Old Peterite News

"THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE"

The Book of Remembrance for those Old Peterites who gave their lives in the two World Wars is to be dedicated by His Grace the Archbishop of York in the School Chapel, on Sunday, the 1 1 th of December, at 6-0 p.m.

The Book, which has been designed and executed by Mr. James N. Dowse, is bound in natural calf and contains the names of those who fell in the two wars inscribed on vellum with six names to each page.

It is to be kept in a special Ante-Chapel, which is to be formed from the Chapel Lobby, to the design by Mr. G. G. Pace, the Sheffield Diocesan architect and architect for the rebuilding of Llandaff Cathedral.

The Service of Dedication is primarily for the School, Old Peterites, and the relations and friends of those who were killed. Anyone who wishes to be present should apply for a ticket to K. H. Rhodes, St. Peter's School, before 1st December.

LT.-COL. H. C. SCOTT

After serving the Old Peterite Club as Hon. Secretary for over thirty years, Lt.-Col. Scott has retired from the position. It was felt at the Annual Meeting that the Club would wish to give him some tangible recognition of his great services to the Club, and it was decided to make a start by a collection at the Old Peterite Dinner. Those members at the dinner willingly agreed, and a collection was made, but it was felt that many Old Peterites who could not be present at the dinner would like to contribute to the Testimonial.

Any contributions should be sent to K. H. Rhodes, St. Peter's School.

OLD PETERITE CLUB ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of the Old Peterite Club was held at the School on Friday, 22nd July. The Headmaster took the Chair. The resignation of Lt.-Col. H. C. Scott was accepted by the Club with great regret, and a vote of thanks to him for his service to the Club for over 30 years was passed by acclamation. The meeting then elected Mr. K. H. Rhodes as Hon. Secretary.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and passed, and the Hon. Treasurer submitted the accounts for the year, which were approved.

Messrs. J. N. Blenkin, N. G. L. R. 'McDermid and W. P. Anelay were elected to the Committee in the places of Messrs. K. H. Rhodes, R. A. Stratton and P. R. G. Graham, whose term had expired. The other officers were re-elected.

Mr. J. B. Gedge informed the meeting that the London Dinner of the Club would be held on 9th November at Brown's Hotel.

The Hon. Secretary informed the meeting that the Book of Remembrance for the Old Peterites who had fallen in the two wars was now ready and would be on view during Commemoration, and the Headmaster stated that the Book would be dedicated by the Archbishop of York on 11th December, at 6-0 p.m.

Rule IV was amended to read £4 instead of £5.

Lt.-Col. H. C. Scott was elected as a Vice-President of the Club, and also as an additional Trustee.

OLD PETERITE DINNER

The Annual Dinner of the Old Peterite Club was held at Betty's Restaurant on Friday, 21st July. The Bishop of Lincoln (The Rt. Rev. M. H. Harland), a Vice-President of the Club, took the Chair. The toast of the School was proposed by Mr. R. V. C. Gray, and replied to by the Headmaster, and the toast of the Club was proposed by Mr. L. Burgess and replied to by the new Hon. Secretary, Mr. K. H. Rhodes.

The following members of the Club were present :— Anelay, W. P. Andrew, J. K. Atkinson, R. E. A. Bamforth, H. Battrick, A. Bean, K. C. Beetham, S. Black, V. M. Blackburn, W. D. Blenkin, J. N. Border, A. P. Brown, E. G. Burdass, C. U. Burdass J. U. Burgess, L. Burnett, N. R. Clegg, M. T. Clement, C. C. Cooper J. S. Career, H. L. Crews, D. K. Crombie, G. P. Chilman, K. G. Davison, E. P. Dean, J. Dee. C. C. Denby. C. P. Dench, P. G. R. Dronfield, J. (Headmaster). Eaten, Rev. J. A. Fairweather, C. C. French, T. H. Frost, J. R. Garth, R. M. Gedge, J. B. Gossop, E. R. Graham, G. E. L. Gray, R. V. C. Grindrod, C. 0. Grove-Stephensen, A. C. Harland, M. H. (Bishop of Lincoln). Harding, G. W. Harding, R. F. Harnby, F. B. Harper, K. Hillyard, E. J. Hillyard, F. H. Hodd, Rev. H. N. Hopkins, D. A. Huntley, W. G. Jackson, G. F. Jeffs, E. S. judge, H. W. Knowlson, D. W. Legat, P. B. Leigh, P. V. LeTocq, L. C. Lewis, T. J. McDermid, N. J. L. R. McKinlay, R. J.

