18 minute read
Old Peterite News
from May 1957
by StPetersYork
COMMEMORATION
The Commemoration weekend will ti3e from Friday, 26th July, to Sunday, 28th July. Preliminary information about the programme is given on page 2 of this issue, and full details will be sent in due course to each member of the O.P. Club. The O.P. Dinner will again be held on the Saturday evenineat the School, since there can be no doubt that last year's experimental re-arrangement of the time and place of the function was an unqualified success. R. A. Stratton, Tynron, 8 Riddings Road, Hale, Cheshe, will again be responsible for the O.P. cricket team and K. H. Rhodes, at the School, will, as usual, arrange the boat races. It is hoped, too, to arrange a fencing contest against the School team and any O.P. who would care to take part should contact K. H. Rhodes.
The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be at 6-30 p.m. on the Saturday, prior to the Dinner, and it is strongly urged that all O.P.s who are present at Commemoration will make a special effort to attend and make the meeting truly representative.
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING
A meeting of the General Committee of the Old Peterite Club was held at the School on Saturday, 9th March, 1957. The Acting Head Master (Mr. L. Burgess) was in the Chair; the President and Hon. Secretary and 19 members of the Committee attended.
A cable of good wishes was received from the Head Master in the sunny climes of South Africa.
A quotation for the supply of chrome blazer buttons machine indented with the School coat-of-arms was accepted and it was hoped that they would be on sale at the School shop during Commemoration.
Upon further consideration the Hon. Secretary was instructed to bespeak a suitable design and firm quotation for an O.P. business tie for submission to the next A.G.M. if members then present so desired.
It was reported that the response for volunteers from members to give suitable Careers talks at the School as outlined in the last issue of "The Peterite" had been disappointing. Any member willing to do so is urged to write to the Careers Master at the School.
The organisation of District Committees for (i) the Midlands, (ii) the South and South-West, was referred to the next A.G.M. Any O.P. living in either of those regions who is prepared to volunteer as Hon. Secretary thereof is asked to write to the Hon. Secretary of the Club.
Mr. E. Rawson-Lax having resigned as Hon. Secretary of Yor District, Mr. C. S. Shepherd, of 45 Middlethorpe Drive, Dringhous York, has been appointed in his stead. Will York members please note
The next meeting of the Committee will be held at the School a 5 p.m. on Saturday, 18th May.
The next Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held at the School at 6-30 p.m. on Saturday, 27th July, when it is hoped there will be a large attendance. The Hon. Secretary (T. J. Lewis, "Chebula", Clifton Road, Runcorn, Cheshire) would be pleased to receive from Old Peterites items for the agenda.
NORTH WEST AREA DINNER
The North-West Area Annual Dinner of the Old Peterite Club was held at the New Millgate Hotel, Manchester, on Friday, the 1st March.
Dr. G. E. L. Graham took the Chair and, in toasting the School, very correctly remarked that Mr. J. Dronfield, who was away on his South African tour, was very conspicuous by his absence.
Mr. L. Burgess, the Acting Head Master, represented the School most ably and amiably and in his reply conveyed the "Head's" best wishes from Jo'burg. Kenneth Rhodes also sent his salutations.
T. J. Lewis, our Hon. Secretary, closed the speeches and threw the party open after pointing out that the new O.P. menu cards were being used for the first time and, in accordance with the main dish, had rightly "Steaked" their claim.
It was suggested by Hanson that an autographed 1st issue menu be sent to Mr. Dronfield, whilst in South Africa, as a token of esteem, and this was duly carried out.
Apart from the Inaugural Dinner this was only the second dinner in this area and, in view of petrol rationing, the attendance was encouraging. Our adjacent area, the West Riding, was represented by Hallas and Smith, the District Secretaries, who were agreeably surprised to find three of their brood in our clutches. These had come over from Sheffield, namely—Shirtcliffe, Chadwick and Le Pla.
