Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

At one time the school sergeant used to visit all classrooms to enquire if there were any absentees that day. Presumably this was some form of Government requirement to ensure that all pupils were properly attending their place of instruction. I cannot recall if this was done on a daily basis and wo...

When did the use of Christian Names become general at CH? In my day (nineteen forties) one knew the names of some of our own House contemporaries; more often their nickname was used. It would have been unthinkable for more senior boys in the House to be addressed unfamiliarly however. Often one did ...

The above named died on 13th November 2011 at Woodside Hall Nursing Home, Isle of Wight.
He was a keen yachtsman and was Junior House Master in Thornton A and subsequently succeeded Kit Aitken as Coleridge A Senior Housemaster from 1967 to 1973.

Three memories abide of the above named when teaching Divinity. Question asked by a boy. Please Sir what is a eunuch, well knowing the answer I am sure?. WCMC. A man who has no inclination to marry. Question asked by WCMC. What is the first reference to cricket in the Bible. No-one knew the answer w...

A check through my back numbers of The Blue reveals that Thornton B won the inter House Swimming Cup in the following years. 1934-40, 1942-44, 1950-56, and 1969-70 . All dates inclusive.Is there anyone out there who can provide a list of all House Trophy winners since 1902? Did things change somewha...

Dr. C.S. Lang retired at Easter 1945 and was succeeded by the Rev. William Cecil Mcvicar Cochrane who had been the assistant Director of Music since 1937. He left in 1957. He once gave me sixpence for being runner up to Paul Delight who won the Divinity Prize in Form 3A in 1943.
Chris B

The Wilkinson Cup was awarded for Music and was named after the former Director of Music who preceded Dr. Craig Sellar Lang 1929-45, The latter was a nephew of Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of the Abdication. Changing the subject of the winning of House Trophies I remember ...

How many of the Inter House Trophies are still competed for I wonder? The Blue for December 1950 lists House by House as many as 27.These include various different sports and activities including Cricket Cup, Relay Cup, Medley Relay, Coleridge Trophy ( I forget what this was for), Hay Cup (Shooting)...

Like Neill I was disappointed that the sixty plus OB reunion concept appears to have been discarded.
I very much enjoyed the previous one as I met a number of Old Blues who I had not seen for many years. Cannot pressure be put on the authorities at CH to have another one?
Chris Bartlett.

I remember that P.T.in the mid morning school break was always cancelled if it was raining. The Big School Bell was rung three times in a burst of three chimes to indicate this. It was received joyously in the classrooms. I wonder what happened to the Senior and Junior P.T. Cups competed for most st...

I believe that the late Sam Sergent ,Modern Languages Master, had a saying "hands above board" which it was rumoured related to the habit of boys fiddling about with the screws of classroom desks and undoing the bolts. Talking of signatures left about I remember one boy boasting that his s...

Does anyone remember exactly how these were accumulated? Were they voluntary payments made by boys, parents or Old Blues? Presumably they were used to buy extra equipment or creature comforts of some sort for the House. Kit Aitken Senior Housemaster of Coleridge A always refused any offers made by v...

Does the system of swabbing still exist? |In my day. way back in the nineteen forties a swab was a general valet to a monitor. He would make his bed ,clean his shoes and Corps equipment. and be at his swabmaster's beck and call. On one occasion in Coleridge A a monitor had somehow upset his swab and...

The one I was thinking of was A.C. I'Anson TB 39-48. I imagine that there must have been a number of servicemen's offspring who might have had to travel abroad,

I apologise for returning to this subject but I wonder if any one has a rough date as to when the School ceased to hire a special train to take pupils to London. I assume that normal passenger services are now used as of course they were on the Guildford and Brighton lines. Does the school now break...