Miller, R. L. Motum, J. H. Newdick, F. N. Oliver, D. J. Parker, R. Pattrick, J. H. Pattrick, H. A. Pattinson, J. L. Powell, W. W. Penty, P. R. Rhodes, K. H. Rowland, P. Rucklidge, J. M. Rumfitt, D. T. Shepherd, C. S. Sheriff, E. Simpson, J. L. Stanley, J. D. Stratton, R. A. Stuart, J. E. Sykes, P. H. Sykes, P. R. Taylor-Thompson, J. D. Thompson, D. W. Tomlinson, B. Troop, J. G. Warren, K. A. Washington, R. G. J. Wright, A. T. H. Wright, P. J.

OLD PETERITE CLUB LONDON DINNER

7 FOR 7-30 P.M., WEDNESDAY, 9TH NOVEMBER, 1949 (being the first Wednesday after Guy Fawkes' Day). BROWN'S HOTEL, Albemarle Street and Dover Street, (two entrances) W.1. Nearest Tube Station : Green Park. Dress : Lounge suits or uniform. Tickets : £,1, including drinks, from :— J. B. Gedge, Pinners Hall, E.C.2. London Wall 1551. Putney 1901.

ITEMS

The appointment of Brigadier C. C. Fairweather, O.B.E., T.D. (1921-1922), as Deputy Lieutenant for the North Riding of Yorkshire was announced on the 24th September. Fairweather began a successful military career when he was commissioned to the 50th Division Signals, Territorial Army, in 1928.

He went to France in 1940 with the rank of Major and was evacuated from Dunkirk. Back in England he was appointed Chief Instructor to the 1st Signals Training Centre at Catterick. In 1941, then Lieutenant-Colonel, he was given command of the 2nd Division Signals, and went to India in the following year. As Colonel and Chief Signals Officer with the 34th Indian Corps, he joined General Wingate when the Chindits were formed. He supervised the Signals organisation, and at the end of the campaign was awarded the O.B.E.

Brigadier Fairweather is now Chairman of the North Riding County Cadet Committee and Vice-Chairman of the T.A. Organisation and Supply Committee. In business he is associated with the firm of Robinson and Crosthwaite, tug owners, Middlesbrough. * * *

Two O.P.s were among the principal speakers at the Conference of the Advertising Association held at Buxton in the first week in June, under 'Mr. Oliver Lyttelton's Chairmanship. They were Martin Pick (1902-08), Advertising Manager of Guinness, who spoke on Posters, and John Rodgers (1919-1925), whose talk was on Marketing. Martin Pick is a brother of the late Frank Pick (O.P.). of L.P.T.B. fame, who was Director General of the Ministry of Information during the War. John Rodgers is a Director of J. Walter Thompson, Co., Ltd., and Chairman of the British Market Research Bureau, Ltd. * * *

Ian Crombie (1918-1926), a member of Bristol Round Table, has been elected Vice-President of the National Association of Round Tables. This is the first time in 21 years that the West Country has had any national representation. He will probably be the National President next year.

Norman Yardley (1928-1934) has written a book on cricket, to be published this autumn, price 12/6. The provisional title is "My Cricket Memories". The following is a reprint of a preliminary announcement which may interest O.P.s. "England's Cricket Captain has written one of the most entertaining books for years.