G. Douglas, 1928-33, should have been present but had a breakdown on the way. R. A. Stratton, 1935-43, and J. G. Booth, 1946-50, were called away at the last minute on business, and K. A. Warren, 1936-39, was busy nursing a sick family at home in Bolton.
The following were present :-
Mr. L. Burgess. 1943-46. P. G. Matthews. 1918-21. J. A. Hanson. 1943-47. M. Hallas. 1920-23. A. P. Troughton. 1944-50. A. P. Buttrum. 1921-29. A. B. McIldowie. 1945-52. G. E. Glasson. 1922-31. W. D. Blackburn. 1946-51. J. M. Booth. 1923-26. T. J. Lewis. 1948-53. A. T. Booth. 1932-37. G. E. L. Graham. 1950-55. J. R. Shirtcliffe. 1935-42. G. D. Smith. 1951-56. R. G. Le Pla. 1940-47. D. Hardisty. 1953-56. I. Chadwick.
From the foregoing list the age group spread is apparent and in view of the atmosphere created we are confident that this meeting will become "bigger and better" annually. 9
CAMBRIDGE OLD PETERITE DINNER
The third successive Annual Dinner was held in the Audit Room of King's College on Wednesday, the 20th February. Mr. L. Burgess, Acting Head Master in the absence of Mr. Dronfield, and Mr. A. Craven, representing the House Masters, were our guests from the School. J. B. Claydon (King's) was in the Chair, and J. T. Ankers (Emmanuel) proposed the toast of The School, to which Mr. Burgess and Mr. Craven replied. J. C. Oldroyd (King's) is to be congratulated heartily on his organisation of what was undoubtedly a most enjoyable and successful occasion. Petrol difficulties prevented the intended visit of representatives of the Other Place, but almost all O.P.s resident in Cambridge were able to attend. The following is the list of tho present :-
The School :
Mr. L. Burgess.
Mr. A. Craven. Downing :
D. M. Walker. Emmanuel :
J. T. Ankers. King's :
J. B. Claydon.
J. C. Oldroyd. Pembroke :
B. M. Nendick. Pe terhouse :
C. J. Griffiths.
J. N. T. Howat. W. R. Ibberson. H. P. G. Shaw. C. K. Smith. St. Catharine's:
G. B. Pullen.
J. B. Weightman.
D. C. Wetherell.
S. H. Storey.
O.P. PRINCIPAL OF GHANA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
It was announced on 8th May that Professor R. H. Stoughton has been appointed Principal of Ghana University College in succession to Mr. David Balne. Professor Stoughton, who was at St. Peter's, in the Rise, from 1918 to 1920, has been Professor of Horticulture at Reading University for 25 years. He is a member of the Inter- University Council for Higher Education Overseas. From St. Peter's he went to the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London.
BRIGADIER EDGAR PATRICK SEWELL, C.B.E. 0
The news of the tragic death of Edgar Patrick Sewell (St. Peter's, 1918-1925) on the 8th January, 1957, came just as we were going to press with our last issue, and we were able to print only a brief obituary notice. We are therefore pleased to publish the following tribute from Mr. S. M. Toyne. We thank L. F. Leversedge (1920-1923) and E. G. B. Atkinson (1920-1924), both contemporaries of Brigadier Sewell, who have also written to us.
FROM MR. S. M. TOYNE (Head Master, 1913-1936) :
As a boy, "Pat" Sewell possessed an unbounded zest for life, integrity of purpose, loyalty, and an infinite "capacity for taking pains". Whatever he did, he did to his utmost without sparing him- self. Hence his capacity for leadership of the finest kind—leadership by example and not merely by precept. "Pat" did much to make "1923" one of the peak years of St. Peter's and the peak year of the 10
Grove of which he was Head. When he was Captain of Rugger he played in two successive Christmas holidays for the English Public Schoolboys and finally for the Public Schools v. United Services. Unfortunately on the last game he slipped his collarbone and was debarred from playing in the Public Schools Squash Competition at Queen's, for which he had been entered. "Pat" was a member of the unbeaten Hockey XI in 1923, one of the best, if not the best, in the School's history, and besides making 150 at cricket for the 2nd XI against Richmond 1st, made many good scores for the 1st. His real forte was fielding, which would have won him a place in any army or club side.
