Memory Corner
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Brooklands 1945 to 1949 Our Housemaster was HB Watson (Watty) and sadly my memories of him are tarnished by the fact that he was pretty old and weighed down by the austerity of the time and the problems of running a young and lively houseful of boys who ribbed him unmercifully. For me it was a very happy time in my life though hunger was uppermost in our minds for those four years. How we relished the odd cake sent from home to supplement the two ounces of butter and margarine and the pound of jam that had to last 14 weeks. When we got desperate, hot toast in the buttery helped to keep us going.
Winter 1947 was the coldest in living memory and we were completely snowed in, so much so that shovels had to be found to dig us out of the enormous snowdrifts that stopped any supplies getting into town. It was actually great fun and if you worked hard enough at least you kept warm. It was so cold we flooded the croquet lawn and Ian Cumming (B 44) organised ice hockey games and we all learned to skate. Despite the cold, all dormitory windows were still kept open at night and the water froze in the boys’ toothbrush mugs.
Sport was terribly important and as we had Boobyer, Holmes-Smith and Wilkinson sweeping all before them, rugger was uppermost but we had a good cricket team too. One wonderful memory was that when anyone scored a hat-trick or a half-century on the Middle, every game stopped to clap. I wonder if this is still done now? All in all a fantastic education and one that has guided my own path through life and left me with good memories and friends. Floreat Uppingham School. Humphrey Sladdden (B 45)
RAF Honour OU The Army barracks which will replace RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, has been named Kendrew Barracks after the late Major General Joe Kendrew (H 1914). He played rugby for England 10 times and captained his country in 1935. During the war he rose rapidly through the ranks serving as a Brigade Commander in Italy, Greece and the Middle East. His leadership and bravery earned him the rare distinction of being awarded the DSO four times.
Jubilee Celebrations In this Diamond Jubilee year for Her Majesty the Queen, we have been sent some drawings of celebrations at Uppingham for her greatgreat grandmother’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. The work was produced by Cyril Parsons (LH 1885), grandfather to Brian (Fgh 1960), Robin (Fgh 62) and Michael (Fgh 62) Parsons. Apparently Uppingham was one of the rare Victorian schools to teach Technical Drawing.
A Post-script to the Focus on Rev’d John Royds As a pupil at Uppingham from 1968 to 1973, I enjoyed reading the ‘Focus on John Royds’ in the last magazine and would like to add one further recollection. Before coming to Uppingham my parents had separated and I was living with my mother in what could be called reduced
circumstances. My father felt he had spent enough on education and refused to pay an extra term’s fees to enable me to sit the Oxbridge exam. When John Royds discovered this, he stepped in and offered to pay the full fees for me. Not only that, but because my mother did not have a car, he personally drove me to Oxford for the
interviews. I went on to St Peter’s College Oxford to read Theology and also had the pleasure of captaining the Uppingham 1st XV. I therefore owe him a tremendous debt which I was able to express to him a few years before he died. Reverend Charles Jefferson (WD 68)
