Lauda
Finem

The
History of Nottingham High School

John
Knifton

Text copyright © 2012
John Knifton. All Rights Reserved.

Preface

I first started writing a history
of Nottingham High School in the middle to late 1990s, when it seemed that the
impending New Millennium would provide a logical culmination to my account.

Alas, by the time I had finished
my magnum opus in 1999, it seemed to be of little interest to anybody.
Mentally, therefore, I forgot about the whole thing. Some years later, I
mentioned again that I had written what I thought was a readable account of the
school’s history, but for a second time, my masterpiece seemed to have very
little appeal. Only in 2012 was any interest shown, and this came from Yvette
Gunther, the school’s Librarian. Encouraged by her kind words, and the
invention of electronic publishing, I decided to fill in the missing dozen or
so years, and try to produce something for the five hundredth anniversary of
the school in 2013.

This I have done, and what you
are reading now is the result of that process. In addition, I have used this
opportunity to enliven my original accounts from the 1960s onwards by asking
current members of Staff for any contributions that they would care to make.
Putting the emphasis firmly on humour and anecdote, a number of teachers
replied, and I am grateful for the material, and, indeed, any factual help,
from John Allen, Mark Cleverley, Jim Cook, Kate Costante, Gerald Douglas, Carol
Fletcher, Martin Jones, Stefan Krzeminski, Malcolm Saperia, John Swain, Les
Wilkinson and Simon Williams. Current or former pupils who helped, some of them
fairly inadvertently, included Ian Jallands, Andrew McCarthy, Adrian Noskwith,
Daniel Storey and Will Sanderson. You can now read the book, and judge for
yourself whether I have made a success of it.

Over hundreds of years, what must
be thousands of walking shadows and poor players have strutted
and fretted their hour upon the High School stage, and then been heard no more.
You can now spend just a few of your todays, perhaps, reading about all their
yesterdays. This present work is certainly a tale told by an idiot, and it is
occasionally full of sound and fury, although many of the juiciest anecdotes
from modern times have had to be omitted.

It would be without
doubt a tad harsh, though, to say that the history of the High School signifies
nothing. What used to be called the Dame Agnes
Mellers’ Free School has, for centuries now, stood, essentially, on the side of the angels, and has
represented fairly faithfully, the basic ideals of academic learning, good
behaviour and caring concern for one’s fellow man.

Strangely enough,
though, throughout my years of intermittent historical research, I have always
felt that the school was much older than we currently suppose, and that the
figure of 500 years is being unduly pessimistic. Indeed, I would argue that,
instead of the 500th anniversary, we should perhaps be looking at a minimum of
724 years, if my Maths is correct. Perhaps the 800th anniversary should be
celebrated in 2089 ? The reason for ideas which may seem, at first sight,
somewhat strange, is that I personally feel that Dame Agnes did not
actually found a completely brand new school. Rather, she funded a school which
was already in existence, but which may have been on the point of financial
oblivion. Certainly, in 1924, in Dr.Gow’s obituary, the
writer spoke of “...Nottingham High School, an ancient Grammar School, already
existing in the thirteenth century, and refounded and endowed by Dame Agnes
Mellers, under a Charter of King Henry VIII, in 1513.” Similar ideas were
expressed by the Duke of Portland in 1933, when he came to open officially the
new Gymnasium and the new Library. This same interpretation was still current
nearly thirty years later, when the then Headmaster, Mr.Reynolds, wrote his own
brief history of “The Buildings of Nottingham High School”. He described the
events of 1513 as “...the re-foundation or endowment of the School by Dame
Agnes Mellers.”

We may
never know the truth, of course. It would be rather nice though, to think that
the first entry in this lengthy diary, namely Thursday,
June 30th 1289, the date which constitutes the earliest
ever reference to a Grammar School in Nottingham, was in fact describing a
school where the cheeky, but clever, young Robin of Locksley sat on the back
row, in his Lincoln Green Hoodie, causing countless problems for the teacher as
he tried to kiss that pretty girl Marian for the umpteenth time. Or perhaps
attempted to steal young Tuck’s enormous lunch, and then to spill ink on the
elegant clothes of the young William Scarlet. Perhaps Robin was busy writing a
new set of lyrics for Allan-a-Dale, or just trying to whack John Little very
hard on the back of his enormous head.

Of all
the High School’s walking shadows and poor players, my own
personal favourite is probably John Peck Hemm,
the writing master, who, from 1816-1833, exhibited the inventive accountancy
and shady financial dealings which nowadays would surely lead him to high
office, either in politics, or more likely, perhaps, in a major bank. Suffice it to say, though, that his “Portraits
of the Royal Family in Penmanship”, which appeared in 1831, are still on sale
today, at a minimum price of £500, and that for a book of no more than twelve pages.

Among those last
syllables of recorded time, and all those yesterdays, the most wonderful day in
the school’s history must surely have been the morning of Tuesday, February 1st 1916, when the boys were able to
enjoy eight inches of snow in the playground,
and, when they were eventually forced inside into their classrooms, were then
able to discuss how a number of Zeppelins had overflown Nottingham the previous
evening, dropping a few, fairly inconsequential, bombs near Stapleford.

To
continue the literary analogy, though, if that were the best
of times, the worst of times was undoubtedly Tuesday,
August 14th 1917 when, according to the High School’s Roll of Honour, Second
Lieutenant James Knowles Turpin was killed in action at Boundary Road behind
the Brigade HQ at Hill Top Farm near St Jaan. Within hours, Lieutenant Harold Ballamy was killed in action as the Battle of Passchendaele continued on its
blood soaked course.

Judge for yourself though….

Which pupil was the cleverest ?

And which one was the most famous
?

Which servant of the school was
the greatest of them all ?

Who was the most wonderful
sportsman ?

Decide which teacher was the
best.

And which was the most
disreputable ?

And most important of all,

who was the
school’s most beautiful teacher ?

It’s Miss Southall for me.

Thursday, June
30th 1289

This
date is the earliest reference to a Grammar School in Nottingham. It comes in a
letter from the Archbishop of York, John Le Romeyn, which was sent both to the
Master of the School, and to a priest at Kinoulton.

The
latter had been running his own local school, which was contrary to the
accepted practice at the time, when schools were not allowed to compete with
one another. The Master of the Grammar School had made a complaint to the
Archbishop about this breach of the unwritten rules. The Archbishop’s
compromise was that the school in Kinoulton should continue to operate, but
only with local clergy. The Nottingham establishment could use “external
priests”.

1307

John de
Burton quit the post as Master of the Grammar School.

Tuesday, August
13th 1382

What is
thought to have been a new school building, or perhaps a new Master’s house, on
“The Pavement”, was conveyed to Robert de Retford, vicar of St.Mary’s, Nottingham,
and William de Adbolton, “Scolemayster” of Nottingham Grammar School. The
latter was to die in either 1389 or 1390.

Thursday,
January 15th 1395

Robert
Fole, chaplain, sought, on two occasions, to recover the sum of 3s 4d, owed to
him for teaching the son of William Cupper for five terms. He may well have
been the successor to William de Adbolton. A few years later, in 1401, Fole
reappears in the borough  records, where he is referred to as a “master of the
grammar school of Nottingham”.

1423 - 1424

Robert
Goldsmyth, who was the “lately Usher of the Nottingham Grammar School”, was
fined two shillings for an unspecified offence.

Tuesday, January
26th 1430

George
Mortimer sued Thomas Ridley, “Clerk and Master of the School at Nottingham” for
the seven pence rent he owed for the use of a building called the “School
House”, and for four pence damages. Mortimer had repeatedly asked for the
money, but Ridley simply refused to pay. In court, Ridley denied the offence,
and said that he owed Mortimer nothing.

Monday, February
22nd 1430

Ridley
admitted that he owed Mortimer the money.

a few years
after 1430

On two
separate occasions, George Mortimer again sued Thomas Ridley, for small sums of
money owed to him as fees for tuition. It is thought that Mortimer may have
been the Master at the school before Ridley, who had been foolish enough to
rent his house to the latter for use as a school. The outcome of the case
remains unknown.

Certainly,
we know that Mortimer must have taught boys at some point, as he also sued
Robert Bennington for the six pence he owed for “schoolage” of his son.

Wednesday, February
29th 1432

Thomas
Ridley went on to rent a building called the “Manse”, from the St.John’s
Hospital, at a cost of 26s 8d for nine months, from Christmas 1429 to Holy
Cross Day or September 14th, 1430.

At the
end of this period, Ridley was then sued for his failure to pay the rent
properly, for breaking down the wall of the building, and for damaging it by
fire. Ridley lost his case, which was heard by a court in session during the
Fair of the Feast of St.Peter in Cathedra.

Tuesday, May
28th 1433

George
Mortimer sued John Crophill, skinner, of Nottingham, for school fees (scolagio)
of four pence, which should have been paid to him at Easter.

Monday or Wednesday,
February 19th in, most probably, 1472 or 1473

An
agreement was reached between Thomas Lacy, the Master at the grammar school in
Nottingham, and Sir William Cowper in the town of Wollaton. It was negotiated
by a neutral party, the chapter at Southwell Minster, and allowed Cowper to
teach twenty-six boys or youths the art of grammar.

1477

The
Southwell chapter summarily dismissed Lacy for neglect and absenteeism. Thomas
Blakebourne may have been the man who succeeded him.

Thursday, September
15th 1496

Thomas
Blakebourne, the Master at the grammar school, and who had a B.A. from
Cambridge University, sued Robert Oldham for the sixpence he was owed for
tiling the roof of the almshouse. He lost his case.

1503 - 1504

An
entry in the Borough Chamberlain’s records show that 6s 8d was paid to Richard
Pykkerd for “the Scolemester Dason”.

Sunday, June
16th 1507

On or
about this date, Richard Mellers died. He is thought to have originated either
at Mellor near Glossop in Derbyshire, where a family share the same coat of
arms, or perhaps at Leicester, which is where his brother, William, was a
famous bell founder. In the days when spelling was a little less precise,
William’s surname was always written as “Miller”, although in her will, Dame
Agnes herself spelt her name as “Mellers”.

Richard
Mellers had been, at one time or another, Sheriff of Nottingham (1472-1473),
Chamberlain (1484-1485), Royal Commissioner and Mayor of Nottingham (1499-1500
and again in 1506). In 1499, it is known that he had paid £20 to be Mayor of
the town for twelve months. In the same year, Mellers is known to have given
twenty shillings to help repair the Bridges of Hethbeth, as Trent Bridge’s
predecessor was called.

As well
as being a brazier, and probably a potter, dealing in metal pots and dishes, Mellers
also owned the largest bell-foundry in the region. The site of his premises has
long disappeared, but in fact, its exact location is still known today.

From 1888 onwards, just north of
the city centre, steps began to clear away a “curious V-shaped slice of slum
property” which “was a most unhygienic and immoral neighbourhood and nothing
good could be said for it”.

This clearance took a number of
years, and resulted in the formation of Queen Street, and King Street, the
latter being opened on June 22nd, 1892. During this time, it was inevitable
that, along with the slums and the undesirable features, other more interesting
premises were bound to disappear. Among these was Mellers’ Bell Foundry, which is
known to have stood more or less exactly on the site of the present day Queen
Street Post Office.

Richard Mellers was certainly an
unscrupulous businessman, and during his lifetime, he had cheated many
customers in his efforts to acquire great personal wealth. Shortly before his
death, for example, we know that he received a pardon for having offended
against the statutes of weights and measures. This pardon would only have been
granted because of his previous position as Mayor of Nottingham.

After his death, his widow, Dame
Agnes became a “vowess”, resolving never to remarry and instead to devote
herself to the service of the church. She tried to repay many of her husband’s
victims, and then decided to spend the rest of his
money on charitable causes. She decided to found a Free School, which would be
independent of both church and state. This would require the creation of a
corporation, and the permission of the king, Henry VIII. To get the necessary
licence, she turned for help to her old friend, Sir Thomas Lovell. He was a Knight
of the Garter and a Privy Councillor, and had been at various times, Chancellor
of the Exchequer, Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the King’s
Household, Constable of the Tower of London and Governor of Nottingham Castle.
As might be imagined, he quickly and easily received the King’s consent, and
Dame Agnes’ project went ahead.

Many
local worthies in the town were asked to make their own contribution to the
school, Dame Agnes having herself offered four pieces of land in St.Peter’s
Churchyard and one in Bridlesmithgate. Alderman Thomas Alestre, the mayor of
the town, gave three acres of land at Todeholes. This was at St.Ann’s Hill,
near Mapperley Road, an area which was, in actual fact, called Toadhole Hill as
recently as the last century.

William
Kirkby, a baker, gave two gardens near St.Nicholas’ church. The majority  of
the eighty subscribers, however, promised to pay a sum “by yere” for the rest
of their lives. The amounts varied from ten shillings from Master Richard
Taverner, to four pence from Henry Hopkyn, a local tanner, Robert Averell,
Rychard Dalderbery, Wylliam Edmondson and Thomas Hewet.

Sunday, May
5th 1512

A bill
in the handwriting of William Barwell, the Mayor’s clerk, is in existence for
repairing a children’s school. This may well have been a primary school which
sent pupils to the grammar school, or, equally, it may have been the original
grammar school, fallen on hard times. The school was in a “...cotage boght of
Thomas Shyrwod at Notyngham standyng in the Peperstrete at John’ Howes’ bak
yate”. This would have been to the east of St.Peter’s church.

The
repairs were carried out by Rychard Halom, and threepence was paid for “a loode
of clay to the tofalle (penthouse) that ye chyldern lerne inne.” The same
amount was paid for “a bonche of ston lattes”.

This is
the last of the eleven apparent references to the Nottingham Grammar School
between 1289 and 1513. At this point in time, it is impossible to tell what
connection, if any, there is, with Dame Agnes Mellers’ Free School, or even if
the schools mentioned have a continuous history.

On the
other hand, Dame Agnes may well have decided to develop an original grammar
school into her own Free School. This original school may have depended solely
on fees paid by the pupils, and Dame Agnes thought it would be a good idea to
establish a foundation, which would ensure a better financial future for the
school.

Given
that she was a vowess, she may well have wished to take control of an older
school, and then to bring it under the aegis of St.Mary’s church. It may even
be that, having used much of the money which her husband had left her to pay
back those whom he had cheated, she felt that one positive good that could come
out of the whole situation would be to offer financial help to an ancient
school that was clearly in need of assistance. We may well never know the true
answer.

It is
interesting to see, however, that in “The Nottinghamian” for 1924, there was a
clear connection in the writer’s mind between these older schools from before
1513 and the present Nottingham High School. Dr.Gow had died this year, and in
his obituary, it was said that “...he was appointed Headmaster of the
Nottingham High School, an ancient Grammar School, already existing in the
thirteenth century, and refounded and endowed by Dame Agnes Mellers, under a
Charter of King Henry VIII, in 1513.”

Again
in 1933, similar ideas were expressed by the Duke of Portland, when he came to
open a number of recently completed school buildings.

The
very same interpretation was obviously still current nearly thirty years later,
when the Headmaster, Mr.Reynolds, wrote his own brief history of “The Buildings
of Nottingham High School”. He described the events of 1513 as “...the
re-foundation or endowment of the School by Dame Agnes Mellers.”

If this
is the case, then it would give the High School a history of some seven hundred
years, making it one of the oldest schools in the country.

Friday, November
22nd 1512

The
Royal Seal was attached to a charter granting permission for the “foundation
and building of a certain school” for the “teaching of boys and their
instruction in good manners and letters.” At the very end of the lengthy
handwritten document comes the first mention of the High School’s present Latin
motto...“ Lauda Finem ”. Perhaps the poor scribe felt exactly the same way that
countless thousands of schoolboys have felt ever since that day...“ Praise the
Lord that it’s over ! ”

A
number of intriguingly ambiguous details occur around this time. One contemporary
document says that what Dame Agnes was doing was to “...unite, create and
establysche oon Free Scole”, as if there were some definite connection between
the present day High School and the Nottingham schools of previous centuries.
Similarly, she is referred to in a number of other early documents not as a
“foundress” but as a “fundress”, as if she were building and strengthening what
was already there.

Sunday, February
2nd 1513

The
school opened on this day, which was Candlemas, or the Feast of the Purification
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This
holy day, in its turn, was a direct descendant of the ancient Celtic festival
of Imbolc, when nature is first seen to stir, lambing begins, and St.Bridgit,
goddess of healing and poetry, is celebrated at her wells and springs.

The
very first classes were originally said to have been held in the nave, or
perhaps the north transept, of St.Mary’s church. The very first Master was
called John Smyth. He had previously been the “parson of “Bylboroo”, and it is
known that he taught a number of pupils at the parsonage in Bilborough during
this period. In 1505, for example, he had brought a civil action against Thomas
Samon in order to recover the tuition fees of a boy called Thomas a Pole, who
had been a boarder with him from May 19th - August 15th 1505. Unfortunately, he
failed, and did not get his money.

In the
leaves of the Court Book, Smith had described himself as “...Deyne of Notyngham
and parson off Bylbrough.” Smith died in the summer of, probably, 1538, but it
is not known whether he was still the Master of the Free School at this point.

The
first schoolwardens at the Free School were William English, Dame Agnes’
son-in-law, and the Mayor’s Clerk, William Barwell.

The
school taught good manners, grammar and literature, and every day the pupils
“...beginn theyre lernynge to saye with an hye voyce whole Credo in Deum patrem
etc.”

In all probability, the Free
School would have taught similar things to what is known to have been taught in
the recently founded St.Paul’s School (1509-1518). They would have included
“...good literature bothe Laten and Greeke, and good autors such as have the
verrye Romayne eloquence loyned with wisdom, specially Cristen autors, that
wrote their wisdome with clean and chaste Laten, other in verse or in
prose...to encrease knowledge and worshippinge of God and Our Lord Christ Jesu,
and good Christen life and maners in the Children”.

At
St.Paul’s School, hours were long. In the summer, the pupils studied from 6
a.m. to 8 a.m., and then from 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. In the afternoon, they
worked from 1.p.m. to 3.30 p.m., and then from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In winter, it
was 7 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., and then from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

probably
April, perhaps early May, 1514

Dame
Agnes died, and was buried alongside her husband in St.Mary’s Church. She left
much of her property to the school.

Friday, July
21st 1522

An
entry in the Borough Records tells how... “...We of the Constabulles Quest
present : Item we preysent ye Skolmester for castyng forthe they molle (dirt)
off his sckolhows in ye Kynges hywey.”

1522 ?

There
is some evidence that in this year, the Free School occupied its own premises.

around
1530-1570 ?

Within
a few years of Dame Agnes’ death, her high standards of morality were more or
less forgotten. Money went missing and both Masters and wardens neglected their
duties. A number of Masters appeared in court on various charges which varied
from failing to maintain the church windows to the theft of pupils’ books.

January,
perhaps, in 1532

The Master
of the school, George Somers, was accused of detaining “a fetherbedd a bolster
& ij pyllous a Coveryng grene & Redd a Coverlett a payre of Flaxen
Shetes”. to the value of 46s 8d. He also owed twelve pence for the hire of the
same bed.

Friday, July 15th
1532

In a
much more dramatic episode, George Somers, was now accused of murder. The
Records tell how...“...We indyte the Skolle maystar of welfull murdar.”

The
incident took place on June 17th, and Somers had supposedly assaulted John
Langton, Chaplain of Nottingham, “by violence and weapons, namely a stick and
daggers, of malice aforethought”, and had then “...feloniously killed and
wilfully murdered the same John, against the peace of our Lord the King.”

The
outcome of these events remains unknown, although it is reasonable to presume
that he may well not have kept his post as Master of the school.

1548

This
year gives the first definite proof that there was an actual schoolhouse,
separate from St.Mary’s Church.

King
Edward VI’s commissioners, inquiring into the wealth and duties of the
country’s chantries, found that, in Nottingham, the Guild of the Holy Trinity
had been paying an annual sum of eight shillings towards the upkeep of the Free
School, which was known to have had a garden attached.

When
the royal commissioners dissolved the chantry, the school was given the house
“...called the Frescole...or the Scholehouse...without anything paying for the
same.” They received the garden as well.

1550

This is
another year which is sometimes quoted as the date when the Commissioners of
Edward VI gave the house owned by the Guild of the Holy Trinity to the Free
School. It may well be that this building was in Stoney Street, but there is,
in actual fact, no definitive proof that this was the case.

The
only evidence, therefore, remains circumstantial, namely that among the
Guild’s many possessions were a number of bequests from a wealthy merchant,
Thomas Thurland. He is known to have included among these gifts “two messuages
and one garden” in Stoney Street.

Monday, April
27th 1553

It is
not known for certain who the Master was at this point, although it was
probably either Robert Calton, George Somers or Henry Cockrame. In any case, he
was not seen in a particularly good light...“...We presente the Skolle Mastar
that shoulde teche the Frescolle, for there hath bene dyvers men afore hus and
hath complenyd of hym : where fore we desyer you to have hym changed.”

The
same jury also fined the Mayor and Aldermen 6s 8d each, for “...amyttyng
Maister Quarmbie to be one of the Wardyns of the Fre Scholle, contrary the
foundacyon.”

Humphrey
Quarmbie was thought to have been a bell-founder, and, as a relation of Dame
Agnes Mellers by marriage, to have had ideas of acquiring the Free School’s
property for his own use.

Sunday, October
11th 1553

A
confirmation of the original licence issued to the school by Henry VIII was
granted by Queen Mary and King Phillip, “King and Queen of England, France,
Naples, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and
Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of
Hapsburg, Flanders and Tyrol.”

Monday, September
2nd 1557

John
Roo, “clerk and person of Wollerton ” left the school forty shillings to repair
the desks.

Monday, September
29th 1558

Alderman
John Heskey left to the school his tithes of Hay “rising, renueing, coming and
growing within the meadowes and fields of the towne of Nottingham”. They had
previously belonged to Lenton Priory, and then to Henry VIII, and were one of
the greatest gifts the school ever received, comprising some 1,265 acres. They
formed a significant proportion of its revenues for the next three centuries.
He also left. “towards the augmentation of the salary of the Schoolmasters of
the Freeschool for ever, a messuage on Swine-Green (Carlton Street).”

Friday, March
22nd 1563 or, less likely, Sunday, March 22nd 1564

Henry
Cockrame, “schoolmaster of the Grammar School of the town of Nottingham”, was
summoned by the Archbishop of York to prove his qualifications to be a
schoolmaster. He did not ever answer the summons, for whatever reason, and was
excommunicated. In actual fact, Cockrame is believed to have had a degree in
Canon Law from Oxford University.

1564 - 1576 ?

Brian
Garnett is thought to have been the Master of the school at some point during
these years. It is considered most probable that he took up the post between
1564-1567, and then retired in either 1575 or 1576 . He may then have lived in
Beeston, but was certainly buried in Heanor on December 21st 1576, “Late
Skoolemaster of Nottingham”.

His
son, Henry Garnet was to become eventually the Superior of the Jesuits in
England, and an active member of the Gunpowder Plot. He was executed for
treason on May 3rd 1606.

It is
not known for certain whether he was ever a pupil at the Free School, but it is
probable that he was associated with it in some capacity during his father’s
tenure of the position of Master.

Indeed,
at least one source says that young Henry came to the school during Henry
Cockrame’s time as schoolmaster, possibly a year or so before the latter left,
and was replaced by Brian Garnett of Heanor in 1565. Henry is supposed to have
studied for two years under his father, Brian, before leaving for Winchester
School in, perhaps, 1567. He had been taught well in Nottingham, and proved to
be an able student at Winchester. He left that school in 1570, travelling
shortly afterwards to Rome to study for the priesthood with the Jesuits.

If this
version of events is true, then Henry Garnet would remain probably the only old
boy ever to have been convicted as a terrorist, and, indeed, one of the very
few ever to have been hanged, drawn and quartered, and then to have had his
head placed on a pole on London Bridge.

To this
can be added, of course, the widely held belief that Garnet’s head did not
suffer any signs of decay or change, and that a miraculous portrait of him
appeared on an ear of corn onto which drops of his blood had fallen at the time
of his execution. This particular ear of corn was later credited with a number
of miracles. The Catholic Church has created saints on far flimsier evidence
than this, and Henry Garnet may yet become, one day, the only Old Nottinghamian
to be canonised.

circa 1570

Before
this date, the most important school subjects had been Latin grammar,
literature, and other subjects which could be studied orally by rote, just as
easily as from a written text.

Around
this time, however, the increasing availability of printed books began to put
an end to this almost exclusively oral method of teaching, and both reading and
writing began to take on a new importance.

Indeed,
by the end of the century, the school was bringing in a writing Master from
time to time to teach the new skills. Even so, boys were expected to learn
writing privately, and most of them would have gone either to a separate
writing school, or to a scrivener.

Reading
was in actual fact rather neglected in grammar schools for the next couple of
centuries. Again, the normal practice was for boys to go to a special “petty”
or elementary school to learn to read, although once they moved up to a grammar
school, they ran a very real risk of forgetting how to read in English, as
opposed to Latin.

Simple
arithmetic was almost completely unknown. Even at Cambridge University, many
scholars were unable to “tell...the numbers of pages, sections, chapters or
other divisions in their books.”

1575 or 1576 -
1584

The
master at this time was called John Depupp, the son of an “innholder” from
London, although he was educated at Cambridge University. When he was a Fellow
at Caius College, he was accused of being a “a man notoriously vicious and
suspected to be popish”, and only lasted eighteen months in the post. At the
Free School, he seems to have been a good teacher, and in the year 1576-1577,
earned £13 6s 8d. He died on January 4th 1603.

1578 - 1579

A house
was built for the schoolmaster. It cost £9 4s 0d for the timber frame, £3 14s
8d for the foundations and chimney, and three labourers were paid 1s 6d for
“helpyng to reyre” the frame. Some 3s 3d was paid out for five doors and a
penthouse, and further monies were spent on timber, its transportation and
labour costs at ten pence per man per day.

In
addition, “Frybus and his man” were paid 1s 4d per day for burning plaster,
thereby earning a total of 6s 8d.

Sunday, October
28th 1579

The
Borough Records tell how... “...We present to have an hussher for the Free
Skoole, a thing very neydfull for this towne ; and to geve him x.li. a yeare to
have a goode won ; hitt will be a credett to have a good maister and a good
hussher in one skoole.”

Judging
by the archaic spelling, it may well be that one of the Usher’s main jobs was
to keep the boys quiet.

The
first Usher was called Richard Slacke, and his name actually appears in the
Accounts for 1577-1578. He was paid £2 10s 0d per annum, at a time when the
master was paid £13 6s 8d or twenty marks.

1582 - 1644

For
over sixty years, rent of two shillings was paid to the Borough Chamberlains
for rent for the “newly built house adjoining the said School.”

Sunday, October
11th 1587

In the
Borough Records, mention is made of either Robert Ableson or, more probably,
Christopher Heylowe... “...we present the Skole Mayster becausse ther hathe
bene just provfe that he hathe abussed his skollers with suche unressonable
correction that few skollers will tarry with hime. ”

Friday, April
22nd 1588

The
school building itself was “greatly annoyede for lack of casmentes” and
desperately in need of “repracions”.

On the
same day, mention was made that the school might be in need of “...much more
dellygence is vsed then hath benne latlye hertofore, and partlye by a carfulle
Ousher well lerned and brought vp in teachinge : we dooe alle most willingly
request you that, wheras he hath in wadges for the whole yeare vj. li. xiijs.
iiijd., that it may be mad viij.li.”

1588 to
February 1591-1592

Christopher
Heylowe, a Master of Arts from St.John’s College, Cambridge, had given great
satisfaction as the Master of the school until either 1591 or 1592, when he was
accused of stealing the boys’ books. The records of Heylowe’s trial are still
extant, and he defended himself vigourously... “...Christofer Heyloe, examyned,
sayth he stole no bookes of enye his skolers and he saythe he had Tullyez
“Orations” aboute Michaelmas laste of Humfrey Quermbyez in thys sorte : when he
redde a lecture theron in the shoole, he toke hyt into hys chamber, and
broughte into ye schoole agayne : and he gave to Maister Greyez sonne an other
Terens in eschange for hys ; the Ovidez “Metamorphosocez” he sayth he boughte
hyt of the stacyoner aboute a yere agone.”

Eventually,
the charges appear to have been dropped, but Heylowe was sacked, and given ten
pounds in lieu of proper notice. The Chamberlain also paid Heylowe 40 s 0d for
some “implements”, which was probably some apparatus that Heylowe had bought
with his own money for use in the school, and was now being kept for his
successor .

Humfrey
Quermbyez is thought to have been the great-grandson of Dame Agnes Mellers.

Tuesday, May
11th 1593

Heylowe
was again in trouble. This time he was charged with “slarndring our towne with
the sicknes which will be to our dekaye.” He thus became the only headmaster
ever to be accused of being a bubonic plague carrier, but, fortunately for him,
perhaps, he was found not guilty, as plague was already in the town.

In
1582, ten pence had been “gyven to a pore man that was suspected to have the
Plague to avoyd the towne.”

Tuesday, September
7th 1593

Mr.Lowe,
who seems to have succeeded Christopher Heylowe, received his first full year’s
salary. It was £13 6s 8d.

Tuesday, March
8th 1594

The
school was granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth I so that it could acquire
property of a value of some forty marks (£26 13s 4d).

Sunday, April
23rd 1595

Christopher
Heylowe seems to have moved on to Sneinton. The Minutes of the Common Council
record how...“...Maister Heylowe shal be tenante of the Freschole Hous in
Snenton, paying by yere xiijs. iiijd. at Michel and th’annunc duryng al suche
tyme as he dothe seruyce at Sainte Maryez Churche.”

1596-1597

During
this year, a considerable sum of money was spent on remedying the shortcomings
to which attention had first been drawn on April 22nd 1588. At this time, there
were two classrooms in the building, one for the Master, and one for the Usher.

Friday, December
20th 1596

Samwell
Browen was paid four pence for “caringe of tymber” for work at the Free School.
In addition, Maister Jowette was paid fifteen pounds for the “Freescoole
byldyng”.

the late 1500s

By now
the Free School was quite rich, but still little of its annual income reached
its intended destination. Councillors, wardens and Masters regularly embezzled
school funds, and many of them had actually involved themselves in the Free
School merely as a means of making easy money.

1602

The
headmaster, John Lowe was found guilty in court of failing to ensure that
“Maister Powdrell and Maister Grene attended church.” He was not punished,
however, since the parents of the two boys were either Roman Catholics or
Puritans, and had refused to let their sons attend Church of England services.

Lowe
lost some of his salary, however, on a later occasion, when, because of his
“declyninge sufficiency”, his wages were reduced from an annual twenty pounds
to eighteen pounds, the balance being given to Gervase Hall, the Usher, or
Second Master.

Sunday, September
15th 1602

It is
clear from a document which required a signature that one of the Schoolwardens,
Richard Welche could not write his own name, but, instead, made a curious mark,
like a cross with a capital letter R attached to it. By 1605, when he became
Mayor of Nottingham, he had learned to write his own name properly.

Sunday, January
25th 1604

More
than once around the turn of this century, the Free School had to be closed
because of outbreaks of plague. On this occasion, it is recorded that “...Ytt
ys agreed, that Maister Braithwayte, the Usher, shall teach att some place
within a myle or 2 of the towne, yf parents will board theyr children att such
a place.”

Elsewhere
in the county, eighty-three people perished in the small village of Colston
Bassett between July-September 1604. As was the normal practice at the time,
those suspected of having the plague were sent to live in special cabins at
Gorsey Close on Mapperley Plains. They were eventually to be demolished in June
1624.

Plague
broke out again in 1609, and the town set a special watch “...to looke to the
passengers that shall come from any visited place, and to look to the takinge
vpp of forayne wnderinge people etc”.

Friday, April
8th 1605

The
Council minutes record that “...Ytt ys agreed that the Schooll shall be begyn
agayne, by the favour of God, this day senight.”

Tuesday, June
14th 1605

For the
first time ever, the school’s annual income was more than fifty pounds.

Tuesday, April
3rd 1607- April 1616

The new
master, Thomas Soresbie, was a local man, probably from Holme Pierrepont. He
had a Master of Arts degree from Queen’s College, Oxford, and seems to have been
very successful in his job. He remains one of the few masters to have died in
office.

The
local mood at the time must have been particularly Puritan, since Soresbie had
to promise that “the children be restrayned from so oft playinge as heretofore
they haue vsed, and herein Maister Soresbye is required to take a speciall care
that they play not, in any case, vpon any Monday, Wednesday, or Fryday.”

Around
this time, as well as the master and the Usher, a third member of staff,
Mr.Allen, also used to visit the school, to teach singing and writing. Allen
had his own writing school elsewhere in the parish of St.Mary, and did not
teach in the Free School itself, which had only two rooms, but in the “parlor”.
This latter room was most probably in the master’s house.

It is
thought that some of Allen’s singing pupils would have been members of the
choir at St.Mary’s.

Friday, October
8th 1610

Anne,
daughter of Thomas Soresbie, was baptised at St.Mary’s Church

Sunday, June
19th 1611

The
Borough Records state that “ ...the company is contented, vpon Maister
Soresbies good desert and vpon his humble mocion, to build him a little
brewhowse for his necessary vse ; and accordingly Maister Hurtt, Maister
Freeman, Maister Stables, Alderman, the Schollwardens, and others are gone to
view ytt.”

In
addition, “Maister John Freeman hath gyven leave that the children haue liberty
to make theyre campo (or playground) in his close at Hollowston neere to the
churche.”

1611 - 1612

There
was a severe “visitation” of plague throughout much of the country and county.
At Loughborough, over five hundred people died. The school was closed at least
twice during this period.

Friday, July
29th 1611

After
the plague, “...The Schooll to be sett a foot agayne, and to be kept pro
tempore in the Chauncell of Saint Maries whervnto Maister Aldridge, the Vicar,
hath assented.”

1613

This
year gives the first mention that the “Frescole” was in Stoney Street, when it
was recorded that the street needed paving from “Saint Maries Church stylle to
wardes the Free Scolle.”

Sunday, March
11th 1615

Despite
his apparent success, Thomas Soresbie was presumably about to leave his post as
Master of the Free School, since we know that “Mestris Soresby, beinge talked
withall by vs att the Schooll, ys contented and hath promysed to departe att
Bartholomew-tyde next.” Unfortunately Soresbie passed on before he could
relinquish his post and was buried at St.Mary’s church.

Sunday, May
29th 1616 – Saturday, April 29th 1628

Robert
Theobald, the new master, was “...an excellent scholar”, and brought a
“commendacion from Maister Doctor Richardson and 8 or 9 of the Fellowes of
Trinity Colledge in Cambridge, to preferr him to be Schoolmaister”. He was
given a salary of twenty marks per annum, a modern total of some £13 6s 8d.

Not too
long afterwards, however, Mrs.Lucy Hutchinson was to portray him as “...an
excellent scholar, but having no children, some wealth, and a little living
that kept his house, he first grew lazy, and after, left off his school.”

Another
former pupil was to recall how he was...“...a person once of great learning,
but afterwards becoming a cynic.”

June 1619

A
bizarre entry in the Chamberlain’s accounts records “...Item for charges
bestowed on a scholler that was franticke  ijs.  xd.”

Thursday, January
19th 1623

Theobald’s
apathy spread to the Usher and the schoolwardens, and the latter appeared in
court for “nott kepinge a sufficientt vssher in the Free Scoole.” They were
fined 3s 4d each.

Wednesday, January
17th 1624

Things
did not seem to improve, and Theobald was fined another 3s 4d “for his
necligence in teachinge and not following his scollers as the place
deservethe.”

William
Burrows, the Usher, was fined “for his insuficientie”, and requests were made
that “thear may be another placed in his rome”.

Both
men, of course, kept their jobs, Theobald until his resignation in 1628, and
Burrows until his death in 1630.

Friday, April
28th 1628

Thomas
Leake was appointed as headmaster, thereby inaugurating a period of great
prosperity and success for the school, which lasted for at least sixty years.

Most of
Leake’s pupils were the sons of local merchants, craftsmen and farmers. Some of
thier names which have survived were Bateman, Beardsley, Truman and Willoughby.

January 1634

One of
the schoolwardens stole the school funds, and Thomas Leake and his usher,
Samuel Lightefoote, were forced to accept only £5 11s 3d as their wages, rather
than the forty pounds due to them. The following year, Leake asked the Council
for the outstanding money, and they generously agreed to pay it back at £3 6s
8d per year.

Monday, August
4th 1634

On this
day, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta visited Nottingham, on thir way back
from Scotland to London. The Free School’s Usher, Samuel Lightefoote was chosen
to make a speech of welcome, and for this, he was given “a sute, hatt,
stockings, garters, showes and other Accooterments” to a total value of £8 6s
0d. It was on this occasion that the Mayor and Council made a resolution to
wear red gowns every November 5th “for ever”, to mark the king’s “deliuerance
from the powder-treason”. Anyone failing to do so was to forfeit a shilling. It
would be interesting to know whether this bye-law has ever been repealed.

Friday, September
19th 1636

Samuel
Lightefoote was to be asked to resign for “his neglecte in his place in
teachinge the Schollers Vnder his tuition”.

He was
given the bad news by a deputation of councillors which in all probability
included William Hopkyn, one of the schoolwardens. In 1636-1637, he himself was
to be found guilty of embezzling the school funds.

1641

This
year is the first mention of the fact that the Free School stood at the corner
of Stoney Street and Barkergate. Mr.Francis Pierrepont, or “Collonell the Right
Honourable Francis Pierepont”, was having a large residence built next to the
site, and wanted certain windows of the school building “stopped up”.
Pierrepont’s mansion was eventually to be the second largest in Nottingham,
with forty-seven rooms containing fireplaces.

1647

Leake’s
carriage ran over and killed Bevill Verye. The object which caused the death,
namely the carriage, was then declared, according to ancient law, a “deodand”,
and sold. It produced £5, which was divided up, with Verye’s widow receiving £1
10s 0d, the sheriff getting one pound, the town ten shillings, and Leake
himself two pounds.

Saturday, January
30th 1649

On this
date, King Charles I was executed in London. One of those who had sat in
judgement on him was a member of the Long Parliament, Colonel John Hutchinson.
Along with Oliver Cromwell, and just under thirty others, Hutchinson had then
gone on to sign the warrant for the king’s execution. When King Charles II
returned in 1660, the future looked bleak for all those who had signed the
death warrant, and, indeed, Hutchinson was imprisoned for some time in the
Tower of London, awaiting execution. The influence of his friends led to his
release, however, and he was eventually to die at Sandown Castle, in Kent,
imprisoned there for his refusal to renounce his republican ideals.

On the
other hand, Hutchinson can hardly have been the typical Puritan. It is known,
for example, that he had long hair and a love of art, and he seems not to have
been particularly in favour of the religious intolerance practised by Cromwell
and his followers.

As
boys, both John Hutchinson, and his brother, George, had been scholars at the
Free School, during the period of decay under Robert Theobald and William
Burrows.

Indeed, the boys were so neglected
that their angry father, Sir Thomas Hutchinson, of Owthorpe, had them sent as
boarders to Lincoln, where, unfortunately, they encountered a “cruel and
supercilious pedant”.

When
Robert Theobald left the Free School in 1628, the two boys returned to the Free
School, where Thomas Leake was now the Headmaster. Leake was “a very honest
man, who, using him with respect, advanced him more in one month than the other
did in a year ”, according to John Hutchinson’s mother, Lucy.

As far
as can be traced, John Hutchinson remains the only Old Boy ever to participate
in regicide.

Monday,
December 13th 1649

The
Council Minutes record that ...“Vsher - It is agreed 5 marckes per annum to bee
added to the vshers fee, yf he be approued on ; so in all xx marckes per
annum.”

Friday, November
16th 1657

After
the death of Thomas Leake in October, “Maister Henrie Pitts” became the new
master. His annual salary was initially forty pounds, but could be raised to
“fiftye pownds”, “as by this Companie shall be thoughte fittinge, accordinge to
his diligence and paines in the same place.”

In
addition, he had to agree to a number of conditions. One was that he was not to
hire himself out as a preacher, “nor to tke vpon him anie pastorall Chardge”.
He was “notte to graunte or allowe anie play-days aboue one in everie Moneth,
besides holly-daies and such vsuall tymes.”

Most of
all, he could only have “twoe potacions yearely, and noe more. And nott to take
aboue xijd. a piece of anie of the Townes Children for those potacions.”

“potacions” were drinking parties,
where the masters charged each pupil a small sum to attend. The money collected
in this way could be used to pay for the alcohol consumed, and, if there was to
be any cock-fighting, then it was used to buy suitable birds. Any cash left
over could be kept by the masters, or, as often happened, passed on to the less
well paid individuals on the school payroll.

In
actual fact, Dame Agnes Mellers had already limited potacions to twice a
year...“I will also ordeyne establisshe & straytlye enioyne that the
Schole-maister & vsshers nor any of them haue make or use any potacions
cockfightes or drinking with his or her wife or wiffes hoost or hoostices but
only twice in the yeare.”

1658-1659

The school accounts record how the
Council “to relieve divers poore Burgesses and Widdowes” deprived the Master of
£12 10s of his salary. The Usher lost six pounds.

1659-1660

According
to Lucy Hutchinson, “the town of Nottingham...began to grow mad, and to declare
themselves so, in their desires of the King. The boys, set on by their fathers
and masters, got drums and colours, and marched up and down the town, and
trained themselves in a military posture, and offered many affronts to the
soldiers of the army that were quartered there...which were two troops of
Colonel Hacker’s regiment…. ......insomuch that one night there were about
forty of the soldiers hurt and wounded with stones, upon the occasion of taking
away the drums when the youths were gathering together to make bonfires to burn
the Rump, as was the custom in those mad days. The soldiers, provoked to rage,
shot again, and killed in the scuffle two presbyterians and an old professor ;
and one that had been a great zealot for the cause, and master of the magazine
at Nottingham Castle. He was only standing at his own door, and whether shot by
chance or purpose, or by whom, it is not certain ; but true it is, that at that
time the presbyterians were more inveterately bitter against the fanatics than
even the cavaliers themselves, and they set on these boys. But upon the killing
of this man they were enraged, and prayed very seditiously in their pulpits,
and began openly to desire the King ; not for good will to him, but only for
destruction to all the fanatics.”

It is
rather difficult to believe that no Free School boys were involved in any of
this taunting of soldiers, beating their drums and throwing hails of stones.

The man
killed at his own door was called Richard Hawkins. Colonel Hacker, who came
from East Bridgford, had commanded the soldiers who were on duty when Charles I
was executed.

the 1660s

Even
some hundred and fifty years after the foundation of the school, the students
still began and ended every single day with a religious service. Each Sunday,
the master would take them to church, and in the period of Lent, they would go
every Friday to St.Mary’s church, kneel in front of the tombs of Richard and
Agnes Mellers, and say prayers for their souls, and all their relatives.

1672-1687

Jeremiah
Cudworth was the headmaster of the Free School. We actually have a number of
memoirs about the school during this period. They were written in 1714 by
William Bilby, who was born in Marygate and probably used the churchyard of
St.Mary’s as a short cut on his way to school. On one occasion, a schoolboy
pushed him over in the churchyard, and he fell on his chest on top of his
books. He was slightly injured...”the inward bruising...was soon removed and
cured by the favour of God, and such means as my mother used.” He spent much
time angling, and was very attracted by “musick and Amourous songs which made
great impressions on my unrenewed soul”.

Overall,
William confessed that “...I was excessive fond of Recreations and and very
vigourous in the pursuit of them.”

Despite
this, Bilby is known to have studied Latin, Greek and Logic with the
headmaster, Jeremiah Cudworth. At the time, Latin was seen as a means of
teaching not just a language, and a means of communication, but also morals and
manners, as well as the literature, history and philosophy of the past.

1677

The
Council and Schoolwardens made an examination of the school “in order to ye
pulling down the west end”. This refers to the frontage, which faced onto
Stoney Street.

1677

Dr.Thoroton
wrote how “The Free Schoole flourisheth under Mr.Cudworth’s care.”

1687

An
inventory was made of the contents of the master’s house. The kitchen had a
range and a dresser, seven shelves and two “window shutts”. The inner and
outward butteries had dressers, shelves, and a frame “to put trenchers in”.

In the
lowest chamber were iron bars for a fire place, and in the closet, twelve
shelves. Another chamber had iron bars for a fireplace, and a lock and key for
the door. The garrat chamber also had iron bars for a fire place.

There
was both a “better” and a “lesser” dining room. The former had the iron bars for
a fire place, and the latter had, in addition, a kind of press with a lock and
key on it and two little shelves. Over the dining rooms, the two chambers had
bars set in brick to form a hearth.  The best chamber contained furniture which
all belonged to the master.

On the
ground floor, there was a dairy with a shelf, a brew house, with a ladder which
led to the chamber above it, a well with a bucket, chain and rope, and a cellar
with three thralls.

Overall,
there was a grand total of eight fireplaces. By the standards of the time,
therefore, the building was a substantial one.

1688 - 1689

The
rebuilding of the west front of the school was completed at a total cost of
some £63 5s 9d. A plaque was placed on the wall to commemorate the repairs...

“This
School, founded in the reign of Henry 8th by Agnes Mellers, and by Injury

of Time
much decay’d, was repaired Ann : Dom : 1689.  George Langford, Major. John
Aste, James Huthwaite, Schoolwardens.”

Tuesday, December
2nd 1687

Gowen
Knight became the Master of the Free School, succeeding Jeremiah Cudworth. The
fact that his father-in-law was councillor John Malin can hardly have hindered
his cause, and another hint of favouritism lies in the fact that he succeeded
to the post at the age of more than fifty. By the standards of the day, he was
an extremely old man, and may well have been appointed through nepotism rather
than any obvious talents and energies.

Knight
was already the vicar at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and soon became vicar of Ponteland
in Northumberland, Thrumpton in Nottinghamshire and Langford in Derbyshire. His
Usher was Samuel Byrch, the vicar of Basford, and between them, the two men
appear to have been so busy that they had little, if any, time to deal with the
school.

The  Council therefore, attempted
to dismiss them, but after much complicated manoeuvring, Knight died on
September 9th 1691, and was buried in St.Mary’s Church, but Byrch, typically,
managed to keep his job for another seventeen years.

Sunday, August
18th 1697

Edward
Griffith, the Master who had succeeded Knight in 1691, was summonsed by the Council
“for neglecting the schoole, whereby the schoole is much decayed in itts
reputacion.” Griffith promised not to preach, or accept a parish and asked that
his methods of teaching be inspected by the clergy of three different parishes.
Despite this, in 1698, Griffith became curate of Stapleford.

Friday, December
19th 1698

The
Council again told Edward Griffith to leave, alleging that “...he haueing verry
much Neglected his duty therein, whereby the said Freeschoole is verry much
decayed and lessened, to the greate prejudice and damage of the said Towne in
perticuler, and to the Inhabitants of this towne in generall, they beeinge
necessitated to send their Children to other Schooles in the Countryes for
their Education, to their greate charge and expence. And that the Schoole
Wardens doe giue him a discharge, which they haue done accordingly. And if he
shall refuse to leave the said Freeschoole by Laydy day next, that they shall
withdrawe his Sallary.”

Griffith
made no reply whatsoever to this decision.

May 1699

The
Council issued a second decree that Griffith should quit his post. He took
absolutely no notice of it, however.

Saturday, January
23rd 1700

It was
agreed that Griffith should keep his job and salary until further notice.

June 1705

Griffith
was again told to leave, and that his salary would henceforth not be paid.

Friday, January
22nd 1706

The
Council told Griffith that he was “ discharged from being Schoolmaster any longer
”, an order which, not surprisingly perhaps, he ignored, although he did make a
promise to depart in the very near future.

Friday, June
26th 1705

It was
decided that “...the Schoolwardens for the time to come do not pay or allow the
said Mr.Griffith the Head-schoolmaster any Sallary till further notice.”

Saturday, March
27th 1706

The
schoolwardens were told to raise the £85 of Griffith’s wages which had not been
paid to him over the past two years. Once he had been given this cash
settlement, Griffith had promised to leave.

Friday, March
25th 1707

Griffith
at long last departed, only ten years after being told to do so.

1707

The new
Master, Richard Johnson, seems to have been, for the first five years or so of
his reign, a vast improvement on his two predecessors. Johnson was the author
of two volumes of an ambitious Latin Grammar, and a long Latin poem describing
a horse race on the Forest, which was then called “The Lings”.

Meetings
took place in July of every year, and attracted prominent people from miles
around. In 1708, the race was won by the Earl of Cardigan on his horse,
Carlessus. Johnson’s poem mentions the Duke of Rutland, Sir Thomas Willoughby
of Wollaton Hall and Sir Thomas Parkyns of Bunny. It refers specifically to the
fact that, because of the recent outbreak of smallpox in the town,
comparatively few women were present...

“Now, to enhance the glories of the race,

See, many lovley women bring their grace.

Yet others, eager for the festive day,

With tearful prudence choose to stop away,

Lest swift and dreaded pestilence arise,

And desecrate that loveliness they prize.”

1708

Further
extensive repairs were made to the school building. Previously, in 1688, the Council
had refused to pay for any building work to be done to the Master’s house, and,
indeed, on this occasion, after their experiences with Gowen Knight and Edward
Griffith, they had made the same resolution. The newly appointed Richard
Johnson, however, gave so many promises about how well he would perform that it
was decided to improve his living quarters and to build extra classrooms for
the new pupils who were sure to be attracted by the excellence of the new
Master. Plans were already afoot to appoint two more members of staff, namely a
second Usher and a visiting writing Master, giving an overall staff of four. A
second plaque was placed on the restored building...

“This
rear portion of the Grammar School House, Which, being very old, had fallen
into decay, And almost collapsed, has been restored And enlarged by the addition
of an upper corridor Of class-rooms, with money supplied from the Town’s
coffers. William Drury, Gentleman, Mayor ;  Matthew Hoyland and Francis Smith,
Schoolwardens ;  Richard Johnson, Headmaster, 1708.”

June 1718

Very
little is known about what happened in the school in the years after 1711, but
the Council now sought to remove Johnson.

They
alleged that “...for all or most of the time he hath been Master...he very much
omitted and neglected to teach and instruct the Sons of the Burgesses of the
said Town of Nottingham.” Furthermore, “for the space of three Months and
upward, he hath been and is now Delirious and Non Compos Mentis Whereby he is
incapable of performing and executing the Office and Duty of the Master of the
said Free-School.”. Only one councillor, Mat Hoyland, was listed as disagreeing
with this version of events.

In
recent years, much of Johnson’s mental energy had certainly been expended on a
prolonged and bitter academic quarrel with Richard Bentley, who had recently
brought out his own savagely amended version of Horace’s odes ,with which
Johnson passionately disagreed. The latter had also been forced, for this
reason, to postpone his plans for a new Latin grammar. Certainly, Johnson had
fallen ill in 1714, and wrote that “I suffered such pains in my limbs that for
a whole year I could not sleep without the aid of opium.”

Other
analysts, however, have pointed out that Johnson’s apparent problems with the
Council members seem to have begun not long after the Old Pretender’s rebellion
in 1715. Nottingham at this time was, for the most part, a Whig town, and it is
not inconceivable that Johnson may have been a Jacobite. Certainly, many other
schoolmasters throughout England lost their jobs around this time for their
pro-Jacobite sympathies.

When
the Council tried to throw him out, however, like some of his predecessors,
Johnson just refused point blank to go. On August 11th 1718, the Council went
as far as to appoint William Smeaton to Johnson’s position, but Johnson still
refused physically to leave either the school, or his house, something, of
course, which went with the job.

Smeaton
thereupon resigned, and left the town. The Council next appointed a local man,
William Saunders, as headmaster, but at a salary of only twenty marks instead
of £50. An “action for ejectment” was taken out against Johnson, but in court
he seems to have conducted his defence with great skill, and is known to have
won his case.

Johnson
explained to the court how unreasonable it was to leave a man of his advanced
age penniless in the world, and asked that he be given a testimonial, so that
at the very least he could go elsewhere and earn an honest living.

At one
point, Councillor Abney, knowing of Johnson’s previous mental frailty, accused
him “...that has happened to you, which Felix imputed to St.Paul ; much
learning hath made thee mad.” Johnson replied to the Councillor that “...the
gentleman who made this remark would never be mad from the same cause.”

By now,
though, the school had only five pupils, with the Usher, George Bettinson,
teaching two, and Johnson doing the lion’s share of the work with the other
three. By this time, the Council was again repeating its charge that Johnson
had been delirious for the last eighteen months.

Finally,
a petition was drawn up by the council, listing Johnson’s many faults. He was
asked to appear before the Council on November 19th 1719 to answer the charges,
before the petition was sent to the Archbishop of York. Johnson is known to
have been prepared to answer the charges, but, obviously, he could see which
way the wind was blowing. It was therefore decided that a compromise could be
reached. Johnson would leave his position, and the school, and his house,
before the following Lady Day, or forfeit two hundred pounds. In return, he
would be paid a pension for life.

William
Saunders was now told to leave, and Thomas Miles made headmaster at a reduced
salary of forty pounds, which would increase to fifty pounds on Johnson’s
death. Presumably, his pension therefore, had been fixed at ten pounds per
annum.

Miles,
however, did not ever take up the post. Perhaps he feared working in an
atmosphere of what was obviously considerable confusion, and in any case,
numbers were still exceedingly low. His replacement was John Womack, a Bachelor
of Arts from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The latter did not hold the
poisoned chalice for long, and died in April 1722. By now, the school had had
five headmasters in little over two years.

Johnson
himself fared little better...“...some time afterwards, in a fit of
despondency, he drowned himself in a small stream, which runs through
Nottingham meadows...the Reverend Timothy Wylde...has heard...Mr.Chapel...speak
of the extreme horror with which he was impressed, on meeting one evening, as
he was walking in the meadows, a venerable grey-haired man, carried on a bier.
It was Johnson. He appeared to have been sitting on the bank of the rivulet,
and was found in shallow water with his head downward.”

The
incident was even reported in London newspapers...“...They write from
Nottingham that some days since, the Rev Mr. Richard Johnson, lately Master of
the Free School there, being a little Melancholly, took a walk into the
Meadows, and drowned himself in a Pit near the Old Trent.”

Despite
his apparent suicide, Johnson was eventually to be buried in consecrated
ground. It may be that he was given the benefit of the doubt, and his death was
considered an unfortunate accident. He may have had some kind of seizure or
fit. Equally, if it were suicide, then it may have been decided that he was
insane at the time he committed the act.

Whatever
the reason, this era marks probably the lowest level to which the school had
ever sunk. For years afterwards, wary of appointing another highly qualified
and learned man who would turn out to be another Johnson, the Council limited
itself to local men, whose characters were well known, even if that meant that
they did not have any university experience.

1718

One
textbook that the boys are known to have used was Corderius’ “Colloquies”,
which was in relatively simple Latin, and contained dialogues between a Master
and his pupils on a number of different topics. It was designed to teach morals
and good behaviour.

Monday, January
3rd 1718

A
plaque in St.Mary’s Church is believed to describe the education given at the
Free School...

“ Here lyes iterr’d

Henry eldest son of John

Plumptre Esq., Born 22 July, 1708

deceased Janry 3, 1718. In these few

and tender years he had to

a Great Degree made himself

Master of the Jewish, Roman

and English History, the

Heathen Mythology and

the French tongue, and was

not inconsiderably’advanced in

the Latin ”

1723

Further
disputes plagued the school when John Swaile, who had succeeded John Womack in
June 1722, complained about the behaviour of George Bettinson, the Usher, and a
former pupil of the school.

The
latter had served under six different headmasters in just two and a half years,
and was clearly used to shouldering the burden of running the school himself,
without relying on his so-called superiors. In particular, the issue of school
discipline was to the fore, with Bettinson unwilling to allow the Master to
discipline his pupils, and equally unwilling to use the Master’s methods to
teach his own classes.

Not
surprisingly perhaps, the new headmaster, John Swaile, did not appreciate all
this, and complained to the  Council that Bettinson had “of late assumed to
himself an Independancy on the Master...which...ought not to be or ever was the
Intent of Agnes Mellers.”

In all,
seven ordinances were to be issued by the  Council about Bettinson’s behaviour,
making it abundantly clear what rights the Master had, and how the Usher was,
quite simply, to do as he was told. Bettinson eventually left, and was
succeeded on November 4th 1724 by another former pupil, John Henson.

circa 1725

In the
summer, classes began at 7 a.m., and continued until 11 a.m. The afternoon
began at 1 p.m., and finished at 5 p.m., or later, if the Master so decided.
From October 14th to February 14th, school began at 8 a.m., and finished at 4
p.m. It was a six day week, but the Master was allowed to grant holidays and
extra playtimes up to twelve hours per week.

1725

George
Bettinson must have had a point, since within a few short months of his
appointment, John Henson, even though he was only eighteen years of age,
complained to the Council about Swaile’s behaviour, and seems to have won his
case. Henceforth the Master could only discipline the Usher’s boys when the
latter was absent, and when the Master took boys from the Usher’s class, he
would not be allowed just to take the best, but would have to take the whole
class.

Henson
had been a pupil at the Free School, and had gone straight from senior pupil to
Usher. He occupied the latter post for seven years, before going to study for a
degree at Cambridge University.

December 1731

John
Swaile died in office a the age of only thirty, while Henson was away studying
at Cambridge. On January 21st 1732, Edward Chappell, the Rector of St.Peter’s,
was appointed to the post of Master, but three weeks later, resigned, saying
that he was “finding it not convenient...to take upon him the care and duty of
Attending the said School.”

Perhaps
Chappell found the job impossible without the help of an Usher, Henson still being
away at university. Whatever the case, the Council offered the post to Henson
himself, who returned immediately from Cambridge. He thereby became one of the
few Masters in the history of the school who did not have a degree.

1736

The
school purchased a pair of globes, but around 1799 they were taken away by
Alderman Worthington and never returned. When he died, the executors of his
will seized them, and they were lost to the school.

Sunday, November
15th 1750

Henson
placed an advertisement in the “Nottingham Weekly Courant” to the effect that
in the Free School “those Boys, who have not Time or Capacity to become well
acquainted with Latin and Greek, before they are removed to Trades, should be
well instructed in their Own language ; in order to render the Free Grammar
School of Nottingham as beneficial as possible to the Sons of Burgesses and
others, the Masters thereof have resolved, besides the usual Exercises of the
School, to teach them English-Grammar, and a proper and elegant Manner of
reading the most polite English Authors.-Those parents also, who desire it, may
have their Children taught French, Geography, and the use of the Globes, with
everything that is necessary, to qualify them for any genteel Employment or
Profession, without any additional Fee or Reward.”

This
marked a radical departure from the curriculum as it had existed in the school
for the past two hundred and fifty years.

1763

Gilbert
Wakefield, in his memoirs, recalled his treatment at the hands of the Reverend
Samuel Berdmore, who was the Usher at this time...”Soon after I went to this
School, the reception which an exercise for holidays, inspected and approved by
my father, met with from this gentleman, I shall not hastily forget. He
threatened, with great snappishness, to flog me. ..I was shocked and
alarmed beyond measure at a threat equally inhuman and unjust…. the oblivious
efforts of near thirty years have not been able to soothe the sore.”

Wakefield
was later to die of sunstroke at an advanced age, having sat on Brighton Beach,
on “a warm, treacherous, sun-shining day.”

April 1776

The
Reverend George Wayte was Usher at the Free School from 1732-1747, as well as
being Vicar of Radford and Curate of Lenton, where he lived. He was an
enthusiastic worker for his parishioners, and was known as a bit of a local
character.

He
excelled himself in his seventieth year, however, when along with three other
men, all from Radford, he was charged at the Quarter Sessions with breaking and
entering. The victim was Samuel Eaton at Radford, and all four defendants were
found guilty of “expelling and keeping out the said Samuel Eaton and his
wife...and spoiling and detaining one Flock Bed, one chair, one Coal Pick,
three wood planks, and one stocking-frame of the value of £9 10s 0d.”

All
four men were fined a penny each. Even now, over two hundred years later, Wayte
remains the oldest deputy headmaster to be convicted of burglary.

Thursday, August
24th 1758 - Friday, February 1st 1793

Timothy
Wylde became the longest serving Master in the history of the Free School. He
did not have a degree, but was a learned man, who spent large sums of money on
over two hundred books, mainly on classical subjects, theology, history and
literature. He was fond of tobacco and snuff, and spent large sums on wine and
other drinks. His shopping list included articles such as lump-sugar, nutmeg,
mustard and honey, and he wrote many letters, and duly received replies from
all over the country. Most interesting of all, perhaps, is that when he lived
in Winchester, he spent many hours every week on the bowling green. He
regularly played for money, and lost most of the time, with his usual stakes
being anything from sixpence to 5s 6d. Only comparatively rarely did he win.

As far
as the Free School was concerned, Wylde seems to have been happy to leave
things as they had been under John Henson. He did not, for example, reverse
Henson’s decision to introduce more modern subjects, and, indeed, actually
allowed the classical subjects to decline considerably. By the time he left,
hardly any of the boys was going on to university to pursue an academic career.

Around
fifty boys are thought to have been in the school at this time. On average,
they entered at the age of eight, and left at around fifteen.

Saturday,
November 22nd 1766

The
school’s Usher, the Reverend William Fell had been in the job for only two
years when the Nottingham Journal announced that...“On Tuesday morning last,
the Reverend William Fell married at St.Mary’s Mrs Newsam, a widow with a
fortune of £10,000.”

Saturday,
November 29th 1766

The
Nottingham Journal announced that...“Today, The Reverend Mr.Fell, Usher of the
Free School, resigned.” Fell, however, did not leave the school quite as
quickly as he might have done. He stayed on until January 1767.

1772

The
headmaster, Timothy Wylde, wrote to two former Ushers, Messrs Nixon and Wayte,
to ask advice about the customs of the school about “potations”, the drinking
parties, organised by the masters where each pupil was charged a small sum to
attend.

The
problem was a dispute between the present Usher, William Anderson, and “the
poor woman who swept the School” about who could keep “the pence the boys
brought to the Quarterly Potations.”

The
woman said that she should keep all of the money, but Anderson said that he
should have the money at Christmas and Lady Day, whereas she could have the
money at Midsummer and Michaelmas.

Thomas
Nixon does not appear ever to have answered Wylde’s query, but George Wayte
actually walked round to Stoney Street and said that he had “always looked upon
the odd pence brought at Potation (according to the Custom of the School) as
the property of the Sweeper and that for fifteen years he constantly gave her
the Pence, without abridging her of a single penny.”

In
Anderson’s defence, however, it must be said that he earned only thirty pounds
per annum, and that as Wylde grew older and older, the Usher must have
shouldered an ever increasing share of the everyday work of running the school.

Friday, February
1st 1793

Timothy
Wylde finally retired. For the last eighteen months, there had been some
dissatisfaction with the eighty-five year old’s work. Eventually, a deputation
arrived from the Corporation, for a discussion of the terms under which the
Master would leave. It included his son, Thomas, and his nephew, Isaac. The
package was that Wylde would receive his salary for the rest of his life, and
either free use of the school house, or twenty pounds per annum in lieu of
this.

Amazingly,
Wylde wanted time to discuss this fabulous offer, but finally resigned, and
went to live in High Pavement. He died on January 26th 1799.

Friday, February
1st 1793

The
Corporation voted on Wylde’s successor. The result was the Reverend John
Forrest sixteen votes, the Reverend William Beetham six votes and Gilbert
Wakefield none.

Forrest
was not a great choice. Under him the school was very neglected, and this was
not helped by the fact that he gave his maximum attention to “a small number of
private day scholars, for whose education he was paid by their parents.”
Forrest refused to teach any of the ordinary Foundation scholars, unless they
reached a certain level of excellence in classical learning, something which,
in actual fact, hardly ever happened.

Saturday, February
9th 1793

The
“Nottingham Journal” reported the voting as follows...“ Election held on
Friday, Feb. 1, resulted in the appointment, by a great majority, of Rev. Mr.
John Forrest as Head-master of Nottingham Grammar School.  Rev. Mr. Timothy
Wylde had held the mastership upwards of 34 years.”

Saturday, February
23rd 1793.

An
advertisement was soon placed in the local newspaper...“ The Reverend John
Forrest, M.A., of Queens’ College, Cambridge, having been elected Head-Master
of the Grammar School at Nottingham, which is an ancient and valuable
Foundation, takes leave to inform the public that the School will be opened on
Monday, the 8th. of April, and that he proposes taking into his House a few
young Gentlemen, as Pupils, not exceeding Ten, who will not only receive the
common advantages of the School, which consist in the acquiring of the Greek
and Latin Classics, but in their leisure hours will be initiated in Geometry,
Algebra, Fluxions, The Four Branches of Natural Philosophy, and Sir Isaac
Newton's Principia ; by a Course of Lectures, exclusively and particularly
adapted to the occasion.

The
peculiar advantages resulting from a knowledge of those Branches of Philosophy
which it is Mr. Forrest's intention to communicate to the Student ; their
intimate connexion with the moral, commercial and civil concerns of life ; and
their vast importance in that luminous system of education which this
enlightened period demands, require no elucidation....Mr. Forrest here only
observes that, availing himself of every improvement suggested by modern discovery,
he will render his best services to those who may submit their tuition in those
inquiries to his exertions.

Terms
may be had by application to Mr. Forrest.”

Saturday, June
7th 1794

The
“Nottingham Journal” contained the following announcement...“The School will
close on Thursday the 26th instant for the Midsummer holydays and open again on
Monday the 28th of July.

The
Rev. J. C. Forrest, M.A., and Master of the above School, ever solicitous to
promote its prosperity, and conceiving that it would be a great accommodation,
to the Public, to have a Writing Master in the School, has engaged Mr.Charles
Watson, a person of character and ability, to attend the School constantly, to
whose superintendence the Writing and Arithmetic department will be assigned.
Mr.Watson's province in the School will also extend to the instruction of the
English Grammar.

Terms :
For Writing, Arithmetic and English Grammar 2 Guineas a year.

Specimens
of Mr.Watson's writing may be seen at the printers of this paper, and at Mr.Tupmans.”

Tuesday, September
16th 1794

The
Council passed a resolution that the Free School, as part of the assets of the
town, should be responsible for paying for a quarter of the total annual
charges for their Rent-Day dinners, committee expenses and so on. This would
average out in later years at approximately twenty pounds per annum.

an unknown
date in the eighteenth century

A fight
between boys of the Lower and Upper Schools spilled onto the street, and became
so violent that troops were summoned to break it up. In what might nowadays be
considered a slight over-reaction, they opened fire, and four boys were killed.

1804-1805

In the
course of this financial year, the Free School spent one hundred pounds on the
Schoolmaster’s salary, and one pound on the school horse. The latter had the
important job of collecting the many tithes to which the school was entitled,
and may well have had a much higher level of performance than Forrest himself.

January 1806

The
Tithe Hay bequeathed to the school by John Heskay had for many
years been farmed out, and, for this reason, considerably less revenue had been
collected than might have otherwise have been the case. It was now decided that
the school would administer it themselves, and, hopefully, make a much better
profit.

Saturday, October
11th 1806

John
Forrest died in office. The Corporation were very keen to appoint a suitable
successor, and, for the first time, actively queried the ordinance laid down by
Dame Agnes Mellers in 1513, that the Master should replaced within 40 days of
the resignation or death of the previous incumbent.

It had
presumably been this enforced haste which had caused the selection of what seem
nowadays to have been so many poor choices as Master during the previous three
centuries.

The
Corporation now consulted a barrister, Mr.Bell, but he said that it was not
worth petitioning the Lord Chancellor, but instead, they should demand a bond
from the man they chose, forcing him to resign if they wanted him to do so.

Mr.Bell
helped them draw up the bond, for an enormous £3,000, and it was agreed to by
the new Master, Mr.John Toplis.

The
latter came from Arnold, and was an accomplished mathematician. One of his
publications, an annotated translation of Laplace’s “Mécanique Céleste” is
known to have been read by George Green, of Sneinton Windmill fame.

1807

With
the help of Mr.Bell, the Corporation drew up a constitution for the school. The
hours of work were listed carefully, and so were the holidays. An attempt at an
exact curriculum was made, with the subjects to be taught all set down. A
minimum age of eight was established for entry to the school, and the maximum
number of pupils was to be sixty.

Numbers
at this time must have slipped dangerously low, because in the next two months,
sixty-one boys were put on the list for admission. In December 1807, the school
is known to have contained forty-nine pupils.

At this
time, each member of the Corporation was allowed to nominate in turn a specific
boy for entry to the school at a special meeting. Boys tended to leave the
school in a rather haphazard way, but when there were a number of vacancies, a
list of nominees could be drawn up, and they would then fill the gaps.

Quite
often, boys would be nominated and accepted but would then fail for some
reason, to take up the place. Occasionally, as in the case of Henry Strelley,
the son of a butcher in Pepper Street, the reason was death.

Tuesday,
February 17th 1807

“At a
common hall, or meeting of the mayor and common council in and for the said town”,
a number of rules for the Free School were formulated...

1st. We
do ordain, that for the future the said free-school, shall be kept open for the
whole year, except two vacations of a calendar month each, at Christmas and
Midsummer, in every year, for the reception of scholars entitled to be taught
thereat, to be admitted by the schoolwardens according to the form and in the
manner hereafter described, during seven hours and a half in every day in the
summer half year, reckoning the same from Lady-day till Michaelmas, and six
hours in every day in the winter half year, reckoning the same from Michaelmas
till Lady-day (except Sundays and the following holidays; viz. two days at
Easter, two days at Whitsuntide, two days at Goose Fair; Good Friday, and half-a-day's
holiday on the afternoon of Saturday ( and a holiday of one hour in the
afternoon of every Wednesday,) for the teaching of Greek and Latin, and English
grammar, and the classics, so that every scholar admitted be the age of eight,
at the least, and so that no more than the number of sixty scholars be admitted
upon the foundation at any one period of time.

2ndly.
That all persons entitled to claim admission upon the foundation of the school
from the mayor and burgesses shall apply by a written application to the mayor
for the time being, who shall give in the names of the applicants to the
common-hall, who shall order their admission, as far as the school shall be
capable of receiving them; and upon a list of the persons admitted, certified
under the hand of the town clerk, the schoolwardens of the said free-school for
the time being, shall give in an order for their admission upon the foundation,
which shall enjoin them to be educated in English, Latin, and Greek grammar, at
the said school, gratis.

3dly.
The School Wardens for the time being shall, upon the application of any person
or persons, entitled to be admitted to the said free-school, by virtue of such
determination of the corporation, certified by the town-clerk, to the
schoolwardens, give to such person or persons, so entitled, an order or orders
in writing to the master or usher of the said free-school, to receive him or
them as a scholar or scholars upon the foundation : and by virtue of such
order, he or they shall be entitled to all the privileges of the school, so
long as lie or they shall conform to the discipline thereof, established by the
master, without paying any thing by way of fee, reward, or gratuity, to the
master or usher in respect thereof; but the said master or usher shall not be
obliged to receive any person, not producing a written order for that purpose
from the schoolwardens for the time being.

4thly.
That the mayor, aldermen, and common council of Nottingham, being visitors of
this free-school, do hereby ordain and establish, with a view to the regular
and punctual performance of their duty as visitors, that the mayor, aldermen,
and schoolwardens for the time being, shall, from time to time, inspect the
free-school, and report at least once in every half year, in writing to the
common hall, the number of scholars, which, during the preceding half year,
have been educated upon the foundation of the school, and their opinion of the
general conduct and management, and state of the discipline thereof, in order
that the visitors may be regularly informed as to the existing situation of the
school, and may from time to time be enabled to bestow annual gratuities in
proportion to the number of the scholars, and the exertions of the master and
usher, and the corresponding prosperity of the school, to the end that due
encouragement may be given to the industry of the master and usher, and that
the said school may be rendered of the greatest possible utility, according to
the design of the foundation.

5thly.
That these ordinances be made known to the master and usher of the free-school,
who are enjoined to an observance thereof ; and that any wilful neglect thereof
in such master or usher, or either of them, be deemed by, the mayor,aldermen,
and common council, a sufficient cause of a motion of the said master or usher
from their respective offices, pursuant to the power vested in the mayor,
aldermen, and common council, by the foundation of the said school.

N.B. By
advice of the corporation, the master provides proper persons to teach the boys
writing and arithmetic, for which the friends of the scholar pay ten shillings
a year ; the schoolwardens providing all the requisite materials.”

Tuesday, April
7th 1807

The
Borough Records complain that ...“...Scholars unable to read. Ordered that the
Schoolwardens be Authorized and Directed by this Hall to reject and not admit
any Scholars into the Freeschool if it shall appear that they are not able to
read.”

sometime after
June 16th 1808

From
this date onwards, the Schoolwardens’ annual balance sheets were placed in a
leather bound volume, instead of merely being kept on various separate sheets
of parchment or paper. On an unknown date, an unknown clerk has decorated the
title page of the new volume with the traditional coat of arms of Dame Agnes
Mellers, namely three merles on a widow’s lozenge.

This is
the first known instance of this coat of arms being linked with the school.

1809

The
Usher, Dr.Wood, was warned by the Corporation that he could not give boys a
holiday without first checking with the Headmaster.

Friday, June
16th 1809

According
to the Ledger Accounts of the School Wardens, work on new privies cost £8 6s
4d.

1811

During
this year, Mr.Toplis taught thirty-two pupils, and Dr.Robert Wood, the Usher,
had twenty-four. The boys learnt writing, accounts and a little Latin. The
Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors made their usual annual inspection, and, highly
delighted with the school, awarded Toplis the customary bonus of one hundred
pounds and Wood his forty pounds. Toplis, however, was expected to use fifty pounds
of his o wn gratuity to pay the writing master. The latter was a Quaker named
Charles Watson.

Around
this time, Mr.Watson refused, for religious reasons, to serve in the Nottingham
militia. He was fined twenty-five pounds by the overseers of St.Mary’s parish,
but refused to pay. For this reason, the money was deducted by the
Schoolwardens from his wages.

Later
that year, for the excellence of their work, Toplis, Wood and Watson were all
made Freemen of the Borough. This honour usually cost a fee of some thirty
guineas.

1812

The
Master and Usher complained that a large number of books had recently been
stolen. The Corporation circulated a leaflet to all the boys at the school that
anybody caught doing this would be expelled.

January 1814

Dr.Wood
wrote a letter of complaint to the Schoolwardens that they should not admit any
boys who would not be able to cope with work at the school. As Usher, it was
Wood’s job to teach the younger boys, and he had recently turned away individuals
who were under eight years of age or who could merely recite the letters of the
alphabet.

1816

The
writing master was now John Peck Hemm, a master of “penmanship” and an
accomplished illustrator and engraver. He was also a spendthrift, and seemed
incapable of living within his means, whatever they might be.

At this
time, the writing master was entitled to claim his expenses back either from
the Headmaster or the Schoolwardens. Hemm therefore requested payment of seven
pounds, for two thousand quills at £1 2s 0d a thousand, and three thousand
quills at £1 12s 0d. If true, this would have meant that every boy was using a
hundred pens a year.

The
writing master could make even more profit by buying the items in as quills,
and then cutting them into pens in his own spare time.

1818

By now,
the school was teaching English Grammar, reading, writing and arithmetic. “Its
former celebrity in Classical Learning is at an end.”

December 1818

The
Reverend John Jarman made a complaint that the Headmaster had mistreated his
son “in pulling hair from the boy’s head”. Toplis replied that “he was under
much irritation” and said that he had not intended to use such a degree of
violence.

Such an
act was, in actual fact, out of character for Toplis. On one occasion, he had
written to one of the Schoolwardens, Mr.Swann, that “the Old Woman who cleans
the Free School and who is lying very ill” should have the twenty-six shillings
which was owed to her for her last three months’ work.

1819

During
the course of the academic year, the Free School spent £164 3s 8d on joiners,
£11 19s 7d on police officers and £32 9s 6d with innkeepers.

Thursday, December
9th 1819

John
Toplis resigned, and went to be Dean of Queens’ College, Cambridge. There were
five applicants for the job, and Dr.Wood, a Lancastrian who had been Usher for
twenty-six years, was the unanimous choice.

Wednesday, January
12th 1820

The
Reverend Samuel May Lund, from Lincolnshire, became the new Usher. Shortly
after his appointment, he took a second job as Chaplain to the Town Gaol and
the House of Correction. The annual salary was sixty pounds, almost as much as
he got for being Usher.

1820

Robert
Linekir (sic) was the son of Robert Linekir, a cordwainer of Houndsgate,
Nottingham. He entered the Free School on January 26th 1815, and left during
this year. He was “...frequently absent, but well-behaved.” The latter
attribute seems to have been considered much more important than academic
excellence, and is frequently recorded in the “Remarks” column of the school’s
register.

Tuesday, August
22nd 1820

This
day marked the departure of George B.H.Watson, the son of the late Charles
Watson, who had himself been a Writing Master at the Free School. His son left
because he “...could never be induced to give up some of the books belonging to
the school.”

1821

A
pamphlet was published in Nottingham, making serious allegations about the
running of the school. It posed the question...“Who have, or hath, the
NOMINATION of the CHILDREN WHO OUGHT and WHO, OF RIGHT, are ENTITLED to the
INSTRUCTION of this Ancient, but disloyal, Seminary ? ”

It
accused the Corporation of using the funds of the school to educate the sons of
“ Rich Dissenting Ministers, and Assenting Aldermen ” and of neglecting “ the
Orphans and the Fatherless Children of the Poor Burgesses and Housekeepers of
Nottingham.”

The leaflet made the claim that
90% of the boys in the school were the sons of Whig parents, and alleged that
of some £3,000 income, only £170 eventually reached the teachers.

In actual
fact, the writer did have at least one valid point. In 1820, the Whigs had won
a victory in Nottingham by 33 votes in a poll of 3,757 voters. That year, of
the 46 boys at the Free School, at least 39 were the sons of Whigs.

1827-1828

The
Schoolmaster’s salary was still fixed at £100, and a grand total of £3 6s 0d
was spent on candles and coal to light the school.

1828

The
Charity Commissioners made several criticisms of the school. On the one hand,
they felt that it should be offering a better classical education, as had been
the intention of the original foundress, Agnes Mellers. They fully understood
the fact that the majority of the boys were the sons of mechanics, who would
have very little use for either Latin or Greek, but felt that, with only a
little reorganisation, the boys could learn the classics as well as reading,
writing and arithmetic.  Secondly, they felt that the accounts of the school
could have been kept more carefully, although they failed to turn up any
corruption on the scale of the allegations made in the pamphlet of 1821. As a
relatively minor point, the Commissioners drew attention to the inventive ways
by which Mr.Hemm, the school’s writing master supplemented his admittedly
meagre salary. As well as selling quills therefore, he charged all of his
pupils 2s 6d every quarter for the fact that he taught them. He also received
1d commission from a local shop for every exercise book which his pupils
purchased there. Within six months, the Corporation took the Commissioners’
advice on board, and increased John Hemm’s annual salary to seventy pounds.

Monday, April
13th 1829

This
date marked the entrance to the Free School of Edwin Woodhouse. He was
eventually to be expelled, “...having inflicted a serious wound with a knife”
on a fellow pupil.

July 1829

Despite
his new salary of £70, Hemm was still in serious financial straits. In 1821, he
had started up a private school for young ladies in Castlegate, and had run it
as a completely commercial venture, even advertising in the Nottingham Review
on several occasions.

He now
decided to stop coming to the Free School completely, so that he could
concentrate on his young ladies. What he did not do was to stop taking his
seventy pounds per annum salary, and the Town Clerk was forced to write to him
to remind him of his obligations. Hemm obviously knew what was more rewarding
financially, and resigned from the Free School on March 30th 1830.

1830

The
school was extensively rebuilt, although complaints were already being made
about its inadequacy as early as January 1840, particularly as the school
numbers had by then increased to around eighty boys.

Thursday, June
17th 1830

In a
Council meeting held on this date, it was revealed that a committee, for three
months, had been investigating complaints against the Usher, Mr.Lund. He had
been accused of mistreating his pupils, and after a series of meeting between
the Headmaster, Schoolwardens, the Council, some of the parents concerned, and
Lund himself,  it was decided that “ a System of obtaining attention from the
Scholars by the operation of Fear, rather than Encouragement has too much
prevailed on the part of the Usher.” He was also condemned for punishing boys
who performed badly in class by making them take their books and work to his house
in West Bridgford.

Incidentally,
the Committee also found out that the Headmaster, Dr.Wood had failed to divide
the boys into classes as he was compelled to do, or to conduct examinations
every six months.

It
emerged too that Dr.Wood and Mr.Lund, by their own admission, had refused to
speak to each other “for many months past”, even though they both lived and
worked in the same building. The feud may even have lasted for as long as three
years. The net result of this was that “Great Noise and Tumult” reigned
throughout the school, and those few boys who wanted to study found it
impossible to do so.

The two
men were told by the Corporation to bring their quarrel to an end, or “further
Measures” would be taken.

Both of
them then complained in writing to their accusers. Dr.Wood admitted he had not
followed some of the recently introduced regulations, but said that his methods
of teaching had experience on their side, rather than any new fangled theories.
He explained that in any case, he was too old and feeble to spend any more
hours in the school than he did at present. Dr.Lund, who, it will be
remembered, was also Chaplain to the Town Gaol and the House of Correction,
queried whether the new regulations were meant to interfere with his duties at
the prison, or whether he could be away from the school “as usual at eleven
o’Clock on the mornings of Tuesdays and Thursdays.” He argued that when he was
given his job as Usher, he had been told that he would only work four hours a
day, with a half day on Wednesdays.

Both
men were told that no changes would be made in what their new conditions of
employment.

December 1830

The
Schoolwardens reported that Mr.Lund was still leaving the school twice a week
to go to the Town Gaol. A strong letter of admonition was sent to him.

Thursday, September
8th 1831

To
celebrate the coronation of William IV, all 56 boys were treated to a special
dinner, priced 1s 3d each. The three teachers had a 2s 0d dinner, and two
bottles of wine at 5s 0d and punch to the value of 5s 0d were consumed. The
total was £4 11s 0d.

1831

The
writing Master, John Peck Hemm, published the second volume of his three volume
work, “Portraits of the Royal Family in Penmanship”. It contained portraits of
George IV, William IV and six royal dukes.

Hemm’s
books were published by subscription, with up to two hundred and fifty people
promising to purchase the finished work. One of those who bought his “Portraits
of the Royal Family in Penmanship” was George Green, the famous mathematician
who lived in the windmill at Sneinton. Others to buy his works were the King of
Belgium, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Lord Chancellor.

Hemm
was a fine advertiser of his own works, and persuaded Queen Adelaide to allow
him to dedicate one of his books to her, thereby making it much more likely
that some of the many minor courtiers and nobles would find it incumbent upon
themselves to buy a copy.

On the
other hand, Hemm’s work must have been of good quality, if the reviews are to
be believed...“these splendid specimens confer no trifling distinction on the
Grammar School of Nottingham, where this talented penman was engaged.” (The
Imperial Magazine)...“the grace, freedom and delicacy of the flourishes have
never been equalled” (The Manchester Guardian).

Hemm had
left the Free School in 1830, and had gone, in actual fact, to Manchester,
where he seemed to have disappeared from prominence.

June 1832

The new
writing master, Mr.Dudley, is thought to have shouldered much of the burden of
running the school while the Master and Usher were either arguing or simply
absent. In recognition of this, in September, his salary was raised to one
hundred pounds per annum.

Saturday, August
10th 1833

After
the school had suffered years of neglect, the Master, the Reverend Robert Wood
and the Usher, the Reverend Samuel Lund both finally departed.  By now, Wood’s
sight had “very much failed”, and Lund was an active clergyman, who was only
infrequently present in the school. They were still assisted for a few hours
every week by Mr.Hemm, the Writing and Arithmetic Master, who had, presumably,
by now returned from Manchester.

For the
most part, the boys obtained a “plain English education, in which initiation
into the three R’s was regarded as chiefly important.” There was no Science,
little Latin, and hardly any Greek. To be admitted, boys had to be nominated by
one of the Trustees, who were all members of the Corporation, and there were no
fees. It was “literally a Free Grammar School”.

In
recent times, a number of threats had been made by at least one of the
councillors that he intended to “move that the Gratuities to the Head and the
Usher be withheld, as it is considered that their duties are very inefficiently
performed. The Council shied away from anything as formal as this, but when
they heard that Wood had accepted the additional post of Vicar of Wysall, they
called on him to quit the Free School, as “....there is no longer occasion on
the grounds of delicacy or kindness to refrain from expressing the great
dissatisfaction felt by this Corporation at the state of the Free School and
the determination of this Corporation to take with as little delay as may be
the necessary steps for changing the Mastership of the School.”

Wood
did, in actual fact leave, but only after an unseemly argument about the terms
of his departure.

Wood
wanted a “liberal retiring compliment” but the Corporation offered him a
trifling fifty pounds per annum for life. This latter arrangement he was forced
to accept.

His job
was widely advertised, and attracted thirty applicants, of whom seven were
selected.

Unfortunately,
the Corporation’s favourite, Mr.Richard Wilson M.A. of Liverpool, withdrew his
candidature. The reason remains unknown, but it may have been connected with
what opinions he formed when he saw the school. Consequently, Mr.William
Butler, a Yorkshireman from Bradford, who had studied at Queens’ College,
Oxford was then offered the post.

In a
piece of amazingly brazen behaviour, Samuel Lund had applied for the job as
well. This, however, only served to draw attention to his incompetence, and
instead of offering him promotion, the Corporation called for his resignation.
Lund agreed to depart immediately, but only on payment of one hundred pounds.
He was replaced in November 1833 by Mr.John Manners of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge.

late 1833

When
the Reverend Butler became Headmaster, many changes quickly took place. The
number of boys went up from sixty to eighty, and they were divided into the
English and Classical departments. Four masters were now employed, with two
classrooms, one above the other, lit by candles in the dark days of winter. The
English boys worked in the downstairs classroom from 8 a.m.to 11 a.m., and then
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. After 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., the Classical boys came
downstairs, and worked under the supervision of the English teachers for a
further hour. There were half holidays on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

possibly early
in 1834

One of
the Commissioners appointed to inquire into Municipal Corporations questioned
Mr.Enfield about the recent history of the school. He was unhappy that Dr.Wood
had been given such a substantial pension and that the school accounts were
audited in such an incestuous way. The Schoolwardens, who included a number of
Aldermen, prepared the books, and the Mayor and Aldermen then audited them.

June 1834

William
Butler submitted a master plan to restructure the school. There were to be
eighty boys in the school, with two classes for Classics and two for English. A
second writing master was to be engaged. The “English” boys would pay nothing,
and neither would the Classicists for Greek, Latin and other humane studies.
If, however, they wanted either Writing, Arithmetic or Mensuration by the
writing master, then they would have to pay two guineas, or £2 2s 0d per year.
This money would pay for the salary of the second writing master.

1835-1838

A
former pupil, W.R.Stevenson, reminisced of this period that ...“In those days
little Latin, scarcely any Greek, and no Science was taught. Parents generally
were indifferent to all these, and were chiefly anxious that their sons should
obtain a plain English education, in which initiation into the three R’s was
regarded as chiefly important.”

When
the Headmaster’s new plan was put into operation, however, the two classrooms
on the top floor of the school were used by Messrs Butler and Manners for the
forty or so Classical scholars. The two downstairs classrooms were used for the
forty boys of the English side. Mr.Sparey taught one class. He was a “splendid
writer, and a fair arithmetician and grammarian, but a rather rough man with a
love for the cane.”

The
classical department worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the English from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. The classicists had two hours for lunch, the English scholars had
three. The difference in the length of the school days was caused by the
practical difficulties of having just four masters teach a varying number of
subjects to four classes. Both Wednesdays and Saturdays were half days.

In
addition, the Master was very often Chaplain to the Town Gaol and his duties
there often clashed with his teaching commitments. In that case, the boys might
get a half day holiday.

Most
boys left at fourteen or fifteen, and by then, in the classical department at
least, they might have studied Virgil, Cicero and a number of authors in Greek,
as well as the New Testament. Both schools did Mathematics, and their studies
included Euclid, Algebra as far as quadratic equations, and some mensuration.

Examinations
took place every six months, and were usually oral, conducted either by the
Masters or by William Enfield, who was later to become Town Clerk. All of the
Classicists would enter the History exam, where the subject would vary from
year to year, including English, Roman or Jewish History. The best Essay or
Poem would win a prize, and they would both be read aloud on Prize Day.

mid-June 1835

One of
the boys’ favourite occupations was “land measuring”. To do this, they went out
to survey pieces of land with the English masters. On one occasion, they went
to a meadow beside the River Trent, and on another, to some land next to the
General Cemetery on Waverley Street. Ironically, this particular area was later
to be laid out as Waverley Street.

This
year, just before the Midsummer Examinations, the whole school spent an entire
“field day” on the Forest. This cost a total of ten shillings for the
refreshments given to the four masters and eighty boys.

During
this era, the boys spent much of their leisure time in vigorous exercise, quite
often of a fairly violent nature. There were continual fights, for example,
with the lads who worked in a small factory in nearby Barkergate. On half days,
such as Wednesday or Saturday, the boys would usually go off to the Park, which
at the time was “a fine open, breezy place where cows grazed and bluebells
grew.” The boys would divide themselves into groups, and play “games to their
hearts’ content”.

A large
rock at the foot of what was called the “Bay of Biscay” was the scene for many
vigorous games of attack and siege, and was stoutly defended at all times. The
boys loved to play in the little caves in the rock at the side of the River
Leen, and one of their favourites, nicknamed the “Doctor’s Shop” was seldom
quiet or deserted for long.

Any
games and disputes the boys may have had often reflected the differences
between their parents. One source of argument, for example, was whether
citizens should pay rates to the church or not. Boys frequently formed sides
between Church and Chapel.

Very
often, inside the school, these two warring groups would then fight for
possession of the central stairs, which led from the Lower School to the Upper
School.

It was around this time that, as
an old boy, Canon Lacey, recollected, in the winter, when the boys all had a
candle each, they  “...would extinguish their candles and while the wax or
tallow was still fluid, they would throw them up with the purpose of making
them stick to the roof.”

December 1835

The
Corporation produced its last list of scholars for admission to the school.

January 1836

The
Corporation had two law suits begun against them by the Attorney General in the
Court of Chancery. The charges were that school property had been sold and the
money spent on other things, that property and land had been rented out to
members of the Corporation at little real cost to them, that the School should
be a Grammar School and not an elementary one, that the selection method was
improper, and that the funds had been wasted by the Mayor and Burgesses on
allowances for tea, coffee, “malt Liquor”, wine and dinners.

spring 1836

William
R.Stevenson, who was later to reminisce in “The Forester”, joined the school.
William Butler was still the Headmaster, with the Reverend Manners “...a
superior man”, as the second Classical master.

In the
English room, Mr.Sparey was in charge, “...a rather rough man, with a love for
the cane”. He was assisted by Mr.Hewson, “...a teacher of a more patient
temper”. He taught not just English but also French, teaching grammar, setting
exercises and marking them. A “foreigner” used to come in to teach the boys
correct pronunciation of the language. Among the first to do this was Count
Assolari, an Italian, or perhaps Spaniard, who, with a “handsome figure,
bronzed face and fierce moustachios, looked like a fine Cavalry Officer, but
was no good as a teacher.” The next incumbent was Monsieur Vogue, “...most
polite and courteous, at times unable to understand the rough blunt ways of
English boys, and yet too gentle spirited to rebuke us.”

As
regarded the teaching standards, Butler “...was in his prime”. Mr.Manners was
“...eccentric, but his teaching was stimulating”. Boys did not often stay on
beyond fourteen or fifteen years of age, and did not therefore reach the same
standards that they were destined to reach at the end of the century. In Latin
they studied Cicero and Virgil, in Greek, mainly the New Testament, and
selections of Xenophon. In Maths, it was Euclid, Mensuration, and Algebra as
far as Quadratic Equations. They were also asked to compose short essays or
poems in English Composition lessons.

At the
end of every six months, there was an examination, which was always conducted
orally, either by the masters in the presence of some of the gentlemen of the
town, or by William Enfield, who was later to be the Town Clerk. The History
examination was always keenly contested, and varied between English, Roman or
Bible History. Prizes were offered for the best Essay and Poem, with the
subject being chosen from the period of history which was studied during that
particular half year.

There
was no playground, but boys would play in Stoney Street, which was, at the
time, a very quiet thoroughfare. On one side, where Adams and Company’s
warehouse was built on later years, there were a number of good-sized private
houses, one or two with gardens enclosed with walls. On the other side, between
Barker Gate and Woolpack Lane, there was a row of very ancient Almshouses. Half
an hour before afternoon school began, the boys would all assemble in this
street, and “...passers-by had the opportunity of witnessing some lively
scenes...no doubt, residents in the houses adjoining voted us a great
nuisance.”

Half
way down Barker Gate was “Titterton’s famous toffy shop, where a roaring trade
was often done”. Fights still occurred, as they always had, with the boys who
worked at a small factory in this street, as the latter annoyed the Free School
boys, and usurped their territory in Stoney Street. One day, Walter Yates
became the school’s champion, and gave a severe thrashing to one of the
factory’s biggest bullies. That episode kept them quiet for quite some time
afterwards. In later life, Yates became a surgeon, but was destined to die
young.

August 1836

The
Corporation gave the Lord Chancellor a list of fifteen gentlemen whom they
recommended as Trustees of the local charities. They were mostly business men,
merchants or manufacturers and every one was a member of the Town Council,
whose control of the Free School had now lapsed after some 323 years.

This
system of fully independent Trustees would stand a better chance of putting a
stop to the financial corruption which had dogged the school’s development for
so many years.

Thursday, June
22nd 1837

At
Prize Day, which was later reported in the “Nottingham Journal”, eighteen of
the eighty-six boys in the school won prizes. They were for subjects such as
the best essay in verse, the best writing, the best ciphering, top of the class
in classics, the history of England, or French. The only boy to win two prizes
was William Stevenson, who was an exceptionally gifted student. Unfortunately,
he was unable to go to either Oxford or Cambridge because he was a Baptist.

Friday, February
23rd 1838

Another
gifted pupil was John Russell Hind, who, as a hobby, studied the influence of
the moon and other planets on the weather. While still at school, he wrote
weather forecasts for the Nottingham Journal, and these appeared on a weekly
basis. He later became President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and
discovered the sun’s corona, ten asteroids and two comets. He also traced the
appearances of Halley’s comet back as far as 11 B.C.

June 1838

John
Manners left the Free School to become Headmaster of Wesley College in
Sheffield. William Stevenson recalled that he was “eccentric but his teaching
was stimulating. He would set us thinking by asking questions, and then
listening with such apparent interest to our replies, as though he were
learning from us. But he simply wanted to draw us out, as Socrates did the
sharp lads of his time.” William Stevenson himself was to present Manners with
his parting gift, a silver snuff box.

Manners
was replaced by Samuel Langworth, a local man, who does not seem to have had a
degree, and who, therefore, emphasised the school’s drift away from the
classics and toward the more modern subjects. The fact that there was now a
second writing master, with twenty extra pupils, made this change all the more
easy, and it was not long before the school’s academic standards began to
slip.

Thursday, November
8th 1838

On this
day John Thompson entered the Free School. He had only one leg, and his mother
wished him “...to qualify as a schoolmaster.” Despite his disabilities, the boy
was “...diligent and intelligent”. Eventually, he was to gain employment as a
School Assistant with Mr.Keyworth, at another, unnamed, school in Nottingham.

an unknown
date in 1845

Old Boy
Thomas Hawkesley took control of the new Nottingham Waterworks Company which,
having been formed from two separate, smaller, companies, was to provide sanitation
for one of the most overcrowded and poverty stricken cities in the British
Empire. In the next forty years, Hawkesley was to design water systems for
Altona in Italy, Darlington, Derby, Durham, Middlesbrough, Newark, Norwich,
Southend and Stockholm in Sweden.

November 1847

The
original fifteen Trustees had been nominated over ten years ago. Unfortunately,
no effective mechanism seems to have been set up to replace them when the need
arose. By now, two had died, and one had become paralysed, and could no longer
attend meetings. Another had moved to London, and two had had such problems
with their creditors that they had relinquished all contact with the other
Trustees. A final one had gone bankrupt, and had therefore resigned.

November, 1853

Edward
Thurman left the Free School. According to the Register, he had
“...played truant, and made little progress.” At this time, truancy, very often
aided and abetted by the boy’s parents, seems to have been a not infrequent
problem. In some cases, the boys’ absences may have been to work in their
father’s business, perhaps at time of family illness.

late 1854

Great
scandal was caused in the town when the two writing masters, Messrs Sparey and
Hewson, decided one Saturday evening to seek refreshment together in a local
tavern on Long Row. They grew progressively more and more drunk, and eventually
managed to disgrace themselves thoroughly. This was an escapade which they
might well have got away with, had it not been for the fact that their
appalling behaviour coincided more or less exactly with the arrival of a
Government Inspector, who had recently come to the area. He found out about the
episode, and, as might be imagined, a great deal of embarrassment was caused
for the school.

Mr.Sparey
was told that if the offence was ever repeated, he would be instantly
dismissed. Hewson fared even worse. A witness in the subsequent inquiry
actually said of him that “...I do not send my boys to this School. I should
not like to so long as a character like Hewson’s taught there.” Hewson was then
forced to resign.

Monday, April
23rd 1855

Mr.Edmund
Percy, a new member of the Trustees’ Committee proposed that the Free School
leave their present premises, and move to a new, purpose built site elsewhere.
The scheme would be financed by selling the Stoney Street site, and any other
assets which might be needed. The school was then valued by Mr.Jallands, the
school surveyor, at £2,740. Percy then went on to produce a list of other
saleable properties.

By a strange coincidence, these
realisable assets included a “Close in the Bowling Alley Field”, which was on
the north side of Arboretum Street, occupying just under three acres.
Eventually, the High School was to be built on this very site, but at this
early stage, the favoured location was in Goldsmith Street, where the Gaumont
Cinema was one day to be built.

July 1855

After
much discussion and a number of letters between the Trustees, the Charity
Commissioners and the Headmaster, concerning the appointment of a replacement
for Mr.Hewson, the Commissioners announced that an inspector would be sent to
Nottingham to “make a general inquiry into the Charitable Foundations of
Nottingham.”

July 1855

The
Trustees made a number of other suggestions, namely that the Headmaster should
work only at the school, and should cease being the Chaplain at the Gaol. He
should cease to take private pupils for his own profit. Examinations should be
written, rather than oral, and prizes should be stamped with the crest of the
Corporation. Religious instruction should be introduced to the school
curriculum. Every day should begin with a prayer, and that prayer should be
written by the Headmaster, and approved by the Trustees. The latter were also
rather unhappy that the Headmaster had abused his power by purchasing
twenty-four inkwells without their prior knowledge.

Most
important of all, perhaps, the Trustees asked the Commissioners for permission
to sell the Stoney Street school, and to move to a new site. This would be in
what was then called the “Sand Fields”, an area which formed a roughly
triangular shape, between Trinity Church and Forest Road.

Tuesday, July
10th 1855

The
Charity Commissioners’ inspector, Mr.Walter Skirrow arrived. In the meantime,
the Trustees had appointed Mr.William Hall, of Fishponds, near Bristol, as the
new writing master. This seems to have been a fairly rapidly taken decision,
designed to limit the Headmaster’s input to the selection process.

early October
1855

Even
greater problems were caused when the Charity Commissioners revealed their plan
to link together the Free School and the Sir Thomas White’s Loan Money.

White
had been a wealthy sixteenth century merchant, who had left money to help young
men in the Midlands start up new businesses with interest free loans. Five
towns were to receive benefits from the scheme, namely Coventry, Leicester,
Northampton, Nottingham and Warwick. They received their cash in a five yearly
rotation.

This
time, the new plan was to limit the total amount out on loan in any one year to
£15,000, and that any money beyond this during Nottingham’s year was to go to
the Free School. Furthermore, this five yearly payment to the Trustees was to
be divided into five equal sums, and then paid annually to the Free School. As
well as this, permission was given for the school to sell up, and move to a new
site.

The
Trustees criticised the scheme, and wanted more money to be allocated to defray
their possible expenses. The Town Council, however, had much stronger
objections.

Friday, November
9th 1855

A
Committee was set up by the Town Council to keep an eye on the Commissioners’
scheme. After two weeks, they asked Walter Skirrow to return to Nottingham to
discuss developments with them. They put forward their own suggestions, all of
which were designed either to throw open the Free School to a wider section of
the community, or to give the Council some degree of control over it. They also
sent a deputation to the Trustees, with ten of their most pressing worries, all
of which were promised formal, written answers. These, unfortunately, turned
out to be evasive in the extreme.

Friday, January
9th 1856

A
meeting was called by the Mayor at the Exchange Building. The aim was to make
the Free School a place where “...a sound Classical, Commercial and generally
useful education” could be had “at a moderate cost”, or, indeed, for nothing at
all. They wanted the White’s Loan Money, or Coventry money, as it was usually
called, to be used as he had originally wished.

The
occasion was one of general uproar. The Headmaster, Mr.Butler, was in
attendance, and when he tried to make his way to the platform, he was “received
with loud hisses, and told to sit down”. His short speech was later interrupted
by loud questions such as “How many stockingers’ sons have you ? ” and “ Have
you any pipe-clay lads ?”.

Wednesday, February
27th 1856

As a
result of such discontent, the Commissioners changed their maximum total sum to
be lent to £18,000, or even £20,000 on occasion. The name of the new school was
to be “ The Nottingham High School of the Foundation of Agnes Mellers, and Sir
Thomas White and others ” They were probably lucky that team sport had not been
invented by his time.

July 1856

The
Town Council, still very unhappy, wrote to the Home Secretary in protest about
what the Commissioners intended to do. They were made even more angry by the
fact that it was discovered that the Trustees had not even advertised the
existence of the White’s Loan Money for the past four years. This was,
supposedly, due to an administrative oversight.

1856

A
pamphlet was circulated around the town. It contained a poem by “Thomas of
Flawforth”, which was a deserted village near Ruddington. In it, the ghost of
Sir Thomas White addresses the Headmaster, Mr.Butler...

“...Young
man ! there’s been some peddling with my loan :

The
boon which recently has caused such strife

Was
meant for tradesmen in the morn of life ;

If
you reply “Our funds are getting low”

I
p’rhaps some sad mismanagement may show ; -

Of
that large sum left by the Dame’s bequest

The
Trustees of the School don’t make the best ; -

And
then to take my Loan for this your School

Is,
on the whole, I must say, rather cool”.”

The
ghosts of Sir Thomas and Dame Agnes then threaten to haunt the Trustees if they
do not change their decision.

“As
to the loan, when next the Council sat,

Their
previous notions they rejected flat.”

Eventually,
in real life, the Council was to win the day, although this victory would only
be temporary.

Michaelmas
1857

James
Tomlinson entered the school on this date. He was later to leave, the register
recording that he was “...very slow, removed by his father rather than comply
with the Rule not to let him be absent without previous leave.”

1857-1862

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix One : 1857-1862, The
Stoney Street school”.

Michaelmas
1858

According
to the Register, Charles Frederick Ingoldby  “...played truant and was idle and
was sent away because he would not ask pardon for misconduct.”

May 1858

William
Butler’s son was so ill that he begged the Trustees to allow him to vacate the
Master’s house, and go to live in the country. To their credit, the trustees
agreed, and the Butlers moved to Belvoir Terrace, Sneinton. It was a vain act,
however, as their son died soon afterwards. The Master’s house does not seem
ever to have been occupied again by its intended incumbent.

Tuesday, May
11th 1858

Gilbert
Roberts was sent home for not procuring a book used in his French Class, his
father refusing to provide it for him. “He made little progress, and was
shocking in spelling.”

December 1858

After
almost five years of, presumably, temperance and model behaviour, Mr.Sparey,
the remaining member of the Long Row Two resigned. The Trustees’ minutes give
no reason for his departure.

It was
not, however, as if Mr.Sparey was unused to criticism. In 1856, the Headmaster
had written to the Trustees about “Mr.Sparey’s bad English”, and when, later
that same year, it was suggested that no member of staff should be allowed to
keep a public house, it was again Mr.Sparey’s name that cropped up. The latter
countered the accusation by saying that that the inn was held in the name of
his wife’s sister.

the late 1850s

Mr.Martin
Inett Preston recollected that the Free School “...was a rough school, it was a
bad school, it was lighted by farthing dips, it was badly warmed and worse
ventilated. Our code of honour contained one section only...”Thou shalt not
betray thy school-fellow.” But we loved the place.”

1859

The
original fifteen Trustees had slipped down to only eight by 1849. This number
was made up by 1848, but once again was down at only nine. When asked, the
Charity Commissioners declined to do anything about it, as the cost would be
too prohibitive.

circa 1860

In 1931,
the school magazine published a brief reminiscence of the Free School in Stoney
Street. It came from the gentleman who was thought at the time to be the oldest
living Old Nottinghamian, Mr.J.Braithwaite, of Bournemouth....“...there were
two rooms, one above the other, about 30 by 20 feet in area.  The upper school
was on the first floor, the lower on the ground floor.  The rooms were low and
badly lighted and contained four or five desks, into each of which five or six
boys were cramped. The windows looked out on to lank walls, the only artificial
light was tallow candles, the ceiling and other walls were whitewashed and
grimy, the flooring was worn and old, the desks deeply furrowed and carved, the
playground a mere backyard covered with stones, the sanitary arrangements
inadequate and all other comforts such as seats, shelves and drinking water
entirely lacking. The form-room, however, contained two rows of pegs and some
miniature lockers for the first form, and the front facade was of stone and the
entrance from Stoney Street was a good wide door with windows one each
side."

Mr.Braithwaite
recounted “with a boyish delight of the games they played, top-spinning and
marbles and rough games like “King of the Castle,” besides stone throwing “at
anything in sight.” He ends on a note of envy. He admits those were happy times
spent in the school of two rooms and an “attic”; but he says that he often
thinks of the increased advantages afforded by the “new” school...new in
1860...and hopes they will long continue.”

June 1860

Very
little had yet been done about the physical details of constructing the new
school. The Bowling Alley Field had just been divided up into fifteen separate
building lots, and was being advertised with a lease for ninety-nine years.

Just before
it was sold, the Trustees changed their minds about the Goldsmith Street site,
which they had previously favoured, and decided to build at what is now
Arboretum Street.

The
site was on a sandstone ridge which ran from west to east. To the south, was
the recently established Arboretum Park. To the north was the Forest, which was
a vast open space, preserved by the Enclosure Act of 1845, and used for
drilling troops, cricket, and horse racing.

Another
contemporary description said that the site was...“...on the recently enclosed
Lammas Lands, between the Arboretum and the Racecourse, so that however much
the town extends, it is not likely to be enclosed by buildings. There is ground
enough for a large playground.”

At the
time, Forest Road ran at the top of a gorse covered ridge, and some of the
famous windmills may well still have been there.

Years
later, during the controversy over the sacking of Frederick Cusins, the site
was to be called “...quite in the outskirts of the town, apparently with the
view of rendering the School as inconvenient of access as possible to the
pupils.” It was even more ironic that another, more suitable, site had been
seriously considered, but then rejected...“...a tolerably convenient spot was
first selected in Goldsmith Street for the purpose, but was abandoned.”

The
greatest pity, of course, was that the Trustees did not take the opportunity to
acquire enough land for the school to have its own games fields on site. While,
in retrospect, this is regrettable, it should not be forgotten that these
events all happened well before team sport was organised in schools, and that
the Arboretum Street site must have seemed fairly ideal for an absolute maximum
of only two hundred boys.

Thursday, July
19th, 1860

At the
age of eleven years and one month, Jessy Boot (sic) was elected to the Free
School. He was the son of Mary Boot, a widow of Goosegate, Nottingham, and
first came to the School in July of 1861. He remained in Mr.Field’s English
Department until his departure in August 1863.

Wednesday, August
1st 1860

Although
Master of the Free School, William Butler acted as Chaplain to the Town Gaol.
On one occasion, recalled Mr.Braithwaite in later years, “...a man named Fenton
was sentenced to death at the Notts. Assizes for a murder in the northern part
of the county. Our headmaster, the Rev.W.Butler, as Chaplain of the County
Gaol, was required to read the burial service at the execution, which was fixed
for 8 o’clock one morning at the Gaol in the High Pavement ...The second master
read prayers, and we waited, silent and awed. Presently the door was burst
open, and poor Mr.Butler, with face white and drawn, stumbled in and staggered
to his pew, almost spent. After resting awhile he stood up and said, “Boys, I
have just come from....” and then he broke down. After recovering himself, he
began again, and then he preached us a more impressive sermon than I have heard
from any pulpit. As no one was in the mood for lessons we were sent home for
the day...”

John
Fenton, a blacksmith and publican, was hanged at the age of thirty-seven for
the murder of Charles Spencer at Walkeringham on March 6th 1860. This was a
public execution, held on the front steps of what is now the Shire Hall in High
Pavement. The crowd, however, was a lot smaller than expected. This was
because, although fourteen years previously, the last public hanging had
resulted in the crushing to death of seventeen people, almost all of them
children.

1860

The
Reverend William Butler, who had already had his physical constitution somewhat
weakened by the stresses and strains of the Sir Thomas White’s Loan Money
scandal in 1856,  and the death of his son in 1858, finally resigned on the
grounds of poor health. He was clearly a tired man, and had himself suggested,
a year before, that the move to a new school would be better carried out under
a new headmaster.

On the
other hand, it is known that William Butler, who could, on occasion, be a
strict disciplinarian, was a popular man with his pupils, and when he returned
to the regular reunions of former Free School pupils some twenty five years
afterwards, he was always very well received by them. Indeed, when he left the
school, the classical boys gave him a commemorative watch and a written address
which they had all signed.

December 1860

After
Butler’s resignation, it was hoped that the school would transfer to a new site
within the next couple of years. For this reason, the Trustees asked the
Reverend Frederick Teeling Cusins, the Usher, to act as headmaster, deferring an
appointment until the move was completed. By this time, there were now almost a
hundred boys in the school, and only three unqualified teachers to assist the
acting headmaster. The latter not move into the empty Master’s house, but
stayed in his family home at 16, Esplanade, Bilbie Street.

As
might be anticipated, the move did not take place as planned, and Cusins was to
be kept hanging on, hoping one day to be Headmaster, for almost seven years.

Christmas 1860

Mr.J.Braithwaite
reminisced about a famous fight inside the Stoney Street building...“ One
breaking-up day ( I think it was Christmas 1860 ) there was a bit of a riot in
the lower school. One of the pupils, a big hulking fellow, who was leaving that
quarter, had some kind of a grievance against the master, and for revenge he
set to and smashed everything in the room that was breakable, and incited the
younger boys to help him. In a very short time, the room was a complete wreck,
and when the master, Mr.Hall, returned to see what the row was all about, they
seized him and locked him in the room amid the ruins. Then they thought they
would serve the upper room in the same way, but we had been watching their
proceedings from above and were ready for them. When they attempted to mount
the staircase to our room we met them at the bottom and a battle royal began.
Though they exceeded us in numbers we had the advantage of position, and after
a regular fight, which lasted over half-an-hour, we made a concerted rush, and
cleared them out at the front door. Only fists were used, and though there were
many bruises no bones were broken, and the lower boys had the most casualties.
But it was a grand fight !

And with jesting and
with laughter still is the story told,

How well the top boys
kept the stairs in the brave days of old. ”

Monday, August
1st 1864

The
Charity Commissioners approved the plans for the new school. It was to have two
sections, the Upper School and the Lower School, the latter managed by the
Under Master.

There
would be fixed fees, and the Headmaster and Usher would receive a
pre-determined percentage of this money in addition to their ordinary salary.
Anybody who wished could pay a fifty pound gift to the school, and have a boy
of their choice admitted.

some time
shortly after 8 a.m.,Wednesday, August 10th 1864

Like
many of the Masters of the Free School, Frederick Cusins acted as Chaplain to
the Town Gaol. An old boy reminisced how on one occasion, “...looking very
pale, he entered the room and said, “Boys, I have just seen a man hanged. I cannot
teach you today. You may all go home.”

It may
have been episodes like this which led to the rather grim tradition that every
time a criminal was executed in Nottingham Gaol, only some two hundred metres
from the Free School, the boys had a holiday.

The man
who was hanged was Richard Thomas Parker, aged twenty-nine. After a life time
of being overindulged by his parents, he went to a cricket match at
Newark-on-Trent, and consumed, as was his wont, too much alcohol. He came home
and shot both his parents from the window of the house. His father, Thomas
Parker, recovered from his wounds, but his seventy-six-year old wife did not.

This
was the last public execution in Nottingham, and the executioner was Mr.Asken
of York. Parker was buried inside the gaol. The last execution in Nottingham
took place in April 1928.

October 1864

To
raise the capital needed to build the new school, the Trustees sold seven acres
of land in the King’s Meadows to the Midland Railway Company for £8,400.

early 1865

A
competition was been held for architects, and was won by Mr.Arthur Wilson of
Castlegate. The winning design was, however, rejected by the Charity
Commissioners, as unsuitable.

The
runner up, Mr R.C.Sutton of Bromley House, Angel Row was then named as
Architect of the school building.

Virtually
no progress was made, however, when construction work got under way, and Sutton
was quickly dismissed. In any case, the Charity Commissioners were thought to
have been somewhat unhappy with his design.

The
next architect was Thomas Simpson, who had not even taken part in the original
competition. His plans, which contained, apparently, substantial contributions
from Messrs T.C.Hull and Evans, were deemed satisfactory by the Trustees, and
the Charity Commissioners, although, insofar as he was by now the third
architect to be engaged, the town was swept by increasingly wild rumours about
what had happened.

1865-1868

It was
during this period, as standards rose at Stoney Street under Cusins, that an
increasing number of boys began to perform well both in the junior and senior
sections of the Oxford Local Examinations. In 1866 and 1867 particularly,
results were seen to be excellent.

Thursday, March
22nd 1866

In
1865, William Henry Revis had participated at the meeting of the local shinney
club, when it was proposed that Nottingham Forest Foot Ball Club be formed.
This momentous event took place at the Clinton Arms Hotel, in Sherwood Street.
Revis was later to serve on the fledgling club’s founding committee, along with
Thomas George Howitt.

Revis
soon became a regular player for the new club, and is credited with their first
ever “goal”, a “...match winning try...against the Notts Club in March 1866.”,
scored after a close race against W.Browne. The match, watched by hundreds of
curious spectators, was billed as “The Garibaldis v The Lambs” and the full
story appears in a booklet entitled “History of Nottingham Forest Football
Club” published in 1891, in connection with a bazaar held to raise funds for
the club at the Mechanics’ Hall in Nottingham. Events were recalled, albeit
nearly twenty five years later, by an eye witness of that very first
encounter...“....The first series of matches between the Notts. and Forest
Clubs was played on the Forest towards the end of the season of 1866...Neither
side had scored until close upon time, when after a sort of steeplechase race
across the goal line and over the railings nearest the grand stand, between
Hugh Browne and W.H.Revis, the ball was touched down by the latter and the
place kick, 15 yards at right angles from the goal line, being taken by the
same player, the first of many interesting games between the two clubs in after
years, ended in a win of one goal to nothing for the Forest. In order to obtain
the goal a ball had to be kicked between the goal posts, there being no cross
bar at that time. Mr.J.S.Scrimshaw was Umpire.”

William
Henry Revis was born in 1849. His father was William Revis, a corn dealer of
Bilbie Street, Nottingham. Revis entered the Dame Agnes Mellers’ Free School on
July 26th 1859, at the age of ten years six months, initially as a member of
the Classical Department. William’s elder brother, Joseph Revis, had already
entered the school on July 29th 1845, at the age of nine years five months. He
was placed “...on trial”, and left at Midsummer 1850. At this time, his
father’s profession is listed as a baker in Mansfield Road.

William
Revis had rather more notable academic success than his elder brother, however,
and proved to be an intelligent student, who won the Mayor of Nottingham’s
Prize for an English Essay in 1862. The following year, he was awarded the
Headmaster’s Prize for Latin Composition, and received a Second Class in the
Oxford Local Examinations. He left the Free School in March 1864.

noon, Thursday,
October 18th 1866

The
Foundation Stone for the new school was laid by the Right Honourable Lord
Belper. The guests had been asked to assemble in the “Eastern Corridor of the
Arboretum” at 11.30 a.m., and the ceremony itself followed half an hour later.
It took place in heavy rain, and was watched by the Trustees, around a hundred
and twenty Old Boys and the boys who were currently pupils at Stoney Street.
Eventually, it proved impossible to continue in the open air of the “Centre
Corridor” of the Arboretum, and the whole party then moved to the Arboretum
Rooms, where they were entertained with speeches, “Wine and Biscuits”.

Strangely
enough, the Foundation Stone appears to have soon been lost, and it has never
been rediscovered. It contained “...an aperture, with various documents in a
bottle.”

Presumably, it was overlain with
other stones, and its whereabouts were, quite simply, forgotten.

Problems
and disputes were continually to dog the erection of the new building. It was
still thought that the school was too far from the town centre, and much of the
stonework would eventually be found to be well below standard.

Friday, October
19th 1866

The
Nottingham Guardian and Journal spoke of “...The new building, judging from the
plans, will be admirably fitted for its purpose, the architect (Mr.T.Simpson)
having with great taste combined the ornaments of a good style of architecture
with the best possible arrangements for economy of space and bestowal of the
different departments of the school.”

April 1867

William
Cheshire, the son of Edmund Cheshire, a publican of Burton Street, was
“suspended for repeated misconduct”.

April 1867

Joseph
Frederick Hull, aged ten years and eleven months, failed to return to school
after the Easter break, having “died of fever”. The Free School register
records many such sad events, with, in many cases, the victims perishing from
the most unspecific and vague of causes.

June 1867

An
eleven year old boy, Benjamin Arthur Heald, who had entered the English School
in January 1866, is recorded as having “died from the effects of sunbathing”.
It is not known if this occurred at the Free School or in his home life.

November 1867

Despite
the success of Frederick Cusins as acting Headmaster, his job was advertised
widely.

1868

A
Charity Commissioner reported on the High School under Frederick Cusins, and
said that he was “doing good work at this time...Under the present master a
higher class of boys have begun to frequent the school, and their discipline
and demeanour appears to be thoroughly satisfactory.” The classical school was
“as satisfactory as could be expected under the circumstances.” The English
school was less good, but the boys had two hours fewer at school each day, and
neither of their teachers were graduates, as Cusins was busy teaching 25 Greek
pupils, 50 Latin, 38 of these for French, 13 for German and 19 for Advanced
Mathematics. Indeed, the Mathematics and Classics were taught by Cusins as two
hours’ unpaid overtime every day. Old boys said that under Cusins, they were “taught,
not simply told to learn what was in them.” He “made us work, and put us
through a course of History, Geography, English Composition and Mathematics,
subjects which we had almost entirely neglected. We also kept up our Latin and
Greek as well as French and German.”

Overall,
the standards of the school under Frederick Cusins rose considerably. It was
more or less due completely to his “self-sacrificing energy” that the school
was constantly overflowing with pupils during the seven years of his temporary
leadership.

January 1868

Many of
the people of Nottingham were dismayed to hear that in future, all boys would
have to pay fees. A writer to the “Nottingham Journal” complained that
“...would-be recipients of this splendid charity are refused admittance to make
room for sons of well-to-do tradesmen and manufacturers”. Others were deeply
mistrustful of the way that the Trustees would, in future, control which boys
went into the school.

Monday, February
3rd 1868

The
Council appointed a deputation, including the Mayor and a number of
councillors, to present a petition to the Trustees. It asked there should be no
fees in the new school.

March 1868

From
now on, any boy wishing to enter the school would have to be chosen by a
“Donor”, someone who had made a cash donation of at least £50 to the school.
The Donor could nominate a boy, and, as soon as he left, then had the right to
choose another. This process could continue until the Donor died.

In the
period of overlap, when both Donors and Trustees had the right to nominate a
boy, it was the Donor’s choice which took precedence. Certain people, who gave
less than fifty pounds, did not have the right to nominate. Others even died
before the boy of their choice could enter the school.

The
first thirty-nine Donors chose a grand total of one hundred and three boys.
Samuel Morley, who had made an enormous gift to the school, chose eighty-three
boys during his lifetime, including the future Headmaster, Dr.Turpin.

Wednesday, March
11th 1868

A prize
giving was held at which Frederick Cusins acted as Headmaster. The awards were
based on the pupils’ performances in the Oxford Local Examinations.

The Trustees had postponed their
announcement of who was going to be the new Headmaster at least once, and at
this time, no decision had yet been revealed. The Stoney Street school was due
to close in a fortnight’s time, and most people in the town thought that this
would mark the beginning of Cusin’s reign as the permanent Headmaster of the
school.

The
prizes were presented by Dr.Vaughan, the former Headmaster of Harrow, and he
said that the people of Nottingham were fortunate in “having such a master as
the gentleman who was now at the head of their Grammar School.” This was
greeted with loud cheering.

The man
who had marked the examination papers, Canon Melville of Worcester, said that
he hoped “...under no change of circumstances should he have to know that the
Grammar School at Nottingham had passed into other hands than the present
master (cheers)...he hoped that his appointment would be confirmed, and that
his position would be strengthened by the further success of the School.”

Friday, March
13th 1868

Mr.Robert
Dixon, the second master at Hereford Cathedral School, was announced as the new
Headmaster. Supposedly, six men had been shortlisted for the job, including
Walter Besant, a well known writer.

This
news “electrified the inhabitants of Nottingham from one end of the town.” It
was considered a slur on Cusin’s abilities as a teacher, a shock to his pupils,
and an act which would jeopardise his future career. After seven years of
faithful service, he was being cast off without any thanks whatsoever. The
Trustees were accused of having knowingly perpetrated a “mean and cowardly
deception”, and had, to all intents and purposes, dismissed him with only
twelve days’ notice.

Dr.Dixon
was a fine scholar, both of Classics and Mathematics. His hobbies were Geology,
History and literature.

Tuesday, March
17th 1868

The
“Nottingham Journal” declared that the decision showed the “ tendency of
corporate bodies to jobbery...we regret to say that Nottingham is somewhat
famous in this respect.” They added that an equal amount of “jobbery” had been
shown in the erection of the new school itself.

Cusins
was “...a gentleman who for the past ten years has conducted (the school) with
success.” The new headmaster, according to the newspaper was “...an unknown
man, younger in years, less experienced.” With the decision, the Trustees were
“..following out their policy of doing everything in their power to destroy the
usefulness of a noble institution.” The outrage was to rumble on for many
weeks, and to attract letters from all over Nottingham, and beyond.

Immense
speculation grew as to the reasons for the Trustees decision. They varied from
“sectarian rancour” to “party spite”, “personal hostility”, “despotic tyranny”,
“ignorant presumption”, “fancied wisdom”, to “the dictates of conscience”.
Whatever the truth, it was judged “..a very foolish, cruel and wicked thing.”

A
friend of Mr.Cusins even went as far as to publish and distribute a pamphlet
entitled “A Short Statement of the Case of the Reverend F.T.Cusins, M.A., Late
Headmaster of the Nottingham Grammar School.” He argued that a conspiracy was
at work. This sacking was just the last act in a scheme to “change the title
and character of the School, and to rob the inhabitants of their rights in
connection with it.” What had made it possible to get rid of Cusins was the
fact that, in the schools’ best interests, he had “felt bound, in justice to
the future interests of the School, to point out to the Trustees what he
considered to be great mistakes in the situation and design of the new School
”.

Later events, of course, were to
prove Cusins absolutely right, but he would not be the first, nor indeed, the
last, messenger to be shot because of the contents of his message.

Further to this, Cusins remained a
link with the past, somebody who could remember what the Stoney Street School
had been like, and who might make wounding comparisons, when the new building
was in use, and experiencing the problems which new buildings inevitably do.

And a
new building was not the only change which the Trustees would be making around
this time, of course. Cusins would be able to remember a school with a different
system of choosing its pupils and a different system of finances. Most of all,
perhaps, he could remember a school where there were no fees, and a very
different class of pupil.

The
“Nottingham Guardian” took an opposing point of view, and always defended the
Trustees, but it is interesting that it never went as far as to criticise
Cusins himself. Only one dissenting voice was ever to do this, in a letter from
“E.M.B.” of Birkenhead. He said that both Cusins and Mr.Hall, the writing
master from Stoney Street, who also had been sacked, were in actual fact poor
teachers, who just doled out large amounts of Latin homework with no help for
the weaker boys. This policy allegedly led to much copying and cheating.

Letters
came into the school from those who disagreed. They included “Three Grammar
School Boys”, who explained that “...there is not a single boy who does not
regret the change... masters were always willing to explain to those who were
willing to listen...the second master was one of the kindest and most
gentlemanly tutors a boy could wish for.”

At no
point in the controversy did the Trustees make any public statement about the
reasons for their treatment of Mr.Cusins.

Wednesday, March
25th 1868

This
was the last day of the Stoney Street school. In later years, M.I.Preston
recollected how “...when prayers, broken by the sobs of the reader, were read
for the last time, there were very few dry eyes even among us hardened boys.”

With
its closure, Cusin’s rule as acting Headmaster came to an end. The man who had
inspected the school annually since 1860, Mr.George Hale of Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge, had always been most enthusiastic about Cusins’ leadership.
He said that his dismissal in favour of Dr.Dixon was “cruel and perfectly
incomprehensible conduct of the Trustees”.

The
boys gave Mr.Cusins “a beautiful ormolu time piece”, and his wife received a
biscuit box. The head-boy, John Russell, gave an address, which was later
printed out on vellum. Great sorrow was expressed at Mr.Cusin’s departure, both
for him, and the boys themselves.

Cusins
was dignified in his reply. He said that had received a “tremendous
disappointment, but that was neither the time nor the place to enter upon it.”

10.00 a.m., Thursday,
April 16th 1868

The
boys of the Free School assembled, many of them accompanied by their parents.
The Mayor and Trustees were also present. The Headmaster read out Psalm 103,
and offered an appropriate prayer. An old boy was subsequently to recollect how
it was “...in the grave and dignified, but rather monotonous voice that became
familiar.”

The
Chairman of the Trustees, Mr.W.Vickers, then gave an account of how the school
had moved up from Stoney Street, and, after introducing the Headmaster,
formally declared the school, although far from complete, open for business.

The
Headmaster addressed the boys, explaining that they would receive a “thorough
commercial and a thorough classical education” which would be “as complete as
possible”. He impressed upon them “the duties and advantages of punctuality and
regularity, purposing to enforce strict discipline and strict obedience.” He
intended to govern “not by caprice, but by law and order.”

After
the Headmaster’s speech, the boys present paid their Capitation fees, and the
meeting came to a close.

The
“Nottingham Journal” only found out about the ceremony by accident, and its
reporter rushed up from the town, only to find the proceedings all but over.
The “Nottingham Guardian” carried a long and enthusiastic account, although
even as the High School’s most keenest supporter, it expressed its great regret
that Dame Agnes Mellers’ instructions were being ignored, and that the school
was no longer “oon Free Scole”.

In the
register for the Upper School, the first boy is listed as Henry Barber, who
was born on September 30th 1857, and who formally entered the school on March
31st 1868. His father was John Barber, a grocer of Long Row, Nottingham. The
headmaster has added, in black ink, to Henry’s entry in the register, “The 1st
Boy Admitted into the New School” (sic). Henry left at Christmas 1873.

The
first boy in the new register for the Lower School was Arthur Sidney Maltby,
aged thirteen, who was born on August 13th 1854, and who entered the school on
the same day as Henry Barber. Maltby’s father was Charles Maltby, a shopkeeper
of Clumber Street. Arthur left at Midsummer 1869. In 1931, at the age of
seventy-seven, he was to be one of the guests of honour at the school’s Speech
Day.

The
finished building contained, to the west, the Upper or Classical School, and to
the east, the Lower, or English School. Both rooms measured sixty feet long and
thirty feet wide, and had an open timbered roof with hammer beam circular
stayed principals. Each school was entered separately by porches right and left
of the rear, while the main entrance was by steps from the terrace to the
south.

In
later years, the Upper School at least was to be divided in two with a curtain,
to make it easier to teach two classes. On special occasions, such as prayers,
the curtain could be pulled back.

Within
a few weeks of the school’s opening, the Chairman of the Trustees and the Clerk
had visited Birmingham to see “a star light and bracket” powered by gas,
intending to replace the “farthing dip” candles used at Stoney Street. Four
were eventually fitted for the Upper School, and four for the Lower. A special
gas supply had to be used for this innovation.

The two
schools were completely separate, with forms which ran from the most junior to
the sixth form. Each school had its own “head of the School” its own head boy,
and its own prefects. Fees in the Lower School were four guineas per year, and
in the Upper School eight guineas per year. This monetary difference caused
enormous friction between the two groups, which for many years amounted to a
feud.

Between
the two schools was the splendidly Gothic tower, with two private rooms for the
masters, which, in later years, would have other occupants, including the
Headmaster and either the School Secretary or the Drill Sergeant.

Behind
these were a visitors’ room and a library which measured 37 feet 6 inches wide,
and 16 feet 2 inches deep. At either side of this area were sliding doors,
which could be pulled back to turn the two classrooms into one enormous
expanse, some hundred and sixty feet long, and thirty feet wide.

From
the visitors’ room, you passed into the entrance hall, 28 feet by 15 feet,
which was lit from the top by an open timbered roof, supported by enriched
corbels, all of which, unfortunately, was demolished in 1939.

Passing
through an arcade to the right of the entrance hall, a flight of steps led to
the gallery library above the visitors’ waiting room, and to a committee room
which overlooked the south entrance, with a terrace in the front, enjoying a
splendid view over the lawns, and, indeed, the whole town. In later years, this
was to be used as the prefects’ room.

The
gallery library had traceried windows, through which the visitor could watch
the schoolboys, and indeed, staff, hard at work. Just one such window still
survives, at the eastern end of the present day library. Classes would have
looked very different in those days. In each corner of the enormous “big
school”, a master would sit in a high chair, surrounded by his pupils, who
would be on benches.

To the
left of the gallery, a geometrical staircase led to the museum and observatory
on the third storey, which was lit on all sides by the octangular flag tower.

Next to the western porch was a
porter’s lodge, with a parlour, kitchen, scullery, three bedrooms and cellarage,
with the masters’ toilets adjoining the eastern porch. Eventually, the cellar
of the porter’s quarters became a boiler house, and the parlour became a
storeroom, where generations of caretakers brewed tea, until Mr.Boot drank the
last cup, shortly before demolition in 1939.

Originally,
to the north of the lobby, there was meant to be “a covered corridor, with an
open timbered roof, 93 feet long and 8 feet wide, bounded right and left by a
suite of nine classrooms, each 17 feet by 15 feet.” In actual fact, by the time
that the school opened, there were just three large, and two small classrooms
in this area.

Most
interesting of all, perhaps was the fact that underneath the main building was
a huge cellar, measuring a hundred and sixty feet long by thirty feet wide,
occupying the same area as the building above, where the sandstone base had
been hollowed out into a gigantic playroom,. It was reached by an archway from
the terrace at the front of the school, and then by a passageway, along which
coal was brought in carts, to avoid damaging any of the gardens at the front of
the school.

The
boys were allowed into the cellars to play in winter, or when there was bad
weather. The subterranean room was lit by round windows which were high up from
inside the cellar, but at ground level when viewed from the outside of the
building.

Underneath
the corridor which ran to the classrooms in the north arm was a corresponding
tunnel. To this side of this were the boys’ toilets, which were dry closets,
rather than using water, a temporary dining room, and a number of various
little rooms for storage. This tunnel would eventually be continued as a
cutting some six feet deep, linking the school with Forest Road.

One
plan which was destined never to be carried out was that of levelling the whole
site to the level of Forest Road, and of thereby leaving the entire building
raised up above the town, on its own “high terrace”. How spectacular that would
have been !

When
the building was completed, it was found to be full of major faults. Twenty
years later, the vice-chairman of the governors was to call it “...that
building which he believed had been built to rebuild again.” The architect was
accused by the Trustees of passing parts of the structure as sound when they clearly
were not, of carrying out work without the authority to do so, and of
disobeying his instructions from the Trustees. When pressed, Simpson refused to
give any explanations, and the Trustees decided to undertake legal proceedings
against him, if their legal advisers thought that they had a case.

One
planned feature of the new school which was destined never to be built, was a
large detached Headmaster’s house, in the same architectural style as the rest
of the complex. Instead, the Trustees added £100 to the £1,500 gift from Samuel
Morley to buy a pair of semi-detached houses on the north east corner of
Clarendon Road, the nearer of which was let to the Headmaster, Dr.Dixon.

The
Under Master in the new school was Alexander Irving and in the Upper School,
the First Assistant Master was the Reverend Charles Yeld. Mr.Charles Bray was
the Second Assistant Master. In the Lower School, the First Assistant Master
was Mr.Henry Seymour, who also taught drawing, and the Second Assistant Master
was Mr.James Chester. At the time, it was thought that foreign languages could
only be taught by native speakers, and French was, therefore, taught by
Monsieur J.L.E.Durand. Herr Forest was the German Master. Only Mr.Bray, who had
been Usher under Mr.Cusins, had previously worked at Stoney Street.

There
were 192 pupils, all of them fee payers. The school had cost £6,000 to build,
the principal contractor being Mr.Johnson.

after Easter
1868

The
boys from Stoney Street were still indignant at the treatment that Mr.Cusins
had received.

M.I.Preston
was later to reminisce “...We were prepared to hate him. We did hate
him...at first. When we assembled after the Easter holiday, at the High School
(“beastly name”, we thought, we were Grammar School boys), we had no
books, not we, and we knew nothing....but the keen insight of Robert Dixon
speedily detected the imposture, and we were riddled, and then out through the
sieve thoroughly. Then came the struggle for mastery. It was short and
decisive, and we were routed all along the line.”

Dixon
forced the boys to work through what would have been their first afternoon
off...“If you idle fellows won’t work, neither shall you play ; you will all
come to school this afternoon and every half-holiday, until you do work.”

Dr.Dixon
kept them in doing monotonous work until 6.30 p.m., although the best behaved
and the most industrious were allowed to leave earlier. None of the boys had
dared to stay away from school, even though it was a half day. When Dr.Dixon
finally let then go, he said, “Now, if you boys keep me in on another holiday I
shall thrash every one of you.”

Monday, May
11th 1868

The
“Nottingham Journal” published a letter from the Charity Commissioners, a reply
to the five hundred signatures on a petition objecting to the introduction of
school fees. The Commissioners had rejected the petition, safe in the knowledge
that an Act of Parliament justified their position. The editor said that the
Act had been “smuggled through Parliament to take away the rights of 80,000
people...Dullness that can pay the new school fees is to monopolise the School,
and talent which is poor is to be totally excluded, save on terms which no boy
of spirit would admit.” The newspaper considered that the Commissioners just
wanted “...to place the School on a narrow and rotten basis, calculated to
weaken its influence, and turn it into a “class” educational institution.”

June 1868

Mr.Sutton,
the Architect, presented his bill to the Trustees. It was for £485 11s 0d. They
decided to pay him three hundred guineas for the school and ten guineas for
valuing the land. They insisted, however, that he returned the plans to them.
Twenty years afterwards, Sutton was to design the Drawing and Writing School,
and a famous landmark in the town, the Walter Fountain.

July 1868

A large
group of local worthies, led by the Reverend Francis Morse, the Vicar of
St.Mary’s. expressed their own regrets to Cusins. Morse described him as “ a
manly, honest, straightforward, courteous gentleman.” Morse added that “..I had
hoped that when the new School was opened, my own boys would have the great
advantage of such a Teacher. I must say that I am greatly disappointed that it
is not to be.” Cusins received an illuminated address and a pouch containing
one hundred and thirty guineas. He refused to speak on the details of his
departure from the school. He said that he had “..a strong opinion on the
subject, one which was destined to become stronger”.

Eventually,
Cusins went to live in North Hykeham near Lincoln. From 1871-1891 at least, he
was Diocesan Inspector of Schools for the Archdeaconry of Nottingham. Not
surprisingly, perhaps, his remit did not include the High School. He died on
August 30th 1900, and is buried at North Hykeham.

After
Cusin’s death, the one-time head boy, John Russell, set up a memorial fund,
which paid for a commemorative tablet in the school Prayer Room, and endowed
the Cusins Prize for History.

July 1868

The
Trustees gave the boys of the High School the right to wear mortar boards if
they chose to do so. It was thought that this measure would improve the new
school’s image, and enhance its improved status.

At this
time, both schools studied History, Latin, Mathematics, Science and Scripture,
and the Lower School studied Elementary Free-hand, English Grammar, Mechanical Drawing,
Reading and Spelling. The Upper School studied Book-keeping, Drawing and
Designing, English and foreign language literature, Greek and the principles of
Civil Engineering.

midsummer 1868

The new
school’s first inspector reported that “the present standard of attainment...
is by no means high.” He recommended that another teacher be appointed. In
August, the Trustees appointed William Jackson of Hulme, Manchester in the Lower
School, and, in December, Mr.S.J.Sanders in the Upper School.

Wednesday, September
9th 1868

The
fact that they wore mortar boards had made every High School boy immediately
identifiable. Every one became a target for the street urchin with a witty
rejoinder, or worse still, a stone in his hand.

On this
day, two boys were on trial at the Guildhall, accused of assaulting an
“intelligent boy”, named Charles Barber. All six parents were in court, and the
assaulted boy’s father was keen to point out that he was not being particularly
vindictive, but merely wished to protect his son. The defendants’ parents
expressed their regret, but clearly not well enough, and the two defendants
were both fined 15s 0d, a considerable sum in those days.

The
“Nottingham Journal” could not resist a few jibes, when it reported the case,
insisting on calling the school “The Nottingham Free Grammar School (or the
school which should be free). A short time afterwards, they published a letter
which spoke of “College Caps (alias mortar-boards) versus Brains ”. The letter
recounted how...“ There has just passed a Grammar School boy with college cap
carrying a butcher’s or grocer’s basket.”

December 1868

Five
scholarships were established for the Upper School, and five for the Lower. In
actual fact, this caused even more controversy in the town, as it was thought
that the offer of just ten free places, instead of a whole school, as there had
previously been at Stoney Street, was rather insulting. There was resentment
that even these ten scholarships might not be awarded exclusively on the basis
of academic talent, but according to what the Trustees enigmatically called
“special circumstances”.

Questions
were asked about why the details of the Free School’s finances had never been
revealed to public scrutiny. Worries were expressed about whether those same
individuals, who had “...in their public capacity, been notorious for their
jobbery”, and were now operating as Trustees, were going to be any more
competent with the new High School. Even the fact that the Examiner did not
attend the prize giving was taken as proof that he had “something unpleasant”
to say about the school.

December 1868

Permission
was granted for boarders to lodge at masters’ houses. Thirty-eight boys
immediately accepted, at a cost of sixteen guineas in the Upper School, and
eight guineas in the Lower. They stayed with the Headmaster, the Second Master
and two other teachers.

pre-1869

Until
this year, the only way for a boy to get into the school had been to have his
name put forward by one of the Trustees.

the middle of
the nineteenth century

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at
“Appendix Two : The Forest”.

January 1869

Because
of the distance of the school from the pupils’ homes, dinners now had to be
provided on site. The kitchens and dining rooms in the basement could offer
“hot or cold meat or soup, vegetables, bread etc.” for eight pence. Boys could
bring their own dinners, prepared at home, and then use the dining room, for a
penny, or with vegetables, for two pence.

Prize giving
1869

The
Reverend J.Martin, of the Derby Road Baptist Church, drew attention to the
“untrained sheep that had recently been admitted to the flock.” This was a
reference to an extra hundred boys admitted to the new school by the governors,
in an effort to get the best value from the new school buildings. These boys
were of a much lower standard than had previously been the case, and proved a
great problem for the new headmaster.

Saturday, July
3rd 1869

A
letter was sent to the “Nottingham Journal” complaining about the change of
name to Nottingham High School... “..May I ask why the school is called high ?
Is it because it stands on a hill ? Or because it surpasses all other schools
in excellence ? Or is it merely arrogance ?

July 1869

The
report by the Inspector, Mr.Hale, said that “The School has made very
considerable progress, and on the whole has passed a very good examination.”

One of
the few faults that the inspector found was that there were still not enough
members of staff. The lowest class in the Upper School contained over 60 boys.
The Trustees took his advice, and appointed three more teachers.

midsummer 1869

From
the eighty or so boys in the Free School, there were now 281 pupils in the High
School.

circa 1870

About
two acres of land were purchased to enlarge the playground, and they took the
school’s northern boundary as far as Forest Road. The tunnel underneath the
school was continued further northwards until it became a cutting, permitting
access from Forest Road.

This
cutting was large enough for a cart to be driven along it, and became gradually
deeper and deeper as it reached the northern door of the school. At this point,
it measured some six feet in height.

In
actual fact, there is some indication that this new cutting may well have been
based on another, far older, route for carriages between Forest Road and the
centre of the town, which had existed long before the building of the school,
and which could therefore now be used as a route for the school’s deliveries of
coal.

April 1870

Dr.Dixon
founded a new school magazine called “The Forester”. It contained for the most
part learned essays such as “The Suez Canal”. “Holman’s Hunt’s Light of the
World”, and even “The Life of the Monkey”, but also introduced a section
entitled “Our Chronicle”, designed to allow reports of “the honours, the work,
or the sports of the School.” In this particular edition, there was only enough
room remaining to report that Lacey, the Head Boy, had gained a First Class
with Honours in the Cambridge Senior Local Examinations in English, Latin and
Geology.

early Summer
Term, 1870

In what
appears to be the school’s first recorded cricket match, the Upper School
Eleven played Mount Vernon School. The Upper School batted first, and made 227
all out, with Frank Ashwell scoring 97. In reply, Mount Vernon had made 12-2
when the match finished, for an unrecorded reason.

June 1870

After
writing letters to the Charity Commissioners and to the local press, Mr.James
Morley of Lenton took the Trustees to court over the unsanitary condition of
the boys’ toilets, which were, of course, at this time, underground, as well as
being dry, earth closets. His own son had recently been ill, and he wanted
changes to be made before an epidemic was caused.

The
Trustees had a summons issued against them, and a meeting of the Sanitary
Committee of the Town Council was held at the school. Mr.H.O.Tarbotton, the
Corporation Surveyor, was then instructed to look into the problem, and plans
were drawn up.

This
all did much to quiet the rumours which were sweeping the town at the time, about
an epidemic of cholera at the school, in which a boy had died. People during
this era were very concerned about cholera. There had been a severe national
epidemic as recently as 1865-1866.

midsummer 1870

The
Inspector, Mr.Hales, reported that the school was in “a high state of
efficiency.” By now there were 297 pupils.

In one
of the very first comments on the teaching of Natural Sciences, mention was
made of Chemistry, Geology, Astronomy and Heat. There was also a Natural
History Society in the school, which, among other activities, contributed
scientific essays to “The Forester”.

The
latter magazine appears to have had a rather patchy record of appearances at
first. It came out in 1870-1871, 1878-1880 and then from 1886-1905. It was
edited for many years by Mr.Corner.

Wednesday and
Thursday, September 28th and 29th 1870

The
Annual School sports were again held at Trent Bridge. Events on the first day
included the popular “High Leap with a Pole”, won by “Woodhouse i “with a jump
of 7ft 6ins, “a good jump for a man”.

A total
of thirty-six boys also entered the stone gathering race, and the sack race was
won by Darby, who had the bright idea of inserting a toe tightly into each
corner of the sack, and then “shuffled along capitally”.

On the
second day there was a “Stranger’s Race” where, presumably, people not directly
connected with the school were allowed to compete. There was a certain
reluctance to enter this race, because of the presence of Mr.Sam Weller
Widdowson, the famous captain of the Nottingham Forest Foot-ball Club, but a
number of gentlemen finally took part, running in top hats and overcoats. As
expected, Mr.Widdowson was in first place, with Mr.Frederick Rothera second.

Among
the more normal events, there was then a “blind donkey race” with large boys
blindfolded, and small boys riding piggyback, giving them directions. It was
won by “Purchase i and Brown iii ”.

Wednesday, October
5th 1870

The
first recorded school football match took place, most probably on the Forest.
The Fifth Form beat the Fourth Form by 2-1.

Wednesday, October
12th 1870

On the
Forest, the “First Ten” beat the “Next Twenty” by 2-1.There cannot have been
too many football matches played between two teams, one of which was twice as
large as the other.

Saturday, November
19th 1870

The
school’s first recorded away fixture was played at Mansfield against Mansfield
Grammar School XV. The school won by 3-0, and the home side is known to have
scored a goal to reduce the deficit to 1-3, only for the referee to disallow
it.

Wednesday, November
30th 1870

In a
return match on the Forest, the First Eleven beat Mansfield Grammar School by
4-0, the first recorded home victory for the side.

Christmas 1870

In the
“Our Chronicle” section of the school magazine, the first descriptions of High
School football appeared, with brief accounts of just five matches. During this
first recorded season of 1870-1871, the school were to play representative
fixtures against Mansfield Grammar School (3-0 and 4-0), Trent College (0-3)
and Mount Vernon High School, a home game played on the Forest in dense fog
throughout the entire afternoon, a defeat through “good play and good luck”.

the early
1870s

It took
a long time to excavate the playground to the same level as Forest Road.
Sometimes, builders paid sixpence and were allowed to take away a cartload of
sand. On other occasions, the Trustees had to pay for the job to be done. Work
began on the eastern side, and the front of the school was not completed until
about 1880.

the 1870s

During
this decade, the school received a number of generous gifts from benefactors.
They included Samuel Morley M.P. (£1,500), George Moore and Sampson Copestake
junior (£1,500), Frederick Carter Cooper (two acres of land), the Reverend
R.W.Stevenson (£300) and the Old Boys (£700). They were almost exclusively used
to fund boys going to university.

1871

Initially,
in the majority of public schools, games were seen as a recreation, rather than
as something compulsory, and were very often played without supervision. It was
left to the various captains to organise teams, and to ensure that players
turned up to play their part in school fixtures.

At this
time, school sport had its value as a means of teaching moral values to boys,
and as a way of developing teamwork, discipline and reliance on others.
Likewise, physical exercise filled the boys’ time, and, hopefully, stopped them
getting into any real mischief, although the football players of Clifton School
were always required to keep their potentially provocative bare knees covered
by long breeches.

Wednesday,
March 15th 1871

The
first ever meeting of the Natural History Society was held. A paper on “The
Study of Nature” was read by the President.

Thursday, May
4th 1871

Eleven
year old Thomas Wigley was playing in the yard before school, when he fell with
his chest on a horizontal bar. Within a short time he was dead...“...as the
result of epilepsy, superinduced by a fall.”  The School Register lists him as
simply “died”.

early Summer
Term, before Wednesday, June 7th 1871

The
High School’s first recorded cricket match took place on the Forest on this
date. The two sides were the “First 11” and the “Next 22” which had been
strengthened by the presence of a member of staff, Mr.Yeld. The latter team
batted first, and scored a grand total of 31 between them, with nine ducks,
Mr.Yeld being bowled by Towlson for  seven. The First Eleven then made 113 all
out to win the match, with “Ashwell i ” scoring 44 runs.

In
those days, if a side was batting second, and had won the match, then they
would continue to bat, until all of their players were out. It was also in this
era that “The Forester” bemoaned the lack of decent practice facilities for
school cricket, and described the Forest, where all matches were played, as
“our present wilderness”.

midsummer 1871

The
examiner, Mr.Augustus S.Wilkins, of Owen’s College, Manchester, said that the
school was “entirely satisfactory”, but added that the large numbers of junior
boys who were now coming to the school, coupled with the early age at which
most of them left,  “...causes a  tide to be constantly flowing through the
several classes which must tax to the utmost the teaching and disciplinary
powers of the Masters.” There were now 325 boys in the school.

midsummer 1871

The
first ever Drill Instructor appears on the School List. He was Sergeant-Major
Holbrook.

midsummer 1872

The
same examiner, Mr.Augustus S.Wilkins, returned to the school. He commented very
favourably, but recommended that a large room was provided for scientific
lectures, and a botanical garden was established for a cheap supply of
specimens for the boys.

By this
time, the senior boys were performing their own experiments in Practical
Chemistry.

1872

The
Trustees discussed the Reverend Yelm and decided that “...a large proportion of
his time and energies had been devoted to an object foreign to the School.” He
was asked to choose between his ecclesiastical works, and his job at the High
School.

He left the High School, although
for the nearly ten years, he was to work in other schools in Nottingham which
allowed him to combine the two, namely the University School in Waverley
Street.

September 1872

The
price of a school meal went up to ten pence. The Headmaster wanted a glass of
beer to be included in the price, but the Trustees rejected this idea as
“objectionable”.

1873

Mr.Cope was hired to “lead away
sand to the width of 50 feet from the Eastern Side of the Wall for £50 to be
completed before the 1 March.”

1873

Only a
short time after they had opened in 1868, the new school buildings had been
perceived as being inadequate in size.

A third
“School”, therefore, was erected to the north, roughly where the cutting from
Forest Road had previously met the tunnel which ran under the northern arm. It
had a hammer beam roof, and Gothic windows. Two classrooms were then excavated
downwards from the new building. After the Second World War, one of these was
to become the staff room.

1873

During
this year, the number of Trustees slipped down to six.

1873 onwards

Around
this time, in view of the school’s ever increasing numbers, it was decided to
extend all of the school’s existing buildings downwards, while at the same time
excavating the sandstone surrounding them on the outside.

This
ingenious scheme would create an entire new floor for the school, provided, of
course, that the huge structure did not collapse on itself as the process took
place. Indeed, large numbers of huge iron girders had to be inserted, to take
the weight of the thousands of tons of masonry above them.

On the
other hand, it must be remembered that the school already had extensive
cellars, so that it was not as if the workmen were forced to excavate huge
volumes of material out of the virgin bedrock.

The net
result of this daring process was that, over a hundred years later,  the
original damp course of the 1868 building can still be seen some four metres or
so above the present ground level. What had previously been the school’s first
floor now became the second, and three huge staircases had then to be built to
permit the boys to get to the upstairs classrooms. The only one which still
survives is at the very front of the school.

The
process, of course, given the technology of the age, was never going to be a
rapid one. It took a number of years, and the first two rooms to emerge into
the light of day were a dining room and a chemical laboratory, both of which
had previously existed underground.

Interestingly
enough, one of the school’s earliest ever pupil groups, photographed probably
soon after its opening in 1868, is still in existence. Nowadays, the boys would
be some five or six metres off the ground !

What
may be the original level of the whole site may well be reflected in the
present height of the staff car park, and the row houses on the western side of
Balmoral Road. They are at least five or six metres above the school
playground.

In
1939, during further reconstruction, it was discovered that much of the
original sandstone rock still extended upwards underneath the walls of the
original school building, so that the whole edifice could have been said to be
balanced on a huge ridge of sandstone. Indeed, for the most part, the builders
had left the original rock, and merely encased it in Bulwell sandstone.

Over
the years, some degree of settling may have occurred. At the time of writing,
some hundred years or so after the event, during periods of prolonged rain, the
water refuses adamantly to drain away as it clearly is designed to do. Instead,
it backs up, and can form expanses in unexpected places on the roof. This is
presumably because the horizontal has altered in the century since the various
pipes and gutterings were put in.

The modern building, of course,
now has its own extensive cellar system, although as far as is known, it has
never been suggested that they themselves be excavated and form a new first
floor...

1874

The
dining room was moved from the basement to a more permanent and suitable area.

1874

Although
those masters who took in boarders must surely have received money for doing
so, the fees were fixed this year. Each Lower School boy was 15s 9d per
quarter, and each upper School boy £1 11s 6d per quarter.

1874

A.E.Cullen
won the first scholarship in Natural Sciences to Cambridge University.

before 1875

The
Second Master, Mr.Irving was the subject of several complaints that he had
struck boys in class. It was decided that in future, no boy could be corporally
punished at the time of the offence.

Dixon
and Irving do not seem to have liked each other much, and before Irving’s
replacement was named, Dr.Dixon attempted to get the Trustees to provide job
descriptions both for himself and the Second Master.

1875

A
magnificent Gothic fives-court was built in the north eastern corner of the
playground. It was named after Mr.William Enfield, the former Town Clerk of
Nottingham, in whose memory a group of friends had collected some £600 to found
a scholarship at the school.

At the
same time, a large wall was erected along Forest Road.

1876

The
school year, which for the previous 350 years had been divided into four
quarters, was now changed to the more modern three term structure.

1876

A
contractor was paid fifty pounds for “soil-leading” in the continuing effort to
level the playground.

1876

A
second, open, fives court was built.

1876

Until
now, the Headmaster, Dr.Dixon, had lived in the nearer of two semi-detached
houses, No.11 Clarendon Road. Its annual rent was deducted from his salary.

This
year, Dr.Dixon complained that the house was not suitable, and was given
permission to look elsewhere for another, more suitable, house. He would
continue to receive his annual salary of three hundred pounds, with no
deductions being made.

In
actual fact, Dixon does not then seem to have moved, although his address
changed continually during his residency in Nottingham...11, Osborne Villas
(1874), 15, Waverley Villas (1876) and 11, Osborne Villas (1879-1884). All of
these addresses are thought to refer to the same houses, since both Waverley
Villas and Osborne Villas formed part of Clarendon Road.

Saturday, March
4th 1876

Arthur
William Cursham made his début for England against Scotland at Glasgow. He
played as an outside right, displaying “...skill and dash” throughout, and
playing “...in pretty style on the right wing”. England lost, however, by 0-3. This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Three : Arthur William
Cursham”.

Monday, May
29th 1876

The
Headmaster’s wife, Ada, died “of the effects of a chill”, or as his daughter
was later to recall, “..of pneumonia. My father never recovered from the loss.”

Dr.Dixon
had already taken a month’s leave of absence in May, presumably to care for his
dying wife. Her death was a great blow to him, and the subsequent stress and
illness over the next two years would take a great toll on him.

Dr.Dixon
was left with five children, who were, according to “The Forester”, “Robert,
Charles, Harold, Sydney and one daughter”. The latter was named after her
mother, and, almost eighty years later, as Sister Ada C.S.D., at St.Denys
Convent, Warminster, was still able to recall her early years around the High
School...“...workmen were always at work on building  &  making
alterations  &  improvements. We had the free run of the buildings etc out
of school hours. We had lovely singing lessons. For these, the school was
divided into two divisions. I sat in front of the smaller boys & we sang
most lustily the Harrow School Songs.  A balloon was once let off quite near
the school with a most important person aboard, but I never can remember who he
was.”

May 1876
onwards

A new
north “School” was to be joined to the original 1868 building by a new Drawing
and Writing School. It was to be built as a huge room on top of the five
classrooms which had been constructed in 1868. It also entailed the demolition
of the caretaker’s bedrooms. Eventually, the Upper School was transferred to
it, while the Lower School took over the two other schools.

The
most amazing feature about this new room was its roof, which was of
“pitch-pine, covered with slates, and almost in the form of a half cylinder (it
was slightly pointed).”  Indeed, its shape was so startling that it was usually
referred to as the “up-turned boat”, and it was thought to have been inspired
by the home of the Peggotty family in Dicken’s “David Copperfield”.  During the
daytime, four massive curved windows, halfway up to the ridge, let in an even,
unchanging light, and for this reason, the room was ideally suited for drawing
classes. Internal sliding shutters were fitted to the windows, and access to the
room was by an ornate, but somewhat perilous winding spiral staircase. This was
thought to be a possible fire risk, and a second entrance was added in the
early 1880s.

This
section of the school was financed by a bequest of £1,250 from Mr.Thomas Bishop
of Bramcote, with which, in his will, he had originally meant to found a
scholarship. The Trustees added £250 to this sum, to build a “properly-lighted
Room for Drawing, over the Class-Rooms, and of sufficient size for large
assemblies of persons at the distribution of Prizes, Lectures etc., and also an
Entrance Lodge...in lieu of the present Porter’s Room in the School.”

Mr.R.Charles
Sutton submitted designs for the building and these were approved by the
Charity Commissioners, with a couple of minor alterations. The “Victoria
History of the County of Nottingham”, however, tells a slightly different
story... “...The building was erected from the designs of Mr.Edwin Patchitt, a
solicitor and clerk to the trustees, who is believed to have had the occasional
assistance of a professional architect. As a great admirer of Dickens, one of
Mr.Patchitt’s ambitions was to build an imitation of the upturned boat which is
described in “David Copperfield” as the abode of Mr.Peggotty.” The net result
was that, for the next fifty or so years, the High School was likened to
“...three small churches joined by an upturned boat”.

The
“Victoria History” also talks of the High School campus in general...
“...though a large site was secured, the buildings, in spite of many remonstrances,
were placed in the middle of it, and what might have been a handsome playground
was frittered away into two small areas...It was not until 1885 that the
present buildings were completed, the lawns laid out, and the school made
presentable.”

Interestingly
enough, much of the input for the Victoria History’s section about the High
School is known to have come from Sammy Corner, and these critical words may
well reflect the opinions of at least some of the staff around this time.

What a
great pity it remains that the Trustees did not have the foresight to have
employed Nottingham’s greatest architect, Watson Fothergill, to design the new
school.

1876

A
number of difficulties were caused by staffing problems. Mr.Adolphe Brunner was
promoted, but no replacement found. The Trustees wanted the Reverend
W.R.Stevenson, but Dr.Dixon refused to have him. A second teacher was asked to
resign because of his poor heath and “other circumstances”. One of the men who
was appointed to fill these vacancies left Nottingham “in Debt and under
circumstances not likely to lead to his return.”

As a
background to all this, parents were beginning to complain of “unsatisfactory
teaching and the want of Masters”.

1876

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Five : the Captains of
Football 1876-1915”.

Tuesday, April
17th, 1877

John
Dane Player entered the High School. He was twelve years of age, and was born
on November 29th 1864. In the Lower School Register, he was No.541, and in the
Upper School, No.563. His father was John Player, a tobacconist of Belgrave
Square, All Saints Street, Nottingham.

1877

What
had previously been playrooms under the original school could now no longer be
used for this purpose. The Trustees therefore built a couple of very large,
long, covered sheds along the length of the Forest Road wall.

1877

The front of the School was tidied
up, and shrubs and flowers planted. The large wrought iron gates were bought
from the Coventry Iron Company for £150.

1878

By this time, on the science side,
the older boys were studying Acoustics, Botany, Chemistry, Electricity,
Geology, Light and Heat, Magnetism, Mathematics, Metallurgy, Mineralogy,
Physical Geography, Physiography, Physiology and Theoretical Mechanics.

Wednesday, October
31st 1877

The First Eleven played against
Tudor House, in a game where the opposition did not once get the ball into the
High School half at any point during the game. The High School won by 15-0.

March 1878

There
were, a number of rumours that Mr.R.D.Swallow, who had worked at the High
School from 1872-1876 as the Reverend Yelm’s replacement, had returned to poach
pupils from his old school. As he was Headmaster of Chigwell Grammar School,
these stories must have been completely unfounded, and, in actual fact, fairly
absurd.

Monday, April
8th 1878

The
Annual Athletic Sports took place at Trent Bridge, in front of a “numerous
gathering”, entertained by the playing of the Sax Tuba Band. The events
included throwing the cricket ball, a 220 yard football dribbling race, a 100
yard three-legged race, a 100 yard sack race (with preliminary heats), a one
mile bicycle race, and an Old Boys’ race.

One of
the highlights must surely have come in the 220 yards open race when, because
the course had been marked out incorrectly, one of the eleven runners, Sulley,
took the wrong turning, and “effectually disposed of his chance”. The other
runners also went wrong, but because they were trailing far behind Sulley, they
were able to run back, and get onto the correct route. Unfortunately, Small was
knocked over in the confusion, and eliminated from the race, which was
eventually won by G.F.Chalcraft. He won a desk, donated by the teaching staff.

Keen
students of tactics would also have delighted in the originality of F.Bailey,
who, in the final of the sack race, finished second behind “the younger
Walker”, having decided not to jump inside his sack, but instead, to lie down
and roll along the ground.

Most
interesting of all, though, must be the open “Bumping Match”, the rules of
which, unfortunately, have not survived, although it must surely have consisted
of either a huge circle marked out by a rope, and the last boy left in it was
the winner, or perhaps it was some kind of sumo type pushing contest, where boy
after boy fought in round after round, until only one remained as the victor.
In any case, the “contest caused great merriment among the spectators, who
greeted the overturned combatants with roars of laughter. Finally two, varying
greatly in size were left in, and after a prolonged struggle, W.A.Walker, who
showed great quickness and dexterity in avoiding the attacks of his tall
opponent, R.E.Fletcher, succeeded in knocking the latter over the line, amidst
loud applause.”

Monday, May
27th 1878

Monsieur
Durand, the visiting French teacher, read a paper to the Nottingham High School
Natural History Society (the N.H.S.N.H.S.). It was about butterflies, including
the more exotic varieties of his native land.

Saturday, December
14th 1878

So many
Trustees were absent through illness and a variety of other reasons, that only
Mr.Arthur Wells was able to attend the meeting. The business was conducted by
post.

Christmas 1878

In “The
Forester”, an Old Boy mentions an old custom which had existed in at least one
of the Upper Forms at the school for a number of years. This was that when boys
returned after their holidays, they were all given a sheet of paper, and asked
to write about the interesting or exciting experiences that they had had. The
Form-master would then collect them all in, and the best two or three would be
read aloud to the class, while the rest were corrected and handed back.

early 1879

Mr.Brunner
became seriously ill, and the Trustees decided to pay his salary for the Spring
Term. At the end of the Summer Term, Dr.Dixon was told to find a replacement,
but, as Brunner was his friend, he tried to put things off. Set against this,
however, was the fact that Brunner’s replacement teacher had been of poor
quality, and many parents had complained about him.

When
Brunner’s job was finally advertised, however, of the fifteen applicants, three
of whom were called to interview, two were not suitable, and the other one did
not bother to turn up. As a solution to the problem, Leopold Compline Wilkes,
the erstwhile Captain of the Lower School, was added to the permanent teaching
staff.

Saturday, January
18th 1879

Arthur
Cursham captained the England football team for the second time, against Wales,
at the Kennington Oval. The team won by 2-1, and Cursham was eventually to win
six international caps, as well as appearing regularly for Notts County.

Wednesday, March
12th 1879

The
First Eleven played Tudor House in an extremely high wind, which encouraged the
Tudor House players merely to kick the ball out of play as far as possible at
every opportunity. “The Forester” lamented...“...Unfortunately there is no rule
which provides for occurrences of this kind, but we should have thought there
would have been a better spirit prevailing to prevent such unsatisfactory
proceedings.” The match finished 0-0.

Tuesday, April
29th 1879

The
annual Athletic Sports were held at Trent Bridge. “A numerous and fashionable
assemblage” of parents, staff and boys were entertained by the Sax Tuba Band,
under the conductorship of Mr.J.Hindley throughout the afternoon. There were 22
events, and they included...

U-14             throwing the
cricket ball            winner             J.Lindley                     54

yards

U-11                            100
yards                    winner             M.R.Brown

open                            100
yards                    winner             C.Daft

The
prize was a Gladstone bag, presented by Sir James Oldknow.

U-13                            high
jump                    winner             W.G.Walker                3 ft  3

ins

handicap race              half
mile                      winner             E.E.Barlow

The
prize was a silver watch, presented by Capt.W.E.Dennison  M.P., and Saul Isaac
M.P. J.E.Woolley had led for nearly six hundred yards, but Barlow overcame his
ten yard handicap about a hundred and twenty yards from the finish, and then
went on to win. Woolley eventually finished third, and C.Cullen was second.

open                            long
jump                    winner             C.Daft                         15
ft  6

ins

First
prize was a luncheon basket, presented by the Borough Members.

handicap                      3-legged
race               winners            C.Cullen and H.D.Cullen

open                            400
yards                    winner             G.B.Chalcraft             10 yds

There
were only two competitors, Chalcraft beating E.H.Wells by ten yards. In actual
fact, for an event to take place, there had to be three runners, and this race
was “...run through an error on the part of the starter.”

handicap                      one
mile bicycle race   winner             A.V.Paton

open                            sack
race                      winner             F.Bailey

This
race “...as usual, afforded great amusement.”

open                            220
yards                    winner             C.Cullen

football
race

First
prize was a cabinet Shakespeare, presented by the Dame Agnes Mellers Club.
E.Thornley was doing very well until he kicked the ball out of his lane, and
Cullen then went on to win.

open                            100
yards hurdles        winner             H.R.Bramwell

The
race was held over six flights of hurdles, and the first prize was a writing
desk, presented by Messrs J & J. Vice.

open                            220
yards                    winner             C.Daft

The
Assistant Masters presented the first prize, a pair of binoculars.

open    throwing the cricket ball                     winner             J..A.Evans                   81
yds

1
foot

“The
winning throw was an exceedingly good one.”

open                            high
jump                    winner             H.R.Bramwell             4ft  11

ins

“This
event, as it deserved, brought forth great applause.” Bramwell’s height was a
school record.

Old Boys’ race            220
yards                    winner             F.F.Cleaver                 24 sec

“The
most exciting race”, all of the runners having previously done well in the
Forest Sports.

U-15                            300
yards                    winner             E.E.Barlow

At the
end of the day came the “...usual bumping match and two consolation races”, won
by Thornley and Butler.

Mr.Charles
Daft was the starter throughout the day, and Herr Altdorfer and Mr.W.H.Bailey
were the judges. The prizes were presented by Miss Lindley, and the President
seconded a vote of thanks to her for her kindness. She was given a small
bouquet of flowers, and three cheers by the school. Her father offered thanks
for this kind gesture, and then called for three cheers for the President. With
this, the day came to a happy close.

One
interesting detail about the competitors in these sports was that there was a
small fee to enter any of the events. At least one Old Boy in later life was to
state that this fee did much to limit the number of competitors.

Monday, May
5th 1879

“The
Forester” contained an obituary for T.F.Littlewood, who had been one of the
first hundred boys in the new school in April 1868. Despite his “retentive
memory and bright intellectual powers, indomitable perseverance and application”,
he had fallen victim to “that fell disease consumption.” “His pure bright
life...may be held up as an example to those who are now where he once was.”

July 1879

An
examiner’s report spoke of “...such an unsatisfactory state of the school.”
Dixon was asked to give his comments to the Trustees, but seems to have
satisfied them. Indeed, school numbers currently stood at a record 377, with
151 in the Upper School, and 226 in the Lower School.

Wednesday,
December 10th 1879

In
honour of Mr.Bray’s twenty-one years of service at the school, his pupils
presented him with a handsome armchair.

c.1880

The
front of the school was finally levelled down, and what had originally been the
cellars now became the ground floor of a three storey edifice. To accomplish this
complex process, new foundations and windows had been inserted, and the school
was soon able to put its new rooms to constructive use, initially as a dining
room and a chemistry laboratory.

Saturday, January
10th 1880

A
report of the Old Boys’ dinner in the “Nottingham Guardian” bemoaned the fact
that only some six students were at Oxford or Cambridge. The three currently at
Oxford were all in their last year, and there were none in the pipeline to
replace them.

Wednesday, February
11th 1880

The
First Eleven defeated Tudor House by “at least 12-0”. “The Forester” wrote that
the difficulty in this game was “not to get goals”, so weak were the
opposition. Goal followed goal in quick succession, so that “it was rather hard
to keep a correct account. It was certainly not less than 12 goals, and may
have been more.”

1880

A
porter’s lodge was completed to the south east of what was then Clarendon Road,
and is now called Waverley Mount. Previously, Mr.Knowles, the caretaker, had
lived with his family in a room adjoining the western porch, at the southern
end of the class-room corridor. His wife had given birth to at least one baby
in this rather cramped accommodation.

1880

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Six : Reminiscences
1880-1883”.

Summer Term
1880

Faced
with the competition of the Arboretum Rooms which could provide boys with
whatever meals they wanted, school dinners were discontinued.

Summer Term
1880

Averages
for the First Eleven cricketers were provided by “The Forester”. In a
pre-decimal age, however, they were expressed as fractions. Thus Mr.S.Palmer,
later to be the hurdles champion of England took nineteen wickets at ten and
eleven nineteenth runs per wicket, slightly better than Tinsley Lindley, later
to captain England at football, who managed nine wickets at seven and one
seventh runs per wicket.

Wednesday, September
29th 1880

The
annual swimming contests took place at Gedling Street Baths, in the presence of
Alderman Gripper, an Old Boy, and frequent attender of school functions, the
Second Master and a large number of parents and boys. Before the competition, Mr.Wootton,
the famous North Notts. Swimming Club Champion, gave “...some clever
expositions of the art of swimming in all its various branches”. Events for the
boys included a number of races over two lengths and four lengths. The last
race was over one length, with three competitors who were fully clothed and
still wearing their boots, much to the amusement of the spectators. In the
diving contest, Colonel Seely dropped a large number of balls into the pool,
and boys competed to see who could retrieve the most, the winner managing
eleven balls in his three dives. In his final address, Alderman Gripper praised
“...the wonderful effect (of sport) in promoting the development of mental and
physical man”, but warned against “...feats of over-exertion such as we have
heard of in this country of late years, and which might be of great injury to
those engaged in same.”

Friday,
October 22nd 1880

The
first official public function took place in the new Drawing Room, a prize
distribution with Colonel Seeley.

