Library and Archives

Results

Under 16

v Queen Mary's (A) Won l'/2

The following girls represented the U.16 team:

O. Anderson, H. Atkinson, C. Brassington, A. Dixon, M. Hart, L. Hudson, C. Magee, A. Newby, G. Walker.

Under 15

v Pocklington (H) v Giggleswick (A) v Hymers (H) v Woodhouse Grove (A) v Mount St. Mary's (A) v Joseph Rowntree (A) v Bootham (H) Won 16'/2— 4 Won ll'/2—10 Won 12 — 6V2 Lost 81/2—13 Cancelled Lost 6 ' /2- 7

Lost 9'/2—ll]/2

The following girls represented the U.15 team:

P. Bhat, A. Calvert, G. Dodgson, R. Fisher, V. Hales, S. Hutchinson, N. Lane, R. Lewis, I. Marks, R. Metcalfe, T. Rotowa, C. Scott, E. Stone, R. Turl, L. Watson, Z. Wight.

Under 14

v Queen Mary's (A) v Pocklington (H) v Scarborough College (H) v Woodhouse Grove (A) v Queen Margaret's (H) v Mount St. Mary's (A) v The Mount (A) v Joseph Rowntree (A) Lost 3 — 7 Lost 10 —16V2

Cancelled - rain Won 15 '/2—10V2 Lost 7 —16

Cancelled - rain Lost 4 - 7'/2 Won 9'/2— 4'/2

The following girls represented the U.14 team:

S. Baines, V. Bray, C. Brisby, S. Chapman, L. Cleaver, R. Fishley, H. Fowler, E-L. Hall, L. Hodsdon, H. Oram, C. Mee, C. Middleton-Walker, E. Taylor, L. Wallace, L. Watson, B. Wigglesworth.

LIBRARY & ARCHIVES

ALCUIN LIBRARY FORGOTTEN FAME No. 8

1994-1995 has seen the (rather hiccupping) installation of a computer network in the Alcuin Library, allowing students to use one terminal, while the Librarian can continue working on the other. New books can therefore be added to our records more quickly and all updated information can be viewed immediately by pupils 650 new items have been added to the library stock, made up of 626 books, 16 videos and 8 CD-ROMs. A further 1,000 books from our existing collection have also been added to the computer catalogue which now holds records for more than 7,500 items, and a new "User Access Menu" allows pupils to choose between "Library Enquiry" or "CD-ROMs" without getting help.

As usual it is a pleasant duty to acknowledge generous donations of books: this year thanks are due to the Headmaster (seventy-four books), and the following Upper VI pupils and their families: Thomas J. Archer, Mark S. Benson, M. Scott Bradley, Wendy W-M. Chung, James J. Gibson, Lorna J. Highet, James J. M. Hiles, Adam K. Leszczuk, Daniel R. Leveson, Edward R. Lindley, Mathew G. F. Taylor, Nicholas J. Wight and Grant A. Williams. We are extremely grateful.

Personal thanks are particularly due from me to Mike Jones, the school's IT Co-ordinator, for his (almost!) tireless efforts with the recalcitrant computer network, and his absolutely unflagging humour and goodwill; and to John Mitchell for looking after the library on occasions when I have been unavailable. As ever my thanks are also due to the Headmaster and the many staff members who have supported and encouraged change and development in the library.

Frank Mitchell (1870-1935)

Frank Mitchell, one of the greatest sportsmen of his time, entered the school in 1883 and left in 1890. He was captain of cricket, rugby and rowing.

At Cambridge he played for the University against Oxford at cricket four times, batting first in the matches at Lord's, and also, as a powerful forward, represented the University against Oxford in the rugger matches of 1893-1895. In 1896 he had success in putting the shot for Cambridge and, had he so chosen, could also have kept goal for the University at hockey. He took an honours degree in the Classical Tripos.

He first played cricket for Yorkshire in 1894, becoming one of their most illustrious and valuable players, scoring 4,090 runs in his five seasons.

In 1901 he went to America and played cricket there until joining the Yorkshire Hussars and serving in the Boer War. He then took up business in South Africa becoming captain of the cricket team which came to England in 1912. During the First World War he served with distinction in the Royal Artillery.

