Response from the Head Master

This section was setup in August 2018 in order to move the existing related discussions from other sections into this new section to group them together, and separate from the other CH-related topics.

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robert totterdell
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Response from the Head Master

Post by robert totterdell »

Dear All

I received a response to my letter a couple of days ago.

The HM is on holiday so it was from the business manager.

It is IN CONFIDENCE and I am respecting that for now.

They have asked for another meeting and I have accepted and will be taking some backup (no - not a machine gun).

I can't at this stage say much more other than I lived with some 48 years of not saying anything and I do not take, therefore, kindly to be being requested to keep quiet on what I believe are matters that concern all Old Blues.

Of course you will be aware that CH is reading these posts - that was stated. I guess this may be the 'guest' who appears quite a lot on the item 'who's reading the site'.

I will of course keep you updated as best as I can but will honour their request of In Confidence for now.

But I think it is fair and right that I ask you to let me have up to and no more than 3 questions that each of you might want answered. You can do this here or as a PM on the site or directly to me at [Email removed as obsolete - please contact via Private Message].

I thank you for all of your posts on this subject - they are really helpful and supportive. There are still questions that need to be answered - well probably some of the original questions.

I have written to HRH Duke of Gloucester as I still do feel that the school has been slow to respond to these matters and been inadequate in their responses and thus some pressure needs to be brought to bear. I am also writing to the Bishop of Chichester looking both at a service of reconciliation but also to explain the Churches involvement and why they did not take action vis a vis Peter Ball. (I already have Bishop Sarah of London looking at leading this).

I can confirm that victims can seek redress through Civil Litigation with the Schools Insurers - it is is a hard thing to do as you have to re-go through everything that you have already said to the police or in court. Within that litigation process it is correct to say that some compensation will be given towards the cost of counselling. However firstly you do have to wait for settlement or ask for an advance. (Counselling does not come cheap).

Secondly the payment is for set counselling or therapy and assumes that such will achieve it's results fairly quickly - in my case two courses which involves about 6 months. I can tell you now that this is nonsense. One of the key issues forgotten concerning non-recent sexual abuse is that the victims carry it for many years before revealing it, if ever. Once revealed the consequences are for the rest of your life.

When I chose to make my statement on this forum I took a very big decision - simply to go public. This is because I felt that that whilst perpetrators of abuse were being prosecuted, the school was failing the pupils both past and present by trying to ignore it and carry on business as usual.

I did not like this forum when I first looked at it by accident as I was just looking for something concerning CH and it came up on the web. The result was that I read a post that made me beside myself with anger and it was that post that caused me to waive anonymity and tell you all who I was and what had happened to me.

From then I have tried to ask questions and get answers and many of you have made a real difference. I have attempted to stand up for victims and am in contact with several, but that is because it became clear to me that CH was going to try to sweep away the issues.

It is not for me to comment on how badly some of the pupils of the school were let down by the school other than to point out that, if CH had followed the Lords Wandsworth College system of dealing with sexual abuse, many, if not all of the victims of Karim, Husband and Dobbie would not have been victims at all. And in this the school is shameful with it's Silletts, Cairncroses & Flemings as well as a lot of Head Masters. It is a total disgrace and they need to face up to it.

In the meantime I draw on your support and advice once again with the three questions - what are they that you would liked asked?

I will now be very quiet for awhile as there is still a pending investigation into Mr Burr which involves me. But I will be looking at the forum and if I can say something I will.

With - well I suppose love and best wishes

Rob
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by richardb »

My first question is very simple Rob.

Will the school pay for counselling and therapy for all who require it, without condition or limitation?
robert totterdell
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by robert totterdell »

Hi John

At this stage no. No financial support has been provided other to one individual who applied to the BSB (Benevolent Society of Blues).

The school has made no attempt to offer support or even asked if anyone needs it. I am still awaiting to hear if a letter has even been sent to the latest victim yet as he gave them permission to contact him.

We must remember that they are very busy people having to deal with far more than this. It is why I just don't understand why they did not appoint a liaison officer. They managed to appoint a Redress Committee - to what ends?