By now,
the building had cost many thousands beyond its original budget, and extra
money had to be raised... £1,500 (1878), £1,500 (1879), £1,250 (1880), £3,000
(1880). Some of its planned features, such as an organ, had to be omitted. In
total, well over £5,000 extra was spent on the Drawing Room and on other more
minor maintenance of the main building.

Thursday, November
11th 1880

The
school First Eleven beat the Bank by 4-1. The High School team included Old
Boy, Harry Cursham, who was at the time a current Notts County and England
footballer.

Wednesday, November
17th 1880

The
First Team lost to Trent College by 0-14. “The Forester” described the
conditions as “the slopes of the Forest....under water”. The Trent team were
“heavier and faster” than the High School and by half time led 4-0. After the
interval, a strong wind across the pitch made “good cross-play” impossible for
the High School forwards, and the Trent backs were just “too heavy and fast to
get by”. To quote “The Forester”, “....Those who took the trouble to count, say
that the Trent forwards obtained 10 more goals after half-time”. Even “The
Forester” described the team as “paralysed”, although, to give them credit,
they did look forward to the return fixture in the hope that the High School
might at least “hold our own, if not to balance the account”.

November 1881

The
school presented Monsieur Adolphe Brunner with the £50 that they themselves had
collected as a mark of respect for their old teacher. Monsieur Brunner had
taught German in the school during the 1870s, and was a much loved figure.

Brunner
had, in actual fact, been born in Paris in 1852, and educated at the Lycée
Charlemagne from 1863-1869, and then at the Lycée Buonaparte. He received his
Bachelier ès Lettres in November 1871, and was crowned best student in all
France on three occasions by the Emperor Napoléon III. He came to England, and
received a Bachelor of Arts degree from London University in 1875. The
following year, he achieved a Master of Arts degree.

Brunner
had taught at the High School from 1872-1879. In 1879, he fell ill, and
received a total of some £127 collected by friends, well-wishers and parents of
High School boys. In 1880, he was sufficiently recovered to return to the High
School, but he had left for good by Christmas 1881.

Indeed,
Brunner was not to live long after his second, farewell, gift of £50. Walking
along on a winter’s day in 1882, he slipped over on a children’s icy slide.
What nobody realised at the time was that he had splintered a rib, an injury
which was not diagnosed, and brought on pneumonia. This eventually developed
into emphysema, and Brunner was to die on the operating table, as doctors sought
vainly to remedy their previous error.

Wednesday, November 24th 1881

Old
Nottinghamian Leonard Lindley gained notoriety when he refereed a second round
F.A.Cup tie between Notts County and Wednesbury Strollers at the Castle Ground,
Nottingham. The visitors led by 2-0 at the interval, but an own goal, plus two
each from Arthur and Harry Cursham looked to have given Notts a 5-3 victory.
The home crowd, however, had encroached onto the playing surface, and
Wednesbury were not at all happy with the fact that they had had two hotly
contested goals awarded against them, by a referee who came from the same town
as their opponents.

They
protested to the F.A. who ordered a replay, on a neutral ground, with a neutral
referee, Mr.Pierce Dix of Sheffield.

In this
way, therefore, Leonard Lindley contributed substantially to the idea that all
F.A.Cup ties, and indeed, all cup ties, and, eventually, all football matches,
should be controlled by a neutral referee, appointed by the governing body of
the particular competition.

Saturday, February
17th 1883

While
still a schoolboy, Tinsley Lindley made his début for the Nottingham Forest
First Team, scoring four goals in a 6-1 home victory over Wolverhampton. He
made four further appearances that season, scoring at least four more goals.

April 1883

A new
Scheme for the school was finally presented, after a gestation period of almost
twenty years. Various committees, commissioners, trustees and governors had
considered it, and exchanged propositions and objections in 1865, 1869, 1870,
1878 and 1881.

The
main problem with the High School had come from the fact that there was an
Upper and a Lower School, between which there was a great deal of ill feeling.
This was not helped by the fact that the two groups of boys were only rarely
together during the school day.

Most of
the Upper Boys did Classics, and the Lower boys tended to do more modern
subjects. Those in the Upper School who wished to do modern subjects were often
forced to study them in the same classes as the Lower boys. This meant that
they were paying eight pounds per annum to attend lessons where the majority of
the boys had paid only four pounds per annum.

Furthermore,
the vast majority of boys left the school at fourteen or fifteen, and then went
into their father’s business. Only a comparative few went on to the higher
forms, and then to the professions or to university.

To
remedy this, the two schools were to be abolished. Younger boys would receive a
general education, studying mostly English and Arithmetic, with French as a
compulsory subject. At twelve or thirteen, the English study would be replaced
by either Greek or Science. In the higher classes, boys would specialise in
Classics, Mathematics or Science. Classical boys would study either a foreign
language or some Science, and the mathematicians would add some Latin or Greek
to this. Scientists would have to do a little French, German and Mathematics.

Dr.Dixon
thought that a number of extra teachers would be necessary, but eventually,
just one was appointed. Arrangements were made for some of the more advanced
pupils to study at the University College.

A
second change was to allocate some of the Sir Thomas White’s Loan Money to the
school on an annual basis. This would pay for ten internal scholarships and
five university exhibitions. These were in addition to the original
scholarships, which now became the “Agnes Mellers’ Scholarships”.

The
third, and final change was to have Governors, rather than Trustees. There
would be three ex-officio, nine representative and five co-optative members.
This system would allow the sick and the dying to be replaced without undue
delay.

midsummer 1883

The
examiners’ report was for the most part favourable, although in Mathematics, it
drew attention to weaker boys who could not keep up, and criticised the boys’
lack of knowledge of general Latin Grammar.

November 1883

School
numbers were continuing to fall, and over a quarter had now left. The Governors
decided “...that the School Committee do enquire into the...causes of the
decline of the School...and report thereon.” Their conclusion was to draw
Dr.Dixon’s particular attention to the contents of the midsummer examiners’
report.

1884

Old
Boy, C.W.Gowthorpe won the National 120 yards Hurdles Championship.

January 1884

Dr.Dixon
reported to the Governors that better results had now been achieved in
Langauges and Mathematics than at any time in the past sixteen years. Science
had improved, and Mrs.Bowman Hart was now coming in to teach vocal music
classes.

This lady was the sister of John
Farmer, who had himself attended Harrow School. It was presumably for this
reason that she had the High School boys singing Harrow songs, such as “Forty
years on”. This latter song was for many years afterwards to be regarded as the
High School song. Its words were...

Forty years on, when afar and asunder,

Parted are those who are singing today,

When you look back and forgetfully wonder,

What you were like in your work and your play,

Then, it may be, there will often come o’er you

Glimpses of notes like the catch of a song ;

Visions of boyhood shall float then before you,

Echoes of dreamland shall bear then along.

Chorus

Follow up ; Follow up ; Follow up ; Follow up ; Follow up ;

Till the field ring again and again

With the tramp of the twenty two men

Follow up ; Follow up :

There
were two more verses, and much chorusing of the refrain “Follow up ; Follow up”

Despite
all this progress, however, school numbers were continuing to fall. The
Governors pressed Dr.Dixon for an explanation, and he blamed it on the New
Scheme, by which the parents of the little boys, who would have been in the
recently abolished Lower School, and paid annual fees of only four pounds, now
had to pay exactly twice that sum. For that reason, they were taking their sons
away.

They
were sending them to a number of recently established schools, all of which
were free, and had been set up by the Nottingham School Board, as potential
rivals to the High School. They included High Pavement, Huntingdon Street
School, People’s College and Queen’s Walk School, which was later to change its
name to Mundella. All of these schools achieved excellent levels of teaching in
the basics required by younger boys.

Most businesses in the town did
not demand particularly advanced levels of learning, and were happy to take
boys at fourteen. Boys of this age, therefore, either left the High School at
that age, or did not ever come in the first place, preferring the local
schools, which were mostly adequate for their purposes.

March 1884

Dr.Dixon
became seriously ill, and was given three months off school. It is thought that
he was suffering a nervous breakdown, brought on mainly by falling numbers and
the problems of the new scheme.

His
wife had died in May 1876, and Dr.Dixon was still looking after five children,
including a young daughter of only seven. He had also carried out for seventeen
years a number of tasks about which Dr.Gow, within weeks of his appointment,
was to protest vigorously.

During
Dr.Dixon’s illness, the acting headmaster was the Reverend J.G.Easton.

June 1884

Dr.Dixon
had now recovered, but the lack of a housekeeper meant that he was still forced
to spend a great deal of time at home. Most of his energies went on trying to
organise the annual examination by post, while the Reverend Easton continued to
carry out his duties.

midsummer 1884

Mr.Harris,
the first examiner, reported that the average levels of the school were very
poor. He said that “...one fails, somehow, to get a distinct impression of what
the School is attempting to do : classical and modern boys are intermixed in
the same forms...the School seems to want unity, coherence...it does not strike
one as an organic whole, with a common life and purpose about it...I have
compared it, not with a fully-equipped Public School, but with country grammar
schools.”

Professor
Reinold criticised both Mathematics and Science...”...the School is at present
not in an efficient or satisfactory state...Too little encouragement is given
to the mathematical and scientific side of the education, and generally, there
is a want of vigour and enterprise in the management and administration.”

September 1884

By now,
despite no significant rise in pupil numbers, the school had a staff of 15 full
time teachers, with part-time French and German teachers, and a visiting
director of Music.

October 1884

The
Headmaster was asked to make a reply to the examiners’ report. Dr.Dixon spoke
of his illness, the difficulties of trying to teach pupils whose demands were
all very different, and the immense difficulties of “amalgamating the two
distinct schools.” He was able to add that the buildings had never been in a
satisfactory condition at any point, and that for every one of the seventeen
years that he had worked at the High School, building operations and
alterations had been in progress. He had never been free of “...the sound of
the carpenter’s hammer, or the mason’s trowel, or the labourer’s pickaxe.”

November-December
1884

The
general local perception throughout Nottingham was that the overall standards
of the High School were growing steadily lower and lower. Both boys and staff
seemed to be deteriorating badly, and the Headmaster, Dr.Dixon, was in failing
health. His representations to the Governors fell on deaf ears, and he resigned
only a few days afterwards. He left the school in December 1884, a month after
his job was advertised. He was not offered a pension, but a one-off payment of
£500.

More
significant than all this perhaps, was that the Governors compelled Dr.Dixon to
give notice to every single member of staff. They were all told that their
employment would cease after the second term of 1885, at what was then called
Midsummer.

Dr.Dixon
went away to recuperate at Cullompton in Devon, and eventually became the Vicar
of Aylesbeare, near Exeter, where he was to become an honorary member of the
Geological Society.

November 1884

In
reply to the Governors’ advertisement, a hundred and twelve applicants wrote
in, of whom some thirty seven were already headmasters. They included past Second
Masters of the school, such as Alexander Irving and A.H.Scott White. Current
members of staff who applied were Mr.J.G.Easton, the serving Second Master, and
Mr.John Russell, who was also an Old Boy.

Tuesday, December
9th 1884

The
selection committee met to draw up a short list. It included the Headmaster of
Kingswood School, the Rector of Edinburgh High School, four teachers at
different schools, and Dr.James Gow. Dr.John Percival, the representative of
Oxford University on the Board of Governors, and who was absent from the
meeting, sent a list of six names, with Gow as his first choice. Three of them
figured in the committee’s final choice.

Tuesday, December
23rd 1884

The
whole body of the Governors met, with the exception of Mr.Blain and Mr.Pratt. They
interviewed the candidates, held a ballot, and Dr.Gow was their choice.

It seemed a very daring one,
however, as Gow was not even a schoolmaster, but a twenty nine year old lawyer.
He was a highly qualified Classicist, and had been a fellow of Trinity College,
Cambridge. After this, he had studied at Weimar, and done some lecturing and
private tuition, but since 1879, he had worked mainly as a Chancery barrister.
He had some experience of Classical teaching at St.Paul’s School, and knew
Nottingham from having visited a number of Midland towns as a Cambridge
University Extension Lecturer in Literature, from 1875-1878.

At the
time of his appointment, he was the only school teacher in the country with a
“Litterarum Doctor”.

1885

This
year, the school was finally finished. According to “The Forester”, “...an army
of painters, glaziers, carpenters were engaged in white-washing, putting in new
windows, completing the wainscoting and making foundations.”

Much of
this work took place without reference to the Charity Commissioners, who should
have been consulted over the sale of some land in Petergate to the Corporation.
After many letters and meetings between the Trustees and the Commissioners,
threats of having to close the school had to be made before the building work
could continue.

The
results were a superb Chemistry Laboratory, completed under the direct control
of Dr.Ransom and Mr.Corner, and a lecture room which was later converted to a
Physics Laboratory. The latter was first used in September of this year.

This
was, in actual fact, the last stage in the ingenious scheme for extending the
school downwards, as the Chemistry Laboratory was situated under the West
School, and the lecture room was under the East School, both in what had
previously been the underground playroom of the original 1868 building. Indeed,
both of the new rooms had already been pressed into use while they were,
technically, still underground.

early 1885

The
entire staff was already under notice of dismissal, but Dr.Gow considered that
only two were so bad that they had to go. He decided to “try the rest for a
time, and give them a reasonable opportunity of showing what they could do
under tolerable conditions.” Dr.Gow also found that the buildings were
perfectly satisfactory.

early 1885

Reminiscing
many years after the event, an Old Boy recollected how Gow was... “...blunt and
brusque, but very human under the frigid armour of scholarship and authority
...in the first hours of our acquaintanceship, we voted him “straight as a
die”, and took him to our hearts with an implicit confidence that soon ripened
into an affection, which we never allowed to appear on the surface, save in a
full-throated roar of approval on Speech Days.”

This
quality of directness was to characterise Gow in his dealings with Governors,
staff, parents and boys for the next sixteen years. On the other hand, at least
one Old Boy reminisced that the one thing they admired most about Dr.Gow was
“...his skill in breaking large lumps of coal with a small poker. “Must have a
bit more muscle than you’d think.” we decided.”

early 1885

At this
time, there was no school secretary, although the clerk to the Governors was
expected to do a lot of the school administration. Throughout his time at the
High School, Dr.Gow himself was asked to shoulder much of the administrative
burden which would nowadays be done by a school secretary, but one thing he did
refuse to do was to collect school fees. He arranged for payments to be made
directly to Smith’s Bank.

early 1885

Under
the old system, the boys did not usually have any text books for the first
month of the term, or even for the whole of the first term. Dr.Gow adapted a
new schedule whereby the boys were loaned their books, in return for a yearly
payment of £1 9s 0d.

This gave
an overall yearly cost of nine guineas, (£9 9s 0d), which could now be paid in
three instalments of three guineas (£3 3s 0d).

January 1885,
first two weeks

Gow
spent this time studying the school buildings and daily routine. He consulted
extensively with Messrs Corner, Dixon, Easton and Russell.

Monday, January
19th 1885

Gow
applied his lawyer’s analytical sense to the situation, and reported back to
the Governors... “Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the School
Buildings are not so grossly inconvenient and the School Staff is not so
grossly incompetent as they have sometimes been represented, and I am confident
that by a few changes, mostly trivial, and practically inexpensive, the School
can almost at once be brought into a good state of efficiency. It will take a
far longer time to win a high reputation, for I am informed that the quality of
the boys has greatly deteriorated, and that the Sixth Form is not now above the
level of an ordinary Fifth.”

January 1885

Dr.Gow
asked the Governors to organise exclusive use of a part of the Forest for the
school. A hostile corporation was unwilling to agree to this, although promises
were made that a small section could be rented to the school.

Nothing
came of this, and the High School had to content itself with limited use of the
area. It was perhaps for this reason that, as soon as possible, inter-school
football matches were transferred to the Gregory Ground, and the Forest was
used for cricket, and inter-form and inter-house sports fixtures.

the first two
terms of 1885

Dr.Gow
taught the Sixth Form for the most part, but also taught every class in the
school for a few days, and carried out two thorough examinations.

Years
later, Bernard Heald, who was by then himself the Headmaster of Midhurst Grammar
School, Sussex, was to reminisce about how Dr.Gow was different from other
teachers. He never called boys up to his desk to go through their work, but
always went to sit alongside them. Lessons usually finished with the customary
phrase, “...I think that just about finishes our dose.”

March 1885

Dr.Gow,
who had strong views on the value of regular sport and physical activity in a
school, introduced the first of two “Examinations in Athletic Sports”. This was
a series of “football exercises”, carried out in the school playground,
including a number of “brilliant and exciting” football dribbling races.

Indeed,
during the first half of this year at least, Gow was to roll up his own
sleeves, and act as the school’s Drill Instructor, in the place of the ailing
Sergeant Vickers. A few months later though, a new Drill Serjeant, George
Holmes, an ex-army man, was appointed to the staff of the school. He was
responsible for “...the usual manual exercise and marching drill, bayonet
exercise, sword drill for infantry and cavalry and Indian club exercise.” His
appointment was “...to the great advantage of all our games.”

the beginning
of April 1885

Dr.Gow
asked the Governors for an indoor porter, who was to live on the premises, in
addition to Mr.Knowles, the school caretaker, who was, by now, living in the
lodge on Clarendon Street. The job was given to Drill Serjeant Holmes. At
Easter, he moved into what still remained of the quarters originally occupied
by Mr.Knowles and his family.

late April
1885

Sergeant
Vickers of the “robust figure and stentorian voice” died.

June 1885

This
term, Dr.Gow held the “cricket exercises”. Again, this took place in the school
playground, and included a large number of  “six run races” between the
wickets.

July 1885

As a
final “Examination in Athletic Sports”, the school held a competition for sword
drill. It was between five squads, all trained by Serjeant Holmes. The winners
“went through the exercises with beautiful precision. The names of these heroes
must perish. There was no Forester in their time.”

July 1885

Dr.Gow
told the Governors that the school was in a parlous state, which would take
years to improve. This had been brought about by the previous system of moving
classes up at the end of the year, whether or not they were capable, and
whether or not their teachers thought they should be moved.

The net
result of this was a situation where the teachers soon realised that they were
wasting their time, and grew increasingly disillusioned. The few boys who were
keen to learn soon realised that they were incapable, and gave up. In an
elementary Arithmetic test, the boys in the highest form could not score 4%.
This had its effect on the school’s intake, when the parents of clever boys did
not send their sons to the High School.

July 1885

Dr.Gow
spoke up for the teaching staff...”...there is not a cupboard in the whole
School : only four masters have desks : the blackboards are white and greasy
with age. About £60 spent on trifling conveniences would do more than an extra
£100 a year, distributed in increased salaries to give the masters new spirit
for their work.”

July 1885

The
examiners spoke of the absence of any method of grading the boys in their
classes. They talked of “the prevailing dearth of capacity” and the “very
considerable ignorance of elementary facts.”

autumn 1885

Dr.Gow
wrote a note to the Governors about the introduction of a proper pay scale for
the staff, something which had never existed before. The Masters of the Senior
School were to receive a minimum of £180, rising in ten pound increments to a maximum
of £250. The maximum for a Junior School master was to be £200.

late 1885

Dr.Gow
reorganised many of the forms, and persuaded a fair number of the less talented
older boys to leave the school. He introduced a new curriculum, with properly
graded objectives. Previously, classes in both French and German had used the
same text book throughout all the years of their studies.

He made
great efforts to improve discipline, and refused to tolerate bad behaviour or a
poor appearance. Overall, the boys responded very well to Gow’s urgings, and he
had little reason to be particularly strict with any of them.

late 1885

Dr.Gow
separated the Classical scholars from the students of the more modern and
commercial subjects. His thinking was that it was these boys who would stand
the best chance of going to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, and that
they needed the right academic atmosphere in which to flourish. When they
achieved academic success, it would be to the credit of the school.

the end of
1885

The
school’s first ever prospectus came out. It covered twenty two pages, and
listed the Governors and the staff, and had information on everything from
school fees to sports, and from scholarships to dining arrangements.

1886

Dr.Gow
married Gertrude Sydenham, the daughter of Mr.E.P.Everett and
Mrs.M.A.Everett-Green.

Easter 1886

The
school offered to provide all books and stationery to boys for just twenty-nine
shillings per annum. In many schools, this sum would have been a termly charge,
and “The Forester” reckoned that in some establishments, boys paid this much
just for ink.

midsummer 1886

The Sir
Thomas White’s Scholarships and Foundation Scholarships were put out to open
competition for the first time in the school’s history.

summer 1886 ?

Dr.Gow
left the Headmaster’s Clarendon Road house, and moved further away from the
school, some two hundred yards, to Number 1, Waverley Street. Mr.W.E.Ryles then
moved into the recently vacated premises, and ran it as a boarding house for
school pupils.

1886

The
playground was finally level. Attempts were made to turf about an acre of it
for tennis, cricket and football, but this did not stand much chance of
success, given the continuous wear and tear to which the surface was submitted.
A further problem would be the exceptionally hot, dry summer of 1887 with its
“remarkable heat and drought”. This marked the death knell for the grass, and
it was never replaced. The playground then became “a sandy waste. It became
steadily dustier and dirtier.”

1886

New
lavatories were built against the east wall of the playground, and a gymnasium
was set up in the sheds on the northern side of the playground. New chimneys
were erected at each end of the West and East schools, and a second entrance
was made to the Drawing Room. A number of paths and gates were added to the
school grounds, and plans were made to record on the walls of the main school
building the names of its various benefactors, and distinguished pupils.

1886

Although
they had been allowed to do so since as long ago as 1882, the Governors had
failed to set up any scheme for superannuation or pensions for the Headmaster.
Dr.Gow offered to pay one hundred pounds per annum, but this highly complex
matter was still being discussed by the Governors when Dr.Gow left in 1901.

1886

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Nine : “Reminiscences
from 1886-1889”.

Easter 1886

At the suggestion of Dr.Gow, a
Six-a-side football competition was held. This attracted forty entries, and was
eventually won by “a very light team”, led by H.Palmer.

This idea of a Six-a-side
Competition was to last until the demise of football in 1914, although it was
to change to an Eight-a-side tournament from 1904-1905 onwards.

As far as I can ascertain, the
teams for this event were drawn by lot, although, if possible, each one would
contain at least one regular member of the First Team. Over the years, many
famous High School footballers were to enjoy success in the “Football Sixes” or
“Football Eights”, when they were aged, perhaps, only fourteen or fifteen.

The
competition seems to have taken place in the weeks before Easter, so it may
well have been an end-of-season entertainment. It was organised for many years
by “Nipper” Ryles, and always took quite a considerable time to play out the
matches, which were all held in the High School playground, on the sandy
football pitch which lay between the Fives Court and the North Entrance. The
prizes for the winners do not appear to have been precisely recorded, but there
is some indication that they may have all received a cricket bat and bag for
use during the following season.

July 1886

“The
Forester” reappeared after a gap of some six years. It cost sixpence and
contained forty-four pages. The editors expressed the wish that the magazine
“will carry the record of the School down to a far distant posterity”.

July 1886

The
Headmaster could report that “...The Junior School is a capital school,
well-filled with cheerful and industrious boys.” The older boys were less
convincing, however, with hardly a single outstanding pupil in any subject.
Their behaviour was still “slovenly”, and very few went on beyond the age of
fourteen or fifteen to complete more advanced studies, and then go on to university.
Indeed, most senior forms were only about half full, and must have been running
at a considerable financial loss. Nevertheless, Dr.Gow persevered with his
reorganisation of the curriculum, and refused to make any cuts in teacher
numbers.

July 1886

“The
Forester” reported that “No school of its class in the country is so cheap or
is better provided with the means both for work and for play. It ought to have
a brilliant future before it.”

Saturday, July
3rd 1886

Running
at Stamford Bridge, London, Old Boy Charles F.Daft retained the National 120
Yards Hurdles Championship which he had won for the first time in 1885. His
winning time was sixteen seconds exactly. As a member of the school staff,
Mr.Samuel Palmer had already won this title in 1878, and had retained it the
following year. Palmer won again in 1882, and successfully defended the title
in 1883. His best time was, like Daft’s, sixteen seconds. Palmer was therefore
the National Champion at this distance for four years out of six, while another
Old Boy, C.W.Gowthorpe, had already triumphed in 1884. This meant that,
overall, the High School had won the Hurdles Championship for seven years out
of nine.

the end of
1886

By now,
Dr.Gow had reorganised the school for a second time. It was divided into the
Junior School and the Senior School, and the latter was divided into the
Classical and the Modern sides. No boy was allowed to study Latin in the Modern
section, unless he intended to enter either the Army, Civil Service or the
learned professions.

Around
this time, the school day was lengthened to 12.30 p.m., and a half hour was
deducted from afternoon school.

Thursday, May
19th 1887

Playing
on the Forest for the First Eleven against University College, R.H.Brett took
nine wickets for sixteen runs, in the College’s overall total of 64 all out, as
they fell three runs short of victory. This match-winning performance was to
remain a record for over fifty years. Mr.Bell, a member of the High School
staff, had already scored 28 runs out of his side’s total of 66 all out, with
no other batsman reaching double figures

Wednesday, May
25th 1887

The
First Eleven played against Trent College on the Forest. Appearing for the
latter was the Essex county player, Mr.Owen, who made 176 not out, including
one seven, one six, six fives, five fours and 12 threes. Trent finally reached
a total of 310 all out. The High School’s score remains unrecorded, although
Dr.Gower made a lucky 42, and French batted well for his 29 not out.

Tuesday, June
21st 1887

The
school celebrated the Jubilee of Queen Victoria with two days’ holiday, and the
erection of a brand new flagpole on the tower.

Saturday, June
25th 1887

The 1st
XI played Trent College at cricket, but, in the days when teachers were
included in school teams, they were fortunate not to have to face the
formidable Mr.Owen. The latter had been called away to play for his county,
Essex. “Mr.Owen”, in actual fact, was Hugh Glendower Palmer Owen, who played
first class cricket for Essex from 1881-1901, as well as being a formidable
local cricketer for teams such as Notts Forest Amateurs.

7.30 pm.,
Saturday evenings, 1887

The
High School Musical Society was formed, and met at Mrs.Bowman-Hart’s Musical
School on Shakespeare Street. Entry was free to all past and present members of
the school.

the late 1880s

A short
novel entitled “The Three Merles” appeared in the bookshops of the nation just
after the First World War. It had been written by a former pupil of the school,
Richard St.Clair Page.

The
book was a thinly veiled description of Page’s years at the High School some
ten years from the end of the previous century and was very reminiscent of
works such as “Tom Brown’s Schooldays”, and other school tales of the Victorian
era. It described how a new headmaster had arrived at a quiet, comfortable
school, and changed it completely by the very force of his personality. The
Headmaster was Dr.Govan (Dr.Gow), and other teachers were called “Sammy” or
“Johnny” Horner (Sammy Corner), and “Old Mr.Bray”, (Charles Bray). The
imaginary school, like the real one, had a Mr.Lupton, and a Sergeant Holmes as
its School Porter. The younger Mr.Jennings, Form Master of the Lower Second,
and the elder Mr.Jennings, Form Master of the Upper Third, were both amalgams
of the High School’s real Mr.I.H.Jennings and the two Ryles brothers, “Jumbo”
and “Nipper”.

All of these details were
originally revealed in an article for “The Nottinghamian”, written by the then
Head of History, David Peters. Many years later, with the advent of the
Internet, and www.bookfinder.com , I
was able to buy myself a copy of this long forgotten literary gem.

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Eight : “The

Three Merles”.

Friday, March
23rd 1888

A
meeting was convened by the Mayor, at which Mr.Bernhard Stiebel, a German lace
manufacturer who lived in Nottingham, said that no provision was being made in
the town for the right kind of education for commerce. Many boys were having to
be sent away from Nottingham, where the only chance of a proper education was
at either People’s College or High Pavement. He attacked the High School
Governors for giving Dr.Gow too much power, and he attacked Gow for promoting
the pointless study of Latin.

Eventually,
a Commercial Committee was set up, which would investigate whether it would
possible to introduce “...into the organisation of the High School of such
changes as would secure the youth of Nottingham as complete a commercial
education as is obtainable in German schools.”

They
wrote to the High School governors, and the Clerk, Mr.Fraser, sent a lengthy
reply, drafted by Dr.Gow and the Governors. The Committee then asked for a vast
amount of information about the school...the time devoted by each teacher to
each lesson, and to marking homework, a full timetable for each class, the
statistics of the ages of all the leavers, and a list of all their
destinations, and their purposes in leaving, whether for work in factories,
commerce or to continue their studies elsewhere.

Not surprisingly,
perhaps, the Governors printed twelve copies of the history of the school and
sent them this. The Committee’s secretary then replied, saying that the
information was ambiguous or contradictory, and that many of his questions had
not been answered.

With a
patience that the Commercial Committee did not perhaps deserve, the Governors
then employed an accountant to produce all the necessary statistics, which were
duly sent to the secretary of the Commercial Committee.

Saturday, April
7th 1888

In football,
the School Six played the Masters’ Six. “The Forester” carried the full
story....

“....The
School Six defeated the Master’s (sic) Six by three goals to one. The masters,
who, like Hamlet, were somewhat “fat and scant of breath”, then demanded to play
two fat men extra, to compensate for their want of nimbleness. This unfortunate
challenge was accepted, and the School won again by ten goals to one.”

Thursday, June
7th 1888

The
Geology class made a visit to Hucknall Torkard, where they descended into a pit
belonging to the Hucknall Colliery Company. The boys walked for more than two
and a half hours underground, and when they emerged, presented “...a very grimy
appearance.”

Friday, June
29th 1888

The
Athletic Sports, “...for many years in abeyance”, were revived, and were held
in “very unfavourable weather” on the Castle Ground. There was a good
attendance of spectators, and among the more usual events was a three-legged
race, won by W.A.Möller and C.P.S.Sanders, a sack race won by J.Blake, and a
bicycle race over one mile, won by W.A.Möller in 3 mins 45.4 seconds. F.Bramley
won the “Throwing the Cricket Ball (for boys under 14), with a distance of 57
yards.

The
Masters’ Race was won by the Reverend T.W.Peck, with Mr.W.T.Ryles in second
place, two yards behind. There was also an Old Boys’ Race, a handicap, run over
220 yards, and a Tug of War, won by Team No 1, who defeated Team No 2 in the
final.

The prizes for the day were
presented by Mrs.Gow.

July 1888

The
Headmaster drew attention to the fact that so many boys continued to leave
early. He reported that “...in the Modern Fourth Form, which now contains 14
boys, five have given notice to leave this term, and three more...will leave
next term, if they can find places...in all those classes which are mostly
filled by boys of about 15, the work is done with extra difficulty and
pressure, and moreover, any Scheme which contemplates more than one term’s work
is impossible, for the classes are broken up every term...the remnants of these
classes must be put together somehow, and then the same clearance will commence
again.”

Thursday, July
12th 1888

“The
Forester” provided one of its most absurdly boastful moments in its report of
the Royal Show, held at Wollaton Park from July 9th-13th 1888. This was the “first
shilling day” and “The Forester” reported that over 90,000 people turned up,
“of whom the High School contributed a large proportion”.

Thursday, November
22nd 1888

The
High School played what appears to be their first football fixture on
Nottingham Forest’s Gregory Ground, running out easy winners against Derby
School by 7-2.

The
team was seen throughout to “splendid advantage.... pressing hard upon their
opponents’ quarters until the very end”. They would have doubled their tally
had it not been for the performance of the Derby goalkeeper, and “the brilliant
manner in which he stopped many hard shots”. Strangely enough, during the first
half, with a strong wind in Derby’s favour, the score had remained 0-0, but “on
changing ends, the visitors completely fell to pieces”.

There
had long been problems with the Forest Recreation Ground, and it was probably
because there were so many Old Boys in the ranks of Nottingham Forest at this
time, that they made this generous offer to share their home ground with the
High School.

As well as football matches, the
High School was to play its cricket fixtures at the Gregory Ground for a number
of years, although games against other schools continued both on the Forest and
at Trent Bridge, often on Wednesdays at the former site, and on Saturdays at
the latter venue.

In
actual fact, contemporary opinion was that the Gregory Ground was one of the
best in the whole country, and it was to play host to a number of top football
games, including an England trial match in March 1890. Its record attendance
was 11,500 for a Third Round F.A.Cup game between the hosts, Nottingham Forest,
and Notts County.

The
Gregory Ground has now mostly disappeared, but it used to stand roughly on the
area bounded by Derby Road, Faraday Road and Salisbury Street. Only the school
playing fields still there betray the history of the site.

December 1888

The
Indoor Porter, Robert Holmes complained that the fumes caused by the room
heating was affecting his wife’s health, and requested that he be allowed to
live outside the school. The Architect concurred with Holmes, and plans were
put in hand for a £300 lodge at the Arboretum Street entrance. This was
destined never to be built.

Saturday, December
8th 1888

Henry
Alfred “Harry” Cursham scored his last goal for Notts County in the F.A.Cup, in
a 3-1 victory over Staveley. Depending totally on interpretation, it was either
his 49th, 52nd or 54th goal in the competition, all of which figures still
remain records for the competition, well over a hundred years later. Cursham
scored six goals in a single game against Wednesbury Strollers, (although he
claimed nine), and played eight times for England, scoring five goals.

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Four : Henry Alfred
Cursham”.

Saturday, December
22nd 1888

A
Thomas White’s scholar, C.P.S.Sanders, died of typhoid, after a very short
illness.

February 1889

Colonel
Seely, who was the Colonel in charge of the Robin Hood Battalion of the
Sherwood Foresters, made a request that two or three companies of his men
should use the school playground for drill on two evenings a week during May,
June and July.

At this time, many of the High
School boys who lived at a good distance from the school used to remain behind
after the school day, and play with their friends in the playground. Boys who
lived close to the school would often go home, have their tea and finish their
homework, and then come back to school to play. The school playground was thus
in use during almost all the hours of daylight except on Sundays.

For
this reason, Dr.Gow urged that Colonel Seely’s request be turned down...“The
marked improvement in tone and manners of High School boys is mainly due to the
fact that I try, by every means in my power, to keep them out of the streets,
and attract them to the play-ground where their behaviour and language are open
to observation.” The boys kept their playground.

Tuesday, February
26th 1889

The
Debating Society held its first ever meeting, at which Dr.Gow was elected
President. In its early days, the society held more musical evenings, or
“soirées”, than debates, and typical examples were a reading of “A ladies’
cricket match”, and Mrs.Bowman-Hart’s class singing “Holiday of the Rhine”.
These events formed an important part of the school’s social life at the time.

March 1889

The
Mayor’s Commercial Committee sent a report to the Governors. Dr.Gow refuted
most of its recommendations. He did not believe that forms could be abolished,
or that each teacher should teach only one subject. Neither was it particularly
sensible to have only native speakers teaching French or German, and there was
not too much prominence given to the Classics. Only twenty boys were learning
Greek, and nearly all the pupils on the Modern side would one day give up
Latin. He was willing to allow the Governors to appoint new teachers, and fully
endorsed the idea that all teachers should have received some kind of teacher
training. This, however, was not always possible in England, but he had tried
to compromise by never appointing teachers who were completely inexperienced.
Furthermore, the Headmaster would spend some of his summer holidays looking at
the famous commercial schools in Frankfurt and Zurich.

This was, in actual fact, the
Commercial Committee’s last serious attack on Gow and on the school. After
this, a few letters were exchanged, but for the most part, the Governors just
defused the situation by employing delaying tactics. Dr.Gow, however, was still
extremely upset by the whole business.

Wednesday, March
27th 1889

Dr.John Percival, the
representative of Oxford University on the Board of Governors, who had been
Headmaster of Clifton College and was currently Headmaster of Rugby, wrote to
the Chairman of the Governors...”I don’t know the purpose of the attack which
is being directed against the School, but  I believe that the only way to make
it a real credit to the town and also of the highest use is to give Dr.Gow a
free hand...local interference has two bad effects, it disheartens and
paralyses the Master, and it makes both parents and boys unduly critical.”

a Thursday in
the Easter Term 1889

A group
of boys went to see the Tar and Sulphuric Acid Works at Giltbrook. The
sulphuric acid chambers were inspected, and produced huge fits of coughing, but
the most glorious moment came when a retriever dog, which had attached itself
to the party, fell into the tar oil well, presenting a “rather woe-begone
appearance”. Most of the school party then “rushed away in a rather undignified
manner, fearing that they might otherwise carry with them undesirable evidence
of their visit to a Tar Works.”

Wednesday, April
3rd 1889

The
Governors expressed their confidence in the Headmaster and staff.

Wednesday, May
15th 1889

At a
meeting of the Governors, when a report of the Commercial Committee was due to
be discussed, Dr.Gow walked out, refusing to speak about the matter.

Tuesday, June
18th 1889

E.Knowles,
“a boy of whom we were justly proud, though he did not stand very high in the
school”, died on June 14th. He was buried on what would have been his birthday.

Saturday, September
28th 1889

The
Cycling Club went to Dale Abbey. Dr.Gow rode a tandem with P.W.Oscroft until
they crashed, and the School Captain, Paton, was then able to accompany the
Headmaster.

autumn 1889

Still
indignant and disturbed by the attacks on himself and the school, Dr.Gow seemed
to be contemplating resignation.

early November
1889

Mr.J.Kentish
Wright organised a petition “...with the desire of strengthening Gow’s
hand...and of supporting the Governors in the excellent choice they made.” They
were enthusiastic of “...the methods of tuition organised by Dr.Gow, adapted by
the Governors, and sustained by their united efforts.” They spike of Dr.Gow’s
“exceptional powers as an organiser and instructor” and “...the unwearied
assiduity with which he has devoted himself to every detail of School work.”
They concluded by saying that “...Dr.Gow’s relinquishment of the position of
Headmaster would be a heavy misfortune to the School and the town.”

The
petition was signed by a hundred and ninety-five parents, and did not include
any parents of new boys, or those who had recently left. Indeed, no special
effort had been made to get people to sign, and most signatures were readily
volunteered.

Wednesday, November
27th 1889

The First
XI played Trent College at Long Eaton. The hosts won the toss, and kicked off
down the slope. An unlucky own goal by Currie gave them their first score, with
a second goal before half time. After the interval, the High School “played
splendidly”, and scored two goals in the first twenty minutes. Trent then
scored through Sharples, but the High School again equalised. There then
followed what “The Forester” called “two very doubtful goals”, one after the
ball had allegedly gone out of play by several yards, and the second, from a
very offside looking Sharples.The High School again “played up”, and a splendid
shot from Goodacre reduced the deficit to 4-5, but despite dominating the last
few minutes, they had to concede defeat.

The
best players in the game were Mr.”Nipper” Ryles for the High School, and the
excellent Mr.Owen, the Trent College goalkeeper.

A
return fixture on the Gregory Ground was offered to Trent College, but they
refused, making “a very paltry protest against our playing four masters, while
they only played three....the probable cause being that they were afraid of a
beating.”

This
quarrel marked the end of football fixtures between the two schools for well
over a century, and they were only resurrected in the 1997-1998 season.

possibly December
1889

Having
extracted the more relevant suggestions from the Commercial Committee’s
recommendations, Dr.Gow reported to the Governors that the school was already
divided, at senior level, between the Classics, and the more modern, or
commercial subjects. He intended gradually to extend this division downwards in
the school.

winter 1889 -
1890

The
school was ravaged by scarlet fever, and by what the school magazine called
“the curious influenza, which has lately come to us from Russia”.

Christmas 1889

Dr.Gow
“...drafted off from the Junior School at Christmas such boys as were certainly
intended for business. For these boys, twenty four in all, I engaged a new
Master, Mr.W.H.Hodgson, B.A., B.Sc....who had formerly taken the highest
commercial teaching in the Newcastle School of Science. I have also, with the
assistance of various friends, begun the formation of a commercial museum.”

Monday, December
30th 1889

Dr.Gow
wrote to the Governors, and insisted that Charles Bray, who had worked at the
Free School since 1859, should remain at the High School, “as long as I can in
any way employ him.” Bray was therefore given lighter work to do, more in
keeping with his age, and was paid half salary.

Another
veteran, Henry Seymour, was given a pension. His wife was so grateful that she
endowed a scholarship after his death in 1903.

In a
similar fashion, “...the caretakers, Knowles and his wife...very old and
faithful servants” had good reason to be grateful to Dr.Gow when he intervened
on their behalf.

1890

Old
Boy, C.F.Daft won the National 120 yards Hurdles Championship for the third
time. He had previously won it in 1885 and 1886.

Wednesday, January
15th 1890

The
Reverend William Butler died after a few days’ illness with influenza. Sadly, a
deputation of Old Boys from Stoney Street was intending to present him with a
small token of esteem on his eightieth birthday, but he died before this could
be done.

Saturday, April
5th, 1890

In the
wonderfully titled article “A Short Account of the Runs”, “The Forester” tells
how the Cycling Club went to Newark and back. Twenty seven riders set out from
Forest Road at 10.30 a.m., and misfortune seems to have occurred with
frightening frequency. Mr.W.P.Paton fell off his safety cycle while riding down
a steep hill into Woodborough, and A.H. Goodliffe then crashed into him.

A
tandem-tricycle ridden by R.B.Brown and R.B.Paton then smashed into the
wreckage, and finished up on the far side of the hedge. L.Allen avoided further
disaster by jumping off his own bicycle, before he too became part of this
amazing pile up. Minutes later, A.H.Lymn attempted the same treacherous
descent, only to have his bicycle disintegrate into two separate sections as he
reached top speed. His fall was so bad that he had to be sent home in a cart
with the pieces of wreckage. After a delay of an hour and a half to repair
Brown and Paton’s tandem, the survivors set off, only for Miss Corner and
T.B.Durose to then be thrown off their own tandem. Newark was reached by 3.45
p.m., and dinner was heartily enjoyed at the Ossington Coffee Palace. On the
return, tea was provided by Mr.Corner at Radcliffe-on-Trent at 5 p.m., and the
party finally reached Nottingham at 9 p.m.

“The
Forester” records the “casualties” rather like a list of kills in a First World
War air battle...”...tandem smashed...tandem smashed...safety bicycle
smashed...thrown, more or less violently, without however, serious damage to
their machines...Mr.Corner, M.B.Paton, S.A.Wallis (2),  J.A.Wolverson (2),
B.Horner (2), A.H.Goodliffe, Miss Corner and Durose (2) and Mr.W.P.Paton.”
G.B.Bryan was “knocked up” at Southwell, and W.H.Lancashire was forced to
return from Newark by train.

Of
twenty seven club members, only eleven returned without mishap to tell the
tale. Three cycles were destroyed. During the rest of the year, other problems
occurred with strong headwinds, broken chains, broken spokes, buckled wheels,
loosened tyres, poor road surfaces, falls, smashes, hills too steep to ride up,
and, on March 30th, a thirty minute blizzard between Melton Mowbray and West
Bridgford.

the afternoon
of Tuesday, June 3rd 1890

The
school’s sports day was held at the Castle Ground in dull and windy weather.
Nevertheless, a large crowd attended, and enjoyed a day of “very fair sport”,
and a selection of music played by the Nottingham Borough Police Band, under
the leadership of Bandmaster Redgate. The prizes were presented by Miss
Goldschmidt.

over-15                        100
yards                    winner             G.F.Brewill     11 seconds

under-15                      100
yards                    winner             R.Currie          12.6 sec

under-12                      100
yards                    winner             W.S.Browne   15 seconds

open, football race      220 yards                    winner             R.B.Brown      33.8
sec

under-12                      220
yards                    winner             F.D.Mellors     31.2 sec

over-15,                       220
yards                    winner             G.F.Brewill     28.2 sec

handicapped

under-15                      220
yards                    winner             M.G.Smith      29.4 sec

under-15                      throwing                      winner             R.W.Sim         73
yards

the
cricket ball

open                            long
jump                    winner             P.W.Oscroft    17 ft 3 ins

over-15                        throwing                      winner             P.W.Oscroft    91
yards

the
cricket ball

handicapped                440
yards                    winner             P.W.Oscroft    61 sec

handicapped                two
miles                     winner             J.W.Sampson  7 min 5 sec

bicycle race

( Old Boys )                all
the riders except one rode safety cycles.

open                            high
jump                    winner             P.W.Oscroft    4 ft 6ins

open                            sack
race                      winner             H.Hanson        31.8 secs

open                            880
yards                    winner             R.H.Brett        2 m 25.2 s

handicapped                one
mile                       winner             M.B.Paton       3 min 43 s
bicycle race

handicapped                220
yards                    winner             C.F.Daft          25 secs

( Old Boys )

open                            one
mile                       winner             R.H.Brett        5 m 20 sec

handicapped

Two consolation
races were held, over two hundred and twenty yards, for boys under and over
fifteen years of age. They were won by N.S.Moore and G.O.Wardle respectively.

The
most interesting event, though, was the hundred yards Medley Handicap. In this
boys competed in a number of heats over one hundred yards, and the handicap
consisted in the means by which they had to cover the distance.

The
methods included skipping, sack race, three legged, pick-a-back, on all fours,
and, most spectacular of all, perhaps, on stilts. The final seems to have been
a normal foot race, as the winner’s time was fifteen seconds. It is difficult
to imagine any of the alternative methods of locomotion as being as fast as
this !

the afternoon
of Saturday, June 28th 1890

The
Cycling Club held their own sports day at the Castle Ground. There were five
events, including a five miles open race, an open one mile race, an Under-15
one mile race, an Old Boys’ Race, and a slow riding race, over one hundred
yards.

Wednesday,
July 2nd 1890

As “The
Forester” reported, the Nottingham High School Junior Fanciers Association held
their first “fat stock” show in the Fives Court. There were sixty one pets
entered, the most common being rabbits, pigeons and poultry. Other participants
were white rats, doves, a dog, a cat, a parrot, a greenfinch and some guinea
pigs. Special commendations went to Lewis’s cat and Goddard’s guinea pig.

Midsummer Term
1890

In a
fine example of how languages are constantly changing, “The Forester” reported
that the term had been “unusually gay”.

summer 1890

Dr.Gow,
with a growing family, tried to persuade the Governors to buy a house, and then
rent it to him at one hundred pounds per year. He offered them a selection of
suitable properties, but they did not take the bait, and Gow moved into
Arboretum Street, to the west of the school. He remained there until he left
Nottingham in 1901.

Wednesday, October
29th 1890

The
First Eleven played Wellesley College of Long Eaton on the Forest. Despite the
dominance of the visitors during the first half, the score at the interval was
evenly balanced at 1-1. Early in the second half, though, Wellesley College
went into the lead, but there was great controversy when the referee allowed an
equalising goal for the High School. The Wellesley captain immediately left the
field, an act which at that moment aroused the disgust of his colleagues. Ten
minutes before the end of the game, however, the remaining ten Wellesley
College players themselves all walked off in protest at the refereeing, the
match being therefore abandoned with the score 2-2.

1891

The
cost of being a boarder was now sixteen guineas per term

March 1891

Only
a few years after his original complaint, Robert Holmes was allocated five
shillings per week to rent a house. The fume-filled rooms were then given over
to the boys as a “mess-room”.

Saturday, March
7th 1891

Tinsley
Lindley, arguably the most talented person ever to study at the High School,
represented England for the last time, in a 6-1 victory over Ireland. He had
scored fifteen goals in thirteen international appearances, at least three of
which were as captain, a record which was to stand for a number of years.

Always
wearing ordinary walking shoes rather than football boots, Lindley played for
Nottingham Forest on ninety-eight occasions, and scored eighty-two goals, the
best strike rate of any forward in their history. He also managed to take the
catch which enabled Nottinghamshire to defeat the Australian tourists in 1888.
He played rugby for Old Leysians R.F.C., and at Cambridge, represented the
university as a sprinter on many occasions, as well as regularly playing
cricket for them. He captained the football team there for at least one season,
and also turned out for Oxford University on an occasion when they were a man
short.

In the
late 1880s, Lindley became a barrister, and from 1899, lectured in Law at
Nottingham University. Shortly afterwards, he became a county court judge, and
in his spare time, reported on Nottingham Forest games for the Daily Mail. During
the Great War, he organised the Nottinghamshire Special Constabulary, and
received an O.B.E. for this work. He died of pneumonia in 1940 at the age of
seventy-four.

July 1891

Boys
continued to leave the school prematurely. Of the thirty seven who passed the
Cambridge Junior Examination, twelve left almost immediately. Dr.Gow said that
he had “...lost nearly all my best material for future work.”

August 1891

For the
first time, the School List was published. It contained a prospectus, a full
record of forms, sets, scholarships, prizes, and a large plan of the school and
grounds. It was mainly the work of Mr.Corner, who was now the Usher.

Tuesday, July
26th, 1891

On this
Tuesday afternoon, a pet show was held in the Fives Court. The boys’ animals included
twenty-five pigeons, ten rabbits, eight dogs, various fowl, rats, doves,
canaries, ducks, guinea-pigs, dormice and a thoroughbred goat “...of a savage
disposition. Last, and also least, was a diminutive but lively tortoise.”  The
“champion” prize was awarded by Dr.Gow to Hugh Browne’s “celebrated
Newfoundland, Nero.” The school pet show was an extremely popular event during
this era, and attracted many entries from the boys. It was frequently of
sufficient local interest to be reported in local newspapers, such as the
Nottingham Daily Express.

September 1891
- December 1897

An Old
Boy, R.J.Willatt, wrote down his reminiscences of the time he spent in the High
School. He remembered that Dr.Gow, or “Jimmy” was immensely popular, despite
being “...rather reserved and possibly shy...his popularity may have been due
to his absolute fairness and his interest, not only in the School generally,
but in individual boys. He could unbound on occasion. I remember his keeping
goal in a “Masters v Boys” match and being loudly cheered as he came in to
Prayers the following morning. He blushed furiously but his delightful smile
broke out and he was obviously pleased.”

Young Willatt began in the Second
Form with Mr.L.C.Wilkes, who was inexplicably called “Demi”. Other members of staff
he recalled were “Jumbo” and “Nipper” Ryles, the Reverend T.W.Peck, and the
Reverend T.B.Hardy, who was later to win a Victoria Cross in the Great War...
“...a very quiet but efficient form master, and not at all the type one would
have expected to win high military honours.”

In the
Upper School were “Carey” Trafford, and “Sammy” Corner, the latter “...by no
means an ideal form master, was invaluable to the School. He was completely
wrapped up in it, and lived for it.” Sammy was extremely generous, and whenever
he heard of a boy who was interested in a particular subject or personality, he
would buy him a book about it. The writer still had Ranjitsinghi’s “Jubilee
Book of Cricket”, which he was given shortly after he left school.

The
school’s other character was Sergeant Holmes, a “smart little figure with his
peak cap and grey moustache”. He took every form for squad drill, and had
charge of the sports gear.

Every
morning, prayers were held in the Classical School, with the curtains drawn back
to make one large room. For some reason, the writer remembered keenly “...the
mixed feeling of embarrassment and pleasure this custom caused.” The Drawing
Room, with its extraordinary roof, was used for school functions such as
concerts or dramatic presentations.

First
XI football matches were played “on the Gregory”. Second XI football,
inter-form football, and all cricket matches were played on the Forest.

The
playground was a “sandy waste” with a small football pitch on the eastern side.
This was used to play the Football Sixes competition. To take a corner kick on
the western side of the ground, the door of the school’s north entrance was
always held open, so that the kicker could get the necessary run-up.

January 16th
1892

On a
“piercingly cold” Saturday, Nottingham Forest played Newcastle East End at the
City Ground. When the crowd arrived at Trent Bridge, they were surprised to see
“...skating in progress on the old course of the River Trent.”  Due to the
introduction of the penalty kick, the frozen pitch had new markings, which in
this case were made of broad strips of soot. Newcastle changed from their
normal crimson shirts to black and white stripes. This was the last time that
the River Trent ever froze, and hopefully, Tinsley Lindley, Forest’s centre
forward, was able to walk across the river to the game, “à la Brian Clough”.

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at“Appendix Seven : Tinsley
Lindley”.

February 1892

Samuel
Maples died. He had been a boy at Stoney Street from 1823 onwards, and left
£3,000 to the school. This was used to establish Maples scholarships and
exhibitions, which were awarded from 1895 onwards.

Saturday, March
12th 1892

The 1st
XI visited Sheffield to play against Wesley College. On a wet and slippery
pitch, the home team scored after just four minutes, only for the High School,
“nothing daunted” to return to the attack, and equalise with a long bouncing
shot by Mr.Ryles. Soon after this, Wallis went on a splendid, long run and put
the High School ahead, only for Wesley College to equalise from a corner.
Storer then put the visitors ahead, leaving the score at the interval 3-2. The
High School attacked keenly for the first thirty minutes of the second period,
and their goalkeeper barely touched the ball during this time. Wallis scored a
fourth, with the College pulling the score back to 4-3 only seconds later.
Attack followed attack as the Sheffield team tried to get their fourth goal,
but the High School defence held firm. The turning point may well have come when
Bennett, the college centre forward, twisted his knee, and had to be carried
off. With only ten men, they continued gallantly to attack, but the inevitable
breakaway came, and Mr.Ryles put the game beyond them with a fifth goal. “A
splendid game”, according to “The Forester”, and one which was thought to have
been among the greatest performances in the history of High School football.

The early 1890s

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at
“Appendix Ten : “The early

1890s”.

Saturday, April
16th 1892

Percy
William Oscroft, playing for Nottingham Forest, scored one of his side’s two
goals in a 2-1 victory over Grimsby. This result secured the championship of
the Football Alliance for the club, and allowed them to be promoted into the
Football League Division One, a hugely significant step on a journey which was
ultimately to end with the winning of two European Champions’ Cups in 1979 and
1980.

December 1892

Dr.Gow
again petitioned the Governors about a pension fund. He pointed out just well he
had performed in his seven years in the school. It was all in vain, and nothing
was done.

1893

Nottingham
High School was formally admitted to Whitaker’s Almanac’s list of the “Great
Public Schools”.

1893

Dr.Gow
presented the Governors with a detailed scheme for staff pensions. Nothing
further was heard about it.

1893

An
Assistant Charity Commissioner came from London, to lunch with the Headmasters,
Governors, and others at the George Hotel. A few weeks later, a letter arrived,
asking why Section 59 of the Scheme of April 1883 had not been implemented.
This stated that the High School was to allocate £200 per annum for the higher
education of girls.

The
Governors managed to avoid the issue for four years, arguing that as there had
never been a surplus in their annual accounts, no money could have been paid.
In any case, the whole scheme was just a recommendation, rather than a legally
binding condition.

January 1893

The
“Science Sixth Gymnastic Club” was founded, under the aegis of Mr.Trotman. It
was later to be named the “Voluntary Gymnastic Club”, when younger boys were
admitted. The club was to reach its greatest numbers, some sixty four, in
1900-1901, but the advent of the Boer War meant that many likely boys joined
the School Cadet Corps, and numbers gradually fell off after this.

Wednesday, February
8th 1893

At the
premature age of only fity-six, Dr.Dixon died suddenly at Teignmouth in Devon,
after a “violent fit of coughing”.

John
Russell, the last School Captain of the old Free School was to recollect in
later years Dr.Dixon and his “...large massive lion-like head, with full strong
beard, the keen searching gaze, the deep sonorous rolling voice, the slow heavy
tread...”

Another
old boy remembered how “...he allowed himself no time for exercise, and would
often be for a week or more without leaving his house. All old boys will
remember the extraordinary shoes he used to wear. They were enormously thick,
with very low heels and with heavy metalled tips. They would have been grand
service shoes for a tramp across Asia.”

As a
geologist, Dr.Dixon was “...a quaint figure, wrapt in a rough pilot coat, with
heavy hammer sticking out of one pocket.” He loved geology, and he was able to
take senior boys on many long walks to view interesting sites. Overall, his
pupils were unanimous about his “...high scholastic standards, his firmness,
his dignity and, above all, his friendly helpfulness.” M.I.Preston, Captain of
the Upper School in 1872-1873 said that “..I respected his learning, I
respected his will-power, I felt his influence over me, and saw it over others,
and I respect his memory today. Whatever I know of good I owe to him, and I
believe I am not singular.”

In
class, he had a “...curious habit of leaning well back into his arm chair,
gazing at the ceiling, carefully selecting a hair in his beard, and combing it
out over his pencil. Then he would abstractedly twitch it out, gaze at it a
moment, throw it away, and resume his normal manner. Sometimes he was carefully
impressive, and I believe his rare outbursts of temper were forced. “Hopkinson
tertius ! my-eye-is-upon-you-sir-r-r-r ! ” would produce silence, which could
be felt, among thirty small boys at the end of the large schoolroom. He used
the cane sparingly, and always for effect. His dramatic “Preston primus,
fetch-me my-cane,” before the whole upstanding school, is remembered to this
day...on these occasions, the victim was always appreciatively made to fetch
the rod for his own back. But the humour of the thing prevailed, and the
culprit was let off.”

Thursday, July
27th, 1893

The
school pet show was again held in the school grounds, this time on a Thursday
afternoon. Over fifty animals participated, among them pigeons and dogs “...of
unusual excellence”, and any number of fowls, canaries, ducks, rabbits, rats
and guinea-pigs. Prizewinners included a St.Bernard bitch called “Lassie”, a
fox terrier bitch called “Jennie”, and, in the miscellaneous category, an owl
and a hedgehog.

Tuesday, November
28th 1893

Fifty
members of the Debating Society held a Social Evening. They were entertained
by, among others, a banjo song, a banjo solo, and a recitation of Rudyard
Kipling’s “The Fuzzy Wuzzy”.

Wednesday, January
24th 1894

The
First Eleven played Mansfield Wednesday in an away game, and it may have been
unfamiliarity with local custom which led two of the High School players to
“linger in the pavilion” at the start of the match. Mansfield duly kicked off,
and scored the only goal of the game while just nine of their naïve young opponents were on
the pitch.

Spring 1894

Dr.Gow
was asked by the Governors to cut staff in an effort to help the school’s
financial position. He refused to do so, but began to enter boys for the South
Kensington Department of Science and Art examinations, in an effort to obtain
funding from them.

Saturday, March
17th 1894 - Saturday, October 20th 1894

The
Cycling Club organised outings every few days throughout this period, except
for August, when a tour was planned. They ventured as far as Matlock (sixty
miles) and Newark-on-Trent (forty miles), and their programme contained precise
timings as to when lamps should be lit.

Easter Sunday,
March 25th 1894

Mr.Benjamin
Townson died from pneumonia and nervous exhaustion. He had been the first ever
Headmaster of Leighton Park School in Reading since autumn 1889, but before
this, he was Usher at the High School from 1881-1889.

He was
married to Edith, herself from Nottingham. Their eldest son “a dear little
fellow of three” had died on March 15th, from scarlet fever. “During the
progress of the fever, a stern sense of duty to the school committed to his
care kept the agonised parent from the bedside of his dying child ; the strain
was terrible ; Mr.Townson aged daily.”

Although he himself could well
have been in bed, Mr.Townson, of course, went to his son’s funeral, held on
Saturday, March 17th.

Unfortunately,
while there, he grew worse and “his health broke. For a few days he struggled
against increasing weakness ; on Good Friday eve pneumonia seized him, next day
delirium set in, and early on Easter Sunday he peacefully entered into rest.”

1894-1895

This
year was picked by Dr.Gow as the best of his reign. Three boys won Open
Scholarships to Cambridge, one to Durham, and one at the London Hospital.
F.C.Boon, who had already won a scholarship to Cambridge, qualified for a
London University B.A. while still at the High School. Old Boy, Harold Knight
won a National Gold Medal, a prize, three National Silver Medals, and two
National Bronze Medals, for various sorts of drawing and painting.

the evening of
Sunday, July 15th 1894

Mr.Charles
Bray died in his 68th year. He had visited a friend at Radcliffe-on-Trent that
day, and, having felt unwell, consulted a local doctor, who performed a minor
operation on him, to relieve his discomfort. Mr.Bray then felt much better so
he returned home. He caught a cab at the Midland Railway Station, and asked the
driver to take him to his home, at 51, Bentinck Road. When the cab arrived,
however, the driver found that Mr.Bray had died. An inquest held on Tuesday,
July 17th, found that his death was due to natural causes.

Mr.Bray
had worked at the Free School since 1859, and then moved to the new High
School, where he was master of the third and fourth forms. As he grew older, he
had been given lighter work, but had been in school as recently as the Monday
before his death. That day, he had been photographed with the rest of the
staff, and had ironically remarked that it was “for the last time”.

John
Russell reminisced that Mr.Bray was “...a stern disciplinarian and a most
energetic teacher”, with “...a striking personality and kindly nature.” In the
Free School, “...his record is one of faithful, zealous, ungrudging service to
the school through evil report and good report for nearly forty years...he
taught well all that he knew.”

Mr.Bray’s
funeral left his house at 2.30 pm., on July 19th, and proceeded to the Church
Cemetery, where the Reverends H.de B.Gibbins and T.W.Peck conducted the
service. Many members of the High School community were present, both boys,
staff and governors, and the gathering was so large that Superintendent
Billington of the Nottingham Police was there to direct the police operations.

Saturday,
March 9th 1895

Madame
Lionnet, the school’s French teacher, died of pneumonia supervening on
influenza. She had taught at the University College, as well as the Girls’ High
School, and was buried in the Church Cemetery on the following Wednesday, the
Reverend Peck conducting the service.

During
the Franco-Prussian War, both her husband and father had been killed in the
battles around Paris, and she had come to England after these sad events. In
later life, she was to lose her life savings when the Liberator Society failed.

Midsummer Term
1895

The
High School stopped using teachers as players in their First XI at cricket.
They were one of the very first schools in the area to adopt this practise.
Their record for the season, under the captainship of A.Crawford, was six games
won, two lost and six drawn. At the time, most matches took place on the
Forest, with other games being held at the Gregory Ground, or, on occasion, at
Trent Bridge.

November 1895

The
first grant came through from South Kensington. It was for £85 2s 6d. Larger
payments were prevented by the fact that the fathers of most boys earned more
than £400 per annum.

1896

The
South Kensington grant reached £116 18s 6d.

1896

Dr.Gow
complained to the Governors about the Forest. No play was possible there on
either Thursdays or Saturdays, or after 6p.m. on any day. Furthermore, “...when
we do play, we are instantly surrounded by a crowd of unemployed persons, who
sometimes steal our clothes, and always use the vilest language.”

1896

Around
this time took place what was to become a legendary fist fight for “physical
supremacy” in the school. It was between S.H.Hill and Vernon James Steedman.
The latter eventually became a private in the 54th Battalion of the British
Columbia Regiment. He was to be killed in action on October 25th 1916, and his
sacrifice is commemorated on the Vimy Ridge Memorial in northern France.

3 p.m., Thursday,
April 16th 1896

The
school Prize-giving took place in the Albert Hall. Dr.Gow announced that the
High School now had the top boys in three of the subjects at the recent
Cambridge Local Examinations. Furthermore, among five thousand junior
candidates, they had “...the top boy of all the world” in Latin. (Applause).”

Among
the seniors, J.H.Towle was first in both Latin and Greek, and was awarded a
scholarship and sizarship to St.John’s College, Cambridge. Among the junior
boys, the world champion was L.S.Laver, who was classified first in England for
Latin. Two years later, in December 1898, Laver was, as a senior, to be placed
first in England in Latin, first in Greek, and to be awarded his own
scholarship of £60 to St.John’s College, Cambridge.

Laver
subsequently gained a Class I in the Classical Tripos of 1902. He became a
schoolmaster, and worked at Calday Grange on Merseyside, Wyggeston School,
Leicester, and Stourbridge Grammar School, where he became Second Master. From
1912 onwards, he was Headmaster of Altrincham County High School for Boys, but
died suddenly in January 1933, while still only in his fifties.

June 1896

Mr.G.B.Rothera
did not agree with the Governors’ stance about section 59, and resigned over
the matter. He took the trouble to send a copy of his letter of resignation,
and the reason for his action, to the Charity Commissioners. The latter pointed
out that in the latest accounts, the High School had made a hefty profit, and
they, therefore, had no reason not to pay the money, and, in addition, some
kind of reparations for the failures of the past sixteen years.  Another
Assistant Charity Commissioner then visited Nottingham and said that £2,000 of
Consolidated Stock should be used to fund a scholarship for girls.

Discussions then followed which
involved the Charity Commissioners, the Governors, the School Board, the
parents, the Headmistresses of the Girls’ Secondary Schools in the area.

Eventually,
a final compromise was made between all the various parties, and this received
royal assent on September 17th 1900.

Friday, July
31st 1896

The
main school prize-giving was usually held at the Albert Hall just before
Easter, but there were also two other, lesser, ceremonies which took place either
at the end of the Christmas Term, or, traditionally, on the very last day of
the school year. In the latter case, the Headmaster distributed the prizes,
medals, and other awards, and then the proceedings closed with the whole school
giving three loud and hearty cheers for the leavers, the Headmaster, the
teachers, and then last, and certainly not least, the holidays. When the cheers
had finished, the holidays had begun.

December 1896

The
Governors began to negotiate for the use of a small piece of land in Mapperley
Park, on Mansfield Road, just outside Sherwood.

February 1897

The
Mapperley Park playing fields were secured on a very short lease, and a
groundsman was recruited from the Grange Park Club, Edinburgh. He was Mr.Albert
Onions, who was to work at Mapperley Park for over thirty years. As well as a
groundsman, he was an accomplished bowler and cricket coach, and many
successful High School cricketers over the years were to owe him a great debt.
Mr.Onions was also to run the line and to referee in a number of school
football fixtures.

Thursday, March
11th 1897

Dr.James
Gow sent to all “Past and Present Boys”, a circular appealing for money to
build “a pavilion and the nets and other apparatus necessary” on the recently
acquired Mapperley Sports Ground, on Mansfield Road. A fund was set up. The
Headmaster contributed twenty-five pounds himself, and the staff gave almost
forty pounds.

The
plan was for the ground to be prepared and a pavilion to be erected during the
summer term of 1897. The first fixture was planned to be a cricket match
between the High School and the Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire, “if it can be
arranged”.

In total, a sum of £215 2s 6d was
collected, and a pavilion, “a remarkably pretty and convenient edifice”, was
purchased from Boulton and Paul, of Norwich, at a cost of £158. The pitches
were found to be “rather crumbly”, and needed a good deal of attention, not
having been used for several years. Nearly £40 spent on the hire of horses and
weeders, some heavy equipment, and a shed to put it in.

Certainly,
the initial condition of the pitches must have been such that school cricket
fixtures could not take place at Mapperley Park until relatively late in the
season. Games before this were either played away, or, in the case of the match
against the Notts Forest Amateurs, at Trent Bridge. One school fixture, against
Loughborough Grammar School, took place on the Forest.

April 1897

“The
Forester” reminded its readers that Mr.Edward Whittle, of 17, Park Street, was
still alive, as probably the oldest surviving old boy. He had entered the Free
School in February 1815, at the age of nine, and left on November 13th 1819.

Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 21st, 22nd and 23rd 1897

The
School celebrated Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee with three days’ holiday. A
number of teachers and boys went to London to see the procession, and
“T.R.Goodwin took his camera, and got some very successful snap-shots.”

In the
newly created City of Nottingham, there were various processions and parades,
but many of the High School boys would surely have gone to the Forest to see
the fireworks display.

Wednesday, June
30th 1897

In the
very first fixture at Mapperley Park, the High School welcomed Newark Grammar
School. It was not an auspicious start, as Newark scored 90 in their innings,
and the High School were dismissed for 29. In the words of “The Forester”,
“...they broke down utterly, and made the lowest score of the season.”, with,
for the visitors, Mr.Bland and Mr.Greaves claiming five wickets each.

the late 1890s

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Twelve : reminiscences
from the late 1890s”.

Saturday, June
18th 1898

The 1st
XI played the Masters at Mapperley Park. The latter batted first, and made
211-8 declared (Mr.Trotman 56, Rev.T.W.Peck 55 n.o., Mr.Dunn 34). The boys,
however, collapsed against the bowling of Messrs Dunn and Peck (4 and 6 wickets
respectively), and scored a total of only 23 all out. According to “The
Forester”, this was “a disgraceful exhibition”.

September 1898

School
numbers reached 381, the largest they had ever been, and just over twice what
they had been when Dr.Gow took over in 1885.

Wednesday, September
14th, 1898

Having
won a County Council Scholarship, David Herbert Lawrence entered the High School
at the age of thirteen. He was allotted the school number of 1733, and was
normally known as “Bert”.

Lawrence
was born on September 11th 1885, and his father is listed in the register as
Arthur Lawrence, a miner of 3, Walker Street, Eastwood. He was a fairly average
student, and performed best in Mathematics, where he won at least one prize.
His performances could not have been helped by great distance between his home
and the school, which often meant a day which lasted from seven in the morning
until seven at night. Indeed, in later years, Lawrence himself was to blame the
long train journeys to and from Nottingham every day for the lung troubles
which were ultimately to prove the cause of his death. They certainly would
have prevented his full integration into the main body of school life. “Train
boys” were often late in the mornings, and frequently missed the morning
assembly. In the evening, they invariably had to rush off to catch their train,
and thereby missed any after-school games in the playground, and the chance to
develop firm friendships. Neither was Lawrence able to make his mark on the
games field. He was a delicate child, and had never joined in with rough
childhood games. Nor was this frail constitution helped by the damp and foggy climate
of the city.

In
addition, Lawrence’s ability to make friends would have suffered from the wide
difference in social background and class between himself and his school
fellows. At such an early age, Lawrence would still have had a thick working
class accent, and this would have made his origins very obvious to everybody.
At least one boy, for example, is known to have invited him home for tea with
his family, and then discovered that Lawrence was the son of a miner. The
invitation was immediately withdrawn, and Lawrence told that any friendship
between them was out of the question.

Lawrence
began his school career in the Lower Modern Fourth Form with Mr.Crofts. In
1898-1899, he finished fifth overall in the form, and was third in English,
tenth in French, fourth in German, 16th in writing and third in Drawing. In
Mathematics Set VIb with Mr.Hodgson, he was third in Arithmetic, ninth in
Algebra and sixth in Euclid. Overall, he was fifth out of thirty-nine boys. In
Science Set 4, with Mr.Trotman, he was fortieth out of fifty-two boys.

The
following year, 1899-1900, Lawrence was able to make friends with George
Neville, a second boy to win a scholarship from the Beauvale School in
Eastwood. The two travelled back and forth on the train together.

Lawrence
was now in the Modern Fifth Form with Mr.Gaskin. Now listed in error as
“H.D.Lawrence”, he finished sixteenth overall in the form, and was thirteenth
in English, seventeenth in French and thirteenth in German. In Mathematics Set
IV with Mr.Crofts, he was again third in Arithmetic, and second in Algebra and
Euclid.

This made him overall first in the
set out of twenty-one, and for this excellent performance, he was awarded a
prize, an exciting historical book entitled “Fights for the Flag”. It was
written by W.H.Fitchett, already famous as the author of “Deeds that won the
Empire”.

A minor
anomaly occurs in the fact that inside the book, the date is written as Easter
1900, and Lawrence is recorded as being in the Upper Modern Fourth Form.
According to the School Lists, which are complete, and where Lawrence’s career
can be followed through from year to year, he was never a member of this form.
The real truth, if it is other than just human error, will probably never be
known. In Science Set IIB, with Mr.Hodgson, Lawrence was fourteenth out of
twenty-three boys.

In
1900-1901, he spent his final year in the Modern Sixth Form with Mr.Corner. He
finished fifteenth in the form out of nineteen, and in Mathematics Set II,
again with Mr.Corner, he was seventh overall out of seventeen boys, eleventh in
Arithmetic and Algebra, and sixth in Euclid. He remained for a second year in
Science Set IIB with Mr.Hodgson, and was eighteenth out of twenty-six boys.

Lawrence
left the High School in July 1901, when the three years of the Scholarship were
finished. According to F.R.Leavis, he had received “...a better education, one
calculated to develop his genius for its most fruitful use, than any other he
could have got.” Lawrence had not necessarily been the most prominent of pupils,
however, despite his fame in later years.

Although
he was to make extensive use of autobiographical material in many of his later
works, Lawrence was never to make any use of his glimpse into the middle class
world of the High School. Nobody knows why.

In a
similar way, few teachers or fellow pupils have ever come forward with their
memories of the future author. Only the Chief History master, C.Lloyd Morgan,
was left to recollect...“I think I just missed D.H.Lawrence, but I knew the
woman he ran off with.”

Indeed,
what seems to be the only remaining story about the young Lawrence does not
actually bear rigorous investigation, when the details are compared with the
School Record. According to one source, therefore, Lawrence had a peculiar
obsession with death. One day, his form master, the Reverend T.B.Hardy, who was
later to win a Victoria Cross in the Great War, noticed how the young boy was
not paying proper attention to the lesson, but was more interested with the
contents of his desk. Naturally, the teacher walked over, and looked into the
boy’s desk. Inside was a vast collection of tiny coffins, gibbets and miniature
skeletons. Later, Lawrence took his revenge on his form master by firing a
paper pellet at him while he had his back turned, as he wrote on the
blackboard. Another more ludicrous version of what is obviously the same story
has the aggrieved Lawrence bringing a pistol to school, and then firing it at
Hardy, the bullet shattering the board.

Lawrence
has left three relics of his stay at the High School behind him. In the School
Archives, there is a form photograph which has a very young Lawrence on it. It
was discovered by the author in his own research for a book about the school’s
many years of Association Football. He used the very simple method of
ascertaining if there still existed any photographs of a form which the
extensive school lists said Lawrence had been in, and which had been taken in
the relevant year. There was just one, a form photograph which dated from 1898,
and careful examination revealed a likely candidate, tucked away on the next to
back row.

Further
comparison with other photographs available elsewhere indicated that this was
indeed the youthful D.H.Lawrence, a fact confirmed in early February 1999 by
Professor John Worthen, the Professor of D.H.Lawrence Studies at Nottingham
University. The clinching factor in the identification was the way that
Lawrence’s ears were very fleshy and turned forwards.

The second relic of
the great man is his Maths prize, which dates from his days in the Modern Fifth
Form in 1899-1900. It is entitled “Fights for the Flag” and was written by
W.H.Fitchett.

Most
spectacular of all, perhaps, is the third item, where the young Lawrence has
apparently carved his name on an old stone fireplace in what is now the
Examination Officers’ Office, on the first floor near the staffroom. Professor
Worthen was apparently relatively unimpressed by this, and I was told after his
visit that he thought it most probably to be a forgery. Circumstantial evidence,
however, hints at a different possibility.

In the
first place, therefore, great care has been taken over nearly a hundred years not
to paint over it, but to preserve it carefully for subsequent generations.
Clearly this would not have happened if the people who started off this process
of preservation, all those years ago, had not thought the initials to be the
genuine article.

The
other names and lettering on the fireplace all seem to date from the same
fifteen or twenty year span of history around the end of the nineteenth century,
as indeed do the names carved on a similar fireplace one floor lower down, on
the Ground Floor, between the General Office and the entrance to the Assembly
Hall.

The
initials next to D.H.Lawrence include “AJO”, “WB” and T(F?)M, as well as the
name “R.Devey 20”, which was presumably a reference to the date when young Devey carved his own particular contribution.

In actual fact, Reginald Devey
was born on May 31st 1905. He entered the school on May 27th 1918 at the age of
twelve. His father was James Edward Devey, a civil servant, and the family
lived at 22, Ebury Road, Sherwood Rise. He left the High School in August 1922.

One of
the other complete names carved on the stone next to that of Lawrence was
actually quite a famous person, even at the time his name was added. He was
L.S.Laver, a junior boy who, in 1896, achieved first place in Latin in the
Cambridge Local Examinations. Dr.Gow, the Headmaster, duly proclaimed him
“...the top boy of all the world”

Two
years later, in December 1898, Laver was, as a senior, to be placed first in
England in Latin, first in Greek, and then to be awarded his own scholarship of
£60 to St.John’s College, Cambridge.

None of
this is any definite proof, of course, but that is what “circumstantial
evidence” means ! My only slight area of doubt is the fact that it would
certainly be possible to argue that the letters “..awrence” have been added
later to the original “DHL”, but that is not outrageous, and does not preclude
the genuineness of the first three letters. “L.S.Laver” has itself been comically
modified to “L.S.Laveri”.

People
certainly still seem to be aware of the existence of the initials. Even
nowadays, over a century later, tourists from as far afield as Tokyo and
Toronto have come to see it.

Wednesday,
December 21st 1898

School
broke up for Christmas, and Mr.Knowles, the School Porter retired, after thirty
three years of service. The school prefect had set up a collection, and the
boys of the school had contributed over £33. This money was used to purchase a
“handsome easy chair, and a case of silver spoons” The balance, a total of
twenty five sovereigns, was presented to Mr.and Mrs.Knowles by W.A.Blackwall
and the other prefects, together with a beautifully illuminated address.

Mr.Knowles’
job was taken by Mr.Robert Holmes, the brother of the Drill Sergeant. The
latter, in view of his long years of service, moved into Knowles’ house on
Clarendon Street, but only on condition that he found accommodation for his
brother. He, therefore, moved Robert into the rooms which he himself had
occupied, but had vacated because of the fumes from the heating system.

Mr.Knowles
did not live long to enjoy his hard won chair and spoons. He died on Sunday,
March 25th 1900 at his home at 36, Hartley Road. He was seventy-two years of
age, and his real name was William Knowles Keach. His funeral took place at the
Church Cemetery on Thursday, April 27th and was attended by Dr.Gow, and
Messrs.Corner, W.E.Ryles, Liddell and many of the senior boys of the school.
There were many handsome wreathes and crosses in evidence.

Mrs.Rebecca
Keach survived her husband by several years, dying in June 1911, at the family
home.

Wednesday, January
18th 1899

Thomas Ignatius Joseph Gillott, the brother of
Bernard Cuthbert Gillott, and Oswald Cornek Gillott, the young boy who
was one day to carve his name on the stone fireplace near the North Entrance,
entered the school on this day. (See the entry for “possibly from the end of
the Summer Term, 1905 onwards”)

Thomas was
to leave during the course of his fourth academic year, in July 1902. He died on Sunday, July 6th 1913, after an operation at the London
Hospital.

Wednesday, January
18th 1899

Bernard Cuthbert
Gillott, the brother of Oswald Cornek Gillott and Thomas Ignatius
Joseph Gillott, also entered the High School on this day. He was
destined to remain a pupil only until the end of this academic year, in July
1899.

Like his brother Oswald, with the
advent of the Great War, Bernard was to join the army,
serving as a Captain in the 6th Northamptonshire Regiment. A
brave man, he won both the British Military Cross and the French Croix de
Guerre. He was eventually severely wounded, but survived, and was invalided
home to England.

(See the entry for “possibly from
the end of the Summer Term, 1905 onwards”)

Wednesday, February 22nd 1899

The
First Eleven travelled to Mansfield for a fixture against the local Grammar
School. The match turned out to be a “most exciting game”. Mr.Major scored for
Mansfield early on, but the High School then replied with five goals before
half time.

In the
second half, Mansfield proceeded to draw level at 5-5, only for the High School
to get a dramatic winner in the last few minutes. The High School’s scorers
were A.G.Francis (3), T.F.Wilson, P.C.Sands and O.L.Bell.

1900 - 1901

This
year, the Gymnastic Club had sixty-four members. They were divided into four
sections, with promotion between the lower and upper groups. An annual
competition was established, with four members chosen to represent each of the
three parliamentary wards of the city, and four more to represent those who
lived outside the city boundaries. They then competed for four bronze medals.
If a gymnast reached a certain standard, he could receive a silver medal. This particular
year, the West Ward were the winners, and both S.Hoyte and P.C.Sands achieved
silver medals.

Saturday,
February 3rd 1900

At a
meeting of the Debating Society, the idea was broached of forming a company or
half company of the Robin Hood Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. Although a
Cadet Corps was more expensive than this initial suggestion, the Governors and
Headmaster gave it strong support, and recruiting quickly began. Soon, more
than sixty boys between the ages of fourteen and seventeen had been recruited
by the Sixth Form recruiting sergeants, and, when the Headmaster allowed Third
Formers over twelve to join up, numbers increased to 87.

G.D.Wallis,
the member of the Modern VI who had put forward the original motion at the
Debating Society, became a Second Lieutenant. P.C.Sands was the Colour
Sergeant, and the N.C.O.s were R.Crawford, W.H.Freestone, B.Heald, E.Towle and
H.A.Wootton.

The
teacher in charge was Samuel Russell Trotman, the Head of Science and the
Commanding Officer, with the rank of Captain, He was described by a former
pupil as “...a chemist, biologist and gymnast. His shoulders proclaimed a
mighty physique, and he taught us the German system of gymnastics.”

Thursday, May
17th 1900

The
Cadet Force began drilling under the watchful eye of Sergeant Hartshorn. Their
activities were also to include rifle practice, inspections, route marches (up
to twenty-two miles), church parades, and a special drum-head service in the
Market Place on the day of Queen Victoria’s funeral.

Saturday, May
19th 1900

Mafeking
had been relieved the previous day. School was dismissed at 10.20 a.m.

Thursday, May
24th 1900

The
boys all had a half day holiday to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria,
and the opening of the new Central Station in Nottingham.

the afternoon
of Monday, May 28th 1900

Just
after school recommenced for the afternoon, all the boys went out into the
playground and lawns to see an eclipse of the sun. Most of the morning and the
dinner hour had been cloudy, but, luckily, the skies cleared just in time, and
everyone had superb views. The eclipse began at 2.54 p.m., and was finished by 4.54
p.m. It was at its maximum at 3.52 p.m.

The boys
used coloured glass, smoked glass and cards with pinholes to observe it, but
the idea of using a bucket of water, so that the reflection of the sun could be
seen, did not work, as too many boys crowded around.

July 1900

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Fourteen : remembering
Serjeant Knowles”.

Friday, July
27th 1900

The Summer
Term came to a close in the usual way, with the prizes, medals, awards and
other prizes being distributed by Dr.Gow. Three hearty cheers were given,
firstly for the boys leaving to go to university, and then for the Headmaster,
the Masters, and most of all, for the holidays. The boys then departed joyfully
until September 12th.

Thursday, August
30th 1900

The
Reverend F.T.Cusins died in Lincoln at the age of seventy two. In “The
Forester”, his obituary spoke of his “...accurate and many sided scholarship,
his unsparing industry, punctilious rectitude and manly piety, his fastidious
refinement of speech and personal habits.”

Wednesday,
October 17th 1900

The
First Eleven defeated Leicester Wyggeston School at Mapperley Park by a margin
of 23-0. The goals came from Sands (10), Clayton (3), Sim (3), Thurman (3) Spencer
(2), Kirby and Burden. As far as I can trace, the overall total, the number of
hat-tricks registered, and the number of different scorers, all remain records
for the School. Sands’ personal scoring feat, amazingly enough, remained a
record for only seven days.

Wednesday,
October 24th 1900

The
First Eleven defeated Newark Grammar School by 17-0 at Mapperley Park. The
goals came from Sands (eleven), Sim (two), Thurman (two), Kirby and Clayton. In
scoring eleven goals, Sands broke his own record of ten goals in a game,
established only a week earlier. As far as I can trace, this new record of
eleven goals has never been broken.

Monday, December
17th 1900

At
their first ever formal inspection, the Cadet Force, formed less than a year
previously, were deemed to have achieved an outstandingly high level. The inspecting
officer, Captain Poyntz, asked that the entire school be given a half day
holiday to mark their excellent quality. This granted by Dr.Gow.

just before
the Christmas holidays, 1900

At a
meeting of the School Debating Society, H.A.Wootton suggested launching a new
school magazine, to be called “The Merle”. It was to be produced entirely by
the boys’ own efforts, and to contain sixteen pages. The eventual price was two
pence, and one of its first triumphs was to achieve an alteration in the much
hated school cap.

1901

“The
Forester” contained “A Memory” of Mr.Knowles, the long serving school
caretaker, who had retired a decade previously, and had recently died. He had
obviously been a major figure in the school, with his “sense of humour and a
stock of jokes...With what gusto he rang that bell...when raking out the fires,
with what quiet satisfaction he gave the finishing touch, a smart single rap of
the poker on the bar ! Never did he cause irritation, he was universally
liked.”

Equally
respected was Mrs.Knowles who “was as kind as a mother to small boys...if we
had scratched a finger, fallen in the mud, bumped a forehead, or met with any
other of a boy’s accidents.”

Wednesday,
January 22nd 1901

Queen
Victoria had died the previous day. Dr.Gow was away in London so it was
Mr.Corner who addressed the school during morning prayers. He compared the dead
monarch to King Alfred, and spoke of how “...none has reigned so long, none has
reigned so gloriously.”

“The
Forester” spoke of how “...All the boys’ games were stopped and all matches
were postponed, and in the playground boys stood in groups, talking of the
Queen, or walked quietly and orderly.” At noon, the boys assembled again in the
Prayer Room, and, after a telegram from the Headmaster was read out, school was
dismissed for the day.

February 1901

There
were now a hundred and five cadets in the Cadet Force, although they were not
allowed to go to the Public Schools Camp at Aldershot because of the Boer War.
They did not yet have their own rifles, but did occasionally borrow some from
the Sherwood Foresters.

Saturday, March
16th 1901

What
could well be the most successful ever High School football team finished the
season with a record of sixteen victories, two drawn games and seven defeats.
They had scored 145 goals and conceded only 47. Margins of victory included
23-0, 17-0, 13-1, 12-0, 11-0, 8-0, 8-1, 7-1, 7-2, and 6-0.

The
team was usually selected from Heald, Wilkinson, Donnithorne, Lindley, Willatt,
Gamble, Spencer, Burden, Thurman, Sim, Sands, Kirby, and Clayton. The chief
goalscorer was Percy Sands, who, during his school career, is known to have
scored a minimum of 106 goals for the High School, in only 61 games, spread
over three seasons.

the afternoon
of Friday, March 29th 1901

For the
first time ever, the School Sports took place at the new sports ground at
Mapperley Park. A large number of boys, friends, parents and Old Boys were in
attendance, but the day was spoiled by the bitterly cold weather, “...the turf
was naturally affected by the overnight fall of snow, which made the going
heavy.” Nevertheless, W.A.Donnithorne still managed to run the hundred yards in
eleven seconds.

the afternoon
of Monday, May 12th 1901

Largely
due to the exertions of John Russell, a plaque to the memory of the much
mistreated Reverend F.T.Cusins was put up inside the school. A sum of £50 was
given to fund an annual prize.

During
his speech, Mr.T.Woodsend, of Liverpool, said that “...the traditions of the
past were somewhat rudely cut in 1868, when the school was removed from its old
site and re-established under a different name...( hear, hear)...” Clearly,
none of the old arguments about the move to Arboretum Street had been
forgotten.

summer term
1901

At this
time, boys had actually to opt to be members of the library. Membership had
increased around the turn of the year, but as the weather grew better, many of
them returned to outdoor sport. Most books in the library were adventure
novels, and the works of Scott, Dickens, Thackeray and Kingsley remained for
the most part untouched.

June 1901

“The
Doctor” left the High School to become Head of Westminster School.
Academically, standards had been raised dramatically during his seventeen years
in office, and by the turn of the century, boys were quite regularly finishing
in high positions in examinations at a national level, and then going on to
great things at either Oxford or Cambridge. The school was attracting well over
four hundred boys by the excellence of the education it offered. Facilities
too, were now equally impressive, with Gow having improved everything from the
boys’ toilets to school administration, teachers’ salaries and publicity. The majority
of the school’s societies were founded during Gow’s reign, and, on its new
sports ground at Mapperley Park, school sport, whether football or cricket, was
thriving. The Cadet Corps had been established in 1900, and other school
institutions such the Sports Day or the Pet Show were inaugurated during this
period.

Dr.Gow
was to have a similar success at Westminster, and indeed, became a national
figure, being Chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference from 1906-1908, and again
in 1911-1912. He was President of the Association of Headmasters from
1900-1902, and in 1900, had been appointed a member of the Consultative
Committee of the Board of Education.

In
1904, the Reverend W.G.Cruft was to deliver a famous verdict on Gow’s reign,
namely “… in regard to Nottingham, he found a mob of schoolboys, and left a
Public School.”

In “The
Forester”, Sammy Corner wrote that “...by energy, and ability, Dr.Gow has
converted Nottingham High School from an unpopular institution into one of the
finest day schools in the kingdom, doing probably greater work now than at any
time in its long history of five hundred years and upwards.”

Dr.Gow
was, by a very large margin, the greatest headmaster that the school has ever
had, and, indeed, is ever likely to have. The school’s debt to James Gow, even
now, is almost incalculable.

Tuesday, July
23rd 1901

Dr.Gow
was presented with a silver tobacco jar by the Assistant Masters.

Thursday, July
25th 1901

Dr.Gow
was presented with a silver bowl by J.Kentish Wright on behalf of the Governors.
Unfortunately, the Duke of Portland had a prior engagement, and could not be
there, nor could the Bishop of Southwell or Sir William Blain.

On
behalf of the boys of the school, Mr.R.B.Brown gave Dr.Gow a massive candelabra
and a silver inkstand, decorated with the school crest and bearing the legend
“To Dr.James Gow, from the boys, past and present, of the Nottingham High
School 1885-1901”. The boys had collected just over £120, and the balance was
spent on a silver glove box for Mrs.Gow.

The current
Head Boy, P.C.Sands, made a short speech, but could not “...find words to
express my feelings”. Indeed, it must have been a very emotional occasion, as
the school bade farewell to “the best Head Master in England”.

Originally,
it had been planned to hold an Old Boys’ Cricket Match, but the weather was so
bad that the whole day’s events had to be transferred from the cricket pitch to
the school.

Monday, July
29th 1901

Dr.Gow
had published in the “Nottingham Daily Express” and “Nottingham Daily Guardian”,
a letter saying his farewells to the Old Boys he had not previously been able
to address. He calculated that in his time at the High School he had taught 1,759
boys. They were now all scattered across the globe, and he knew of “...two High
School boys, Matheson and Möller by name, meeting on a lonely mountain track in
Formosa.”

September 1901

There
were thirty eight candidates for Dr.Gow’s job, and he was finally succeeded by
Dr.George Sherbrooke Turpin, one of the very few Old Boys ever to be appointed
to this office. He was the son of a Nottingham provision merchant, and had been
at the High School from 1874-1881. During his last three years, between
1878-1881, he had appeared on the School List as the Curator of the School
Laboratory. When he left the High School, Turpin went to Owen’s College,
Manchester and then to St.John’s College, Cambridge, where he gained a double
First in Natural Sciences. He was a Doctor of Science from London University,
and had spenta year at Berlin University.  He was the first “non-Classic” to
become Headmaster of the High School.

During
the six years immediately before his arrival at the High School, he had been
headmaster of Swansea Grammar School.

Under
his leadership, the High School was to introduce setting for certain subjects,
to introduce rugby as a sport, and to build a separate dining room.

1902

An Old
Boys’ Society was formally established, with Dr.Turpin as its president. This
was building on the tradition of the Old Boys’ Dinner Committee, which had
existed since the 1870s.

9.55 am., on
Monday, June 2nd 1902

The
previous day, the announcement had been made that a peace treaty had been
signed between England and the Boers. After prayers, the Headmaster said that
this great event would be celebrated in a way that would be announced later,
and shortly after this, a notice was sent round that the school should
reassemble at 9.55 am. Dr.Turpin then read aloud the proclamation, and the
telegram which Lord Kitchener had sent to England. The school formed a procession,
and set off to march around the town. Over three hundred boys, with every flag
they could find, made their way down Waverley Street to University College, the
Guildhall, and the Market Place. They all sang the national anthem at the
College, the Guildhall and the Exchange Buildings. The procession went on to
the Castle, where the anthem was again sung, and Mr.Corner was called upon to
make a speech. The boys then made their way back along Mansfield Road, stopping
to sing the anthem for one last time outside the Girls’ High School.

Finally,
Dr.Turpin addressed the school from the front steps of the High School,
photographs were taken, and, much to everyone’s great joy, a half-holiday was
proclaimed for the afternoon.

Autumn Term
1902 and Spring Term 1903

A new
system was adapted whereby each form went down to the Forest to practice their
football on one afternoon a week, rather than going all the way to Mapperley
Park. The latter venue was reserved solely for school fixtures. This
arrangement clearly allowed the boys more time to play, and standards
throughout the school seemed to improve. The same system was later introduced
to cricket in the Summer Term of 1903.

Autumn Term
1902

A
change was made to the school cap. Instead of the previous design (which remains,
in actual fact, unrecorded), boys were to wear a plain black cap, with the
school badge either in silk or enamelled silver.

the afternoon
of Wednesday, December 17th 1902

The
“Hare and Hounds Club” held its first meeting through Gedling and Lambley.
Sixteen boys took part, with the hares, J.F.Haseldine and L.T.Wootton almost
being caught.

the afternoon
of Tuesday, December 23rd 1902

The
“Hare and Hounds Club” held its second meeting from Mapperley Park, around
Daybrook, across Bestwood Park, and then home via Edwards Lane. The hares,
H.A.Wootton and J.D.I.Hughes, were not troubled by the twelve hounds.

the afternoon
of Monday, December 23rd 1902

The
“Hare and Hounds Club” turned out again, this time through Gedling. The
afternoon was not an unmitigated success, however, as the strong wind blew most
of the paper trail away, and the hares, A.F.Johnson and F.R.Simon, escaped
their pursuers with ease. To compound this disaster, one of the hounds
attempted to cross a pond on a plank, but then fell in when the plank fell off
its supports.

1903

Alderman
Bright, one of the Governors, bought the Mapperley Park playing fields for £5,800,
just as houses were about to be constructed on the whole area by a large
building syndicate. He sold them on to the High School for the same price. By a
happy coincidence, it had recently become known that the Sir Thomas White fund
had an excess of some £7,000 in it, and this was suggested to fund the
purchase.

The
City Council did its utmost to frustrate the scheme, but they had reckoned
without the High School’s powerful friends, who included Dr.Gow, who had
recently become a co-optative governor. Writing to the Secretary of the Board
of Education, he said...“...The Corporation is determined to get possession of
the School, but it doesn’t deserve to.”

It was
at this time that A.F.Leach, a historian of public schools, who was to write
the High School section for the Victoria History of Nottingham (1910),
suggested that the High School bought not just the playing fields, but the
three acres alongside it...”It is worth considering whether in a few years’
time, it won’t be better to move the whole school to the site of the cricket
ground. The present buildings are as you know already out of date, not having
been satisfactorily built for their purpose originally. Anyhow, three acres
would be invaluable “and we will see you through it.”

The
extra land was not bought, but the White money was eventually used for the
purchase of the playing fields.

1903

Old Boy, G.W.Brewill became Champion
of England over 200 yards.

1903

School fees were raised from
three to four guineas per term.

the afternoon of Friday,
January 2nd 1903

The “Hare and Hounds Club” met
with further problems, this time starting off from the “Three Wheat Sheaves
Inn” at Lenton, and trying to continue through Bramcote and Wollaton. The
hounds soon lost the hares’ original trail of paper, and then stumbled upon
some other paper discarded on a previous occasion. They followed this until
they found, quite by accident, their own outward trail from today. Not
recognising it for what it was, they followed it, and arrived back home before
the hares.

1.30 pm., Tuesday, March
24th 1903

The school was rocked by a
noticeable earthquake. Furniture, pictures and other objects were distinctly
shaken and rattled, and small trees were seen to
shake. The effects were widely felt throughout Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

It was
around this time that the area around the school was the subject of a relatively
serious smallpox outbreak.

Thursday,
March 26th 1903

The
School Cadet Corps formed a Guard of Honour for the official party which
unveiled the red granite obelisk, commemorating the men of the Volunteer
Battalions of the City and County, who had died in the Boer War. The ceremony
was performed by General Lord Methuen. The obelisk, which was twenty five feet
high, originally stood at the junction of King Street and Queen Street. It was
removed in October 1927 to make way for a new trolley bus terminal, and re-erected
at a new site on the Forest.

the afternoon
of Saturday, April 4th 1903

Everything
was going well for the “Hare and Hounds Club” through Lambley, until the hares
ran out of paper, and everyone had to return home.

Monday, May
30th 1903

Mr.Ostle,
who had taught Maths at the High School during the Spring Term, died of fever
in the hospital at Zungeru, on the Kadune River, near the Niger River, in
Northern Nigeria, Africa. He had gone to be the Assistant Resident at Sokoto,
and his last words were “Give ‘em my love. Don’t tell ‘em I’m ill, ‘twill give
the show away.”

the afternoon
of Saturday, July 25th 1903

The
School Sports took place at the Cricket Ground, Mapperley Park. The weather was
beautiful, although not too warm, and there was a large gathering of parents,
boys and Old Boys, “including many ladies, whose bright, summer dresses amidst
the pretty surroundings of trees and shrubs, made the scene most picturesque”.
The crowds were entertained by “the lively strains of a band, and a hospitable
tea tent.”

The
numerous prizes were presented by Lady Blain, and the meeting was graced by the
presence of Old Boy, G.F.Brewill, who was the national amateur sprint champion
over 220 yards, having recently won the title at Northampton. In the
intervening time, he had managed a time of 22.2 seconds at Trafford Park,
Manchester. In later life, he was to achieve a time of 10 seconds for the
hundred yards sprint.

The
winners included...

open                            100 yards                    winner             W.Oldershaw              11.6

secs

football dribbling        220
yards                    winner             R.Marrs

race

handicap                      100
yards                    winner             W.A.Brewill                11.0

secs

throwing the cricket ball                                 winner             W.Oldershaw              75

yards

under 5 ft  3 ins           long
jump                    winner             H.W.H.Hodgkinson    14 ft 3

ins

open                            high
jump                    winners            R.Marrs and                4 ft 8.5

W.Oldershaw
ins

under 11                      obstacle
race                winner             C.F.Brasher

Old Boys                     one
mile walking         winner             B.G.Saywell

race

open                            long
jump                    winner             J.F.Haseldine              15 ft 6

ins

potato
race                  winner             L.W.Malton

open                            one
mile                       winner             F.R.Simon                   5 m
21

secs

open                            obstacle
race                winner             F.H.Butler

A tug
of war was held between “The Past” (Old Boys), and “The Present” ( Masters and
Boys).

The Old
Boys were G.C.Allsebrook, W.Allsebrook, G.F.Brewill, E.Brewill, S.Hoyte and
H.A.Wootton. Their opposition contained three boys, namely R.Marrs, W.Oldershaw
and H.A.Watson, and three masters, Messrs Hughes, Jones and Yates.

The Old
Boys soon pulled the School over the line, but were found to have included a
seventh member of the team, J.Johnstone. The result was overturned, and the
School soon won a fair contest by 3-0.

Monday,
November 23rd 1903

Mr.John
Suttill Jones, Master of the Junior Form, died after only a week’s illness. He
had been at school as normal on November 16th, and was “...very
popular...willing to do any service that lay in his power...he maintained the
best of discipline with scarcely any recourse to punishment...a good talker,
with a fund of good humour and amusing conversation, able to sing a song well,
either in English or French, a reciter of very considerable dramatic power.”

November 1903

Old
Boy, John Dane Player became a co-optative Governor. His acceptance was
typically modest... “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be a
Governor of my old School ; please convey to the Governing Body my thanks. I
much appreciate the honour they have done me.” His first gift was a cheque for
£300.

December 1903

Lieutenant
Cyril Amyatt Wyse Amyatt Burney was killed at Deckina, North Nigeria, in an
attempt to restore the King of Ankina to his rightful position, after he had
been ousted by a usurper. Burney had previously fought against the Boers in
South Africa, before a spell in the office of the Chief Constable of Glamorgan.
It was from here that he moved to North Nigeria, “...a zealous officer and a
young man of promise and energy.”

3.21 pm.,
Sunday, July 3rd 1904

The
whole of Nottingham, including the High School, experienced an earthquake,
which lasted two or three seconds, with “rumbling noises, and the shaking of
doors, windows and furniture.”

August 1904

Mr.R.E.Yates
took a party of boys on what appears to be the school’s first ever trip abroad.
They stayed at the Collège Universitaire de St.Servan near St.Malo in Brittany.

Friday, July
1st 1904

The
whole school was granted a holiday to commemorate the four Old Boys who had won
First Class degrees at Cambridge. Twenty four members of the Cycling Club used
the opportunity to cycle to Belvoir Castle, where they had an open air picnic,
and were allowed to view the two silver flasks taken from a ship of the Spanish
Armada..

Wednesday,
October 5th 1904

For a
second time, the First Eleven defeated the unfortunate Leicester Wyggeston
School at Mapperley Park by the extraordinary margin of 23-0.

probably towards the end
of the Christmas Term, 1904

John
Francis Haseldine carved his name, in rather florid handwriting, on the stone
mantelpiece of the fireplace between the General Office and the entrance to the
Assembly Hall.

Haseldine
was born on December 28th 1886, and entered the High School on May 4th 1896, at
the age of nine. His father was Frank Haseldine, a lace manufacturer of
St.John’s Grove, Beeston. He was a very good footballer, and made his début for
the First XI on Wednesday, March 26th 1902, in an away game against Loughborough
Grammar School. We know that the school’s best player, J.B.Sim, worked hard
throughout the match, but, according to “The Forester”, he was “too carefully
watched” by the Loughborough defence, and the game was lost by 0-2. That
particular spring, Haseldine had been in the team which had won the Football
Sixes. Coincidentally, its captain had been the very same J.B.Sim, who was a
well-known footballer of that era, with more than fifty appearances over the
years for the First XI.

On
Wednesday, February 14th 1903, Haseldine scored his only goal for the school,
in a 4-1 victory over Mansfield Grammar School, “a rather poor and one-sided
game”, played at Mansfield. As pretty much an ever present in the team, he duly
won his football colours at the end of this season, and was then the Captain of
Football in season 1903-1904. Haseldine was awarded a “Standard Medal” for
Football at the end of this year. He then spent the Christmas Term of 1904 at
the High School, but, like many boys during this period, he left half way
through the academic year in December 1904.

In the
Great War Haseldine was a Major in the Royal Engineers, Special Reserve. He was
mentioned in dispatches on June 3rd 1916, and received the Military Cross on
January 1st 1917. By 1929, he was living at Northdene, New Barnet.

Among
the other more legible names on the same stone mantelpiece are “A.E.Anthony”
and “G.Devey”. What is apparently “R.Salew” is also there, although there are
many layers of gloss paint to obscure the lettering. Another seems to read
“B.Abel 1905-190” as if the young man had been interrupted as he came to the
end of his carving, but did not ever return to finish the job.

Alfred Edward Anthony was born on June 12 1906, and entered the school on September
18th 1918, at the age of twelve. His father was F.W.Anthony of 120, Radcliffe
Road, West Bridgford. He was the Managing Director of Gotham Co Ltd (apparently
sic). Alfred left the school in December1922.

“G.Devey” was the elder brother
of Reginald Devey, whose own name was already carved on the fireplace upstairs,
alongside that of D.H.Lawrence and L.S.Laver, the High School’s very own Latin
Champion of the World.

This, though, was Gerald Bertil
Devey, who was born on June 10th 1903, some two years before his brother
Reginald. Gerald entered the school on May 27th 1918 at the rather late age of
fourteen. His father was James Edward Devey, a civil servant, and the family
still lived at 22, Ebury Road, Sherwood Rise. Gerald left the High School in
July 1919.

John Rylett Salew entered the
school on May 4th 1916, aged fourteen. He left in December 1918. John was born
on February 28th 1902, and his father was Joseph William Salew, an “agent” of
19, William Rd, West Bridgford.

Bertram Albert Abel was born on
July 31st 1889, and entered the school on September 13th 1905, aged sixteen.
His father was William Jenkinson Abel, a clerk to the Nottingham Education
Committee. The family lived at 99, Waterloo Crescent, and Bertram left the
school in July 1907.

The fact that “S.Vasey” has
carved his name in two different places on the stone, one of them complete with
his own personal dates, namely “1917” and “1917-1922” shows not only that he
had an extremely strong desire for immortality, but that, within the context of
the High School, it has been fulfilled. He must have been a very swift, and
fairly brazen, vandal as well.

Stanley Vasey was born on June
5th 1905, and he entered the school, at the age of thirteen, on September 18
1918. His father was Alfred Vasey, a shop inspector, and the family lived at
15, Glebe Road, West Bridgford. He left in December 1922.

It is actually possible to best guess friendship
groups among these carved names. Messrs Anthony, Devey and Vasey, for example,
all joined the school in the same year of 1918. They all left in the latter
half of 1922. Given their similar ages, they must surely have known each other.
John Rylett Salew and Stanley Vasey all lived within a stone’s throw of each
other in West Bridgford.

Did the three boys seal their
friendship by committing their names to the hard surface of that much painted
fireplace ? Did two of them keep watch while the third scratched his name into
the unyielding stone ?

1905

Robert
Holmes, the caretaker, wrote to the Headmaster, saying that  “...Dr.Gow and my
brother arranged for us to live in the School, it was no fault of ours...the
old room is small and unfit for a sleeping room, there being a furnace chimney
passing through it, which is frequently almost stifling.” His letter seems to
have provoked little real reaction.

Saturday, June
3rd 1905

Playing
in ac cricket fixture against Loughborough Grammar School, R.G.Cairns performed
the hat-trick.

Saturday, June
24th 1905

The
School Sports were held at Mapperley Park in very fine weather. Spectators were
entertained by the band of the Robin Hood Rifles, under the directorship of
Mr.A.Pounder. The sports should have taken place the previous Saturday, but the
rain was so torrential that this was completely impossible. Results included...

open                            100
yards                    winner             H.W.Dunton               11

secs

football dribbling        220
yards                    winner             R.B.Wray                    35

race                                                                                                                              secs

U-11                            75
yards                      winner             F.C.Tonkin                  10.8

secs

open bicycle race         one mile                       winner             H.E.Mills                     3
min

9.6 secs

This race was a walkover, as the
other two competitors, S.S.Parkinson and P.H.Hart collided with each other.

Old Boys’ Race          100 yards                    winner             W.Oldershaw

under 5ft 3ins              long jump                    winner             L.S.Pentecost              14
ft 7

ins

U-11                            obstacle
race                winner             J.H.Simpson

Competitors had to crawl through
barrels and under pegged down clothes. The event created “much amusement”.

Old Boys                     one
mile walk              winner             F.R.Simon                   8 min

41.8 secs

open                            long
jump                    winner             F.C.Mahin &               dead

C.F.R.Fryer
heat

15
ft 9

ins

open                            potato
race                  winner             H.E.Mills

open                            one
mile                       winner             M.J.Hogan                  5 min

42secs

Old Boys v                  tug of
war                   winners            Old Boys

Masters & Boys

Saturday, July
22nd 1905

In a
Second Eleven cricket match at Mapperley Park, against Leicester Wyggeston
School, W.Taylor succeeded in splitting a bail when he bowled one of the
batsmen. It was knocked some twenty five yards beyond the wicket.

possibly from the end of
the Summer Term, 1905 onwards

A
second footballer has carved his initials on the much vandalised stone
mantelpiece of the ground floor fireplace between the General Office and the
entrance to the Assembly Hall. He is “F.C.Mahin”.

Frank
Cadle Mahin was born on May 27th 1887, and entered the High School on September
15th 1902, at the age of fifteen. His father was Frank W.Mahin who lived at 7,
Sherwood Rise. He was the United States Consul.

Despite
his comparatively short stay, Frank junior seems to have been an accomplished
sportsman, and appeared for the school First XI at football in fixtures against
Loughborough Grammar School, Notts. Magdala F.C. 2nd XI and Worksop College. He
also performed as a linesman in First XI football fixtures on several occasions.

Mahin
was perhaps a better cricketer than footballer, and was, in actual fact, the
regular captain of the Second XI. In addition, we know that, on Saturday, June 24th 1905, Mahin dead-heated for first place
in the Open Long Jump on School Sports Day, managing a jump of fifteen feet
nine inches, exactly the same distance as C.F.R.Fryer.

In the
academic world, Mahin won the Mayor’s Prize for Modern Languages, and reached
the rank of sergeant in the newly formed Cadet Corps.  He left the High School
in July 1905, and went to West Point Military Academy in the United States.

(For a
continuation of the story of Frank Cadle Mahin, the reader should move forward
to “Summer 1942”.)

The
other names on the fireplace include “O.Gillot”, “F.B.Ludlow”,
“N.G.Peet”, “Littler”, “Meigh” and “Holmes”.

The
latter was perhaps the George Chudleigh Holmes
who regularly represented the school in the First XI football team during the
1902-1903 season. Born on June 15th 1887, George
had entered the school on January 17th 1900, aged twelve. His father was
George H.Holmes, a Lace Manufacturer of Gregory Street, Old Lenton. George left
the school at Easter 1903.

Oswald Cornek Gillot was born in Ripley on July 22nd 1890, and entered the High
School on September 12th 1899 at the age of nine. He left in March 1907. Oswald’s
father was Thomas Gillot, M.I.C.E., a civil engineer whose address was given in
1899 as variously either, Upland House, Eastwood, or Langley Mill near
Ilkeston.

Fred (sic) Ball Ludlow was born
on April 28th 1891. He entered the High School on May 1st 1900 at the age of
nine. His father was William Ludlow, a clerk in the Gas Depôt. The family lived
at 10, Willoughby Avenue, Lenton. Fred left in June 1907.

Noel George Peet was born on
December 26th 1901, and entered the High School on April 26th 1917, at the age
of fifteen. His father was William George Peet, a “general agent”, and the
family lived at 413, Mansfield Road. Noel left the school in July 1919.

Samuel Littler was born on May
16th 1891. He entered the school on September 16th 1903 at the age of twelve.
The family lived at 8, Appleton Gate, Newark-on-Trent, and his father, a
veterinary surgeon, was also called Samuel Littler. Samuel junior left in July
1908.

Vincent George Meigh entered the
school as an Agnes Mellers scholar on September 12th 1899 at the age of ten.
His father was George Meigh, a schoolmaster of 3, Willoughby Avenue, Lenton.
Vincent left the school in December, 1903.

On the
mantelpiece, one set of letters to set the heart a-flutter is “(illegible)BALL  1900-1907” , but this cannot be
the famous air ace, as there are clearly a fair number of letters before the
B-A-L-L. In any case, Ball did not stay long in the High School, being expelled
after an incident when he disrupted school assembly with a large bag of
bullseyes, gobstoppers and other sweets.

Best fit is probably Oliver
Herbert Ball, who was born on August 13th 1891. He had entered the school on
January 17th 1900, at the age of eight, the third of three brothers. Ball was
to leave the school in July 1907. His mother was called Emma, and his father
was Alfred Holmes Ball, the “Laundry Man” of “Sunnyside”, Daybrook, Notts.
Presumably, this was the company which was eventually to become the massive
“Daybrook Laundry”’ It was situated opposite the Home Brewery, and was only recently
demolished in the first decade of the twenty first century.

One of the more notable objects
on the mantelpiece, however, is perhaps the school badge which has been carved
relatively large, and in primitive style, with the lozenge and the three merles
still recognisable even now, the best part of a century after it was executed
by some unknown, juvenile artist.

Less time proof perhaps, are the
boys who managed to carve only their initials, namely “JL”, “MV”, either “WA”
or “WR”, and either “BFW” or “SFW”. It is just so difficult to be certain about
whose initials they might be. In some cases, there are literally dozens of
possible candidates, and it becomes almost a pointless effort to try and guess
who has carved them.

Some boys seem to have been able
to make only part of their name legible. We appear to have, therefore, a group
of letters which seems, perhaps, to form “H-LLF”.

Similarly, I have tried so hard
to turn “----NGTON” into Victor
George Darrington, one of the very few young men to have captained the school
at both football and rugby. The time is right (he entered the High School on
September 23rd 1909, at the age of twelve) but the fact is that the blurred and
painted-over letters just do not look like they were ever meant to spell Darrington.

Even
more striking is the young member of the “Chambers” family who did not manage
to carve his initials clearly. Just a cursory perusal of the school registers
reveals the existence, between 1897 and 1926, of “E.Chambers”, “W.”, “P.”, “N.”,
“J.F.”, “J.S.”, “A.”, “C.G.”, “J.”, “B.J.”, “C.C.”,  “S.H.”, “D.B.”, and
a second “W.” No doubt a really thorough search would reveal even more members
of the Chambers clan. It would be nice to think, though, that the perpetrator
was the (uninitialled) Chambers of Form IVb, whose doings are reported on
Thursday, February 1st 1912.

Here again. it is possible to
guess at possible friendships between the definite names in the stone. Two of
the boys, for example, Fred Ball Ludlow and Oliver Herbert Ball, both joined
the school in 1900, and their entries are virtually next to each other in the
School Register. Perhaps the use of the surname of one as the middle name of
the other hints at a blood relationship, rather than just one of mere
friendship.

Coincidentally, a third name on
this single ancient page of the register is that of Harold
Binks, who entered the school in the very same year of 1900, although Harold
was never to carve his own name on the fireplace. From his reminiscences,
published in “The Nottinghamian” in April 1935, however, we do know that one of
his best friends in the Senior School was called Ball. (see the entry for October
19th 1981)

It
seems likely too that another of the friends was Oswald Gillot, who was
already in the school when Ludlow, Ball and Binks arrived. All these boys were
of the same age, and they all left the school in the latter part of the
academic year 1906-1907. Gillot lived in distant Langley Mill, near Ilkeston,
but George Chudleigh Holmes lived in Gregory
Street, Old Lenton, very close to Fred Ludlow and Vincent Meigh who themselves
both lived in the same street, namely Willoughby Avenue, Lenton.

Again, we can imagine two keeping
watch while the third one carried out the evil deed.

September 1905

The
Preparatory School was set up in a house at 11, Waverley Mount, where Dr.Dixon
had lived so many years before. This allowed the school to establish a small
Physics Laboratory in the room where the youngest boys had previously been
taught.

There were just thirty two pupils,
making up a senior form taught initially by Mr.R.Dark, and then soon afterwards
by Mr.H.A.Leggett. (see the entry for March 3rd 1920)

Two
ladies taught the other form, one of whom “lived in”, acting as a housekeeper
as well as a teacher.

Thursday, December
13th 1906

The
Duke of Portland and Lord Baden-Powell opened the “Morris Tube” rifle range,
which had been built along the western edge of the playground. The total cost
of some £134 was met by the Old Boys, who in later years, along with the Cadet
Corps, were to make extensive use of the facilities.

Monday, March
18th 1907

Drill
Sergeant Holmes died, and his brother, Robert, moved into his house on
Clarendon Street. He was soon to become a well-known figure around the school,
referred to by one and all as just “Robert”.

Originally,
the Governors had wanted his house vacated by his widow within a week of his
death, and his job was advertised at £1.50 per week plus uniform.

Friday, April
26th 1907

Sergeant
Ernest Alfred Pollard of Gordon Rise, Mapperley was appointed as school Drill
Sergeant.

Summer term
1907

According
to the school magazine, “Highvite”, it was during this term that the system of
school prefects was revived, after a lapse of several years.

At many
of the top public schools such as Rugby and Marlborough around this time, the
prefects virtually ran the school from the discipline point of view, and acted
almost as an independent body within the structure of the school.

Although
it was not primarily a boarding establishment, the High School does not seem to
have differed significantly from this system, and on numerous occasions in the
Prefects’ Book, the School Captain has written that he will go and see the
Headmaster about various judgments that the Corpus Praefectorum has reached, as
if they expected the Headmaster, either Dr.Turpin, or his successor,
Mr.Reynolds, merely to rubber stamp their decision.

In a
similar way, members of staff, when they encountered misbehaviour outside the
classroom, instead of dealing with it themselves, would frequently report it to
the prefects, so that they could deal with the culprits.

As an
aid to recognition, the Prefects always wore a tassel on their caps, and were
usually referred to by smaller boys as “Pre’s”

Thursday, September
19th 1907

Albert
Ball entered the High School at the age of eleven as boy number 2651. According
to the school register, he was born on August 17th 1896, although on his birth
certificate, the date is given as August 14th. Later in life, Ball was to
countersign a certificate from the Royal Aero Club form on which his date of
birth was written as August 21st.

His
father is listed in the school register as Albert Ball, a land agent of 43,
Lenton Road, Nottingham. Other sources give the address of the family home as
301, Lenton Boulevard.

Initially,
Albert went to Lenton Church School, but then, for some unknown reason, he was
sent to Grantham Grammar School, along with his younger brother Cyril.

Ball then entered the High School,
from which he was eventually to be expelled in 1910.

Contemporary
sources reveal that Ball certainly enjoyed misbehaving in music lessons. The
Third Form music master was a Mr.Dunhill, who had one eye which was straight,
but the other looked outwards at an angle, rather like half past ten on a
clock. Boys always used to make fun of him. Whenever he shouted “Stand up you !
! ! ” and looked at a certain naughty boy, four others would get up elsewhere
in the room. “ NO !  NO !  NOT YOU !! ...YOU ! ! ” The original four would then
sit down, and another four completely unrelated boys would stand up elsewhere
in the room.

Albert
Ball specialised in misbehaviour during these singing classes. He and his
brother would invariably “kick up a terrible row”, and were then sent out of
the room.

According to one Old Boy from just
a few years later, however, Ball’s actual expulsion came from an incident which
took place at morning prayers. Ball took in with him a huge bag full of boiled
sweets, which, at one point, was allowed to burst, and hundreds of sweets were
all dropped onto the floor. The whole school assembly then became one seething
mass of boys, all scrabbling about on the floor, “heads down and bottoms up,
completely out of control ”, trying to pick up as many sweets as they possibly
could.

That did not necessarily mean,
however, that Ball misbehaved with every single teacher. The Chief History
master, C.Lloyd Morgan, was to recollect in later years...“I think I taught
Albert Ball but can’t recollect him.”

Ball moved
to Trent College, where he was again a boarder. He eventually left there at
Midsummer 1913, and seems to have been for the most part relatively happy,
although it was not always an enjoyable experience, by any means. On at least
one occasion, for example, the unhappy young Ball ran away to sea, and he was
only apprehended at the very last moment, “covered in coal dust, in the engine
room of an outgoing steamer”.

Thursday, November
28th 1907

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting of the Prefects was held in the
interval. D.Young pointed out to the Prefects that he was not to blame for not
wearing a badge, as his father refused to allow him one. The Prefects
determined to take steps to influence his father.”

Thursday, December
12th 1907

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held in the interval. Hemsley
reported that he had been asked to report R.J.Thominet (form 3c) for smoking on
a tramcar on the night of the 3rd. Thominet pleaded guilty to the offence.
Punishment to the amount of 12 strokes was inflicted and a severe reprimand as
to his general behaviour was administered. Present Heald, Hooton, Wootton &
Wright.”

1908

Under
the leadership of Dr. George Sherbrooke Turpin, the school received its first
official inspection from the Board of Education. Standards of both boys and
teachers were adjudged to be good, and the latter were recommended for pay
rises. The buildings, however, were reckoned to be woefully inadequate for the
needs of a new century...

“They contain
a large amount of space, but unfortunately they have been badly planned...It is
very doubtful whether it will be possible ever to make a satisfactory school
out of the present buildings.”

1908-1913

An
extensive programme of rebuilding and alteration took place, under the
direction of the school architect, Mr.Robert Evans, of Evans & Jolley.
During much of the time, the school was forced to work a two shift system.

The
third, northern, school was divided into two by a new floor some 14 feet off
the ground, thereby creating four classrooms instead of two. This caused a
“very curious internal treatment” of the long gothic windows.

The
original Upper or Classical School, which had previously been just one enormous
classroom in which two classes had been taught simultaneously, was then
converted into six classrooms by the same system.

The
Inspectors had already condemned the small Physics Laboratory as being too
small, and presumably, potentially dangerous. The lecture room underneath the
old  Classical School was therefore converted into a brand new, and much
larger, Physics Laboratory. This would balance the Chemistry Laboratory which
had been built in the equivalent site on the western side of the school. In
addition, a new staircase was built between the playground and the upper floor.

The
school heating was radically revised, with the installation of a system using
“low pressure hot water with a Turbo-Accelerator”. Ventilation was provided by
gratings behind the radiators, and, at ceiling level, air shafts with a central
electric fan.

One
scheme which was never to be realised was to demolish the Drawing Room, and to
replace it with a huge Assembly Hall with access at both ends.

Thursday, May
28th 1908

The Prefects’ Book records that
“...L.G.Lee was examined as to his behaviour on Forest Road in the evenings. He
had several times been observed philandering in female company towards
dusk ; it was considered by the prefects to be derogatory to the School and a
bad example to the juniors.

He was
given to understand that such behaviour must discontinue, and that any further
recurrence would make him, L.G.Lee, eligible for punishment.”

Wednesday, June
17th 1908

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held in the Library on this date
after the interval. All the prefects present.

C.R.Attenborough
reported having seen C.W.Goddard put his hands on the shoulders of a girl
seated in a chair at Mapperley Cricket Ground. Under discussion, there were
differences in the Prefects’ ideas as to the enormity of the offence, and this
fact coupled with the fact of a misunderstanding between Attenborough and
Goddard, saved Goddard from corporal punishment. He was therefore allowed to
depart with some good advice as to his future behaviour, the Cricket Captain
pointing out that a recurrence of such behaviour would involve his dismissal
from the First Eleven.

It was
resolved that further similar offences would entail punishment on the offender,
the Cricket Captain promising to admonish the offender.

Also
resolved to hand the following resolution to the Athletic Committee “that, in
the opinion of the Prefects, all persons except those playing in the match at
Mapperley should be charged for the tea & bread and butter they have.”

Tuesday, July
28th 1908

The
Officer Training Corps, now some seventy two strong, went to camp on
Farnborough Common. There, they saw the Duke of Connaught, Lord Kitchener,
“...the hero of Khartoum...and the terror of the incompetent”, a parade of the
Scots Guards and the “... beautiful manoeuvring of the airship, Beta.”

Saturday, October
24th 1908

Frederick
William Chapman reached the summit of his footballing career, when he appeared
in the Great Britain team which played in the Olympic Tournament, held in
London. Great Britain won the final 2-0 against Denmark, and Chapman scored the
opening goal. He thereby became the only Old Boy ever to win an Olympic gold
medal, and, given the limited number of countries who were playing football at
this time, had good reason to consider himself a champion of the world. Chapman
had already appeared three times for Nottingham Forest in the First Division,
and went on to win twenty amateur international caps for England, captaining
the team on at least one occasion.

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Eleven : Frederick
William Chapman”.

Tuesday, October
27th 1908

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held at 2.30 p.m. in the Library.
All the prefects were present. M.M.Lyon was reported for bullying A.W.Barton
during the preceding day. He had tried to make Barton accompany him home &
as Barton refused, he dragged him along Forest Road towards Waverley St. Lyon
also hit Barton with the knob of his umbrella on his head just behind the ear.
This blow had raised a big lump on Barton’s head. Lyon only allowed Barton to
go home on receiving a promise that he would bring him a penny in the
afternoon. As Barton did not bring the money, Lyon thrashed him again in the
afternoon.

Lyon
admitted the offence, & was treated as a first offender & received 6
strokes.

On the next day, however,
Mr.Woodward told the school captain that Lyon had treated other boys in a
similar way, & had obtained 2d, from J.B.Cooper. Dr.Turpin stated that he
had warned Lyon previously, & threatened him with expulsion on a repetition
of the offence. Mr.Dark had also complained about Lyon’s bullying propensities.
H.J.Hoyte reported Lyon at the end of the summer term for swearing, but Lyon had
not been punished as he was away from School. Taking all this into
consideration, the prefects offered Lyon the alternative of 15 strokes or
expulsion by the Doctor. Lyon chose the strokes.”

Monday, November
23rd 1908

It is
recorded in the Prefects’ book that an emergency second extraordinary meeting
of the Prefects was held after afternoon school. The Captain of Football, Mark
Thompson, reported “...C.E.Newham for barracking at 1st XI matches at
Mapperley. He stood on the touch-line instructing each member of the team how
to play, as though he were the best exponent of the game in the school. He used
to use particularly disgusting expressions to R.S.Tonkin. He received 3
strokes, choosing it in preference to 150 lines. ”

1909

Dr.Turpin
introduced the house system. It was designed to give virtually every boy the
chance to participate in school sport in a meaningful way, and to bring a long
term element to the competitiveness of sporting events.

1909 onwards

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Fifteen : the
reminiscences of Roy Henderson”.

Wednesday, March
31st 1909

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...J.W.Wootton reported that after afternoon
school on the preceeding day, some time after the lights had been finished, he
found Thominet and Fernandez in the Library, and that there was a strong smell
of tobacco smoke in the room. When questioned by Wootton, both boys denied that
they had been smoking. At the meeting on the following day Fernandez admitted
that he had been smoking and that Thominet had not, so the latter, after being
questioned, was dismissed.

Fernandez pleaded ignorance of the
School rules on smoking, and said that Thominet had not told him of them until
after he had smoked ; in consideration of his, and the fact that he was a
foreigner and was leaving the school on that day, he was let off with a
caution.”

Obviously, the prefects had
forgotten the events of December 12th 1907 !

1910

Five
years after the demise of “The Forester”, a new school magazine, “The
Nottinghamian” appeared.

1910

It was
decided to increase the usefulness of the Mapperley Park site by levelling part
of it. At first, an enthusiastic Mr.Corner organised a small army of boys, but
was eventually forced to admit defeat. Professional gardeners and navvies were
then brought in to do the job, which was paid for by J.D.Player, who had greatly
admired the determination of Mr.Corner and the boys.

1910

Mr.Frederick
William Dobson became a Governor. His first act was to give the school a large
sum of money, which was used to commission a series of portraits in oil of High
School worthies. This idea was probably inspired by the fact that the Old Boys
had recently collected enough money to pay artist and old boy, Harold Knight,
to paint a portrait of Dr.Gow.

1910 onwards

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at ““Appendix Sixteen : the
reminiscences of Cyril John Thomas”.

Monday, April
11th 1910

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...On the previous Saturday morning, S.Burton (5B)
left school at the interval without a cap, and, on reaching the end of
Arboretum St., put on a cloth cap without a school badge. He was given 100
lines.”

Saturday, May
13th 1911

In a
cricket match against Wyggeston Grammar School at Leicester, the High School
bowled out the opposition for 38, with Newham taking five wickets for seven
runs, and Tonkin four for twenty eight. In sixty five minutes’ batting,
R.S.Tonkin then scored 180 and R.L.W.Herrick 74 not out, in a stand of 263. In
this era, the side batting second continued to bat, even when the match was
won.

Saturday, May
27th 1911

In a
cricket match against Denstone College, the High School scored 276, a record
innings total. R.S.Tonkin and R.L.W.Herrick put on 116 for the first wicket,
with Herrick going on to make 118, and Tonkin 56.

Throughout
the first half of this century, the school magazine makes interesting and
repeated references to the activities of boys waiting their turn to go in to
bat. Traditionally, they all seem to have eaten bags of fresh cherries. Perhaps
this was a particularly freely available local fruit at the time.

Saturday, July
15th 1911

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Rushton (4c) was found bullying. It was decided
to whack him. The prefects present were Turpin, Ballamy, Goddard & Saxton”.

Saturday, September
23rd 1911

The
school’s Captain of Cricket in 1908 and 1909, and Captain of the School in the
Summer Term 1909, Reginald William Wright, was knocked down and killed, as he
directed Scout operations near his home at Duffield, Derbyshire, on a dark and
stormy night. He was twenty one years of age, and by common consent, was the
greatest all round cricketer the school had ever seen.

Wright
had gone from the High School to Queens’ College, Cambridge to prepare for holy
orders, studying, among other things, Hebrew. He had an ambition to become a
missionary. While at Cambridge, Wright had given up all his cricketing, and
“hopes of distinction therein”, to involve himself with boys, and to take a
prominent part in the Boy Scout movement. Ironically, he was due to preach his
first sermon at Ambergate on the Sunday after his death.

Tuesday,
October 10th 1911

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting took place at 10.45 at the usual
place. Norris of IVB had been reported by Mr.Trafford for displaying a pipe
before the gaze of the other boys while in class. He declared that he smoked,
but that he did so with the sanction of his father. As he has already been
punished by Mr.Trafford, he was let off with a warning as to his future conduct
; he was told that he would be dealt with severely, if detected in the act of
smoking either in the presence of other boys or with a school cap on.”

Monday, October 23rd 1911

The Prefects’ Book records that
“...The prefects minus Towers assembled at 10.45, place as usual. An old
offender was summoned, e.g.R.G.Lawson ; this time he had failed to shew up
lines set by E.Newham for signalling words of an indecent nature by semaphore.
As regards the imposition, it seems that Lawson had accomplished the lines, but
had not conveyed them to school, - a doubtful excuse. He was therefore lectured
on the folly and disgracefulness of his buffoonery, and ordered to bring the
required lines + an additional 25.”

Tuesday,
October 24th 1911

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Owbridge of IA was reported for throwing acorns
at a motor-car in Waverley St on the previous Friday afternoon, hitting a
gentleman in the said motor-car on the forehead. It was decided to inflict
corporal punishment to the extent of 2 strokes.”

1912

Dr.Gow’s
portrait, painted by Old Boy, Harold Knight, was exhibited in the National
Gallery.

Thursday,
January 18th 1912

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held in interval, Newham, Hoyte
and Haubitz being absent. A letter was read from an Old Boy of the School
asking if arrangements could be made for him to lecture the boys on the subject
of vivisection. It was decided to refer the matter to the Headmaster.”

Monday,
January 29th 1912

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held during the morning period of
relaxation. Edwards (IIIc) had been seen by Towles wearing a large cap with
ear-flaps, his excuse being that cycling made his ears cold. He was given 50
lines, and was told that he must get permission from the Headmaster if he was
compelled to wear such a cap.”

Thursday,
February 1st 1912

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held before afternoon school,
Towles and Haubitz being absent. Chambers (IVb) had been reported for carrying
a loaded revolver in his pocket. He admitted the offence, and produced the
weapon, which proved to be loaded in four chambers. He was requested not to
bring it to school again, and the School Captain decided to interview the
Headmaster.” No record has survived of the outcome of this conversation.

Thursday,
March 29th 1912

The
Drawing Room was reorganised to permit the Annual Gymnastic Display. It
included horizontal bars and ladder, and the boys had all been coached by
Sergeant-Instructors Pollard and Unwin, and Mr.Woodward. A good crowd of boys
and friends were highly appreciative of their “energy and skill”.

Wednesday, May
15th 1912

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...all the Prefects were present at a meeting held
in the interval to discuss the behaviour of Ball (VIa). Ball, coming to school
in straw hat without the authorised school hat band had been seen by Newham,
and ordered to do 100 lines. The lines were not produced on the day appointed
and Ball was promptly brought up before the prefects. When questioned, he
assumed a very defiant attitude, admitting that he had not made time to do the
lines because he disagreed with Newham’s action in giving them. It was
unanimously decided to inflict corporal punishment to the extent of 3 strokes,
the usual alternative of appeal to the Headmaster being given. Note  The
Headmaster took the case into his own hands.”

The
outcome is, unfortunately, not recorded.

the afternoon
of Saturday, June 15th 1912

The
Athletic Sports were held in splendid sunshine at Mapperley Park sports ground.
The attendance was large, and great interest was generated.

open                            100
yards                    winner             H.W.Ballamy              10.6

sec

This was a splendid performance in
a race run on grass.

open                            high
jump                    winner             S.O.Gray                     5 ft
0.5

ins

This was a school record.

football dribbling        unknown                     winner             R.L.W.Herrick

race

This
latter event was the only survivor of the many unusual events which had
previously characterised the Victorian and Edwardian sports days. Now, virtually
every event was a serious sporting trial.

1913

Another
inspection congratulated the Governors on their extensive building work. It had
previously been mooted that the Art Room be converted into an Assembly Hall,
and the English School be divided up like the Classical School had been, but
this was not thought particularly necessary any more.

1913 onwards

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Eighteen : the History
of the Corps”.

Sunday, February
2nd 1913

The
school celebrated its four hundredth anniversary. The main act of commemoration
was to “found a club for poor lads in Radford.” This was largely at the urging
of two old boys, G.N.Brown and J.A.Dixon, both of whom already worked regularly
at Dakeyne Street Lads’ Club.

Very
quickly, over £5 000 was raised, and a site was selected in Norton Street,
Radford. The management of the new club, however, was quickly handed over to
the Old Boys.

Any
other celebrations were put off until the better weather of the summer.

April, 1913

In a
poem which was published in “The Nottinghamian”, the author, F.C.Boon, himself
a non-footballer, described the High School First Team in the following
terms....

....“....We’ve little pace or weight or skill ; we’re apt
to lose our head,

A football we can never quite control ;

When we try to put a centre in, the ball skids out instead
;

And we never, never, never score a goal.

But our vigour in defence is persistent and intense ;

That we neither shirk nor funk we proudly claim ;

So the School can’t do without us, though there’s nothing
much about us ;

For we always, always, always play the game.”

Monday, June
16th 1913

The four
hundredth anniversary celebrations began with a special service at St.Mary’s. A
procession was formed at the Shire Hall, consisting of the Mayor and
Corporation, the Headmaster and staff, and members of the Old Boys’
Association. The churchyard was lined by the members of the school’s Officer
Training Corps, who then proceeded to their seats in the south transept.

The
entry was made to the strains of the hymn “Glorious Things of thee are spoken”,
and the lesson from the Book of Ecclesiasticus was read by Dr.Turpin. The
sermon was preached by the former Headmaster, the Reverend Dr.Gow.

In the
afternoon, a garden party was held in the grounds of the school. “The weather
was perfect, and much entertainment was derived by visitors from the inspection
of the boys’ pets and hobbies which were on view in the class-rooms and
playground. The laboratories were thrown open, and chemical and physical
experiments of an interesting nature were carried on during the afternoon.” Of
particular interest was W.N.Hoyte’s double pendulum, tracing out “designs of
remarkable regularity in accordance with laws said to be known to an esoteric
few.”

In all,
hundreds of visitors visited the school grounds to view the various exhibition
stands which had been set up, or just to sit in the sun and chat. Mr.Corner
could show anybody who wished to see them the original charter, and other
mementos of the school’s history.

At the
school sports grounds at Mapperley Park, a number of races were held in front
of a large crowd, along with other sporting events.

In the
evening, there was a dinner for the Old Boys at the Exchange Hall, where
Mr.Kentish Wright presided in his capacity as Vice-President of the Governors.
The Duke of Portland was unfortunately unable to attend.

Archdeacon
Wild proposed the health of the school, and mentioned the fact that  Mr.Corner,
in his history of the school, had shown him how Dame Agnes Mellers had ordered
that the vicar of the parish be paid an annual sum of twenty shillings to say a
requiem mass for her husband and herself on June 16th of every year. The Mayor
and aldermen were to be paid fourpence, and the bell ringers were to receive
eight peoles. The Guardians were to be careful to supply “fitting quantities of
bread, ale and cheese.” He hoped that, as Dr.Field had been present at the
service in the afternoon, the Treasurer would not forget his duty.

This
moment, in actual fact, seems to be the first stirrings of the idea that some
kind of Founder’s Day be held on a regular basis.

The
Headmaster responded to the toast, and congratulated Mr.Corner on his
compilation of the names and addresses of some three thousand Old Boys. This
list, unfortunately, does not seem to have come down to us.

Mr.J.Lewis
Paton then proposed the health of the Old Boys’ Association, and expressed his
difficulty in speaking on behalf of the Old Boys, so many of whom had now
passed over to the astral plane, where even Mr.Corner did not know their
address.

The
toast was then acknowledged by Mr.J.A.Dixon, who appealed for the remainder of
the £5,000 required by the Working Lads’ Club in Radford to be donated, before
Mr.George Goodall submitted the toast of “The City of Nottingham”. To this, the
Mayor replied, and Dr.Gow proposed “the Universities”. Mr.P.E.Matheson
acknowledged this, and the Sheriff of Nottingham proposed the “Health of the
Chairman”. Mr.Kentish Wright briefly replied to this.

Tuesday, June
17th 1913

It was
on this day that the anonymous writer of some reminiscences about life at the
High School began his school career.

He
recalled a school “...dominated by the War and its effects. Masters disappeared
and were replaced by women teachers, the O.T.C. underwent intensive training,
and the School Flag seemed to be constantly at half mast for Old Boys, many of
whom had left us only a few months before. But even Zeppelin raids with a trail
of shattered buildings, and the “boom” as Chilwell Munitions factory blew up,
failed to affect school life seriously, and the Armistice was mainly an excuse
for a glorious rag all through the city.

I left
in 1922, and had by then learned to love the old buildings and the playing
fields at Mapperley Park. We had climbed the Tower, and discovered hidden
places in the roof. We had risked our necks in an old goods lift in “Robert’s”
innermost sanctum, and played forbidden games round the Shrubbery in front.

Still,
whether willingly or otherwise, we also acquired our quota of knowledge, and I
too would pay tribute to “Nipper” Ryles, and to his brother “Jumbo” and also to
my first friend at the school, Miss J.K.Richmond.”

Saturday, November
22nd 1913

The 1st XI played the City
Asylum, in a match was surely watched by the strangest crowd in the long
history of High School football. It certainly gave “The Nottinghamian” an
original excuse to offer for a heavy defeat....“....perhaps the presence of so
many lunatics unnerved the team, for it did not come up to its normal form...”

Team
captain Price, in fact, had put the school into the lead, but the Asylum
equalised, and then scored two further goals to lead 3-1. Munks then pulled a
goal back, making the score at the interval 2-3. In the second half, Taylor
managed another goal for the High School, but the Asylum “...kept running
through and scoring...”, thus making the final score 3-7.

Christmas Term
1913

The
Captain of Football was W.H.Price, the first goalkeeper ever to captain the
school, although he did not actually play as a goalkeeper in every single game
in which he was the captain. At one point during the term, according to “The
Nottinghamian”, Price was involved in a “cycle accident which occurred while he
was giving an exhibition of fancy cycling, much to the delight of the Cadet
Corps, who were interested spectators”.

December 1913

On the
notice-board, a prolonged appeal for contributions to “The Nottinghamian” had
produced absolutely nothing. Perhaps it was this kind of apathy which had led to
the decline of football in the school. Perhaps the boys had their minds on more
exciting activities such as the Great War....

Friday, December
26th 1913

The
very first game of Rugby was played at Mapperley Park, when the Old
Nottinghamians played Notts Rugby F.C.. The Old Boys lost a closely fought game
by 9 points (three tries) to 15 points (three goals). The tries were scored by
H.A.Johnstone, C.G.Boyd and D.P.C.Grant. The referee was Mr.Lionel Kirk.

Presumably,
this fixture took place largely to demonstrate the potentially new sport to
many people, particularly Old Boys, Masters, parents and current pupils, who,
in the days before television, might never have seen it played before.

The Old
Boys’ team was Stocks ; H.A.Johnstone, H.S.Stocks (Captain), A.Willatt,
R.L.W.Herrick, C.G.Boyd, W.Johnstone ; D.P.C.Grant, F.Hardwick, J.K.Turpin,
A.R.S.Grant, H.W.Ballamy, L.W.Peck, E.G.Hogan and W.S.Facon.

The
eventual fate of the members of the Old Boys’
team almost defies
belief. As well-intentioned, patriotic, decent, optimistic, athletic young men,
they were to run forward into the maelstrom of the First World War as if it
were a blood spattered combine harvester.

Henry
Archer Johnstone became a Major in the 152nd Brigade  of the Royal Field
Artillery. The beloved son of John
and Ada Johnstone, of Fairmead, Risley, Derbyshire, he was to die on Tuesday, May 21st 1918, at the age of only
twenty eight. He is buried in Wancourt British Cemetery near Arras in northern
France.

H.S.Stocks,
who left the High School in July 1904, was eventually to become a Lieutenant in
the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. He was severely
wounded on Friday, July 7th 1916, in the Battle of the Somme, and rendered
unfit for further active service.

John Riversdale Warren Herrick was a Captain in the
“2nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles). He was in the 3rd
Battalion attached to the 11th Gurkha Rifles when he was fatally wounded on
active service in Iraq. The son of Dr.R.W.Herrick and Mrs.Edith Herrick of 30,
Regent Street, Nottingham, Captain  Herrick was to die from his wounds on
Sunday, October 24th 1920 at the age of only twenty seven. He is buried in the
Basra War Cemetery, Iraq.

Charles
Gordon Boyd was a Second Lieutenant in the 7th Battalion of the Sherwood
Foresters, but was attached to the 9th Battalion of the Leicestershire
Regiment. On Thursday, May 3rd 1917, he was killed whilst attacking
Fontaine-Les-Croiselles with ‘D’ Company at the age of only twenty four. He was
the son of George Herbert Boyd and Sarah Louisa Boyd, of, initially, 13,
Tavistock Drive, Mapperley Park. At the time of his death, his parents had
moved to St Peter’s-in-Thanet, Kent. Boyd's remains were not found until some
six years after his death, in November 1923, when he was reburied in the
Heninel-Croisilles Road Cemetery in the Pas-de-Calais in northern France.

James
Knowles Turpin was a Second Lieutenant in “A” Battery, 241st South Midland
Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery. On Tuesday, August14th
1917, he was killed in action at Boundary Road behind the Brigade HQ at Hill
Top Farm near St Jaan just west of the frontline. The beloved only son of Harry
and Minnie Turpin, of 68,
Henry Road, West
Bridgford, he was just twenty five years of age.

He
was buried in Plot 6, Row D, Grave 7 in Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.

Allan
Roy Stewart Grant, who, while he was at school as A.R.S.Grant, was nicknamed
“Pongy”, served as a Captain in the 10th Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders,
Ross-shire, Buffs, and the Duke of Albany’s. He was awarded the Military Cross.
He survived the conflict and returned to Nottingham.

Not so
his elder brother, Donald Patrick Grant, who was in the 7th Battalion of the
Cameron Highlanders.  He is listed as either a Lance-Corporal (by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission), or a Lieutenant (in the school lists of the fallen). He was killed on Thursday,
April 12th 1917 at the age of only twenty seven. He had previously been the Manager at the British
Crown Insurance Office in Nottingham. His remains were never found, but his
death is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Both young men were the beloved sons of the Reverend
John Charles Grant, a Minister of Religion,
and Ellen Jemima Grant who lived at “The Manse” at 16, Baker Street,
Nottingham. The family was of Scottish origin. Donald had, in actual fact, been
born at Loanhead in Midlothian.

Harold
William Ballamy was a Lieutenant
in “B” Battery of the 231st Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery. He was the
beloved only son of Frederick William Ballamy,
a commercial traveller, and his mother,  Mrs.M.A.Ballamy of 17a, Gedling Grove,
a house which I drive past every single day that I work at the High School.  He was killed on either Tuesday,
August 14th or Wednesday, August 15th 1917, as part of the Third Battle of
Ypres, usually known as the Battle of Passchendaele. He was twenty four years
of age, and is buried in Fosse No 10 in the
Communal Cemetery Extension at Sains-en-Gohelle,  in the Pas-de-Calais in
northern France.

Leslie
Wayland Peck was the son of Thomas Wayland Peck, a Clerk in Holy Orders, and a
Diocesan Inspector of Schools, who had been, from 1885-1900, a master at the
High School. From 1886-1893, despite being a teacher, he had played regularly for
the school’s First Team at both football and cricket. The family lived
initially at 12, Arboretum Street, Nottingham, and then in Gedling Grove. He left the High
School in June 1910, and joined the Bank, an establishment which was later to
change its name to the National Westminster Bank. He had already served in the
School Cadet Corps under Captain Trotman, and joined the Sherwood Foresters
Special Reserve, before being called up, and sent to France quite early in the
Great War. He was “Mentioned in Dispatches”, but after being extremely badly
shell-shocked, was invalided back home for a period of hospital treatment. He
was then posted back to the Sherwood Foresters, but was not ever well enough to
serve overseas again.

M.J.Hogan
was a Sergeant in the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. He was severely
wounded on an unknown date.

an unrecorded
date in the Summer Term 1914

The 1st
XI enjoyed what is probably, even now, its greatest ever escape from a heavy cricketing
defeat. Playing away against old rivals King Edward VII School, Sheffield, the opposition
reached an impressive total of 209-6 declared, with the third wicket putting on
143. In reply, the High School, batting in deepening gloom, had reached 15 for
8, when the threatened thunderstorm broke, and the game had to be abandoned as
a draw. Just as well perhaps, as the last batsman had a lifetime average of 1.50.

July 1914

Mr.Samuel
Corner retired from teaching after being at the High School since 1877. In
1891, he had become Second Master, although he preferred to be called Usher.
Through his wide network of Old Boys, and his careful examination of local
records, he had become a great expert on the school’s history. Much of this
knowledge was to appear in “The Forester” which he edited for many years, and
which at one point had contained a serialised history of the school. Mr.Corner also
produced the School Lists, some of which contained up to fifty pages of news of
Old Boys.

Indeed,
to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary, Mr.Corner had written two
articles for the “Nottingham Guardian” which recounted the history of the
school. They appeared on January 31st and February 2nd 1913.

In
1914-1915, the plan was that Mr.Corner would give up teaching, and finish his
history of the High School. He would still be paid a full salary while writing,
and after this, from 1915-1916 onwards, his pension would be £250 per annum.

In his
later years, Mr.Corner had become increasingly eccentric. He was described by a
former pupil...“Mr.Corner, the second master, was never referred to as anything
but Sammy, and that was a term of endearment. He was an elderly man who, in the
winter-time, wore all day long in School two overcoats under his tattered gown,
a woollen scarf round his neck and mittens on his hands, the whole crowned by a
mortar board which always seemed to be the worse for wear.”

When
Sammy Corner finally resigned in July 1914, the Governors placed on record
“their high appreciation of the invaluable services and self-sacrificing
devotion of Mr.Corner to the interests of the School throughout the long period
he had held the office of Second Master.”

Tuesday,
August 4th 1914

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at
“Appendix Twenty : the Great War begins”.

August 1914

Mr.Corner
was destined never to write his history of the school, as the war broke out
only a month after he was due to start work. For a couple of years, he continued
to help out at the school, and, despite being over sixty years of age, he even
joined up and went to France.

After
the war had finished, Mr.Corner moved to Croydon, but his book was to remain
ever uncompleted, a source of great regret, as he later told Mr.Reynolds in a
letter.

August 1914

Three
members of staff were awarded commissions in Kitchener’s “New Army”, and many
Old Boys joined up.

August 1914
onwards

Numbers
of boys in the school increased dramatically, although within a short time,
half a dozen members of staff had left to join the army. They were replaced by
lady teachers, the majority of whom were young and unmarried. The senior boys
spent an increased time in Officer Training Corps activities. Gradually, they
began to leave, in many cases at an earlier age, as they went off into the
army.

After
about half a dozen teachers had departed, the Governors, fearing a full scale
exodus, put a brake on the process. They passed a resolution that “...the
remaining members were performing their full duty in a scheme of national
service...and could not in the public interest be spared from their present
work of education.”

During
the war, the Officer Training Corps took on a much greater importance. Messrs
Leggett and Lloyd Morgan, the senior officers, were among the first to join up,
becoming Captain and Lieutenant, in the 11th Service Battalion of the Sherwood
Foresters and the 2nd Battalion of the Cambridgeshire Regiment respectively.
“The Nottinghamian” hoped that “they will both have a “smack” at the enemy and
return safely again.”

The
Corps was now led by Captain Hood and Lieutenant Kennard, the latter taking
over command when Captain Hood himself went off to the Royal Engineers in July
1918. At this early stage of the war, the O.T.C. were poorly equipped, and frequently
complained of the lack of rifles and bayonets.

Christmas
Term, 1914

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Nineteen :
reminiscences of Victor Darrington”.

late 1914

Four
school scout troops were formed in the Lower School, under the direction of
Messrs Argyle, Brock, Page and Radley (34th, 35th, 36th and 37th Nottingham
Troops). More than eighty boys joined up, and outings were quickly arranged for
Wednesday afternoons. Mr.Radley also set up a Cub Pack, but this was to last
only a couple of years.

Wednesday, November
25th 1914

The
First Eleven played their last game of football for more than fifty years. It
was an away fixture against Wyggeston School in Leicester, and ended in a 2-7
defeat. This was the team’s fifth defeat of the season, with only one victory,
by 4-2 over Mansfield Grammar School, and a single draw, 2-2 against Worksop
College. After Christmas, the main winter sport for the school became Rugby
Union.

This
would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Five : Captains of
Football”  and “Appendix Seventeen : Rugger or Soccer ?”

December 1914

A small
number of Belgian refugees were taken into the school, without having to pay
fees.

January 1915

The
school duly switched from football to rugby, with the two prime movers having
been Mr.Leggett of the Preparatory School and Mr.Lloyd Morgan. When they
volunteered for the Front, Mr.Kennard took over. The latter had captained
Lancashire, and played for the North of England in an England trial. He had
previously taught in Switzerland.

The
decision to change sports was made by the General Committee on a two to one
majority, and both the Old Boys and the parents were in favour. The boys,
however, by a substantial majority, would have opted for football.

the early
weeks of 1915

The
school’s physical training instructor, Sergeant Pollard, was commissioned as a
Quartermaster, and left for the army. Miss Gunston was appointed as a
gymnastics teacher for the Junior and Preparatory boys.

1915

A
farming camp was organised for five weeks or so at Stragglethorpe.

Spring Term
1915

In contrast
to the dwindling interest in football during the previous term, every Wednesday
and Saturday, more than fifty or sixty boys were turning up for rugby practice
at Mapperley Park. So far, the school was not playing any fixtures, but merely
learning the game.

Saturday,
February 27th 1915

At a
meeting of the Debating Society, one of the most surreal reports in the many
decades of “The Nottinghamian” stated that “Mr.Barber was glad Mr.Clarkson had
a long arm.”

Christmas Term
1915

The
First XV continued to anticipate their first ever victory, and experienced only
another heavy defeat, this time at Newark by 0-43. Their best quality seems to
have been their sportsmanship, and they played at least one game without
conceding a single penalty.

The
Second XV, however, had a number of problems. “The Nottinghamian” described
how...

“....the
fly in the ointment this term has been the very irregular amount of keenness
shown in the Second Game. There are far too many hefty fellows in the Upper
part of the School who prefer to spend their half holidays idling about,
perchance frequenting picture palaces, or doing something equally futile...It
is not as if these fellows spent their afternoons in some profitable pursuit ;
that might be mistaken, but it would be to a certain extent excusable. They
simply waste their time.”

November 1915

The
sons of those serving in the forces had their fees reduced to half.

Wednesday, November 24th
1915

Walter William Ball, the second son of three, and the elder brother of
the Oliver Ball who had carved his name on the stone fireplace near the North
Entrance only some ten years previously, was killed at the age of twenty eight,
yet another victim of the Great War. (See the entry for “possibly from the end
of the Summer Term, 1905 onwards”)

Walter Ball had returned to the Front, and the 10th, Alexandra,
Princess of Wales’s Own, Yorkshire Regiment from his leave in Nottingham only
five days previously.

The
“Nottingham Guardian” reported Ball’s death on Monday, November 29th 1915. He
had apparently been shot through the head by a sniper while organising a firing
party with his captain. The tragic news was communicated to his parents
by his younger brother, Second Lieutenant Oliver Ball, who held a commission in
the same regiment. According to the “Nottingham Guardian”, Walter Ball was “well-known in Nottingham and had a large circle of
friends”. He had received his commission as a Second Lieutenant a mere twelve
months previously.

Walter
Ball is buried in Houplines Communal Cemetery Extension in France, Plot 1, Row
A, Grave 21.

Saturday,
November 27th 1915

At the
354th meeting of the Debating Society, the motion was put to the House that
“domestic servants are to blame for leaving their situations in such great
numbers at the present time. The motion was introduced by G.Harrison, who
explained that

“....owing
to the numbers of men who have been called up by the authorities, domestic
servants are leaving their situations to go to munitions factories.” He
described how “...a lady with a large family, knowing practically nothing about
housework, (had been) suddenly deserted by her servants.” Indeed, the situation
was potentially so grave, that “...boys in the Officer Training Corps would
soon have to clean their own buttons”. Indeed, the view of the whole audience
was that domestic servants had never had it so good, being in many cases able
to earn wages of up to £14 per year.

Also
present at this particular meeting was Harold W.Ballamy, who had just returned
from France. He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, and said that  “...his
nerves were shattered when he returned home to the more deadly perils of lady
porters, lady ticket collectors, and lady taxi-drivers. Hence he thought that
servants should not leave their situations.”

Ballamy,
of course, had seen the horrors of trench warfare at first hand, and it is difficult
to believe that his words, although ostensibly meant in a humorous fashion, did
not contain a very large dose of irony. Certainly, a man as intelligent as Ballamy
could not possibly have failed to see the pettiness of such meetings.

Saturday, December
4th 1915

The
First XV played the return game against Newark, in very poor weather, and much
was made of the fact that they lost by only 0-8, the team’s best performance so
far in the new sport of rugby.

December 1915

The 2nd
Troop of the school scouts were missing “very much” their scoutmaster,
Mr.Argyle. He had volunteered to join the Royal Engineers, and was busily
making poison gas. A temporary teacher, Miss Wood, had joined the Red Cross as
a nurse. In the meantime, Mr.Leggett, who had already volunteered for the
Sherwood Foresters, had been thwarted in his desire to go to the Front, having
had a serious accident when he fell off his horse and sustained concussion.

December 1915

Because
of the wartime lighting regulations, and the fact that the school cleaners had
to have enough time to do their job, the school day was shortened. Afternoon
school now began at 2 p.m., and came to an end at 3.40p.m.

The masters
and boys who lived close to the school still managed to eat their lunch at home
without any problems, and then could have a nice long evening. Those who lived
further away either had to have lunch at school, or perhaps went to a friend’s
house. They too, though, could still enjoy a fairly long and leisurely evening after

school.

an unrecorded
Wednesday in December 1915

Robert,
the caretaker, set up the Nottingham High School Pets’ Club. He spoke to
potential members for forty minutes at an inaugural meeting, and kept them
enthralled by his enthusiasm for the subject, offering advice on the care of
pets, or how to purchase them.

1916

The
boarding system came to an end when Mr.Corner finished taking in boys, a couple
of years after his retirement. Previously, Mr.W.E.Ryles had boarded boys at 11,
Waverley Mount, and a couple of ladies were authorised to do so in the early
years of the century.

Tuesday
morning, February 1st 1916

On the
morning after the Zeppelins had attacked Nottingham, seemingly every boy had a
story to tell. “Many and marvellous were the tales...it seemed as if everyone
in the school was giving his experiences to everyone else as loudly as
possible.”

“Apparently,
the aircraft had, at some time or another, been straight over the houses of
nine out of ten of the boys.” In actual fact, the only bombs fell to the west
of Nottingham, between Stapleford and Ilkeston.

They had been
dropped by one of nine airships of the German Airship Naval Division who were
carrying out a major bombing raid over the whole of the Midlands, later to be
known as the “Great Midlands Raid”.

The Zeppelin
involved near Nottingham was the L.20 (LZ 59), based at Tønder in Denmark. It was commanded by Kapitan-Leutnant Stabbert who
dropped seven high explosive bombs, one of which exploded just to the north of
the railway viaduct at Bennerley Junction. Later that night the L.20 dropped
fifteen more bombs on the nearby Stanton Ironworks, one of which damaged a
railway bridge crossing the Nutbrook Canal.

Tuesday morning,
February 1st 1916

On this
very same morning, the boys had woken up to find eight inches of snow
blanketing the city. This must have made this day perhaps the most perfect one
ever, from a boy’s point of view, in the long history of the school.

April 1916

A new
magazine, “The Highvite”, was launched. The latter had the great advantage,
from the boys’ point of view, of being free, rather than costing them their
pocket money.

late 1916

An area
of some three quarters of an acre was cultivated by the boys at Woodthorpe.
Despite being a “very uncompromising clay dump”, it was eventually to produce
much fresh food. One member of staff, Mr.Strangeways, a Classics teacher, dug
so energetically that he “not only shattered one spade in sunder, and so bent another
that it was impossible to discern which side was which, but also succeeded in
unearthing an ancient Roman broom.”

Thursday, September 28th
1916

Just over eleven years since he had carved his name on the
stone fireplace near the North Entrance, Oliver Herbert Ball was killed, at the
age of twenty five, yet another victim of the Great War. (See the entry for
“possibly from the end of the Summer Term, 1905 onwards”)

After he left the High School,
Oliver had moved initially to University College,
Nottingham. He was then employed at the Nottingham Head Office of the Union of
London and Smith’s Bank.

As soon
as the war began, he had enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery and was quickly
promoted to Bombardier. Five months later, Second Lieutenant Ball was gazetted
to the Yorkshire Regiment, and he proceeded to the front in October 1915. He
survived for less than twelve months, and his death from wounds was announced
in the “Nottingham Guardian” on October 14th 1916. He is buried in the Guards’
Cemetery, at Lesboeufs in Northern France. Unfortunately, there was nobody left
to report his death to his parents.

Sunday, October
15th 1916

Lieutenant
Garth Smithies Taylor was killed while his battalion were in the trenches near
Le Transloy. His death was described in a letter to his mother from Second
Lieutenant M. Marshall Shaw of ‘D’ Company, 2nd Battalion, Sherwood
Foresters....“....I was one of the last persons to speak to him. We had taken a
section of trench in front of us from the Germans, and that night A Company
under Lieutenant Taylor was to relieve the Company which had taken the
position. The German snipers were very active, and I was digging a
communication trench for the relieving troops to use. He came to me and saw
what I was doing and then went over to the new trench to get in touch with the
Commander there. He came back shortly afterwards and as my trench was not ready
for the relief, returned to the forward trench again. He was a little while
there, and as the trench was being repaired walked with his servant on the top.
The Germans shot at them, and he told his man to get down quickly. The man did
so, and as he did so he heard his Officer say “I’m hit” : Taylor lay perfectly
still and closed his eyes so that his servant said that he looked asleep. They
buried him and I believe the Adjutant has the reference to his grave.”

In
actual fact, the exact whereabouts of Lieutenant Taylor’s grave may well have
been lost fairly soon after he was killed, as his death is recorded at Thiepval
Memorial, which is dedicated to those British soldiers who have no known
resting place.

During
their six weeks on the Somme, the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters lost 12
officers killed, 152 non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers killed, 16
officers wounded and 625 other ranks wounded. This was a total of 805
casualties in 42 days.

Taylor
was born on June 27th 1896. His father was a consultant engineer, Thomas
Smithies Taylor, who lived at Westaby House, Smeaton Westaby, Leicestershire.
Taylor, who had previously been at Bedale School, was admitted to the High
School on September 20th 1911, the same day as his eight year old brother, Mark
Herschel Taylor. After leaving the High School, he went to London University.

Originally,
in September 1914, Taylor was a civilian clerk in the A.S.C., the same unit
where his father had himself been a Captain. He soon applied for, and was
granted, a commission. In October 1915, he had been promoted to Lieutenant, but
found that his duties in the A.S.C. “afforded him insufficient time for the
destruction of the Hun”, and he soon applied for a transfer to active service
in the front line infantry.

In
April 1916, Taylor became a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the Sherwood
Foresters, and enlivened the “many dreary tours of duty in the trenches” for
‘A’ Company by his frequent playing of a mandolin. He was twenty years of age
when he was killed.

Christmas Term
1916

In a
much more successful term, the First XV won five of its six matches.

Christmas Term
1916

All the
boys became extremely excited when Colonel Battersby, accompanied by a Red
Cross nurse, made an inspection of the school to see if it could be converted
into a hospital. Much to their chagrin, the plan came to nothing.

1917 onwards

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Two : the Preparatory School, 1917 onwards”

April 1917

“The
Highvite”, which was much more creative and irreverent than its predecessor, The
Forester”, published a series of advertisements from easily recognisable people...

R.G.H-ND-RS-N
; Consulting Lawyer. Plausible explanations quickly and ingeniously devised for
those who have neglected to do their homework.

ARMOW
C-NN-P  Champion Juggler, Weight-Lifter, and Boxer.

MISS
SH-W ; Lion Tamer. After tending and training IV.B2 for a whole term, Miss Sh-w
has taken to lions, and finds them an easier and less unpleasant task. All
should seize this opportunity of seeing her in the arena, as it is probable
that she will return to “Boys” very shortly, finding lions somewhat dull and
unexciting.

MR.F.H.BR-CK
; the Famous Tenor, who will sing his song, so well known in Forest Road : “I
will never get to School till half-past nine”.

Shortly
after this article’s appearance, Harold Arno Connop became a Lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Air Service. He died of his wounds on March 31st 1918. Connop had
been “the first Scholar of Corpus Christi College”. His death deprived the
School of its best representative in Oxford.

April 1917

“The
Highvite”, in a more serious vein, published a note admonishing those who “take
a delight in trampling upon the so-called flower beds of the Arboretum. Within
the precincts of that estate there dwells a bearded gentleman of austere
countenance, who can be seen wearing blue uniform, and who possesses a stick of
considerable dimensions, of which many of us, even Prefects, cherish tender
memories.”

Thursday, May
3rd 1917

A young
Second Lieutenant of some twenty four years of age, Charles Gordon Boyd was
listed as missing, believed dead.

Boyd
was born on January 23rd 1893, and entered the High School on July 27th 1908 at
the age of fifteen. He was the son of George Herbert Boyd and Sarah Louisa
Boyd. His father was an insurance manager, and the family lived at 13,
Tavistock Drive, Mapperley Park, during Boyd’s time at the High School,
although by the time he was killed, his parents had moved to Elm Lodge,
Ranelagh Grove, St Peter’s-in-Thanet, Kent.

Boyd
entered the Sixth Form in 1909-1910, and was the School Captain in 1911-1912.
Towards the end of this school year, he gained “a Junior Appointment in the
Civil Service”, a feat recorded in the School List for 1912, in the section
listing achievements “by boys in the school”. He is known to have left the High
School in July 1912. He did not go on to university, but is thought to have
eventually become an accountant.

At
school, in cricket, Boyd was the First Team’s wicketkeeper. He was an enthusiastic footballer, and played regularly for
the First Eleven. On October 5th 1910, playing as a forward against
C.R.Attenborough’s XI, he scored a goal in what was to be, because of injury,
his only appearance of the season. The following season, 1911-1912, he was a
more regular player and was duly awarded his full colours. His full record as a
goalscorer was eleven goals in nine appearances.

In his capacity as School
Captain, Boyd was to speak directly with Dr.Gow about the “...very poor
attendance of boys at school football matches...
attendances both last season and this had been a disgrace to the school.”
Unfortunately, no record has survived of their deliberations.

After
he left the High School, on Friday, December 26th 1913, Boyd had played in
the very first game of Rugby ever played at Mapperley Park Sports Ground, when
the Old Nottinghamians played Notts Rugby F.C..

During the First World War, Boyd served as a Second Lieutenant in
the 7th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters, but was attached to the 9th
Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment. He was killed whilst attacking Fontaine-Les-Croiselles with ‘D’
Company. Some details have emerged from the great nephew of Lance Corporal
Herbert Golder Marsh, who said that “Lt Boyd “went down” early in the battle, well before dawn.” Lance
Corporal Marsh was seen later, wounded himself, trying to find help to get Lieutenant Boyd back to his own lines. He
was unsuccessful and
was last seen
going back down towards the German Trenches “to be with his officer”.

Amazingly, Boyd's remains were not found until some
six years later, in November 1923, when he was reburied in a nearby cemetery.

around 8.30 p.m., Monday, May
7th, 1917

Albert
Ball was killed. He had already been awarded the Victoria Cross, the Military
Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Légion d’Honneur, the Croix de
Chevalier, the Russian Order of St.George and the American Medal.

There
is no clear indication of what happened, although four German officers on the
ground all saw his SE5 emerge from low cloud, upside down, and trailing a thin
plume of oily smoke. Its engine was stopped, and it crashed close to a farm
called Fashoda, near the village of Annoeullin. Ball was still alive, and he
was removed from the wreckage by Mademoiselle Cécile Deloffre. As she cradled
him in her arms, Ball opened his eyes once, and then died. His death was later
found to be due to his injuries in the crash. He had not been wounded.

The
chivalrous Germans gave him a funeral with full military honours on May 9th.
The original white cross with which they marked his grave, No.999, is still
kept in Trent College chapel.

Thursday, June 7th
1917

Just over ten years after he had carved his name on the
stone fireplace near the North Entrance, Oswald Cornek Gillott was killed at
the age of twenty six, yet another victim of the Great War. (See the entry for
“possibly from the end of the Summer Term, 1905 onwards”)

After he left the High School,
Oswald had moved to Teeside, and, according to the Census of 1911, was a twenty year old apprentice mechanical
engineer, living at 2, Woodland Terrace, Borough Road, Middlesbrough,
Yorkshire.

With the advent of the Great War,
Oswald joined the 68th Field Company of The
Royal Engineers, who had been formed in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's
First New Army. The Engineers trained at Newark before sailing for Gallipoli,
from Liverpool, at the end of June 1915. They remained at Lala Baba in Suvla
Bay until December 19th and 20th 1915, when they withdrew and returned to Egypt
by the end of January. Oswald was recorded as having been wounded
during this period.

In June 1916
the Division was ordered to France to reinforce the Third Army on the Somme. By
July 27th, they were in the Front Line and took part in the fighting at
Thiepval. By 1917 they were fighting on the Ancre, and then moved north to
Flanders for the Battle of Messines.

This
fatal day, June 7th 1917 was the first day of the successful attack on the
Messines Ridge.  The assault was preceded by the detonation of a large number
of mines. Oswald, as a Royal Engineer, may well have been involved in this
activity when he was killed. He is buried in Messines
Ridge British Cemetery.

Wednesday, August
1st 1917

The
school became grant-aided after formal recognition from the Board of Education.

Tuesday, August 14th 1917

Aged only twenty five, Second Lieutenant
James Knowles Turpin, of “A” Battery, 241st South Midland Brigade of the Royal
Field Artillery was killed in action at Boundary Road behind the Brigade HQ at
Hill Top Farm near St Jaan just west of the frontline.

Turpin was born in 1892, the
beloved only son of Harry and Minnie Turpin.  His father was a grocer and the
family lived at 7, Claremont Gardens, off the Hucknall Road, but later moved to 68, Henry Road, West Bridgford.  He was
admitted to the High School on April 15th 1902 at the age of ten. He left in
July 1911 and went to Cambridge, where he had won a scholarship at Christ’s
College.

Turpin was commissioned in August
1914 as a second lieutenant and promoted lieutenant in 1916. His was known as
the “Worcester Battery” and consisted of six 18-pounder field guns.

His last leave to Nottingham was
January 24th-31st 1916, so he had not seen his loving parents for nineteen
months when he was killed. The 241st Brigade lost fifty two men during the
Battle of Passchendaele.

After Turpin’s death, eight more
men were to perish, and they were buried close to his grave in Vlamertinghe New
Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Turpin lies in Plot 6,
Row D, Grave 7.

Tuesday, August
14th 1917

Harold
William Ballamy was killed. He had already been wounded twice, but on each
occasion, had returned to active service, the second time only five weeks
before his death.

His
Commanding Officer, Brigadier-General Herbert M.Campbell, who was present at
Ballamy’s funeral, wrote that he was “...a gallant officer, loved by all who
knew him, exceedingly capable and thoroughly reliable. The battery felt his
loss very much, and he would be hard to replace”.

Ballamy
was 24 years old when he died. He is buried in Fosse No 10 in the Communal
Cemetery Extension at Sains-en-Gohelle, France. Plot 2, Row C, Grave 27.

Ballamy
was born on July 5th 1893, and entered the High School on November 3rd 1902.
His father was Frederick William Ballamy, a commercial traveller of 17a,
Gedling Grove, Nottingham, and his mother was Mrs.M.A.Ballamy.

Harold
was to win many academic prizes in his time at the High School. They included
Silver Medals for Mathematics and Science, and Dr.Gow’s Prize for Geometry. In
1910, he became Vice-Captain of Football, and in 1912, was Captain of Football,
the same year in which he won a Standard Medal for this activity. He was
Secretary of First Team Cricket in 1912, the same year in which he became
Captain of the School. Ballamy was the Colour Sergeant in the Officer Training
Corps from 1911-1912, and, in 1911, he was the School Librarian. In 1910 and
1911, he was the Secretary and Treasurer of the School Debating Society. In
1912, at the School Sports, held at Mapperley Park, Ballamy won the 100 yards
dash, a race held on grass, and run in kit very different from that of the
present day, in a time of 10.6 seconds, beating F.W.Goddard by several yards.

He finally
left the High School in 1912, and went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he
held the Bishop Open Exhibition of £75 a year for Natural Science. At the time,
the philosopher Bertrand Russell was a professor at Cambridge, and, had he so
wished, Ballamy could well have gone to hear his lectures. He might well have
bumped into one of Russell’s pupils, the soon-to-be-famous fellow philosopher,
Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Ballamy
was soon elected to a major Foundation Scholarship of £100 per year. He
obtained a First Class degree in Mathematics, and then changed to Natural
Sciences, where he was placed first in the whole University. At the same time,
he rowed for his college in their third boat, and was a prominent member of the
Cambridge University Officer Training Corps.

Ballamy
had obtained a B.A. degree by the time war broke out, so he immediately
volunteered, receiving a commission in the Royal Field Artillery. He reached
the Front in February, 1915, and served in “B’ Battery, of the 231st Brigade.

By the
time he was killed, Ballamy had seen the horrors of trench warfare at close
hand. Surely, a man as intelligent as he clearly was could not possibly have
failed to see the pointlessness of the war.

This
bleak lesson, of course, is further emphasised by the fact that both Harold
Ballamy and James Turpin seem to have been killed on the same day.
Certainly, in the school’s list of Great War casualties, they are both recorded
as having perished on August 14th 1917. On the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission website, however, Harold Ballamy is listed
as having died one day later, on Wednesday, August 15th.

