'Fudging'

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Karl Thompson
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'Fudging'

Post by Karl Thompson »

And now I'm wondering whether the word 'fudging' is still used, meaning pretending to be ill or injured. That's to say, trying to fool a matron or the school doctor into believing that one is unwell so as to sidestep this, that or the other.

And be honest, did you ever have a shot at 'fudging' yourself? If so, what were the results? A clip round the ear'ole? An accidental month in a psychiatric hospital? Do tell.
Martin
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by Martin »

I remember the phase “fudging over the sicker” used by juniors. Although I never tried it myself, occasionally others did. For a single ‘fudging’ I don’t remember any serious consequences. I suppose Dr Scott’s philosophy was “rather safe than sorry”. After all during his tenure there was at least one case of infantile paralysis/polio, in Col B. Polio starts off very gently with flu like symptoms, so his attitude seemed sensible. I wasn’t aware of any serial ‘fudgers.’
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by sejintenej »

I remember him as being very cautious as a doctor. There had been a rugby incident where, despite the boy being immediately rushed to hospital (?Horsham) he died. That did affect Dr Scott even though he admitted that there was nothing else which anyone could have done. The autumn term of 1953 I was in with measles; the mornings my temperature was normal but in the afternoons it was elevated and he simply would not let me out - being cautious again. That determination to 'get it right' showed up in his First Aid lessosn also
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Kit Bartlett
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by Kit Bartlett »

Wearing fudge Bands was a regular practice at one time where it was not pinned into the shirt but merely tucked in so that they could be removed and replaced easily at one's leisure.
There was one famous occasion I remember where some boys were dining with the Head Master when
a visiting guest asked him something about how the bands were fixed so Flecker gave a tug to one boy's band which of course came away immediately in his hand.
Talking of the Infirmary does anyone recall the system of issuing a late pass to those attending surgery to explain their late arrival in class.
I seem to recall these being "forged" to show different times of leaving the building.
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by michael scuffil »

The surgery late passes were issued by 'sicker clerks'. As far as I remember, houses provided two senior non-monitors for a week at a time. Their duties were to record everyone who attended surgery by house, and these lists were sent to housemasters. And if you left the sicker after a certain time, with the result that you missed chapel or might even be late for school, you were given a pass showing what time you left (they did of course issue them to themselves too, usually quite generously).

Arthur Rider said that what we called 'fudge bands' were more properly called 'fobbed bands', though I never heard the expression from anyone else. Maybe we should have asked one of the OB masters.

Dr Scott was mostly cautious, though one or two counter-examples could be quoted. I remember though in first aid classes he said: 'Don't ever assume someone is dead unless their head has parted company from their body.' And he also told us to remember that someone might have more than one injury: this came from personal experience after a rugby injury where he broke a leg, but had a terrible pain in his arm. The people treating him were so busy with his leg that is was only noticed hours later that he's lost a lot of the skin from one arm -- not a major injury, but very painful.
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Karl Thompson
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by Karl Thompson »

I've a feeling that back in my day the post of Sicker Clerk was a fixture as a Lamb B house trade (or maybe it was a Lamb trade). I used to wonder quite how the Sicker Clerks' feet even touched the ground between post-breakfast bed-making and arriving at the Infirmary, especially as they'd probably have been in trouble if they were late. I had many, many late passes myself due to severe verruca issues.

As for fudge bands, I don't recall the term but I do recall the phenomenon. I also recall people wearing home-made paper bands, though what exactly had blocked the wearers from accessing the linen room is unclear. Obviously I'm not talking about bands made from newspaper....though toilet paper may not have been unknown, hopefully without the words Silver Silk being visible. Ruled A4 paper may also have been pressed into service, though presumably without essays having been written on them. Pingpong balls probably wouldn't have been rectangular enough. Egg white would almost certainly have been too mobile unless fried first.
Last edited by Karl Thompson on Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
sejintenej
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by sejintenej »

michael scuffil wrote:
Dr Scott was mostly cautious, though one or two counter-examples could be quoted. I remember though in first aid classes he said: 'Don't ever assume someone is dead unless their head has parted company from their body.' And he also told us to remember that someone might have more than one injury: this came from personal experience after a rugby injury where he broke a leg, but had a terrible pain in his arm. The people treating him were so busy with his leg that is was only noticed hours later that he's lost a lot of the skin from one arm -- not a major injury, but very painful.
Yes, I recall those warnings but I don't think he told us about the broken leg event. He did give the example of a postman who fell getting over a stile. The postman completed his round and the next morning's round before going to A & E where it was found he had broken the ball joint at the pelvis
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J.R.
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by J.R. »

sejintenej wrote:
michael scuffil wrote:
Dr Scott was mostly cautious, though one or two counter-examples could be quoted. I remember though in first aid classes he said: 'Don't ever assume someone is dead unless their head has parted company from their body.' And he also told us to remember that someone might have more than one injury: this came from personal experience after a rugby injury where he broke a leg, but had a terrible pain in his arm. The people treating him were so busy with his leg that is was only noticed hours later that he's lost a lot of the skin from one arm -- not a major injury, but very painful.