Rob
robert totterdell
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by robert totterdell »

Actually John at the meeting back in November there was no offer of help at all.
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by Gingerbeard17 »

robert totterdell wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:27 pm

With - well I suppose love and best wishes

Rob
You have my admiration, love and best wishes, you sometimes leave me aghast with your courage and tenacity. I am in awe

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robert totterdell
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by robert totterdell »

Sorry I posted to John but I meant Richard - god I am getting tired!
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by J.R. »

robert totterdell wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:59 pm Sorry I posted to John but I meant Richard - god I am getting tired!
Get a good sleep Rob !
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by sejintenej »

Thanks for that, Rob. I accept that pro tempore things should not go worldwide
Secondly the payment is for set counselling or therapy and assumes that such will achieve it's results fairly quickly - in my case two courses which involves about 6 months. I can tell you now that this is nonsense. One of the key issues forgotten concerning non-recent sexual abuse is that the victims carry it for many years before revealing it, if ever. Once revealed the consequences are for the rest of your life
I'm not sure what you intend by this last sentence. The consequences start when the victim realises the import of what has ben done or possibly from the physical pain involved.

What the school must look at is all the consequences of how it operated. After CH, I, for one, hate and fear meetings and crowds. Tomorrow I am forcing myself to go and meet a cousin; I only found out this year that I have relatives living and i am absolutely dreading the meeting - I am going purely to satisfy my wife or I wouldn't be in contact at all. Do the school realise what the bullying and violence does to to pupils?
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
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robert totterdell
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by robert totterdell »

Basically compensation does not cover historical counselling unless it can be fully proved and costed. The issue is future treatment and that is extremely difficult to assess. There are courses of therapy but whether they work or not is a very moot point. Unlike financial loss where they look at 10 years in the future i.e. that you can no longer underatke your normal work due to mental health, for counselling it seems to be dependent on the Psychiatric assessment made - which to be honest, unless you understand mental health treatment, is total gobble gook.

For each victim there will be various options and some will relate well to Psychiatrists or retreats. For some they may just need a short break now and then to contemplate and have full time out on their own.

I do not know how you quantify this and therefore am struggling to know what to ask of CH itself. I can say that for me when in Hove at the latest trial there were just moments at a French style street cafe where I was writing my reports, that I would just put the lid of the laptop down and have 'my time' to think and contemplate and that gave me the strength to continue. I guess one could say the old adage 'sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits'.

Hope that this helps

Rob
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Re: Response from the Head Master A QUESTION

Post by robert totterdell »

Dear All

A simple question - do any of you know if there was a thing called the Junior Common Room Choir?

Rob
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by bobcrawshaw »

Junior Common Room is something they have at Oxford and Cambridge Colleges for the under-graduates. I do not recall anything of that name for CH in our era at least. The nearest I can think of is that each junior house put together a choir for the annual singing competition. In Maine A I recall that Burr ran it (or had something to do with it anyway), generally one of the boys would be the conductor, it was me one year :o .
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by jtaylor »

In my time there was the “Chamber Choir” which was a small subset of the main Chapel Choir. I don’t recall any Common Room choir - the only adult/staff choir I knew of was the Choral Society, which the school choir sang with occasionally, usually as part of the Angus Ross Memorial Concerts.
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by RemedyLaw »

robert totterdell wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:52 pm Basically compensation does not cover historical counselling unless it can be fully proved and costed. The issue is future treatment and that is extremely difficult to assess. There are courses of therapy but whether they work or not is a very moot point. Unlike financial loss where they look at 10 years in the future i.e. that you can no longer underatke your normal work due to mental health, for counselling it seems to be dependent on the Psychiatric assessment made - which to be honest, unless you understand mental health treatment, is total gobble gook.

For each victim there will be various options and some will relate well to Psychiatrists or retreats. For some they may just need a short break now and then to contemplate and have full time out on their own.

I do not know how you quantify this and therefore am struggling to know what to ask of CH itself. I can say that for me when in Hove at the latest trial there were just moments at a French style street cafe where I was writing my reports, that I would just put the lid of the laptop down and have 'my time' to think and contemplate and that gave me the strength to continue. I guess one could say the old adage 'sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits'.

Hope that this helps

Rob
This is where CH are 'stonewalling' the opportunity to obtain relevant counselling. They must no doubt be aware that not all wish to make civil claims and those who do not have support will not be in a position to properly determine what the requisite treatment is.

It is not uncommon in civil litigation for interim payments to be made in respect of therapy costs, the difficulty always arises in that this is often without the benefit of psychiatric evidence, and so again, individuals are left at a loss as to who and what is required.

CH ought to be proposing that they will concede liability at the earliest possible stage(not raising limitation as an issue) which would mean swift and streamlined litigation can ensue; with early psychiatric assessments undertaken and calculated and targetted therapy costs fomalised in shcedules and recoveered to ensure that appropriate therapy with suitable provisions can be obtained.
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by richardb »

Presumably Charles the school has been told by the insurers to admit nothing and agree nothing in case it is construed as an admission of liability.
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Re: Response from the Head Master

Post by J.R. »

Certainly no 'Junior Choir' in my day.
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