Thursday, August
16th 1917

Walter
Leslie Howard, a Lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps, died of his wounds.

He was
born on April 20th 1895, the son of Walter Hermann Haubitz, a commercial
traveller of 2, Regent Street, New Basford, and entered the High School on
September 13th 1905, at the age of ten.

Known
throughout his school career as Walter Haubitz, he was eventually to become
Secretary and Treasurer of both the School Debating Society and the School
Literary Society. In 1913, after a year as Captain of the School, he won an
Open Scholarship of £80 a year for Classics at Wadham College, Oxford. Here, he
was to continue to play representative football.

Just
after the outbreak of the First World War, in November 1914, he received a
commission in the 176th Company of the Machine Gun Corps. He thereupon changed
his name to the more anglicised “Howard”. He was only twenty two years of age
when he died, serving with the 7th Somerset Light Infantry.

He is
buried in Plot 3, Row 1, Grave 5 in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium.

This week
of Monday, August 13th-Sunday, August 19t was surely the saddest, most
disastrous and most poignant week in the long history of the High School.

Thursday, October 11th
1917

The slaughter continued. Captain
John Wesley Wootton died of his wounds.  He was
twenty six years of age.

“Jack” Wootton was born on March 25th 1891, one member of a fairly large
middle class family of three brothers, three sisters, but no servants. He was
the youngest son of Arthur
Wootton and Julia Emma Wootton. His father was a lace curtain manufacturer, and the family lived at 137,
Foxhall Road, on the opposite side of the Forest from the High School. They
were eventually to move to 30, High Pavement.

Wootton
entered the High School on September 17th 1901 at the age of ten, having won the Sir Thomas White Exhibition of £50 per
year. He was to become Secretary of the School Society, and Colour Sergeant of
the O.T.C.. He became a Prefect (see the entry for Wednesday, March 31st 1909),
and eventually, Captain of the School.

In July, 1910, he left
the High School for Trinity College, Cambridge, to read History, having won a
major scholarship of £120 per year. He was eventually to achieve a First Class
Degree, having achieved First Classes in every examination he ever took at
Cambridge. He won college prizes both for History and Literature, and the Derby
Scholarship of £100 for historical research. At Cambridge, he was an enthusiastic
member of the University’s Officer Training Corps, and was commissioned in 1914
into the 11th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, the so-called “City of Cambridge Battalion”. Indeed, by the time
conscription was introduced at the beginning of 1916, some 75% of male students
at Cambridge had already joined up for the “war-to-end-all-wars”

On the
first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1st 1916, he was one of the
120,000 men who ‘went over the top’ along the thirteen-mile front of what was
afterwards known as the Battle of Albert. Wootton was
wounded in the foot by a machine gun at La Boiselle, and returned to spend nine
months back in Cambridge convalescing.

Many years later, a man who
described himself as Wootton's servant, a “Mr H. Allgood”, described what
happened that day… “We were going forward in rows. One row was leaving too
large gaps, Captain shouts, Fill those gaps up. Soon after that I heard his
voice. I looked back, he was on the ground, I went back & took off his
boots, saw a hole through his ankle. He said, You will have to go, Allgood. I
hope I shall see you again.”

On
September 5th 1917, “tall and dark and handsome in a rather
melancholy-looking sort of way”, he married Barbara
Adams, the daughter of Dr. James Adam of
Emmanuel College. She was to become an eminent social scientist, and be better
known in later years as the life peeress Baroness Wootton. Jack knew her
because of his friendship with her brother, Neil. Both Jack and Barbara, like
the vast majority of people of their age and class, were virgins.

Just
two days after his marriage, Wootton returned to his regiment in France. He was
“a most conscientious and hard-working officer” who was well liked by
all. By now, he had been married for a grand total of
thirty-six days.

The Battle of Passchendaele took
place for the most part on either swamp or marshland. Large numbers of soldiers
drowned in shell craters or seas of mud. Jack Wootton was not to drown,
however.  He was shot through the eye by a sniper while repairing a road. Some
fifty men in his battalion were killed in similar fashion. Wootton died on a French ambulance train somewhere
in either France or Belgium, around forty-eight hours later, on October 11th.

Some time after this, Wootton 's blood-stained uniform was returned to his
young wife. This gesture, appalling to us nowadays, was common practice during
the First World War.

Jack is
buried in Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery in St.Omer, France. His Grave Reference is IV. E. 38. He is one of 2,874
casualties in this particular cemetery.

His name is also listed in the
Roll of Honour on the War Memorial which stands in front of St Mark's Church in
Barton Road, Cambridge, the exact same church where his marriage had taken
place only thirty six days before his death. Jack Wootton is the last of the
fifty-one names.

Baroness
Wootton was to keep Jack’s name, and their
love, alive for another seventy years and three months. His photograph,
serious in his officer’s uniform, with his neatly trimmed moustache and his
dark brooding eyes, kept watch over her bed as she died.

January 1918

“The
Highvite” carried a list of the school prefects, with their nicknames. They
were the Captain of the School, F.A.Bird ( Dicky ), A.W.Barton ( Fuzzy ),
J.A.Saward, Captain of Rugby, ( Seaweed ), P.H.B.Furley ( Dab ), R.F.Parr (
Fickle ), N.F.Norris

( Nigel ), S.J.Buxton ( Our Stan
), T.L.E.Morley ( Dreg ) and J.King ( Jabez ).

The
magazine contained a number of humorous advertisements, with owners appealing
for the return of lost articles. They included a pair of socks, green stripes
on pink ground, interspersed with yellow clocks, buff spots and heliotrope
floral design (R.J.C.Wood, 6B), a pair of parallel bars, supposedly ejected
through the gymnasium window when R.F.Parr blew his nose (Staff-Sergeant Hall),
a valuable red medieval waistcoat (E.F.H.Dunnicliffe), a pair of black and
white check trousers (owner not given), a white bulldog (Miss Pollard, the
school secretary), two beautiful bits of bamboo cane (the prefects’ room,
office hours 9 am. - 3.30 pm. ; closed 1 pm. - 2 pm.)

Barton,
Bird and Co Ltd. had an advertisement for poisons, the quality of which was
endorsed by Mr.Strangeways. There was also a list of recent additions to the
literary world, including “How to Grow a Moustache” by Mr.Barry Kipping, “What
to Eat and How” by Dr.R.F.Parr, and “The Evolution of Muscle” by Staff-Sergeant
Hall.

Sunday, March 31st 1918

Harold Arno Connop died of his
injuries. He was a Flight Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service, and
the beloved son of Mr.
Arno B. Connop, and
Mrs. Ada
Connop, of  20, Stewart Place, Nottingham

At the time, Connop was reckoned
“the first Scholar of Corpus Christi College”, and his death deprived the
school of its very best representative at Oxford University.

When he was at the High School,
as well as being a first class scholar, Connop was also a very good rugby
player. He was a fine three quarter, and a very fast runner. For one reason or
another, however, he was never particularly well liked, and in general, he was
not a very popular figure. He did have at least one close friend, however, and
that was Francis Bird.

This lack of popularity may well
have been connected with Connop’s rare combination of outstanding academic
prowess, and very humble origins. His father was a mere Elementary School
teacher, and Harold’s education throughout his time at the High School was
financed by his being both a Sir Thomas White Scholar, and a Foundation Scholar.

Connop
was only posted to Dunkirk
on March 14th 1918, but he was dead less than three weeks later. He is buried
in Grave IV A  11 in
Dunkirk Town Cemetery. The motto on his grave is “Labor honor quie”.

spring 1918

Sergeant
Pollard “...a very smart chap in those days”, had always looked after the
Officer Training Corps, and the boys’ physical education. In addition, he had
carried out a certain amount of clerical work. When he joined the army,
however, his daughter, Miss Pollard, took over the latter job.

Once
the school became grant-aided, though, there was too much for her to do, and
the school’s first ever full time secretary, Miss M.G.Taylor, was appointed.

April 1918

“The
Highvite” suggested a number of “war-time” recipes. They included an “economical
cake”, bean soup and “fricassé à la turnippe”.

Saturday, May
4th 1918

Eric
Inger Dexter, a Lieutenant in the 16th Squadron initially of the Royal Flying
Corps and then of the R.A.F., was killed in action at the age of twenty two.
This tragic event came almost exactly a year after the death of his elder
brother, Harry Vincent Dexter, a member of the 43rd Battalion of the Manitoba
Regiment, who had been killed in the Battle of Vimy Ridge on May 24th 1917.

September 1918

The
ever creative “Highvite”, included a poem entitled “School in the Past”. Its
author remains unknown...

I remember, I remember

The school to which I went

The master with a face of steel,

What hours with him we spent !

He always kept us in till late,

We had a dreadful day.

Oh !  how I often wished the night

Had borne his soul away.

I remember, I remember

The German and the French

The Latin verbs and Greek syntax

We learnt on wooden bench.

The Virgil and Euripides,

The sums our master set,

The mem’ry of that dreary time

Is living with me yet.

I remember, I remember

The classroom where we toiled ;

In winter we were cold as ice,

In summer we were boiled.

My spirit was most miserable,

That is so happy now,

For summer pools could never cool

The fever on my brow.

I remember, I remember

The birch rod thick and high,

I used to think that when it struck

Twould lift me to the sky.

I felt it once, ‘twas quite enough.

And now ‘tis all my joy

To know I’m further off that stick

Than when I was a boy.

The
same edition carried an article called “Here and There”, which related how one
boy at camp had not washed from Tuesday morning to Saturday night. He had
fallen ill on the Sunday.

An old
gentleman inquired if it was true that the High School had won a cricket match.
He was told that it was, but he then replied that accidents do occasionally
happen, and asked if the game had been against the Blind Institute.

At this
time, the school was playing matches against other schools, of which they had
won four out of five, but all the other fixtures were against groups of
soldiers who were billeted locally. All of these matches were lost.

In a
more serious vein, the magazine reported that Major Leggett and Captain Morgan
had been wounded, the latter rather badly, but that both men were now “practically
recovered.”

The
magazine was being unduly optimistic, however. Major Leggett’s constitution had
been irrevocably weakened by his wartime wounds, and he was to die only a year
later, in 1920.

Captain
Morgan, because of the severity of his injuries, was eventually forced to
resign his commission on August 14th 1918.

1918

What
was one day to be a rather ramshackle wooden cycle shed was erected for the
Sixth Form, near to the old Preparatory School, on the western side of the
playground.

January 1918

“Highvite”
congratulated the Mapperley Park groundsman, “A.Onion, Esq., on the fruits of
the many laborious hours he has spent in rearing potatoes at Woodthorpe. It was
no uncommon sight to see boys struggling with a few tons of potatoes on their
weary shoulders, in their endeavours to carry them home to their rejoicing
parents.”  At the end of the editorial, they bade their readers “Au Reservoir”.

Monday, March
18th 1918

The
following rules were copied into the Prefects’ book, and formally adapted by
A.W.Barton, the Captain of School, and the whole of the Corpus Praefectorum,
who duly signed the relevant page.

1. The Prefects are charged to do
their utmost to maintain a proper standard of behaviour on the part of all boys
of the school, and may punish any offence likely to bring discredit to the
school.

2. The Prefects may punish boys in
any of the three following ways:

(i) by reprimand          (ii)
by lines      (iii) by caning

3. No corporal punishment shall be
administered by prefects except

(a) after due and proper
deliberation, and (b) with the unanimous agreement of all the Prefects.

4. When announcing the decision of
the Prefects to the offending boy, the Head Prefect is bound to offer him an
option to appeal to the Headmaster.

5. Corporal punishment may he
administered only in those cases which in the joint opinion of all the prefects
render such punishment absolutely necessary, and only after a full opportunity
has been given to appeal to the Headmaster; for this purpose an interval of at
least 24 hours must elapse between announcing the decision of the Prefects to
the offending boy and the execution of that decision. No instrument of
punishment is to be used except that which is sanctioned by the Headmaster, and
the number of strokes must not exceed three, without express permission from
the Headmaster.

6. Every Prefect on taking office
must sign a declaration in the Prefects' Minute Book that he has read these
rules and will strictly observe them.

Thursday, July
11th 1918

The
London Gazette recorded the brave deeds for which the Reverend Theodore Bayley
Hardy was awarded the Victoria Cross. They had occurred on April 5th, April
25th, April 26th and April 27th 1918. Hardy’s bravery was by now legendary. He
had already won a Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross...

“For
most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on many occasions. Although over fifty
years of age, he has, by his fearlessness, devotion to men of his battalion and
quiet, unobtrusive manner, won the respect and admiration of the whole
division.

His
marvellous energy and endurance would be remarkable even in a very much younger
man and his valour and devotion are exemplified in the following incidents :

“An infantry patrol had gone out
to attack a previously located enemy post in the ruins of a village, the
Reverend Theodore Bayley Hardy, C.F., being then at company headquarters.
Hearing firing, he followed the patrol and about 400 yards beyond our front
line of posts, found an officer of the patrol dangerously wounded. He remained
with the officer until he was able to get assistance to bring him in. During
this time there was a great deal of firing and an enemy patrol actually
penetrated between the spot at which the officer was lying and our front line
and captured three of our men.

On a second occasion when an enemy
shell exploded in the middle of one of our posts, the Reverend T.B.Hardy at
once made his way to the spot, despite shell and trench mortar fire which were
going on at the time and set to work to extricate the buried men. He succeeded
in getting out one man who had been completely buried. He then set to work to
extricate a second man who was found to be dead.

During the whole of the time that
he was digging out the men this chaplain was in great danger not only from
shell fire but also because of the dangerous condition of the wall of the
building, which had been hit by the shell which buried the men.

On a third occasion he displayed
the greatest devotion to duty when our infantry, after a successful attack,
were gradually forced back to their starting trench.

After it was believed that all our
men had withdrawn from the wood Chaplain Hardy came out of it and on reaching
the advanced post, asked the men to help him to get in a wounded man.
Accompanied by a sergeant, he made his way to the spot where the man lay,
within ten yards of a pill-box which had been captured in the morning, but was
subsequently recaptured and occupied by the enemy. The wounded man was too weak
to stand, but between them the chaplain and the sergeant eventually succeeded
in getting him to our lines.

Throughout the day the enemy's
artillery, machine-gun and trench mortar fire was continuous and caused many
casualties.

Notwithstanding, this very gallant
chaplain was soon moving quietly amongst the men and tending the wounded
absolutely regardless of his personal safety.”

Hardy
had begun his teaching career at the High School in 1890. He was form master of
the Upper Second, and was engaged in the teaching of English Grammar,
Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Geography, History, French and Latin. He spent
seventeen years at the High School, during which time he was later to be the
form master of the Third Form, and, from 1905, one of the three joint form
masters of the Modern Sixth Form. He left in 1907, to become Headmaster of
Bentham Grammar School near Lancaster.

Hardy
had been ordained as a deacon in December 1898, and soon became a curate at
Burton Joyce. In 1899, he was ordained as a priest, and, shortly afterwards,
left his post at Burton Joyce, to move to a curacy at New Basford.

When
the Great War broke out, Hardy, despite his advanced age of fifty-one, made
numerous applications to join the Chaplaincy Department. He was refused time
and time again, being given the excuse that there was a waiting list of some
hundreds of younger men, all of them eminently more suited to the rigours of
trench life on the Western Front. Hardy then considered joining up as a
volunteer stretcher bearer, and went as far as to sit, and to pass, the final
examination, after attending an Ambulance class in Kirkby Lonsdale. The carnage
of 1916, however, created many vacancies for replacement chaplains, and he was
finally accepted for this post in the late summer of this year. Militarily, he
became a captain, and was attached to the 8th Lincolnshire Regiment and the 8th
Somerset Regiment. Theologically, he was a Temporary Chaplain, Fourth Class.

5.00 am., Friday,
October 11th 1918

The
Reverend Theodore Bayley Hardy was shot through the thigh by a German machine
gun, as he crossed a recently erected bridge over the River Selle near
Briastres. He was evacuated over a hundred miles to the No.2 Red Cross Hospital
at Rouen, where he died of pneumonia on October 18th 1918. This was less than a
month before the cessation of hostilities, and the 8th Lincolnshire Regiment
and the 8th Somerset Regiment themselves were destined during this time to see
only eight more days of combat.

Tuesday, October
15th 1918

Leslie
Collins Woodward was the son of George M. and Alice Woodward of Nottingham. He
was born on June 3rd 1892, and admitted to the High School on September 13th
1905, at the age of thirteen. His father was an estate agent, and in 1905, the
family was living at 65, Trent Boulevard, West Bridgford. Woodward left the
High School in July 1907, and by 1918, his parents had moved to Raleigh House,
98, Raleigh Street, Nottingham.

At the
outbreak of war, Woodward, already a member of the Nottinghamshire R.H.A., had
volunteered immediately, and quickly received a commission in the 63rd Brigade
of the R.F.A.

He was
twice mentioned in Dispatches by Sir Douglas Haig, but on September 3rd 1918
was severely wounded in the incident for which he was awarded the Distinguished
Service Order. He died of his wounds shortly afterwards, and is buried in
Heilly Station Cemetery, Méricourt-l’Abbé, France.

On
October 15th 1918, a ceremony took place at the Exchange Hall, Nottingham,
where the Mayor, Councillor J.G.Small, presented Woodward’s Distinguished
Service Order to his baby son, who was aged at the time just two and a half.
Normally, such an award would have been given directly by the King to the
recipient or his widow, but at the express wish of his wife, Mrs. Annie
S.Woodward, it was presented, on this occasion, by the Mayor to Woodward’s son.
The medal, therefore, was duly pinned to the little boy’s breast, the latter
saluting in a touchingly innocent gesture.

During
his speech, the Mayor spoke of Major Woodward’s “conspicuous gallantry and
devotion to duty when in command of a brigade. Hearing that the enemy had
broken through on his right, he brought up three guns onto a crest and for
several hours fought his battery under severe artillery, machine gun and rifle
fire, only stopping when it was no longer possible to see. Throughout the day,
he displayed the greatest coolness and courage, and the work performed by his
battery was invaluable at a critical time.”

The
Mayor also read out a letter from Woodward’s divisional brigadier-general,
“....deeply regretting the loss of a valuable officer and devoted friend, whose
death created a gap which it was impossible to fill.”

According
to the Mayor, “....Major Woodward’s gallantry and devotion to duty constituted
a record of which any family might be proud, and the City sympathised with them
in their bereavement.”

Monday, November
11th 1918

Just
before midday, newsboys came along Arboretum Street, shouting “Paper,
Paper....Armistice signed ! Armistice signed ! ”. Boys rushed to the windows
overlooking the street, and a number left their lessons, without permission, to
purchase a newspaper.

Just
over 1,500 boys and masters had fought in the Great War. Two Victoria Crosses
had been won, 124 men had been awarded other decorations, and 29 had been
mentioned in dispatches.

Most
important of all, though, was the fact that just over two hundred of them had died.
For many years afterwards, a large number of photographs of fallen Old Boys was
to be kept proudly on display in the lobby, among the first things to greet any
visitor to the school.

There
is, of course, no means of measuring the talent which was thrown away with such
profligacy by mutton headed generals, comfortable in their châteaux miles behind the
front lines and the horrors of the trenches. Suffice it to say, though, that
the school had lost five ex-Captains of the School. They were…..

Harold Ballamy                       Trinity College
Cambridge, First Class degree in Mathematics, first in the whole University in
Natural Sciences

Charles Boyd

Harold Connop                       “the
first Scholar of Corpus Christi College”, Oxford

James
Turpin                           open scholarship
at Christ’s College, Cambridge

JackWootton                           open scholarship
at Trinity College, Cambridge, to read History. First
Classes in every examination he ever took and a First Class Degree

In
addition, “Dab” Furley, was killed at Miranshah, North West India, shortly
after the end of the Great War. In his Army Entrance Examination, he had scored
a record 10,000 points more than seven hundred points ahead of the candidate in
second place.

noon, Saturday
November 16th 1918

The
395th meeting of the School Debating Society took place in the Prayer Hall.
Mr.Gaskin was in the chair, and it was proposed and seconded that a letter of
sympathy be sent to Mr.William Henry Tonkin on losing his son, a prominent Old
Boy of the school, Captain Frederick Cuthbert Tonkin M.C., D.S.O. of the 7th
Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment. Tonkin had been killed on November 4th
1918, only seven days before the end of the war, aged just 24. He was buried in
Forest Communal Cemetery (Nord), France.

A vote
of congratulation was then given to Mr.Lamb for winning his rugby colours, the
latter replying with a benign smile. Mr.Towle proposed that letter of
congratulation should be sent to Marshall “Fotch” for winning the war. Mr.Lee
seconded this, but pointed out that his name was Marshall “Fosh”.

Mr.Coe
then proposed the motion that “Warfare is a Necessary Accompaniment to the
Human Race.” He said that war brought out those noble qualities that were apt
to be dormant in times of peace. Mr.Kipping spoke of the good the war had done
the country, and Mr.Dunnicliff said that there had always been wars, and always
would be.

What a
pity that neither William nor Frederick Tonkin had been available to speak.

Wednesday, December
25th 1918

Benjamin
O’Rorke, who had served through the war as an unarmed padre, and had been
frequently in mortal danger, survived the fighting, only to die of influenza.

He had
been taken prisoner by the Germans in September 1914, but had been released in
1916. He then returned to the conflict, where he was “honoured by all”.

early 1919

Not
long after the end of the Great War, the idea had been mooted that, as a
memorial to the boys and masters who had given their lives, a Great Hall,
Gymnasium and Swimming Bath should be built, facing Arboretum Street. The
Gymnasium and Swimming Bath were rejected fairly quickly, but a Governors’
sub-committee estimated that the hall would cost £7,500. Of this sum, about £5,000
could be raised by appeal, and the Governors would try to find the difference.

early 1919

The
caretaker, Robert Knowles, wrote a poem to celebrate the end of the Great War.
He had it printed, and distributed to many boys and staff. Unfortunately, it
does not appear to have survived to the present day.

early 1919

Around
this time, school numbers had increased to almost seven hundred boys. To
accommodate these extra numbers, a wooden cloakroom was built to the east of
the Upper School.

Sunday, June
1st 1919

On this
day, Second Lieutenant Percival Henry Biddulph Furley was killed in action at
Miranshah, North West India. He was fighting with the 41st Dogras, Indian Army.
He had entered the High School in 1907, and became a Foundation Scholar in
1912. In 1918, he was the Captain of Cricket and the Captain of the School. His
nickname had been “Dab”.

“Highvite”
had spoken previously of the keenly felt losses of such talented young men such
as Harold Ballamy, Charles Boyd, Walter Howard, James Turpin and John Wootton,
but this last death of all seems to have hit very hard, coming as it did when
England was preparing to celebrate peace.

Furley
was the “finest type of English boy...keen, intelligent and thoughtful ; all
manly sports gifted...hard-working, loyal and unselfish...straight and true...
unfeignedly modest... of a stainless purity.” In his Army Entrance Examination,
Furley had scored a record 10,000 points, over seven hundred more than the
candidate in second place, and in India, was “...specially marked as a man to
keep on as a future adjutant...officers and men loved him.”

How
foolish our nation had been, to throw away the lives of so many thousands of
its most talented young men in this pointless conflict.

“Dab”
Furley was the son of Willis and Bertha Furley. The family had lived at 72,
Cromwell Street, Nottingham. He was always one of the favourites of Sammy
Corner, the deputy headmaster, and was a member of the First Eleven at cricket
for three years. His other claim to fame was his talent in school plays. At
this time, all the female parts were taken by boys, and, given his youthful
good looks, Furley could always be made up into a very good looking girl or lady
!

Second
Lieutenant Furley was buried in the garden of the local political agent at
Miranshah. At the time of writing, this grave was not one of the many thousands
to which the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is able to extend its
protection, and Dab’s last resting place is nowadays presumably neglected or
even lost.

September 1919

The
school magazine, the “Highvite”, announced that “Miss Phemister has departed,
but not, we suspect, without much weeping and gnashing of teeth by certain
members of the Fifths and Sixths.”

December 1919

“The
Highvite” lamented the school’s lack of success in the new winter sport, but
had an explanation for their rugby defeats...“....the team would have put up a
much better show if they had shown a greater measure of what is vulgarly known
as “guts”. They play the game in far too ladylike a manner and their methods
are too “piano”. They should take a leaf out of Newark’s book and remember that
good, hard vigorous play is not foul and that one of the essentials of good
Rugby play is vigour, properly applied. There has been a tendency to lose heart
at critical periods of the game...a lack of determination to win. Another
general weakness is the general inability to use the brains in playing... Naturally,
if people have no brains they cannot be expected to use them, but all members
of the First XV are not included in this category.”

At this
time, fixtures were played, home and away, against, among others, Notts “A”,
Newark Grammar School, Burton Grammar School and Stamford Grammar School. The
team included Geoffrey Trease, who was destined one day to be a famous writer.

The First XV won only one match,
against Notts “A”. The Second XV won two and drew one of their fixtures.

One
other interesting feature of the season was the fact that a number of boys were
able to go to Leicester to see the match against Cardiff. They were given tea
afterwards, and “….the pity was that the weather spoilt what would have been a
great occasion.”

1919

Miss
D.E.Baker joined the staff of the Preparatory School where she was to work for
many years. She joined Miss S.J.Webb, who had come to the school in 1917, and
was to remain there until 1950.

At this
time, of course, women teachers were not allowed to marry, and if they did so,
were forced to resign.

1919

The
four houses in the Preparatory School were all named after fallen war heroes.
They were Albert Ball, Theodore Hardy, Frederick Tonkin and Richard Trease.

Friday March
14th 1919

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...At 4.10 pm today Coe (5A) came to the Captain
to ask that his strokes be given now instead of tomorrow break, as he was
taking a debate. Two of the Prefects were on the range, and others were not in
the Prefects' Room. As Coe seemed particularly anxious that he should be caned
now, the Captain took compassion upon him and smote him three times.”

c1920

“The
Nottinghamian” carried an interesting account of the Prefects’ Room, which was
in what is now the tower of the school…..

……“There
are only seven chairs for the ten prefects, and Saward spends most of his
leisure time chewing gum, and then trailing strands of it across the door.
Towle then “...immediately amuses himself by electrifying these wires.” Parr is
usually sitting in the corner eating his dinner at 11 o’clock in the morning.
Norris is rather bad tempered, and writes many private letters, and Morley and
Furley do much tidying of the room, in the face of enormous odds. King
practises Jiu-Jitsu on “chairs, tables, air, or any unfortunate person whom he
may happen to get hold of.”

In a
rather bizarre aside, the magazine says that Jacob (alias J.A.Saward) is
shortly going to marry the Queen of Sheba (alias J.King) ; the wedding is to be
a very quiet one and there are to be no flowers by request.

The
room has two doors, one for people, the other for draughts, and is lit with a
gas fire that keeps popping. but does not give much heat.

1920 onwards

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Four : the Preparatory Department in the 1920s”

the 1920s

Nottingham
author, and High School Old Boy, Geoffrey Trease, recollected, some forty years
after the experience, “...five minutes’ breathless climb...as the High School
bell clanged its summons from the crest of the hill. Lawrence had climbed that
hill, answered that summons, just twenty years before me, but as a “train boy”,
whose tiresome daily journey from Eastwood probably did his health no good.” As
late as the end of the century, the now unused bell tower still remained,
although only a very few boys were now aware of its original purpose.  Fewer
still would realise that, seventy years previously, in an era unpolluted by the
constant din of road traffic, the school bell could be heard not just in
Shakespeare Street, but also on the far side of Radford.

Friday,
February 4th 1920

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Sixth Forms should go into prayers in
alphabetical order, the order of the forms being Classical Sixth, Science
Sixth, Lower Sixth. This was in order to prevent scrapping for places and
consequent disturbances.”

Saturday,
February 5th 1920

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Seymour (VC) and Vasey (VB) were given three
and two strokes respectively this break. It had been decided at the previous
meeting by a unanimous vote that, in future, in caning offenders, they should
be placed face downwards on the prefects’ room table, instead of bending over a
chair. This decision was put into practice at this meeting.”

Wednesday, March
3rd 1920

Major
Harold Ackworth Leggett died of “trench fever”. Born in 1873, he was educated
at the famous Shrewsbury School, and began his studies at Pembroke College,
Cambridge in 1892. On June 20th 1900, he had been gazetted as a Second
Lieutenant in the 1st Worcestershire Regiment.

Leggett
was a master at the Preparatory School from 1905 onwards, and on September 28th
1908, he was made a Second Lieutenant in the Junior Division of the Nottingham
High School Officer Training Corps. He subsequently became an important member
of this organisation.

An
equally keen Rugby player, Leggett had campaigned vigorously that the main
school sport be changed from football at Christmas 1914.

He was one of the first members of
the school to volunteer for the war. Eager to participate before it was all
over by Christmas, he had initially become a captain in the 11th Service
Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters.

In
December 1915, however, Leggett had been thwarted in his desire to go out to
the Western Front for what the school’s Highvite magazine called “a “smack” at
the enemy” when, in a serious accident, he fell off his horse and sustained severe
concussion.

He
eventually reached France in April 1917, only to be wounded and invalided home
in July of that same year. He then became the Commandant of the Officers’
School at Ripon.

Leggett
was a top level sportsman and played cricket initially for Shrewsbury School,
and then for Worcestershire, albeit in what appear to be friendly matches
against club opposition, rather than other first class counties.

He took
three wickets for 26 runs against Worcester City on July 6th 1893, and five
wickets for 31 runs against Stourbridge on August 21st of the same year. Two
days later, against Worcester St.Johns, he took five wickets for 55 runs, with
five more wickets for 28, on this occasion playing for Boughton Park against
Worcestershire on September 4th. The social apogee of his cricket career came
when, on June 4th 1898, he played, albeit singularly unsuccessfully, for the
Gentlemen of Worcestershire against “Emeriti” whose team included the Viscount
Southwell.

Leggett’s
death, of course, constituted yet another profligate waste of a talented,
pleasant and energetic young man for little obvious benefit to the nation.

c June 1920

The
unpublished memoirs of Eric Penson tell how he sat the High School entrance
examination...“...I was entered for an examination which could lead to a free
place for me there. When the day of this inquisition arrived I was taken to
that seat of learning, where, with at least 150 others, I was allotted a desk
in the huge Hall and set to work to answer the questions on the exam paper. In
the hush of that impressive room, amidst the scratching of so many pens, I
concentrated my efforts for the whole morning, at the end of which I was met
and taken home to await the verdict in some six or eight weeks’ time, the
greater part of that period falling within the summer holidays.”

Eric
was to win a Dame Agnes Mellers scholarship, which meant free schooling and
books, and a grant of five pounds at the end of each term. He lived at 79, Port
Arthur Road in Sneinton.

June 1920

“The
Highvite” contained a “Sports Chorus”, including appropriately vigorous music.
The words were...

“Score our High School / ye Highvites now score for
victory.

Our High School / For Highvites, never, never, never shall
be beaten

By any Worksop / Newark & c. team

At the Sign of the Blackbirds three.”

Alternative words were...

“Score ye Highvites, now win this jolly Football / Cricket
match,

Or fight to the last ditch,

For Highvites never, never, never shall be beaten

By any Worksop / Newark & c. team

On the grand old Mapperley pitch.”

It is
interesting to note that, as in “The Nottinghamian” of December 1921, the
school’s emblem is referred to as a blackbird, rather than a merle.

July 1920

Captain
Pollard finally returned from the Great War, and took over as school secretary
from Miss Taylor. He was still technically responsible for the Gymnasium, but
most of the boys’ physical education was now carried out by Sergeant J.H.Fell,
who came from Redhill in Arnold, and had been recently appointed. He was
eventually to reach the rank of sergeant-major.

November 1920

The
Governors abandoned the idea of a Great Hall as a memorial to the fallen of the
Great War, and decided on a monument at the front of the school at a cost of
not more than £2,000.

the 1920s

Eric
Penson’s mother gave him 2s 6d pocket money per week (12.5 pence), but this had
also to pay for his travel by tram from Sneinton to the centre of Nottingham,
and thence up Mansfield Road to Forest Road. Each leg of the journey cost a
penny, and, boys being boys, Eric was soon walking the whole distance to save
wasting his money on tram fares. Using every short cut possible, the journey
took him fifty minutes every morning and evening.

Eric
Penson recalled how...“...I saw then, and in the ensuing years when walking to
and from the High School along the same route, young children running barefoot
in the main road and the side streets, even in the depths of winter.”

By his
own admission, Penson had little impact on the school, and did not join any of
the many societies on offer, or the Officer Training Corps. As he wore glasses,
he was excused rugby, and with his somewhat feeble frame, he found the
exercises in the gym very difficult to accomplish. One interesting fact that he
recalls, however, is that, despite his scholarship, he was never bullied or put
upon. Nobody seemed to hold his humble origins against him, and he was happy
throughout his stay. The teachers were “invariably kind”.

Indeed,
he remembered both “Nipper” and “Jumbo” Ryles as “...Dickensian characters,
both were charming. At the close of my first term, Nipper had a few of us visit
the flat he shared with his elder brother, to partake of sherry and
conversation.”

Thursday,
March 3rd 1921

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held third hour this morning when
Slight and Hackney were summoned for again disobeying rule 36, for which they
had been given 300 lines each a few days before. It appeared from the evidence
of several prefects that Slight had rushed out from the front gates to help
push forward a motor-car which had broken down. He said that in the
irresistible impulse of the moment he quite forgot the rule. This, as may be
expected, was taken as a sufficient (sic) excuse, and he was sentenced to 6
strokes. Hackney, who had apparently been pushed out and immediately stepped
back again, was dismissed with a caution. Slight decided to appeal to Doctor,
as a result of which Doctor said that if Slight could convince the prefects
that he had forgotten the rule he should be let off, if not the
punishment was legitimate. After reference to an impartial judge it was decided
that Slight was in the wrong, and the strokes were administered by Doctor,
Slight objecting to receive them from the prefects on the grounds of its
illegality.”

Monday, March
7th 1921

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Brooksbank (IIIC), Lamb (IIIC) were summoned
for various offences. Brooksbank had not stopped playing football in the street
when told to by Stanley, had climbed on the roof after a ball, and had not got
a cap badge after being warned. He had also not done 50 lines which he had been
given. He was sentenced to 3 strokes. Lamb, who had not given in 50 lines given
nearly three weeks before and subsequently doubled was sentenced to two
strokes.

Toone
(IIC) and Darlow (IIIC), who had been reported by Mr.Betts for scrapping most
violently on the playground, were had up. They were let off with two strokes
each. ”

Friday, June
10th 1921

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Vasey, Carnall, Mill and Craven were summoned
for smoking (in school caps) and using bad language. Mr.Watts, Mr.Reynolds and
Metcalf (left) had seen them, the first two through field glasses. All denied
the charge of smoking in school caps and of swearing, but the latter
charge was substantiated by the fact that a spectator at the match asked
Metcalf to stop the use of bad language. They were sentenced to three strokes
each.”

July 1921

After a
delay of some five years or so, “The Nottinghamian” reappeared. It has been
produced ever since.

July 20th 1921

After
an invitation from the Reverend A.E.Marriott, a Masters’ XI journeyed by motor
car to Barrowby near Grantham, to play a cricket match against a Barrowby XI.
The venture was ill-starred from the very start, because only nine players
could be found for the team, and R.A.Palmer and N.W.Limb had to be included to
make up the numbers. Palmer made an impressive 45 when he batted, but injured
his leg when he was given out LBW, and was severely handicapped for the rest of
the match. The Barrowby team were extremely tough, and did not hesitate to use
their legs, and even knees, to field shots from the High School team. The
latter did not find it easy to field on the rough ground, “not having the iron
shinbones of our opponents”. Indeed, Mr.Holmes dived to stop one particularly
hard shot, but was hit in the face, and lost a couple of teeth. Nevertheless,
they all enjoyed the vicar’s hospitality, and vowed to return for a rematch the
following year.

September 1921

The
school appointed the last of a group of thirteen teachers, more than half of
whom were to spend their entire lives at the High School. To a great extent,
these young men replaced the women who had kept the school going during the
Great War. They were Messrs Brodrick, Cunningham Pike, Hodgson, Parsons,
Reynolds and Whitty (1919), Annis, Betts, Bridge, Newbound (1920) and Duddell,
Jackson and Wigfield (1921). They were no doubt attracted by the new salary of twenty
one guineas per year.

December 1921

There
was serious consideration given to the idea of covering the whole of the
playground, but this was eventually to come to nothing.

December 1921

“The
Nottinghamian” included a poem dedicated to those who had left the school. It
included the lines...

“...Farewell to the shades of the mighty departed,

Whose lot ‘tis to enter these portals no more ;

Who, now on the path of life’s journey started.

Have left us their mem’ry and fame to deplore.

No more shall they hasten up Waverley Street,

With the fury and flurry of fast flying feet ;

As the bell toll’d by Robert tells out their sad doom...

A pleasant half hour in the silent D room. ”

1922

The
existing house system was given greater emphasis by the introduction of
differently coloured sports shirts and different colours for school cap badges.

1922

The
first portrait to be financed by the Dobson Bequest, of Dr.Turpin, was painted
by Richard Jack. Later paintings were by Harold Knight of Cedric Reynolds, and
by R.G.Eves of John Dane Player.

1922

The
Rowing Club was founded by Mr.Wigfield. The members struggled initially against
cold weather, and the raging waters of the Trent, but eventually became, for
several decades, one of the school’s strongest sporting groups.  It was
normally performed as an alternative to cricket.

1922

The
much loved “Robert” retired. His place was taken by Mr.W.Boot, whom “The
Nottinghamian” said “...has quickly mastered the principles of resonance, for
the bell rings in the good old way.”

Easter Term
1922

The
Orchestral Society was founded.

Easter Term
1922

On an
experimental basis, parts of the playground were covered with a rubble based
surface, but the scheme was not proceeded with.

Saturday, March
18th 1922

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held 3rd period this morning when
Toone and Cripwell (3C) were sentenced to 3 strokes for bullying Milnes (3C).
Further investigations were proceeded with, to find out who was responsible for
the removal of a ladder from the premises of the Balmoral County School for
girls, the missing ladder having been discovered in the school playground.
Nothing definite was ascertained however. The Captain then inquired of the
chemical experts among the prefects, whether any chemical substance was known
which might be sprinkled over coins, and would stain the hands of any person
attempting to steal those coins. A.G.Chesters informed him that Malachite
Green would be very suitable. The meeting then adjourned.”

July 1922

The
following poem appeared in “The Nottinghamian” in celebration of the retirement
of the eccentric, and beloved, caretaker, universally known as “Robert”. Almost
totally deaf, and a great favourite of the boys, he was well-known for his
poems, which he would have printed, and then distribute them himself around the
school. In this way, for example, he celebrated the end of the Great War.
Unfortunately, none of his poems appear to have survived, although it may well
be that the following effort, by “FROG”, may well be in the style of the great
man...

TO ROBERT.

I.                                                                 III.

Ah ! Robert, would that I could
be                In heat, in cold, in wet, in dry,

As free from pain as when
I hear thy morning bell

I had not yet gone on the “spree”
And sometimes if I'm lucky, I

In thine enticing den !
Get in, and then all's well :

When I did buy a penny cake.
But oft I'm late, and then, Ah Woe !

And had a joyous chew,
With fifty lines I'm vexed,

I little thought that tummy ache
Or in detention have to go --

Would make me want to - - - -
!               (Yes muse ?    Thank you for next.)

II.
IV.

And yet I curse my cruel fate
My muse forsakes me wherefore here

That I must parted be
Mine eloquence I'll stay;

From thee. O man of mighty weight
For thee I'll speak a parting prayer

Who bid'st “good-day” to me
Before I go away

When up the steps of N.H.S.
May Allah ever champion thee,

At one past nine I race.....
And bless thy kind old heart --

Thou let'st me in, so heaven bless
Yes, Robert ? Doctor's orders, eh?

Thy brightly beaming face,
All right, I will depart !

Autumn Term
1922

Under
the auspices of Messrs Bridge and Reynolds, the house system was revamped to
encourage a keener spirit of competition. The houses in the Senior and Junior
sections of the school were officially affiliated, and House Colours were to be
awarded to boys in the first, second, and junior teams. Each house was to have
its own room and noticeboard, with meetings at least twice a term in school
hours. A house cross-country competition was to be introduced, and house rugby
shirts were to be of one distinct colour. In the case of Cooper’s, this was to
be light blue, Maple’s would be green, Meller’s black, and White’s red. The
shirts would retail at 2s 9d (14p).

Saturday,
November 11th 1922

The
school war memorial was unveiled by the Duke of Portland. It was a life size
statue in bronze, representing a young officer leading his platoon to the
attack, and had been designed by an Old Boy, Colonel A.S.Brewill D.S.O., the
commander of the 7th Sherwood Foresters throughout most of the war. The statue
was cast into bronze by Henry Poole A.R.A. Originally, the school had asked
Earl Haig to perform the ceremony, but he was unable to do so.

The
Duke of Portland arrived at the Forest Road gates, and was met by a party
including the Mayor, the Sheriff and the Headmaster. The boys of the school
were all gathered on the east lawn, with the privileged ticket holders standing
on the west lawn. In a reserved enclosure close to the statue sat the relatives
of the fallen.

The
ceremony itself began with the singing of the original School Song. This was
based on one of the odes of Horace and began with the words “Integer vitae
sceleresque purus”. It was accompanied by the City Police Band, and “the sonorous
Latin words floated sweetly on the crisp, autumnal air, and turned one’s
thought inevitably to bigger boys now lying dead in France and Flanders who had
often sung the same song.”

The
Duke of Portland, standing at the top of the school steps, then made a short
speech reminding everyone of the purpose of the memorial, namely to show
“...the respect, honour, and admiration which we feel for the Old Boys who laid
down their lives in the Great War.”

He
descended the steps, and pulled the Union Jack off the statue. A party of the
O.T.C. then saluted, and the buglers of the Robin Hood Rifles sounded the Last
Post. The Mayor, on behalf of the whole city, laid a magnificent wreath,
followed by boys who represented the Upper School, the Lower School, the Preparatory
School, the staff and the Old Boys’ Society. Principal A.R.Henderson read a
passage from the scriptures. His son, Roy Henderson, sang a specially composed
song “What are those which are arrayed in white robes ?”, and then the Bishop
of Newcastle gave an address, and dedicated the memorial. After the hymn, “ O
Valiant Hearts, who to your Glory came.”, the “ Réveillé” was sounded and the
National Anthem sung.

In what
must have been a touching sight, the young boys of the school then smothered
the steps of the monument with Flanders poppies.

“So did the School honour her glorious dead.”

Inside
the school, an illuminated Roll of Honour, executed by the school’s Art Master,
Mr.E.P.Betts, was put on permanent display. It records full details of
soldiers’ regiments, their ranks and the dates of their deaths.

The
High School’s wise choice of a statue to commemorate those who perished in the
Great War dead may well be viewed by later generations as one which occupied,
as it were, the moral high ground. Other public schools were to spend their
windfalls in what would seem to us, nowadays perhaps, somewhat less acceptable
ways. At one school, for example, the Bursar was given a new office, and at
another, the Headmaster received a new house, with a pleasant garden, and four
acres of land.

December 1922

After
much toing and froing, plans for the building of the tuck shop were finally
drawn up.

Friday,
February 16th 1923

Dr.James
Gow died at his house, 40, West End Lane, Hampstead, at the age of 69. By now,
he was practically blind, and was suffering from “a distressing internal
malady, which medical skill was unable to relieve.”

He had
been forced to retire from the Headmastership of Westminster School in 1919,
because of problems with his eyes, and was much affected by the death of his
son, Roderick, on H.M.S.Defence, at the Battle of Jutland.

Dr.Gow
was buried at East Budleigh in Devon. By an amazing coincidence, this pleasant
village is less than ten miles from Teignmouth, where Dr.Dixon had died thirty years
before.

In his
obituary, “The Nottinghamian” listed Gow’s achievements. They included a
reorganised syllabus, with both Classical, commercial and scientific elements,
a new Chemical laboratory, a large number of Open Scholarships at Oxford and
Cambridge, and over a hundred boys who passed the various examinations of the
University of London, and others, obtaining degrees in Medicine, Arts and
Science, and winning numerous prizes and medals. In actual fact, Gow did a
great deal of teaching himself, and always ended each lesson with his
characteristic phrase, “I think that just about finishes our dose.”

On the
physical side, in his first term, Dr.Gow had started an Athletics Contest for
senior boys, which soon grew into a full Sports Day for the whole school. He
regularly attended school football and cricket fixtures, and organised a number
of different venues for games, including the Forest, the Gregory Ground and
Mapperley Park. The Football Sixes, or later, Eights, where teams drawn by lot
competed for a trophy and medals was now a regular feature of the Spring Term.

Dr.Gow
himself played football and cricket for the staff, and on one occasion, was
playing for the Masters against a local amateur team at Trent Bridge, when he
was struck a frightful blow by the ball. He was stunned, but returned to school
the next day, to be greeted by a great cheer of sympathy in Assembly. It was
his idea to found school societies for Debating, Photography, Natural History,
and a number of other activities. It was in the reign of Dr.Gow that the
Officer Training Corps was founded, the prefects were revived, and much
encouragement was given to a host of school activities, including music and
drama.

After
his retirement, Dr.Gow became a School Governor, but also came to the High
School for four specific gatherings when the boys, old or new, were present.
The first was to be chair of the Old Boys’ dinner (1903), the second to
distribute the prizes (1908), to receive his portrait, painted by Old Boy
Harold Knight (1912) and to preach the sermon on the school’s 400th anniversary
(1913).

Monday,
February 19th 1923

A
memorial service for Dr.Gow was held at Westminster Abbey, attended by many
members, past and present, of both Nottingham High School and Westminster
School.

Saturday, June
16th 1923

This
year, largely at the behest of the Old Boys’ Society, the school decided
to introduce a Founder’s Day service, presumably in imitation of the many
larger public schools which had carried out such ceremonies for many years.

Over
four centuries previously, in 1513, Dame Agnes Mellers had originally laid down
that a service of commemoration should be held every year on June 16th. This
latter date is thought to have been the name day of her husband, Richard
Mellers.

The
ceremony which Dame Agnes requested, however, was a solemn Roman Catholic mass
for the soul of her dear departed husband, and was probably celebrated for
about thirty five years, until such services were abolished by order of the
then king, Edward VI. Although this type of mass may have been revived under
Catholic Queen Mary, it certainly disappeared for ever when the Protestant Queen
Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558.

Nowadays,
the only real and substantive connection between the ancient and modern ceremonies
is in the fact that prayers are still said for Richard and Agnes Mellers.

I have found no real indication
that the “bread, ale and cheese” distribution was ever connected with the Free
School in the early sixteenth century. When this second ceremony was suggested
by the Mayor of Nottingham, Alderman E.L.Manning, as another custom which might
be revived, it seems that he was merely viewing it as an old tradition in the
widest possible sense. And one, of course, to which the Old Boys would be
ideally suited...

This
first ceremony was reported by the local press in what might be considered,
nowadays, a rather exaggerated way...

“The town is agog with
excitement on this summer morn. Little urchins, cap in hand, are capering out
onto the kerb, buxom lasses, leaning out of latticed windows, make eyes at
laughing serving men congregated in the cobbled street, while afar yet nearing
every moment, come the strains from enthusiastic if not tuneful musicians.

As the procession approaches, the
crowd thickens. Many are the complaints of jostling, many a trim little waist
is surreptitiously squeezed in the crush by a strong arm, and many a maiden’s
head hangs demurely to hide from neighbouring faces the blushes which tinge the
cheek. But only for a moment. Modesty gives way to curiosity and excited eyes
peep over heads and shoulders to get a glimpse of a pompous spectacle.

Here
they come. Two beadles lead the way, and, armed with unusual authority,  clear
the street in ostentatious manner. Impudent little rascals create titters of
laughter as  rude comments regarding lean shanks are heard above the music, but
there is no time for reprisals. Close on their heels come javelin men, marching
like marionettes in a row, while struggling under the weight of their silver charge
the mace bearers follow on. Their progress is not so stately ; maces may be
necessary in a civic function, but they are irksome to carry and ornamentations
do not always make for comfort. But they struggle on, always thinking of the
prize before them.

The Chief Figure

Then come the sheriffs finely
arrayed in their silver-lined velvet. They have not worn these uniforms for
some time, and the buckled shoes seem to be causing no small discomfort. But
here is the chief figure of all interest, the cynosure of all eyes. Garbed in
his civic robe of red and his chain of office comes the Mayor, out of breath,
hot (for the sun shines fiercely), but still happy, accompanied by other civic
dignitaries. Quips die low as the red-clothed figure approaches ; the young
rascals with thoughts of the beadles’ lean shanks in their heads, are quiet as
“his Worship” ambles on his way to the Exchange. Crowds of schoolboys, with
slates a-clattering, bring up the rear, and idle sightseers follow on.

“Why these festivities ?” asks a
redcoat as he emerges from an inn.

“Oh !” comes the reply from the
besmocked barman, “ It’s Commemoration Day. T’Mayor’s off to drink the ale and
eat the cheese as Dame Agnes Mellers said he should. So many years today they
founded the High School where them there (sic) brats as broke my winder be.
Well, as he turns back into his den, his Worship looks as though he could
relish a drink just now. ”

So two
hundred years ago, the founding of Nottingham High School was celebrated, and
following the custom carried out by his predecessors, the Mayor
(Ald.B.L.Manning) will celebrate it in the old fashioned way today.

Clatter of Pewter

A
procession will be formed, and in his civic robes, the Mayor will attend
service at St.Mary’s Church, where Canon Field will officiate. After the
religious part of the ceremony, the procession will return to the Exchange,
where the clatter of pewter ware will be an indication that at least one
section of Dame Agnes Mellers’ injunction is being carried out. Bread and
cheese will also be eaten after which the Mayor will read a passage from the
Foundation Deed, and ask the gathering to drink to the health of the founder,
Dame Agnes Mellers and her husband, Sir Richard Mellers. The ceremony...the
drinking of ale and the eating of bread and cheese has been in abeyance for a
number of years, but in many quarters the revival is welcomed.”

Saturday, June
16th 1923

The
senior boys clearly realised that the Founder’s Day service had little in
common with the actual requests of Dame Agnes Mellers, and one wrote a spoof
article, published in “The Nottinghamian ”. It purported to quote her
original charter, and, in plausible “Olde Englisshe” recounted how “...the said
Guardians shall expende in bread to be sente to the Aldermen and other 2/-, in
cheese 8d., in ale 16d., and the residue....if any be lefte....I will that yt
be distributed to the poorest scholars of the sayd Free Schole, to pray for our
soules and all our frendes.”

Present
at the first Founder’s Day service were the Mayor, the Town Clerk, a number of
Governors, including Mr.Kentish Wright, and many Old Boys, including their
president, Mr.Herbert Durrant Snook, who had been at the High School in 1876,
and who had made one League appearance for Notts County during their first
season in the League in 1888-1889.

“The
Nottinghamian ” recorded that events took place in a “spirit of true gratitude
and reverence”. The service began with the hymn “O Merciful and Holy”, and the
psalm “I was glad when they said unto me”. Dr.Turpin read the Bible passage
“Let us now praise famous men”, and the congregation then sang what was to
become the boys’ favourite hymn, “He who would valiant be”.

Much to
the boys’ disappointment, an alteration had been made to the lines

“Hobgoblin nor foul fiend

can daunt his spirit”

After
this came prayers, and an address by Canon Field. A collection was taken for
the Dame Agnes Mellers’ Lads Club, while the congregation sang “Fight the good
fight”. After the blessing, Mr.Vernon Read played Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue”,
but by the time he had finished, there were fewer than a dozen people left in
the church. “The Nottinghamian” thought that perhaps everyone had gone off to
the Exchange Building for the loyal toast to Dame Agnes and the many other
benefactors of the school.

Monday, June
18th 1923

A
letter from an Old Boy, published in the “Nottingham Guardian”, revived the old
controversy about the school’s name. He suggested that it be called “Nottingham
Grammar School” or just “Nottingham School”. The new-fangled “Second Master”
should also be dropped, in favour of the splendid ancient title of “Usher”.

Summer 1923

Mr.W.E.Ryles
retired after forty one years at the High School. As he was very tall, he was
always called “Jumbo”. His brother, Mr.W.T.Ryles, served the school for an
equally long time, and was nicknamed “Nipper”.

William
Edward Ryles was born on April 18th 1850. He came to the High School in
September 1882, when his main subjects were English, Mathematics and Latin.  He
was the Master-in-charge of High School football in the 1885-1886 season, and
appears to have played his first games for the High School as a goalkeeper in
the 1888-1889 season. He appeared only infrequently after this, although it is
known that he played as a right full back for the Masters’ Team in a 1-6 defeat
by the Boys, on March 23rd 1892.

As a teacher...“....He was
primarily a mathematical Master, and form-master of 3a, and, when the Junior
School was a separate department, was in charge of it. For a time, also, he
took boarders in his house in Waverley Mount.”

“Jumbo”,
however, also had interests outside school...“....the study of insect-life.
This was well known among the boys, and not infrequently at the beginning of a
lesson, there would be one or two waiting by his desk with matchboxes
containing specimens for identification, a service in which he always showed a
very real pleasure.”

Ryles
always wore a mortar board, and about a year before his retirement, was very
amused by an unmistakeable caricature entitled “The Old School-and the New”,
published in “The Nottinghamian”....

Ryles
was described in affectionate detail by the famous author Geoffrey
Trease...“...Jumbo, who was my form master in my second year, was portly,
comfortable, and generously moustached. Coming slowly down the street, he
looked rather like a penguin. In school, he was the last of the assistant
masters to retain his mortarboard. The two brothers had joined the staff in the
same year, but whereas four decades had not blunted Nipper’s nervous edge, Jumbo
was, to put it charitably, a more restful character. Indeed, he was known to
fall asleep in class. The nearest to lively excitement he ever displayed was
when a boy brought him a matchbox containing an insect for identification. He
taught us Latin and Mathematics, but entomology was his enthusiasm. He was also
reputed to enjoy his pint in the Vernon Arms, adjoining the school. Unlike
Nipper, he was married, and in earlier days, he had taken boys as boarders in
his home.

After a year with his high powered
brother, it was pleasant to relax with Jumbo, who was so-easy going that one
might have said that discernible movement had ceased. As his top boy I was
regularly sent out on private errands in lesson time, to the tobacconist’s at
the foot of the steep hill or right down into the city centre to his bank -
errands performed on foot, since, living so close to the school, I had not
acquired a bicycle. On the tobacco expedition, I was told to buy toffee for
myself. No higher authority ever questioned these absences from class, and,
perhaps more remarkably, no boy ever accused me of being teacher’s pet, or
whatever it would have been termed in High School vocabulary. Jumbo never
showed anything except the most correct and unsentimental detachment towards
his boys, and probably had a secret preference for insects.”

1923

The
school caretaker, Robert Holmes and his wife both died. Robert was a writer of
vivid letters, and wrote much poetry. On one occasion, he celebrated the first
days of the Cadet Corps...

“If you look through them gates

You’ll see Captain Yates

A-drilling of boys by the score.

So come on, my lads,

Get leave of your dads

And join the High School corps.”

1923

“The
Nottinghamian” provided extracts from the “New Nottinghamian Dictionary”...

CLASSICS                            an
occasional recreation of the leading members of the Debating Society.

DEBATING SOCIETY       a number of mutes meeting for meditation on alternate                                                         Saturdays.

MATHEMATICS                 a subject in the School curriculum designed
to facilitate the                                                             correct
falsification of Income Tax returns.

PREFECTS                           these
interesting creatures, like whales, herd in schools. Their heads, on which
there is a small growth resembling a tassel, are much inflated. Recently,
however, prefectologists have unearthed a specimen in which the tassel is
absent.

TERM                                    a brief interval
between holidays

TICKET                                a
voucher of good conduct, entitling the recipient to amuse                                      himself
in the Detention Room for half an hour after

school.

TO-MORROW                     the favourite day for homework.

summer term
1923

Under
the directorship of R.S.Bridge and W.A.Parsons, the First XI cricket team
remained unbeaten throughout the season. They were captained by J.S.McLellan,
and the leading players were V.A.Hodgkinson, D.W.Fletcher and D.J.Bowller.
Hodgkinson took a phenomenal 53 wickets at an average of 4.92, and, at the
other end, Bowller took 27 at only 8.11.

This
particular team was reckoned to be one of the best, if not the best, of all the
First XIs that the school has ever produced.

summer term
1923

The
O.T.C. had what may well have been their first ever field day. They travelled
by char-a-banc to Clumber Park, and combined with the Trent College O.T.C. to
fight an action against Worksop College and Sheffield King Edward’s School, who
were the defending force. The contest took place in front of Clumber House, but
“was not a great success”. In an ironic echo of much of the Great War, “if
individual section commanders and platoon commanders had relied more on
themselves and less on superior officers, better results might have been
obtained.”

summer term
1923

Mr.Woodward
retired after twenty five years’ service. He had been responsible for
reintroducing Gymnastics to the Upper School.

summer term
1923

“The
Nottinghamian” published a series of humorous pen pictures of “anonymous”
boys...

J.W.S-a-l-y                 a well known Bulwell aristocrat, known throughout
the school as

the
“Living Skeleton”. A very gentle youth, but gets very noisy at

Ludo.

S.W.C-n--p                 rather a frail, delicate little boy. Plays snakes-and-ladders
with

great
skill in the pre’s attic. Excellent shot with water pistol

E.S.A-b-t                    rather a rough and rowdy person. At the
sound of his name the

Lower
School quake with fear. Should learn to be less ruffianly,

and
much less brutal.

N.C-r--r and               the N.H.S. edition of David and
Jonathan. Noted “Shuv-halfpenny”

M.M-G-u--n               players and A.J.S. specialists.

A.W.W-l--n                a well known figure in Mr.Kennard’s army.
Splendid                                                           marksman...especially
with Lexicon or blackboard duster.

R.B.H-m-l--n              noted for his rather weak voice...can only
just be heard three miles                                      away. Rather a
pale and mournful person.

A.E.B-u-t-y                another “Living Skeleton”. Hails from the
garden suburb of B--st-

n. Has been known to carry on for a whole period without
eating.

A music enthusiast....excellent on the comb.

C.J.H-f--n                   speaks at most debates...to the person
next to him. Caricatures

people
in authority most skilfully. A rugger enthusiast. Has tried to

start
a new fashion by playing in a bathing hat.

K.A--m

(We thought this person was well
known, but up to the time of going to Press, no one has heard the name
mentioned.)

One suspects a certain ironic tone
in the way the descriptions are drawn. The correct surnames are Stanley,
Connop, Abbott, Corker, McGougan, Wilson, Hamilton, Boultby, Hofton and Adam.

summer 1923

The
O.T.C. would have gone to camp, but Northern Command declared Nottingham was a
smallpox area, and the boys were forbidden to go.

1924

A new
dining room, with a capacity of approximately eighty pupils, was built to the
west of the school lawns. It had a kitchen to the north, and was looked after
by Captain Pollard. There was an O.T.C. storeroom at one end. This building
eventually became a Music School, and was demolished in 1996.

1924

“The
Nottinghamian” published a list of some of the schoolboy howlers which had
occurred in recent school examinations. They included...

POOH-BAH                           a word we use to fryton animals.

CHEQUERS                         a madman in “As You Like It”

is
a kind of cloth

are
men who cash cheques for you

REPUBLICAN                     a teetotaller, who does not drink
anything intoxicating

CHRISTIAN                         a person who has been baptised, a
very good person

GENTLEMAN                     a retired businessman

a
male person with a decent income

a
man who acts honourably whether anyone is looking or

not

FASCIST                               a person to whom something
is everything

BERNARD SHAW              a cartoonist of some repute

a
humorous actor

a
famous English musician

GILBERT MURRAY          a famous golfer

COOLIDGE                          a man who wrote songs

CHURCHILL                       an M.P. for Labour

“BINDLE”                            written by Hall Caine

TOM BROWN’S                  written by Edgar Rice Burroughs

SCHOOLDAYS

ELECTRICITY                   a substance that passes best along copper wires. Composed
of heat and one or two other things.

“While he was in the temple, Jesus
saw the rich men putting their money into treasury, also He faw (sic) a poor
woman put her two babies in, Christ said she had given the most...”

8p.m to 1.30
a.m., Friday, January 4th 1924

The Old
Boys held a dance (flannels or evening dress) at the Mikado Café.

July 1924

Form VA
formed their very own parliament. They also produced at least three editions of
their very own magazine, none of which, unfortunately, have survived. We do
know, however, that it was “...in good taste, highly amusing and shows
considerable promise of literary ability.”

late 1924

What
had been the dining room, inside the main school, was converted into an armoury
for the Officer Training Corps.

Christmas Term
1924

The
Prefects undertook “a campaign with the purpose of ensuring large attendances
at all football matches.” “The Nottinghamian” did not, unfortunately, record
exactly what this campaign was, nor, indeed, its results.

Christmas Term
1924

The
following poem was published in “The Nottinghamian”. It was written by
“R.G.T.”, who was later to gain greater fame as Geoffrey Trease, the author...

“An
Echo from Camp”           (Dedicated to N.A.A.F.I.)

Haven of rest...to whose embracing arms I loved to go,

When heart and soul revolted against bread that still was
dough

When “potted stallion” pall'd upon my dainty appetite,

And of “camp-pie” I could not eat another loathsome bite.

Whene'er a charger galloped by, I thought of next day's
meal,

Of “bleeding-beef” potatoes raw (these last were chiefly
peel).

The jam,they said, had salvaged been from sunken transport
ships

I shudder now to think what passed between my ruby lips.

Discussions on the sausages at breakfast time ran keen

‘Twas then I thought, and dreamed of you, of you.......

Belov'd Canteen !

Christmas Term
1924

Throughout
this period, boys usually arrived at the High School by one of three methods.
The first was, quite simply, on foot. In the 1870s and 1880s, a large number of
boys came from the streets in the area of Alfreton Road. In the early 1900s,
many boys seemed to have lived even closer to the school, in the streets
adjoining Forest Road, and during the period of the Great War, a substantial
proportion lived in Sherwood, either close to Private Road, or between
Mansfield Road and Hucknall Road.

A
second category of boys were those who used the trams which ran, for example,
from West Bridgford to the Market Square, and then from the Market Square up
Mansfield Road to the corner of Forest Road.

A third
group of boys used the extensive rail network which criss-crossed the county at
this time. Local stations included the Victoria Station, from which there was a
long and tiring walk, firstly along Shakespeare Street and then up Waverley
Street. Quite often, boys who were late would be able to hear the caretaker
tolling the school bell, and this event was later to be described by
D.H.Lawrence. Another station which boys used to use was on the far side of the
Forest, at what is now the eastern end of Gregory Boulevard. Those boys could
then make use of the many footpaths which came up towards the school around the
back of the Church Cemetery.

Whatever
their route, however, “train boys” were famed for their ability to stroll in
late at any time during the morning, and then use the vagaries of the railway
system as their excuse. This is mentioned on many occasions in “The
Nottinghamian”, most elegantly perhaps, in the edition for December 1924, in a
poem by “Medusa”...

SONG OF THE TRAIN BOY.

Oh who would be a train boy

On a murky, misty day,

When they wake you up at five o'clock

And bid you haste away,

With your breakfast half-uneaten

And your bootlace quite undone.

And with blinking eyes and a yawning mouth,

And your homework just begun ?

Oh, it's nice to be a train boy

(When you’ve once got out of bed

And caught the train and reached your goal)

When the sun beams overhead

As you hear the school-bell ringing

When you saunter up the hill

And you think of the other boys hurrying fast,

And you crawl at your sweet will.

Oh, it's nice to be a train boy.

And to come in very late.

And to interrupt the masters...

Oh, I think it’s simply great,

As you knock at the door and enter

And begin to look for your books,

And reply with a smile of sweetest calm

To the master's peevish looks.

Oh, it's nice to be a train boy

If you are put in “D,”

And you ask to do the work at home,

And run off cheerily.

Oh, these are the joys of the train boy

And these are his miseries great,

But you've got to take them together or none

For such is the way of fate.

the mid-1920s

According
to school gossip, the Headmaster of the Boys’ High School approached the
Headmistress of the Girls’ High School to see if she might allow boys to attend
dances with the girls. Her reply was most definitely in the negative, and the
girls continued to dance with each other, and with their teachers.

Around
this time, any boys who wished to make contact with girls could only stand on
the path in the Arboretum Park which ran below the Girls’ High School tennis
court. Conversation here was extremely difficult, but such boys were always
viewed as “romantic and daring”.

It was
not until twenty years later that mixed social occasions were officially
allowed.

1925

The
School was overdrawn at the bank. Indeed, they were so strapped for cash, that
when Messrs Betts and Hood offered to install electric lighting in part of the
school while their classes were taking examinations, this was eagerly accepted.
Mr.Betts was a teacher of Art, and Mr.Hood of Chemistry, or “Stinks” as it was
then called. At the time, typical subjects for drawing were five bar gates, or
a garden seat.

1925

A brick
cycle shed was built behind the wooden cloakroom.

1925-1953

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Three : the reminiscences of A.Hardwick”.

January 1925

Mr.G.D.Day
became the first recognised Headmaster of the Preparatory School.

Friday, February
6th 1925

The
Wireless Society heard a lecture on “High-Tensionless Receivers” from
Mr.P.H.Dalgleish. On March 24th, it was to be Mr.Betts talking about “The Use
of the Lathe”.

Easter Term
1925

The
school gardener, Mr.Kidd was taken seriously ill. He had worked at the High
School for thirty seven years, and “must have been seen by thousands of boys at
his work in front of the school.”

He was
succeeded by Mr.Wragg, “a footballer and cricketer of great prowess”. It has so
far proved impossible to trace whether this Mr.Wragg is the Arthur William
Wragg, born at Bradford in 1875, who played initially for Hucknall, and then
professionally for Nottingham Forest at left-half from 1896-1899, but I rather
suspect that it was.

If so,
then Mr.Wragg was the proud possessor of what any one of those thousands of
boys would have given a lot to get his hands on, namely an F.A.Cup Winner’s
medal, from the Final when Nottingham Forest beat Derby County 3-1 at Crystal
Palace on April 16th 1898, in front of 62,017 spectators. Wragg finished his
career at Leicester Fosse. He may well have acquired his job at the High School
through his connections at Nottingham Forest. After all, the club’s Chairman at
the time of the Cup win was William Thomas Hancock, himself an Old Boy of the
school, who had retired as Chairman only in 1920, and who in 1925 was still a
Life Member of the club.

late Summer
Term 1925

The
local newspapers contained much correspondence about the name of the school. At
the Founder’s Day service, in his sermon, the Bishop of Grantham had expressed
a desire for the school to be called “Nottingham Grammar School”. On the school
seal, the name was “Nottingham School”, and this choice was favoured by many
people. Indeed, “The Nottinghamian” said that this name was now being used more
and more in the school’s dealings with the country’s universities.

1925-1928

The
Rowing Club won the Spenser Cup for four years running.

the evening of
Tuesday, June 16th 1925

“Mrs.Reynard”,
a vixen who had been a particular favourite of the senior boys, was shot by
Mr.Hallam, the school caterer. The fox had introduced them to “unknown parts of
the shrubbery”, and they had taken a keen interest in her activities. One
prefect had even ruined his trousers by following her through the dense
undergrowth. One day, however, the fox went too far, and attacked the
caretaker’s cat. The caretaker then asked Mr.Hallam for help, and the latter
turned up one evening “in the playground armed to the teeth with a gun and two
tame rabbits.” The staff and their wives, playing on the tennis courts, were
then rather amazed to see Mr.Hallam leave the two tame rabbits on the lawn and
await developments. Sure enough, the fox soon arrived, attempted to eat the
rabbits, and was promptly shot.

Saturday, June 29th 1925

The Prefects’ Book records that
“...Mackirdy, Brierley and Butcher were well-beaten at the break. New canes,
purchased the previous day, amply justified the confidence placed in them.”

July 1925

Dr.Turpin
retired after twenty four years in office. He was the first headmaster to
receive the nickname of “The Duke”, and C.Lloyd Morgan remembered as “a very
loveable man...essentially he was shy...I can see him playing croquet now, and
he played a lot of golf.”

It was
to Dr. Turpin that the School owed the A, B, and C Form system, and also the
introduction of the “set” system in Modern Language teaching, in Mathematics
and in Science. In 1903 form cricket and football on one school afternoon of
the week was introduced as part of the curriculum.  In the same year the Oxford
and Cambridge Certificate Examinations were taken for the first time, and that
same year also saw the beginnings of the Preparatory Department in Waverley
Mount, and the first prefects. In 1906 the Miniature Rifle Range was erected in
the playground, and in 1908, instead of the Cadet Corps, the School began to
provide a contingent of the Officer Training Corps (Junior Division). About
1913-14 important changes were made to school games...instead of football, “rugger”
was introduced, and the House system was brought in. A new canteen was built in
1924.

Dr.Turpin
was succeeded by Mr.Cedric Lawton Reynolds, a Yorkshireman from Wakefield, and
one of the few northerners ever to have held the office of Headmaster during
the four hundred history of the school.

Previously,
he had taught at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and Rugby School, where he
had been Head of Science.

July 1925

Mr.Wilfrid
Tyson “Nipper” Ryles retired. He had been at the High School for over forty
years, most of this time in the company of his brother, Mr.William
Edward“Jumbo” Ryles.

“Nipper”
Ryles was born on September 15th 1862, and came to the High School at Easter
1883. Like his elder brother, he specialised in English, Latin and Mathematics.

According to reminiscences in “The
Nottinghamian”, “Nipper” Ryles “...must have possessed the temper of an angel
to carry on so faithfully year after year the thankless task of trying to teach
an always most unpromising collection of young ruffians something of the
elements of learning.” In short, “Nipper” Ryles was “....a very good Master
indeed. I liked his lessons, he always made things so jolly interesting.”

In
actual fact, “Nipper” carried out an extensive list of school activities. In
the days when teachers played for the school First XI at football, he was
centre forward. In the years after that, he refereed school fixtures, until
rugby was introduced as the new school sport. He was a keen player of lawn
tennis and fives, an ardent stamp collector, the treasurer of the Games Fund
and the teacher in charge of the book department.

Even at
this advanced age, “...he still retains the mental and physical alertness which
have always characterised him, and we are glad to think that he leaves us with
his energies unimpaired. In bidding him goodbye, we would assure him of our
faithful appreciation of all that he has done for the School which he has served
so long and faithfully, and offer him our best wishes for many years of
happiness in his retirement.” Ironic words indeed.

Friday, July
5th 1925

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...J.O.Coy, Upper VB, had been
reported by Mabbott for scaling the rifle-range wall. He had also put his
clumsy feet through the asbestos roof of the cycle shed. He acknowledged the
crime and accepted the 2 strokes, awarded him by a “leniently-inclined”
assembly.”

Wednesday, November
11th 1925

The
Field Club visited the Dawson Street Clay-Pit to see the gypsum veins in the
clay. On other occasions during the school year, they were to visit the city’s
old churches, Broxtowe Hall, the Hemlock Stone, Wollaton Hall and a number of
other interesting sights.

the end of
Christmas Term 1925

The
school was visited by A.W.Hayes, the “well-known Dickens reciter”. He read “The
Christmas Carol” aloud, and was able to enthral a large audience with his
Scrooge and his Tiny Tim.

the end of
Christmas Term 1925

The
Preparatory School played its first ever football game against another school.
They beat Grosvenor School by 11-0.

1926

Each
house was divided into four tutor sets of about thirty boys, a system which
allowed each individual boy to be directly supervised by the same teacher
throughout his stay in the school. The new headmaster, Mr.Reynolds, had
previously worked in a boarding school, where this arrangement was normal
practise.

1926

It was
around this time that Mr.Reynolds introduced two important changes. The first
was to teach Biology as a separate subject, and the second was to make Games
compulsory for all boys. This had the immediate effect of raising the standards
of school teams, as they were now selected from an enormously larger pool of
possible players.

The General
Strike 1926

The
school felt very little effect, except for loyal Sixth Formers, who burned to
enrol as special constables, and wield truncheons on strikers’ heads, or to
borrow cars, and transport young ladies around the city instead of the buses
and trams. Some boys supported the strike, and eagerly read “The Daily Worker”,
keen for a chance to put a stone through the windscreens of strikebreaking local
buses. During the absence of public transport, the school was overwhelmed with
bicycles, and even tricycles, and “train-boys” were able to offer any excuse
whatsoever for their lateness.

Wednesday, March
10th 1926

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...During the third period this morning E.
A.Wagstaff (6Sci) was requested to account for his absence from a House tug
practice. He took up a most defiant attitude towards the Prefects, had no other
excuse than that he had no desire to do anything for the House; and expressed
the opinion that he was at liberty to do exactly as he pleased on all
occasions, that he felt no sense of duty and that the Prefects and the School
had no power over him whatever. The Prefects were astounded by his Bolshevik
ideas and sentenced him to three strokes. He appealed to the Headmaster who
dealt with him.”

Saturday, June
12th 1926

The school
was given a holiday to see the Australians play England in the First Test at
Trent Bridge. Unfortunately, rain fell almost without cease, and the only 32
runs scored in the entire match were made by Hobbs and Sutcliffe before the
whole game was washed out at lunch on the first day.

July 1926

Just three school examinations appear to have survived down the
years. Two of them are Latin, and one is English. They are entitled “LATIN GRAMMAR AND
SENTENCES”, “LATIN TRANSLATION” and “ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND LITERATURE”. They may all be found in Appendix
Twenty Six : School Examinations.

July 1926

The Old
Boys’ Society spoke out against the removal of the field gun from the front of
the school. They felt that its barrel provided a wonderfully useful litter bin
for the boys walking past.

July 1926

After a
year spent reading Spanish books, plays, newspapers and magazines in an effort
to come top of the year in the Spanish exam, Eric Penson succeeded in beating
off the challenge of the redoubtable Arthur Hobson, only to be told by
Mr.Reynolds that the budget to finance the Spanish prize had gone bankrupt that
year.

July 1926

A
number of Nottinghamshire Cricket Club members complained that High School boys
were persistently dropping orange peel and toffee wrappers from the upper tier
of the pavilion at Trent Bridge.

Around
this time, many boys frequently spent their Wednesday half holidays either at
the cricket, or at Forest or County’s midweek matches. Eric Penson remembered,
for example, going to see Sam Hardy, England’s goalkeeper, play for Forest
against Oldham. He went with the priest who ran his Wolf Cub pack, Father
Naylor.

When
the Headmaster heard of the orange peel and toffee wrappers, every boy who had
been at Trent Bridge was questioned, but nobody would confess. They were all
banned from inter-form cricket for the rest of the term, and had to remain at
school to study.

Thursday,
September 23rd 1926

The
very first boy appeared in the new Detention Book, recently purchased from
Derry & Sons. He was North of VA, and, according to Mr.H.E.George, was
guilty of an “impertinent noise”. Rather typically, the boy failed to turn up,
and had to serve his punishment on the following day. The detention book is
still in daily use, over 70 years later, and, at the present rates of
criminality, will surely last well into the twenty first century.

Thursday,
September 30th 1926

The
Swimming Club held its annual swimming sports. Events included the fifty yards
handicap, the fifty yards open, the Diving Competition, the “Learner’s Length”,
for boys who could not swim nine yards at the beginning of the year, the Senior
and Junior Championships, the House Re-lay (sic) Race, and most Arthurian of
all, perhaps, the Lighted Taper Race. There was also a water-polo match. The
proceedings came to an end with the presentation, by the Headmaster, of the
year’s certificates for 25 yards, 100 yards and the half-mile.

December 1926

The
school started what turned out to be a very popular “sing-song” Club. It met
every Friday during the lunch hour.

April 1927

“The
Nottinghamian” remarked how “...new societies continue to spring up, flourish
for a space, and wither. The latest blossom is the Chess Club, which is so far
showing no sign of decay...” At the present time, all matches were friendlies,
but it was hoped to arrange some formal matches in the near future.

July 1927

Mr.E.P.Gaskin,
the Second Master, and Head of Languages, retired. He had been appointed by
Dr.Gow, and was succeeded by Mr.Goddard and Mr.Kennard respectively. The former,
a teacher of maths, was to rejoice in the nickname of “Algy”.

Mr.Gaskin
was one of five members of staff who retired around this time, each having
spent many years at the High School. He was one of the four original housemasters,
and had been, at one time or another, form master of VB,VC, IVB, and Modern VI.

Mr.Gaskin
was a keen cricketer, and, as a good defensive batsman, had played many times
for the Masters’ XI against the Boys, and for several years, was the team
captain. He enjoyed music, particularly singing, and at the age of fifty five,
when the O.T.C. was short of officers during the Great War, took out a
temporary commission. For many years after his departure from the school, a
prize for Modern Languages was awarded in his name.

July 1927

Eric
Penson, in one of his last lessons, was asked, along with the rest of the form,
what he intended to do when he left school. The others had replied that they
would be bank manager like their father, farmers like their father, or they
would work in an office at their uncle’s firm.

Penson’s
father had been killed in the Great War, and he replied that, “I’ve no idea,
sir ! ”

He was
immediately summoned to see the Headmaster, who expressed astonishment that he
did not know what he was going to do. Penson attempted to explain his family
circumstances, and that “...my relations and friends haven’t any kind of
influence, like the other fellows.” He intended, in actual fact, to take a
week’s holiday, and then to advertise in the newspaper for a job. “The Headmaster
shook his head many times, repeated his disappointment, wished me luck, and
showed me out.

the afternoon of
Wednesday, July 24th 1927

The first ever House Rowing
competition was held on the River Trent near Trent Bridge.

The first crews raced to
Gap-in-the-Trees, and the second crews, using fixed seats, as far as the
Dakeyne Street Lads’ Swimming Club.  The results were Maples’ I beat Cooper’s
I, and Mellers’ I beat White’s I. In the final, Mellers’ I beat Maples’ I. The
Mellers’ I was N.M.Brodie, A.Y.Ross, C.R.Wiese, H.H.Pockson and A.R.Hudson.

In the competition for the second
crews, Maples’ II beat Cooper’s II, and Mellers’ II beat White’s II. In the
final, Mellers’ II beat Maples’ II. The Mellers’ II was C.E.Ward, A.P.Riley,
H.C.Jones, M.H.Pockson and A.R.Hudson.

Summer Term 1927

A total
eclipse of the sun was visible in Lancashire, and other northern parts of the
country. As the Headmaster of Preston Grammar School was Mr.Hodgson, an
ex-member of the High School staff, he invited his old school to send a group
of boys to see this interesting astronomical phenomenon. Around fifty boys made
the trip, and enjoyed a hearty welcome and a good sing-song before retiring for
the night. The following morning, they climbed to the tops of the school’s twin
towers, and watched the eclipse.

At its
height, there was twenty minutes of “eerie blue colour, and dead silence
reigned” The party left at nine o’clock, having given Mr.Hodgson “three times
three rousing cheers”. Some boys went to visit the Dick Kerr Electrical Works,
others to swim, and at least eleven to play in a special cricket match. The
“Nottingham High School Eclipse XI” made 73 all out, and Preston Grammar School
made a winning total of 74-2.

There
were also a number of other parties who travelled into the Totality Belt, but
most of the boys contented themselves with observing at home in Nottingham,
where a “hardy band” watched from the school tower. They had spent the night in
the Prefects’ Room, although sleep was apparently very difficult to achieve.

the late 1920s

During
his early reign as Headmaster, Mr.C.L.Reynolds seems to have had great fears
about the conduct of the boys as they either arrived or left the school, and to
have worried about the possibility that they might mix with the girls from the
nearby Girls’ High School. He regarded with horror what he referred to as
“pavement love-making” and “calf love”, and even decreed that a boy might not
walk to or from school with his sister, for fear that the rest of the world
might not know who she was.

Thursday, October
6th 1927

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Penson was sentenced to two strokes for
cutting the game, and playing soccer instead. West also was sentenced to
two strokes...Withers was warned for a slight disturbance in the shrubberies. Lyon
was warned about playing in practice games, and his dress (black coat and grey
flannel trousers) was commented on, when the following ensued…..

Myself :           There is one other matter....your costume.

Lyon                Yes. I split them yesterday.

After the prefects had meditated
about the pertinency of this remark, Lyon proceed to say that he had been
bending down, and then “there was a crack”, and his trousers were split.

Myself :           Well, see what can be done to make your dress
conform a little more.”

Lyon                Well, my mother’s away. S’pose I shall have
to do it myself (from which it was gathered that he contemplated repairing the
trousers himself.

After being requested to look
through his wardrobe, Lyon promised to “see what could be done by Saturday”,
and he departed beaming magnanimously. Upon which, Olympus shook.”

Friday, December
9th 1927

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...At a meeting held after School this morning,
Topham was sent for. He had been seen on the previous day smoking and not
wearing a cap on his way home from school. Topham, in answer to the charges,
admitted everything. He knew he was breaking the school rule, but the
circumstances were unusual. He had been offered a cigarette by a friend and
"Well, I mean, I couldn't decently refuse it." It was pointed out to
him that, granting his conduct in taking it to be right, surely he need not
have smoked it. Topham's answer was that he could not but smoke the kind gift
and indeed he had taken off his cap to do so. He also replied that to tell his
friend he did not smoke, as was actually the case, would have seemed childish.
He informed the Prefects that since smoking it he had realised what foolish
action it had been, and that he hoped they understood that he had done it in a moment
of thoughtlessness.

After
the Prefects had considered the case and when the verdict was about to be
delivered, Topham appealed to the prefects to take into consideration his age,
his good character hitherto, the fact he was leaving at the end of term and the
unusual circumstances. The points of the case were then again summed up and
Topham was told that, while the case merited full punishment (three strokes and
one hundred lines), in view of the fact that the Prefects considered his
offence due rather to foolish weakness than to wilful disobedience, he would be
dealt with leniently. Topham was then sentenced to receive two strokes at the
break on Saturday. He replied that he was willing to take the punishment,
deeming it quite just, but added that, since owing to examinations he would not
be at school tomorrow, he would prefer to take it immediately. The Prefects
decided after due deliberation that the somewhat unusual circumstances of the
case justified the rather unconstitutional action of punishing Topham without
twenty-four hours’ notice. Topham duly received his strokes.

1927-1928

School
fees increased to twenty seven guineas per term, and an extra charge was
introduced for books. It was probably for this reason, coupled with the effects
of the Depression, and the opening of Henry Mellish Grammar School at Bulwell,
that numbers in the school dropped from 569 to 475.

Monday,
January 28th 1928

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held first period this afternoon.
H.H.Pockson (Rem B) had been seen coming to school in company with a girl. He
pleaded that without creating the need for an embarrassing explanation he could
not detach himself from his companion. Given the alternative of an imposition
or two strokes, he chose the lines.”

Thursday,
February 23rd 1928

The
Detention Book records the punishment of Doar (4C). It was for “disobedience
with blowpipe”.

the beginning
of March 1928

“Jumbo”
Ryles died. “The Nottinghamian” was sure that the announcement of “Jumbo”’s
death would cause...“...unfeigned sorrow....those younger ones, who do not
themselves remember him, should not forget his service to the School, a service
such as is given to few to render. It is no exaggeration to say that Mr.Ryles
gave up his life to the School. It is for the School to remember and be
grateful”.

the end of
March 1928

Within
a few short weeks of his brother, “Nipper” Ryles died. In his obituary, it was
recorded that “....it would be a long task if we undertook to enumerate all the
capacities, official and unofficial, in which Mr.Ryles served the School.
Everything he did was characterised by an untiring energy which even the
smallest boy could recognise and appreciate. For his own Form 2A, he showed the
pride and love of which only the great form-masters are capable. All those who
had the good fortune to pass through it remember that year as one of the most
pleasant and most interesting in their school careers. Those who, like the
writer, entered it as new boys will agree that their introduction to N.H.S was
one of the happiest. He certainly believed in hard work, but his lessons were
never dull; nor did he forget us out of school hours, but took great interest
in our form-magazine and other activities.”

“The
Nottinghamian” continued that “....When, at the end of term, a presentation was
made to him, he thanked us with quiet dignity. Even so, his self-control for a
moment almost deserted him. When one had lived, he told us, for forty two years
at a school, one became an inseparable part of it. This has proved true, for he
enjoyed less than three years of his well-earned rest. But, regret it as we
may, there is something fitting in his death. One cannot imagine him apart from
the School and the boys he had served and loved.”

Unlike
his brother, “Nipper” Ryles was unmarried.

Summer
Holidays 1928

W.H.B.Cotton
spent his holidays in Glamorgan. During his stay there, he managed to rescue
two sailors from a ship which was foundering just offshore at Porthcawl .

Monday, October
1st 1928

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...On Fri Sept 28th L. H. Jackson was seen in the

company of two girls at about 4.20
pm. For this offence, and because he was later seen with his two companions all
on his bicycle at one time, he was sentenced to three strokes, at a meeting
held last period this morning. The charge of riding down Waverley Street with
the same cargo was not proven. Jackson attempted to wax eloquent on the
troubles of being asked plain questions by one's female companions but when
confronted with the alternative of an appeal to the Headmaster or a beating he
sullenly accepted the latter.”

Tuesday, October
2nd 1928

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Jackson was well beaten today.”

December 1928

In
rowing circles, the school was now ranked alongside Eton and Shrewsbury, as having
provided both Oxford and Cambridge with members of their Trial Eights.
E.S.Abbott was cox to the Cambridge crew, and S.Macdonald-Smith the Oxford
representative.

1929

Using
money provided by J.D.Player, the school bought eighteen acres of land from Colonel
Seely for new playing fields on Valley Road. The total cost was £5,600, with a
further £13,000 needing to be spent on levelling the site, returfing the
surface, and then erecting a new pavilion.

The
Headmaster and J.A.Dixon had looked at over twenty possible sites before a
decision was made.

Until
this time, the school had played its representative matches at Mapperley Park,
but all of the inter house and inter form competitions had continued to be
played on the Forest, or in more recent years, at the rather smelly Trent Lane
ground, home of the Old Boys.

The old
Mapperley Park ground was sold to the Corporation for £6,750, but the rest of
the money for developing the site, some £6,000-£7,000 was raised by the Old
Boys, led by Sir Arthur Wheeler. It was at this time that a list of some 2,500 Old
Boys, and their addresses, was compiled. It is still kept to this day in the
School Archives.

Interestingly
enough, Johnny Dixon, for many years, continued to believe strongly that more
land should have been purchased, and that the whole school should then have
been relocated to a new campus, where it would be surrounded by its own playing
fields.

On the
other hand, the Valley Road site had a marsh at the western end, and it may
have been the possible problems and consequent expenses arising from this that
led the governors to back away from buying any more of the available land at
this site.

1929

S.Macdonald-Smith
won a Blue for Rowing at Oxford. He did not actually row in the Boat Race, but
was “spare man”.

9.20 am., Wednesday,
April 10th 1929

In a
slight drizzle, five adults and 20 boys waited on Platform 5 to leave on their
school trip to Belgium. They were to visit Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges and
Waterloo. Many members of the original group were unable to go because of the
epidemic of mumps in the city around this time.

Summer Term
1929

We
still have a boy’s timetable from this era. It was owned by John H.S.Firth of
Form VB, and the subjects studied were Mathematics (6 lessons per week), Latin
(5), French (5), Chemistry (4), English (3), Physics (3), History (3),
Scripture (1), Drawing (1) and Machine Drawing (1). There appears to be no
compulsory games or P.E., although there is, of course, Saturday school with
Wednesday off in lieu. There were six periods per day, and they were from
9.00-9.55, 9.55-10.45, Break, 11.00-11.55, 11.55-12.45, Lunch, 2.30-3.20 and
3.20-4.10. Every night there was an hour’s homework in each of two subjects,
with three subjects on Wednesday, and only one on Saturday.

Monday, July
29th 1929

The
O.T.C. went off to camp at Strensall in Yorkshire, travelling by train from the
Victoria Station. Their activities were, as always, very varied, and included
lectures, mock attacks and defences, an artillery demonstration, night
operations, a visit to the cinema and a sightseeing trip to York. There was a
church parade on Sunday, and in the afternoon, the Camp Sports. The latter was
watched by the Headmaster and his wife, who had motored up from Nottingham to
spend a few hours with the boys. On Monday, there was a big Field Day, with
huge numbers of cadets attacking and being attacked, and extensive use of
aeroplanes, tanks and artillery. In the evening, everyone watched a display by
the massed bands of all the contingents in the camp. The boys travelled back on
Wednesday, and were dismissed in the afternoon. Everything had gone well,
despite the appalling rain on virtually every day, and the only major problem
was the inevitable blisters.

Friday,
October 18th 1929

Around
the middle of the morning, the enormous British airship, the R101, flew over
the school. A few lucky boys were allowed out of their lessons to watch it sail
majestically past.

Monday,
November 11th 1929

The
Detention Book records the punishment of Ford (4B1). It was for “splashing acid
into boy’s eye”.

December 1929

H.G.Proctor,
of Keble College, was selected to represent Oxford at cross-country.

December 1929

Throughout
this era, the school choir had come in for continual criticism about its
standards from the people who wrote the section in “The Nottinghamian” entitled
“De omnibus rebus”. In this particular edition, they were at their most
scathing...“Like the poor, the choir is always with us. So much so that on
occasions the rest of the School fears to sing with...or against...such
talent”.

1930

Mr.Reynolds
inaugurated the first Parents’ Evenings, based on the house system.

1930

By now,
the Valley Road playing fields had been levelled.

Thursday,
February 26th 1930

The
Detention Book records, with a certain touch of irony, perhaps, that Wardle of
2B served a fourth detention, having received three detentions in the five
previous days.

Thursday, February
26th 1930

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...The new Sixth-Form and Remove tie designed by
the Prefects to replace the old kind which was not sufficiently exclusive to
the School was ready on this date. To be obtained from the Boys’ Dept at
Griffin and Spaldings, price 2s 6d.”

an unknown
Saturday, early in May 1930

Thirty
members of the Remove visited Stratford-on-Avon. They saw Shakespeare’s
birthplace, and a performance of “The Tempest”. They were not
impressed...“...we realise that the same Company has to perform many plays, but
that is hardly an excuse for forgetting speeches, or for the excessive loudness
of the prompter. The man who played Ferdinand was particularly disappointing,
while Miranda persisted in smiling all the time”.

Summer Term
1930

The
First Form went on a series of Nature Walks. 1A went to King’s Mills, but were
disappointed to find that the ferry boat had been so damaged over the course of
the winter that they could not cross the Trent into Derbyshire. 1C and 1D went
to Fairham Brook, walking via Wilford Village, while 1B went to Wollaton Hall.

Tuesday, July
8th 1930

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held Second Period this morning
when, Martin (5c) was brought up for wearing trousers of an unpleasant
pink hue. He said he was waiting for some flannels to be made. Hickling (Rem A)
was also wearing a “Notts County” tie. He was told to remedy by the following
day.”

July 1930

“The
Nottinghamian” carried a far from sympathetic obituary for D.H.Lawrence,
“formerly Foundation Scholar”. It was written by “G.T” , who may, conceivably, have
been Geoffrey Trease, and spoke of his decay as a novelist, his fall from the
previous great heights he had scaled, and the way that “...as disease pressed
upon him, his writings became more and more tortured and obscure...he was
degenerating into something like an ultra-modern painter, madly flinging his
paint upon the canvas from far across the room...certainly, he had forgotten
that the main function of a writer was to be understood.”

Begrudgingly,
the writer conceded that “...nevertheless, the critics are agreed that he was a
great artist, and that the best of his work, both poems and fiction, will last.
The School will be proud of her rebellious son long after those more
conventionally honoured are forgotten.”

December 1930

In an
article in “The Nottinghamian”, “S.R.D.” anticipated, in an uncanny fashion,
the Design Technology block of the 1990s...

“...I turned in at the
Forest Road Gate and hastened my steps towards a large, single storey brick
building which was situated to the right of the gate. The large swing doors
opened before me, and I found myself in a workshop. There was a hum of
electrically driven lathes and the noise of spinning wood and metal. Directly
in front of me was an office, in which a Foreman was sitting. I put my
membership card on a ledge, the Foreman pressed a lever with his foot and my
card was stamped. Round past the office I saw a dozen benches surrounded with
cheery, white aproned boys.”

Thursday,
February 12th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book for this date is rather ripped and dog-eared. Nevertheless, it
is possible, quite literally, to read between the lines…..

“...Widdowson,
who had been absent, was beaten by Carr today, with two good strokes which were
rendered ineffectual by a quantity of vest as..... Widdowson was told to take
the padding off....he said that he had appendicitis and the padding was to
prevent injury to the affected part. The tale seemed plausible, but
unsatisfactory as Widdowson was playing Rugger....he pleaded inability to
obtain a medical certificate....was referred to the H.M. who eventually expressed....if
Widdowson produced a note from his parents, however that he deserved double the
strokes without.”

Thursday, April
30th and Saturday, May 2nd 1931

The
Finals of the School Athletic Sports were held for the first time on the new
Valley Road playing fields, where facilities included the new pavilion, largely
paid for by the Old Boys. A.H.Bowman achieved a record of 10.9 seconds for the
100 yards, and D.J.Lucking established another school record with a half mile
run in 2 minutes 20 seconds.

Easter Term
1931

The
School Four played a number of opponents at Fives. They included King Edward
VII School, Sheffield, and the wonderfully named Lincoln Pariahs.

Easter 1931

Having
retired only four years previously, Mr.Gaskin died on Easter morning, after a
severe illness of some six months’ duration.

Easter 1931

A group
of twenty seven boys visited various battlefields in north-west Europe. They
included Ypres, Waterloo, Vimy Ridge and Zeebrugge, with visits to the place of
Edith Cavell’s execution, and the towns of Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp.

Tuesday, June
2nd 1931

The
Detention Book records how Fenton of 3C served a punishment from Mr.Hardwick
for being “a thorough nuisance”.

Thursday, June
4th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...A meeting was held third period this morning
when all the Prefects were present except Carr and Bowman who absented
themselves against the Captain's wishes.

The
Captain, together with Carr and Bowman, was interviewed by the H.M. at 12.40.
They pleaded that they considered the business did not warrant a meeting, but
the Captain denied this as the first two cases they had to deal with that
morning needed a full conclave of the Prefect body. The H.M. then suggested
that time was wasted at the meeting to which Carr attested. The Captain,
however, pointed out that Carr was one of the Principal offenders in this
matter. This led to an unpleasant digression into personalities. The H.M. then
deplored the lack of unity amongst the Prefects and stated that it would be a
good thing if a meeting of at least five minutes were held during third period.
It could then be decided if the agenda warranted a further expenditure of time.
After the H.M.'s talking privately to the two prefects the matter was
dismissed.”

Monday, June
8th 1931

John Auger
Dixon died in a Park Row nursing home. He had been at the school from
1874-1876, and in his early years, played football for Notts County, the
Corinthians and, in 1885, for England against Wales at Blackburn.

He was
more famous, however, as a cricketer, and played as an all-rounder for both
Forest Amateurs and Nottinghamshire, whom he captained for many years, with a
highest score of 268 not out against Sussex, and a hat-trick against
Lancashire.

In
later life, he was a director, and then chairman, of Dixon & Parker Ltd.,
the clothing firm, and as a city magistrate, went on to serve the school for
many years as a Governor, doing much to help select the Valley Road site as
suitable for the new sports field.

Dixon
was closely connected with a number of initiatives to help young men, and
worked enthusiastically for the Notts Institutes, and the St.Andrew’s
Institute, as well as the Dame Agnes Lads’ Club. He conducted bible classes on
a regular basis for many years.

Dixon
was buried in the Church Cemetery on Mansfield Road on June 11th, and in 1933,
the Dixon Gates were erected at Trent Bridge in his honour.

Friday, June
12th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Healey was well beaten today, 6 strokes being
delivered - the first three being useless as the culprit was wearing four pairs
of trousers and one pair of pants.”

Monday, July
6th 1931

The
Detention Book records how Burton of 2C received a detention from Mr.Hood for
receiving “too many detentions”.

Wednesday, July
8th 1931

Batting
for Nottinghamshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Old Boy, George Vernon
Gunn scored 100 not out. In the Nottinghamshire total of 521 all out, his
father, George Gunn, had already scored 183. This the only occasion in the
extensive history of first class cricket that a father and son have both scored
a century in the same innings of a first class match.

September 1931

The
boys of the school returned to a new timetable, with five lessons in the
morning. These lessons were themselves shorter, and additional time was therefore
provided for games.

Friday,
November 7th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Fawn was well beaten today at the hands of
Lucking and Green. Owing to his obesity, some difficulty was experienced in
folding him up. For the same reason he was little perturbed by his
chastisement.”

Friday,
November 14th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Roberts (Rem A) had been reported by
Mabbott for using rude and suggestive language. He had already been warned this
term and the number of convictions against him was innumerable. He pleaded that
he would use the words he had used to Mabbott to his grandfather, and alleged
that Mabbott had even taught him some of them. His record was so bad that in
addition to being sentenced to 3 strokes, he was threatened with a
recommendation of expulsion to the Headmaster, if he gave any more trouble.”

Saturday,
November 15th 1931

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Roberts received 3 good strokes at the hands of
Jackson, Bowman, and Thompson at break today. He evinced signs of considerable
agony.”

the 1931 -
1932 rugby season

This
was the first season when the new Valley Road playing fields were used for
rugby. There were six full sized pitches, with a smaller seventh one, and for
the first time, every boy could make use of the impressive changing facilities,
rather than just school teams, as had previously been the case. Every boy could
play rugby twice a week at least, and many of the keenest played three times a
week. These games usually occurred on the Wednesday half day, as well as on one
of the usual sports afternoons.

In
addition, many parents were now beginning to visit the playing fields to watch
their sons perform. This had rarely been the case at Mapperley Park.

Every
boy now had a hooped school rugby shirt, as well as his second, plain white
shirt. This made games look a lot neater, and enabled practice games to be
“pleasurable and instructive”.

December 1931

After twenty
eight years’ service, during which he was absent through illness for less than
six weeks in total, John Allan Radley retired. He had been a teacher of Mathematics
and a first form Form Master throughout this period, and, with characteristic
modesty, asked that no official notice be taken of his departure. Instead, he
preferred just to leave at the end of term as normal, but never to return.

At a
subsequent prize giving, however, the Headmaster was to draw attention to his
exemplary service, and the school was to give him “three special cheers”.
Despite his age, Mr.Radley enjoyed “abounding health and vigour”, was an
“irrepressible gardener”, and looked forward eagerly to using his free time for
mountaineering.

December 1931

“The
Nottinghamian” included a three page list of subscribers who had given money to
support the school’s new playing fields at Valley Road. Overall, a total of
some £434 2s 6d had been raised. The most generous benefactors were Messrs E.
and W.Bignall, Gillespie, Joynes, Limpenny, Pare, Pilsworth, Ratcliffe, G.T.
and A.S.Rigley, Rose and Stocker, all of whom contributed ten guineas. In the
least generous category, however, were Messrs Cooke, McLelland and Plumb, who
could only be persuaded to hand over 2s 6d. Arguably though, the finest human
being of all was the bank, whose interest payments amounted to £12 2s 6d.

1932

The
school playground was finally asphalted, at a cost of some £1,000, after over
fifty years of being just rough soil and sand. Even then, a number of governors
were opposed to it, fearing that there would be injuries if boys fell over on a
hard surface.

January 1932

An
article in “The Nottinghamian” mentioned some of the boys’ main diversions
outside their schoolwork. They included snobs, snakes and ladders, Hornby
trains, Tiger Tim annuals, and Edgar Wallace novels.

Friday,
January 8th 1932

Old Boy
Arthur Copeland Goodyer played many times for Nottingham Forest, and on a
single occasion for England, in a game against Scotland in 1879, when he scored
one of his side’s five goals. In 1903, he emigrated to the USA with his wife,
Elisabeth, living initially in Chicago and then in New York and Albany.

On
December 23rd 1931, he was crossing the road at the corner of Whalley Avenue
and Pendleton Street, when he was struck by an automobile. He was immediately
taken to Grace Hospital, New Haven, where he died over a fortnight later.
Despite the lengthy period of time which Goodyer survived, between his accident
and his eventual demise, less than twenty four hours after his death, a letter
arrived from Nottingham Forest Football Club. It was an elaborately illuminated
greeting card, and had been signed by all the officers and members of the club.
It was the first communication from Forest in forty three years, and was,
tragically, “...too late to bring joy to the intended recipient.”

Thursday,
February 11th 1932

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...J.W.TATE, J.R.SAVIDGE, R.WHITMORE, R.E.WINSON (
5C ), R.HOYLAND ( 5B ), and R.POLLARD( 4B2 ) had all been throwing snowballs
within dangerous distance of the school windows, and were given 25 x rule 19.

On Wednesday
afternoon, G.V.RAYNOR had been attacked in a most unsportsmanlike manner by
upwards of 100 boys as he was riding his bicycle ; it was decided to make can
example of such boys as could be proved guilty. P.H.CLARK, D.W.FRIER, and
D.H.FAIRFIELD ( together with M.R.HEALEY 12/2/32 ), all of 4B1, were given the
School Rules to copy out. F.M.HAMMOND( 4B1 ) was given 25 x rule 13 for
snowballing a Prefect in the street.”

Presumably
“25 x rule 19” and “25 x rule 13” referred to the number of lines which had to
be written.

Spring Term
1932

The
school play “Macbeth”, by Shakespeare, attracted a record crowd of 422 people.

Spring Term
1932

In an
early version of Com munity Service, a number of senior boys took some little
boys from St.Mary’s School camping in Bestwood Park. Each senior was “in at
least nominal control of two small boys, who made up in vigour what they lacked
of the niceties of civilisation...in reality all the difficulties faded into
mere inconveniences besides the appalling hazards of gauging the niceties of
distinction between Nobby and Nubby. Surely it was Nobby with earnest freckled
face, untidy hair, and mercurial temperament ?  No, it was probably Nubby. (And
there was always the hideous possibility that it might be Ernest.)...altogether
it was an interesting and enjoyable time.”

Tuesday, April
5th 1932

About
thirty boys visited the Home Brewery Co.Ltd., in Daybrook. They were
accompanied by Messrs Hood and Houghton, and saw the entire brewing process,
from barley to the finished product. At the end of the visit, the boys were
given sandwiches and soft drinks, while the staff “sampled the real stuff.”

Saturday,
November 19th 1932

The
Prefects’ Book records “...Pitt  Rem B., having been reported for
throwing stones (or rather half-bricks) on the Sixth Form cycle shed (18th
Nov). He declared that he had lately been trying to amend his ways but it was
evident that success had not been achieved. He admitted a further case of
stone-throwing, giving the plea that when a person is “thrown at” one has a
right to retaliate. The Prefects, however, failed to see the point and on this
and the former count he was sentenced to three strokes. He declined the offer
of a chance to appeal to the Headmaster, in view of his many recent escapades.”

Monday,
November 21st 1932

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Pitt was had up to be beaten at the end of the
break. He was wearing a pair of rugger shorts, and was told to take them off,
which he did. When W.E.G. Payton had delivered the first stroke - a hard beat -
Pitt tottered and fell. Water was fetched and in a few minutes he had recovered
so as to be able to walk. He said that he had been in a brawl the night before,
and his head was plastered and his hand bandaged. In the Captain's opinion
there was no question about the genuineness of his collapse and the other two
strokes were not inflicted. He did not want to go home, and was hence allowed
to return to his form room.”

Wednesday,
November 23rd 1932

The
saga continued...“...The suspicions of the Captain being aroused as to the
genuineness of Pitt's faint, Pitt was interviewed. There was no mark underneath
the plaster on his forehead, and his hand seemed completely uninjured.
Furthermore he had previously faked during a gym period of Sergeant's. His
faint was therefore adjudged to be a fake, although he denied this. The Captain
confesses himself completely taken in by the consummate artistry of Pitt's
acting.”

Thursday,
November 24th 1932

“...The
two strokes Pitt escaped were awarded at the break. He was sentenced to three
more for the fake faint.”

Friday
November 25th 1932

“...G.E.Pitt,
rem b, was well beaten at the break today.”

Saturday,
November 26th 1932

“...Owen
flinched at the first stroke, which was ordered to be repeated. This was not
acceptable to Owen, who was therefore taken to the Head.”

Monday,
November 28th 1932

“...Owen
was offered the option of being beaten by the prefects or by the Head. He chose
the Head.”

December 1932

The
Detention Book records how various members of Form 5B were punished for a
variety of different offences, including “wrestling in the form room”, and
“throwing rice about the Hall.”

Monday,
December 12th 1932

The
Sixth Form Society heard a talk entitled “The Mind of Russian Orthodox
Christianity”. According to “The Nottinghamian”, “...owing to their theological
ignorance, the sprinkling of members who attended found much of this above
their heads”. Later in the year, perhaps, the members enjoyed much more a
burlesque of the prefectorial system entitled “Prefects’ Revue”, followed by
supper served in the canteen by “the indefatigable Captain Pollard”. On the
other hand, though, it must be said, that this year the Society “...has been
noteworthy for its unprecedented stagnation”.

Friday,
February 17th and Saturday, February 18th, 1933

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Meetings were held on these two days in an
endeavour to find the miscreant who had during the Lunch Hour on Friday lobbed
a small stone on to the exposed glass roof of the new fives court, thereby
cracking a pane of glass in the said roof. As Roadley, the Prefects “Nark” had
left the school, the task was not easy. From judicious pumping of Taylor, 5c,
undertaken by Payton and Thomas, Edmonds, 4c, was suspected, while
Naylor, Bramold and Purnell, were said to have been in the neighbourhood. On
questioning these it transpired that Naylor saw Edmonds throw a stone
and heard him make some remark about throwing at a bird. Massey, partially
corroborated this. The case therefore seemed black against Edmonds, who however
stoutly defended his innocence. From further information, however, Cresswell,
rem B, was questioned and admitted throwing a small stone which fell on the
roof. The case was then taken to the Head, who satisfied himself that the
window was accidentally broken by Cresswell’s stone.”

Saturday,
February 25th, 1933

The
Prefects’ Book rather cryptically records that “...Richards, after removing
certain undergarments, was beaten at the break today.”

the first
Saturday of the Summer Term, 1933

E.J.Dickenson
threw the cricket ball a record distance of 96 yards 2 feet 10 inches. His
throw broke a school record which had lasted since 1919.

This
traditional English event was excluded from the school sports only a few years
after Dickenson’s record was established, but his prodigious feat remains the
best distance achieved in well over fifty or sixty years of trying.

The
nearest approach to exceeding Dickenson’s throw was by A.M.Oscroft in 1938. He
managed 95 yards 1 foot 2 inches.

Thursday, June
16th 1933

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...J. M.Owen received his strokes at the break
today. When two were being inflicted, he flinched away, and so rendered them
ineffective. These were therefore repeated. Owen was beaten with a new cane,
purchased from Morris, Wilkinson and Co (a factory near the gasworks) for
sixpence.”

Summer Term
1933

An
unknown member of staff outraged many of the prefects and sixth form by
appearing at school in a “pale pink silk tie”. Many of them accused him of
accidentally snipping a section off his eiderdown.

1933

Cadet
Officer Douglas Eric “Splinter” Woods, who had been a member of the Officer
Training Corps during his years at the High School, won the King’s Prize for
rifle shooting at Bisley. He was to attend Bisley for many years, and was a member
of the MacKinnon team which shot against Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the
West Indies in 1953.

Christmas Term
1933

The
Sixth Form Society heard talks on “Christianity and Mythology”, “Esperanto” and
“Volcanoes”. Such topics were obviously much more interesting than some of
those of previous years, and the society seemed to be flourishing.

Friday, November 3rd 1933

The Prefects’ Book records that
“...At the weekly meeting of the prefects the chief business was a pyrotechnic
conspiracy. The inquiry was made difficult enough through the dim-wittedness of
the protagonists in perhaps their simple and ingenuous guile. The conspiracy
was conceived among the gay element of 4C. To avoid detection and punishments
the conspirators all but put their hands on their diabolic machines and a horde
of boys were implicated, from Form 4C, Bunn, King, Langford, Lewis, Marshall,
Smith, Shaw, and from 5C, Abdy.

Of these, Lewis was the most
amusing. He volunteered to give a whole list of names, as if it were an honour
to be associated in even a minor way in that most glorious deed. He caused
further amusement by saying “Have you got Fletcher ? ” And when Fletcher’s name
had been added to the list, he said “Well, he wasn’t there.” But in sum, the
conspirators were lined and warned against a repetition of their plot.”

the afternoon
of Monday, November 13th, 1933

The
Duke of Portland performed the formal opening ceremony for a two new High
School buildings, the Gymnasium and the newly converted Library. One technological
innovation was that both the Hall (the old Drawing Room), and the new
Gymnasium, had been equipped with amplifiers and microphones, so that guests in
both rooms were able to sing the national anthem simultaneously. Among the
audience was Mr.Maltby, who had been a pupil at the original Free School in
Stoney Street, some seventy years previously. By now, he was a most
distinguished looking old man, with a long white beard.

To the
east of the Classical School, a new building had recently been erected to house
the Fourth Form. Rising from enormously deep foundations hewn out of the
sandstone bedrock, it consisted of two classrooms on the first floor, and two
on the second floor, connected to the main school by a bridge at first floor
level. At the time of writing, these rooms are numbered E4-E7. They were all
financed by the generosity of John Dane Player, who, despite the large amounts
of money which he had given to the school, still insisted on remaining
anonymous.

The
next stage in Player’s generous plan was to build a gymnasium, which contained
facilities not just for sport, but also for drama, with the changing area
converting easily into a simple stage upon which the Main School and Junior
School plays were to be held for many years. The floor throughout was of maple,
and underneath it was a cellar where equipment which was not continually in use
could be stored in the long term.

On the
other side of the playground, near the Preparatory School, a new cycle shed was
built. It was a solid structure, with a flat roof, upon which it was planned
one day to construct workshops.

Around
this time, the West School, which had previously been used both for morning
prayers and as a gymnasium, was converted into a library, with about 8,000
books, eight bays for private study with tables and chairs, and a large screen
with double doors. Most of the wood used was oak, and the screen had been
carved by just one man, the city having a shortage of woodcarvers at the time.
Also displayed on the wall was a carved, wooden list of previous headmasters.

School
assembly was now to be held in the Drawing Room, which had been provided with a
third entrance, to cope with the huge numbers of boys who now used the room.

Other
minor alterations included the conversion of a small classroom into a Sixth
Form darkroom, the provision of a junior science laboratory, a second science
lecture room and a new cloakroom.

Thursday, November
16th 1933

Mr.William
Carey Trafford died at Oxted in Surrey. He was eighty-five years of age, and at
the beginning of the month, had gone with his wife to visit some friends. He
seemed “wonderfully well, and was enjoying his visit immensely”. On this
particular morning, he went out as usual to buy a newspaper, but evidently fell
down on the path by the roadside. He was seen by the driver of a passing bus,
and he and the conductor picked the old man up, and drove him to a nearby
hospital. A doctor examined him immediately, but “death must have been
instantaneous and without pain”.

Mr.Trafford
had, in actual fact, always expressed a wish to “go suddenly ; so the end for
him was “nothing but well and fair”.

Mr.Trafford
had worked at the High School from 1883-1922. Dr.Dixon had appointed him as a
science teacher, and after being initially Form Master of the Upper Modern
Fourth, he was a Fourth Form Master for many years. In 1909, he became Form Master
of 3C, where he remained, until, in 1918, in view of the strain being put upon
him by his advancing years, Dr.Turpin relieved him of some of his duties. Mr.Trafford
then taught just Mathematics, until he retired in 1922 at the age of 69.

Mr.F.C.Boon
remembered how Mr.Trafford, who was always very keen on Mathematics, used to
bring to school, “wire puzzles, which he gave to the boy who succeeded in doing
them.” Despite his being so interested in mathematics, however, Mr.Trafford
was, for most of his life, a teacher of science, and when he did teach any Mathematics,
it was always of a very elementary standard.

For
this reason, he pursued more advanced Mathematics as a hobby at home. He used
to try to find, for example, methods of discovering the factors of very large
numbers, and to find rational solutions of indeterminate equations.

It was
perhaps sad that Mr.Trafford spent so much of his life not doing what he loved
to do. At the same time, though...“What he did succeed in doing was to earn the
affection of all he taught ; and that is a greater achievement.”

Friday, March
23rd 1934

The
Detention Book records how S.W.Peck of 4B2 served a detention for “ungentlemanly
behaviour”.

July 1934

The
games fields were so dry that they had all turned brown. Indeed, the drought
was so severe that in the editorial of “The Nottinghamian”, the writers,
“...for the first time in our young life, ask for Rain.” (sic)

Saturday, July
21st 1934

Playing
for the First Eleven against Loughborough Grammar School at Valley Road,
A.G.Evans took nine wickets for eight runs.

September 1934

School
numbers reached 513. They have never dropped below 500 since this time.

Saturday, October
20th 1934

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Fletcher was beaten - well beaten.”

Friday,
October 26th 1934

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...G.G.Lord, IIIc, was interviewed for
philandering. As he promised to refrain in future, he was dismissed with a
warning. There had been a spate of capless criminals during the past few days
and D.Lewis, G.L.Fabien and M.B.Hardy were interviewed.
Lewis and Hardy were warned, but it was decided that Fabien had so frequently
offended as to merit 2 strokes...D.B.Whitehorn, Upper IVB, had
been set lines for trespassing in the Sixth Form lavatories. His answer was not
only tactless, but vulgar, and as he had not failed to aggravate the prefects as
much as possible, it was unanimously decided to give him 3 strokes. A.J.Palmer,
Upper IVB, was also asked not to manufacture fireworks on the school
premises, as by doing so he was infringing Rule 16.”

Saturday,
October 27th 1934

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...After being persuaded to take off the three
layers of underclothing - 3 pairs of rugger shorts and 1 pair of serge shorts -
Whitehorn received his strokes at the break. He seemed to undergo some pain in
the procedure.”

Friday,
November 2nd 1934

A
meeting was held during third, fourth and fifth periods this morning. Evidence
had been received that J. M. Holmes, Lower YB, had at school a contraceptive
appliance which he was willing to sell. During second period the Captain and
Holloway had searched Holmes' desk, mackintosh and saddle-bag without result.

Holmes
was therefore summoned and thoroughly searched, but with no better outcome. He
admitted that he had spoken of such an appliance to a friend of his, but denied
that by doing so he was spreading an evil influence upon the younger boys in
the cycle shed. In fact the whole conversation had been a joke upon P.H.Storrey,
Lower VC, his companion. Storrey was then interviewed but maintained that he
had taken Holmes' remarks seriously. He said he had never seen such an
instrument, but would like to do so simply to confirm his own ideas as to it.
Further evidence from Holmes revealed that A.O.Evans, Upper VB, had also been
present. Evans stated that Holmes had come up to him and asked him if he wanted
the contraceptive appliance; Storrey wanted it too. Renewed questioning of
Holmes showed that the joke had been carried on this morning, although Evans
himself asserted that he had asked Holmes before prayers whether he had given
the instrument to Storrey. In support of his plea, Holmes now said that he had
heard Storrey conversing with J. Black, Upper VA, a few days before, about
these appliances; this had provided him with his material for his little joke.

The
meeting was renewed this afternoon. During the dinner hour Banks had heard that
two terms ago contraceptive appliances had been brought into school by
R.H.Langford, Middle Fourth, in large numbers. Langford was brought up and
admitted the crime, but pleaded that since then he had stoutly refused to bring
such dangerous implements to school. Black and Storrey had both tried to make
him do so during the present term, whilst Holmes had broached the subject to
him only last night. This put an entirely different interpretation on Holmes'
actions. It was put to him that he had endeavoured to secure an auction between
Storrey and Evans; having gained a high price he would buy the appliance from
Langford cheaply, bring it to school the next day and pocket the profits. Next
he remembered that earlier in the week he had outlined his plan to
A.O.B.Parsons, Lower VB, during a Mathematics period, Parsons was summoned and
testified his belief from Holmes's innocence from the baser crimes. He then
ventured perfectly gratuitous information as to the conduct of Black and
Storrey in and out of school. He laid the following charges at their door:

1
They had, on more than one occasion,
knocked old mens' hats into the gutter as they cycled past. Their remarks at
such times were most offensive.

2
They frequently spat in the street on
their way to and from school, not only at High School boys, but also at
strangers.

3
Storrey had said more than once that he
had some contraceptive appliances in his possession, presumably acquired from
Langford.

4
Storrey had a key to Mr Parsons' form
room, which he often used.

5    Both Storrey and Black had keys, filed down, which
fitted the cycle shed doors.

F. T. Jackson, Upper IVB, gave
evidence on the bad influence of these two

partners-in-crime. They were in
the habit of asking boys the meaning of unclean words and of telling them, if
they didn't know, to ask their form masters.

(The matter was forthwith put into
the hands of the Headmaster as being too serious for Prefectorial
jurisdiction.)

1935

The
school caretaker, Mr.Boot, was promoted to “school marshal” or “porter”. The
advertisement to fill his job attracted 1,475 applicants, a measure, perhaps,
of the depths of the recession into which the country had sunk. He was
succeeded by Mr.Hubbuck, whom Mr.Reynolds was to call the “beau idéal” of
caretakers.

Monday, January
7th 1935

The
Preparatory School was shocked by the first of two deaths during the first
three months of this dreadful year, this “annus horribilis”.

Despite
seeming to be on the road to recovery, after an urgent operation had become
necessary, Miss J.K.Richmond developed pneumonia and died within a few days.
She had been spending the Christmas holidays with her brother at Erdington in
Birmingham. Miss Richmond had first come to the High School in 1911, when
Mr.Leggett was in charge of the Preparatory Department.

“She
served it faithfully for twenty-three years and her whole life was bound up in
its welfare. During the very trying years of the War from 1916 to 1919, during
Mr.Leggett’s service with the army, Miss Richmond was in charge of the Prep,
and steered it successfully through many rather difficult terms...she served us
nearly a quarter of a century, yet she was not absent a month in all. A
marvellous record !”

Miss
Richmond’s service was in an era, of course, when, if a woman wanted to be a
teacher, she had to remain unmarried, and forego the joys of having her own
family. If she married, she automatically lost her job.

Monday, March
25th 1935

After
only nine days of illness, Mr.George Duncan Day, the Headmaster of the
Preparatory Department died of pneumonia, after a minor illness. Aged only
forty nine, he had worked at the High School for just over ten years. From
1915-1918, he had been a Major in the Camel Corps, although the rigours of his
war service in Palestine had done much to weaken his general health. He had
worked for the Egyptian Ministry of Education, and came to England in January
1925. Day had an Oxford Blue for Association Football, and his degree was in Classics
and History. Throughout his life, he had been a keen cricketer and a member of
the Nottinghamshire Golf Club.

His
little son Patrick, a boarder at Shrewsbury School, was now an orphan, his
mother having herself recently died.

1935

Mr.Day
was succeeded by Mr.K.C.Lewis, who was to spend only four of his ten years at
the school acting as the Headmaster. For the other six years, Mr.Lewis was
occupied by the Second World War, being, in actual fact, the first High School
teacher to volunteer for the conflict. While he was away, Mr.R.M.G.Lock
deputised for him.

April 1935

“The
Nottinghamian” announced that D.E.Stocker, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, had
won a half-blue for Lacrosse. His defence, according to “The Times”, was “very
sound”.

April 1935

Although
the school sports were no longer very much like their Victorian forebears, they
still contained a number of events which would be considered unusual today. These
included the 300 yards sprint, the 150 yards sprint, throwing the cricket ball,
house relays, house shuttle relays, tutor set relays and junior tutor set
relays, as well as a whole series of “House Tugs” and “Tutor Set Tugs”.

Summer Term
1935

In
1935, the First Eleven remained undefeated throughout the entire cricket
season. This was only the second time that this had ever happened, the first
having been in 1923, although in the latter year the team had managed to win a
greater proportion of its fixtures, and had drawn fewer matches. It is
impossible to say, of course, whether its opponents were any stronger or weaker
than those of the First Eleven in 1935.

The
full record in 1935 was eight matches won out of thirteen, with five drawn. A
grand total of 1,377 runs was scored for the loss of 75 wickets, and 1,439 runs
were conceded, for 106 wickets taken. The highest score of the season was 87
not out by Gayton against Loughborough Grammar School, and Reg Simpson made 67
not out against Ratcliffe College. Evans took 41 wickets at 9.39, and Dickenson
took 32 wickets at 13.72. The latter achieved 6-27 against Ratcliffe College,
and Evans managed 6-19 against Derby, 6-29 against Notts Amateurs, 6-30 against
King Edward’s School, Sheffield, and 6-32 against Forest Amateurs.

Friday, July
5th 1935

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...J.O.Coy, Upper VB, had been
reported by Mabbott for scaling the rifle-range wall. He had also put his
clumsy feet through the asbestos roof of the cycle shed. He acknowledged the
crime and accepted the 2 strokes, awarded him by a “leniently-inclined”
assembly.”

Thursday, September
19th 1935

The 1st
XV went to Coventry to see the New Zealand All Blacks beat the Midland Counties
by 3-9. Later in the season, they were to watch Leicester play the same
opponents.

As is
so often the case, however, the writer of the article in “The Nottinghamian”
bemoaned how much better the players of the past had been, compared to those of
the present...“...the game today has lost the spirit of attack...since the days
of the Harlequins under A.D.Stoop, the finest rugger has been where the ball
has been thrown about from one side of the field to the other...the finest type
of the game is still to be found in the annual battle between Blackheath and
the Harlequins.”

One
dreads to think how the writer, or indeed, A.D.Stoop himself, would view the
game today !

Friday,
September 27th 1935

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Birkett, Upper VB, was warned for
wearing a coloured tie : on his pleading that he had no other at the beginning
of the term, he was let off.

King
W.L.,  Lower 5C, was given 30 lines Rule
28 for his persistent habit of riding out of the School without dismounting :
he was also warned for his customary dangerous method of cycling. Hind J.G.,
Lower 5A, had been seen sitting outside the School on an ice-cream seller’s
barrow in a capless condition. He was awarded 10 lines for each offence.”

October 1935

Captain
Ernest Alfred Pollard died at his house, 189, Perry Road. He was in his 64th
year. Sergeant J.H.Fell took formal charge of the Gymnasium. This was the third
death in what “The Nottinghamian” called “Black 1935”.

Captain
Pollard had seen considerable service in the army, having joined the Robin
Hoods as a boy, and then enlisting in the 1st Battalion of the Sherwood
Foresters. He suffered greatly in the Boer War, but did not hesitate to
volunteer for the Great War, and served for five years in France and Ireland
with the 2/8th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters.

As
school secretary, he worked for many years of “loyal and devoted service”. In
his spare time, Captain Pollard was one of the honorary secretaries of the
recently revived Old Boys’ Society, and a member of the Sherwood Foresters’
Comrades Association, and the Nottingham and District War Pensions Committee.
He was a keen photographer, a lover of wildlife, and a regular worshipper at
Sherwood Methodist Church. He conducted a Sunday afternoon Bible class in connection
with the Milk Street Mission.

Wednesday,
October 2nd 1935

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...An extraordinary meeting was held during 5th
period this morning to deal with the spate of caplessness consequent on Speech
Day. The prefects had previously detailed that stern measures must be taken to
combat this form of crime which appeared to be gaining in public favour yearly.
A large number of boys, chiefly in the upper part of the school, and even
including Sixth Formers, were interviewed. Twenty two of them, having offered
paltry excuses, or even none at all, were set lines, averaging twenty each...Bloomfield,
Upper IVA, appeared last night in an offensively green tie : he had
already been warned for wearing this. His excuses being entirely frivolous, he
was sentenced to two strokes : he likewise declined to appeal.”

Saturday,
October 5th 1935

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Dodds, Bonello, Healey and Simpson received
their strokes at break today, the new Prefects showing considerable skill and vigour.

Tuesday, October
15th 1935

The
Detention Book records how R.G.Hill of the Fourth Form was “generally a
nuisance : to-day whistling in class”.

Friday,
November 15th 1935

The
Prefects’ Book records that “...Hawley was very well beaten this break.”

December 1935

“The
Nottinghamian”, for perhaps the first time ever, actually included a section
that might be construed as vulgar...“...This term uncouth noises have shattered
the calm serenity of the Prefects’ Room. Do these emanate from the Orchestra’s
promised wind instruments, or do they have a baser origin ?”.

Monday, December
9th 1935

The
“Nottingham Journal” carried an article about the history of the Free Grammar
School, which it contrasted with the present school...

“...On
a healthy, elevated site stands its successor ; the High School for Boys--a
school that carries on worthily and well the traditions of its ancient and
noble precursor ; a school in size, in nobleness of architecture, in proud
record and honoured name undreamt of by its founder.”

Thursday, January
9th 1936

Albert
Grant Onion, groundsman at Mapperley Park, died at the premature age of only sixty
four. He had worked at the High School since 1897, after spells at Edinburgh,
Huntingdon and King William’s College, on the Isle of Man. Onion coached the
High School cricketers with great enthusiasm, and saw many of them go on to do
very well with local clubs. In twenty five years, he did not miss umpiring a
single First Eleven fixture, and was famed for his fairness and impartiality.
He and his wife and daughters were responsible, too, for preparing all of the
teas for the players. In 1929, not without certain pangs of regret, he moved to
Valley Road, and was soon busy creating excellent wickets at the new sports
ground.

With
the boys, Onion would “stand no nonsense”, and set them an example of
“straight, temperate and vigorous manhood”. Many of them would not easily
forget his strident calls of “Watch that ball !  Bring that left across !  Wait
o’ the short ones !  Lay on to the short ones ! ”

Monday, February
10th 1936

The new
Assembly Hall was dedicated on this date. Originally, school prayers had been
held in the West School, but when this was converted into a library, they were
then held in the Drawing Room upstairs. The school had never had a proper Assembly
Hall, but again, the generous J.D.Player stepped forward, and paid for one to
be built. After this, the East Quadrangle was turfed, and provided with a
covered walkway which allowed boys to walk to assembly without getting wet if
it ever rained. The Assembly Hall was also to be equipped with a new organ,
consisting of a pedal organ, great organ and swell organ. It was completely
electrical, with the console at the opposite end of the hall from the organ
itself.

Thankfully,
the Assembly Hall was never consecrated as a Christian site of worship, and
this wise decision allowed it to be used for plays, debates, concerts and
functions. It was the Headmaster, Mr.Reynolds who devised the system whereby if
the School Bible was resting on its lectern, then the hall was a place of
worship, but if not, then it could was being used for secular purposes.
Mr.Reynolds wanted to call it the Player Hall, but this was resisted by Player
himself, who said that it should not be a “Player’s Hall, but a Workers’ Hall.”
To this day, Player’s portrait remains in his hall.

An
appeal for chairs for the new Assembly Hall was made around the time of its
construction. A total of some six hundred were needed, and initially, there
were a number of worries, because only 180 donors came forward. Each one had
their name carved on the back of the chair, and the dates when they had
attended the school. Many of these chairs, despite being used almost every day
of the school year, still survived more than sixty years later.

The
windows in the Hall were resplendent with stained glass coats of arms. They
represented, on the north side, King Henry VIII, the Universities of Cambridge
and Oxford, the City of Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell. On the
southern side, the shields were those of Sir Thomas White, the University of
London, the Duke of Portland, Nottingham University College, Henry VIII, and
Nottinghamshire County Council. The latter coat-of-arms was unauthorised, in
that permission to use it had not been officially granted by the Heralds’
College. It was the same case with the two shields on the balcony, which were
early versions of the school eventual coat of arms, recognised officially in
1949. Heraldically, these two rather charming shields represented “Argent,
three blackbirds rising proper” and “Argent, three blackbirds statant proper”.

Saturday, June
27th 1936

The
school was shocked to hear of the sudden death of Mr.Clement Elphinstone
Radcliffe Holmes. He had been at work as recently as Tuesday, June 23rd,
although “for some little time he had not felt quite up to the mark.” He was
taken ill in the night, and next day had an “urgent and serious” operation at
the General Hospital. To begin with, he seemed to have made a slight recovery,
but “the struggle was hopeless” and he died within four days of first being
taken ill.

Mr.Holmes
had served the school for twenty one years, as a teacher of Spanish and French.
He was a keen supporter of the Old Boys’ Rugger and Cricket Clubs, and played
golf and tennis in his later years.

Saturday, July
15th 1936

A
return party of Danes arrived in Nottingham. They were immediately taken up to the
High School, and given lunch. During the course of their visit, they were to be
given a civic welcome by the Lord Mayor in the Council House, and went on,
later in the week, to visit the castle, Wollaton Hall, Bestwood Pit, the Peak
District, and Boots’ Factory at Beeston.

August 7th 1936

At the Berlin
Olympics, Arthur Willoughby, “Fuzzy”, Barton refereed the
game between Norway and Germany at the Poststadion, Berlin, in front of a crowd
of some 50,000 spectators. Germany, anticipating an easy victory, rested three
of their best players, and lost by 0-2, having conceded a single goal in the
first half.

Unfortunately,
Barton did not get the chance to socialise either with the Führer or with the
German players after the match. During the evening, when the official Olympic
party went to the German headquarters in the Olympic village, to commiserate
with the gallant losers, they found that a furious Hitler had sent them all
home in disgrace. This is believed to be the only football match that the
Führer ever watched.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty One : Arthur
Willoughby Barton”.

Christmas Term
1936

The
Hobbies Club met throughout this term, with Meccano and stamps being the boys’
main interests.

In
addition, on Wednesday and Friday evenings, and during every lunch time except
Thursday and Saturday, chess was also played. There were junior matches against
William Crane School (lost 4-6), and a senior fixture against the University
(3-3). In December, the junior team exacted their revenge on William Crane
School, winning by 6-3. Mr.Hodson, a Nottinghamshire County player, visited the
school, and playing nine boys simultaneously, won by 8-1.

Monday, November
2nd 1936

The
Economics VI and Remove visited the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby, where they
saw a large number of car and aircraft engines being constructed. They were
completely deafened by a twelve cylinder aircraft engine, which was being run
continuously for six days. When they remarked upon just how loud it was, the
boys were told, “You should hear it without the silencer.”

Other
subsequent visits were planned for Player’s Tobacco Factory, Ericsson’s
Telephone Works, Lawrence’s Furniture Works at Colwick, the “Nottingham
Guardian” printing works and the Barlock Typewriter Factory at Basford, as well
as a keenly anticipated trip to Boots at Beeston.

Christmas 1936

Aspiring
poets will not have been unduly put off by the opposition when “ The

Nottinghamian ”appeared at the end
of term....

The cherry trees are white with bloom,

The bluebells shiver in the breeze,

The orchard is like a snow white room,

For the cherry trees are white with bloom :

And the apple bough breaks with a boom,

The violets sway beneath the trees,

And the cherry trees are white with bloom,

The bluebells shiver in the breeze.

J.P., IIA.

An interesting historical insight
came with...

I’ve never been good at writing verse,

I’ve always thought it a dreadful curse,

I’d much rather go to the pictures to see

Clark Gable, than write Gray’s Elegy.

Saturday, January
2nd 1937

In a
move unprecedented for the members of the Church of England, Old Boy
H.G.Proctor resigned his curacy at St.John’s Church, Long Eaton. He explained
to the press that he could no longer believe in the fundamental doctrines of
Christianity...much to his distress. He was definitely not an atheist, he still
believed that God was good, and that men should strive to live good lives, but
nevertheless, he felt that he could no longer accept the Christian faith in the
manner laid down by the Church, and that the only honest course was to resign,
and to seek some other occupation. In actual fact, he took up farming, and
moved to Durham.

Monday, March
29th 1937

A party
of thirty senior boys left for a school visit to Paris, which the school
magazine described enthusiastically as “the gay city”. Travelling by train,
they visited the Louvre, Les Invalides, Fontainebleau, Versailles, and the Arc
de Triomphe. The party then went to Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame, and the zoo at the
Bois de Vincennes, from which latter site one member returned only very late
into the night.

Monday, April
12th 1937

Lieutenant
E.S.R.France, of the 3/7th Rajput Regiment, was killed, along with twenty nine
others, in the Shahur Gorge, on the Manzai-Wana road, on India’s North-West
Frontier. They had been attacked by the forces of the Fakir of Ipi, the
“firebrand of the frontier”. France was twenty three years of age.

Summer Term
1937

For the
first time in its history, numbers at the Preparatory Department reached just
over a hundred boys.

Tuesday, July
20th 1937

The
teaching staff continued to implement its strict policy of stamping out
excessive happiness in any of its guises. K.W.Savidge received a detention for
“whistling in school”.

summer 1937

After
his half-blue for Lacrosse, Wilfrid Payton won a full blue at Cambridge for
cricket, opening the batting with Paul Gibb. Payton later became a padre in the
R.A.F., and played for Derbyshire when available. In 1932, he had captained the
School 1st XI, and finished the season with the outstanding, and record,
batting average of 67.78. Eventually, the Reverend “Weg” Payton was to become
Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force, where he was able to recruit
sufficient numbers of other cricketing clergymen for the R.A.F. to remain the
strongest of the three services at cricket. After his retirement, in 1969, he
was to found Helen’s House in Oxford, the first children’s hospice in the
world. He died in 1989.

1937

This
year, the dining room was enlarged to seat two hundred pupils. John Player once
again provided the school with an enormous sum of money, on this occasion £50,000,
to build a new West Block, as a counterpart to the recently constructed
Assembly Hall, gymnasium and East Quadrangle. Originally, the new classrooms
were designed to house the Preparatory Department and the Second and Third Forms.

In
actual fact, what now seems to be a rather daring decision was subsequently
taken by the governors, that at the same time as the West Block was being
constructed, the middle section of the school, with its famous upturned boat
shaped roof, would be demolished, and replaced by a new three storey science
block.

1937

The old
Sixth Form cycle shed, by now a very ramshackle structure, was demolished and
an orderly room was built on the site. The dining room was also extended around
this time.

the rugby
season, 1937 - 1938

The
Captain of Rugby was J.F.Walker. He remains the only person in High School
history to have captained the First XV for three successive years, having
already performed this duty in the 1935-1936 and 1936-1937 seasons. Overall,
his record was...

P
W      D      L       F            A

45
25      2      18      642        516

Monday,
November 29th 1937

The
school was visited by Herr Paul Brann and his Munich Marionette Theatre. The
performances of “Faustus” and “A Nativity Play” were “...revelations of skill
and artistry”.

Christmas Term
1937

The
Christian Union is mentioned in “The Nottinghamian” for the first time. They
met at 4.20 pm. on Wednesday afternoons, and were one of the very few school
societies founded at the request of the boys. Their meetings consisted of a
hymn, a prayer, a Bible reading and a short talk.

Christmas Term
1937

This
term also saw, rather ironically perhaps, the foundation of the “World Peace
Society”. Meetings, which took place at 4.30 pm. on Mondays, discussed topics
as varied as how the life and teaching of Christ would prevent another world
war, and the successes of the League of Nations.

Christmas Term
1937

The
Second XV enjoyed a record start to their season, with five victories out of
five. They were against Old Nottinghamians “C” (33-3), Leicester Wyggeston 2nd
XV (5-0), Grantham 2nd XV (30-3), Henry Mellish C.C.S. 2nd XV (9-6) and
Ratcliffe College 2nd XV (11-8).

Christmas Term
1937

Chess
had by now expanded a little, with matches against Boots Second Team (won) and
plans for another match against University College, Nottingham. In the near
future, house matches were to be organised, and more, and better, chess sets
purchased.

January 1938

The
builders, as builders everywhere have always been wont to do, promised
faithfully that the West Block would be finished within fourteen weeks. The
middle block still stood untouched at this time.

January 1938

A
succession of international crises, with Herr Hitler’s territorial ambitions
making a Second World War look increasingly likely, led the governors to set up
a sub-committee to examine Air Raid Precautions. They decided that the best
course of action would be to provide an air-raid shelter for the entire Main
School under the new science block, once it was built. In theory, even a direct
hit on the science block would be beneficial, since it would provide rubble to
protect the occupants of the shelter from any subsequent bombs.

Certainly,
the plan was a lot more feasible than the architect’s first idea, which was to
hollow out a huge shelter in the rock under the school yard.

The
Preparatory School was to have its own shelter, in the existing rock cellars
under their own classrooms. They were strengthened and provided with benches
and candles. There were already two existing staircases, but escape holes were
also provided at both ends.

These
plans were made possible by the fact that the whole of the City of Nottingham,
which at the time the Ministry of Health did not consider to have any primary targets
for Luftwaffe attack, was designated a “Neutral Zone”, from which children
would not need to be evacuated.

April 1938

“The
Nottinghamian” published the following poem, written by N.E.S. of  IIA...

MY LATIN.

Of all the lessons taught at school,

“Latin” takes the biscuit ;

I think I'd rather learn Chinese,

Anyhow, I'd risk it.

With “pugnabis” and “pugnabat”

And and second declensions,

I'm always getting a hundred lines

Or else a few detentions.

Why can't we study “botany”,

And learn about the “daisies”

Instead of swotting “G.N.C.”

And learning “Adverb Phrases” ?

They say that Latin clears the brain,

That may be-- but I doubt it ;

I would not like to see in print

The things I think about it.

The memorising is the worst,

T'would make a Polar Bear grunt ;

Fancy learning things like this : --

“Imus istis erunt. ”

Oh, Latin gives me sleepless nights

The Grammar--I could burn it.

The hardest task the Romans had

Was when they had to learn it.

Easter Term
1938

The
Economic Sixth visited Bilsthorpe Colliery, the Rolls-Royce works at Derby,
Hollin’s Works in Nottingham, where they saw the latest in business technology,
the amazing “teleprinter”, and the offices of the Nottingham Guardian. At the
latter site, they were each given a free newspaper.

Wednesday, May
11th 1938

Sammy
Corner died at his home in Croydon, aged eighty four, after retiring in 1914.
He had worked for thirty seven years at the High School, the last twenty four
of them as Second Master. He seems to have been one of the most popular men
ever to work in the High School, and his obituary in “The Nottinghamian” is
perhaps the most complimentary ever to appear in its pages.

It
speaks of his “vivid personality, utterly devoted to the service of the School.
No trouble was too great for him to take...very rarely did his colleagues hear
him speak disparagingly of any boy...he had indeed ‘a soft spot’ for
boys...They were similarly affected in return, shown by the warmth with which
mention of him is invariably received at any gathering of his Old Boys... Like
James Hilton’s Mr.Chips, having no children of his own, he might yet claim to
have ‘thousands of ‘em...thousands of ‘em...and all boys.”

Mr.J.Llewellyn
Davies, the President of the Old Boys’ Society, spoke of how “...I still have a
clear memory of the joy with which that master welcomed a visit from a former
pupil...such interest and kindness were heartily reciprocated.”

At
least one Old Boy described Sammy as “...an elderly man who, in the
winter-time, wore all day long two overcoats under his tattered gown, a woollen
scarf round his neck and mittens on his hands, the whole crowned by a
mortar-board which always seemed to be the worse for wear.”

P.C.Sands,
a Headmaster himself, recounted how... “...I last saw him slowly proceeding up
Waverley Street, books under his arm, spectacles on nose, lost in thought, but
just waking up to look warily up and down before crossing the road to his
house. To speak to him meant a long delay, for he loved to launch himself upon
School memories, and his memory was capacious. So one had to stand, before
button-holing him, for he was too abstracted to see you unless you stopped
him...of his editorial energy was the “Forester” born...it was as Chairman of
the Debating Society that one remembers him best...his interests were so wide,
he fell easy prey to those who preferred General  Knowledge to Geometry. To get
him to leave Euclid book XI for a talk on meteors was almost too easy. Another
way of getting relief from Geometry was to ask for a window to be closed.
“Sammy” swathed himself in a scarf, owing to a cold, liked all windows opened,
and he would promptly call for a match to test the draught across the room, and
demonstrate the absence of current...But what a kindly man ! Those grey-blue
eyes under bushy eyebrows, looking at you with such affection and humour,
disarmed all schoolboy aggressiveness. Only good nature was felt for “Sammy”.
If he could not stick to the point in his lessons, he gave you a multitudinous
number of hints on general affairs, including health. But his chief work
was...how shall we put it ? His old title of Usher does not embrace it, and he
was hardly a Major Domo. Perhaps Remembrancer would be a suitable title for
him. Anyway, he was the Spirit of the School, embracing all its best interests
and affections, and pride of success.”

Another
Old Boy, F.C.Boon told how...“...one man maintained a lone fight to produce
what one knows as public spirit. Corner founded and nursed the Debating
Society, ran the Library and started a Bicycle Club, which made every away
match the objective of its run. Boys then did not watch school games, and
Corner’s cycle club was almost the only way to attempt to encourage them to do
so...He spent much of his holidays in searching the City archives for material for
a history of the School...he edited the annual School List...he seemed to
follow the careers of every Old Boy...I learnt much about him, especially from
his sister who told me how he endeavoured to save from the builders a piece of
land adjacent to the School to serve as a playing field. He went round to the
Governors and others, to urge the importance of this, but he was in advance of
his time, and failed...Once a gathering of old boys were reviewing the
promotions of their old masters. “And has Sammy Corner got his school yet ?”
“He has had one for years.” “Really ! What is it ?” “Nottingham High School.”

September 1938

During
the Munich crisis, with the air-raid shelters still in the planning stage, the
school was forced to dig a number of zigzag trenches across the lawns, tennis
courts and shrubberies at the front of the school. This was done by Mr.Duddell,
Mr.Palmer and a “host of senior boys”. When Mr.Chamberlain returned from Munich
with his piece of paper, and “peace in our time”, however, the boys suddenly
became extremely reluctant to continue the trench digging, and it was perhaps
fortunate that the bulk of the work had been done.

Shortly
after this, Mr.Reynolds was told that, in the event of war, the Board of
Education or the Ministry of Health would either find a place to which the
school might be evacuated, or, a less likely scenario, perhaps, would give the
school permission to remain at their traditional site.

This
situation came about because the City Fathers, having felt rather insulted by
having had the “Queen of the Midlands” designated a “Neutral Zone”, had
protested to the government, and the City’s vulnerability had therefore been
upgraded to“Dangerous”, mainly because of the presence of a gun factory near
the Midland Station. On a national scale, the plan was to evacuate all children
in dangerous areas to safe ones.

With
this in mind, both Mr.Reynolds, and Miss Merryfield, the Headmistress of the
Girls’ School, had viewed a number of properties to the north of the City.
Eventually, the girls were to remove themselves to Ramsdale Hall between Arnold
and Calverton, but the boys were to have much less luck.

Burgate
House near Southwell was too small, Holme Pierrepont Hall was too spooky, and
Bestwood Lodge, priced at £60,000 by the agents of the Duke of St.Albans was
too expensive by a very large margin. Eventually, the Headmaster and Governors
decided on a deliberate policy of inactivity, which would put the ball firmly
in the government’s court.

September 1938

The
newly completed West Block was ready for classes to move in, although it was
planned to use it initially for older forms than was originally intended, the
middle block having been demolished, in a vast cloud of dust, prior to a new
round of construction work. It was to be gradually rebuilt as a science block
over the course of the next five years.

First
to be completed was the air raid shelter, which was divided into a number of
separate compartments, each one of which was designed to hold some fifty boys.
In between were blast walls, with electric motors which kept the air
circulating. There were blast-proof steel doors and Elsan toilets.

Sunday, October
16th 1938

Former
member of staff, J.F.Carrington, sent a letter back to the High School from his
new post as a missionary at Yakusu, fifteen miles west of Stanleyville, in what
was then the Belgian Congo.

He
wrote that “boys enjoy coming to school in the Congo”, and if lazy boys were
not working properly on their manual tasks, they could be encouraged to do
their job properly by threats of a week’s enforced holiday from school.

Saturday,
October 22nd 1938

A group
of boys went to Castle Donington to see the “greatest race of the year”. It was
started by the Duke of Kent, although the boys did not see this, as they arrived
after the first few laps had taken place. Even so, the race still had two hours
to run. Contestants included cars from Auto-Union, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati,
Delahaye, E.R.A., M.G., Alta and Riley.

For the
first twenty-six laps, Nuvolari led in an Auto-Union, and the boys saw a number
of near misses, crashes and skids, involving Nuvolari himself, Von
Brauschitsch, Hasse, who missed a tree by inches, and tore up a length of
fencing, and Richard Seaman, the British driver of a Mercedes-Benz, whose car
was eventually restarted for him by race officials. After around sixty laps,
the engine of Baumer’s Mercedes burst into flames, and Lang, who was leading,
was passed on the straight by Nuvolari at 165 m.p.h. The latter was to be first
past the chequered flag, the second consecutive time that Auto-Union had won
the race. The team prize was won by a British team, E.R.A., driven by Dobson,
Connell and Billy Cotton, the famous band leader. Only eight of the seventeen
starters finished, with both Delahayes, the Maserati, the Riley, the Alta, and
a number of Auto-Unions and Mercedes-Benz all being forced to retire.

Wednesday,
November 30th 1938

The
school orchestra gave its first concert since it was refounded over five years
previously, playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major. Numbers had continued
to grow, with around thirty-five members, although there was a shortage of
brass and viola players

1939

The
cycle shed on the western edge of the playground was converted into an armoury
for the C.C.F., and a boiler house was added next to it. The boys’ cycles were
eventually to be stored in a huge green shed put up by the Army.

Friday, January
27th 1939

The
Detention Book records how Mr.Gregg failed completely to see the funny side of
the situation when J.A.Chambers of UVM was judged guilty of “having the
impudence to snowball masters”.

Spring Term
1939

The
recently formed Aeronautical Society went from strength to strength, with over
sixty members. They enthusiastically attended lectures on rubber band winding,
and using microfilms to cover glider wings. More than thirty boys all bought a
glider kit, priced at 1s 2d, to enter the flying competition, and the secretary
had contacted Imperial Airways to arrange a lantern lecture. Plans were also in
hand to visit aerodromes in the warmer summer weather.

Thursday, April
13th 1939

Despite
the evident risks of Herr Hitler’s territorial demands in Europe, the High
school sent a party under the leadership of Messrs Beeby and Thomas to
Provence, visiting the traditional sites of Les Baux, Nîmes, Saintes Maries de
la Mer and Avignon.

At the
latter location, the boys saw “...a harmless type of bull-baiting peculiar to
Provence, to the accompaniment of a blaring loudspeaker and Cuban tangos played
by an unbelievable band of kettle-drums and obscure brass instruments.”

Elsewhere,
they were to see preparations for war, including the grim faces of regular
French troops, the red fezzes of the African zouaves and the piles of machine
guns behind the cathedral at Avignon. The latter were, of course, to remain
relatively unused.

Thursday, May
18th 1939

Playing
against Notts Amateurs, the High School was bowled out for a record low total
of only seven. Shepherd was top scorer with three, Mason and Knight made two,
and eight batsmen scored ducks. D.H.Vaulkhard took five wickets for four runs,
and W.A.Sime took five for three.

Tuesday, August
1st – Wednesday, August 9th, 1939

Like
those of every other school in the country, the High School’s O.T.C. camp was
cancelled because of the state of national emergency. Undaunted, a private camp
was organised on the Duke of Portland’s estate at Welbeck, and 111 cadets,
three officers and one instructor attended. It turned out to be one of the
wettest Augusts on record, although the High School comforted themselves that
they stayed on, when many Territorial and Militia units were washed out.

Sunday, September
3rd, 1939

The day
war broke out, the Headmaster and many of the staff, despite the continuing
international crisis, were not in Nottingham. The Ministry of Health rang up to
say that the entire school could stay where they were, but, unfortunately, did
not bother to communicate this information to the Town Clerk, who was the local
billeting officer. The latter then allocated a gun battery of the South Notts
Hussars to what he believed was an empty school.

The
Headmaster returned to Nottingham to hear the sirens for the very first air
raid on the City. He was told of the Ministry’s decision by Dr.Blandy, the
Chairman of the Governors, but when he entered the School Office, he was
surprised to find an extremely rude officer of the South Notts Hussars, who
proceeded to treat him as “one of the lower animals”, because he was wearing a
scarf over a boil on his neck rather than the more usual collar and tie.

September,
1939

A
compromise was reached whereby the army would take just the recently completed
West Block, and the dining room. This meant the temporary loss of much new
equipment, including the washing-up machine, crockery and cutlery with the
school crest, and a tuck shop full of chocolate.

The
boys could have the rest, including the rubble of the recently demolished
middle block. When it was suggested that the Army should have the older parts
of the school, and that the boys should have the newer section, this was
refused, on the grounds that the condition of the older section was not up to
the army’s high standards.

The
following day, a party of gunners appeared, and they painted blue every window
in the occupied buildings. Unfortunately, the dedicated Mr.Hubbuck was away on
holiday, but his assistant, Mr.Boot, did much to rescue desks, chairs and other
furniture from the military invasion. This upset the army officers, who wanted
the chairs for their men, and there was a large disagreement between Lieutenant
“M.” and Mr.Beeby.

Overall,
though, relationships in the long term between the military and the school were
not as difficult as they might have been, as Captain D.M.Smith was an Old Boy,
as were two of his subalterns, including Robert St.C.Page, who had been at the
High School before the Great War, and who had written a novel based on his
experiences there, “The Three Merles”.

Even
so, “The Nottinghamian” was to speak indignantly of “...two batteries of Field
Artillery upon our doorstep...the far from cheerful, far from musical, hoarse
orders of livid Lieutenants, of savage Sergeant-Majors, and of blasphemous
Bombardiers...we live in fear of the dread, noxious vapours which may descend
upon us unseen, unheard, perhaps even unsmelt...we cannot move without dragging
with us a silly, censored little box.”

Monday, October
2nd 1939

Because
of the worries of both the Governors and the City Council, the school term did
not begin until this date. In actual fact, the Luftwaffe were not quite as
quick to make Nottingham their number one priority, and initial fears of
immediate and intense aerial attack remained for the most part unfulfilled.

Luckily
perhaps, a reduced total of only five hundred boys remained in the school at
this time, but nevertheless, to the great sorrow of the boys, for the whole
term, the school was open only in the mornings, and Saturday school had to be
cancelled completely.

Throughout
the school day, the army could be heard practicing their artillery drill in the
yard, and this would only stop for the boys’ break. When the air raid sirens
sounded, the entire school would be in their shelters in less than five
minutes. The prefects were a great help at this time, and performed with great
efficiency. After Christmas, when they were at Valley Road, their job was done
equally well by the monitors of the Upper Fifth.

In
theory, the soldiers were to use the trenches which had originally been dug for
the Munich crisis, but in practise, when the sirens went, which was usually at
night, they were able to occupy the same underground shelters which the boys
used in the daytime. They nicknamed the underground shelters the “Maginot
Line”.

Surprisingly
though, it was during this term that, by his own admission, Mr.Reynolds “through
lack of other occupation... attained a higher standard of golf that term than
ever before or since.”

early 1940

The
weather during the first part of the year was of a ferocious severity, with
heavy snowfalls and severe frosts. Even in the city itself, travel by bus or
car was extremely difficult, and walking was the only reliable way of getting
around. Added to this was an epidemic of influenza. On average, every day,
eight staff and over a hundred boys were absent, and every morning at prayers,
the Headmaster would announce an emergency timetable to allow lessons to
proceed in a meaningful way.

Another
difficulty in school was that because of the building work, there was no access
to the main corridor, and whenever a boy wished to go to another block, he had
to go outside into the snow.

early 1940

Second
Lieutenant Bruce Arthur Richardson of the Sherwood Foresters was killed in
fighting somewhere on the Western Front. He had previously captained the School
Cricket XI, and played for the 2nd XV. At Caius College, Cambridge, he had
enjoyed touring with an amateur cricket side called “The Vandals”.

Friday, March
8th 1940

The
Detention Book records how Kirk of MIV was punished, somewhat unluckily
perhaps, because of “persistent unstable conduct”.

Spring Term
1940

After
an initial term without any afternoon school, a full timetable of lessons
resumed from January onwards. Because of the risk of being caught in the
streets during an air raid if they went out for lunch, all boys had to bring
sandwiches, which were eaten in their form rooms. The boys were supervised, and
cocoa was brought round by Mr.Boot.

It was
two ingenious masters, namely Messrs Kennard and Duddell, who had come up with
an emergency timetable, and the school’s accommodation problems were thereby
solved. The entire school was divided up into groups of forms, and each group
then spent just one day per week at Valley Road. In the mornings, they had
normal classes, and in the afternoon, they had games.

This
killed two birds with one stone, since there was already a searchlight in the
north-west corner of the games field, and it was thought that the army had
desires on the pavilion itself. Using the building not just for games, but also
for teaching, was thought to be a sure way of preventing this.

The
masters, who in many cases were forced to commute between the main school and
Valley Road by bicycle, were somewhat less than happy with this situation, and
for this reason, their relations with the occupying military forces were
frequently less than cordial.

On the
other hand, though, they did appreciate their new staffroom at the pavilion,
which had previously been the old staff changing room. It was vastly superior
to the staffroom at school which, before the army’s arrival, had been the room
in which Sergeant-Major Fell changed his shoes. This was a mere “blade-hole”
occupied by some twenty men, most of them smoking.

The tea
brewing room at the back of the pavilion was now shared with the full time
wardens of the A.R.P. post, which had been constructed at the back of the
original building

Spring Term
1940

“The
Nottinghamian” deplored the decline in the use of the fives court, due to the
bitterly cold weather and darkness of the severe winter...“There is no more
vigorous or enjoyable sport than fives when it is played properly”.

Another
problem was that due to the ravages of Hitler’s U-boat packs, it was becoming
increasingly difficult to get good quality balls at a reasonable price. The
only solution seemed to be to try to acquire balls in large quantities, but
this would, of course, have to depend on demand.

1940

What
might have been a very serious fire in the new West Block was only prevented by
the vigilance of the ever watchful caretaker, Mr.Hubbuck. It started in the
quartermaster’s room, which later became the bookroom, and soon spread to the
N.A.A.F.I., later to become the Prep Handicraft Room. Mr.Hubbuck saw soldiers
rushing up the stairs carrying buckets of water, and promptly called the Fire Brigade.
Minor damage was caused by the flames, and, typically, much more by the water
from the Forest Road hydrants used to put them out. For months afterwards, the
roof of that corner of the building had to be covered by a tarpaulin while it
was repaired.

Not
long after this episode, the school became a sorting depot for troops who had
survived the Dunkirk evacuation, and the South Notts Hussars departed, taking a
large amount of school equipment with them. On one evening in Arboretum Street,
Mr.Hubbock came across a group of youths who were stealing ropes from the
gymnasium of the Girls’ High School. He got the ropes back by pretending to be
a plain clothes policeman, but was astonished to find that the military had
left the school without even locking it.

The
South Notts Hussars were replaced by the Pioneer Corps “a tough set of chaps”.
They in their turn left and the anti-aircraft school of the Royal Artillery
arrived.

Saturday, April
6th 1940

The
School Sports were held after only three weeks’ preparation, a situation
brought about by the severe weather, and the congestion caused by a lengthened
rugby season. Much attention was paid by spectators to what “The Nottinghamian”
called “the less common events, Throwing the Javelin and Throwing the Discus
(sic)”. Using what the magazine called “the wild convulsive efforts of the
modern style”, Redgate won both events, the former with a distance of 134 feet,
and the latter with a throw of 93 feet 2 inches. Both were records at the time.

Thursday, May
16th 1940

Robert
Percy Paulson died of appendicitis while on active service abroad as a gunner
with the Royal Horse Artillery. He was nineteen years of age, and had been
training as a tailor.

Summer Term
1940

The
school inaugurated a Savings Association, with around eighty members. Their
rôle was to sell Sixpenny National Savings Stamps, and thereby to help the war
effort.

Saturday, June
8th 1940

Sergeant
H.B.Guttridge, having been reported as missing, believed killed, was now
reported as having been taken prisoner by the Germans. He was “well and
comfortable, and is being treated quite well”.

Saturday, June
15th 1940

An
ex-master at the High School, Edwin William Lovegrove, was reported killed near
Dunkirk. He was thirty-two years of age, and held the rank of Lieutenant in the
Sherwood Foresters, having joined up with his great rugby playing friend,
E.M.T.Bunny.

Lovegrove had left the school in
1937, after five years’ teaching. He was an outstanding athlete, and a good
rugby player, having appeared at fly-half for Notts Rugby Club, and the Notts,
Lincolnshire and Derbyshire XV. At Oxford, he had only missed his blue by
breaking a leg the week before the Varsity Match. As a keen cricketer, he had
played for Forest Amateurs, Notts. Amateur Cricket Club, the Nottinghamshire
2nd XI, and Suffolk. At the High School, he had been a popular figure with both
boys and other staff. He left a widow.

Monday, July
22nd 1940

The
Detention Book records how Mr.R.D.Stewart gave Checkley of 2A a detention for
“Blasphemy”.

the summer holidays
1940

A
farming camp was organised by an Old Boy, Mr.Allder, at Elston. The boys
usually spent either a week or a fortnight away from home, engaged in farming
work. A second camp, organised by Mr.Palmer at Car Colston, also started during
this year, and continued annually until 1949. Mr.Palmer did all the cooking,
helped by various other teachers on a weekly or fortnightly rota. As well as being
the acting Head of Mathematics, Mr.Palmer was the Commanding Officer of the
Junior Training Corps, and a Captain in the Home Guard. Eventually, in 1949, he
was to receive a gold watch and a pipe from the farmers of Car Colston for his
invaluable help over more than a decade.

1940

The
Officer Training Corps, founded in 1900, became a Junior Training Corps. Later
in the war, the school was to establish a squadron in the Air Training Corps.

Throughout the conflict, there was
a school section of the 1st.Notts Battalion Home Guard, consisting of some Old
Boys, and senior members of the J.T.C. Many boys were also in the L.D.V., and,
indeed, the strange situation occasionally occurred when teachers awaiting
call-up served in this organisation, but were then under the command of Sixth
Form N.C.Os.

1940

Louis
George Hore was “lost at sea as a result of enemy action”. After leaving the
High School in 1903, Hore had gone to work at John Brown’s shipyard in Glasgow,
where he had helped construct the Lusitania.

When
the Great War broke out, he first went to sea, but in order to get some real
action, he then joined the 7th Notts & Derbyshire Regiment. Hore fought in
the great battle at Hohenzollern Redoubt in November 1915, and, after being
badly wounded, was invalided out of the army. He rejoined the Merchant Navy,
and survived being torpedoed by a German submarine.

Years
later, in peacetime, he was to have his ship cut in half by a coral reef during
a typhoon off the West Indies. Only a week after the Second World War broke
out, in September, 1939, he was again torpedoed by a German submarine, but
survived the event. He left a widow.

Friday,
February 14th 1940

The
Detention Book records how Wrigley and Pennington (3A), Mason (3B) and
Pennington (2A) were all punished for what is surely the most surreal of all
the misdemeanours perpetrated over the years...“throwing tapioca about in front
of the pavilion. Nearly one pound was swept up ! ”

June and
October 1940 - 1945

Mr.Allder
and other teachers took Fourth Form boys to camps at Dowsby where, for a
fortnight, they carried out a number of agricultural activities, including beet
singling in June, and potato lifting in October.

At the
same time, about a third of the games field was turned over to the production
of potatoes and cabbages, when Mr.Stanley Bright, a school governor who also
happened to be on the City Council, warned that members of the City Estates
Committee had driven round the suburbs of Nottingham, and had remarked on the
great unused expanses of grass at Valley Road.

To
avoid having to use all of the games field to feed the people of the City,
therefore, the governors decided to plough up the section nearest to Hucknall
Road, which would be more easily be seen by passers by, and hopefully thereby
prevent the entire area being used for the war effort.

The
crops produced by this cunning scheme were then used for meals in the school
dining room.

the summer
holidays 1940

During
the long summer holidays, a voluntary school was set up, whereby boys could
enjoy their various hobbies....“...For several reasons the school authorities
deemed it advisable to curtail the summer holiday this year. All those boys
whose parents wished them to take part in this scheme therefore assembled at
School in the middle of August for three weeks' holiday school.

One
session was held each weekday, except Saturday, from l0 (sic) to 12.30.
Everyone had one period of boxing each week and one morning's cricket at Valley
Road. The whole School also studied selections from “The Pirates of Penzance”
under the direction of Mr.Greener and Mr.Thomas. Besides this, the Sixth and
Upper Fifth Forms held one debate each week and had a course in either Musketry
or First Aid. The rest of the School were allowed to take their choice between
wood-work and modelling, or sketching and play-reading. Some of the juniors
were even fortunate enough to have cinematograph shows at which the
entertainment was all provided by the boys themselves. However, to the majority
of those present, the most important feature of this “holiday school" was
the complete relaxation of discipline and the knowledge that the prefects had
been instructed not to give lines. The results of this laxity have doubtless
been felt in the term which has just ended !

The
chief difficulty in the path of those who made the arrangements was the limited
amount of time available. It was therefore unavoidable that many of the tasks
undertaken were left incomplete, and we all look forward to the time when we
shall have an opportunity of finishing them. Surely everyone agrees that it was
far better for him to have some interest to which he could look forward each
day.”

August and
October 1940

During
the summer, the Modelling Club had attempted to produce a model village.
Encouraged by their first attempts, the boys made another start in October, and
soon twenty-five boys were meeting two or three times a week to construct a
model that was exhibited in an unfinished state at the Junior Plays on December
7th. Subscription to the club was a penny per fortnight, with “any gifts of
suitable wood, cardboard, paints etc. most gladly welcomed.”

Monday, August
19th 1940

Herbert
Lowater died at the age of seventy one, after a life time as a market gardener
and wholesale fruit merchant in Sneinton.

September 1940

Leslie
Hambleton Taylor was “killed in action while flying in operations against the
enemy”. He was nineteen years of age, and had left the staff of Waring and
Gillow’s furniture shop, because, in his own words, “it was not a man’s life”.
He joined Bomber Command, and was to fly many thousands of miles over enemy
territory before his eventual death.

Wednesday, November
6th 1940

The
Detention Book records how Holden of the Remove was punished by Mr.Hardwick for
“damaging a boy’s eye”.

1941

Mr.Goddard
retired as Second Master, and was succeeded by Mr.Kennard. The latter, who had
retired as rugby coach in 1936, was forced to resume these duties at the age of
sixty by the absence of younger members of staff in the forces.

Mr.Kennard
was helped by Mr.Whitty, and school cricket was run by Mr.Bridge (sixty-four
years of age) and Mr.Wilfrid Parsons (sixty). The latter was a teacher of
Geography and English, and because of his initials, was known by hundreds of
boys over the years, as “Wappy”.

Mr.Allder
was turned down by the forces as unfit for military service, so he was able to
help Mr.George with the school rowing. Mr.Duddell went back to the Corps after
an absence of ten years, and Mr.Palmer became its commander.

Overall,
the school was to be very little affected by the war. It proved necessary to
employ “masters who were physically unfit and seven ladies” but despite these
catastrophes, academic standards did not slip. The usual five or six Open
Awards were won at Oxford and Cambridge, and the number of School Certificates
remained steady throughout the conflict.

early 1941

Alan
Robert Rose was reported missing, presumed killed, in a naval engagement in the
Mediterranean. He was twenty-nine years old, and “worked wholeheartedly, and
his great cheerfulness and strength of character were always an inspiration”.

At home
in Nottingham, he had founded the Sherwood Amateurs Football Club. He left a
wife and a son, Christopher, aged two and a half.

May 1941

George
Vernon Carlin died at the age of thirty-seven, when the ship on which he was
Paymaster, H.M.S. Hood, was sunk by the Bismarck.

Saturday, May
3rd 1941

School
Sports Day was held. The mile was won by Palmer in a time of 5 minutes 25.6
seconds. Even as late as this in the century, Sports Day events still included
the Under-16 Cricket Ball (85 yards 6 inches) and the House Tug-of-War.

Summer Term
1941

The
Field Club made a number of visits to sites of interest around the county,
including Laxton, Bottesford, Southwell, Hucknall and Newstead

Friday, June
20th 1941

The
School Spotters Club was founded, with a membership of twenty-two, mainly
junior, boys. The club was immediately recognised by the Affiliated Spotters
Club, and given the number of 112. Aircraft recognition tests were quickly set
up, and lectures organised with an epidiascope.

Friday, July
4th 1941

E.R.Maltby
of 2B was given a detention by Mr.R.D.Stewart for “throwing good food into the
waste box at the Pavilion so as to save himself the trouble of taking home that
part of his lunch which he did not want then. Not thoughtlessness, for 2B has
been clearly told of the difficulties and dangers overcome by those who bring
the food to the country and had been cautioned that waste would be seriously
treated”. The feckless and ungrateful boy did not even turn up for his
detention, but eventuallyserved it on July 7th.

Saturday, July
5th 1941

J.S.Hodgkins
took seven wickets for seventy runs, including a hat-trick, playing for
Nottinghamshire against the R.A.F. This was the first time that an amateur had
performed the hat-trick for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge “within living
memory”. He was presented with the ball by fellow Old Nottinghamian, Herbert
Snook.

July 1941

Mr.H.Goddard
retired after thirty-eight years at the High School. He had taught Mathematics,
and became Senior Master after the retirement of Mr.Gaskin. He was a man of
“quiet tact and a calm determination...every member of the School and Staff,
past and present, will, we know, wish him, from the bottom of their hearts,
many happy and peaceful years to which he has been looking forward for some
time.”

Friday, September
5th 1941

John
Hanley Faulkner died in an unfortunate accident at the age of only sixteen. He
was very keen on aviation and aeroplanes in general, and it was while
experimenting in this area that the accident occurred. He had been a “quiet
unassuming lad, popular with his fellows.”

Tuesday, November
11th 1941

The
Detention Book records how Phethean of the Remove was guilty of “obscene
writing in another boy’s book”.

Thursday, November
27th 1941

Perhaps
during a World War, there are more important things to be frightened of than in
more normal times. The Detention Book records the bravado of D.G.Lovett of 5B,
who was guilty of “laughing and talking in an examination”.

the end of
1941

The
difficult situation in which the school found itself was eased somewhat when
the ground floor classrooms of the middle block were completed, and came into
use. The large hall was used as a form room for 3A, and the small one for the
staff room. So desperate was the need that the latter site was occupied before
even the floor was put in.

At this stage in the war, the
air-raid shelter came into use, unfortunately, on many occasions. With the
cold, the echoing of every tiny noise, and the general boredom, the boys, not
surprisingly perhaps, were often difficult to control.

Every
night until 1944, two masters and two senior boys spent the night on fire
watching duty on the roof of the school. Sometimes the watchers marked books, sometimes
they did homework, played chess, or simply just talked. The boys slept in a
little room on the bridge which connected the library with the west block, and
the masters in the room which was later to become the Physics Laboratory
workshop. There was a whole network of catwalks and ladders provided for the firewatchers,
and they all made at least one tour of the rooftops before going to bed.

1942

The
upper two floors of the science block were completed, but wartime shortages of
wood meant that the Physics Laboratory could not be properly equipped.

Easter Term
1942

Meeting
at 16.30 hours on Fridays, the N.H.S.Spotters’ Club had a quiet term, studying
“with great interest” silhouettes of several different types of aircraft. Competitions
were held between four teams, based on “the “Spotter’s Bees” in Ack Ack Beer
Beer”. By now a number of boys had passed various official tests, and
had reached the level of third class aircraft identifiers.

February 1942

William
Fraser Bland, died in action against the Japanese in Singapore. The son
of William Parlby Bland and Florence Mary Bland, he
was a Major in the South Notts Hussars, and had previously escaped capture by
the Führer’s forces at Dunkirk.

Thursday, March
19th 1942

The
Detention Book records how Kirk of M4, presumably eager for knowledge, was punished
for “breaking into school during the dinner hour”.

June 1942

Peter
Frederick Paulson, the second of three High School brothers, was killed in
action at Tobruk. He had served for many months in the Western Desert.

Summer 1942

Frank
Cadle Mahin was killed in a flying accident at the age of fifty-four. At the
time, he was serving as a Major-General in the United States Army.

When he
left the High School in July 1905, Mahin had gone to the West Point Military
Academy, and had received a commission in the U.S.Army, where he was to serve
for thirty-two years, including active service in France in the Great War.

Since
the school was to abandon football at Christmas 1914, Mahin therefore achieved
the unwanted distinction of being the only High School footballer to die in the
Second World War.

A
fuller account of the earlier part of Mahin’s life is available at “probably towards the end of the Summer
Term, 1905”.

Christmas Term
1942

In part
due to the shortage of suitably qualified male graduates, who were away serving
in the forces, the school received what “The Nottinghamian” called “two new
mistresses”, Miss South and Miss Hill. A new science teacher, Mr.Somekh, was
also appointed.

Christmas Term
1942

Because
of a lack of interest, the Stamp Club was forced to meet fortnightly. Most of
the members still belonged to 2A, but in “The Nottinghamian”, there was an
impassioned plea that “EVERY stamp collector in the Junior school should be a
member of the stamp Club.”

winter, 1942

A huge
green shed was built by the army in the north-west corner of the playground
which the school had hitherto used for its cricket nets and practice wickets.
It was used to store searchlight units and sound ranging equipment, which was
brought out for drill in the daytime. The classrooms were used for theory
lectures.

The
army then began to dig the foundations for a second shed in the middle of the
playground. According to popular legend, it was only when Mr.Reynolds lined up
the entire school and carefully explained to the foreman that the boys might
well pelt them with snowballs as they worked was the idea given up. Protests
were also made to the War Office through more normal channels.

