Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

jhopgood wrote:I don't think Clarence was at Newgate Street, although he did write a book called "Christ's Hospital, the last years in London"

Someone somewhere said that Clarence and Kirby were contemporaries, or have I got that wrong?

The only Old Blue I remember seeing who had been in London was Barnes Wallis.

Very much a 'love-hate' relationship in the early 60's, if I remember correctly !

J.R. wrote:

jhopgood wrote:I don't think Clarence was at Newgate Street, although he did write a book called "Christ's Hospital, the last years in London"

Someone somewhere said that Clarence and Kirby were contemporaries, or have I got that wrong?

The only Old Blue I remember seeing who had been in London was Barnes Wallis.

Very much a 'love-hate' relationship in the early 60's, if I remember correctly !

Was it not the case that whilst the school held up Barnes Wallace as an icon /example to pupils he was in fact forced to leave Housey as he did not want to specialise in classics?

Clarence and Kirby were both at CH in the 1920s (long after Newgate St!). They overlapped, but Kirby was older. We used to amuse ourselves by identifying them on the Grecians' photographs in the classics block.

I hadn't heard the Barnes Wallis story before, but it's the sort of story he would have liked to tell. He was at CH when it moved from London to Horsham, and affected to opine that things were better in London (according to Clarence, who told me that). In his older days he got quite hooked on externals, however. He couldn't wait to get into his Cambridge D.Sc. gown after he was awarded an honorary degree there, and at the ceremony (which I witnessed) he was extraordinarily ceremonious.

J.R. wrote:Clarence Milton Edward Seaman, if memory serves !

I have a vague notion that the last one was in fact "Edwards" (presumably some family surname).

michael scuffil wrote:He couldn't wait to get into his Cambridge D.Sc. gown after he was awarded an honorary degree there, and at the ceremony (which I witnessed) he was extraordinarily ceremonious.

Was that the gown that ensured he was known as Father Christmas? I first saw him at the Carol Concert when he read a lesson.

Somewhere I have his Morpurgo biography, which may mention his reason for leaving CH.

jhopgood wrote:

michael scuffil wrote:He couldn't wait to get into his Cambridge D.Sc. gown after he was awarded an honorary degree there, and at the ceremony (which I witnessed) he was extraordinarily ceremonious.

Was that the gown that ensured he was known as Father Christmas? I first saw him at the Carol Concert when he read a lesson.

Somewhere I have his Morpurgo biography, which may mention his reason for leaving CH.

Almost certainly. He had an honorary doctorate from Bristol, and he used to wear that gown (a pink and orange affair) at CH Speech Days when I was there, but when he got his Cambridge Sc.D. (in 1964, I think) he quickly swapped.

He clearly nominated his own "scarlet days". Does anyone who was there in Newsome's time remember seeing Newsome in a scarlet gown? (He certainly had one, he was a Cambridge Litt. D.).

The only Dr on the staff in my day was Gordon van Praagh. He never wore scarlet.

I vaguely remember Newsome wearing scarlet...

My memory ain't as good as it used to be but the only Dr's I can recall form the 80s were:

Dr Hackett Physics
Dr Maddren Chemistry

I remember Kirkup having fantastic white fur from Cambridge...

jhopgood wrote:

michael scuffil wrote:He couldn't wait to get into his Cambridge D.Sc. gown after he was awarded an honorary degree there, and at the ceremony (which I witnessed) he was extraordinarily ceremonious.

Was that the gown that ensured he was known as Father Christmas? I first saw him at the Carol Concert when he read a lesson.

Somewhere I have his Morpurgo biography, which may mention his reason for leaving CH.

Found Morpurgo and briefly, "Browne" wanted to push and see if there could be a Science Grecian, using Barnes Wallis, who resisted as he didn't want to go to University and so had to leave at 16. He then failed the London Matriculation, so he must have been very happy to get Honorary Doctorates etc.

As an inspiration to us all, Morpurgo says

His passing from Christ's Hospital was as unnoticed as his passing through the school.

I feel better now.

CHAZ wrote:I vaguely remember Newsome wearing scarlet...

My memory ain't as good as it used to be but the only Dr's I can recall form the 80s were:

Dr Hackett Physics
Dr Maddren Chemistry

I remember Kirkup having fantastic white fur from Cambridge...

Dr. Richard "Pinky" Palmer - helped to drag me through English A-Level. Not sure when he left, perhaps it was in the early '80s.

jhopgood wrote: Somewhere I have his Morpurgo biography

Is this Morpurgo anything to do with Michael Morpurgo, the author? Just wondered as my daughter has recently got into his books.

I think it was his father. There were/are a number of Morpurgos... including Linda (married to Mark Morpurgo) who taught English at CH Horsham for a while but who gave it up to be a Financial Consultant (yes, she supported me at the time!) and who subsequently moved to Scotland. I think that Michael and Mark are probably brothers.

I see - well my dd seems impressed with his books!

Vonny wrote:

jhopgood wrote: Somewhere I have his Morpurgo biography

Is this Morpurgo anything to do with Michael Morpurgo, the author? Just wondered as my daughter has recently got into his books.

J(Jack) E Morpurgo, born 1918, died 2000, Old Blue, 4 children according to the book cover.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... purgo.html

Thanks John. Michael Morpurgo definitely one son, then.. and I suspect Mark also, although he is not as distinguished as his brother!

Michael Morpurgo has a Wikipedia entry, but curiously, his (I would have thought) rather more distinguished father does not. Or is it just that J.E.'s name cropped up in so much CH literature that one thinks of him first?