An Irish boy in a foreign land by Dom Brendan Lavery, a rather colourful Irish character who escorted them to school. He would give each boy a bottle of Irish whiskey, which was then collected from them the other side of customs in Holyhead. At the time some essential items were still in short supply in England! For the five years I was at Worth a contingent of four or five of us from Cork would travel on the overnight ferry to Fishguard, then take the long train journey to Paddington and on to Worth from Victoria. Cork airport opened in 1961, so for me to attend the Worth Jubilee Jamboree in 2012 the flight to London Gatwick took less than an hour how times change. I am a creative and was never an academic - exams and I did not agree. I know that I had early learning difficulties. Looking back over my school reports there is criticism of my inability to concentrate and backwardness, I believe that today there would be suggestions to help. My happiest memories of Worth are summed up in my school report by Jane Matthews for Summer Term 1958, Subject/Activity: Riding. “I was very pleased when he won the jumping class for boys at our show. He jumped a very difficult horse, a horse that needs to be pushed right into his jumps. He jumped three clear rounds and we finally had to do it on time and he jumped the whole course in 37 seconds. A very good term’s work.” I remember a monk coming up to me in the Quad and saying to me remember this day. It was 5/5/55. I followed similar dates through to 12/12/12, after that the numbers fell apart! I hope to be around to see 2/2/22.
Top: Kevin (sitting 2nd from left) in the Worth Pueri Cantores who sang in the Royal Albert Hall in 1958 Above: Playing trumpet (2nd from left) at Worth in the Downside Dance Band in 1960
I
n September 1953, I flew with my Mum from Dublin to London Northolt airport on my way to Tower House at Worth Prep School; I was a very homesick 8 yearold Irish boy in a foreign land. My elder brother Peter had been there before me as well as first cousins, Robin Clapham, Michael & David Legge. We were all destined to go on to Downside in the footsteps of both my father Declan and our grandfather William Dwyer. Peter was six years older than me, it is necessary to remember that he would have been travelling to Worth only two or three years after the end of WW2. I gather that the Irish boys would travel to Dublin where they were met
38
I really enjoyed the boy scouts run by Dom Michael Smith, the 400+ acres around the School were just perfect for all types of activities. I learnt to play the bugle which was on the path towards subsequently playing the trumpet. We went on Scout camp to Gorey in Co. Wexford where we camped in the grounds of Mount St Benedict, the home of retired Abbot Siegebert Trafford who had been my father’s Headmaster at Downside. The troop was inspected by his Excellency Sean T O’Kelly, second President of the Republic of Ireland. We travelled to County Cork where we camped in the grounds of my own home and my Mum hosted a barbecue for us all. In 1957 I can remember the excitement of going out at night and looking up into the sky trying to see Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. On 13th July 1958 the Worth Pueri Cantores gave their first performance in the Royal Albert Hall, it is lovely to be able to say that I sang there!
Worth Society Life
Life and Times of Worthians
The Old Place