Until
the playground received a new coat of asphalt in the late 1980s, the
exploratory marks left by the army’s engineers could still be seen.

Tuesday, December
1st 1942

The
Detention Book records how I.R.Whitaker, rather unwisely perhaps in retrospect,
had been “writing filth on the blackboard”.

the early years of the
war, probably the end of the Christmas Term 1942

In Europe, Hitler stands on the
opposite side of the English Channel, and Great Britain remains defiant, but largely
unable to press home any significant advantage. There have been few victories
so far for the British, and there seem to be few obvious ways forward to rid
the continent of what will become known as “The Scourge of the Swastika”. These
dark days are recalled on the pillars of the Forest Road entrance, where boys,
or, more likely, young men, have carved their initials almost seventy years
ago.

Judging by the height of this
vandalism, they may well have been in, say, the fifth form, literally, upwards.
They include what appears to be “WH 1942”, “DP” and “DP 1942”, along with what
may possibly be “SS 1940”, and the undated “MB”, “HE” and “PFP”.

My subsequent researches, and
best guesses, have revealed a few likely suspects. “WH” and “DP” may
conceivably have been young colleagues in the Fifth Form A with Mr.Whimster
during the academic year 1941-1942.

William Norman Hill was born on
November 23rd 1927, and entered the High School on September 20th 1938 at the
age of ten. His father was F.Hill, a School Master of 8, Lexington Gardens,
Sherwood. He left the school on July 31st 1945.

Dennis Plackett was born on
October 22nd 1927. He entered the school on

Monday, September 25th 1939, at the age of eleven. He seems
to have had no father at this time, but his mother was Mrs.Ellen Plackett, a
housewife of 7, Anthill Street, Stapleford.  Dennis was a Nottinghamshire
County Council Scholar, and he left the school on August 1st 1944.

Another interpretation is that
“WH 1942” was William Jack Harrison. This young man was, quite simply,
outstanding. Born on December 5th 1924, he entered the High School on September
19th 1935 at the age of ten. He apparently had no father, but his mother was
Mrs E.M.Harrison of 53, Burlington Road, Sherwood.  He would have been in the
Upper Fifth Form with Mr.Palmer in 1941-1942, and then in the Mathematical and
Science Sixth Form with Mr.Holgate during the academic year of 1942-1943.

He stood out in two separate
areas. In 1940 he was initially a lance-corporal in the Junior Training Corps,
but soon became a full Corporal. In 1941, he won Mr.Frazier’s prize for the
most efficient Junior NCO or cadet, and was then named Commander of the Most
Proficient House Platoon. At some point towards the end of the academic year of
1941-1942, he promoted to be the J.T.C. Company Sergeant Major.

In addition, in the sporting world, by the time
the School List for 1942-1943 was published, William had won his First XV Colours and Cap for Rugby and had been named as
Captain of Rugby. In the Summer Term, he went on to be the Captain of Cricket,
and to be awarded his Cricket Colours and Scarf. He was also, by dint of his
sporting position as Captain of Cricket, a School Prefect. William left the
school on December 19th 1942.

The reason that I myself would prefer this
interpretation is that “DP” and “DP 1942” may well be David Phillips, who was
in the Economics Sixth Form with Mr.Smyth during the two academic years of 1941-1942
and 1942-1943. He may well have been carrying out some kind of school tradition
when he carved his name on the pillar, thinking that he was going to leave the
school in 1941-1942, but then having to repeat the process all over again the
following year, after he had unexpectedly stayed on for another year. David
finally left the school at the end of that Christmas Term in 1942.

He was born on May 2nd 1923, and
entered the school on January 13th 1935 at the age of eleven. His father was
P.Phillips (sic), a Factory Manager of 45, Austen Avenue, on the far side of
the Forest Recreation Ground.

We have
fewer details of David’s career at the High School, but we do know that by September
1941, he was a Corporal in the Junior Training
Corps. In the Christmas Term of 1942, he was awarded his Full Colours
for Rugby, and became a School Prefect. He was also awarded his Rowing Colours for his achievements with the Second IV.

I feel sure that these two young
men were friends. Austen Avenue, of course, is arguably, on the same cycle
route home as Burlington Road, Sherwood, where William Harrison lived. Perhaps
the two walked down together across the Forest, and David would then get on his
bike and cycle slowly off towards Austen Avenue. William would continue down what
would have been at the time an undoubtedly more traffic free Mansfield Road,
towards Sherwood.

David Phillips shared the very
same interests as William Harrison. They were both in the same rugby team, and
both seemed to have loved sport, whether rugby, cricket or rowing. They were
both in the Junior Training Corps and clearly were
attracted to the military life. As regards their academic classes, they were a
year apart, but I feel that their common interests would have overcome that,
especially when the two rugby players, or J.T.C. members, realised that they
could walk down across the Forest together every evening after a hard day at
school.

And
when the end of 1942 came round, they may well both have left the school on the
same day, December 19th. Were they both going into the Army together ?

Not surprisingly, perhaps, it has proved
impossible to trace any of the other initials in any meaningful kind of way.
There were quite simply too many possible “SS”s in 1940, and “MB”, “HE” and even
“PFP” have all proved equally beyond my powers.

1943-1944

D.A.Barker
won a half blue at Oxford for athletics, as well as a wartime blue for rugby.
He later went on to play for the Harlequins and Middlesex, and to have several
England trials.

1943

The
army relinquished the dining room. After a number of terms of compulsory
sandwiches, an emergency dining room had been set up in the old Prep building.
Two rear kitchens were knocked into one, and the stables were made into a
makeshift kitchen, with a covered way between the two. These hot meals were
greatly appreciated, particularly Mrs.Savage’s “stodge” puddings. She was
helped in the catering by Mrs.Hunter, the school secretary. Mrs.Savage left
when the proper dining room came back into use, but Mrs.Hunter continued in
both her jobs until the end of the war.

1943

Sergeant Ivan Keith Doncaster was
killed in bombing operations over the Third Reich. He was twenty years of age.

April 1943

“The
Nottinghamian” provided an interesting description of what firewatching was
really like. It appeared as a spoof letter from a stranger to the school...

“Sometime during this
term, I was persuaded to spend a night firewatching at your school. After receiving
sketchy instructions, I proceeded there, and entered a side door into pitch
darkness. Groping my way to the foot of the stairs, I clung to the rails, and
levered myself with only minor injuries up three flights of stairs. Turning
right, I immediately fell down four more steps. By now almost exhausted, I
staggered to my feet, and lurched forward into a door made of very hard wood.
Collecting my scattered senses, belongings, etc., I cautiously felt my way
forward, and after negotiating with moderate success another doorway, made my
way through a library until at length, guided by the odour of candle grease, I
attained the firewatchers' room. The furniture consisted of two beds, a card
table (minus cards), several chairs, and various assorted bottles. Kicking
aside the ankle-deep dust on the floor, I waded to the middle of the room. My
hopes, previously dashed by the blank aspect of the walls and tarpaulin covered
windows, were raised by the sight of a wireless, but after an hour's futile
fiddling, I found that it did not work. So, selecting a book from the library,
I sat down on a chair to compose my mind.

After
five minutes I got up again, and fetching a pillow, I carefully removed the
brown pillow-case before using it as a cushion, but on discovering that this
caused a bar in the chair to stick into the middle of my back, I abandoned the
idea, and lay down on a bed. It collapsed. Thus I discovered that it was
propped up by bricks. I lay down on the other bed, but comfort was not yet for
me, because the bed had two bars, one across the kidneys, and the other in my
ribs. This discomfort was in no way mitigated by the mattress, because of its
extreme thinness. However, I amused myself until the earliest hour compatible
with sleep by unplugging one of the several holes in the cardboard wall, and
watching soldiers tramping up and down stairs. Then I tried to make my bed. My
discovery this time was the devilish ingenuity of the none too clean blankets
placed on the mattress so that they adequately covered my shoulders, they left
my feet exposed, and vice-versa. But with a little thought and a passable
imitation of a contortionist, I managed to get into bed, and settled to go to
sleep. Only then did I realise that there was a radiator in the room. The room
was filled with a low humming, the pitch and strength of which fluctuated with
no known rhythm. This was easily traced to an object which looked like a
radiator but gave forth no perceptible heat. Gnashing my teeth, and plugging my
ears, I managed to get to sleep, and spent a fitful and restless night until I
was awakened at some rude hour in the morning by the tramp of marching feet.
Blessing this sign of my release, I hastily escaped, swearing never to return.

But I
know that people still have to fire-watch at your School, and this letter is
really a plea to render their lot more tolerable.

Hoping
this finds you as it leaves me, a physical and mental wreck.

I am, Sirs, Yours etc.,

NON.”

April 1943

Edward
William Mitchell died at his home in Eire at the premature age of only fifteen.
His parents had moved him from Nottingham to a boarding school in the Free
State, where it was thought that he would be safe from German air-raids. It was
at this school that he contracted the illness from which he died.

Tuesday, June
1st 1943

A
certain Old Boy called Alfred Tregear Chenhalls was an accountant who dealt
with many musicians and theatrical people, including the famous Hollywood
actor, Leslie Howard. Chenhalls always smoked a large cigar, and, as he was a
big, fat, man, looked rather like Winston Churchill.

Chenhalls
was killed when the Dutch DC-3 of KLM Airlines, which was carrying him and
Leslie Howard between Lisbon and London, was shot down by Junkers Ju 88 fighters
of the Luftwaffe.

At the
time, Churchill was known to be attending a conference in Algiers, and there
was much speculation that a German spy had seen Chenhalls getting onto the
plane in Lisbon, and had then organised its destruction. It was certainly one
of the very few occasions when neutral airliners were shot down on this
particular route.

July 1943

An
editorial in “The Nottinghamian” expressed the wish that the school should have
its very own school song. They had had their own hymn in Latin since at least
the 1930s, but still sang the Harrow song “Forty Years On”.

Elsewhere
in the magazine, two possible candidates for the new school song were printed.
They were never adapted...

To Henry's court Dame Agnes came,

Seeking a charter, whence there grew

A school where sons of Nottingham

The path of knowledge might pursue.

Our debt we gratefully confess,

Succeeding to this heritage.

The Founder's memory we bless

While we our loyalty engage.

All down the years a steady throng,

Stalwart and wise from work and games

Have striven to make the City strong,

Or served the Nation's wider aims

All would avow how much they owed

To those who guided faltering feet.

Whose high example shaped our code,

Who, giving, saw the plan complete.

For friendships forged, for victories won,

Visions of truth and beauty caught

Our thanks are due: but not alone

To man, who of himself is naught:

In vain they labour who would raise

The house without supernal aid.

Give then to the All-Father praise;

Our trophies at his feet be laid."

E.P. Adam (Old Nottinghamian)

An
alternative was...

For centuries enduring,

She stands in all her pride...

A monument of greatness

And education wide;

Her Founder, Agnes Mellers,

This gift on us bestowed,

And we, the honoured students

Can reap from all she sowed.

'Lauda finem' !

In survey of her annals,

Names from the past appear,

Resplendent in their glory

Increasing year by year.

And we the torch still bearing,

Will toil and journey on,

Her standard high maintaining

Until our goal is won.

'Lauda finem'!

J.D.Rose, 6 History

July 1943

The
“Nottinghamian” included the following poem by T.J.N.Deaville of lB...

THE HOME GUARD

Daddy's in the home Guard,

He's helping win the war.

He's donned a khaki uniform

Just as he did before.

He hasn't won a medal yet,

He hopes he will do soon.

He's only been a sergeant

This very afternoon.

His comp'ny's got a kitten,

He helps to feed it now.

It claws him every morning

And makes him call out, “Wow!”

I'm glad he's got promotion,

He has more leisure hours.

Commander says he's clever

(He's quite a friend of ours).

He hasn't shot a German yet,

He wants to get a chance.

If “Jerry” tries his funny tricks

He'll lead them quite a dance.

October 1943

Hayward
Hastings Pockson was killed while serving with the C.M.F. He had been a keen
rugby player, and enjoyed both badminton and rowing. Presumably, he had by now
more than atoned for the events of Monday, January 28th 1928.

Christmas Term
1943

“The
Nottinghamian” provided another challenging poem for its readers....

THE FIGHT OF MAN

Publius Vegetable Maro

Like to a pint of nut-brown ale,

Or like a taxi-cab you hail,

Or like a flutter at pontoon,

Or like a crooned modern tune,

Or like a fly, or like ice-cream,

Or like the cows in Pharaoh's dream,

Even such is man, who meets some-one

And marries her, and so is done.

Saturday, December
4th 1943

Mr.J.A.Radley
died from heart failure. He had been a member of staff from 1904-1931. He was a
teacher with what would nowadays be considered ideas before their time. He
loved literature, art and music, and taught the boys about understanding and
peace among mankind. Indeed, this was perhaps not particularly surprising for a
man who knew French, German, Italian, Russian and Welsh.

On one
occasion, he brought an Egyptian into school to show his pupils that there were
“other men than Englishmen and other creeds than Christianity.” His obituary in
“The Nottinghamian” ended with the words “Goodbye, Mr.Chips ! ” The boys,
however, it must be said, had always nicknamed him “Pot-eye”.

1944 onwards

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Five : reminiscences of 1944 onwards”.

early 1944

Three
Old Boys, K.W.Herrod, G.R.Checkland and J.S.Wibberley all succeeded in escaping
from Italian prisoner of war camps, and managed to reach Allied lines in
safety.

February 1944

Peter
Vernon died in hospital at Invergordon in Scotland, as a result of illness
contracted during naval operations in northern waters. He had been a keen
cricketer, and a member of the 2nd XI.

Tuesday, February
29th 1944

In
Scotland, Richard Vernon Milnes died of pneumonia while training as an Officer
Cadet in Infantry. He was twenty-one years old. He had previously been in the
1st XV during the 1939-1940 season.

Summer Term
1944

J.H.Newsome,
the captain of the school’s 1st XI played for Nottinghamshire on two occasions
this term.

June 1944

John
David Fletcher was killed in action. He was twenty-four years of age, and had
intended to make his living by farming poultry.

Wednesday, June
7th 1944

Sergeant
Frank Leonard Corner was killed in action over Caen. He had previously been
employed by the Notts War Agricultural Committee, and had played rugby for the
Old Nottinghamians’ Wartime XV. Corner was twenty years old when he died.

Monday, June
19th 1944

Major
M.H.Pockson received the D.S.O. for his services on the Italian Front. He had
operated “a daring attack” with “skilful and fearless leadership.” Pockson was
serving in the Liri Valley with the Gurkha Rifles and the 8th Indian Division.

July 1944

George
Colin Brown was killed in action somewhere in north west Europe. At school, his
“fast in swinging yorker on the leg stump was devastating on its day”, and he
had appeared for the 1st XI in both 1937 and 1938.

September 1944

Corporal
Anthony Bertram Lloyd of the Parachute Regiment died of the wounds he had received.
He had an “unswerving loyalty to the school, which he had revisited on several
occasions during his military service...he was always in any mischief that was
going, but under a seeming cloak of irresponsibility, there lay a deep respect
for law and order...here was a comrade to have at one’s side in an emergency, a
fellow whose courage steadied the nerves, and whose unfailing good humour
showed a ray of hope in the blackest of moments”.

Lloyd
was a promising boxer, and had already won the Military Medal for his
gallantry.

Thursday, September
7th 1944

Acting
Pilot Officer W.H.Cheale, of Burton Joyce, was killed in a flying accident
while at camp with the School Flight of the Air Training Corps. He had
previously been a Sergeant Pilot in the Great War, when he had escaped with his
life from a midair collision at an altitude of over two thousand feet.

Cheale had only been at the High
School since January, but one of the boys described him as “one of the nicest
people we had ever met”. He left a widow and a teenage son and daughter. He was
forty-four years of age.

the rugby
season, 1944-1945

The 1st
XV remained unbeaten throughout the season. They suffered a number of postponed
matches, but these were all against opponents they had previously defeated.
Their full record was...

1944

Oct.     7          Burton Grammar
School                     H         26        5          Won

21        Mount St.
Mary's School                    H         12        0          Won

28        Old
Nottinghamians                           H         9          0          Won

Nov.    4          Notts.
Occasionals                             H         27        0          Won

11        Newark
Magnus                                 A         19        7          Won

18        Stamford
School                                 H         14        3          Won

25        Ratcliffe
College                                 H         6          0          Won

Dec.     2          King's School,
Grantham                   A         19        0          Won

9          Henry
Mellish                                     A         39        0          Won

16        Old
Nottinghamians                           A         11        0          Won

1945

Jan.      13        Burton Grammar
School                     A                                 Cancelled

18        Henry
Mellish                                    H                                 Cancelled

20        Notts.
Occasionals                              H                                 Cancelled

27        Newark
Magnus                                 H                                 Cancelled

Feb.     3          Leicester
Wyggeston                         A         14        13        Won

10        Ratcliffe
College                                 A                                 Cancelled

17        King's
School, Grantham                    H         12        3          Won

2          Old
Nottinghamians                           H                                 Cancelled

Mar.     3          Mount St.
Mary's School                    A         17        0          Won

Overall,
the school scored 225 points, and conceded only thirty-one. This was the first
time that the 1st XV had finished the season undefeated. The feat has only been
repeated on one occasion subsequently, in season 1986-1987, when the team,
under the captaincy of P.L.Milton, won all eighteen of its matches.

1945

The new
central, or science, block was completed, after protracted building work over
more than five years.

early 1945

The
excellent Mr.Hubbuck died. He had worked for ten years at the High School, and
proved himself to be “...a man of sterling character and remarkable
adaptability …...nothing was too much trouble for him…... he had many an
ingenious and adequate solution for the difficult problems of maintenance…... we
have lost a friend whom we greatly valued.”

This
time, because of the better economic climate, fewer than fifty men applied for
his caretaking job.

1945

The
school gave up its grant aided status, and became completely independent. A
small part of the cost of this was offset by the Nottingham City, County and
Derbyshire Education Authorities who agreed to place twelve, twelve and two of
their scholars respectively at the school. In addition, in the post-war years,
there was, in general, a strong desire for a good education, and the school,
under Mr.Reynolds, had an excellent reputation.

March 1945

“The
Nottinghamian” continued it avowed policy of bringing new, radical poetry to
the attention of its readership...

Under

The old beech

There

Lay a peach

It was in a can.

By it lay

A man.

Groan

I’ve only an old bone

And a pine-cone,

Moan,

With a peach

Under this beech,

Alone.

The moon

Shone

The man was

Gone

With his peach

From under the beech.

Thursday, March
22nd 1945

John
Arthur Finking, a somewhat reluctant guest of the Third Reich, died while being
force marched across Germany. Fellow prisoners of war spoke “with warmest
praise of his courage and cheerfulness, and of his devotion to others, which
contributed in no small measure to his death.”

Tuesday, April
10th 1945

Flying
Officer John Hopwood failed to return from a Bomber Command raid on Leipzig. He
was thirty-two years of age, and left a widow and two sons. He was a Nottingham
City police officer in civilian life, and had volunteered for the R.A.F.,
serving as a navigator.

Tuesday, May
8th 1945

The war
ended, and this day, and the following day, were declared public holidays.

Saturday, May
26th 1945

Captain
Eric John Hughes died from injuries received during manoeuvres in Germany. He
was thirty-three years of age, and “...on occasion, his bowling was
devastating, having a nip from the pitch which completely deceived batsmen, and
his fielding at cover-point was invariably excellent.”

Hughes
was a prominent member of the Sherwood Amateurs Football Club, which he had
captained for many years, and “wherever he went his infectious good humour made
him many friendships”.

Summer Term
1945

The
school’s rowers reached the record number of forty-seven, and they won the Ball
Cup for the first time in over ten years of trying. In a similar way, the
school had its first ever contest against an established rowing school,
finishing second to the Bedford Modern 2nd VIII.

Summer Term
1945

There
was a good entry into the school’s fives tournament, although “The Nottinghamian”
pointed out that “...the shortage of balls is a major problem”.

June 1945

The
army finally vacated the West Block. The final occupants were a school of
instruction in the driving and maintenance of heavy vehicles.

The
Pioneer Corps had seen fit to fire guns inside the building, and had left
bullet holes in several of the rooms’ ceilings. Even nowadays, some fifty years
after the event, the staircases in this part of the school are still
excessively worn down by the nails in the soles of heavy army boots. Perhaps
the High School was lucky. Several large country houses and hotels on the east
coast were so badly abused that they were beyond repair, and had to be
demolished.

Friday, July
13th 1945

The
Detention Book records how those arch-villains, Waterlow and Beardsley of L5B,
had been caught throwing around a rubber ring which they had stolen from the
Physics Laboratory.

Tuesday, July
17th 1945

The Old
Nottinghamians inaugurated a new annual golf competition for a cup donated by
Mr.S.J.Pentecost. The first winner was the Headmaster, Mr.C.L.Reynolds, who
defeated twenty-two other competitors.

Friday, July
27th 1945

Squadron-Leader
Eric W.Partridge was mentioned in dispatches for his achievements in the Middle
East. He had previously flown Beaufighters in the Bay of Biscay, and before
this, had worked at the Nottingham Building Society. At one point, he had
broken his back, but made a good recovery, and returned to combat flying.

Friday, September
7th 1945

The
Nottingham newspapers all carried the remarkable story of Lieutenant John Henry
Coleman, who was shortly due to receive an M.B.E. from King George VI at
Buckingham Palace.

Coleman
had escaped with his father from Paris in June 1940, travelled to Biarritz and
then embarked alone on a British troopship, arriving at Beeston in rags and
penniless. He joined the Royal Navy, and, in 1942, as a stoker petty officer,
took part in the Dieppe raid.

Coleman
then volunteered for service with the French Resistance, and was accepted into
their ranks. He helped sabotage bridges and trains, and reports were sent twice
weekly to London on radio sets that had to be moved every time they were used.

Eventually, Coleman became the
deputy leader of the Resistance in Lyon, and at the height of his unit’s
activities, was being sought by over 70,000 German troops, including the
notorious Claus Barbie, convicted of war crimes many years later by a French
court.

When the chief of the Lyon
Resistance was captured a few weeks before D-Day, Coleman took command, and
remained in that rôle until his chief escaped just after the invasion.

On one
occasion, Coleman was to reconnoitre a bridge while pretending to swim in the
river. Shortly afterwards, it was blown up. Just before D-Day, his group moved
their stores some eighty miles in a convoy of twelve trucks. They were not
captured, despite the fact that their eventual destination was a disused
dye-works, next to Gestapo headquarters, and the entire operation was carried
out in broad daylight.

Coleman
had married his wife Deirdre after his training as a parachutist, and news of
the birth of his daughter was given to him by a secret Resistance prearranged
radio signal. The little girl’s name, Antoinette, became for a short while the
unit’s code signal.

Wednesday,
November 28th 1945

The
first meeting of the “Locomotive Society” was held. It was hoped to visit some
of the Derby engine sheds and works during the Christmas holidays, and
eventually to affiliate the club to the British Locomotive Society.

Christmas Term
1945

A new
school subject was introduced, with the arrival of Mrs.Partridge from the
University College to teach Russian to Sixth Formers. It was originally hoped
by the boys that she might be a games mistress, but she turned out to be a
skilled linguist, and, in the words of “The Nottinghamian”, “steppes must be
taken to encourage the study of this all-important language.”

Christmas Term
1945

A
Boxing Club was started this term, with mostly senior boys attending the
meetings with Mr.Cruikshank as instructor and referee, and, when he had any
free time, C.S.M.I. Fell.

1939-1945

When
the Second World War came to an end, total casualties were less than half those
of the Great War. The names of those who fell are commemorated on a carved
list, placed on the wall at the entrance to the Assembly Hall.

early 1946

The
school was visited by two ex-guests of the Emperor Hirohito. They were
R.M.Gunther and W.W.Peck, and they had both recently returned home to
Nottingham after release from long spells in Japanese prisoner of war camps and
a subsequent period of hospital treatment.

Saturday, April
20th 1946

Ex-member
of staff, Harry Goddard died after an operation. He had retired five years
previously after thirty-eight years’ service as Chief Mathematical Master, with
fourteen years as Second Master. He was “well-loved by the boys as by his
colleagues, the ideal of a popular schoolmaster.”

Mr.Goddard
had been an accomplished musician in the Sacred Harmonic Society, and a keen
player of both tennis and cricket. In later years, however, he had been much
affected by the death of his wife, and this was considered “a blow from which
he never recovered”.

1946

Reginald
Thomas Simpson who was born on February 17th 1920, made his début in first class
cricket, as a right handed batsman. He was to score 30,546 runs at an average
of 38.32 for Nottinghamshire and Sind Province, and to take 59 wickets and 189
catches. His highest score was 259, and he went on to play in 27 Test matches
for England. He scored 1,401 runs at an average of 33.35, and took part in
record first wicket partnerships with Len Hutton against New Zealand in 1949
(147 runs), and with Cyril Washbrook against the West Indies a year later (212
runs). His greatest innings was his 156 not out against Australia in the Fifth
Test at Melbourne in 1951, and he made three other centuries in Test cricket.
He remains, without doubt, the High School’s greatest cricketer.

On
December 3rd 1948, playing for the M.C.C. against North-Eastern Transvaal,
Simpson scored 130 not out, and partnered Denis Compton in a stand of 399. The
latter scored 300 runs in 181 minutes, a feat which still remains the fastest
triple century in the history of first class cricket.

July 1946

Mr.G.F.Hood
retired after thirty-eight years’ service as Senior Chemistry Master at the
school. His departure was marked by a line and a half of farewell in the school
magazine.

the last day
of the Christmas Term 1946

The
first meeting of the Joint Sixth Form Society took place in the Girls’ High
School Hall. About a hundred and twenty members of both Sixth Forms attended a
Christmas Party. They played a number of popular party games, and there was a
little dancing, and a short sketch. The girls had also put together an
excellent supper.

In the
Easter Term, the society organised a joint debate on the motion “In the opinion
of this house, a greater degree of communal living will be necessary in the
future”. In the debate, according to “The Nottinghamian”, the most notable
features were the “frivolity of the boys and the seriousness of the girls”.

As with
the Christmas Party, the Girls’ High School Hall had to be used for the debate.
At the time, with the restrictions of fuel rationing, the boys’ Assembly Hall
was just too cold to use.

Tuesday, February
11th 1947

The
Detention Book records how Mr.R.B.Williams, on the alert to the possibility of ever
more sophisticated methods of cheating, had caught Skellington of 4B with his
Chemistry text book open on the desk, while the class were taking a Chemistry
test.

Easter Term
1947

The
Photographic Society bemoaned the lack of attendance at their meetings. Most of
the members had attended, on average, only three of the nine meetings during
the term. Even outside speakers attracted embarrassingly small audiences. Much
more popular were the weekly copies of “Amateur Photographer” which were
regularly circulated among the boys, so that each member could enjoy looking at
it at home

Easter Term
1947

The
Boxing Club was experiencing difficulties in keeping up the attendance at its
meetings. Things were not helped when a match was organised against Ratcliffe
College, but then had to be cancelled because the demands of fuel rationing
made it impossible to hire a hall.

Wednesday, February
26th 1947

The
Locomotive Society viewed two films...the building of an L.M.S. Pacific class
engine at Crewe, and general views of railway lines in the Peak District.
Members had previously visited railway sheds at Toton and Nottingham (L.M.S.R.)
and Colwick (L.N.E.R.).

Next
term, plans were afoot to go to railway sheds at Derby, Doncaster, Annesley,
and, conceivably, Staveley.

Summer Term
1947

For the
first time ever, the staff fielded their own cricket team, playing several
friendly fixtures against the staffs of other schools.

Founder’s Day
1947

As well
as a religious service, the customary cricket match with the Old Boys was
revived, after the interruption of the Second World War. On the River Trent,
the Old Boys’ 1st and 2nd VIs were both successful, and beat the school rowers.

Saturday, July
12th 1947

In the
Pentecost Cup, the “Nottingham Guardian” reported a record entry of twenty-seven
for the Old Boys’ Bogey Competition. The winner was J.S.Winson with two up.
E.S.Warth and H.Speed both had one down, J.O.Coy, C.G.Chambers, J.L.Booth,
S.H.Turner and F.W.Sharman both had two down, and C.J.Harris and G.F.Godson had
three down.

end of the
summer term, 1947

Messrs
R.S.Bridge and W.A.Parsons retired simultaneously as coaches and organisers of
school cricket. They had both completed twenty-eight years’ continuous service
in the position.

July 1947

Mr.J.L.Kennard
retired after thirty-seven years at the High School. He had joined the High
School in November 1910, as a teacher of Modern Languages. His main rôle in the
school was to introduce rugby, when football ended in December 1914. He was the
master in charge of the new sport until 1939, but then, just as he was
contemplating retirement from rugby, he was able to take over school sport for
the duration of the Second World War, while other, younger, teachers went off
to join the forces.

As well
as rugby, Mr.Kennard was heavily involved in cricket and athletics, and, from
1914-1925, held a commission in the Corps, being, in fact, the commanding
officer from 1918-1925. In later years, he became Head of Modern Languages, the
Housemaster of Mellers’ and, from 1941 onwards, Second Master. He died on
January 5th 1969, at the age of eighty-seven.

Christmas Term
1947

“The
Nottinghamian” reported how a large number of unauthorised newspapers and
pamphlets had circulated in the school throughout the term. Their titles
included “The Daily Wail”, “The Daily Shirker” and the twenty page
“Butterflies’ Gazette”.

Christmas Term
1947

The
Locomotive Society went from strength to strength, with visits to engine sheds
at Nottingham, Derby and Toton. In the Christmas holidays, it was planned to go
to Crewe and Sheffield, and in early 1948, to visit the sheds at Colwick,
Doncaster and Leicester.

Meanwhile,
the Radio Society announced plans to amalgamate with the Scientific Society,
and to meet on Mondays and Fridays, alternate with the Debating and Scientific
Societies (sic).

Friday,
December 19th 1947

The
Joint Sixth Form Christmas Party was held, with a high standard of food, dancing,
conducted by K.S.Collinson “with more gusto than audibility” on his “dubious
microphone”. The party games were “much enjoyed, and surprised the
participators by their ingenuity”. Highlight of the evening, however, was
J.R.Turner, a conjuror “of professional skill and confidence”. He produced
“pound notes from the most unlikely places”.

1948

What
had been the Junior Training Corps and the Air Training Corps became the
Combined Cadet Force.

Thursday, December
23rd 1948

Richard
Edward Maddison died in Lagos, Nigeria, at the age of only twenty-seven, after
twelve months’ illness. During the Second World War, he had suffered great
privations during his long years in Japanese slave labour camps in Malaya, and
it was thought that this had weakened his constitution. During his illness, he
always “displayed great courage and fortitude, and always had a smile upon his
lips.” He left a young widow.

1949

The
Heralds’ College made a formal grant-of-arms to the school. Previously, the
school had used what was traditionally supposed to be the arms of Dame Agnes
Mellers, namely three blackbirds, or merles, on the lozenge shaped shield of a
“vowess” or widow.

The
heraldic name for blackbirds is “merles” and they therefore constitute an
example of what are called “canting” arms, whereby the object on the shield is
a pun of the bearer’s name.

In
actual fact, the link between this coat of arms and Dame Agnes Mellers is, at
best, extremely tenuous. It relies on the supposition that Dame Agnes was
related to the Mellor family of Derbyshire, whose own canting arms displayed
the three merles. On the other hand, there may be no link whatsoever between
the families.

Indeed,
in the school archives, there still remains an account of how an Old Boy
discovered what appears to be the Dame Agnes Mellers coat of arms, carved on
the roof of the cloisters at Durham Cathedral. This, in fact, was the only coat
of arms which local experts in the north east had failed to identify, and the
only link which could be found between the two cities was Richard Barnes,
Bishop-Suffragen of Nottingham in 1537, who was eventually appointed to Durham.
There was, however, no known connection between Barnes and the Mellers family.
Indeed, the Heralds’ College could not find any indication whatsoever that
either Richard or Agnes Mellers had ever used these particular arms.

One
particularly long-lived misconception was that it was when the school changed
sites from Stoney Street to Arboretum Street that the three merles coat of arms
was first adapted. This was certainly not the case, since photographs from the
early nineteenth century show quite clearly that the three merles badge was
displayed on the wall of the Free School building, even though in this case,
their wings were folded rather than flapping ready for take-off. Indeed, the
three merles had been in evidence as an unofficial badge for the school since
at least 1808.

In
1949, the merles, which were unknown in heraldry, became blackbirds, and the
full description of the school’s new coat of arms is “...Ermine a Lozenge
Argent charged with three Blackbirds rising proper on a Chief Gules an open
Book also proper garnished Or between two Ducal Coronets of the last. And for
the Crest On a Wreath Argent and Gules a Squirrel sejant Gules holding between
the paws a Ducal Coronet Or.”

Such a
precise description of the coat of arms would prevent any future repetition of
the apparent confusion which, according to popular belief, had occurred when
new stained glass sections were put into windows at the back of the recently
built assembly hall in 1936.

On this
occasion, one set of merles were depicted with folded wings, like they had
always been on the front of the old Free School in Stoney Street. In the coat
of arms alongside, however, the birds have their wings flapping vigorously in
the more dynamic modern fashion.

The
overall effect of such a seemingly simple contrast is, in actual fact, quite
unusual, but such misunderstandings will never occur again now that the
school’s arms are officially fixed.

On the
other hand, it is certainly arguable that the coat of arms where the birds are
portrayed at rest may have been designed to represent the Old Nottinghamians
and their fund raising activities. Their official stationery was certainly
making use of the birds in their original sedentary posture well into the
1940s.

1949

The
School bought a Leyland PSI, thirty-five seater diesel semi-coach from the
Midland General Omnibus Company. They were later to become part of the Trent
empire.

The bus
cost £200 and was given a full overhaul and a new coat of paint. The school
opted for all white with a black waistband, but as white was not available, the
bus was painted cream. When the bus was collected from the Langley Mill garage,
the superintendent was keen for it to be taken away quickly before the General
Manager saw it. Nevertheless, four weeks later, the company’s entire fleet was
painted in the same livery of black and cream.

The
bus’ registration was “KRB 97” and it was to become one of the school’s most
memorable vehicles. The heavy diesel engine was noisy, and the gear box had no
synchromesh. The driver needed an HGV licence, and sat in a “half cab”.

8 o’ clock, Tuesday,
April 12th 1949

Fifteen
members of the Locomotive Society assembled in the Booking Hall of Nottingham
Victoria Station, “each with his shining morning face”, to set off on their
visit to Doncaster Locomotive Works. Particular highlights were the Spring
Shop, the Forging and Melting Shop, the Moulding Shop, Wheel Alley and the Crimpsall
Erecting Shop.

Easter Term
1949

Sweet
rationing came to an end, to the relief of Bill Boot, the caretaker, who
operated the tuckshop at the time.

Easter Term
1949

The
school suffered an epidemic of chickenpox, which affected many boys, and some
staff.

Easter Term
1949

Under
the direction of Mr.A.K.Smetham, Athletics made its début as an organised,
full, school sport.

July 1949

“The
Nottinghamian” recorded just how upsetting it was for the single boy who is
forced to have his dinner at the table used by the teachers. In this particular
instance, it was N.E. White of 3B...

...“...Sitting
at the Masters' table at dinner can be a most nerve-racking experience even for
the hardiest of warriors. You dare not move an inch for fear of doing something
wrong. “Now you're on your best behaviour,” the voice of the Master on duty
says, and if you don't know what that means you will by the time you have
finished your dinner! Stern eyes always seem to be watching you and you long
for the freedom (?) of the classroom lessons. And here you are on the Masters'
table just because you were late for dinner (possibly queuing for potato
crisps). The people who talk of “those lovely school days” only think of games
and distinction tickets, and not of these detentions and things like being late
for dinner. As you look on the happy crowd of “juveniles” (as the Masters say),
a small boy is pushed to your table and with extreme joy you realise that at
last you have a friend in this cold world. Then at last comes the moment you
have been waiting for...for what seems ages...the Masters leave the table, and
you feel that at last you are free.”

July 1949

“The
Nottinghamian” published the results of their “Gallup Poll” into prefects, and
the boys’ attitudes to them. They had questioned “...many of its finest
inmates, and some of its queerest...”...

1. “Does your face burn when
leaving the Prefects’ Room ? ”

40% said “ Where is
the Prefect's Room ? ”

40% said “ Not likely!
”

20% said “ Rather the
reverse ! ”

2. “With what do you associate
tassels ? ”

10% said “ Mortar
Boards ”

10% said “ Women ”

80% said “ The
Arboretum ”

3. “What is your favourite sport
or pastime ? ”

1% said “ Yachting ”
(with a leer).

29% said “ Soaking
iodine in ammonia.”

20% said “ Detention.”

50% said “ The
Arboretum.”

4. “What is your favourite time at
School ?

10% said “ 2.55 in the
Dining Hall.” (all members of U.4 B.).

50% said “ After
lunch.”(all. 6th form and above).

20% said “ Any time
but Friday morning.”

20% said “ 4.10.”

5. “What do you like most in the
N.H~S. ?”

50% said “ The way
out.”

40% said “ The cob
queue.”

10% said “ The cobs.”

6. “What is architecturally
interesting in the N.H.S. ?

40% said “ The old
Prep.”

40% said “ Bill's
Room.”

20% said “ Bill ! ”

7. “What do you least like in the
N.H.S. ?

10% said “ Work.”

90% said “ People who
go about asking questions.”

summer
holidays 1949

A party
of 24 boys left to participate in an exchange visit with boys of St.Michael’s
College, Fribourg, Switzerland. The Swiss boys had previously visited the
colliery at Cinderhill, John Player’s factory, and the Raleigh cycle works.

1949 onwards

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix Twenty
Seven : reminiscences from 1949 onwards”. They were written by Bill Neville, a
member of staff for more than thirty years.

Christmas Term
1949

Extensive
building works were required to install the school’s new lift.

December 1949

The
following poem appeared in “The Nottinghamian”. It was written by F.

Martin Hall and John G.Golds, and
was dedicated to the popular figure of the school caretaker...

To Bill Boot on his 70th birthday

You are old, Father William, the schoolboy said,

And your tooth is of marvellous length,

Yet your tap on the door makes the whole building rock,

Where on earth do you find all that strength ?

In my youth, said the Sage, when I fought for the Queen,

Frequent exercise, Generals demanded,

I chased Kruger each morning around Spion Kop,

Do you wonder my muscles expanded ?

You are old, Father William, the schoolboy said,

And your hair has long since turned quite grey,

Yet your voice like a clarion round the School rings,

How d'you manage such volume, I pray ?

In my youth, said the Sage, when I served with Lord
"Bobs,"

His commands could not travel by wireless

So I bawled them (in code) right across the Transvaal,

And my throat, by this means, became tireless.

You are old, Father William, yet your eagle eye

Seems as bright as the stars high in heaven,

Pray, how does your eyesight thus function so well,

With no help from Aneurin Bevan ?

I have answered your questions, the wrathful Sage said,

And as sure as my name's William B.,

If you pester me further, my patience will go,

So be off, or I'll put you in D.

(With
apologies to Lewis Carroll. In the last verse it was considered impolite to
suggest that Mr. Boot would actually threaten to kick anyone downstairs.) ”

the early
1950s

The
Cadets of the school’s C.C.F. Army section were issued with .....

Anklets, Web

Badge
Cap, Sherwood Foresters

Battledress
(blouse, trousers)

Boots,
ankle (with 13 studs and toe plates)

Beret,
Khaki

Cape,
anti-gas

Pullover,
V-neck

Greatcoat,
dismounted

Shirt,
Angola

early 1950

J.W.Parsons
captained the Cambridge University Ploughing team against Oxford University.

April 1950

“The
Nottinghamian” published the results of its survey of the Prefects’ Book. They
provide interesting documentary evidence of how these senior boys established
and maintained school discipline..

HOW EFFICIENT ARE YOUR PREFECTS ?

SOME QUESTIONS ON PREFECTORIAL
DISCIPLINE ANSWERED

(The following statistics are
compiled from the Prefects' Meeting Book)

1          What are your chances
of escaping the Prefects?

During
the present School year the Prefects have held eighteen meetings in which they
have dealt out 3,547 lines and sixty beats. Altogether they have punished 324
offenders, an average of eighteen per meeting.

2          Which House provides
the greatest number of offenders?

The
numbers are surprisingly equal, and one meeting could change the whole
position.  Present figures are...

Cooper's 26.3%       Mellers
26%       Maple's  25.7%       White's   22%

3          Is it true that “C”
formers offend more than others ? Percentages of offenders are...

“C”
formers                             38%

“B”
formers                             35%

“A”
formers                            21%

Sixth
formers                          6%

4          Which Rule is most
frequently broken?

Internal Offences
(i.e. running in Quad, etc.)                         32%

General Disobedience
to 6th formers                                     25%

Conduct likely                                                                                    13%

Unsatisfactory lines
given for a previous offence                  10%

Caplessness                                                                               9%

Miscellaneous                                                                          11%

Thursday, April
6th 1950

John
Dane Player died. He had been at the High School from 1877-1880, and had been
the head of one of the country’s largest businesses. A large proportion of the
profits of this company had been given back to the community, and it was not
just the High School which had benefited from Player’s enormous generosity.
Nottingham’s voluntary hospitals, therefore, had been the recipients of many
donations, as had the Children’s Hospital in particular. He was one of the
founders and main supporters of the Dame Agnes Mellers Lads’ Club. Much of this
willingness to help children had surely come from the fact that he and his wife
Margaret had never had any children of their own.

Player
helped the church, and made regular donations to St.Andrew’s and other local
churches. He paid for the building of St.Margaret’s in Aspley. Despite all this
munificence, however, he was not a boastful man, and shunned all publicity. His
name, for example, never occurred in “Who’s Who.”

For the
High School, he bought the Valley Road playing fields. It was probably the
acquisition of this site which inspired Johnny Dixon to try to persuade Player
to finance the rebuilding of the school on the outskirts of the city,
surrounded by its own grounds. Player, however, thought that the old site was
in the correct, central, position to serve a large number of widely scattered
boys, even if that meant that the school was not next to its games fields.

He does
not seem to have shirked, however, from the rebuilding aspect of the idea. He
paid for a new east block and a gymnasium. When the suggestion was made to
convert the Drawing Room into an assembly hall, by giving it a new roof, he
replied, “I don’t believe in maccling, but I will give you a new hall if you
like.”

The Assembly
Hall was duly built, and Player then paid for the building of the west block.

A few
years later, he financed the plan whereby the central block was demolished to
build science laboratories. Even five years after his death, the north block
was constructed largely due to his generosity.

In
actual fact, very little of the major building in the school between 1868-1960
was not directly due to the generosity of John Player.

The
great irony, of course, was that, having been responsible virtually single
handed for the development of the High School over a century, Player was a very
modest man. His own admiration was reserved for the brilliant scholars it
turned out. On one occasion, he is known to have said to a fellow Old Boy, “I
was no good at school. Were you ? ”

Those
brilliant scholars are largely gone and forgotten, of course, and it was they
who benefited from the High School, rather than vice versa. Exactly the
opposite was true of John Player, and one is tempted to wonder where the High
School would be now, were it not for him.

Sunday, July
2nd 1950

The
memorial plaque to the Old Boys who fell in the 1939-1945 war was unveiled by
the Duke of Portland, who, on his arrival, inspected a guard of honour formed
by the School contingent of the C.C.F., under the command of Captain Reid.

The
service was conducted by the Reverend W.D.Willatt, the vicar of Edwalton.

It began with the singing of the national
anthem, followed by the hymn “Our Father by whose Servants”. The President of
the Old Boys Society read the lesson, from the Book of Wisdom, chapter 3 verses
1-6, after which the Duke of Portland addressed the assembly, reminding them
how his father had performed the same sad duty only twenty-eight years
previously.

The
names of the dead were then read out, and the memorial plaque unveiled in the
ante-room. The plaque was inscribed “In memory of the Old Boys of this School
about one hundred in number who gave their lives for their country, 1939-1945
”. Underneath was a list of the fallen.

As well
as the plaque, the Old Boys had also endowed a scholarship fund in remembrance
of the dead.

The
plaque was dedicated by the Chaplain, and the Last Post sounded by the School
Buglers, B.F.Thompson and A.G.C.Elliott. The choir sang the school hymn as the
procession returned from the ante-room.

This
was followed by prayers and the hymn, “Praise to the Holiest in the Height”,
and the sermon from the Reverend Willatt. His theme was “But the souls of the
righteous are in the hands of God”. He ended by exhorting the congregation not
to forget the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives in the war.

The
service drew to an end with the hymn “Soldiers of Christ, Arise”. The Chaplain
gave the blessing, and a collection was taken in aid of Dame Agnes Mellers’
Lads’ Club. The Reveille was sounded, and the relatives of those who had died
filed past the plaque, followed by member of the congregation.

One
rather strange detail about the plaque is that although it contains the
additional name of C.D.Hudson, this name had at no time appeared in “The
Nottinghamian”, in their many lists of “Old Boys serving in His Majesty’s Armed
Forces, excluding the Home Guard” or in their continually updated “Roll of
Honour”. These had continued to appear as recently as December 1949.

July 1950

Two
long serving members of staff retired. The first of these was Miss S.J.Webb,
who had joined the staff of the Preparatory School in 1917, being mainly
responsible for the teaching of Art and Handwork.

The
second was Mr.L.W.Whitty, who came to the school to teach Modern Languages in
1919, after four years on the Western Front with the Lancashire Fusiliers, and
being severely wounded. For the most part, he was involved with the teaching
of, perhaps, the less talented scholars, and he devoted much of his time to
school rugby. He missed very few matches, home or away, in over twenty-five
years, and acted as both coach and referee. He was Housemaster of Cooper’s for
many years.

December 1950

William
“Bill” Boot retired this year as school caretaker after twenty-eight years’
service. He was replaced by Mr.T.H.Briggs, who had previously worked as a
policeman in the city.

Bill
Boot had fought in the Boer War, and was famed for his rapid, shuffling gait,
and his extremely rapid speech, which, with his accent, was frequently almost
unintelligible. His hobby was fishing, and he travelled widely at weekends.
When he retired, he received a small pension, but, alas, did not live very long
to enjoy it, as he was killed as he crossed the road on December 7th 1952.

Friday, February
16th 1951

Lawrence
and Newton of 2L served a detention for “throwing a shoe through the classroom
window and breaking it”.

April 1951

The new
school lift finally came into operation.

April 1951

A brand
new system of bells had been installed in the school, and was used for the
first time at some point during this term. It seems possible that before this,
the beginnings and ends of lessons and breaks were marked by the tolling of the
large school bell near to the tower. “The Nottinghamian” for April 1951
certainly contains a poem lamenting the bell’s demise, but further information
has been lacking.

early Summer
Term 1951

“Bob-a-job”
week for the 34th Nottingham (H.S.) Scout Group raised some £12 16s 0d.

Thursday, September
20th 1951

Kenneth Harry Clarke entered the High School as a Nottingham City
Scholar at the age of eleven. He was born on July 2nd 1940, and had originally
attended Aldecar
Infants’ School and then Langley Mills Boys' School , both of which
were in Derbyshire. His father was Kenneth Horatio Clarke, who was originally an
electrician at the local pit, but who opened a watchmaker and jeweller’s shop
after the family moved to the Highbury Vale area of Nottingham, just before
young Ken’s tenth birthday.

Shortly after this, he took, and passed his 11+ examination.
Instead of going to the local grammar school, however, he came to the High
School, which, at the time, took scholarship boys from all over Nottinghamshire,
and also a number of neighbouring counties.  In the register, his
father’s address is listed as 25, Highbury Road, Bulwell. Ken was to leave the
High School on March 25th 1959.

During
his time here, Ken was, among other things, a Sergeant in the C.C.F. and the
Captain of Fives. He was described by one of his teachers as “...a confident,
relaxed, cheerful individual, he worked hard and had a real sense of humour.”
Ken was to win an Open Exhibition at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge,
where he became President of the Union, and was awarded a scholarship on the
basis of the results of his first year examinations.

In a
short article about him in the “Daily Mail” in late April 2012, the seventy
year old cabinet minister revealed further, more personal, details about his
career in the High School, explaining that the school was always very much geared to
achieving the maximum number of successful applications to Oxford and
Cambridge. He saw the Sixth Form in particular as being very similar to “The
History Boys”. “…a great teacher in my life” was David Peters who gave him “a lifelong love of history”.

By his own admission, he did not excel at sport, and was by no
means a model pupil, or a prefect. It was his ability to do well in
examinations which kept all of his teachers happy.

In an interesting conclusion, Clarke praised the school highly for
the possibilities that it offered for upward social mobility. Otherwise, he
explained, he would “have probably ended up working down the local pit until it closed. “ Perhaps
at the behest of Margaret Thatcher in 1984.

Christmas Term
1951

E.D.T.Revill,
of L.5A., wrote his “Reflections on a House Match”. They began with the
lines...

“I’m not quite dead, though I might well have been,

And then the corner of the Rugger Pitch,

Would be for ever Mellers’.”

Monday, February
16th 1953

The
Current Affairs Discussion Group was visited by a group of West German
students, “who gave spontaneous answers to questions submitted by the group.”

The
society had already held five meetings during the term, with subjects including
the rearmament of Western Europe, the future of Germany, Europe’s economic
problems, Europe’s political problems, and emigration.

Thursday, June
11th 1953

The
Lord Bishop of Zululand visited the school, and spoke to the school about
racial problems. He “presented us with a point of view different from that
normally expressed in the British newspapers”.

Summer Term
1953

A
particularly violent summer storm left the Headmaster’s study and the Prefects’
Common Room ankle-deep in water.

Summer Term
1953

The
school tuck shop began to sell ice cream and bottles of various minerals.

end of the
Summer Term 1953

Mr.R.S.“Beaky”
Bridge retired at the age of seventy-one, after forty-seven years as a
schoolmaster, nearly thirty three of them at the High School.

Bridge
was Chief History and Geography Master, and House Master of White’s. He was a
“fierce martinet, and could hold a class of boys, of any age, hushed and
motionless with a stare, until his lip began to quiver, and the familiar grin
would appear and snap the tension. His teaching was unconventional, but
inspiring. His fund of stories...was endless. His knowledge was vast and his
memory remarkable. In his younger days, he had been a very good Rugby
footballer and cricketer...his twisted finger and bowed legs gave substance to
the story that at one time or another he had broken almost every bone in his
body...he was truly a “character”. In later life it was remembered as a
privilege to have been punished by him, and to have been called a “Nark”...his
name for any undesirable character...was as memorable as a decoration.”

Eric
Penson too recalled how much he enjoyed Beaky Bridge’s teaching of Shakespeare,
Wordsworth and the Ancient Mariner in the Lower School. Beaky was “very keen
indeed on school cricket. He often exhibited his skill in class, as his aim
with the dusty felt blackboard-rubber, flung without warning at the head of any
boy he  suspected of inattention, would have done credit to any professional
cover-point.”

“The
Nottinghamian”’s valedictory article spoke of his “unremitting efforts...shrewd
and often caustic criticisms...firm insistence on the old-fashioned virtues of
strict discipline and hard work...outstanding ability...few masters can have
made a greater personal contribution to the school’s success or that of its
pupils.”

Friday, July
31st - Friday, August 7th 1953

The
34th Nottingham (H.S.) scout troop went to Great Tower, Windermere with a
record number of twenty-seven scouts and one Senior. The weather was the best
ever, and the party enjoyed tracking, tree felling and pioneering.

near to
midnight, Monday, August 10th 1953

A group
of thirty-two boys, accompanied by Dr.Thimann, met at the Victoria Station
Hotel to set off for their exchange visit to Belgium, the train leaving
Nottingham at 1.45 a.m. on August 11th. For the first time ever, the party
included a girl, the daughter of Mr.Thomas.

One of
the members of the party was later to note that “Belgian sanitation is much
better than that of France, the people are more friendly and work much harder,
and, to me, the food seems more wholesome, for the Belgians, like most of us,
dislike fancy food.”

Christmas Term
1953

A new
score box was built on the playing fields at Valley Road. It was the gift of
Mr. and Mrs. E.B.Armitage, the parents of Alan K.Partridge, “as an expression
of all the School did for Alan during his ten years there”, and a major
contribution to the building was made by Mr.E.A.“Eddie” Marshall.

Friday, November
20th 1953

The
Debating Society debated the motion that “The construction of a Channel Tunnel
would be in every way beneficial”. The motion was defeated easily, by 58-8,
with seven abstentions. This term, all debates were held in the Lecture
Theatre, the Assembly Hall having been considered an “extremely bad Debating
Chamber”.

sometime
before Christmas, 1953

D.G.Kaye
of Hucknall, returned home from a prisoner of war camp in North Korea. He had
been captured while serving with the Gloucestershire Regiment, and initially
found it difficult to adapt to rich English food. Nevertheless, he had put on a
stone within weeks of his release.

December 1953

By the
time Mr.C.L.“Pooh” Reynolds retired, school numbers had risen to a record 785.
He had done much to encourage those boys who were not among the academic high
fliers, by keeping their classes deliberately small, and making every effort to
bring out the best in them. Mr.Reynolds was replaced by Mr.Kenneth Imeson.

Spring Term
1954

This
term saw the first Friday night meetings of the newly formed Geographical
Society. They heard an illustrated talk by Dr.Henson of Nottingham University,
on his recent visit to Iceland.

Monday, February
15th 1954

An old
servant of the school, Mr.R.E.James, died at the age of eighty-two. He was born
in 1872, and as a boy, had been a coachman, before getting a job at the City Hospital,
driving a horse ambulance. In later life, he became a gardener and groundsman,
coming to work at Valley Road when he retired from the City Hospital. He worked
at the games field for seventeen years, with few boys realising that he was
over eighty years of age, when they saw “his portly figure as he carried out
his valuable, if unspectacular, duties on the outskirts of the playing
fields...his was a great and unconquerable heart...would that there were more
of his kind in the world ! ”.

April 1954

The
following piece of original work was published by “The Nottinghamian”. It was
written by J.A.Bush of 3B...

SCHOOL  DINNERS

(with apologies to Matron and Thomas Hardy)

This is the dinner the teachers like

And so do I!

When potatoes are floury and meat is tender

And not too dry.

When the fragrant smells draw us to the hatch,

And the sight of the food is hard to match,

When pudding is light and melts on the tongue

And in sampling the custard you never go wrong,

And neither do I !

This is the dinner the prefects dislike

And so do I!

When gristle is left in the shepherd's pie

And we daren't ask why.

When the veg. is a mess, and the gravy is thick,

And the taste of the spuds makes one feel sick.

When the custard is lumpy and rhubarb is coarse,

And the cheese walks off as though in remorse

And so do I !

Thursday, May
20th 1954

The
portrait of Mr.C.L.Reynolds, painted by Harold Knight, was officially unveiled
by Mr.C.Garner Chambers.

the end of the
Summer Term, 1954

Plans
were well in hand for a Fives match against Newark Magnus Grammar School,
“...to enable us to compare our standard of play with that of other schools”.

Fives
was still bedevilled by serious difficulties, long after the defeat of Hitler’s
Wolf Packs had allowed an unhindered flow of decent quality balls into the
country. Now the problem was that hardly any other schools still played “Rugby
Fives”, the particular variant practised at the High School. In addition,
“great difficulty in playing this term has been the presence in the court of
bicycles, which tend to damage the walls, and to prevent play.”

July 1954

The end
of term saw the retirement of two long serving masters. Mr.M.J.Brodrick had
taught Modern Languages, and German in particular, since September 1919, as
well as being a tutor, and founding the “Hobbies Club”. Mr.J.F.Newbound had
joined the school in January 1921, and had been a teacher of Science and
Mathematics, as well as a tutor, and had been in charge of the Photographic
Club.

Both
men had participated in school rowing, and had performed as starters at the
School Sports for more than twenty-five years.

Thursday, September
30th 1954

Miss
Jane Place Farmer died at the age of eighty-one, in a nursing home in
Nottingham. She had previously lived at Old Hall, East Bridgford, and had been
a music teacher at the High School from 1901-1935, as well as taking a carpentry
class in the evenings at her home.

Christmas Term
1954

The
Music Society was resurrected at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Music listened
to included Beethoven, Smetana, Sibelius and the “Maple Leaf Rag” by Sidney
Bechet and his New Orleans Feet Warmers. Problems were being experienced with
the gramophone, but it was hoped that, one day, a three speed model could be
acquired. Attendances were high for every meeting, but this may not have been
unconnected with the fact that the society was one of the very few whose
membership was free.

Friday, December
24th 1954

The
school cross country team had a match against the School of Agriculture of
Nottingham University at Sutton Bonington. They took the first four places, in
a “howling gale and showers of sleet”. This sport was now becoming increasingly
important as an alternative to rugby.

1955

J.J.F.Robinson
gained a half blue at Cambridge for tennis. He went on to play at Wimbledon,
and to captain the Cambridge team in 1957.

Saturday, February
5th 1955

The
school cross country team lost its match against the Nottingham University
Second Team by 44-31. The race was held at Wollaton Park.

Saturday, February
26th 1955

The
County Youths’ Cross Country Championship was held in two feet of snow at Berry
Hill, Mansfield. The weather made “overtaking difficult and extremely
hazardous”. The High School team finished second.

half term of
the Easter Term 1955

Up to
80 members of the Historical Society, in five parties of about sixteen each,
descended into the caves under Nottingham City centre. They were all required
to wear protective clothing such as miners’ helmets, and even woodwork aprons,
although nothing could compare to the magnificent blue overalls of
Mr.J.D.Powell.  The boys saw medieval pottery and broken Tudor and Stuart clay
pipes.

March 1955

The
imminent demise of “Dicko’s” prompted the following song by G.B.Hill of Upper
4A. It was published in “The Nottinghamian”...

VALETE DICKO

Here a mere shell stands Dicko's sweet-shop,

The best club in our school.

No more 'twill hear the noisy clap-trap,

For clubbing's banned by rule.

His sweets were of the highest quality;

His scales weighed good and true.

Faithful each day he did his duty

To all the High School crew.

Dick never from his counter parted:

To boys he was so fair.

His friends were many and true-hearted,

And Tony always there.

They used to be so blithe and jolly,

As they the counter scanned,

But mirth was turned to melancholy

When Dicko's shop was banned.

Yet shall poor Dick not be deserted,

Though, he who all commands,

Won't let us congregate together,

Or hang about in bands.

The Head, who lines and D's dispatches,

(The rumour's going round)

By stopping us from using Dicko's

Will send us “underground”!

N.B.-When sung to the tune of “Tom
Bowling” the last line of each verse should be repeated.

March 1955

The
following song by K.H.Clarke, of LVA was published in “The Nottinghamian”...

“THE SONG OF THE SNOW-BATTERED PREFECT

Tune  : “THE MILLER OF
THE DEE”

There was a jolly prefect once,

Worked in the prefect's tower ;

He worked and slaved from morn till night

No matter what the hour ;

But when the winter months came round

He always used to say

“ O who would be a prefect

Upon a snowy day ?

I like this tower, she is to me

Like parent, child and wife.

I would not change my station

For any other life.

But when the snows begin to fall

The mob, us “pre's” waylay...

“ O who would be a prefect

Upon a snowy day ?

The ‘priv.’s’ all get as they come in,

An odd snowball or so ;

The masters all are held in awe,

And so they let them go ;

But when we “pre's” come in the gate,

We're given all the snow....

For though we all are prefects

They will not let us go.

On Friday morn he was overworked,

But how his heart grew gay ;

He started to get his sweet revenge

For every snowy day

But as he gave out lots of lines

He always used to say

“ O who would be a prefect

Upon a snowy day ? ”

Future
Cabinet Minister Kenneth Clarke was a leading light of the school’s Locomotive
Society. This was, presumably, why he was so reluctant to “change my station”.

Easter 1955

Beaky
Bridge, who, after his retirement, had continued to work in the school library,
died. “The Nottinghamian” paid generous tribute to his talents as a “historian,
painter, musician, cartographer, numismatist, philatelist, geologist and
student of heraldry...a skilled player of cricket and of rugby.”

As a
teacher, “all know of the tweaked ear, the pulled tie, the croaky voice and the
underlying chuckles. The board would rapidly fill with armour, or coats of arms,
or older weapons, or faces, or a campaign.

At the
bell “Beaky” would tell his boys to go that evening into the Library where he
was at his happiest directing them to this book or that in which they could
themselves dig for information on the current work. His lessons always ended
there ; a boy had to think and read for himself...as well as books, he
collected slides, well over two thousand...these, together with his huge
private library and some pictures, he left to the school.”

a forgotten, sunlit morning
between 1953-1956

An urban myth tells the tale…..

“The Headmaster, Mr.Imeson, was
conducting a completely normal, ordinary morning assembly in what is now called
“The Player Hall”, but was then referred to as just “The Assembly Hall”. As was
sometimes the case, “Imey” was not particularly happy about a certain example
of misbehaviour, and was giving the school a good talking-to.

As he addressed his pupils, what
he did not know was that some mischievous Sixth Formers were already hiding
high above his head, up near the ceiling.

Slowly, slowly, they lowered a
string of sausages down towards their unsuspecting victim. Everybody in the
audience could see what was happening, of course, while the angry Headmaster
remained blissfully unaware of what was the source of their merriment.

Eventually the continuing stifled
titters among the boys and, presumably, the upward glances of members of staff,
made him aware of what was happening. There is no record of what happened to
the perpetrators.

Further research among today’s
grandfathers reveals that a belief certainly exists that when Mr.Imeson finally
retired, some daring young man wrote “Bye, Bye, Imey” in weedkiller on the
grass lawn of the West Quadrangle.

This may just be one of the many,
many weedkiller stories which abound in schools and colleges, but it would be
nice if it were true, and it is included for that reason.

Wednesday, August
10th 1955

Nine
boys left Nottingham Victoria Station for a visit to Ludwigshafn in Germany.
The party experienced “extraordinary and often terrifying sausages of every
size and colour, but we are all still alive”. They were surprised that “the
German does not eat until he feels satisfied, but continues until he cannot
possibly swallow another mouthful.” Nevertheless, the town and shops were
meticulously clean, with no “queues, Teddy Boys and school uniform”. Indeed,
the German boys were “shocked” at the High School uniform, and preferred their
more natural dress of lederhosen and shirts.

Wednesday, November
9th 1955

The
newly formed naval section of the Combined Cadet Force appeared in uniform for
the first time.

Monday,
November 28th 1955

The
Modern Languages Society held its only meeting of the term, a rather sparsely
attended talk about 19th century French music with special reference to the
Romantics.

December 1955

The
début of the Naval Section of the C.C.F. was commemorated in verse by “The
Nottinghamian”. The author was R.G.Beasley of Upper 5A...

Each Wednesday Second Formers stare

To see the boys upon the square :

The Army khaki, Air Force blue;

But this week there is something new :

The entry of the Boys in Blue

Upon the square.

With "lead and line" and "starboard
floats,"

And flashing lights and sailing boats,

The seamen practise all day long

In order nothing may go wrong,

When first they take a trip upon

Their sailing boats.

But there's one setback to the sailors

They have nowhere to sail their whalers.

The asphalt floor is rather hard ;

Their progress, it would much retard.

It seems they'll have to flood the yard

To sail their whalers.

Christmas Term
1955

The
Prefects tended a half grown, and abandoned, pigeon for three weeks. The result
of their labours is not recorded.

1955  ?

The
school inaugurated its Duke of Edinburgh scheme, one of the very first to do
so.

1955-1963

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Eight : reminiscences, 1955-1963”.

Monday, February
6th 1956

New of
U5G served a detention for “telling a master to shut up”.

Friday,
February 24th 1956

The
Modern Languages Society held its only meeting of the term, a joint venture
with the Historical Society, where Mr.Llewellyn gave “a most interesting and
informative talk” on the differences between the Union Française and the
British Commonwealth.

Monday, March
26th 1956

The
school visited the Houses of Parliament on the very same day as the Soviet
leader, Mr.Malenkov. They heard speeches by Sir Anthony Eden, Hugh Gaitskell
and Aneurin Bevan, as well as Sidney Silverman, introducing a bill to abolish
capital punishment. Among the party was a sixteen year old Kenneth Clarke.

Field Day 1956

The
Naval Section of the C.C.F. made its first official appearance with a visit to
Portsmouth.

Summer Term
1956

The
Locomotive Society had fewer meetings than usual this term because of the
pressure of work on its officers. One of the latter was Kenneth H.Clarke, who
was destined to hold even greater office then Honorary Secretary of the
Locomotive Society in the years to come...

1956

M.R.Cook
gained a half blue at Cambridge for hurdling, and J.L.Booth a half blue at
Oxford for the 220 yards sprint. The latter went on to get a blue for rugby in
the 1956-1957 season.

the summer
holidays 1956

The
Locomotive Society went by coach to Lancashire, where they visited thirteen
train depôts between Preston and Manchester, an exciting venture which
attracted a “flood of applications for seats” on the summer visit to the Leeds
and Bradford district. By now, the society was the largest and most active in
the school. Plans were in hand to visit Doncaster and Hull during the Christmas
holidays, “unless petrol rationing prevents it.”

Easter term
1957

The
Astronomical Society was formed. They enjoyed talks on “The Galaxy”, “Comets”,
and watched a film entitled “The Eclipse of the Sun”.

April 1957

The
editorial of “The Nottinghamian” recorded, rather wistfully perhaps, the last

days of the Victorian era, and the
legacy which they had brought to the present...

“...Perhaps
it is our ' old-fashionedness ' which strikes the casual visitor most

forcibly. The Gothic windows...the
medieval gowns our masters wear...the resplendent grant of arms in the
Library...the twisting staircase to the tower (the whole institution of the
prefects was recently described by a German visitor as being "like the
Middle Ages ") : all these seem to look back in time. This first
impression is obviously mistaken ; it is after all difficult to dwell in the
past in an institution dealing with people who have very little past to dwell
in. Yet it is true that the past plays a big part in our lives here, and will
always do so-even if “The High School” should ever come to mean a great shaft
of glass and steel crowning the Forest Road ridge. The fact of the matter is
that here past and future mingle deliciously to provide the seasoning for the
stodgier pudding of the everyday. They are the cheese and ale :  the present is
the cobs. Here Mr. Geoffrey Trease's heroes from the past clasp hands with the
space-pilots of the future.  Perhaps one O.N. meets another there...for who can
say what school Dan Dare will go to ? ”

It is
known that plans were afoot to introduce the weekly comic, the “Eagle”, to the
school library around this time.

July 1957

“The Nottinghamian” included the following
poem by P.R.Smith of 3A.

NOTTINGHAMIANS AT WORK

KNOW YOUR ENEMIES -1

Then the little grey haired master

Learned of every boy his weakness,

Learned their names and all their secrets,

How they did their best in physics,

Where they put their Latin crib notes.

Talked with them whene'er he met them,

Called them, " O my little Poopsticks !"

One and all, he learned their dodges,

Learned their ways and all their cunning,

With what joy they made their pellets,

Where they hid their ammunition,

How the chalk was used so quickly,

Why the boys knew nothing of it ;

Talked with them whene'er he met them,

Called them, " Silly little Poopsticks ! ”

Summer term
1957

Fire
drills were introduced to the school this term, although the first efforts were
recorded by “the Nottinghamian” as being far from successful. Even so, the boys
appreciated the disruption of their “long uninterrupted periods of work”.

summer
holidays 1957

More
than fifty members of the Locomotive Society went in two coaches to the Welsh
border areas, where they visited, among other sites, Wrexham and Oswestry.

Tuesday, October
1st 1957

Because
of an outbreak of Asian flu, 347 boys were absent from the school. This
represented 46% of the total complement.

Christmas Term
1957

The
Astronomical Society was limited to a maximum of thirty members. After paying
their dues of 2s 6d for the year, they were then entitled to view the film,
“Project Moonbase” for free.  Non-members were asked to pay 1s 0d, a venture
which resulted in repeated showings of the film, and a secure financial basis
for the society for many months to come.

December 1957

“The
Nottinghamian” included its first ever Christmas quiz...

Who said :-

(i)         "You sit there
like a lot of empty tin cans."

(ii)        " Have I gone too
far ?

(iii)       "You will have to
know the specific gravity of a polar bear."

(iv)       "Thoughts go
through your empty brain like sparks in a vacuum.

(v)        "You cad, you know
I can't count up to 18."

(vi)       "A deathly silence
was heard."

(vii)      "I've got some
figures somewhere to show you.

(viii)     "Thank you, Neddy."

(ix)       "Homer must have
felt the same way when he wrote the Bible."

(x)        "Every day 55,000
new babies sit down to breakfast."

(xi)       "Splendid
isolation."

Who purges milk
bottles?

Whose calculations are
correct to 10% ?

What goes “sort of
jiggle-jiggle in the middle”  ?

What is the Mashers'
Club, and where is its club-room ?

Which
two masters were both captains of their school-the same school-at the same time
?

Friday, January
10th 1958

In the
words of “the Nottinghamian”... “...The term began sadly for all connected with
the School, with the news of the death of Mr. Palmer after a long illness,
which he had borne with patience and courage to the last.  He had a record,
remarkable if not unique, of forty-four years' unbroken association with the
School, but even more remarkable was the loyal and devoted service that he gave
throughout those years.

Richard
Arthur Palmer entered the School as a boy of ten in September, 1913, and during
the next eight years he had a most distinguished career as a scholar and as an
athlete.  He was a Foundation Scholar, and won many prizes, especially for
Mathematics. He became Captain of the School, Captain of Cricket and of
Football, and Sergeant-Major of the O.T.C., as it then was. In December 1921 he
gained a Scholarship for Mathematics at Queens' College, Cambridge.

Unable
for family reasons to go to Cambridge. Palmer was at once offered by Doctor Turpin
a post on the staff, and he started to teach in the Summer Term of 1922. At
this time the Old Nottinghamians' Society was just being re-formed, and in that
work Palmer, though a very young old boy, took a leading part, as he also did
in founding the O.N. Rugger and Cricket Clubs.  He was a prominent player, and
captain of each club in the early years. The Old Nottinghamians Society gave
him its highest honour, by appointing him President for 1941 and 1942.

In the
school he soon began to add to his responsibilities. In 1926, he was chosen by
Mr. Reynolds to be one of the first tutors, and about the same time he took a
commission in the Corps, which he commanded from 1933 to 1939. When the war
came, Mr. Palmer undertook extra coaching duties with the games, and in 1941
was temporarily put in charge of the Mathematics Department. In 1942, he again
took command of the Corps for a further five years, spending the whole of every
summer holiday from 1940 to 1949 in charge of the School Harvest Camps. In addition,
he commanded a company of the Nottingham Home Guard. In 1947 he became
Housemaster of Mellers, and a little later took charge of the playing fields.

As a
person, Palmer was always quiet, modest and unassuming, but beneath this lay an
intense devotion to duty and a wonderful loyalty to the school. No effort was
too great, and no detail was too small. He never sought materials rewards, and
his Territorial Decoration, and the gold watch from his friends, the farmers of
Car Colston, he accepted with modest gratitude and prized highly. But his real
reward he found in seeing the effects of his work for the good of others.”

one Monday
afternoon, Spring Term, 1958

B.Daubney
of 3A went to visit “The Leviathan”, an enormous boat used by the school Rowing
Club. This vessel had fourteen oarsmen, with a wide walkway down the centre. In
young Daubney’s words, it was rather like the Queen Mary, or a “slave galley of
the ancients”.

half term of
the Easter Term 1958

Mr.Fell
died suddenly after a short illness. He had officially retired from the C.C.F.
as recently as the previous December, but he had returned after Christmas in a
part-time capacity.

Joseph
Henry Fell joined the Sherwood Foresters as a regular soldier before the
1914-18 War, throughout which he served, and in which he was wounded three
times. He was proud to be one of the “Old Contemptibles”, and came to the
School to take charge of the Physical Training and to act as Sergeant
Instructor to the School Contingent of the Officers' Training Corps in July
1920. He retired from the C.C.F. in July 1957 after thirty-seven years'
service, which had been recognised by the award of the Cadet Force Medal, and
the British Empire Medal, although he continued to work in the gymnasium.

As his
obituary in “The Nottinghamian” was to say ...“...Sergeant-Major Fell gave much
to the School, but he took much from it in happiness, in friendships, and in
the satisfaction of work well done, and he leaves with all who knew him a
lasting example and the memory of a fine character ; of him too we can say in
all sincerity : Lauda Finem.”

half term of
the Easter Term 1958

The
Model Railway Society was formed. It extended the school’s great interest in
trains, and membership quickly reached the half century. Meetings were held in
the Biology Laboratory every Friday lunchtime between 1.15 - 2.30 pm.

Saturday, March
29th 1958

Competing
in the London Head of the River Race, between Putney and Mortlake, the School
VIII finished a very creditable 100th out of 275 crews. The boat had been
transported to London on a new trailer, presented to the Rowing Club by the Old
Boys’ Society. It was “specially designed for the job of carrying a fragile
racing-boat, and is an exceedingly valuable piece of equipment.”

April 1958

The
editorial of “The Nottinghamian” responded to the many changes taking place
around this time....“….A steel web of scaffolding is spun across the skyline :
the new School-wing begins to rise from the sand. But as much as we look
forward to the luxurious amenities such a change promises….to the new
laboratories, to the sound-proof Music Rooms, to the less forbidding Prefects'
Court, to the more palatial Staff Room....and as much as we have been delighted
by the circus antics of the spider-men, who have confounded all Newton's laws
by their methods of erection….we cannot but lament the tolls which such
progress exacts. For “D. H. Lawrence” and his revered fireplace have
disappeared, at least from sight, on the first floor, and we must ask whether
such a historic monument is to be sacrificed to the demands of the chemical
bottle for Lebensraum ? The battlements too, whose symbolic charm this
functional age fails to recognise, have been declared unsafe. Now the Prefects,
languishing in the Gothic gloom of their turret (too soon to be given over to
the mundane role of store-house) can only look wistfully at the sunbeams
playing on their old eyries!

If
Progress takes its material toll, Time too brings its more poignant sadness. It
is with deep regret that we record in this issue the passing of two of the “Old
Guard” among the staff...“Nick” Palmer and “Sarge” Fell were known, liked and
respected universally in and out of school. We express the hope that this
school will continue to produce boys and men as outstanding as the former, and
to find masters as fine as the latter.

The
“Free Scole” in Stoney Street becomes the High School in Waverley Mount ; the
Old Prep. works-room changes into the Signals Hut . . . timid ghosts may scurry
off as plastic and steel replace the familiar stone and wood. No matter, if
through these times of change the School be true to the traditions of its past
and the ideals of its long-dead Founder.”

April 1958

Encouraged by the success of their
Christmas quiz, “The Nottinghamian” included another set of questions...

Who said?

(i)         It's suitably reinforced to take my eighteen
stone; the last time I sat on it, it collapsed.

(ii)        It's a child of Dr.
Jackson's imagination.

(iii)       This Shakespeare
reminds me of Cyril Fletcher.

(iv)       Mr. Elliott's passed on

(v)        I was just talking
through my hat, don't worry.

(vi)       Many a Russian would
rather have a weekly bath.

(vii)      The large quantity of
mercury I swallowed might have warped my character.

(viii)     It takes place on the
30th and 31st of February.

(ix)       You can't play fast and
loose with the law of mass action.

(x)        You stick to playing
organs, mate!

(xi)       The cat was leaking
slowly out of the bag before that.

(xii)      Don't look at me as
though I'm barmy.

(xiii)     You all drank Harvey's
Gripe water in your tender years.

Who...

(i)         went to boarding
school and had nothing to eat for six years?

(ii)        makes stationary waves
in his bath-water ?

(iii)       is not in favour of
unilateral action?

(iv)       could have done as much
with a toothpick, and to what, in a fortnight?

(v)        saw a large
boa-constrictor in the Arboretum?

(vi)       has been seeing little
green men with radio-active tails?

(vii)      worked for two years
standing on boxes?

With
the passage of time, of course, the answers will doubtless remain forever
forgotten.

Easter 1958

A party
of boys stayed at a hotel near Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles. “Some foolhardy
individuals even tried swimming in the open air pool one morning. It was
learned afterwards that it had not been cleaned out for a very long time.

Friday, May
23rd 1958

After
several months illness, Mr.C.L.Reynolds passed away. “The Nottinghamian” spoke
sadly of his “valuable and full life” and his “so brief a retirement”.

Summer Term
1958

There
were so many school swimming fixtures that it would have been difficult to
accept many more. As the school had no swimming baths of their own, these
fixtures were mostly evening matches at other schools, while Mr.H.V.”Chalky”
White took the Second Forms for practice either to Radford or Meridian Baths.

July 1958

“The
Nottinghamian” included a recollection by J.S.Ready, of 3A, of his most
memorable Founder’s Day...

“...Saturday,
7th June, gave every indication of being like any other Saturday morning until
the middle of the Maths lesson. At this point, the door opened, and a dignified
Sixth Former asked if Ready would report to the Headmaster's study at the end
of break. I had no specific reason for an immediate feeling of guilt, but on
the other hand, I couldn't think why I should receive this command.

Needless
to say, there was little concentration given to the remainder of the Maths
lesson, which might now have been Greek as far as I was concerned.

At the
sound of the bell, I immediately rushed round to enquire whether anyone else had
received similar instructions. No. It was just Ready. I combed my hair,
straightened my tie, and made my way towards the Head-master's study.

Taking
a deep breath, I knocked on the door and at the command, "Come in," I
entered. All apprehension was immediately dispelled when the reason for my
visit was explained to me. As an innovation to the 1958 Founder's Day, it had
been decided to include the youngest Foundation Scholar at the ancient Cheese
and Ale ceremony at the Council House, and this year's boy happened to be me.
After detailed instructions, I was dismissed to return to my form-room, feeling
relieved, but rather overwhelmed.

Saturday morning, the 14th June,
excelled itself as regards weather. At school, boys in their regulation grey
suits were waiting to walk down to St. Mary's Church, where parents were
already taking their places, to await the Civic party. The coolness of the
interior was restful and refreshing after the heat of the sun, and upon the
arrival of the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff and other prominent men of the City, the
service began. The excellent singing of the choir, the very appropriate sermon
given by the Archdeacon of Nottingham, the Ven.J.H.L.Phillips, and the prayers
and hymns, were most impressive. Quietly the congregation dispersed to go their
different ways, but well I knew mine.

Never
before had I entered the mysterious depths of the Council House ; and I felt
rather overawed, if not a little important, as we made our way past the
impassive Commissionaire, resplendent in his livery.

The
Civic party, the Governors, the Headmaster and members of the staff, along with
the Prefects, had gathered here to partake of the customary cheese and ale.
Similar bread and cheese I had tasted before, though the grandeur of the
occasion gave it an added flavour. The ale, however, was something quite new to
my palate, and mistrusting its potency, and the consequent results, I very soon
changed to coffee.

The
Toastmaster called silence for the Lord Mayor, who proposed a toast to the
School, the Headmaster and Dame Agnes, pointing out how much Nottingham owed to
the School. The Chairman of the Governors replied, thanking the Lord Mayor for
his kindness and hospitality. Mr. Imeson then read a clause from Dame Agnes'
Will, in which she instructed fourpences and sixpences to the amount of twenty
shillings to be handed to various representatives at the service. The old coins
were handed to the Headmaster, who presented three shillings to the Ven.
Archdeacon, sixteen pence to the Lord Mayor, varying amounts to the bell ringers,
the clerks and the servants and lastly, four pence to me, representing the poor
scholars.

I
looked at my old fourpenny piece and felt a personal contact with our revered
benefactress. This impressive ceremony, so full of ancient tradition, will
always remain one of my most treasured memories, and even if I am ever lucky
enough to partake of Cheese and Ale again, 1958 will always be my most
memorable Founder's Day.”

Summer 1958

A party
visited “Expo 58” in Brussels, enjoying the funfair, the Russian Pavilion and
the “extremely impressive British pavilion”.

Christmas Term
1958

The
school chess team finished third in the “Sunday Times” tournament. They had
beaten Varndean Grammar School of Brighton in the semi-final.

Perhaps
the most exciting moment in the competition had been the school’s first ever
“telephone” chess match, against King Edward VI Grammar School in Southampton.
This started at 6.30 pm., and did not finish until 11.30 pm. The school won by
5-1.

Christmas Term
1958

The
Historical Society had regular meetings, with talks on Bishop Stubbs, the
Colour Problem in South Africa, Historical Research and a showing of the
Russian film, “Alexander Nevsky”.

1959

Mr.Neville,
on behalf of the C.C.F., took delivery of their first ever transport. It was a
model OY Bedford three ton lorry. Its registration number was the much coveted
“10 EAU”, and it cost £120. Its seats were hard, the back was open, and there
was a bell system to warn the driver. It was eventually replaced by a Commer
3-tonner, which had a bonnet so bulbous that it was perfectly possible for the
driver to miss a Mini or Scooter as he moved off.

1959 onwards

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Nine : ball games, 1959”.

March 1959

A
Gardening Club was set up by 3G, under the direction of Mr.Williams, and they
set about the overgrown wilderness around Dr.Turpin’s house with great
enthusiasm. Around this time, more official improvements were being made to the
front of the school, with several superfluous trees being cut down, and the
garden being tidied up. At the same time, a new north entrance to the school
was brought into general use.

the evening of
Monday, March 9th 1959

The
first ever Staff v Prefects football match took place. The staff triumphed by
1-0.

Tuesday, June
9th 1959

Mr.J.D.”Sandy”
Powell thwarted a determined attempt by U4G to stink out the school. T.Dilks
served a detention for “dropping a stink bomb before class”.J.C.Morrell was
convicted of “having a stink bomb in his possession”, and T.J.Moore served his
detention for “dropping a stink bomb in the corridor”. Presumably, he was
trying to dispose of the incriminating evidence.

early 1960

Mr.W.A.Parsons
died in the early part of the year, having retired in 1949. Known always as
“Wappy”, Mr.Parsons had been a teacher of Geography and English, and, along
with R.S.Bridge, had coached school cricket for nearly thirty years. He was
himself a very competent bowler, but had in actual fact been severely gassed
during the Great War, and his health had suffered constantly in the many years
since that event.

Monday, February
1st 1960

The
boys of the school were allowed access for the first time to the new block on
the northern side of the West Quadrangle. The extensive school building scheme
financed by J.D.Player was thereby at long last completed.

The new
buildings consisted of two spacious Geography rooms, two junior form rooms, and
four sixth form rooms. At half term, the members of staff moved into their
first ever purpose built Common Room. The rooms on the second floor came into
use in the half term after this. They were originally designed to be a music
rehearsal room, a prefects’ room, a general science laboratory and a biology
laboratory. This was considered by Mr.Neville to be the finest in the county.

The new
buildings were officially opened on September 22nd 1960, by the vice-chancellor
of Nottingham University.

April 1960

At the
height of the “cold war”, the Civil Defence Section of the C.C.F. was by now a
firmly established part of school life. After a third former confessed that it
was he who had “dropped a bomb behind a deputy”, it was decided to ban all
explosives and firearms from school premises.

April 1960

The
House Prefects introduced a swear box to their proceedings. Within three weeks,
it had raised fifteen shillings for World Refugee Year

April 1960

“The
Nottinghamian” included the following poem by P.L.Murray of LVB...

N.H.S.Cargoes

Pompous Pride of Pedagogues in black-gowned convoy

Stalking from the staffroom after mid-day rest,

Breathing airs of Balliol,

Christ Church and Trinity,

Calculus, Sophocles, and short French test.

Lordly band of prefects marching down the front steps

Searching for the cap-less, cheeky and profane,

With an armful of textbooks,

Tassel hats and fives gloves,

Slide rule, car key, and short thick cane.

Dirty little Juniors with mud-caked knee caps

Swarming round the tuck-shop with hungry cries,

Pockets full of bubble gum,

Peanuts, tadpoles,

Penknife, catapult and big bulls eyes.”

Saturday, June
18th 1960

R.F.Barker
saved the life of a two-year old child, diving into the Nottingham Canal to
effect a rescue. The City Police described it as “a noble effort”.

Wednesday,
June 29th 1960

The
Valley Road playing fields, with a series of “carefully constructed ruins”,
were the site of a Civil Defence rehearsal of a Soviet nuclear attack. As the
photographs in “The Nottinghamian” show, the school dealt with such an
emergency without any real problems.

10.50 am.,
Thursday, July 21st 1960

A
seven-ton Foden lorry came out of the Forest Road gates with Mr.G.I.Cushing, seventeen
boys and forty boxes of food. They were joined by Mr.J.J.F.Robinson at
Brussels, and continued on to Geneva, Avignon, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Florence,
Venice and then back home by way of Epernay and Ostend. Only a few short months
afterwards, the idea for this trip was to be stolen by Cliff Richard and his
group of rather disreputable beatniks, for the film “Summer Holiday”.

at least the 1960s onwards

We forget nowadays in the high
standard buildings of the present school, that in years gone by, rooms were
often divided in two by wooden partitions, and that many boys would see it as a
challenge slowly and quietly to open up a gap between the individual panels,
and then make their escape. Rooms E1 and E2 were like this, and many a teacher
would remain blissfully unaware that their class was either melting away with
time, or perhaps slowly morphing into the class next door, as boys changed places,
subjects and teachers, moving back and forth between the two rooms.

In a similar way, there was a
trapdoor under the floor in the teaching space at the back of the old Language
Lab, in what is now W1. Many a class has diminished in size over the years as
boys slid gracefully under the floor and then “Down, down and away !”  into the
cellars.

April 1961

The
school opened its very own Field Studies Centre, at Allsop-en-le-Dale in
Derbyshire. It consisted of the buildings attached to the “Up” platform of the
tiny local station, and, much to the delight of members of the Locomotive
Society, steam trains continued to pass through several times a day.

8.15 am., Tuesday,
April 18th 1961

A party
of First Year boys assembled at the Midland Station before their visit to
London. In the capital, they visited the Houses of Parliament, Westminster
Abbey, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, London Airport, the B.B.C. studios, the
Tower of London and St.Paul’s.

the morning of
Friday, June 16th 1961

A total
of 115 confirmed members of the Church of England attended the Founder’s Day
Communion Service. This was the first time that this particular service had
been held, as well as the usual ceremonies in St.Mary’s.

c. 2 pm., a
typical Friday of the Summer Term, 1961

Now
that the new wing was in use, it might have been thought that “Doctor Turpin’s
House”, in Waverley Mount, was no longer needed. This was not the case, and
“The Nottinghamian” invited its readers to make a tour of the old Victorian
house, and see what uses it was being put to. On the front lawn, the School
Scouts were in full session, and inside were rooms occupied by the Model
Railway Society, and the Jazz Society. On the second floor was a labyrinth of
small rooms used by the C.C.F. Naval Section for storage purposes.

Summer Term,
1961

The
increasingly impressive standards of High School music were emphasised when the
Summer Concert was held in the Albert Hall.

Summer Term,
1961

A large
number of school societies continued to flourish. During this term, there was a
Debating Society, a Chess Club, a Photographic Society, an Automobile Society,
a Music Society, a Christian Discussion Group, a Locomotive Society, a Jazz
Society, a Third Year Sixth Form Society, a History Society, a Modern Languages
Society and a Scientific Society.

Monday,
November 27th 1961

Mr.D.N.Aspin
gave a detention to the anarchic Williams of 2M for a “wilful attempt to trip
up a Prep boy carrying a pile of plates in the dining hall”. The detention book
does not record whether total disaster was averted.

Saturday, May
5th 1962

Leg-spinner
P.D.Johnson, the youngest player in the side, took a wicket with his very first
ever ball for the High School 1st XI. It came in a match against Welbeck
College, and he finished with figures of 6-21.

Thursday, July
19th 1962

The
First XI made what “The Nottinghamian” claimed to be their lowest ever score at
Valley Road, a total of only 28 runs all out against the Old Nottinghamians.
The latter duly made 31for 2 and won by eight wickets.

Christmas
Term, 1962

A
Careers Advisory Service was inaugurated for the Fifth and Sixth Forms.

1963

Celebrations
were held for the four hundredth anniversary of the school. Marquees were
erected and portable flowerbeds brought in. There were fountains, and hundreds
of tables and chairs were set out. Inside the school, classrooms were converted
into dance floors, and in the assembly hall, a huge mural with life size
figures depicted the history of the school. The geography department became the
“Caribbean Room”.

Two
commemorative balls were held, with professional dancers, three bands and an
army of caterers being hired. There were two garden parties, a special service
and, over a short period of time, a large number of dinners and private
functions. Over ten thousand guests were catered for, many of them being
temporarily accommodated with either parents or old boys.

At
midnight, trumpeters emerged at the top of the tower, and a fanfare was sounded
over Nottingham. As soon as this music had died away, Ukrainian dancers emerged
onto the south steps, and the festivities, temporarily suspended, resumed their
frenetic course.

The
school took advantage of the influx of wellwishers to launch an appeal fund,
the aim of which was the building of the Founder Hall, which incorporated the
school’s very first swimming pool.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Thirty : Crystal-gazing”. This is an interesting series of prophecies “for the rest of the century” about what the school would be like. It
is surprising just how accurate many of them have turned out to be,

Summer Term
1963

A
French dictionary was returned to the book room after an interval of some fifty-seven
years. It had been borrowed in 1906, but it is not recorded if any fine was
levied on this forgetful pupil.

Summer Term
1963

The
Community Service scheme began, initially with the Sixth Form, but soon
spreading to the Fifth Form. Boys were variously digging gardens, or decorating
kitchens. Others helped at a club for mentally handicapped people, or went on a
Red Cross camp for the physically handicapped. A brave group took Borstal boys
to Alsop, and a holiday club was set up for children in the Meadows. There was
a widespread desire to visit O.A.P.s, but unfortunately, there seemed to be a
shortage of suitable candidates, as “it seems very difficult to get names and
addresses of people who need visiting”.

Friday, July
26th 1963

The
Head of English, Mr.Ben Towers, died from the accumulative and debilitating
effects of asthma. He left a wife, Joyce, and twin sons, Bob and David. He had
lived long enough to see them receive their degrees.

Monday, July
20th 1964

The
Folk Song Society held its first meeting. The Jazz Society had recently taken a
giant leap forward by acquiring a record player from the Music Department.

Tuesday, July
21st 1964

D.C.Haywood
and P.A.Warsop put on 173 for the second wicket against King Edward’s School,
Sheffield. Haywood scored 137 not out, and Warsop scored 71. This was the highest
partnership since 1911, and the highest individual score since the same year.

Saturday, December
19th 1964

Throughout
the term, the Community Service had kept up the good work, with visits to old
people, much gardening and decorating, delivering Christmas presents, and, at
the Arboretum School for handicapped children, putting on a junior play, “The
True Story of God King Wenceslas”, performed by members of 2L.

A new
venture, however, was a Christmas party for local old people, with the kitchen
staff laying on “a magnificent meal”. Members of staff transported the old
people to and from school, and as they ate their meal, they were entertained by
the School Choir, and members of the Folk Society.

12.45 am. on
the first Saturday after the end of the Christmas term

Dr.Flynn,
three of his friends and two members of the Astronomical Society, including
N.R.Combe of U5B1, assembled at the front of a cold and deserted High School,
in order to witness a total eclipse of the moon. The slow process began at 1.00
am., and totality was achieved at 2.07 am. “Just before 3.00, we decided that,
sooner than wait till 4.15 to see the end of the eclipse, which would only be
the reverse of what had already happened, we would go home. We left at three
o’clock, feeling rather tired and very cold.”

April 1965

The
Folk Society, with meetings every Monday lunchtime, had soon become the most
popular society in the school. There were more than fifty members, a figure
which may not have been entirely unconnected with the fact that meetings took
place in the school cellars. “The Nottinghamian” reported the activities of
such “distinguished troglodytes” as “Ian” Russell, “Boko” Inger, “Roddy”
Bateman, “Davie” Douglas, “Greg” Taylor and “Jeffo” Minson.

The
society “piggy-bank” was full to overflowing, and everything was looking good
for the future.

Friday, March
12th 1965

The
distinguished historian, A.J.P.Taylor visited the school to give a talk
entitled “What the First World War was About”. This was for a meeting of the Nottingham
Historical Association held in the Assembly Hall, and attracted a large
audience.

April 1965

In a
short article in “The Nottinghamian”, Oswald Lush spoke of the large amount of
building work currently being carried out in the school...

...“...The
Headmaster of a school in Derbyshire remarked to me recently that

he considered any school moribund
if there was not building of some kind proceeding within its precincts. The
High School would not appear in imminent danger of extinction on this score, for
it has virtually been a builder's yard over the past two years. The turrets and
castellated parapet on the south side of the centre block disappeared during
1963-64, and have been replaced by a blonde fringe of Clipsham stone from near
Stamford. The tower itself has been repointed and the leaded lights replaced by
large panes of plate glass. The whole of this central section of the building
has been re-roofed in Westmorland slate to match that on the East and West
Wings.

A
little further away the vast rectangular concrete bulk of the new swimming bath
and dining hall rears itself ponderously against the western sky. The new
dining hall, placed at right angles above the swimming bath and overhanging it
in a north-south direction, has prefabricated panels of knapped Norfolk flint
to form its exterior walls, while inside it incorporates yet another stage at
its northern end. We must surely be the only school in the world with three
stages. It is hoped to seat four hundred in the new dining hall, and this number
does not include the seating capacity of the tuck shop which will be separated
from the hall by a movable partition. There is only one lift, a service one at
the kitchen end, so the fifty or so steps to the top will provide a modicum of
exercise for many of us car-loving, TV-addicted types. The swimming bath will
be 82 feet 6 inches long by 30 feet wide, will have turquoise tiles, and a deep
end of some eight to nine feet in depth. Much attention seems to have been
devoted to the conservation of heat, with double-glazing throughout and
extensive use of insulating materials. In order to deal with this extra heating
load the boiler capacity has been increased by 40%, while the old boiler-house
chimney has been replaced by a larger and more efficient one built with
Leicester brick.

The
caretaker's house, which is but a yard or two away from the entrance to the
swimming bath, will he demolished shortly, and a neat little bungalow has been
built on the site of the old C.C.F. signals hut for Mr. and Mrs.Oldham. A
second storey has been added to the armoury adjoining the boiler-house to
accommodate the C.C.F. signals section and to provide some storage space for
the Corps. As if all this were not enough, plans are maturing for extending the
pavilion at the Ground, thus providing some more badly needed changing space,
but in particular ensuring that the showering facilities more nearly match
present-day requirements.

Finally,
I must thank those influential members among you who kindly dropped a hint in
the right quarter on behalf of that Cinderella of sports. Many of you will have
heard the Chairman of the Governors mention at Speech Day last October that the
laying of three new hard tennis courts at the Ground was one of the projects
which he had very much in mind. The Daybrook wastelands remain undisturbed as
yet, but we may, I feel, rest assured that the job is as good as done, and what
more fitting finale to this building orgy.”

Friday, July
2nd 1965

The
First XI played a touring cricket team, Shawnigan Lake School from Canada. Much
to everyone’s embarrassment, the latter were all out for a grand total of some
19 runs, the lowest total ever recorded against a full High School side.
A.B.Palfreyman took five wickets for only 14 runs, and P.H.Moody had the amazing
figures of four wickets for one run.

Autumn 1965

Plans
were put into motion to lay a third tennis court on what had hitherto been a
“wasteland” adjacent to Arboretum Street. In “The Nottinghamian”, the Lawn
Tennis report, from Mr.Lush, included a mild reproof to those who “show their
displeasure with themselves or others, generally themselves, by some quite
unnecessary and sometimes unsportsmanlike action.” The magazine even went as
far as to publish a photograph of J.E.Smith, “normally an undemonstrative
player”, giving vent to his feelings during the final of the Attewell Cup, won by
his opponent, M.J.Ilett.

Christmas Term
1965

The
Folk Society suffered a, hopefully, temporary setback, when all of the seating
disappeared from the cellars. The mainstay of the meetings was still “Rambling
Ian” Russell, and “Mr.X”, supported by “Roddie” Bateman, “Dinkie Davie”
Douglas, “Bumbling Bob” Ellis, and, as the democratically elected chairman,
“Grotty Greg” Taylor. With slightly fewer members, the “piggy-bank” now “no
longer thrills to the cheerful clink of further income”, but a “prosperous and
exciting year” was anticipated.

Wednesday, October
13th 1965

The fifty-seven
boys who attended the first ever meeting of the Origami Club all made a model
of a flapping bird. Later meetings were to attract an average of some thirty
boys, all keen to discuss such topics as the history of origami, how to copy
other people’s paper folds, the all-time greats of paper folding history, and
origami in Mathematics.

Saturday, October
16th 1965

The
Founder Hall and Swimming Pool were officially opened by Sir Stanley Rous.
Although he had been the President of F.I.F.A., and thereby in charge of
football for the whole world, Sir Stanley was present on this particular
occasion in his capacity as Chairman of the Central Council for Physical
Recreation. The building had cost somewhere in the region of £200,000. Rather
imaginatively, perhaps, it was originally planned to call it the “Dining Hall
and Swimming Pool”, but this was eventually decided to be too clumsy, and the
name Founder Hall eventually emerged because nobody could think of anything
better.

late 1965

J.R.Baggaley
won a half blue at Cambridge for cross country running.

November 1965

The
following poem, written by P.D.Inger, of 6Ec.2., was published in “The
Nottinghamian”...

The Swimming Pool (With apologies to William MacGonagall).

O swimming pool, so nice to be seen,

Nearby the School with its tennis courts green,

An admirable construction, I safely dare say,

Particularly on a beautiful summer's day.

It should have been opened at Christmas 1964,

A date which will no doubt be remembered for evermore,

Because the swimming pool is so admirable to be seen,

Nearby the School with its tennis courts green.

The swimming bath 82 feet 6 inches long and 30 feet wide

Will have room for plenty of people inside,

And the School has certainly spent parent's money without
stint

On such useful items as prefabricated panels of Norfolk
flint.

The central girders seem to me both stout and strong,

And should hold the building up for very long ;

For, as you may have heard, the stronger we build

The less chance we have of being killed.

The pool was built without recourse to price

That passing worthies of the city should remark...How nice
!

Because the swimming pool is so admirable to be seen,

Nearby the School with its tennis courts green.

December 1965

Perhaps
inspired by Sir Stanley’s visit to his old school, D.C.Haywood won a blue for
Association Football, appearing for Cambridge against Oxford. He had the honour
of scoring the winning goal in a 3-2 victory. He thereby became the only Old
Nottinghamian, in over a century of trying, to achieve the ultimate feat for a
footballer, namely of scoring the winning goal at Wembley.

8 am., Saturday,
New Year’s Day 1966

The
High School’s first ever ski-trip left for Hintertux, a small village in the
Austrian Tyrol. They were supervised by Messrs. Wilson and Littler, and after
nine days practice, had become “quite proficient skiers”.

Wednesday, February
16th 1966

When
William Seeley Hughes died in a nursing home in West Bridgford at the age of
102, he was reckoned to be the oldest Old Nottinghamian.

Hughes
was born at Tipton in Staffordshire in October 1863, and came to Nottingham
High School in 1876, when his father opened a shop selling paraffin lamps in
Exchange Walk. On November 27th 1878, he played football for the Nottingham
High School Second XI against University School, enduring heavy rain in a
dreary 0-0 draw. Hughes left the school in 1879, and became a lace designer
draughtsman. In later life, he was to win more than seventy trophies for
hurdling. A keen fan of cricket, he attended Nottinghamshire matches at Trent
Bridge well after his hundredth birthday.

Friday, March
11th 1966

I.D.Mackenzie
served a detention for composing “obscene verse”. His poetic efforts do not
seem, however, to have survived.

April 1966

In “The
Nottinghamian”, the newly formed “Angling Society” boasted of being the most
unofficial club in the school. They had visited the Trent on a number of
occasions, although their catches, to date, had not been spectacularly
successful. More than forty boys, however, had attended a film supplied by the
Irish Tourist Board.

summer term
1966

The
Astronomy Society’s “Star Dome”, which duplicated the movements of the stars,
sun, moon, constellations and planets, was at last in operation. It had been
built by its members, and was to be visited by parties from neighbouring
schools, such as Seely School and a number of others.

spring term
1966

The
Tape Recording Society generated an enormous response for its first few
meetings, before attendances fell off somewhat. Members enjoyed talks from
outside speakers on “Tape recording, past and present”, and “The Nature of
Hearing”. There was a report on the 1965 British Amateur Tape Recording
Contest, and the Society managed to acquire a tape-head demagnetizer for
members to use.

spring term
1966

Attendance
at the Junior Mythological Society reached between 10-15 members for each meeting,
although at the time, the teachers organising the club did not seem to make any
connection between the outside temperature, and those interested in the
classics.....

May 1966

Four
members of the Sixth Form, S.Davies, S.P.Hardy, R.E.D.Storer and P.A.Warsop
appeared on B.B.C. Television, discussing the Arts on a programme entitled
“Talkback” with four young ladies from the Girls’ High School.

Summer Term
1966

With
the nicer weather outside, attendances at the Junior Mythological Society
slumped dramatically. All of the meetings for the whole term had to be
cancelled.

summer 1966

At
Cambridge, A.B.Palfreyman won a blue for cricket, J.S.Ready won a half blue for
shooting, and R.G.Lee won a a half blue for chess. In addition, J.D.Smart
played for Oxford against Cambridge at croquet.

Christmas
holiday 1966

The
Angling Society spent two days at Attenborough fishing for pike, but water
levels were low, and they were for the most part unsuccessful.

Thursday, January
5th 1967

P.R.Castles
appeared on ATV, talking to Reg Harcourt about origami. His fame lasted for 3
minutes 35 seconds, and was preceded by an item about the animals at Dudley
Zoo, and a pensioner explaining advanced weaving techniques. When he had
finished his explanation of the gentle oriental art, the camera went back to
Reg Harcourt, who proceeded to explain why he had a macaw perched on his
finger. Nevertheless, an appearance fee of five guineas made it all very worth
while.

Easter Term
1967

The
Classical Society held a meeting to hear a talk on “Roman Forts”. It was very
well attended, not just by the High School boys, but also by girls from the
Girls’ High School and from Brincliffe School.

Easter Term
1967

The
Omnibus Society heard an interesting talk about “The History of Barton Transport”,
while another meeting which used an epidiascope to view members’ photos was a
great success.

every Easter holiday since
1967

Let Martin Jones talk about the
magic of mountaineering…..

“The main reason for myself, and
several others, to join the C.C.F. as section officers was the attraction of
the Adventurous Training programme.

I joined the C.C.F. in 1967 as a
very junior officer, with no ambitions of promotion, just a desire to explore
the mountain areas of Britain. After three years, various senior officers
either left or retired and I was suddenly in charge of the R.A.F. section and
the Adventurous Training programme.

The next thirty years would find
me in Wales or Scotland, often a week in both places, every Easter holiday,
with, usually, about twenty five boys and five members of staff. We had some
fantastic times, climbing Munroes (peaks over three thousand feet tall), often
in winter conditions, using ice-axes, crampons and ropes, scaring ourselves at
times, but feeling proud of the boys’, and our, achievements.”

Wednesday, May
3rd 1967

A small
group of musical Sixth Formers formed the “Tristan’s Ensemble” as an
alternative to the more usual Wednesday afternoon activities, and played their
first concerts at Mapperley and Sherwood Hospitals. An audience of more than
two hundred people for their début was “rather terrifying”, but they were
eventually to go on to an even more successful performance in the Founder Hall.

end of the
Easter Term 1967

The
Origami Society’s “N.H.S. Origamian” became the most successful school society
ever, with a magazine which reached its fifth issue. The latter sold out in less
than three minutes. On Founder’s Day, members taught other boys how to make
three models for only sixpence, and some five pounds was raised.  More than a
hundred copies of “N.H.S. Origamian VI” were easily sold, and the society was
then able to go on to buy such classic works as “Origami Dokuhon I” by Akira
Yoshizawa, and the ever popular “Sosaku Origami” by Kasahara.

Thursday, April
18th 1968

A small
group of birdwatchers left for Lindisfarne with Mr. and Mrs.Curtis. They were
to spend nearly a week there, seeing almost a hundred different species of
bird, and visiting the walled city of Berwick-on-Tweed..

June 1968

A “Nine
Men’s Morris” Association was formed. It was so successful that later in the
term, a junior branch was formed. In the words of “The Nottinghamian”, “a game
played with human pieces on a specially marked-out pitch attracted considerable
attention”.

Summer Term
1968

The
Library held its first ever book sale. More than four hundred volumes were
disposed of, and nearly £12 was raised.

Summer Term
1968

P.D.Johnson
made 1,061 runs in the season, a school record, as was his feat of achieving five
hundred runs and fifty wickets for the second successive year. His total of seventy-five
wickets broke a record which had stood since 1899, and his career aggregate of
2,445 runs was another milestone in school cricket.

Johnson
was not the only cricketer to achieve new standards, however. R.J.Hartley took nineteen
catches, breaking the record for any fielder and for the wicketkeeper, the
latter figure having stood since 1898. Indeed, the team’s overall total of 112
catches was a record for a single season.

September 1968

This school year was the first
without any Saturday school.

September 1968

Sandy Powell became Senior Master,
and Oswald Lush became House Master of Cooper’s House. These were two of the
most respected, and most imitated, of the masters of this era

September 1968

The
Language Laboratory came into operation. At a stroke, according to “The
Nottinghamian”, this “freed the teacher of all strain, allowing him to doze at
the console, or read “Reveillé” while his pupils obey and imitate an
authoritarian foreign voice on tape... (although) nothing could be farther from
the truth.”

the hockey
season, 1968 - 1969

Playing
a new school sport for the very first time, the 1st XI lost every match they
played, without scoring a single goal.

Monday
lunchtimes, Autumn Term 1968

The
Jazz Society was in full swing. Average attendance was eighteen people, despite
the counter attractions of gymnastic training and the Arboretum Park. A recital
was given by the Mal Trott Quartet, and there were a number of live jazz and
blues sessions, featuring trombone (Mr.R.M.Jackson), piano (P.J.Collinson) and
guitars (Mr.C.W.Matthews, J.D.Corson and D.J.Robson).

Tuesday, October 4th 1966

Rowing persisted as a school
sport until 1979. Martin Jones was involved in it from 1966 onwards. He tells
the following tale, which deserves to be quoted verbatim….

“The First IV, keen to get in as
much practice as possible, persuaded me to coach them on this Tuesday evening,
in the dark, on the River Trent.

A bicycle lamp was attached to
the bow of the boat, I rode the bike, now minus its front light, on the tow
path. Close to the Wilford Bridge, I rode into a step whilst watching the crew,
went over the handlebars, and landed on my chin. There was blood everywhere. I
told the boys to carry on without me in the pitch dark, and told the boys to
carry on without me in the pitch dark. I then pushed the damaged bike up to the
police station in the Meadows.

I ended up in the General
Hospital with five stitches and multiple grazes to the face. I got absolutely
no sympathy from my colleagues at school the following day.”

the middle of
October 1968

After a
number of false starts, the Folk Song Society finally came into being. Artists
imitated included not just the inevitable Bob Dylan, but Tom Paxton, Leonard
Cohen, Bert Jansch, and Peter, Paul and Mary (meetings were joint affairs with
N.G.H.S.) The highlight of the term was the concert given by Dave Turner, which
was packed with admirers of this famous folk singer.

“...one wintry
November evening” 1968

Association
football was again permitted at the school, after an interval of some fifty-four
years since the sport was officially abolished in favour of rugby. This time,
however, it was an option for Sixth Formers only, which meant that boys would
be able to play for the last two years before they left. In addition, as rugby
was still the school’s senior sport, the First, Second and Third XVs would
continue to have prior claim on any talented games players, who would be made
to continue with their rugby. Only those who were not needed for rugby would be
able to play football.

The
first match in the new era came against Bilborough Grammar School, the team
wearing the same colours which had first been seen as early as 1870...

“....When
eleven young men, wearing black and white shirts, took the field at Bilborough
Grammar School to challenge the opposition at Association Football, one wintry
November evening, school history was being made. Not for more than forty years
had a team represented the School at this sport.”

Monday of half
term, Christmas Term 1968

A
sponsored walk was carried out on behalf of “Shelter”. More than 320 volunteers
from the Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools walked one of three different fifteen
mile circuits, and over £1,000 was raised, the equivalent of three years’ Tutor
Set collections.

1968

A
League table based on the ratio between the number of Sixth Formers and open
awards at Oxford and Cambridge, and published in “The Times”, placed the High
School in the very top position, making it theoretically the best school in the
whole country.

Saturday, December
14th 1968

Mr.M.J.Brodrick
died in hospital as result of burns and shock caused by an accident in his
home. He had worked at the High School from September 1919 until his retirement
in 1954. He taught French and German, and was for many years the form master of
a Lower Fourth Form. He helped with the coaching of the Rowing Club, and was
the Official Starter at the School Sports, as well as the man who introduced woodworking
to the school.

1969

The
school participated in the Business Game, competing with almost a hundred
schools nationwide. In Round One, they won with an overall profit of £1,412,570,
and in Rounds Two and Three were again successful, this time with scores of £1,137,160
and £1,261,140. In the final, the school’s profit of £4,633,760 however, was
eclipsed by Cheltenham College, who managed a staggering £ 5,366,140.

Spring Term
1969

The
school continued to play Rugby Fives, with a victory over Q.E.G.S., Mansfield,
and a narrow defeat at Heath Grammar School, Halifax, as well as two defeats by
larger margins, and, unfortunately, three cancelled fixtures.

Spring Term
1969

The
Aeronautical Society, despite the forecasts that it would last only a fortnight,
went from strength to strength. A number of films were borrowed from the
R.A.F., and talks included “The Structure of an Aircraft”, and “The History of
the Henschel 129”. A competition was held to identify forty aircraft featured
in miscellaneous advertisements. It was won by A.J.Ross of 3A2.

Sunday, January
5th 1969

“Guts”
Kennard died at the age of eighty-seven, after a short illness. He had worked
at the High School from 1910-1947, and was chiefly remembered as the master who
introduced Rugby Union to the school in 1914. He taught Modern Languages, and
was also involved in the O.T.C., eventually becoming House Master of Mellers’,
Head of  Modern Languages, and finally Second Master in 1941... “sentiment had
little place in his character, and his guiding principles were devotion to
duty, loyal service and firm discipline”.

Saturday, February
8th 1969

The
Headmaster, Mr.Imeson, punished Bowden of 6A2 with a detention for having “long
hair”.

the Easter
holidays, 1969

The
German Exchange party went to Hamburg, visiting the police headquarters, the
Axel Springer publishing house, the Blohm and Voss dockyard, the town of
Lübeck, and the East German frontier, as well as the Volkswagen plant at
Wolfsburg, where a car emerged from the production line every eight seconds.
The group was under the aegis of Mr.McMurchy, a Glaswegian whom the German boys
insisted on always calling “Archibald”, claiming that this was a typical
English name, and that he was the most typical of Englishmen.

Wednesday, April
30th 1969

The
Sixth Form Council met for the first time. Its nine members were elected to
discuss school affairs, and to make recommendations to the Headmaster, and to
run the Sixth Form Centre. To keep a check on their wild youthful excesses, the
Captain of School and the Head of the Sixth also attended meetings as unelected
ex-officio members of the council.

Friday, July
18th & Saturday, July 19th 1969

P.D.Johnson’s
final match for the school came against the Canadian Colts XI. Typically, he
made 40 runs, and took 5-32.

In
this, his last, year at the High School, P.D.Johnson had set records which may
well never be beaten. As a batsman, he scored a career total of 3,502 runs at
an amazing average of 46.08, and in one year, managed a record 1,061 runs. As a
bowler, he took 473 wickets at an average of 12.39, with a record total of 93
wickets in 1969. In 1967, 1968 and 1969, he achieved the double of five hundred
runs and fifty wickets, and on two occasions, made more than a thousand runs in
a season. His total of five centuries was more than any other batsman, and his
career total of forty catches was also, not surprisingly, another record.

the hockey
season, 1969 - 1970

In
their second season, the 1st XI won their first ever victory, by a convincing
margin of 4-0 against Beeston 4th XI, to whom they had already lost 0-5 earlier
in the year. Overall, the team scored a total of six goals in their other
matches, having failed to score at all in the previous twelve months.

the football
season, 1969 - 1970

The
First XI won at least four of their matches this season, scoring forty-two
goals, and conceding just twenty. In only their second year “remarkable
progress has been made from humble beginnings”. Team spirit, especially, was
very strong, with the team recovering from 0-3 deficits against both Mundella
and Becket to draw 3-3. Most of this was due to their skilful and attractive
play, and the obvious enthusiasm of the team captain, R.R.Matthews. At the end
of the Autumn Term, they played their first match against the Old
Nottinghamians, a revival of a fixture which dated back to September 29th 1877.

1969 – 1970

P.H.Moody,
who had left the High School in 1967, was the Captain of Golf at Cambridge
University this year.

probably
1969

In
the 1960s, very many people used to smoke cigarettes, including a large
proportion of the High School staff. Every
morning, at break, Martin Jones would join his fellow smokers on the staff.
When the bell went, he would quickly snub out his cigarette by nipping the end
and then save it for later.

It
was fashionable at the time for members of staff to wear a heavy tweed sports
jacket with leather elbow pads. Halfway through the next Maths lesson one boy
persistently had his hand up. As was also the fashion at the time, Martin just
ignored him. Eventually he yelled out, “What do you want ?” The boy replied
“Please sir, your jacket’s on fire!” The
cigarette had started a smouldering fire in the tweed and this had gained
momentum over the course of time. Smoking jacket indeed !

an unknown
date during the Christmas Term 1969

Mr.Whitty
died at the age of eighty-two, having taught French and Scripture at the High
School from 1919-1950. He had enjoyed a happy and active retirement, and,
indeed, on the very day of his death, had spent the morning tending the roses
in his garden.

early in the
Christmas Term 1969

The
Modern Languages Society listened to a talk from the “charming young French assistante
from N.G.H.S., on “La Vie Universitaire en France”. This was presumably one of
the first times that such a person had visited the High School since Madame
Lionnet in the late nineteenth century. Only five or so years later, the High
School was to have its very own assistant.

the Christmas
Term 1969

The
“Go” Society tried to hold its first meeting, although attendance was so poor
that the Society had to attempt another launch early in the following term.
Three of the school Society’s eventual members then went on to become the three
members of the Nottingham “Go” Club, which met for some time in the Sherwood
Community Centre, every Wednesday at 7.30 pm.

In “The
Nottinghamian”, the society’s secretary made a moving appeal for more members.
It was a game, he explained, that would appeal to anyone of an imaginative
mind, interested, perhaps, in chess or Nine Men’s Morris.

7 p.m.,
Wednesday, December 17th 1969

The
Christmas Concert took place, with works performed under the direction of
Kendrick Partington, including three excerpts from “Swan Lake”, and the “dance
of the Villagers” from Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride”. The School Choir,
enlarged for the occasion with a number of co-opted members, sang a “Fantasia
of Christmas Carols” by Holst, as well as a large number of more traditional
carols. The Bell Ringing Society gave a short performance, before proceedings
came to an end with the Band, performing, among others, the “Grand March from
Aïda”, with Edwin Harris “expertly wielding the baton”

perhaps 1970

The
prefects voted to discontinue their right to cane boys. Mr.Imeson reciprocated
their gesture by announcing that he would himself never use corporal punishment
again.

the end of the
rugby season 1969-1970

The
final game saw the retirement of N.J.Peel, who had been the 1st XV touch judge
for the last three seasons, having previously performed this function for every
age-group side throughout his time at the school.

the Easter
Term 1970

The
Mountaineering Club was formed. Their first trip was to an ice-encrusted
Birchen’s Edge in Derbyshire, with further visits to Burbage Edge and Stanage
Edge, and an expedition to north Wales, where club members climbed routes on
Tryfan and in the Llanberis Pass.

the Easter
Term 1970

The
Society of Bellringers made “good progress” this term. Fortnightly practices
were held ringing handbells with the girls of the Girls’ High School, and a
number of traditional songs and carols were learnt. On Wednesdays and Sundays,
members could go for tower-bell ringing at All Saints’ Church, and there were
trips to view famous bells in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. Meetings were
supervised by Mr.Hayes, who in the school magazine, confessed that they were
“boring”. Mr.Driver and Miss Hunter were reluctantly learning to ring bells.

June 1970

A mock
election was held, with manifestoes, various discussion forums, widescale
campaigning, and plans for mass rallies. After only a week, however, the
school’s interest began to flag, and by election day, campaigning had virtually
come to an end. Nevertheless, the turn out was some 71%, with results as follows....

Conservative               77

New Left                    70

Progressive                  126

The Progressives were the Centre
Party, and the Labour Party had decided early in the campaign to change their
name to the “New Left”.

July 1970

Mr.Imeson,
the Headmaster, retired. During his tenure of the office, the school’s
buildings had improved enormously, whether from the point of view of mere
lighting and furniture, or the more spectacular equipment and facilities in the
science laboratories. The West Quadrangle had been completed, and the Founder
Hall had been built. A Physical Science Laboratory and a Nuclear Science
Laboratory had been brought into existence, and a Language Laboratory had been
constructed. A new Music School and Drama Room had been erected and fitted out,
and there were new premises for the Scouts, the C.C.F. and the Sixth Form. The
Pavilion at Valley Road was also extended.

Thursday, July
9th and Thursday, July 16th 1970

A
century of school cricket was commemorated with two special fixtures. The first
was a game against an “Invitation XI”, who scored a total of 163-8, in reply to
which the school just held out at 128-8, the game finishing in a draw. A second
match followed this game. It was against a “Former Captains’ XI”, the school
managing only 119 all out in reply to the opposition’s 213-7 declared, and
therefore losing by 94 runs.

Friday, July
17th 1970

A bus
containing twenty boys from the High School, and six pupils from the Manor
School left the school yard on a trip around Europe. They visited Vienna,
Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Zurich and the champagne factory at Epernay. On
their return to this country, H.M.Customs went to the trouble of analysing the twenty-two
days’ accumulated dust on the vehicle, presumably thinking that it must contain
traces of drugs.

1970

By the
time Mr.Imeson retired, the school had over forty different societies, from the
Christian Discussion group to the Origami Society. On one occasion, the latter
exhibited in Japan, and its work was viewed by the Emperor Hirohito. Despite
the great interest shown by many boys, however, ten years later, the society
had folded.

Saturday, October
17th 1970

It
would fall to a new headmaster, Dr.Witcombe, to deal with the problems of a new
era. The first of these was probably the outrageous behaviour of C.R.Fish of 6
History 1, who had been punished by Mr.Lush, for “disrupting private study by
playing his guitar.”

Christmas Term
1970

The
school’s C.C.F. rifle shooting team proved itself to be the best in the
country, winning the final stage of the C.C.F. Schools’ Staniforth Trophy, and
receiving eight silver medals in the process. For the fifth year in succession,
the school had finished either first or second in this competition. The scores
in the final stage were S.C.Cragg 100, R.M.Kruze 100, R.G.Sturton 100,
E.M.Jackson 99, R.W.S.Whitby 99, J.K.Borley 98, P.R.Sallis 97, and J.D.Hale 96.

just before
the end of the Christmas Term 1970

The old
people’s Christmas Party went ahead, after fears that the nationwide strikes by
electricity workers, and Mr.Heath’s three day week, would prevent its taking
place. There were more than eighty guests, with a traditional Christmas dinner
provided by Matron, and then games of bingo and a sing-song. During this term,
members of the Community Service group had also worked with physically
handicapped children at the Arboretum School, and had taught English to
immigrant children in the city. Others had organised swimming sessions for
mentally handicapped children, while three groups of older boys were working
with the Nottingham “Help the Homeless”.

late January
1971

At a
cost of some ten pounds, the Cinema Society hired Abbott and Costello’s “Lost
in a Harem”. It was received with “infantile glee”. Other films already on
order were Antonioni’s “Blow-Up”, and Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood”.

Thursday and
Friday lunchtimes, Spring Term 1971

The
Scientific Society met on a regular basis. Their most memorable meeting was to
watch “West Coast Cargo”, a film which apparently turned out to be a lot less
intellectually challenging than anticipated, and earned for the unfortunate
Film Officer, A.Kotlarz, the epithet of a “monumental blunder”. Indeed, so
offended were the senior members of the society that they went as far as to
boycott the film’s showing. Not so the junior boys, however, who all absolutely
loved it.

Other
society meetings looked at practical electronics, and the Sixth Form
enthusiastically tramped around the premises of Boots and Plessey
Telecommunications.

the Easter
Holidays 1971

A group
of boys, under the command of Messrs Thimann and Hayes, visited Dinard in
Normandy. They caught the ferry at Southampton, after a journey of some nine
hours down the M1, at an average speed of forty miles per hour. Every morning,
the boys had an hour long French lesson, before excursions to such places as
the tidal power station, and Mont St.Michel. During the first week, seven
members of the group were confined to bed with a bug, but fortunately, when
their accomodation lost its lighting and hot water, Mr.Hayes was able to repair
the gas and electricity supplies. “The Nottinghamian”, however, ever
optimistic, called the trip “...enjoyable for the most part, and very
worthwhile”.

Tuesday, April
6th 1971

A
school group went to Paris, where they visited Les Invalides, the Eiffel Tower,
Versailles and Fontainebleau, as well as the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Orly
Airport and the Place de la Concorde. In the words of “The Nottinghamian”, it
was a “fantastic experience”.

7.30 p.m., May
28th 1971

The
Folk Concert took place in the Sixth Form Centre. It featured Mick Eaton, Geoff
Wallis, “John Lee” Bates, and “Mac” MacPherson, with guest artistes, Geoff Gurd
and Ian A.Anderson, performing his classic “Twelve Bore Blues”.

Summer Term
1971

In the
world of school athletics, the A.A.A. Five Star Award Scheme continued to run
with great success. Boys chose their best three events, two track and one field,
or vice versa, and could then win between one and five stars, depending on
their performances. Nine boys in the school won five stars. They were P.Adey,
D.A.Cragg, G.A.R.Cormack, S.Earl, F.O.Oniya, D.N.Palmer, S.C.R.Skill,
J.M.Waddell and G.R.M.White. In the school as a whole, 494 boys won awards,
with 106 in the First Year, 99 in the Second Year, 105 in the Third Year, 99 in
the Fourth Year and 859 in the Fifth Year.

Paul
Adey went on to participate in the National Schools’ Championships at Crystal
Palace, finishing third in the pole vault, after only three weeks’ practice
with his new fibre glass pole.

Summer Term
1971

The
Sailing Club went from strength to strength, with matches at Trent Lock,
Welbeck Lake, Beeston Sailing Club and Worksop Lake. There was great
disappointment, however, when, having ordered a film called “Sail to Win”, they
sat down to view it, but found that they had been sent a substitute film
entitled “Modern Dam Building Techniques”.

Saturday, July
17th 1971

In a
home fixture against E.Hunt’s XI, the High School 1st XI made 178 all out, with
a magnificent innings of 109 from Roy Dexter. The match finished as a draw,
with the opposition struggling on 127-6.

summer
holidays 1971

The
34th Nottingham Scout Troop went to summer camp in rural Radnorshire, in the
depths of Wales. They enjoyed hiking, mountain walking in the Brecon Beacons,
cooking on wood fires and pony trekking. The only negative moment came when the
boys decided to play a football game against a team of local lads, who, bearing
in mind the accents of the opposition, clearly took it as more akin to an
international fixture than a friendly game. Their bad language, lack of
sportsmanship and dangerous play led to the match’s being abandoned by the
referee, Mr.Phillips, with the High School winning 4-0. Later in the evening,
the same group of miscreants was observed creeping towards our lads’ tents, but
were routed with a well-timed charge across the field.

summer
holidays 1971

Contractors
worked to convert the library into a suite of offices on the ground floor, with
the heavy bookshelves accommodated on a completely new floor, erected at
ceiling level, just under what had previously been the decorative Gothic
corbels. This new floor was composed of boards, laid on rubber packing, which
rested in its turn on a strong network of steel. While all this building work
was going on, the library books were stored in the Chemistry Lecture Theatre.
At the same time, the north east cloakroom was converted into a workshop for
candidates for Physics A-Level.

7.30 a.m., Thursday,
October 28th 1971

A group
of boys, led by David Peters, and driven by Bill Neville, visited the Houses of
Parliament. They were shown round by recently elected M.P., Kenneth Clarke,
although they were unable to visit the Members’ Gallery because of lack of
space, it being the day when Great Britain’s entry to the Common Market was due
to be debated.

Monday, November
8th 1971

Some
forty nine boys went to the Council House in Nottingham to receive their Duke
of Edinburgh awards. Thirty were bronze, fourteen were silver, and five were
gold. The latter winners were to visit Buckingham Palace itself during the
Spring term, to receive their certificates from the Duke of Edinburgh himself.

the rugby
season, 1971-1972

The
season was notable for the outstanding captaincy of J.M.Darke, a player “...who
can kick sixty yard penalties, deflate opposition with even longer punts and
who is also very difficult to put on the ground... (he had) the ability to
encourage, drive and motivate a very young side...”

Darke’s
great sporting abilities had been discovered the previous season, when he had
been captain of the school football team.

the football
season, 1971-1972

Results
included High School 10 Forest Fields 0, High School 17 Fairham 2nd XI 3, and
High School 13 Bluecoat School 0. Only slightly more plausible were High School
4 Fairham 1st  XI 4, and Bilborough School 2 High School 3.In the context of
local schools’ football in the early 1970s, the two latter results were
outstanding.

January 1972

The
School Ski Trip visited Brunico and Nova Levante. In “The Nottinghamian”, the
report was laconic to the point of terseness... “certain predictions can safely
be made about High School skiing trips: a tenth of the school will set off, one
boy destined to return in crutches ; Luton Airport will captivate us in its
foggy snares ; the resort will prove the English Department’s contention that
you must not believe anything just because it is in print, as the disparity
between brochure and reality becomes apparent ; certain would-be senior boys
will not heed avuncular warnings on the dangers of schnapps until shown by sour
experience that their elders at times give good advice ; nearly everyone will
enjoy himself greatly, and return bumptious and refreshed. ”

Spring Term
1972

N.Lymn
Rose established a record by becoming one of the youngest ever members of the
British Institute of Embalmers.

the cricket
season 1972

The
groundsman at Valley road, Ted Hunt, died suddenly. He had worked at Valley
Road for twenty-four years, and was “...a man of keen intelligence, wide
reading and remarkable perceptiveness.” Traditionally, last match of the
cricket season had always been E.Hunt’s XI v. The School, and it was decided to
keep this fixture as a “...fitting memorial to a gentleman.”

May 1972

A
“Progressive Music Society” came into existence. They amused themselves by
playing Alice Cooper records, and having quizzes. This term they acquired a
stereo record player, and had plans to listen to Jimi Hendrix, Yes, Free, Led
Zeppelin, and a double album compilation called “Rockbuster”.

Saturday, June 10th 1972

The Under-16 Rowing IV, which was
coached by Martin Jones, and consisted of Robert Gillespie, Dick Stuart,
Richard Simpson, Robin Meeks and Simon Jeffries, reached the Finals of the
National Youth Championships, which were being held at Pangbourne. Racing in a
damaged, borrowed boat, they finished in the bronze medal position. In later
years, these particular boys were to enjoy further success as the school’s 1st
IV.

Saturday, July 8th 1972

Five
Junior Plays were presented in the Founder Hall. 3A1 produced an “offbeat
version of the Robin Hood legend”, 2A1 managed an “ingenious insight into the
life behind cave paintings, and 3B2 offered “Carry on Chaucer ! ” The theme of
1L’s play was “a serious one”, although the title has not survived. The
competition was eventually won by Mr.Nash and 1H, with their unforgettable “The
Gong Wong Ruby”. They received the Bryden Trophy.

Wednesday
afternoons, Autumn Term 1972

A total
of twenty-six boys went to the games fields at Lady Bay to play hockey, under
the direction of Mr.Hayes. Despite their small numbers, one of them, Nigel
Mason, was to be selected to play at centre forward for the Nottinghamshire
Under-19 team.

the rugby
season 1972-1973

The
captain of the First XV, N.E.G.Johnson, established a school record by scoring thirty-four
tries during the course of the season. His total easily beat the previous
record of twenty-two tries, which Johnson himself had scored the year before.
Indeed, during the course of this particular season, Johnson was also to score
ten tries in five matches for the County Schools’1st XV, giving an overall
total of forty-four scores in a season.

October 1972

A group
of Sixth Fo rmers began meeting in the Drama Room to play records during the
lunch hour. They wanted to call themselves the “Progressive Music Society”, but
could not do this, as there was already a “Progressive Music Society” in
existence. Instead, they decided to call themselves “The Elephant Floaters’
Union”. Ironically, initial attendances were somewhat sparse, so Fourth Formers
were allowed to join, doubling numbers at a stroke.

Christmas 1972

Mr.Kirby,
the school’s assistant gardener, died in the City Hospital after a short
illness. He had worked at the school for eight years, and was a very quiet, and
rather solitary man. He had no family, and lived alone in Arthur Street. Every
Sunday morning, he could be seen walking along Waverley Mount, as he came in to
stoke the school’s boilers. The school was his main interest in life, and he
was “...a well liked person, always willing to help others”.

Tuesday, February 3rd 1973

It was a cold winter’s afternoon
, and Martin Jones was busy on the Embankment of the River Trent, coaching not
one, but two, High School rowing crews. Let him tell the story…

“I was using the only bike
available, which had faulty brakes. Whilst watching the crews, the front wheel
went down the first step on the Embankment. The back wheel then followed,
pushing the front wheel down the second step…and so on. Along with the bike, I
went headlong into the river.

I was helped out, eventually, by
a passer-by…..but without the bike. The two crews of boys displayed a mixture
of worried concern and amusement.

A police launch came by, and determined to retrieve the bike
with a rope and grappling hook. After ten minutes, a crowd assembled, in eager
anticipation of a corpse being dragged from the freezing waters. They dispersed
quickly though, when only a decrepit bike emerged.

The next day at school, of
course, everybody seemed to be aware of my swim in the river.”

July 1973

Dr.Thiman
retired after teaching at the High School since 1947. A colourful character, to
say the least, he had been Head of Modern Languages and Current Affairs, as
well as a keen tennis player and gardener.

Inspection Day
1973

The
Community Service Group took part in a Sponsored Litter Collection in Clifton,
in aid of the Nottingham and District Society for Mentally Handicapped
Children. Other activities this year had included visiting Mapperley Hospital,
acting as salesmen at the “Nearly New” shop, and taking a party of young
children to Twycross Zoo.

shortly after
10.38, Friday, June 1st 1973

The
train from Woolwich to Greenwich was delayed to allow the purchase of twelve
singles and sixteen halves, so that the members of the Astronomical Society
could visit the Old Royal Observatory.  After an hour in the Greenwich Museum,
and then lunch in the park, the group found to their dismay, however, that the
larger part of the Observatory was closed for lunch, and that the Caird Planetarium,
which had been booked for a 2.30 p.m. visit, had seemingly lost all of their
own paperwork to that effect. Not until after 3 p.m. were the boys admitted,
although the delay turned out to be well worthwhile, as the visit was extremely
enjoyable.

end of the
Christmas Term 1973

An
inventory of the Library’s stock revealed that only an additional nineteen more
books had been stolen during the course of the year, as compared with the fifty-one
in 1972. The cynic might justifiably argue, however, that there must have been
very few good books left, as the missing stock was by now well over two
thousand volumes.

the rugby
season, 1973-1974

The First XV entered the Under 19
County Cup, and reached the final after beating Arnold Hill by 19-9, High
Pavement by 28-3 and Newark Magnus by 9-6. The trophy was duly won with a 9-4
defeat of Carlton-le-Willows, three penalties being scored by Roy Dexter. This
year’s team, coached by Tony Bird, Geri Thomas and Chalky White, was overall
very successful. They won seventeen of their eighteen fixtures,losing only
against old rivals Q.E.G.S., Wakefield. In addition, K.M.Joy was selected for
the England Squad Trial.

Wednesday, January
2nd 1974

The
Senior Skiing Trip departed for its ten hour journey to le Mont Doré in France.The
Juniors went to Einsiedeln, whence they returned with four wheelchairs and one
stretcher case. In the words of Tim Joss, who was, presumably, not one of those
who was injured, “...it was a very enjoyable holiday”.

Thursday
evenings, Spring Term 1974

The
Table Tennis Club provided “The Nottinghamian”’s greatest ever linguistic
tour-de-force. Its author’s identity has, unfortunately, not survived, but it
is worth quoting in full....

“....Under-the-table,
pimply, spongy, chopping, slicing....you’ve guessed, it’s the T.T.Club, led by
this year’s “King of Ping”, A.R.Hodgkins. The team has enjoyed a sizzling
season in the Sixth-form centre on Thursday evenings and given itself a
position in the Notts Seventh League unassailable except by those in the Eighth.
But with such stars as Andy Scull, pedant of the pingers’ table, Dave Palmer,
‘wee Jock’ Smedley, the rafters have resounded to many a ding-dong ping-pong
battle against opposition drawn from all over the City. Paul Stebbings has let
his hair down and helped the team out when he could ; but the bastion of the
side was unquestionably the captain, whose wolfish howls greeted every losing
point in a tight match, a veritable King Kong of ping-pong, enough to make any
opponent drop his points. The end of the season was celebrated in the customary
fashion, with a tight match accompanied by King Kong’s
post-ding-dong-ping-pong-sing-song.”

April 1974

One of
the school’s great characters from the 1970s, Adrian Noskwith, won “The
Nottinghamian”’s prize for the best translations into English of the little
mottoes and witty epigrams which used to adorn many of its articles during this
period. The majority of them came from Latin authors such as Martial or Virgil,
and French writers such as La Fontaine or Molière.

2230 hours, Wednesday,
April 3rd 1974

Six
members of the C.C.F. left Gatwick Airport for joint Naval and R.A.F. camps at
H.M.S.St.Angelo and R.A.F. Luqa on Malta. They were R.S.M.Strong, L/S Grafton
and Seedhouse, and Cadets Buxton, Enoch and Gough. Among other activities, they
tried “boat-handling”, with a number of different vessels, including bosun dinghies,
whalers and a yacht, and also enjoyed watching the police dogs at R.A.F. Luqa,
and firing various weapons with 41 Commando Royal Marines.

Spring Bank
Holiday Week 1974

Jonathan
Kettell, riding in the English Schools’ Cycling Association Butlin’s
International, finished in seventh place overall, after winning the circuit
race stage with a terrific sprint finish. His prize for the latter feat was
presented to him by the Assistant Manager of Butlin’s Camp, Filey.

Saturday, May
25th 1974

The 1st
XI, visiting Leeds Grammar School, scored 212-4, with Roy Dexter contributing a
magnificent 147. The opposition were bowled out for 111, losing the match by a
hundred and one runs. During the course of the season, Dexter was to break
three school batting records, establishing a record career number of runs for
the school, a record of 1,230 runs in a season, and a grand total of six
centuries. As well as the one at Leeds, he scored 117 against R.A.F.Cranwell,
108 against Q.E.G.S.Wakefield, 113 not out against St.John’s, Leatherhead and
105 not out against Ratcliffe College. Strangely enough, “The Nottinghamian”
does not list the opponents for his sixth century.

the cricket
season 1974

One of
the most famous incidents in staff cricket occurred when according to “The
Nottinghamian”, David Matthews “courageously stopped the ball with his head”.
It cost him a pair of glasses, and two black eyes. Other participants during
the season were Paul Dawson and  Brian Hughes, specialist batsmen David Padwick
and Dave Phillips, specialist bowlers John Hayes and Marcus Coulam, and Jimmy
Sadler, who in one match took four wickets in the last over, to snatch an
unlikely victory.  John Hayes and Allan Sparrow were the usual umpires.

summer term
1974

Over
the course of this term, members of the Sixth Form studied computer programming
with Dr.Hughes. The Second Year Sixth tried to master COBOL, a business
orientated computer language, and the First Year Sixth worked with BASIC,
FORTRAN IV, ALGOL 60 and PLAN. Even the Fifth Form were able to participate,
with an exciting early computer game called POLITICS, which simulated the ever
changing popularity of the political parties in the opinion polls. According to
this programme, the Liberal Party were destined to form a government within ten
years.

September 1974

The
High School greeted its new French assistant, Monsieur Jean Feydel, the
first ever in a long line of French native speakers, each with their own
peculiarities and vulnerabilities, and nearly every one of whom has remarked,
usually in early October, at the ferociously cold English winter.

October 1974

So
great was the impact of the new ITV series, “World at War”, that the school
formed a World at War Society, to “illustrate the hardships and feelings of
World War II, and to teach the members about different aspects of the War”.
They held several competitions, and viewed episodes of the TV programme. Most
of the members were First Formers, helped by Ted Kettell.

the hockey
season 1974-1975

This
year the First Team finished undefeated, with twelve victories and two drawn
games. The most prominent players were the team captain, M.J.Price, and the
other forwards, D.H.Adams, P.J.Treadgold, T.F.Husbands, A.W.Allington,
J.R.Pike, C.J.Orme. The half-backs were D.R.Morris, J.H.Diack and D.A.J.Stuart.
In defence were M.Chadwick and D.J.Parker, and in goal was J.V.Morrissey.
Highlight of the season was a 6-1 victory over Beeston Hockey Club.

January 1975

The
Bridge Club entered a “Swiss Teams” Tournament, and finished second and fourth
of thirteen schools. At this time, the Bridge Club competed in Division Two of
the Nottinghamshire League Championship.

Saturday, February
15th 1975

For the
first time ever in six attempts, the swimming club, directed by Allan Sparrow,
recorded a victory over Bradford Grammar School, by 204 points to 187.

Monday
lunchtimes in E4, Spring Term 1975

The
Backgammon Society came into being, under the aegis of Marcus Coulam. Plans
were in hand for a Grand Tournament to find the School Champion.

Easter
Holidays 1975

The
school group who visited the Loire Valley found a half buried four-inch
artillery shell. Only with difficulty were they dissuaded from digging it up
with lumps of stone, and bringing it back to Nottingham “as a souvenir”.

Easter
Holidays 1975

Nineteen
boys and three masters descended to the bottom of Mansfield Colliery, more than
two thousand feet below the surface. “The Nottinghamian” called the short
account of their day “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”.

two weeks
before the start of the Summer Term 1975

Practice
at the school cricket nets was prevented by snow and frost.

a warm July
evening in 1975

Four
Junior Plays took place. They were “Charlotte’s Web” performed by 1M and
masterminded by Roger Stirrup, a modernised version of “The Kraken” by 2AL,
aided by Graham Powell, “Dillisclondes Saga” from Chris Smith and 3BT, “The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by 3BS and Mike Royston, and the eventual winner
“Liang and the Magic Brush” from Peter Norris and 1K, a traditional Chinese
folk story, specially written for this occasion.

Friday, August 1st 1975

The first Junior Adventurous
Training took place at Lake Bala in Wales. It has taken place every single year
since then, at the same campsite at Pentre-Piod, right at the side of the
beautiful lake.

The boys were all in Year 9, and
the staff, under the command of Martin Jones, consisted of Marcus Coulam, Paul
Dawson, Ian Driver and John Hayes.

There were approximately thirty
boys, and the activities consisted of hill climbing, orienteering, canoeing,
rock climbing, pony trekking and mountain biking.

Catering has been provided every single year by the
wonderful Barker family from Derby. Originally, they used Army Issue petrol
burners (nicknamed “flamethrowers”), although they have now graduated on to
Calor Gas stoves.

Martin Jones, the man who started it all, has written….

“The week has been attended, and
mostly enjoyed, by more than one thousand

boys. More than a hundred members
of staff and Old Boys have also participated.

That the scheme has run
successfully for so long is a source of much pleasure and pride for me
personally.”

And so it should be !

early
September 1975

The
second French assistant to arrive in the school was Gilbert Millat, with
perhaps the most luxuriously styled sideboards since the schoolmasters of the
Victorian era. Some of his fellow teachers, however, found his radical left
wing views not quite to their taste. There was much spluttering into teacups,
on one occasion, for example, when unsuspecting Conservatives in the staffroom
innocently asked him what he would do with Ian Smith and his Rhodesian white
supremacists.

Monday, September
8th 1975

Adam
Thomas died after only six years’ retirement. He had worked at the High School
for thirty-seven years, teaching mainly History, but also, on occasion,
English, Divinity, Economics, Biology and Music. He coached cricket, and was in
charge of the U-15 XV. In the early part of the war, Adam was one of those who
had to cycle down to Valley Road to conduct lessons, part of the main school buildings
having been commandeered by the Army. Later on during the war, he volunteered
for service in the Navy, and was a radar operator in the North Atlantic and
Mediterranean. After the conflict ended, he returned to the High School, where
he became Head of History, and eventually, Second Master. His greatest feat was
his history of the school, which built on the strong foundations of research carried
out by Sammy Corner, and which was published in 1957.

the afternoon
of Tuesday, September 9th 1975

The
young teacher turns up for his first ever Games Day at Valley Road. He is
cordially invited up to the changing room to put on his pathetically poverty
stricken games kit. As he changes slowly, trying to avoid revealing the truths
of his body, he looks down and sees a recently arrived much-more-important
person. The latter is sitting on the bench, taking off a succession of, brand
new for the new season, and immaculately clean, garments. His jacket. His tie.
His shirt. His trousers. His highly polished shoes. His brilliant white string
vest shines in the sunshine. Only then does the young teacher notice his
underpants. They are not the usual Y-fronts, but have legs in them like modern
cycling shorts. They too are brilliant white, clean and gleaming. And he has
ironed them.

Mondays at
1.10 p.m. in the Chemistry Lecture Room 1975

Although
interest had not always been totally fanatical, the Railway Society survived to
celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. The model railway layout had been
restored, and visits were made to the Middleton and the Keighley and Worth
Valley Railways, a well as a short season of French and German railway films.

Saturday, December
13th 1975

The
U-12 XV contrived to draw 0-0 at Abbott Beyne School in Burton-upon-Trent. That
they did not win was the direct fault of the author, John Knifton, who, at the
time, was in charge of this team. When we were awarded a penalty two yards from
the opposition line, a couple of minutes from the end, the boy taking it,
Richard Briggs, was unable to lift the ball high enough for it to go over the
bar for the winning points. Had I but known the rules of Rugby Union properly,
I could have shouted to the boy what to do. Do you know what I should have told
him ?

end of the
Christmas Term 1975

The
Joint Community Service Group entertained the people of Nottingham with
Christmas carols in the Victoria Centre. They raised just over £200, which went
to the N.S.P.C.C. Other highlights of the year were the Old People’s Party at
the Girls’ School, and the play “The Tale of Robin Hood”, an evening made
complete when the old folk were entertained by Edwin Harris and the School
Band, playing “songs old and familiar”.

every break
and lunchtime, Spring Term 1976

After
four years’ existence, the Wargame Society now met, more or less, on every
single occasion when it was possible. They needed all their spare time of
course, as, deep in the cellars, with over 3,000 pieces, they were
simultaneously re-enacting the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and
Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union.

the Easter
Holidays 1976

A group
of some thirty or so students, led by David Padwick, spent a fortnight in Rodez,
a town of some 30,000 people in southern France. They visited Cordes, Albi, the
Gorges du Tarn, and the Cévennes National Park. At a large picnic on the first
Sunday, they watched a display of ancient local dances, and listened to
bagpipes and drums. There was an official reception at the Hôtel de Ville, and,
although the boys lost their basketball game, they did manage to scrape a win in
both of the cricket matches.

the Easter
holidays 1976

On a
school trip to France, a very naughty young man indeed decided to consume a lot
more red wine than the healthy and sensible drinking option might otherwise
have recommended. Unfortunately, he decided to do this not back in the hotel,
but on the coach as they toured around the area. Around three or four in the
afternoon, therefore, there came two loud cries from the back of the bus. The
first was “Sir, Sir, I feel sick !” (OH NO !) followed thirty
seconds later by “Sir, Sir, I’ve been sick!” (OH ****** !).

“Where have you been
sick ?” (CLUTCHING AT
STRAWS). “Sir, into a plastic bag” (WHOOPEE !) “Does it have any leaks ?” (OVER PESSIMISTIC PERHAPS) “No, sir, it’s okay” (DOUBLE EVEN TREBLE, WHOOPEE !)

“Alright, bring your
bag to the front of the bus, and we’ll throw it out of the door as we go
along”. (A PLAN, BUT NOT A
GOOD ONE). The very naughty young man indeed
set off down the gangway of the coach, which was still tootling along at the
best part of fifty miles an hour.

Two problems. The boy
was still, shall we say, rather shaky on his legs, and, secondly,  the bag was
absolutely brimful of a rather cheeky little claret, admittedly without
any breeding, but I
think you'll
be amused by its presumption. A slight lurch by the coach, and he dropped it.
Tsunami !!! A red foaming tidal wave washed down the middle of the coach, with the
very last little waves lapping gently at our feet at the front, rather like an
episode of “King Canute goes to the Bargain Booze Shop”.

one damp
Wednesday in April 1976

The
school’s first ever Biology Field Course took place at Malham Tarn Field Centre,
in Yorkshire. The bus was driven by Bill Neville, and Paul Dawson was the
second member of staff. The boys studied the distribution of plants in a
limestone pavement, and made an auto-ecological study of the sex distribution
of Dog’s Mercury, which is a widespread plant in this area.

the end of May
1976

Jack
Mells died suddenly. He had worked at the school from 1931-1969, mainly
teaching woodwork. After his retirement, Jack had continued for many years as
the school’s Book Room Steward, often in dreadful conditions as the plaster
collapsed off the ceiling while he worked below. Jack was a “fine Christian
gentleman...who embodied the old concept of service, courtesy and sympathetic
understanding toward his fellow man”.

the Summer
half term holidays 1976

As the
French boys arrived from Rodez to spend some time in England, a very silly
young man indeed decided that, during his hour in the school’s swimming pool,
he would dive down to the bottom and sit, for as long as he could, on what in
an ordinary bath would be the plughole. Then he would swim up to the surface,
and, as quickly as possible, then run to the very end of the high diving board,
towering vertiginously above the water.

JUMP IN
!!

DIVE
DOWN !!

SIT ON
THE BOTTOM !!

CLIMB
UP !!

JUMP IN
!!

DIVE
DOWN !!

SIT ON
THE BOTTOM !!

CLIMB
UP !!

……..REPEAT
UNTIL YOU COLLAPSE IN A HEAP…….

……with what appeared
to be, if not the only one ever, then at least, the new Q.M.C’s first
ever case, of the Bends.

August 1976

The
announcement of the results of recent public exams showed that T.Pike and
S.Hawkins had become the school’s first ever pupils to gain qualifications in
the field of computing. Both candidates got Grade As at Computer Science
A-Level, although it is perhaps significant that most of their studies had to
be carried out at a nearby College of Further Education. Other boys continued
to work away at the computer languages of the day, including IND, CALCOMP and
FORTRAN.

the end of
August 1976

The
school caretaker, Eric Oldham, collapsed and died as he walked round locking up
the gates of the school, one sunny Saturday evening. He was “one of the
school’s most devoted servants and a warm hearted friend”.

Miss Hird’s
Art Room, 1.15 p.m., Fridays 1976-1977

The
Origami Club was now down to just a dozen members, making “Little Peeping Tom”
and “Puss in Boots”, as well as a forty point star. Perhaps the age-old quip,
that the club was about to fold, was on the point of coming true.

a forgotten
day in September, around 1976 perhaps

At a
recent reunion, Ian Jallands told me how I selected players for the Under-12
rugby team. Apparently, I walked out onto the pitch with a great big bag of
rugby balls, and just kicked one high into the air. A little boy ran after it,
and caught it cleanly, without any problems. I shouted to him, and then kicked
a second ball as high as I could into the early autumn sky. Again he ran after
it, kept his eye on the ball, and caught it cleanly a second time. I shouted
that the third ball was to be launched. I kicked it high into the sky. For the
third time, he caught it without any problems. “Right !”, I said, “You’re the
full back! Now for the other fourteen!”.

A
rough-and-ready method, perhaps, but Ian Jallands was to play full back for
every age group side throughout his career at the High School, finally winning
his full Rugby Colours as a member of the 1st XV.

the rugby
season 1976-1977

The Under-12
rugby team, coached by John Knifton, completed a memorable season, when they
won every single fixture, and conceded only one try, in the last game against
Newark Magnus. The team was captained by Richard Shotton, and its most
prominent members were Lawrence Bird, James Fawcett, Ian Gates, Tim Jackman,
James Noonan, Murray Simpson, Peter Ward and Nick White. They finished the season
by winning the City Schools’ Rugby Sevens competition, scoring 118 points in
five matches, without conceding any.

a forgotten early October
in the mid-1970s

There
used to be a, no doubt, apocryphal story, that just a day or so before Goose
Fair started, a member of staff who lived in a side street off Mount Hooton
noticed that an extremely large furniture removal van was parked at the side of
the road. When he walked up to the school the next day it was still there,
although nobody seemed to be using it either to load, or to unload, furniture.
As Goose Fair progressed, the van remained. He grew increasingly suspicious,
and took the trouble to report his misgivings to the Goose Fair police. They
duly arrived and opened up the back of the van. Inside, it had been fitted with
a number of extra floors, and on each floor were a number of beds……

1977-1992

The
Dame Agnes Mellers’ Lads’ Club Charity, formed as long ago as 1912 under the
ægis of Johnny Dixon, began to be used to help specific individuals and organisations,
rather than just to run a club. During these fifteen years under the new
system, recipients included Darren, a boy of fourteen with cerebral palsy, who
was given the special home computer which allowed him to learn to write, and
then to gain several passes at GCSE. Eventually, he went on to FE College and
in his letter of thanks, said “..You have changed my whole life.” Other groups
to benefit included boys who were able to go walking in North Wales, various
scout troops, and the “Green Acres Roller Hockey Team”.

the Easter
holidays 1977

As a
mark of their esteem, the teachers of the French secondary school with which we
were twinned presented David Padwick with a typical product of the region, an
enormous Roquefort cheese. Keen to take it back to England intact, he carefully
wrapped it in several layers of towels, padding and various pieces of cloth,
and placed it almost reverentially in the very middle of all his clothes,
packed carefully around it in his suitcase. (A PLAN, BUT NOT A GOOD ONE).

The best-laid
schemes o' mice an'
men, Gang aft agley, as the poet seys. It was a hot Easter. The coach had a rear
engine. It was the best part of a 350 mile journey. The coach boot was next to
the engine. Work it out for yourselves.

Wednesday, May 18th 1977

Martin Jones continues his one
man war with the vehicles the school has asked him to use…

“John Hayes drove the “School
Coach for the Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Approaching the camp site at
Wetton, he changed gear, and the gear stick snapped off at the base…We managed
to get the boys to push the coach into a layby and get a Skill’s coach to take
us back to Nottingham. The following day, Marcus Coulam and I abandoned our
classes, left school and travelled back to Dovedale, where the gear stick was
to be welded back into place by the local blacksmith.

Unfortunately, the two teachers
provided the blacksmith with the wrong location, and the gear stick was
therefore welded into the wrong place. The next step was to saw through it with
a hacksaw, and then weld it for a second time, in the correct place.

After this, Martin was able to drive back to school with no
further problems.

the cricket
season 1977

There
was a report of staff cricket in the “Nottinghamian” which was, many years
later, to be requoted by William Ruff in his “From the Archives” section of the
December 1999 magazine. It told of Tony Slack, “our benevolent dictator”, Dave
Phillips who “wields the straightest golf club in the business, Phil Eastwood,
“for whose particular torture the LBW rule was invented, Clem Lee, “whose
pectorals imitate the motion of the sea as he runs up to bowl”. The regular
umpires this season were Allan Sparrow and John Knifton, although the latter
did play in one game, “and took an impossible catch to win the game”. The more
often I read that, the less possible it seems.

Summer Term
1977

In
tennis, the School First VI were very successful, reaching the east of England
Area Final, where they lost narrowly to Westcliffe High School.

the summer
holidays 1977

The 34th
Nottingham Scout Group went to Chipchase Castle on the banks of the River Tyne,
From here, they were able to visit Hadrian’s Wall, as well as swimming, fishing,
studying the wildlife, and, most romantic of all, perhaps, digging the latrines
for the Girl Guides in the field next door.

September 1977

Work
started on the new Preparatory School buildings in Waverley Mount, after the
demolition of a number of large Victorian houses. The one nearest to the school
had been used as a Sixth Form Centre, of sorts, and for teaching of small
groups of sixth formers. On the wall of what must have been the Victorian
family’s parlour there was a full size, full colour rendition of Batman and
Robin. It was a great pity that there was no means of preserving it, or that
nobody thought of doing so.

December 1977

The school play was “Macbeth”. The
most famous performer, however, was not an actor or an actress, but the
prompter, who was a young lady from the Girls’ School, Julie Pike. In recent
years, she has grown to fame as Julie Myerson, the best selling novelist.

the late 1970s

This period marked the final
demise of the school’s own “coach”. It was an aging vehicle purchased from a
local bus firm, Camm’s, and therefore qualified as a “Camm’s Collapsible”, to
use the slang expression current at the time. It was invariably parked in the
old Green Shed, a vast cavern of a building which stood on the site of the
present Design Technology block.

Around six members of staff were
quickly given the training needed to drive a PSV, including Martin Jones, who
can now take up the tale……

“Every time the bus was started,
the Green Shed filled with vile-smelling, black exhaust fumes, which quickly
flushed out all the naughty boys who were lurking in there when they should not
have been. The road worthiness of that “coach” was highly questionable.”

a forgotten, sunny late
June in the late 1970s

The school examinations were
over. So too were most public exams. Reports were all written. Only the
beautiful sunny weather and the blue skies remained to be enjoyed, before the
end of the school year, and the beginning of the school holidays. What better
way to spend a leisurely lunch hour, therefore, than to walk across to the
Arboretum Pub for one of their legendary ham cobs and a pint of their “Ice Cold
in Alex” lager ?

Tony Slack and myself, and a good
few others whose names now escape me, had already finished off our food, and
our first pint. We leaned back comfortably in our chairs, our second pints
ready, and untouched, on the table in front of us.

Suddenly a Sixth Former burst in.
It was Adrian Noskwith. He stepped forward with perfect poise, like Alfred the
butler in Batman. He spoke quietly and clearly to me…

“Mr.Powell’s compliments, sir,
but you should be invigilating an A-Level exam. Greek Paper IV.”  There was a
laugh went up.

In later years, young Adrian, of
course, was to achieve eminence as one of the school’s highest ranking military
officers ever, when the armed forces of Bolivia made him a Colonel in their Air
Force.

“the day the bus died,
Wednesday, June 14th 1978

Martin Jones had a brilliant idea
for a new initiative….

“A day out in Derbyshire for the
staff and their families ! The coach, with its welded gear stick, and by now
completely tried and tested, was completely full. Passengers included
Headmaster Dennis Witcombe and his wife, Pat, with a large number of ordinary
teachers. Just before Junction 28 of the M1, however, slightly after the
crossing over into Derbyshire, the coach ground to a halt. There were vast
volumes of smoke and black fumes. We immediately checked the oil. There wasn’t
any.

The police had us all wait on the
grass beside the motorway until, not for the first time, a Skill’s coach came
to take us all back to Nottingham, after a wait of a mere two hours.

A few months later the school
received its first minibus, and a new era in school transport began.

the evening of
Wednesday, June 21st 1978

The
staff cricket team had its two usual umpires, the young idiot John Knifton, and
the much more experienced Allan Sparrow. Whereas the first named umpire lived
in permanent dread of having to make a decision which would upset his elders
and betters by sending them back to the pavilion some 96 or so runs short of
their century, the senior partner, true to his own wonderfully analytical
character, had no such scruples.

This particular day, in the very
first over of the game, the opposition’s opening bowler managed to trap, plumb
in front of the wicket, with his score still reminiscent of a certain strain of
wildfowl, a very important batsman indeed. Standing at square leg, the young idiot thanked the cricketing gods that he was standing
at square leg.

The shriek of “howzat” died away
in the quietness of the evening. Umpire Sparrow waited for a moment. Then he
raised the dreaded digit to the skies. The sad trudge back to the pavilion.

That was the bravest thing I have
ever seen in the history of sport.

July 1978

The
Reverend Charles Stephens retired after thirty-three years at the High School.
He had taught not just Geography, but also Astronomy, Divinity, Mathematics,
Modern Languages and Photography, and was an enthusiastic leader of the School
Photographic Society. Always a generous man, as a parting gift, he presented
the school with a large edition of the Revised Standard Bible for use in the
Assembly Hall.

July 1978

“Phoenix”,
the school’s magazine of imaginative writing and drawing, which was edited by
David Matthews, with artwork assistance from Terry Satterford, appeared for the
twelfth consecutive year.

September 1978

The
school was visited by a helicopter, which landed in the main playground, and
took Dr.Witcombe on a quick flight around the immediate area.

the rugby
season 1978-1979

The
U-12 XV had a successful season under the leadership of Bob Howard, and John
Knifton. Among the team’s members was Edward Balls, a fierce tackling, and
wholehearted player, who was later to play a large part in running the British
economy during the administration of Tony Blair’s “New Labour” government.

Tuesday, October 10th 1978

Martin Jones continues his
reminiscences about the “School Coach”…….

“Having just driven the coach
full of boys down the 1:6 gradient of Mam Tor in Derbyshire, I realised, at the
very bottom, that the brakes had now stopped working. Fairly worried, to put it
mildly, we managed to negotiate a turn, demolish a wall and then proceed,
thankfully at a walking pace, into the Edale Car Park.

As we found out later, a brake
pipe had fractured, and all the fluid had emptied. We returned to Nottingham by
train.”

November 1978

The
staff put on their own production of “Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream
Coat”. Les Wilkinson played the starring rôle, but also prominent were Phil
Pallant, with his Elvis Presley impression, Roger Stirrup and Ian Driver as the
narrators, and the French assistant, Gérard Hilmoine, playing the part
of a French onion-seller with a rickety bicycle. The production raised some
£750, which was used to provide a holiday weekend at Castleton in Derbyshire,
for twenty-one deprived children from St.Ann’s.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Thirty Two : Uncle Les”.

November 1978

Harry
Latchman moved into the pavilion accommodation at Valley Road. An ex-Middlesex
and Nottinghamshire county cricketer, who was heavily involved in the coaching
of school cricket, Harry appears to have been the first ever member of an
ethnic minority to join the teaching staff in the long history of the High
School.

November 1978

“The
Nottinghamian” carried what must surely remain its most ill-placed, and bizarre
of advertisements. It was for a corsetry company in Bridlesmith Gate, Chapel
Bar and King’s Walk.

They
were called “Phone-a-Bra”, and offered “...the garment (subject to
availability) will be reserved for eight days pending payment. Choose from our
extensive range of the best known British, Continental and American bras. Free
fitting Service at all Branches by experienced Fitters.”

It
remains unrecorded just how much interest this advertisement provoked among the
boys of the school, or indeed, just how much they knew about British,
Continental or American bras. Presumably, though, this was a field in which
many of them may well have been very keen to learn.

Friday, December
15th 1978

The
Annual Christmas Concert took place in the Founder Hall. Works performed were
by, among others, Dvorak, Mussorgsky, Rossini, and, the source of much amusement
at the time, Fucit.

Sunday, February
18th 1979

In
chess, Graham Waddingham, who had already represented Great Britain at

U-13 level, achieved the
magnificent feat of beating Soviet Grandmaster A.Kotov, who was, admittedly,
playing eleven other English boys at the same time.

every Monday
at 1.10 p.m., the Spring Term 1979

During
this term, on occasion, the Philatelic Society quadrupled its numbers to
twelve. It was now looked after by Andrew McMurchy, who had taken over from
Norman Thompson in January.

Spring Term
1979

The
winner of the Junior Verse Speaking Competition was Edward Davey, later to find
fame initially as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton, and
then as the party spokesman on Economics. Eventually, Edward was to achieve high
status as a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State for the
Department of Energy and Climate Change in the Coalition Government led by
Prime Minister, David Cameron.

the cricket
season 1979

Staff
cricket continued on apace, among its stars such sporting luminaries as Chris
Chittenden, Paul Dawson, Bob Dickason, Claude Dupuy, Phil Eastwood, Steven
Fairlie, Simon Jenkins, Dave Phillips, Graham Powell, Tony Slack, Chris Smith,
Roger Stirrup and Norman Thompson. Such was the fame of the team that a member
of staff appointed for the following Christmas Term actually came along to play
in a number of fixtures.

This
was Ray Moore, who at the time sported a fashionable Afro hairdo, unencumbered
by any such refinement as a protective helmet.

On one
occasion, Ray was facing an extremely wild fast bowler, whose main interest in
life seemed to be scaring the living daylights out of opposing batsmen, with
bouncer after bouncer. After a series of whistlingly fast deliveries, he
finished his over with a fast, lifting ball, which actually went through Ray’s
hair. The moment when Ray advanced down the wicket, shouting loudly, and waving
a menacing cricket bat, was, I believe, the closest the staff team ever came to
an actual punch-up.

later in the
cricket season 1979

Umpiring
a staff team fixture, John Knifton was at the bowler’s end for the very first
ball of the match. It was bowled by a tall young man, who seemed strangely
familiar. Was he possibly the “extremely wild
fast bowler” of previous fame, returned to haunt us all ?

To tell the truth, I can no
longer remember, but he was certainly quick. The first ball thwacked hard
against the pads of the staff team’s finest batsman. As far as I could see,
plumb LBW. Thank God, there was no appeal. That would have meant a bat through
the window in the changing room, and a thousand thousand apologies from myself.

The second ball, just the same.
Third ball, again, Thwack !! against those pads. The batsman must have been out
three or four times in just five balls. What on earth was happening ? Why
didn’t he appeal ?

The truth slowly emerged, as the
bowling became gradually wilder and wilder. He didn’t want
to dismiss the batsmen. He wanted to injure them. He wanted to knock a few
toffs’ blocks off, while his revolutionary zeal still ran vigorously through
his veins.

I
forget the name of the opposition, but if it were Havana-on-Trent High School,

then this was surely the Ché
Guevara of their team. If it were Moscow College, this was the Vladimir Lenin
of their bowling attack.

Thank goodness, after
three or four overs, his revolutionary zeal ran out of steam before anybody was
injured, and we all went down to the Fox for a pint and a ham cob.

July 1979

After fifty-seven
years since its foundation in 1922, the School Boat Club finally came to an
end. Despite gallant attempts by Martin Jones to keep it afloat, the dearth of
any members of staff with sufficient interest in the sport, led to its eventual
demise. Prominent among the masters in the recent past history of the club had
been “Noddy” Aspin, Cecil Dick, Dick Elliott, Bob Horner, Geoff Hunt, Peter
Horrill, Ted Kettell, and Alan Locke, many of them assisted by those stalwarts
from before the war, Messrs M.J.Brodrick and J.F.Newbound.

the late 1970s

According to an ex-member of the
Fifth Form, he could remember lessons with a French teacher who always taught
his lessons wearing his football scarf, “to the delight of his pupils and to
the horror of the senior members of staff”.

the late 1970s or early
1980s

Walking around the streets
outside the school, many boys and members of staff were familiar with a rather
gaunt young man, who usually wore a fairly heavy overcoat and who often had a
dog with him. He was bearded, with very long and wispy brown hair. What the
boys and members of staff did not know was that this rather striking individual
was, in fact, the world famous climber and mountaineer, Doug Scott, who lived,
as far as I remember, in Waverley Street. There was at least one, no doubt,
apocryphal, story that, on one occasion, he had been apprehended by the local
police as he climbed a high vertical wall of sandstone blocks down near the
bowling greens on the Forest. Not knowing who he was, the police had been
reluctant to disturb him, in case he was startled and fell off to his death.
Perhaps not a true story, but it ought to be.

the early 1980s

Josef Goebbels, the Führer’s
Minister of Propaganda, always insisted that the bigger the lie, the more
likely the public are to believe it. Boys, of course, are even more gullible.

As a recent experiment, I
remember telling a Year 9 class that my hobby was handicrafts, with particular
emphasis, because of my background in the Scout movement, on using string and
rope to secure objects efficiently. Given my huge interest in local history,
therefore, I would soon be bringing out a short book entitled “Knots in Notts”.
They eventually realised that I was lying, although I will always believe that
I might well have sold a few advance copies.

On the other hand, no member of
the Games staff has ever worn a toupée. This was a foul rumour started
originally by Bob Howard and myself. I was highly gratified on one occasion,
though, to see two boys leaning over a stairwell, peering intently at the top
of the said member of staff’s head, some fifteen years after the rumour was
started.

There is no truth either, in
another well-known tale. No teacher in the High School has ever been a
wrestler, and neither has any member of staff ever had to give up the wrestling
ring out of remorse because he accidentally killed an opponent during a
wrestling bout.

Similarly, no member of staff has
ever been so clumsy that he was capable of dropping a calculator and in the
same fluid movement, smashing it to smithereens by treading on it. This story
does have some truth behind it, however, in that it is on record that, on one
occasion, Chris Mann dropped a calculator which his colleague Brian Hughes was
showing to him, and, being rather flimsy, it just broke as it hit the floor.

Chris’ finest triumph, however,
was as a member of the group of young teachers who would come together to help
each other move house when the need arose. On one unforgettable occasion, Bob
Howard, who possessed a handsome MFI wardrobe, was desperately upset when Chris
managed to walk through it, totally demolishing the, admittedly, rather
delicate structure, rather like Godzilla on a walking tour of Tokyo.

Tuesday, January
1st 1980

An
amazing 250 boys left in three coaches, to go to Briançon and Cesena on the
school ski trip. The master in charge was Roger Stirrup, under whose leadership
the boys managed to avoid any serious injuries. Indeed, by the time “The
Nottinghamian” went to press, 126 boys had already signed up for the following
year’s trip.

Spring Term
1980

The
National Poetry Society sent two famous Midlands poets to visit the school.
They were Geoffrey Adkins and Yann Lovelock, who worked with two groups of
Fourth Formers, a total of more than forty boys. Geoffrey Adkins asked one of
the boys what it was like to be fourteen. The young man replied that it was
“...like being stuck in the park railings, with somebody kicking your backside.”

Geography Room
B, 1.10 p.m., Friday lunchtimes 1980-1981

The
Stamp Club continued to meet throughout the year. They received a valuable
impetus from an Old Boy, Harold Barker, who, after a lifetime as an engineer
travelling the world, left his stamp collection to the members of the club, who
were then able to use it to initiate much more swapping than they otherwise
would have been able to.

September 1980

The
school purchased its first Apple computer. It was an Apple II Europlus
microcomputer, which had 48K bytes of RAM, and contained the provision for
BASIC in its ROM. The school had also purchased two disk-drive units, an Anadex
printer, and a Visual Display Unit, which enabled the operator to see “almost
immediately” the progress of his labours. Games on the computer included
Mastermind, Bridge, Othello, Space Invaders, and a programme devised by Nick
Hammond to solve the Rubik Cube, although this took place in considerably less
time than Nick’s own record of thirty-seven seconds.

the school year
1980-1881

The
Debating Society debated the following motions…

“Television
is the idiots’ lantern”

“This
house is thankful for the English Channel but wishes it were wider”

“A
woman’s place is in the home”

“The
only way to avoid war is total nuclear disarmament”

“British
troops should be withdrawn from Northern Ireland”

the rugby
season 1980-1881

The
U-14 XV completed an outstanding season, with twenty-four victories and just a
single defeat. They scored nearly six hundred points, and, with a victory by
16-7 over Arnold Hill, won the County Cup. Coached by Chris Mann and Bob
Howard, the team’s outstanding players included the captain Andrew Bailey,
Gareth Collins, and future Labour Government economist, Eddie Balls.

July 1980

Norman
Thompson, who, because of his initials, was universally known as “Stan”,
finally retired. He had taught Economics to hundreds of boys, including Ken
Clarke, the future Chancellor of the Exchequer. Much of his spare time he had
devoted to the Venture Scouts. Indeed, on many occasions, Norman was fit
enough, even in his later years, to walk many a younger man off his feet.

Thursday, December
18th 1980

The
Joint Community Service Group held their annual Christmas Party for local old
age pensioners. It began with a pantomime, organised by Simon Stebbings, and
finished with a traditional Christmas dinner. Everybody was then given a food
parcel, donated by the boys of the school.

Wednesday, January 21st 1981

On a dull, dreary, drizzly day in winter, the
author stood with the team coach, Tony Slack, watching the First XI play a well
contested match against High Pavement 2nd XI. We were on the Forest, at the
side of a pitch which has now been partly covered by the all-weather
facilities.

Suddenly, Norman Garden, his sleeves rolled up
in determined fashion, won the ball with a strong, vigorous tackle at the edge
of his own penalty area. He came out with the ball at his feet, took a few
paces forward, then looked up, and sent a curving, arcing pass out to Bert
Crisp on the left wing. Bert trapped the ball, then ran forward ten yards or
so, and looked across at the attacking possibilities.

Five yards outside the penalty
area stood Chris Ingle, the team’s centre forward, in his usual pose,
apparently disinterested, lacking commitment, without any apparent desire for
hard physical involvement, a young man who only came alive when he saw the
whites of an opposing goalkeeper’s eyes.

Chris began to move, slowly but
purposefully accelerating from his standing start as he crossed the white line
of the penalty area. Bert Crisp instinctively knew what to do. He clipped in a
centre, about four or five feet above the ground. It was timed to arrive at the
penalty spot at exactly the same time as the deadly centre forward. Chris
Ingle, as the ball flew in front of him, launched himself full length over the
cloying mud.