Yes, I recall those warnings but I don't think he told us about the broken leg event. He did give the example of a postman who fell getting over a stile. The postman completed his round and the next morning's round before going to A & E where it was found he had broken the ball joint at the pelvis
Quite so David,

Early training in the police was that you couldn't assume 'death' even if it was obvious. Not even ambulance crews could.

So obviously, in certaim incidents, re-sus was never ever considered as an option.

How times have changed. God Bless 'The Golden Hour !'
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
Martin
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by Martin »

Housey, like everything else it seems, has been modernising. For a while (10, 20 30 years, does anyone know exactly how long?) all bands worn have been “fudged.”
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by postwarblue »

I have no recollection of ever being taught First Aid at Housey. When did that start and was there some event which triggered it?
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sejintenej
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by sejintenej »

postwarblue wrote:I have no recollection of ever being taught First Aid at Housey. When did that start and was there some event which triggered it?
So far as I was involved it was a CCF thing. Apart from Signals and the RAF there was nothing after Cert A.
About 1959 they created a new section of two platoons called "Civil Defence" which covered everything to do with rescue and subsequent treatment. First aid, firefighting (at the Horsham training centre), water rescue, all the search and retreival you see after earthquakes etc. Even had training weekends with civilian Civil Defence, Ambulance, Police, Casualties Union - the works which were exhausting, even for us..
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by michael scuffil »

sejintenej wrote:
postwarblue wrote:I have no recollection of ever being taught First Aid at Housey. When did that start and was there some event which triggered it?
So far as I was involved it was a CCF thing. Apart from Signals and the RAF there was nothing after Cert A.
About 1959 they created a new section of two platoons called "Civil Defence" which covered everything to do with rescue and subsequent treatment. First aid, firefighting (at the Horsham training centre), water rescue, all the search and retreival you see after earthquakes etc. Even had training weekends with civilian Civil Defence, Ambulance, Police, Casualties Union - the works which were exhausting, even for us..
Can confirm all of the above. We also went to some training establishment with mock ruined buildings near Tangmere, on the summer Field Day (combined with night exercise).

While First Aid instruction (by Dr Scott) was a CCF thing, the (fairly informal) exam was carried out by a local doctor with no military connexions.
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sejintenej
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Re: 'Fudging'

Post by sejintenej »

michael scuffil wrote: Can confirm all of the above. We also went to some training establishment with mock ruined buildings near Tangmere, on the summer Field Day (combined with night exercise).

While First Aid instruction (by Dr Scott) was a CCF thing, the (fairly informal) exam was carried out by a local doctor with no military connexions.
Michael; I have always had a problem with names (a form of dyslexia) but I was "in" from the very first day of planning in Page's study; I don't remember your name but don't be offended - I only remember three or four names from the platoons.

Dr Scott might have dropped his professional persona but his lessons were very much in depth especially bearing in mind the basic scenario.

(For non Civil Defence people the scenario was one where that each one of us would be able to take charge in a civilian area and to act totally independently or as a team member using whatever we could scrounge without having access to any type of medical (or other) aid or advice for 30 days after "the Bomb" went off. There was a separate organisation akin to Dad's Army to deal with invaders).

Where else would a 16 or 17 year old be taught how to handle spinal injuries * or to deliver a baby? (Remember we were advised to use the cheapest newspapers "because they carried fewer germs"! Dr Scott didn't tell us how the babies were made and I for one never heard Dr Matthews)That is far beyond the current requirements for qualified first aiders in offices. The exam was the standard St John's Ambulance or British Red Cross exam and you will remember everyone passed the basic lifesaving award (with a few doing the Merit exam). Two of us (at least) got accepted in Mountain Rescue teams - that was the standard we set ourselves.

* I have since actually had to use that training as well as hypnotic anaesthesia and been around for innumerable car crashes
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
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