Oxford – The Summer of 1917, Desmond Devitt

Words Oxford – The Summer of 1917 Desmond Devitt is editing Skipper’s War, a twice-weekly bulletin from an Oxford school community in World War One

On Saturday 10th June, the Betjeman Society held its AGM at The Dragon School, Oxford. This marked the centenary of the poet’s joining the school, which was commemorated by a plaque unveiled by the Headmaster, John Baugh, and a Year 2 pupil, Charlotte Austen.

Betjeman recalled the war years in his autobiographical Summoned By Bells, and particularly the then headmaster, the legendary Skipper Lynam.

‘Before the hymn the Skipper would announce The latest names of those who’d lost their lives For King and Country and the Dragon School. Sometimes his gruff old voice was full of tears When a particular favourite had been killed…’

John Betjeman was a pupil at the school from 1917 to 1920. Disliking sport, the future Poet Laureate achieved distinction at the Dragon by his performances in the regular school productions of Gilbert and Sullivan and Shakespeare. His own gift for poetry was soon recognised and his first published works were in the school magazine, The Draconian.

This magazine is one of the reasons why the school’s history is so well documented, but, unlike most school magazines which were the work of the school itself, The Draconian was the idea and work of three former pupils at Winchester College, Robert Johnson, Robert Holland and Henry Spurling, who wished to keep in touch with fellow Old Dragons and issued the first edition in 1889. Their stated objective was ‘to tighten the bond of union between friendships that would otherwise be severed…’ – the Facebook of its day. Not surprisingly perhaps,

the boys got into financial difficulties and Skipper Lynam took it over in 1893. Thereafter Old Dragons reported their achievements back to him and they kept writing in the war years that followed.

It is generally understood that the ‘Public Schools’ and their headmasters inspired loyalty and the sense of duty with which many ‘Old Boys’ joined up in 1914-18. That the former pupils of a preparatory school should display such loyalty to both their headmaster and their school was unusual. As one observed, ‘unlike almost any other private school one has ever heard of, the Dragon School has its distinctive spirit and ethos, that it makes an appeal and evokes a loyalty similar in kind to those of the best Public Schools.’

Skipper was famous for his Logs of the Blue Dragon, accounts of his sailing expeditions (for which he won the Royal Cruising Club Challenge Cup of 1912). Thus, come 2014, what better way to present the massive collection of letters, diary extracts, pictures and poems from all the theatres of war than in the form of Skipper’s (b)log.

As fascinating as the stories of the Old Dragons at war are, school life during this period turns out to be equally thought provoking.

It is generally understood that the ‘Public Schools’ and their headmasters inspired loyalty and the sense of duty with which many ‘Old Boys’ joined up in 1914-18.

The charitable status of many of today’s private schools requires that they share their facilities for the public benefit. In 1917 there was no such requirement – but it happened anyway. When the ten year old John Betjeman joined the Oxford Preparatory School as a boarder in the Summer Term of 1917, Skipper Lynam, made it clear that children were expected to ‘do their bit.’

The Oxford Preparatory School (often known as Lynam’s and soon enough as The Dragon) was already sharing the use of their newly built shooting range with the military, and the school Ford char-à-banc had been converted into an ambulance that could meet wounded soldiers at Oxford Station and ferry them to one of the Oxford hospitals. But this did not involve the children.

Their turn came in June 1915, with two visits of parties of wounded soldiers from the Base Hospital and Somerville College. “On the first occasion,” The Draconian noted, “the soldiers played cricket in the nets, and in spite of bandages and crutches, bowled and batted with much skill. Form VIa were their hosts and bowled at them till tea-time; after tea, hosts and visitors mutually entertained each other with songs and recitations: one professional comedian, just home from the trenches, seems to have been well enough to stand on his head and sing until he was ‘as-you-wered’ by a companion who was afraid the strawberries and cream wouldn’t stand the inverted position any longer.”

In the summer of 1917, when mild mumps and German measles made inter-school matches impossible, Sister Wilkinson (who had left the OPS for the Radcliffe Infirmary in 1914) sent up teams of officers recovering in Somerville College to play matches against the boys. “One can imagine no surroundings in the world more fitted for the healing and comforting of the scars of life, than among the boys at Lynam’s” wrote one of the officers.

Nor were their visits restricted to cricket. On Sports Day they muscled in on the Tug of War competition, until they managed to break the rope! A special race was organised: “One of the most exciting races of the afternoon was the 100 yards race for officers – a pair of crutches won by inches from a bath chair, and the prize-winners received a stirring reception at the next day’s prize-giving.”

The prize-giving included a Challenge Cup inscribed “From the Officers now in Somerville. July 1917” which was presented to the School, to be awarded each year by the vote of the whole school to the boy who “has the most gentlemanly bearing and best influence on other boys.”

Just how much the young had helped re-invigorate battlescarred soldiers can be seen in ‘An Appreciation’ written by one of the officers. “To us it has been unalloyed pleasure and no words could express our gratitude in being privileged to enjoy so many happy afternoons among the boys… The golden days of youth came back to us this summer, those glorious days when enthusiasms are fresh and alive, when one never sickens of effort and when the game we play is everything to us… You have given us many happy days and have helped us once again to re-discover the springs of youthful joyousness and love of life. May the memory of those happy days, spent with you on the banks of the Cher, ever live with us, go with us when we return to duty…”

And were the boys traumatised by what they saw and heard about the war? Betjeman suggests not,

‘for the trenches and the guns Meant less to us than bicycles and gangs And marzipan and what there was for prep.’

Desmond Devitt retired from the Dragon School in December 2015 after nearly forty years on the staff. www.skipperswar.com publishes twice weekly in real time + 100 years. (Also supported by Twitter & Facebook). The index allows easy identification of the characters, the battles and themes. It is also possible to search by schools or University College, which should make it a useful resource for WW1 projects!