He met the ball hard with his
forehead, catching it a glancing blow which rocketed it towards the top corner
of the net. “Goal!!” we both yelled in our minds.

But it was not quite over. The opposing
goalkeeper soared backwards and with a despairing left hand just managed to
flick out at the ball. He diverted it upwards, and it flew onto the crossbar
and behind for a corner.

Chris Ingle got up and wiped the
mud from his hands down the front of his white shirt. Tony Slack turned to me
and said, “You know….you wouldn’t see anything better than that in the First
Division.” And he was right.

the last week
in January 1981

The
Library had added a hundred and fifty books to their total stock during the
course of the Christmas Term. A careful check, however, revealed that a large
number of books were still missing, including some which had been borrowed in
the proper way, only for them never to have been returned. This week,
therefore, an amnesty was declared, and fines were suspended for seven days.
This move was an enormous success, with almost sixty books being returned.

Spring Term
1981

For the
first time ever, the High School entered the Schools’ Challenge General Knowledge
competition. They began by beating Lilley and Stone School from
Newark-on-Trent, although details of their subsequent fate have not survived.
The team was usually drawn from J.Hicks, I.Allen, D.Beech, N.McLachlan,
R.Nolan, A.Woodcock, S.Osborne and J.Siegel.

Saturday, February
21st 1981

The
school entered a cross country team in the Dovedale Dash. The ultimate result
was not recorded, but “all the participants had a good day out, getting fairly
immersed in vast stretches of liquid mud, and, at one point, the River Dove
through which the course went.”

late March
1981

The
school’s footballers achieved their first, and to date, only, trophy, by
winning the Nottinghamshire Schools’ Football Association Seven-a-Side
competition. In their initial group, they won two, and lost one, of their
initial games, and qualified for the next stage of the competition as the best
losers. In the semi-final, they beat Worksop A by 1-0, thereby reaching the
final against Worksop B, the team who had already beaten them in the group stages.
In this game, the score was 0-0 at full time, and extra time was played. The
score remained goalless, and penalty kicks were taken. Five were scored by each
side, before Worksop missed. The High School’s winning penalty was scored by
Norman Garden, whose effort went into the top corner, hitting both the bar and
the post. The team was coached by Tony Slack, and consisted of Raich Growdridge
as captain, Tim Little, Neil McLachlan, Richard Mousley, Chris Peers, John
Ellis, Simon Derrick, Chris Ingle and Norman Garden. Raich Growdridge was
eventually to appear as a triallist with Derby County’s ‘A’ Team.

April 1981

The
school play was “A Servant of Two Masters”, directed by Les Wilkinson. The star
of the show was Paul Carter as the Servant, but he was ably assisted by Erica
Worth as Smeraldina, Steve Handley as Signor Pantaleone, and Chris Cook as
Doctor Lombardi. This was the first occasion that close circuit television had
been used by the stage staff, as, thanks to the architectural talents of those
who built the Founder Hall, the stage was not directly viewable from their main
control room.

Saturday, April
25th 1981

Paul
Balen became the first Old Nottinghamian to marry a former pupil of Trent
College. His wife, Helen Phillips, had been one of the first three girls to
enter the college.

Monday, May
11th- Friday, May 16th 1981

During
Christian Aid Week, the Poverty Action Committee, led by Stephen Field and Ruth
Horsley, raised £55 from the school. Andrew Hammond, however, was not slow to
point out that this amounted to only slightly more than half a Mars bar per
person.

Saturday, June
20th 1981

The
Scouts held a successful Summer Fair at the home of Mr. and Mrs.Mellors.
Activities such as this, together with Job Week, continued to be their main
source of income.

Summer Term
1981

The
Scouts were forced to sell their relatively new headquarters, to move to a
building behind the Rifle Range, at the side of what is now the staff car
park.

June 1981

Murray
Simpson (100 metres) and Nick White (pole vault) were both selected to compete
in the National Schools’ Athletics Championships at Yeovil. Twenty-four other
members of the school had already represented Nottinghamshire at inter-county
level.

July 1981

Bill
Neville retired after more than thirty years at the High School. As well as
teaching Biology, he had been heavily involved both with the C.C.F., and with a
succession of school buses and lorries. Bill was also the first person to
introduce photocopiers to the school.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Twenty Seven : reminiscences of WHN”.

July 1981

Andrew
McMurchy retired as Head of German. “A true character, universally liked”, he
had set up, among other things, the school’s first Language Laboratory, and was
the pioneer who evolved the pedagogical maxim that “...If I can teach in my
sleep, then you can learn in yours.”

In
actual fact, in his role as Form Master of 6 Modern Languages, Andrew McMurchy
had inspired enormous loyalty among his pupils, who were deeply respectful of
his warm eccentricity. They wore their own tie, which they had designed and had
had manufactured themselves, and were proud to make themselves separate from
the rest of the Sixth Form in this way. When he retired, as far as I am aware,
his form came to an end.

Never
the best at remembering people, McMurchy had spent several years having to call
the young Gaynor Knifton “Toots” as he could never remember her name.

July 1981

At
Bisley, in the Ashburton, Vince Grealy scored sixty-nine points out of a
maximum of seventy, thereby taking first place in the competition, winning a
School’s Hundred Badge, and the C.C.R.S. Special Prize. This was the best
performance ever by a pupil of the school.

Monday, October
19th 1981

Harold
Binks passed away peacefully at the age of nearly ninety. Born on April
16th 1891, he had entered the school on March 12 1900 at the age of eight. His
father was Charles Binks, a cycle manufacturer of 36 Zulla Road. Harold left
the school at the end of the Summer Term, in July 1906.

His
reminiscences had already been published in “The Nottinghamian” in April 1935.
At the end, he had written...

“....Should
you be curious to know what I used to look like, just look at a 1st form Group
of about 1901 hanging in the corridor leading to Nipper's last room (I'm glad
it's there) and in the front row in the right hand corner, there is a small boy
twiddling with his watch chain.  One day I pointed it out to my son Peter and
he grinned.”

At the
time of writing, that photograph of the First Form still exists in the School
Archives. It is still easy to find Harold Binks the boy, years after Harold
Binks, the old man, has passed into history.

This would perhaps be an appropriate time to have a look at
“Appendix Thirteen : the reminiscences of Harold Binks”.

November 1981

“The
Nottinghamian”, appearing for the first time ever in an A4 format, contained an
amazing thirty pages of advertisements. These ranged from “The Society Club”
to Mannesmann Demag Ltd “a world leader in material handling”, and from “Have
Gun Will Travel (with the South Notts Hussars Yeomanry)”, to the James School
of Motoring, run by Jim Flitter, who, with his Austin Allegros, had taught so
many staff and boys how to drive.

the rugby
season 1981-1982

The
U-15 XV, coached by Messrs Mann and Holding, won fourteen of its fifteen games,
including a 50-0 thrashing of Newark Magnus, and a 42-0 defeat of Oakham.

Mondays and
Wednesdays, 1.15-2.00 p.m., Spring Term, 1982

The new
Paperback Bookshop enjoyed great success. Its most popular titles were “Lord
Foul’s Bane” by Stephen Donaldson, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by
Douglas Adams, “That Hideous Strength” by C.S.Lewis, and “Citizens of the
Galaxy” by Robert Heinlein. “The Penguin Atlas of World History” and Schulz’s
“Snoopy” cartoon books were also good sellers.

Friday, February
12th 1982

The
School’s Challenge team, consisting of F.X.Wilson, Richard Nolan, Andrew
Roberts and C.Hirst, lost very narrowly, on the very last question of the
competition, to Trent College. Previously, in a practice match watched by a
very large audience, they had been defeated by a High School Staff team,
consisting of Tony Holding, John Knifton, Chris Mann and John Wood.

Sports Day
1982

On an
overcast, and occasionally rainy day, Peter Boot won the Long Jump, Triple
Jump, 800 metres and 1500 metres. He set new records in the Long Jump and 1500
metres. For the first time, with a new system of entry, more than half the
school now competed in at least one event on Sports Day.

May 1982

For the
first time since the Victorian era, the football report in “The Nottinghamian”
contained pen-pictures of the players.

Friday, June
11th-Tuesday, June 15th 1982

The
Community Service Group took twenty-five deprived children from the centre of
Nottingham to Castleton in Derbyshire, accompanied by Ian Driver and Stephen
Field. “The Nottinghamian” related how “the children arrived at the centre in
Castleton at about 6 p.m. on Friday, and by 4 a.m., they were all finally in
bed. After a refreshing three hours’ sleep, the children were all awake, and
after breakfast they began to explore the surrounding area with great interest.
It was not until this point that we realised how few of the children had ever
seen the countryside before, let alone stayed in it.”

Friday, July
7th 1982

A chess
team consisting of Richard Billington, Derek Blecher, Chris Dunworth, Jonathan Eastwood,
Simon Eastwood, Dominic Oakes and Graham Waddingham lost to St.Paul’s School in
the final of “The Times” National Schools’ Chess Championships, by the
narrowest possible margin.

the early or mid-1980s

It
is often supposed that in a building as old as the present High School there
should be a school ghost. Ray Eastwood, the caretaker, once told me this
story…..

…….“One year, a small number of
boys were expelled from the school because of their behaviour. They made
threats that they would return, and either vandalise, or even set fire to the
school. Because of this, Tony Hatcher and myself were asked to sleep in the
school to forestall any problems. In actual fact, we borrowed an alsatian dog
from a security firm that I had connections with, and all three of us moved
with our camp beds into one of the rooms under Reception, on the ground floor.
One morning, around 6.15 a.m., Tony and myself were sitting up in our beds
having a cup of tea and a cigarette, when we clearly heard footsteps in the
corridor above. They seemed to start near the staffroom, and then proceed
around the corner, past the staff toilets, and along the corridor towards the
offices. We both of us thought that this was the noise of somebody who had
broken into the school, and rushed out of our temporary accommodation. We
grabbed the dog, and threw him up the stairs to pursue the burglars. He wanted
none of it, and slunk off back into the room, his tail between his legs. We
ourselves went on, and rushed up the stairs and into the area around Reception.
We could find absolutely nobody. We explored all around. All the windows were
secure. All the doors that should have been locked were locked. There was no
explanation of what we had heard. There was certainly nobody there.”

In actual fact, Ray did offer me
an explanation….He thought that the footsteps that both Ray and he had heard
were those of Eric Oldham, a caretaker who had worked at the High School until
some eight or ten or so years before. After many years of faithful service,
Eric had collapsed and died as he locked up the school, one sunny Saturday evening at the end of August in
1976. When he unlocked the various rooms inside the school every morning, Eric
always followed the same route, and he would have been walking along the same
corridors, in the same direction as the mysterious footsteps, at around the
same early hour of the morning. Perhaps it was him, still reluctant to pass the
school into anyone else’s care.

Saturday, July
8th 1982

A
tennis team consisting of Lawrence Bird, Charles Dady, Daniel Flitterman and
Robert Persey competed in the Youll Cup at Wimbledon. They beat Sherbourne
School in the first round, but lost narrowly to Radley College in their next
match.

Saturday, July
15th 1982

The
Captain of the 1st XI, Russell Poole, scored 113 against Edinburgh Academy.
This particular cricket team was extremely talented, and contained many fine
individuals such as Robert Elgie, Norman Garden, Duncan James, James Morris,
Richard Mousley, Robert Rhodes, Richard Sadler, and the explosive Richard
Briggs, a young batsman whom many likened to a teenage Ian Botham.

the rugby
season 1982-1983

The
U-14 XV, coached by Bob Howard and Ron Gilbert, won all twenty of their
matches, scoring 952 points and conceding just 61.

In
later years, Ron was to have similar success when he twinned up with Chris Mann
as his partner. For some unknown reason, the players always nicknamed the pair
of them “Tweedledum” and “Tweedledee”.

the chess
season 1982-1983

This
was the most successful season to date for school chess. Only the U-15 B team
lost any match whatsoever, and the A Team won all its fixtures by the maximum
score of 6-0. In the zonal matches in “The Times” British Schools’ Tournament,
all of the fixtures, including the final against Arnold Hill, were won by the
same score.

November 1982

Mark
Tedds received his Queen’s Scout Award from the City Commissioner, Mr.P.Mason.
Other members to receive Chief Scout Awards were Edward Balls, Peter Boot,
Chris Sims, C.Trafford and Jon Wood.

the early
1980s

It is
the era of Ronald Reagan, Star Wars technology and nuclear arsenals. Tony Slack
asks his Second Year Sixth Chemistry set what they would do if they had ten
minutes left before nuclear annihilation. Many and varied are the suggestions
made. Somebody then says that the class swot would just do his Physics
homework. They all laugh uproariously. “No, I wouldn’t,” says the class swot.
“Why not ?” they all ask. “Because I’ve already done my Physics homework.” he
replies.

January
or February 1983

It
was a dreary, grey winter’s morning, and a General Studies lesson, possibly of
Russian Studies. I was at the front of the class, pontificating away, and
behind the ten or so attentive listeners was a pile of their heavy winter’s
coats which they had all been wearing because of the extreme cold, and which
they had piled up together on the empty desks. All of a sudden, after some ten
or fifteen minutes of the lesson, there was a moaning and a groaning at the
back of the room, and as I stepped forward tentatively to investigate, a large
corpulent figure, groaning and swathed in what appeared to be a fur coat of
some kind, emerged slowly and noisily from the pile of coats, like a bear
leaving his den when spring has appeared.

It
was a very silly Sixth Former, indeed, Marcus Smith, to be absolutely precise.
No doubt he immediately regretted the very silly prank he had thought up.

Although
he did repeat it a few weeks later on a Field Trip to Slapton in Devon.

Wednesday, February
16th 1983

In
football, the Second Eleven once lost a game in which a teenage girl played for
the opposition. Today, we reached a new low point when we lost 2-3 against
Broadgate School, who fielded an 11-year old in goal.

This
season, the team were bolstered, on occasion, by the presence of an apprentice
referee, Royston Masters, who took great care to explain in enormous detail
many hitherto unsuspected rules.

Sunday, March
13th 1983

Gareth
Collins appeared as a hooker in the England U-16 team against Holland at
Hilversum. He was to go on to play international rugby on two further
occasions, namely against Wales at Bristol, and against Portugal at Lisbon,
both matches taking place in April of this same year.

Saturday, June
4th 1983

The
Western Australian Public Schools XI scored 319-9 declared, in reply to which
the High School managed a mere 71 all out, thereby losing by a margin of 248
runs, one of the heaviest defeats in the history of school cricket.

Sunday, June
12th-Tuesday, June 15th 1983

The
Community Service Group, led by Edward Davey and Chris Holwell, assisted by
Pauline Buckham-Smith, Ian Driver and Stephen Field, took twenty-seven deprived
children to Derbyshire. They visited Speedwell Cavern and Peveril Castle,  and
climbed Mam Tor, where “...to children who had spent their entire lives in
Nottingham’s inner city, the sight  of huge open spaces, and the opportunity to
look around for miles and miles with unobstructed view, over the broad valleys
and hills of Derbyshire to the far off horizon, was a breath-taking
experience”.

Friday, June
18th 1983

Although
aged only fourteen, Mark Saxelby took five wickets for ten runs, playing for
the First XI against Ratcliffe College. Mark was later to play county cricket
for both Nottinghamshire and Durham. On one occasion he clean bowled Viv
Richards, who was, at the time, generally acknowledged as the world’s leading
batsman. On another, he was a member of the unfortunate fielding side when
Brain Lara scored a world record 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham.

July 1983

Sandy Powell retired after some
thirty-four years at the High School. He had been, at various times, both Form
Master, Tutor, House Master and Senior Master, as well as the master in charge
of Cross Country, Athletics, and the Valley Road Playing Fields.

Sandy would long be famed for his
commanding presence as Official Starter on Sports Day, when so often, after a
long dramatic build-up, the gun would fail to fire. He was a “combination of
strict discipline with an impish sense of humour...to phone Common Room and be
greeted with the cheerful reply of ‘Chinese Laundry’ at your service’ or to
find a curious figure parading down the corridor and discover it was the Senior
Master wearing a long blond wig...were experiences. He was our good friend and
most respected colleague.”  For years in his French classes, boys would wait
with eager anticipation to reach the chapter in their textbook which included
the verb “haïr”.

In the war Sandy had been a pilot
with Coastal Command, and had flown the enormous Short Sunderland flying boats.
An active participant in the Battle of the Atlantic, it had been on a routine
patrol that one of Sandy’s friends and colleagues had refound the Bismarck
after initial contact had been temporarily lost. Sandy also visited West Africa
during the war years, and, when the British moved into Dakar in Vichy Senegal,
had seen one of the enormous Dornier Do-X flying boats, complete with ten engines.
A German aircraft, it had been lent to the French by the Luftwaffe.

July 1983

Ted
Kettell retired after twenty-three years. He had taught at various times
Geography, Maths, English, Drama, Scripture, Politics and Constitutional
History, and was much involved in school rowing, and the newly formed Sixth
Form Centre. Always innovative, he introduced weight training to the school,
and inaugurated Form 6G, which taught Economics, Politics and Law to boys who
had not been particularly academic at O-Level, and who would probably go on to
train for qualifications in banking or business.

the rugby
season 1983-1884

The 1st
XV, coached by Clem Lee and Geri Thomas, won sixteen of their eighteen matches,
their only defeats coming against Doncaster Grammar School in their very first
match (6-9), and Welbeck College (9-13) in their third, finishing the season
with fifteen consecutive victories. The team was captained by Andrew Reeves,
the No.8, and contained nine players with little or no experience from the
previous season. The props were Andy Hopkin, Dick Lendon, and then James
Carter, with Gareth Collins at hooker. Graham Harding and Richard Bijster were
the second row forwards, and Richard Hathaway, John Swannell and Tony Pearce
played as the back row. Both Tim Jackman, Patrick Wood and Andrew Floyd all
played at scrum half, and Andrew Bailey was fly half. In the centre were Nick
Kidd and Simon Priest, with Peter Boot, Tim Portwood, and then Graham
MacLachlan as wingers. David Gardiner was the full back.

the Preparatory
School football season 1983-1984

The
Preparatory School’s 1st XI proved to be the best for many years, winning seven
of their ten matches. They reached the final of the City School’s six-a-side
competition, which was held at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but lost by 1-2
to Player West School. Five members of this 1st XI were to appear regularly in
the Nottingham Schools (East) team. They were Rhys Buck, Andrew Carr, Justin
Crowther, Alistair Murray and the team’s captain, Matthew Draper. Matthew later
went on to play for the Nottingham City U-11 team, the first Preparatory School
boy ever to achieve this distinction.

the Senior School football
season, 1983-1984

“The Nottinghamian” carried its usual collection
of witticisms in the football report. One player, Duncan Murray was likened to
“a camel when in full flight”. The team were then allowed to provide their own
quotes about the season. They included

“….most of all, football is different.”

“….a minority sport…and that’s
why I enjoy it.”

“….the only honest thing on my
UCCA form.”

“….the only viable alternative to gangland
warfare.”

“….watching Mr.Knifton play makes me feel fit.”

“….well worth waiting for.”

the first day of the
football season, 1983-1984

As the team coach, John Knifton, had just
returned from a school trip to West Germany, the First XI Captain, Rick
Stubley, was able to wear the blue, black and white elasticated Captain’s
armband which he had purchased there. Rick was certainly the first school team
captain to have an armband, and was so pleased that he mentioned it
specifically in his report in “The Nottinghamian”.

December 1983

Sixth
Former Richard May won the strings section of the BBC’s “Young Musician of the
Year” competition. In addition, Richard was an enthusiastic participant in
school music, who gave ungrudgingly of his time to many different musical
groups and recitals, as well as always being ready to play annually in the
Bridge Cup competition, and thereby earn valuable points for his house.

Tuesday, February 14th
1984

I asked to see the notes which
one of my tutees had written in a Second Year Sixth lesson. They extended over
almost three pages, and read….

“blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blahblah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah…..”

Friday, March
2nd 1984

The
Simon Djanogly Science Building was officially opened by Prince Philip, the
Duke of Edinburgh. Earlier in the day, the Prince had previously visited the
Central Television studios and a local brewery, although committed Republicans
were encouraged by the heavy snow falls which preceded his imminent arrival at
the High School.

Escorted
by Dr.Witcombe, he visited various laboratories in the new block, and met a
number of school dignitaries, including the Deputy Headmaster, the Senior
Master, the Bursar, the Headmaster of the Prep and the four Housemasters. Not
surprisingly perhaps, he was particularly interested in the efforts of Messrs
Driver, Jones, Nicolle and Thomas with the activities of the school’s Duke of
Edinburgh scheme. As a souvenir of the first ever royal visit in the school’s
history of so many centuries, he was presented by the School Captain, Edward
Davey, with a record of the boys’ work for the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, bound
in a sumptuous leather cover.

Wednesday, March
14th 1984

David
Gardiner played for the England U-16 XV against Holland at Ipswich. He was to
make a second appearance against Portugal at Twickenham on April 4th. Although
he played as a fullback for the First XV, in these particular games, David
played as a centre, the same position which he had already occupied for both
Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands.

Wednesday, March
21st 1984

The Community
Service Group held the “Not the Cheese and Wine Party”, with over two hours of
entertainment, which included the School Madrigal Choir conducted by Stephen
Fairlie. William Ruff sang a wonderful selection of songs by Flanders and
Swann, and there were a number of folk songs from Stephen Field and Les
Wilkinson. After the interval, the Joint Schools’ Drama Society put on their
production of “The Real Inspector Hound”.

May 1984

In an
unprecedented move since its inception over a century previously, the school
magazine included some opinions from the boys about the activities which they
carried out. The school football team, therefore were allowed to comment on
their own performances, and give their views, about a season in which they lost
just three of their twelve matches. The players’ quotes varied from “magic” and
“well worth waiting for ” to “an enjoyable season at right back....the only
honest thing on my UCCA form ! ”. At the time, there was great hostility about
this apparently revolutionary move in “The Nottinghamian”, and it was forbidden
that it should ever happen again.

Some
fourteen years later, of course, every single one of the school’s 800 boys was
to write his own “Self-Evaluation” report, which then became part of his Report
Booklet, and went home to his parents.

Saturday, June
23rd 1984

The 1st
XI, playing against Ratcliffe College, was set a target of 168 runs in just 23
overs. They reached this total, thanks for the most part to James Morris, who
scored an unbeaten 104 in just 48 minutes. In a later game, he was to score an
even more rapid 55 against Edinburgh Academy, with eleven fours and a massive
six.

Thursday, July
12th 1984

The
Under 14 cricket team, coached by Tim Dibdin and Paul Morris, played in the
County Cup Final against Colonel Frank Seeley School. From their allotted 40
overs, they reached a total of 142-8, although no single batsman made a
particularly substantial score. The opposition seemed to be cruising with a
total of 100-2, but inspired bowling and fielding restricted them to 128-8, the
school winning by 18 runs. Key players in this young team were Neale Fretwell,
Nick Levett, Nick Nocton, Jason Parker, Chris Parkin, James Ratcliff, Mike
Smalley, Eddie Spick and Michael Willcocks.

Monday, July
23rd-Thursday, August 9th 1984

Rohit
Hagji, as a an R.A.F. cadet, participated in the International Air Cadet
Exchange, which took him, from R.A.F. Lyneham, firstly to Frankfurt in Germany,
and then to Washington D.C., and the city of Portland in the state of Oregon,
before finally returning to R.A.F.Brize Norton after 15 days.

Friday, July
27th 1984

The
First VI, coached by Roger Kilby, played in the final of the Youll Cup at
Wimbledon, the furthest the school tennis team had progressed since the
competition began in 1947. Earlier in the week, in successive rounds, they had
beaten Rugby School, Sherbourne School, Uppingham, Bryanston and Reigate.
Unfortunately, the final was against an extremely strong Repton side, whose
first pair easily beat Jon Bird and Graham Spalding in straight sets, with the
school’s second pair, Alan Dion and Richard Ellis meeting a similar fate.

the rugby
season 1984-1885

The 1st
XV, coached by Clem Lee and Geri Thomas, won sixteen of their eighteen matches,
the only defeats coming in narrow reverses against Trent College (17-18), and
King Edward’s, Birmingham (10-12). The side was captained from fly-half by
Andrew Bailey, and the two key members of the front row were Gareth Collins and
Andy Hopkin, ably assisted by first Daniel Bailey, and then, after he was
injured, Richard Billington. Richard Bijster and Graham Harding played in the
second row, with Jim Chambers and Richard Hathaway as flankers, and the ever
impressive Mark Saxelby was at No.8. Andy Floyd was a skilful scrum half, and
in the centre, both Richard Staniforth and Nick Kidd were fine and resolute
players. On the right wing was the pacey Tony Jenkin-Jones, and on the left,
first Peter Boot, and then Richard Drew played extremely well. At fullback was
the ever reliable David Gardiner. Overall, this team scored over a hundred
tries, the second highest total in the history of High School rugby.

the rugby
season 1984-1885

The
U-14 XV, coached by Tony Holding and Chris Mann, won twelve of their fourteen
matches, their only defeat coming by 6-34 against Loughborough. Their victories
included 52-0 against Henry Mellish, 48-0 against Warwick, 26-0 at Oakham, and
there was an exciting 8-8 draw at Trent College.

the swimming
season 1984-1885

The
school swimming team, directed by Chris Mann, remained unbeaten in all their
matches throughout the entire year. They performed with great distinction in
their galas, and retained all three City Schools’ Championships.

the football season,
1984-1985

“The Nottinghamian” carried “The Big Boss”’s pen
pictures of his team. They were certainly different…..

Steve
Pearson (goalkeeper)     He needs to develop more self-belief, more ability to
shout at his defenders, and new defenders.

Duncan
Murray                       I will never forget Duncan’s great lolloping runs
up and down, and across the pitch with the ball glued to his feet as if by
magic.

Des Blecher                             He was never as bad
a full back as I said he was.

John
Fawcett                           Once he got over the initial gaffe of wearing
Arsenal shorts, he did very well

Paul Ingram                             A bit like Glenn Hoddle,
but without his steel in the tackle.

Richard Harris                         “Wildman”, the joker
in the team, a non-stop chatterbox.

Wednesday, November 14th
1984

In a football fixture against Bilborough
College, Paul Ingram scored a goal from well over seventy yards out. This seems
to be the longest successful goal attempt in the history of High School
football, although “The Nottinghamian” described it as “the greatest fluke the
season saw.”

Christmas Term
1984

The
balloon debates of the Debating Society were replaced by “Just a minute”, a
popular Radio 4 panel game. The format of the activities allowed James Ruzicka
to sing in Polish for 60 seconds, Ruth Horsley to explain how she was
attempting to grow a beard, John Wood to tell the audience how to house train a
yeti, and William Ruff to reveal how he kept his legs so shapely.

a
forgotten day in the early 1980s, perhaps

I
remember on one occasion greeting one of my Sixth Form class, Duncan Muir, as
he stood in the corridor. Duncan clearly wanted to say something to me, but I
rushed by, on my way to some very important, but now long forgotten event. I
was in too much of a hurry really to stand and chat, but I paused briefly to
listen to what he had to say.

Duncan
announced that he had seen a car in Sherwood, with a sticker in the back
windscreen which read “My other car is a Porsche”.

I
was far from impressed, and said grumpily to him, “How witty, Duncan ! Surely
you’ve seen that sticker before ? ! ”

“Yes”,
he replied, “but never in the back of a Porsche.”

Tuesday, December
4th 1984

In
their finest result of an extremely successful season, the Senior Cross Country
team, under the aegis of Peter Baker and Paul Morris, defeated Loughborough
Grammar School, Queen Mary’s, Walsall, and Bablake School, Coventry at both “A”
and “B” team level. The “B” team even defeated two of the other “A” teams.

the end of the
Christmas Term 1984

Jeff
Leach retired after thirty years at the High School, during which he had taught
not just History, but also French on occasion in his earlier years. He was
always sympathetic to boys of weaker ability, and seemed often to play the rôle
of “the prisoner’s friend”. An extremely witty man, Jeff was very much a
character, and numerous anecdotes existed about his nickname of “The Gnome” and
his activities as a test pilot for Airfix. His form room was always adorned
with a large collection of garden gnomes, which, although they often
disappeared, or were confiscated, always seemed to be quickly replaced. From
1956 onwards, Jeff was in charge of school cricket, and he devoted enormous
amounts of time to this sport, not least to his “History of Cricket at N.H.S.”,
which traced the sport from 1870 to the present day.

On a
much more serious note, though, Jeff had been in the army during the war, and in
1945, had been one of the first soldiers to enter Belsen concentration camp. He
did not ever dwell on the horrors he had seen there, but I do remember his
telling me about a girl who was so traumatised that she had prematurely grey
hair. She was about five or six years of age.

Saturday, January
12th 1985

The
U-12 cross country team, which was coached by Peter Baker, were crowned City
Champions, having won the competition held at Wollaton Park. This season, they
were also to finish fifth in the City League.

Tuesday, March
19th 1985

The
U-14 XV won the County Cup, defeating Arnold Hill by 22-9 in the final.

the end of the
rugby season 1985

With
his retirement imminent, Dick Elliott watched the 1st XV for the last time as a
High School Assistant Master. He had supported the team through thick and thin
for thirty-five years, including a number of away matches, and was justifiably
proud of the fact that he had seen more of the team than anyone else in the
history of the school. For this reason, at the end of the season, Dick was
presented with his 1st XV Colours.

the
mid-1980s, perhaps

The
selections for the next year’s Prefects were based, in part, on the opinions of
the members of staff. The latter were asked to record their thoughts in special
books, which contained a single page for each potential prefect.

One
such hopeful was called Matthew Duck. He was a splendid young man, and teacher
after teacher had written sentiments such as “Highly suitable”, “An excellent
candidate” or “Will make a fine prefect”. Every teacher except one, that is to
say. He had written “Yes, but will he take to it ?”.

April 1985

The
U-16 Sevens team won the country’s biggest national Sevens tournament, hosted
by the London Irish Club. In the group matches, they had beaten Campion (18-0),
Sotham (26-0), Cawston College (24-0), and St.Edmunds (14-0), then in the
quarter final Warriner (18-0), and in the semi final Barnard Castle (18-40). In
the final, they beat the Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School by the impressive
margin of 20-0. The squad of players for these games was Bill Atkinson, Miles
Astbury-Crimes, Simon Austen, Robert Brierley, Paul Briggs, Jeremy Harris,
Peter Leman, Philip Milton, Philip Sanderson and Mark Saxelby.

April 1985

The
U-19 Sevens team reached the final of the Rosslyn Park Open Tournament, but
unfortunately lost to Neath College by 10-20. Elsewhere, they had already won
the Nottinghamshire Schools Sevens and the Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and
Derbyshire Sevens.

Friday, April
12th 1985

The
Biology and Geography Departments took Sixth Form groups on a week’s Field Trip
to Slapton Ley in Dorset. Their activities were as varied as determining the
food sources of snails by examining their fresh faeces, trying to tempt badgers
into the open with peanut butter sandwiches, and wading waist deep into the icy
waters of the River Dart.

Easter 1985

The
French Exchange, under the direction of Andrew Winter, took a group of boys to
Grenoble. With the help of their French host families, the boys were able to
travel widely, some as far as Paris, the Mediterranean or various Alpine skiing
resorts, and, as a school group, they managed to visit Lyon, the Vercors, and
the Hector Berlioz Museum at Grenoble, where they were able to view the
composer’s uncle’s foot stool.

Saturday, May
11th 1985

Two
boys from the school, Dave Farmer and Steve Abell, travelled up to Bradford to
see their favourite team, Bradford City, presented with the Third Division
Championship Trophy. The Main Stand was due to be replaced after the match, but
less than an hour from the scheduled end of its seventy-seven year history, it
caught fire, and in the ensuing conflagration, fifty-six men, women and
children were burnt to death, more than two hundred were seriously injured, and
countless thousands were traumatised for life.

the end of the
Summer Term 1985

Oswald
Lush retired after thirty-five years at the High School, having arrived there
in 1949, after spells at Trinity College, Dublin, Oxford University and the
Royal Navy. He taught French, and also took many trips and exchanges to France.
For twenty-one years, he was in charge of school tennis, a period during which
the school reached the regional final of the Glanville Cup twenty times, and
the national finals on six occasions. In 1955, Oswald became “Head of the Lower
School”, and in the 1960s was even “Master-in-charge-of-Buildings”. In 1970, he
became House Master of Cooper’s. Oswald was a very popular man, widely
recognised for his kind and gentle character.

the end of the
Summer Term 1985

Dick
Elliott retired after thirty-five years at the High School, having arrived
there in 1950, after spells at King’s College, Cambridge and the R.A.F. where
he had been a Lancaster pilot in Bomber Command. He was Head of Classics, and,
after rowing at Cambridge, soon became one of the prime movers in school
rowing. Once Dick had revealed that his middle name was “Babington”, he was
immediately nicknamed “Babs”.

He was
known to many boys because of the fact that his room, D1, was a short cut
between two different areas of the school, and far too many of them were
willing to interrupt his Latin lessons to try and get through. Although always
very patient and understanding, Dick could occasionally become exasperated, and
on one famous occasion, he presented one of his teaching colleagues with a Mars
bar, as the fiftieth person to interrupt that particular lesson since the start
of the term (and it was only October).

the cricket
season 1985

Playing
against the Western Australian Public Schools XI, the High School managed a
mere 92-9 in reply to their 221 for 8 declared, although these scores say more
about Australian strength than the High School’s particular weakness. During
the season as a whole, Mark Saxelby was to average 45.86 as a batsman, and the
team captain, James Morris, scored 640 runs at an average of 40.00. Tim Deas
took a very creditable 45 wickets, at an average of just 19.29.

July 1985

William
Collin participated in the XVIIth Chemistry Olympiad in Bratislava, in what was
then Czechoslovakia. He won a silver medal, while the rest of the British team
won bronzes.

Thursday, July
25th-Monday, August 12th 1985

A party
of some twenty boys went to the Pyrenees, led by Doug Aitken, Cecil Dick,
Martin Jones and Richard Willan. During their time there, they were to visit
what was surely the strangest place name yet encountered on a High School
trips, namely the Lac D’ Oô.

the Ingram
Music Festival 1985

In the
Preparatory School, the “A” forms sang “Praise”, while the “B” forms performed
“The Keeper” and the “C” forms entertained the audience with their rendition of
that traditional old folk song “You can’t keep a horse in a lighthouse”.

The
competition was adjudicated by Mrs.Hughes from the Girls’ School, who at the
end was presented with a potted azalea plant.

the rugby
season 1985-1986

The 1st
XV, coached by Clem Lee and Geri Thomas, won sixteen of their seventeen
fixtures, suffering defeat only at the hands of Stamford, by the narrowest
possible margin (6-7), just three matches from the end of the season, when the
team was significantly weakened by injuries to key players. The side was
captained from scrum half by Andy Floyd, and had a front row of Daniel Bailey,
Peter Leman and Jeremy Harris. The lock forwards were usually Simon Austen and
John Swannell, although both Greg Firth and Edward Knight-Jones were to play
later in the season. The back row consisted of James Morris and Lyndon Astill,
with Mark Saxelby as a fine Number 8. Philip Milton was fly half, and the two
wingers were Robert Brierley and Miles Astbury-Crimes. In the centre were
Richard Staniforth and Niall Bamford, the latter eventually being replaced
because of illness by Robert Atkinson. At fullback both Dave Gardiner, and
then, when he was injured, Tim Martin, performed extremely well.

the rugby
season 1985-1986

The U-15
XV, coached by Tim Dibdin and Chris Mann won all fourteen of their fixtures,
scoring exactly five hundred points, and conceding only sixty. Their results
were...

Doncaster
45        0          Won

Loughborough
15        10        Won

King Henry
VIII, Coventry                36        16        Won

Oakham
23        8          Won

Trent
College                                     22        4          Won

Ratcliffe
College                                 44        0          Won

King
Edward’s, Birmingham              25        4          Won

Mount
St.Mary’s                                34        4          Won

Abbot
Beyne                                      64        0          Won

King’s
School,  Grantham                  49        0          Won

Worksop
College                               37        0          Won

Stamford
38        0          Won

Highfields
School, Matlock               43        4          Won

Warwick
25        10        Won

The
side was captained from fly half by Nick Carr, and had a front row usually
drawn from Paul Baggaley, Rupert Dixon, Julian Harrison, Mark James or Tim
Smith. The lock forwards were Roger Marshall and William Lord, and the back row
normally consisted of Tom Leman, Paul Hatfield and Simon Miller. Roger Gardiner
was scrum half, and the wingers were either David “Charlie” Brown, John
Hepworth or Richard Marshall. At fullback Nick Lee was an extremely competent
performer. The names of the centres, unfortunately, remain unrecorded, since
the report in “The Nottinghamian” omits to mention them, although we do know
that during the course of the season, both Richard Hawkins and Julian Luxton
appeared as backs, most often as replacement wingers. Matt Talbot and Simon
Hosking were reserve forwards.

the football season,
1985-1986

“The Nottinghamian” carried an extensive report
of the First XI’s doings, prefaced by Jimmy Sirrel’s description of Notts
County’s season, “disastrous, demoralising, unsuccessful”.

At the end, “The Big Boss”
reflected on whether or not young people should become involved in a sport
which had produced the carnage of the Heysel Stadium. His conclusion was that
such events are not real football…“real football is the weekly optimism that
this time you might just win, but in the equal certainty that you won’t. An
hour and a bit in cold drizzle, watching two fairy untalented groups of people
kick lumps off each other, presided over by a usually less-than-unbiased
referee. Then, not being bothered that you lose, just having a laugh, and
succeeding in remembering that all sport is just a game.”

The mood was lightened somewhat by listing the
team’s nicknames, including Steve “The Cat” Pearson, Rob “Temples” Crampton,
Ian “Delicate” Dale, Ian “Tink” Dale, Jon “Fun-Boy” Fawcett, Alan “The Car”
Fenelly, “Mark or Matthew” Fletcher, Tom “Gunner” Gould, Jon “Hatchet” Hampson,
Seamus “The Refrigerator” Mulholland, Dave “Pumper” Powers, Mike “Overlap”
Storey, and, best of all, Nigel “Varicose” Venes. The strangest was possibly
Tim “All on Board” Deas, but this referred to his missing the team bus for the
West Bridgford game, and his then being absent for the first twenty minutes of
play and subsequently the rest of the season. So Roy Keane and I didn’t even
know it !

Wednesday, November
6th 1985

The
First Eleven football team, coached by John Knifton, played against Bilborough
College 1st XI. They lost 0-9, and in the words of “The Nottinghamian”, “...to
be honest, we were lucky to get the nil. Still, at least we crawled off with
heads held high.”

the old folks’
Christmas Party 1985

Entertainment
was provided by Captain Edwin Harris and his All Star Band, with Simon Lowe as
a bingo caller, and Les Wilkinson and Stephen Field singing folk songs and
Christmas carols. In town, more than £1,000 was raised for the N.S.P.C.C. by
carol singing in the Victoria Centre at lunchtimes, and taking collections in
every available pub during the evenings.

a forgotten lunchtime in the
1980s

For most members of staff,
lunchtime duties remain, thankfully, for the most part, relatively trivial
parts of their week. Occasionally there are accidents and incidents, but,
fortunately, usually nothing particularly memorable happens.

Not so one long forgotten
lunchtime, when, out on yard duty, I ventured into the green, wooden toilet
building which stood alongside the Forest Road wall, where the Art and
Technology block now stands. As I opened the door, I found a young boy standing
in front of the sinks, his left foot lifted up on a wooden box. He was making
what looked like a campaign speech to a group of some half a dozen or so
extremely attentive listeners. What made it so memorable, though, was that in
his right hand he held a huge, long Cuban type cigar. As he continued his
speech he puffed on it every now and again like some fourteen year Fidel
Castro.

That was in the golden heyday of
“Sat’day D”, and sure enough, he got one.

an unknown Wednesday in
January 1986

The First XI played Dayncourt School in
Radcliffe-on-Trent. They were watched by the Headmaster, Dennis Witcombe, who
always took the trouble to come and watch the team at least once in every
season. He was always an extremely welcome guest in theoretical terms, but from
a practical point of view, he was the team’s very own dead albatross, as he
never ever saw the eleven nervous young players do anything except lose,
usually by a wide margin.

The score this grey, cold and
drizzly afternoon was Dayncourt 3 High School 1, which, by the standards of the
day, constituted a moral victory.

Spring Term
1986

The
Sixth Form Centre now had an annual budget of some £1,200, which allowed the
purchase of table top football, three pool tables, a snooker table and a table
tennis table.

1986-1995

Simon Williams has been
associated with hill walking at the High School, either with the Scouts or the
Explorer Scouts, for some twenty six years.  This has been his most pleasurable
activity during his time in the school, and the young men and women he has met
through it have been, with one or two exceptions, of the very best.

From 1986 to 1995, expeditions
every Easter to the Cairngorms in Scotland were particularly noteworthy, and
the very first group of boys in Year 13, which included Charlie Sermon and
Andrew Toms, all stand out, as does the time spent with Catherine
Curnow, Philip and Jo Hampton, Matthew Kennedy, James Phillips and Lisa
Thomas, as well as Stephen Lewin and Jonathan Riley and their
contemporaries. Time spent with members of staff such as Will
Hurford, Graham Lewin, Mary Mills, Richard Nicolle, and Ben Thomas have been
most enjoyable. Indeed the full list of people, both staff and pupils would be
too long to include in the present work.

Easter 1986

The
French Exchange, under the direction of Andrew Winter, returned to Grenoble,
where, as well as visiting Avignon, they were again able to view the foot stool
belonging to the uncle of Hector Berlioz. The traditional football match was
lost 13-14, although “...it was too hot and the grass was too long and we
hadn’t brought the right shoes, and they were a load of fouling Frenchmen,
sir.”

May 1986

Simon Adamyk of the Second Year
Sixth kept readers of “The Nottinghamian” entertained with his short, yet
pithy, poems...

Thought # 24

Just when I’m getting on top

Life goes all fuzzy

Round the

Edges.

and

Thought # 55

Why is it

When I let my mind wander

It never comes

Back

?

May 1986

“The
Nottinghamian” printed a suitably grovelling apology to one of the school’s
many Old Boys. He had been included in error in the previous edition’s
obituaries, and, in the words of Mark Twain, the “news of his death had been
grossly exaggerated”.

Wednesday, May
14th 1986

In
their traditional fixture against the M.C.C., the 1st XI, chasing a total of
196-8 declared, scored 200-5, to win by five wickets. The winning total was
built around the innings of Mark Saxelby, who missed a well-deserved century,
being left undefeated on 93 not out.

June 1986

George
Taft broke the Nottingham City School League record for the 3,000 metres with a
time of 9 minutes 17.7 seconds, and for the 5,000 metres with a time of 16
minutes 23 seconds. Earlier in the season, Graham Harding had established a new
pole vault record of 3.80 metres.

Saturday, June
14th 1986

Playing
for the U-14 side against Abbot Beyne School, Richard Court took six wickets
for seven runs.

Wednesday, June
25th 1986

Roy
Seely “Dick” Whitby died after a short illness, at the age of sixty-seven. From
1955 he had been Clerk to the Governors, and then, from 1975 onwards, a
Governor of the School, and Chairman of the Governors’ Finance Committee. He
was President of the Old Nottinghamians’ Society in 1970, and, as well as his
work as a Governor, gave enormous amounts of his time to school shooting.

Founder’s Day
1986

School
celebrations reached a climax when, in addition to the normal activities of the
day, the school’s first ever minibus was delivered.

the cricket
season 1986

The
craze for team nicknames continued, with even the “Old Nottinghamians Cricket
Club” report in the school magazine featuring the players as “Woody”, “Pep”,
“Ackers”, “OJ”, “Ay Pee Bee”, “Nelly”, “Dobbo”, “The Skipper”, “EMPF”, “Jacko”,
“Wob Woades”, “Butch the Dog”, “Bruce Lee”and “Wajid Khalil”.

July 1986

The
school tennis team, coached by Tony Holding, and consisting of Richard Ellis,
Stephen Hopkins, Graham Spalding and Simon Wilson won the Subsidiary Finals
held at Queen’s Club, putting them in fifth position overall in the country.
They beat Eton, Reigate and then R.G.S.Lancaster in the final by a convincing
margin of 3-0.

July 1986

The
U-13 tennis team, under the direction of Roger Kilby, and consisting of James
Aveline, Miles Dowling, Jonathan Turpin and Matthew Widdall, won the Midland
Bank / L.T.A.Tournament, beating Fairham School 6-0, Colonel Frank Seeley
School “B” 6-0, Padstowe 5-1, and, in the final, Colonel Frank Seeley School
“A” by 4-2.

the end of the
Summer Term 1986

David
Peters retired after thirty-three years at the school, the majority as Head of
History. For three years, too, he was an officer in the Army Section of the
C.C.F., and ran school swimming from 1956-1960, in the days before the school
had its own swimming pool. In 1961, he became Senior Librarian, and in 1983,
House Master of Mellers’ House.

summer 1986

Both
Graham Harding and Nick Hunt represented England at cricket. Graham Harding,
who had left the High School in 1984, played for Young England against Sri
Lanka in three Test Matches and two one day games, and Nick Hunt, having
appeared in both School, County and Regional Sides, was selected for the U-15
team against Wales, scoring forty-six and eight.

summer 1986

The
School Library was entirely refurbished, with new colours, new shelving, a lot
of display space, and a special area with a low table where boys could read
magazines. Two specialist librarians were appointed, Mrs. Clarke and
Mrs.Wrathall.

the rugby
season 1986-1987

The 1st
XV, coached by Clem Lee and Geri Thomas, won all eighteen of its matches, to
finish a season unbeaten for the first time since 1944-1945. This time,
however, the team had to contend with the absence of a number of players who
were away playing for representative sides such as Nottinghamshire or the
Midlands. Their results were...

Hall
Cross, Doncaster                        H         23        0          Won

Loughborough
G.S.                            A         32        13        Won

Welbeck
College                                H         27        0          Won

Oakham
H         6          0          Won

Solihull
A         10        7          Won

Ratcliffe
College                                 H         50        0          Won

Trent
College                                     H         22        20        Won

Q.E.G.S.Wakefield                             H         22        16        Won

K.E.Birmingham
A         9          3          Won

Greshams
A         24        15        Won

Abbott
Beyne                                    A         74        14        Won

King’s
Grantham                               A         28        3          Won

Worksop
College                               H         35        0          Won

R.G.S.Worcester
A         23        17        Won

Stamford
H         15        9          Won

Newark Magnus
H         65        0          Won

Pocklington
A         3          0          Won

Mount
St.Mary’s College                  A         22        0          Won

Overall,
the 1st XV scored 490 points, and conceded just 117. They won the Rugby World
& Post Magazine “Team of the Month” award for January 1987, and both “The
Times”, “The Daily Telegraph” and “The Independent” named them as one of the
best sides in the country. Their closest games came against Oakham, Trent
College, Pocklington, and, most of all, Solihull, where the team were losing
until the last five minutes, when Mark Saxelby set up a breakaway try for Jock
Brierley.

The
side was captained from fly half by Philip Milton, and had a front row of
Jeremy Harris, Pete Leman and Daniel Bailey all three of whom normally played
together for the county side. The lock forwards, in the shape of Simon Austen
and Edward Knight-Jones were highly mobile, and could scrummage well, and win
lineout balls. There was a fine back row of James Morris, Phillip Sanderson and
Dave Howard, and an excellent Number 8 in the shape of Mark Saxelby, who scored
twenty tries during the course of the season. Jason Parker, at scrum half, was,
on occasion, a place kicker of unbelievable ability. The two wingers, Miles
Astbury-Crimes and Robert Brierley managed thirty tries between them, and at
fullback, Fraser Shearer was an excellent catcher and kicker. Andrew Herberts
and Robert Atkinson were resolute defenders, and Tim Martin, Paul Briggs and
Rupert Dixon were all very dependable replacements when they were needed to
play.

the football season,
1986-1987

“The Nottinghamian” contained its usual
stand-out report on the year’s footballing activities. Prefaced by the wise
words of Jasper Carrot, “you draw some, you lose some”, it spoke of being “on
the crest of a slump”, with a game at Bluecoat School “of fabulous quality, a
sort of school equivalent of Rochdale v Halifax. The most interesting event was
a man weeding his allotment next to the pitch, and the only goal of the game, a
speculative shot that went in off the post on the twenty sixth bounce.”

There was doubt whether the game
at Bilborough College was lost by 1-7 or 1-9, as few people had kept an
accurate count. A slightly more positive note came, however, when Team Captain
Mark Fletcher finally scored a penalty at Beckett School, the first success
from the spot after ten previously missed efforts (not all by him). In the last
game of the season, the goalkeeper managed to punch a corner into his own net.

Most of the team’s difficulties
came from a “chronic lack of fitness due to smoking, a tendency to the kind of
basic errors that come from…only a year or so’s experience of football, and the
manager’s inability, given an initial lack of knowledge of the players’
capabilities, to put the jigsaw into place until well after Christmas.”

Nevertheless, as “The Big Boss”
stated in his way over-serious conclusion to the article, “for the sizeable
majority of the players, the Football Fixtures were the highlight of the
week.”

Thursday, October
9th 1986

The
Debating Society debated the motion that “This House is ashamed to be British”.
It was narrowly defeated by 26 votes to 20.

Wednesday, October
15th 1986

The
First Eleven football team, playing away, won their only victory of the season
by 1-0. The winning goal was scored by Ted Lord, and victory was assured by
goalkeeper Andy Belfield, who saved a last minute penalty.

Friday, October
17th-Sunday, October 19th 1986

A
Geography Department field trip visited the north of England, with particular
attention paid to High Force waterfall, Cauldron Snout, and the Eden Valley.
Everyone climbed Easedale as far as the tarn, and the final activity was some
pot-holing at Dow Cave, with much of the time pleasantly spent, neck deep in
icy water.

Friday, October
24th-Tuesday, October 28th 1986

The
R.A.F. Section of the C.C.F., under the guidance of Messrs Cook, Coulam and
Jones, spent a long weekend walking in the Cairngorms. They negotiated the
Lairig Ghru pass, then the Chalamain gap, before ascending Cairngorm, where
they met a herd of reindeer, who were, in fact, tame enough to be fed Rolos.

Thursday, November
27th 1986

The
Debating Society discussed the idea that “This House believes that television
is the opiate of the masses”. It was defeated by the worryingly massive margin
of sixty votes to fifteen.

the beginning
of December 1986

The U-13
and U-15 tennis teams both reached the National Finals which were held at
Telford.

The U-13
team consisted of James Aveline, Andrew Carr, Justin Crowther, and Matthew
Widdall, although Andrew Carr was a replacement for Kieron Crowther, who, after
playing in the earlier rounds, was unable to participate in the Finals through
injury. Eventually, the U-13s were to lose to The Royal Grammar School,
Guildford, by 5-1.

The U-15s, consisting of Gareth
Dunn, Andrew Hursthouse, James Preston and Daniel Rhodes, with Fouad Qureshi
playing in the earlier rounds, lost by 2-4 to the eventual winners, St.Paul’s
School, Barnes.

the mid-1980s

Shortly
after the idea of a school ghost was first mooted, it later emerged that there
was another claimant to the job. A number of boys from what was then the
Preparatory School reported that as boys walked down some stairs towards the
Waverley Street end of the building, they had felt what could only be described
as invisible fingers grabbing at the bottoms of their trousers, as if somebody
was trying to clutch them as they went past. This story was told to me
independently by a number of boys of varying ages, so it must have been fairly
well known at the time, although it was unclear whether any of the teachers at
the Preparatory School were aware of it. At least one member of the Main School
staff knew of it, however.

I have an explanation for this
although it does require a certain “leap of faith”. The new building of the
Preparatory School was constructed on the site of a magnificent Victorian
house. It was still used for Sixth Form lessons for a short period during the
early years of my time at the High School, and may well have been the Sixth
Form Centre, although I am no longer totally certain of this. Originally, the
house belonged to Dr.Dixon, Headmaster of the school from 1868-1884. On May 29th
1876, his wife, Ada, died “of the effects of a
chill”, leaving her husband with five children, who were, according to “The
Forester”, “Robert, Charles, Harold, Sydney and one daughter to bring up, four
sons and a daughter”.

My best
guess is that the clutching fingers belonged to Ada, who, as a spirit, was unwilling
to leave her children, as she could see that her husband was struggling with
the job of looking after them. It may well be that the staircase in the modern Preparatory
School occupied the same three dimensional space as a long forgotten room in
the now demolished Victorian house.

Interestingly, neither
of the two ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts, has persisted. The stories in
the Preparatory School disappeared after just a couple of years at most,
and as regards the tale of the footsteps in the corridor, both Ray and Tony
were denying that anything had ever happened within weeks of originally talking
about the event. Why that was, I never did discover.

the Spring
Term 1987

Efforts
were made to revive the previously defunct “Joint Film Society”, beginning with
a showing of “The Producers”, a Mel Brooks comedy, followed by “The Rocky
Horror Picture Show”. This latter film was a “make-or-break”, since the
society’s financial viability depended totally on the audience takings for it.

March 1987

The U-16
Seven-a-Side rugby team was extremely successful, winning tournaments at
Newark, Warwick, and London Irish, a competition which is normally acknowledged
as the National Championships in this type of rugby. The winning team was Simon
O’Brien, Nick Hunt, Bill Atkinson, Tom Leman, Tim Smith, Nick Lee, Andrew
Herberts, Nick Carr and David “Charlie” Brown.

Sunday, April 5th 1987

Because of the nature of the
landscape and the severity of the weather, it is inevitable that in any
Adventurous Training programme there will be “incidents”, moments when dangers
of various types, and even the risk of disaster, raises its rather frightening
head. The story is taken up by Martin Jones….

“In Snowdonia in north Wales, an
inexperienced teacher (and C.C.F. officer) was leading a group of cadets, with
the help of an experienced O.N. A navigational error resulted in their
attempting the descent of a very treacherous slope. One of the cadets slipped
and fell down the rocky ground. He collided with a slab some hundred feet lower
down. Some rock climbers in the vicinity came to help and alerted the Mountain
Rescue. I was on a different mountain with a different group. When I returned
to the road, I was stopped by the police to be told that one of my cadets had
been helicoptered to Bangor Hospital. They weren’t sure if he was alive or not.
I drove to the hospital with Marcus Coulam, both of us fearing the worst.
Fortunately the lad was sitting up in bed, smiling. He did have broken ribs and
was off school for six weeks.

I was quizzed by the Mountain
Rescue Team about our planning, preparation, safety equipment and experience.
His conclusion was “fine, no worries, anyone can make a navigational error.”

Back in Nottingham, the press
found out about the story and contacted the Headmaster, Dr.Witcombe who spoke
strongly in favour of the C.C.F. and the way the Adventurous Training was
organised.

The boy’s parents, though
shocked, made no negative comments whatsoever, and their older son, who had
participated in previous Adventurous Training expeditions with us gave a
glowing account to the press about our safety procedures. All in all, the
school came out of a potentially negative situation extremely well.”

Easter 1987

The
Classics Department cruise, led by Messrs Bird, Curtis, Horril and Phillips,
visited Athens, Ephesus, Cyprus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Cairo, Rhodes, Crete, Dubrovnik,
Venice and Lake Garda.

Easter 1987

The
Biology Department Field Trip took place, with around fifty biologists and
geographers visiting Nettlecombe Court, at Williton in Somerset. They carried
out a series of different ecoogical investigations at sites such as Exmoor, and
in various fields and streams close to the Field Centre, using instruments as
varied as impellors, augers, soil testers and pebbleometers.

Summer Term
1987

The
First Year Sixth athletes participated in a Highland Games competition, which
involved a “through-the-legs” shot put, a hop-five steps-and a jump, a five
hundred metres steeplechase, complete with a water jump, and, of course, a
caber tossing. The overall competition was won by Simon Burden.

Saturday, June
27th 1987

Playing
for the 1st XI, Nick Hunt made 105 not out. Despite a challenging declaration
at 222-1, the match was drawn.

Friday, July
3rd 1987

Matthew
Earnshaw participated in the XIXth Chemistry Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. One
of a team of four students, he won a bronze medal.

Saturday, July
11th 1987

Mark
Saxelby, playing for the 1st XI for the very last time, scored a quite
brilliant 131 against Bedford Modern School, having shared in a partnership of
167 in 111 minutes with Richard Jones (56). The High School declared at 267-5,
and won well, with Andy Belfield and Mark Saxelby himself taking the majority
of the wickets.

the end of
July 1987

Captain
Edwin Harris left the school after twenty-one years of “...service which have
added considerable colour and vigour to the life of the school.”. Before he
arrived, Edwin had seen extensive war service in Pakistan, and was probably the
only High School teacher able to speak fluent Urdu.

the end of
July 1987

Gaynor
Knifton left the school after nine years in the Art Department. As far as can
be ascertained, she was the first Assistant Master to leave the High School
through reasons of pregnancy. Indeed, when she joined the school in September
1978, her contract of employment, which was, of course, exactly the same as
those of all her male colleagues, made no provision even for the existence of a
second sex, let alone for maternity rights, which she, eventually, was to be
the first Assistant Master to receive.

the end of
July 1987

Simon
Harding, who had been the Captain of the School, left at the end of his Second
Year Sixth. He was the very last boy to study Ancient Greek in the High School,
thereby ending a tradition which had lasted several hundreds of years.

Thursday, July
23rd-Tuesday, August 4th 1987

A group
of eleven sixth formers, together with Richard Willan and Mr. and Mrs. Jones,
visited Ireland for a walking holiday. They saw the Giant’s Causeway, climbed
Caruntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland, and participated in the locals’
traditional barefoot pilgrimmage to the top of Croagh Patrick.

August 1987

Head
Gardener, Geoff Whitelock, retired after tending the school gardens since 1973.
Both his father and grandfather had been school gardeners. Geoff’s uncle had been
a pupil at the High School where he had been a contemporary of D.H.Lawrence, a young
boy also known to Geoff’s mother.

the academic
year 1987-1988

The
Third World Society raised the enormous total of £3,132 for a number of worthy
causes. Two Trivial Pursuit Marathons in the Autumn Term brought in £1,554 for
Oxfam, and on Non-Uniform Day £568 was collected for UNICEF. In the spring, the
school Red Nose Day “Comic Revue” managed £128 for Comic Relief.

the rugby
season 1987-1988

The
U-12 team won just one of their nine fixtures. Captained by David Smit, and
coached by Chris Curtis and Andrew Winter, they used more than thirty different
players in an attempt to improve their fortunes, but it was not until the very
end of the season that they began to look like a viable team.

the football
season 1987-1988

In “The
Nottinghamian”, the football reports continued to be refreshingly different
from the vast majority of accounts of other sports and activities. Having on
previous occasions provided firstly pen pictures of the squad and then opinions
from the players themselves, this time, for a second year, the football report
contained the team’s nicknames.

They
included such unforgettable epithets as Tim “Trendy” Deas, Neil “I’ve got the
Riddings” Fretwell, Richard “All the Skills” Lamb, John “Chippy” Lang, Ted
“Rushy Boy” Lord, Dave “Mr.Interesting” Norwood, Chris “Five Pints” Parkin,
Andy “Diego” Walton, with the most perceptive comments  of all being reserved
for the goalkeepers.... Ashley “Roadblock” Mortimer, Andy “Lumbago” Belfield
and John “Spud” Hepburn, a goalkeeper who always seemed to catch the ball as if
it were a hot potato.

Thursday, December
10th 1987

The
Debating Society held a balloon debate with various members of staff in the slowly
sinking dirigible. Despite his brilliance as Dame Edna Everage, Mr.Ruff polled
only seven votes. Next out was the Deputy Headmaster, Terry Willcocks, who, as
Arthur Daley, managed nine votes, all of whom, however, were later made into
prefects. The winner by a large margin was Les Wilkinson, who was Oz. Presumably,
in 1987, everybody knew just who “Oz” woz.

the end of the
Christmas Term 1987

The
school play was “The Nativity”, where the parts of Adam and Eve were played by
Richard Simcock and Louise Harris. Immense interest was shown by members of the
school as to what costumes they would, or, indeed, would not, wear. The mystery
was solved when they both appeared in white body stockings.

Friday, February
5th 1988

Organised
by the Third World Society, the school participated enthusiastically in Red
Nose Day. Thirty members of staff, including persons as senior and important as
Messrs Willcocks, Sadler and Parker, wore red plastic noses, and more than
three hundred boys did the same. Tony Holding taught while wearing his, but
charged the class to witness the event. Overall, Comic Relief benefited to the
tune of some £214.

a forgotten Wednesday in
February 1988

The First Eleven, under the direction of Stefan
Krzeminski, beat Dayncourt School in Radcliffe-on-Trent, by 3-2. The
“Nottinghamian” recorded that the victory was secured by Jon “Chippy” Lang, who
greeted his winning goal with “celebratory jigs and cartwheels more suited to
the Big Top than a football pitch.” Any regular viewer of the Premiership on
“Match of the Day” will recognise here a young man at least twenty years ahead
of his time.

April 1988

The
Hockey Team retained their County Championship, beating Colonel Frank Seeley
School after extra time, by 1-0, the winning score generally reckoned to be the
best goal of the season.

possibly the Easter
Holidays 1988

A minibus with every seat
occupied by a Venture Scout was accidentally left behind in the High School
yard, an excellent start to the long trip to the Scottish Highlands.  The
teachers realised the error of their ways when they stopped for a break at
a café near Scotch Corner some two hours later. It had taken the Scouts
themselves the best part of an hour to realise that they had no driver for
their minibus. Fortunately, this entire organisational fiasco took place
at late 1980s diesel prices.

Summer Term
1988

In the
Preparatory School, Iain Higgins, who was already the Nottinghamshire County
Champion and the Bullock Cup Winner, was selected to represent England at
chess. His school team mate, James Redburn, was later to join him in the same
squad.

Summer Term
1988

In the
Preparatory School, the Swimming Team finished seventh in the National Finals
(Intermediate) at Highgate. This team had already won the Nottingham Champion
Boys School for the eighth year in succession.

a forgotten day in the
1980s

The
coat racks in the West Corridor outside W5, W6 and W7, were looking to be
absolutely full, so much so that there was no room for any of the current
pupils to hang their things up. The Head of Junior School, Chris Curtis,
therefore, embarked upon a thorough search through the coats which were hanging
there. Among many others, he found a heavy, brownish, overcoat which was
labelled, quite properly, inside the collar.

It belonged to Robert Tyrrell,
who had left the school at least five years before. Since then, the coat had
remained in stasis, presumably waiting patiently for its owner to return.
Robert Tyrrell had been a legendary figure in the Fifth Form, a keen punk when
punk was in its heyday, and he always took “correct school uniform” to be a
challenge rather than a statutory requirement.

If my memory serves me well, it
was a number of Robert’s friends who went on a school trip to Germany, and,
inspired by their non-stop Antmusic, decided that they would all dye their hair
a most brilliant scarlet red. Alas, being boys, they knew nothing whatsoever of
hair dyes and therefore chose a non-fast product. The next morning, their hair
was still its normal colour, but not, alas, their pillows, sheets or blankets,
all of which looked as if they had been recently used to film the climactic
ending of “The Rhine Valley Chainsaw Massacre”.

Friday, July
15th 1988

The
under-13 cricket team, coached by Richard Cross and John Wood, won the “Andrews
Air Conditioning” Under-13 Schools Cricket Competition. The final was played
against Valley School at Trent Bridge, and much merriment was caused when the
electronic scoreboard revealed that one of the High School players was called
“Milnes Hyphen James”. Having won the toss, the High School batted, but had only
managed

87-4 by the time their innings
closed. The opposition started well enough, but were eventually bowled out for
a total of 68, with Rose taking four wickets for just fifteen runs.

Saturday, July
16th 1988

The 1st
XI scored a massive 256-4 against Abbot Beyne School, with Nick Hunt scoring
144, and Simon O’Brien a fine supporting 72. Abbot Beyne were bowled out for
only 63, so producing a victory by 193 runs. This excellent innings allowed
Nick Hunt to pass 1,000 runs for the season. He eventually finished with a
total of 1,108, scored at an average of 73.9. This included five centuries, the
other four of which which came against the X.L.Club (103 not out), Leeds
Grammar School (113), the Old Nottinghamians (100) and Edinburgh Academy (111
not out).

Monday, September
12th 1988

The
first mechanical digger appeared in the playground, starting the building work
necessary for the new Sports Hall. The driver was to uncover, among many other
things. a large quantity of long buried army boots. As part of the
preparations, both the Rifle range and the Green Shed had to be demolished.

Eventually,
the Sports Hall was planned to have enough space for two separate forms to have
P.E. lessons simultaneously, and for boys to play badminton, tennis,
basketball, volleyball and indoor hockey, as well as a fully equipped fitness
training room, and four cricket nets, all lit at a level to rival those of the
National Cricket School at Lilleshall itself.

the
late 1980s

This
tale, almost a High School X-Files, comes from Mark Cleverley. It deserves to
be quoted verbatim…….

“As
teachers, we are duty bound to ensure that the teaching environment in which we
operate is well cared for and does not deteriorate as a result of malicious
intent. Since the Science Block was first opened in 1983, I have spent much of
my teaching life in Chemistry Laboratory C2, and have been as watchful as one
can be in ensuring that there is no place for graffiti or damage to the
permanent fixtures within the room.

It
was many years ago that, following a day’s teaching, I was mystified to
discover two almost parallel fresh gouge marks, about two centimetres in length
and one centimetre in width, on one of the benches in the back row of the
lecture area of the room.

During
the next few days, my various classes continued to report this peculiar
phenomenon to me. They were just as curious about the origin of the marks.

It
was not until the following week that the truth emerged, when I noticed one of
my Second Year pupils (Year 8 in today’s terms) with his head buried in the
workbench. He was deriving great pleasure from gnawing away at the wood of the
bench and it was his two front teeth which were responsible for creating the
chiselled impressions within the wooden surface. When challenged, the red-headed
pupil, whom I recall as ‘Wallace’, was mortified at being discovered. I may
possibly have asked him whether he kept a guinea pig as a pet, although my
aging memory does contain a few gaps nowadays.”

the rugby
season 1988-1989

The 1st
XV, coached by Clem Lee and Geri Thomas, with twelve players remaining from the
previous year, won sixteen of their twenty fixtures. Playing exciting fifteen
man rugby, they scored a total of eighty-three tries, with captain Nick Carr
contributing 161 points.

the rugby
season 1988-1989

The
U-13 team, which the previous year, as U-12s, had been so spectaculrly
unsuccessful, improved by leaps and bounds. According to Tony Bird and Dave
Phillips, the side was “...a real pleasure to coach...they have shown a total
commitment to training, and a highly competitive approach to all their matches.
They have always gone on to the field looking for a win.” This year, they
managed to taste victory in six of their sixteen fixtures.

ten o’clock on an August
morning, just before the start of the new football season, 1988-1989

The new football coach, Stefan
Krzeminski, cannot wait for that first kick-off. He has been tasked with moving
the team on to the next level, after the previous season’s incumbent has had
his contract cancelled by mutual consent.

Permission is sought, and
granted, for the members of the team to go down to the Valley Road playing
fields to train. Stefan is surprised at this because “football” and “Valley
Road” do not often appear together in the same sentence.

A dozen or so young squad members
arrive. The place is fresh and green, sunny and newly mown, expectant, but
deserted. The groundsman soon arrives, though, with the news that he has just
received a phone call from the Head of Games. The footballers could indeed
spend the morning at Valley Road, but under no circumstances whatsoever, were
they to make use of a football in their training schedule.

Saturday, October
15th-Sunday, October 16th 1988

The
school chess team won the 6th Marlwood Chess Tournament at Marlwood School,
Bristol. The team was coached by John Swain and Phil Eastwood, and scored 41.5
points out of a possible 60. Both Iain Higgins, Matthew Kennedy, Olivier Playe,
Alastair Rose and Matthew Tailby won Best Board prizes, and Matthew Kennedy,
scoring six out of seven, won a prize for the best individual U-16 performance.
The school received a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, and an
impressive cup, with each individual player getting a shield as a memento of
the weekend. This was to be the first of four successive victories at
Marlwood.

Wednesday, October 19th
1988

In
the days long before the invention of the “exeat”, the form which has to be
signed by a member of the Senior Management Team, the only thing that any boy
needed to have in order to take time off school was the permission of the
teacher whose lesson he would be missing.

One Tuesday morning, therefore, a
“certain young man” came to see his French teacher and asked him a favour. He
wanted to go to a football match, you see, and needed to miss French so that he
could set off and not be late for the game, which kicked off at 7.30p.m.

Teacher was puzzled as to why the
“certain young man” had to absent himself quite as early in the day as Period
5. “Well, sir,” came the reply, “the game’s at Hampden Park in Glasgow. I want
to go and see Scotland play.”

And, as was the custom at the
time, he was given permission. And he got there comfortably for the kick-off.
Happily, they drew 1-1 and qualified for the European Championships.

Saturday, November
26th 1988

The 4th
XV won one of their greatest ever victories, by 70-0 over Ratcliffe College.
For some strange reason, the opposition were unable to resist the temptation to
kick the ball at every opportunity, and this proved their downfall.

Thursday, December
15th 1988

The
newest copy of “The Nottinghamian” carried a poem by David Dewshi. It was
called “The Lesson”, and its sentiments must have been echoed by large numbers
of boys in the school...

“
Drone                     Waffle                      WAFFLE    DRONE

Teacher                     drone                         Drone
waffle

!
Gurgle  !    drone........waffles in a monotone

Monotone

Drone

waffle

gurgle, drone

monotone

Monotone
drone   gurgle   Waffle

Drone.....Boy ?

Boy
drone   Drone             Stares at

WALL....

waffle

Waffle     drone

at

the scratches

AND THE SCRIBBLES

and
the scrawls   ”

December
1988-December 1989

A
teacher exchange took place, with John Cullen arriving from Queensland,
Australia, to replace Tim Dibdin for a year. John was a Geography teacher, but,
not surprisingly perhaps, was a keen sportsman, and a patriotic extoller of his
country’s many achievements in this field. John came from Coffs Harbour in
Queensland, and, as a native of tropical Australia, experienced for the very
first time a number of what to us here in Nottingham seem very ordinary things.
They included the common cold (early January), snow (April 25th !), a start to
the school year in September (in Australia, the school year runs from February to
December), Goose Fair (October), a coal fired power station (November), and
boomerang throwing lessons with 2Y (December)

Wednesday, January
11th 1989

The
First XI achieved a fine result when they drew 2-2 at Bilborough College. The
latter were recently crowned County Champions, and, after they had gone into a
2-0 lead, it was most gratifying to see “...the team display the kind of skill,
character and commitment that would have transformed the season, had these
qualities made more than a fitful appearance in our other matches..”

a forgotten day in the
early Spring Term 1989

The
General Studies Birdwatching Group visited Wollaton Hall. Unknown to the
teacher, John Knifton, “a certain young man” had bet the majority of the group
that he could walk across an arm of the lake, from one side to the other,
without getting significantly wet. The group asked the teacher’s permission,
and he, intrigued, was foolish enough to give it. Much to everyone’s amazement,
the young man in question duly proceeded to walk out across the lake, with the
water barely covering his shoes. He lived in a road next to Wollaton Park, and
was well aware of an old ruined wall which stretched out across the lake at
this point, without ever coming above the level of the water, except at a time
of excessive drought.

And then the rest of the group
followed him, until, to the casual observer, it looked like a Disciples’
training session out of “The Life of Brian”.

Spring Term
1989

The
school’s Schools Challenge team won their regional final against Oakham School,
having beaten, in previous rounds, Repton, Trent College and Loughborough
Grammar School. The team consisted of Richard Genever, Alastair Holland, James
Kennedy and Matthew Kennedy, the latter thought to be the fastest speller of
“pterodactyl” and “mnemonic” in the history of the competition. As William Ruff
recorded in his report in “The Nottinghamian”, this “caused two
question-masters to pause to recover their breath.”

Nick
Dove was the team’s ever reliable reserve.

Spring Term
1989

Guy
Gisborne was selected to represent England at Under-18 level at hockey. He had
previously played not just for the High School, but also for Beeston Colts,
Nottinghamshire and the Midlands, at all junior age groups.

Saturday, March
11th 1989

The
school hockey 1st XI won their semi-final tie against Queen Mary’s School,
Walsall by 2-1. They had reached this position by beating Colonel Frank Seeley
School by 7-0 in the Final of the County Cup, and then going on to defeat
Weston Favell School, Northampton by 4-1 in the next round.

another forgotten day in
the Spring Term 1989

The
General Studies Birdwatching Group again visited Wollaton Hall. Unknown to the
same gullible teacher, “a certain young man” had bet the majority of the group
that he could run down the grassy field toward the lake, jump upwards, over the
water-filled ditch, the so-called “ha-ha”, and then land on the grass next to
the lakeside path. And he did it. And if you’re not impressed, then go take a
look at the lake.

6.30 a.m., Saturday,
March 25th 1989

The
Senior Adventurous Training party left for Scotland, where they walked over
Meall nan Tarmachan, and then climbed to the tops of Ben Cruachan, Stob
Ghabhar, Benn Eunaich and Ben Lui.

a third forgotten day,
later in the Spring Term 1989

For
a change, the General Studies Birdwatching Group visited Attenborough. They
trooped along densely wooded paths, always eager to catch sight of that elusive
rare bird. One member of the group was, for various reasons, particularly his
conceitedness, quite unpopular, and he soon fell victim to what might well be
termed “natural justice”.

As the group walked along the
narrow paths, therefore, anyone feeling especially helpful would call out
“Dog-poo! ” so that nobody trod in it accidentally. Except when Mr.Bighead was
next in the line, in which case, the correct call was “Eagle! ” so that he
would look up into the sky, but then tread in the doggy-dos. It worked a treat,
and more than once.

April and July
1989

Richard
Slater and John Riley, taking advantage of a C.L.Reynolds Travel Award, made an
interesting comparison of St.Michael’s Mount in Cornwall amd Mont St.Michel in
Normandy. This entailed a week’s stay in the West Country, and a fortnight
working hard in the summer heat of France.

12.15 a.m., Saturday,
April 8th 1989

The
French Trip departed at their traditional unearthly hour, led by Tony Holding
and John Hayes, who also drove the coach. The boys visited all the traditional
sights of Paris, and then went on to Normandy, where they saw the Bayeux
Tapestry, and the

D-Day Landing Beaches.

Saturday,
April 15th 1989

A
number of members of the teaching staff and numerous boys travelled up to
Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield to see their favourite team, Nottingham
Forest, play in an F.A.Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Their sun-lit optimism
was to be brought to a premature end, however, when, early in the first half, in
England’s biggest football stadium disaster, ninety-six men, women and children
were crushed to death in the Leppings Lane end of the ground.

Friday, May
19th 1989

Manoj
Patel of the Second Year Sixth, who had previously boasted luxuriant, flowing
locks, went to Pepper’s Hairdressing Salon to have a flat top haircut. This
tonsorial sacrifice raised more than £150 for the victims of the Hillsborough
Disaster. At the time, it was strongly rumoured that the idea had come from
John Auld and Steve Booth, Manoj’s close friends and classmates, both of whom
had spent eighteen lessons studying Balzac’s “Le Curé de Tours”, looking at Manoj’s
hair, and wondering what could be done to improve it.

Wednesday, June
21st 1989

The 1st
XI cricket team, coached by Jimmy Sadler and Paul Morris, won their most
thrilling match of the season against Repton School. The latter had made 192
all out, thanks mainly to some excellent fielding by James Kennedy, and his
very creditable bowling figures of 6-71. When the High School batted, they
eventually needed two runs from the last ball, which Nick Hunt duly hit for
four runs, taking his own personal score to 133 not out.

July 1989

The
school decathlon was won by Bill Atkinson, with a record score of 5715 points.
In “The Nottinghamian”, Bill was reckoned at the time to be “...probably the
best all round athlete the school has ever seen”.

Saturday, July
8th 1989

The 1st
XI played against Forest Amateurs, who made 216-9 declared. In reply, Tom Leman
made 90 not out, and and Simon O’Brien 75 not out, with the school scoring a
total of 219-1, to win by nine wickets.

the end of the
Summer Term 1989

Chantal
Sanchez left after five years working as a French assistante. Before her
appointment, the assistant/assistante had usually been one of a succession of
university students, all of whom had worked for just one year, and had sometimes
been of extremely variable quality, ranging from the excellent Gérard Hilmoine,
to the rather eccentric, and occasionally explosive Claude Martinet, a man who
always seemed to live up to his name.

Chantal,
however, once her excellent qualities had been recognised, was engaged, like a
teacher, on an open-ended contract, and this situation guaranteed that French
conversation classes would henceforth run smoothly and well. She was the first
long term French conversation teacher since Madame Lionnet in the nineteenth
century.

Sunday, July
30th-Friday, August 4th 1989

Led by
Roger Kilby, boys from the the Naval Section went to Fleet Tender on the River
Clyde. They had many difficulties with the local accent, and Charlie Hill was
reputed to have spent twenty minutes lecturing the landlord of the local on how
to talk properly. For this, and a number of other triumphs, he was eventually
to receive the “Wally of the Week” trophy, consisting of the box which had
previously held the football presented to Joe Traynor as best cadet. Peter Corlett
had given Charlie a close run for his money when he tripped over a molecule of
wood, and fell off the bridge of the ship, RMAS Meavy.

the academic
year 1989-1990

The
last change in the uniform of the scouts had taken place as long ago as 1957,
when the wide brimmed hat was discontinued. This year, the Scout Group was
allowed to decide what they themselves wanted to wear. They decided upon a
béret, and expressed a desire to discard the old fashioned mushroom coloured
trousers, and to wear instead their ordinary grey school trousers.

every
lunchtime at 1.10 p.m., 1989-1990

The
lunchtime Computer Club, run by Jim Clarke, was in full swing. Numbers were
potentially so overwhelming that only boys with a valid card were allowed to
enter. Once inside, they could use any one of sixteen Archimedes, two BBC Bs,
or two Commodore 64s. That meant approximately two people to each computer, or,
on good days, perhaps even fewer. More advanced features included sound
digitizers, video digitizers, scanners which could copy either text or
pictures, and modems which would allow computers to communicate with those in
other schools.

a forgotten autumn day in
the late 1980s

The Second Eleven were not doing
well. As occasionally happens, in fact, they were losing game after game. In
which case, Bilborough College was not necessarily the most helpful place to
visit, if you were keen on improving an abysmal record. The problem, though was
certainly not keenness.

The long suffering Team Manager,
John Knifton, knew for a fact, for example, that, at home, the team goalkeeper
used regularly to put all his kit on, and then go out into the back garden to
practice diving around, comfortably saving the ball that he had himself thrown
against a convenient wall. And the Manager knew all this because the goalie’s
mum had told him.

Unfortunately, this day,
Bilborough ran amok. Goal after goal went into the back of the High School net.
Indeed, their players actually grew bored with proceedings, to the extent that
they started to attempt long shots from vast distance in an effort to show up
our rather immobile young ’keeper.

After a couple of humiliating
efforts had sailed way over his head into the back of the net, the goalie
cracked. He stepped forward to the edge of his penalty area, took off his
gloves, threw them to the ground, and proclaimed loudly to everyone, “That’s it
! I quit !!”.

And he stalked off to the
changing rooms, and he never played again. A pity really, because we have had
worse ’keepers.

October and
November 1989

The U-12
XV experienced an almost unprecedented run of wildly fluctuating results. They
were 0-56 versus Warwick School, 0-48 against QEGS Wakefield, 48-0 at home to
Manor School, 32-0 at Quarrydale, 0-24 versus RGS Worcester, and 0-20 at King
Edward’s, Birmingham.

Sunday, November
5th 1989

Richard Thynne of Form 4P in the
Preparatory School continued the strong traditions of High School poetry...

The Guy Fawkes Story

In Sixteen hundred and five,

Guy Fawkes hatched a plot

To blow up the House (sic) of Parliament,

The King, His adviser, the lot.

He hired a deep dark cellar

Under the House of Lords,

And there he hid barrels of gunpowder ;

A truly villainous hoard.

Now one of Guy’s fellow plotters,

Tresham was his name,

He went and warned the King’s men

About their dangerous game.

The soldiers captured lone Guy Fawkes

At that eleventh hour.

They questioned him about the plot

and locked him in the Tower.

So when we light a bonfire

To remind us of that day

We burn Guy Fawkes on top of it

Because Treason doesn’t pay.

December 1989

The
school play was “Macbeth”. It was directed by Les Wilkinson, and starred
Jonathan Swain in the title rôle, and Claudine Astles as his wife, Lady
Macbeth. Matthew Hayden played Banquo, and James Hillhouse was Macduff.
Sterling work was done by Geoff Woolley, who, according to “The Nottinghamian”,
produced no fewer than a hundred and forty-four half joints for the stage staff
to enjoy.

early one
morning in February 1990

The
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Form students of Art, under the direction of Messrs
Gardiner and Greenwood, left for their annual visit to the Art Galleries of
London. They enjoyed, among many other paintings, Constable’s “Flatwood Mill’,
Umberto Boccioni’s “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” and Salvador Dali’s
“The Metamorphosis of Narcissus”.

C.C.F. Inspection Days in
the 1990s

Having spent so many years in the
C.C.F., Martin Jones is uniquely equipped to tell the tale…..

“One of the disadvantages of
being a C.C.F. Officer is having to survive the yearly ordeal of Inspection
Day, and in particular, the final parade in the school yard. Although it
provided much entertainment for the non-C.C.F. members of staff, for the more
militarily inclined, it can be a nerve racking experience !

The cadets have to look as smart as possible, and some
succeed. Others really let you down, with long. lank hair flopping out of their
berets, uniforms ceased and pressed but in the wrong places, trousers at half
mast, marching which is barely recognisable as marching, so many cadets out-of-step.
These are all sources of embarrassment.

The worst ever year for fainting was a particularly hot one
when seven boys succumbed. They all collapsed onto the hard surface of the
playground, their rifles clattering loudly in the silence. One year, the
heavens opened, soaking everyone, and silencing the band.

On another occasion the R.A.F. contingent marched past the
inspecting officer, almost in step, almost saluting at the right moment, much
to my relief, only for one cadet to have his non-regulation shoe come off, and
be left behind, alone and obvious, on the ground in front of the podium.”

March 1990

“The
Mathematical Gazette” carried rave reviews of Peter Horril’s Maths textbook,
“Applied Mathematics”.

Spring Term
1990

The
Design Technology Department held a Swamp Buggy competition for First Year boys
in the Founder Hall pool. Armed only with a low voltage electric motor and a
three bladed plastic propeller, each entrant produced a machine well capable of
coping with problems in the pool, which were designed to reproduce the
conditions of the Florida Everglades as closely as possible.

Spring Term
1990

Andrew
Twells took part in the British Mathematical Olympiad. He won one of the twenty
prizes on offer.

Monday, April 2nd 1990

Another moment of mountaineering
peril came in Scotland. Martin Jones takes up the tale…

“One foul day on the Mamores near
Ben Nevis in the Highlands of Scotland, Hamish Gibb was leading a group of boys
along an icy ridge in zero visibility. He stopped the group and, to look at the
map, took one step back and disappeared. He fell about eighty feet, landing on
a steep snow slope. He was able to shout up to the group to get the safety rope
out to assist his climbing up to them. They reminded him that the rope in
question was in actual fact in his rucksack. He did manage to climb up for
himself, but it took well over an hour, before he was able to lead a group who
were now very cold indeed back down to safety.”

Monday, May
14th 1990

First
Year boys, in the shape of Form 1C, visited the White Post Farm, where they
were able not only to play with a wide selection of baby animals, but also to
climb into the pens with the goat kids and sheep, and to meet the recently
acquired llamas. The boys saw the mushroom growing area and the snail sheds,
and selected individual boys were allowed to touch a live snail.

June 1990

Pavan
Dhaliwal represented Great Britain in two tennis competitions in Italy. Playing
on unaccustomed dusty red clay courts, he defeated the Poland No 2, the
Paraguay No 5 and the Denmark No 6, but lost to the Venezuela No. 1 and the
Italy No 2.

Summer Term
1990

The
School Tennis Team, coached by David Lewis, and consisting of Pavan Dhaliwal,
Kevin Dhaliwal, Richard Smart and Jeremy Smith won the county stage of the
Midland Bank U-15 Championship without difficulty. In the regional final, they
met Repton School, whom they beat on games, after the tie was drawn 3-3. The
National Quarter Finals were then held on the same day after lunch, and the
High School triumphed over K.C.S.Wimbledon, again on games after the tie was
drawn. The semi-final was held at the Moat House Hotel in Telford, when the
High School beat Hymers College by 5-1. The winning streak came to an end,
however, in the National Final, when the team succumbed to Millfield by 2-4.
One match was actually lost 6-7 on a tie break, the latter being conceded by fifteen
points to seventeen.

Sunday, July
15th 1990

The
U-13 XI competed in the Andrews Competition. They reached the final, held at
Trent Bridge, and beat Toothill School, Bingham, to win the Schools’
Championship Cup, which was presented to them by the Nottinghamshire captain,
Tim Robinson. The team was coached by Richard Cross and John Wood, and
captained by Richard Brindle. Its most successful players were Peter Dunn, who
scored more than two hundred runs in the season as a whole, Chris Freeston, who
took thirty-two wickets, and Graham MacNaughton, who scored 107 in a Saturday
fixture against Carlton-le-Willows School.

July 1990

Jimmy
Sadler retired, having been a pupil at the school from 1938-1949, and a teacher
since 1960. He had originally taught General Subjects, but was eventually to
become Head of the Geography Department, and then Senior Master. On the sports
field, Jim was, for many years, the close partner of Jeff Leach, and, together,
they ran school cricket, and a number of different rugby teams.

July 1990

The School Bursar, Gerry
Seedhouse, a pupil at the school from 1936-1941, retired
after having been the School Bursar since 1971.
During these nineteen years, the school staff had
increased enormously in number, and educational equipment ceased to be merely
chalk or rugby balls, but became computers, videos, satellite dishes,
scrummaging machines, photocopiers and risographs.

An ex-Royal Navy officer who had
seen action during the Second World War, Gerry was accurately described by
Headmaster, Dennis Witcombe, as “never…anything but courteous and approachable,
and this is how he will be remembered by colleagues, parents and pupils.”
Nobody who had the privilege of dealing with Mr.Seedhouse would ever argue with
that.

July 1990

Clive
Cox, the school’s popular Pool Steward, was invited to attend the Royal
Tournament at Earl’s Court, where as a member of the Guard of Honour, he was
presented to the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen. Clive represented 41st Royal
Marine Independent Commando, and his invitation came in recognition of the work
which he had done as branch welfare officer of the British Korean Veterans’
Association. During the Korean conflict, Clive, of course, saw active service,
and was, for a long period, a much abused and mistreated prisoner in a North
Korean prison camp.

every week of
the swimming season, 1990-1991

The new
teacher of Geography, Vicky Bruscomb, attracted huge numbers of boys to the
pool, for coaching sessions in the new sport of water-polo.

October 1990

Edward
Wheatley was selected to play football for the Nottinghamshire U-19 side in a game against Cheshire.
This was a comparatively rare distinction for a High School pupil, since they
are in direct competition with so many thousands of boys from the county’s
state schools.

This appears
to be the first time that a High School player had managed representative
honours during the modern era.

Friday,
October 12th 1990

The
General Studies Sixth Form Birdwatching Group visited the White Post Farm,
where they viewed a number of raptors, including Eagle Owls and Common
Buzzards, weighed themselves on the animal weighbridge, played with a wide
selection of baby animals, and had an invigorating twenty minutes on the
children’s swings.

Friday,
October 19th 1990

Thirteen
Sixth Formers and five staff left for Pitlochry on the annual R.A.F.
Adventurous Training expedition. They spent three days walking over a selection
of Scottish Munroes.

Monday, December
17th 1990

“The
Nottinghamian” carried a poem by Matt Allen. It described, presumably, one of
his teachers...

“An accent so foreign

A beard so strange

The tie so extravagant

He must be deranged.”

January 1991

The
Community Service Group presented Julia Stewart, the NSPCC Appeals Manager,
with a cheque for £2,300. This had been raised on the Thursday, Friday and
Saturday before Christmas Day, by volunteers who visited a large number of
Nottingham’s pubs, singing carols, and waving collecting shakers at members of
the public of varying degrees of charitability and sobriety, the two
attributes, of course, not necessarily being unconnected.

the May Day
Bank Holiday 1991

The
Nottingham Orienteering Club won the National U-13 and the National Under Age
Group Championships. Two thirds of their team were High School members, in the
shape of Oliver Edwards and Andrew Preston.

Friday, June
7th 1991

For the
first time, the school held its “Bumper Fun Day”. It was organised by Wendy
Nicolle and the Community Service Group, to raise money for Prince’s House, a
charity which helped people with learning difficulties. The most popular
attraction on the day were surely “Soak the Teacher”, and the karaoke machine
in the Large Lecture Theatre, but other activities included a sponsored swim, a
geography quiz, and a pottery smash.

Monday, July
8th 1991

Matthew
Kennedy took part in the XXIII Chemistry Olympiad in Poland, where he was
eventually to win one of the British team’s two bronze medals.

Sunday, July
14th 1991

The
Preparatory Department visited Arques-La-Bataille in France. Their most surreal
moment came when the entire party of forty boys queued up at the Post Office,
and every single one of them bought, in turn, just one stamp for his post card
home.

July 1991

Mrs.Rene
Moon retired after thirty-one years working as a senior member of the school’s
domestic staff. She was a lovely, cheerful lady, always popular with teachers
and other ancillary staff alike.

the academic
year 1991-1992

The
Politics Society continued to attract a succession of eminent speakers. This
year, they were to include Kenneth Clarke, the Home Secretary, Judge John
Hopkin, Chief Inspector Jackson of the Nottinghamshire Police Force,
Mr.Barrington of the League against Cruel Sports, and Andrew Mitchell, who was,
at the time, the Conservative M.P. for Gedling.

September 1991

After a
gap of almost thirty odd years, the Railway Society was reformed under the
aegis of Nathan Duckworth. During the year, they travelled over 3,000 miles,
and managed 140 m.p.h. on the latest InterCity train, as well as a more sedate
pace on the steam locomotives of the Severn Valley Railway.

Thursday, September 5th
1991

After the demise of the Boat
Club, Martin Jones was cajoled into looking after the Second XV rugby team.
After a disastrous run of results over the course of the previous season, it
was decided that a change of management was necessary and so he was promoted to
being in charge of the Under-12 team.

During his first day in charge,
he quickly realised that things were going to be very different as he was
required to tie and untie the players’ boot laces, and distribute the half time
oranges individually, otherwise fights ensued between the players.

After the very first fixture at
Valley Road, the largest boy in the team was extremely upset. He had lost his
blazer, and the only one left in the changing room was five sizes too small for
him. He was unable to insert even his hands into the sleeves. The problem was
soon solved as Martin watched the smallest boy walk out of the gates, wearing a
blazer five sizes too big for him. He was, of course, completely unaware of the
misfit.

Wednesday, December
18th 1991

Dennis
Usher retired after fifty-one years’ association with the High School. He had
entered the Preparatory Department as a boy in January 1940, and remained in
the Main School as a pupil until the latter years of that decade, becoming a
Prefect and Company Sergeant Major of the C.C.F. After a period at Oxford, and
then at Lytham St.Annes, he returned as a Mathematics teacher in January 1959.
He immediately took over the Scouts, which was his main contribution to school
life outside the classroom.

Wednesday, April
15th 1992

While
accompanying the First and Second Year French Trip back from the

Côte d’Azur, John Knifton found a
rare sea duck in the waters of the harbour at Dunkerque. It was an American
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), and the record of this vagrant was submitted to the French
Comité d’Homologation National, who duly accepted it as the first ever to be
seen in France, and only the fifth ever in mainland Europe.

the General
Election 1992

Old
Nottinghamian Members of Parliament were now the Home Secretary, Kenneth Clarke
(Conservative, Rushcliffe), Geoffrey Hoon (Labour, Ashfield), James Lester
(Conservative, Broxtowe), and Piers Merchant (Conservative, Beckenham).

Saturday, July
8th 1992

The
school chess team, coached by John Swain and Phil Eastwood, had qualified for
the Final of The Times British Schools Chess Championship by
beating City of London School by a margin of 4-2, although the score was
actually a somewhat flattering one for their beaten opponents. In the Final,
they were paired against Truro School. Stephen Joseph won his game on the top
board in brilliant fashion, and both Geoffrey Hodgett and Philip Faulkner
triumphed in their matches. The winning margin of 3.5 points was achieved when
Steven Maxwell agreed a draw in his match, and Matthew Tailby then won his game
to achieve a final winning margin of 4.5 to 1.5. The cup was presented by David
Hopkinson, the Deputy Editor of “The Times”, and the team won a Disk Drive and
CD worth some £1,600.

Sadly Stephen Joseph was to die
of cystic fibrosis on December 18th 1993, when he was in Year 13. His courage,
though, was an inspiration to all, not least when he insisted on being
“released” for a few hours from the City Hospital in order to play in some of
the school chess team’s matches.

the end of
July 1992

Clive
Cox retired, having worked at the High School from 1973, when he was initially
employed as a gardener. He had seen active service as a commando in the Korean
War, and survived the horrors of incarceration in a North Korean prison camp.
As Pool Steward, “his bark was always worse than his bite”, although many boy
will long remember “his piercing whistle, wall shaking shouts, comb and
handkerchief inspection, and penetrating gaze along a pointing finger...he
could immediatley command rapt attention”. Clive taught literally hundreds of
boys to swim, and numerous weak swimmers gained immensely from his expertise
and understanding.

August 1992

A party
of some twenty-five boys thought to have the potential to be 1st XV rugby players
went on a ten day tour of France. They visited the south west, and won their
initial match, against Montfort-en-Chalosse by 8-5. In the next game, however,
they lost by a fifty point margin to a powerful Dax side, although they won
their final game, against the host club of Mugron, by 15-5.

the academic
year 1992-1993

The Information
Technology Centre was rehoused in M7, with brand new furniture, an ergonomic
table layout, and more than thirty computers, which were now networked to a
hard disk drive of some 160 Mb. I wonder what our grandfathers would have made
of the instruction, “It is now safe to turn off your Macintosh.”

the academic
year 1992-1993

A small
number of boys were released from rugby, and allowed to do climbing as their
Wednesday afternoon sport. This took place on the climbing wall on the side of
the Sports Hall, and allowed many boys to achieve Levels One and Two, with
Gavin Daw and Matthew Shale reaching Level Three.

Saturday, November
7th 1992

The
U-16 XV beat Welbeck College by 100-0. This seems to be one of the High
School’s largest ever winning margins.

Wednesday,
November 11th 1992

The new
Harry Djanogly Design Centre was opened by Chris Patten. The building had cost
£700,000, and, as its name implies, the majority of that sum was from the same
benefactor who had already given so much to finance the school’s new science
block. Other donations were from the Wolfson Foundation and the Friends of
Nottingham High School, as well as “a substantial contribution” from an
anonymous benefactor.

December 1992

Peter
Horril took early retirement through ill-health. He had rejoined the school in
1964, having already worked there from 1958-1962. During his career, he had
been Head of Mathematics and House Master of Coopers, and had performed the
school’s least envied task, namely that of drawing up the teaching timetable.
In his earlier years, Peter had been keenly involved in school rowing, and was
later to gain renown as an author of Maths textbooks.

Field Day,
Christmas Term 1992

Masterminded
by the English Department, and especially Les Wilkinson, a hundred and twenty
boys of the First Form re-enacted the sage of Hiawatha in the Founder Hall. The
play told the story of the native American tribes of the plains and mountains,
with six different groups of boys each producing a scene each. The performance
included tepees, a complete forest of trees, a large lake, and copious
quantities of warpaint and feathers.

Spring Term
1993

The
Doctor Rock concert raised a sum of just over £900, which was presented to the
Maplewell Hall School, who decided they would spend the money on outward bound
type activities for their pupils.

a forgotten day in a
forgotten Spring Term in the early 1990s

Every
year, what was then the Fifth Form used to go down to the Sewage Works at Stoke
Bardolph on Biology trips.

Prompted by his French teacher,
one of the cheekier members of the audience took advantage of the “Any Questions?”
section of the afternoon to ask the young female scientist just what had
attracted her to Sewage as a career. She was not in the slightest bit fazed.
“Well,” she said, “after leaving university, I initially spent a couple of
years teaching Biology in an all boys’ secondary school, and after that, I
thought that the next logical step would be Sewage.”

Saturday,
April 10th 1993

The
Senior Adventurous Training Group set off for North Wales, where, accompanied
by Martin Jones, Mark Cleverley and Brian Best, the group climbed the Glyders,
Carneddau and Snowdon.

a forgotten day in the
early 1990s

There
is an apocryphal, perhaps, story that a new teacher to the school interpreted
“Non-Uniform Day” as  “Fancy-Dress Day” and turned up for school in Highland
costume, complete with a kilt. In actual fact, he had no real problems whatsoever
at school until, at the end of the day, he had to go to catch his bus on
Mansfield Road. This necessitated an unforgiving walk through what was then
pretty much the red-light area of Nottingham. Things did not go quite so well
then.

after school, a forgotten
evening in the early 1990s

A six year old girl from the
P.N.E.U. School was introduced, with great solemnity, to Dr.Witcombe.
Misunderstanding slightly, but ever polite, she asked him about his job as the
“ringmaster”. What scope for Smart Alec replies came in those few seconds of
silence ! What opportunities for witty pronouncements ! Thank goodness, none of
them taken.

the last game
of the season, the early 1990s

In
football, the First Eleven lost a thrilling game by 4-5. The memory of the
coach, Stefan Krzeminski, is now, some twenty or so years later, a little hazy,
but he is certain that it was against a school somewhere out in the environs of
Newark-on-Trent.

What
made the match especially memorable, however, was that the opponents had a
young lady playing at right full back.

Wednesday, July
7th 1993

A group
of eight boys, accompanied by Martin Jones and Richard Willan, departed on
their World Challenge trip to Ecuador, where they visited Quito, the capital,
attempted unsuccesfully to climb Mount Tungauhura, walked along the Inca Trail
for three days, and spent several days in a rainforest.

the tennis
season, 1993

Marc
Powell represented Great Britain at Under-16 level in both Italy, Holland and
Germany, and was listed in fourth place in the national rankings. Kevin
Dhaliwal represented the Public Schools in their annual fixture against the
All-England Club, a match which they won for the first time since 1984.

just before 6
a.m.,Tuesday, August 31st 1993

Nathan
Duckworth, William Taylor and his father Bill set out from Thurso in an attempt
to “box the compass” on Britain’s rail network. This involves visiting the most
northern, southern, western and eastern railway stations in the shortest possible
time.

After
Thurso, they visited Arisaig (western), Lowestoft (eastern), and finally, after
many a slip, Penzance. Their final train was twelve minutes late, but
nevertheless, they had taken seventy-one minutes off the previous record of forty
hours five minutes.

1994

A brand
new organ was installed in the Assembly Hall. It was a large three manual
instrument, built by the Bradford Computer Organ Company. This new organ was
paid for largely by donations, notably from various parents and friends of the
school, especially Mr.Gordon Sztejer, without whose help its purchase would
have been financially impossible.

Spring Term
1994

Andrew
Preston won the M17 category at the British National Orienteering
Championships, becoming the school’s first ever national orienteering champion
in any age group. Following this, he was invited to participate in the British
U-21 tour of Norway.

Wednesday,
February 2nd 1994

The
Second Eleven, coached by John Knifton, defeated Bluecoat Second Eleven by six
goals to two. Having gone the whole of the previous season without a win, this
constituted their first victory in twenty-seven months. The goals came from
Steve Bennington, Mike Gurbutt, Adam Lawrence and James Redburn.

Saturday, April
2nd 1994

During Senior Adventurous Training in the Scottish
Highlands, two groups were

caught in a “white out” near the
summit of Ben Wyvis. As Jim Cook reached the group in front, they told him in a
state of total shock that Martin Jones and Eddie Deverill had just vanished
before their eyes. On looking down at the snow next to their feet, they
realised that there was a big bite sized gap in the snow, and that a large
crack had appeared between their feet. Messrs Jones and Deverill had fallen
vertically through a cornice on the cliff without having time to shout or
scream. Despite a fifty foot fall onto snow, they were both uninjured, but
nobody could see them. As their would-be rescuers escaped off the mountain to
get help, they later climbed a ridge and “bagged” the summit.

Monday, April
11th- Monday, April 18th 1994

The
Under-16 Cross Country team was invited to represent England in the
International Schools’ Federation Championships in Beijing, China. The races
were held over a distance of five kilometres in the National Botanical Gardens,
and the team finished eleventh out of sixteen.

May 1994

“The
Nottinghamian” printed what seems to have been a unique photograph. It showed
the Hockey First XI squad, all of whom had their backs to the camera. For ten
of the members, this was a reasonable position, as they all had their names on
the back of their shirts, just like professional ice hockey players. One
member, however, thought to be R.J.Milligan, had just a number 15 and no name,
and another, who is conceivably W.Parry, has a completely blank shirt, with
neither number nor name.

early July
1994

The
Classics Department took a group of boys to Housesteads to view Hadrian’s Wall.
For what may well have been the first time ever, a report of the trip appeared
in “The Nottinghamian” in Latin. It remains unclear just how many readers were
able to understand it.

the evening of
Bumper Fun Day 1994

The
First Year put on dramatic versions of two narrative poems. These were “The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”. Every single boy
in the whole of the year played a part in the evening.

the end of the summer term
1994

Stephen
Fairlie left the school after a marvellously creative few years as Director of
Music. He had been one of the co-founders of the Nottinghamshire Youth
Orchestra, and had written two musicals for the school, “Paul” and “Theseus”.
More important, though, Stephen was a lovely human being with the patience to
spend time with anybody. I shall personally always remember his idea that of
all things, we should treat with courtesy, kindness and respect everybody who is
different or who does not fit the accepted norms.

the end of the summer term
1994

Gordon
Wood retired after thirty years at the High School. He had taught Geography in
the Junior School, but had been most prominent as the Head of Economics, taking
over from A.N.S.”Stan” Thompson when the latter himself retired. Gordon was
also very involved in the C.C.F. and eventually became Contingent Commander. He
always had a great sense of humour, and was a very well-liked man.

I am sure that Gordon will have
long forgotten the fact that when the author of the present work was his
Assistant Form Master, he was the one who taught me how to keep a form
register, using a system of zeroes, and forward and backward slashes. Years
afterwards, I was to bid on ebay for an old school register from a school in
Lancashire in 1894. It used exactly the same system.

Friday, July
15th 1994

During
their visit to RAF Waddington under the command of Jim Cook, Marcus Coulam and
Martin Jones, some cadets from the C.C.F. misbehaved. As a punishment  for
their bad behaviour, they were made to clean the underside of the wings
of a gigantic Avro Vulcan bomber (3,554 square feet), using long brushes,
buckets and step ladders.

the summer of 1994

A no
doubt saddle sore Simon Williams achieved what he was later to describe as
“my greatest personal triumph” He cycled across Europe from Calais to
Hungary, taking in France, Switzerland and Austria. He battled over a number of
enormous Alpine passes in a journey which took almost ten days, and covered a
total of 1,109 miles. On his last two days, he managed 160 and 162 miles respectively.
The trip left Simon with an indelible impression in several different ways. He
achieved a top speed of 53 miles an hour downhill in the Alps, and cycled to
the very top of one particular pass at 2350 metres. His longest climb lasted
eighteen kilometres uphill.

the rugby
season 1994-1995

The 3rd
XV failed to win a single match during the course of the season. Despite the
fact that they were commendably keen and dedicated, every single game ended in
defeat, some by large margins, such as the 0-83 reverse against Rugby School.

the rugby
season 1994-1995

Playing
for the U-12 XV, Tom Morgan scored a total of sixteen tries during the course
of the season.

Christmas 1994

The
Dr.Rock Concert raised £865 to aid with the purchase of a spirometer for those
suffering with cystic fibrosis.

Wednesday, January
25th 1995

The
First XI football team beat Bluecoat School by 11-1, according to “The
Nottinghamian”, an “...exceptionally enjoyable result”. One of the team members
was Peter Campbell, who was to become a regular player for the Nottinghamshire
U-19 side.

Wednesday, February
8th 1995

The
school Senior Cross Country team, consisting of Oliver Edwards, Andrew Preston,
Ben Trapnell and Matthew Wilson won the Sutton Coldfield Road Relay, beating
some of the top schools in the country.

Wednesday, February
15th 1995

The
Second XI football team drew 5-5 with Becket School. As far as can be traced,
this is the highest scoring draw by a school football team in the modern era.
On this occasion, the referee had the good sense to blow the final whistle
slightly early, thereby preventing either side from losing what had been a
splendid game of football.

the Easter
Holidays 1995

The
National Concert Band Festival was held at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester. The School Big Band played “Born to Bop”, with a fine solo on
guitar by Matthew McGeever, and further solos from James Marshall, and Matthew
Parry and Simon Parry. For their performance, they received the Gold Award,
with the School Concert Band subsequently receiving a Silver Award.

Sports Day,
April 1995

Three
boys achieved a hat-trick by winning three separate events in their age group.
They were Richard Brindle (U-15), Andrew Turner (U-15) and Simon Strange
(U-13). Later in the year, Andrew Turner was to finish in sixth position in the
National English Schools’ Championships, held this year at Harvey Haddon
Stadium.

May 1995

The
Governors appointed Christopher Parker to succeed Dennis Witcombe when he
retired in September 1995. Mr.Parker had graduated from Bristol University with
a degree in Geography, and had done his P.G.C.E. at Cambridge University. He
taught initially at Bedford Modern School, before becoming Head of the
Geography Department at Bradford Grammar School at the very early age of only twenty-five.
He was then promoted to be Deputy Head of Goffs School in Hertfordshire, before
becoming Head of Batley Grammar School in 1986. Three years later, Mr.Parker
was invited to join the Headmasters’ Conference, bringing with it full public
school status for his school.

As well
as Geography, Mr.Parker was a distinguished 1st XV coach at both Bradford and
Bedford, where his team won the Rosslyn Sevens, and at Batley, he was a keen
supporter of their soccer teams. Away from school, as a member of an H.M.C.
Working Party, he strongly favoured the Government’s Assisted Places Scheme,
and was also a member of the Admiralty Interview Board, selecting potential
officers for the Royal Navy. In this guise, he was featured on BBC2’s
“Situations Vacant”.

Friday, May
19th 1995

Sir
Bernard Ingham visited the Politics Society. Other speakers during the course
of the year included members of the Natural Law Party, Lord Longford, Matthew
Parris and Kate Adie.

Saturday, June
17th 1995

Playing
against Forest Amateurs, Richard Nicholson scored 129 not out. During the
course of the season, he was to score 545 runs, at an average of 60.56.

Sunday, July
7th 1995

The
Community Action Group took a group of pensioners on a mystery trip. As in all
previous years, the bus went to Oxton Village Hall, but nobody actually seemed
to notice as they were all very busy eating, drinking, talking and playing
bingo. A good time was had by all, even Jon Healy, Andrew Hesselden and Matthew
Shale, the Sixth Formers who did all the washing up.

July 1995

Three
important members of the domestic staff left the school. They included Jenny
Cooper, who, having served in the tuckshop, had possibly sold more Mars bars
than anyone in the history of the school. Beryl Edson had worked in the General
Office for many years, and Rosey Upton, with her Risograph machine, had printed
literally millions of worksheets during her time in the Reprographics
Department.

July 1995

Dennis
Witcombe retired after twenty-five years as Headmaster of the High School.
Throughout these years, he had given enormous support to a wide range of school
activities, from 1st XV Rugby to Music, Drama, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme,
and a whole host of other activities. He was responsible for a number of
building initiatives, such as the new Preparatory School, the Science Block,
the Design Technology Block and the Sports Hall, although surely to every boy
and to every parent, the most abiding memory will be his almost legendary
handwriting.

July 1995

In the
Physics Olympiad, Chris Biggs was placed in the top forty-five candidates
nationally, and won a Silver Award.

6.30 a.m.,
Monday, July 17th 1995

Sergeant
Dana Faratian was roused from sleep to begin his day at R.A.F.Wittering, where
“despite being meant to be on holiday, I was shouted at for having my hands in
my pockets, for not wearing my beret, for not having the badge on my beret
exactly over my left eye...”.  Advantages to life in the R.A.F. however, were
three cooked meals a day, and visits by the Red Arrows, the Battle of Britain
Memorial Flight, and a simulated attack on the airfield by all of the station’s
Hawker Harriers.

Thursday, July
20th 1995

During
the World Challenge expedition to Tanzania, the party, led by Jim Cook, Martin
Jones and Richard Willan was camping in small tents close to the volcano Ol
Doinyo Lengai. They were accompanied by four Masai guides, who, on one
occasion, stayed up talking by the fire for the whole night. In the morning it
was discovered that a man had recently been killed by a lion very close to the
site where they were now camping.

The
party, of course, were never in any danger, as they were armed…with an antique
single shot Martini-Henry rifle, a weapon certainly capable of dealing with a
simultaneous attack by five or six hungry lionesses.

August 1995

In his
Art A-level, Henry Nwume achieved one of the top five marks in the country. He
received full congratulations from the Associated examining Board.

Friday, August
18th 1995

As part
of the World Challenge expedition to Tanzania, the members of the school party climbed
Mount Kilimanjaro. Jim
Cook, Martin Jones, Richard Willan and some twenty boys reached the ice cliffs
on the summit crater at 6.30 in the morning, at a height of some 19,341ft above
sea level.  They were able to watch the sun rise over the curved African plain
below. It was a truly unforgettable experience for all of them.

As well
as mountaineering, the group visited numerous wildlife sites, and helped with
building work at Msufini High School, where, in keeping with school tradition,
they lost the commemorative football match against Msufini Sixth Form by 1-3.

Friday, September
1st 1995

Mr.Parker
began his first term as the new Headmaster of the High School.

the academic
year 1995-1996

The
Climbing Club went from strength to strength. Tom de Gay and Tim Marsh both
reached their Level 3 Proficiency Award within their first year of joining the
club.

Sunday,
September 24th 1995

The
eleventh annual David Leicester Memorial Walk took place. It covered twenty-five
miles along the Shropshire Way, and participants included boys, staff, Old
Boys, and members of David’s family. During the previous year, over £1,000 had
been donated from the fund to help various members of the school to finance
adventurous training activities.

the rugby
season 1995-1996

The 3rd
XV, in only nine matches, used a record total of thirty-five players. These
included Olly Nickalls, whom “The Nottinghamian” described as “...the team’s
silent leopard”.

the rugby
season 1995-1996

The
Under 13 XV, coached by Tim Dibdin and David Talbot, won every one of its fourteen
matches, scoring 553 points, and conceding only fifty.

October 1995

The
Concert Band, Big Band and Chamber Choir, a total of some seventy-two High
School musicians, visited Venice in Italy. They gave six performances in
various venues around the city, including one memorable evening when the
Chamber Choir sang in St.Mark’s Cathedral.

Wednesday, October
4th 1995

Accompanied
by Ken Clayton and Jim Cook, the 3rd XV were away to Rugby School for the first
time ever. Everybody was extremely apprehensive, and with very good reason.
Their coach was also the match referee, and after each score he kept shouting
loudly “Come on, let’s get to a hundred !! ”. The High School, however,
defended the last ten minutes magnificently. The final score was Rugby School
99 Nottingham High School 3rd XV 0.

Friday,
October 27th 1995

A party
of eight Year 11 and Year 12 pupils, accompanied by Messrs Cook, Corbould,
Jones and Rood, embarked on their journey to the Lake District. They climbed a
number of mountains, including Kirk Fell, Looking Stead, Scoat Fell, Red Pike,
Yewbarrow and Scafell Pike.

March 1996

Alistair
Footitt represented England in Germany against five other orienteering teams. Alistair
finished in fifth position, and was the fastest British runner.

the Easter
Holidays 1996

Forty
children from Forest Fields Primary School, seven Notts County footballers,
fifteen Sixth Formers and Malcolm Saperia all assembled at Valley Road playing
fields for a football coaching session. It was so successful that children from
Berridge Road Juniors were able to have their own coaching session there in
June.

the first Wednesday
of the cricket season, 1996

In
their traditional fixture against the school, the M.C.C. scored the extremely
high total of 273-4. In reply, however, the 1st XI were able to win the game,
thanks to a magnificent innings of 133 not out from Keith Tate, ably assisted
by 59 from Andrew Parker and a typically cavalier 36 from James Hartley. Keith’s
innings was rightly judged to be the best of the season, and in recognition of
this, he was awarded a commemorative bat, and a miniature replica bat, signed
by past and present England captains.

the cricket
season 1996

The
Under 14 XI, coached by Roger Benson and Simon Turrill, and captained by Andrew
Saxton, won thirteen of their fourteen matches. Highlights included their
dismissal of a previously unbeaten Macclesfield side for only 32 runs, and an
astonishing victory over Trinity School, Aspley, when the team scored 272-3 off
35 overs, with Richard Pilgrim and Paul Riley achieving a partnership of 206
runs in 26 overs. Trinity were then dismissed for 32 all out, clinching a
victory by 240 runs. The main batsmen in the side were the openers, Gary Middleton
and Paul Riley, ably assisted by Richard Pilgrim and Andrew Saxton. The best
bowlers were usually Lamin Marenah, Gary Middleton, Vaqaas Mohbat, and Paul
Riley, and Tom Shacklock was an excellent wicketkeeper.

the cricket
season 1996

The
Under 12 XI, coached by Leigh Corbould and Kevin Weaver, won eight of their
nine matches, despite the relatively high total of some twenty-five players
used in the team.

April 1996

The
A-Level Politics set visited the House of Commons, where they were able to
watch Michael Heseltine and John Prescott “...exchange rapid fire for twenty
minutes on a variety of topics.”  Unfortunately, both John Major and Tony Blair
were absent from the house, as they were busy welcoming Nelson Mandela, who was
in the country on a state visit. Other politicians that the group did manage to
see included Geoffrey Archer, Tony Banks, and Roy Hattersley.

April 1996

Andrew
Parker, the captain of the Hockey 1st XI, was chosen to represent Wales in the
Under-18 Home Countries Tournament. Later in the year, he was to appear for the
Wales Under-21 side.

Wednesday, May
15th 1996

The
Summer Concert took place in the Albert Hall. For perhaps the first time ever,
a pupil, Ben Sanders was allowed to review a school event of this type in “The
Nottinghamian”. While he thought that “Charles Bain was brilliant singing on
his own”, and that, in “Playful Pizzicato”, “...the plucking of strings was
brilliant”, Ben was also allowed to venture the opinion that “...the Chamber Choir
came on...I didn’t like it…”, and the rather heretical “I’m not really fond of
church choirs”, and “I didn’t enjoy this, as I’m not a real fan of classical
music”.

Wednesday, June
19th 1996

The 3rd
XI, alias “The Cluniacs”, played a fixture against High Pavement, who reached
92-8, with eight different bowlers each taking a wicket. “The Cluniacs”
eventually won by nine wickets.

the start of
July 1996

Members
of the Community Action group spent two days at Alton Towers with thirty
children aged between eight and eleven years of age. The most popular rides
were Nemesis, and the Bouncy Castle, although it remains unclear which group
preferred which activity.

July 1996

The
Under 14 XI won the County Cup at Trent Bridge, dismissing West Bridgford
School for just ninety-one runs, and reaching a winning total in only twenty-one
overs.

July 1996

In the
National Final of the Intel sponsored Chess Challenge, held at Nottingham
County Hall, Rajesh Reddy held out for fifty moves, lasting for just over three
hours, against Nigel Short, a World Championship contender.

July
1996

The
highlight of the tennis season is the Independent Schools’ Tennis Association
Championships which are held at Eton College.  The standard is always high
with around fifty schools competing. Many competitors, including Tim Henman,
have gone on to play at Wimbledon. This year, the High School, coached by
Malcolm Saperia, won the Thomas Bowl for Under-15s, when the trophy was lifted by
Jeremy Smith and Marc Powell.  The latter is now in charge of tennis at
Culford School and still brings his own teams to the annual competitions.

Monday, August
5th 1996

Edward
Brentnall, Russell Coxon, Leigh Jepson, Andrew Moore, Jonathan Polnay and Alex
Sweeney left Nottinghham en route for the Alps. There, with the help of Will
Hurford, a former member of staff who now ran his own mountaineering course in
the French Alps, they succeeded in reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, the
highest peak in Europe.

winter term
1996

In the
National Simultaneous Pairs Bridge Competition, Mark Goddard and Rowan Temple
finished in a very impressive eighth position. Earlier in the season, before a
series of lectures from Tony Neale of the Nottingham Bridge Club, the Team of
Eight had lost heavily in every single game.

September 1996

Andrew
Preston became the school’s first ever Orienteering international, when he ran
in Northern Ireland, finishing second in the Junior Home International. Later
in the year, which was his third as a member of the British Junior Squad, he
was to finish fourth in the British Championship, and to visit Scandinavia
twice with the U-19 tour.

October 1996

The
school’s Team of Four, in the persons of Robin Blaney, Mark Goddard, Naveen
Kachroo and Adam Polnay, won the Midlands Open Team of Four Bridge Championship
for Schools.

Wednesday, October
16th 1996

The
Second XI opened their season on an unprecedented high, winning by an amazing ten
goals to one against Bilborough College. This was just the first of a grand
total of three victories in the season, in one of which, the goalkeeper, Sachin
Gajree, saved a penalty, the first time that this had happened for many a year.

Monday, November
11th 1996

Thanks
to the new Headmaster, Chris Parker, who had spotted a number of

discrepancies between the names on
the school’s Rolls of Honour, and those on the War Memorial, a total of five
names was added to the inscription on the statue at the front of the school.

These
were...

H.A.Johnstone                        died
May 21st 1918

J.G.Johnstone              died
of wounds, May 1922

F.Parry                                    died
of wounds, 1918

A.Riddle                     killed
March 24th 1918

H.F.Senior                   died
of wounds, April 13th 1918

November 1996

The 3rd
XV lost so many players to an injury hit 2nd XV that they were forced to field
a side of only thirteen individuals. They lost by a narrow margin.

November 1996

The
whole of Year 8 entered the Junior Mathematical Challenge. They won 22 gold, 32
silver and 29 bronze awards. Steven Dyke was first in the school by some
considerable margin, and on the basis of this was invited to take part in the
Junior Mathematical Olympiad, where he won a bronze medal.

mid-November
1996

In the
British Schools Orienteering Championships, held in Pitlochry, Scotland,
Alistair Footitt won M16, and was selected to represent the United Kingdom
Schools in the World Orienteering Championships in Italy. In addition, Tim
Blaney finished in a very creditable third position in M13.

December 1996

Work
began on demolishing the old Music School, in order to build a better one. The
old Music School had, of course, started out in life as a dining room.

December 1996

In the
Intermediate Mathematics Challenge, Jeremy Young scored full marks, one of the
only two entrants in the whole United Kingdom to do this. He was then invited
to participate in the International Intermediate Invitational Mathematics
Challenge, where he again scored full marks, the only contestant to do so.

December 1996

“The
Nottinghamian” published a number of “haiku” about the various seasons.
Alexander Smith wrote of autumn...

Nature sheds its leaves,

Ready to rest before,

It dresses again.

and Tim Pickin wrote about winter

The trees are empty

skeletons standing alone

in fields of snow.

Robert Horabin described spring as

Slowly melting ice

In the Spring’s warmer air

Winter’s wrath has gone.

Anthony Rawlins was slightly less
optimistic about the English summer...

The sweltering heat

this wonderful weather

it won’t last for long.

Wednesday, March
12th 1997

The
Second Eleven, with a playing record up to this point of

P7
W0      D0      L7      F10      A28

played their last football game of
a catastrophic season against High Pavement College.

They duly
won by two goals to one, the winning goal coming from Giles Ball, after an
intricate build up involving three accurate passes.

April 1997

The
Politics Society was entertained by Ian Hislop, the editor of “Private Eye”
magazine, and a team captain in the satirical TV show “Have I Got News For You”.
The demand to see this nationally known personality was so great that tickets
had to be printed for the meeting, creating for the first and possibly last
time, a black market in clandestine ticket sales.

the cricket
season, 1997

The
Under 13 XI, coached by David Talbot, won ten of its eleven matches. The main
batsmen were Messrs Bratley, Davies, Foster, Sargent, Seaton and Tew, and
Wright was a competent wicketkeeper. The best bowlers were the fast bowlers
Foster, Karim, and Sood, the spinners, Bratley and Cardwell, and the seamers,
Sargent, Seaton and Zaki.

the cricket
season, 1997

The 3rd
XI, under the ægis of Colin Sedgewick, and now officially christened “The
Cluniacs”, played only three matches during the whole season. They won just one
of them, the game against High Pavement, in which Stefan Flannery scored forty
runs, and Geoff Oxendale took four wickets for just five runs.

Saturday, May
10th and Sunday, May 11th 1997

Almost two
hundred High School boys participated in the Notts AAA Championships held at
Harvey Hadden Stadium. In total, they won eighteen gold medals, and a large
number of silvers and bronzes, a feat which enabled the school to accumulate a
massive number of points, and thereby win every single age group of the
competition by a large margin.

the day of the
General Election 1997

Alistair
Footitt left for Italy to represent the United Kingdom in the World Schools’
Orienteering Championships. Individually, he finished in fifth position, and,
overall, the British Team won the competition. Alistair thereby became the
first High School boy to win a Gold Medal at world level since Frederick
Chapman won a Gold Medal for Association Football in the Olympic games of 1908.

June 1997

Having
already won the County Championship in the Intermediate 100 Metres Hurdles,
Andrew Turner competed at national level in the English Schools Championship.
He won the event in a new school record time of 12.98 seconds, and received a
gold medal. The following week, he ran for England in an international match
against Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Thursday, June
26th 1997

The
Junior Maths Club, led by Roger Kilby and Kevin Weaver, visited Green’s
Windmill in Sneinton, enjoying a number of mathematical puzzles, and the
impressive plasma ball.

around 2.10
p.m., Friday, June 27th 1997

The
coach, driven by John Hayes, departed on the Latin Year 10 trip to Hadrian’s
Wall. The boys spent a weekend based in Otterburn Hall, and visited Housesteads
and Vindolanda, spending their time not just in museums, but also in walking
along the wall itself. They returned to Nottingham via Chester, where they were
able to visit the cavalry fort and the bathhouse.

July 1997

Cooper’s
House, encouraged by Martin Jones, raised no less than £2,700 to help in the
fight against Multiple Sclerosis. The following year, they were to excel themselves
by collecting some £4,000, of which £2,500 was donated to the Play Centre at
Sherwood, for disabled children and their families, and £1,500 went to the
Hunter Trust, which provides educational opportunities for poor children in
Malawi.

July 1997

Chris
Curtis retired after thirty-three years at the High School. He had taught
Classics, as well as being Head of the Lower School for many years, and had in
fact, been the first ever Chairman of the Staff Common Room Committee. Chris
took many Classics trips, both in this country and abroad, but one of his more
unique claims to fame must surely be his twenty-five years of rugby coaching,
mainly with the U-12 XV.

July 1997

Ian
Parker retired after thirty-nine years at the High School, much of it either as
Head of Physics or Head of Science. He was responsible for the initiative to
take the science classrooms and laboratories out of the Main School, and house
them in a separate, purpose built Science Block.  Most boys, however, will
remember Ian as the teacher who played the organ in assembly, or, in the case
of the older ones, perhaps, as the person in charge of Cross Country and
Athletics, and then in later years, Shooting.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Thirty One :

The Thoughts of Chairman Parker”.

July 1997

Allan
Sparrow retired after eighteen years at the High School, much of it as Head of
the History Department. He was a keen photographer, and was also in charge of
school swimming for many years, despite the fact that he himself could not
actually swim. Allan was an extremely academic man, with a keen and analytical
mind, whose opinion was often sought, and always respected.

August 1997

The
High School’s World Challenge team, accompanied by Jim Cook, Martin Jones and
Richard Willan, visited Sulawesi in Indonesia. In the village of Wasu, they
played a football match against the locals. The team was Mitchell : Bravant,
Johnston, Lauder, Nickalls :  Hands, Rogers, Pratt : Raven, Excel, Bilkhu.
Aided, no doubt, by the presence of an Indonesian guest player at centre
forward, the High School team, keeping up the school’s fine traditions in this
most global of sports, won by a heart stopping 7-6.

Monday
September 15th - Wednesday, September 17th 1997

Having
won the East Midlands heat a few months previously, Marek Nelken participated
in the National Finals of the Young Engineer of the Year contest. He met
various TV personalities, including Carol Vorderman, Johnny Ball, Trevor
Bayliss, Kate Bellingham, Bob Symes and Vivienne Parry, and was judged the Best
User of Computer Technology, winning the IBM Prize.

October 1997

The
school bridge team finished second in the Team of 4 event at Rushcliffe. The
team consisted of Mark Goddard, Naveen Kachroo, Graham Nelson and Rowan Temple.
They almost won, but were pipped into second place by a team containing their
own bridge teacher, Mary Mills.

November 1997

In
swimming, the Under-14 team won the regional finals to qualify for the Bazuka
National Finals in Wolverhampton. In the latter event, Paul Webster of Year 9
was to win two silver medals.

early November
1997

A
number of school orienteering teams participated in the British Schools’
Championships held near Winchester. The Year 7 team of Matthew Forester, David
Simner and Tom Wilson won the M11 age class, and Alistair Footitt won his age
class for the fourth consecutive year. A mixed team of Year 7 and Year 8 boys,
namely Tim Bagguley, Martin Cox and James Seddon won the M12 age class, and,
despite the fact that they already carried a built in handicap by not being
able to field mixed teams, the school finished in their best ever overall
position of third in the country.

Wednesday, November
19th 1997

Lady
Carol Djanogly performed the opening ceremony for the new Lady Carol Djanogly
Music School. The building, which had taken only ten months to complete,
contained a recital hall for a hundred and fifty musicians, ten specialist
practice rooms, a percussion studio, and a music technology laboratory which
offered an 8-track direct-to-disc digital recording facility.

Wednesday, December
10th 1997

The
First XI, coached by Stefan Krzeminski, played Trent College at football. This
fixture was a very long standing one, and dates from December 17th 1870, when
the High School won the first ever match, in Long Eaton, by 3-0. The two teams
had not met since the match at Trent College on November 27th 1889, when the
High School triumphed by 5-4 in a closely fought game. A return fixture in
Nottingham was offered to Trent College, but they refused it, according to the
school magazine, “… making a very paltry protest against our playing four
masters, while they only played three…..the probable cause being that they were
afraid of a beating.”

Fortunately
feelings on both sides had calmed down somewhat in the intervening one hundred
and nine years, and, this time, the High School won a very sporting encounter
by two goals to one.

Friday,
December 12th 1997

The
Politics Society was addressed by Anne Widdicombe, the shadow spokesperson on
Health, and the most entertaining speaker of the year, although this was only
by a very narrow winner over Neil and Christine Hamilton, who had recently
appeared on television in the satirical quiz show,  “Have I Got News For You ”.

Sports Day
1998

Koby
Gyasi won the Under-15 hundred metres in a new school record time of 11.39
seconds. Later in the year, he was to compete in this event at national level
in the England Schools Athletic Championships, where he finished seventh.

7.30 a.m., Wednesday,
April 15th 1998

Eleven
pupils from Years 10 and 11, accompanied by Alison Griffin and Grahame
Whitehead, left on the German Exchange to Gilching near Munich. They visited
monasteries and breweries, Neuschwanstein Castle, the local Springtime
Festival, and watched Munich 1860 play Hertha Berlin in an exciting Bundesliga
relegation battle.

May 1998

Tim
Blaney and Stephen Wright both went to Latvia to represent Great Britain in the
World Schools’ Orienteering Championships. It was a very difficult course, made
up of dense woodland and sand dunes, but Tim Blaney was the first British runner
to finish.

Tuesday, May
5th 1998

The
High School’s proposed “partnership” scheme with the Shepherd School was one of
only forty-seven from nearly three hundred applications to be approved by the
government. It would involve the establishment of a video conferencing facility
so that staff and pupils at both schools could communicate easily for planning
and conducting meetings. In addition, members of Years 10 and 11 from the
School Community Action Group would spend time working with children of their own
age at the Shepherd School, something which it was hoped they would find both
challenging and enriching.

Saturday, May
9th 1998

The
High School History Department, under the leadership of Matthew Bartlett, took
a trip to the Heritage Motor Museum, just one of their many weekend days out
during the course of the year. Boys were able to learn not just about the
history of the car, but also to have a session on the Land Rover Test Circuit,
and to try out some Quad Biking, before moving on to view Blenheim Palace.

Sunday, May
10th 1998

The
Senior Swimming Team, consisting of Chris Douglas, Richard Green, Bruce Lauder,
Neil Pallender and Paul Webster competed in an Invitation Gala held at
St.Paul’s School, London. They finished second equal with the City of London
Freeman’s School, beaten only by an Irish school, Campbell College. This was
the high point in what was probably the best ever year in the history of school
swimming.

Tuesday, May 19th
1998

The
Year 9 Latin pupils went to visit Lunt Fort in Coventry, to see how the Roman
army operated. They were able to try on Roman armour, and to have mock fights
with Roman weapons.

the cricket
season 1998

The
Under-14 XI won all eleven of their matches. The side’s first five batsmen were
usually Karim, Sargent, Sood, Seaton and Davies, with the middle order usually
drawn from Bratley, Foster, Middleton, Morris or Perkins. Tew, Wright and
Cardwell then frequently provided a sting in the tale.

the tennis
season 1998

James
Armstrong and Tom Day reached the last eight of the Public Schools’ Tennis
Championships.

the end of the
Summer Term 1998

Marcus
Coulam left the R.A.F. section of the C.C.F. after twenty-eight years’ service,
six of which he had spent in charge of the entire C.C.F. as a whole.

the end of the
Summer Term 1998

John
Wood left the school after seventeen years as a Mathematics teacher, six of
them as Head of Department. In this latter capacity, he was the inventor of the
Departmental Handbook, and was responsible for a number of other important initiatives,
particularly in the field of Information Technology. Outside the classroom, he
devoted much time to Careers Advice, school music, Duke of Edinburgh
expeditions, and school cricket, as well as running a Sixth Form General
Studies Geology course.

Thursday, July
9th 1998

The
Under-14 XI won the County Cup, defeating Rushcliffe by a narrow margin in the
final held at Trent Bridge.

July 1998

Three
different pupils took part in academic Olympiads. Tim Richards represented
Great Britain in the 29th Physics Olympiad held in Reykjavik, Iceland, and came
third in the British team, which was 96th out of 350. Robert Wilson
participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Melbourne, Australia,
achieving a position of 71st out of 200, and receiving a bronze medal for his
score of 78%. Although a year under age, Jeremy Young went to the 39th
Mathematical Olympiad, held in Taiwan, and won a bronze medal, finishing second
in the British team. This was the first time that any school in the country had
had three pupils participating in International Olympiads at the same time.

the England
Schools Athletic Championships 1998

During
the course of the season, Andrew Turner had broken school records at 100 metres
(11.1 seconds), 200 metres (22.7 seconds), 110 metres hurdles (14.24 seconds),
and long jump (6.93 metres). Competing at national level in the Under-20 110
metres Hurdles, he won a bronze medal.

the England
Schools Athletic Championships 1998

Already
the Nottinghamshire County Champion, Oladipo Senbanjo came fifth at national
level in the Under-17 Triple Jump.

Sunday, July
12th 1998

The
First XI played against the XL Club, who set them a victory target of 235,
Roger Kitching taking three wickets for forty-four runs. The High School won by
five wickets, after a partnership between James Hartley (63), and James
Shacklock, who scored the first century of his First XI career.

late July 1998

A party
of thirty-two boys, sixteen staff and two Old Boys went to the annual camp at
Bala, in Wales. They were able to enjoy canoeing, rock climbing, orienteering,
and pony trekking

summer 1998

Simon
King was one of only ten people nationally to be selected as Earthwatch Fellows
in the ARCO Young Scientist of the Year Award. This enabled him to carry out
his project on volcanoes in Iceland, visiting Skaftafell National Park in
Iceland.

August 1998

In the
U-14 events, Paul Webster finished in fourth position in the 200 Metres
Butterfly in the National Age Group Swimming Finals at Leeds. Kevin O’Loughlin,
in the U-13s, came sixth in both the 100 metres and the 200 metres.

Friday, August
27th 1998

Alan
Wheelhouse died after a long illness. He had been at the High School as a pupil
from 1945-1953, and was both a Committee Member and President of the Old
Nottinghamians’ Society in 1981. From 1988 onwards, he was a Governor of the
School, and Chairman of the School Committee. In the words of “The
Nottinghamian”, “....many of the recent improvements in the school owe much to
his hard work, and future generations will benefit from his energy and
foresight.”

Monday, September
21st 1998

Roger
Kilby, Head of Mathematics, watched Jeremy Young and the rest of the United
Kingdom International Mathematical Olympiad team being presented with their
medals at the Royal Society in London.

October 1998

National
Bag and Back Campaign Week proved to the boys, if, indeed, they needed it, that
they were being asked to carry too many books, and to transport almost
dangerous weights of homework around the county.

October
8th-17th 1998

Eleven
pupils from the Christoph-Probst Gymnasium in Gilching near Munich visited the
school as part of the German Exchange. They enjoyed a full programme of visits
and activities, including trips to Warwick Castle and Cadbury World.

October
22nd-28th 1998

Messrs
Bird, Douglas, Spedding and Streets, and forty boys from Year 9 upwards,
enjoyed the Classics Trip to Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri.

Sunday,
November 15th 1998

In the
British Schools’ Orienteering Championships, Tim Bagguley, Tim Blaney, Matthew
Winser and Stephen Wright all achieved top ten positions in the face of over 1,400
competitors. Tim Bagguley, James Seddon and Tom Wilson won the Year 8
Championship, and Tim Blaney, Matthew Winser and Stephen Wright won the Year 11
Championship. No other school had ever won a trophy for the second time, but
the High School were winning the Year 8 Championship for the second time, and
Year 11 Championship for the third time. Earlier in the year, on October
31st-November 1st, Stephen Wright had won the M16 Class of the British Night
Championship, with Tim Blaney in second place.

December 1998

“The
Nottinghamian” continued to publish poetry from the boys. This particular
example, from Edward Aram of Year 7, was no doubt inspired by the hit cinema
film of the day...

The Titanic with her mighty funnels,

Has set sail from Southampton’s great water,

That would soon rush over her gunwales,

And then kill the poet’s favourite daughter.

Titanic flew straight across the ocean,

Her many passengers joyful with glee,

But not one would have the slightest notion,

That she would sink to the bed of the sea.

But sadly that night came the fateful sight,

From the head of the water poked up ice !

Many people would drown that awful night,

And force designer Andrews to think twice.

Oh that horrid night when the death count grew,

And little survived, not even the crew.”

an unrecorded,
damp and misty afternoon in late 1998

The
First Eleven, coached by Stefan Krzeminski, played their County Cup semi-final
against Christ the King School, Arnold, using facilities kindly provided by
High Pavement College. Leading by three goals to two, with just a few minutes
left, Christ the King brought on their fourth substitute, in an effort to
counter the First Eleven’s continuing attacks in search of a third equaliser. A
fourth substitute, however, by the rules of the competition, was not allowed
and a written protest was duly made.

After
lengthy deliberations by the Nottinghamshire Schools’ F.A., and the English
Schools’ F.A. the officers of the Nottinghamshire Schools’ F.A decided that
“although there had been a technical offence, in the spirit of schools’
football, the original decision and result should be allowed to stand.”

Wednesday, December
2nd 1998

Forty
Year 10 boys went to the Carlton TV studios to watch the recording of “Mad for
It”, a children’s TV programme. Six boys were competitors, and eventually Tom
Fletcher of 10S was selected to go on a “Blind Date” type holiday at EuroDisney
in Paris.

Wednesday, December
9th 1998

The 3rd
XV, coached by Ken Clayton and Jim Cook, played their final game of the season
away against Hall Cross School, Doncaster.
They changed in a freezing, empty gym, played on a public park, apparently
frequented by all the local dogs, and the referee was wearing a full all-white
1972 Leeds United kit. The opposition contained a
large number of their 1st XV players, who had all been dropped down to their
third team for some mysterious reason. At the first scrum our hooker
shouted “Don’t punch !! ”. Immediately, their entire pack adopted a tea-pot
stance and mimicked in an upper class accent “Oooh .. downt panch”. The 3rd XV’s only consolation was to be allowed to use the
girls’ showers afterwards to wash the blood off. In actual fact, the team had
used a record total of some forty different players during the course of the
season.

Sunday, December
13th 1998

The
High School featured prominently in the “Mail on Sunday” colour magazine. This
tabloid interest came as a result of the political successes of Old Nottinghamians,
Kenneth Clarke, Geoff Hoon, Ed Balls and Edward Davey.

Wednesday,
December 16th 1998

The
school carol service took place at All Saints’ Church in Raleigh Street. It
featured the Chamber Choir singing a selection of carols.

the late 1990s

Making
the very first of what were to be several appearances on Channel Four’s popular
word game, “Countdown”, Stanley Ward, the school’s ex-Deputy Head from
1969-1981, asked the sexy, the luscious, but above all, the very brainy, Carol
Vordemann, for his first ever letters.

Amazingly,
the first three turned out to be D, T and W, the initials, of course, of Dennis
Trevor Witcombe, who had been the Headmaster from 1970-1995, and who, in terms
of dates, overlapped Stanley’s tenure of the office of Deputy Headmaster almost
perfectly.

Spring Term
1999

A
revival of Ancient Greek began when Murray Streets started to coach a small
group of volunteers during the lunch hour. The aim was that eventually, they
would be able to work towards an A/S Level qualification during their General
Studies time in the Sixth Form.

Sunday, March
21st 1999

In the
Zone Final of “The Times” British Schools Chess Championship, the school lost
only on age difference after a 3-3 draw. Their opponents, Oakham School had the
World U-18 Champion on Board 1, and his twin brother, an English international,
on Board 2. Their Board 3 player was on a chess scholarship to the school, and
World Champion, Gary Kasparov had already selected him as one of the most
exciting prospects in Russia.

Easter 1999

The very last Adventurous
Training in Scotland took place this year. The school was unable to continue
visiting the Highlands because of the very strict criteria governing the
qualifications of group leaders. The boys and staff who were able to benefit
from these trips throughout the 1980s and 1990s should consider themselves
extremely fortunate.

Friday, April
23rd 1999

In a
wonderful honour for the High School, Headmaster Chris Parker was named a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
List for his “services to education”, notably his rôle as Chairman of the
Government’s Advisory Group on Independent / State School Partnerships.

May
1999

For
decades, dissecting rats was a mainstay of practical examinations in Biology.
Jim Cook used to collect freshly killed rats from the Boots Laboratories in
Pennyfoot Street in the middle of Nottingham.

On
one hot day in May, he rushed down to collect an enormously heavy bag of
rodents for that day’s exam. As he struggled into the Prep Room, the bag
inexplicably ripped open, to spill a huge pile of pristine white rats on the
floor.

The
reason suddenly became clear as one rat suddenly looked up and then made a dash
behind the fridge. Obviously, Super Rat had chewed his way out of the heavy
duty bag.

Kim,
the technician, and Jim Cook, were none too keen to drag the great escaper from
his new den.

May 1999

Brian
Best retired after more than seventeen years at the High School. At various
times he had helped with audio-visual resources and run a car maintenance
course, but most of all, Brian had been an invaluable member of the C.C.F. More
than a thousand cadets were thought to have had direct contact with Brian, and
he had attended all of the twice yearly field days, annual adventurous training
and the annual Central CCF camps.

Brian
was a “real character”, and was always extremely popular with the boys, a very
large number of whom would call in to see him, if they ever revisited their old
school.

Wednesday, May
9th 1999

The school
received a Sportsmark Award from the Sport England organisation, in respect of
the quality of their physical education and sports provision. It was accepted
on behalf of the school by Clem Lee and Martin Smith.

Thursday, May
13th, and Friday, May 14th 1999

The
senior swimming team, consisting of Leighton Cardwell, Chris Douglas, Richard
Green, Kevin O’Loughlin, Neil Pallender and Paul Webster, became UK National
Swimming Champions, beating Robert Gordon’s College of Aberdeen and Campbell
College from Ulster, into second and third places respectively.

Tuesday, May
19th 1999

Non-uniform
Day raised a grand total of £1,600 for the Kosovo Refugee Appeal.

June 1999

The
High School Fencing Team finished third in the Stratford Foil (Public School’s)
Competition.

June 1999

Paul
Webster (Year 10) won six events at the ASA Midland District Championships.
They were the 100m and 200m Butterfly, the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500 m
freestyle. He also came second in the 400 m Individual Medley.

Thursday, June
17th 1999

At the
Independent and Prep School Relays Finals, held at Bromsgrove Dolphin Centre, a
High School team of twelve and thirteen year olds won the 4 x 50 metres
freestyle event. They were Tim Bagguley, Tom Griffin, John-Claude Hesketh and
Kevin O’Loughlin, and they broke the national record by more than two seconds.
In the 4 x 25 metres medley relay final, a team including James Thomas finished
in second place, but they too broke the national record for the event.

Friday, June
18th 1999

As part
of their “Keep the Army in the Public Eye Tour”, members of the First Battalion
the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, under the command of one of our Old
Boys, Jim Ellis, brought a Warrior Armoured Personnel Carrier to school. A
large number of boys were able to explore the vehicle, and to see an extensive
collection of weapons used in the Bosnia conflict.

Friday, June
18th 1999

A
special parade was held to allow the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters to
present Mr.Parker with a framed memento of Albert Ball VC, the Great War air
ace. The school had recently accepted a rôle as official guardian of the Ball
VC Memorial at Annoeuillin, France, where Ball crashed in 1917. For further
details of Ball’s death, see the entry for May 7th, 1917.

Saturday, June
26th 1999

The
History Department wound up their extensive series of weekend visits with a
trip to Holkham Hall and Sandringham in Norfolk. During the course of the year,
Matthew Bartlett had organised twenty-nine history visits, from Dover to to the
Firth of Forth, with more than twenty members of staff helping out, from a
variety of different departments.

Summer Term
1999

In the
County Championships, the School Athletics captain, Andy Turner, won gold
medals in seven different events.

Sunday, July
4th 1999

Roy Henderson
became one of the longest lived Old Nottinghamians in history, when he reached
the age of 100.

During
his time at the High School (1909-1917), he played for the First XI at cricket
for four years, and in the First XV for three years. He was captain of the
school cricket team in 1917. He later became a Professor at the Royal College
of Music, and in 1970 received a CBE for his “services to the art of singing”.
Indeed, on November 11th 1922, he had been the soloist at the dedication of the
school’s War Memorial when he sang a specially composed song “What are those
which are arrayed in white robes ? ”.

Tuesday, July
13th 1999

Tim
Dibdin left the school after sixteen years’ dedicated service. He was, of
course, a Geography teacher, but coached junior sides in both rugby and
cricket. He went on an enormous number of school trips, including Adventurous
Training, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and departmental field trips. As
the “Nottinghamian said, Tim always had “unbridled enthusiasm, a delightful
sense of humour and infectious goodwill”.

Tuesday, July
13th 1999

Tony
Bird retired after thirty-one years at the High School. He had taught Classics,
and been Head of the Classics Department, and Housemaster of Maples, as well as
running school tennis for many years. In the winter, he was the coach of the
Second XV and over the years organised many trips to see Hadrian’s Wall, and
further afield, cruises around the Classical sights and sites of the
Mediterranean.

Wednesday, July
14th 1999

The
Under-12 cricket team, coached by Kevin Weaver, won the Calypso Cup, the
Nottinghamshire County eight-a-side competition. Their opponents, Portland,
batted first, and scored 105, but the High School ran out easy winners, with an
overall total of 166. This particular High School cricket team thereby finished
the season undefeated.

the summer
holidays onwards

An
extensive renovation and modernisation of the Valley Road Pavilion began. This
scheme involved a huge refurbishment of the changing and showering facilities,
and an extension of the hospitality area, as well as a resurfacing of the
drive.

August 1999

In the
world of yachting, Thomas Pickles and David Steed became National Schools’
Champions in the Laser 4000 class.

Thursday,
August 19th 1999

The
school’s results at A-Level were the best in the history of the school, with a
pass rate of 99%, and 95% of candidates obtaining at least four A-Levels. No
fewer than 51% of passes were at Grade A, and 96% of the Upper Sixth went on to
University.

Thursday,
August 26th 1999

When
the GCSE results came out, they were the best in the history of the school.
Every single boy had achieved at least seven passes at Grade C or above, and
more than 97% of boys had passed in at least nine subjects. No fewer than 37%
of passes were at Grade A*, and overall, the average boy achieved nine Grade
As, and an A*.

September 1999

In
Design Technology, Nima Mehdian won a Sir William Siemens Medal for his
“Automatic Curtain Opener and Drawer”. This was the first year that schools had
been invited to take part in the Siemens competition, which is usually open to
universities.

Thursday, October
7th 1999

In a
Cabinet reshuffle, Geoff Hoon became Minister of Defence. He had previously
spent several formative years in the school’s Combined Cadet Force.

Tuesday,
October 19th 1999

The
Politics Society were privileged to welcome Neville Lawrence, whose son,
Stephen, had been murdered in an unprovoked racist attack in London in 1993,
without the Metropolitan Police ever managing to bring the killers to justice.
In an address of great dignity, Mr.Lawrence spoke of institutionalised racism
and racial prejudice. His talk, held in the Player Hall, attracted the highest
ever attendance in the history of the Politics Society, a grand total of some
700-800 members of the Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools.

Friday, November
12th 1999

Brian
Shaw died in Beeston at the remarkable age of 101. He was one of the last
survivors of the Great War in the City, and had won the Military Medal at
Passchendale. In the Second World War, he fought with the Sherwood Foresters,
was captured, and spent five years in a German prison camp. In civilian life,
he was a Professor of Chemistry at Nottingham University, famous as a world
expert in explosives. His lectures to High School boys are the stuff of legend.
He would cause explosions that would leave the audience deaf for up to a
minute, dip objects into liquid oxygen so that they shattered like glass and
then burn swabs of cotton wool spectacularly using the freezing gas. Shaw made
his own gunpowder, and, using an ancient musket, would pierce several layers of
wood with an ordinary candle fired out of it. Witnesses to his displays say
that they were utterly unforgettable.

March 15th 2000

Twenty-five boys from Years 10 and 11 went to
King’s College, London, to see a production of “Œdipus” by Sophocles.

Thursday April 6th 2000

The “Grecian 2000” trip flew out
from Heathrow to Athens. Accompanied by, among others, Murray Streets and
Stefan Krzeminski, the group were to visit all the usual sites, such as the
Parthenon, the Agora, Delphi and Olympia. A less usual sight, perhaps, was what
the “Nottinghamian” described as “Mr.Street’s pole dancing in a nightclub in
Tolo. We now know how he occupies his time on those frequent weekend jaunts to
London. By day, a mild mannered Classics teacher, by night a gyrating king of
the dance floor.”

Friday, April 7th-Thursday,
April 13th 2000

The Year 7 French trip, led by
Tony Holding, followed a well-worn path, visiting Paris and then Normandy. In the
“City of Light” they saw all of the familiar tourist attractions, and a number
of others, including the Musée d’Orsay which, according to Joshua Butterworth
in his diary of the trip, contained a painting used in the film “Mr.Bean”.
After Paris, the party visited Bayeux and its famous tapestry, and then the
D-Day Landing Beaches where the boys explored the gun batteries.
Disappointingly, all of them contained water, with just one exception,
although, unfortunately, that particular one did actually smell of urine.

the last week of June 2000

School chess enjoyed a unique
double. The U-15 team travelled to New York with David Woodhouse and Gerald
Douglas to play the final of the World Schools Championships, sponsored by the
then World Champion Gary Kasparov.  This was just over a year before 9/11 so
the team had the chance to do some sight-seeing, including the Twin Towers

Curiously, this was the only
over-the-board match of the entire competition, the rest of the competition
being held over the Internet against schools from as far away as Africa and
Israel.  We lost the Final against the team from New York but were nevertheless
declared Under 15 European Champions. We were given an outsize banner to prove
it and our board 1 had the chance to play Kasparov in a simultaneous display
(no prizes for guessing the result).  Two of the team then cut short their
American trip to join four older players for the Finals of The Times
National Schools Chess championship. This took place between June 28th-July
1st. The High School finished a very creditable third.

Friday, July 7th 2000

Bumper Fun Day was organised by
Andrew Winter. It had all the usual fun of the fair, but this year one of the
attractions was almost unbelievably original. This was “The Living Fruit Machine”,
consisting of Tom Heath, Paul Spedding and Murray Streets. Each one of the
three had a bag which contained a selection of small plastic fruits. On the
word of command, all three teachers simultaneously pulled a single fruit out of
their bag, and that formed the winning, or hopefully, losing, combination.

end of the summer term
2000

Adam Henderson left the school
after eight years of teaching French, although he also knew Russian, German and
Spanish. The “Nottinghamian” called him “an open, friendly, considerate man…who
is interested in a variety of artistic and intellectual areas—notably the literature,
music and film of several cultures”.

end of the summer term
2000

John Shepherd left after twelve
years as a very popular teacher of Economics and Politics. He had also breathed
life into the Politics Society, inviting speakers as famous as Peter Lilley,
Anne Widdecombe and Ian Hislop. Not many people knew, however, that John  was,
in the words of the “Nottinghamian”  “an Internet whiz (sic) kid”. He ran,
therefore, the leading politics website in the country and, because of this,
was eventually to find both a job, and a wife, Tobey, in the United States.

end of the summer term
2000

John Hayes left the school after
thirty-three years of teaching French and Latin. He had, however, done much
more than that. He ran the school minibuses and was for ten years, the editor
of the “Nottinghamian”. He was one of the founders of the Junior Adventurous
Training Camps at Bala and helped with many sports including cricket and even
rugby, when he acted as a coach driver and interpreter for the Tour XV visiting
Mugron in 1992.

The school hockey players saw his
departure as “the end of an era”. John Hayes had managed the sport for thirty
years, and had personally umpired literally hundreds of games. With his
encouragement, the School XI had won the County Championships numerous times,
and on two occasions, won the Midlands Championships, enabling them to compete
in the Hockey Association Youth Cup National Play-offs along with the other
seven best teams in the country. John had personally trained three National
players and one Oxbridge blue.

John Hayes was a wonderful
teacher, “a real character”, as they used to say. But more than that, he was
always “a real schoolmaster”, and “a real gentleman”.

end of the summer term
2000

Geri Thomas retired as Director
of Marketing and Development, having worked at the High School, admittedly with
a hiatus of around six years, since 1958, giving a grand total of some
thirty-six years’ committed service. During this time Geri was involved in more
or less everything, whether it was the teaching of Biology or the Duke of
Edinburgh Award Scheme or just school sport in general, where his input to
Rugby and Athletics in particular was, quite simply, immense. Chris Parker paid
enormous credit to Geri and his attitude to the school in his Annual Report
given at Prize Distribution a couple of months after his retirement. The
Chairman of Governors also spoke of Geri’s “dedication and energy”.  For the
vast majority of us, though, the abiding memory of Geri will be that ever
smiling face behind his camera as he rushed round taking photographs at all of
the school’s public occasions.

the end of the cricket
season 2000

In the traditional fixture against
the Old Nottinghamians, played at Valley Road on a scorching hot day, the Old
Boys scored 260 for six, thanks mainly to Messrs Storr and Hartley. The school
replied with an excellent opening partnership between Ben Worley and Richard
Pilgrim, the former reaching 53. Richard Pilgrim, however, batted on and on and
on, and finally reached 157 not out. He won the game with successive sixes.

the Summer of,
probably, 2000

The following account was provided by Gerald Douglas. I feel
that it must be quoted verbatim….

“Whilst tiring music trips have
always been a source of encouragement and inspiration. As one can imagine
carting PA systems, drum kits and instruments around Europe over the past
thirty years has been a challenge !

I remember one year particularly,
when the Big Band and Concert band travelled down to Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava.
After a long and tedious journey through France we arrived at the hotel hot and
tired. After asking the boys to settle into their rooms I thought I would
unpack and have a shower. Then the phone rings. It was Reception. ‘One of your
boys has brought down the ceiling in one of the bathrooms’.

Not the kind of start to the tour
I had hoped for! After reassuring the receptionist I would sort it out as soon
as I’d had a shower, there was a knock at the door.

‘Who’s that?’

‘It’s me sir. Guy Kiddey.’

‘What do you want ?’  (I’m about to step into the shower)

‘I’ve been shot, sir.’

Can things get any worse ? I
decide to peer out of the door to find three Year 8 boys, Guy Kiddey, Joe
Jackson, and one other, who must remain nameless. Guy looked okay, which was a semi-relief.

‘Who shot you, Guy ?’

‘He did sir’, pointing to Joe, next to him (head bowed)

‘With what, Joe ?’

‘With this, sir’

Joe took from behind his back a
rather smart looking air pistol.

‘Where on earth did you get that from Joe?’

‘From him, sir,’ pointing to the boy to his left (head bowed
in an even greater expression of shame)

‘Where did you get the gun from?’

‘Last school trip, sir.’

Generally speaking, musicians are
tender, considerate, sensitive creatures, but in the past I have had to
confiscate more than twenty catapults, several knifes of various shapes and
sizes and one extremely impressive macheté. I thought the Japanese Samurai
sword should perhaps be mentioned as well.”

an unrecorded date in
2001

The School’s Challenge team,
organised by Kevin Weaver, reached the National Finals of the Senior Schools’
General Knowledge Competition which was held at King’s School, Worcester. In
the first round, the team, consisting of Michael Dnes, David Owens, Dafyd Jones
and Alex Rossiter, beat the Abbey School from Northern Ireland by

690-340. Things were a lot tougher in the national
semi-final, however, where, despite their very best efforts, they succumbed to
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, by a margin of 560-680. This guaranteed a
final position of third nationally, a marvellous achievement.

Thursday, May 17th 2001

The Politics Society, organised
by Peter Cramp, held a Mock General Election. The results were…..

Sanjay Brown                                     (New
Communist Party)                                   33

Michael Champion                  (Conservative
Party)                                       175

Samuel Downes                      (Anarchist)                                                      106

Oliver Kempton                      (Labour
Party)                                                   55

Nicholas Myers                       (United
Christian Dem. Party)                          19                  David Owens                         (Liberal
Democrat)                                            59

James Rowland                       (Monster
Raving Loony Party)                         85

Wayne Simmonds                   (UK
Independence Party)                                40

Chris Sweet                             (Socialist
Alliance)                                            29

Richard Whitaker                    (Green
Party)                                                    67

June 2001

In Athletics, the first ever
Hardwick Memorial Trophy was awarded to Victor Tung. This new award was
presented to the school by an Old Nottinghamian, Mr.K.S.Green, who had attended
the school from 1933-1939. He had won the school’s first ever discus event at
Sports Day in 1938. Mr.Green did not present the trophy for his own personal
vanity, however, but to commemorate the life of Mr.
A.Hardwick, “Tubby”, who had taught at the High School from 1925-1960, and who
had been the first teacher ever to coach the discus.

a Sunday afternoon in June
2001

The Community Action Group took a
group of Senior Citizens to Derbyshire, where they all enjoyed a cream tea. The
usual schedule of activities had taken place this year, including visits to
local inner-city schools, the partnership with the Shepherd School, trips to Castleton
and Alton Towers, the Christmas Party and work with the Nottinghamshire
Wildlife Trust at a number of sites.

June-July 2001

The second half of the German
exchange took place, with the English boys visiting their German counterparts
at Gilching near Munich. Conditions were tough, with every German family owning
a BMW convertible, free periods in the pupils’school timetable, and a school
day that finished at 1.00pm. As Head of the Exchange, Alison Griffin had
organised trips to see the Olympic Stadium, a salt mine at Berchtesgaden and
the country’s deepest lake, the Königssee. Nick Phillips summed up the trip in
the “Nottinghamian”as “overriding memories of German sausage, one-man bumper
cars and pink pyjamas.”

the end of the Summer Term
2001

Roger Benson left after sixteen
years at the High School. He had managed to achieve a “challenging and
enthusiastic presentation” of Physics. He had been in charge of the Naval
Section of the C.C.F. and been very involved in the Shooting Team and in
canoeing for the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.

the end of the Summer Term
2001

Philip “Phil” Eastwood retired
after more than thirty years of dedicated service to the High School, and, in
particular, the teaching of Chemistry. Indeed, in his final year, having been
entered for a Salter’s Award for Teachers of Chemistry, he was to win a
Lifetime Achievement Award. Outside the laboratory, Phil played both for the
staff football and cricket teams, and devoted an enormous amount of his time to
Athletics (1968-1993), especially the coaching of hurdles and sprinting. He was
in charge of school football from 1970-1977, and was a prime mover in the
re-introduction of this sport to the High School after a hiatus of almost fifty
years. Phil coached the Second XI from 1978-1993. His greatest achievement,
however, was in the realm of chess, which he managed from 1980-1986. During
this time the school twice finished runners-up in the British Schools’ National
Team Competition.

Whatever activity Phil was
engaged in, however, the main quality which he brought to it was his own enthusiasm.
Whatever he was doing, he gave it his all. And this dedication on his part
would invariably bring success.

September 2001

David Slater arrived to teach
Latin. He would never be forgotten by any of his countless adoring fans.

the academic year 2001-2002

The Politics Society, under the
masterful direction of Peter Cramp, and now assisted by Darren Poole, continued
to attract an outstanding selection of speakers. This year, for example, they
listened to Martin Bell, the BBC War Correspondent and independent M.P., and
Yvonne Ridley, recently released from her stay with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Old Nottinghamian, Ken Clarke also paid a visit as did those high profile media
figures, Neil Hamilton and Richard Wilson, alias Victor “I don’t believe it”
Meldrew.

the academic year 2001-2002

History visits, led by Matthew
Bartlett, and accompanied by a large selection of other staff spent the year at
various sites, some famous and others not quite so well known. They included
Auckland Castle and Killhope Lead Mine, as well as Anfield Stadium, Buckingham
Palace and H.M.S.Belfast, by way of Harry Ramsden’s fish-and-chip shop and
Sheekey’s fish pie.

Spring half-term 2002

The Under-15 Rugby Sevens Team
won both the Doncaster and the Notts, Lincs and Derbys Sevens Tournaments, as
well as being finalists at Solihull. The squad was C.Nembhard, D.Lambert,
M.Perkins, M.Hallam, H.Pick, A.Johal, T.Elder, A.Leccisotti, D.Jones, N.Nesbitt
and R.Mason.

the end of his last
football season, Wednesday, February 20th 2002

The First XI’s coach, Stefan
Krzeminski, looked poignantly back on what he had achieved in his time at the
top of the High School footballing pinnacle. “Bald Eagle” had carried out
exactly what he planned to do when he started out all those years ago. The
First Eleven had achieved an unprecedented ten victories in their very first
season under his direction. A number of players had been involved with the
Nottinghamshire Schools’ F.A. U-19 team, and had represented their county at
inter-county level. By the end of his tenure, Stefan’s First XI had reached
three County Cup semi-finals. All this was down to having done the majority of
their training with, rather than without, a ball. (see the  entry for “ten
o’clock on an August morning, just before the start of the new football season,
1988-1989”)

the Easter Holidays, 2002

John Allen is accompanying four
Lower School mathematicians by train to the National Final of the “Enterprising
Mathematics” competition in Glasgow. “JJ”, is one of them. He stands out from
the rest because he has brought with him a family-sized bag of chocolate
doughnuts to eat during the journey. Or, alternatively, to smear down the front
of his nice clean shirt. The hotel has been taken over by hundreds of budding
Isaac Newtons, but they are all held in equal contempt by the staff, however
well they try to behave.  The four High School contestants are practically
asleep before dinner appears. It is spaghetti Bolognese, and “JJ” is able to
make further valuable additions to his shirt front. The next day, after a
decidedly ordinary “Design-a-Poster” competition, the High School team finish
an outstanding  second in the main competition. Amid high security they are
allowed to shake hands with Princess Anne. On the way back, the train
terminates at Stoke-on-Trent because of repairs to the line.  There will be no
more trains that day. Careful negotiations, however, secure the services of a
local taxi driver, who takes them to Stafford at a frightening Formula 1 speed
to continue their journey home.

Wednesday and Thursday, May
22nd and 23rd, 2002

Over two days, the whole of Year 7 visited the
White Post Farm, where they were given the chance, according to Paul Dawson, to
“to handle young birds and mammals, not be missed at any age !”

Thursday, June 27th 2002

The Swimming Team, coached by
Paul Spedding and Andrew Martin, competed at Millfield where the U-12s and
U-13s achieved nine top eight finishes at national level. Swimmers included
Hugh Jones, Phillip Gadsby, William Powell, Oliver Gott and Aidan Hewitt in the
50 metre freestyle. It was now six years since the school had lost to another
school in a head-to-head gala. Legendary names included Leighton Cardwell,
Chris Bowker and Rhys Davies who all came to the end of their school swimming
careers  Kevin O’Loughlin swam for the Midlands and finished third nationally
in the 50 metres Butterfly. Paul Webster was Captain of the English Schools’
team during the year.

July 2002

The Classics trip, accompanied
by, among others, Justin Stanley, Davinder Gill and Matthew Bartlett, visited
Italy, taking in the historic sights of Rome, Herculaneum and Pompeii. They
also managed to climb Mount Vesuvius, which had caused all of the problems in
the latter two locations.

July 2002

The last day of the Summer Term
saw the departure of Ian Driver after thirty-five years of dedication to the
High School. As a teacher of Maths, he had a particular specialisation in
Statistics, but was also a popular Senior Master for twelve years, and a tutor
who was always willing to go to great lengths to offer his help to any of his
many grateful tutees. More than any of this though, Ian was a man who gave so
much of his time to so many varied activities.  He was a prime mover in the
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and worked hard with the Lake Bala Junior
Adventurous Training Camps, and the David Leicester Walk. He was for many years
with the Community Action Group, frequently involved with the trips to
Castleton. Ian’s other interests were the Chess Club, the School Bell Ringing
Society, and, until, they folded up, the Origami Club.

July 2002

The last day of the Summer Term
also saw the departure after more than thirty years at the High School of the
much loved and respected Paul Dawson whose glittering career in Biology was
prematurely cut short by illness. As well as being Head of the Biology
Department, Paul had also contributed enormously to the Army Section of the
C.C.F., and to school sport, not just coaching cricket and rugby, but also refereeing
countless matches in the latter sport. Paul was also very happy to be Head of
Year 7, but most of all, he was a really nice man, well liked by everyone who
had the privilege of knowing him.

July 2002

The last day of the Summer Term
also saw a third departure, that of Matthew Bartlett, the charismatic young Head
of History. His trademark, of course, was the series of historical trips which
crisscrossed the country almost every weekend in search of different historical
sites. As the “Nottinghamian” so rightly said, “His energy and stamina mark him
out as one of our more memorable colleagues…no four-star hotel was left
unmolested as Matthew, with his usual panache and style, explored the menu and
wine list for items and evidence of historical significance.”

Wednesday, October 2nd
2002

The
First Eleven, under the imperious command of John Knifton, had played the first half of their fixture with High
Pavement with the mental and physical determination of a shoal of quivering
jellyfish. At half time, he tore into them…. “There are four of you in this
team who just aren’t playing !!! If you don’t pull your fingers out, and buck
up, then I’ll take all four of you off at once and substitute you. You four,
you’ve got ten minutes !!!! ”

What
the forgetful fool omitted to do, though, was to tell the team exactly who the
four players were. At the time it initially seemed to be a total memory
disaster, but it turned out to be a tactical master stroke.

Every
member of the team, including the goalkeeper, thought it was them. They all
played as if they were under threat of public humiliation, in front of the rest
of the team and both spectators.  We soon turned a two goal deficit around, and
eventually ran out winners by 4-2.

Wednesday, February 12th
2003

The First Eleven played their
last game of the season away against Bilborough College. Things did not look
good when both teams had to stand around, looking sheepish, for a good twenty
minutes, before it was realised that the appointed referee was not going to turn
up. Somebody had the bright idea of making an appeal to the crowd, so all three
spectators were all asked if they could help. “Comes the hour, comes the man”,
and to everybody’s visible shock, one of the three said, “Yes, no problem, I’m
an F.A.Referee.” He, of course, was the best referee we had all season.

A steady stream of goals hit the
back of our net, and with five minutes left, we were losing 1-4. There were
four substitutes, all of whom had been picked so that they could say afterwards
that they had played for the High School, even if it had been just on one
occasion, for a mere five minutes. Fulfilling the ambition of a lifetime, all
of them were put on at once, with the tactical instructions of “Well, we’ve
already lost this game. I haven’t got a clue what to do. Play where you want !
”

In the next couple of minutes
Daniel Storey made it 2-4 with a shot later described as a “rocket-powered
banana”. Two more goals soon followed and suddenly the score was an improbable
4-4. Five minutes later, the game finished as Bilborough timewasted so as not
to concede a fifth goal, and be forced to drink from the bitter cup of defeat.

Tuesday, July 8th-Friday, August
8th 2003

Seventeen boys with Colin
Sedgewick and Richard Carpenter went on the World Challenge Expedition to
Tanzania. The party enjoyed a safari to the Ngorongoro Crater but their main
aim was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which was duly done, although not by the
two teachers. They were forced to descend to lower altitude while still short
of the summit when two of the boys began to suffer from acute mountain
sickness.

the end of the summer term
2003

Rick Gardiner retired after
twenty-one years as Head of Art. He was famous not so much for his artistic
talents, however, but as a magician and conjuror. He was, in fact, the first
member of staff to be a member of the Magic Circle. This interest in the
unknown and the mysterious extended to cryptozoology, and Rick was, in fact,
the only member of staff ever to be in the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau. He
spent the majority of his summer holidays watching attentively from the side of
the loch, but as far as is known, he never saw anything.

September 2003

The “Nottinghamian” greeted the
arrival of new members of staff. On page 150 there appeared together,
therefore, Henry Wiggins, a new teacher of History, and Yvonne Steinruck, a
young teacher of German who had been appointed to cover Alison Griffin’s
maternity leave. (See the entry for “the end of the Summer Term 2007”)

Wednesday, November 3rd
2003

The First XI drew 2-2 with
Bilborough College. What was probably goal of the season was scored by the team
captain, Adam Jaffe. The new fanzine described it thus…..

“…..There are
moments in the life of a young footballer that will stay with them for ever.
The moment at which the ball landed at the feet of our captain, and the keeper
was out of goal, both teams were preparing for the goal kick. However Jaffe
kept his cool and glided a thirty-five yard lob into the empty net. The team
gave him the hero’s celebration he perhaps deserved…”

Thursday, November 4th,
Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th, 2003

Karen Mitchell directed the
school production of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Everything was of a very
high standard, with Nick Phillips as the young Prince of Denmark, ably assisted
in other roles by Ross Ludlam, James Maclaine, Martin Noutch, David Ralfe, Mia
Reeves and Thirza Wakefield. The imaginative music was provided by the talented
David Ibbett.

Wednesday, January 14th
2004

The First Eleven visited Bramcote
College where they ran out winners by 5-0. Irfan Zaki scored his “a landmark
goal, his first and last”. In the fanzine, he was described as “a constant
source of commitment”, who “expertly mixed football and religion to play
through a fast”. Daniel Storey scored a hat-trick, the first being from a
centre which he clipped delicately across the face of the goalkeeper, and off
the far post into the corner of the net, one of the most skilful goals I have
ever seen at this level. Daniel managed two hat-tricks this season, totalling
thirteen goals in twelve appearances.

Wednesday, January 21st
2004

The First Eleven eventually
visited Welbeck College where they managed a highly creditable 2-2 draw. One of
the many articles in the new football fanzine was to describe beautifully the
transport arrangements….

“….the bus
arrived, the driver emerged with a fag in his mouth, looking like a cross
between Ossie Osbourne and Liam Gallagher. Those who know Mr.Knifton instantly
realised that this man would come under serious abuse, and rightly so. Laughter
turned to agony when he then announced that he had no idea of the whereabouts
of Welbeck College, but he did know where Worksop was (yeh cheers mate !)

After an hour of randomly driving
around, Storey announced that he had “seen” the school forcing a majestic three
point turn. I am no Mr.BSM, but any driver who mangles the gears three times
and almost hits a fence, taking fourteen minutes in the process should perhaps
have his licence checked. The school Daniel had seen was inspected by the
resident cross-country champion, Tom Wilson, who came back with a tractor,
hanging on for dear life. The team burst into tears of laughter. He explained
that he had trespassed on some sort of stately home, and that Welbeck was three
miles down the road. We finally entered the school an hour and a half after
departure.”

Friday, January 31st-Saturday,
February 1st 2004

A group of some dozen or more
boys, accompanied by Peter Dowsett and Justin Stanley visited Fountains Abbey,
Marston Moor and the city of York. Most popular was the  National Railway
Museum, the flooded River Ouse, the Jorvik Viking Centre and a dizzy climb to
the top of York Minster, as well as the many implements of torture in the York
Dungeons.

the end of the football
season 2003-2004

For what may well be the first time since the
1920s, the pupils of the school produced their own publication. It was a
footballing “fanzine” with detailed reports of all the matches, and marks
allocated to all of the team’s players. It was a genuinely witty, indeed,
laugh-out-loud publication. They paid thanks to their team coach, for example……

“…..without him the team would
have been nowhere, or to be more exact, outside the North Entrance in the
minibus with no driver.”