A natural games player, winner while at school of some of England's most famous squash trophies, football captain, cricket captain, University cricket and hockey Blue, scorer of centuries for Cambridge, Norman Yardley swiftly rose to captain both England and (some say harder still !) Yorkshire.

This book tells of Selectors' last-minute decisions at conferences which England's Captain attended. It details over-by-over tactics in Test Matches against Australia and South Africa when Yardley had to make difficult decisions on the field. It gives really intimate glimpses of cricket's greatest men, and speaks frankly of cricket's burning problems today.

But the quality that marks it out from the glut of cricket books is the laughter that runs through it—a welcome antidote to Test Match grimness, illuminating players and situations and showing, for a change, that cricket has never ceased to be a game, with all the fun of a game." * * *

Major G. A. Lofthouse, T.D. (1914-1916), wishes it to be known that Mrs. Lofthouse and their family will be joining him in the British Zone of Germany for an indefinite period, and that correspondence should be addressed to :- c/o Messrs. Lloyds Bank, Ltd., Northgate, Darlington. * * *

OBITUARY

We regret to record the death, on the 3rd July, 1949, of Charles James Daniel (St. Peter's, 1872-1879). He was 87, and he and his brother, J. Herbert Daniel, who survives him and is now 89, must surely have been the oldest living members of the School.

The late Charles James Daniel was born on 3rd November, 1861. His father was the Reverend R. Daniel, Vicar of Osbaldwick, Yorkshire; C. J. Daniel was educated at St. Peter's School and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. On leaving Sandhurst in 1882 he joined the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Later he went to S. Africa as Adjutant of the 3rd Battalion King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, served through the Boer War and was awarded the D.S.O.

From 1905 to 1916 he was Assistant to the Colonel in charge of Records at Fulwood Barracks, Preston, and in 1917 was appointed Lt.-Colonel in charge of Records there, which post he held till 1919, and for which service he was awarded the C.B.E.

Lt.-Col. C. J. Daniel married Agnes Margaret, daughter of Rear Admiral Thomas Saumarez, C.B., in 1891, and leaves two children— a son, Vice-Admiral Sir Charles S. Daniel, K.C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., Commandant of the Imperial Defence College; and a daughter, Mrs. C. Owtram. On retiring from the Army Lt.-Col. Daniel lived with his wife at Bath, where the latter died in 1937. For the last few years of his life he made his home with his daughter and her family at Newland Hall, Lancaster.

He was a very keen sportsman, being a good shot and a useful golfer; he played a good game up to the age of 85, when he got a bad attack of shingles in the head and eye, from which he never really recovered. He suffered a great deal the last two years of his life, but was always courageous and utterly unselfish.

He was a tremendous reader, 'his favourite literature being biographies and travel. He was always immensely interested in anything to do with his old School. (The Vicar of Dolphinholme, the Reverend P. Jenkins, writes of him : "The late Colonel was a man of sterling integrity, a loyal, generous, warm-hearted and sympathetic friend; a devoted churchman ever gladly willing to lend a hand in any good cause. During a long and trying illness, which preceded his death, his one consideration was to give as little trouble as possible to those whose privilege it was to minister •to his need. Never was the epitaph 'A man greatly beloved' more richly merited.").

BIRTHS

BAKER.—On 11th September, 1949, at the Cottage, Sherburn-in-

Elmet, to Pamela (nee Denby), the wife of Roland Croft Baker (School House, 1928-32), a daughter (Felicity Mary Croft). DO' WSON.—On 20th July, 1949, at Kinellan Nursing Home, Beacons- field, to Zoe (nee Stericker), wife of R. E. Dowson, a daughter. GRAHAM.—On 5th June, 1949, to Nansi (nee Davies), wife of Dr. •Earlam 'Graham (1932-37), 198 Beech Hill Avenue, Wigan, a son. LOCKWOOD.—On 3rd May, 1949, at Stockholm, to Mrs. Lockwood, wife of P. A. Lockwood (1936-42), a son (Anthony John Michael). SHERIFF.-27th September, at Nunthorpe Nursing Home, to Marcia (nee ,Berends) and Edward (1935-44), the gift of a son (Edward

Graham Berends). WALL. On 22nd March, 1949, to Mrs. Wall, wife of M. P. L.

