Search found 23 matches

by Alex
Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:07 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Flecker’s Banning of some Comics
Replies: 19
Views: 8053

Flecker’s Banning of some Comics

I was intrigued by the ban on Rock Music , ineffectually imposed by Clarence Seaman at CH in the late 50s. I’ve never seen any mention in this Forum, or anywhere else, of a similar ban imposed by HLO Flecker, Seaman’s predecessor as HM, in the late 40s. This was the banning of American comics . In t...
by Alex
Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:32 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Pongo - Eric Littlefield
Replies: 34
Views: 18506

Re: Pongo - Eric Littlefield

Since we are now talking of Phal Matthews, I can add that the fire-in-a-lab-desk-drawer episode, mentioned by dsm, which occurred at the end of Phal’s teaching career, could very well have also happened anytime in the 1950s. In spite of all his clear failings his teaching had one excellent character...
by Alex
Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:30 am
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Pocket money, Nausea and more
Replies: 21
Views: 11287

Pocket money, Nausea and more

Last night I suffered from nausea and the resulting few hours’ insomnia jogged memories of a house rule in Lamb A, around 1950, stating that if a boy vomited in the house and another cleaned up the mess, then the cleaner would be paid 1/- (that's 5p the normal weekly pocket money for a junior, or it...
by Alex
Sun Jul 19, 2020 6:18 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: GRACE
Replies: 71
Views: 34270

Re: GRACE

I never knew the Court Room was where Junior Houses ate, for Mr Ed wrote, There was of course the Court Room, the small dining room at the side of the Dining Hall, where in my time, two junior houses were shoved This is surprising, for surely it would be more convenient to have everyone together in ...
by Alex
Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:42 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: CH, Degrees and PPE (not the Coronavirus sort)
Replies: 44
Views: 13280

Re: CH, Degrees and PPE (not the Coronavirus sort)

Here is one thing in ‘Phallic’ Matthews’ defence (although I acknowledge that everything said about him so far on this Forum is true). His method of teaching was in effect solely to dictate notes and do hardly anything else. But these notes were excellent. If one spent any effort at all on chemistry...
by Alex
Fri May 15, 2020 3:59 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: The CCF Signals Section
Replies: 19
Views: 7853

Re: The CCF Signals Section

It’s obvious that the strange Kirby is affectionately remembered by those boys who have contributed to this thread. But the reverse is also true. Some disliked him intensely. One such boasted that whenever he saw Kirby he would bawl out, “Good morning, Sir!” just for the pleasure of knowing there wo...
by Alex
Wed Apr 29, 2020 8:46 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Dining hall dimensions
Replies: 9
Views: 5933

Re: Dining hall dimensions

To add further to the statements that the Dining Hall is the first or second largest unsupported roof in the UK, I remember hearing (and cannot give the source, having forgotten it) that it is the second largest wooden unsupported roof in the UK. The largest is apparently Westminster Hall (size 73.2...
by Alex
Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:25 am
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Writing letters home
Replies: 15
Views: 6630

Re: Writing letters home

Yes, I clearly remember the weekly letter writing in the 50s. For my house it was done after morning chapel on Sundays. There was no compulsion however and most of course complied. If one finished early one read. Sometimes the housemaster came in with blank envelopes which had to be addressed to the...
by Alex
Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:45 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Bursaries Shmursaries
Replies: 23
Views: 7085

Re: Bursaries Shmursaries

At its inception the NHS was intentionally structured so that almost all the Doctors and most others who participated to provide care for the patients were independently employed and NOT state employees. This was a policy strongly pushed by Aneurin Bevan, the left wing Minister of Health. He was a v...
by Alex
Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:24 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: The Red Dean and CH
Replies: 2
Views: 1827

The Red Dean and CH

I have just read a biography* of the V Rev Hewlett Johnson (1874-1966, Dean of Canterbury and a very voluble, much quoted Communist “mascot" and sympathiser, hence called "The Red Dean"). Although there are no references to CH in the book, his daughter Kezia became Mrs Noel-Paton. Was...
by Alex
Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:15 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Teaching staff
Replies: 38
Views: 11317

Re: Teaching staff

I first saw a computer in 1956. This is not simply boasting and one-upmanship directed towards Dr Scuffil, for it resulted from a visit to the HQ of the Lyons Company, organised for science and maths grecians by the visionary Mr Edward Bullard, who accompanied us. His most unusual career and abiliti...
by Alex
Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:51 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Congratulations to this year's Grecians and their new Headmaster
Replies: 37
Views: 12124

Re: Congratulations to this year's Grecians and their new Headmaster

Impressive results indeed – all concerned are to be warmly congratulated.

But perhaps these results would be even more impressive if someone could give comparable results for comparable schools.
by Alex
Fri Jun 22, 2018 4:39 pm
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Science teaching in the 50's
Replies: 41
Views: 20505

Re: Science teaching in the 50's

I agree that ‘doing’ usually increases ‘learning’ and ‘remembering,’ though some do have more highly developed auditory and/or visual memories. However the heuristic method at CH goes back far longer than to the 1950s. It was introduced when the school moved to Horsham in 1902. Then the four, spanki...
by Alex
Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:50 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Siegfried Sassoon & Dennis Silk
Replies: 4
Views: 2093

Siegfried Sassoon & Dennis Silk

I was reading some of Siegfried Sassoon’s works and looked him up in Wikipedia. There I was most surprised to see the following. For those interested the context is explained in the article. “One of his closest friends was the cricketer, Dennis Silk who later became Warden (headmaster) of Radley Col...
by Alex
Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:25 pm
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Less flamboyant CH teachers
Replies: 37
Views: 20265

Re: Less flamboyant CH teachers

More about Ian Sutherland: he was a pleasant young classics teacher and for a year or two in the fifties a junior housemaster of Barnes A, with EA Littlefield as senior housemaster. I imagine that they got on very well, since Littlefield’s passion was cricket. Sutherland left CH for Harrow School an...