After leaving Sandhurst, he joined the Northamptonshire Regiment and was awarded his Army "Cap" for Rugger—this was only to be expected, as he was a regular member of the Harlequins and in 1930 played in the International Trials at Blundellsands. Games were not
his life, but were to him a relaxation and a subsidiary help in his
profession. In 1956 he was still playing with his old zest all his old games except Rugger. Before 1939 he had served in Shanghai (during his stay he had captained the British Forces Rugby XV v. The Japanese Army at Tokio and Yokohama), Palestine, Egypt, and India
and was mentioned in dispatches—an honour which fell to him on many subsequent occasions. In 1935 he had received accelerated
promotion to the South Wales Borderers, but to him possibly his marriage to "Betty" Toyne may have seemed an even more important
event. They were married by the Archbishop of York, assisted by the Rev. F. H. Barnby, in the School Chapel.
When war came, "Pat" was at the Staff College, Camberley, and
was soon in France engaged on "movement control", Nantes, which on the fall of France meant evacuation of troops at St. Nazaire. In the North African campaign, he was on the staff and was suddenly
appointed to the Command of 1/6 Queen's Royal Regiment during
the battle of El Alamein. They were the first infantry to enter Tobruk. He became Brigadier before the Sicilian campaign and was
subsequently awarded the C.B.E.
He returned to England to prepare for and take part in "D" Day.
He went right through the campaign and finally was one of the two
officers to "liberate" Belsen horror camp. Here he caught typhoid
and had to remain in hospital at Celle. After spells in Egypt, War
Office, and the War College, Washington, he was attached to H.Q. B.A.O.R. and commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade before taking up
his final appointment as Brigadier i/c Administration, Singapore. This was a most important post and involved a capacity for dealing with many other people besides the military. The "troublous times" were looming ahead and both tact and foresight, understanding and firmness were required. There is evidence, partly confidential as yet, that Sewell played a great part in the successful outcome of the crisis.
11
A memorial service was held on 17th January and a plaque in Tanglin Garrison Church is to be unveiled in his memory by MajorGeneral Tullock. The funeral service at Amwell, Ware, was conducted by the Chaplain General and many officers from his old regiment attended. Music reminiscent of St. Peter's was played on the organ and the service ended with the "St. Peter's" chant for the Nunc Dimittis.
In the last issue of "The Peterite" we drew attention to Gerald Pawle's new book, "The Secret War", which was published by Harraps at Christmas time.
In view of the widespread public interest in this unusual war book Pawle was invited by W. H. Smiths to contribute to their "Trade News"—which circulates to booksellers throughout Britain—an article describing how he tackled the research problem involved in writing it. The Editor of Smith's "Trade News" has given permission to "The Peterite" to reproduce this, and the story which follows gives an entertaining picture of the trials and tribulations which the author encountered during his three years of work on the book.
Tor a short time in the last war I found myself part of a naval organisation dedicated to strange scientific experiments. And when I was not sitting in lonely splendour in a reserved compartment accompanying a new type of bomb or depth charge to mysterious trials in the dead of night off the Somerset coast, I spent a good deal of time crouching under a table in a large room in the Admiralty while an intrepid R.N.V.R. lieutenant named Lane, who had a passion for dismantling enemy equipment, struck some new German explosive charge with a hammer to see if it would go off. Fortunately it rarely did !
My own immediate superior officer was Lieut-Commander Nevil Shute Norway, a brilliant engineer who wrote increasingly successful novels in his spare time, and the head of this unorthodox department was a Canadian named Charles Goodeve, who made such a mark on scientific progress in the war-time navy that within three years be became a Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff.