Wall (1931-35), Senior Science Master of St. Bees School, twins (Christopher and Jennifer).

MARRIAGES MASSER—RUST. On 2nd July, 1949, at St. Andrew's Presbyterian

Church, Cheam, Surrey, Ronald Thornton (1939-41), only son of

Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Masser, of Nottingham, to Heather, youngest daughter of 'Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Rust, of Cheam.

DENCH—JOHNSON. On 10th August, 1949, at Heworth Parish

Church, York, Dr. Peter George Reginald Dench (1932-43), to

Daphne Mary, daughter of Mrs. R. A. Johnson, of 69 Avenue

General Leclerc, Chantilly, Oise. LEIGH—WRIXON. On 13th August, 1949, Peter Vance Leigh (1939-43), to Irene Wrixon. PENNI 'STON—PARKER. On 29th June, 1949, at Pudsey Parish

Church, Peter Marshall Penniston (1939-44), to Barbara Mary

Parker. RUCKLIDGE—BELL. On 25th August, at St. Mary's Church,

Ambleside, by the Archdeacon of Westmorland, John Michael (1933-39), elder son of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Rucklidge, Red Lion

Hotel, Grasmere, to Jean Elizabeth, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

John Bell, Compston Road, Ambleside.

ENGAGEMENTS

MACKINTOSH—VENUS. The engagement has been announced between Ashley (School •House, 1927-1931), second son of Dr. and

Mrs. Mackintosh, of Red Gables, 199 Alexandra Road, Sunderland, and Muriel, only daughter of (the late) Mr. and Mrs. Venus, of 10 Park Avenue, North Shields, Northumberland. PENTY—WIDDICOMBE. The engagement is announced between

John (The Rise, 1935-44), elder son of Mr. and Mrs. G. V. Penty, of Hillfield, Acomb, York, to Phyllis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

R. Widdicombe, of Stockton-on-Forest. WARIN—HOLLIS. The engagement is announced between Robert

WarM, M.D., M.R.C.P. (School House, 1930-33), younger son of

Mr. and Mrs. P. WarM, of Tadcaster, Yorkshire, and Barbara

Anne, younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hollis, of Roundhay, Leeds.

OXFORD LETTER

OXFORD.

To : The Editors of "The Peterite". Sirs,

We write this letter to you and venture to presume that you will publish it—with a confidence that may well be misplaced. It was with some concern that we remarked the omission in your May issue of our last letter. When you welcome news from 0.P.s at Leeds and Sandhurst, and will soon, no doubt, be sending special correspondents to Borstal and Brixton, we felt that this omission, if not a deed of sabotage, had some deep significance entirely hidden from us. However, we consoled ourselves, and still console ourselves, with the reflection that it must be 'but a sign of the times.* * The explanation is simple. The letter to which our Oxford correspondent refers arrived one week after we had gone to press— despite requests for its prompt delivery. He may derive comfort from the absence in this issue of a Cambridge letter—for the same reason.

Of Oxford in May and June, the 'Isis' paints little clearer a picture than Matthew Arnold : no wonder that we find description eludes us. A full canvas is impossible, for there are such widely divergent activities. We must be content with a few little cameos : the gailydecked college barges, the flash of the eight oars in •the sun, the crack of the pistol as a 'bump' is made, the stream of tweeds and bright dresses from Christ Church to the river and back—such is Eights Week; the funereal procession down the High, the •thousands of faces valiantly concealing their fear, the crowd gathered outside the schools at the end of each paper awaiting news of their 'next of kin'—these constitute some of the horrors of the public examinations; then, the continuous temptation of watching a day's cricket amid the trees in the Parks, the weary Union debates in the hot evening air, the uninviting darkness of one's desk on a summer afternoon when figures are lying sprawled outside on the College lawn—all these are little cameos to be woven into the texture of Trinity Term.