He was modest and courteous, and his name in his time spelt hero-worship to the young. In his later years he was a wise counsellor and extremely astute judge of what was good and what was amiss in the games he had so adorned. He was never afraid to say what he thought, and to his friends and his school he was always generous and loyal. J. V. Mitchell

During this academic year the archivist has been absent for several months, and gratitude is due to the work of Avril Pedley and Angela Sanderson who, despite their own busy schedules, have continued splendid work of dealing with correspondence, research, cataloguing and indexing. Because of this the running of the department has gone smoothly — though there still remains a need for more voluntary help with sorting, researching and listing. It is most interesting work for those with some time to spare and the good of the school at heart.

Prize books of F. P. Marrian (The Rise 1928-32) who was killed in action in 1944, together with other books from his library, have been presented to us by his daughter and family, and three photographs and a hockey cap of Leonard C. Carney (School 1920/22) were also presented by his daughter, and Michael Hollway sent us two OTC swagger sticks for our collection. To these donors, and other kind friends, we are most grateful.

In addition to early photographs of School House and two boxes of glass slides which have been expertly restored by K Photographers of Boroughbridge Road and Clifton Moor, conservation work has also been done on various blazers, ties and caps which have been presented, and various school registers rebound and preserved for the future.

One interesting piece of research, still unresolved, has been the apparent record of the wedding of Guy Fawkes of Scotton to Maria Pulleyn and the birth of a son Thomas. This as far as we know has never been mentioned before, but confirmation is missing as to where the entry in the Family History Centre is. Can anyone help? Lady Antonia Fraser who is currently writing a book on the Gunpowder Plot knew nothing of this, but obviously we would be delighted to know if it is correct. There is certainly no mention of it in Davies's "The Fawkes Family of York".

As mentioned elsewhere, glass slides of the school have been restored giving sports days, Commemoration, Pageants etc. from 1905 to the 1930s. Hugh Murray (The Manor 1943-51), local historian and prolific author of books on York etc., has kindly agreed to give a "magic lantern'' show of these and other items from his wellknown collection of early photographs of York in aid of the archives fund. Proposed dates are either March 6th or 13th in the Memorial Hall. Full details will be given later for what will be a fascinating evening. John Mitchell

ST. PETER'S SCHOOL TO MOVE?

No — we shall not be moved, though it was a distinct possibility in 1920. John Penty (1935-1944) rang to say that amongst family papers he had come across a prospectus for the sale of Kirby Hall. He told me that the school had actually bought the Hall, though we have no confirmation of this in our records. However, the minutes of a governors' meeting on June 7th 1920 reveal: "The Headmaster made a statement as tc the disadvantages of the present situation of the school, and the advantages of moving into the country. The Dean read sundry correspondence regarding the suggested removal, pro & con. The Headmaster exhibited certain plans of the Kirby Hall site, and gave explanations as to the additions which would be required. The Bishop of Hull moved, and the Rev. T. E. B. Guy seconded that, provided it was fourd to be financially possible, the school be moved into the country. This resolution was carried."

Then apparently (nothing changes) there was a leak to the press, and the Headmaster (S. M. Toyne) in his speech at Commemoration said he knew there would be much opposition in certain quarters, but was not prepared for such an outburst of affection from citizens of York. In his scheme he had planned to give York educational facilities possessed by no other town in England. To his mind there were two great objections — sentiment and finance. Yet he had but little sympathy with those who wished the school to be an old relic of York. Antiquity demanded veneration, but in education modernity could not be ignored.

At the next meeting of the governors on June 25th 1920 a deputation from the city, led by the Lord Mayor, was received, expressing great concern at the proposed move, and it was agreed that the City Council would be consulted before anything was decided.

Colonel R. E. Key addressing the Commemoration gathering said he was one of this deputation because he felt that such a removal would be a very great loss to York. The school had been in York from time immemorial, and he was sure Mr. Toyne was not surprised to find the objection a deep-rooted and real one. He hoped that some way out would be found so that the city need not lose the school entirely.

G. F. Tendall, Music Master, said that the view of the assistant masters was they one and all weie of the opinion that it was for the good of the school, for its prosperity, usefulness and efficiency that the)' should remove. They thought they ought to go; they wanted to go, and were going to do all they could to fuither the success of the projected scheme.