At half-time of every game, the
team were encouraged to drink Explosade™, a brightly coloured energy drink,
bought in large quantities from the Aldi supermarket in Hucknall. The players
were all very dubious, but an analysis in the fanzine revealed that after half
time they conceded a season’s total of seven goals, but managed to score a
massive seventeen. The only drawback was the frequent and agonising leg cramps
they all had to endure, and which would quite often reduce the players to the
status of overturned beetles, kicking their legs painfully in the air, and
unable to move, but this was a relatively small price to pay for their success.

Spring 2004

Martin Jones and his colleagues,
Paul Allison, Ken Clayton, Jim Cook, Carol Fletcher, Mary Mills, Simon Payne,
Phil Rood, Ian Thorpe, and Henry Wiggins, along with Old Nottinghamians, Robert
Swyer, Dougie Thomas and Nigel Walker, took part in the school’s thirtieth
visit to Bala in north Wales. The party was also accompanied by John Hayes who
had himself been on the first ever trip back in 1974. The thirty-seven boys
were able to enjoy canoeing, rock-climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and
orienteering.

Saturday, June 26th –Sunday,
June 27th 2004

A group of some dozen or more
boys, accompanied by Justin Stanley and Peter Dowsett, visited Bath, with its
Royal Crescent and Roman Baths. Next day it was the Clifton Suspension Bridge
in sunny Bristol and the S.S.Great Britain.

Bumper Fun Day, Wednesday,
July 7th 2004

Under the ægis of Andrew Winter
and Cooper’s House, every single member of the school was able, just for the
afternoon, to enjoy fun, fun, fun. The twenty or so Activities included “Soak
the teacher”, “Teachers in the stocks”, sumo wrestling, crockery smash,
six-a-side football, table tennis and target golf. There was karaoke in the
Large Lecture Theatre, with a Penalty Shoot-out, photographs of the staff as
babies, and computer games. A sum of some £2,600 was raised for Jill Hunter’s
charitable works in Malawi.

July 2004

Martin Jones retired after just over
thirty-eight years of dedicated service at the High School. He had taught
Mathematics, and being heavily involved in rugby, rowing, the Duke of Edinburgh
scheme and the C.C.F. He participated in a vast number of trekking and
exploring activities. Quite often he would return home from one expedition and
leave on the next one the following day. As the “Nottinghamian” so rightly put
it, “Martin’s contribution to the life and spirit of the High School has been
amazing and many boys and staff are eternally grateful for the opportunities he
has offered then over the years.”

July 2004

Clem Lee retired after some twenty-seven years
as Head of Games. He had coached variously the School First XV, Nottinghamshire
U-18s, the East Midlands, and the Midlands Division. He had toured Canada, New
Zealand and Australia with the England U-18 rugby team in 2001, and had also
been in charge of the school ski trip for many years.

July 2004

Richard Nicolle retired after some thirty-one
years teaching Physics and as Head of Careers. He was heavily involved with the
school Scouts and, initially inspired by Norman Thompson and Dennis Usher, was
always extremely keen on mountain walking. “Trickie” participated in countless
expeditions and extra-curricular trips, and thereby, of course, gave countless
boys their own chance to do so.

July 2004

Dave Phillips retired after more than
thirty-seven years of service to the High School. He had not just taught
Mathematics, but devoted enormous amounts of time both to school rugby and to
the Scouts. Dave taught vast numbers of junior boys over these years and he was
not just a thorough and hard-working teacher throughout the period, but a
splendid, and important, rôle model for them all.

the school year 2004-2005

The Politics Society, organised
by Peter Cramp, and helped by Darren Poole, provided three well known speakers
this year. They were Steve Green, the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, a
local Member of Parliament, Vernon Coaker, and the charismatic Liberal Democrat
Member of Parliament, often known in the popular press as “The Living Anagram”,
Lembit Opik.

Most interesting of all, however,
was the Mock Election. The results were…..

Stephen Dnes                          (Monster
Raving Loony Party)                       174

Oliver Henderson-Smith         (Green
Party)                                                    71

Edward
Maile                                     (Liberal Democrat)                                          145

Robert Pinfold                        (Labour
Party)                                                   79

Daniel Sedgewick                   (Veritas)
18

Tim Sherwin                            (Conservative
Party)                                       137

Richard Vernon                      (Reform
Party)                                                  89

Adam Winter                          (Anarchist)
57

Friday, December 24th 2004

Barry Duesbury, the Head of
English died unexpectedly. He was a man with the most amazing knowledge of
literature but to an outsider it was perhaps his precision with English
spelling, grammar and punctuation which was the most impressive. Few people
ever knew, though, that Barry had been a member of the King’s College team
which had appeared on University Challenge.

2005-2009

This was the “Golden Age” of High
School Chess. Coached by Dr.John Swain, “The Special One”, the team won The
Times National Schools Chess Championships for three consecutive years.

In both 2005 and 2006, the stars
were Balvinder Grewal, (captain), Ian Harris, Dominic
Heining, Michael Keetley, Ankush Khandelwal and Kishan Lakhani.

In the
following year of 2007, the champions were Jonathan Day, Oliver Exton, Michael
Keetley, Ankush Khandelwal (captain), Kishan Lakhani and Daniel Lin.

In both 2008 and 2009, the High
School came second overall in the competition.  Michael Keetley had played in
the team in each of these five years, and fittingly, in 2009,  his last year,
as captain of the team, he was to win the best game prize in the Final.

Wednesday, January 26th,
2005

The First Eleven visited Bramcote
College where, for a good twenty or thirty minutes, they were watched as they
played by the police helicopter. Eventually, they ran out winners by six goals
to three, with Leo Fisher scoring all six goals. Leo was one of the greatest
goalscorers the school has had in modern times.

This season, he was to score
nineteen goals in nine games, and was called in the “Nottinghamian”, “the
manager’s ‘get-out-of-jail-free’card.”

Clearly, Leo harkened back to the
Victorian era of Arthur Francis and Percy Sands. If only he had been a player
in the late 1890s, when, in the three seasons from 1896-1899,
for example, Arthur Francis scored a minimum of 76
goals for the High School, with an additional total of some 23 fixtures
unaccounted for, because the goalscorers were not recorded. Between 1898-1901,
Percy Sands managed an overall career total of a minimum of 106 goals for the
High School, scored in just 61 games.

February 2005

Robert Grant took a group of
pupils to the Cambridge Arts Theatre to see an innovative production of
“Œdipus” by Sophocles in the original Ancient Greek. All the principal men’s
parts were played by women, and all the principal women’s parts were played by
men. The details of the production leave even the most dramatic of American
soaps like “Dallas” or “Dynasty” far behind. Œdipus was “frenzied” and at one
point “covered in his own blood”. Teiresias was “upset at the abuse” and Creon
“strutted across the stage with his riding crop in hand”.

Wednesday, March 16th 2005

After
two spells as manager of the First Eleven, John Knifton finally retired. “The
Big Boss”’s final game came against New College where, for the only time ever,
there was a concrete trainer’s dugout. The opposition kicked off with only ten
men as their star player was finishing an A-Level examination. Despite being a
man down, New College quickly raced into a 2-0 lead. After some twenty or
thirty minutes, the latecomer finally arrived, and tried hard to play a
starring role in central midfield. The High School duly won by the iconic score
of 6-3.

Thursday, March 17th 2005

In
one of the school’s more unusual outings, Carol Fletcher took a group of nine
students to Newmarket to the National Stud. They were able to enjoy finding out
about “breeding techniques high-tech style using cloning and embryo
transfer.”

Tuesday and Wednesday, March
29th and 30th 2005

Organised by the Reverend Stefan
Krzeminski, over the course of two days, the whole of Year 9 had the privilege
of visiting the Holocaust Memorial Centre near Ollerton in north
Nottinghamshire. In past years they had been able to listen to the testimony of
Arek Hersh, but on this occasion the speaker was Josef Perl….

“It was not
long before the train stopped and the front wagons pulled up at a platform. The
people inside, who had clearly come directly from their homes, were marched
away and disappeared down some steps straight to the gas chambers. We were in
Auschwitz.

The doors of
our wagons were unlocked and we had to jump down. There was a smartly dressed
commandant deciding who would live and who would die.

Waving his
riding crop, he indicated “links oder recht” (left or right) with a casual
flick of the wrist. Those he sent to the left (over 70 per cent) went
immediately to the gas chambers, those to the right had been selected, either
for work or experimentation. It was Dr.Mengele.”

I myself well remember hearing
this chilling story of an encounter with the Angel of Death. At lunch, I was
able to ask Mr.Perl the question about concentration camps which had burned in
my mind for years, namely, “Why, if you were all going to die  anyway, didn’t
you fight back and kill the Germans? ”

Mr.Perl then asked me that, as a
teacher, I should tell as many people as possible what had happened in the
Holocaust, so that it could never happen again.

I have never forgotten Josef Perl,
or his request. Once again, therefore, I am happy, if that is the word, to do
as he asked.

Summer half-term 2005

Grahame Whitehead took a group of
Year 8 boys to the Rhineland. They visited Bonn, Rüdesheim, the striking castle
of Burg Eltz, and Germany’s main amusement park, Phantasialand, where the
Colorado ride met with general approval.

July 2005

Andrew Holman left the High
School after some seven years. He was a teacher of Mathematics, and the Head of
Year 7, introducing the pre-High School Day for Year 6 boys and the Taster Day
for Year 5s. Andrew was in the R.A.F Section of the C.C.F. and participated in
numerous expeditions and camps. He ran the Junior General Knowledge team, a
junior cricket team and two tennis teams, one of which won the County Final.

Perhaps the best indication of
his dedication, however, is the fact that he once broke his leg playing
football with other members of staff, and then spent the next six weeks
teaching his classes with his leg in plaster, propped up on a chair.

July 2005

Wendy Nicolle retired after more
than twenty years as a teacher of Physics. She achieved great success with the
Community Action Group, changing its name to reflect a more proactive attitude
of its role. She introduced formal training for new members, organised a
Conference and oversaw mystery trips, the Christmas Carol Singing in the
Victoria Centre, the Christmas Pub Collections, and Christmas parties for the
elderly, and visits to Castleton, the White Post Farm and Alton Towers for
children from local schools.

Summer 2005

Guy Kiddey spent six weeks on
Svalbard living on dehydrated food, barely washing or changing his clothes. He
wrote in the “Nottinghamian” of his “tearing loneliness” and his dreams of
“Sunday lunchtime….sitting with steaming food piled high in our warm
kitchen….safe and dry.” He saw abundant wildlife, including eagles, reindeer, a
young Arctic fox and the dessicated corpse of one of the island’s many polar bears.

2005-2009

This was the “Golden Age” of High
School Chess. The team won The Times National Schools Chess
Championships for three consecutive years. In 2008 and 2009, they came second,
with Michael Keetley playing in all five events and, fittingly, as captain of
the team, winning the best game prize in the Final in 2009.

the school year 2005-2006

The boys of Community Action
continued to help the more vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the
community. Their activities were heavily featured in the Yearbook. William Gee
was helping his granny’s friend Kitty with her shopping so that she avoided the
seeds to which she was allergic. Greg Beer was assisting the elderly in his
area, by valeting cars, putting out the wheelie bins and carrying heavy items.
George Craig was working in the Salvation Army charity shop in Arnold, serving
in the shop and supporting the full time staff in the tea bar.

Saturday, September 24th
2005

Fourteen members of the Community
Action groups from the Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools under the leadership of
Davinder Gill, Andrew Martin and Malcolm Saperia accompanied twenty-five pupils
and two teachers from the St.Ann’s Well school to Castleton in the wilds of
north Derbyshire. As the Yearbook said, of the little children “many have never
left the city, and some have never even seen a sheep.”

It all went very well. As the
school magazine reported, “these children genuinely enjoyed their time, seeing
the world outside the city, smelling the country air, walking and running about
in ways that they simply cannot at home….how keen the children were. Not just to
climb the mountain....but to make friends with us….most disquieting was the
number of the young girls who wanted to play happy families, pairing us off as
mummy and daddy.”

Sunday, October 9th 2005

The twentieth David Leicester
Memorial Walk took place with a record number of more than eighty adults and
children. As he always had done, Marcus Coulam was there in the minibus to
monitor the participants’ progress and to offer lifts to those who needed them.
These walks had taken place to the memory of David Leicester (1962-1985), and
this was the final one. As the Yearbook said, it was “a most fitting tribute to
his memory”.

the Orienteering season
2005-2006

One of the young orienteers,
James Taylor of 9W, showed to what extent their mentor, Jim Clarke, was capable
of combining an extreme sport with cutting edge Mathematics with his summary of
what it took to be a good orienteer…“15% obligatory running and navigating, 30%
banter and singing on journeys etc, 15% spending (and winning) money in various
arcades and 50% generally having fun with the people around you.”

January 2006

Peter Dowsett and Robert Grant
took a group of pupils on a weekend trip to Manchester where the highlight of
the weekend was a visit to Manchester United’s home, the fabled “Theatre of
Dreams” at Old Trafford. Everyone hugely enjoyed this opportunity both to
explore the stadium and to be photographed in the home team’s technical area,
especially Liverpool supporter Robert Grant.

Tuesday, March 21st, and
Wednesday, March 22nd 2006

Once again masterminded by Stefan
Krzeminski, the whole of Year 9 visited the Holocaust Memorial Centre at
Ollerton. This time one of the speakers was John Chillag, who had survived the
Holocaust and endured living in Auschwitz with, apparently, no hope of survival.
In a splendid testimony to the continuing dark side of humanity, the boys were
also able to hear the equally devastating tale of Ebrahem Ibrahim Aziz, a
refugee from Darfur, in what was then the Sudan, where Arab fighters, convinced
that black Africans should not be allowed to live in this region, had burnt
down his village and murdered his wife.

Thursday, March 30th 2006

The Hockey First Eleven played in
the King Edward’s School Bath Hockey Festival, and thanks to the coaching and
encouragement from Ian Cowley, performed extremely creditably, managing to
defeat Exeter, one of the strongest teams present in the competition.

the last Bumper Fun Day,
Wednesday, July 9th 2006

For the very last time, thanks
again to Andrew Winter and Cooper’s House, everyone enjoyed fun, fun, fun. Once
more, there was an enormous variety of activities available including the ever
popular “Soak the teacher”, “Teachers in the stocks”, crockery smash and
six-a-side football. Most notable, however, was the Penalty Shoot-out, which
involved Kate Costante as the High School’s first ever female goalkeeper.
Resplendent in her pink Juventus goalie’s top, she defied all comers, facing up
courageously to a selection of flying footballs.

the end of the summer term
2006

The School Librarian, Marilyn
Clarke left after twenty years’ faithful service to the school. During this
time, she had quite simply transformed the previous library and moved it on to
what it has become today. At the same time, Marilyn had turned the library into
a friendly, welcoming place, which now, thanks to her, housed one of the finest
archive collections of any school in the country.

the end of the summer term
2006

Véronique
Winter, the French assistante left the school, after two periods of teaching,
the first from 1988-1992 and then from 1999-2006. She was always helpful to her
pupils, and unfailingly patient, even though almost every day, she was forced
to endure an ever changing parade of boys enthusiastically putting the most
beautiful language in the world through a succession of industrial strength
mincing, shredding and grinding machines.

the end of the summer term
2006

The
ex-ball boy from Bristol City, David Slater, left after just four years at the
High School. Like a meteor streaking across the dark night sky, he had become a
legend in his own lifetime with his wonderfully eccentric behaviour. Like a
pedagogical Lawrence of Arabia, his Arab army of small boys worshipped him.
When his departure was announced in the last assembly of the school year, it
was greeted with a vast groan of genuine regret from the young audience. Few of
us teachers can ever dream of achieving that.

August 2006

The School Rugby Tour went to
South Africa, where they played a number of games against the locals. They also
visited Manenberg Township, Robben Island and Table Mountain, as well as seeing
Ushaka Marine World in Durban and traditional Zulu dancing in Shakaland.

August 2006

A school expedition, led by
Richard Willan and Jim Cook went to South America, where they visited Ecuador
and the Galapagos Islands. They swam with sea-lions, fished for pirañha and
played a high altitude football match against the locals, losing by nine goals
to two.

Monday, October 2nd 2006

A regularly visiting theatre
group, “The Actors of Dionysus”, spent a day in the school. In the afternoon,
they treated the Sixth Form Classicists to a drama workshop, and in the evening
they performed what the Yearbook called an “exhilarating production” of
Sophocles’ “Œdipus”. The latter explored the whole range of emotions from “rage
through to guilt”, while Jocasta was presented as a “yummy mummy”.

the rugby season 2006-2007

The Third XV, managed by Ken
Clayton and Jim Cook, assisted by Neil Highfield, established what must surely
be a record when they used a grand total of forty-six different players during
the course of the season. They won only four games and tasted bitter defeat on
nine occasions.

a forgotten date in 2007

In what may be merely an urban
legend, the tale is told that a member of staff departed on maternity leave.
Her replacement, however, did not last too long, because, having had the idea
recently put in her mind, she too became pregnant before she could take up the
post.

January 2007

The First Eleven were drawn away
to Garibaldi School, Mansfield, in the County Cup. Not surprisingly, despite a
promising beginning, and an even better second half, the High School lost by
1-4. And that would have been the end of it, except that Garibaldi later owned
up to having fielded, in error, an ineligible player. The young man in question
did some of his lessons at Garibaldi School but in actual fact, his
registration was held by a second, different school.

It is an unfortunate aspect of
professional sport today that such sportsmanship is almost unheard of. This was
a wonderful gesture, and deservedly, but perhaps, predictably, Garibaldi won
the rearranged game.

the first weekend of
February 2007

The scouts had a lovely time with
Ben Thomas as they took part in a Day Hike around Monsal Head. As the Yearbook
said, it was “… a fantastic day with blue skies and an ice cream to polish off
a perfect day!”

the last Sunday of the
hockey season 2007

Nils Lloyd-Penny, who had played
for Midlands Representational sides and the Welsh National Junior Representative
teams played his last game for the school. It was against Wallington County
Grammar School and finished, fittingly enough, in a 7-0 victory for the High
School.

the end of the Easter Term
2007

Headmaster Chris Parker retired.
He had been responsible for a number of important initiatives such as the
establishment of four new academic departments, namely Learning Support under
Carla Brien, Philosophy under Stefan Krzeminski, Psychology with Andrew Martin
and, last but not least, Spanish with Matthew Jackson.

In terms of building, he had
carried out vast improvements to the library, the development of the Art Rooms
above the CDT block and a new Large Lecture Theatre. New rooms had been
provided for Philosophy and Religious Studies, and most exciting of all,
perhaps, he laid the foundations for the daring new building plan to infill the
West Quadrangle with a brand new Dining Hall and Sixth Form Centre, the quality
of which was, when completed, far in advance of the facilities in many
universities.

Most significant of all, though,
and perhaps years ahead of its time, was Mr.Parker’s attitude to fund-raising
for a private school. He maintained links with important donors, therefore, and
as the Yearbook reported…. “Chief among these in recent years has been Sir
Harry Djanogly who has become a good friend of Mr.Parker’s.” On another
occasion, Mr.Parker visited the United States to raise funds and eventually one
of these donors was able to come to Nottingham and meet the boy whose place he
was helping to support.

Most ordinary boys, however, will
remember him for his frequent visits to the Valley Road playing fields where
his Helly Hansen jacket was, quite literally, outstanding.

the first few days of the
Easter Holidays 2007

The scouts, under the leadership
of Ben Thomas, visited some extraordinary sounding places in Cumbria. They
included Whin Rigg, Illgill Head, Esk Haus, Nethermost Pike, Swirl How,
Wetherlam and Pavey Arc, along with those sturdy characters from a Lake
District version of “Emmerdale”, Sergeant Man and Harrison Stickle, and their
girlfriend, the delectable Dollywaggon Pike. All watched over, of course, and
judged, by the Old Man of Coniston.

Monday, July 2nd onwards,
2007

The whole of Year 7 took part in
a production of “Hiawatha”. Every single boy had a part and the entire scheme
was to occupy twenty five periods of English. To get into character, the boys
were helped by Adam Blackhorse, a real Native American, who taught them games,
songs and dances. On the final Tuesday, there was a dress rehearsal, and the
following day, in the afternoon, the play was performed for that most critical
of all audiences, Year 8.

the end of the Summer Term
2007

Marcus Coulam retired. He had
been at the High School for thirty-seven years, and when he first arrived, had
appeared to be so young that he was once told off by a senior member of staff
for not wearing his uniform. He had spent the last thirteen years as Head of
Economics and Politics, and numbered both Geoff Hoon and Ed Balls among his
former pupils. Outside the classroom, Marcus was for many years in the R.A.F.
Section of the C.C.F, and was involved in many other activities over the years,
ranging from the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, to ski trips, stage staff and
adventurous training.

the end of the Summer Term
2007

Geoff Woolley retired. He had
been at High School for twenty years, and had been the man who introduced
Design Technology as a subject, starting off with classrooms which were on the
very top floor of the Founder Hall. By 1991, the subject was being offered at
GCSE, and the rest, as they say, is history. Only twelve months later, Geoff
helped design a new building where the old Green Shed had once stood, and,
financed for the most part by Sir Harry Djanogly, it duly opened in 1992.
Outside the classroom, Geoff dedicated much of his spare time to the Army
Section of the C.C.F,  and, when age began to take its toll, he started up a
Young Engineers’ Club and the Engineering in Education Scheme.

the end of the Summer Term
2007

The Yearbook bade a fond farewell
to two younger members of staff. Henry Wiggins and Yvonne Steinruck, who
appeared together once more, this time on page 186. The story does not end
there, however, as Henry and Yvonne were married shortly after their move to
their new schools. (See the entry
for “September 2003”)

2007-2008

Andrew Simner related how the
Stage Staff, while, “not as glamorous as the C.C.F.”, worked hard the whole
year round. Highlights were the backstage visit to the Royal Centre, and the
pizza count for the academic year. The group was ably supervised by Lisa Gritti
and John Kennedy, but most prominent of all was the newly arrived Tregi
Scholes, whose work rate, rather like her namesake, was of a phenomenal level.

Wednesdays evenings, for
example, or perhaps Thursdays, 2007-2008

As part of his Community Action
year, Jonny Hubbard helped out in the Edwards Lane Music Club, teaching guitar
and drums to young people from less favoured backgrounds. William Clark helped
out with the St.John’s Ambulance, at one point attending the Robin Hood
Marathon. George Harvey, along with Charles Lea, helped out at a local tennis
club, and Anthony Brown helped out with a youth group for primary school
children. Josh Ackermann helped out at a local charity shop. These were just
five of many, many boys trying to make the lives of people with circumstances
much more difficult than their own, just that little bit easier, if only for a
short period.

lunchtime in W11,
2007-2008

The Bridge Club went from
strength to strength in terms of numbers. Indeed, the Yearbook recorded “a
sudden surge in Lower Sixth boys taking up the game this year.” Perhaps not
totally unconnected with the presence of Bryony Balen and Ana Yau from the
Girls’ High School.

Autumn Term 2007

The record for the “Forest Run”
was broken by three seconds by a Year 7 boy, Michael Costante.

7.00 a.m., October 14th
2007

Year 9 depart on their large
scale invasion of the London Docklands. They visit Canary Wharf, the Greenwich
foot tunnel under the Thames and St.Katherine’s Dock as well as Tower Bridge
and the “mysterious” Tobacco Dock. Almost a thirteen hour day !

November 2007

The four members of the Schools’
Challenge team, namely Captain Benedict Nolan, Ted Pynegar, Kyle Lam and Adam
McElhone, retained their crown as Cleverest Clogs in the East Midlands with
victories over Warwick, Bourne Grammar School, and the Girls’ High School. They
were eventually to lose out to Perse School, Cambridge in a very close finish.

Friday, December 21st 2007

The school Cross Country team,
managed by Paul Allison, having “kicked off” their season in October, ran
against the Old Boys despite their own admission that they had eaten far too
many Wagon Wheels and mince pies. Craig Woods and James Taylor both achieved
record times for the course.

Thursday, January 31st
2008

Ray Eastwood retired as School
Caretaker after many years’ valuable service. Always carrying what appeared to
be the largest bunch of keys in the world, he was an unfailingly nice man who
always did his very best to be helpful. Neither he nor his colleague, Tony
Hatcher, will ever be forgotten by those who had the privilege of knowing them.

March, 2008

The four members of the school’s
Bridge team, namely Aron Iger, Simon Spencer, Ankhush Khandelwal and Ted
Pynegar, won the National Schools’ Cup at Loughborough. In the qualifying round
they scored 127 imps, then beat Reading ‘A’ by 27 imps and in the final,
Reading ‘B’ by 3 imps.

Spring Term, 2008

The four members of the school’s
Orienteering team, namely James Taylor, Peter Lynas, Harry Nicholson, Craig
Woods and Daniel Hughes represented England in the World Schools’ Orienteering
Championship, held in Edinburgh. They finished fifth of the twenty competing
countries.

Spring Term, 2008

Over two days, the whole of Year
8 visited Burbage Brook in the depths of the Derbyshire Dales. They were
supervised by the teacher whom the two young authors of the article in the
Yearbook, Ben Mehigan and Ben Clewes, called “the fabulous Mrs.Lemon”. After
the heat of narrow zigzagging roads, and the heat of walking over the moors,
the majority of boys were only too happy to cool off, either deliberately,
accidentally or deliberately accidentally, in some of the large quantities of
cold water available. A soggy and muddy time was had by all, much to the dismay
of the coach drivers.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Four Year 8 boys, Messrs
Chaldecott, Corke, Luong and Stothard visited the Salters’ Festival of
Chemistry Competition. They were accompanied by Kate Costante and lucky enough
to see, and hear, “loud bangs and colourful explosions”. Indeed, there was so
much chemical excitement that the building’s smoke alarm was set off just
before the lunch break.

Thursday, May 15th 2008

Year 7 visited Twycross Zoo, one
of Europe’s main specialists in apes of all sizes. The boys saw monkeys who ate
in “such a near-human fashion”, as well as chimpanzees, leopards, marmosets
small enough to fit in a teacup, and at the other end of the spectrum, hissing
cockroaches, red-kneed spiders and skin shedding anacondas.

Everybody had remembered to bring
some form of identification, so there was no problem leaving the zoo to its
proper inmates, and returning back to school after a tiring, but lovely, day.

Summer Term, 2008

The Summer Concert included
Saint-Saën’s “Carnival of theAnimals”.The audience heard Edward McDonald as a
“galumphing elephant” (double bass), Christopher Heining as an aviary
(fluttering flute), Simon Durrant as a fossil (xylophone), and Dominic Basista
as a lyrical swan (cello)

Summer Term, 2008

Under the enthusiastic ægis of
Scott Boswell, the school cricketers enjoyed their first taste of the new
format 20/20 cricket, with a competition held at Valley Road against Trent
College and Repton School, In the more traditional format of two day cricket,
the First XI managed to defeat Wellingborough by two wickets during the very
last over of the game.

July 2008

In a wide ranging article in the
Yearbook, Les Wilkinson, Senior Master, revealed, among many other things,
that, as a young man, he had seriously considered the Probation Service as a
career, only then to become a teacher. The best school play he had ever
directed was “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, in 1989. He revealed the
“healthy banter” in the staffroom, and his dream of being Bob Dylan for a day.
Most disturbing, though, was the fact that he admitted to having once bought a
copy of “Snooker Loopy” by Chas’n’Dave. Most comforting, though, was the fact
that he watched Coronation Street “religiously” every episode.

This would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Thirty Two: Uncle Les”.

the end of the Summer
Term, 2008

Graham Lewin retired after
thirty-seven years’ teaching at the High School. During this time, he was not
just Head of the Physics Department, but was also in charge of Cross Country,
helped with Athletics, and was Treasurer of the School Scout Group. He will
always be remembered by those who knew him as the most pleasant and affable of
men.

the end of the Summer
Term, 2008

Garry Martin retired after
teaching at the High School since 1992. He was a man who was in love with
books, and who had written “an impressive number of novels over the years”. As
his farewell in the Yearbook said, Garry was able to “talk stimulatingly not
only about literature, but about seemingly anything. He can dazzle with his
erudition and often illustrates points by reference to the many lives he has
led and to the wide range of astonishing people he has met…his absence from the
English Office will not go unnoticed. The large armchair will now be empty-the
chair in which Garry would think so deeply that some might even suppose that
occasionally he was asleep.”

the end of the Summer
Term, 2008

The Head Groundsman at Valley
Road, Terry Brown, retired after thirty years. He had always prepared pitches
for football, rugby and cricket to an amazingly high standard, given the
general wetness of the area, and the tremendous amount of wear to which the
turf was subjected. A thousand boys’ feet for five days of the week over forty
weeks of every single year represent a lot of wear and tear on the green sward.

the end of the Summer
Term, 2008

Bob Brown retired as Pole Vault
coach. He was a world veteran gold medal winner and a world record holder. This
represents one of the highest level of sports ever achieved by anyone
associated with the High School.

Monday, July 21st 2008

A group of fourteen Sixth Form
pupils, accompanied by those indomitable teachers of Geography, Richard Willan
and Colin Sedgewick, left Heathrow Airport for Ecuador and the Galapagos
Islands. Among many other unforgettable sights, they were to see Galapagos
Tortoises, iguanas, frigatebirds and blue footed boobies, as well as jaguars,
spider monkeys, spiders and “millions of insects”.

Friday, September 18th
2008

Grahame Whitehead and Susan Hills
took five boys, seven girls and seventeen children from St.Ann’s Primary School
for a weekend of various activities at Castleton in distant Derbyshire. The
Sixth Formers were astonished at just how much energy the little children had,
and were completely shattered after two days of climbing up castles, playing
football, giving piggy backs, cooking, cleaning, and masterminding the party on
the final night. Indeed, every single Sixth Former fell asleep in the bus on
the journey back to Nottingham.

2008-2009

The Philosophy Society had a
successful year. Stefan Krzeminski organised a succession of speakers including
Robin Le Poidevin (the Philosophy of Time), Will Browne (cognitive robots), and
Carrie Jenkins (the Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic).

2008-2009

The Politics Society had another
very successful year. Darren Poole, now in charge after a régime change from
Peter Cramp, was once again able to attract a selection of high profile
speakers including Ross Longhurst, the eco-Communist, Michael Cockerell, the
vintage documentary film maker and Oliver Letwin, the Conservative Member of
Parliament and Chairman of Policy Review.

the last kick of the
football season, 2008-2009

Deep into injury time, Aaron Iger
lashed the ball into the Welbeck College net to win a hard fought match by 3-2.
This was the Second XI’s first and only ever victory under the management of
coach Simon Williams. At a specially convened press conference after the game,
“The Special One” said, “You can keep the Champions' League - this was the
stuff of legend!”

Friday, March 6th, 2009

It was Jazz Night with
contributions from The Big Band with guest singer Oliver Metcalfe. A staff jazz
quintet played, along with The Junior Big Band and, most popular of all
perhaps, “The one and only” Neil Highfield, singing “his own inimitable
interpretation of Blue Suede Shoes”.

Monday, March 9th, and
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

The whole of Year 8 visited
Burbage Brook. They surveyed all the various geographical and hydrological
features but also had time for a game of pooh sticks, albeit with crunched up
dog biscuits.

Thursday, March 17th, and
Friday, March 18th, 2009

The whole of Year 9 visited the
Holocaust Centre where they had the privilege of listening to Arek Hersch who
had been a prisoner in Auschwitz. He reduced them to stunned silence when he
showed them his camp number tattooed on his forearm. Everybody was also able to
add their own small stone to the huge pile of stones in the gardens, each one
of which represents the life of a child who died in the Holocaust. Eventually,
every single one of the one and a half million children murdered by the Nazis
will be remembered here.

Tuesday, May 12th 2009

Four Year 8 boys were taken by
Kate Costante to the Salter’s Chemistry Competition at Nottingham University.
According to Max Spalding-Gardner, the best part of the day was the
“presentation by a daredevil scientist on hydrocarbons. It was literally hot,
many a sizzling explosion occurred—each more thrilling than the last!”

Saturday, June 6th 2009

In a closely fought game, the
First XI defeated Trent College, our nearest and dearest rivals. Trent scored
216-8, but the High School, urged on by Scott Boswell, edged home in the
narrowest of finishes, thanks primarily to the runs of Arun Johal and Alex McDonald.
Prominent players in the team this season had included James Godrich, Sam
Johnson, James Reeson and Alpesh Tosar. Most important of all, though, was
their team spirit.

the end of the school year,
2008-2009

After a gap of more than twenty
years, Housemaster Roger Kilby led Mellers’ House to a stunning triumph in the
Wheeler Cup. Early in the year, Michael Keetley and Ankush Khandelwal had
excelled in the Chess and Bridge respectively. James Taylor, Craig Woods and
Alex Lloyd had sewn up the Senior Cross Country. Tim Walton helped win the
Senior Rugby, and in the Bridge Cup, joint second place was achieved, with
outstanding contributions from both Tristan Ellis (junior percussion), Dominic
Ader and Richard Cassidy (individual verse speaking), as well as Oliver
Metcalfe and Ben Storey. After Christmas, Matthew Berrington guided the house
team to a fingertip victory in the Swimming Gala, and on Sports Day, Jonathan
Huggard won his two events and Alex Lloyd all four of his.

end of the summer term
2009

Davinder Gill left the school
after eleven years as a teacher of Physics. Outside the Science Laboratory, he
had been involved in many different activities, including cricket and the
school’s Community Action Group. Davinder was always very hard-working and
reliable, a modest person who did his job to the best of his ability. As the
Yearbook said, “….one of the unsung heroes that makes the School tick.”

end of the summer term
2009

John Rayfield retired after
fourteen years as Director of Music. He had energised this part of school life,
which was transformed by the Lady Carol Djanogly Music School, a building which
John had supervised from its very inception. His favourite moment at the High
School came when he was able to play the organ at St.Mark’s Cathedral in
Venice, Italy, high up under the magnificent, golden dome. In the Yearbook, he
revealed that his favourite composers were Bach and Mahler.

end of the summer term
2009

Dieter Hecht retired after
seventeen years as Head of German. He had displayed almost unbelievable levels
of energy, enthusiasm and dedication to his job. Everything was planned in
meticulous detail, and every method of awakening his pupils’ interest in his
native language was fully explored. There were visits to the Rhineland, and an exchange
with the Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster as well as study groups for sixth
formers. Outside the classroom, he participated in thirteen school ski trips,
and coached various teams in tennis, rugby and cricket. Dieter was a lovely person,
with a great sense of humour and a genuine sympathy for, and interest in, his
fellow man.

end of the summer term
2009

Stephen Barber retired after
twenty years as Head of Modern Languages. He had expanded departmental
resources enormously, increasing them from just a single cupboard to a
Languages Centre with facilities for self-access in thirty-five languages,
including Amharic, available. Outside the classroom, he was a talented musician
and a member of such supergroups as “Big Mac and the Regular Fries” and, as the
years passed by, “Hip Replacement”. Stephen also supervised the Christian Union
and its various incarnations over the years, succeeding in living his beliefs
rather than just proclaiming them.

end of the summer term
2009

Tony Slack retired after thirty
four years at the High School. He had started out as a Chemistry teacher, but
finished as the Director of ICT, responsible for the introduction of any number
of technological innovations, including, most importantly, paying for food electronically
at lunchtime. Outside the classroom, Tony was in charge of cricket for many
years, coached the Second XV, and in the 1970s, ran school football.

Few were aware that he was himself
an accomplished footballer and had played for Rotherham Reserves many times,
being threatened with physical violence by Charley Hurley on one famous
occasion. Tony was equally talented at cricket in his youth, and, while playing
for Yorkshire Colts, had once hit Freddie Trueman for a boundary. Tony was
Yorkshire born-and-bred. He had all the best qualities of a Yorkshireman, and
none of the worst ones.

summer 2009

Eighteen boys, led by Ian Thorpe
and Darren Brumby, went on a World Challenge expedition to Siberia. Travelling
via Moscow and Barnaul, they eventually finished up at Tyungar, after a sixteen
hour bus journey in “the world’s oldest bus on undoubtedly the world’s worst
roads. Just when we thought the road surface couldn’t get any worse, it didn’t.
It stopped”. Nevertheless, they eventually had, among many other wonderful
experiences, “a game of football against a local team, on a pitch backed by
snow-topped Siberian mountains.”

summer 2009

A party of young cricketers
visited Barbados in the sunny Caribbean. They played six games in six days,
against teams from Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Dominica and England.
In addition, they watched the floodlit final of the Sir Garfield Sobers
Tournament and found some time for sailing a catamaran, to go swimming with
turtles and a trip in a glass-bottomed boat.

summer 2009

A series of severe summer
downpours left the Upper School Library severely flooded. Thanks to the efforts
of Yvette Gunther the School Librarian, and Mr.Curtis, the after school
supervisor, very little lasting damage was caused, although some 10,000 books
had to be packed away, and then put back on the shelves in time for the new
school year. A Herculean task, accomplished with ease.

the school year 2009-2010

The Politics Society, organised
Darren Poole, provided a number of famous speakers this year. They included,
among others, the Government Chief Whip, Patrick McLoughlin, Haven Roosevelt,
the grandson of an extremely famous grandfather, the Old Nottinghamian, Ed
Balls, and Vernon Coaker, the Minister of State for Children, Schools and
Families, and himself an ex-teacher.

November 2009

As part of the “Year of Reading”,
the school was visited by two eminent authors, namely Beverley Naidoo and Mark
Wagh. Firstly, there was a presentation in the morning and, after lunch, a
writing workshop.

Wednesday, February 10th 2010

In football, the First Eleven,
coached by Peter Cramp with assistance from Kieron Heath, recorded an emphatic
victory over New College by six goals to two. The goals came from Rohan Rana
(2), Robert Sowter (2) , Sam Storey and Tom Heath. This was the team’s first
victory in a little over two years, and was thoroughly deserved as they totally
outplayed their demoralised opponents.

a weekend in early Spring 2010

A group of young Art students
visited Newcastle-on-Tyne, taking in the Millennium Bridge, the BALTIC, the
Biscuit Factory (full of pieces of Art), and a ghost trip around the city. Most
impressive of all, of course, was the Angel of the North.

Thursday, April 27th 2010

Sports Day took place, as usual,
on a lovely, warm spring day. Luke Dudley set a new record for the Year 10 shot
put of 11.59 metres. The victors were White’s House (756), and then Maples’
(708), Mellers’ (678) and Cooper’s (669).

Tuesday, May 13th 2010

Four young chemists, namely
Jacques Lachetta, Ben Mills, Sanjay Puri and Anouj Rajput, were taken to
Nottingham University by Kate Costante to do a “forensic report on a murder”.
In the afternoon, they took part in an egg survival competition, but most
striking of all was the last event when a guest lecturer put a wax candle into
a musket and proceeded to fire it, producing a deafening explosion. I wonder
where he got that idea from ?

Friday, June 25th 2010

The school held its first
“Activities Day”, when the vast majority of the junior boys participated in something
educational, but fun.

Year 7 were entertained by the Black
Cat Theatre Company. For the most part, they spent their time in the Sports
Hall, and finished their day by presenting their very own little playlets. As
far as I remember, every single one involved a shooting, and some of them, a
gangland style execution.

The whole of Year 8 cooled off
at Holme Pierrepont where they had a chance to indulge their taste for water
sports.  Led by the Head-of-Year, Tony Holding, they spent a rather wet
Activities Day, with everybody offered the choice of sailing, kayaking, water
skiing, or raft building. There was also an adventure assault course.

Year 9 all remained completely dry
back in school, as they were taught how to become filmmakers at the “One Day
Film School”.

For Years 10-13, it was business-as-usual, with a
normal Field Day. Various groups of the Army, Navy and the RAF sections tried
out a number of exciting military activities. The Stage Staff painted the set
for the school’s next dramatic production, and Community Action carried on
trying to improve people’s lives.

after the school exams 2010

The whole of Year 8 put on a
production of “The Odyssey” by Homer, with additional dialogue by Les
Wilkinson, assisted by Rachael Pearson and Rhian Wheeler. The splendid backdrop
was provided by Tregi Worsley and the Stage Staff. Everybody had a thoroughly
wonderful time, although the extensive report in the Yearbook reveals that one
of the main fascinations was “some boys having to wear make-up” and at least
one of them was described as “disturbingly feminine throughout”. Other stars
were Ciáran Green and Robert Jackson as Odysseus, and George Cowen, typecast as
the ferocious Polyphemus.

end of the summer term 2010

The ebullient Neil Highfield retired after
fifteen years as a rugby and cricket coach. The Yearbook described him as being
full of “not only….expertise, but boundless enthusiasm, which never
diminished.” It would certainly be very difficult to top his retirement speech,
which combined the very best of “The Comedians” with the profundity of the idea
that when we retire we leave as much behind us as does a human hand as it is
pulled up out of a bucket of water. Neil had accompanied sports tours to South
Africa, New Zealand, Portugal, Ireland, Barbados and Durham, and it was not
going to be too long before he went on another one.

summer 2010

A group of rugby players,
accompanied by David Allerton, Neil Highfield, Ian Thorpe and Stuart Whitehead
visited South America. They played games in Santiago, Chile, Uruguay and
Argentina. As tourists, they visited the Iguazu Falls, but surely the most
abiding memory will be Neil Highfield’s idea that every player should sing the
song “Robin Hood” to their direct opponent, and give him a Robin Hood hat as a
souvenir.

Thursday, August 26th 2010

Miss Michaela Green married Paul
Smith in the gardens at Coyaba Resort in Grenada in the Caribbean. She had been
born Michaela Green but after her mother’s remarriage, she had then changed her
name to Green-Harding. When she herself married, she became Mrs.Wadsley, and it
was as Mrs.Wadsley that she had joined the staff in 2004. Her subsequent
divorce allowed her to revert to Miss Green, but then true love struck and she
became Mrs.Smith. The great pity, of course, is that we do not yet follow the
American system for this kind of thing. Inspired by Elizabeth Taylor, or
indeed, Sue-Ellen Ewing, Michaela could justifiably have called herself
Mrs.Green-Green-Harding-Wadsley-Green-Smith.

the school year 2010-2011

The Arts Society run by William Ruff
continued to offer a huge variety of activities including drama from “Œdipus”
by Sophocles to “She stoops to Conquer”, from ballet to opera with a wide
variety of different orchestras and classical music concerts.

Solo pianists included Stephen
Kovasevich, Lars Vogt and Lang Lang.

the school year 2010-2011

The Debating Society, run by
Claire Sanford, went from strength to strength. This year they entered the
English Speaking Union’s competition called “The Mace”, which is the nation’s
oldest debating competition. The team had practiced for this moment by debating
sample motions such as “This house regrets the British have lost their stiff
upper lip”,  “This house believes Religion is better left in the home than
brought into school” and “This house would introduce quotas for women in
cabinet.”

two dates in 2010-2011

After thirty years of directing
school drama, Les Wilkinson bowed out with two very different productions. One
was “The Threepenny Opera” and the other “Bugsy”, perhaps the lighter of the two.

the rugby season 2010-2011

The Second XV, coached by Ian
Thorpe, lost only one of their twelve matches, and won the rest, four of them
by a margin of more than fifty points. With this record they were classified in
the English Schools’ Rankings as being the fourth best team in the country. The
team’s outstanding players included Matthew N.Brown, Pablo Egbuna-Ruiz and
Conor Snape.

the hockey season
2010-2011

Under the leadership of Ian
Cowley, the U-14s were the County Champions, and the U-16s, were runners up,
having drawn the final against Worksop College.

the swimming season
2010-2011

Adam Sperry was selected for the
England U-15 Water Polo squad, the first time as far as I am aware, that a
member of the school has excelled at this sport since the days of Vicky Bruscomb in the early 1990s.

Wednesday, October 20th-Tuesday,
October 26th, 2010

The school’s Big Band, and
Cutting Harmony, went on a tour of New York. There were twenty-seven young
musicians in the party which was accompanied by Gerald Douglas, Karl Leutfeld
and Stefan Reid. Highlights included visiting the Hard Rock Café and a concert
in Harlem. Outstanding personal performances included Jack Hadfield singing the
spirituals “Nobody Knows” and “Deep River” at St.Peter’s Lutheran Church and Jake
Hinson playing Artie Shaw’s very own clarinet in the demanding “Concerto for
Clarinet”.

October 2010

The First Eleven, coached by
Peter Cramp and Kieron Heath, had the pleasure of playing against Trent College
at Nottingham Forest’s training facilities at Wilford. There was a professional
referee, and the pitch was like a grass covered billiard table. The story ended
well, too as goals from Richard Brierley, Robert Sowter, James Monk, John Kehoe
and Roham Rana produced a 5-1 scoreline. Although they did not manage to score,
there were outstanding performances from Sam Johnson and Sam Storey.

Friday, November 12th 2010

The Politics Society, supervised by
Darren Poole, invited Old Nottinghamian and Member of Parliament, Ed Davey, to
give a talk. Other speakers this year included Ken Clarke, one of our other Old
Nottinghamian Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers, as well as Tony
Eggington, the first democratically elected Mayor of Mansfield, Stephen Bercow,
the Speaker of the House of Commons and David Smith, the Economics Editor of
the Sunday Times.

December 2010

The R.A.F. Section of the C.C.F.
was now commanded by Flight Lieutenant Nigel Key of the R.A.F.V.R. One of the
members of the section, Cadet Sergeant Roland Buchta, was the very first to gain
a coveted yellow lanyard, within months of the new award being set up. Roland
was soon followed by a number of other members of the section.

Tuesday, January 25th 2011

The Valley Road
Sports Ground was used as a landing point for the Duchess of Cornwall's
helicopter, en route to the City Hospital and the Council House. (See also the
entry for Tuesday, June 12th 2012)

February 2011

A remarkable new technological
innovation occurred when Andy Lumley, would-be teacher of Mathematics, became
the first person ever to be interviewed for a job on Skype. And he did actually
succeed in his application, as covering teacher for Caroline Howat’s maternity
leave.

February 2011

Under the ægis of Wilma Robinson,
Daniel Turner achieved third place in an essay competition run by the Royal
Economic Society. The title of his essay was “Has recent government policy
towards banks reduced the chance of another big financial crisis -- or
increased it ? ”

the beginning of March 2011

A Year 8 Fencing team, coached by
Andrew Reid, reached the quarter finals of the National Schools’ Fencing
Championships at Brunel University. The team consisted of Philip Davey, Annanay
Kapila and Sam Steele, and their final placing was fifth out of thirteen, a
splendid achievement for such a new school sport.

late March 2011

Will Burn and Ben Harrison
directed “Iphigenia at Aulis”, one of what has now become a series of Classical
dramas put on in recent years.

the Easter Holidays 2011

David Allerton took a small group
of Sixth Form Spanish students to spend a few days at the K2 International
School in Cádiz. They were able to live with a family during their stay and
were taught by a solely Spanish speaking teacher when they were in the
classroom.

Friday, May 6th 2011

The Battle of
the Bands took place in the Founder Hall, raising some £130 for the four House
charities.  This event bade a final farewell to Les Wilkinson who sang for the
last time on stage as a teacher. On this particular occasion, he was performing
solo on guitar, as the rest of the staff band, “Hip Replacement” were away
backing the Rolling Stones on their tour of North America.

the end of the summer term
2011

Scott Boswell left the school
after five years of almost unbelievable energy levels as Director of Cricket.
He ran trips to Portugal and Barbados and introduced 20/20 cricket to the
school, as well as two day games and a new house match programme, all of them,
hopefully, little acorns.

the end of the summer term
2011

Matthew Jackson left the school
after nine years. He had introduced Spanish to the syllabus, and had been both
Head of Spanish and then Head of French. Along with Paul Allison, Matthew
devoted enormous amounts of time to Cross Country and Athletics. But most of
all, though, as the Yearbook said, both the staff and the boys would all miss
greatly….his characteristic vitality and “joie de vivre”.

the end of the summer term
2011

John Lamb retired after twenty
years in the High School. Initially a teacher of Maths, he was soon promoted to
Head of Year 11 and Senior Careers Adviser. Outside the classroom, he devoted
vast amounts of time to cricket, and was, in fact, the teacher in charge of
this sport for ten years, putting in countless hours to make cricket possible
and enjoyable.

the end of the summer term
2011

Les Wilkinson retired after
thirty-four years at the High School. During this time he was an English
teacher, and had produced a long series of school plays, including the one
which he thought was the high spot of his career, namely “Macbeth” in 1989. Les
was also Head of the Sixth Form, and Senior Master, and had organised many ski
trips over the years. He had given any number of Founder Hall assemblies, the
majority incorporating his trademark guitar and folk songs. Most important
though, was the fact that “Uncle Les” was always, without fail, a polite, kind,
and caring man, although, of course, this was with fellow human beings, not
computers.

Friday, October 28th 2011

A group
of Sixth Form students from Mellers' House collected money in Nottingham city centre
to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Ward (E38) at the QMC. More than £300 was
raised for this worthy charity.

Friday, December 9th
2011

A Non-Uniform
Day for boys and staff raised more than £1250, which was divided equally
between the four House charities. The Housemasters sportingly paid for the
chance to wear specially designed House rugby shirts in their respective house
colours.

Tuesday, December 13th 2011

The school’s
Barbershop singing group, “Cutting Harmony”, visited Oakfield Special School,
in Aspley, and entertained the children, many of whom had physical and mental
disabilities. Songs sung included “Yesterday”, “The Streets of London”, “Uptown Girl”, “My Everline”, and,
appropriately enough, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”.

January 2012

After just over six years of
part-time study with the University of Southampton, Rachael Pearson became
Doctor Pearson after being awarded her Ph.D. Her doctorate was entitled “Power
and Politics in the Gothic Drama of M.G.Lewis”.

January 2012

The “Nottinghamian” produced its
first ever Nottingham High School A-Z. It was….

……“Advice, Brasserie, Commitment,
Determination, Exams, Football, Girls’ School, Houses, Interests, June, Kevin
Fear, Leadership, Music, Neil Highfield, Opportunities, Pride, Queue, Respect,
Sport, Tutor, University, Valley Road, Wilkinson, eXtra Curricular, Your Year

and Z (forget it) TEAM…Together
Everyone Achieves More.

Old School motto that really does
hold true.”

Saturday, January 7th 2012

The Cross
Country team took part in the Nottinghamshire AAA County Championships. The
Under-17s won Bronze medals, and the Under-13s finished in fourth place. The
Junior School team came second in their age group.

Thursday, March 1st 2012

The school
celebrated World Book Day.  There was a visit from famous author A.M. Crawford,
whose first novel, “The Titan
Prophecy”, was “climbing the young adult fiction charts”. Ms
Crawford gave a reading from her latest work, and took questions from an
appreciative audience of Year Seven pupils, as well signing copies of her book.

Wednesday, March 7th 2012

The
school hosted the EMACT Regional Latin and Greek reading competition. Three
boys were highly commended. They were Ross
Jackson, Ashhad Noor and Raghav Sudarshan

Monday, March 26th
2012

The Senior quiz team went to
Ampleforth College for the Inter-Regional Round of the Competition, and won
handsomely by 950-380. The team consisted of the Captain, James Pell, Max
Bowling, Robert Jackson and Luke Sperry, and they moved on to the National
Finals later in the year.

Thursday, April 26th
2012

International guitarist, Adam
Brown, visited the High School, where he gave a lunchtime recital to a large
and appreciative audience. They were able to experience the timbral
possibilities of the guitar and to hear pieces which reproduced the sound of
gunshots.

Tuesday, June 12th 2012

The Valley Road
Sports Ground was used as a landing and take-off point for the Royal Helicopter
as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Royal Visit to Nottingham. First of all,
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived from Anglesey and then left by road
to meet the Queen at the station. Later, the Queen ended her own visit to the
city by leaving in a helicopter, which shortly afterwards returned to pick up
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Thursday, June 21st 2012

Despite being the youngest age
group at which this challenge is aimed, four Year 9 students achieved Gold
certificates in the Intermediate Maths Challenge. They were Annanay Kapila,
Timothy Lee, Dayal Sekhon and Jack Wickham.

Friday, June 29th 2012

The whole school
participated in an “Activities Day”. Year Seven went to Drayton Manor Park.
Year Eight went to Walesby Forest near Newark-on-Trent. Year Nine spent a day
learning how to make films with the One Day Film School. Year Ten pursued their
usual Monday evening activities, with either the CCF, Community Action or the
Young Engineers. Year Twelve visited the University of Nottingham for their
Open Day.

the week
beginning Monday, July 9th 2012

As part of a radical
refurbishment of the staffroom work area, the magnificent wooden tables were
sold off in an auction to members of staff. Opinion differed as to exactly how
old they were.

Some
believed that they all dated from, say, the immediate post-war period or the
early 1950s, but my own memory is that a refurbishment took place when the
entire staffroom was revamped, and Dick Elliott’s room, for example,
disappeared for ever. Certainly, the vast majority of the tables were
relatively pristine, and certainly had no graffiti.

There was, though,
just one table which did. It must have been sited in a classroom, at the very
least, between 1981-1990, because it bore the word “Bif”. Presumably, this was
an abbreviated version of the full nickname, or perhaps the perpetrator was unable
to complete his evil handiwork, before his vandalism was spotted.

It is
certainly a matter of record that the teacher’s full nickname was “Biffo”, in
honour of the character in the Beano comic, “Biffo the Bear”. Except that being
occasionally a somewhat less-than-interesting teacher, he was often thought of
as “Biffo the Bore”.

The table in question
is certainly old. It has other carved graffiti which include “Boggins
1951-1962” and “Albert 1954-1962”, and must surely date from that initial
post-war period.

Personally, I would
like to believe that this was the very table around which used to sit
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, those members of staff whose main concern
before school began was to complete the Times crossword. This élite group included
Jeff Leach, Ian Parker, David Peters and Allan Sparrow. Golden days.

Thursday, July
12th 2012

Ron Gilbert retired
after twenty four years in the High School, spread over two periods, from
1979-1983 and then from 1992-2012. In the interim, he had spent some time
teaching in the European School in Varese, in northern Italy.

Ron had
come from the humblest of beginnings in London’s East End, to achieve a degree
at Oxford University, and then to be a teacher of Chemistry at one of the
country’s finest schools. His successes are a glowing testimony not just to his
own character and determination, but to the help afforded him at different
points along the way.

Ron did
not just teach Chemistry, however. He dedicated enormous amounts of his free
time to school sport, coaching at various times, the Under-14 and Under-16
rugby teams. In Athletics, he coached the discus, and was also involved in the
C.C.F. Ron enjoyed hill walking and took part in many expeditions to Scotland
and Wales with adventurous training and the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. He also
ran Chemistry Club for a great many years.

Thursday, July
12th 2012

Stefan Krzeminski
retired after twenty six years in the High School. He had achieved a great many
things, and this would be an appropriate time to have a look at “Appendix
Thirty Three : The Spawn of Satan”.

Appendices

Headmasters of the School

John Smith                                          1512
– 1513                            BCanL (Cantab)

Robert Calton                                                                         (?)

George
Somer                                                             (?)

Henry
Cockrame                                 1563 - 1564     (?)                    BCanL
(Oxford)

Brian
Garnett                                      1565 - 1575     (?)

John Depup                                         1575 -
1584     (?)                    MA, Trinity

College,

Cambridge

Robert Ableson                                   1583/4
-1587   (?)                    BA, Queens’

College,

Cambridge

Christopher Heylowe                          1587 (?) -
1591/2                     MA, St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

John
Lowe                                          1592 - 1607                            BA,
Caius

College,

Cambridge

Thomas
Soresbie                                 1607 - 1616                             MA,
Queens’

College,

Oxford

Robert
Theobald                                 1616 - 1628                             MA,
Trinity

College,

Cambridge

Thomas Leake                                     1628 -
1657                             MA, St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

Henry Pitts                                          1657 -
1663/4                         MA, Pembroke

College,

Cambridge

Henry Watkinson                                1663 - 1664                             St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

Samuel Birch                                       1663/4 -
1672                          MA, Emmanuel

College,

Cambridge

Jeremiah Cudworth                             1672 - 1687                             MA,
Christ’s

College,

Cambridge

Gowin Knight                                     1687 –
1691                            MA, Christ

Church

Oxford

Edward Griffith                                  1691 –
1707                            MA, Queens’

College,

Cambridge

Richard Johnson                                 1707 – 1720
BA, St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

William Smeaton                                 1718 – 1719
MA, Queens’

College,

Cambridge

William Saunders                                1719                                       MA,
Trinity

Hall,

Cambridge

Thomas
Miles                                                                                      MA,
Clare

Appointed 1719, but did not take up his position                              College,

Cambridge

John Womack                                     1720 - 1722
BA, Corpus

Christi

College,

Cambridge

John Swaile                                         1722
- 1731                            MA

Cambridge

Edward Chappell                                1731/2                                     MA,
Jesus

College,

Cambridge

John Henson                                       1731/2
- 1758                         Sidney Sussex

College

Cambridge

Timothy Wylde                                   1758
– 1793

John Challand Forrest                         1793 - 1806                             MA,
Queens’

College,

Cambridge

John
Toplis                                          1809 – 1819                            MA,
BD, Queens’

College,

Cambridge

Dr. Robert Wood                                1819 – 1833                            MA,
DD,

St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

William
Butler                                     1833 – 1860                            MA,
Queens’

College,

Oxford

Frederick Teeling Cusins                    1861 – 1868                            MA,
St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

Dr.Robert Dixon                                 1868 – 1884
MA, LLD,

St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

Dr.James Gow                                    1885 – 1901                            MA,
LittD,

Trinity

College,

Cambridge

Dr.George Sherbrooke Turpin            1901 – 1925                            MA,
St.John’s

College,

Cambridge

DSc London

Cedric
Lawton Reynolds                    1925 – 1953                            MA,
Clare

College,

Cambridge

Kenneth Robert Imeson                      1954 – 1970                            MA,
Sidney

Sussex
College,

Cambridge

Dr.Dennis Trevor
Witcombe               1970 – 1995                            OBE, MA, BLitt,

St.John’s College,

Oxford

PhD Manchester

Christopher Stuart
Parker                   1995 – 2007                            CBE, BA
(Bristol)

FRSA

Kevin David Fear                                           2007
- 2012 at least                 BA

(Southampton)

Ushers, Under Masters, Second Masters and
Deputy Heads

Richard
Slack

Lancelot
Butler                                   1578    (?)

Christopher
Forman                            1592    (?)

Robert
Hussey                                    1592 - 1601 (?)

(?)
Brathwayte                                    1602 - 1606 (?)

Gervase
Hall                                       1606 - 1610

Richard
Sulleye                                   1610 - 1616

William
Burrowes                               1616 - 1630

Samuel
Lightfoote                              1630 - 1636

Godfrey
Wigfall                                 1636 - 1637

David
Woodfroffe                              1637 - 1642

(?) Poxton                                           1643
- 1646                 (?)

(?) Grant                                              1649
- 1651                 (?)

(?) Oxley                                             1652
- 1658                 (?)

Thomas
Elkington                               1658 - 1661

(?) Hoxlyn
1661 - 1662/3

Samuel
Barkston                                 1662/3 - 1664

William
Bradshaw                              1664 - 1671

Joshua
Vroyne                                                1671 - 1678

John
Littlefair                                                 1678 - 1685

Samuel
Birch                                       1685 - 1707

John Lamb                                          1708
(?) - 1711            (?)

John
Clarke                                         1711

John Peake
1711 - 1714                 (?)

John
Hucklebridge                                                                  (?)

George
Bettinson                                1716 (?) - 1724

John
Henson                                       1724 - 1731/2

George
Wayte                                     1732 - 1747

Thomas
Nixon                                     1747 - 1758

Francis
Henson                                   1758 - 1762

Samuel
Berdmore                               1762 - 1765

William
Fell                                         1765 - 1767

Willliam
Anderson                              1767 - 1792

Leonard
Chapman                              1792 - 1793

Robert
Wood                                      1793 - 1819

Samuel
Lund                                       1820 - 1833

John
Manners                                      1834 - 1838

Samuel
Langworth                              1838 - 1856

Frederick
Cusins                                 1856 - 1860

Charles
Bray                                       1861 - 1868

Alexander
Irving                                 1868 - 1875

Augustus
Scott White                         1876 - 1881

James
Easton                                       1881 - 1885

Benjamin
Townson                             1891

Samuel
Corner                                    1891 - 1914

Ernest
Gaskin                                      1914 - 1927

Harry
Goddard                                   1927 - 1941

Joseph
Kennard                                  1941 - 1947

Albert Duddell                                    1947
- 1958

Adam
Thomas                                     1958 - 1969

Stanley
Ward                                      1969 - 1981

Terence
Willcocks                               1981 - 1988

Timothy
Moore-Bridger                      1988 - 1997

Paul Sibly                                            1997
- 2012 at least

Roll
of Honour

The Great War,
1914-1919

F.W.Abbott                 Gunner,
Royal Garrison Artillery       killed, September 21st 1917

G.Aked                       Lieut.,
5th Batt Leicester Regiment.              killed, March 5th 1915

L.H.Allen                    2nd
West Yorkshire Regiment           killed, March 28th 1918

C.E.Atherley               Lieut.,
11th K.O.Y.L.I.                      died of wounds, June 17th 1915

A.L.Baker                   2nd
Lieut., 8th West Yorkshire Reg   killed, October 9th 1917

A.Ball                          Captain,
Royal Air Force                    killed, May 7th 1917

O.H.Ball                      Lieut.,
10th Yorkshire Reg                 killed, September 28th 1916

W.W.Ball                    2nd
Lieut., 10th Yorkshire Reg          killed, November 24th 1915

H.W.Ballamy              Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        killed, August 14th 1917

M.Barrows                  2nd
Lieut., 8th Sherwood Foresters   killed, October 3rd 1918

W.Bavin                      2nd
Lieut., 1/6th Sherwood F’sters    killed, September 29th 1918

W.D.Birch                   on
Australian Transport since 1914    no news since October 1918

E.C.Black                    2nd
Lieut., 7th Scots Fusiliers            killed, November 22nd 1916

F.D.Blandy                 Lieut.-Colonel,
R.A.M.C.                   killed, August 14th 1917

A.S.Bostock                2nd
Lieut., 6th Battalion D.L.I.         reported missing, June 1918 C.G.Boyd                 2nd
Lieut., 9th Leicestershire Reg            reported missing, May 3rd 1917

H.S.Brett                     1st
Battalion  East  Lancashires          reported missing, Oct 18th 1916

T.Bricknell                  Gunner,
Royal Garrison Artillery       killed, October 17th 1918

F.A.Bright                   Lieut.,
7th Sherwood Foresters          killed, October 15th 1915

W.B.Bryan                  Colonel,
17th London Regiment        deceased

G.F.Burrows
Gunner, R.G.A.                                  died, December
7th 1918.

D.A.Buxton                Lieut.,
8th Leicester Regiment           killed

S.E.Cairns                   Lieut.,
8th Sherwood Foresters          killed, September 30th 1918

A.H.Calvert                Lieut.,
7thSherwood Foresters           killed, January 27th 1918

S.C.Carter                   2nd
Lieut., 11thSherwood Foresters  died of wounds, July 1st 1916

W.E.Cash                    11th
Lancashire Fusiliers                    reported missing, May 27th 1918

D.J.Clarkson               2nd
Lieut., 1/6th Sherwood F’sters    killed, August 9th 1918

J.R.Coleman                2nd
Lieut., Special Brigade, R.E.       died, Nov 26th 1918

H.A.Connop               Flight-Lieut.,
R.N.A.S.                       died of wounds, March 31st 1918

P.N.Cooper                 Lieut.,
1st Sherwood Foresters           died, July 6th 1916

S.Cooper                     Lieutenant,
Sherwood Foresters         killed

R.H.Cowing                2nd
Lieut., 3rd York & Lanc’r Reg    died of wounds, July 15th 1915

J.R.Crane                    Captain,
Army Veterinary Corps        died, May 8th 1918

A.B.Crawford             Captain,
17th West Yorkshire Reg     killed May 16th 1916

F.W.Crofts                  Captain,
17th London Regiment        died of wounds, Sep 15th 1916.

W.E.Cross                   10th
Notts & Derby  Regiment          died of wounds, Aug 23rd 1917

W.H.Cullen                 2nd
Lieut., M.G.C.                             killed, July 11th 1916

H.Daft                         2nd
Lieut., I7th Royal Fusiliers          killed, April I3th 1917

H.R.Davis                   Royal
Naval Division                          killed, November 13th 1916

E.I.Dexter                   Lieut.,
R.F.C. &  R.A.F.                     killed, May 4th 1918

H.V.Dexter                 43rd
Battalion, Manitoba Regiment   killed, May 24th 1917

W.G.Domleo               Sergeant-Major,
1/7th Sher Foresters killed,
April 13th 1918

R.C.M.Douthwaite     Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        died, June 19th 1919

W.Dunn                      2nd
Lieut., 7th Battalion Lincolns      killed, March 24th 1918

F.H.M.Eberlin             2nd
Lieut., 3rd K.O.Y.L.I., R.F.C.    killed, July 25th 1917

F.W.Elliott                  Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        reported missing, July 19th 1916

A.J.Ewart                    2nd
Lieut., 8th W.Riding Regiment   killed, September 28th 1916

C.E.Ferguson              Lieut.,
Royal Flying Corps                 killed

J.O.Forryan                 Corporal,
9th Royal Sussex  Reg        killed, November 4th 1918

C.W.Fox                     Machine
Gun Corps                            killed, December 3rd 1917

W.H.Freestone            Chaplain
to the Forces                        killed

P.H.B.Furley               2nd
Lieut., 41st Dogras                      killed in India, June 1st 1919

L.J.Gant                      Lieut.,
Royal Horse Artillery              died, July 15th 1919

C.Gascoyne                 Captain,
2/7th Sherwood Foresters.   died as prisoner, May 8th 1917

O.C.Gillott                  Lieut.,
68th Field Company, R.E.      killed, June 7th 1917

M.Given                      7th
Sherwood Foresters                      died as prisoner, May 17th 1918

A.E.Goddard              Ord.
Seaman, R.N.V.R.                      died of pneumonia, Oct 8th 1918

G.P.Goodall                Captain,
10th Sherwood Foresters.    Killed, February 16th 1916

R.C.A.Gow                 Lieut.,
H.M.S.Defence                       killed in the Battle of Jutland

D.P.C.Grant                Lieut.,
Cameron Highlanders.             killed

H.Green                      Sergeant,
I/4th Leicestershire Reg      killed, October 14th 1915

G.H.Greenfield           Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        killed

W.W.Hacking             Lieutenant
reported missing

A.K.Hall                     Captain,
Royal West Kent Regiment killed
September, 1917

T.Hardy                       Captain,
25th Infantry Depôt, Etaples           died of wounds, Oct 18th 1918

F.H.Harper                  Lieut.,
Royal Engineers                      died of wounds, April 21st 1918

C.C.Hart                     Lieut.,
King's African Rifles               killed, November 16th 1917

L.G.Heath                   Captain,
3rd Skinner's Horse              died of wounds, Mar 14th 1916

A.H.Hemsley
1st Canterbury Infantry, N.Z.E.F.      killed, November
5th 1918

G.Hepburn                  Lieutenant,
98th Field Co., R.E.        killed, March 30th 1918

J.R.W.Herrick             Captain,
11th Gurkhas                        died of wounds, Oct 24th 1920

E.J.Holroyd                 Captain,
S.S.War Knight                    killed, March 24th 1918

J.I.Holroyd                  1/28th
London Regiment                    reported missing, Oct 30th 1917

H.H.Hooton
Lieutenant, Royal Irish Rifles             died of wounds,
Aug 3rd 1916

R.G.Hopewell             Captain,
1/7th Sherwood Foresters    killed, September 3rd 1916

A.I.W.Horlock            9th
Royal Fusiliers.                             Killed, July 3rd 1917

W.L.Howard               Lieut.,
7th Somerset Light Infantry   died of wounds, Aug 16th 1917

W.F.Howett                2nd
Lieutenant, R.A.F.                       killed, December 17th 1918

J.Howitt                      Rifle
Brigade                                                  reported
missing, May 27th 1918

R.W.Hoyte                  Captain,
7th Sherwood Foresters       missing, presumed killed

C.D.Hutchinson          Captain,
7th Sth Staffs Reg, R.F.C.   died of wounds, Aug 12th 1917

J.E.Jackson                  Royal
Garrison Artillery                     killed, March 28th 1918

J.H.Johnson                 52nd
Battalion Canadian Contingent             killed, September 16th 1916

P.N.Johnson                Captain,
1/4th York & Lanc’r Reg     died of wounds, Oct 16th 1918

W.Johnson                  Lance-Corporal,
2nd H.A.C.              killed,
October 9th 1917

H.A.Johnstone            Major,
152 Royal Field Artillery                    died, May 21st 1918

J.G.Johnstone              Sergeant,
Canadian Contingent          died of wounds, May 1922

W.McC.Johnstone      Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        killed, February 13th 1916

A.Jordan                     Royal
Fusiliers                                    killed, August 6th 1916

J.F.Jowers                   Lieutenant,
Somerset Light Infantry killed,
March 24th 1918

L.B.Kellett                  Lance-Corporal,
1/7th Sherwood F.   killed,
July 1st 1916

R.Kerridge                  7th
Battalion Norfolk Regiment         died, March 18th 1919

G.E.King                     Lieut.,
14th Sherwood Foresters        killed

B.C.Laws                    Lieut.,
1st York & Lanc’r Reg            died of wounds, May 25th 1915

P.N.Laws                    Captain,
16th Notts.and Derby  Reg  killed, September 1917

H.A.Leggett                Major,
10th Sherwood Foresters        died, March 3rd  1920

J.W.Lewin                   2nd
Lieut., 5th Leicestershire Reg      killed, September 24th 1918

A.H.Levy                    Lieut.,
Royal Field Artillery               killed, July 30th 1917

G.N.E.Lotinga                        2nd
Lieutenant,

-Smith             10th
Northumberland Fusiliers           killed, July 19th 1917

L.A.Luscombe                        Signaller,
Royal Navy                         lost at sea, January 20th 1918

D.A.Mackay               10th
Lincolnshire Regiment                killed, July 1st 1916

F.G.Malsom                28th
London Artists' Rifles                missing, Oct 30th 1917

C.R.Maltby                 Captain,
Rifle Brigade                        killed

C.Marriott                   West
Riding Regiment                       killed, November 27th 1917

E.S.Marrs                    Corporal,
Honorable Artillery  Co      killed, February 4th 1917

F.M.Marrs                   2nd
Lieut., 1st Worcestershire Reg    killed, March 4th 1917

W.Marshall
Lieutenant,1st K.O.S.B.                     killed, June 4th
1915

C.Mason                      Sherwood
Foresters                            killed

R.B.Mellard                Lieut.,
5th North Staffordshire Reg   killed, July 1st 1916

P.W.Mellor                  Lieut.,
2/7th Sherwood Foresters       died from exposure, April 1916

S.B.Melville                Lieut.,
11th Sherwood Foresters        killed, January 23rd 1916

A.L.Millar                   Captain,
4th Battalion, Rifle Brigade killed, April 15th 1918

T.C.Miller                    Driver,
Royal Field Artillery               drowned, October 23rd 1915

H.Moore                      Captain
killed

T.H.Morris                  2nd
Lieut., 3rd York and Lancasters killed

R.J.Mozley                  Lieutenant,
Machine Gun Corps         missing, Mar 21st 1918

G.E.S.Newmarch        Corporal,
Royal Field Artillery           killed, May 9th 1917

G.A.J.Nicol                 Army
Ordnance Corps                        killed, December 1917

A.W.Oakden
Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery        died of wounds,
June 29th 1918

E.R.Oakden
Captain, 10th Sherwood Foresters     died of wounds,
Mar 22nd 1917

M.Oldershaw              Lieutenant,
Canadian Contingent       killed

B.G.O'Rorke               Ass.Dep.
Chaplain General, B.E.F.    died, December 25th 1918

D.J.A.Oubridge          Cadet,
Royal Air Force                       died, February 8th 1919

F.Parry                                    Major,
2nd Warwickshire Reg            died of wounds, 1918

M.B.Paton                   Captain,
10th S.Lancashire Reg         killed, August 7th 1915

P.V.C.Perry                 Captain,
7th Sherwood Foresters       killed, April 26th 1916

T.Phethean                  Corporal,
10th Sherwood Foresters    killed, August 7th 1916

J.B.Pierce                    Lieutenant,
Royal Air Force               killed, October 2nd 1918

F.P.L.Piggin                Lieutenant,
Rhodesian Native Reg     killed,
December 21st 1916

F.N.Pratt                     Captain,
2nd York & Lancaster Reg  killed, September 18th 1918

N.H.Pratt                    Captain,
10th Sherwood Foresters     killed, July 7th 1916

C.G.Prosser                 Sergeant,
8th Leicestershire Reg        killed, July 14th 1916

A.K.Purdy                  2nd
Lieut., 1st Leicestershire Reg      killed, November 20th 1917

G.H.Pyatt                    Royal
Army Medical Corps                died of dysentery in Egypt, 1918

R.G.Pyatt                    Lieut.,
7th Sherwood Foresters          killed, 1918

F.E.Rees
2nd Lieut., Royal Air Force                killed, August
23rd 1918

H.S.Rhodes                 Sapper,
Royal Engineers                     killed, October 13th, 1915

A.Riddle                     Army
Service Corps                            killed, March 24th 1918

W.H.Ritter                  Lieut.,
R.F.C.                                      killed, June 2nd 1917

F.Robinson                  Lance-Corporal,
Bedfordshire Reg    killed,
August 27th 1918

J.H.Robinson              2nd
Lieut., 2/6th North Staffs Reg    killed, November 30th 1918

J.G.Roe                       2nd
Lieut., South Notts.Hussars        killed, September 26th 1917

B.Rolling                     10th
Sherwood Foresters                    killed, February 14th 1916

W.H.Rushton              Captain,
Lincolnshire Regiment         killed, September 25th 1916

H.W.Schroder             2nd
Lieut., 15th Lancashire Fusiliers killed, December 2nd 1917

H.F.Senior                   Major,
Royal Field Artillery               died of wounds, April 13th 1918

A.F.McC.Sergeant      10th
Battalion Canadian Exp.Force   killed, June 5th 1916

T.C.W.Shaw               2nd
Lieut., 4th London Regiment      killed, August 24th 1918

R.E.Sheldon                2nd
Lieut., 7th Notts.& Derbys Reg  died of wounds, April 15th 1918

F.E.Shipstone              Lance-Corporal,
28th London Reg     killed,
July 19th 1917

A.V.Simpson              3rd
Officer, S.S.Shipcote                   drowned

H.L.Simpson               Corporal,
South Notts.Hussars.          drowned, May 27th 1918

L.G.Simpson               Lance
Corporal,                                  killed

26th Royal Fusiliers

J.H.Simpson                Clerk,
H.M.S.Natal                             killed, December 30th 1915

R.W.L.Smallbones      Leicestershire
Regiment                      killed, March 21st 1918

E.D.Smith                   2nd
Lieut., 9th Sherwood Foresters   killed, October 4th 1917

G.L.Smith                   Lieutenant,
Royal Fusiliers                 killed

A.Spray                       Major,
M.C., Tank Corps                    killed, May 5th 1918

A.Stafford                  Sapper,
Royal Engineers                     killed, October 31st 1918

V.J.Steedman              Lieut.,
Canadian Contingent              killed, October 25th 1916

A.L.Stevens                Lieut.,
Leicestershire Regiment.         killed, April 7th 1917

W.D.Stevens               Lieut.,
29th Vancouver Batt, C.E.F.  killed May 30th 1916

E.A.Stiebel                  Cadet,
Inns of Court O.T.C.               died,  August 24th 1917

E.R.Taylor                   Lance-Corporal,
K.R.R.C.                  killed, August 24th 1916

G.A.Taylor                  Corporal,
South Notts.Hussars           died of malaria, October 5th 1916

G.S.Taylor
Lieutenant, 2nd Sherwood Foresters  killed, October
15th 1916

P.Taylor                       Sergeant,
1/7thSherwood Foresters    killed, June 18th 1915

R.Thrale                      Corporal,
7th Notts.& Derbys Reg     killed, July 1st 1916

E.A.Thurman              South
Notts.Hussars                           killed, December 3rd 1917

F.G.Tinker                   Corporal,
1/7th Sherwood Foresters   reported missing, Mar 21st 1918

E.F.Todd                     Able
Seaman, R.N.V.R.                     died of wounds, Dec 23rd 1917

F.C.Tonkin                  Captain,
7th East Yorkshire Reg        killed, November 4th 1918

R.E.Trease                   Lieutenant,
Royal Field Artillery        died in hospital, Dec 5th 1918

S.C.Trease                   2nd
Lieutenant, 11th Scottish Rifles  missing, September 19th 1918

C.E.W.Turner              Signalman,
R.N.V.R.                          killed, May 2nd 1917

E.Turney                     Lieutenant
killed

J.K.Turpin                   2nd
Lieut., Royal Field Artillery        killed, August 14th 1917

W.G.Tweddle             1st
Sherwood Foresters                      killed, April 25th 1918

H.Wade                       Lieut.,17th
Lincolnshire M.G.C.        killed, November 3rd 1918

H.C.S.Walker              2nd
Lieut., 1st Sherwood Foresters    killed, March 12th 1915

W.E.G.Walker                        Captain,
7th Sherwood Foresters       killed

H.C.Watson                Lance-Corporal,
7th K.R.R.C.            died,
March 5th 1917

R.W.A.Watts              Lieut.,
13th Worcestershire Reg         killed

L.F.Wells                    2nd
Lieut., 9th West Yorkshire Reg   killed, October 11th 1918

F.G.Wesselhoeft         Sergeant,
10th Royal War’shire Reg  killed, September 20th 1917

G.H.Wesselhoeft        Captain,
Durham Light Infantry         killed, September 16th 1916

K.V.Weston                Lieutenant,
Machine Gun Corps         killed

M.S.Weston                2nd
Lieutenant, Sherwood Foresters  killed

L.K.Wheat                  15th
Canadians,48th Highlanders      killed, September 1st 1918

O.Whiting                   Rifleman
(Sniper), K.R.R.C.              killed, September 15th 1916

E.F.Whitlock               York
and Lancaster Regiment            died of wounds, July 1st 1916

T.O.Whitlock              2nd
Lieut., Northumberland Fus        killed, August 24th 1916

C.E.Whitworth           2nd
Lieut., 6th Yorkshire Regiment   killed, August 22nd 1915

A.D.Widdowson        2nd
Lieut., Royal Garrison Artillery   died, February 18th 1919

A.M.Williams  Lieut.,
7th Sherwood Foresters                      killed, June 16th 1915

W.Willoughby             Rifleman,
Rifle Brigade                      reported missing, July 6th 1915

T.C.Wilson                  Canadian
Contingent                          killed, November, 1917

J.G.Wood                    2nd
Lieut., Machine Gun Corps         killed, October 3rd 1916

L.C.Woodward           Major,
63rd Brig, R.F.A.                    killed, September  3rd 1918

J.W.Wootton               Captain,
11th Suffolk Regiment         died of wounds, Oct 11th 1917

C.J.S.Wright               Lieutenant,
Leicestershire Regiment  killed

E.L.Wright                  Motor
Transport, R.A.S.C.                 died of wounds, July 3rd 1917

H.G.Wright                 Captain,
8th Sherwood Foresters       killed, June 6th 1915

C.G.Wyld                   2nd
Lieutenant, Yorkshire Reg          killed, July 5th 1916

World War Two

E.T.Banks                   1931-37           Flying
Officer             R.A.F.V.R.

W.D.Birkett                1928-36           Lieutenant                   Royal
Engineers (Airborne)

G.R.H.Black               1928-30           Squadron
Leader        R.A.F.V.R

W.F.Bland                  1922-23           Major                           Royal
Artillery

R.C.Boak                    1926-32           Sergeant                      Royal
Air Force

H.Brener                     1923-30           Pilot
Officer                R.A.F.V.R

P.M.Britton                 1917-18           Captain                        Royal
Artillery

J.V.Brooke                  1937-41           Sub-Lieutenant
(A)     R.N.V.R.

G.C.Brown                 1932-38           2nd
Lieutenant            Royal  Artillery

D.A.Burgass               1912-19           Lieutenant
R.N.V.R.

G.V.Carlin                  1916-22           Lieut
Commander       R.N.V.R.

W.H.Cheale                1944                Pilot
Officer                High School A.T.C.

P.W.Cherry                 1932-40           A/L.A.                         R.N.V.R.

F.L.Corner                  1932-39           Sergeant                      R.A.F.V.R.

P.Cowen                     1932-39           Sergeant
Pilot              R.A.F.V.R.

E.Daws                       1931-37           Lieutenant                   Royal
Engineers

I.K.Doncaster             1933-40           Sergeant
Observer      R.A.F.V.R.

J.R.Drewry                  1920-26           Pilot
Officer                R.A.F.V.R.

D.P.Durrant                1930-34           Corporal                      Royal
Army Service Corps

D.P.Fellows                1925-30           Lieutenant                   Infantry

J.A.Finking                 1922-28           Trooper                        Royal
Armoured Corps

I.D.Fletcher                 1931-36           Flight
Lieutenant        R.A.F.V.R.

J.C.Gibbs                    1932-39           Sub-Lieutenant           R.N.V.R.

J.W.Grain                    1926-37           Bombardier                 Royal
Artillery

B.W.Grocock              1930-34           Flight
Sergeant            R.A.F.V.R.

J.D.Haskard                1934-40           Lieutenant                   Royal
Armoured Corps

A.Hayes                      1931-35           Flight
Sergeant            R.A.F.V.R.

P.F.Hickling                1929-31           A/Squad.Leader          R.A.F.V.R.

I.N.Hickman               1934-37           Lieutenant                   Infantry
(Airborne)

L.A.Hofton                 1919-25
Lieutenant                   Royal Artillery

F.Holbrook                  1933-34
Captain                        Infantry.

I.Hopwood                 1921-27           Flying
Officer             R.A.F.V.R.

W.R.J.Hoyte               1931
Lieutenant                   Infantry

C.D.Hudson                1922-1929       Lieutenant                   Infantry

E.J.Hughes                  1920-27           Lieutenant                   Royal
Artillery

H.V.Jackson                1921-23           Major                           Infantry
(Indian Army)

R.R.Jackson                1931-35           Pilot
Officer                R.A.F.V.R.

A.R.Johnson               1919-22           Lieutenant                   Infantry

W.E.King                    1929-31           Flying
Officer             R.A.F.V.R.

R.P.Lawrence             1921-30           Sub-Lieutenant           R.N.V.R.

J.M.P.  Ley                  1931-40           Lieutenant                   Royal
Armoured Corps

W.R.Llewellyn            1936-41           Sub-Lieutenant(A)      R.N.V.R.

A.B.Lloyd                   1932-39           Corporal                      Parachute
Regiment

E.W.Lovegrove           1932-37           Lieutenant                   Sherwood
Foresters

I.M.MacKirdy             1929-34           Sergeant
Observer      R.A.F.V.R.

F.C.Mahin                   1902-05           Major
General             U.S.Army

J.R.Mason                   1934-39           Instructor                    R.A.F.V.R.

G L.Mee                      1928-32           Officer
Cadet              Royal Army Ordnance Corps

A.Mellows                  1931-35           Gunner                                    Royal
Artillery (Airborne)

J.W.Mellows               1940-42           Sub
Lieutenant (A)     R.N.V.R.

F.G.Miell                     1927-33           Captain                        Royal
Artillery

E.Millington                1929-37           Sergeant
Pilot              R.A.F.V.R.

R.V.Milnes                  1934-40           Officer
Cadet              Infantry

J.P.Mountjoy               1927-34           Sergeant
Pilot              R.A.F.V.R.

P.D.Nelson                  1930-35           Bombardier                 Royal
Artillery

R.F.Newell                  1928-37           Bombardier                 Royal
Horse Artillery

J.E.Paling                    1922-28           Captain                        E.African
Inter-service Corps

N.C.Parr                      1917-20           Lieutenant                   Royal
Army Service Corps

P.F.Paulson                 1928-36           Lance
Bombardier      Royal Artillery

R.P.Paulson                 1928-37           Gunner                                    Royal
Horse Artillery

I.R.J.Perkins                1921-24           Pilot
Offcier                R.A.F.V.R.

H.H.Pockson               1920-29           Captain                        Infantry

B.A.Richardson          1927-36           2nd
Lieutenant            Infantry

E.J.C.Richardson        1932-36           Major                           Infantry
(Indian Army)

W.H.V.Richiardi         1922-26           Sergeant                      Royal
Artillery

A R.Rose                    1919-27           Coder                          R.N.V.R.

S.M.Saxton                 1925-29           Private                         R.A.P.C.

D.L.Sewell                  1940-42           Lieutenant                   Royal
Armoured Corps

C.F.Shearn                  1931-33           Sergeant
Observer       R.A.F.V.R.

D.J.Simmins                1933-41           Trooper                        Royal
Armoured Corps

G P.C.Smith                1925-32           Flight
Sergeant            R.A.F.V.R.

R.C.Sowerbutts          1927-31           Flying
Officer             R.A.F.V.R.

J.A.Starkey                 1934-40           Sub-Lieutenant
(A)     R.N.V.R.

L.H.Taylor                  1936-37           Sergeant                      R.A.F.V.R.

P.J.Taylor                    1929-34           Sergeant
Pilot              R.A.F.V.R.

P.Vernon                     1930-36           0fficer
Signalman        Royal Navy

J.H.G.Walker              1930-35           Squadron
Leader        Royal Air Force

A.H.Warren                1929-36           2nd
Lieutenant            Infantry

A.R.Watson                1934-39           Pilot
Officer                R.A.F.V.R.

L.A.West                    1929-40           Private                         Infantry
(Airborne)

I.L.Wilkinson              1929-38           Sergeant
Pilot              R.A.F.V.R.

C.R.Woolley               1923-26           Flight
Lieutenant        R.A.F.V.R.

Captains of the School

Autumn Term              1906                            H.Parker

Autumn Term              1907                            C.R.Attenborough

January                        1908                            C.R.Attenborough

February-March          1908                            S.J.Heald

Summer Term 1908                            R.W.D.Preston

Autumn Term              1908                            A.B.Jordan

Spring Term                1909                            J.Ll.Davies

Summer Term 1909                            R.W.Wright

Autumn Term              1909                            J.W.Wootton

Spring Term                1910                            B.W.Gilbert

Summer Term 1910                            F.Hardwick

Autumn Term              1910                            J.W.Wootton
or R.S.Tonkin

Spring Term                1911                            J.K.Turpin

Summer Term              1911                            W.I.Saxton

Autumn Term              1911                            C.G.Boyd

Spring Term                1912                            H.W.Ballamy

Summer Term 1912                            F.W.Goddard

Autumn Term              1912                            W.H.Hoyte

Spring Term                1913                            W.L.Haubitz

Summer Term 1913                            W.H.Hoyte

Autumn Term              1913                            R.G.Bateman-Lawson

Spring Term                1914                            F.S.Barton

Summer Term 1914                            A.R.S.Grant

Autumn Term              1914                            V.G.Darrington

Spring Term                1915                            L.M.Clark

Summer Term 1915                            J.K.Purdy

Autumn Term              1915                            V.G.Darrington

Spring Term                1916                            W.S.Abbott

Summer Term              1916                            A.M.Ferguson

Autumn Term              1916                            W.S.Abbott

Spring Term                1917                            H.A.Connop

Summer Term 1917                            H.A.Connop

Autumn Term              1917                            F.A.Bird

Spring Term                1918                            F.A.Bird
then A.W.Barton

April                            1918                            J.A.Saward

May                             1918                            J.King

Summer Term 1918                            P.H.B.Furley

June                             1918                            J.King

Spring Term                1919                            R.A.Riley

Summer Term 1919                            P.L.Lee

Autumn Term              1919                            R.A.Riley

Spring Term                1920                            R.A.Palmer

Summer Term 1920                            R.A.Palmer

Autumn Term              1920                            R.A.Palmer

Spring Term                1921                            A.B.Deacon

Summer Term 1921                            A.B.Deacon

Autumn Term              1921                            W.C.Stanley

Spring Term                1922                            R.A.Palmer

Summer Term 1922                            A.O.Chesters

Autumn Term              1922                            H.Dunnicliff

Spring Term                1923                            J.E.Pepper

Summer Term 1923                            J.E.Pepper

Autumn Term              1923                            E.O.Rounsefell

Spring Term                1924                            N.Corker

Summer Term 1924                            C.H.Edwards

Autumn Term              1924                            E.S.Abbott

Spring Term                1925                            G.T.Partridge

Summer Term              1925                            H.C.Baldry

Autumn Term              1925                            S.Macdonald-Smith

Spring Term                1926                            D.B.Smith

Summer Term              1926                            K.Adam

1926-1927                   S.Macdonald-Smith

1927-1928                   R.G.Trease

Autumn Term              1928                            A.I.Frymann

Spring Term                1928                            A.I.Frymann

Summer Term              1928                            H.C.Wesson

1929-1930                   R.P.Lawrence

1930-1931                   L.T.Jackson

1931-1932                   C.F.Carr

1932-1933                   J.H.Swannell

1933-1934                   G.W.H.Richardson

1934-1935                   S.R.Gayton

1935-1936                   A.G.Hunt

1936-1937                   J.R.West

1937-1938                   J.F.Walker

1938-1939                   G.L.Shaw

1939-1940                   D.J.Furley

1940-1941                   J.C.Bottoms

Autumn Term              1941                            R.C.Lansberry

Spring Term                1942                            R.D.Cundall

Summer Term              1942                            R.D.Cundall

Autumn Term              1942                            D.E.Hodgson

Spring Term                1943                            B.R.Butcher

Summer Term              1943                            B.R.Butcher

1943-1944                   L.R.F.Harris

1944-1945                   A.D.Caunt

1945-1946                   J.L.Collinson

1946-1947                   M.W.Hill

1947-1948                   G.I.Cushing

1948-1949                   W.S.Robinson

1949-1950                   P.M.Stanley

Autumn Term              1950                            M.R.Cook

Spring Term                1951                            G.M.Hood

Summer Term              1951                            G.M.Hood

1951-1952                   N.D.Durand

1952-1953                   D.B.Clark

1953-1954                   R.W.Burnham

1954-1955                   C.J.Billing

1955-1956                   E.D.T.Revill

1956-1957                   S.Kenwright

1957-1958                   R.P.Bartlett

1958-1959                   P.J.Briggs

1959-1960                   D.W.W.Newling

1961                            R.A.Spray

1962                            M.R.Stones

1963                            P.R.Smith

Spring Term                1964                            G.M.Owens

Summer Term              1964                            G.M.Owens

Autumn Term              1964                            G.A.Eltringham

1965                            G.A.Eltringham

1966                            S.Davies

1967                            P.H.Moody

1968                            G.Meeks

1969                            D.H.Quinney

Spring Term                1970                            S.Brooks

Summer Term              1970                            S.Brooks

Autumn Term              1970                            N.E.True

Spring Term                1971                            C.M.Johnson

Summer Term              1971                            C.M.Johnson

Autumn Term              1971                            P.Balen

Spring Term                1972                            C.G.Shaw

Summer Term              1972                            C.G.Shaw

Autumn Term              1972                            J.M.Darke

Spring Term                1973                            R.E.Foster

Summer Term              1973                            R.E.Foster

Autumn Term              1973                            L.G.H.Hall

Spring Term                1974                            M.J.Wallbanks

Summer Term              1974                            M.J.Wallbanks

Autumn Term              1974                            R.E.Dexter

Spring Term                1975                            S.A.Jackson

Summer Term              1975                            S.A.Jackson

Autumn Term              1975                            K.M.Joy

Spring Term                1976                            D.P.Fanthorpe

Summer Term              1976                            D.P.Fanthorpe

Autumn Term              1976                            A.B.Hawthorne

1977-1978                   C.P.Sedgewick

1978-1979                   T.J.Bower

Autumn Term              1979                            D.G.Lalloo

Spring Term                1980                            N.J.A.Langman

Summer Term              1980                            N.J.A.Langman

1980-1981                   R.M.Nix

1980-1981                   D.K.Keays

Autumn Term              1982                            C.G.Cook

Spring Term                1982                            T.G.Portwood

Summer Term              1982                            T.G.Portwood

Autumn Term              1983                            S.Jallands

Spring Term                1984                            E.J.Davey

Summer Term              1984                            E.J.Davey

1984-1985                   N.P.W.Boot

1985-1986                   M.J.Elgood

1986-1987                   S.J.Harding

1987-1988                   T.D.Martin

1988-1989                   P.Hatfield

1989-1990                   J.Riley

1990-1991                   M.Kennedy

1991-1992                   A.S.Holland

1992-1993                   A.H.Rose

1993-1994                   A.R.A.Palmer

1994-1995                   R.D.Brindle

1995-1996                   S.J.Lewin

1996-1997                   B.
Gibson

1997-1998                   Robin
Blaney

1998-1999                   Jeremy
Young

1999-2000                   Jonathan
Knight

2000-2001                   Paul
Davies

2001-2002                   Rhys
Davies

2002-2003                   Jonathan
Sweet

2003-2004                   Nick Phillips

2004-2005                   Jonathan Pickard

2005-2006                   Balvinder Grewal

2006-2007                   Sam Ader

2007-2008                   Oliver Kenny

2008-2009                   Josh Mills

2009-2010                   James
Taylor

2010-2011                   Oliver Exton

2011-2012                   William Collier

2012-2013                   Christian Cummings

This
list is as complete as I have been able to make it. There are, however, many
gaps in it, especially in the Nineteenth Century, when it is known that there
were Captains both of the Lower and the Upper School, as well as Captains of
the School when the two sections combined in 1883. Unfortunately, however, the
names of these boys were not recorded, either in the school magazine, “The
Forester”, or in the numerous school lists which have survived from this
period, many of which do actually record the names of the school’s prefects.

Any
surviving names, therefore, are those of Captains of the School who happen to
have been mentioned in other contexts, such as memoirs, sports reports or even
obituaries. They include...

John Russell                            Captain
of the Free School                 1867-1868       ?

Lacey                                      Captain
of the Upper School ?           April 1870

M.I.Preston                             Captain
of the Upper School              1872-1873

J.W.Inger                                Captain
of the Lower School              1874

Leopold Compline Wilkes      Captain
of the Lower School              1877-1880

F.S.Granger                             Captain
of the Upper School              1880

William Paton Paton               Captain
of the School                         1882-1883

Paton                                       Captain
of the School                         1889-1890       ?

There
is also in existence a Medal awarded to W.G.Willoughby in 1880 for “Captaincy
of the High School”. It is inscribed “2nd Prize”. Whether this means that
Willoughby was Vice-Captain under F.S.Granger will probably now never be known.

Staff list

Before
1869, the only teachers whose names to have survived were either  the
Headmasters, or their Deputies, the so-called “Ushers”. To these may be added a
small number of Writing and Drawing Masters, Singing Masters, and the
occasional person employed to teach Mathematics, when the Master himself was,
presumably, either not desirous, or not capable, of doing so.

The
following list contains every full time member of staff known to have taught at
the High School since proper School Lists and Records began, in July 1869.

It
lists all the teachers I have been able to trace, including those who were temporary
appointments, either for reasons of long term illness, sabbatical leave, or, in
more recent years, maternity leave.

From
the Victorian era, I have also included a number of people who appear on the
Staff List, but who were not teachers of purely academic subjects. This
category includes various teachers of music, singing, language speaking, and
the “Drill Instructors”, ex-military men, who, at the time, were responsible
for what would nowadays be called Physical Education.

I have
deliberately not included either part-time music staff, librarians, sports
coaches, caretakers, or curators of either laboratories or museums, unless they
specifically requested their own inclusion. Nor have I included those whose job
was to work purely with either the O.T.C. or the C.C.F. for a limited number of
hours per week.

In many
cases, the people in these categories were either not full time teachers, or
may even have been senior boys. They may have been completely unconnected with
actual teaching at the High School, however responsible or valuable their job.
Their weekly occupation may have included many hours away from the High School,
working for another employer, or, indeed, working for themselves.

Clearly,
a line has to be drawn somewhere, and for the purposes of this list, either
inclusion in a School List, or a mention in “The Nottinghamian” as having been
appointed to a full-time job as a teacher at the High School, however short
term, is a pre-requisite.

Lists
of staff began in July 1869, a year more or less after the school transferred
to its new Arboretum Street site, on April 16th 1868.

The
exact years when four members of staff were appointed to their posts before
this date have survived. Seven others were already working at the High School
in July 1869, although how long they had been employed there before this is no
longer known.

I have
deliberately not  included any titles or marks of distinction in this list,
except for the Victorian Drill Sergeants, whose first names or initials were
never included in School Lists. The initials of a few others have not survived
either. They were for the most part either native speakers of foreign
languages, or those who served for a very short time during the confusion of
the First World War. Likewise, the exact dates are no longer known for certain
people. This is usually because the relevant “Nottinghamian” and School List
have both disappeared, and in such cases, the list has a question mark next to
the appropriate date.

C.Bray                                     1859-1894                   Donkey

H.Seymour                              1860-1894                   Donkeys

F.T.Cusins                               1861-1868

R.Dixon                                  1868-1884
Dido

A.Irving
at least 1869-1875

C.Yeld
at least 1869-1872

S.J.Sanders
at least 1869-1869

J.Went
at least 1869-1871

T.Wright
at least 1869-1873

J.Chester
at least 1869-1872                   Cheesy

J.L.E.Durand              at
least 1869-1886

F.Main                                     1869-1871

J.Colston                                 1869-1870

R.M.Evans                              1869-1871

C.Davis                                   1869-1872

S.Altorfer                                1869-1882

W.Jackson
1869-1893

Sergeant-Major
Holbrook       1871-1874

R.D.Swallow                          1872-1875

A.Berridge                              1872-1874

A.Brunner                               1872-1879

& 1880-1881

I.A.Jennings                            1873-1885                   Nigger

T.E.J.Spence                           1873-1880

G.E.Comerford-Casey                        1874-1879

H.J.Molyneux                         1874

E.Bathurst                               1874-1876

Sergeant-Major
Vickers          1875-1884

A.H.Scott
White                     1876-1881

J.A.Crawley                            1876-1882

S.Moxly                                  1877

C.H.Webster                           1877

S.Corner                                  1877-1914                   Sammy

B.Richards                              1877-1884
?

L.C.Wilkes                              1878-1885

& 1890-1893               Demi

C.B.Searle                               1878

E.J.Heastie                              1878

W.F.Fell                                  1878-1879

J.H.Tuckwell                           1878-1881

C.G.Higginson                        1879-1882

W.H.Bailey                             1879-1881

S.Palmer                                  1879-1881

J.J.Grevatt                               1879

J.Irons                                     1879

S.Chester                                 1880-1890

E.J.Browne                             1880

B.Townson                              1881-1889                   Benny

A.G.Bene                                1881

A.P.Hall                                  1881

J.G.Easton
1881-1885                   Jiggerty

R.Lupton
1881-1886

W.E.Ryles
1882-1923                   Jumbo

F.Edwards                              1882

W.T.Ryles                               1883-1925                   Nipper

J.Russell                                  1883-1885

E.A.T.Clarke                           1883-1886

C.Trafford                               1883-1922                   Carey

Herr
Freund                           1883-1887 ?

Mrs.Bowman
Hart                  1883-1897

Serjeant
Holmes                      1885-1906

J.
Gow                                     1885-1901                   The Doctor

T.W.Peck                                1885-1900                   Parson
&

the
Rev

E.W.Small                               1885-1891

F.C.Smith                                1885-1909

W.F.Evans                              1886-1887

Madame
Lionnet                     1889 ? -1894

R.Bell                                      1887-1890

A.C.Liddell                             1887-1902
The Admirable

Crichton

H.de
B.Gibbins                       1889-1895

W.H.Hodgson                         1890-1904

S.Jackson
1890-1892

T.B.Hardy                               1890-1907

M.J.R.Dunstan                        1891

Professeur
Berthon                 1894-1897

N.Trewby                                1891-1892

C.Marriott                               1892-1898

W.G.Dunn                              1892

W.B.Hayward                         1892

N.Trewby                                1892

A.E.Daniels                             1893-1902                   Pug

S.R.Trotman                            1893-1902

J.S.Jones
1893-1903

J.H.Crofts
1893-1902

G.Corner                                 1894

F.P.Bird                                  1895-1896

H.E.Berthon                            1895-1897

E.P.Gaskin
1895-1927

A.Stanley
1896-1918

H.J.Spenser                             1896

H.Gibbs                                   1898-1901

R.W.Woodward
1898-1923                   Buggy

F.M.Cornford                         1898

F.C.Boon                                1898

E.R.J.Glanville                        1898-1902

C.Shelbourne
1899

B.F.Hardy                               1900-1901

T.A.Moxon                             1901-1905

G.S.Turpin
1901-1925                   the Doctor &

the
Duke

W.H.Young                            1902

G.H.Woollett                          1902-1908

J.H.Towle                                1900-1900
& 1902

B.O.Cartwright                       1902

J.Grenville
Biggs                     1902

C.F.Hole                                 1902-1911

W.Scott
Ostle                         1903

H.Goddard
1903-1941

R.E.Yates                                1903-1907

M.R.Hughes                            1903-1908

J.H.Freeman                            1903

R.Dark                                                1904-1907

A.I.W.Horlock                        1904-1906

J.A.Radley                              1904-1931                   Pot-eye

Miss
H.M.Carter                     1904-1910

F.V.C.Serjeant                                    1905-1908

G.E.Hayfield                          1905

J.H.Unwin
1906-1929

W.R.S.Hunt                            1906-1908

F.Payne                                   1907

E.N.Treleaven                         1907

Miss
M.E.Dark                        1907-1908

E.A.Pollard
1907-1935

L.R.Strangeways
1908-1919

G.E.Argyle
1908-1920

T.Dyson                                  1908-1913

G.F.Hood
1908-1946                   Freddy

H.A.Leggett
1908-1914

C.Lloyd
Morgan                     1908-1914

Miss
D.Brimblecombe            1909-1912

R.S.Wood                               1909

H.A.Page                                1909-1945

Miss
M.R.H.Buck                   1910-1911

J.W.L.Kennard
1910-1947                   Guts

F.H.C.Brock                           1911-1920

W.F.Dunnill
1911-1924

Miss
J.K.Richmond                1911-1935

Mr.D’Arcy
Lever                    1913

Mr.-
Mayo                               1913

Miss
P.Hawkins Ambler         1912-1914

Miss
J.P.Farmer                       1902-1935

G.A.Widgery
1913-1914

Miss
D.Oliver                          1914-1915

A.Smith
1914-1918

Miss
R.G.Wood                      1915

F.Hardwick                             1915-1916

Miss
O.E.McCormich             1915-1916

R.B.J.Rowlands                      1915-1916

Mrs.S.Mottram
1915-1917

Miss
F.M.Noble                      1915-1917

Miss
M.Williams                     1915-1917

J.Morrison                               1915-1918

Miss
E.M.Larby                      1915-1917

Miss
M.H.Gunston                 1915-1920

C.W.Wheatley                                    1915-1921

C.E.R.Holmes                         1915-1936

Miss
A.K.Wootton                 1916-1918 & 1957

J.S.Firth                                   1917-1934

J.L.Bozward                           1917-1918

W.H.T.Walker                         1917-1918

Miss
H.S.Hall                          1917-1919

Miss
M.R.Shaw                      1917-1919

Miss
S.J.Webb                        1917-1950

Miss
M.W.Guy                       1918

Miss
C.B.Forsyth                    1918-1919

Rev.W.J.Cunningham-Pike
1918-1921

H.E.B.Green
1918-1919

Miss
M.I.McClatchie              1918-1919

Miss
J.N.Phemister                 1918-1919

Miss
Place                               1918-1919

Miss
G.H.Prowde                   1918-1919

Miss
I.Woodward                   1918-1920

W.A.Parsons                           1919-1949                   Wappy

J.B.Goodliffe                          1919

L.G.Thomas                            1919-1920

Miss
A.M.Kempson                1919-1920

N.Hodgson                             1919-1922

W.H.Reynolds                                    1919-1923

W.F.Annis                               1919-1927

L.W.Whitty                             1919-1950

M.J.Broderick                         1919-1954

Miss
D.E.Baker                       1919-1960

Mrs
R.M.Wheatley                 1920

A.H.Watts                               1920-1922

Miss
M.Garwood                    1920-1924

E.M.Betts
1920-1946

R.S.Bridge                              1920-1953                   Beaky

J.H.Fell                                    1920-1958                   Sarge

A.G.Duddell                           1921-1958                   Uncle
Albert

W.McD.Wigfield                    1921-1932

C.A.E.Fogden
1922-1925

A.D.Whitehorn                       1922-1925

A.Jackson
1922-1926

J.F.Newbound                                    1922-1954                   Nobby

R.A.Palmer
1922-1958

R.W.Proctor                            1923

H.R.Pleming
1923

W.B.Lee
1923-1924

W.T.Adams                             1923-1924

V.S.Read                                1924-1929

J.G.Sykes                                1923-1930

H.E.George                             1923-1944

G.N.E.Nicholls                       1924

Mr.
Docton                             1925

A.Hardwick                            1925-1960
Tubby

W.R.Macklin                           1925-1926

G.D.Day                                 1925-1935

C.L.Reynolds
1925-1953                   Pooh

H.Houghton                            1926-1932

G.L.Hogg                                1926-1934

J.G.Hodgson                           1928-1929

L.Gordon
Thorp                      1930-1938

& 1943-1945

S.E.A.Aldridge                       1930

J.E.B.Marsh                            1930-1932

H.A.S.Greenhill                      1932

E.Beeley                                  1932-1936

C.M.Harrison                          1932-1934

E.W.Lovegrove                       1932-1937

A.W.Thomas                           1932-1969

C.H.Edlin                                1933

A.F.Colborn                            1934-1935

F.B.Rogers                              1934-1935

C.A.A.Wass                            1934-1935

M.Gayton                                1934-1935

W.D.Gregg                             1934-1939

A.R.Pears                                1934-1946

J.W.Roche                               1934-1939                   Fishy

J.S.Wilde                                 1935

E.O.Lenz                                 1935-1937

Miss
E.M.Pruden                    1935

J.E.W.Berry                            1935-1936

H.E.Alston                              1935-1938

G.M.Cope                               1935-1938

P.A.Boak                                1936-1937

K.C.Lewis                               1936-1946

J.W.Mason                              1936-1937

T.M.Watson                            1936-1939

C.H.Beeby                              1936-1946

C.S.Smyth                               1936-1943

I.F.Carrington                         1937-1938

Miss
M.B.Borchardt               1937

R.D.Stewart                            1937-1941

H.W.Smith                              1937-1938

J.E.Mells                                 1938-1969

F.Greener                                1938-1943

Miss
M.R.Squier                     1938

R.M.G.Lock                            1938-1945

J.S.Gibson                               1938-1940

L.Blake                                   1939-1940

A.R.Davis                               1939-1940

D.C.Whimster                         1939-1945

S.Allder                                   1940-1946                   Stan                                                     C.E.Law                                  1940-1941

Miss
D.Gilbert                        1941-1942

A.Walker                                 1941-1945

Miss
N.K.Reynolds                1941-1962

S.Holgate                                1941-1942

C.K.Rutter                              1941-1943

P.Stott                                     1941-1945

P.A.Purvis                               1941-1945

D.Brown                                 1942-1945

Mrs
V.E.M.Comford née Hill    1942-1946

Miss
E.M.South                      1942-1945

E.M.Somekh                           1942-1955

W.Garnett                               1943-1947

Mrs.A.H.Burfoot                    1943-1944

Mrs.K.C.Edwards                   1943

Mrs.B.M.Helm                        1943-1946

J.W.Parsons                             1943-1955

W.H.Cheale                            1944

Miss
A.D.Barratt                    1944-1946

Mrs.N.M.Voss                                    1944-1945

Mrs.Hunter                              1944-1945

K.M.Raw                                1945-1958

C.H.Stephens                          1945-1978                   Charlie

J.M.Allton                               1945-1946

W.G.Cruikshank                     1945-1947

E.F.Collander-Brown             1945-1968

A.G.Hunt                                1945-1950

A.K.Smetham                         1945-1955                   Charlie

J.F.Allen                                  1945-1975

B.E.Towers                             1945-1964                   Ben

W.F.Rayner                             1946-1947

W.V.Todd                               1946-1954
I.A.Galloway                          1946-1949                   Gus

J.A.Hollick                              1946-1949

S.V.Baker                               1947-1949

A.K.H.Jones                           1947-1949                   Boris

A.Skene                                  1947-1953

E.H.Tarry                                1947-1970                   Eric

J.A.Foister                               1947-1968

R.Branston-Williams               1947-1951

R.W.Horner                            1947-1956

I.W.Ingram                             1947-1949                   Inky

I.C.Thimann                            1947-1973                   Teapot

J.L.Jarvis                                 1949-1951

I.E.Morris                                1949-1950

L.H.Davies                              1949-1978                   Pop

J.D.Powell                               1949-1983                   Sandy

O.H.Lush                                1949-1985                   Ozzie

I.C.Reid                                  1949-1953

I.B.Fallows                             1950-1962

W.H.Neville                            1950-1981

& 1989-1991               Joe

A.J.Walker                              1950-1958

Miss
M.Martin                        1950-1968

C.R.B.Elliott                           1950-1985                   Babs

E.Kettell                                  1950-1983                   Ted

D.J.Eales-White                      1950-1953

F.E.Chettle                              1951-1958

A.Greenhalgh                          1951-1952

C.N.Jackson
1952-1973                   Cy(anide)

H.Hogarth                               1953-1963

H.Jeffs                                                1953

E.G.Hall                                  1953

I.Hodgkins                              1953-1955

J.L.Humphrys                         1953-1958

D.J.Peters                                1953-1986

J.Symonds                               1953-1957

W.H.C.Walker                        1954-1971

& 1975-1987               Bill

W.R.Worthington                   1954

K.R.Imeson
1954-1970                   The Duke

D.H.Madden                           1954-1957

T.J.Garrett                               1954-1956

J.P.Leach                                 1954-1985                   the
Gnome

J.Reynolds                              1954-1959

M.C.Boyle                              1954-1957

Mrs.K.C.Edwards
1955-1956

Mr.
Kirkman                           1955

K.W.Hutchinson                     1955-1959

H.F.Deakin                             1955-1956

A.R.W.Hayes                          1956

J.Pitts                                      1956-1965

A.N.S.Thompson                    1956-1980                   Stan

J.D.A.Hall                               1956-1958

R.Williams                              1956-1962                   Walter

W.Grauberg                            1956-1960

R.T.Tregear                             1956-1958

Mrs.E.A.Cox
1956-1957

W.Wigley
1956-1957

K.J.Partington                         1957-1986                   Kendrick

G.I.Cushing                            1957-1966                   Geoff

C.N.Lammiman                      1957-1962

J.H.Moore                               1957-1960

A.A.Scott                                1957-1966

H.V.White                              1957-1983                   Chalky

Rev.A.R.Ennis                        1957-1958

Mrs.A.A.Williamson               1957-1960

M.W.Willey                            1958

E.O.G.Davies                          1958-1961

J.Fisher                                    1958-1966

P.J.F.Horril                              1958-1962

& 1964-1992               Pete

L.Harrison                               1958-1960

G.H.Littler                              1958-1961
Graham

I.L.Parker                                1958-1997                   Fess

J.J.F.Robinson                         1958-1961

G.W.Taylor                             1958-1964

D.G.Thomas                            1958-1977

& 1983-2000               Dai

W.V.Brown                            1958-1961

Mrs.D.L.Watkinson                1958-1976

G.H.White                              1959

A.Locke                                  1959-1966
? ? ?           Alan

D.Pomfret                               1959-1964

J.M.Sneyd                               1959-1963

D.J.W.Usher                           1959-1991
Dennis

J.S.Brenan                               1960-1967                   Stuart

R.Bullows                               1960-1968                   Robin

A.R.McMurchy                       1960-1981                   Angus

R.A.Clarke                              1960-1993                   Russell

J.E.Sadler                                1960-1990                   Jimmy

D.R.Brown                             1961-1965

A.J.Corran                               1961-1964

R.J.Goult                                 1961-1964

O.R.Morgan                            1961-1963

K.E.Yorke                               1961-1970                   Keith

D.J.Willey                               1961-1990

F.H.Flynn                                1962-1967

D.N.Aspin                               1962-1965                   Noddy

R.A.Hawke                             1962-1967

J.S.Oliver                                1962-1966

R.J.Wilson                               1962-1972                   Jumbo

Mrs.M.Copley                         1962-1964

P.J.Roebuck                            1963-1966

A.Warsop                                1963-1970                   Taps

A.Leadbeater                          1963-1967                   Alan

K.G.Watkinson                       1964

Miss
J.Cragg                           1963-1968

C.J.A.Curtis                            1964-1997                   Kojak

G.R.Simpson
1964-1969                   Graham

G.L.Wood                               1964-1994                   Gordon

G.E.Gillespie                           1964-1965

J.M.Grout                                1964-1965

W.J.Partridge                          1964-1971

B.G.Batten                              1965-1969                   Ben

D.J.Matthews                          1965-1981

E.A.Thurston                          1965-1968

G.P.Mead                                1965-1967

H.J.Norton                              1965-1966

D.J.
Barnes                              1966-1968

S.Gorski                                  1966-1969

F.M.P.Jones                            1966-2004                   Freddy

D.C.Lewis                               1966-1970

M.Richards                             1966-1967

C.W.Matthews                        1966-1969

R.S.W.Barnes                         1966-1971

P.J.Philips                                1967-1971

A.Brown                                 1966-1969

E.C.Harris                               1966-1987
Bandy

D.I.Driver                               1967-2002                   Ivor

J.S.B.Hayes                             1967-2000                   Purple
/ Daisy

R.M.D.Jackson                       1967-1971                   Ramjam

D.Phillips                                1967-2004                   Dai

R.P.Mardling                          1968-1973                   Bob

P.M.Eastwood                                    1968-2001                   Clint

P.H.Barker                              1968-1971

A.G.Bird                                 1968-1999
Tony

R.Stirrup                                 1968-1980                   The
Rev

M.Terry-Satterford                 1968-1982                   Terry

Miss
G.Hunter                                    1968-1974

Miss
C.A.Pennington              1968-1989                   Christine

Mrs.D.J.Matthews                  1969-1981                   Jenny

S.G.Ward                                1969-1981                   Stanley

Miss
V.M.Hird                        1969-1978                   Ron / Vera

J.G.Robinson                          1969-1974

Miss
A.J.Slack                        1969-1970

Mrs
P.A.Webster née Smith        1969-1970

A.F.Sparrow                           1969-1997                   Freaky Mohican

I.A.Warburton                                    1969-1974                   Ian

Mrs.D.J.Peters                         1970

M.G.Coulam                           1970-2007                   Marcus

D.L.Clough                             1970-1975                   Brian

R.Holmes                                1970-1973                   Holiday

S.G.Nash                                 1970-1974

P.E.Norris                               1970-1975

D.Shorten                                1970-1974                   Dave

D.T.Witcombe                                    1970-1995                   the
Duke

C.P.Dawson                            1971-2002                   Charlie

W.F.Hurford                           1971-1973

& 1987-1995               Will

G.J.Lewin                               1971-2008

P.V.Jones                                1971-1974                   Doc

R.W.Symonds                         1971-1972

P.M.Pallant                             1971-2007                   Phil

M.W.Garnett                           1972-1975

C.B.Dick                                 1972-1979                   Cecil

J.M.Royston                            1972-1975

B.J.Hughes                              1972-1980

D.J.Padwick                            1973-1988

Miss
G.Cooke                         1973-1974                   Gwyneth

Miss
B.D.Leigh                       1973-1974                   Barbara

A.J.Kennaugh                         1973-1976

P.E.Stapleton                          1973-1977

R.L.Nicolle                             1973-2004                   Tricky
Dickie

F.J.Furlonger                           1974

Mrs.V.R.Padwick                   1974-1987                   Vera

J.M.Bulley                               1974-1975

R.J.Dickason                           1974-1983                   Bob

E.Furse                                    1974-1976                   Eddie

P.A.Gurbutt                            1974-1975

G.C.Powell                             1974-1977                   Graham

C.J.P.Smith                             1974-1992                   Chris

Miss
F.Bury                            1974-1975

A.H.Salter                               1975

D.A.Slack                               1975-2009
Tony

Mrs.E.G.Bird                          1975-1985

Mrs.H.M.E.Barnett                 1975-1978

M.H.Wainwright                     1975-1977

J.F.W.Knifton                         1975-2012
at least       Kniffo

D.Jones                                   1975-1979                   Don

L.Brown                                  1975-1979

Miss
C.E.Dickie                      1976-1980                   Catherine

D.F.Monk                               1976-1979

S.M.Blackney                         1976-1978

S.Fairlie                                   1976-1994                   Steve

S.Jenkins                                 1976-1979

D.Stimpson                             1976-1979

C.B.C.Chittenden                   1976-1977                   Chris

J.M.Ford                                 1977

M.P.G.Smith                           1977

A.W.Ayres                              1977-1983                   Pam

R.W.Moore                             1977-1980

R.G.Willan                              1977-2012
at least

C.J.Lee                                    1977-2004                   Clem

J.L.W.Wilkinson                     1977-2011
Jock / Uncle

Les

D.Martin
1978

Miss
P.M.Buckham                 1978-1985

Miss
G.Southall                      1978-1987                   Bridget

R.M.Howard                           1978-1984                   Bob

R.Kilby                                   1978-2012
at least

A.R.Pearson                            1978-1984                   Andrew

E.H.O.Martin                          1979

E.Jones                                    1979-2012
at least       Eddie

Mrs.C.Cleave                          1979-1985

J.A.Cook                                 1979-2012
at least       Jim / Cookie

R.A.Gilbert                             1979-1983

& 1992-2012               Ron

T.J.Hamer                                1979

C.M.Mann                               1979-1991                   Crusher

P.G.Morris                              1979-2012
at least

Miss
R.A.Plummer                  1979-1980

Mrs.R.N.Priestland                 1980

Mrs.A.H.Walker                     1980

P.C.Baker                                1980-1988                   Peter

G.Douglas                               1980-2012 at least

S.B.Field                                 1980-1988                                                                               A.D.Holding                           1980-2012
at least

W.P.J.Ruff                              1980-2012
at least

A.F.Wood                               1980-2012
at least

J.R.Wood                                1980-1998
Woody / JR

Mrs.R.Horsley
née Hindson         1980-1986                   Ruth                                                    Mrs.H.Newton                                    1981-1985

Mrs.E.A.Thomas                     1981-1983

T.A.Willcocks                         1981-1988                   Terry

P.F.Charters                            1981-1990

D.G.Aitken                             1981-1989                   Douggie

Mrs.S.W.Atherton                  1982-1984

& 1986-1990

R.J.W.Gardiner                       1982-2003                   Rick

B.G.Bainbridge                       1983-1984

K.P.Brierley                            1983-2012
at least

M.T.Cleverley                         1983-2012
at least

Mrs.A.P.Dalton                       1983-1987

T.C.Dibdin                              1983-1996
Dibbles

& 1997-1999               Tim

Dr.C.Y.Fletcher                      1983-1987
The Doc

& 1990-2012 at least

Mrs.B.Henson                         1983
Olga

A.S.Winter                              1983-2012
at least

Mrs.A.P.Eastwood
1983 at least

Mrs.M.Dickie                          1984

Mrs.W.M.Nicolle                    1984-2005

R.J.Clarke                               1984-2012
at least

C.B.Fitzhugh                          1984-1991

T.H.Gibb                                 1984-1992                   Hamish

I.R.Eastwood                          1984-1991

P.McDonald                            1984-1985

Mlle
C.Sanchez                       1984-1989

R.Benson                                1985-2001

Mrs M.McCabe                       1985

P.Bowden                               1985-1988

J.N.Green                                1985-1987                   Jon

Miss
J.E.Deamer                     1985-1987

Mrs.L.Y.Harrison
née Smith       1985-1999 at least

C.P.Sedgewick                       1985-2012
at least       Sedgie

J.T.Swain                                1985-2012
at least

Mrs.M.A.Pook                        1985-1989

Mrs.M.Clark                            1986-2006

Mrs.A.Cluskey                        1986-1987

S.Krzeminski                           1986-2012                   Rev
Krev

Gramps

Father K

Kreverend

the Bald Eagle

Swami

that Russian

Spawn
of Satan

S.L.Williams                           1986-2012 at least

D.M.Williams                          1986-2012
at least

D.J.F.Woodhouse                   1986-2002

Mrs.H.C.Davies
née Bateman      1987-1999 at least

K.C.Clayton                            1987-2012
at least

R.J.Cross                                 1987-1993

P.Greenwood                          1987-1999

M.Pellow                                 1987-1999
at least

M.D.Pilkington                       1987-1988

Mrs.A.C.Toombs                    1987-1989

G.W.Woolley                          1987-2007                   Geoff

Mrs.M.J.Hilton
1988

V.J.Winter                               1988-1992
& 1999-2006

D.Lewis                                  1988-1991

T.P.Moore-Bridger                  1988-1997       Tim
More Paper

Miss
A.Roberts                       1988-1989

J.Shepherd                              1988-2000

Mrs.M.Sweeney                      1988-2011

J.Cullen                                   1989

P.M.Carthew                           1989-2003       Nobby

S.Barber                                  1989-2009

G.M.Cramp                             1989-1997                   Crampo
/

Crampy
/ Crampello

Mrs.K.J.Stead                         1989-1993

Mrs.S.Willan                           1989-2007
Sheila

Miss
J.M.Elliott                       1989-1993                   Jenny

Miss
V.K.Bruscomb               1990-1991                   Vicki

B.J.Duesbury                          1990-2004
Bazza

Mrs.B.M.Hastings                   1990

Mrs.A.C.Hughes                     1990-1999
at least

Mrs.P.Rayner                          1990-2002                   Patsie

Mrs.M.B.Roberts                    1990-1999
at least

M.D.Smith                              1990-2012
at least       Smithie

Paul’s Dad

Dr.P.Brown                             1991-1999

Mrs.P.J.Gostelow                    1991-2002

J.Lamb                                                1991-2011

Mrs.J.S.McFadyen                  1991

A.V.Martin                             1991-2012
at least

Mrs.M.O.Mills                        1991-2012
at least

M.I.Saperia                             1991-2012
at least

D.B.Thomas                            1991-2012
at least

D.J.N.Middleton                     1991

Mrs.G.Armstrong                    1991-1992

Mrs.D.Berry                            1991-1992

P.G.Martin                              1991-1999
at least

J.L.Bridges                              1992

M.J.Hancock                           1992-1997

D.Hecht                                  1992-2009

A.W.Henderson                      1992-2000

G.J.Martin                               1992-2008

T.G.Willmott                           1992-1996

M.J.Barber                              1992-1994

A.Price                                    1992-1995                   Tony

P.R.Allison                              1993-2012
at least

S.J.Payne                                 1993-2012
at least       Payney

Miss R.Adams                                    1993-1996                   Roz

S.Doo                                      1993-1999
at least

G.W.Whitehead                      1993-2012
at least

D.L.Talbot                              1994-1998

R.S.Coldicott                          1994-2006

L.M.Corbould                         1994-1997

P.J.Cramp                                1994-2012
at least

S.J.Everson                             1994-1999

J.E.Rayfield                            1994-2009

S.J.Turrill                                 1994-1999

Mrs.J.McCarthy                      1994

Mrs.A.Lee                               1995

C.A.Quarmby                         1995-1998
Fred Quimby

C.S.Parker                               1995-2007

K.Weaver                                1995-2002

Mrs.A.Griffin                          1996-2012
at least                                                                   N.J.Highfield                          1995-2010

T.M.Quinlan                            1996-2002

P.G.Sibly                                 1997-2012
at least

M.D.Bartlett                           1997-2002

R.J.Carpenter                          1997-2007                   Dicky

M.J.Streets                              1997-2000

I.P.Spedding                           1997-2012
at least

I.F.Thorpe                               1997-2012
at least

J.G.Allen                                 1998-2012 at
least

D.S.Gill                                   1998-2009

T.S.Heath                                1998-2001

A.N.Holman                           1998-2005

Ms
K.Stewart                          1998-2002

J.R.Bleakley                            1999-2002

P.R.Bourne                             1999
at least

Mrs.K.Costante                       1999-2012
at least

Miss
E.E.Hill                           1999-2008

M.Palin                                    1999-2012
at least

J.P.Stanley                              1999-2004

P.J.Daley                                 2000-2002

K.D.Fear                                 2000-2012 at least

D.J.Poole                                 2000-2012 at
least

J.M.Rinder                              2000-2004

Mrs.W.Davies                         2001-2012
at least

J.R.Ricketts                             2001-2006

Mrs V.Sherwood                    2001-2003

Mrs.B.Kruger                          2001-2012
at least

Miss L.A.Slater                       2001-2004

M.R.Bishop                             2002-2003

P.J.Dowsett                             2002-2012 at least                   007

Mrs.S.Hills                              2002-2011

M.M.Jackson                           2002-2011

Mrs.A.R.G.Lemon                  2002-2012 at least

Ms.K.A.Mitchell                     2002-2008

Mrs.C.O’Brien
2002-2012 at least

Miss
J.E.Orr                            2002-2004

Mrs.N.R.Ricketts                    2002-2006

P.N.Robinson                          2002-2007

D.M.A.Slater
2002-2006

Miss
S.Waller                          2002-2004

H.J.Whittamore
2002-2012 at least

S.Barr-Smith                           2003-2012
at least

Ms J.Gaze                               2003-2005

A.N.Leech                              2003-2011

Y.Steinruck                             2003-2007

H.R.Wiggins                           2003-2007

J.A. Abell                                2004-2012
at least

Miss R.M.Bunce                     2004-2008

C.Elder                                    2004-2005

C.Fenech                                 2004-2006

R.C.S.Grant                            2004-2012
at least

Miss
M.J.Kirbyshire                2004-2012 at least

Miss
B.Mlasowsky                  2004-2006

Miss R.Pearson                       2004-2012
at least

W.J.Perry                                2004-2008

Miss C.J.Howat                      2004-2012
at least

Mrs.M.L.Smith                       2004-2012
at least

S.D.Whitehead                       2004-2012
at least

R.M.Batchelor                                    2005-2012
at least

D.P.Brumby
2005-2011

J.P.Kennedy                            2005-2009

A.Paunovic                             2005-2008

S.Stewart                                2005 at least

C.D.Torr                                  2005-2011

P.Alderson                              2005-2006

D.Grooby                                2006-2008

S.E.Blythe                               2006-
2012 at least

S.A.Boswell                            2006-2011

S.J.C.Culshaw-Robinson        2006-2012

K.Heath                                  2006-2012
at least

M.J.Hubbard
2006-2012 at least

S.Kelly                                    2006-2007

J.C.Poole                                 2006-2012
at least

H.B.Wood                              2006-2012
at least

C.Sanford                               2006-2012
at least

A.W.Swithinbank                   2006-2011

A.R.Earnshaw                         2007-2012
at least

K.Leutfeld                              2007-2011

C.S.Colman                             2007-2012
at least

K B George                             2007-2012
at least

P.G.Gray                                 2007-2012
at least

L.Gritti                                    2007-2012 at least

J.Picardo                                 2007-2012 at least

W.M.Robinson                        2007-2012
at least

K.M.Skidmore                        2007-2012
at least

P.J.Smith                                 2007-2012
at least

D.M.Williamson                      2007-2012
at least

A.J.Williams                            2007-2012 at least

S.Radford                               2007-2012
at least

LM
Sedgewick                       2007-2012 at least

A. Clarke                                 2007-2012
at least

J.P. Faulkner                           2007-2012
at least

D. Holmes                               2007-2010

A.J. Williams                           2007-2012
at least

D.J.Allerton                            2008-2012
at least

H.E.Bowen                             2008-2012
at least

Y.Gunther                               2008-2012
at least

E.L.Adshead                           2008-2009

K.Heaphy                                2008-2009

W.M.Burn                               2008-2012
at least

A.H.Reid                                2008-2012
at least

B.J.Harrison
2008-2012 at least

R.E.Wheeler
née Salmon        2008-2012 at least

P.Singleton                              2008-2009

A.A.
Simpson

2008-2012 at least

A.E. Cummings                      2008-2012
at least

E.K.A. Baker                          2008-2012
at least

C.M.Brown                             2009-2012
at least

A.Lynas                                  2009-2010

P.R.Hortor                              2009-2012
at least

S.J.Reid                                   2009-2012
at least

K.J.Turner                               2009-2012
at least

E.S.Nicolson
néeYeadon       2009-2012 at least

R.H.Slater                               2009-2012
at least

R.J. Miller                               2010-2012
at least

C.S.Farman                             2010-2012
at least

R.J.
Shaw
2010-2012 at least

C.E.Smith
2010-2012 at least

V.K.Walster                            2010-2012
at least

J.Bignall                                  2010-2012
at least

J.L. Cox                                  2010-2012
at least

C.E. Smith                              2010-2012
at least

R.J. Miller                               2010-2012
at least

A.Lumley                                2011                            Andy

A.J.Bingham
2011-2012 at least

C.V.Webster                           2011-2012
at least

E.B.Hayton                             2011-2012
at least

G.C.Riley                                2011-2012
at least

M.Baker                                  2011-2012
at least

M.R.Wyles                              2011-2012
at least

M.R.Haynes                            2011-2012
at least

D.G.Williams                          2011-2012
at least

R.C.Adams                             2011-2012
at least

R.J.Northedge                         2011-2012
at least

V.J.Rigby                                2011-2012
at least

S.P.Robinson                          2011-2012
at least

A.E. Barker                             2011-2012
at least

J.A. Ockelford                        2011-2012
at least

J.E. Robinson                          2011-2012
at least

L.A. McCluskey                     2012

Appendix One : 1857-1862

The Stoney Street School

The following reminiscences were
published in “The Nottinghamian” in December 1929. They came from Mr. J.
Braithwaite, of Bournemouth, who, at the time, was thought to be the School's
oldest Old Boy....

“ Schooldays,
1857-1862 ”

I went to the old Grammar School
in Stoney Street about Midsummer,1857, and left at Midsummer, 1862.

The old building was very
unsuitable and inconvenient, dull and cheerless.

The upper school consisted of one large room and one small
classroom. There were no cloakrooms or conveniences of any kind, and the
sanitary arrangements in the small playground at the back...a sort of
backyard...were most primitive.

The whole building sadly wanted
painting and whitewashing, but no money at all was spent on the building ; the
reason given out was that the Trustees were economising and saving up to have
enough money to build the new school, and this policy continued till I left in
1862, when the building of the new school was not yet commenced.

We began work at 8 o'clock and
finished at 5, or after, with two hours' break at midday, and in winter we had
to use artificial light which consisted of tallow candles... “long eights” I
think they were called. One “dip” was allowed between two boys, and lighting up
was the signal for all sorts of play. We amused ourselves by blowing the
candles out and in again, making a nasty smelling smoke; and another favourite
amusement was to warm a slate pencil in the flame, bore a hole in the candle at
a calculated distance, fill the hole with gunpowder or a cartridge of gunpowder
paste, cover the opening with tallow, and await results, which were often
startling ! Jumping crackers were sometimes let off but that was not a popular
game, as the whole class would be punished by being kept in an extra half-hour.

The Rev. W. Butler was headmaster
and the Rev. F. T. Cusins second master, and during Mr. Butler's headmastership
Latin and Greek were the principal subjects taught in the upper school, with a
sprinkling of the  “three R's “ slipped in for variety. In the lower school
only English subjects were taught, most of the boys paying no fees...they were
described as  “on the foundation.” We paid (I think it was) a guinea a quarter,
the year not being divided into terms then.

For my first lesson I was given a
Latin Grammar and told to learn the First Declension. The rules and
instructions were in Latin, and of course, we learnt nothing that way, and soon
we were given a new grammar in English, and then we got on better.

It was nearly all Latin and
Greek, general subjects being neglected, till Mr. Butler retired to a country
vicarage and Mr. Cusins became headmaster. Then we were taught, not simply
given books and told to learn what was in them.

Mr. Cusins made us work, and put
us through a course of History, Geography, English Composition and Mathematics,
subjects which we had almost entirely neglected. We also kept up our Latin and
Greek, as well as French and German.

The French master was a nice old
chap, one of the old French aristocrats, and we all liked him and got on well
under him. The German master was a martinet, a typical Prussian, with a deep
gruff voice and bad manner. We used, out of class, to imitate his guttural pronunciation,
and so, in making fun of him, we were unconsciously learning the correct
pronunciation of German.

About the autumn of 1859 (I think
it was), a man named Fenton was sentenced to death at the Notts. Assizes for a
murder in the northern part of the county. Our headmaster, the Rev.W.Butler, as
Chaplain of the County Gaol, was required to read the burial Service at the
execution, which was fixed for 8 o'clock one morning at the County Gaol in the
High Pavement. As usual we were all at our desks at 8 o'clock on that
particular morning, but the headmaster was absent. We knew where he was, and
each of us was thinking of him and visualising the dreadful scene which was
being enacted only a short distance away. The second master read prayers, and
we waited silent and awed. Presently the door was burst open and poor old Mr.
Butler, with face white and drawn, stumbled in and staggered to his pew, almost
spent. After resting awhile he stood up and said,  “ Boys, I have just come
from....” and then he broke down. After recovering himself he began again, and
then he preached us a more impressive sermon than I have since heard from any
pulpit. As no one was in the mood for lessons we were sent home for the day,
glad of any excuse for a holiday.

One breaking-up day (I think it
was Christmas, 1860) there was a bit of a riot in the lower school. One of the
pupils, a big hulking fellow, who was leaving that quarter, had some kind of a
grievance against the master, and for revenge he set to and smashed everything
in the room that was breakable, and incited the younger boys to help him. In a
very short time the room was a complete wreck, and when the master, Mr. Hall,
returned to see what the row was about they seized him and locked him in the
room amid the ruins. Then they thought they would serve the upper room in the
same way, but we had been watching their proceedings from above and were ready
for them. When they attempted to mount the staircase to our room,we met them at
the bottom and a battle royal began. Though they exceeded us in numbers we had
the advantage of position, and after a regular fight, which lasted over
half-an-hour, we made a concerted rush and cleared them out at the front door.
Only fists were used, and though there were many bruises no bones were broken,
and the lower boys had the most casualties. But it was a grand fight !

“...And with jesting
and with laughter still is the story told,

How well the top boys
kept the stairs in the brave days of old.”

I had a great liking for the old
School...and still have...and I was sorry to leave when in July, 1862, I
started work as a bank clerk. I say  “work” but it was much easier than the
last two years in Stoney Street, when we worked often 12 or 14 hours a day,
including home lessons, and even during the holidays Mr. Cusins held a class at
his own house, which, though a voluntary class, we were all ready to attend.”

Appendix Two : pre-1900

The Forest

More than two centuries ago and
even earlier, what is now known as the Forest had been called “The Lings”.

“Ling” is an old Scandinavian
word for “heather”, and this area was then very different from what it is like
nowadays. Alongside what is now Forest Road East, for example, there was a long
line of thirteen windmills, all taking advantage of the strong winds and
updrafts which blew across the open ground lower down. To the north, “beyond
the Forest, stretched the open country.”

At the end of Forest Road, within
the present day cemetery, there was a gallows, where public executions had
regularly taken place until as recently as 1827. Previously, the gallows had
stood on the same site as present day St.Andrew’s Church, and, indeed, when
some excavation work was done here in 1826, more than fifteen skeletons were
found.

Prisoners were usually brought to
the gallows from the County Hall in High Pavement, or the Town Hall at Week-day
Cross, via Bridlesmith Gate, High Street, Clumber Street, Milton Street and
finally Mansfield Road. They were entitled to a last drink at the Nag’s Head,
which was traditionally paid for by the landlord.

The last person to die on the
Forest Road gallows was William Wells, a 45 year old native of Peterborough,
who had robbed James Corden in Basford Lane and Mansfield Road on March 7th
1827. He was executed on April 2nd 1827.

From the high vantage points
along Forest Road itself, there was a fine view across, not a park-and-ride car
park, but a horse racing course. Not that long before this, bear baiting had
taken place on the very site where the horse racing course was now laid out.

Even further back in time, the
area had originally taken its name from the fact that it had been on the
fringes of Sherwood Forest itself. Presumably, this was in the medieval era
when outlaws robbed travellers as they trudged wearily out of the City up what
is now Mansfield Road, Sherwood.

The race course originally
measured four miles, and had a wonderful variety of conditions underfoot to
test the abilities of the horse rider. In the early 1700s, the course was
shortened to just two miles long, and it was to remain this length until common
land near Lenton and Radford was enclosed in 1797.

In 1779, even the Duke of
Cumberland, the brother of King George III, accompanied by the Duke of Portland
had put in an appearance....“...elegantly dressed in scarlet, with a brilliant
star and a blue ribbon across his shoulders.” His own horse, Pomona, came
second in one of the races. At the time, the Nottingham racecourse was reckoned
to be one of the “most commodious and complete courses, both for horses and spectators,
in the kingdom.”

Changes in 1797 meant the virtual
destruction of the original course, but a year later, in 1798, a new track in
the form of a figure-of-eight was laid out. Unfortunately, this rather strange
choice of layout, designed to give the maximum length of course in the smallest
possible area, was not successful, and  there were “universal complaints of the
spectators” that the view of the races was not good enough. Another course,
therefore, oval in shape, and measuring a mile and a half long was constructed
soon afterwards, and this shape was certainly in operation from 1813 onwards,
according to Dearden’s “Directory of Nottingham”, written in 1834.

In 1777, a large grandstand had
been constructed, which was so magnificent and well equipped that it was copied
and a replica built on the racecourse at York. In the summer of 1801, four
butchers held their weddings there simultaneously, and decided who was to pay
for the wedding picnic by holding a donkey race, with four animals, each
equipped with mascots from the wardrobes of their respective owners’ new
wives.

The race was easily won by the
donkey which had corsets attached to his tail with a bow of green ribbon. In
second and third place were the animal with a pair of stockings around its neck,
and another with a saddle made out of a nightgown.  Needless to say, the donkey
wearing a voluminous pair of ladies’ drawers was placed last.

Up to five hundred people could
be accommodated on the lead roof of the grandstand, but countless thousands more
were able to watch the races from the slopes of the natural amphitheatre formed
by the gentle hill between the racecourse and Forest Road. Perhaps the ultimate
in comfort is the house in Waverley Street, where the owner had a lofty tower
built onto it, with a luxurious top floor overlooking the racecourse. It is
still there today, surmounted by a golden weather vane, which is decorated in
its turn with a race horse.

By the middle of the nineteenth
century, there were at least two major race meetings per year, in spring and
autumn, and the area was beginning to attract the same kind of people who can
still be found there nowadays, more than a hundred and fifty years later...

“...loiterers...policemen...tooting
footmen...toddling children...enterprising vendors...

overcharging
greenhorns...patterers, chanters and beggars...sailors without arms or legs...
“downy blokes”...holiday makers....villains...detectives ...boozers and nymphs
of easy virtue...enterprising merchants...ministers of religion...aristocratic
swells...“black sheep”...pleasure seekers...a few robberies, a few drunks, a
few fights...married men, sitting in the drinking places at the Stand with an
assemblage of whores...the unemployed poor...”

Indeed, with whisky at 75p a
gallon, so unsavoury did the area become that in 1879, male members of
Nottingham University staff were threatened with instant dismissal if they were
found at the races.

By the second third of the
nineteenth century, however, the racecourse was in decline. In shape, it was
thought to be too much like a “circus inclosure”, and it could not compete with
either Derby or Leicester, offering only small prizes to the winners, and
thereby attracting only small fields and second rate horses.

The last meeting took place on
September 29th-30th 1890, and the last race, the Cotgrave Gorse Plate, was won
by Sir Hamilton, owned by Mr.T.Tyler, and ridden by A.Nightingall. Horse racing
subsequently moved to Colwick.

At the beginning of the century,
the centre of the Forest racecourse had been used as a place of exercise by the
Cavalry, many of whose officers lived in the building on Forest Road next to
the tiny sweet shop which was, until 1995, called by generations of High School
boys firstly “Baldry’s” and, more recently, “Dicko’s”.

By 1849, Nottingham’s cricketers
were using the western end of the Forest for their own practices, and they too
soon used the centre of the racecourse, to play professional games, for large
sums of money.

On April 21st 1773, fifteen
thousand people had turned out to witness a foot race between Harrison of
Staffordshire, and Granny of Belper. They raced five times around the
racecourse for a prize of £200. They were completely naked, and the contest was
even for the first seven miles. After eight miles, however, Granny became lame
in the right leg, and Harrison soon went fifty yards ahead. Granny continued to
lose ground, but made a big effort to catch up in the tenth mile, as he ran
down the hill. He nearly fell through exhaustion, and “courage and strength
failing”, conceded the contest, which had lasted exactly fifty-six minutes and
two seconds.

It is not known with any
certainty when football was first played on the Forest. The usual story is that
a group of young men regularly met on the Forest in the early 1860s, to play a
type of primitive field hockey called “shinney”. Not surprisingly perhaps, they
soon thought of giving this up to play the new sport of football.

Only a few years previously, in
1862, the Notts County Foot Ball Club, had been formed by a group of young men
who had initially played in “The Hollow”, a piece of ordinary pasture land near
the Cavalry Barracks in the exclusive Park Estate, and who had kicked “the ball
about with such satisfaction to themselves that they decided to form a club”.
They were all from a professional background, and included the wonderfully
named Major Hack, Blake Baillon, the first captain of the club, W.A.Hodges,
J.C.Hodges, F.S.Smith, cricketer Richard Daft, fellow cricketer George Parr,
John Patterson, Bernard Bradley, and Dr.Thomas Wright. There was great
enthusiasm on their part for this new sport of football.

An initial meeting of the shinney
players, therefore, was convened by J.S.Scrimshaw in the upstairs room of the
Clinton Arms in Shakespeare Street, and the “Forest Foot Ball Club” was formed
in 1865.

Prominent among early members
were J.S.Milford, the first secretary, W.Brown, the first treasurer, C.F.Daft,
Walter Roe Lymbery, the first captain, and secretary from 1868 onwards, and Old
Nottinghamian, Thomas George Howitt.

Lymbery had been the original
Captain of the “The Lings” Shinney Club which had supposedly given birth to
Nottingham Forest. Other important members of the new club were A.Barks,
W.P.Brown, T.Gamble, R.P.Hawksley, W.L.Hussey, J.H.Rastall, J.G.Richardson and
Old Nottinghamian, James Tomlinson.

The club’s early Presidents were
also closely connected with the Forest area of the City of Nottingham. Walter
Roe Lymbery junior, who, according to some sources, was the scorer of
Nottingham Forest’s first ever goal, lived in Hyson Green, and the aptly named
F.A.Charles lived in Sherwood Rise. Vice President W.L.Hussey lived in Forest
Grove.

Frustratingly perhaps, it has
proved impossible to prove a definite link between Walter Roe Lymberry and the
High School, even though we know that he was educated in Nottingham, and that
he lived close to the school. His brother, Arthur James Roe Lymbery, had
entered the High School on July 31st 1855 at the age of nine years and eight
months, at the time when the family lived firstly at St.Ann’s Hill, and then on
Woodborough Road. The boys’ father was a lace manufacturer, Walter Roe Lymbery
senior.

His footballing son, Walter Roe
Lymbery junior, was to educate all of his own sons at the High School. They
included Harold Robert Lymbery (born September 7th 1874, entered the High
School on January 19th 1886, and left at Christmas 1890), W.B.Lymbery (born
November 13th 1876, entered the High School on January 16th 1888, and left at
Midsummer 1893), Arthur William Lymbery (born July 4th 1878, entered the High
School on September 10th 1888 and left at Midsummer 1897), Aubrey Frederic
(sic) Lymbery (born February 27th 1881, entered the High School on January 18th
1892, and left at Midsummer 1897), and Roy Robert Gregory Lymbery (born March
25th 1884, entered the High School on January 18th 1894, and left at Easter
1899). The family address is listed as Colston House, Alexandra Road, Sherwood
Rise, Nottingham.

The new team’s first fixture on
the Forest was on Thursday, March 22nd 1866, a friendly game arranged to be
between Fifteen of the Forest, and Thirteen of the Notts Club. The game was
eventually played between Seventeen of the Forest and Eleven of the Notts, and,
according to some sources, was goalless, Nottingham Forest’s first ever goal
being scored in their third game, another friendly on the Forest against Notts
County, which finished as a 1-1 draw.

Other sources say, however, that
the initial game finished as a 1-0 victory for Nottingham Forest, with Old
Nottinghamian, William Henry Revis, providing the decisive score. The Notts
County team is also known to have contained an Old Nottinghamian, William
Goddard.

The players would not have looked
much like the present day Nottingham Forest, as they would probably have been
in shirtsleeves, with braces holding up long trousers tucked into sturdy boots.
To identify themselves more easily, they wore bright red flannel caps, twelve
of these distinctive articles of headgear having been bought by W.Brown from
shopkeeper C.F.Daft. One newspaper article, reporting an early encounter
between Forest and County, described how... “...when the men were spread out,
the field looked exceedingly picturesque, with the orange and black stripes of
the Notts., and the red and white of the Foresters.”

One of Nottinghamshire’s greatest
early footballers, E.H.Greenhalgh, originally from Mansfield, and who later
became a prominent player for Notts County, and went on to play for England in
their first ever international match against Scotland in 1872, was
subsequently  to write, of football on the Forest....

“....the first set of players who came out were
regarded as a company of harmless

lunatics who amused themselves
by kicking one another’s shins, but did no great harm to the public at large,
although in earlier days they would have been put in the stocks.”

Richard Daft, a contemporary of
Greenhalgh wrote in similar vein...

“....When a young man I played regularly with
the Notts County Football Club when

it was first formed. I believe I
played centre forward, but I am not quite sure about this as we were never very
particular in those days about keeping in one place. Charging and dribbling
were the chief features of the game at that time, and often very rough play was
indulged in.”

Although Nottingham Forest’s
early cash books show no record of any fees being paid to use the Forest, it is
nevertheless possible that a small sum had to be paid. As can be seen elsewhere
in this work, we know that the High School had to pay for their use of the
pitches, so there is little reason to suppose that Nottingham Forest would have
been exempt.

The exact location of Nottingham
Forest’s pitches has never been ascertained for sure. My own researches have
led me to believe that they must have been immediately to the east of what is
now the “Park-and-ride” car park, at the bottom of the slight slope, but I have
no way of being totally certain about this.

Nottingham Forest certainly had
major problems with their ground, however, when they entered the F.A.Cup from
1878-1879 onwards. The Forest was common land, with free access for all, but
the regulations of the F.A.Cup stipulated that an admission charge had to be
levied. For this reason, Forest moved to the Meadows area for the 1879-1880 cup
campaign.

This was not, of course, before
the club had introduced various innovations. Samuel Weller Widdowson had
invented the shinguard, which was first worn by Nottingham Forest on the Forest
in 1874. In 1878, the first ever referee’s whistle in the world was heard on
the Forest, supposedly in a game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield
Norfolk. It was blown by Mr.C.J.Spencer.

The sudden change of grounds,
however, did not mean that the Forest itself was suddenly devoid of football
clubs. Indeed, at this time, so many local teams were using the pitches that
the High School were frequently unable to fulfil fixtures on Saturdays, but
instead had to play on Wednesdays, occasionally Thursdays, or even Tuesdays. At
the time, of course, Wednesday was half day closing in Nottingham and Thursday
was half day closing in Sherwood.

On these half days, it was by no
means unusual to see footballers on buses and trams

travelling to the game, already changed into their kit. A
newspaper at the time wrote of “...persons hurrying to the Forest football
grounds, and dozens of players in full rig making their way in the same
direction,”

Local teams other than County in
their black and orange hoops and Forest in their red, included Notts Druids
(amber and black quarters), Notts Olympic, (pink and white), Nottingham Press
(all black), Nottingham Rangers (scarlet and white shirts), Nottingham Rovers
(black and white), Nottingham Scottish, (white shirts and blue shorts), Notts
Swifts, (all black), and Notts Wanderers (scarlet and white). The City could
also boast Notts Artisans, Notts Athletic, Nottingham Bank, Nottingham Castle,
Nottingham Co-op, Notts Forest Swifts, Nottingham Lindum, the Nottingham
Manufacturing Company, Notts County Rovers, Nottingham Lace, the Notts Law
Club, Notts Magdala, Notts Pioneers, Nottingham Postmen, Nottingham Post
Office, Nottingham Press, Notts Thursday Athletic, Notts Thursday Rovers,
Nottingham Thursday Wanderers, Nottingham Strollers, Nottingham Trent, and
Nottingham Trinity, as well as strong local sides such as Basford Rovers and
Sneinton Institute.

It was presumably during this era
that the habits arose which were to lead to Nottingham Forest being so
frequently referred to as Notts Forest, much to the annoyance of their
supporters. All of the above teams, therefore, in the various local newspapers,
seem to have the words Nottingham and Notts interchangeable in their titles.

So far it has proved impossible to trace the
exact date of the first High School football games on the Forest, although we
know from surviving copies of “The Forester” that the earliest known High
School football fixtures took place during the 1870-1871 season. It may be
reasonably inferred that this was perhaps on a weekly basis, with teams drawn
from different years within the School.

At the same time, though, the
very fact that the High School played four inter-school fixtures during this
season, against Mansfield Grammar School (twice), Trent College and Mount
Vernon High School, would surely infer that 1870-1871 may not have been the
very first season during which football had been played.

Indeed, it may well be that as soon as the new
High School opened its doors on Thursday, April 16th 1868, the boys were quick
to wander off down to the green expanses of the Forest during their leisure
time. There, they may have seen football being played, possibly even by members
of the recently formed Forest Foot-ball Club. It would not be beyond
possibility that having had a few impromptu games, the High School boys were
immediately enthused by the new sport, and interest in it quickly grew within
the School. From widespread interest, it may have been only a short step to
organised football fixtures against other schools.

Appendix Three : Arthur William Cursham

Arthur William Cursham was born
on March 14th 1853. He was the son of William George Cursham, a solicitor who
lived in Wilford, and the second of at least five brothers, of whom a minimum
of four are known to have attended the High School.

Unfortunately, however, there is
no definitive documentary proof, that, of the five brothers, Arthur Cursham
himself actually attended the Dame Agnes Mellers’ Free School, as it was then
called. While the School’s Registers date from as early as 1807, they are not
necessarily complete, and boys who were in the School for only short periods
may well have been left out. Similarly, registers were often copied and
recopied over the years, and errors may have occurred for this reason.

An example similar to this is
that of Notts County footballer, Henry Jessop, who is known to have attended
the Dame Agnes Mellers’ Free School around this period. Indeed, the
difficulties in tracing both Arthur Cursham and Henry Jessop may well be
because they are all listed in the same long lost register.

This hypothetical document may
well have disappeared during the enormous task of moving an entire school from
Stoney Street, up Waverley Street to its new site beyond the Arboretum.
Certainly, when the new school opened on April 18th 1868, it had a brand new register
!

Arthur Cursham is definitely
known to have attended Oakham School, in Rutland, from 1867-1870, arriving at
his new school when he was fourteen years of age. In all probability, this was
after he had spent his early years at Dame Agnes Mellers’ Free School. At the
time, the majority of boys left the school when they were fourteen or fifteen,
and usually went into their father’s business. As the High School did not have
a Sixth Form, their only option if they required more advanced tuition, was to transfer
to one of the top boarding schools, such as Oakham or Repton. This, of course,
was the route followed by Harry Cursham, who attended the High School from
1869-1875, and then spent a year at Repton from 1875-1876. It is surely not too
great a leap of faith to presume that his elder brother Arthur had already
followed a comparable route.

There is certainly circumstantial
evidence when Harry Cursham won the hundred yards’ flat race for boys under
eleven at the High School’s Annual Athletic Sports. These were held on
September 28th-29th 1870 at Trent Bridge. They were a major event in the social
calendar of Victorian Nottingham, and the crowd was entertained throughout the
two days by the regimental band of the Robin Hood Rifles.

Harry won “a capital race” for
second place, narrowly beating Brewill, “who ran remarkably well for so small a
boy” by about two yards. It was only after the end of the race that the
apparently easy and obvious winner, Anderson, was disqualified for being over
age, thus leaving Harry Cursham in first place.

The eventual winner, Harry
Cursham, was referred to in “The Forester” as “Cursham ii”. This surely implies
the existence, within the school, of a “Cursham i”. This must surely have been
his elder brother, Arthur.

The only certain and definite
mention of Arthur Cursham at the High School, however, comes not in a School
Register, but in the Midsummer 1871 edition of “The Forester”, in a report of a
cricket match between the High School and old rivals, Trent College. The fixture
took place on June 7th 1871 at the Trent College Ground in Long Eaton, and to
strengthen their side, the High School included “...four old boys...”, along
with seven “..players now in the School.”

In both of the School’s two
innings, the batting was opened by A.Cursham, which can surely refer only to
Arthur, who would have been eighteen years old at the time, and of exactly the
right age to return to his original school to take part in this prestigious
sporting fixture. By now, of course, he had left Oakham School, and could
justifiably turn out for Nottingham High School in their hour of need.
Certainly, the “A.Cursham” of the scoresheet could not possibly refer to either
Charles or Harry Cursham, who at the time would have been only twelve and
eleven years of age respectively.

Conversely, it is even less
likely that “The Forester” would report the presence of an ineligible player in
their biggest cricket match of the season, and it is reasonably safe to assume
that Arthur Cursham, whether at this point in time he was a current member of
the School, or, more likely, an Old Boy, had at some unknown point actually
been educated at the High School. Further circumstantial evidence is that the
High School side contained three Ashwell brothers, two of whom, Herbert George
and Frank were, like Arthur Cursham, to appear prominently in the history of
Notts County.

In the First Innings, Arthur
Cursham

“...played very steadily, being
at the wicket more than half an hour for his 7. He was caught off a hit to
square leg by Chapman and was succeeded by F.Ashwell.”

When Trent College batted,
Cursham caught opening batsman Clarke for a duck off the bowling of D.Potter,
and then himself clean bowled Chapman for four. In his next over, he bowled
Wilson, and went on to claim three further wickets, those of Knight, caught by
W.Johnson for a duck, Holyoake, caught by T.C.Ashwell for eleven, and Beard
clean bowled for a duck. In the High School’s Second Innings, Cursham made only
one, being bowled by Holyoake.

After leaving Oakham School in
Midsummer 1870, at around seventeen years of age, Cursham, who had enjoyed both
rugby and cricket there, initially joined a rugby club, but soon switched to
football. He seems to have played initially for the infamous Notts Law Club,
but in the 1871-1872 season  he played his first games for Notts County, mainly
as an outside right, although he still continued to appear occasionally for the
Law Club for a number of seasons. Indeed, he seems to have declined to play for
Notts County in any of their fixtures against the Law Club from 1871-1878,
preferring perhaps, as the son of a solicitor, to represent his first
love.Cursham even made a small number of appearances for Nottingham Forest,
usually in games against their more formidable opponents, but never against
either Notts County or the Law Club.

On December 31st 1871, Cursham
appeared in the Combined Team which beat Nottingham Forest by 2-1 in a match
held on the Meadows Ground. The Nottingham Forest team contained Thomas Howitt
as the captain, with fellow Old Nottinghamians, James Tomlinson and William
Revis. The Combined Team was made up of representatives of the Public Schools,
the Town Club, and the Law Club. Cursham was reported to have “...distinguished
himself by his play” during this fixture.

On November 30th, 1872, Cursham
played for the Law Club against Nottingham Forest, the game finishing in a 0-0
draw. Also appearing for the lawyers were Old Boys, Frank and Arthur Thomas
Ashwell, Frank Marriott and John Parr.

From 1878, however, Arthur
Cursham was unable to appear for the Law Club, as this violent  team was forced
to disband for lack of opponents.

Cursham’s full record for Notts
County was...

1871-1872             Appearances        4                                    Goals               0

Cursham appeared in friendlies at
home to Lincoln (1-0), Nottingham Forest (0-1) and Sheffield (0-1), and away
against Nottingham Forest (1-2).

1872-1873             Appearances        8                                    Goals               2

Cursham played at home against
South Derbyshire (1-0), Ockbrook (4-0, one goal), Nottingham Forest (0-0),
Sheffield (1-0), Lincoln (4-0, one goal), and London (0-0). He also played in
away fixtures against Nottingham Forest (0-1) and Sheffield (2-3).

1873-1874             Appearances        5                                    Goals               2

Cursham’s home games were against
Stoke (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (0-0), and away against South Derbyshire
(3-4, two goals), and London (0-4 and 1-1). The two latter games were regarded
as extremely important friendlies at this time.

1874-1875             Appearances        6                                    Goals               1

Cursham played at home against
Nottingham Forest (0-0), Sheffield (0-3), Sheffield (1-0) and Queen’s Park
(1-1). He appeared away at Sheffield (2-1, one goal) and Queen’s Park (0-6).

1875-1876             Appearances        5                                    Goals               2

Cursham’s appearances came at
home to Sheffield (0-0), Grantham (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (1-0, one goal),
and away against Derby Grammar School (1-0, one goal) and Cambridge University
(0-0). Cursham’s only goal of the game against Nottingham Forest must have been
some kind of compensation for a 1-7 defeat the previous season.

1876-1877             Appearances        8                                    Goals               at
least 4

For the first time, Cursham
appeared in every game of the season. The home fixtures included Newark (4-1,
scorers unknown), Manchester (2-0, one goal), Nottingham Forest (1-1) and
Sheffield (2-0). He played away at Queen’s Park (1-5), Nottingham Forest (2-0,
one goal), Sheffield (3-7, two goals) and Derby Grammar School (0-2).

1877-1878             Appearances        9                                    Goals               at
least 4

Home fixtures were against Stoke
(3-0), Southwell (4-0, scorers unknown),

Queen’s Park (1-2, one goal), Derby Grammar School (8-2, one
goal) and Sheffield (7-0, one goal). He played in away games at Queen’s Park
(1-6), Sheffield (1-2), Derbyshire (4-0, scorers unknown) and Stoke (1-0).

Charles Cursham had made his
first appearance for Notts County in the previous season of 1876-1877. This
year, Harry played for the team, and all three brothers appeared at home to
Derby Grammar School (8-2) and Sheffield (7-0), and away against Manchester
(6-0), Sheffield (1-2), Stoke (1-0), Manchester (4-1). Among the goalscorers
against Derby Grammar School were Harry (4), Charles (1) and Arthur (1), and
against Sheffield were Charles (3), Arthur (2) and Harry (1).

1878-1879             Appearances        8                                    Goals               at
least 3

Cursham played at home to
Sheffield (8-0), Derbyshire (1-0), Derbyshire (6-1, two goals), Queen’s Park
(0-2) and Stoke (1-0, one goal). He appeared away against Stoke (0-1), Queen’s
Park (0-4), Derby Grammar School (8-0) and Sheffield (4-2, two goalscorers
unknown). In the 6-1 victory over Derbyshire the goals came from Arthur (2),
Harry (2) and Charles (1).

The 1-0 victory over Derbyshire
was an early floodlit game, which took place on November 30th 1878 at Trent
Bridge, with a 7.15 p.m. kickoff. The pitch was lit by two electric floodlights
of some 6,000 and 3,000 candlepower respectively, which were powered by Siemens
dynamos behind each goal. The floodlights themselves were suspended about
fifteen feet from the ground, and approximately twenty feet in front of the
goalposts. Unfortunately, the weather was rather foggy that particular night,
and to add to the problems, the lights flickered and even went out on a number
of occasions. At 8.00 p.m., one floodlight went out because the drive belt of
its engine had come off. The other light then failed, and the crowd were left
for several minutes in total darkness. Despite the fact that the game was a
great success from a financial point of view, with admission priced at sixpence
and a shilling, it was seventy years before Notts County tried floodlights
again !

1879-1880             Appearances        4                                    Goals               unknown

Arthur appeared at home as an
inside right against Sheffield (2-3, one goalscorer unknown) and as a right
half against Derby Grammar School (2-2). He played as an inside right away
against Derbyshire (3-4, scorers unknown) and Queen’s Park (1-4).

1880-1881             Appearances        10                                  Goals               4

This season, Arthur played in
every possible fixture, appearing as an outside right . They included home
games against Queen’s Park (3-4, two goals), Sheffield (8-1), Staveley (3-2),
Newark (15-1), Blackburn Rovers (3-7) and Nottingham Forest (1-0)  and away
fixtures at Blackburn Rovers (1-3), Sheffield (4-2, one goal), Nottingham Forest
(0-4), and Staveley (1-1).

During this season, Notts County
were almost forced to disband because of their debts, the expense of sports
meetings held as long ago as 1869 having left them over £60 in the red. At the
same time, membership numbers were falling in an alarming way. At a crisis
meeting at the Lion Hotel in Clumber Street, Arthur Ashwell made a fighting
speech, and tabled a motion that “Notts County should continue”. Fittingly, he
was backed by Arthur Cursham, and the club “...went on with renewed vigour”,
when most of Nottingham expected it to perish.

1881-1882             Appearances        15                                  Goals               at
least 2

Cursham appeared as an inside
right, and notable home performances included Grantham (13-0, scorers unknown),
Staveley (7-0), Old Carthusians (5-1), Sheffield (5-1) and Derby Midland (7-2,
one goal). Away from home, Cursham scored in a 1-1 draw at Derby Midland, and
appeared in some large victories and defeats...Queen’s Park (1-10), Blackburn
Rovers (1-10), Nottingham Forest (5-0), Pilgrims (5-1), Old Carthusians (0-4)
and Sheffield (5-0).

This was Notts County’s finest
season, with 18 victories, and only 4 defeats. The balance of goals was
107-35.

1882-1883             Appearances        16                                  Goals               at
least 13

Except for an appearance as a
centre forward in an away game at Stoke (5-1, scorers unknown), Cursham again
played as an inside right. By now, he could be described by a contemporary
journalist in “The Football Annual” as “...a very fast and energetic forward.”
Notable home performances were against Sheffield (8-1, one goal), Stoke (5-0),
Liverpool Ramblers (3-1, one goal), Walsall (7-2, one goal), Pollokshields
Athletic (5-2, two goals), Wednesbury Old Athletic (6-1, one goal), Mitchell’s
St.George’s (10-0, one goal), and away to Aston Villa (2-1), Sheffield (8-2).
He scored hat tricks at home to Blackburn Rovers (7-1) and away to Queen’s Park
(4-5). He had yet to experience victory over the latter opponents who, when
they came to Nottingham, had won by 3-1.

1883-1884             Appearances        20                                  Goals               10

By now captain of the side,
Cursham appeared mainly as an inside right, with five games at outside right,
and two at centre forward. Interesting home fixtures included Walsall Swifts
(4-2, one goal), Attercliffe (6-2, one goal), Blackburn Olympic (3-2, two
goals), Brentwood (3-2), Sheffield (4-1, one goal), Padiham (5-1), Nottingham
Forest (5-1), Derby Midland (3-3, two goals), Bolton Association (7-1, two
goals), Stoke (4-1, one goal), Aston Villa (2-0) and Great Lever (4-1). Away
games included Nottingham Forest (0-0) and Aston Villa (1-2).

By this time, Cursham had played
in at least 114 games for Notts County, with a minimum of 47 goals.

In his thirteen seasons with
Notts County, Arthur Cursham appeared in a number of outstanding F.A.Cup ties.

Ironically, the very first was
against the club, when he played for Sheffield in a 1-1 draw at Trent Bridge on
November 3rd 1877. His brother Charles scored for Notts County.  In the replay,
Arthur got two goals in a 3-0 victory for the home side.

His appearances for Notts County
included...

1878-1879                   Notts County v Nottingham
Forest                (h)        1-3

1880-1881                   Notts County v Derbyshire
F.C                      (h)        4-4

1 goal

Notts County v
Derbyshire F.C                      (a)        4-2

Notts County v
Aston Villa                           (h)        1-3

With a gate of some 4,000 spectators, this was the biggest
crowd so far in Nottingham.

1881-1882                   Notts County v Wednesbury
Strollers            (h)        5-2

2
goals

This match was replayed after protest from the Wednesbury
club.

Notts County v Wednesbury
Strollers            (n)        11-1

2 goals

Notts County v
Aston Villa                           (a)        2-2

1881-1882                   Notts County v Aston
Villa                           (h)        2-2

1 goal

Notts County v
Aston Villa                           (a)        1-4

1882-1883                   Notts County v Sheffield
Club                      (h)        6-1

3
goals

Notts County v
Phoenix Bessemer                 (h)        4-1

1 goal

Notts County v
Sheffield Wednesday           (a)        4-1

2 goals

Notts County v
Aston Villa                           (h)        4-3

Despite protests from Aston Villa
about the legality of Harry Cursham’s supposed handball, Notts County finally
managed to beat the crack West Midlands team.

Notts County v
Old Etonians                        (n)        1-2

Semi-final tie played at
Kennington Oval

1883-1884                   Notts County v Sheffield
Heeley                   (h)        3-1

Notts County v
Nottingham Forest                (h)        3-0

1 goal

Notts County v
Grantham                              (a)        4-0

1 goal

Notts County v
Bolton Wanderers                 (h)        2-2

1 goal

Notts County v
Bolton Wanderers                 (a)        2-1

Crowds for these two games
numbered between 12,000-15,000.

Notts County v
Swifts                                                (h)        1-1

Notts County v
Swifts                                                (a)        1-0

The opposition was a crack
amateur team from the south.

Notts County v
Blackburn Rovers                 (n)        0-1

Semi-final tie played at
Birmingham

By this time, Arthur Cursham had
played in 22 F.A.Cup ties for Notts County, and scored either 11, 13 or 15
goals, depending on the admissibility of the two scored against Wednesbury
Strollers in the original fixture, and whether Arthur or his younger brother
Harry scored twice in the replayed game.

In addition, along with younger
brother Harry, Arthur Cursham organised, and appeared regularly for, Nottingham
Thursday Wanderers, an extremely strong local team which, in 1880, won the
Sheffield Association Challenge Cup.

Immediately before the start of
the 1884-1885 season, “Mercutio”, in his “Nottingham Football Annual”, had
described Arthur Cursham as “...An excellent forward, with lots of dash. Was
Captain of the Notts. eleven last year, and once or twice played with all the
vigour of his younger days.” Another reference said that he was “...the most
brilliant outside right of the day.”

Cursham’s last game for Notts
County was his benefit match which took place at the Castle Ground against the
prestigious Queen’s Park club of Glasgow on April 3rd 1884. Playing alongside
his younger brother, Harry, and fellow Old Nottinghamian, John Dixon, Cursham
yet again experienced defeat against a Scottish team, this time by 0-3. The
game raised a grand total of some £284. This sum, as “a draft upon a New York
bank”, was received  on Arthur’s behalf by the Reverend F.C.Cursham, and so
ended “...a career more than usually brilliant on the football field”, where,
in well over 300 matches, he “...had never once hurt an opponent, while he was
only once seriously injured himself.” As a man, “....He was in everything alike
bold and daring, but never rash. He had a genial and courteous manner, and
gained the esteem of all those who were brought into contact with him.” Cursham
always displayed “...amiability and courtesy”.

Soon afterwards, as “fortune had
not smiled kindly upon him in business”, Cursham set sail, with his wife and
two children, for a new life as an orange plantation owner in Pera, Florida,
USA, where he nostalgically named his house “Wilford Grove”. At first, all went
well in “The Land of Flowers”, and both Cursham and his family were”in
excellent spirits”, enjoying the climate, and their new life and occupation.

On Christmas Eve 1884, however,
at the age of only 32, Cursham was to die of what was variously called malarial
fever or yellow fever. On January 17th 1885, in the game against Blackburn
Olympic at Trent Bridge, the Notts County team all wore black crêpe armbands as
a mark of respect for their deceased captain, and on the Pavilion, the County
flag fluttered at half mast. Harry Cursham did not play either in this fixture,
or in the following away game at Preston North End.

It is surprising perhaps nowadays
to realise just how long it took for this news to reach Nottingham. The family
received a letter on Friday, January 16th 1885, and the first public mention of
it came in the “Nottingham Evening Post” of Saturday, January 17th, although
the “Nottingham Journal” of the same day merely recorded it as a “painful
rumour”, which the newspaper’s own journalists had not yet had time to confirm
with the family, given “the very late hour at which the sad intelligence
reached us”. A full obituary then appeared on Monday, January 19th.

Arthur Cursham also made a
limited number of appearances for Nottingham Forest. They included the following
matches

March 11th 1872                     Nottingham Forest v
Sheffield Norfolk         (h)        1-0

November 2nd 1872               Nottingham Forest v
Mansfield                      (h)        0-0

November 23rd 1872              Nottingham Forest v Spondon
School           (h)        0-0

February 13th 1875                 Nottingham Forest v Derby
Derwent             (h)        2-0

In the report of the final game,
no initial is given, but it is thought that Arthur is the likeliest of the
Curshams to have played in this fixture. Harry would have been barely fifteen,
and Charles had only appeared for Notts County for the first time on December
16th 1876.

