly pleasanter items of information about Old Peterites. But it must be borne in mind that these items are hard to glean. Too often the "O.P. News" has to be compiled from odd scraps of information deviously acquired. It would be much appreciated if Old Peterites would keep us posted of their doings and send us any news about themselves (or other Old Boys) which might reasonably be expected to be of interest to readers of these pages. We shall all know when an Old Peterite gains the signal distinction of captaining England's Test team—our congratulations to N. W. D. Yardley on his achievements in Australia are