With the encouragement of Admiral Sir James Somerville, Goodeve formed his research team in the summer of 1940 to explore methods of striking back at the hordes of enemy aircraft which were harassing and sinking Allied merchant shipping in the narrow waters round the coast of Britain. Before long his band of scientists and naval officers became involved in almost every aspect of the war at sea.
They produced the Hedgehog, which threw patterns of explosive charges ahead of the destroyers hunting U-boats, and the Grasshopper, which drenched enemy-held beaches with salvoes of rocket-propelled bombs.
They invented roads which floated on the surface of the sea; they evolved a terrifying Juggernaut called The Great Panjandrum which, powered by 80 huge rockets, was designed to breach the Atlantic Wall; and all manner of other extraordinary vehicles, weapons and devices including the Alligator, an amphibian which waddled out of the sea bearing a ton of high explosive mounted ahead of it on a hydraulic ram; an "invisible boat" for Commando raids; and an explosive motor launch controlled by radio.
They worked on flame throwers, "dazzle guns", and cliff-scaling gear; they developed a method of camouflaging the Thames with soot to mislead enemy bombers, and a spectacular apparatus called Hajile for dropping jeeps and stores from our own aircraft.
It was not long before the Admiralty raised the status of Goodeve's team to that of a senior department, with the official title of D.M.W.D. (Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapon Development). To the irreverent in Whitehall it soon became known as the Department of Wheezes and Dodges !
As soon as it became possible to tell the story of this band of naval scientists, who had no exact counterpart in the whole Allied war machine, I sat down, three years ago, to rough out a programme of preliminary research. The result is The Secret War.
There were quite a few problems involved in gathering my material. First, there was the difficulty of tracking down the former members of the Wheezers and Dodgers, all of whom had long since vanished back into civilian life. The Admiralty had no trace of most of them, but Sir Charles Goodeve, now director of the British Iron and Steel Research Association, was in London, as also was Dr. Denis Richardson, who took over scientific control of D.M.W.D. from him half way through the war and is now head of the Nuffield Research group at University College.
I began a long-range bombardment by air mail of Nevil Shute in Australia. From him came a characteristic reply : 'Suggest you take a tramp steamer from Falmouth and meet me at Seattle. You can then join me on a pack-horse trip I am making in the Rocky Mountains and we can discuss the D.M.W.D. days as we go.'
Unhappily, this attractive idea was too expensive in time and money; I had to wait until later for the first of my many talks with Nevil Shute.
In the meantime, I mapped out the first of a series of fact-finding tours, which eventually covered 15,000 miles. Several of the Wheezers and Dodgers had not, I found, managed to shake off the old urge for adventure and experiment. Arriving to lunch with one of them, I entered a drive flanked with DANGER notices and soon sighted ihe ruins of what must have been a most attractive summer house on the lawn.
In addition to some 150 interviews with eye-witnesses of the strange events which concerned D.M.W.D., I had to wade through thousands of pages of highly-technical papers—reports of weapon trials at sea and ashore, the proceedings of learned societies, and the histories of
engineering firms. By the time I was ready to start the actual writing
of the book I had amassed over 900 pages of my own typescript notes on every conceivable aspect of D.M.W.D.'s activities between Dunkirk and D-Day.
Because many of the Wheezers and Dodgers' projects overlapped
each other it was not possible to pigeon-hole everything straight away in its right chronological sequence; I had to wait until all research was at an end and then go to work with scissors and paste, piecing together
the whole elaborate jigsaw of facts and reminiscences into a rough
running order to which I could then refer during the building up of
the final narrative.
During this period the room in which I wrote, overlooking the sea at St. Mawes, Cornwall, looked as if it had been struck by a paper
blizzard. So much so, in fact, that one of the Wheezers and Dodgers
who arrived unexpectedly said it reminded him of our old, untidy quarters above the Hungaria Restaurant in London, where we used to work in an office piled high with mysterious paraphernalia of
our craft.