In addition, his obituary in the
“Nottingham Evening Post” states that he appeared for Nottingham Forest in all
of their F.A.Cup ties of the 1879-1880 season, a total of some five games,
ending in a 0-1 defeat by Oxford University in the semi-final. Modern research,
however, does not confirm these details. At the same time though, the
“Nottingham Journal” of January 19th 1885 also tells how Cursham wore “...the
red jersey”, and played for Nottingham Forest as centre forward against the
prestigious Sheffield Club in a Fourth Round tie, the game finishing in a 2-2
draw, although Sheffield were disqualified when they refused to play extra
time.

Arthur Cursham’s career as an
international player was a very distinguished one. It included the following
games...

March 4th 1876           England v Scotland                            Glasgow                      0-3

Cursham made his début as an
outside right, displaying “...skill and dash” throughout, and playing “...in
pretty style on the right wing”.

March 3rd 1877          England v Scotland                            Kennington
Oval        1-3

Cursham again appeared as an
outside right, linking extremely well with the Honourable A.Lyttleton in the
centre.

March 2nd 1878          England v
Scotland                            Glasgow                      2-7

Despite intervals of almost a
year between these two fixtures, they were, in actual fact, consecutive, with
no intervening international matches.

By now a right half, Cursham
scored England’s second goal. He was the Captain of the team, and praised for
his “...great exertions both in directing and manoeuvring”. Arthur Cursham
hereby became one of only three Old Nottinghamians to have captained England at
football.

January 18th 1879       England v Wales                                 Kennington
Oval        2-1

Still Captain of England, Cursham
had by now reverted to his original position as an outside right.

February 3rd 1883      England v Wales                                 Kennington
Oval        5-0

Right half Arthur Cursham  played
in the same team as his brother Harry. He scored a single goal.

March 10th 1883         England v Scotland                            Glasgow                      2-3

Arthur Cursham again appeared
alongside his brother Harry, this time as an inside left.

Cursham also played first class
cricket, initially appearing for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire in 1876,
and, in the following season, having the fourth best batting average in the
side. He also appeared in the Nottinghamshire team which defeated the
Australians in their first ever visit to this country. His highest score for
Nottinghamshire was 67 against Middlesex. Cursham then played a number of games
for Derbyshire, where he had acquired a colliery. Indeed, throughout his life,
Arthur seems to have been quite the entrepreneurial businessman, as well as a
mere footballer or cricketer.

On many occasions, for business
reasons, he even went as far as to play sport under an alias. Rather
prophetically, perhaps, it was R.H.Venables.

Appendix Four : Henry Alfred Cursham

Harry Cursham has scored more
goals in the F.A Cup competition than any other foorballer in history.

He was born at Wilford Grange on
November 27th 1859, one of the five sons of William George Cursham, a solicitor
who lived in Wilford. Harry entered the High School at the age of nine, on
January 18th 1869, the same day as his brother, Charles.

Harry had three brothers, who
were, like him, Old Nottinghamians. They were Arthur William Cursham, born on
March 14th 1853, Charles Lambert Cursham, born on October 29th 1858, and
William Cursham, born on March 20th 1862, and who was to enter the High School
on August 11th 1873 at the age of eleven. He left at the end of the Summer Term
1877, and as late as 1929, was living at the “Manor House”, Thrumpton. .

It is known that during his
school career Harry Cursham played for the High School First Team, but  only a
very few editions of “The Forester” have survived from this period.
Unfortunately, although they carry a number of match reports, they are not
particularly detailed, and there is no mention of Cursham as a footballer.

On the other hand, Harry Cursham
does appear in “The Forester” as an athlete, winning a hundred yards’ flat race
for boys under eleven at the High School’s Annual Athletic Sports held on
September 28th-29th 1870.

This major event in the social
calendar of Victorian Nottingham took place at Trent Bridge, with the crowd
entertained throughout the two days by the regimental band of the Robin Hood
Rifles. “Cursham ii” won “a capital race” for second place, narrowly beating
Brewill, “who ran remarkably well for so small a boy” by about two yards. It
was only after the end of the race that the apparently easy winner, Anderson,
was disqualified for being over age, thus leaving Harry Cursham in first place.

After leaving the High School at
Midsummer of 1875, Cursham transferred to Repton School which he entered in
September 1875, presumably as a boarder. He remained there until Christmas
1876, and is known to have represented his new school at both football and
cricket.

He then returned to Nottingham,
and joined Notts County for the 1877-1878 season. Both he, and his elder
brother, Arthur, who had made his own first appearance for County in 1875, soon
became very great favourites with the crowd.

On November 3rd 1877, “...these
splendidly built players...”, Harry Cursham and his brother Charles, played for
Notts County in their first ever F.A.Cup tie, against the Sheffield Club, for
whom a third brother, Arthur Cursham, appeared. Arthur, of course, was normally
a Notts County player.The match took place at Trent Bridge, and was drawn 1-1.
Arthur Cursham scored for Sheffield, and Charles Cursham for Notts County. The
Notts County team included at least four Old Nottinghamians, namely Harry
Cursham, Charles Cursham, Thomas Oliver, George Seals, and, possibly, Henry
Jessop as a fifth.

In the replay, Arthur Cursham
scored twice, and Notts County lost 0-3, but Harry Cursham was seen as a
promising débutant during the course of the 1877-1878 season, appearing also in
County’s prestigious friendly against Scottish club, Queen’s Park, at Hampden
Park on November 18th 1877.

Harry Cursham soon became a high
scoring forward, and was to score well in excess of 200 goals in thirteen
seasons. “The Football Annual” described him as...

“...one of the
best forwards of the day, plays brilliantly on either wing but is particularly
effective on the left.”

Elsewhere, he is described as
having been “...at home on either wing or in the centre, and had good dribbling
skills.” In the 1880s, a third source said that Harry Cursham was

“...the most versatile player
Notts had during that period, for he was at home anywhere, and was an
indispensable member of the English eleven.”

On November 16th 1878, Cursham
had played for Notts County in their First Round F.A.Cup tie against Nottingham
Forest. The game was played at Beeston Cricket Ground, since Nottingham Forest
had waived their right to host the game. The fact that the Forest was common
land meant that it would have been impossible to charge admission money, and
the other alternative, Trent Bridge, was being used for a handicap horse race.
Nottingham Forest won 3-1, in front of a crowd of some 500 spectators, with
goals from Turner, Goodyer and Smith. At that time, the attendance was the
highest ever recorded for a football match in Nottingham. Special excursion
trains had been used to take them out of the City to the suburbs.

On November 11th 1880, Harry
Cursham returned to the High School, and appeared for the First Team in a game
against the Bank, played on the Forest.            The match took place on a
“merit half-holiday”, and by prior arrangement, the High School fielded six of
their Old Boys, namely Harry Cursham, Charles Cursham, J.E.Everall,
E.J.Hopewell, C.E.Attenborough and C.Hill.

Bank’s team was also very
formidable, and included several “players of no small note in the local
football world”. The game was very fast and even, but whereas the Bank backs
proved rather ineffective, the High School’s players were on top form, and ran
out the eventual winners by 4-1

At the time he appeared in the
High School team, as well as being a regular in the Notts County side, Harry
Cursham had already played for England on one occasion, against Wales at
Wrexham on March 15th 1880. As far as I can trace, this is the only occasion on
which a current senior England international has represented the High School in
any sport.

It was around this time that,
along with elder brother Arthur, he organised, and appeared regularly for,
Nottingham Thursday Wanderers, a strong local team which won the Sheffield
Association Challenge Cup in 1880.

In the 1881-1882 season, Harry
Cursham played in the second round F.A.Cup tie between Notts County and
Wednesbury Strollers at the Castle Ground, Nottingham, so controversially
refereed by Leonard Lindley. The visitors led by 2-0 at the interval, but an
own goal, and two each from Arthur and Harry Cursham looked to have given Notts
a 5-3 victory. The crowd, however, had encroached onto the playing surface, and
Wednesbury were not at all happy with the fact that they had had two hotly
contested goals awarded against them, by a referee who came from the same town
as their opponents, and was a personal friend of a number of the Notts County
players.Wednesbury Strollers therefore protested to the F.A., who ordered a
replay, on a neutral ground, with a neutral referee.

When this replay took place at
the County Cricket Ground, Derby, on December 10th 1881, the result was Notts
County 11 Wednesbury Strollers 1. The official records state that Harry Cursham
scored six of County’s goals, but he himself claimed throughout his life that
he had got nine, explaining that the referee had confused him with his two brothers,
Arthur and Charles, who themselves scored two and one goals respectively in
this game. As far as I can trace, nine goals in a single game would, over a
century later, still remain a record for the F.A.Cup. This total was equalled
by Ted MacDougall for Bournemouth against Margate in the First Round on Nov
20th 1971, but does not appear ever to have been beaten.

From the beginning of the
1882-1883 season, Notts County had eight successive victories. This was due in
part to the fact that Harry Cursham had moved to centre forward, where he
continued his remarkable goalscoring feats. Billy Gunn took his place on the
wing.

This season, Notts County had a
good run in the F.A.Cup, beginning with a 6-1 victory over the Sheffield Club
at the Castle Ground on November 4th, with Harry Cursham getting two of the
goals. They then had a bye, before beating Phoenix Bessemer of Rotherham by
4-1, and Sheffield Wednesday by the same score.

In the fifth round, they were
drawn against Aston Villa, a game which finished with Notts County hanging on
grimly to their 4-3 winning margin, Harry Cursham having grabbed a hat-trick.

Villa protested, however, that in
the dying minutes, Harry Cursham had fisted out what would have been an
equalising goal. Cursham was summoned to appear before the F.A. to discuss what
soon became known as the “long-arm incident”, and he later explained that the
goalkeeper had been hidden behind him, and that it must have been his hand that
had knocked away the ball. Obviously, the F.A. were not used to dealing with
High School boys, and their far-fetched excuses, and Cursham was believed.

In the semi-final of the F.A.Cup,
Notts County were drawn against the Old Etonians, who included Lord Kinnaird,
and the man who must surely be England’s unlikeliest named international
player, P.J.de Paravicini. Harry Cursham played, along with brother Arthur, but
the match was lost 1-2, despite the fact that Harry had put County into a 1-0
lead at half time.

In 1883-1884, Harry Cursham
scored a hat trick against Sheffield Heeley, in the first round of the F.A.Cup,
and then grabbed the winner in a replayed fifth round tie against “The Swifts”.

Along with Old Nottinghamian,
John Dixon, Cursham then appeared in the semi-final against Blackburn Rovers,
staged ironically at Aston Lower Grounds in Birmingham, where the neutral
spectators had not forgotten Harry Cursham since his last exploits there, in
the 4-3 victory over Aston Villa. Notts County duly lost by the only goal of
the game, as their goalkeeper, sixteen stone Mordecai Sherwin, the
Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper, was barged into the back of the net by the
Blackburn forwards. Among many reasons given for their narrow defeat, the fact
that Notts County had moved Harry Cursham from outside left to centre forward
for this particular game was thought to have had a significantly large impact.

In 1885 Harry Cursham appeared,
along with fellow Old Nottinghamian, John Dixon, in a famous Sixth Round
F.A.Cup tie against the previous season’s beaten finalists, Queen’s Park of Glasgow.
The match was played at Trent Bridge before a crowd of 17,000 spectators, many
people having arrived by carriage from the centre of the City from early
morning onwards.

By the end of normal time the
game was poised evenly at 2-2, but the Scottish captain refused to play extra
time, because he claimed that the crowd had encroached onto the playing
surface, and delayed the end of the match. Notts County duly kicked off, and
put the ball into the empty net. The F.A., however, ordered a replay at the County
Ground, Derby, where Queen’s Park grabbed the winner in the second half. They
duly went on to the final, where they lost to Blackburn Rovers.

On October 24th 1885, Cursham
scored four goals in what is still Notts County’s record F.A.Cup victory, a
15-0 rout of Rotherham Town in the First Round at Trent Bridge.

Harry Cursham’s overall total in
the F.A.Cup remains the all time goal scoring record. In his career, he managed
an official 49 goals, or an unofficial 52 goals, both of which totals have only
ever been approached by Denis Law (41), and Ian Rush (42).

In addition, many readers may
feel that the two goals he scored in the void game against Wednesbury Strollers
should be incorporated in the overall total, giving Cursham a record 54 goals
in the F.A.Cup.

Cursham’s full F.A.Cup record
was...

Nov   3rd 1877           Notts County v Sheffield
(h)        1-1  (1 goal)

Dec    1st 1877            Notts County v Sheffield
(a)        0-3

Nov  16th 1878           Notts County v Nottingham
Forest                (h)        1-3

Nov   8th 1879            Notts County v Nottingham
Forest                (a)        0-4

Nov   4th 1880            Notts County v Derbyshire
F.C                      (h)        4-4       (2)

Nov  27th 1880           Notts County v Derbyshire
F.C                      (a)        4-2       (2)

Feb 12th 1881            Notts County v Aston Villa
(h)        1-3

Nov  24th 1881           Notts County v Wednesbury
Strollers            (h)        5-2       (2)

Dec  10th 1881           Notts County v Wednesbury
Strollers            (n)        11-1

(6 or 9)

Dec  31st 1881            Notts County v Aston Villa
(a)        2-2

Jan   7th 1882                        Notts County v
Aston Villa                           (h)        2-2

Jan   14th 1882          Notts County v Aston Villa
(a)        1-4       (1)

Nov   4th 1882            Notts County v Sheffield
Club                      (h)        6-1       (2)

Dec 27th 1882                        Notts County v
Phoenix Bessemer                 (h)        4-1       (1)

Feb 12th 1883            Notts County v Sheffield
Wednesday           (a)        4-1       (1)

Mar  3rd 1883            Notts County v Aston Villa
(h)        4-3       (3)

Mar 17th 1883           Notts County v Old Etonians
(n)        1-2       (1)                                Semi-final
tie played at Kennington Oval

Nov 10th 1883            Notts County v Sheffield
Heeley                   (h)        3-1       (3)

Dec  1st 1883              Notts County v Nottingham
Forest                (h)        3-0

Dec 15th 1883                        Notts County v
Grantham                              (a)        4-0       (2)

Jan 19th 1884                        Notts County v
Bolton Wanderers                 (h)        2-2

Feb  2nd 1884                        Notts County v
Bolton Wanderers                 (a)        2-1

Feb  9th 1884             Notts County v Swifts                                                (h)        1-1       (1)

Feb 14th 1884            Notts County v Swifts                                                (a)        1-0       (1)

Mar  1st 1884             Notts County v Blackburn
Rovers                 (n)        0-1

Semi-final tie played at
Birmingham

Nov  8th 1884             Notts County v Notts
Olympic                      (h)        2-0

Dec  6th 1884             Notts County v Staveley                                (a)        2-0       (1)

Jan  3rd 1885             Notts County v Sheffield
Club                      (h)        5-0       (1)

Feb 21st 1885             Notts County v Queens’ Park,
Glasgow        (h)        2-2       (1)

Feb 28th 1885            Notts County v Queens’ Park,
Glasgow        (a)        1-2

Oct 24th 1885             Notts County v Rotherham
Town                  (h)        15-0     (4)

Nov 21st 1885                        Notts County v
Sheffield Club                      (h)        8-0       (1)

Dec 12th 1885                        Notts County v
Notts Rangers                       (h)        3-0       (3)

Jan 23rd 1886            Notts County v South Shore                          (h)        1-2

Oct 30th 1886             Notts County v Basford
Rovers                     (h)        13-0     (1)

Nov 13th 1886            Notts County v Notts Rangers                       (h)        3-3       (1)

Nov 20th 1886            Notts County v Notts Rangers                       (h)        5-0       (3)

Dec 11th 1886                        Notts County v
Staveley                                (a)        3-0       (1)

Jan 29th 1887                        Notts County v
Great Marlow                                    (h)        5-2       (3)

Feb 19th 1887            Notts County v West Bromwich
Albion        (h)        1-4       (1)

Nov 26th 1887            Notts County v Nottingham
Forest                (a)        1-2

Nov  17th 1888           Notts County v Derby Midland                     (h)        2-1

Dec  8th 1888             Notts County v Staveley                                (a)        3-1       (1)

Fittingly, Cursham scored in his last F.A.Cup game as Notts
County’s centre forward.

Feb 28th 1891            Notts County v Sunderland                            (n)        3-3

Semi-final tie, played
at Bramall Lane

This gave Cursham an
unprecedented career total of 52 goals in 44 F.A.Cup ties (or 54 in 45, if the
first game against Wednesbury Strollers is incorporated in the totals.).

There has, of course, been
criticism of the strength of the opposition against which Cursham scored his
F.A.Cup goals. It is worth mentioning, however, that, as an amateur, he may
have chosen not to play in some cup ties where he would surely have scored even
more goals...

1887-1888                    Notts County  v Lincoln
Ramblers                (h)        9-0

1888-1889                    Notts County  v
Eckington                            (h)        4-1

Notts County  v Beeston
St.John’s               (h)        4-2

Notts County  v Old
Brightonians                (h)        2-0

The F.A.Cup Ties against
Eckington and Beeston St.John’s were both contested by Notts County’s reserve
side. Cursham may well have considered it beneath his dignity to play in these
games, even though at this time he was by no means a regular First Team player.

Cursham also missed the Fourth
Round of the F.A.Cup in 1884-1885. This was a 4-1 away win over Walsall Swifts,
which took place in front of 5,000 spectators on January 4th 1885. Cursham was
unfortunately away on honeymoon, having got married in Wilford Church on
January 20th. His team mates presented him with a silver plate to mark the
occasion.

During this time, Cursham also
appeared regularly for Notts County, in a full programme of friendly matches...

1877-1878             Appearances        12                                  Goals               15

Cursham scored a hat trick on his
début at home against Stoke (4-1), and five goals in an away game against
Manchester (6-0). He got four in an 8-2 victory over Derby Grammar School, and
may have got even more than the fifteen goals he is known to have scored. The
scorers remain unknown. for example, in a home game against Southwell and in an
away game against Derbyshire. Cursham played in both of these fixtures, which
were each won by margins of 4-0. He also appeared in an amazing 1-10 defeat at
Southwell, although in this particular game he did not score !

1878-1879             Appearances        7                                    Goals               4

Cursham scored two goals at home
against both Sheffield (8-0) and Derbyshire (6-1).

1879-1880             Appearances        6                                    Goals               1

For the most part, Cursham played
as an inside left. His single goal came away to Scottish giants, Queen’s Park
(1-4). He also played in two away games where the scorers remain unknown,
against Derby Grammar School (2-0) and Derbyshire (3-4).

1880-1881             Appearances        10                                  Goals               13

Inside left Cursham scored five
at home to Sheffield (8-1), a game in which fellow Old Nottinghamian Harold
Morse scored the other three goals. Cursham scored five more goals in what was
then Notts’ record winning margin, namely 15-1 at home to Newark.

1881-1882             Appearances        15                                  Goals               21

By now an outside left, Cursham
scored four at home to Staveley (7-0) and Derby Midland (7-2), and four more
away to Pilgrims (5-1). He scored twos at home to the Old Carthusians (5-1) and
Sheffield, and away to Nottingham Forest (5-0).

At one point, he managed 16 goals
in six consecutive games ( 1-2-2-2-4-4 ). In addition, the scorers of three
goals against Sheffield remain unknown, as do all the goalscorers in a 13-0
rout of Grantham. It is surely beyond credence that Cursham did not score at
least once in this particular game.

1882-1883             Appearances        16                                  Goals               29

Cursham, having moved to centre
forward, opened the season with six goals against a Local Clubs’ XI (10-1), and
scored four at home to Stoke (5-0), and four away at Sheffield (8-2). He got a
hat trick in a 10-0 home win over Mitchell St.George’s, and scored twos at home
against Sheffield (8-1), Liverpool Ramblers (3-1),Walsall (7-2) and Wednesbury
Old Athletic (6-1) and away against Aston Villa (2-1). At one point, Cursham
managed 16 goals in five games ( 6-2-2-4-2 ). The scorers remain unknown in a
5-1 victory at Stoke, and a 1-5 defeat at Wednesbury Old Athletic.

1883-1884             Appearances        21                                  Goals               22

Cursham. playing mainly as an
outside left, scored four goals in a 5-1 vctory over Padiham, and hat tricks at
home to Sheffield Attercliffe (6-2) and Brentwood (3-2). He got twos in a 6-1
home victory over the South of England, and in a 4-1 home win against Great
Lever.

1884-1885             Appearances        22                                  Goals               19

Cursham scored four in an 8-0
home victory over Derby Midland, and got twos at home to Sheffield (6-2), Notts
Rangers (6-2), Corinthians (3-2), and, most important of all, against
Nottingham Forest, in a 3-2 home victory. Apart from these goals, however, most
of Cursham’s scores, as they had the previous season, were coming in a steady
stream of single goals. For the most part, he played this season as an outside
left, with occasional games at number 3, 5, 7 or 9. In January, Cursham missed
the games against Blackburn Olympic and Preston North End, as he was in
mourning for his brother, Arthur. In the game against the Blackburn side, the
County team all wore black crêpe armbands as a mark of respect.

Immediately before the start of
this season, “Mercutio”, in his “Nottingham Football Annual”, had described
Harry Cursham as “...A grand forward. Plays on either wing, and has
distinguished himself in the centre. Is at his best perhaps on the left, in
which position he frequently evokes admiration by the brilliancy of his runs. A
splendid shot at goal, and altogether one of the best men of the day.”

1885-1886             Appearances        24                                  Goals               15

Cursham managed hat tricks at
home to West Bromwich Albion (4-3) and Nottingham Forest (5-0). In addition to
his 15 goals, three of the goalscorers remain unknown in an 11-3 victory at
Wellingborough Grammar School, with one unknown in a 2-3 defeat at Aston Villa.
In both of these games, Cursham relinquished his normal inside left position,
to play as a right full back.

1886-1887             Appearances        23                                  Goals               15

Cursham, by now back at inside
left, scored goals steadily throughout the season. He cannot have enjoyed
Notts’ 0-14 defeat at the hands of Preston North End, who were to win the first
ever Football League Championship in 1888-1889.

1887-1888             Appearances        19                                  Goals               2

This season, Cursham played 16
games at either left or right full back. His two goals came in a 4-0 home
victory over Grimsby Town, one of only three games in the forward line.

1888-1889             Appearances        8                                    Goals               2

This season, Cursham, by now a
right back, became one of the very few High School boys to have played League
football. His two goals came when he reverted to centre forward, in home
victories over West Bromwich Albion (2-1) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-0).
The latter effort, scored after two goals from Ted May, was Cursham’s last goal
for Notts County.

In matches other than F.A.Cup
ties, therefore, Harry Cursham managed a minimum of 158 goals in 183
appearances. When the F.A.Cup ties are added, his career total becomes a
phenomenal 235 goals in 202 appearances.

As well as appearing for Notts
County, Cursham also played for the prestigious amateur team, the Corinthians,
from 1882-1886, and was a member of their committee. Indeed, he had played in
their first ever fixture against Preston North End. One Thursday afternoon,
during the 1885-1886 season, along with Tinsley Lindley, he had been part of
the Corinthians’ team which beat Queen’s Park of Glasgow by 2-1, as one of a
series of challenge matches held as part of the teams’ Easter tours. A crowd of
some 4 000 spectators watched the game.

Most intriguing of all is the
little known fact that Harry Cursham actually played for Nottingham Forest on
two occasions...

March 5th 1878         Nottingham Forest v Sheffield
Wednesday   (h)        0-1

Reports at the time enthused
about Cursham’s “brilliant play”...”...some of the prettiest play ever
witnessed on the “Bridges”, or indeed on any other Nottingham ground...”

March 9th 1878         Nottingham Forest v Birmingham
(h)        3-0

Cursham was “...brilliant
throughout...”

On March 18th 1882, he refereed
the friendly between Nottingham Forest and a Trent-Wanderers Combination. In
this matrch, John Sands came out of goal, and scored at the other end. On March
25th 1889, Cursham refereed the friendly game between Nottingham Forest and
Notts Rangers (0-2). This was one of the Nottingham’s first ever matches under
floodlights, which kicked off at 8.p.m., on Monday, March 25th 1889. The
lighting was provided by Wells lights, fourteen of which were set up around the
ground. Powered by oil, they provided, in theory, some 14,000 candlepower each.
More than 5,000 spectators were attracted to this unusual game.

In both 1882-1883 and 1883-1884,
Cursham appeared in official trial matches, North v South, which were organised
by the England selectors.

In actual fact, Harry Cursham
played for England on several occasions....

March 15th 1880         England v Wales                                 Wrexham         3-2

This début game was as an outside right. Cursham was a late
replacement in the team.

February 18th 1882     England v Ireland                               Belfast             13-0

In a record away performance,
Cursham played outside left, and scored a goal for his country.

March 11th 1882         England v Scotland                            Glasgow                      1-5

Surprisingly perhaps, Cursham
played as a left half in this fixture.

March 13th 1882         England v Wales                                 Wrexham                     3-5

Cursham was back to his best
position as outside right, and scored a goal.

February 3rd 1883      England v Wales                                 the
Oval                      5-0

Playing as inside left, Harry
appeared in the same team as his brother, Arthur, who played as left half, and
himself scored a goal.

February 24th 1883     England v Ireland                               Liverpool                     7-0

Harry played as an outside left.

March 10th 1883         England v Scotland                            Sheffield                     2-3

Playing this time as a left half,
Harry appeared alongside his brother, Arthur, who himself played as an inside
left.

February 25th 1884     England v
Ireland                               Belfast                         8-1

At outside left, Harry Cursham
scored a hat trick for his country.

It was his last game for England,
and he had now scored five goals in eight appearances at this level. This
remains the record number of England international caps by a Notts County
player.

As well as merely playing for
Notts County, Cursham was also the Club Secretary from 1881-1882. On April 28th
1890, along with Henry Jessop, he failed by some thirty votes to be elected a
Director of the newly formed Notts Incorporated Football Club. On June 2nd
1891, again along with Henry Jessop, he failed for a second time. As one of the
early shareholders in the club, Cursham is listed at this time as an insurance
agent of 9, Castle Gate, Nottingham.

Cursham appeared for Notts County
for the last time in the Football League on February 10th 1891, playing as a
right full back, in a 4-0 home victory over Burnley.

He had not appeared in the First
Team for over two years, but judging from the statistics available, it may well
have been that the team’s regular right back, Tom McLean, was injured, and the
Team Management Committee, knowing that they had the chance of a good run in
the F.A.Cup, having been drawn at home to Stoke in what would now be the Sixth
Round, decided to recall Cursham as the ideal replacement, an older player,
experienced with big games and large crowds.

We shall never know how well
Cursham played in his run out against Burnley, but Tom McLean was to return for
the Stoke game, which County won by a single goal. Despite the narrow victory,
however, McLean’s injury must have flared up again, as Harry Cursham returned
to the First Team for his own last ever appearance in the F.A.Cup, on February
28th 1891, when he played as a right full back in the semi-final tie against
Sunderland.

The game was played at Bramall
Lane, and ended 3-3. Fittingly, a crowd of some 25,000 spectators watched
Cursham play for the last time.This remains the highest domestic attendance
ever to have watched an Old Nottinghamian in action, along with a crowd of the
same size which watched Tinsley Lindley play for Nottingham Forest against West
Bromwich Albion at Wolverhampton in 1892.

For the replay, Harry Cursham was
again replaced at number two by Tom McLean. The latter’s injury cannot have
recovered properly, however, since despite obviously being the first choice for
the position, he did not get into the team for the Final.

Neither, in actual fact, did
Cursham, who was not asked to play again, but instead was replaced for the big
game by Alex “Sandy” Ferguson, a Scotsman from Rangers, who had played only
twice previously during the season.

One of these games, however, was
County’s only fixture between the semi final replay and the Final, a League
game against Blackburn Rovers, who were to be, by ironic coincidence, County’s
opponents in the Final at the Kennington Oval. Notts duly won this away game
with great ease, by seven goals to one.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, they
then chose to keep the same side for the F.A.Cup Final, where they were
defeated by Blackburn with consummate ease, and were never even remotely in the
game.

Perhaps they wished afterwards
that they had kept faith with Harry Cursham, who must surely have been the man
for the big occasion. And what a way it would have been to finish off his
glorious career, winning the F.A.Cup for his team for the first time ever.

It was not, of course, until 1894
that Notts County did, in actual fact, win the F.A.Cup. By one of life’s
incredible ironies, it was on the day of the Final against Bolton Wanderers
that the Nottingham Football News was able to announce the tragically premature
death of Alex “Sandy” Ferguson, who had by now moved on to Newark.

After leaving Notts County,
Cursham himself played an unknown number of games for Grantham.

On March 12th 1891, he appeared
for the Nottingham High School Old Boys at the Gregory Ground, in their fixture
against the current High School First Team. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the Old
Boys won by 3-1, with Cursham getting their second goal midway through the
second half.

In 1896, Cursham, along with
Tinsley Lindley, was invited to play in the first ever “Gentlemen versus
Players” game, a prestigious friendly, which would help to emphasise the class
differences in force in the society of the time. To both men’s credit, they
refused the opportunity, preferring the delights of the City’s derby match,
Nottingham Forest v Notts County.

Like many Victorian amateurs,
Cursham regularly played cricket, with many years’ service as Captain of the
Notts Amateur Cricket Club. He was a reliable wicketkeeper, and a sound
batsman. On occasion, he was a lob bowler who met with “considerable success”.

After playing in the same Notts
Colts side as William Gunn, he went on to captain Nottinghamshire in two
matches, separated by an amazing twenty-four years. The first was a low-scoring
draw against Surrey in 1880, the second a fixture against the touring South
Africans in 1904. Cursham scored 12 and 25 not out in totals of 320 and 242,
although Notts were to lose by an innings and 49 runs. Cursham then went on to
serve on the Nottinghamshire Committee for over thirty years.

In 1929, Harry Cursham was living
at “The Firs”, Holme Pierrepoint. He died there on Wednesday, August 6th 1941,
at the age of eighty-two.

He was survived by his widow, and
his daughter, Mrs.R.S.Challands. Cursham had two sons. One was a solicitor,
Mr.Curzon Cursham, who was a member of the Bernard, Wright and Cursham practise
in Nottingham. The other son, Francis George Cursham, was a Major in the
8th.Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters during the First World War, but had
been killed in an accident on active service at Aldershot on August 31st 1918,
at the age of only twenty-nine.

Harry Cursham’s funeral took
place at Holme Pierrepont Parish Church on Saturday, August 9th 1941. His old
friend, the Archdeacon J.P.Hales took the service, assisted by Canon A.D.Allen,
the Rector of the parish. Cursham was buried behind the church, in a grave next
to that of his son, Francis George Cursham. Cursham’s wife, Frances Anne
Elizabeth Cursham, was to die on March 8th 1946, at the age of eighty-two. She
was buried with her husband.

Only ten metres away from these
two graves lies Cursham’s other son, Curzon. He was born on July 31st 1887, and
lived to a ripe old age, dying on June 17th 1981. His wife, Sheila Moorhouse
Cursham (1891-1968) is interred with him.

Appendix Five : the Captains of Football 1876-1915

Not all the names of the High
School’s Captains of Football have survived, but a substantial majority have
come down to us. They are listed below.

In many seasons, the changeover
of Captain occurred not at the end, but in the middle. This was because many
boys used to leave the School at Christmas, and a new Captain had to be
appointed from January onwards.

1877                            Autumn Term              P.Sulley

1878                            Spring Term                A.W.Ward

H.R.Bramwell

1878-1879                                                       L.C.Wilkes                              forward

1880-1881                                                       E.E.Barlow                             defender

1881-1882 ?                                                    Tinsley
Lindley                       forward

1882-1883 ?                                                    Tinsley
Lindley                       forward

1885-1886                                                       C.S.Wright

1887-1888                                                       F.D.Browne                            forward

1888                                                                J.W.Bearder                            centre-half

1888-1889                                                       P.W.Oscroft                            forward

1889-1890                                                       P.W.Oscroft                            forward

1890-1891                                                       R.B.Brown                              full-back

1891-1892                                                       R.B.Brown                              full-back

1892-1893                                                       A.H.Goater                             full-back

1893-1894                                                       W.Allsebrook                          forward

1894-1895                                                       A.E.Roe                                  forward

1895-1896                                                       E.Wragg                                  forward

1896-1897                                                       E.Wragg                                  forward

1897-1898                                                       N.P.Frost                                 full-back

1898-1899                                                       A.G.Francis                             forward

1899                            Autumn Term              T.F.Wilson                              forward

1900                            Spring Term                S.L.Walker                              full-back

1900-1901                                                       P.C.Sands                               forward

1901-1902                                                       W.A.Donnithorne                   full-back

1902-1903                                                       A.F.Johnson                            forward

1903-1904                                                       J.F.Haseldine

1904                            Autumn Term              R.Cooper                                 full-back

1905                            Spring Term                R.B.Wray                                forward

1905-1906                                                       R.B.Wray                                forward

1906-1907                                                       R.B.Wray                                forward

1907-1908                                                       R.W.D.Preston

1908-1909                                                       M.Thompson

1909                            Autumn Term              M.Thompson

Autumn Term              J.H.Johnson

1910                            Spring Term                L.W.Peck

1910-1911                                                       R.S.Tonkin                              half-back

1911-1912                                                       H.W.Ballamy
full-back

1912                            Autumn Term              R.L.W.Herrick                        half-back

1913                            Spring Term                A.R.S.Grant                            forward

1913                            Autumn Term              W.H.Price
goalkeeper

1914                            Spring Term                A.R.S.Grant                            forward

1914                            Autumn Term              V.G.Darrington

Appendix Six : Reminiscences 1880-1883

Some reminiscences survive from
the period 1880-1883 to the present day. They appeared many years later in “The
Nottinghamian”, although the identity of the writer was not revealed...

An old High School
boy's notes and recollections

My days at the School (1880-83)
were during the last years of Dr. Dixon's reign as Headmaster. In those days
there were two schools, an Upper and Lower. . . the boys of the former, I
believe, paid higher tuition fees than those of the latter. The two
Headmasters, Dr. Dixon of the Upper, and Mr. White of the Lower, were, to a
small boy, very awesome figures arrayed in their mortar boards and gowns, each
sporting a long, ample, red beard. I was twelve years old when I entered the
school and was placed in the Third Form under Mr. Bray, known to all boys as
“Donkey Bray. ” I was told he had been Headmaster when the School was in Stoney
Street, but on its removal to the Forest, Dr. Dixon was appointed as his
successor. Not all the Masters wore academic dress, but Mr. Bray compromised by
wearing a mortar-board with a very big tassel but no gown.

A little humour may sometimes
instil a bit of useful knowledge when more serious efforts may fail. The only
piece of learning I remember from my work in the Third Form was Mr. Bray's tip
how to call to mind the endings of the gerund

“When Dido found
Aeneas did not come

She lost her tongue
and was a

Di Do Dum. ”

By the way, Dr. Dixon's nickname
among the boys was “Dido.” Why or wherefore, I have no idea.

Duly I passed down the corridor
to the classroom of the Fourth Form of which the master was that pillar of the
School, the much-beloved Sammy Corner. Among the pupils was his younger
brother, George, who in later years became the Headmaster of Wellington School,
Somerset.

“Jig” Corner, as we called him,
had rather a bad time for, I suppose lest he should be accused of favouritism,
Sammy dropped on him far more heavily than he did on the rest of us. Also there
was Frank Lambert who had musical gifts and later became the composer of some
well-known tuneful and popular songs. My most vivid memory of work we did in
the Fourth Form was the reading of a French translation account of the first
tragic ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper, when three of his
fellow-climbers and one guide lost their lives.

And so with a sense of humour
from the Third and of tragedy from the Fourth Form, I crossed the corridor to
the classroom of the Upper Fifth, of which “Benjy” Townson was the master. He
was tolerant without being too easy going and was much respected and liked by
the boys. Towards the end of term when written examinations of the term’s work
were being held (we sat for them in the Upper School) any spare time in the
classroom was spent not in work but listening to Townson reading to us bits
from “Tom Sawyer.”

I left school at the end of the
summer term of 1883, but my last recollection of school days was the
prize-giving during the following term. It took place in what was then the new
Drawing Room, of which Mr. Seymour was the master. Arnold Morley, one of the
town's M. P. 's, gave away the prizes. From the number of times he used the
word (for it sticks hard in my memory) I am sure the main theme of his speech
was the part that should be allotted to utilitarianism in a boy's education. As
top boy in the Upper 5th Form, I received its prize for Language and
Literature.

Two other prizes I received, and
I wonder if they are among the School's rewards to-day. . . the medal for Good
Conduct, the recipient of which was decided by the boys of the Sixth Form. I
distinctly recollect Tinsley Lindley coming into the classroom and announcing
that I was to be the honoured medallist. The other was the Writing Prize. Is
such a prize given today ?  I trust so, for lately there has been a justifiable
outcry against the illegible scrawl of the latter-day public schoolboy.

And now to turn to the games and
social side of the school life of those days. Cricket and Association Football
and an odd game of Fives for the Senior boys were the only games we played.
There were no house matches of any description for the School was not divided
into houses as it is to-day. Such a thing as a Rowing or Boxing Club was
undreamed of. We practised and played our matches on the Forest with an
occasional impromptu football practice in the playground. We played soccer, for
I doubt if any Nottingham boy of the early eighties had ever seen a game of
rugger unless he had been at a public school where it was played. The football
eleven had a deservedly great reputation and two of its members not only became
shining lights in Nottingham Forest before the canker of professionalism had
eaten into the game, but also played for England, Tinsley Lindley being at one
time captain. The other player was Ted Leighton.

As for the social side of school
life...there was none. The Music, Dramatic and Debating Societies and numerous
others are the pleasing developments of later years. There was, however, a
school magazine with a much more attractive title than the present cumbersome
“Nottinghamian “. It was called “The Forester “.

The outlook of the early eighties
was what to-day we term “Left,” a reaction from the jingoism of the late
seventies with “Dizzy” scoring his triumph at the Treaty of Berlin over Russia.
The dominions and colonies were deemed encumbrances rather than valuable
assets. Soldiering was viewed askance by many people with the nonconformist conscience
and Tommy Atkins rated little better than a wastrel ; this idea seemed to be
reflected in the School's punishments. The severest, of course, was a caning by
the Head Master which was very rarely inflicted.

The commonest form was “to be put
into drill. ”  How often, I wonder, did dear old Easton, the “Maths” Master,
get annoyed at my stupidity and shout : “Porter, you inane youth, I shall put
you into drill”. . . but he never did !  Yet most days after morning school
were to be seen in the playground some two dozen unfortunates under the charge
of Sergeant Vickers, a stocky, grizzly, bearded Crimean veteran. Up and down
and round about he marched them with halts at intervals to go through a course
of arm-swinging and other physical exercises.

Among the Senior boys when I was
a junior was Alf. Brown. He had great artistic gifts and became the well-known
painter. But there were two boys of my time, R. A. Hickling and H. F.
Lancashire, for whom I have always had the greatest admiration. Though attaining
no academic distinction, each carved out for himself a career of intense
self-sacrifice and useful and spent a life devoted to improving the lot of
their fellow-men. R. A. Hickling, considered a brilliant boy, left school to
enter his grandfather's engineering firm. In 1890, however, came the urge to
enter the mission field and he left for India and there remained for over forty
years, returning home a spent and worn-out man. His professional training as an
engineer stood him in good stead, for it enabled him to plan, build and equip a
hospital and clinic to cope with the awful physical distress and filth of the
native population.

H. F. Lancashire entered the firm
of J. B. Lewis and Co., of which his father was a manager and he himself became
one of its directors. But his chief claim to affectionate remembrance and
esteem is that he was one of the first employees of labour to realise that the
so-called “Hands” of mid-Victorian days were not merely ten digits, they were
human beings who required rest, recreation and change just as much as did those
for whom they worked. The Meridian Factory and its recreation and sports ground
are a proof that he achieved what he set out to do.

Further  reminiscences come from  the
daughter of the school caretaker during the late nineteenth century, Robert
Keach...

“My father, Mr.Keach, was the
first caretaker of the School when it was moved to its present site in 1868 ;
he remained in the post until about 1890 : he was known as Knowles, or by the
affectionate nickname “Knolley”. He was employed by Lawyer Patchett (Clerk to
the Trustees of the School, and a leading Nottingham figure) as a leveller. He
was expert at his work for which he received 13s. 0d. a week, but lost all “wet
time.” Mr. Patchett suggested to my father that he should try for the job at
the new school which was being built. Naturally, my mother was consulted, and
she thought it “a good thing, Bill” since the wage was to be 18s. 0d. a week,
plus house, coal and gas. Children, however, were frowned upon in this
instance, but my father gave an assurance that there would be no trouble, and
his application was successful.

The caretaker's house was at that
time a part of the school building and consisted of a kitchen and parlour on
the ground floor, a cellar with wash-house and knife-room, and three bedrooms
upstairs - one over the side door, another over the bay window, and the third
over Mr. Liddell's classroom (later 4A room).

I was born in this house in 1870,
and lived there with my father and mother, three brothers and three sisters.
The family did all the caretaking and cleaning. My father was also responsible
for the upkeep of the grounds and garden. He did all the mowing, and supervised
the removal of the sand when the yard and gardens of to-day were excavated - no
small task. In winter we helped him to clear snow from the paths.

For general repairs a Mr.
Rushworth was called in. (He was known as quarter-to-three feet, on account of
the way he walked! )

At first the School was small -
two big rooms and four small class-rooms, but eventually there were twenty-two
coal fires to clear, set and light every morning. We rose at 5 a.m. to do all
this. A set of solid fire irons reposed in each hearth. Coal could be hauled on
a small rope hoist, but as the rope was liable to slip and land the coal at the
bottom again, it was usually carried up from the cellar. The buckets were
heavy. I remember Mr. Corner (Sammy, they called him) stopping me to protest at
the weight and relieve me of the burden. He was a wonderfully kind gentleman.

Chimneys were added  at each end
of the building when new coke-burning stoves were substituted for coal fires in
the two big rooms. Mr. Clayton, of Lenton Coal Wharf, supplied the fuel. Much
later there was a hot water boiler in the cellar and pipes along the bottom
corridor.

The rooms were lit by gas. In the
two big rooms were circular brackets, each fitted with several jets, suspended
from the roof. A long pole was used to turn on the tap and an almost equally
long taper to light up.

In those days the school yard was
all open country, with grass and gorse. There was no wall on Forest Road, where
windmills either still stood or had recently disappeared, and no railings on
Arboretum Street, just a rough fence. The grounds immediately around the
buildings consisted of loose sand and plantations of trees and shrubs, some of
which were on the site of the present caretaker's house and the present Music
Room, though at a higher level.

The Headmaster, Dr, Dixon, lived
at the end house of Waverley Mount (then called Clarendon Road) ; the house
later became part of the “Prep.” The other part was occupied by Mr. Taylor, the
vet.

A cow was brought each morning to
this house to be milked. The nearest neighbour 'was Mr. Wright, a banker, who
resided at the lower corner of Waverley Mount. At this period the “Vernon Arms”
was a small farmhouse, while on Forest Road close by stood two cottages and
shops where greengroceries and other goods could be bought.

Each day Dr.Dixon, in his black
silk gown, walked across to the School (without, going down. any steps) along a
path with shrubs on either side ; he went up about four steps to the door in
the corner of the School ; he was then on the level of his study (the same room
that is still occupied by the Headmaster). The room which is now the office was
then the study of the usher or Second Master (Mr. Easton it was in my time.)

The school yard was gradually
excavated by my father to its present level. Builders brought carts and took
away the valuable building sand, paying sixpence a load. The money went to Mr.
Patchett, though people thought my father should have received it. He was much
too honest to make anything out of it. As the yard was excavated the cellars
gradually became classrooms. This was not finished for years.

At first there was a huge play
room under the south front It had a sandy floor and it was approached by a
flagged passage from the north entrance; there was a cutting in the rock
leading from Forest Road to this arched entrance; there were no doors and
anyone could wander in, day or night. The classrooms had to be kept locked. At
a later date the Arboretum Street end of the passage was closed by a wrought
iron gate. On the cellar level, next to our house, was the school kitchen, and
north of that the school dining room Here my mother cooked downright good
dinners of meat and pudding” The meat was ordered by the all-powerful
Mr.Patchett who, was “very keen.”

Indeed, on one occasion the meat
for Monday, having been delivered from Hucknall's, in Lister Gate, at the end
of the previous week, was suddenly collected again on the Monday. Mr Patchett
wished the leg of mutton  to be re-weighed to make certain that no slice from
it had been used to feed our family over the week-end! Mr Bray and Mr. Jackson
were chiefly responsible for the dining-room and lunched free in consequence of
their duties. If a boy desired cold lunch, plate, mug and water were provided
for him at a small charge. Those partaking of hot lunch were able to drink out
of grass tumblers.

Opposite the dining-room, on
the.other side of the cellar passage, was the Chemistry room, the first
basement room to be used for classes. South of this was a staircase up to the
ground floor. Half way up this were some round wash-basins and roller-towels with
shutters over them ; these shutters remained unchanged for many years. Beyond
these stairs Mr.Bray's classroom was eventually placed, next to the coal
cellar. Outside the north door one went up some steps in the sand rock to the
boys lavatories by the wall of the yard.

Many years later the great
“Drawing Room” with its barrel roof was built on top of the north wing, and our
house had to be partly demolished to make way for it. The present caretaker's
house was then built. Mr.Tait was responsible for the erection, under
Mr.Patchett's direction, and Mr.Jelly was the joiner for the Drawing Room.
There was a bit of jealousy between them about the cost.

In the circular gallery, rising
above the arches in the entrance hall, was housed the Parker Library, but no books
were ever removed from the shelves - they were never used.

Dr.Dixon had four boys and a little girl. He was very upset
when his wife died. Her sister, Mrs.Lebrant and her mother came to look after
the house, but Dr.Dixon did not recover his morale after the shock of losing
his wife, and he eventually resigned and went to live in Cullompton.

Appendix Seven : Tinsley Lindley

Of all the great amateurs of the
nineteenth century, surely the most famous was Tinsley Lindley, who was born on
October 27th 1865. His father was Leonard Lindley, a lace dresser who
originally lived in Clipstone Avenue, but who is known later to have moved to
Mapperley Road. Eventually, he became an Alderman of Nottingham, and, finally,
Mayor of the City. Tinsley entered the High School on September 12th 1877 at
the age of eleven.

Already at the High School were
his brothers, Leonard Oscroft Lindley (born February 22nd 1861) and Samuel
Taylor Lindley (born March 25th 1864). The latter was still alive in 1929 at
least, and could be contacted c/o 21, Bolsover Gardens, Herbert Road
Nottingham.

Frederick Harvey Lindley (born
September 15th 1869) was to enter the High School three years after his
brother, on September 15th 1880. He too was still alive in 1929, and his
address was listed as “c/o J.Lindley, 49, Herbert Road, Nottingham.

Tinsley Lindley himself was to
play  for the High School First Team on an unrecorded number of occasions
between perhaps 1877-1883. It is difficult to be more exact, because in many of
these years, “The Forester” was either not published, or has not survived. It
is known that Lindley was the High School’s First Team Captain on many
occasions. These probably came in either the 1881-1882 or the 1882-1883
seasons, or perhaps even both.

In 1881-1882, while still a High
School pupil, and aged only sixteen, Lindley “...showed such marked promise as
a footballer..” that he was invited to play full time for Nottingham Forest
reserves. During the year the team scored a grand total of 143 goals, of which
Lindley scored an incredible 85.

The following season, while still
at the High School, he made his début for the Nottingham Forest First Team,
scoring four goals in a 6-1 home victory over Wolverhampton. He made four
further appearances that season, scoring at least four more goals.

Lindley finally left the High
School at the end of the Summer Term 1883. He then went for a short time to the
Leys School, where he played both football and rugby. In later life, he was to
play rugby several times for Old Leysians R.F.C.

Lindley then went up to Cambridge
University, where, in the 1884-1885 season, he scored 59 goals in 46 matches.
He was awarded his blue after appearing in the Varsity match against Oxford
University during that season. At Lindley’s suggestion, for the first time
ever, Cambridge played this game in a 2-3-5 formation. This was a tactical plan
which Lindley had learnt at Nottingham Forest, where it had been thought up and
developed by Samuel Weller Widdowson, the team’s central midfield player, who
had also managed around the same time to invent the shinguard. Cambridge duly
beat their old rivals by a single goal.

Not surprisingly, perhaps,
Lindley kept his place in the side for the 1885-1886 season, and in 1886-1887
was the team’s honorary secretary, and the acting Captain. In 1887-1888, he
became the Captain of Cambridge University. At some unknown point during these
four years, he is also known to have represented Oxford University on at least
one occasion, perhaps when the team was short of players, a not uncommon
occurence in Victorian times.

On many occasions, Lindley
represented Cambridge University as a runner . Indeed, he was thought by many
to be one of the fastest sprinters of his generation. He played for Gonville
& Caius College at rugby, and and played for the University at cricket,
although he did not win a Blue for this latter sport. He graduated in law in
1888, and, after leaving the university, read for the Bar in the Chambers of
Mr.Vaughan Williams, later Mr.Justice Vaughan Williams. Lindley also read with
Mr.E.L.Hansell who specialised in bankruptcy law.

Lindley became a Barrister-at-Law
at the Inner Temple a year later. He then wrote a thesis on martial law, which
gained for him the Degree of Doctor of Law. This was duly conferred on him at
Cambridge in June 1900.

Lindley practised as a barrister
in common law on the Midland Circuit with considerable success, and in a long
career, was involved in many important cases. He had a great knowledge of
commercial and bankruptcy law, and, even as a young lawyer, had been seen as a
“first class conveyancer”, according to Sir Samuel Johnson.

When in Nottingham, he was in
great demand to play football for Nottingham Forest, but he also made at least
five appearances at various times for Notts County, with a single appearance
for Preston North End in February 1892. As an amateur, he spent much time
playing for various teams, which were very prestigious at the time, but which
are nowadays virtually unknown. They included the Corinthians, the Swifts, the
Casuals, the Crusaders and London. In 1886, he scored five goals for the Swifts
against Clapham Rovers in the last ten minutes of the game. Lindley regularly
represented the County of Nottinghamshire at football, and captained Sheffield
and District on one occasion. He is known to have played not just for the North
versus the South, but also to have represented the South against the North. At
some point in his footballing career, Lindley occupied every single outfield
position. As a natural enemy of goalkeepers, however, he does not seem ever to
have played in goal.

Lindley played rugby for Old
Leysians and Notts R.F.C., and also represented Nottinghamshire in first class
cricket, making 40 and 7 against Surrey at Trent Bridge in the Whitsuntide
match of 1888, and playing for the Nottinghamshire XI which beat the
Australians by ten wickets in the same season. In this latter fixture, Lindley
caught the Australian big hitter, John Worrall “on the rails”, an event which
proved to be a turning point in the match.

In his sporting spare time,
Lindley was a keen yachtsman, and also played fives, racquets and lawn tennis.
He continued the interest in athletics which he had shown at Cambridge
University, and was President of the Nottinghamshire Athletics Association.

From 1899 onwards, as a Doctor of
Laws, he lectured at Nottingham University. Always known by one and all as
“Dr.Tinsley Lindley”, he continued to practise Law, and eventually became a
County Court judge. During the 194-1905 season at least, he also covered league
matches in the Nottingham area as a journalist for “The Daily Mail”.

In 1918, he was awarded an OBE
for his work as the person in charge of the Nottinghamshire Special
Constabulary during the war years, and in 1929, in the list of Old
Nottinghamians’ addresses, could be contacted at 12, Low Pavement, Nottingham.
His private address, however, was 14, Park Terrace, Nottingham. In 1935, he was
made a life member of Nottingham Forest Football Club, having served for some
time on the Club Committee. In 1938, he was one of the England players of the
past invited to meet the England players of the present at a banquet held to
celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Football Association.

Lindley died of pneumonia early
on Sunday, March 31st 1940. By a bizarre coincidence, this was the same day as
the demise of Robert Norris, a prominent Nottingham Forest half back of the
early part of this century, who had played for the English League in their 2-2
draw against the Scottish League in London in 1900, and in at least one North v
South match. In later life, he had been the landlord of the Sir Richard
Arkwright and a noted local bowls player.

On Wednesday April 3rd 1940, a
Requiem Mass was said for Lindley by Father C.V.N.Mitchell at St.Barnabas’
Cathedral on Derby Road Nottingham. He was then buried at Wilford Hill
Cemetery, in a brick lined grave, number 63, in Section N21 of the cemetery.
Father E.Ellis officiated at the graveside. At the time of writing, Lindley’s
grave still remained unmarked by any headstone.

He left behind a widow, and a
daughter, Mrs.Victoria Enwright. She was married to Edward Enwright, “...late
Commander in his Majesty’s navy ”.

The list of mourners published in
the “Nottingham evening Post” shows the immense variety of Lindley’s life. They
included the Town Clerk of Nottingham, and a large number of representatives
from the legal profession. Also present were Mr.A.G.Hines, who was the Chairman
of the Football Association, Mr.A.Adams, the vice-chairman of the
Nottinghamshire Football Association, Mr.G.N.Watson from Nottingham Forest, and
Mr.Denholm Davis of the Newcastle Tennis Club.

Old colleagues from his
footballing days at Nottingham Forest included fellow amateur,
Mr.Harry.W.Davis,  Mr.F.W.Earp, and fellow Old Nottinghamian, and Notts County
player, Doctor Herbert Durrant Snook.

Official representatives included
the Chief Constable of Nottingham, Captain A.Popkess, and Mr.L.F.Oscroft, the
Archdeacon of Zululand. Wreaths came from the Football Association, Nottingham
Forest Football Club and Nottingham City Police.

Most poignant  of all, perhaps,
was the presence of fellow Old Nottinghamian, John Edward “Teddy” Leighton. The
two friends would have known each other at the High School over sixty years
previously, and would doubtless have appeared together in the High School First
Team on numerous occasions in the 1879-1880 and the 1880-1881 seasons.

They played together for many
years at Nottingham Forest, and in 1886, when Leighton made his début for
England against Ireland at Belfast, Lindley was making his own international
début in the same side. In later years, both involved themselves in the affairs
of Nottingham Forest, and were familiar figures on important occasions at the
City Ground and elsewhere. How fitting, therefore, that Ted Leighton, as the
last surviving member of that group of Old Nottinghamians who had played so
brilliantly together for Nottingham Forest in the 1880s, should stand sadly at
his friend’s graveside in 1940.

During his footballing life,
Lindley had been primarily a Nottingham Forest player, his play “being of a
remarkably brilliant description”, according to the “Football News” in 1898.
They wrote that “as a centre forward, he will always rank high....a most
prolific goal getter, he was the terror of opposing teams”. He was  described
by the “Nottingham Evening Post” as...

...”...lightly built-he only
weighed 10st 4lb in his regular playing days-he was exceptionally fast, was
amazingly accurate in his control and passing with either foot.”

Another authority wrote that
“...he must be bracketed with G.O.Smith as one of the greatest centre forwards
of all time...”. According to Caxton’s “Association Football & the men who
made it”, when Lindley played for that “noble band of amateurs”, the
Corinthians. “...the Notts Forest centre was in his prime. He was a magnificent
forward, being a man of splendid physique and possessing a perfect knowledge of
the game.” A fellow England player, Dennis Hodgetts, wrote that Lindley was
“...the finest centre forward I have ever known”.

On March 19th 1892, the “Sporting
& Dramatic News”, a reviewer wrote that there was “...none more respected
or whose play is more valued in the football field.”

Reckoned by many to be “...the
fastest sprinter of his day”, Lindley steadfastly refused to wear the very
heavy, old fashioned football boots on the football field, protesting that they
reduced his tremendous speed. Instead, he wore ordinary walking shoes. He was
reputedly a “...regular juggler with his feet...”, and, although he disliked
heading, was “...wonderful at volleying.”

In 1884-1885, “Mercutio”, writing
in his “Nottingham Football Annual” said that Tinsley Lindley was “...The best
young forward in his club. Does some remarkble things in the centre,  and is
mostly unerring in firing at goal. Is a very pretty player.”

Lindley played for Nottingham
Forest from 1883-1892, and made 25 appearances in the F.A.Cup. He scored 14
goals...

1883-1884       Nottingham Forest v Notts County
(a)        0-3       (12,000)

1884-1885       Nottingham Forest v Sheffield
Wednesday               (a)        2-1       1 goal

Nottingham
Forest v Swifts                                       (a)        1-0

Nottingham
Forest v Old Etonians                             (a)        2-0       1 goal

Nottingham
Forest v Queen’s Park                                        1-1       (10,000)

Semi-final
tie, played at The County Ground, Derby

Nottingham
Forest v Queen’s Park                                        0-3       (10,000)

Semi-final
tie, replayed at Edinburgh

This match, played at Merchiston
Castle Ground, Edinburgh, constitutes the only time that an F.A.Cup semi-final
tie has been played outside England. Remarkably, over 800 Nottingham Forest
supporters are known to have made the long trek to the north.

1885-1886       Nottingham Forest v Staveley                                                (a)        1-2       1
goal

1887-1888       Nottingham Forest v Notts County                            (h)        2-1       1
goal

Nottingham
Forest v Old Etonians                             (h)        6-0       1 goal

Nottingham
Forest v Sheffield Wednesday               (h)        2-4       1 goal

1888-1889       Nottingham Forest v Linfield Athletic                       (h)        2-2

Nottingham
Forest v Chatham                                   (a)        1-1       1 goal

Nottingham
Forest v Chatham                                   (h)        2-2

Nottingham
Forest v Chatham                                               2-3       1 goal

This second replay was played at
The Oval

1890-1891       Nottingham Forest v Clapton Orient                          (a)        14-0     4
goals

Nottingham
Forest v Sunderland Albion                   (a)        1-1

Nottingham
Forest v Sunderland Albion                   (h)        3-3

Nottingham
Forest v Sunderland Albion                              5-0       1 goal

This second replay was played at
Sheffield

Nottingham
Forest v Sunderland                                           0-4

1891-1892       Nottingham Forest v Newcastle East
End                 (h)        2-1       (5,000)

On a “piercingly cold” January
16th, when the crowd arrived at Trent Bridge, they were surprised to see
“...skating in progress on the old course of the River Trent.”  Due to the
introduction of the penalty kick, the frozen pitch had new markings, which in
this case were made of broad strips of soot. Newcastle changed from their
normal crimson shirts to black and white stripes.

Nottingham
Forest v Sunderland Albion                   (a)        1-0

Nottingham
Forest v Preston North End                    (h)        2-0       (14,500)

Nottingham
Forest v West Bromwich Albion                       1-1       1 goal

This semi-final was played at
Wolverhampton                                               (25,000)

Lindley’s goal came in front of
the largest domestic attendance ever to watch an Old Nottinghamian in action,
along with a similarly sized crowd which had seen Harry Cursham in the previous
year’s semi-final between Notts County and Sunderland.

1891-1892       Nottingham Forest v West Bromwich
Albion                       0-0       (14,000)

This semi-final replay was played
at Wolverhampton

Nottingham
Forest v West Bromwich Albion                        2-6       (8,500)

This semi-final second replay was played at the County
Ground, Derby. Receipts were £511.

As far as I can trace, this match
at Derby constitutes the last time an Old Nottinghamian played for Nottingham
Forest in an F.A.Cup tie.

Lindley’s most famous F.A.Cup
goalscoring feat, of course, was the four goals he scored at Clapton in
Nottingham Forest’s 14-0 away victory. To this day, the result remains the
highest score in an away win in the F.A.Cup.

Apart from the F.A.Cup, Lindley
played in a very large number of friendly games, since  before Nottingham
Forest joined the Football Alliance in the 1889-1890 season, the vast majority
of their fixtures were in this category.

From December 1889 onwards,
however, Lindley made a number of appearances in the Football Alliance, which
was a holding league, before Nottingham Forest, as Football Alliance Champions,
were admitted to Division One of the Football League in 1892.

Lindley, however, usually only
played a proportion of the games during any given season, and his appearances
for Nottingham Forest were clearly limited by his obligations to amateur teams
such as the Corinthians, and his legal activities outside football. In his
early years, for example, the matches in which he played were clearly ones
which took place when he had returned home to Nottingham from Cambridge
University. In later years, his appearances were often designed to fit in with
his work as a practising barrister on the Midland circuit.

Lindley’s overall record for
Nottingham Forest in matches other than the F.A.Cup was....

1882-1883                   Appearances    5                      Goals
at least 8

Lindley made his début as a
seventeen year old in a home friendly against Wolverhampton at Trent Bridge, on
February 17th 1883. He scored four goals in a convincing 6-1 win. Things were
so easy that in the second half, Danks went into goal, and John Sands, father
of the four Sands boys at the High School, played as an outfield player. In the
next match, a 7-2 away win over Stoke, the scorers remain unknown, but it is
difficult to imagine that the young prodigy did not get at least one. Lindley
made three more appearances during the rest of the season. They were all in the
Wednesbury Charity Cup, the first being a 3-1 win over Wednesbury Old Athletic,
in a replayed First Round match, held on neutral territory at the Castle
Ground, Nottingham. Lindley scored twice, in front of a crowd of 1 200
spectators. In the second round, Forest beat Birmingham St.George’s by 2-0,
with the scorers unknown, and then in the Final, they beat West Bromwich Albion
by 5-3, with Lindley getting two of the goals, in front of 2 500 spectators at
Perry Bar.

1883-1884                   Appearances    14                    Goals
25

On September 22nd, Lindley scored
the first ever goal by Nottingham Forest at their new Parkside Ground in
Lenton. It came in a 2-1 win over Small Heath Alliance. In the second game at
this ground, Lindley scored seven times in a 9-1 victory against Sheffield.

Later in the season, he went on
to score first three, and then four, in two friendlies against Sheffield
Attercliffe (home, 5-0, and away, 8-1). He scored three times at home to

Darwen (8-0), and four times against Wednesbury Strollers
(9-2). Other goals were scored at home to Small Heath Alliance (3-2), Stoke
(2-1), Blackburn Rovers (2-2), and away at Notts County (1-5).

On November 13th 1883, Lindley
appeared in the Nottinghamshire team which lost to London by 1-4 at the
Kennington Oval. Also in the county team were Frederick Fox and William Thomas
Hancock. The game was refereed by Major Marindin, the President of the Football
Association. It is worth pointing out that in Lindley’s detailed obituary in
the “Nottingham Evening Post”, it is stated that during just one half of this
season, Lindley scored not 25, but 34 goals, out of a grand total of 71 for the
whole team.

1884-1885                   Appearances    7                      Goals
9

Lindley got all three goals in a
3-0 away victory over Notts County, and three more against Basford Rovers in the
Nottinghamshire Cup, played on neutral ground at the Castle. He also got
singles at home to Walsall Town (1-1), London Casuals (3-0) and Small Heath
Alliance (3-0). Even as early as this in his footballing career, Lindley could
be described in “Mercutio’s Nottingham Football Annual” as “...capable of grand
things in the centre.”

1885-1886                   Appearances    8                      Goals
2

Lindley appeared in Forest’s
first game at their new Gregory ground, a friendly against Stoke-on-Trent,
played before a crowd of some 2,000 spectators, on September 26th 1885. Other
Old Nottinghamians in the team were Charles Caborn, Arthur Ward, Frederick Fox
and Ted Leighton. Fox had the honour of being the first player to score a goal
in the new stadium, but Lindley was to ensure an easy Forest victory with two
more goals. The final score was 4-1.

An interesting account of how
Nottingham Forest played Notts County occurs in the intriguingly named
"Nottingham Owl" of December 4th 1885. The team, which lost by 1-4,
contained a number of Old Nottinghamians....

"...Notts. gained a decisive
verdict by four goals to one, and there was a rare flaunting of colours on the
ground, although decidedly a preponderance of "chocolate and blues".
The "Maypole", on Saturday night, where the Foresters most do
congregate (sic), was a scene of sadness, and "there were no sounds of
revelry by night ", as was the case last Boxing Day. Macrae was quite in
his old form, and bestowed special care and attention on the redoubtable Tinsel
(sic), and  it must have been chagrin to the too highly flattered Cambridge
student to find he had scarcely  a single opportunity of distinguishing
himself. Poor little Leighton was about as often on the turf on his side, back
or otherwise as on his feet, and Fox was obviously "funky", and at
one portion of the game deputed International Danks to the outside wing in
preference to taking the post himself. He seemed to have rather a dread of
Harry Moore, and there is no doubt that Freddy will never receive any serious injury
in playing football.”

Later in the season, Lindley
appeared in the return game, a 0-5 defeat at Trent Bridge, when a crowd of some
9,000 spectators saw a hat trick by Harry Cursham.

1886-1887                   Appearances    9                      Goals
10

Lindley scored four goals at home
to Wednesbury Old Athletic, a friendly in which fellow Old Nottinghamian
Frederick Fox scored three times in a 10-0 victory. Lindley also played in the
2-0 away victory over Notts County, watched by 10,000 spectators at Trent
Bridge. His remaining goals came at home to Sheffield Wednesday (4-1), Notts
Rangers (2-1), Stoke (2-0, two goals) and away against Small Heath Alliance
(2-0) and Accrington (2-4).

1887-1888                   Appearances    8                      Goals
3

Lindley’s goals were scored at
home to Stoke (2-1), and Burnley (1-2), and away at Preston North End (2-5).

1888-1889                   Appearances    7                      Goals
8

Lindley’s goals were scored at
home against Warwick County (5-0, two goals),

Sheffield (8-1, two goals), Notts County (3-0, two goals),
and away at Clapton (2-2, two goals). Over ten thousand people watched
Nottingham Forest’s 1-4 defeat at Notts County.

1889-1890                   Appearances    4                      Goals
1

Two of these appearances, at home
against Sunderland Albion (3-1) and Birmingham St.George (2-2) came in matches
in the new Football Alliance, which operated more or less as a Second Division.
Lindley’s other two appearances came in friendlies against Notts County (home
2-4, one goal, and away 1-1). More than 12,000 people saw the latter fixture.

1890-1891                   Appearances    3                      Goals               1

Lindley’s single goal came in a
2-2 home draw with Stoke in the Football Alliance. He made two appearances in
home friendlies against Burnley (3-4) and Heart of Midlothian (8-2).

1891-1892                   Appearances    9                      Goals               1

Lindley’s goal was scored in a
5-1 home win over Bootle in the Football Alliance. Other Alliance appearances
included a home game against Lincoln City (0-0), and an away game against
Sheffield Wednesday (1-3). The final appearance of his playing career for
Nottingham Forest came on April 2nd 1892, in a 0-3 away defeat against Walsall
Town Swifts, again in the Football Alliance.

Earlier in the season, he had
played in friendlies at home to Bolton (5-0), Stoke (2-0) and Everton (1-2),
and away at Everton (0-0), and Notts County (1-0).

Overall, therefore, Tinsley
Lindley scored a minimum of 68 goals for Nottingham Forest, in only 74
appearances. He also scored 14 goals in 25 F.A.Cup appearances, giving an
overall career record of 82 goals in 98 appearances, the best strike rate by
any Nottingham Forest player in the history of the club.

He also scored a minimum of 85
goals for the reserves, when aged only sixteen.

As his F.A.Cup record for the
1890-1891 and 1891-1892 seasons shows, however, Lindley retired in his prime,
either too busy with the Law, or, more probably, unwilling to participate in
the professionalism of the First Division, to which Nottingham Forest had been
promoted for the 1892-1893 season.

In 1896, Lindley, along with
Harry Cursham, was invited to play in the first ever “Gentlemen versus Players”
game, a prestigious friendly, which would help to emphasise the class
differences in force in the society of the time. To both men’s credit, they
refused the opportunity, preferring the delights of the City’s derby match, Nottingham
Forest v Notts County.

Lindley is also known to have
made a small number of appearances for Notts County. The first of them, as an
inside left, came in a 1-0 home victory over prestigious Scottish club, Queen’s
Park, on February 20th 1886, a fixture when Harry Cursham played as a left full
back. His second appearance came in the final game of the season, as an outside
left in a 1-4 defeat at Derby County.

Lindley next played for Notts
County as a centre forward against Aston Villa on November 9th 1889. He was
watched by some 4 000 spectators, but was the subject of a £5 fine and a point
deducted from Notts’ total, the Football League deciding that Lindley had been
specially registered just for this one match.

They had reckoned without Tinsley
Lindley, the Cambridge law graduate, and professional barrister, who urged
Notts County to contest the verdict, on the grounds that it was unlawful to
hand out two punishments to two different parties for the same offence. A
general meeting of the League clubs was called, and eventually the fine was
increased to £25, but the League point was restored. The voting, however, was
close, with a margin of 6-5 in the absence of the Preston North End delegate.

As if to prove the point, Lindley
then appeared again for Notts County, as a centre forward, playing in a 1-1
home draw against Blackburn Rovers on February 18th 1890 in front of some 4,000
spectators.

His final game for County was in
the second replay of their third round tie against Sheffield Wednesday. The
match took place on the Derbyshire Cricket Ground on March 3rd 1890, and Notts
lost by 1-2, watched by some 4,000 spectators.

Lindley was a regular for the
great amateur team, the Corinthians, playing at centre forward from 1886-1891,
and appearing on many occasions in the same forward line as Harry Cursham. He
had made his début in the Corinthians’ inaugural year of 1884, and then went on
to participate in every one of their tours for the next eleven years, from
1884-1895. In all, he was to make a total of between eighty and ninety
appearances. One Thursday afternoon, during the 1885-1886 season, for example,
along with Harry Cursham, Lindley was part of the Corinthians’ team which beat
Queen’s Park of Glasgow by 2-1 at the Gregory Ground. This was one of a series
of challenge matches held as part of the teams’ Easter tours, and a crowd of
around 4,000 spectators watched the game. Around this time, Lindley captained
the Corinthians’ team which played against Repton School. The latter contained
C.B.Fry, the great athlete and sportsman, who recalled in his autobiography “A
Life worth Living”, how the Corinthians won by a narrow margin.

Nowadays, with the advent of
fully professional sport, it is difficult for us to imagine how a team made up
of rich gentlemen of leisure, doctors, and lawyers could be among the strongest
in the land, but this was certainly the case with the Corinthians, who always
wore white shirts, blue shorts, and prided themselves on never wearing shin
guards. For years, their rule was “the club shall not compete for any challenge
cup or any prize of any description whatsoever.”

The Corinthians had originally
been formed by the Football Association as a means of giving potential England
players the chance to play together on a regular basis. By getting more match
practice, perhaps, they might be able to avoid too many results such as England
1 Scotland 6.

According to C.B.Fry, the
Corinthians’ “first prime” came from 1884-1887. During this time, their two
full backs,  A.M. and P.M. Walters played together as a unit for England on
five occasions, conceding only five goals, with two victories, two draws and
only one defeat. Fry described them as “...exceptionally fine looking fellows
of the Nordic type.”  A.M.Walters was to win nine caps, P.M.Walters an overall
thirteen.

Similarly, the Corinthians’ left
wing formation played together for England on three occasions during this
period. It consisted of Tinsley Lindley at centre forward, with W.N.Cobbold at
inside left, and E.C.Bambridge at outside left. The results were victories by
3-1 and 4-0 over Wales, and 7-0 over Ireland. Lindley, admirably supplied with
chances, scored six goals, with Cobbold getting two and Bambridge one. Cobbold
eventually won nine caps, and Bambridge eighteen. The Corinthians’ other dangerous
forward was George Brann, although he was only to play for England on three
occasions.

In 1884-1885, professional
Blackburn Rovers won the F.A.Cup for the second successive time. They defeated
crack Scottish amateurs, Queen’s Park, by 2-0, at the Kennington Oval, in a
final watched by 12,500 people. Yet in their friendly that season against the
Corinthians, they lost by an amazing 1-8.

The following season, Blackburn
Rovers again reached the Final at the Kennington Oval, which they drew 0-0
against West Bromwich Albion. The replay took place at the Nottingham Road
ground of Derby County, where 15,000 spectators saw Blackburn triumph by 2-0.
Yet in their friendly that season against the Corinthians, Blackburn Rovers
lost again, this time by a slightly improved 0-6.

Small wonder then that the
England team of 1886 against Scotland  contained nine Corinthians. And so too,
the giants of today’s professional game were, a hundred years ago, only too
happy to be offered a fixture against these prestigious amateurs.

On April 7th 1885, therefore,
Derby County, in their very first season, were able to draw 3-3 at home against
the Corinthians, with the help of their very own ex-Corinthian, Benjamin Ward
Spilsbury. This success led directly to an invitation to play against the
Corinthians the following season at the Kennington Oval, a great compliment, as
the amateurs were only allowed to use this ground on four occasions per year,
and always tried to get the most attractive opposition possible.

Notts County had played the
Corinthians twice at Trent Bridge during the 1884-1885 season. They won the
first game by 7-1, and the second more narrowly by 3-2. Duly asked to visit the
Kennington Oval on March 6th 1886, Notts County lost 0-6, and were never asked
back again, although they were granted home fixtures in the two following
seasons (1-1 and 1-4 ).

Nottingham Forest were only ever
invited once to visit the Kennington Oval, in the season following a 2-1
victory in their only ever home game against the amateurs, at the Gregory
Ground on November 17th 1887. They duly visited the Oval on January 26th 1889,
lost 1-2, and do not appear ever to have played the Corinthians again.

The “second prime” of the
Corinthians came around 1890. Once again the forward line contained Tinsley
Lindley at centre forward, with, this time, J.G.Veitch and G.H.Cotterill.
Veitch played for the Old Westminsters, and won a single cap for England.
Cotterill, of Brighton College, and Old Brightonians, was to represent his
country on four occasions.

It was this generation of the
Corinthians who played a challenge match against Preston North End towards the
end of the 1889-1890 season. The latter team were the first champions of the
newly inaugurated Football League, and had won the Championship with a record
of eighteen wins, four draws and no defeats. Their attack had scored 74 goals,
while the defence conceded only 15. On March 30th 1889, they met Wolverhampton
Wanderers in the F.A.Cup Final, and duly won by 3-0 before a crowd of
approximately 22,000 spectators. Their defence had not conceded a single goal
in the whole of the competition. Not for nothing were they called “The
Invincibles”.

Against the Corinthians, however,
they fared little better than Blackburn Rovers had done. The result of their match
at Richmond was Corinthians 5 Preston North End 0.

Around this time, the Corinthians
decided to challenge the rugby playing Barbarians to a series of sporting
encounters. The Barbarians narrowly won the cricket match, but lost the
athletics match by one event. The Corinthians triumphed easily in the football,
winning by 6-1, but it was in the rugby that the most astounding result
occurred, the Corinthians defeating the Barbarians by two goals and two tries,
to two goals and one try. It was a rather hard pitch for rugby, and the
absolute star of the show was Tinsley Lindley...

“...Rugby players have no
conception what can be done with the feet by a dribbler of the class of Tinsley
Lindley. He manipulated the oval with the same control and certainty as he did
the globe.”

Overall, C.B.Fry had nothing but
admiration for Lindley’s abilities...

...”...as fine a centre-forward
as ever played. Lindley was slightly built and skilfully elusive. Half-backs
seemed to be chasing a shadow. He had a pair of conjuring feet and a trick of
timing a shot at goal from a crossing ball, after the manner of Ranji’s glance
to leg.”

Lindley’s last game for the
Corinthians came against Everton in March 1891, and he retired from their team
on that afternoon.

Tinsley Lindley was to play for
England on a number of occasions....

March 13th 1886                     England v Ireland                   Belfast                         6-1

Lindley, appearing as centre
forward, and replacing his Nottingham Forest colleague, Tommy Danks, scored on
his début. Fellow Old Nottinghamian, John Edward Leighton, also made his début
in this game, one of a small number of occasions when two Old Nottinghamians
have played together for England.

March 31st 1886                     England v Scotland                Glasgow                      1-1

Lindley, again playing as centre
forward, scored his second goal for his country.

March 29th 1886                     England v Wales                     Wrexham                     3-1

Lindley, again playing as centre
forward, scored his third goal for his country.

February 5th 1887                   England v Ireland                   Sheffield                     7-0

Lindley, again playing as centre
forward, scored three goals, to take his international total to six.

February 26th 1887                 England v Wales                     the
Oval                      4-0

Lindley, again playing as centre
forward, scored two goals, to take his international total to eight, in only
five games.

March 19th 1887                     England v Scotland                Blackburn                    2-3

Lindley, now playing as an
outside left, again scored a goal, to take his international total to nine, in
only six games.

February 4th 1888                   England v Wales                     Crewe                          5-1

At a rather unlikely venue
perhaps, Lindley, playing again as a centre forward, scored his tenth goal in
seven games. For the first time, he captained his country.

March 17th 1888                     England v Scotland                Glasgow                      5-0

Centre forward Lindley scored his
eleventh goal in only eight games. He was also the team captain for the second
time.

March 31st 1888                     England v Ireland                   Belfast                         5-1

Lindley continued his scoring run
at centre forward, getting his twelfth goal in only nine games. This was the
third occasion on which he had captained England.

April 13th 1889                       England v Scotland                the
Oval                      2-3

Perhaps because he was outside
left, Lindley did not manage to score in this game, the first time he had
failed to score in a record breaking run of nine games.

March 15th 1890                     England v Wales                     Wrexham                     3-1

Back at centre forward, Lindley
got his thirteenth goal for England.

April 15th 1890                       England v Scotland                Glasgow                      1-1

Despite being centre forward,
Lindley failed to score for the second time in his England career.

March 7th 1891                       England v Ireland                   Wolverhampton
6-1

Two more goals for Lindley, in
his favourite position as a centre forward. This was his last game for England,
and gave him a career total of fifteen goals in thirteen appearances.

Lindley is also known to have
played in an England v Scotland trial match held at the Gregory Ground on
Monday, March 24th 1890. He played centre forward for “The Stripes”, and was
eventually selected for the final England team.

In his international career,
Lindley achieved a record of having scored in nine consecutive England games
between March 1886 and April 1889. This feat has only ever been surpassed by
one England player, the incomparable Steve Bloomer of Derby County, in his
first ten games between 1895-1899.

Lindley had played in virtually
all of the possible England games between 1886-1891, and  it is interesting to
speculate how many caps he would have won had he been playing in the modern
era.

As far as I have been able to
trace, Lindley was one of three High School pupils to have captained his
country. In the three games under his leadership, all of them played away from
home, England scored five goals in each match, with an overall total of 15
goals. They conceded only two, thereby winning all three matches.

Appendix Eight : “The Three Merles”.

In an article in “The
Nottinghamian” in May, 1982, the Head of History, David Peters, described how a
former pupil of the school, Richard St.Clair Page, had written a short novel
entitled “The Three Merles”. It was published by the Mayflower Press of
Plymouth and had appeared in the bookshops of the nation probably sometime
after the First World War.

The book was a thinly veiled
description of Page’s years at the High School some ten or fifteen years or so
before the end of the previous century, and was very reminiscent of works such
as “Tom Brown’s Schooldays”, and many other similar school tales of the
Victorian era.

It described how a new headmaster
had arrived at a quiet, comfortable school, and changed it completely by the
very force of his personality. The Headmaster was Dr.Govan (Dr.Gow), and other
teachers were called “Sammy” or “Johnny” Horner (Samuel / Sammy Corner), and
“Old Mr.Bray”, (Charles Bray). The imaginary school, like the real one, had a
Mr.Lupton, and a Sergeant Holmes as its School Porter. The younger Mr.Jennings,
Form Master of the Lower Second, and the elder Mr.Jennings, Form Master of the
Upper Third, were both of them amalgams of the High School’s real
Mr.I.H.Jennings and the two Ryles brothers, “Jumbo” and “Nipper”.

“The Three Merles” contains some
very interesting details, none of which are really of the type to be featured
in an official school magazine such as “The Forester”, and which, for that
reason, do hold a certain interest for the modern historian.

The first item of interest comes
in an early chapter where there are descriptions of what the school had been
like in the era before Dr.Govan’s arrival….

“To many of the boys, to the
stronger and least responsible, the previous term had been a gay time ; to the
weaker it had often meant terror, to the masters it had been a hateful dream.
The old Head had been rarely seen. The boys were ignorant of the reason ; the
masters knew only too well…..drink had wrought out its dreadful work. Only a
weak staff carried on the school. Ray had been in the Lower Second ; the days
of forms graded A, B, and C had not dawned as yet. They were to be one of the
new things of the new era.”

There is an interesting description of an old classroom,
which dated from a time before the changes and improvements in the school….

“The form was …… arranged in the
old style ; three desks facing outwards, making a hollow square, which was
completed by the platform where the master’s desk stood. For oral work, the
boys faced inwards ; for writing they turned towards the desks, each with his
back to the Master.”

Another, more detailed
description is provided of the transition to the new “Grammar School”, and of
two of the main protagonists involved….

“Dr.Govan wishes to see Master
Grier at the break” had been the message brought by Sergeant Holmes during the
lesson just finished….The sergeant was new, just promoted from being caretaker
in a warehouse in the town. Hence the politeness in bringing the message. When
the newness began to wear off, “Masters” before small boys names would
disappear too. The Doctor had called him the porter when he had introduced him
to the school after prayers the week before.

“Boys, I wish you to know
Sergeant Holmes, the new porter of the school.” And the sergeant, form very
stiff and medals very bright, had saluted the school. As a body the school
resented him. He belonged to the new order of things, and the school thought it
preferred the old times to the many new things which were upsetting its
complacency.

The chief new thing, summing up
newness in bodily form, was the Head-master himself. He was young, his tones
were curt, and he had a trying habit of gnawing his tawny moustache, looking a
boy up and down several times before he spoke. Had the boys but known it, he
was more aware of his newness than they were. For five years he had lived as a
Fellow of his college, becoming known as having original views on education,
and now the opportunity was given him of proving his theories by practice. The
Governors of the Grammar School had turned to him in despair ; the time had
come when probably the old Foundation must pass away, owing to neglect and
mismanagement. They had sent to Cambridge for advice, and Dr.Govan had been
sent to advise them.

“We want someone who will pull
our old school out of the mire,” one of them had said ; and Dr.Govan consented
to make the trial. The mire was thick indeed ; the numbers had sunk to less
than a hundred, and discipline and order were lacking everywhere.”

An early chapter entitled “An
Adventure in the Old Times” describes how there is an exit from the extreme
western end of the school building, right up under the guttering so that boys
have access to the roof of the school. From here, it is possible for them to
crawl perilously along the gutter to the base of the tower. Then…..

“The slope of the roof reaches
nearly to the top of the tower. There was some slipping of tiles, and the two
or three feet to the battlements of the tower made risky work, but Ray was not
long before he stood on the slightly pointed lead roof within the battlements.
In the centre was an old flagstaff, broken off short and invisible from below.”

It was then possible to return by
the same dizzy route. It is difficult to believe that Page was not writing from
first-hand experience, and that he had not himself, in years long past, tried
out exactly the same example of schoolboy derring-do. One further interesting
historical detail is that, from the very top of the tower….

“beyond the Forest, stretched the
open country.”

Page relates how Dr.Govan (Dr.Gow)
completely transformed the school. Presumably, this again came from his own
first hand experience……

….“The class-rooms were cleared
of much rubbish in the shape of obsolete books. The desks were rearranged, the
boys made more comfortable and at the same time more under the eyes of the
master. The hours of the lessons were altered, and shortened, with more
frequent breaks. No longer did the form-master teach every subject until he
became weary of the boys and the boys more weary of him.

The playground was put into some
kind of shape, though it was almost impossible to make much of that five-acre
square of rock and sand. Part of it was railed off and grassed over. More
important still, part of the Forest was rented for the school, and the Forest in
those days was a big stretch of wide grass plots : the modern official had not
laid his tape across it. At the far end there was a mass of undergrowth, with
small open spaces hidden from view. Here Ray had fought many a fight, not so
much from temper but because fighting was the fashion in those days and much
encouraged by the older boys for their amusement. And round the whole ran the
race-course, where four times a year splendid horses ran----days of delight for
the boys who saw the sport and were ignorant of the evils which came from
betting.

Right in the centre of the Forest
was the Grammar School ground, level and well tended. Ray found himself placed
in the Fourth Eleven……”

Page also provides details of how
major disputes were settled during this period, although such organised
violence was clearly very infrequent……

“Perry began
to hesitate. It was two years since there had been a fight between any of the
Sixth.  The procedure was set down by precedent. There must be a ring in the
playground, and the whole school must be present….A big ring in the playground
to-morrow at five ! .....Throughout the whole of the following day the school
was in a state of subdued excitement. Mischief was so rare that the masters
wondered. But no hint of the cause reached the Staff. Although the fight was
allowed by the unwritten customs of the school, common intelligence prompted
some secrecy until the time itself came.

Promptly at
five o’clock Perry faced Lomax. The ring was perfect, and the inner line of
boys toed exactly the circle drawn in the sand. Except for a few of the weaker
hearts the whole school was there, drawn rather by the unusual sight than by
any wish to see the horror. Nothing could be gained by description of that last
big fight at the Grammar School, though it will live in the memories of the
boys who saw it. Two well-grown lads of seventeen, fighting without gloves, can
do considerable damage to one another. Before many minutes were over, quite
half of the spectators were gathered in frightened groups at distant parts of
the playground…….at twenty past five the sergeant (Holmes), breathless and
excited, broke the ring. He had seen the gathering for the fight and had run
down to the Head-master’s house to report. Now he broke the ring, pushing boys
here and there, and threw himself between the pair…..The boys put on their
coats and went with the sergeant without a word. They found the Doctor seated
in his chair, gnawing his moustache and speechless. The silence seemed to last
for an hour while Lomax mopped an injured eye and Parry wiped blood from his
cheek. Then Doctor Govan spoke, in low uneven tones, as though uncertain of
himself : “Explain this disgraceful affair.

The Doctor said some straight
words to the Sixth Form the following morning, and told them that he absolutely
forbade public fights….but as he listened to various translations of Livy, the
Doctor evolved in his mind schemes of boxing-gloves and a sport instructor for
next term. ”

In real life, Dr.Gow, of course,
was to introduce a number of sporting activities, in an effort to divert the
energy of the boys into more positive accomplishments.

A further change made by “Doctor
Govan” was to the school uniform….

“The end of
that Summer Term drew near, and Ray was walking down town with Furley of the
Fourth. Each boy wore the new cap recently introduced by the Doctor. The cap
fitted close to the head, and bore the quaint lozenge shaped crest of the
school, with its three merles on a white ground, a badge restored to use by the
Doctor, and of which the boys were proud. It was known by the vulgar boys of
the town as the “three crows”. But on the top of the cap there was a small
white button, visible at a distance and marking a Grammar School boy from
behind. The whole school resented this ; some of the boys inked it over.

In order to give the boys some
physical exercise which was better than mere fighting, Doctor Govan had also
introduced six-a-side football, a competition which was to last in the High
School for almost thirty years. In actual fact, Page’s brother, Robert St.Clair
Page, had played in the very last team ever to win the competition, which, by
the spring of 1914, was now “the Football Eights”.

The winning  team consisted
of....A.R.S.Grant (captain), J.E.Barber, C.F.Dunford, H.T.Nidd, R St.C. Page,
R.F.Parr, B.D.Telford and R.R.Widdowson.

Richard St.Clair Page must have
known all about the way the competition was organised, therefore, when he
wrote……

“THE SCRATCH SIXES

On Friday of the same week Ray
took Percival to see the notice of the Sixes on the board. Together they read
as follows :-

“Boys wishing to enter their
names for the Scratch Sixes must attend personally on Monday next at 4.15 in
the Sixth Form room and bring Sixpence with them. All who can are expected to
join, whether in the Upper or Lower School. Places will be drawn for on
Tuesday.

L.SKELTON, School
Captain.”

Percival gave a fuming laugh.

“At least I cannot congratulate
our School Captain on a command of English.”

“You are hipped ‘ old man’ about
something?” Ray remarked, “but you will enter?”

“Yes, I shall enter. The fact is
I am a bit out of it, having no decent footer. I’ve played both games, and I am
bound to say I expected to have some choice and not be confined to Soccer.”

“Do you mean that you know
Rugger? Beastly rough game, they say. No one would look at it here. In fact if
we tried to run a team we should never get a match. It is glorious soccer or
nothing in this part of the world.”

Ray began to wonder if his new
friend was putting on side ; but he gave in his name, and time would prove if
he was any good. The following Tuesday there was a big crowd to watch the draw.
Usually the lists showed fairly quickly which Six would prove the winner, or at
least reach the semi-final. Three large blackboards faced the company and an
ancient top-hat stood on the table. The sergeant’s little girl was there to
take the slips out of the hat, and the names were written on the board in lists
of six as they were called out. It was a time of great excitement, broken by
murmurs as each Six was completed. The first two were very ordinary, and none
of the well-known names came. Then they began to come with a run. Five from the
First Eleven, with just one small boy to balance them. Six III would most
certainly win ; there could be no other combination to beat that, All hope
departed from Ray’s heart…..

……The tenth Six proved to be the
next in strength. It contained Skelton himself, whose very name would strike
terror into many a small heart. And together with him were Squires and Jones,
the two most dashing forwards of the Second Eleven….

……It was not until most of the
names were read out that Ray’s or Percival’s was reached. They found themselves
with an unknown three, together with Oscroft, the best back of the school…..

…..When the lists were complete
there came the further excitement of drawing the first round.  Nothing
sensational came of this. Ray’s Six had to face a very weak lot, who were
easily beaten on the following Thursday. As they left the ground, the great
Oscroft walked with them. …..

…..It would be quite a fortnight before the next
round would be reached…..

It is interesting to note that the teams were
known by their numbers such as Six X or Six III, or, quite simply, the III.
Equally interesting is that in the plot of the book, Six III, because of a
broken collar bone suffered by Oscroft, are forced to play with only five
players. This actually happened for real in spring 1891, when the losing
finalists numbered just five players and not the more usual six.

Further details are provided elsewhere in the
book….

“Sixes?” asked Percival ;
“whatever are Sixes ?”

“I believe they are a peculiar
brand of our own. I don’t know whose brain wave they were, but I rather think
they were suggested by the Head. They are scratch because everybody has an
equal chance. You pay sixpence for entrance, and that goes for the pots. Then
all the names are put into a hat, and as they are drawn out are arranged in
lists of six apiece. Then matches are played off in rounds. ”

“It sounds pretty strenuous. How
many entries are there ?”

“About a hundred. The Lower
School is allowed to come in…For two nights a week school closes at four and we
play the rounds off. Twenty minutes each way.”

As well as relying heavily on the
members of staff he had known at the High School, Page has also used the
identities of many of the boys he knew from his own schooldays. “Oscroft”
therefore must surely be Percy William Oscroft, the Captain of Football in
1888-1889 and 1889-1890. The real Oscroft, though, was not a back but a
forward.

The Captain of Football in the
book is “L.Skelton”, who is presumably A.C.Skelton , a footballer from the late
1880s. “Adams” is perhaps A.Adams, who had played for University College
against the High School in 1892 and scored a goal with a “splendid long shot”
in a 2-2 draw. He then went on to become vice chairman of the Nottinghamshire
Football Association. “Heald” must be Bernard Heald who won the Football Sixes
in 1889-90 and 1890-91. He was the school’s goalkeeper from 1898-1901m and won
a Scholarship in Classics to Keble College, Oxford. After university, he was
ordained as the Reverend Heald, and during the First World War, he was the
School Chaplain and Musketry Instructor at Midhurst Grammar School, Sussex.
Eventually, he was to become the Headmaster of the School. Richard St.Clair
Page, of course, was himself an ordained minister.

“Percival” is surely Norman
Percival Frost who was Captain of Football in 1897-1898. Again, just like Page,
Frost was an ordained minister, and served during the First World War as a
Padre at the 61st Hospital in Baghdad. In 1954, having been for many years
Vicar of Dullingham near Newmarket, he retired to Gloucestershire. In the
previous year, he had conducted the annual Old Boys’ Service at the High
School. He died in mid-June 1955, at the age of seventy-five.

“Burton”  is perhaps G.A.Burton,
who had won the Football Sixes in the 1892-1893  season. “Browne” is surely
F.D.Browne, who was Captain of Football in the 1887-1888 season. Likewise,
“Partridge” may well be the T.T.Partridge who appeared regularly in the First
Eleven in 1893-1895. Perhaps less certain would be the connection that “Furley”
is the A.W.Furley who was in the team which won the School’s annual
Eight-a-side competition

in1910-1911.

“Peck” may well have been the
Leslie Wayland Peck who became the third Captain of Football in the troubled
1909-1910 season. A further connection with the world of St.Clair Page was that
his father was Thomas Wayland Peck, a Clerk in Holy Orders, and a Diocesan
Inspector of Schools, who had previously been a Master at the High School. He
had himself played for the First Eleven on more than one occasion.

His son, Leslie Wayland Peck, was
to live a life rather similar to the one which is portrayed in the book as that
of Ray Grier. In June 1910, therefore, Peck left the High School and joined the
Bank, an establishment which was later to change its name to the National
Westminster Bank. After being badly shell-shocked in the Great War, he was
invalided back home and then after the war, he helped with the Boy Scouts and
with the Dame Agnes Mellers’ Lads’ Club. He was a licensed Lay Reader in the
Southwell Diocese, and also assisted at All Saints’ Church in Nottingham.

I have been unable to discover
any reason that the hero of the novel is called “Ray Grier”. At the end of the
novel, he leaves the “Grammar School” and, at the wish of his father, goes to
work in a bank, a career choice which is further endorsed by “Doctor Govan”.
Ray’s ultimate desire, however, is to become a clergyman, and any clash between
these two ambitions is avoided by the idea that he will be a much better
clergyman for any experience of the real world he may accrue. I do not know if
Page’s own life followed this pattern, although the suspicion will always
remain that it may well have done.

Circumstantial evidence reveals,
for example, that Page’s younger brother, Richard St.Clair Page, was in his
adult life the senior partner in the family firm of Robert A.Page and Company
in Milton Street, and for sixteen years, the secretary of the Duke of
Portland’s Lodge of Freemasons. He was the Honorary Auditor of the Old
Nottinghamians’ Society for more than forty years.

By 1902, Richard St.Clair Page,
the elder brother, had been ordained as a deacon at Southwell Cathedral. During
the Great War, he was Chaplain of the Forces Service. By 1929, he was a rector,
living at “The Vicarage”, St.Columb Minor, Cornwall. Coincidentally,
neighbouring St.Columb Major is the home of one of England’s traditional
medieval football matches, rather like the one which takes place at Ashbourne.
The Cornwall variant is called “hurling” and is played between the “Town” and
the “Country”. The ball is small, and made of apple wood, and covered in silver.
The goals are a mile apart, and there are, of course, no rules. The game takes
place on Shrove Tuesday, and then again on the following Saturday. All the
windows of the small town have to be boarded up, to avoid breakages, and
injuries to players.

In 1944, Page was appointed to
the honorary canonry of St.German’s, Truro. He died on February 12th 1951 at
Newquay, at the age of seventy-eight.

Appendix Nine : “Reminiscences from 1886-1889”

A short set of reminiscences for
the period of 1886-1889 were published in “The Nottinghamian” in April 1951.
They were written by “F.M.”...

“A boy's impressions
written from memory sixty years later”

Masters :

James Gow, Litt.D....A fine Head
Master, inspiring awe, changing afterwards to reverence and deep admiration.

Corner, S. G. (Sammy)...An
excellent Master who took a personal interest in every boy with whom he came in
contact.  Formed the School Cycling Club at very considerable expense to
himself. A grand disposition.

Ryles, W. E. (Jumbo)...A learned
Master who, in my opinion, had not the capacity of imparting knowledge
possessed by some of his contemporaries.  As a full-back at soccer  (there was
no  “rugger “ in those days) he could kick the ball from under the crossbar,
preventing what appeared to be a certain goal.

Ryles, W. T. (Nipper) Was a
Junior Master possessed of knowledge, especially with regard to Mathematics. At
football he was a regular tiger, but accomplished little.

Peck, Revd. T. W. (Parson)...Was
a capable and very likeable Master. He also ran tremendously through a game of
football, but without much result.

Trafford, C....Was a good and
very sociable Master, whose favourite way of creating alertness was the
swinging of a bunch of keys on a metal chain, with which we occasionally came
into contact.

Townson, B....A very quiet but
very good Master. Published a book of interesting short stories in German.

Jackson, W. and Seymour,
H....Writing and Drawing Masters respectively occupied one large classroom.
Both were easy and unexacting.

Bray, C. (Donkey)...Although I
think he had not the highest of diplomas, he instilled more good manners into
boys than any other Master of his time.  His attention to penmanship and
neatness was untiring.

Liddell, A. C....I was not under
him.  He had played in good-class football and was a stalwart as
centre-forward.

Small, E. W....Chemistry Master.
Was very capable and thorough in his instruction.

Of the footballers I should say
the outstanding boys were Sammy Wallis, Johnny Bearder, Bob Brown, Percy
Oscroft, and the brothers Hanson.

Sergeant Holmes was the janitor
at this time. He patented a brass plate to which, when sunk into the ground,
were attached three stumps, thereby ensuring the right height and the correct
distance apart.

Knowles was the Caretaker, one of
whose duties was to lock the Forest Road gate at 2.15.  His greatest delight
was to lock it just before, and beam at a small batch of boys who came running
from the Forest where they had stayed to see the first race, generally timed to
start at 2 o'clock. This meant running round Waverley Street to another
entrance and a late mark !

Appendix Ten : “The early 1890s”

The following reminiscences were
published in “The Nottinghamian “ in December 1951. They were by B.H.Heald, who
attended the school during the early 1890s...

“The school in my
day”

“Forty years,” not “on,” ...but
backwards ! It is not easy to recall anything but somewhat vague impressions of
those days and the school-folk, boys and masters, who peopled them. There is,
however, no recollection of undue fatigue from the daily goings and comings ;
therefore the three-mile walk from Old Wilford over the river, to the somewhat
stark and comfortless building on the northern heights of the town, could not
have been so unduly strenuous after all

Of the new boys who, I believe,
shared my first day in the “Lower Second” memory is vague. Towle was one...a
scholastic career in India claimed  him, I believe, and George Taylor and
George Harris, both from Wollaton, others. (sic) Yet others who seem to come
into that early picture are Tom Hayward and Frank Wardle, with a Snell or two,
and some Allsebrooks, of whom “G.C.” recently earned congratulation on his
appointment as a County Court Judge. Another old boy of that time who went to
the Bar was “Toby” Hadfield, who with his younger brother boarded with the
“Jumbo Ryles” (sic) at their house near the school.

The football giants of those
early days were Wolverson, Knight, and Sammy Wallis, though Dick Harris, the
younger brother of George, comes to mind vividly in this connection then or not
much later. Among the big fellows of the upper school renowned among us
youngsters for games or scholarship, there are memories of Percy Oscroft, whose
death a year or two ago was much deplored, R. B. Brown, and the very tall and
straight, John Blackwall, contemporaries of my brother Ben.

Of the masters there lingers very
vividly a memory of the Rylesses, “Jumbo” and “Nipper”, the latter of whom,
particularly, must have possessed the temper of an angel to carry on so faithfully
year after year the thankless task of trying to teach an always most
unpromising collection of young ruffians something of the elements of learning.

There was Peck too, (as he is
still with us perhaps I ought not to admit the “Rev.”) a keen disciplinarian
but a most helpful teacher ; Hodgson, the first master of the “Shell,” and
Jackson, of whom memory is but vague. Closer acquaintance with Carey Trafford
and Old Smith, whose home sitting-room for so many years is the room in which I
am now writing, came later, and admiration stirs with the memory of “Sammy”
Corner, (also still with us we are glad to know) with his shock of upstanding
rough hair and dangling eye-glasses. His kindness and keenness are a gracious
memory still.

But the personality towering
above them all was “The Doctor.” I try, but fail, to piece together words which
fit my memory-pictures of him, for they are, I fear, a queer jumble of
hero-worship, love and fear. Today, forty years on, I think of him just as a
great example, a great teacher, and a great friend. The School's greatest
Headmaster ! ”

Appendix Eleven : Frederick William Chapman

Frederick William Chapman was
born in Nottingham on May 10th 1883. His father was also called Frederick
William Chapman, and was a silk buyer who, at the time of his son’s birth, was
living at 59, Forest Road, Nottingham. Eventually, Chapman senior, by now a
company director, was to move to “The Mount”, Elm Bank, Nottingham, where he
died on February 16th 1914, at the rather premature age of only 55. He was
buried in the Church Cemetery on Mansfield Road, the service being taken by the
Reverend F.K.Pyper, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 19th.

Chapman occupies a family vault,
grave number 8926 in the Church Section of this enormous cemetery, the site
being purchased by his son, Frederick William Chapman. In the same grave lies
Chapman’s wife, Elizabeth, who was to die on February 28th 1932, at the age of
eighty. Their daughter, Annie, had died on September 19th 1914, at the early
age of only 29, and had been interred with her father.

Frederick William Chapman  junior
also had another sister, Dorothy, who later became Mrs.Spurway, and a brother,
Herbert George Chapman, who had himself played for the High School First Team,
from 1895-1897, both as a goalkeeper, and as an outfield player. He is known to
have lived at 37, Ebers Road, Mapperley Park in the early part of this century,
and by 1929, was living at “Craigton”, 5, Alverstone Road, Mapperley Park,
Nottingham. He married Mabels “Mabs” Bradfield, and they had two sons. Philip
Herbert Chapman was born in 1916, and went to Repton School, where he was “...a
useful footballer”. Having spent most of his married life at Burton Joyce, he
died on July 26th 1993. Frank William Chapman was born in 1913, and, at the
time of writing, having lived many years in Saxmundham in Suffolk, had recently
moved to Wallingford in Oxfordshire.

Frederick William Chapman junior
entered the High School on September 15th 1891, at the age of eight. He was
allocated the School Number of “991”. He had previously attended a small
preparatory school in Arboretum Street, where many of the pupils were in actual
fact, girls. In later life, Chapman was to enjoy recounting the anecdote of
how, at a prize giving, when he was awarded a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” as
a prize for Mathematics, his name was read out by the master, rather
mechanically perhaps, as “Miss Freddy Chapman”.

He appears for the first time in
the School List in July 1892, when he was in the Upper First Form under Mr.Leopold
C.Wilkes. Out of 26 boys, he was placed seventh overall, with a position of
sixth in Latin, eighth in French and tenth in English. In Mathematics, he was
in Set XII, and learnt Arithmetic from his Form Master, Mr.Wilkes. In this
subject, he finished in equal twelfth position with S.J.Taylor, out of 27 boys.
Chapman fared less well in Writing, where he was 28th out of 31, and in
Drawing, where he was 20th out of 46.

The following year of 1892-1893,
he was in the Upper Second A, with Mr.T.B.Hardy as his Form Master.
Unfortunately, Chapman seems to have been absent from the end of year
examinations, and was placed 25th out of 25 on this basis. He was now in Set X
for Mathematics, with the Reverend H.de B.Gibbins, and finished 16th out of 25.
Again he learnt just Arithmetic. In Science, he was in Set 6, and studied
Elementary Chemistry and Botany with Mr.S.R.Trotman. In a class which numbered
an amazing 68 boys, Chapman was placed equal 62nd with H.E.Woodsend, although
he did, in actual fact, miss the end of year examination..

In 1893-1894, Chapman, who had
moved into the Lower Third A with the Reverend T.W.Peck, was again absent from
the examinations, and was not classified in the Form Order. Now in Mathematics
Set VIII, he studied both Arithmetic and Algebra with Mr.Crofts, but, probably
because of his absence, does not appear in the final end-of-year order for the
set. On the other hand, his progress in Mathematics must have been fairly good,
as the School List does make specific mention of the fact that he had been in
Set XII as recently as Christmas 1891. Chapman remained in Set 6 for Science
with Mr.Trotman, but, along with Hooton, was not placed in the final end of
year order.

The following academic year of
1894-1895, Chapman remained in the Junior School, being placed in the Upper
Third with Mr.W.E.Ryles as his Form Master. Of the 24 boys in the form, he was
overall ninth, with individual positions of seventh in English, eighth in Latin
and fourteenth in French. He was in a smaller set of just seventeen boys for
certain subjects, and was placed third in German, eleventh in Drawing, and
fourteenth in Writing. In Mathematics Set VIb, he was taught by Mr.W.H.Hodgson,
and, out of 24 boys, was placed 14th overall, having finished ninth in
Arithmetic, eleventh in Euclid and twenty first in Algebra. By now, Chapman was
in Science Set 5, studying Chemistry with Mr.Trotman, and he was placed fifth
equal with P.Collyer, out of a total of 52 boys in the class.

The next year, however, Chapman
moved up into the Senior School, where he was placed in the Upper Modern Fourth
with Mr.C.Trafford. He ended the year in first place overall, having come top
of the class in both English, French and German. For this performance, Chapman
won the Upper Modern Fourth Form Prize in July 1896. He was in Set IV for
Mathematics with Mr.J.H.Crofts, and, of 28 candidates,was placed tenth in
Arithmetic, fifteenth in Euclid and sixteenth in Algebra. In Science, Chapman
was in Set III, studying Theoretical Chemistry with Mr.Hodgson, and he finished
in twelfth position out of 27 candidates.

For the following year of
1896-1897, Chapman was in the Modern Fifth with Mr.E.P.Gaskin as his Form
Master. He finished the year in fourth position in a class of 19 boys, and was
fourth in German and Latin, and fifth in English and French. In Set III for
Mathematics with Mr.Trafford, he was placed third out of 16 boys, with
individual positions of second in Algebra, and sixth in Arithmetic and Euclid.
In Science, he was in Set II with Mr.Hodgson. Studying Theoretical and
Practical Chemistry, he finished fifth equal with fellow footballer T.F.Wilson,
in a class of 21 boys.

The next year of 1897-1898,
Chapman, who was still aged only fourteen at the beginning of the Christmas
Term,was in the Modern Sixth with Mr.Samuel Corner, the “Usher” or Deputy
Headmaster. In a class of 21 boys, he finished the year in overall tenth place,
and was in Set II for Mathematics. In a very strange departure from normal
practise, the class is listed at the end of the year in alphabetical, rather
than academic, order. This is one of the very few occasions that this ever
happened for any subject or set in the School List during the Victorian era. In
Science Set IIa, Chapman studied Theoretical and Practical Chemistry with Mr.Hodgson,
and was placed tenth out of thirteen boys.

Chapman does not occur in the
School List for July 1899, and given that he seems to have played his last
football game on December 15th 1898, it can safely be assumed that he left the
High School at the end of the Christmas Term 1898, a not uncommon occurence
among boys who were obviously not destined for a glittering career at either
Cambridge or Oxford.

One of the School’s many
different registers states that Chapman left the High School at the end of the
Summer Term 1897, but that is quite clearly a mistake, given the large number
of sporting fixtures in which he participated after this date.

Strangely enough, for a man who
was to win an Olympic Gold Medal at football, Chapman’s first representative
honours at the High School came in cricket, when he made his début for the
First Eleven on Thursday, July 22nd 1897, aged only fourteen. The opponents
were the Old Boys, and the game took place at Mapperley Park. His elder
brother, Herbert George Chapman, was in the same team, and Frederick batted at
number nine, being bowled by W.B.Goodacre for a duck. The Boys eventually
reached 126 all out, a total which was rather eclipsed by the Old Boys’ winning
score of 213.

He played his first recorded game
for the First Team on October 16th 1897, at the age of only fourteen, appearing
as an inside right in a 1-4 away defeat against Loughborough Corinthians.

Chapman played in the following
game, against Derby Grammar School, but then made only two more appearances
before Christmas, against Leicester Wyggeston School, and the Old Boys. This
was presumably because the usual inside right was Arthur G.Francis, who would
have been, of course, extremely difficult to displace from the team.

Fred Chapman’s first goal for the
High School had come in his fourth appearance, on December 16th 1897, when, at
Mapperley Park, he had scored against the Old Boys, a mere consolation effort
in a 1-8 defeat, the School having spent most of the game 0-7 down. In the
opposing team was John Barnsdale, later to play for Nottingham Forest, and
Notts Magdala Football Club. He was already Chapman’s godfather, and years
afterwards, became his “Uncle Jack”, when Chapman married his sister, Evelyn
Mary Barnsdale.

After Christmas 1897, however,
Chapman became a first choice player in the High School team, moving from
inside right, and making the inside left slot his very own. This position had
previously been held by a whole succession of players, including G.S.Goodall,
J.H.G.Shipstone and Mr.A.C.Liddell.

Inside left and inside right were
not the only positions which Chapman occupied, however. To demonstrate his
versatility, he even played one game as a goalkeeper, a rather unlucky 0-1
defeat against University Swifts on February 17th 1898 at Nottingham Road

By the end of the season, “The Forester” could
report that F.W.Chapman...

....“Dribbles and passes cleverly ; with more
weight will be very useful.”

He is also known to have been
“...a fine upstanding athlete, nearly six foot in stature...”, and was awarded
his Full Colours at the end of that 1897-1898 season. Overall, his appearances
during the season were...

October 16th 1897      v  Loughborough Corinthians             (a)                                1-4

October 23rd 1897      v  Derby Grammar School                  (h)                                3-3

December 1st 1897     v  Leicester Wyggeston School          (h)                                3-1

December 16th 1897   v  Old Boys                                         (h)                                1-8

February 12th 1898     v  Magdala F.C.                                  (a)                                1-7

February 16th 1898     v  Ratcliffe College                             (a)                                0-1

February 17th 1898     v  University Swifts                            (a)                                0-1

March 2nd 1898          v  Loughborough Grammar School    (a)                                11-1

March 5th 1898           v  Leicester Richmond F.C.                (a)                                2-4

March 9th 1898           v  Mansfield Grammar School            (a)                                3-7

March 26th 1898         v  Lincoln Lindum                              (a)                                1-5

March 30th 1898         v  Mr.J.C.Snaith’s XI                          (h)                                2-1

According to the School
Registers, Chapman had left the High School at the end of the Summer Term 1897,
but that is quite clearly a mistake. As well as First Team Football in

1897-1898, we know, for example, that his cricketing career
continued in the First Team in 1898, where he seems to have been the first
choice wicketkeeper, and to have batted usually at number six or seven. His
appearances were....

May 18th         v Newark Grammar School                            not
out                         7

May 25th         v Mansfield Grammar School                         b
Mr.Major                  0

Sat May 28th  v Notts Forest Amateurs (An XI)                   b
Morley                      0 one catch

Wed Jun 1st    v
Leicester Wyggeston School           c Oram b Douglas                   37 one

catch

Sat June 4th    v
Notts Commercial Reserve                          did not bat                  one
catch

Wed Jun 8th    v Loughborough Grammar School                 run
out                         5

Sat June 18th  v the Masters                                                   b
Mr.Peck                    0 one catch

This match was played at
Mapperley Park. The Masters batted first, and made a good total of 211-8
declared (Mr.Trotman 56, Rev.T.W.Peck 55 n.o., Mr.Dunn 34). The boys, however, collapsed
against the bowling of Messrs Dunn and Peck (4 wickets and 6 wickets
respectively), and scored a total of only 23 all out. According to “The
Forester”, this was “a disgraceful exhibition”.

Wed Jun 22nd v Mansfield Grammar School             c
Dodsley b Mr.Major             0

Thur Jun 23rd  v Notts Amateurs                                            did
not bat

Tues Jun 28th  v Derby Grammar School                   c
Chell b Wilson                      3

Wed Jun 29th  v Newark Grammar School                            b
Mr.Greaves             0

Sat July 2nd    v Ockbrook Moravian School                         b
T.Fletcher                 0 one catch

Wed July 6th   v Leicester Wyggeston School                       did
not bat                     one catch

Sat July 9th     v Notts Forest Amateurs (An XI)       c
Brown b Morley                   5

Wed July 13th v Loughborough Grammar School     b Thomas i
(sic)                       14

Sat July 16th   v Derby Grammar School                   c
Chell b Farnsworth               23

Wed July 20th v the Old Boys                                                c
& b Clifton               14

Fri July 22nd   v the Masters                                       c
Mr.Jones

b
Mr.Daniels               2 one catch

Sat July 23rd   v Notts Commercial Reserve              did
not bat

This gave Chapman an average of
7.85. His overall total for the season was 110 runs which had been scored in
fifteen innings, with one not out. His top score was 37 against Leicester
Wyggeston School, and, as wicketkeeper, he had taken seven catches. This does
not seem very many by today’s standards, but this was, of course, in an era
when both wickets and bowlers’ tactics were very different, and the vast
majority of batsmen dismissed in High School matches in 1898 were bowled,
without the ball ever passing the wicket.

While keeping wicket for the
school, Chapman is known on one occasion to have injured his hand, and, indeed,
for the rest of his life, the joint of one of his fingers was crooked. He was
thought by other members of the family to have been secretly extremely proud of
this imperfection, as a sporting “battle honour”.

During the following football
season of 1898-1899, Chapman was a regular player for the First Team, and,
until he left at Christmas, played a very full part in what still remains one
of the High School’s greatest ever teams.

On October 5th 1898, for example,
he played against Newark Grammar School at Mapperley Park, and scored a goal in
a “very one-sided” 12-1 victory.

On October 12th 1898, Chapman got
his first ever hat-trick, four goals against  a  “very weak” Mansfield Grammar
School in a 16-1 home victory. A week later, he scored a single goal in a 7-2
victory over Leicester Wyggeston, and then grabbed further goals against Newark
on November 2nd 1898, St.Cuthbert’s College, Worksop on November 19th 1898, and
Loughborough Grammar School on December 14th 1898.

His last game for the High School
appears to have been a 2-5 defeat at Wesley College, Sheffield on December 15th
1898.

Chapman’s full record for that first half of the 1898-1899
season was...

September 28th 1898  v  Mr.A.W.Lymbery’s XI                   (h)                                3-7

October 5th 1898        v  Newark Grammar School               (h)                                12-1

October 12th 1898      v  Mansfield Grammar School            (h)                                16-1

October 19th 1898      v  Leicester Wyggeston                      (h)                                7-2

October 22nd 1898     v  Magdala Football Club                   (h)                                3-7

November 2nd 1898   v  Newark Grammar School               (a)                                4-2

November 3rd 1898    v  Mr.J.C.Snaith’s XI                          (h)                                1-8

November 9th 1898    v  Mr.A.C.Liddell’s XI                       (h)                                3-4

November 10th 1898  v  University College Swifts               (h)                                4-6

November 12th 1898  v  Derby School                                 (h)                                2-3

November 16th 1898  v  Mr.A.C.Liddell’s XI                       (h)                                2-2

November 19th 1898  v  St.Cuthbert’s College, Worksop     (h)                                7-0

November 30th 1898  v  Ashby Hastings                               (h)                                1-1

December 3rd 1898    v  West Bridgford Football Club        (h)                                7-4

December 7th 1898     v  Ratcliffe College                             (h)                                8-0

December 13th 1898   v  Old Boys                                         (h)                                2-2

December 14th 1898   v  Loughborough Grammar School    (h)                                16-0

December 15th 1898   v  Wesley College, Sheffield              (a)                                2-5

In “The Forester”, his pen
portrait recorded that...

....“If he were not in such a hurry to part with
the ball, would be more effective ; very neat in his work. ”

This team of 1898-1899 was, of
course, one of the greatest ever to represent the High School, with, during the
time that Chapman was playing, victories of the magnitude of 16-1, 16-0, 12-1,
8-0, 7-4, 7-2 and 7-0.

Their overall record from
September-December 1898 was...

Played 18        won  8             drew
3             lost 7

Goals for 100              goals
against  55

By a strange irony, however,  it
is actually arguable that the departure of one of their greatest ever
footballers, in the form of Frederick Chapman, allowed the High School First
Team to achieve even greater levels of performance, even though they did not
score goals quite as freely as they previously had.

After Chapman left the team,
therefore, their record for the rest of the season was...

Played 11        won 6              drew
1             lost 4

Goals for 54                goals
against  35

This was perhaps because when
Chapman moved away at Christmas 1898, he was replaced in the First Team by
Percy Sands, an out-and-out goalscorer, around whom the 1900-1901 team was
eventually to be constructed.

Whatever the case, though, one of
the greatest ever High School forward lines was certainly that consisting of
I.C.V.Smith, A.G.Francis, T.F.Wilson, F.W.Chapman and G.R.Houldgate.

Chapman then seems to have stayed
in Nottingham, and played for Notts Magdala F.C. for at least ten years, acting
initially as the team’s Honorary Secretary, and then as its Captain. During his
time with the club, he is believed to have played in every position in the team
for them, displaying his “...marked versatility...”.  He only left the Magdala
Cub when they decided to leave the Football Association, and join the breakaway
Amateur Football Association.

According to a notice of the AGM
to be held in the Arboretum Rooms on Wednesday, May 17th 1905, the President of
Notts Magdala was Arthur Kidd, and there were eleven Vice-Presidents, Chapman
being the Hon.Secretary Treasurer. The Captain was John Davison Barnsdale, who
lived at Lenton Hall at that time. He was already Chapman’s godfather, but was
destined to become his great friend. Like Chapman, he was to play for
Nottingham Forest as an amateur, and during the First World War, like Chapman,
was eventually to be promoted to the rank of Major. In later years, Chapman was
to marry Barnsdale’s sister, Evelyn Mary Barnsdale, and to know his erstwhile
captain as “Uncle Jack”.

Fred Chapman  heads Magdala’s
list of goal scorers for the first team with sixteen goals, closely followed by
his brother Herbert Chapman. There were fifty-five members of the club at the
time.

There are two surviving press
reports summarising the results of the Easter Tour, which took place in 1904.
These reports mention tours at Christmas and Easter to London and Brussels respectively.

“...Croydon. Played on Good Friday. Result  2-2.

Chapman played at full back and
"played brilliantly for the visitors", and "was very conspicuous
in defence". He also headed a goal from a corner kick after a quarter of
an hour.

Townley Park. Played on the
Saturday at the London County Grounds at Herne Hill. Result  won 3-1. Chapman
scored the second goal.

Wanstead. Played at the 'Old
Spotted Dog' Clapton (the other report says Upton) on Easter Monday. Result
won 4-3.

Chapman played at full back. The Magdala were poorly
represented, firstly through injuries and, secondly, because J.D.Barnsdale was
“wired for during Saturday's match to assist Forest at Sunderland on Monday,
where he made a very successful début in First League football". One
report states “Wanstead still pressed vigorously but the Magdala offered a
stubborn defence, Chapman and Hancock defending magnificently, the former
excelling himself ”. The other report states...

“...Chapman played a magnificent
game all through the tour. On Monday, when the team was below strength, he
quite excelled himself, tackling with splendid judgment, kicking powerfully and
timing the ball beautifully. He easily saved the side from a nasty fall”.

On Easter Tuesday, the team were due to play the First
Battalion Grenadier Guards at Stonebridge Park, but “the Magdala men were by
this time nearly all crocked, so there was nothing for it but to scratch the
final match ”.

Magdala also enjoyed European
football...

Easter Tour
to Holland 1906

Volharding

Played in
Amsterdam on Friday, April 13th.                         Result: won     5 - 0

Prinses Wilhelmina

Played in
Enschede on April 14th.                             Result: won     5 - 0

Haagsche

Played in the
Hague (Voorburg) on April 15th.         Result: won     2 - 1

Wilhelmina

Played in
Hertogenbosch on April 16th.                    Result: won     7 - 1

The only material for these
matches is a summary Press Report for the tour and a programme which,
amusingly, shows the time of arrival in Amsterdam on April 13th as 7.37 a.m.
and goes on to “urge members of the team to have a good rest when they arrive
at the hotel in order to get fit for the match at 2 o'clock”.

Team colours were black and red
shirts and white shorts and it was suggested that reserve laces should be
brought.

The first match saw only one goal
in the first half and, after four goals came in quick succession after the
interval, Magdala relaxed. Little is written about the play of the second
match, but reference is made to the gate of 2,000, which was regarded as
splendid, and the pitch was devoid of grass, very hard and dusty. The third
game was regarded as the match of the tour as the opponents were said to be the
best team in Holland. The first goal scored by the visitors was greeted by a
fanfare of trumpets, as was the second. The last match was played before 4,000
to 5,000 spectators, the largest crowd ever seen up to that time in Holland.
The ground was very bad and the sun hotter than ever before. It had been hoped
to arrange a further game in Rotterdam, but the club could not raise a
sufficiently strong team.

Easter Tour to Austria  1907

Wiener Athletik Sport Club

Played at
Vienna on March 31st.                    lost      0-2

Vienna Cricket and Football Club.

Played at Vienna on April 1st.                                    1-1

A combined team of the

above two clubs

Played at
Vienna on April 4th.                                   2-2

Teplitz-Schonau F.C.

Played at
Teplitz on April 7th.                        won     2-1

Again, a summarised report,
dealing initially with team problems. Two men withdrew at the eleventh hour,
one never turned up at all. Chapman, now of Nottingham Forest was captain and
apparently the forward line was weakened as Chapman had to take the place of
Milnes at back. There were more injuries than usual, partly due to the state of
the pitches and partly due to some more than robust play.

Magdala’s  Cash Account for the
Season 1907-1908, beautifully written in copper-plate, showed a positive
balance in hand of £4. 16. 10d. (£4.84p)

In total, Chapman played three
games for Nottingham Forest, making his First Division début as a centre half,
in a 0-2 home defeat against Small Heath on November 12th 1904. His second
appearance came on March 17th 1906, in rather strange circumstances, when
Forest travelled to Stoke for a First Division fixture, and Joe Hardstaff
missed the train. A rearranged team included Frederick Chapman at right half,
but unfortunately lost 0-4.  The following season, on September 15th 1906,
Chapman played as a right full-back in a 0-2 defeat at Burnley. This was again
a First Division fixture.

In actual fact, a number of
details have survived about the Stoke game. They are described by Chapman’s
son, Mr.P.F.Chapman...

“...Chapman played at right-half and Forest lost
0-4.

One report states, "It had
been decided to give Craig's bad knee a rest and play Fred Chapman, but
Hardstaff missed his train, so that Craig had to play, while the amateur
figured at right-half."

The same report goes on,
"From a free kick, Forest returned and Chapman, getting the ball a second
time, drove in a tremendous oblique shot which Benton fielded
excellently." Again, "Once Chapman stopped the home left very
cleverly with the backs beaten." and "though the “Reds” sped back on
the right, Benton was not troubled except by a long lunge forward by
Chapman."

Another report stated that…..
"The misadventure of Hardstaff had one not unwelcome result in that it
demonstrated the usefulness of Fred Chapman, who played as valuable a game at
right half as has been put up in that position all season. He tackled
excellently, and, what is more, generally parted with the ball to advantage."

Whether it refers to the same
game, or not, I cannot tell, but there is another cutting which states...

"That the directors greatly
appreciated F.W.Chapman's good sportsmanship in                               turning
out.

That he is a splendid footballer.

That he is on the Notts Forest
Committee and on Friday was pressed to assist                                that
club.

That he told the directors, however,
that he could not break his pledge to                                       Reading.

That all through the second half he
was backing up the forwards and trying to                               score.

That he nearly succeeded on two or
three occasions.

That he said he enjoyed the game.

That he had
only seven minutes in which to change and catch a train to

London
after the match."

I have also come across another
reference to FWC having assisted Forest Reserves at full back on a number of
occasions. ”

After leaving Magdala, however,
Chapman appeared most regularly for Oxford City, and in due course, was elected
their captain. By 1910, however, he was a regular player for South Nottingham
F.C, and, indeed, played in the team which won the “Deen Challenge Cup” held at
the Hague during Easter of that year. In addition, Chapman also played for an
amateur side, “The  Northern Nomads Association Football Club” from 1906-1912.

P.F.Chapman’s collection still
contains programmes detailing the arrangements for a New Year tour in Scotland
in 1909, when three matches were arranged against Queen's Park, Renton and
Hearts of Midlothian.

There is also a match list for a
tour in Belgium from May 4th-10th 1910, when the Nomads took part in an
International Tournament at the Brussels International Exhibition. The first
round was against Beerscot A.C (Belgium) and there were also teams from
Austria, Germany and Holland. A friendly match had been provisionally arranged
against Malines on May 9th. However, Chapman’s name was not among the list of
the 14 players, so he may possibly not have gone. The New Year tour in Scotland
in 1911 comprised 25 players, with matches arranged against Queen's Park,
St.Mirren and Dundee. The 1912 New Year tour, based in Glasgow, (the 1909 and
1911 tours were based in Glasgow and Edinburah), showed fixtures arranged
against Queen's Park, St.Mirren and  Falkirk. There was also an Easter tour in
1912, but Chapman’s name does not appear amongst the players.

The absence of Chapman on the
tour in 1910 may be explained by a menu of the Complimentary Dinner to South
Nottingham F.C., held at St.Peter's Hotel, Nottingham on Friday, April 8th 1910
to commemorate the visit of the Club to the Hague in Easter that year and the
winning of the “Deen Challenge Cup” in an International Tournament. On the back
of this menu, Chapman's name is handwritten, with the addition of 'Captain,
England' but it isn't his hand-writing. On the other hand, the unknown person
who wrote it may have known that Chapman was shortly to have the honour of
being the England captain against Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday, May 5th
1910.

As regards representative games,
in P.F.Chapman’s collection, two programmes still survive giving details of
arrangements for Inter County Association Matches between Nottinghamshire and
Leicestershire. The first was at the Athletic Ground, Loughborough on Saturday,
February 3rd 1906, but there are no details of the team. The return fixture was
at the City Ground, Nottingham on Saturday, February 2nd1907. Frederick Chapman
was captain, and played at centre-forward but, apart from the names of the
other players, there are no further details.

On Monday, February 10th 1908,
Chapman played in an Amateur International Trial match between North and South.
This game took place at Stamford Bridge, the ground of Chelsea F.C., and
Chapman, of Notts Magdala, played at centre-half for the North.The result was a
1-1 draw, with goals from Kyle (South) and Duggan (North)

There are several press reports
and photographs, most of them rating the game as “disappointing”. “The
Sportsman” said of Chapman "..we liked the neater methods of
Chapman", while the “Morning Leader” stated "The North halves were
rather a moderate lot, Chapman, the centre, being the most effective, but
rather clumsy."  Other reports are a little more complimentary!

Chapman’s greatest achievements,
however, came when he was finally selected as an Amateur International for
England, on no fewer than twenty occasions, with three further appearances for
the United Kingdom. Chapman’s son, Mr.Peter F.Chapman, still has a collection
of memorabilia from his father. In some cases, the details they reveal about
his international career differ slightly from the details I was sent by the
Football Association. In the following account, however, I have attempted, to
reconcile any discrepancies.

The first step on Chapman’s
journey to international recognition came in a North v South amateur trial,
which took place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea F.C., in the early part of
1908. The reaction of the press at the time was that the game was rather
“disappointing”. The “Sportsman” said of Chapman that “...we liked the neater
methods of Chapman”, and the “Morning Leader” reported that “...The North
halves were rather a moderate lot, Chapman, the centre, being the most
effective, but rather clumsy.”

Chapman was duly selected for the full team, and his first
appearance came against Wales at Edgeley Park, Stockport on Saturday, February
22nd 1908.

Chapman, who at the time was a
Notts Magdala player, appears to have come in at the last minute at centre-half
in place of E.H.Lintott. The result was a victory for England by

1-0, and the goalscorer was Vivian Woodward.

Six reports of this match still
survive. It was the first meeting between the amateurs of England and Wales,
and was played in most unfavourable conditions. Before the match, torrents of
rain had saturated the turf and the wind blew with the force of a gale.
“Chapman was a great success at centre-half, although the Notts man tired
towards the finish.” “Chapman with a grand drive saw the ball strike the
upright and rebound out of danger.” “Chapman in the first half was admirable.”

A pre-match comment stated
“Mr.F.W.Chapman, who is to play in the Amateur International to-day, has
tardily been given the honour. If merit had really been recognised, he would
long ago have had his "cap" against one of the kingdoms or the
Principality. The difficulty with amateurs is usually that they play when and
where they choose. Mr.Chapman is of that enthusiastic class that will help
others, even when not playing. He has been a most consistent supporter of
Forest, and many times has been ready to take the field if required ; and has
just as often quietly resigned his position for what he thought was the good of
the club.”

For the next fixture, England
versus France, played at Queen's Park Rangers’ Park Royal on Monday, March 23rd
1908, Chapman, of Notts Magdala, was a reserve, but  did not in actual fact
appear in the final England side.

His next appearance came on an
Easter tour of Europe, in a game between England and Belgium, which took place
at the ground of the Leopold Club in Brussels, on Saturday, April 18th 1908.
Chapman played at right-half, and England won 8-2.

Two days later, on Monday, April
20th 1908, Chapman played against Germany at Berlin, in a game which finished
in a 5-1 victory for the visitors. The attendance was recorded as 'being the
largest ever recorded at a football match in Germany, 6,000 people being
present.'

Later in the year, Chapman was
invited by the Secretary of the Football Association, Mr.F.J.Wall, to play
against Sweden at Gothenburg on Tuesday, September 8th 1908, but there is no evidence
that he accepted.

On Saturday, November 21st 1908,
Chapman played against Ireland, at Dalymount Park, the home of Bohemians F.C.
of Dublin . This was the third game in the series. Chapman, now listed as
representing Northern Nomads, played at centre-half. The game finished in an
England victory by 5-1, and the scorers were Stapley (3) and Porter (2).

There are four match reports, all
mentioning the ineffectiveness of V.J.Woodward, due to an injury early in the
game. “Chapman, as centre-half, was about the most serviceable player on the
field.” “Chapman, strong, burly, determined, was a dominant figure in the first
half and frequently overshadowed the Irish inside forwards.” “There were
several brilliant spots on the English side, but the most finished player was
Chapman, the English centre half, whose display in this particular position was
one of the features of the game. He completely outwitted the opposition, and at
the same time judiciously fed his forwards, and it was from some of his smart
work that the winning goals accrued.” “The outstanding man at half was Chapman,
indeed, I will as so far as to state that there was no better man on the field.
He was the heaviest man, I should say, and his vigour was not appreciated by
his opponents. With a little more speed, I should imagine that he would figure
well in League football.”

On Saturday, February 20th 1909,
Chapman appeared against Wales, in a fixture played on the ground of now
defunct Aberdare Football Club. Chapman, of South Nottingham F.C., played at
centre-half, and England won by 5-2, with goals from Hunt, Dunning, Chapman (2)
and Williamson.

There are three rather lengthy
reports on the match. “Another fine player on the English side was F.W.Chapman,
the centre half, who gave a perfect display, with the exception of his foul of
T.D.Jones in the second half.” The match programme also survives, with “Land of
my Fathers” printed on the front in both Welsh and English.

On Easter Monday, April 12th
1909, Chapman appeared against Holland at Amsterdam. The attendance was 15,000,
with receipts of £800, a record for Holland. Chapman played at centre-half, and
won 4-0, with goals from Dunning (3) and Porter.

On Monday, April 19th 1909,
Chapman appeared at centre-half against Belgium, in a game played on the ground
of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. England won by 11-2, and the goalscorers were
Woodward (2), Dunning (4), Raine, Stapley (3), and Chapman.

Of the three match reports, one
from the “Morning Leader” said...".. at one time in the first half,
England scored six goals in thirteen minutes. Belgium also scored once during
that period, so that we had seven goals in thirteen minutes. I have seen many
cricket matches where there have been fewer runs scored in the same
time."The same report states that " The English half backs, too, were
great, with Chapman as the most resolute." Chapman’s goal was the tenth,
"...from a long, hot drive..." also described as the "...hottest
drive of the day."

On Saturday, May 13th, 1909,
Chapman, of South Nottingham F.C., played against Germany, appearing as centre
half at the City Ground, Oxford. England won 9-0, with goals from Dunning (3),
Porter (3), Chapman, and Hoare (2)

One match report survives,
referring mainly to Chapman's goal and his height advantage.

On Thursday, May 20th 1909,
Chapman appeared in a 9-0 victory over Switzerland, in a game played on the
Landhof ground, in Basle. Chapman, of South Nottingham, played at centre-half,
and a programme of the match still survives, written, of course, in German!

Also still in existence is a menu
of the banquet hosted by the Swiss Football Association during the evening, to
celebrate the occasion of the first ever England international against
Switzerland.

Two days later, on Saturday, May
22nd 1909, Chapman was in Paris, playing as centre-half against France. This
match was the second of the tour, and England won by 11-0, with goals from
Woodward, Stapley (2), Porter (3), Fayers (2), Raine(2) and Wright.
Interestingly enough, despite this game’s status in England as a mere Amateur
International, the French football statisticians regard it as a full
international match, and it is listed in their footballing reference books with
the rest of France’s international games. A menu of the players’ banquet still
survives.

On Saturday, November 6th 1909,
Chapman appeared at centre-half against Sweden, in a match played on the Anlaby
Road ground of Hull City F.C. The gate was 7,500 for the first representative
game ever played there, with receipts of £204. England won by 7 - 0, with goals
from Owens (3), Stapley (2), Woodward and one other. The two surviving match
reports suggest that England might have won by more goals, in a clean
attractive game.

A fortnight later, on Saturday,
November 20th 1909, Chapman played as centre half against Ireland on the ground
of now defunct Leeds F.C. Only a single programme has survived from this game.

On Saturday, December 11th 1909,
Chapman appeared as centre-half against Holland on the Chelsea F.C ground at
Stamford Bridge. England won by 9-1, with goals from Woodward (6), Stapley,
Owens and Williams. Four press cuttings survive, two referring to Chapman's bad
luck in not scoring a tenth goal from a real stinger, which the Dutch
goalkeeper stopped brilliantly. Two programmes for the game are also still in
existence.

On Saturday, February 15th 1910,
Chapman played at centre-half against Wales on the Leeds Road ground of
Huddersfield F.C. England won by 6-0 with goals from Springthorpe, Porter (4)
and Woodward. The three surviving match reports all suggest that Fayers, at
right-half, was the outstanding player, but Chapman also "..gave a
magnificent display..". "Chapman worked untiringly", and
“...Porter and Chapman being especially aggressive".

On Easter Saturday, March 26th
1910, Chapman played as centre-half against Belgium, a fixture which took place
at Brussels. This was a one-off match, rather than part of a tour, and the
match ended as a 2-2 draw, with Chapman getting one of the goals. A menu of the
banquet, held that evening, still survives.

Chapman’s next appearance came on
Saturday, April 9th 1910, against Switzerland, in a fixture played at Park
Royal, the ground of Queen's Park Rangers F.C. As always, Chapman appeared at
centre-half. England won by 6-1, with goals from Webb (2), Corbett, Steer (2)
and Fayers. The match report from “The Sportsman” refers to the visitors'
disastrous start...

"..The game, however, was lost in the first
few minutes for, during the opening seven minutes, the English forwards found
the net on four occasions".

Referring to the Swiss
goalkeeper, the report states, "..at the outset, he was decidedly
weak...but as play proceeded, he greatly improved and saved some stingers,
notably a couple from Chapman in the first half". In the second half, he
"..saved another sterling shot from Chapman".

On April 11th 1910, Chapman was
invited by the secretary of the F.A.to play against France, at Brighton, on
Saturday, April 16th. This invitation, the only surviving evidence of the game,
asked Chapman to send a telegram if he was available to play. This rather late
date may suggest that Chapman was asked to play at the last minute, but he is
certainly known to have appeared, in front of a crowd of some 3,500 spectators.
England won by 10-1, with Chapman getting England’s fourth goal in the 27th
minute. Once again, the French football statisticians regard this fixture as a
full international match

On Thursday, May 5th 1910, centre
half Chapman, still of South Nottingham F.C., had the honour of being the
England captain against Denmark in Copenhagen. England lost by 1-2, and the
goalscorer was Steer. The game was played in "weather atrocious beyond
description", with rain before and during the whole match. This was the
first time an Amateur International match had been lost by England. At the same
time though, Frederick Chapman had the honour of becoming, after Tinsley
Lindley, only the second Old Nottinghamian ever to have captained his country.

Chapman’s next game was at
Cliftonville, Belfast on Saturday, November 19th 1910, when he appeared against
Ireland. He was by now an Oxford City player, and England lost by 2-3, the
goals coming from Carr (2). One report, from the “Athletic News” mentions that
"...The best of the middle line was Chapman ".

Chapman’s very last game for the England
Amateur team seems to have come when, he appeared at centre-half in a fixture
played on Saturday, October 21st 1911 against Denmark on the Park Royal ground
of Queen's Park Rangers. Although England won 3-0, no reports of the match
appear to have survived, but one can assume that Chapman played, from the fact
that his name is amongst those of the team, on the official match programme.

It is perhaps worth pointing out
that while England, Scotland and perhaps, Wales and Ireland, regularly fielded
both amateur and professional teams, that this was by no means the case at this
time with Denmark, France, Germany, Holland or Switzerland. These five
countries for the most part seem to regard their matches against the England
Amateur team as full internationals, and they are listed by a number of
statisticians as legitimate international fixtures for the countries
concerned.

During his international career,
Chapman frequently played alongside his great friend and admirer, the famous
Chelmsford and Tottenham Hotspur centre forward, Vivian J.Woodward. The latter
appeared for both England’s amateur and professional sides.

Indeed, Woodward’s goalscoring
record for the professional England team of 29 goals in 23 games was beaten by
a single goal by Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse only in 1958. Playing for the
England amateur side Woodward scored 53 goals in 38 appearances, with a further
5 goals in 6 Olympic matches for the United Kingdom. Combining these figures
gives him 87 goals in 67 appearances, and makes Woodward England’s most
prolific ever marksman at international level.

In the 1908 Olympic Games, as an
amateur player, Frederick Chapman was to play for the United Kingdom in all
three of their games. This special team, brought together for the Olympic
Games, was called “The United Kingdom”, but was, in actual fact, made up
exclusively of Englishmen, and was to all intents and purposes, the England
Amateur International Team. The players were all English, and were selected by
the Football Association. Chapman’s letter of invitation was sent on July 29th
1908.

In all, there were six teams in
the tournament, the United Kingdom, France ‘A’, France ‘B’, Denmark, Holland
and Sweden. Hungary and Bohemia were both unfortunately unable to compete, and
withdrew. All the games took place at the Great Stadium, Shepherd’s Bush,
London, between October 19th-24th 1908.

In the team lists, Chapman is
usually listed as a left half, the sixth member of the team, but it is known
that he played as “...a fine central defender...”. There were, of course, at
this time, no numbers on any football players’ shirts. In his obituary in the
“Nottingham Evening Post”, it was stated that Chapman was the Captain of the
United Kingdom team, although contemporary sources do not record the name of
the team captain.

In the first round, Denmark beat
France ‘A’ by 9-0 in front of a crowd of some 2,000 spectators, and Holland,
who would have played Hungary, received a bye.

The United Kingdom’s opening
match was a rather one sided 12-1 defeat of Sweden. It took place on October
19th, again in front of some 2,000 people, and Chapman, playing at centre half,
was, according to reports, “...one of the best of the half-backs.”.

During the opening ten minutes,
the United Kingdom attacked furiously, and it was from an opening carved out by
Chapman that Stapley of Glossop raced through to score the first goal with a
fine shot. In the next ten minutes or so, the United Kingdom scored two further
goals through centre forward Vivian Woodward, before Chapman himself got the
fourth goal.

By half-time, the score had
reached 7-0, but after about ten minutes of the second half, despite almost
continuous United Kingdom attacking, Sweden pulled a goal back, when
G.Bergstrom put in a fine cross shot, and Chapman had the unfortunate
experience of putting it his own goal, thereby scoring for both sides in the
same game, a comparatively rare feat in international football.

The same evening, October 20th,
all of the competitiors enjoyed a sumptuous banquet at the Holborn Restaurant,
chaired by Lord Desborough of Taplow.

In the semi-finals, Denmark beat
France ‘A’ by the record score of 17-0. Sophus Nielsen scored a record ten
goals, with the newspapers recording his efforts as

“Nielsen S, 3’, 4’, 6’, 39’, 46’,
48’, 52’, 64’, 66’, 76’ ”

In their semi-final,which took
place on October 21st, the United Kingdom beat Holland by 4-0. This time the
crowd was nearer to 3,000, and play was much more even, with an impressive
display from Dutch forward Snethlage. Eventually, however, the United Kingdom
ran out as handsome victors, with all four goals from Stapley, who had already
scored two in the first fixture against Sweden.

Most of the several reports refer
to the great fight put up by Holland, and it would seem that Chapman did not
have one of his best games, for “The Morning Leader” said he "...did not
keep his forwards going", whilst another mentioned "...Chapman and
Hunt being rarely conspicuous for really effective work."

In the third place match for the
bronze medal, Holland were to beat Sweden by 2-0, with goals from Reeman and
Snethlage, even though the Swedish goalkeeper, Breuwkes, managed to save a
penalty.

Fred Chapman’s moment of glory,
however, came in the next match, the Final, when the United Kingdom beat Denmark
by 2-0.

In this game, the teams were very
evenly matched, and many observers felt that Denmark were somewhat unlucky to
lose. Indeed, had it not been for much wild shooting by their forwards, and a
number of fine saves by the United Kingdom goalkeeper, Bailey of Leicester
Fosse, the result might well have been very different.

As it was, Fred Chapman opened
the scoring after twenty minutes of play, when, according to one account,
L.Drescher, the Danish goalkeeper from Kopenhagen F.C., slipped, and, saving
only weakly, pushed the ball out to Chapman’s feet. The latter banged it into
the net out of the reach of the Danish custodian. Another source says that
left-half Chapman himself had a shot from some considerable distance, which the
goalkeeper, having slipped, failed to gather, and the ball was then allowed to
trickle into the net.

Vivian Woodward got the goal
which clinched the game for the United Kingdom, scored after just a minute’s
play in the second half...“from such a square centre that there was little to
spare against the home captain being offside.”

Most of the press reports seemed
extremely sympathetic to the losers, referring to a narrow victory by the
United Kingdom, weak goalkeeping, and the possibility that Woodward’s goal had
been offside. The “Nottingham Guardian” was, perhaps understandably, rather
more fulsome of praise for Chapman, mentioning that "S.E.Nielsen was
watched too closely by Chapman to ever have the openings to repeat the damage
he did against the French team earlier in the week.” and “Chapman fulfilled his
mission of keeping guard over the sharp-shooting Sven Neilsen to perfection.”  Two
programmes (price 3d.) for the final day have survived.

Frederick Chapman thus became the
only Old Nottinghamian ever to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

Given the fact that at this time
professional football was very much in its infancy throughout the world, and
that virtually no countries except England, Scotland, and perhaps Wales, could
have fielded a full team of professionals, the victorious United Kingdom
amateur team could well claim with some justification that they were the
Champions of World Football, even though the Jules Rimet Trophy was not to be
competed for until over twenty years later. This point of view is echoed by the
“Guinness Record of World Soccer”, which states...

“...containing many of the best players in the
country, the side could lay claim to being the first world champions, even if
the entry was restricted to just five countries.”

In 1910, Frederick Chapman was
one of the founding members of the “ English Wanderers Football Club”. This
exclusive touring club, with an annual subscription of one guinea, was founded
following a meeting held at the Continental Restaurant, Wilton Road in London
S.W. at the end of October, 1910. One report stated “..the idea being to run a
purely amateur team on first-class lines, and not only to revive all the
glories of an ancient organisation such as the Corinthians, but to keep strict
amateurism to the front just as the Corinthians did in their most palmy days ”.
Membership was restricted to those who had played for England in amateur
international matches. The first President was Lord Kinneard, and the Captain
was Vivian Woodward. Chapman was the club’s joint secretary, along with A.H.Bell.
The team played in their own England amateur international shirts, with dark
blue shorts and dark blue socks with white tops. When they were not actually
playing football, the Wanderers wore special straw boaters with a hat band
bearing the Wanderer's crest .

At the time, namely the 1911-1912
season, Chapman’s address is listed as Cavendish Lodge, Sherwood, a property
situated at the top of the hill going out of Sherwood, and which used to be a
hotel owned by Shipstone's the Nottingham Brewers. The 1913-1914 list of
members shows his address as "The Mount", Elm Bank, Nottingham and
Chapman has the suffix 'Jnr' after his name, presumably showing that his father
was still alive at that time.

On August 20th and 21st, 1911,
Chapman captained the English Wanderers F.C. in two matches against Russian
opposition. The first game was against a mixed team of the best of the Moscow
and St.Petersburg English Clubs, and the second was against a Russian side. The
evidence for these matches are two programmes, both in Russian, setting out the
teams, and the menu of the Dinner held at “The Regina” in St.Petersburg. In
both games, Chapman played at centre-forward.

Chapman was to miss further
international experience when his business commitments forced him to turn down
his invitation to participate in an F.A. trip to South Africa.

In the “Illustrated Sporting and
Dramatic News”, E.A.C.Thompson wrote of Chapman around this time, that he was
“...one of those keen players who has football in his very blood, and every week
he is to be found ready for the fray...There can be no question as to his
brilliance as a centre half, and he is equally brilliant in attack or defence,
tackles cleanly and strongly, is tricky, and passes the ball well to his wing
forwards, while he is entirely innocent of anything likely to be wrongly
construed. Personally, I hold a high opinion of his abilities, and there are
not a few judges who think a trial in a more important international would only
be ample reward for his fine, skilful work.”

During the First World War,
Chapman, who was by then aged thirty-one, was initially a Gunner in the Royal
Horse Artillery, but eventually rose to the rank of Major, and commanded the
2nd / 1st Notts Battery when the unit was stationed in Mesopotamia. He had previously
been both a Captain and a Lieutenant at various sites in Great Britain.

From its foundation in 1926,
Major Chapman was the President of the Unit’s Old Comrades’ Association, and
was a popular figure at almost every one of the annual reunion dinners.

As a career, Chapman became a
ladies’ blouse and gown manufacturer, with a factory in Bridlesmith Gate,
Nottingham. Chapman was a director of the company, which traded as “Lord &
Chapman Ltd.”. The premises were badly damaged during an air raid in 1941.

Although he had continued to play
football during the First World War, and had in actual fact, represented his
unit, Chapman did not return to this sport after the conflict. Instead, he
played lawn tennis, and became an eminent local golfer, winning, for example,
silver goblets at Rushcliffe Golf Course in 1921. His usual caddie was Aubrey
Pick, who was still alive as late as 1987, at the advanced age of seventy-six.
One of his most frequent golf partners was Harry Carlton, the owner of the
pre-war News Cinema.

On at least one occasion, Chapman
won the prestigious President’s Cup, which was awarded for the best eight
scratch scores taken from a series of medal rounds. A knock-out competition was
then played between these eight players. Chapman was also known to have won the
Dobbs Cup, partnered by Mr.A.W.Loverseed, a successful builder of the day.

Chapman  is believed to have
continued to play golf until at least the outbreak of the Second World War.

It was perhaps because, to some
extent, he missed direct involvement in football that, around this time, he
became a Committee member at Nottingham Forest.

According to the records of the
Old Nottinghamians, in 1929, Chapman is listed as having lived in Wilford Road,
Nottingham, but, according to his son, Peter Chapman, the family’s address at
this time was “Westholme”, Clifton Road, Ruddington.

It was shortly after this that
the young Peter Chapman, who was attending a local preparatory school, caught
scarlet fever. This affliction then developed into mastoiditis. Unfortunately,
both diseases were then contracted by his younger brother, Richard, who was to
die in the early 1930s. The boys’ mother, Evelyn Mary Chapman, née Barnsdale,
then herself caught scarlet fever, from which she died on May 15th 1930.

After this, the remaining members
of the family, namely Fred Chapman, and his two remaining sons, lived with
Elizabeth Chapman, Fred’s widowed mother, at 12, Albemarle Road, Woodthorpe,
Nottingham.

On July 29th 1931, at Nottingham
Registry Office, Fred Chapman married for the second time, to Jane Gatley
Cardell. The new family then moved back to Ruddington, where they remained
while Chapman had a new house built in the grounds of Newstead Abbey. This
construction took place in 1933, and the house’s eventual address was
“Knightscross”, Newstead Abbey, Linby, Notts.

A few years later, this house was
sold, and the family moved to “Gibbetdale”, which was a conversion of two
gamekeepers’ cottages, and stood at the end of a long drive off the Papplewick
to Linby road.

The family’s final move was to
“Swincot”, Newstead Abbey, Linby, where Chapman passed away on Friday,
September 7th 1951, at the age of sixty-eight. His funeral service was held at
Addison Street Congregational Church, Nottingham, where his brother, Herbert
George, had been such regular attender, and a keen member of the choir. It took
place at 10.45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 12th 1951. It was followed by a
private cremation.

Chapman’s death notice in the
“Nottingham Evening Post”, presumably from the family, requested “No flowers.
No mourning. No letters.”

A second death notice, from the
members of Chapman’s Old Comrades’ Association, arranged for them  to meet at
the church at 10.30 a.m., and poignantly said “...Fare thee well, old comrade.”

Chapman’s wife, Jane Gatley
Chapman, survived her husband by twenty six years, and died on September 27th
1977.

Appendix Twelve : reminiscences from the late 1890s

The following reminiscences were
published in “The Nottinghamian” in December 1951. They were by Percy Cooper
Sands, who had attended the school during the late 1890s...

“...Seeing items about the School Staff of
1885-1889 in the magazine stirs me to offer some notes on the School during the
last nine years of Dr. Gow's headmastership, in the hope that many Old Boys may
like to dwell upon the personalities of that time in retrospect.

Gow was then in his prime, a
great prime. Much wanted in London as President of the I.A.H.M., he not only
guided the deliberations of that body, but proved a great ally to the cause of
the assistant masters, especially by his evidence in the Richmond case. I
remember his attitude when a certain school wanted to play matches with us, and
I referred it to him. “No, ” he said, “I shouldn't play them. The new Headmaster
has just sacked all the old masters.” In spite of all these calls upon his
time, he alone coached his Classical VI form to scholarship standard, and
usually gave us four periods a day, reserving the mid-morning period for seeing
parents. There was no telephone in those days Visitors' cards and telegrams
were brought in to him during class by the porter. One telegram amused him and
ourselves. “Dear Headmaster, Please tell boys Bovril says Mafeking is
relieved”...a slick bit of advertising.

Fine scholar as he was (second
Chancellor's Medallist) he could take trouble with the detail required for good
coaching, and four years out of six his pupils won first place in classics in
the Senior Cambridge Locals, and the award of the classical exhibition at St.
John's that went with it.

At other times he took us at a
great pace through the best classical authors, so that our reading was very
wide. His own edition of Horace was a standard school book, and he had a flair
for choosing good school manuals. As for discipline, his mere presence was
enough to inspire order. The general respect which he commanded ensured a good
tone in the school. I have heard his policy described as “a masterly
inactivity”, but this is misleading. It is true he was long in introducing
prefects, and only did so when the two head boys of the Classical VI happened
to be unstable, for whom the boys had no use. He then appointed six prefects,
excluding the two mentioned. When these prefects asked him what were their
duties, he told them that was for them to find out. After two years, when the
last of the six left, he appointed no more. The Head Boy of the VI, as Captain,
usually coped with what was necessary.

When I went to the School in
1892, starting in the Lower II, that class shared the Hall, where prayers were
held, with the Upper I. We used to watch the seniors enter and form rows for
prayers, headed by two or three six-footers, B. Heald, F. C. Boon and others,
while the Staff also took up their various stands. One morning I could not
resist taking out a pea-shooter and potting at the august sixth-formers, till a
master stepped across and relieved me of it, and gave it to my form master,
“Nipper” Ryles. Nothing happened to me but a warning from “Nipper” who even
restored to me the pea-shooter. I can only think that the outrage was
overlooked as an act of sheer innocence by a small new boy of nine. In the same
hall the Upper I out of enthusiasm for “Demi” Wilkes their form-master, staged
a different scene, when they celebrated his birthday by decorating his desk
with masses of flowers. The whole school entering for prayers was amused.
Wilkes was not amused, and blushed furiously.

In charge of upper II was the
Rev. T. B. Hardy, afterwards the devoted chaplain, V.C., of the First World
War, who in our day used to pant over the Forest top in Forest Road, invariably
belated for school opening. Being moved into Upper lIb, I missed his teaching,
to come under “Pug” Daniels, the mathematical master, a 6th wrangler, who
really started the successes in mathematical scholarships. He was also a
first-class batsman. On the odd occasions when he was out for a low score, he
trailed his bat all the way to the pavilion, a picture of misery. Surly and
sarcastic in manner, he would growl when demonstrating “Do you follow ? ” and
if you said “No, Sir,” added, “Well look at it till you do.” But at heart he
was kind, and proved a good headmaster at Stockport.

On into Lower III under the Rev.
T. W. Peck, who had one or two peculiarities (a pun the boys often used). One
was to set us on Monday to write a précis of the sermon we had heard at church
or chapel on Sunday and to reward failures by setting a dose of Latin gender
rhymes in detention.The other was an excitability which vented itself in
furious outbursts of temper in class, and in dancing with delight upon the
cricket pitch when he took a wicket with his lobs. These were often
deadly...one never knew what they would do...varying between full-tossers and
yorkers, hitting the ground three times or never leaving it.

“Jumbo” Ryles came next in Upper III. His virtue
was unequalled patience in explaining maths problems, his vice, laziness. His
feet would go up on his desk, his mortar-hoard tassel would veil his eyes,
while he read a book and occasionally stirred us to our written task with
“There's no occasion for you to talk.” It was in his form that we were treated
to the visits of Madame Léonnet, a tubby, little excitable lady from the staff
of the University College, whose attempts to teach us oral French were the usual
pathetic failure of the Gaul to grip or teach the English youth of those days.
The young barbarians created and loved the scenes created, in spite of her
bribery with half-crowns or chocolate for the best boys.

The Shell, under Mr. Hodgson,
received boys entering late, with little French and no Latin, destined for the
Modern IV. For now our ways parted to Classic or Modern side, via Liddell,
Smith and the Doctor, or Crofts (later Trafford), Gibbins (later Gaskin) and
Corner. Liddell, a first-class master in every way, loved for his pawky wit and
fair dealing, excellent coach, and good at games. Alfred Crichton, but to us an
Admirable Crichton, in 1901 went to Westminster, for Gow knew his worth and
took him with him. Smith, F. Coverley, spectacled, and with a kindly humour,
but no disciplinarian, presided over the V. Of the modern side masters, Corner
was the favourite, but not as a teacher.

“Sammy's” capacious memory and
garrulity were fatally easy game to boys who found the subject dull and asked
skilful questions which led him off the menu. He was supposed to revise with us
the books of Euclid, and then teach us bk.xi, but we always stuck at book ii,
when Hilda Hudson's solution of a particular theorem cropped up term after
term, till even as a “red herring” that precocious child's brain wave began to
pall on us. Ah, but Sammy was also the Usher! And as Usher he took the School
to his heart.

“The Forester”, as the magazine
was then called, owed everything to his enthusiastic editing, and in the School
List, another production, every detail of every boy's career was duly noted on
his departure. No School success failed to be reported in the Guardian. He
fostered school societies, presiding every other Saturday over the Debating
Society, when he would leave his chair to add his quantum (and it was a
quantum) to the argument. Sammy, usually in a brown study, was later to be seen
picking his steps down Waverley Street, when Old Boys who met him would find
his memory for them and their doings always fresh, and out of their memory he
never faded, either.

Soon after I came to the School a
new and powerful figure joined the staff, Samuel Russell Trotman, chemist and
biologist and gymnast. His shoulders and thighs proclaimed a mighty physique,
and he taught us (and the young men in the City) the German system of
gymnastics...after school hours, for the subject was then voluntary. He started
the Cadet Corps, he re-started the Annual Sports, which had actually been
allowed to lapse. But his great work was to re-organise the Games Committee,
giving more initiative to the boys, and bringing it into line with those of
Public Schools. His proposals roused much feeling in some of the staff (whose
supervision of the games had been inadequate), and did not earn sufficiently the
gratitude of the boys. He did, however, a great work for the sports and games
of the School. He later became City Analyst.

Many will remember Serjeant
Holmes, who rang the bell, mended footballs and guarded the premises. He also
took drill, and his “Squadalt ! ” was a byword. He loved to show you the three
pieces of gall which had been taken from his bladder. Some will remember too,
old Knowles, whose wife in the school cottage, sold glasses of good herb beer
for a half-penny. Knowles himself was deaf, and came round to make up the fires
on wintry afternoons and playfully pretended to put his dirty paw on the
master's bald head when passing behind his chair.

I notice Sammy Wallis was
mentioned in your former number of the magazine. He and J. B. Sim were probably
the best soccer forwards the school ever had. Wallis, slim and willowy, swerved
and slipped through the defence to put in shots like cannon-balls ; Sim's speed
took him round the defence with a yard to spare, a bustling type who could have
played for the County. Yet A. G. Francis, in 1899, was more successful in goal
scoring, having 56 to his credit in one season. But the best team of all those
years was certainly the one of 1900-1, without a weak spot in any section, big
Bernard Heald in goal, Wilkinson and Donnithorne at back, three, hard-working
halves, Willatt, Lindsay and Burdon, while Sim and Clayton as wing forwards
made the running for our three efficient inside men. Our goal score for the
season was approximately 150 to 47, and included 23 to 0 against Leicester,
22-0 against Newark, 12-0 against Mansfield.

Bonsers, Lymberys, Willatts,
Goodalls, Allsebrooks, Brewills, Healds, and many other families occur to one's
mind as prominent in School affairs. There were Towles and Toules, and thirteen
Taylors in the School at once. With some of these I rushed out of class at
10.45 a.m. to play small football on one of the paths for ten minutes, to
return hot and panting to lessons. Marbles had a vogue under the school sheds,
and were much frowned on, but the game called Chock or Chuck had a strong
appeal. The school Sixers as a competition enjoyed more prestige than they
probably deserved. School societies sprang up, the Natural History Society
under “Beetle Walker”, the Cycling Club led by Sammy Corner on pleasant, not
scorching excursions.

Most popular were the Doctor's
announcements in Prayers, when a scholarship was won at the Universities, “I
owe you another half-holiday.”

Six times that happened in one
year...1900 if I remember rightly. Gow's reign raised the school's prestige
remarkably, and that generation of Nottingham High remember him with affection
and gratitude. “Pussy” Richardson and I left at the same time. Roy Meldrum and
others remained to greet Dr. Turpin and carry on the classical tradition.
Meldrum, by the way, has earned fame by coaching the L.M.B.C. boats at the
height of their brilliancy, and has seen a Cambridge crew include five or six
men of his own college (St. John's), as your readers will have noticed for
themselves. But I must not become discursive.”

Appendix Thirteen : the reminiscences of Harold Binks

The following reminiscences were
published in “The Nottinghamian” in April 1935. They were by Harold Binks, who
had attended the school during the early part of this century...

“The School in my
day”

My recollection of the High
School goes back to 1900 when at the age of nine I entered Dr. Gow's study and
was asked, among other things, what was the title of a certain large book. I
answered promptly “Dictionary” but unfortunately it was a directory and I was
allocated to the lowest form where I began my school life under Mr. Jones,
whose handwriting was a work of art. Soon afterwards Dr. Gow left for
Westminster and I remember with awe the grief he showed during his farewell speech.
Next year, in 1.A., I had a long spell of appendicitis and found that, although
he used sarcasm as a scourge, Mr.R.W. Woodward had a tender heart for sick
boys. My next form-master was Mr. Wilfred Tyson Ryles. Nipper...dear, dear
Nipper...perhaps I can now express the love and admiration I had for him.

Gaunt....agile...never seeing too
much...he taught his boys the fundamentals of learning, sport and good breeding
and yet each boy was as glass to him. I still think of him with affection and
gratitude and even now, in working out a simple proportion sum, I use the
method he taught me. I am even tidy in doing so. Once he wrote across some
correct but slovenly homework, “If I received a bill like this, I should
decline to pay”.

Nipper's room used to be the end
half of the right wing and had walls going up into the roof. Prayers were said
in this room which was then divided off by a red curtain, which we boys had to
draw...a task we thoroughly enjoyed. It divided us off from Mr.Matthew’s class,
but not from his voice, the tones of which often caused suppressed merriment
among us and a twinkle in Nipper’s eye. It was in my second year with Nipper
that I made friends with Arthur Hickling who afterwards became my
brother-in-law when he returned from India, where he went after obtaining his
dental degree in Glasgow. Other contemporaries were P.C.Richards, Stanley Bray,
Joe Simpson, and Neville Soresby. The latter rescued me from the unwelcome
attentions of a hefty fellow nicknamed “The Fairy”. Neville was later on my
business competitor and is now a colleague in the same business and a great
friend.

A favouring breeze wafted us into
the senior school where 1 remember Spreckley, Kipping, Saxton, Hooker, the
cousins Whitworth, Ball, Coope, and others. Mr.Trafford....“Carey”  with the
vertical rent in his gown...was master of the fourth while my next promotion
brought me into Mr.Gaskin's form. Here I remember the great water pistol craze
and also the excellent modern language teaching which later stood me in such good
stead on journeys in France and Germany.”

( Not all of Harold Binks’
friends went on to successful business careers, however. In the Great War,
Joseph Henry Simpson was a Clerk on board H.M.S.Natal. This vessel, for an
unknown reason, exploded while in Cromarty Bay, Scotland, on December 30th
1915. Every single person on board was killed. His death is commemorated on the
Chatham Naval Memorial in Chatham, Kent

Charles Edward Whitworth was a
Second Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion of the Alexandra, Princess of Wales’
Own, Yorkshire Regiment. He was mentioned in dispatches, and then killed in
action at Gallipoli on August 22nd 1915. He was 23 years old when he died, and
his sacrifice is commemorated on the Helles Memorial at Gallipoli.

“My contacts with Dr.Turpin were
slight, but we did geography with him, and his talks on astronomy induced me to
attend lectures on that subject when I left school. I cannot conclude without
mentioning Mr. Stanley, the drawing master ; Mr. Hodgson and his nature classes
; Mr. Moxon and his “Ancient Mariner”; the Rev.T.B.Hardy and his history and
Shakespeare, which I never appreciated properly till I went to the Stratford
theatre; and not least Mr. Radley, who taught me some of the elements of
shorthand. Well, goodbye.  Should you be curious to know what I used to look
like, just look at a 1st form Group of about 1901 hanging in the corridor
leading to Nipper's last room (I'm glad it's there) and in the front row in the
right hand corner, there is a small boy twiddling with his watch chain.  One
day I pointed it out to my son Peter and he grinned.”

At the time of writing, in 1998,
that photograph of the First Form still exists in the school archives. It is
still easy to find Harold Binks the boy, years after Harold Binks the old man
has passed into history.

Appendix Fourteen : remembering Serjeant Knowles

The following reminiscence about
Serjeant Knowles appeared in “The Forester” in July 1900...

“Mr. Knowles...a
memory”

In those early days when in
virtue of his uniform and condescension, we regarded the Sergeant as second in
importance only to the Doctor, and when to those distant, silent, awful,
masters we were no doubt small fry of the smallest, Knowles was a friend, no
less, had it not been for his unfortunate affliction of deafness, I do not
doubt that we should have retailed to him our joys and sorrows with the same
eagerness with which when still younger we had made the coachman or other
childhood's hero our confidant. As it was, our morning greeting to him was most
cordial, and seldom omitted; our nod was the more vigorous, and our smile the
more exhaustive, because we feared that being deaf he would not notice them if
less marked.

While a word of encouragement or
praise from the Doctor transformed us to the seventh heaven of delight and
visions of a roseate future, while we felt inordinately proud of ourselves if
we had daring enough to ignore the Sergeant's command to  “Shove on” until it
was repeated, we had a feeling of content, and a day well begun when we
received Knowles’ daily sign of friendliness, a gruff mono syllable. There were
grades in his friendship. Some boys were so fortunate as to get a nod along
with the brief exclamation. As for me I believe I must have been a great
favourite, for as I grew older, he would give me the caress of a coal-stained
hand and smile thinly at his own facetiousness, if I didn't take precautions to
escape the attention.

When I attained to the Sixth, and
was more on terms with him, so to speak, his salutation was to pluck my
trousers slyly as I passed; and to be perfectly candid he didn't always miss my
leg.

I have said that there was no
exchange of confidence between him and us, nor did we know anything of his life
or connections. We knew the history of the Sergeant's medal ; we knew everything
that was to be known of the Masters, and much that wasn't true ; but of Knowles
we knew nothing, not even his real name. We came to the School and found him,
departed and left him a component part of the establishment. If he were
indisposed for a day, an occurrence infrequent, so hale was he, there was a
weird feeling abroad that the School machinery was out of order, and we were
uneasy within ourselves that the bell should be entrusted to other hands. He
was our timetable, and it was upsetting to disturb it.

Of his goodness of heart there
must be a very general agreement. His face inspired at least confidence in him.
It was to him and Mrs. Knowles, who was as kind as a mother to small boys, and
no less obliging to the bigger, that we fled if we had scratched a finger,
fallen in the mud, bumped a forehead, or met with any other of a boy's
accidents.

What Old Boy cannot remember the
occasions when by forgetting his books he has obtained the privilege of making
an awesome journey with Knowles as guide through the mysterious Coalhole? Who
cannot recall the many a time and oft that the front door has been held open by
friendly hands while the frantic headlong rush up the front steps has just
saved a late mark ? Who after the heat of the game hasn't refreshed himself
with a glass of cold water or excellent herb beer at Knowles' Lodge?

The kindly old man may have been
no important social figure, but if on a walk with our parents we met him
enjoying a Sunday stroll or doing his Saturday's marketing, we pointed him out
as one no less considerable in our opinion than a Master. He did much in a very
unassuming way, and very willingly, for the thoughtless and the mischievous
boy. I have never known him to refuse anything he could do, as I never failed
to see Mrs. Knowles greatly concerned at the smallest of our injuries.

It is much to say of a man that
he always gave what help he could as the thing natural for him to do, and that
much must be said of Knowles.

He had a sense of humour and a
stock of jokes which never failed to please him. With what gusto he rang that
bell when you stopped your ears at the deafeningness of it  How it pleased him
to nip firmly a good lump of arm or leg ! When raking out the fires, with what
quiet satisfaction he gave the finishing touch, a smart single rap of the poker
on the bar.

Never did he cause irritation, he
was universally liked, his memory is universally respected.

Appendix Fifteen : the reminiscences of Roy Henderson

Roy Galbraith Henderson arrived
in the High School Preparatory Department in January 1909. He had been born in
Edinburgh, although he had not lived there since the age of three.

Given his Scottish background, he
arrived at the school wearing a kilt. This proved not to be the wisest of
decisions, since he was immediately picked on by two older boys called Jaffer
and Dodds, both of whom were at least a foot higher than he was. On many
occasions in the future, he was to have water poured down his neck by these two
bullies.

The Head of the Preparatory
Department was Mr.Leggatt, who was one of the very first to volunteer to go off
and fight in the First World War.

The main game in the school
playground at this time was called “relievo”. It was a particularly thrilling
game to play in one of the era’s many dense fogs.

In the First Form, the form
master was called Mr.Radley, or “Pot-eye”. He always used to get the boys to
begin work with a loud cry of “pens up ! ”. They would then write “like the
blazes ”, before the call of “pens down ! ”.

In Form 2a, “Nipper” Ryles was a
very good master, and was thought to be one of the very few who did not possess
a degree. In the following year, in Form 3a, his brother, “Jumbo” Ryles,
however, was “terrible, absolutely hopeless”. He used to have his feet up on
the front desk all the time, and would practically go to sleep. The Drawing
Master used to poke his nose around the door, and wake Jumbo up with a gentle
cough. The latter would then rouse himself, and say to the class “ Now get
along there ! Get along there ! ”

Jumbo’s teaching technique was to
line boys up in a row for a series of questions. If they were correct, they
would stay where they were. If they were wrong, they would go back to the end
of the queue.

In the Fourth Form, Mr.Lloyd
Morgan went to serve at the front during the middle of the school year, shortly
after hostilities began. He was replaced by Mr.D’Arcy Lever , who was the butt
of many jokes, and found the boys extremely difficult to control. They made a
lot of fun of him. Later in the conflict, retired teachers had to return to the
school. Mr.Trafford took over 3c, the worst form in the school, who were famed
for their ability “to play up a lot”.

In Form 5a, Mr Brock was a “very
nice chap, and very popular”. Everyone liked him very much. The Classical Sixth
was looked after by Mr.Strangeways.

In the yard, games tended to be
played by years. In Form 1a, for example, everybody always had pockets full of
marbles. They often played in the covered sheds near the Forest Road entrance.
The yard also had two Fives courts, one of which was covered, and the other was
left open to the elements.

To the left as one entered the
playground via the Forest Road entrance, there was some extremely dirty sand.
This was used as a football pitch, with rough and ready goalposts at either
end. Every year, around Easter, a competition was held among teams of eight
players, each one of which was captained by a different member of the First
Eleven. In 1913, Henderson played in the winning team, which was captained by
James Ivor Holroyd. In October 1917, he was to be reported missing, presumed
dead, at Passchendaele, at the age of only twenty one.

Form 2a enjoyed a game called
game“rempstick”. A member of one team would stand with his back to the wall,
while one of the other members of his team stood with his head between the
first boy’s legs. The next team member would then put his head between the legs
of the second boy, and so on, until a long caterpillar-like scrum structure was
formed, just one person wide. The members of the other team then took a long
run-up, and, one by one, jumped onto the top of the human caterpillar. If they
caused a collapse, then their team was allowed to have a second go. If the
caterpillar held up, then its members were allowed to do the jumping.

In Form 3a, the main game was
football, which was played on the left hand side of the playground. looking
from the Forest Road entrance, right at the very far end. In Form 4a, football
was played again to the left, but not as far along as in the Third Year.