This was the arena on which your ambassadors strutted and fretted, lived and moved and 'had their being. We must turn now to the timehonoured duty of gathering some dust from the arena to throw in your eyes. It is customary to give some account of each individual, as though some Argus-eyed agent were employed to keep secret watch on all concerned and make a report at the end of term. We do not deny that this may be done elsewhere; but the general impression conveyed is that the majority have been busy assimilating Wells' "Invisible Man". To avoid a bare recital of this nature, we shall give, first the names of all 0.P.s up last term who are known to us, then any comments that our limited knowledge can supply. Absence of comment on any individual is due, not to suppression of some appalling scandal, but to sheer ignorance.

Here is the list of names : Derek Taylor Thompson (Balliol), J. M. Banister, L. A. K. Denison and Peter Robson (Brasenose), Peter Tee (Christ Church), Peter Andrew (Keble), Robert Hey (New College), M. Waddingham (Pembroke), Norman McDermid (St. Edmund Hall), John Denison and G. C. Norris ('Worcester).

Banister, •McDermid, Taylor Thompson and Tee take their bows. With happy ambiguity we express a hope that they will all get the results they deserve. It is possible, of course, that they may be discovered here next term; they may even beat the record set up by Duffield, lately among us, of five years' residence. But, assuming that they fail thus to hoodwink the authorities, we bid them farewell, taking as a symbol of their presence among us and treasuring as a fond memory the last vision we had of McDermid—a perspiring, begrimed, dishevelled, but triumphant figure, one of the ill-starred crew who rashly rowed against the School at Commemoration week-end.

Robson, E. A. K. Denison and Andrew also distinguished themselves. Robson spent the term in Hamburg, practising his German; he 20

has not been heard of since : we hope that he didn't say the wrong thing or travel too far East. A smiling photograph of Denison, in company with certain others, adorned a page of the "Tatler"; to avoid any misunderstanding, we hasten to announce, with the unashamed candour he would have us show, that the occasion was the Brasenose Commemoration Ball. All who are regular scrutinisers of the "Telegraph" engagements column will not need to be told the reason for Andrew's mention, but will join in our warmest congratulations.

In conclusion, we direct the attention of all Oxford O.P.s, past and present, to the notice contained elsewhere in these pages about the Oxford O.P. tie.

We repeat our hope that, however desert the air on which it may waste its sweetness, this letter may not, like its predecessor, be born to blush unseen.

We are, Sirs, your humbled servants, THE OXFORD OLD PETERITES.

THE OXFORD OLD Ph 1 ERITE TIE

Before the war members of the Oxford O.P. Club distinguished each other by the wearing of one of two ties. A design tie, the keys of St. Peter on an Oxford Blue background, and a striped tie. Since the war it has been impossible to obtain either of these adornments. Enquiries have now, therefore, been made regarding the possibilities of their being re-issued, with the following results.

The design tie, in the same material, cannot be made available, probably for several years, owing to the specialist weaving originally employed. A tie, with the same design, but more simply woven, could be manufactured at a price of 15/- per tie. The retailers, however, would need a guarantee that 6 dozen of these ties would be sold reasonably quickly, a guarantee which can hardly be given at the present moment.

Arrangements have been made, however, for the striped tie—thick blue, thin white, medium brown, thin white, thick blue, etc.—to be manufactured. This tie should be obtainable from Messrs. Walters, The Turf, at •the beginning of next term, priced at about 8/-.

It is hoped that Oxford O.P.s who have gone down will continue to possess, and on suitable occasions will wear, this tie.

N.G.L.R.M'D.