It was in that room that Richardson once absent-mindedly
detonated a large shell which he was using as a paper-weight. The instant ejection of a parachute, several hundred yards of cable, and clouds of choking green smoke which eddied out over Lower Regent Street, caused quite a stir in the department—but that is a story which you read about in The Secret War.'
THE ARMS OF ST. PETER'S SCHOOL, YORK
An attractive folder depicting the Arms of the School, prod u as one of a series of Arms of Schools by David Christie-Murray, be obtained from the Head Master's Secretary, price 2/9 post f
OBITUARY C. B. COTTERELL
We regret to record the death last term of C. B. Cotterell, one of ' the older generation of Peterites who was at the School from 1890 to 1894. He had a successful career at St. Peter's, rowing 2 in the First Four and gaining an £80 Mathematical Scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford. From the University he entered the Indian Civil Service and was Acting Chief Secretary to the Madras Government from 1930
to 1933. He was 81 when he died. 14 111
JOHN DEWHIRST
We have to record the death on 11th April, 1957, of John Dewhirst, Ryecroft, Uppingham. He was at St. Peter's from 1881 to 1886 and was in his 90th year. He visited the School some five or six years ago, when he was made an Honorary Member of the O.P. Club. His death deprives us of one who was probably the last link with St. Peter's of 70 years ago. * * *
MAJOR JOSEPH SHEPHERD
Another Old Peterite of long ago whose passing we must record is Major Joseph Shepherd, who died at Sunnybank, Carr Hill, Sleights, near Whitby, on the 27th January last. He was at St. Peter's from 1886-1895. He left a widow, to whom the Hon. Secretary wrote conveying the condolences of the O.P. Club.
BIRTHS
DENCH.—On 9th April, at the Maternity Hospital, Fulford, to Elizabeth, wife of Jeffery Dench, a daughter. [1938-47.] DRYDEN.—On 12th May, 1957, to Sheila (nee Furness), wife of C. Dryden, a son. [1945-48.] GOSSOP.—On 21st March, 1957, at Doncaster, to Dorothy Mary (nee Storey), and Eric Richard Gossop, a daughter (Susan Louise). [1930-37.] NEWDICK.—On 20th March, to June, wife of Frank Newdick, a son. [1940-48.] PING.—On 1st April, at Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, to Dorothy (nee Speed), wife of Alan Wentworth Ping, a daughter (Angela Jane), a sister for Briony and Andrew. [1932-42.] RINGROSE.—In January, at the River Park Nursing Home, Leamington
Spa, to Dora (nee Lemrnon) and David F. Ringrose, a son. [1943-47.]
MARRIAGES
CROSS—BOWEN. On 23rd March, at Ashton-under-Lyne Wesley Methodist
Church, by the bride's father, Michael Archer, only son of Mr. M. W.
Cross, J.P., and Mrs. A. Cross, of York, to Elizabeth Sheila, elder daughter of the Rev. D. J. Bowen and Mrs. D. Bowen, of Ashton-under-Lyne. [1942-49.] WATSON—GREGORY. On 2nd March, at St. Clement's Church, Sutton-on
Sea, Lincolnshire, Roger David Watson, younger son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E.
Watson, 64 Hobgate, York, to Patricia Gregory, only child of Mr. and Mrs.
W. Gregory, "Mill View", Park Road, East, Sutton-on-Sea. [1944-49.]
ENGAGEMENTS
BAKER—ROSS. The engagement is announced between Peter Tustin, younger son of the late Mr. H. H. Baker and of Mrs. Baker, of The Nook,
Roslyn Road, Hathersage, Derbyshire, and Elspeth Helen, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. D. G. Ross, of Three Gables, Bruce Street, Waverley,
Johannesburg. [1945-50.] BLINCOE—REID. The engagement is announced between Peter John
Blincoe, only son of the late Mr. G. Blincoe and Mrs. M. L. Blincoe, and
Ivy Henrietta Reid, daughter of Mr. J. W. Reid and the late Mrs. F. A.
Reid, of Melbourne, Australia. [1942-51.]
