Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Mid A 15 wrote:

sport! wrote:

DavebytheSea wrote:I also remember Mrs Olive Peto who I believe may have taught German. Although she never taught me (and perhaps because of that fact) I believe she survived at Housey for many years. Indeed, were it not for the fact that I would certainly be made to look foolish, I would say that she taught until comparatively recently (say within the last 30 years or so).

Mrs Peto was definitely still teaching in the early-to-mid 70s. I believe she taught English.

Yes Mrs Peto taught me for a year.

Yup, me too! I remember doing Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent" with her.

vastly overrated book - Victory was much better.

Rory wrote:vastly overrated book - Victory was much better.

Yup!

Have to say that I learnt more from Pinky Palmer's lessons.

"The Wasteland", anyone?

Richard Ruck wrote:"The Wasteland", anyone?

Arghhhh

DavebytheSea wrote:Somebody replied telling the story of Mrs Hurst in later years until her demise, but I fear that this little morsel of Housey history is now lost forever in cyberspace.

Not necessarily, because I was the person who replied, and I think what I said was:

(1) She died in 1980, twenty years after leaving CH.

(2) She kept busy in retirement collating her late husband's work ('genetical research of world wide importance' on which she had collaborated) for the Cambridge University library.

(3) The Rose Annual for 1981 contained an appreciation of her work in that field.

Rex,

Does your extensive knowledge of CH matters extend to the kitchen staff by any chance?

Afraid I don't know much about the kitchen staff, Andrew, which is why I've not tried to respond to Laura's latest query (or is it just a revised version of the one at the start of this thread?).

I have a complete set of The Blue from Michaelmas Term 1968 onwards and should be able to locate the farewell tributes to any kitchen people during that period who were senior enough to have their departure mentioned in the magazine, but there weren't many of those. I also have fifty copies of The Blue from the years 1926-67, but unfortunately nothing at all from 1967-68 which seems to be Laura's focus.

DavebytheSea wrote:I also remember Mrs Olive Peto ... I believe she survived at Housey for many years. Indeed, were it not for the fact that I would certainly be made to look foolish, I would say that she taught until comparatively recently (say within the last 30 years or so).

Yes, she taught at CH until 1977, when she was appointed Headmistress of Farlington School, not far away.

Between 1967 and 69, if I've got the dates right, she was teaching at a different school, but was still very much part of the CH set-up because her husband remained on the staff and they were living at CH.

From 1969 she was in a full-time appointment, and outside the classroom was also to be found in the Library, the Debating Society and the Literary Society. She was an enormously good thing. As Reggie Watters (Staff 1967-87) wrote when she left, she 'became, perhaps more than any other single person, an embodiment of what was best about the place.'

Sadly she died in 1998 after many years of illness.

Rex wrote:

DavebytheSea wrote:Somebody replied telling the story of Mrs Hurst in later years until her demise, but I fear that this little morsel of Housey history is now lost forever in cyberspace.

Not necessarily, because I was the person who replied, and I think what I said was:

(1) She died in 1980, twenty years after leaving CH.

(2) She kept busy in retirement collating her late husband’s work (‘genetical research of world wide importance’ on which she had collaborated) for the Cambridge University library.

(3) <I>The Rose Annual</I> for 1981 contained an appreciation of her work in that field.

If memory serves, she was still taking detentions in 1961/62. I certainly remember her !

J.R. wrote:If memory serves, she was still taking detentions in 1961/62. I certainly remember her !

Surely you weren't ever in detention J.R.

Vonny wrote:

J.R. wrote:If memory serves, she was still taking detentions in 1961/62. I certainly remember her !

Surely you weren't ever in detention J.R.

So long ago, but I definitely remember doing about three. May have been more.

I always WAS a rebel.

J.R. wrote:

Vonny wrote:

J.R. wrote:If memory serves, she was still taking detentions in 1961/62. I certainly remember her !

Surely you weren't ever in detention J.R.

So long ago, but I definitely remember doing about three. May have been more.

I always WAS a rebel.

What do you mean "WAS"

Vonny wrote:

J.R. wrote:

Vonny wrote: Surely you weren't ever in detention J.R.

So long ago, but I definitely remember doing about three. May have been more.

I always WAS a rebel.

What do you mean "WAS"

Touche !!

J.R. wrote:

Vonny wrote:

J.R. wrote: So long ago, but I definitely remember doing about three. May have been more.

I always WAS a rebel.

What do you mean "WAS"

Touche !!

I only remember doing one detention & that was at Hertford and I have a feeling it was Miss Hann who gave it to me

I remember having to come back early from a parents vist on a Saturday to do a detention at 5pm.