Whether the scheme was not carried out for reasons of finance or sentiment we do not know, but the move never took place. John Penty tells me that the estate was eventually sold, the many trees converted into logs during the coal strike that led to the General Strike of 1926, and Kirby Hall was eventually demolished.

More research will be carried out to check on news reports, readers' letters and so on in the newspapers of the time, and apparently the brochure which Mr. Penty has promised to let us see has a full description and photograph which we shall publish when available. /. V. Mitchell

Tradition has it, and the canard is repeated in the press almost every November, that the school does not celebrate Bonfire Night. Not so — bonfires and fireworks were a definite event in the school. Indeed at one time the school bonfire and firework display on Clifton Green was the biggest and best in York and part of the official celebrations until an unfortunate Peterite lost a hand through the careless use of a firework. But it has always been maintained that our most universally known Old Boy was never burnt in effigy.

Recently however, glass lantern slides, probably belonging to Wentworth Ping, were restored, and prints made. Some were dated 1908 and showed fireworks and a huge bonfire with a figure on top. Surely our tradition had not been broken and our reputation remained secure. All was well. Closer inspection showed that the figure was unmistakably female, not Guy Fawkes in drag but, as research showed, Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst!

So much for Women's Lib — and male chauvinism obviously inspired the anonymous poet whose lines appear on Page 309 of Volume 20 of "The Peterite" Part 188 for December 1908,

MATER ALMA ALUMNUM SUUM SALUTAT (The difficulty has this year been solved, how duly to honour the name of Guy Fawkes, (OP)

'Tis the fifth day of November, Guido Fawkes; And 'tis meet that we remember, Guido Fawkes, That, however men may clamour, 'Twas this ancient seat of grammar Taught your lisping tongue to stammer, Guido Fawkes!

In the days of fifteen hundred, Guido Fawkes, Were you then, I've often wondered, Guido Fawkes, Just a naughty little urchin? I don't know, for all my searchin', If you often got a birchin', Guido Fawkes!

Were you classical or modern, Guido Fawkes? Were the paths my feet have trodden, Guido Fawkes, Worn by yours too? no one knows if You were good at verse and prose, if Yau learnt chemicals explosive, Guido Fawkes;

Yau were born within this city, Guido Fawkes; And you left it — more's the pity — Guido Fawkes, To achieve, so runs the story, Death both violent and gory. And — well, shall we call it glory, Guido Fawkes? As in other people's quarrels You would mix, With your powder stuffed in barrels Thirty-six, All the classic love we taught you, Little wisdom it had brought you — In the cellar dark they caught you, In a fix.

You were neither good nor clever, Guido Fawkes; Yet you're one of us for ever, Guido Fawkes; From our doors we will not turn you, And though other men may spurn you, We can't bring ourselves to burn you, Guido Fawkes.

So we let the pyre crackle, Fine or wet, And all the squiblets cackle We can get, But, aloft amid the "bonner," We confer the seat of honour, Place aux dames, schoolmate, upon a Suffragette.

J. V. Mitchell

IT'S A SMALL WORLD

A recent article in "The Yorkshire Evening Press" concerned a request for information about a subaltern of the First World War who died in Belgium in 1919. Since then a local family has tended his grave and that of other British soldiers who died in the military hospital. The name seemed familiar to the Archive Department and checks showed that he was a Peterite. After serving as a soloist at Lichfield Cathedral for two years he moved to York with his parents, entered the school as a day boy in January 1916 and left in December 1917 for an eight weeks military training course with the OTC at Queen's College, Cambridge.

His surviving sister, Mrs. L. Sadler, gave further information that he was of a Scottish family with strong military traditions. His stay in the military hospital was caused not by war wounds but by pneumonia caused by his habit of wearing the family kilt. He died aged nineteen, and his name appears on our War Memorial, William A. McFarlane.

After a second article in the press, Mrs. Mary Mountain rang to say that MacFarlane was an uncle of her late husband, Rev. Geoffrey Mountain, City Scholar at the school from 1938 to 1945. He later became Rector of St. Paul's, Holgate Road, taught at the Mount and assisted at St. Edward's, Dringhouses. Apparently he never knew that his uncle had preceded him at the school. J. V. Mitchell