The Fifth Form played their
football under cover in the sheds along the Forest Road wall, kicking the ball
against the wall in an effort to get past their opponent. Among these boys,
Lancelot Wilson Foster was remembered as a particularly good full back.

The Sixth Form spent most of
their free time just walking and talking on the lawns at the front of the
school.

Nobody was ever allowed inside
the school during breaks, but it never seemed to rain! In any case, all the
boys were always very keen to get out of the building.

There were few facilities for the
boys, including just six to eight cracked stone washbasins. There was a tuck
shop, near the south eastern corner of the present day West Quadrangle. It was
run by Robert, the School Caretaker.

The small shop which boys at the
end of the twentieth century called “Dicko’s” was at this time called
“Baldry’s”, and it was a sweet shop. A female member of staff, a Mrs Digblair,
lived above it. She was one of the school’s first ever mistresses, and members
of the Sixth Form loved to go and have tea with her.

Nobody was ever allowed to speak
to or approach girls from the Girls’ High School. For this transgression, boys
were punished by being confined to their own school. Attitudes at this time
were very Victorian.

Dr Turpin was always a popular
figure. On one occasion, Henderson was grounded for three months for putting
chewing gum on the seats of other boys. Perhaps fortunately for him, he was
caught when just about to put it on Jumbo Ryles’ seat. Mr.Ryles came in, and Henderson
thought that he would be expelled for this offence.

There were two Ball brothers in
the school at the time. They were both in trouble most of the time. The more
famous brother, Albert, was “a real card”.

At this time, music was not in
the curriculum. There were just “a few ridiculous songs” for the prize giving
ceremony. The Third Form music master was a Mr.Dunhill, who had one eye which
was straight, but the other looked outwards at an angle, rather like half past
ten on a clock. Boys always used to make fun of him. Whenever he then shouted
“Stand up you ! ! ! ” and looked at a certain naughty boy, four others would
get up elsewhere in the room. “ NO ! NO ! NOT YOU !! ...YOU ! ! ” The first
four would then sit down, and another four completely unrelated boys would
stand up elsewhere in the room.

Albert Ball specialised in
misbehaviour during these singing classes. He and his brother would invariably
“kick up a terrible row”, and would then be sent out of the room.

According  to one Old Boy from
just a few years later, however, Albert Ball’s actual expulsion came from an
incident which took place at morning prayers. Ball took in with him a huge bag
full of boiled sweets, which, at one point, was allowed to burst, and hundreds
of sweets were all dropped onto the floor. The whole school assembly then
became one seething mass of boys, all scrabbling about on the floor, “heads
down and bottoms up, completely out of control ”, trying to pick up as many
sweets as they possibly could.

Ball’s father was a City
Alderman, but at the same time, he too was “a real character”. He took
Henderson trout fishing on several occasions around this period, but always
used worms, never flies.

Henderson’s brother was also in
the school around this time. He seemed always to be in scrapes when Henderson
was a prefect. Eventually he left Nottingham, and went to Millhill School.

Henderson himself enjoyed the
High School, although he was never very good in the classroom. By his own
admission, he was very poor academically, and was totally hopeless at exams.

He was a best friend of Arthur
Willoughby Barton, who was later to become the Headmaster of the City of London
School. The pair of them always collaborated closely in Chemistry lessons with
Dr.Turpin. Henderson did the weighing and all the practical activities, while
Barton did all of the calculations. In lessons they always got full marks, but
in examinations, Henderson usually scored very low marks indeed. Barton, of
course, still got his ten out of ten.

The high point of Henderson’s
rather modest academic career came in the Sixth Form, when he finally won a
prize, the Duke of Portland’s prize for an English essay. It was on
“Militarism”, and Henderson only won because the rest of the Sixth Form
deliberately boycotted the competition, with the attitude of “It’s the only
thing Henderson can do...let him have it.”

The Duke of Portland was to
unveil the school war memorial in 1922. Henderson sang a specially composed
song, accompanied by a piano placed “at the top end, just inside the school”. A
wonderful draught of wind blew outwards from the school throughout the very
impressive and solemn ceremony. It carried his voice beautifully, but also gave
him lumbago.

During the first year of the
Great War, many of the Sixth Form members of the O.T.C. had gone to a special
summer camp, working on a farm on the south side of Nottingham. It was hard,
unpaid work, harvesting potatoes and hoeing turnips.

The following year, Henderson
arranged his own summer camp, at a farm near Grantham. Six boys, all members of
his father’s church, went with him. They were all Prefects, and comprised three
pairs of friends, Harold Connop and Francis Bird, Thomas Wright and Lancelot
Foster, and John Boyd and Roy Henderson.

Unfortunately, as they waited for
the train, the tent, which was supposed to arrive, did not turn up, so four of
the boys went on to Grantham, while two had to stay behind in Nottingham.

The farmer, unhappy with having
to pick them up twice at Grantham, greeted the final two at the station
with the words “ What ? What ? My boy, I am not a little annoyed ! ”

The boys were asked to load hay
from a stack to the farm cart. They started piling it on enthusiastically, but
they proved to be too quick for the man on the cart, a Mr Wright. The latter
soon told them that half a load was enough, and then geed up the horse. When
the cart set off, though, half the stack came with it, and the whole lot
collapsed. Everyone found it immensely amusing, and they laughed about it for a
long time afterwards. Other work for the boys included shaking the clover out
of the cut wheat.

At the end of the week, they
enjoyed an amazing celebratory meal at the farmhouse. There was roast beef and
duck, and by the end of the pudding, everybody was absolutely filled, collapsing
with the weight of the food consumed. The farmer then sent for Henderson,
obviously about to give him something as payment for the six boys’ work during
the week.

When he returned they all quizzed
him...“ How much ? ? ? How much ? ? ? ” He replied “A pound.” There was a
disappointed silence, broken only by Henderson’s single word “EACH ! ! ”

Everybody collapsed with
excitement. They were totally flabbergasted, as, at the time, this was an
absolute fortune.

The boys were later invited to
the farmhouse for dinner at Christmas. Under each of their plates, they found a
ten shilling note as a gift from the generous farmer.

In addition, the boys all went to
the school’s O.T.C. camp. This was a much more military occasion.

Prominent boys in the High School
at this time included Lancelot Wilson Foster, who, in the 1930s, was to become
a vicar in Cheshire, and then a chaplain in World War Two.

William Donald Willatt became the
Vicar of St.Martin’s, Sherwood, and eventually lived in West Bridgford. Along with
Henderson, he was later to start a school magazine called “The Highvite”. By
Henderson’s own admission, it was “a pretty dreadful magazine”, and only
survived because it was financed by a variety of different adverts. The
enterprising boys went round to local companies such as Sisson & Parker,
and many other businesses.

As editor of the other magazine,
Connop was furious at the new rival. Henderson didn’t get on very well with him
at all.

Harold Arno Connop, however, was
a first class scholar and very good rugby player. He was a fine three quarter,
and a very fast runner, but for one reason or another, which Henderson was not
willing to divulge, he was never particularly well liked in the school, and in
general, was not a very popular figure. This may not have been totally
unconnected, however, with Connop’s rare combination of outstanding academic
prowess, and humble origins. His father was a mere Elementary School teacher,
and Harold’s education throughout his time at the High School was financed by his
being both a Sir Thomas White Scholar, and a Foundation Scholar.

On one particular occasion,
Barton and Henderson had given lines to one of Mr.Strangeways’ protégés, whom
they had found misbehaving. The two prefects were ticked off for daring to
punish this favoured boy. In a rather bizarre act of revenge, however, on the
afternoon of Thursday, March 1st 1917, fellow prefect Towle climbed through a
trapdoor in the ceiling of the Vb room, into the loft above Mr.Strangeways’
room, and disrupted his lesson, by making a tremendous row on the ventilators.

Both Barton and Henderson had
known that he was going to do this, but did nothing to stop him. They were
later to argue that it was not the job of the Prefects to “remonstrate or
attempt in any way to prevent such misbehaviour on any occasion during School
hours : that was the duty of the Masters”.

The other Prefects urged them to
“help preserve a proper standard of behaviour”, and there was an enormous row
about who had committed this outrage, as the perpetrator could not be found.
Connop tried to remedy the situation, and asked Barton and Henderson “Who did
it ? ” at a specially convened meeting of the prefects. The latter said that
they knew the event was going to happen, but hadn’t tried to stop it. Connop
tried very hard to get them to own up with the name, but they adamantly
refused. Connop then went straight to the Headmaster.

The Headmaster said that anybody
involved in the incident should be stripped of their prefectship...“Such
Prefects ought immediately to resign and I should be very pleased if they would
do so. Please tell them so.”

Barton and Henderson tendered
their resignations, and for four days, were not included on the school’s list
of prefects. The Headmaster, in the meantime, however, had not bothered to see
either Barton and Henderson, and he had not yet heard their version of the
story.

Henderson’s father wrote a letter
to Dr.Turpin, and told him that he ought to hear a full explanation.

Barton and Henderson themselves
went to see him, and told him that nobody knew who the guilty party was except
them, but that they still felt unable to furnish a name. They were eventually
told to apologise to Mr.Strangeways, which they did, and on Tuesday, March 6th
1917, they were reinstated as Prefects. They agreed that they would both “in
the future act up to their office by doing their best to stop such incidents in
the future”. This was the perhaps somewhat surprising end of the matter. The
guilt of Towle only seems to have emerged in the latter part of this century,
when Henderson’s reminiscences saw the light of day !

Not too long afterwards, Connop
was himself caught smoking. He had recently given lines to a boy called
W.E.A.Lounds, who had been seen giving a younger boy a ride on his handlebars
down Waverley Street. Lounds produced his 500 lines, but also made a statement
that on June 3rd he had seen Connop smoking in King Street in the middle of
town.

Henderson called a meeting of the
prefects about this serious misdemeanour, and Francis Bird accused Connop of
breaking his previous promise not to smoke until he left the school, and of
undermining the position of the Prefects. Connop explained that he had not been
in King Street, but in another street more than a mile from the town, which was
not usually frequented by the boys. He had indeed kept his promise about
smoking until that day, but had been “led away by unusual circumstances”,
namely that he had just received the news that he had been accepted to serve in
the Royal Naval Air Service, and he expected to be called up on June 6th. He
had bought some cigarettes for a wounded Tommy, and it was only after “being
repeatedly pressed” that he had been prevailed upon to smoke. He argued that as
a School Captain he had been “freer from censure than the majority of his
predecessors.” At least one of his accusers had been seen committing a far
worse offence than his, and had escaped punishment.

Finally, however, Connop admitted
his guilt, and declared that it was “palliated by the extenuating circumstances”.
He signed a declaration that he would not repeat the offence, although he
declared that he thought that “this was supererogatory”. It was then thought by
the Prefects that the matter had been brought to a conclusion, but this was not
the case, as on July 11th, the Prefects had another meeting, and declared their
belief that the punishment which they had all previously agreed, was now
thought to be by no means severe enough.

A meeting of the entire Sixth
Form was called at 12.45 pm., and the whole affair was presented to them. They
then voted as to whether Connop should continue in his position as School
Captain for the remainder of the term. After an almost unanimous vote, Connop
was told to carry on.

Connop eventually joined the
Royal Naval Air Service, where he became a Lieutenant. He died of his wounds on
March 31st 1918. The other protagonists in this affair all survived the
conflict.

Percival Henry Biddulph Furley
always used to sit next to Henderson in the Classical Sixth. He was one of
Sammy Corner’s favourites. In actual fact, despite his advanced age, Corner was
to leave his post as Form Master of 5b to go to the Great War.

As a teacher, Corner was famous
for how easily he could be diverted from the work in hand. Anybody just had to
get him started off on an interesting subject, especially in Scripture lessons,
and the class would then seldom, if ever, have to return to what they were
supposed to be doing. Furley, for some unknown reason, was always nicknamed
“Dab”. He was a member of the First Eleven at cricket for three years. His
other claim to fame was his talent in school plays. At this time, all the
female parts were taken by boys. Given his youthful good looks, Furley could
always be made up into a very good looking lady or girl ! When he left the High
School, Furley joined the Army. He was eventually to be killed in a skirmish at
Miranshah, in the North West Province of India, in June 1919.

The younger of the Boyd brothers,
John Hardy Boyd, was the best athlete of all. He was captain of the school
cricket team and of the O.T.C. His elder brother, Charles Gordon Boyd, had been
the school’s wicketkeeper, and had represented the school at football from
1910-1912. He was killed in May 1917, while serving with the Sherwood
Foresters.

Allan Roy Stewart Grant was the
son of a Presbyterian minister. For some subtle reason, he was always nicknamed
“Pongy”. Thomas Wright was quite a good bowler, as was Daft, the grandson of
the famous Nottinghamshire cricketer. Other cricketers included Francis Arthur
Bird and James Wilcox, and Henderson was himself one of the best bowlers and
batsmen. The school cricket coach at this time was, of course, Mr.A.G.Onion.

In one year, Henderson was the
school Fives champion. In the year before this, it had been Donald Clarkson.
Other champions included Victor Guy Willatt and his brother, William Donald
Willatt. William Norman Hoyte, the Captain of Mellers House was also a very
fine athlete, as was Sidney Charles Trease.

The school was converted to rugby
by Mr.Kennard. He had the unfortunate habit with smaller boys of pulling them
close and then tugging their hair very hard. It was extremely painful ! There
was no real reaction on the part of the boys to the change of sports from
football to rugby. They just did as they were told.

Henderson played in goal for the
school on several occasions. He once let in eight goals against Trent College,
and towards the end of the game became what was probably the first player ever
to be substituted in the history of school football, when he was replaced in
goal by Donald Clarkson.  At the time, boys who represented the school were
awarded ornate colour caps.

Henderson used to live at 3,
Lenton Road. He would be awakened by another High School boy called Alfred
Tregear Chenhalls, who would come along the road and whistle loudly that it was
time to go to school. He was then accompanied to school by his friend, who was
walking from his own family house at 2, Hawthorne Drive in The Park.One
particular day in the Fourth Form, Chenhalls did not arrive, and Henderson was
therefore late. Mr.Lloyd Morgan ticked him off “Who shall we punish ? Chenhalls
or his dog ? ”

Chenhalls, whose father, like
that of Henderson, was a minister of the church, later became an accountant who
dealt with lots of musicians and theatrical people, including the Hollywood
actor, Leslie Howard. He always smoked a large cigar, and as a big fat man,
looked rather like Winston Churchill. He was killed on June 1st 1943, when the
Dutch DC-3 of KLM Airlines, carrying him and Leslie Howard between Lisbon and
London, was shot down by Junkers Ju 88s of the German Luftwaffe. At the time,
Churchill was known to be attending a conference in Algiers, and there was much
speculation that a German spy had seen Chenhalls getting onto the plane in
Lisbon, and had then organised its destruction. It was certainly one of the
very few neutral airliners ever shot down on this route.

At this time, many boys had
nicknames. Donald James Clarkson was always called “Pug” because of his
upturned nose. Another boy, an extremely good Fives player, was called, for
obvious reasons, “Sparrowlegs”. Strangely enough, though, only one particular
boy ever had a certain nickname. Nobody could ever be called “Pug”, as long as
the original boy remained in the school.

There seemed to be no obvious
reason for the nickname of “Fuzzy” Barton. Peculiarly enough, though, his elder
brother had had extremely fuzzy hair. He, though, was never called “Fuzzy”.
Eventually, the younger Barton became Headmaster of King Edward’s School in
Sheffield. The latter establishment had an extremely peculiar cricket pitch,
which was constructed on various levels, with a number of different slopes,
flat areas, and two or three quite sharp drops. Certain unfortunate fielders
were unable to see either wicket, and pieces of information had to be passed on
to them by other fielders one level higher up.

Because of the Great War, and the
subsequent restrictions on travelling by train, there were very few away
matches at cricket. Boys went only to Derby, Worksop or Sheffield, but never to
Denstone or Birmingham. On many occasions, they played home fixtures against
Army teams billeted in the area, including a few Italian ones. This was much
more enjoyable than the very limited number of fixtures against other schools.

At this time, in the school, in
general, the rules on caps were very strict . Henderson himself had a special
dispensation from the Headmaster, and was allowed not to wear a cap in school.
For some unknown reason, his mother had contacted the Headmaster, and the
latter had agreed to this special privilege. Henderson wore a cap for the first
time when he became a prefect, and had to wear a spectacular piece of headgear
with a silver badge on it.

Henderson was the secretary of
the School Debating Society. He spoke quite frequently in debates, despite, by
his own admission, not being particularly good at it. The meetings, which were
mostly in the winter term, took place after school, between twelve and one
o’clock on Saturday afternoons.

When he left the High School,
Henderson joined “B” Battalion of the Artists’ Rifles. He had already learned a
lot in the school’s O.T.C., as was confirmed by the first drill sergeant that
he encountered in the regular army. Later, he joined the Regimental Concert
Party, which did its training at Lichfield. Henderson, because of his age,
missed the Great War by a few weeks, but he caught Spanish Flu in January 1918.
He was not to leave hospital before August 1918.

At the High School, there had
been no specialist singing master, and no real in-depth teaching of music. He
had never realised that he had any particular talent in this field, until he
sang solo during the interval of a school play, and was overwhelmed and
astonished by the great volume of applause which he received. Henderson later
went on to sing at Speech Day. Within only a few years of leaving the High
School, he had become one of the leading singers in the country, who was
destined to work with some of the greatest musical talents in the whole world.

These reminiscences were told to
Mr.Simon Williams in 1990. I have transcribed them as accurately as I could,
adding some explanatory detail where this seemed desirable. Any words or
phrases in inverted commas represent a quotation of the exact words used either
on the original tapes, or in the Prefects’ Book.

Appendix Sixteen : the reminiscences of Cyril John
Thomas

Cyril John Thomas (1910-12) was
born on December 9th 1896 in Beeston, the son of William Thomas, a lace curtain
manufacturer. He died on April 19th 1987, aged 90. He started at the High
School in September 1910 after being firstly at Miss Brough's school at
Beeston, then at Miss Harrison's school, and finally at Beeston Church School
under "Sammy" Hargreaves. (The three Months' season ticket for
juniors on the train from Beeston to Nottingham cost three shillings and nine
pence).

In his memoirs he wrote
"When I went to the High School, I was rather surprised to find that they
were far more lax than things had been under Mr.Hargreaves. I was put in the
Third Form, grade C, under Mr.Trafford, a very nice gentleman. He seemed to us
to be rather elderly and the schooloom was like a church. The side of the
building where my form was, formed part of the original Arboretum School and
the desks were lockers. They were very old and through the years had been
carved to shreds by the boys.

Mr.Trafford with his mortar board
and gown sat on a raised platform and we sat a long way back ; we started to
carve the desks also. The ceiling which was about like a church was one mass of
darts. We used to succeed in having bonfires in two old lockers and by lifting
the inkpot in and out we could sometimes make rings of smoke. In the same
classroom a friend of mine who lived at Attenborough named Dick Page was
specializing in white rats as pets and he decided it would be a good idea to
make some runs in these lockers: there were about six in a row. We managed to
scoop out these runs and he would bring a couple of white rats to school and we
put one at one end and I would be at the other and we had to retrieve the rat,
but sometimes they got a bit lost and there was great excitement. We had
nicknames for all our masters. There was Nipper Ryles, there was Jumbo, Buggy
Woodward because he had whiskers. For French, Scripture and Drawing we would go
to Mr.Stanley. He was the only master who wasn't a degree man, a very capable
man nevertheless. There were quite a number of German boys at the school
because a lot of Germans were in the lace trade in Nottingham before 1914. I
joined the O.T.C. when I was in the Fourth Form and we did have some quite good
military training. I went to camp and to Windsor to take part in a review by
King George V on July 3rd 1911, which was the hottest day of the century. The
King had been crowned on June 22nd and at Windsor there were a lot of
celebrities from the continent still here. We stood to attention to present
arms to a passing carriage and I am fairly certain it was the Kaiser. We also
saw a lot of military people including Kitchener. Prince John rode by on a
pony. I succeeded in getting my Certificate “A”. In spite of the white rats his
report at the end of 1911 described his conduct as 'good', and he went on to
win the prize for writing...a book called “Pioneers in Canada”.

Cyril Thomas left school in 1912
at the age of sixteen and on December 30th 1912 became an indentured (premium)
apprentice at the Siddeley Deasy Motor Car Co. in Coventry. In 1917 he joined
the Royal Flying Corps, being commissioned the following year, as a pilot of
Handley Page 0-400's and was training for a bombing raid to Berlin when the
Armistice came. In the 1920s he continued the family lace curtain business, W.
Thomas & Co., with his brother, until in 1934 he joined firstly Morris Cars
in Coventry, and then worked on the development of the Armstrong-Whitworth
Whitley bomber. During the Second World War he was involved as an engineer on
war work including Sunderland flying boats, and early work with Rolls Royce on
jet engines. After the war he worked as a Consultant Engineer in London. After
living in Coventry and the South of England for many years he returned to
Nottingham in 1969. He was married in 1924 and is survived by a son and a
daughter.

Appendix
Seventeen : Rugger
or Soccer ?

Over
the years, there has been great interest, as to why, after Christmas 1914, the
High School switched from Football to Rugby. Here is the original article I
included in my history of High School Football, entitled “There’s only one
Tinsley Lindley”…

In
the 1910-1911 season the High School had an overall record of....

Played
26                   won  16                       drawn  5                      lost
5

Despite
this outstanding success, however, the “Nottinghamian” reported that....“....it
is highly probable that this....is known only to the members of the team. The
reason is that the School team receives little or no support. At Mapperley in
the first term, the attendance was rarely above ten, and on several occasions
included more Masters and “Old Boys” than present scholars. It is little wonder
then that the School Team occasionally feels ashamed when greeted on away
matches by a good attendance. It is a fact that several weeks ago when the
School were playing a local crack team and gained an unexpected victory, they
received magnificent support from “one” boy, and this was in Nottingham...It
may be mentioned that football practice has been stopped for some time now,
chiefly, because the members of the Upper Forms are too lazy to turn out. Some
even admit that they never look at the notice board, which is a surprising thing,
for the notice board is metaphorically a school news-paper, and chronicles all
that is taking place in the school.”

Nevertheless,
this apathy did not seem to have much effect on the performances of the First
Team at the time. Match reports are incomplete for the 1911-1912 season, but
those that do still exist show an impressive start to the year, which read....

Played
11                    won 10                                    drawn
1                       lost 0

I
have been unable to trace any results for the season 1912-1913, but the
1913-1914 season was truly disastrous, as the First Team lost a number of key
players at Christmas, including the School’s only reliable goalkeeper, and
finished with an overall record of....

Played
17                    won 4                          drawn 1                       lost
12

“The
Nottinghamian” contained a lengthy account of the problems that High School
football had faced that year...“....Sixth and fifth form football was to have
been given once a fortnight throughout the term. After one experiment, it was
stopped, on account of the slackness of those to whom it was given, and by whom
a really good example should have been set to the rest of the School. One
cannot be legally compelled to play football, but it ought to be a point of
honour with each boy to turn out when called upon. Such excuses as “ doing
extra work with Mr.------,” “ didn’t know it was footer today,” or “ my things
are at the laundry,” are too often mere excuses to cover innate slackness, and
strike an altogether false and unworthy note.

The
interest of the School in its own football, and in that of its representative
teams is much less than it was four or five years ago. The feeble attendance at
School matches, the leakage of spectators during the “Eights”, the general
demur when House matches fall on a Wednesday-half, the complete disappearance
of cheering of victorious teams on their advent at Prayers---all these facts
prove a lack of interest and  esprit de corps   that is nothing less
than lamentable.”

It
is not totally surprising, therefore, that in the “Nottinghamian” for July
1914, there appeared a lengthy article entitled “Rugger or Soccer ? ”. It was
reported that the General Committee, presumably of School sport, and made up of
Masters, had voted 2-1 in favour of adapting rugby as the new school sport. The
boys in the Upper School were thought to favour very strongly the handling game
“because of the novelty of the suggestion”, and the parents, had also voted for
rugby by a 3-2 majority. The Old Boys favoured the same sport by a majority
similar to that of the parents.

By
today’s standards, though, the voting procedure was hardly carried out in a
particularly unbiased way. The envelope sent out to Old Boys and parents
containing their voting slip also contained a short article summarising “the
advantages claimed for Rugger.”

Even
the article in the “Nottinghamian” was at pains to point out how many other
schools would be available to play rugby fixtures, if the change was made. They
included recent converts such as Trent College, Denstone, Newark, Grantham,
Retford, Oakham, Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham.

In
many ways, therefore, the decision to adapt rugby would seem already to have
been taken, long before any Old Boys or parents were asked to rubberstamp it in
a postal ballot.

In
actual fact, the very first game of Rugby had already been played at Mapperley
Park as early as 1913, presumably a fixture which took place largely to
demonstrate the new sport to many people, particularly Old Boys, Masters,
parents and current pupils, who, in the days before television, would never
have seen it played before.

The
article “Rugger or Soccer ? ” in the “Nottinghamian” for July, 1914, contained
a long series of opinions about the two sports, and their relative merits.

The
very fact, though, that these quotations, mostly from letters received,
followed three paragraphs which explained how Rugby was to be adapted in the
School shows to what extent the imagined public dialogue was, by our standards,
a mere cosmetic exercise.

Nevertheless,
they do show the variety of popular opinion in 1914...

“....Rugger
is the finer game and produces better all round development.”

“....Rugger
is much superior. It gathers every type of boy, and is particularly good for        the
big “hulker” who has no chance at any other game. It is nearly impossible

to be a             good player
and a “funk” at Rugger, but I have known many good

Soccer players who were timid, to
put it mildly.”

“....there
is valuable economy in space : three Soccer games become two Rugger                            games,
and many more boys can be occupied with the same ground-space.”

“....Rugger
is a much better game for boys.”

“....the
finer game in developing character.”

“....its
moral and physical advantages are much superior.”

“....Secret
foul play among forwards in the scrum is of frequent occurrence and is                          increasing.”

“....In
proportion to the number playing the game, Rugger has more serious                                     accidents.”

“....there
are only a few Rugger Clubs in England. There are 15,000 Amateur                                 Association
Clubs.”

“....Rugger
is nothing like as skilful.”

“....There
is more opportunity for secret foul play in Rugger.”

“....Slacking
is only too easy in Rugger, and cannot be well seen in the scrum.”

“....Rugger
puts a premium on brute strength against cleverness and quickness.”

“....I
shall always be sorry to see the Public Schoolboy seceding from Soccer. For                           good
or ill, it has taken a hold upon the working classes of the Kingdom, and

the
more the game is leavened by pure amateurism, the better. There is a field

of real social reform in the
Association of Public School football with the

professional and League variety.”

“....Soccer
is England’s game at present, and the more Schoolboys drafted into it the

better
; we do not want the national game to drift into the hands of

professionals.”

Eventually,
though, the decision was taken that football should cease at Christmas 1914,
and that rugby should become the main School sport from January 1915. The
School would not initially have any fixtures against other schools, but would
firstly learn the new game, and then play matches, perhaps during the 1915-1916
season, when it was thought that they might be capable of holding their own.

Not
surprisingly, the effect of this on the First Team was nothing short of
disastrous. The footballers finished their Autumn Term in 1914 with a record
of....

Played
7                      won 1                          drawn 0                       lost
6

Even
the Second Team, who normally would both win and lose games, usually by large
margins, were only capable of....

Played
6                      won 0                          drawn 1                       lost
5

The
first weeks with the new sport, however, were very encouraging, and  “The
Nottinghamian” for March, 1915 reported how...“....much more enthusiasm in the
school games has been displayed this term, and we hope that it is not merely a
case of the new broom. Whereas last term and during the preceding season it was
a matter of great difficulty to get twenty-two boys to turn out on a
half-holiday for a practice game of soccer, every Wednesday and Saturday this
term has seen at least fifty, and sometimes sixty, boys playing in the Rugby
practice games at Mapperley. This fact is remarkable in a school where the
games are not compulsory, and in a large town which has so many other
attractions to offer....the majority revel in the rough and tumble, in the
hearty tackle and the sharp sprint for the line....the claim that Rugby gives a
chance to the boy incapable of excelling at Soccer has been fully sustained,
and some of the very best forwards are examples of this.”

Certainly,
the High School First XV were playing against other schools by the Autumn Term
of 1915, and the “Nottinghamian” for December, 1915, reports how they lost an
early home game against Newark Magnus Grammar School by 0-8. This defeat was
not their very first fixture, since the match was listed as a return game, and
we know that the High School had already lost the first encounter 0-43.

In
actual fact, the High School rugby team had to wait a very long time indeed for
a win. They had taken up the game in the 1914-1915 season, but had played no
fixtures because of their inexperience. They lost all their matches in
1915-1916, including the two against Newark Magnus Grammar School mentioned
above, and it was not until the beginning of the 1916-1917 season that they
scraped their first victory, over Newark Magnus, by two tries to one, the team
being given a “rousing cheer” before Prayers on the following Monday morning.
That season, they won five of their six fixtures, including one game against
Trent College, and in the eighty or so years since then, they have not really
looked back.

Why the change ?

It
is extremely difficult to decide with any certainty the reasons for the change
from football to rugby in that Spring Term of 1915. There is nobody to
interview any more. The main protagonists, and even the young witnesses to the
process, are long dead.  All we have are a small number of original documents,
and our own ability to speculate....

One
thing that is certain, though, is that whatever sport was played at the High
School, it would have needed Masters to supervise it. It may well have been
that the Masters whose enthusiasm had made football so popular in the 1890s and
the early 1900s were now just too old to participate in active sport.
Certainly, the “Nottinghamian”, which had been so full of the deeds of
Mr.W.T.Ryles, his brother, Mr.W.E.Ryles, Mr.A.C.Liddell, and so many more, is
strangely silent about those who were supervising the football when it began
its sudden decline in 1913-1914.

It
may well have been therefore that the School were simply unable to provide
suitably qualified staff, capable of turning poor, or just average, football
players into a viable team. In a similar way, the Headmaster, Dr.Turpin, may
have been well aware of the fact that he was about to lose his football playing
Masters to the First World War, or alternatively, that he was unlikely to
recruit any others when the call of King and Country was so strong.

Similarly,
one would expect a Headmaster, or a General Committee even, to anticipate
possible difficulties in arranging fixtures for years to come. There is clearly
no point in having a football team, if all your potential opponents are playing
rugby. In this way, the switch from football to rugby may well have been a
group change, rather than one made by a single school in isolation.

We
have detailed elsewhere lengthy complaints in the “Nottinghamian” about the
boys’ own apathy as regards football. Strangely enough, though, this lack of
interest on their part did not seem initially to have a direct relationship
with the success, or lack of it, of the School’s First Team.

Indeed,
it may be that the football teams, both First and Second, were too successful
for their own good, in the sense that by playing so many matches, both on
Wednesdays and Saturdays, and occasionally after lessons on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, the supply of younger talent, denied the facilities or opportunity
to train or to practice, just dried up. In the “Nottinghamian” for March, 1915,
the writer of the rugby report made the plea that the new sport should not be
run as badly as football had been...“.....It is hoped that the Committee will
never again allow every Wednesday and Saturday afternoons to be monopolised by
matches. These are in every way desirable when their number is strictly
limited, but they are not more important than practice games where coaching may
be given, nor should they crowd off the field for the whole season boys who
wish to play on a half holiday and are not good enough for the fifteens.”

On
the other hand, though, that apathy among younger boys, evident in 1910-1911,
when the First Team was extremely successful, may have meant that ultimately,
there were few suitably talented players available, when they were needed to
form a team in 1913-1914, or in that final, disastrous, Autumn Term of 1914.

My
own opinion, for what it is worth, is that the boys, far from any sinister
motives imputed to them, were merely beginning to expand their expectations, as
regards what might be available for their two half days of leisure per week.
Outside school, new technology gave them a whole range of new possibilities.
The “Nottinghamian” complained in December, 1915 of how boys were “frequenting
picture-palaces, or doing something equally futile.” Inside School, the
possibilities were seemingly endless, with various editions of the School magazine
reporting the activities of the Officer Training Corps, with lengthy accounts
of their camps and their Field Days, School Musketry, the Debating Society, the
Literary Society, the Voluntary Gymnastic Club and the N.H.S. Boy Scouts.

Between
1910 and the beginning of the First World War, many older clubs such as the
Literary and the Debating Societies seem to have been extremely popular, and
numerous other activities were expanded, especially the military ones such as
the Boy Scouts or the O.T.C. The latter pursuits were presumably in response to
the increasing militarism of the era.

One
other factor about which we know very little is the academic side of School
life. It may well be that as other schools in the area, such as High Pavement,
for example, were increasingly successful, and raised their academic standards,
then the High School was forced to respond, and boys found themselves quite
simply with more work to do. “The Nottinghamian” complained at one point that
the excuse  “doing extra work with Mr.------,” was one used far too frequently
to get out of football practices, but the fact remains that the excuse may well
have been true.

Similarly,
we know very little about the social aspirations of either the School or the
parents. Elsewhere, comments in the “ Rugger or Soccer ? ” debate make it
abundantly clear that football was perceived as a sport where the working
class, and professional players, were taking over from the monied classes, and
the amateur player.

Nowadays,
in our classless society, we find it rather difficult to imagine that a school
or its parents might want to play a sport solely because it was something which
the upper classes at the time considered a desirable activity. This was
certainly not the case in Victorian and Edwardian Nottingham, where both Notts
County and Nottingham Forest were well aware of the class structure of the day.

Nottingham
Forest, for example, who were indubitably the more proletarian of the City’s
two football teams, had already moved in 1882 to the more salubrious
surroundings of Lenton, which was then a fashionable and desirable part of the
City. The reluctance of their working class supporters to travel there, out of
the City, however, caused them financial problems, and in 1890 they were forced
to take the symbolic step of moving back to Sneinton.

Notts
County themselves had originally been founded by a group of young men from the
professional classes, bankers, lawyers, and lacemakers, who, in 1862, after
enjoying playing football in “The Hollow”, a piece of waste ground near the
Cavalry Barracks in the exclusive Park Estate, decided to form a club.

In
the 1877-1878 season, County had even dropped Forest from their fixture list,
because of their “artisan background”. They then left their ground in the Meadows,
and moved out of the City to the Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire Cricket Club
Ground in Beeston. Local journalists were not slow to ask why the club had
suddenly decided to act in such a “superior way”. Similarly, they questioned
the domination of the club by a small number of well-to-do families, and,
indeed, the team did regularly contain three Greenhalghs, three Curshams, three
Keelys, and two Jessops.

It
was rather ironic that by the turn of the century, and for a few years
afterwards, Notts County were not “The Magpies” but “The Lambs”, the latter
being a large, and boisterous group of their supporters who nowadays, would
have been considered football hooligans. Perhaps they were another
consideration for High School parents.

Elsewhere,
I have detailed how the first rugby took place at Mapperley Park as early as
Boxing Day, 1913. This was through “Dr.Turpin’s generous action in lending the
ground”.

Perhaps
the good headmaster was well aware of the staffing difficulties football was
about to face, and the disappearance of fixtures with local schools, many of
whom were already changing to rugby. He was certainly aware of the fact that on
his staff he had three Masters who were all capable of teaching the new sport,
and were keen to do so, namely Mr.Leggett in the Preparatory School, Mr.Lloyd
Morgan, and Mr.Kennard, who had captained Lancashire, and had once taken part
in a trial for the England team. Perhaps with an eventual change in mind, the
latter had been appointed to the staff in 1910, and was to remain in charge of
rugby until 1945.

To
allow a rugby match on the hallowed footballing turf of Mapperley Park,
therefore, may have been part of a cunning plan. More or less everything was
already in place for the switch, with only the boys and parents remaining to be
convinced. Once they had seen the new game, they would surely take it up
enthusiastically....the parents because of its class implications, and the boys
because boys will take up anything enthusiastically, if it is different to what
they are currently being told to do.

Overall,
though, the probability is that there was no single reason for the change. A
headmaster can foresee staffing difficulties, but he cannot make hundreds of
people follow him blindly. Masters can have extensive backgrounds in a certain
sport, but if nobody wants to play the sport, then it will always remain in the
background. Parents can want for better for their sons, but nothing can be
done, if there are no Masters capable of teaching the game they would like to
see played. What happened in the High School in 1914 was that, for a variety of
reasons, some kind of change was thought necessary, and the switch to rugby
must have seemed the likeliest option.

Having
made the change, though, the great irony is that rugby initially suffered from
exactly the same kind of problems that football may only just have experienced.

If
difficulties had been anticipated for the staffing of football, therefore, then
of the three Masters who were originally available to teach the new game, two,
namely Mr.H.A.Leggett, who was in charge of the Preparatory School, and
Mr.C.Lloyd Morgan, were among the first to leave the High School for the Front.

Mr.H.A.Leggett
therefore left the Nottingham High School Officer Training Corps, and became a
Major in the 11th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. He was severely wounded
at one point, and eventually had to be invalided out of the army, being finally
demobilised in 1919. His constitution, however, was irrevocably weakened by his
wartime wounds, and he was to die only a year later, in 1920.

Mr.C.Lloyd
Morgan also served as a Major, in the 2nd Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. He
was wounded on July 1st 1916, and then again on April 28th 1917. Eventually,
because of the severity of his injuries, he was forced to resign his commission
on August 14th 1918.

Only
Mr.Kennard did not go to the Front, but remained at the High School, still
serving as an Officer in the Nottingham High School Officers’ Training Corps.
It was onto his shoulders that the burden of introducing the new sport fell.

And,
indeed, initially, the results of the fledgling rugby team were just as
horrendous as those of the football team had been. Newark Magnus Grammar School
thrashed the High School by 43-0 in an early match, and the return was treated
as something of a triumph in the “Nottinghamian” because the defeat was only by
0-8.

In
actual fact, the High School rugby team had to wait a very long time for a win.
They took up the game in the 1914-1915 season, and initially played no fixtures
because of their inexperience. They lost all their matches in 1915-1916, and it
was not until the beginning of the 1916-1917 season that they scraped their
first victory, over Newark Magnus, by two tries to one, the team being given a
“rousing cheer” before Prayers on the following Monday morning.

The
attitude of the boys themselves was little different in the two sports. In the
“Nottinghamian” for December, 1915, the writer of the football report had
bemoaned the fact that........“....the real root of the evil lies, I think, in
the fact that each individual member does not assert himself enough, and the
team as a whole suffers in consequence. This is to be most noticed in the
forward line : the forwards see the ball coming slowly towards them and quite
calmly wait for it to come along ; they seem quite annoyed when an opposing
half-back “nips” in front of them, and takes the ball ; they seem so astounded
that he has dared to do such a thing that they make no attempt to recover it.
This has been done again and again. Some of our players are altogether too
ladylike. If you accidentally tread on an opponent’s foot, don’t stop and
apologise, meanwhile allowing another opponent to collar the ball. Get the ball
safely away first ; then  say you are sorry. There is a vast difference
between “dirty” play and a hefty charge, but the latter is quite useful and the
art should be cultivated. This was the essence of a remark made to me directly
after the first eleven match against Leicester, at Mapperley Park :- “Our chaps
seem to have no ‘go !’ ”  Some may remember that our first team were winning
1-0 until within about four minutes of time, yet their opponents, by their
perseverance and ‘go’ managed to win through by 2-1.  That remark could have
been applied to every match we have played ! ”

But
it was no different in the new sport....“....the team would have put up a much
better show if they had shown a greater measure of what is vulgarly known as
“guts” .”

Neither
was rugby immune to the same lack of genuine interest that had afflicted
football during its last couple of years. As early as December, 1915,
“Nottinghamian” had complained...“....the fly in the ointment this term has
been the very irregular amount of keenness shown in the Second Game. There are
far too many hefty fellows in the Upper part of the School who prefer to spend
their half holidays idling about, perchance frequenting picture palaces, or
doing something equally futile...It is not as if these fellows spent  their
afternoons in some profitable pursuit ; that might be mistaken, but it would be
to a certain extent excusable. They simply waste their time.”

As
early as July 1903 the School List  had stated that “...all the Forms play
Football in Winter and Cricket in Summer, one afternoon per week, as part of
the School course, in addition to the play on Wednesday and Saturday
afternoons, and after afternoon School...”

At this
point, however, representing the School in official teams at Wednesday and
Saturday afternoon fixtures still appears to have been voluntary,  even though
boys may have been forced to take part in ordinary matches between themselves
at least once a week, during ordinary lesson time.

It
may well have been the boys’ ability to avoid playing for the High School when
selected to do so, which led to such a dramatic deterioration in First Team
football results towards the end of the Edwardian era.

The
key to the whole question, therefore, was the moment when representing the High
School in fixtures against outside opponents became compulsory, and something
which every boy was forced to treat as a very important priority.

Such
a situation would have brought into being a continuous conveyor belt of
potential sporting talent, where the numbers of boys available would
automatically guarantee the high standards of School teams.

Boys
could all be taught the sport from the age of eleven onwards, and Masters would
have literally years to sort out those with the greatest talent, and then work
at improving their shortcomings. Practice matches and training could take place
on Wednesdays, and inter-school fixtures could perhaps be played on Saturday
afternoons.

Even
more important, though, when selected to represent the High School, boys could
no longer wheedle out of it, with the myriad excuses of which boys are capable.
The fielding of teams weakened by illness, injury or mere absenteeism, would
become a thing of the past. Results could then only improve.

The
sport which was eventually to enjoy all of these benefits was, for a number of
reasons, rugby. Had it been football, the High School would have had at least
the same success over the last eighty years which the First XV has enjoyed.

Indeed,
with the facilities which could have been made available, the expertise of
staff members, and the talents of the boys themselves, it is arguable that any
sport would have been successful, as long as there were other schools against
which to compete.

Appendix Eighteen : the History of the
Corps

In
April 1963, “The Nottinghamian” included a “History of the Corps” from its
inception in 1913. It was written by a member of staff, Mr.A.G.Duddell...

“...Formed in 1900,
the Cadet Corps had by 1913 become a well-established organisation in the
School, and while it had exchanged its picturesque uniform, of which the
wide-awake hat with green puggaree and plume of black feathers was a striking
feature, for the more conventional khaki tunic with flat peaked cap,
knee-breeches and puttees, it had also become a contingent of the Officers'
Training Corps (Junior Division).

On the
outbreak of war in 1914, Captain Leggett left to join the forces, and he was
succeeded in command by Captain G. F. Hood ; when he joined the Special Branch
of the Royal Engineers in 1918, Captain J. L.Kennard took his place. The
reality of war brought a great increase in numbers, and gave urgency to the
training ; parties of cadets were taken for camps at Barton-in-Fabis and field
exercises were carried out on the Gotham Hills. Field Days then, and for many
years after, were held at Ramsdale Park, and as no transport was available in
the early days much of the time, and energy, was used for the long march out
and back. Later the position was eased, but at first only by special trams
between the Forest and Daybrook Square. Another handicap of those earlier days
was the state of the School playground, the surface of which consisted of the
raw sandstone rock, with a covering of loose sand. Uneven at all times, from
dust in dry weather it became a quagmire after rain. When at last the
playground was drained and asphalted, as part of the rebuilding scheme of the
middle 1930s, the area available for parades and training was greatly
decreased, and this process has continued up to the completion of the West
Quadrangle in recent years. However, an early part of the new scheme gave the
Corps an orderly-room, store-room, and improved armoury accommodation, and
necessary reconditioning of the miniature range.

But
while these changes were years ahead, more immediately after the end of the war
came the arrival of Sergeant (later Sergeant-Major) J.H.Fell to be in charge of
physical training in the School, and also to act as instructor to the Corps. He
had served as a regular soldier in the Sherwood Foresters throughout the war,
in which he had been wounded three times. He gave splendid service to the
contingent for thirty-seven years, from 1920 to 1957. Shortly before he retired
he was awarded the British Empire Medal, and his untimely death in 1958 after
only a few hours' illness was a great grief to everyone.

The
Corps now settled down to a steady routine of peace-time training. The annual
camps were resumed, two at Tidworth, and one each at Aldershot and Strensall.
In 1923, the contingent was chosen to provide one of the guards of honour for
an official visit to Nottingham by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII.
The annual inspections were carried out on the School Playing Field, at
Mapperley Park, and later at Valley Road, the weather fortunately seldom
interfering, while in June each year a party of older cadets fired a musketry
course on the open range at Trent on four afternoons. No doubt these events
provided individual memories for those who took part...the inspection of 1926,
carried out in gloom under the Forest Road sheds, while the rain which had
prevented all but an hour's play in the Test Match at Trent Bridge poured down
on the flooded playground. Or another inspection some years later carried out
by Colonel Alexander, a staff officer from Northern Command, later to become
Field-Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis. Or the Band Competition at that
Strensall Camp where the Corps Band competed for the first time, and as the
Drum-Major led the march and counter-march, his puttee came adrift and trailed
like a snake behind him. Perhaps the memories will be of fellow-cadets, of
C.S.M. Abbott (now Dean of Westminster) who twice commanded the winning squad
in the Drill Competition, of “Ranji” Walker (now Air-Commodore C.B.E.) or of G.
N. Hancock, the School's first winner of a Prize Cadetship at Cranwell, who
became Group Captain C.B.E. before his death in a flying accident, or of D. E.
Woods, who won the King's Prize at Bisley in 1933, and has often been chosen to
shoot for England.

In 1925
Captain Kennard had been succeeded in command by Captain A.G.Duddell, who was
followed in 1933 by Captain R.A.Palmer. He had begun his military career some
sixteen years earlier as a cadet in the School Contingent, in which he served
as an officer for twenty years. In response to an appeal from him, the Old Boys
presented the Corps with a new set of drums, and as the number of boys in the
School had now begun to increase, as also had international tension, the
strength of the contingent, which had been about 150, grew too. In 1939 the
normal camps were cancelled, but Captain Palmer, with the active help of
Sergeant-Major Fell, organised a private camp at Welbeck.

Next
term found the school once more on a war footing, with some of its buildings in
process of reconstruction, while the West Wing, recently completed, had already
been requisitioned by the Army. Captain F.Greener had now taken command, but
Palmer continued to serve with the contingent, in which almost all the older
boys now enrolled. Its name was changed to Junior Training Corps, but its work
continued much as before, with the added urgency of war and at the same time
the increasing difficulties and restrictions of wartime conditions. Fortunately
units training in the Nottingham area helped by providing instructors, and
these, particularly from the R.E.M.E., were most useful when in 1942 Captain
Greener left to join the Forces, and Palmer who resumed command had only Fell,
and Major Duddell, to help him with a Contingent some 300 strong. Fortunately
the Cadet N.C.O.s were willing and able to take an Increasing share of
responsibility, and not only did many of the senior boys also enrol in the
School detachment of the Home Guard, but some also served as N.C.O.s or junior
officers with the recently-formed Army Cadet Force, while still finding time
for school games, and some academic activity !  Field Days were held at
Wollaton Park and at Annesley, but the only camps were those run (also by
Captain Palmer) to help the farming effort, in Lincolnshire and at Car Colston.

In
1941, on the formation of the Air Training Corps, the School at once
established a squadron. The strength of the A.T.C. grew steadily, and this
helped to reduce the pressure of numbers in the J.T.C. To many boys the
different form of training made a strong appeal.

By 1947
a number of new masters had joined the Staff who were keen to help with the
J.T.C. or the A.T.C., and brought to it considerable and varied experience of
war service. There almost seemed a possibility that the J.T.C., which had
changed to battle-dress and beret during the war years, would adopt the kilt,
since three new officers all had served in Scottish regiments ! This did not
happen, however, when in 1947, after a successful J.T.C. camp near Catterick,
Captain Palmer handed over the command to Major I. A. Galloway, and he and
Major Duddell retired, each having been awarded the Territorial Decoration.

Another
change followed, the J.T.C. and A.T.C. being now combined under one command, as
the Combined Cadet Force, and in 1955 a Naval Section was added to the other
two. The command has been held in succession by Squadron-Leaders K.M. Raw and
E. H. Tarry, Major W.H.Neville, and Squadron-Leader J. D.Powell. The variety of
training and experience offered to cadets in the different sections, not only
at the School, but also by courses and attachments to naval, army and air force
establishments (several parties from the Army Section have spent periods with
regular units in Germany) may have contributed to the sensible attitude most of
our cadets have adopted when they came to do national service. Three of them,
J.L.Booth, N.I A.Foulds, and G.C.Hood, were awarded the baton of honour as the
best cadet at the passing-out parade of their respective O.C.T.Us.

More
recently there has been increased interest and enthusiasm for competitive
shooting. The inspiration and expert coaching of R.S.M.Bliss, who succeeded
Sergeant-Major Fell as instructor to the contingent, have contributed much to
the successes gained by the teams in many local and national competitions. In
1961 the School VIII won the North Midland District Shield for the fifth time
in six years, and in 1960 they won the “Country Life” Competition, while at
Bisley they have been placed creditably in the “Ashburton,” and several have
gained awards in individual and pairs events.

As the half-century closes, which
has seen the Corps pass through two great wars, and many changes, there is talk
of modifications to be made in the training to be given by the C.C.F., with
less insistence on the purely military side, and a wider range to include adventure
training and civil defence. With the Governors' help the School has acquired
the disused station premises at Alsop-en-le-Dale, and fitted them out as a
camping base from which many kinds of field exercises can be carried out in the
surrounding country. Of these facilities the Corps will no doubt make good use.

These
few reminiscences, at first or second hand, may recall some of the outstanding
events of fifty years, and may awaken other memories in the minds of those who
played a part in them.

Appendix Nineteen : reminiscences of
Victor Darrington

Victor
George Darrington was born on November 25th 1896. He entered the High School on
September 23rd 1909, at the age of twelve. His father was William Darrington, a
schoolmaster at the School House in Eastwood. Later, the family were to move to
a house called “The Limes”. Towards the end of his school career, Darrington
became Captain of Football, and then, after the demise of this sport, he was to
become the school’s first Captain of Rugby. In addition, Darrington was also
the Captain of the School during the Autumn Term of 1914. He remained the only
person ever to have occupied these three school offices until the early 1970s,
when J.M.Darke achieved the same rare feat. It has not been achieved since.

During
the First World War, he became a Lieutenant, firstly in the Royal Field
Artillery, and then in the newly formed Royal Air Force. He was wounded on May
30th 1916, and then again on September 29th of the same year. He survived the
conflict, and in 1922, was awarded a Diploma in Forestry at Oxford.

Darrington
died peacefully in April 1988, aged 90, in a hospital in Beccles, Suffolk. His
home address at this time was “Mardale”, 54 Halesworth Road, Reydon, Suffolk.
In August 1984, at the age of 87, he had sent an account of his early life at
the High School to the Honourable Secretary of the Old Nottinghamians’ Society,
and this is quoted here....

“I
started in Nottingham High School in the autumn of 1908. I was put in 3B, the
next year 4A, then 5A, and the next year in the Science Sixth Form, taken by
Dr.Turpin. There were only about 14 boys. Mr. Hood had the Chemistry Lab., Mr.
Goddard took Maths. In 1913 the Science Sixth gave a show to celebrate the
400th year of the School. I was a prefect early, and then Captain of the
School. We changed from soccer to rugby and I was made Captain of that. It was
two years before we were good enough to be able to challenge other schools. I
was also a member of the Cricket XI. I liked being a cadet and in later years
was the sergeant. When the 1914 war came, the Seventh Sherwood Foresters, the
Robin Hoods, asked the School if it could help in training recruits as they
were short of help. So, in the summer recess in 1915, another boy and I went.
Drill and shooting were needed. We were not paid but were given board and
lodging.

After
my nineteenth birthday I went to the War Office and was gazetted at once. I was
given a 2nd Lieutenancy in the R.F.A. and posted to a battery in Athlone,
Ireland. At the end of April 1916 I went to Flanders. To cut my service details
short, I was in the 24th Division of the Army, A, B, C and D batteries, and was
wounded on the inside of my left leg with a piece of shell. I was sent to
hospital, but a month saw me back. Then we went down to the Battle of the Somme
and were lucky in that we did not get there until September when the slaughter
had modified. When we were going out of the battle my horse fell and I was
under her. A broken thigh kept me in hospital for 23 weeks, then 8 weeks
getting well...first crutches, then two sticks, then one stick, then without
any. But I never went back to the Front. I was given a job in the Air Board,
R.F.C., mainly pushing slide rules, first in London, then near Ipswich. We knew
when the Germans were to stop. 11 a.m. on November 11th, 1918. Everyone, except
the C.O. and the Adjutant, flew to London to celebrate and returned next day.
We were all put under open arrest...but there were so many of us that they had
to let us off !

Looking
for a job took a long time but I saw in “Nature” that they were asking for
Probationers to serve in the Indian Forestry Service. I was accepted, which
meant two years at Oxford (Lincoln College) to read Forestry. At the end of the
two years, I gained a B.A. and a Diploma in Forestry. Along with forty other
Probationers I sailed to Bombay. I was sent to Madras Presidency to report to
the Chief Conservator of Forests in Madras, started work in December 1921, and
except for leave in England, remained in India until independence in 1947.”

Appendix Twenty : the Great War begins

The
following reminiscences were published in “The Nottinghamian” in April 1965.

“A new boy fifty years ago”

“Well,
boys, what is this war about ? "were the first words heard in the new form
IIIB on September 16th, 1914, after the usual name-taking and sorting-out had
been gone through. The master was Mr. G. E. Argyle, and the war had been going
on for six weeks now, although it had made little difference to most civilians
so far, and “Business as usual” was the motto. But some masters as Territorials
were awaiting orders to join up, and many old boys had volunteered at once for
the forces, often as privates, although those with O. T. C. “A” certificates
soon got junior commissions.

The
school was much smaller, and its character a little different from what it is
in 1964. There were 146 boys in the Upper School, (IV, V, and VI), and 168 in
the Lower Forms (III II, and IA), with 72 in the Preparatory, i. e. , less than
400 boys as against today's total of nearly 1000. School fees were 12 guineas a
year as compared with £144 a year today, and there were very few scholarship
boys as compared with nowadays. Not many boys stayed on to the VIth Form :
there were seven in the Classical VIth, and thirteen in the Mathematical and
Science VIth, but they were mostly an elite of University standard, and VIB
contained fifteen boys usually staying on a year to take the "London
Matric," which was regarded as the passport to a worthwhile job in the
local business world. Seven out of those thirty-five were destined to be killed
in action before 1919. There were seven prefects as against sixteen today, and
the O. T. C. had a hundred members in two platoons ; rifles were few and many
cadets had cavalry carbines of ancient pattern.

There
were only two societies, the Debating and the Literary, and the two school
libraries were very small, the senior one being contained in two locked cases
in what was then the school Prayer Hall (now the Library). The school premises
still consisted of the 1868 T-shaped building only, with spacious playing areas
deep in sand where the new additions now are. There was no dining-room, but
only a small tuck-shop next to the boiler-room ; boys unable to get home could
get dinner in certain masters' houses for a shilling a day, and there were a
few boarders (generally with parents living abroad), who paid 16 guineas a term
" all in. "

Soccer
was still the school winter game in 1914, although the changeover to rugger was
due to take place after Christmas. The writer remembers playing Third Form
soccer matches on the Forest pitches hired for the afternoon under the
supervision of a master called Ryles, and recalls that his new kit, jersey,
shorts, and boots, cost altogether what was then the appreciable sum of seven shillings.
A scholar's fare on the city trams from Trent Bridge to the Market Place, or
from the Midland Station to Forest Road, cost one halfpenny, and so did a hot
cordial drink at a little sweet-shop which is still there ; one got two ounces
of sweets for a penny, and the biggest tarts and cream buns cost no more, while
the tuck-shop sold many items at a halfpenny, including large oval gingerbread
biscuits called " doorstoppers," and square white thick ones speckled
with currants, asked for as " squashed flies."

There
was no school uniform as such, apart from the cap in winter, and a “straw
boater” with black and white band worn by many in the summer. Blazers were only
for the school elevens, and our general dress was very individual, older boys
wearing long trousers and younger ones often a suit comprising a Norfolk jacket
and knickerbockers buttoning at the knee. Some wore short trousers (different
from modern “shorts”), with long black stockings kept up by garters above the
knees. The O.T.C. uniform, for which one paid £1, was khaki knee-breeches with
puttees, and a tunic heavy with brass buttons large and small, which had to be
dazzlingly polished before every parade. Two of the three officers were Messrs.
Hood and Kennard, who are probably the only ones of the 1914 school staff still
alive.

One
difference from today is that there were no organised musical activities, apart
from class singing of the Third Form for one hour one afternoon a week, and the
Second Form for another under the tuition of a Mr. Dunnill, who came specially
from Birmingham. In 1914 we learned an extra number of patriotic songs and the
French and Russian national anthems, for recital at the annual prize-giving in
December at the Albert Hall (incidentally the last until 1922). Few boys could
play the piano or any musical instrument, and few could have heard a real
concert. The gramophone was still a novelty, and its reproduction poor. There
was no broadcasting and few boys knew anything about wireless, except from
elementary articles on spark coherers in boys' magazines and the like. It is
doubtful whether any boy's family possessed a motor-car, and probably only a
handful of us had even travelled in one at all. There were no buses, and
transport outside the city was entirely by train. The School had stands,
however, for a hundred bicycles, and there were more than that number in use
daily. In 1914 few boys had ever seen an aeroplane, except perhaps one which a
certain B.C.Hucks had flown at Beeston as a wonderful exhibition a year or two
before, while the cinema was still a comparative novelty, which one did not
visit regularly, except for outstanding films like “Quo Vadis” and “Les
Misérables”.

The
standard of teaching was high, and regarded as the best in the county. Three or
four university scholarships or exhibitions were won each year, which was good
going when the educational ladder was much steeper and had fewer rungs than
nowadays for any but the well-to-do. The annual intake of scholarship boys from
the Nottingham elementary schools was only six or seven a year, with three or
four more from outside with county council scholarships. In those days one
could tell the status of a boy or girl (or a grown-up for that matter), by
their clothes and accent, and some of the scholarship holders were occasionally
made to feel their position distinctly.

Few of
them stayed on more than their three years or entered the VIth Form, although
many got annual form prizes and Maths, and Science-set prizes. In 1914, school
prizes, even in the lower forms, were presented bound in cream calf leather
bindings, with the school arms stamped in gold on the cover and a wealth of
gold decoration on the spine. The “Nottinghamian” was a very genteel production
of 27 pages, with chaste plain cover, no pictures or advertisements,
beautifully printed at Bell's, and cost sixpence. . . a week's pocket money.

The
school was run and kept clean by a worthy bowler-hatted character named Robert
(Holmes), assisted by his frail-looking wife and an elderly niece. He rang the
bell, locked the front door inexorably on the stroke of nine, stoked the
boilers with coke in winter, lit the gas jets on dark afternoons in each
form-room, and ran the tuck-shop, all on a salary of certainly less than two
pounds a week, and was regarded as a friend by every boy in the school, junior
and senior. On any special occasion, he would write a long poem in the most
doggerel kind of verse, have it privately printed, and then proudly present a
copy to any boy deemed worthy to receive it.

In the
corridors hung faded photographs of first eleven teams of Dr. Gow's day, i.e.,
pre-1901, showing some boys with moustaches. For that matter, one was worn by
the Captain of the School in 1914, a tall, handsome, and immaculately dressed
young man. Some of the form-rooms (including IVA, VA, and VB as distinctly
remembered), still contained the old long Victorian desks stretching almost
across the room and seating six or eight boys, allowing each a sloping lid
carved all over with names and initials of boys dating in some cases back to
the 1880's. Some were of those whose names one was shortly to see in the
casualty lists. The future novelist D. H. Lawrence had sat at them recently,
after three undistinguished years as a scholarship boy from Eastwood. In that year,
an O. N. called Arnesby Brown was elected Royal Academician, and another named
Watson was knighted. There was also a boy in the VIth Form, who after obtaining
examination “distinctions” in subjects like Latin, Greek, French and Scripture,
went on to obtain an Open Scholarship for Mathematics at Cambridge.

The
great difference between then and now seems to be in the number of different
studies one can take and the interests one may follow. In the Sixth Form of
1914, only one boy was studying history, and one modern languages, and both had
to be accommodated in the Mathematical and Science Sixth, which, unlike the
Classical Sixth, had no form-room of its own apart from the Chemistry and
Physics laboratories, so they must have done most of their studying in the
Prefects' Room, or perhaps in the boys' library room in the lower corridor out
of lending hours. As already remarked, there were none of the various societies
now extant, no rowing or swimming, or organised athletics apart from individual
efforts round about the annual Sports Day, and no tennis. Gymnastics and art
(drawing, not painting), finished at the Third Form, i. e., at the age of
thirteen or so. A lady came weekly after school hours to give piano lessons,
but had only two or three pupils, all junior beginners. School plays, however,
were well done; the 1914 one was Anstey's “Vice Versa” given by VA. Perhaps
another difference was that because of the School's smaller size, everyone knew
practically everyone else's name and qualities, athletic and scholastic.
Although the School List stated that new entrants had to pass a test on the day
before term began, there were a number of duffers in certain forms who
presumably would not gain entry to the School under present-day conditions.

The
House system existed, but meant practically nothing to anyone except a few
athletes and cricket experts on a few days in the Summer. The idea of being
associated in any way with the educational or social activities of the Girls'
High School in the same Arboretum Street would have seemed utterly fantastic,
and a school party tour abroad almost equally so. It was in many ways a
different world, and yet many of the new boys in 1914 are still only sixty or
little over, and still active. A number of us met and reminisced at the 450th
Anniversary Ball and other functions only last year, and can be seen at the O.
N. Dinners in London and Nottingham on occasion. ”

The
author of the reminiscences was recorded only by the pen name “Postume”.

Appendix Twenty One : Arthur Willoughby
Barton

Arthur Willoughby “Fuzzy” Barton was
born on September 14th 1899, the younger son of Professor Edwin H.Barton,
F.R.S., a Professor of Experimental Physics at University College, Nottingham.
The family lived in Private Road, Sherwood. Barton entered the High School on
September 16th 1908, at the age of nine.

Within a very short time, however, he
was being bullied, as the Prefects’ Book records
on October 27th 1908 that

“...A meeting was held at
2.30 p.m. in the Library. All the prefects were present. M.M.Lyon was reported
for bullying A.W.Barton during the preceding day. He had tried to make
Barton accompany him home & as Barton refused, he dragged him along Forest
Road towards Waverley St. Lyon also hit Barton with the knob of his umbrella on
his head just behind the ear. This blow had raised a big lump on Barton’s head.
Lyon only allowed Barton to go home on receiving a promise that he would bring
him a penny in the afternoon. As Barton did not bring the money, Lyon thrashed
him again in the afternoon.

At the end of this first year, Barton
was to be a member of the team which won the Football Eights competition. This
team comprised....

F.B.Cullen
(captain), A.W.Barton, J.R.Davie, F.W.Goddard, F.Hardwick, C.H.S.Kipping,
W.A.Scott and J.H.Simpson.

During Barton’s time in the High School,
football was drawing to its close as a school sport, as the First Team
gradually became less and less successful. Comparatively few statistical
details about this period have survived, as “The Nottinghamian” has not a great
deal about the players who took part.

For the last season of football,
therefore, namely 1914-1915, only the identity of the First Team Captain is
recorded for definite. He was Victor George Darrington, of “The Limes”, in
Eastwood. Darrington was born on November 25th 1896, and entered the High
School on September 23rd 1909, at the age of twelve. His father was William
Darrington, a Schoolmaster at the School House in Eastwood. Later, the family
were to move to “The Limes”. After the demise of football, Darrington was to
become the school’s first Captain of Rugby.

During the First World War, Darrington
became a Lieutenant, firstly in the Royal Field Artillery, and then in the
newly formed Royal Air Force. He was wounded on May 30th 1916, and then again
on September 29th of the same year. He survived the conflict, and in 1922, was
awarded a Diploma in Forestry at Oxford. He returned to Nottinghamshire, and in
1929, was still living at “The Limes”, in Eastwood.

Reminiscences recorded almost eighty or
ninety years later by Old Boy Roy Henderson, however, a centenarian who had
himself been in the winning Football Eights team in 1913, reveal the identity
of a small number of the players in this unfortunate half season.

Henderson, for example, remembers
playing in goal for the First Team in an away game at Trent College, and, by
his own admission, he “..did horribly.., conceding eight goals”.

For the next match, he was replaced as
goalkeeper by fellow Fifth Form boy, Donald James “Pug” Clarkson, so called
because of his upturned nose. Clarkson was living at the time at 52, Caledon
Road, Sherwood.

Henderson also recalled a number of
other boys who appeared for the First Team in 1914. They included Arthur
Willoughby “Fuzzy” Barton, a Fifth Form boy of Private Road, Sherwood, and John
Hardy, another fellow Fifth Form boy who lived at 13, Tavistock Drive,
Mapperley.

This is also thought to be the year in
which Fifth Former, Lancelot Wilson Foster of 49, Musters Road, West Bridgford,
appeared in the First Team, as a talented defender. In his reminiscences, Roy
Henderson singled him out as the very best of the Fifth Formers who played
football more or less none stop under the weatherproof cover of the School’s
sheds, alongside the wall on Forest Road East. As early as 1912, Foster had won
a Silver Medal for Gymnastics.

Another probable player for the First
Team was A.T.F.Ord, who appeared in the Prefects’ book on September 28th...

...“...Ord was brought up for failing to
turn up at a practice match the previous Saturday. & so causing the match
to be played with uneven sides. He pleaded that he did not pass the notice
board & had never seen his name there. This excuse was thought to be
insufficient as he was known to be slack with regard to such matters. He was
therefore ordered to do 200 lines by Thursday.                                                                                                          V.G.Darrington.”

“Fuzzy” Barton left the High School in
1918, having been Captain of the School.

During
the First World War, he became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers
Signal Service, until he was demobilised in December 1918.

Barton
had already won an Exhibition in Natural Sciences to Trinity College, Cambridge
in December, 1916, but he did not go up until he had completed his military
service in January, 1919. At Cambridge, Barton achieved First Class Honours in
Part I and Part II of the Natural Science Tripos in Physics, and in November,
1922, he was awarded First Class Honours in Physics in the London BSc
examination. From 1922 to 1925 he was a research student at the Cavendish Laboratory
and supervisor in Physics at Trinity and several other Cambridge colleges.

Still
on public display at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge are three
photographs from this period which show Barton, as from 1922 to 1925, he was in
Lord Rutherford's research team, which is now generally acknowledged as being
the greatest ever in the history of science.

The
1923 photograph shows Barton in the back row, although he was to be promoted to
the front row by 1925. Six others in the photograph already had, or soon would
have, a Nobel Prize.

The
first is Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson O.M., F.R.S. (1856-1940)
Thomson was an English physicist who was credited with the discovery of both
electrons and isotopes. He invented the mass spectrometer, and was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906 for his work on the electron and on the conduction
of electricity in gases.

Alongside
him is Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, a Russian citizen (1894-1984) who was to be a
leading physicist in the Soviet Union. In 1978, he won the Nobel Prize for
Physics for the research into low temperature Physics which he had carried out
just before the Second World War, around 1937.
Eventually, Kapitsa was to become Director of Nuclear Research and
Development in the USSR.

Francis
William Aston F.R.S (1877-1945) was a British chemist and physicist who
won the 1922 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the existence of
over two hundred isotopes, in a large number of non-radioactive elements. This
was made possible by using his mass spectrograph. Aston was a Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.

Patrick
Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett O.M., C.H.,
F.R.S. (1897-1974) was an English physicist who had carried out research into
cloud chambers, cosmic rays and paleomagnetism. In 1948 he won the Nobel Prize
for Physics for his investigation of cosmic rays, using his own invention,
namely the counter-controlled cloud chamber. Blackett also founded Operational
Research.

Also
in the photograph is Sir James Chadwick C.H, F.R.S (1891-1974). Chadwick was an
English scientist who had won a Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of
the neutron. He was to be a key contributor to research into
atomic weapons at Los Alamos during the Second World War.

The
leader of this amazing team was a New Zealander, Ernest Rutherford, later to
become First Baron Rutherford of Nelson O.M., F.R.S. (1871-1937).

Rutherford is nowadays known as the father of Nuclear Physics. In his
early career, he discovered the concept of the radioactive half-life, and
proved that radioactivity involved the changing of one chemical element to
another. This work was done at McGill University in Canada, and was the basis
for his Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he was awarded in 1908 “for his
investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of
radioactive substances”.

Rutherford
then moved to the Victoria University of Manchester in 1907. In 1911, he
theorized that atoms have their positive charge concentrated in a very small
nucleus and thereby established the Rutherford model of the atom. In 1917, he
“split the atom” in a nuclear reaction between nitrogen and alpha particles, a
process in which he also discovered the proton. This initial work by Rutherford
led in its turn to the first fully controlled splitting of the nucleus.

Two other Nobel Prize
winners were absent from this particular photograph but nevertheless they formed
an active part of the team.

One
was Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, C.H., F.R.S.
(1869-1959), a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who received the Nobel
Prize for Physics in 1927 for his invention of the Wilson Cloud Chamber.

Wilson
had begun to study clouds and their properties in 1893. He worked at the
observatory on Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands making observations of cloud
formation. He then tried to make his own clouds, on a smaller scale in the
laboratory in Cambridge, by expanding humid air within a sealed container.
Wilson then began to experiment with the creation of cloud trails in his
chamber caused by ions and radiation.

Sir
Edward Victor Appleton, G.B.E., K.C.B., F.R.S.
(1892-1965) was an  English physicist who received the 1947 Nobel Prize for
Physics for his contributions to the scientific exploration of the ionosphere,
which led, in its turn, to the development of radar. Appleton was knighted in
1941.

This
made a total of eight Nobel Prize Winners in all !

Also
present in these remarkable photographs is the Polymath Sir
Geoffrey Ingram Taylor, (1886-1975), an
British expert in Mathematics and Physics, who
specialised in Fluid Dynamics and Wave Theory. His
biographer, and ex-student, George Batchelor, was to describe him as “one of
the most notable scientists of this (the 20th) century”. Taylor’s
interests were to include areas as widely different as Engineering, Aviation,
Parachuting, Meteorology, Fog Dispersal, Fluid Dynamics and Shell
Disintegration.

Barton’s
own Cambridge research investigated radioactivity, and in particular, the
disintegration of radium. It was directly supervised by Lord Rutherford
himself. Barton sought to demonstrate the existence of Radium C and to
measuring its half-life, something which lasted for only one hundred-millionth
of a second.

All
of these eminent scientists shared an extremely strong team spirit. Barton, of
course, knew all of them, and could recall a large number of anecdotes from his
years spent mixing with them.  He understood clearly too, how Rutherford was
able to get results by pushing his research team without mercy.

Understanding
how scientists set about their researches was eventually to be an enormous
asset for Barton, not just in classroom teaching but also in setting standards
for an entire school.

After
he left Cambridge, Barton initially worked at Repton School, where he was Chief
Physics Master during the Headmastership of Dr Fisher, himself later Archbishop
of Canterbury.

Indeed,
it was while he was at Repton that Barton was finally awarded his degree of
Doctor of Philosophy of London University, for his researches at Cambridge. He
was also the author of school text-books on Heat and Light around this period.

From
1939 onwards, he continued his pedagogical career as the new Headmaster of King
Edward VII School, Sheffield, serving also as a member of the Diocesan
Ordination Candidates' Committee and as chairman of the Sheffield Council of
Boys' Clubs.

In 1950, Barton was appointed to be
Headmaster of the City of London School, a post which he was to hold for some
fifteen years until he retired in 1965. To occupy this position, Barton was
made a Freeman of the City of London.

As well as his distinguished career in
Physics and Education, Arthur Willoughby Barton was to become equally, if not
more, prominent in the world of Association Football than that of  Education,
becoming, eventually, a referee at the highest possible level.

It has actually proved rather difficult
to trace many of the precise statistical details about Barton’s refereeing
career, but it is known that on January 5th 1935 and on March 27th of the same
year, he took part in official F.A. experiments to evaluate whether it would be
preferable to have two referees, instead of the usual single official. Along
with Mr.E.Wood of Sheffield, Barton refereed an Amateur International trial
match at Chester in January and then, in March, a final full international
trial at the Hawthorns, the home of West Bromwich Albion. The latter match was
watched by members of the then “International Football Association Board”, and
both referees were asked to submit their own reports of proceedings. Not
unsurprisingly, perhaps, both men thought that it was wiser to leave authority
in the hands of just a single official, and to have just one referee.

One of Barton’s first finals as a
referee had been the Final of the Arthur Dunn Cup, a competition for teams of
Old Boys from the very top public schools. It is also known that he refereed an
F.A.Cup Semi-final at one point in the early or middle 1930s.

On April 13th 1935, Barton is known to
have refereed the Amateur Cup Final, which took place at Middlesbrough between
Bishop Auckland and Wimbledon in front of a crowd of around 20,000 spectators.
The game finished goalless, and Barton refereed the replay at Stamford Bridge,
London, on April 20th. This time, the crowd was some 30,000, and Dowden put
Wimbledon into the lead after only three minutes. Wilson equalised before the
interval, and Bryan then gave Bishop Auckland the lead shortly after play
resumed. Wimbledon were to hit the crossbar twice during the rest of the game,
but were unable to force an equaliser.

In the same year, Barton refereed an
international friendly match between France and Sweden. The game was played at
the Parc des Princes in Paris on  November 10th 1935, in front of a crowd of
some 26,905 spectators, and finished 2-0 to the home team. Sweden’s Fritz Berg
conceded an own goal in the thirtieth minute, and Roger Courtois sealed the
home win in the seventieth minute.

The teams were…

France         Llense,
Diagne, Mattler, Gabrillargues, Verriest, Delfour, Furois, Cheuva, Courtois,
Kowalczyk, Wawrzeniak

Sweden       Bergquist,
Axelsson, Sköld, Berg, Johansson, Karlsson, Bergsten, Persson, Jonasson, Grahn,
Nilsson

Barton’s second friendly international
also took place at the Parc des Princes, on January 24th 1937, and finished
France 1 Austria 2. This time there were 37,898 spectators. Austria were
managed by the legendary coach, Hugo Meisl.  Josef “Pepi” Stroh opened the
scoring for them in the thirty-ninth minute, although their lead was to last
only three minutes as France equalised with a goal from Edmond Novicki of
Racing Club Lens just before half-time, in the forty-second minute.

The winning goal for Austria came in the
second half, in the last ten minutes of the game. It was scored in the 83rd
minute by Franz “Bimbo” Binder. At the time, Binder was playing his club
football with S.K.Rapid Vienna, and he was one of the greatest career
goalscorers in the history of world football, scoring 1,006 goals in just 756
games between 1930-1950. Only Pelé has ever excelled his lifetime total.

The teams were…

France         Llense,
Dupuis, Diagne, Payen, Gabrillargues, Mathieu, Novicki, Rio, Nicolas, Janin,
Antoinette

Austria       Rafti,
Sesta, Schmaus, Adamek, Hofmann, Nausch, Riegler, Stroh, Binder, Jerusalem,
Vierti

Eight months later, on September 19th
1937, Barton was to officiate at a game between Norway and Sweden at the
Ulleval Stadion in Oslo. This was a match in the Nordic
Championship
competition, and was played before a crowd of some 29,344 spectators.

The game finished in a 3-2 win for the
home team, who opened the scoring with a goal from Brustad in the forty-fourth
minute. Sweden equalised through Johansson in the fifty-fifth minute, but again
fell behind to a goal from Isaksen in the seventy-fourth minute. Reidar added a
third goal for Norway after seventy-six minutes, before a late consolation for
the visitors, scored by Bunke after eighty-two minutes.

The teams were…

Norway      Blohm,
Johannessen, Holmsen, Ulleberg, Eriksen, Holmberg, Kvammen, Isaksen, Andersen,
Martinsen, Brustad

Sweden       Sjöberg,
Lundgren, Sköld, Almgren, Löfgren, Andersson, Johansson, Persson, Jonasson,
Bunke, Skoglund

During this period, Barton is known to
have officiated in a large number of international matches, both at home and
abroad. In addition to these full internationals, he was also one of the
referees in the Football Tournament in the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

On
August 7th 1936 at the Poststadion, Berlin, therefore, in front of a crowd of
some 50,000, he refereed the game between Norway and Germany, when the latter
country, anticipating an easy victory, rested three of their best players, and
lost by 0-2, having conceded a single goal in the first half.

Norway
thus snatched their early lead, and then, well served by their backs, Eriksen
and Holmsen, were able to withstand the enormous pressure exerted on them by
the host team. Later in the game, in a breakaway, they managed to score a
second goal, aided by their outstanding forward, inside right, Kuammen, whom
Arsenal were to attempt to sign a couple of years later.

Unfortunately,
Barton did not get the chance to socialise either with the Führer or with the
German players after the match. During the evening, when the official Olympic
party went to the German headquarters in the Olympic village, to commiserate
with the gallant losers, they found that a furious Hitler had sent them all
home in disgrace. This is believed to be the only football match that the
Führer ever watched.

The teams were…

Norway      Johansen,
Eriksen, Holmsen, Ulleberg, Juve (captain), Holmberg, Frantzen, Kvammen,
Martinsen, Isaksen, Brustad

Germany     Jakob,
Munzenberg, Ditgens, Gramlich(captain), Goldbrunner, Bernard, Lehner, Siffling,
Lenz, Urban, Simetsreiter

Four
days later, on August 11th 1936, at Berlin’s magnificent Olympia Stadion,
in front of some 82,000 people, Barton refereed one of the two semi-finals of
this Olympic competition, the game between Austria and Poland.

Austria
won the game by three goals to one. Their scorers were K.Kainberger (14
minutes), Laudon(55 minutes) and Mandl (88 minutes),, and Poland’s consolation
came from Gad in the seventy third minute.

The teams were…

Austria       E.Kainberger
(captain) , Kargl, Kunz, Krenn, Wallmuller, Hofmeister, Werginz, Laudon,
K.Kainberger, Fuchsberger

Poland        Albanski,
Martyna, Galecki, Kotlarczyk II, Wasiewicz, Dytko, Piec, Musielak, Peterek,
Gad, Wodarz.

Earlier
in the year, Barton had represented the Amateur Football Association by running
the line in the F.A.Cup Final at Wembley, in front of a crowd of some 93,384
spectators. Arsenal were to triumph by a single goal scored by centre forward,
Ted Drake, and there were certainly some legends of football history playing in
the Gunners’ team that particular day.

The teams were…

Arsenal                          Wilson,
Male, Hapgood, Crayston, Roberts, Copping, Hulme, Bowden, Drake, James
(captain), Bastin

Sheffield                         Smith,
J, Hooper (Captain), Wilkinson, Jackson,

United                            Johnson,
McPherson, Barton, Barclay, Dodds, Pickering, Williams.

The
match referee was Mr.H.Nattrass from Durham, and the other linesman was Mr.J.M.Wiltshire
of Dorset.

On
December 2nd 1936, Barton had taken charge of a Scotland-Wales game, played at
Dens Park, Dundee in front of some 23,858 spectators. This was a British Home
Championship game, and the match finished in a home defeat for Scotland by two
goals to one. Pat Glover had opened the scoring for Wales in the twenty-third
minute, only for Tommy Walker to equalise for Scotland in the second half
(fifty-seventh minute). Wales won the game, however, when Glover scored his
second goal ten minutes from the end of the game (eightieth minute).

The teams were…

Scotland     Dawson,
Anderson, Ancell, Massie, Simpson, G.Brown, Munro, Walker, McCulloch, Mills,
Duncan

Wales          Gray,
Turner, Ellis, Murphy, Griffiths, Richards, Hopkins, B.Jones, Glover, L.Jones,
Morris

More than two years later, Barton was to
referee another British Home Championship match. It was between Wales and
Northern Ireland, and took place at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on March
15th 1939 in front of 22,997 spectators. Horace Cumner opened the scoring for
Wales as early as the seventh minute, only for Dudley Milligan to equalise for
the Irish just eight minutes later (fifteenth minute). Pat Glover however
scored a second for the Welsh in the twentieth minute, and Les Boulter put the
match beyond doubt  with a third.

The teams were…

Wales          Poland,
Turner, Hughes, Green, T.Jones, Hopkins, Boulter, Glover, B.Jones, Cumner,
Dearson

Northern
Breen, Cook, Butler, Brolly, Leathem, Weir, Cochrane

Ireland        Stevenson,
Milligan, Doherty, J.Brown

Most notable of
all about this match, however, is the fact that defender John Leathem’s
nickname when he played for the now defunct Belfast Celtic Football Club in his
native Ireland was the wonderfully descriptive, “Jack the Hack”.

The standard reference work,
“Association Football” by A.H.Fabian and Geoffrey Green carries an appreciation
of Barton’s refereeing talents...

……“Last, but not least, again, in the
Midlands men of note, comes A.W.Barton of Repton. Enlightened, observant, fresh
as a daisy...that’s enthusiasm. Dr.A.W.Barton M.A., B.Sc.City of London School,
now represents the Public Schools in the Football Association. He has
controlled professional games and has obviously enjoyed it. He now works for
the amateur game, where help is needed. Yes, there’s reason to praise
referees.”

The same standard work also contains a
fascinating account of an F.A. Cup tie which Barton refereed in 1937. It is
worth quoting in full...

“ Don’t argue
and never count your chickens ”

by Joe Mercer (Everton, Arsenal
and England)

During a temporary stoppage about four
minutes from full time, with the score two-nil in our favour, in the 1950
Liverpool v Arsenal Cup Final, my old friend Walley Barnes said to me: “ What
does it feel like to win a Cup medal ? ” My words to Walley were unprintable;
but in no uncertain manner I informed him that the game was not over yet, and
to get back on his job and wait for the final whistle.

I don't usually “blow my top”. That was
not my way of captaining a team, and after the match, Walley said: “ What went
wrong with you ? The match was in the bag, Billy Mime had told me there was
only four minutes to go.” Yes, I knew that. But let me now tell you about a
game between Everton and Tottenham in a replayed cup-tie at White Hart Lane in
1937. That stopped me from ever counting my chickens before they were
hatched....

“Tottenham were in the Second Division,
and when they were drawn to play at Goodison Park I didn't think we would have
much trouble in getting through to the next round. But as usual the Cup is a
great leveller and we only scraped a draw in the last few seconds. The game had
not been a great one, but we had enjoyed most of the territorial advantage.
Tottenham's first goal was one of those freaks which always stick out in one's
memory. A long ball from the left had come across, Teddy Sagar had come out,
but instead of catching it in his usual immaculate manner he decided to punch
it. Tottenham's outside right, McCormick, had his back to goal.

Teddy punched the ball right on to his
head and McCormick was the most surprised man on the field when the ball
rebounded into the net ! But, with seconds to go, I suppose we were a bit lucky
when Jackie Coulter, our Irish outside left, scrambled the equalizer, and so
down to White Hart Lane for the replay, with no thoughts whatever that the game
would turn out to be the most thrilling and memorable in all my career.

It was a Monday, and the ground was
saturated with a week-end's rain. This was right up our street, because in those
days on the right wing for Everton was Albert Geldard who, on a heavy ground
with the brilliant Cliff Britton behind him, was almost unplayable. We had a
few changes in the side, Terry Gillick coming in as outside left to partner a
boy playing his first game for the “Toffees”. The boy....Tommy Lawton. Our side
read: Sagar; Cook, J. E. Jones; Britton, Gee and Mercer; Geldard, Cunliffe,
Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton and Gillick.

Right from the start the Everton side
got on top, and in the mud the plan of playing to Albert Geldard soon paid
dividends. Albert created havoc in the Tottenham defence, and very soon we were
two goals tip...Jimmy Cunliffe getting the first and Tommy Lawton celebrating
his début with a brilliant left foot goal which rattled into the back of the
net from thirty yards. Morrison reduced the lead, but we went in at half-time
with the score three-one, thanks to some brilliant work and a goal by the one
and only Dixie Dean.

The second half was a repetition of the
first. In fact, kicking down the slope towards the end where the teams come
out, I think we were playing more easily than ever. Then, with four minutes to
go, the score three-one in Everton's favour, it happened. I played a ball on
the left wing, which I agree was over the line, but no whistle went, so I
crossed it into the penalty area. Dixie fastened on to it and was in the act of
shooting when Arthur Rowe, later to become Spurs’ manager, was adjudged to have
fouled Dean. The referee, Dr. Barton, pointed to the spot and there we were, threeone
up, the ball on the spot for a penalty and four minutes to go; and if that game
didn't appear to be won then I have never heard of one that was.

But in the meantime the linesman was
flagging, and after some arguing Dr. Barton was persuaded to consult him. The
outcome of it was not a penalty for Everton but a throw-in for Tottenham, and
no one knew better than me how fair that decision was. Unfortunately the
remainder of the side took a poor view of this and were still arguing when the
throw-in was taken. Before we could bat our eyes the ball was whisked across
the field to the left-wing, back into the centre and Morrison had headed a
goal. Right from the re-start away went Tottenham again, and in next to no time
they had got the equalizer through a similar movement, Morrison again being the
scorer. Then with the game reaching the last few seconds their inside forward
Meek fastened on to a ball in mid-field and wormed his way towards the penalty
area. All of a sudden he hit a terrific shot which must have been from well
outside the box, and to my terrible anguish it finished up in the back of the
net.

I was immediately behind him when he
shot and I saw the ball so very clearly every inch of the way. It had goal
written all over it from the moment it left his foot. As the ball hit the back
of the net the referee blew the whistle for full-time, and for a fleeting
second the majority of the players didn't know whether the goal had counted or
not. I remember Billy Cook, our full-back, saying “Was that a goal, ref.? ” and
Dr. Barton said: “It certainly was.” Then the Tottenham lads realized the game
was won and, of course, their joy was quickly transferred to the spectators.

The commotion and the cheering was
deafening ; I will never forget the sight of the programmes, hats, etc.,
floating down to earth from the double-decker stand. It resembled a snowstorm.
It was a very dejected and heart broken

Everton
side that came off the field, knowing the result to be true, but
scarcely realizing it had happened. However, when I look back over the years,
it is nice to realize that this bitter less taught me through the light of
practical experience that it is always foolish to question a referee's
decision, and a game is never lost until the final whistle.”

On March 7th 1937, Barton was the guest
of honour and principal speaker at the annual Football Service at Broad Street
Chapel, Nottingham.

In 1952, Major J.Stewart, who had, until
that time, been the Arthur Dunn Committee’s representative on the Council of
the Football Association, was promoted to the rank of vice-president. Instead
of turning to the Arthur Dunn Committee, and asking them for another nominee,
the F.A. consulted the Headmasters’ Conference, and the Incorporated
Association of Headmasters, and Arthur Barton was then chosen to represent the
interests of the public schools. At the time, the thinking was that a greater
number of schools could be represented by the H.M.C. and the I.A.H., rather
than the more limited Arthur Dunn Committee.

Fifteen
years later, well into his sixties, Barton was still active in refereeing
circles, and was a member of the panel of Referee Instructors and Lecturers of
the Féderation Internationale de Football Association (F.I.F.A.). In 1967, he
went to Addis Ababa with Sir Stanley Rous, to lecture to the referees who were
to adjudicate in the African Nations Cup. From 1968 to 1971 he was Schools
Liaison Officer at University College, London.

It was during
this period of his life that Barton was to become the President of the Old Nottinghamians,
a position from which he was to retire in the late 1960s.

Barton died on Tuesday, August 24th 1976
at the age of seventy-six.

Appendix Twenty Two : the
Preparatory School, 1917 onwards

The
following “Memories of the Old Preparatory” were published in “The
Nottinghamian” in July 1950. They were written by Miss S.J.Webb, who was
retiring after twenty-three years...

“...How
rapidly a building can be demolished and what a long time it takes to build !
Let us hope that the good that was in the Old Prep. lives on and is not
interred with its bones (or stones ! ).

It may
interest those now in their youth to learn something of what went on in the old
building.

I
cannot trace the Preparatory School itself back to its beginning but I have
been able to gather some useful facts from Mrs. Radley who was there in 1907.
She tells me it was a going concern when she arrived on the scenes, Miss Carter
was the first Mistress in charge, Miss Dark was Assistant Mistress, and her
brother had a class in the building but apparently not counted as a Prep. Form.
I believe Mr. Leggett followed Miss Carter, When I came in 1917 he was away at
the 1914-18 war, and actually never resumed his position.

The
Preparatory building consisted of two houses thrown into one, numbers 9 and 11
Waverley Mount. At first, No.9 was used as a boarding house for older boys,
masters and mistresses, and was run by a Mrs. Rowley, while No.11 was used as
classrooms.

Dr. Turpin, the Headmaster,
started a kindergarten of his own in 1907 or thereabouts, and Mrs. Radley was
in charge of this, but it does not seem to have lasted very long.

When I
came in 1917 there were four Forms, 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, and they occupied the
four front rooms of Nos. 9 and 11, Miss Richmond was in charge and she and I lived
in No.11.

Mrs.
Richardson was caretaker and as there was then no dining hall she provided
dinner...for about twenty-two boys from the senior school. Her dinners soon
became very popular, especially her puddings of which there always seemed an
unfailing supply, and which were of a kind that usually finds favour with a
hungry boy. The Prep. boys went home to dinner. This was possible as we had a
very long dinner hour and in those days meat coupons had to be given up at each
meal where meat was provided.

Talking
of caretakers, I can see old Holmes, caretaker of the big school, going down
the steps and jangling a bunch of keys, calling out to the boys : “Doctor's
orders is . . .” (referring to Dr. Turpin, the Headmaster). His hobby was birds
and his house seemed full of them, He lived in the house now occupied by
Mr.Ings, only it looked very different then. Waverley Mount extended to the end
of the house and you had to go up a few steps to the front door, The two lower
rooms were below the Mount and looked on to a brick wall.

The Old
Prep. was a very happy, busy, place and 'yet how leisurely compared with
to-day!

I
remember one morning waking up to find a terrific freeze-up had set in, and
when we got downstairs there seemed to be an ice rink along the passage of
No.9. An old pipe had burst and water had poured down the walls and icicles
hung from the inside of the front door!  The passages were certainly cold and
draughty but how snug two gas fires made the classroom ! It was good to be at
the front or the back, Then, how the sun streamed in through those big windows
facing south. We could fling them wide open and get fresh air flooding the
room, unhindered by glass.

Then
there was Sam, Mrs. Richardson's husband, as good tempered and decent a man as
ever lived. One thing I shall always remember as one of the most touching
incidents in the old days. He had drawn his first old-age pension allowance and
came into my room carrying a parcel carefully wrapped up in tissue paper and
handed to to me saying, “I want to give you a present with my. first pension
money.”  It was a very nice pewter hot water jug.

At the
end of World War I, Mr.G. Duncan Day was appointed as Head of the Preparatory,
He had spent sixteen years teaching in Egypt. He and his charming mother took a
very real interest in boys and staff and many happy evenings were spent in
their cosy house across from school on Forest Road. Mr. Day often declared that
he was determined that the boys should be happy.

It was
during Mr. Day's “reign” that the Prep. had a separate sports day. Before that
they had a few races during the main school sports. This day soon became known
as a very happy social event, with Fathers v. Boys cricket match at the end,
providing happy competition and a lot of fun.

I will
not dwell on the tragedy that happened in 1935 when Miss Richmond underwent an
operation during the Christmas holidays and died a week later. She was very
popular with the boys and a dear friend of mine, and at the time her loss
seemed irreparable.

Only a
month later Mr.Day had pneumonia and after a short illness he also died. This
double shock was indeed hard to face but we managed to carry on somehow, The
boys were most helpful in every way.

There
is not space to mention all the many names connected with our department and I
shall slur over the war years.

It
seems a pity that the air-raid shelters have been filled in, They were like
Aladdin's Cave, 15ft. underground and hewn out of rock. They were entered
through the cellars of the two houses. We spent quite a few hours down there,
doing all sorts of things. Reading, Handwork, playing games, and even sometimes
doing lessons.

This
brings me up to the present time-more or less!  How we have grown in size ! We
still seem to be noted for our happiness and quite a number of boys have said
that they prefer school to holidays.

May it
always be said by boys of the N.H.S. as they look back, that their school days
were, if not their happiest days, at least happy ones.”

Appendix Twenty Three : the
reminiscences of A.Hardwick

In
April 1963, “The Nottinghamian” published the reminiscences of A.Hardwick. They
covered the period 1925-1963, and were called, in honour of what had long been
considered the school song, “The Last Forty Years”...

“...The Editor, having
furtively fumbled at the latch of my privacy and retirement, finally wormed his
way in to persuade me to attempt an account of some part of the School's
activities and progress in this period.

I came
in September 1925 with the new headmaster, Mr.C.L.Reynolds, the initiator of
our Tutor Set system. Six of the staff of that time are still in Nottingham
retired, while two who came about 1932, Dr.Thomas and Mr.Mells, are still in
active service. Alex. McCarlie, still in the city, is a very proud O.N.,
because at this period he went trembling to the old Prefects' room in the tower
to receive two beats each from : (1) The Dean of Westminster, (2) Kenneth Adam
of the B.B.C., (3) Sam Macdonald-Smith, late of the Colonial Service. The last
just missed his rowing blue at Oxford in the centenary year of 1929. K.Adam and
Geoffrey Trease, the well known winter of children's books, edited the
magazine.

Our
playing fields...the present police ground...were sold, as in 1932 through the
generosity of Mr.J.D.Player, the present ground and fine pavilion came into our
possession. This was only one of the many Player benefactions...the others
being : 1928, Gymnasium Block ; 1932, Hall ; 1939, West Block ; Centre Block,
begun 1939 and finished after the war ; 1960, part of the cost of the north line
of the West Quadrangle. Now rich men are scarce. To find funds for a swimming
bath and adequate dining hall, and to mark our 450th anniversary, we have had
to raise money ourselves from parents, old boys and many firms interested in
us.

In 1935
the long reign of Mr.Onion as groundsman came to an end with his death. From
then through the war Mr. Smith was in charge. He was followed by Mr.Hunt from
Welbeck Abbey ground, and his enthusiasm and skill soon made ours the envy of
the area.

The
cricket for more than twenty-five years was in charge of those two great
enthusiasts, Mr.R.S.Bridge and Mr.W.A.Parsons, one a fine bat in his time, the
other a more than average bowler. After the war, Mr.Towers took over, soon to
be followed by Mr.Leach. In the early 1920's I.S.McLellan's XI was unbeaten,
and I place the 1948 XI of A.K Armitage very high, while there were some good
sides between, of course. But I think the sides generally after the war have
been stronger, largely because of the professional coaching by Messrs. Woodhead
and Clay, and our own Mr.Corran. Perhaps it is invidious to mention names, but
one cannot omit Payton's Blue before the war. Will anyone ever beat his recent
record as the Rev.W.E.G.Payton, for he preached at Founder's Day, and also
scored a century for the O.N.s ? After the war A.K. Armitage just failed to
gain a Blue as a bat ; A.Wheelhouse did succeed as a bowler. Recently we have
added to our reputation by our regular fixture with the M.C.C. And locally in
the County School sides we have acquitted ourselves well.

That
the popularity of the sides and the quality of the cricket has been
appreciated, is evinced by the attendance of parents at matches, their help in
the entertainment of teams behind the scenes, and their generosity with food
when the much-enjoyed Ted Hunt match comes round each year.

The
Dramatic Society has performed in various places: (1) the present Library in
its old condition, with its restricted space, and no green room. Here Mr.
Macklin produced “Much Ado About Nothing” ; (2) the old Art Room-at the top of
the middle block; (3) the Gymnasium; (4) the Prayer Hall. Mr. Hogg produced
plays in these three; he is, of course, now well-known for his travel books. In
all the years of the time under review the Lads' Club has received financial
benefit from the Society's efforts. Mr. Roche it was who started the Christmas
form-play competitions, the best three going forward to perform before parents.
In his “Twelfth Night” of the mid-1930's, with John Walker's strong Sir Toby,
and A.Plumb's beautiful verse-speaking as Olivia, the acting showed a new
strength.

I wish
the Society would tackle “The Knight of the Burning Pestle” again, with its
greater resources and experience. Mr. D. C. Whimster's production was
interesting and creditable.

Then
came Mr. Towers with “Julius Caesar”, Conway's remarkable Caesar, superb crowd
scenes, and a fine set. Sets had been improving for some time, first under
Barrow; and later in 1946-8, under Kendrick and Donald Campbell, it became a
science. Indeed, to become a hack-room boy at this period was impossible
without special gifts. Through all the time under review Mr. Betts, and then
Mr. Foister gave much help in scene painting and design.

I think
Mr.J.Walker's modern coffin in his Richard III was a shattering anachronism,
but he produced one of the most brilliant plays I have seen in the School. It
only remains to mention Mr. Davies' “Murder in the Cathedral”, and Mr
R.Williams' “The Government Inspector” to bring this record to a close.

Of
course I have picked out the highlights. These plays have engaged many boys,
masters and parents, for some weeks each year, leaving them with the glow from
praise after happy accomplishment. Indeed, a lively Society.

Mr.Bridge
was a bookman of wide interests, as I wrote in his obituary; and with the aid
of his colleague Mr.W.M.Wigfield the formation of an up-to-date library really
began. Part of the corridor to the Prayer Hall was formerly a little room, off
Mr.Wigfield's, used by him for history books; Mr. Bridge had his growing
collection, largely at first consisting of History, Geography and Travel, in
cupboards in his room. Funds were small and continued to be woefully so right
through his time, so that he became really expert in picking bargains from
second-hand book lists.

In
1932, after some reconstruction and the inclusion of the two small rooms at the
east end, with their pleasant carved panels, the library proper came into
being; and here I must emphasise what a gigantic task it was for Mr.Bridge to
undertake the organization and cataloguing by himself. He decided on a
modification of the Cheltenham Scheme which worked very well for most of his
time. But by 1955, when he died, the weakness of his numerical system became so
apparent, falling down with the huge influx of new books through a much larger
library grant, that a radical change became necessary. The Librarian, with
strong support from Dr.Thomas and Mr.Grauberg, decided to turn to the
Dewey-Decimal system, not only because it is well-tried, but because most Public
Libraries use it ; and boys, having mastered the system at school, can turn
more readily to their local libraries.

It was
an arduous task whose completion was only possible with the aid of teams of
boys, the mere compilation of an Accession Book of some 8 000 entries, the
creation of full card catalogue and the stamping and numbering of the books on
Dewey lines giving some idea of the task involved.

The
addition of so much new material, and the removal on expert advice of the
out-of-date and the useless, have made some sections almost unrecognisable; and
the Library, started so humbly so long ago, with the addition of the R.S.
Bridge Bequest now comprises some 11,000 books.

Music
before the war means Mr.Gordon Thorpe, though Mr. Sykes had certainly improved
the singing before he left in the early thirties.

The two
things due to Mr.Thorpe were a new enthusiasm for singing, and the creation of
an orchestra of a sort....before him a scratch affair of a few fiddles. He was
a born trainer of choirs, providing a wide and attractive set of songs for the
boys to bite on, and even on occasion writing a tune himself. He also set some
of our daily hymns to his own tunes ; nor must he be forgotten as a competent
organist.

Though
there was no internal teaching for instrumentalists, Mr.Thorpe got together
what strings he could, and with these, and a few parents and masters on various
instruments, formed an orchestra which at various times gave creditable
performances. Mr. W.Todd continued both the choral and instrumental work with
unremitting vigour. A player on all the wind instruments after a fashion, a
perfect writer of MS. music, a useful organist, he could inspire anyone.

With
the coming of Mr. Imeson in 1954, a great change came over the orchestra; for
what had been haphazard in musical habits now became highly organised,
provision being at once made for several teachers to instruct boys on string
and wind within the school timetable. The result of this was soon apparent, an
orchestra of new quality emerging, which later Mr.Partington and Mr.Scott
divided into the present Senior and Junior Orchestras and Band. The usual ranks
of instrumentalists can now be seen at a concert. A boy of ability usually
purchases the instrument provided by the school, this being replaced by another
for a learner to start on.

The
quality of choir singing had risen sharply under Mr.Boyle...a superb organist
and fine musical scholar. The beauty of the singing, especially at St. Mary's,
revealed his own taste and feeling. Under Mr.Partington’s directorship the good
work has continued, and we have come to a richer harvest in this field, while
the Bridge Cup Competition in the Lent Term, begun under Mr.Todd, continues to
stimulate the Houses in choral, instrumental and oral work.

The war
years bring to mind the cold of 1940 ;  Mr. Boots' “The Siren’s gone,” followed
by the School's smooth procession to the under-croft built through
Mr.J.D.Player's wise foresight; the advent of mistresses; the Fire Watch by the
Staff ; the use of the pavilion by groups of forms taking a daily turn at
lessons there and games ;  and lastly, Mr.Palmer's Farm Camps.

For
almost ten years these camps were a pleasing activity which made us known and
popular around Car Colston where our sleeping and dining centre was the Village
Hall. Others, less important and over a shorter period, were held at Elston
Towers and Dowsby (Lincs.). At Car Coiston for six weeks or so each year a
changing group of 30 boys and assisting masters lived with Mr. Palmer as cook
and leader...he stayed the whole time. He never seemed to go to bed ; during my
fortnight's turn he was still up when I retired (10.30-11 p.m.) ; and he was
usually up by 5.30 a.m. when we had to start the porridge. The boys assisted
with the harvest and other farm jobs; the pay, especially in the early years,
being small ; indeed, after paying for food, there was little left for worn
clothing, but much gained from a healthy outdoor life and in goodwill among the
farming community. Many of us loved the mushrooms, plentiful in Mr. Allwood's
fields, and few went home at the week-ends without blackberries or a few eggs
which were much appreciated by mothers in those hard years. When the camps
finally ended, Mr. Palmer received a gold wrist-watch from the local farmers as
a thank-you for our efforts.

In a
school now approaching 1,000 strong there has been a proliferation of
societies, and a development of older ones. Mr.Stephens' keenness with his
telescopes, cameras and projectors has affected many boys, and for sixth
formers Mr.Thompson's stiff treks to the Cairngorms and Skye have proved a
hardening experience. Modern languages have benefited much from Dr. Thimann's
exchange arrangements, especially in Belgium and Germany. Scouts also, started
in 1948 by Mr. Collander-Brown, continue to go happily on under Mr.Usher.
Perhaps among the older activities the Athletic Club has been most successful,
first under Mr.A.K.Smetham's drive and organising gifts, and secondly under Mr.
Powell ; nor must it be forgotten that we have been able to compete against the
Achilles Club, and have one Blue in John Booth. Lastly, there is the Boat Club,
now forty years old, which under Mr.Kettell and Mr. Elliott has raised its
standards considerably.

This
then is some of our record. No boy who falls within the ambience of the
School's activities can fail to gain a great deal outside what is generally
regarded as education; and I do not fear the judgment of posterity.”

Appendix
Twenty Four : the Preparatory School in the 1920s

“The
Nottinghamian” published the following reminiscences in July 1957...

“Miss
Wootton, who has helped out this term during Mr.Towers' absence, must surely be
the only member of our Staff ever to come back to teach after an interval of
thirty years !  Below are her impressions of this unique experiment with time.

“It
seems a long time since I was beginning to think about looking for my first
teaching post !

As it
happened, I never had to look for one, for Dr. Turpin, the Headmaster of
N.H.S., offered me a post in the Preparatory Department. I had never thought of
teaching boys, but when I went to see Miss Richmond, the acting-head of the
Preparatory, and heard all about the little boys and how delightful they were,
I decided that I would accept the offer.

My stay
was only a short one, but I spent four very happy terms there, and in a quiet
and peaceful atmosphere learnt a great deal which prepared me for more than
thirty years' quite strenuous work at my own school, the Nottingham High School
for Girls.

Although
those war days were grim and terrible, the small boys, who always reminded me
of little maggots because they wriggled so much, made us all forget, during
school hours at least, the horrors of the war. I found them eager and
delightful to teach ; they were lively, some of them, of course, were naughty,
but I happen to like them like that...within reason. I have met a good many of
them since, not as pupils, but as fathers of some of my N.G.H.S. pupils. Good
parents they have become, too!

We were
all women on the Preparatory staff at that time, and we had plenty to do, but
to end morning school before 12.30 seemed bliss to me, and I certainly was not
overworked. The Staff never entered the main building, although the boys went
there for prayers, singing and gymnastics : everything else was taught in
Waverley Mount, but we used to patrol the big playground at Break, usually in
gusty winds and clouds of dust. The winds still seem to blow across the
playground with unabated vigour!

We
seemed to be very much apart from the main school, and yet we were considered
important. It was always a mystery to me in my youthful inexperience, that the
Headmaster knew everything that happened in our little world, and yet I
remember only one occasion when he paid us a visit during school hours. I sometimes
wondered whether he had in his room some secret kind of television which
recorded our doings, but at any rate he was always most kind and appreciative,
and gave us what we asked for.

This
summer I returned to N.H.S. for three weeks to supply for a member of the Staff
who was ill, but not in the Preparatory Department this time. Big boys instead
of girls !  What an adventure !

Early
on the first morning I began to view the next few weeks with trepidation and to
wonder whether I had not been rather foolish to undertake the task. I certainly
knew a little about the school and its changes through the Inter-N.H.S. and
N.G.H.S. Sixth Form Society, but that was not like being in the school.

When I
arrived I found that the outside of the building looked different...the old
caretaker's house seemed to have gone, the steps leading from Waverley Mount
into the playground had disappeared, the Preparatory Department was housed in a
new wing, and there was the banging and crashing of men at work. The school was
evidently expanding once more, although it had already added a good deal to its
structure since I first knew it. I made my way to the Staff Room, feeling
rather frightened and forlorn, but I need not have feared, for during the whole
time I was there I was made to feel at home, and after a day or two I began to
feel almost part of the school.

I
thought at first that I might easily get lost, as all the corridors looked so
much alike, but there was always a stalwart guide ready to conduct me to the
right spot, and it soon became quite simple.

I have
been asked, "Is teaching boys very different from teaching girls ? ".
No, not really. They make the same kinds of mistakes, and even boys forget
sometimes to give in their books at the right time. I found the boys very
pleasant to teach, lively and very polite, but some of them were so huge that I
felt like a pigmy, and if the blazers had not betrayed them, I should not have
been able to distinguish boys from masters when meeting them in the corridors
between lessons. Their voices too, when they laughed, were in many cases
"like the roar of many waters," as my father used to describe my
brothers voices.

One
thing I did discover was that a men's Staff Room at Break is just as noisy as a
Staff Room where all are women, although the pitch may be a little lower !
There was the same friendly feeling too.

Wednesday
mornings were wonderful. The school seemed to take on a martial air, and I
found myself in front of a form composed of the Navy, the Army and the Air
Force. Most impressive!  Even in the Staff Room smart officers' uniforms had in
some cases taken the place of the usual gowns. My last day at the school was
made all the more interesting by the C.C.F. inspection, part of which I was
able to watch. The boys seemed to my in-experienced eyes to be very smart, and
the band was indeed a sight to behold...and to hear. I hope they all had a good
report.

My
return to N.H.S. was unexpected and quite short, but it was a very pleasant
experience and made me feel that the rising male generation was as good as its
predecessors and perhaps better, and that to be a mere female in the midst of a
male staff is not an unpleasant position.”

Appendix
Twenty Five : reminiscences of 1944 onwards

The
following reminiscences were from Anthony R. Broome (1944-1950), and were
published in “The Nottinghamian”...

“My
school career was characterised by a total lack of any distinction whatsoever.
Academically mediocre and of no sporting or dramatic talent at all I nurtured
over several years an ability to blend into the background and I am quite sure
that when I left no one except a few close friends realised I had gone. Having
said that I must admit my years from 1A1 up to VISc were of most unparalleled
happiness and I left School with genuine sadness.

Of
course I started in the war years when army lorries were still parked on the
west side of the playground which was out of bounds and the partly completed
west wing was still "occupied territory" except for Tubby Hardwick's
room (2A) and was similarly out of bounds. The prep school was in an old and
decrepit house at the end of Waverley Mount with access from the playground up
a rather insecure wooden staircase. On one occasion during some horseplay I saw
the balustrade break off completely and a boy save himself from a ten foot drop
into the playground by a hair-breadth.

Mr.Reynolds
was the Head Master and ran the school by what always appeared to me to be a
combination of the highest ethical, moral and educational principles possible
and sheer terror. A tall, aquiline, ascetic, thoughtful man he stalked the
school corridors with a slow stride and he missed nothing. I recently listened
to the Chief Constable of Derbyshire at a dinner rueing the way example and
direction do not come from the top any more and my thoughts went back forty
years to my old Head whose conduct and courtesy were an example to us all...or
so it seemed to me. As a pupil, obedience was immediate and total.

When I
first started the Second Master was “Guts” Kennard. A venerable and stooping
figure in a gown irridescent green with the patina of age -we thought he must
have been at school since 1513. Indeed men old enough to be my grandfather
would exclaim "My God ....is he still there...he was there in my day.
....is Beaky Bridge still there ? , and Freddie Hood and Nobby Newbound ?
" And of course they were. When Guts retired he was followed by Albert
Duddell. A patient, warm, approachable, bicycling classical master Uncle Albert
operated from VA at the front of the west block on the ground floor. In the
room directly above was the glamorous and youthful Mrs. Helm, mistress of 2
Red.

Lunch
was taken in the Refectory. I am quite sure the exigencies of providing food
for energetic and growing boys during and after the war must have been a
nightmare for those responsible. The fare provided could be described as
reasonably acceptable to fairly awful. On one occasion a friend looked at his
meat, winced, looked at me and said that reminds me ...I have not seen Mr.Ings'
dog this week." Mr.Ings was the caretaker and his dog a large Alsatian.
Sadly the remark was overheard by Miss Fraser, the matron, who was supervising
the lunch. She went berserk. A master appeared in an instant and we were sent
outside where the untimely arrival of the dreaded Mr.Reynolds added to our
discomfort. That afternoon we arrived home later than usual...and hungry as
well.

Punishment
broadly came in three forms. A "ticket" was handed out for more
serious misdemeanours, like outright insubordination, telling lies, cheating or
not wearing a cap. and detention tickets went down on a boy's record. Prefects
dealt with minor troubles and sat in judgement every Friday at 10.00 a.m. in a
room in the tower. Other misdemeanours were dealt with by masters giving out
lines or detentions. Recently I found the 1946 detention book which some
erstwhile friends rescued from a dustbin behind the gym 44 years ago. Some of
the entries make amusing reading at this distance of time, for example
“Buffoonery in class” Worton L5c and Neale 4B., “Taking risks on a tram-car.” C
Tomlinson 2A from Tubby Hardwick., “Dangerous behaviour with a gas tap” Walton
4G and "Misdirected sense of humour” Usher 5A. “ Being concerned with the
carbide and inkwell episode” must have been an exciting experience as no fewer
than seven boys from 2A were detained and “indiscriminate snowballing”
Pettigrew U5C, suggests a snowball passed too near to Mr. Beeby's head -unusual
as they were normally directed at Bill Boot or passing prefects.

And so
I could go on -a sure sign of advancing years. But the School was an ordered
and happy place. When I walked away down Arboretum Street for the very last
time I was too sad to look back, leaving those friends whom, 40 years on, I
still meet regularly, who still write and telephone and whom I first met at
NHS.

After
my years at Nottingham University (referred to disparagingly as “Boots
College”) and in the army I settled in Matlock and am married to a Head
Mistress and am myself a governor of a local L.E.A. school. So, although a chemist,
I still live partly in a world of schools and teachers ...albeit of a very
different kind, and hope and pray they enjoy the life as much as we did. ”

In July
1954, “The Nottinghamian” published the following reminiscences, by W.M.Oldham,
who had been in 6 Economics. Their most interesting feature, perhaps, is that
they were the memories of an average boy, rather than the Captain of the
School, or a boy of great academic prowess...

On being an elderly schoolboy (1944-54)

Ten
years, ten long years, have I endured the trials and tribulations of this
ancient Public School. How many times have my unwilling feet plodded along the
wet and uneven pavements of Forest Road ? What terrible sin did I commit, in my
past life, that I should merit such a

fate ?

Enough!
What of those ten years ?

1944
was a troubled year, but I was small and young, and international strife did
not bother me...for even in those far-off times I realised the honour of
wearing the Three Merles on my cap. However, little did I realise the
heartbreaks and the tribulations that those three birds were going to shower
about my innocent head.

The
lowest form, in those days, was 1D, and how insignificant I felt, way down at
the bottom of the ladder which went up, right up, to the dizzy heights of the
Sixth Form. My memory is now dimmed by my excessive age, but this I can
remember ; 1D form-room was in the “old Prep” building, up those slippery
wooden steps, through the front door, up the creaking stairs, left at the top
and first door on the right. At one time this room was a bedroom, but now it
was my form-room, with its closely spaced desks, near opaque bay windows and,
luxury of luxuries, a gas fire, where we used to toast our mid-morning cobs and
dry our snow-balled jackets.

The
following year, presumably through a gross error, I was moved up into lB,
missing 1C, and it was during this year that the Army kindly vacated the new
Preparatory School block. We therefore, moved in.  The new building may be more
school-like, it may be bigger, and it was certainly warmer than the “Old Prep,”
but the Preparatory lost something in that changeover.

Time
had its way, and eventually after a year in 1A2, with some very carefree
inter-school soccer and cricket matches, I found myself in the “C” stream of the
Main School. “Boris” Jones, “Gus” Galloway, “Inky” Ingram, all did their best
for us, gave up and left ; even Mr. Whitty, after a year as my form-master,
hung up his gas-cape for the last time, abandoned his lethal window-pole and
retired to the north.

At last
the Upper Fifths came upon me School Cert. year.  First we had “Mock”, for
which several of us did some work, and then...suddenly July came, and with it a
mad frenzy of revision, revision, revision and swotting. Just as suddenly,
everything fell quite flat...School Cert. was over. At least until Christmas,
when most of us ex-C formers sat again for an extra subject.

The
first term of this year brought the final rung of the ladder within my
grasp...the Sixth Form...where a boy becomes a young man and a master becomes
a...well, shall we say a welcome companion in our unquenchable thirst for
knowledge ?

However, we did manage to have a
little time for pleasure...squeezed into a time-table brimming over with work

After
ten years at the Old School, I'm leaving ; I have no great fame, notorious or
otherwise, no scholastic distinctions, no colours...nothing save my “Privs.”
and Three Merles. However, I must now face the world, duty calls me into the
R.A.F. for two long years and after that...what ?  Whatever may befall me, I
know that I have a firm foundation to my life upon which I may build a solid
future, for I am an Old Nottinghamian.

Appendix
Twenty Six : School Examinations

Nottingham High School.

Junior Scholarship Examination, July 1926.

LATIN GRAMMAR AND SENTENCES.

[Time...1,5 hours.]

1.         Give the ablative
singular, nominative and genitive plural of hic pes, ingens gradus, nostrum
mare, dives homo.

2.         Compare audax, niger,
malus. Give the Latin for on the tenth day, with a hundred soldiers, twice.

3.         Give the second person,
singular and plural, of the present imperative active of sum, rego, audio.

Give the first person. singular
and plural, of the present subjunctive active, and of the future indicative
passive of amo, moneo.

4.         Parse nolint,
irent, caperet, auximus, triuie. Give the
principal parts of do, cavec, cado, scio, audeo.

5.         Explain the use of the
gerund and gerundive, and write short Latin sentences, with English
translation, to illustrate your answer.

6.         Translate into LATIN:

(a)
You ought to see the city if you can.

(b)
He said that he had conquered all his
enemies.

(c)
When he had written the letter he
returned home.

(d)
Will you not come with me in order that
you may be useful to me and

my
friends ?

(e)        I
asked my brother whether he had read the book I had given him.

(f)        Caesar
advanced seven miles from that place.

(g)        They
will give hostages and obey the rule of the Roman people.

Nottingham High School.

Junior Scholarship Examination, July 1926.

LATIN TRANSLATION.

[Time....1,5 hours.]

1.         Translate:

(a)        Nihil tristius
esse potest quam nunquam valere.

(b)        Nemo tam
ignarus est ut Romam a Romulo conditam esse nesciat.

(c)        Speramus te
nihil patre invito facturum esse.

(d)       Nego me iussum
esse me abire.

2.         Cum paulo longius a castris
processisset, suos ab hostibus premi animadvertit: conferta legione, cx omnibus
partibus tela coniciehantur. nam omni frumento ex reliquis partihus demesso,
pars una erat reliqua: hostes suspicati nostros hue ease venturos noctu in
silvis delituerant: tum suhito nostros dispersos adonuntur : nam illi, occupati
in metendo, arma deposuerant: itaque paucis interfectis, reliquos incertis
ordinihus perturbant: simul equitatu atque essedis nostros circumdant.

3.         Ex his gentibus longe sunt humanissimi,
qili Cantium in-colunt: quac regio est maritima omnis, neque multum a Gallica
diflerunt consuetudine. interiores plerique frumenta non serunt, sed lacte ac
came vivunt, pellihusque sunt vestiti. omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt,
quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugna aspectu; capillum
habent pro-missum; omnem corporis partem praeter caput et labrum superius radunt.

4.         Agesilaus, simul atque impeni potitus
est, persuasit Lacedaemonija ut exercitus suos in Asiam mitterent bellumque
contra regem Artaxerxem facerent, docens melius esse oppugnare prius-quam ipsi
oppugnarentur et in hostium finihus potius quam in suis helium gerere audiverat
enim Artaxerxem comparare classes pedestresque exercitus quos in Graeciam
mitteret. data potestate a populo, Agesilaus tam celeriter omnia fecit ut prius
in Asiam cum copus suis pervenerit quam Artaxerxes eum sciret profectum. quo
factum est ut hostes imparatos imprudentesque caperet vinceretque. itaque          Artaxerxes
pacem ab eo petere coactus eat.

Nottingham High School.

Junior Scholarship Examination, July 1926.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND LITERATURE.

[Time-1,5 hours.]

[Answer any six questions.]

1.         Analyse the following :

Then, as I said, the
duke, great Bolingbroke,

Mounted upon a hot and
fiery steed,

Which his aspiring
rider seem'd to know,

With slow but stately
pace kept on his course,

Whilst all tongues
cried God save thee, Bolingbroke!'

2.         Write sentences illustrating the difference of
meaning in each of the following pairs of words: Britannic, British ; prudent,
cautious ; principle, principal ; elemental, elementary.

3          Point out any mistakes in the following
sentences, and express the meaning in good English:

(1)        The Great Auk is a
rather unique bird.

(2)        I do not like those
kind of things.

(3)        He was oblivious to the
consequences of his actions.

(4)        I did not cry, like
Mary did.

4          Who said the following,
to whom were they speaking, and on what occasions ?

(a)        A brittle glory shineth
in this face :

As brittle as the
glory is the face.

(b)        Then, Bolingbroke, as
low as to thy heart,

Through the false
passage of thy throat, thou hear.

(c)        See, see, King Richard
doth himself appear,

As doth the blushing
discontented sun

From out the fiery
portal of the east.

(d)       ... thou most beauteous
inn,

Why should
hard-favour'd grief he lodged in thee, When triumph is                                                become
an alehouse guest !

5.         Do you think that
Richard II, as he is pictured in the play, deserved his fate ?

Give
reasons for your opinion.

Appendix
Twenty Seven : reminiscences from 1949 onwards

I first
set foot in Nottingham High School some time in the Autumn term of 1949 -when
the School Song was “40 years on”....and forty years on from joining the School
it is salutary to think back to what it was like at that time.

My
interview for the post was on the day after Speech Day ....a Friday in October.
It was not an auspicious day. I was delayed by fog, a fog so thick that I saw
the inside of the School before the outside....things were like that in the
days before the Clean Air Acts; then I remember treading on Mr. Reynolds' gown
as we descended from the stage in the Hall; Staff wore gowns then -all the
time; and I declined his invitation to lunch (not realising that behaviour at
lunchtime was a part of the selection procedure). Lunch was in the Dining Hall,
under the watchful eye of Jack Mells, and most of the Staff and boys. That
Dining Hall is now the Music School, and Matron (Miss Fraser) had her room just
inside the door.

In
spite of all the omens I was appointed, and with the appointment was the
opportunity to rent a School flat ....a great advantage in 1950 when
accommodation was hard to find so soon after the War. The school had
refurbished four flats in 17 and 18 Belgrave Square...now long demolished. Ours
was No. 18 -by a great co-incidence the self-same house in which I had been
billetted in 1943 in the Army. Our neighbours at various times were JDP, CRBE,
CHS and others. Next door, No. 16, was the Fuel Office, responsible for the
rationing of coal even at this stage. It was not unknown for us to have
uninvited guests in our bedroom pleading for a fuel ration, having mistaken the
address. The electricity supply to the building was DC, as it was in parts of
the School such as the Rifle Range, and, I believe, the Hall. Several parts of
Nottingham still had DC supplies, this being associated with the Tramway system
and the later Trolleybuses.

In
School my department consisted of the Laboratory, newly converted from 3B's
classroom, known for many years as the Detention Room, at the end of the centre
corridor, at the opposite end to Mr. Reynolds' study, which could be a little
off-putting at times as he objected to noise, especially laughter, echoing down
the corridor. This room is now half of the Large Lecture Theatre. There was a
Preparation Room which was on the site of a former staircase, later to become
the corridor leading to the Staff Room. Opposite was Bill Boot's room, now the
Video Recording Room. Bill Boot had been for many years the School Caretaker,
and later School Messenger or School Marshal. Beneath the Laboratory was the
Music Department whence there was frequent distraction from discordant trumpet
duets and other less-than-perfect recitals. At this time there was no building
connecting the centre block with the Preparatory School, which was housed in
the West Block, and which, due to the War, had a somewhat unfinished
appearance. The Caretaker's House occupied the space between the West Block and
what is now the Tuck Shop.

Where
the Caretaker's Bungalow now stands was an open space on which an ex War
Department hut stood, which housed the CCF Signal Section. When the CCF Radio
Net was started in 1951 (?), a radio station, complete with aerial mast was
installed, to the considerable annoyance of the then caretaker, Mr. Ings, who
protested that transmissions interfered with reception on his newly installed
television (9 inch, black and white screen) -he may well have been one of the
earliest members of the school to have a set. Certainly there was no set in the
school for several years to come.

Waverley
Mount had houses on the North side, several of them inhabited, others used as
offices, and, at the end nearest to the school, was the Jewish Club with tennis
courts at the back. On the South side a large house later became the
Headmaster's house when Mr. Imeson came, and in due course it was demolished
for the building of the Swimming Pool. At the Waverley Street end was
University House School of which only the 'UH' rooms and the prefabricated
hut...the Physical Science Lab, in which had been their kindergarten...remain.

Where
now is the Djanogly Building -the Science Department -was the garden areas of
two large houses, Dr. Turpin's nearest to the school and Mount Vernon Lodge
nearer to Waverley Street. It was to Dr. Turpin's house that the Biology
Department and the Music Department were evacuated while the new block was
built to house Geography, Biology, the Staff Room and so on. The east side of
the yard, where now stands the Sports Centre, changed little until the Centre
was built. At the Forest Road end were two Fives Courts, the long wall of the
Miniature Rifle Range, open to the sky until roofed in the Fifties, the Orderly
Room and Stores, superseded with the development of the present CCF Block on the
opposite side of the yard, and, next to the Hall, the Gardener's hut. Behind
this row of buildings stood Brincliffe School, whose Science Lab became the
Staff Car Park.

The
buildings may have changed in forty years -what about the inhabitants? There
are, of course, more of them, approaching twice as many, and while the school
uniform may be similar, no one wears a school cap, and there are few short
trousers to be seen.

Navy
blue raincoats have gone the way of khaki battledress, khaki berets and studded
boots on Corps day. There were then no Royal Navy uniforms...the Section did
not come into being until the mid fifties, and the RAF Section was relatively
small as every recruit to the CCF went first into the Basic Section and wore
khaki. Around the School, and the adjacent streets there were virtually no
cars, nor was there any School transport until 1959 when the first (ex WD)
Bedford Lorry was bought for the corps, followed in 1964 by the ex-Midland
General Coach, KRB 97. The main transport, for those who did not use trains and
buses was the bicycle, stored during the day in 'the bike shed', to surge forth
at the end of the day on to a Forest Road relatively free of traffic....

W.H.Neville (staff, 1950-1981 & 1989-1991)

Appendix
Twenty Eight : reminiscences, 1955-1963

In
April 1963, “The Nottinghamian” published reminiscences from the period
1955-1963. They were written by “P.R.S.”, and were intriguingly entitled “Eight
years hard ; my life and times at N.H.S.”...

“...I remember once
reading that the oldest piece of writing extant was a Lament by the author for
the weakness and the ease of life of the next generation. How I share these
sentiments!

I
entered the High School in 1955 and can well remember the hard times that faced
a newcomer to this establishment. In those days prefects were men, harsh,
unreasonable, accepting no excuses. The Tower was then an appropriate dwelling
for the Corpus. An ominous place, forever in the shadows, haunted by the souls
of countless boys. To this day, although the Tower is locked, condemned for its
very age, one still seems to hear the echoes of names being shouted down the
stairs, which vibrated under shaking knees.

Over
the years the prefects have become almost human : luxury too has softened them.
The Prefects’ Room is furnished now with armchairs, and is almost inviting, a
far cry from eight years ago.

The
present generation of masters seems to have suffered from the influence of
reading modern educational books, with their exhortations never to rely on
physical violence as the ultimate means of enforcing discipline. Who can now
remember the Red Hand Gang, to be a member of which was a lifelong honour ? Who
can remember the master who beat a whole form twice in one week ? Even those
masters who were of this generation have been unfairly influenced by modern
theory. No longer do boys who are to be punished help move the desks and chairs
to provide a long run up and a large swinging area. They are told to think
about what they did, and their parents receive letters suggesting a good child
psycho-analyst !

In
those hard times the school yard was the focal point of school life. How often
now does the whole school turn out to chant, “ Fight ! Fight ! ”  and then have
to disperse rapidly as the prefects come running  ? At one time a Prefect or
privileged Sixth Former was still new until he had run the gauntlet of nearly
six hundred boys, each with a snowball. In those days the yard was gravelled,
and to fall over at football was to accept the consequences. Naturally the standard
of play was then higher, for now boys are encouraged to roll on the
velvet-surfaced ground, and score goals between recognised goal posts (wooden
blocks provided for the purpose). Then a jacket was good enough, the owner
having to play football English style, instead of standing around like a
continental millionaire footballer. No one once dared wear long trousers until
the fourth form. There are cases known nowadays of boys beginning their
education at the school wearing long trousers. Severe winters are no excuse for
this.

There
are few of us left who can remember the long sprint from the North Door in
teeming rain across the gravel yard to collect our bottles of milk from outside
the fives court. Bad weather then did not affect the cross-country programme,
which was eagerly looked forward to in any weather. At the first sign of dark
clouds nowadays there are frantic telephone calls to and from Valley Road, and
boys inevitably remain at school for an extra Latin lesson. This is not the
kind of attitude that makes men.

The
staff too must regret the passing of hard times. This might be an apt point to
mention, with no disrespect intended, that the average age of masters is
dropping steadily. Rumour tells of older masters putting young ones in
detention, and reprimanding them for not wearing school uniform...even if they
are members of the third year sixth. The staff room used to be on the ground
floor, furnished with baize-topped tables, useful for non-slip dealing. The
music room was opposite the staff room, so that at all times masters could hear
the pleasant sound of young, lusty voices, singing some well-known verse from
the Oxford Song Book.

“O,
‘twas in the broad Atlantic....” The headmaster's life was a hard one in those
days, living as he did next to the school. Is it reasonable to ask how many new
boys know where the headmaster's old house was ? When this article appears this
house will be gone.

Dr.
Turpin's house is also coming down. There was the epitome of hard times. One
reached it by descending a muddy rockery, and entering a draughty hall. The
rooms were cold, too small for a large form, and yet in these circumstances
biology, geography, English and music were taught to ordinary and advanced
level. The new block by the west quadrangle bears witness to the pampered
existence of modern pupils. Soon another new block will be added to the campus
of Nottingham High School. There will be no queuing for third lunch, or racing
down to the Victoria Baths and back again in forty minutes. I hesitate to condemn
modern Nottinghamians, yet I have grave doubts for their future. “Fings aint
what they used to be,” is the modern cry. How much more apt to end with, “O,
what a falling off was there.”

Appendix
Twenty Nine : ball games, 1959

In the
Summer Term of 1959, “The Nottinghamian” published an account of “Some ball
games played in the school yard”.

It was
by A.Jeffries of Form LVA...

“...It is difficult to
cross the School yard without a ball crossing one's path.

That little round object, costing
tenpence halfpenny from Dicko's, may be serving many purposes. It might be
speeding through an imaginary net, amid the cheers of the successful side, or
gaining four runs for some fiery batsman.

Let us
investigate some of the games in which the ball will be playing an important
part.

Over by
the cycle shed a group of boys, legs astride, are standing in a circle. Someone
throws a ball into the middle. It rolls down the slight gradient towards the
smallest boy's legs (which incidentally, are the widest apart), but stops just
outside them. However, next time the aim is truer, and the ball rolls between
the same two dirty shoes. The small boy is now technically described as being
“on”.

He
hastily counts to ten, while the rest scatter, binding their handkerchiefs about
their hands like knuckledusters. The little boy then flings the ball with all
his might at his sworn enemies (i.e. the other small boys). When he has hit a
few people, the going is easier, and those hit soon catch the rest.

The
last boy unhit is given the title of “King”. He is the hero of the game, and
shows his skill at dodging the ball and warding off attacks with his fists. At
last he is hit and the game begins again.

Across
the drive, several association football games are taking place. In an area of
about half the size of a football pitch, about 80 young gentlemen are chasing
several balls.

Needless
to say, all the players are sometimes guilty of kicking the next-door
neighbour's ball. Mass action is then sometimes taken by the offended. The
leaders of men arrange their regiments and march into enemy territory, retrieve
their ball, and fling their enemies as far away as possible. However, such
disturbances do not often occur, and when the bigger boys do the stealing, the
retrievers usually retreat in confusion.

A group
of fourth formers is playing nearest the hall. They appear to be equally
skilled at passing and fouling. The usual way to obtain the ball is to push
one's opponent out of the way or else trip him up.

One
hears a fierce argument about the validity of a penalty given by the
self-appointed referee. He is unable to cope with the desperate situation.
Aggression seems imminent, and the game is adjourned until tempers cool, the
fouled and the fellow who didn't do it walking off in opposite directions,
surrounded by their supporters, muttering rude things about each other.

Having
no fourth form game to watch, we are relegated to the second form division.
This game, by comparison, is scrappy. The ball is obviously regarded as a
dangerous or even lethal object (a hand grenade in disguise).

When
the ball comes to most of the players, they kick it as far away as possible.
There are the bold few. Some do their best to copy their footballing heroes.
One such lad has just scored a goal, and is walking back to start another bout
of kick and run, surrounded by a group of back-slappers. He has a modest grin
just visible behind the sweat and grime.

Cricket
is another popular game, although unlike football, it is played only in the
season. It has many different forms, and the ball is the only necessary item
for the game. Sometimes a bat is used, but as often as not, the batsman's only
defence is his hand or fist.

The
first game to be surveyed is a third form game. Forty boys may be playing, but
only ten will be active outfield fielders. Most of the rest will be lining the
sides of the pitch between the bowler and the batsman, waiting for the over to
finish or the batsman to be out so that they can have a chance to do something.
This is a tip it and run game, i.e. if one touches the ball one has to run like
mad to the other end. Wickets fall quickly here, most players being run out.

The
Upper Fifth formers reach the other extreme. There are rarely more than fifteen
boys playing, and these are scattered all over the yard to stop the runs
mounting too fast. A bat is essential in this game as the bowlers are so fast
and accurate, and consequently many runs come between the hitting of the wall
at the required spot by the ball.

The
Middle School game is much more balanced. Although still dominated by those who
bowl nearly all the time and always bat first, every-one is given his chance,
and wickets fall regularly enough to keep the interest of the players.

These
are by no means all the games. The natural ingenuity of boys has devised many
modifications, but this article gives some idea of the different combinations
of boy and ball which can be achieved.”

Appendix
Thirty : Crystal-gazing

In
April 1963, “The Nottinghamian” published a number of prophecies for the rest
of the century...

“For I dipt into the future. . . . . .

Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would
be.”

In the
war there was a sense of common purpose and great hopes for the peace. The
times we now live in are no less exciting ; our aims should be as high ; we
must secure support and action for a great leap forward. It is expected that
the Robbins Committee due to publish its report this summer will indicate the
way. Under a reformed system, schools such as ours, however efficient and influential
in the past, will not retain their independence because the national problems
of social injustice and inequality of opportunity are over-riding in urgency.

To-day,
for example, there is a vast waste of talent : only a minority of the sons and
daughters of manual workers carry on their education after the age of fifteen,
and the independent public schools have done little to improve the situation.
Under an expanded state system the High School could become a large Sixth Form
College for boys and girls from the present secondary schools in the area or
from new schools built on an educational campus bounded by Addison Street,
Forest Road, and Waverley Street. The examination system must change much more
quickly. At present it is designed for the ablest and therefore cannot be
expected to produce, and is not fitted for the massive expansion that is
required. Boys are led to believe that specialist education is our aim and that
general education hardly matters at all.

The
changes and advances in mathematics, in particular the advance in numerical
methods and the increasing use of analogue and digital computing equipment, and
also the developments in statistics, must be incorporated into any new system.
The Mathematics Department has warily obtained on loan three simple
hand-operated calculating machines. It is certain that the Mathematics
Department of the not very distant future will possess a computer, probably
assembled at school from parts supplied by the manufacturers and therefore
costing a mere few thousand pounds. It is not irrelevant to note that some
schools in Russia and America already have this facility.

Experiments
are also taking place at the present time in the use of teaching machines and
programmed learning for mathematics, and there is evidence to show their value
in simple work with slower learners. With these machines, and computers, we are
beginning to gather scientifically knowledge about the process of learning.

Finally
there are two factors which are the key to all the improvements mentioned : a
substantial increase in expenditure on education and a greatly increased supply
of teachers. Before either of these is possible everybody must be persuaded and
brought to believe in the vital importance of education, for upon it depends
the growth, freedom and happiness of every human being, the quality of our
society and the wealth of the nation.

D.J.W.Usher

“Syllabuses move but slowly, creeping on from point to
point.”

Science
advances rapidly, showing first one fascinating aspect then another. Whilst
many discoveries appear to be brilliant, relatively few achieve the ultimate
honour of inclusion in a school syllabus. What changes, then, can one expect in
the next forty years ?

Much
more stress will be laid upon atomic science ; radioactivity, nuclear fission
and fusion are all likely to be taught even at “O” level. The Geiger counter
will be as familiar in the future as the microscope has been in the past. The
quantum theory will be disdained as part of “classical” science. How science is
taught may well change more dramatically ; closed circuit television for
demonstrations and use of teaching machines to supplement the efforts of the
few science teachers still available are two obvious possibilities.

But the
names of Archimedes, Newton and Wheatstone will resound through the classrooms
of 2003 just as they do through ours. And what is most certain of all is that
nearly every boy will eventually conclude that it is all quite beyond him.

J.F.

“Not with blinded eyesight poring over miserable books.”

In the
field of Modern Languages, the present reactionary examining boards will have
given a fillip to oral work ; whole classes, some of whose members learned
languages in primary schools, will be at work in the language laboratory,
repeating the polished phrases of native speakers. The abler pupils will work
at their own speed, and even the more hesitant will be exercising their tongues
instead of sitting in agonised silence. Boys will not only exchange with other
boys in Liège and Hamburg, but will be travelling to Barcelona, Florence and
Odessa ; some, indeed, will spend whole terms in continental schools and
foreign boys may have a summer term over here. (Let us hope that Mr. X., after
putting a Russian boy in detention, will not provoke a diplomatic incident!).
Language teaching, having freed itself from the curse of translation, and being
concerned only with small groups, will become a thing of joy and freedom.

I.C.Thimann

“Forty years on” ...more or less

Lower
Five A have been taking a look at the High School which their own children, or
grandchildren, may be attending....if, as one of them rather pessimistically
says, there is a High School in the 21st century, and if there is a world in
the 21st

century !

Most of
them foresee a further increase in science, a growth of teaching aids, such as
language laboratories, increased use of television, no Saturday morning school
and no C.C.F. Many think that the school will
have lost its independence and will be controlled by the State or the local authority.
On co-education there is less agreement : some think the school will still be
exclusively for boys, others believe it will be co-educational “to prevent the
shy, anti-feminist character of the present-day public schoolboy.”  There will
be more scope for hobbies and games, with a games room and a cinder track, and
a wide range of sports catered for.

The
root-and-branch reformers are to some extent balanced by moderate
conservatives, who believe that the School's character will be little changed.

C.C.
Johnson is a typical moderate. This is how he sees the School in 1987...

...“...The
new wing now had the same attractive, slightly weathered look of the rest of
the school. But I saw with some regret that the old indoor cricket nets and the
fives courts had been replaced by two clean new blocks of what appeared to be
laboratories .  Yes, outside there had been significant changes.

Inside,
however, the years seemed to have had little effect ; still the same classrooms
decorated in the same monotonous greens and creams ; the senior games board
announced the rugby team for the match the following week, and a rota for
cricket practice at Trent Bridge. But there had been changes. Lessons were in
progress and in several rooms Russian and Chinese were being taught. A
television set in every classroom and logarithm calculators in the Mathematics
room showed that the latest teaching methods had become permanent features in
the school. There was something unusual about the pupils . . . the old school
blazer had been abolished and grey suits were worn all the time.

I had
known for some time that the Labour government of 1964 had placed all the
public schools under the control of the education authority, but I was
agreeably surprised to find that the school had managed to retain its previous
identity. There was still school on Saturday morning, Thursday afternoon being
kept free for games, which now included association football and hockey.

I
halted outside the music room as the strident sound of a jazz band blared out into
the corridor. The recent recognition of jazz as a serious form of music has
resulted in the formation of a school jazz-band. But the orchestra was still as
strong and well-supported as ever.

Outside
the gates again, I paused in reflective mood : state ownership of the school
had not resulted in any lowering of standards.”

R.A.Ingram,
D.J.Hollings and D.Brummell foresee more radical changes...

“The
year is 2000 A.D. The old assembly hall with its high roof and public
school-looking solidity has given way to a huge circular structure which rises
from the ground like a lifted-up amphitheatre. The “new wing” which had been
standing for forty years now, had acquired a coat of dirt and looked out of
place amongst the many new blocks in their glass and brick style. Crossing the
yard I hear the shouts of boys...the thing that will never change....playing
the seemingly immortal ball games. But the dress has changed quite
radically...no longer the grey suits, blazers, and somewhat baggy grey
trousers. Now everyone is clad in narrower black trousers and
differently-coloured shirts, according I suppose to what “house” they were in.
Ties have vanished and black sweaters with a single crest now prevail.

The
classrooms were quite large but the number of boys in each form had decreased.
A notable feature in all the classrooms was the television and radio apparatus,
for with the B.B.C.'s second channel, television had made great strides in its
educational services. Now it was much used in the teaching of science and also
in the modern language department for showing pupils what life is really like
in foreign countries, instead of the more boring text-book methods. Geography,
too, had benefited from television. One thing which stuck in my mind was the
complete elimination of individual desks, for now the pupils sat round a large
table with the master in the centre on a swivel chair...surely an excellent
idea, for a much more personal and individual service could be rendered.

Boys
now stayed at school from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon when they
had lunch and then went home. At home they did any homework during the
afternoon, thus leaving the evening completely free for relaxation. However,
the bottom streams containing the weaker boys were required to stay at school
on three afternoons each week for extra teaching in an effort to narrow the gap
between the top and bottom streams. On two afternoons each week, everybody
either did games or some other activity....the compulsory games idea had been
discontinued. A friendlier attitude existed between the pupils and masters, and
the office of headmaster had been abolished, the authority now consisting of a
troika of masters.

Despite
the increase of the importance of science, many boys were going on to the arts side, with branches in sociology, philosophy, art,
music, and classics flourishing strongly!  I noticed that the Corps no longer
existed, the idea having become obsolete. When I left the school buildings,
most impressed, I wondered what the school would be like another “forty years
on”.

“Only twenty years on, but further and more asunder”

Within
the next twenty years two major political changes will have greatly altered
life at the N.H.S.

First
and foremost all schools will have been brought under the control of local
authorities and made co-educational. The few obvious difficulties in the
realisation of this can fairly easily be overcome, especially if the school
were combined with Brincliffe and N.G.H.S.

In
place of the Corps, Wednesday afternoons will be devoted to ordinary lessons to
compensate for the two lost when Saturday school was discarded and Thursday
afternoon lessons introduced. Other time-table variations will exclude
half-terms. Pupils will have an allowance of part-days free to be taken at will
to engage in the greater degree of social activities available. Regular dances
will be a feature and the floor will also be available at dinner-time together
with the coffee-bar (replacing the tuck-shop), and recreation room. The
coffee-bar will contain a jukebox and facilities to meet, and eat light snacks.
The recreation room will have snooker tables, dart-boards and table-tennis and
card tables.

Pupils
will also regularly play soccer, rugby, tennis, cricket, swimming (in the new
pool), hockey, fives and boxing. Similar arrangements will be made for the
girls. Such innovations will be brought about by a council of pupil's
representatives and teachers with equal judicial power to dissolve, discuss and
form rules. The council will also serve to narrow even more the ever-decreasing
rift between teachers and the taught, who will have decided on a more sensible
approach towards their benefactors.

The
next new wing will contain mostly science laboratories for advanced work, for
this side of the sixth form will have greatly expanded. The classics section
will have diminished somewhat but will not have died out completely.

Because
of the increase in the fields of knowledge and the school’s greater resources,
early specialisation in all twelve streams will be necessary and written
examinations will be less frequent. Interviews and teachers’ reports will count
for more and consequently be a little more frank than they are to-day. For by
this time many such features of out-dated society such as telling lies for
politeness’ sake will have been rejected as futile and hypocritical.

Britain’s
social standards will have greatly changed in twenty years. Snobbery will be a
thing of the past ; the rich will be no richer but the poor will be better off
; race prejudice will have disappeared. And nowhere will all this be more
obvious than in the country’s better schools, so that N.H.S. will have many
foreign pupils.

The
presence of girls should make very little difference academically ; morally it
will be very advantageous. Today's tendency towards depravity and rioting will
be overcome by their presence, and other facilities to relieve the monotony of
the week. School will cease to be that thing which comes between weekends, and
become a place to work communally, share differences and difficulties and
develop a sensible approach to out-of-school life. Perhaps then the dying
traditions of former pupils will be revived. People will be glad to survey the
crumbling sandstone, green war-memorial and gleaming glass of the new new-wing
and remember without regret the hours they spent behind them, happily learning
useless facts and figures which, like everyone else, they have forgotten twenty
years on.

The
main lessons will be taught from nine to one a.m., and in the afternoon a
healthy balance between the arts and sciences will be maintained with a wide
variety of intellectual and physical activities. Debates, discussions and
“brains trusts” will be constantly held. Every boy will be encouraged to take
an interest in art, music and literature; to go to concerts and art galleries,
and to make full use of the library, which will probably be the most important
and indispensable part of the school. Pupils will also be persuaded to take up
creative and instructive hobbies and interests at home and much of their spare
time will be devoted to reading. For reading is surely the best means of
acquiring knowledge apart from conversation
with intelligent people.

Another
of the changes which will take place is that every boy will be expected to
speak quite fluently two languages other than English. Russian will assume a
far greater role, being second only to French or German. To combat this great
need for people who can speak three or four languages, languages will have to
be taught in a revolutionary manner. The principle behind this is that people
should learn foreign languages as they would their own, by a purely aural
method...the tedious rules of grammar and syntax can then be learnt later.

History
as a study in itself will be replaced by the study of politics and current
affairs, although boys will still be encouraged to read about the ancient
civilisations and the background and development of the present world. But
instead of blindly learning facts and dates off-by-heart, pupils will be taught
to think rationally about great events of the past, and really analyse the
characters of such men as Alexander, Julius Caesar, Napoleon and in more recent
times Chamberlain and Laval. And so, the main object of education will have
changed from merely learning useless bits of information to churn out again in
examinations (all this is in order to get better-paid jobs), to having a fuller
realisation and understanding of the great world around us-in science, commerce
and industry. Of course, I hope the balance does not sway so much that, as in
Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” we all become stereotype specialised
automatons, losing our individuality for the sake of society.

In the
future the master-pupil relationship will be much more informal, and questions
from the pupil will form just as much an important part of his education as
listening to the master.

P.R.Male
foresees the abolition of marks...

“One of
the most important and long overdue changes will be the abolition of the mark
system...the curse of the present-day educational system. This excuse for boys
to whine and groan to try and get one or two more marks (Oh so valuable !) will
have gone, to the cheers of most people it affects. The time wasted on having
tests, marking them and giving in marks will be spent doing valuable work. The
argument that boys will not work is not valid...most boys will...and any lazy
idiots would have been lazy anyhow. The fact that a boy comes bottom of the
class does not matter as long as he does his best.

And
finally an Orwellian vision from D.G.Hayes....

“The
headmaster was the only person at the school to keep discipline. He did this
with the aid of television cameras...one in each room. There was only one
television screen, but it would be switched to any of the cameras.There were
also microphones to make sure that no form was making too much noise.

Of
course all the teaching had to be done by television. This time it was not a
closed circuit system. There were forty-three channels for schools, covering
various different levels of intelligence. The time-table was a national one,
and so the hours and holidays had to be the same for all schools.”

Appendix
Thirty One : The Thoughts
of Chairman Parker

Not much trace remains of the
direct words, or indeed, actions of teachers in specific classes so many years
ago.

I personally remember that one
French teacher was always supposed to teach sitting behind his desk with his
dictionary out on his lap, so scared was he of ever being caught out with a
word that he did not know. (Not me)

Another French teacher used to
have “his football scarf which he wore in the classroom, to the delight of his
pupils and to the horror of the senior members of staff.” Details of this
rather eccentric practice were initially provided by Adrian Noskwith. It was
confirmed by Andrew McCarthy, who, rather usefully, can still remember the
Russian for “Greetings, Comrade!”, and “It is Fozzy Bear”. (All this, I’m
afraid, was my fault)

Andrew tells another interesting
tale of when he last visited his mother’s house in Nottingham…. .

“While I was throwing away
rubbish, I found a photocopied sheet of the sayings of Mr.Parker, the physics
master. I was never in his class, so I don't know who compiled it. I attach a
scan in the hope it will be of use to you.”

I have transcribed the “Thoughts
of Chairman Parker”, or rather his words, and here they are.

The names of the boys mentioned
date this to the middle or late 1970s.

“add up ye marks

get us some volts George

median mark – that’s the one in
the middle

you didn’t label the bloody axes

don’t be a clown

where’s the bloomin’ paper ?

don’t look so bloomin’ puzzled !

What ?  Now, in the middle of a
period ? Oh well, as it’s for Mr.Leach…

….the chunk of liquid

some people managed to make a
meal of it

double-decker fraction

On holiday in the middle of the
exam period ?

Goodness me ! What’s the world
coming to ?

it’s a bit of a swine

as long as it wasn’t a damn silly
one !

rods and cables and whatnots

You mean I’ve found a bit of
staffroom gossip that Noskwith doesn’t know about ?

I throw chalk more accurately
than the member of staff who damn near blinded someone the other day !

bucket-water mess-up

Newtonian Law 3

Why have you covered your paper
Noskwith ? Let me guess !

a few waters crept in

the most expensive thing around here
is me because I answer back

If I was the Headmaster, you
wouldn’t have a holiday !

the “B” set’s a bit thick !

I can get a lump of rope and tie
it to McCondach

what do you expect me to do ?
Hold up the bloody class ? I’m not stopping for the Duke of Edinburgh or his
wife !

you clot ! you moron ! think !

dump the coil into a bath of
liquid

one of those things in chemistry
that you don’t know if it’s a metal or not, like silicon or germanium

your ducet tones didn’t penetrate
into my right ear

very exotic stuff like the
quantum theory

this inventing of symbols is very
unhealthy

rate of passage of stuff

by popular request….

my six year old daughter could do
that !

Just imagine....frictionless
balls !

If you haven’t seen “Wacky Races”
you haven’t lived

I’ll see if his parents can
substantiate his existence

…a stupid pupil who’s got normal
intelligence, but doesn’t know anything

you great prat !

We’ve got a dicky connection !

…faffing around in the oscillope
(sic)

stood there, so to say, naked on
the bench

I have a strong objection to that
graph

a more rigorous statement using
language they’d been taught

’it ’im !

the poor dears hadn’t read far
enough into the question

These papers are full of
fictitious characters who do experiments which eventually go wrong

….one examiner sweats blood to be
kind to candidates

…my two friends from medical
school…

Appendix
Thirty Two: Uncle Les

When I was compiling my history of the High School, I asked
members of staff for their interesting anecdotes. A fair few replied, but “Uncle
Les” Wilkinson provided such an extensive reply that I did not want to shorten
it significantly just to make it fit into my scheme of things. Here it is then,
in full…..

November 1978

The
staff production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat “was Roger
Stirrup’s idea.  He and Stephen Fairlie had discussed the project before I
arrived at the school in September 1977, but I was a willing recruit to the
enterprise.  I suppose we started with a nucleus of interested parties – mostly
the younger teachers – whilst the rest of the staff room remained aloof and
perhaps slightly cynical of the whole thing.  We sang through the numbers
during the first half of the autumn term, then cast the show and began
rehearsing in some earnest in November.  By Christmas, we had something ragged
to show for our efforts, at which point David Matthews came on board and used
his directorial skills to give the show a lot more polish

Then a strange thing happened
over the course of the Spring Term: Joseph fever grabbed the school.  Those
teachers not already involved were eager to do anything to be part of the show
– even become the back end of a camel. By now, almost everyone was involved,
from the oldest member of staff, Norman Thompson (Jacob) to the most junior
(probably me).   Marcus Coulam built a thrust stage to take all the singers and
dancers.  Boys and parents were clamouring for tickets; excitement was rising.
In the end, the demand for sets was so great we had to put on five performances
(with two on the Saturday) and invite those who couldn’t get tickets to the
dress rehearsal.  We made a very good profit on sales, which all went to
charity.

And the first night arrived: Tony
Slack and John Knifton on lights, Simon Jenkins on sound, Dennis Witcombe in the
wings ready to be the Voice of God, then the first notes of the overture…

It didn’t take long for us to
realise we had a great show on our hands (though I say it myself).  Phil
Pallant astounded as Pharaoh – but had to hobble through the last few performances
having twisted an ankle at Prep Games on the Friday afternoon.  Sandy Powell
turned in a wonderful cameo turn as Potiphar, complete with Havana cigar and
fez (supplied, appropriately enough, by Ian Parker).

Why do I think Joseph was so
important?  To begin with, it gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure –
including my father-in-law who couldn’t believe his good luck when a beautiful
17-year- old go-go dancer from the Girls’ School invited him to join the
dancing in the aisles.  He was so eager to respond that he too twisted an ankle
in his urgency to get up; my mother-in-law was unsympathetic.  The show gave
all the boys who saw it something to talk about until the end of term; they
were astounded to see so many of their teachers in a different light, and to
realise that they were, in varying degrees, quite talented individuals.
Perhaps most importantly, it worked wonders for staff morale.  I don’t think
the staff has ever been so united as they were during the final stages of
Joseph; the sense of camaraderie was overwhelming.  I, and many others, made
friends for life in that term – and all the time, the teaching went on, without
a falter.  By the end of term, we were exhausted – but it had been worth it.

Ask anyone who was there.

Ski trips over the years

It is difficult to pick out
individual stories from all the ski trips I went on; they all merge into one
after a while, just as one piste looks pretty much like any other.

Perhaps the location I have
happiest memories of is La Belle Etoile, a small hotel we returned to on half a
dozen occasions during the 90’s and 00’s. Situated in the village of Le Bettex,
above St Gervais in the French Alps, just about every room offered amazing
views of the Massif de Mont Blanc, with Mont Blanc itself visible in the
background.

The hotel was just big enough to
take our group of fifty or so, and to have a couple of rooms to space;
sometimes, a family would find itself sharing the hotel with us – and after
their initial apprehension over sharing the building with 42 adolescent boys,
they would very quickly warm to the boys and be happy to join in with our
activities.  As well as the great views, the food was wonderful: simple and
straightforward, and set before us in abundance.

The
Belle also offered doorstep skiing: out of the door and down to the nursery
lift, then up to the main cabin to the top of the mountain.

It was at the Belle that we lost
a one-legged skier.  Dieter Hecht and I were guiding the boys in two groups
from the top of the mountain back to the hotel at the end of the day.  We each
counted our groups before we set off, but neither of us realised that we had
left Chris Harris behind, as he had wandered off to take a picture.  Each of us
thought he was with the other’s group.  An hour after we got back to the hotel,
as dusk was falling, I went out to post some cards and met Chris sitting
outside the door taking his skis off.  “I got back,” he said, then told me his
tale: he had come back to where the groups had been and found us gone, so he’d
gone to the lift to come back, but unfortunately had taken the wrong lift.  A
helpful Frenchman had checked his lift pass and skied with him back, and then
pointed him in the direction of the hotel.  All’s well that ends well – but of
all the skiers to lose, it had to be the one-legged one.

To be fair, no one would have
known about Chris’s handicap from the way he skied (or did anything else for
that matter), although when he fell, rather than his boot coming out of his
binding (as usually happens) sometimes his leg would come off instead.  I
remember too the evening the ski instructors came to the hotel to present
everyone with their certificates and medals.  Chris had taken off his
prosthesis as it was chafing, and hopped up to get his award.  The other instructors
could not believe that he had only one leg, given the way he had been skiing
all week.  He was a remarkable young man; I am still full of admiration for
him.

School Plays over the years

It’s hard to know where to start
with plays.  As I’ve said before, I’ve had some of my best moments in the
Founder Hall.  I’ve been involved in every production during my thirty four
years at school in one way or another.  It’s hard to choose highlights, but
Paul Carter in “The Servant of Two Masters” and “Playboy of the Western World”
was a pretty remarkable actor; the ensemble who worked on “On the Razzle” and “The
Nativity” (1986 version) were a wonderful group of people to whom I felt very
close; Jonathan Swain and Claudine Astles were outstanding in “Macbeth” in 1989.
Jonathan was thrown for a moment when the actor playing Seyton failed to come
on stage for their scene together (he was snogging Lady Macduff backstage at
the time); he played the scene as a soliloquy and very few people noticed the
difference.  Ben Gibson gave a great performance as Eddie Carbone in “A View
from the Bridge” and was supported by a very strong cast.  And of course I
loved working with Ollie Metcalfe, Richard Hill, Jack Noutch, Laurie Field,
Camilla Burnside and Jess Nicklin in no fewer than three plays.  They are a
really talented bunch of people.

The one photograph I wish I could
produce for the archive (but sadly cannot) is of Ed Davey (currently a cabinet
minister in the ConLib coalition) dressed as a French maid in the Sixth Form
Drama Club’s inaugural performance, a production of Ionesco’s “The Bald Prima
Donna”.  I reckon “Private Eye” would pay a quid or two for that one…

Appendix
Thirty Three : The Spawn of Satan

In
my years at the High School, the most intellectually gifted member of the
teaching staff was undoubtedly Stefan Krzeminski. He arrived at the school in
1986, and retired in 2012. This is the text of his farewell assembly, which was
the best one I ever saw in almost forty years, although I would have admit,
that I did not manage to attend every single one.

It
is in larger font so that the aging Reverend could read it aloud more easily….

Some
of you, especially those towards the upper end of the School, know me as Rev
Krev. This isn’t the only alternative name that I’ve been given – by both
boys and colleagues alike – during my time here. Kreverend, for example,
seems to be the latest addition to a list that includes Father K, the
Bald Eagle, Gramps, Swami and - a description that I owe to a
former Head of Games and one that I particularly like because it’s so
ridiculous – that Russian.

But
by far my most colourful alternative name is one that did the rounds some years
ago within the School’s Christian Union: the Spawn of Satan, or to put
it another way, the offspring or child of the devil. Sadly, this had
nothing to do with my fondness for loud, long-haired, leather-clad, tattooed
Heavy Metal musicians, as evidenced by the title of a book that was recently
given to me as a leaving present by one of my Sixth Form students: The Lords
of Chaos: the Blood-Stained Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. No . . .
the description had nothing to do with music . . . nor was it meant to be
funny. It reflected the Christian Union’s condemnation of some of my ideas,
which they must have considered to be not only mistaken but also profoundly
evil.

There
isn’t time to outline all of these ideas, so I’ll have to content myself with a
brief indication of the kind of thinking that seems to annoy some
religiously-minded people . . . but before I do, I’d like to introduce you to a
talking hedgehog.

When
I was a child, I enjoyed reading a series of books called “The Stories of
Little Grey Rabbit”. My favourite character was a hedgehog called Fuzzypeg.
In one of the stories, Fuzzypeg begs his parents, Old Hedgehog and Mrs
Hedgehog, to send him to school. They think it’s a great idea.

So
. . . “The next morning, Fuzzypeg woke up early and sprang out of bed in a
great hurry. ‘I’m going to school today’, he sang, as he rolled downstairs in a
prickly ball and bounced into the kitchen. There waiting for him was a parcel.
Inside it was a little leather bag. ‘A school bag! A school bag! Look, Mother.
Where has it come from?’ ‘Grey Rabbit gave it to me when she heard you were
going to school’, said Old Hedgehog. ‘I took the milk as usual this morning,
and Miss Grey Rabbit, she sez to me, sez she, ‘You’re looking very perky this
morning, Hedgehog. Has something happened?’ So I tells her, ‘My little
Fuzzypeg’s going to school’, sez I. He’s going to get wisdom . ’

Don’t
dismiss this story as an insult to your intelligence. There is something of
profound importance in it. The one thing above all else that Fuzzypeg’s father
expects him to get from his education is wisdom. Very few, if indeed
any, of you, I imagine, set out for School each morning in the hope that by the
end of the day you’ll be significantly wiser. You never hear of schools failing
inspections because their pupils aren’t sufficiently wise. In fact, the
teaching of wisdom doesn’t appear even to be on the list of Government
objectives . . . let alone a priority.  To some degree, this is a shame,
because as Old Hedgehog says elsewhere in the story, “You can’t get far without
some kind of wisdom”.

Wisdom
comes in many different forms, and I have time to focus on only one aspect of
it. It’s at this point that some of you may be constructing the following
argument:

“Rev
Krev teaches Philosophy . . . the word ‘philosophy’ literally means ‘love of
wisdom’ . . . he’s now going to tell us what a great subject Philosophy is.”

Well,
I’m not . . . it may be a great subject, but it’s not the greatest, nor the
most important. Of course, you may now be thinking “OK, if it’s not Philosophy
it has to be RS that we need to study in order to be really wise”. No, it
doesn’t. The subject, or field of study, that I want to commend is a surprising
one, coming from me: it’s science, or more specifically, something
called the scientific method, the way in which scientists do their work.

A
brief story: when I was in charge of the School’s first XI football team, and
this was so long ago that we lived in a world without emails, I sometimes had
to consult the teacher who ran the second XI to discuss team selection. This
teacher was the Head of Science. One day, as I walking down a corridor in the
Science Block on my way to see him, I heard one boy exclaim to his friends:
“What’s he doing here?” As if to say “What possible reason can an RS
teacher have for being in the Science Block? Religion surely has nothing to do
with science.”

I
came across an old letter the other day, sent to the School by someone we’d
invited to address the Philosophy Society. He suggested the following title for
his talk: “The friendship between science and religion”. I much prefer the
title of a later talk that was given to the Society by the eminent chemist and
atheist Peter Atkins: “Science is king”. Science and religion are not friends.
Such a friendship can exist only if religion is prepared to take second place
and to learn from science.  This is a view shared by the Tibetan Buddhist
leader, the Dalai Lama. He was once asked: “Suppose that science one day
disproves certain Buddhist claims. What would Buddhism do then?” He replied:
“It’s wouldn’t be a problem . . . We would just have to accept the findings of
science and abandon those claims”. That’s an example of wisdom.

And
this is why: someone (I forget who) once said “A wise man proportions his
belief to the evidence”. In other words, it is not sensible strongly to express
belief in something for which the evidence is non-existent or weak. To
illustrate this further, I’m going to draw upon the words of another eminent
scientist, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.

This
is part of a letter that he wrote to his daughter when she was ten years old.
Although he clearly has religious beliefs in his sights, his arguments apply to
any similar claims:

Dear Juliet,

Now that
you are ten, I want to write to you about something that is important to me.
Have you ever wondered how we know the things that we know? How do we know, for
example, that the stars, which look like tiny pinpricks in the sky, are really
huge balls of fire like the sun and very far away? And how do we know that
Earth is a smaller ball whirling round one of those stars, the sun?

The answer to these questions
is ‘evidence’. Evidence is a good reason for believing something. I now
want to warn you against three bad reasons for believing anything. They are
called ‘tradition’, ‘authority’, and ‘revelation’.

First,
tradition. Tradition means beliefs handed down from grandparent to parent to
child, and so on. Or from books handed down through the centuries. Traditional
beliefs often start from almost nothing; perhaps somebody just makes them up
originally. But after they’ve been handed down over some centuries, the mere
fact that they are so old makes them seem special. People believe things simply
because people have believed the same thing over centuries. That’s tradition.

The
trouble with tradition is that, no matter how long ago a story was made up, it
is still exactly as true or untrue as the original story was. If you make up a
story that isn’t true, handing it down over a number of centuries doesn’t make
it any truer!

Authority,
as a reason for believing something, means believing it because you are told to
believe it by somebody important. In the Roman Catholic Church [for example],
the pope is the most important person, and people believe he must be right
because he is the pope. Now probably some of the things that the pope says are
true and some are not. There is no good reason why, just because he is the
pope, you should believe everything he says any more than you believe
everything that lots of other people say.

Of
course, even in science, sometimes we haven’t seen the evidence ourselves and
we have to take somebody else’s word for it. I haven’t, with my own eyes, seen
the evidence that light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles per second.
Instead, I believe books that tell me the speed of light. This looks like
‘authority’. But actually, it is much better than authority, because the people
who wrote the books have seen the evidence and anyone is free to look carefully
at the evidence whenever they want.

The
third kind of bad reason for believing anything is called ‘revelation’. When
religious people just have a feeling inside themselves that something must be
true, even though there is no evidence that it is true, they call their feeling
‘revelation’. It isn’t only popes who claim to have revelations. Lots of
religious people do. It is one of their main reasons for believing the things
that they do believe. But is it a good reason?

Suppose
I told you that your dog was dead. You’d be very upset, and you’d probably say,
“Are you sure? How do you know? How did it happen?” Now, suppose I answered: “I
don’t actually know that he’s dead. I have no evidence. I just have this funny
feeling deep inside me that he is dead”. You’d be pretty cross with me for
scaring you, because you’d know that an inside ‘feeling’ on its own is not a
good reason for believing that a dog is dead. You need evidence. We all have
inside feelings from time to time, and sometimes they turn out to be right and
sometimes they don’t. Anyway, different people have opposite feelings, so how are
we to decide whose feeling is right?

[Now]
what can we do about all this? It is not easy for you to do anything, because
you are very young. But you could try this. Next time somebody tells you
something that sounds important, think to yourself: “Is this the kind of thing
that people probably know because of evidence? Or is it the kind of thing that
people only believe because of tradition, authority, or revelation?” And next
time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: “What kind
of evidence is there for that?” And if they can’t give you a good answer, I
hope that you’ll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.

I
can’t be certain that Juliet has taken this advice. It would be unwise of her
not to have done. It would also be unwise of you not to take it. I very much
hope that you agree. If you don’t, then you must construct an argument to show
that Richard Dawkins is wrong. Now there’s a challenge!

On
the day that Stefan retired, I was asked to make a farewell speech, speaking, I
suppose, on behalf of the staff as a whole. I was extremely nervous, a
situation not helped by the fact that in that morning’s assembly, the
Headmaster had, quite inadvertently, nicked a lot of my carefully prepared
anecdotes. The following text therefore, has the hastily omitted sections in
italics.….

Stefan came to the High School in 1986. The year of the first PC
virus, which was called “Brain”.   Plans were announced for a Channel Tunnel.

Desmond Tutu became the first black bishop in apartheid South
Africa.

Halley’s Comet was visible in the night sky.

It was the year of the Hand of God.

In actual fact, Stefan’s appointment was a marriage made,
arguably, in heaven.

He was destined to change the RS Department radically, and for the
better.

He was to establish Philosophy as a Sixth Form option and to teach
boys about Nietzsche,      somebody they had hitherto  merely dreamed of
spelling correctly.

But most of all, he was to take hundreds of boys to Beth Shalom,
where they were able to experience racism at the sharp end, as they met people
who had survived Auschwitz.

In addition, Stefan also spent eight years teaching German,

and I know that this was one of the greatest pleasures of his
teaching career.

Outside the classroom, Stefan was the drummer in “Hip
Replacement”, a musician who, for one school assembly, put on dark sunglasses
and a long black wig, and remained completely unrecognised by anybody in the
audience.  Including myself.

Stefan loved all music. Especially heavy metal. And especially
German heavy metal.

Not just  Rammstein, but bands across Europe, from Greece to
Finland, from “Firewind” to “Apocalyptica”.

His greatest love, though, was football.

Without very much help at all, and always in the face of great difficulties,

he ran the school football team for fourteen years,

longer it is thought, than anyone else has ever done.

He established a record of ten victories in a single season.

A number of his players were to represent their county at national
level.

By the end of his tenure, Stefan’s team had reached

Three  County Cup semi-finals.

In one of them, in the dying minutes of extra time, they were
beaten by a goal, which was not
scored, but was certainly created, by the opposition’s fourth substitute.

The Nottinghamshire Schools’ FA admitted this breach of the rules,
but refused to disqualify them.

At the quarter final stage of the same competition, Stefan’s team
once came within eleven seconds of beating High Pavement, who were themselves
soon to be crowned Champions of England.

Stefan’s greatest achievements, though, are as a human being.

He is unfailingly kind and understanding.

He is more Christian than most Christians.

Compassionate ?    He is our very own  Dalai Lama.

More than that though, Stefan is a radical thinker.

A man who, no matter what point of view you have, can always find

an equal and opposite
opinion that seems just as valid,

Stefan makes you think.

He makes you question your
preconceptions.

He is equally popular with
the boys.

They appreciate his treating
them with respect and patience,

no matter what their
opinion.

He deals with them
intellectually fair-and-square.

He prods them slowly towards
the truth.

Or more probably,  several
equally valid truths.

Stefan is a  much loved
figure in this school.

He brought his career to an
end with the best assembly  I have ever heard

It was simply marvellous
and a privilege to watch

It stands as a   wonderful
testimony  to all the values that Stefan holds dear.

My
speech was based on what Simon Williams had already asked me to write for the
school yearbook, as a formal farewell, or as I always called it when dealing
with the great man himself, his “obituary”. This is the more formal version of
the text…..

Stefan Krzeminski came to the High School in 1986. The year of the
first PC virus, which was called “Brain”. Plans were announced for a Channel
Tunnel. Desmond Tutu became the first black bishop in apartheid South Africa.
Halley’s Comet was visible in the night sky. It was the year of the Hand of
God.

His appointment was a marriage made, arguably, in heaven. Stefan
was destined to change the Religious Studies Department radically and for the
better. He was to establish Philosophy as a Sixth Form option and teach boys
about Nietzsche, someone they had hitherto merely dreamed of spelling
correctly.  But most of all, he was to take hundreds of boys to Beth Shalom,
where they were able to experience racism at the sharp end, as they met people
who had themselves met Mengele, people who had survived Auschwitz.

Outside the classroom, Stefan was the drummer in “Hip
Replacement”, a musician who, for one school assembly, put on a dark sunglasses
and a long black wig, and remained unrecognised by anybody in the audience.

Stefan loved all music. Especially heavy metal. Especially German
heavy metal. He loved not just  Rammstein, but knew the names of bands across
Europe, from Greece to Finland, from “Firewind” to “Apocalyptica”.

Stefan’s greatest love, though, was football. He ran the school
team for fourteen years, longer than anyone else, and established a record of
ten victories in a single season under his direction. A number of his players
were to represent their county at national level. By the end of his tenure, Stefan’s
team had reached three County Cup semi-finals. At the quarter final stage, they
once came within eleven seconds of beating High Pavement, themselves soon to be
crowned Champions of England.

Stefan’s greatest achievements, though, were as a human being.
Unfailingly kind and understanding, he was more Christian than most Christians.
Compassionate ? He was our very own Dalai Lama. More than that though, he was a
radical thinker. A man who, no matter what point of view you had, could always
find an equal and opposite opinion that seemed just as valid, although you
would never want to admit it. He made you think. He made you question your
preconceptions.  He could “give these ingrown souls an outing”.

The boys loved him. They appreciated his treating them with
respect and patience, no matter what their opinion. Dealing with them
intellectually fair-and-square. Telling it like it is. Prodding them towards
the truth. Perhaps they knew Yevtushenko…

“Telling lies to the
young is wrong.

Proving to them that lies are true is wrong.

Telling them that God’s in his heaven

and all’s well with the world is wrong.

The young know what you mean. The young are people.”

Stefan was a much loved figure in the school. He brought his
career to an end with the best assembly that I have ever heard.  It was simply
marvellous, and a privilege to watch. It stands as a wonderful testimony to all
the values that Stefan holds most dear.