Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Reading the farewell notes for R Rae, in the Summer 1990 Blue, RCP (trying to work out who he may have been), writes that Rae was Acting Head in March 1990 at a very dark hour in the School's history.

Can anyone elucidate?

RCP - Richard C Poulton. Former Headmaster.

As for the dark hour, I remember (or I think I remember) that a kid died around then and it may be referring to that. That's about all I can think of.

It was a bad day for the country. The second of Margaret Thatcher's two recessions was gathering pace and starting to make people redundant in the South as well as the North. The anger over the poll tax was gathering pace too and would explode in a couple of months' time. It's merely surprising that we weren't all topping ourselves.

rockfreak wrote: ↑Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:14 pm It was a bad day for the country. The second of Margaret Thatcher's two recessions was gathering pace and starting to make people redundant in the South as well as the North. The anger over the poll tax was gathering pace too and would explode in a couple of months' time. It's merely surprising that we weren't all topping ourselves.

You really can't help making even the least political comment into a left wing rant can you? This is about something awful that happened at Christ's Hospital which was nothing whatsoever to do with the activities of Mrs Thatcher and her Government.

... but since you brought it up, and I am not apologist for Thatcher or Thatcherism, the poll tax (community charge) was a sensible and, above all, fair(er) charge where everybody was expected to pay towards the services delivered by local authorities. As things are, whether you call them rates or council tax, charges are levied on the rateable value of one's property which has very little to do with how many people actually live there and consume the various services. Of course, people in local authority housing (council housing as as was) don't, or didn't, pay rates but a much lower charge within their rents so it's not surprising the poll tax wasn't popular, but it was a lot fairer than rates.

jhopgood wrote: ↑Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:37 pm Reading the farewell notes for R Rae, in the Summer 1990 Blue, RCP (trying to work out who he may have been), writes that Rae was Acting Head in March 1990 at a very dark hour in the School's history.

Can anyone elucidate?

RCP was Poulton.

The dark hour would have been this: https://www.chforum.info/php/viewtopic. ... de#p110287

Sorry I brought it up. I had no idea.

Pe.A wrote: ↑Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:15 pm

jhopgood wrote: ↑Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:37 pm Reading the farewell notes for R Rae, in the Summer 1990 Blue, RCP (trying to work out who he may have been), writes that Rae was Acting Head in March 1990 at a very dark hour in the School's history.

Can anyone elucidate?

RCP was Poulton.

The dark hour would have been this: https://www.chforum.info/php/viewtopic. ... de#p110287

Exactly right. Rick’s death traumatised the School. I remember looking out of the window of, er Husband’s history class and seeing the stopped train.

Poulton as HM, Rae and Cairncross as Deputy, Sillett as Deputy Deputy. Husband, Karim, Dobbie, Martin and other dodgy types all incumbent…

Taken from Poulton's remarks on Rae during the incident.

"From abroad, I wanted to fly back."
"If you come back" he (Rae) said on the phone, "you will seem to indicate no trust in me and the team, and I will resign."

It gives an indication of how they all stuck together, which would have made whistleblowing more difficult, had they been aware of anything.

jhopgood wrote: ↑Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:22 am Taken from Poulton's remarks on Rae during the incident.

"From abroad, I wanted to fly back."
"If you come back" he (Rae) said on the phone, "you will seem to indicate no trust in me and the team, and I will resign."

It gives an indication of how they all stuck together, which would have made whistleblowing more difficult, had they been aware of anything.

That’s a strange sort of cohesion if you ask me.

Rae was well past his sell by date by 1990, renowned for nodding off whilst teaching.

Avon wrote: ↑Thu Aug 26, 2021 7:38 pm Rae was well past his sell by date by 1990, renowned for nodding off whilst teaching.

As was Tom Keeley, many years earlier.

I have always wondered about that ability.
I had a boss who did exactly the same, nodded off in board meetings, presentations, and worst of all, at traffic lights.
More than once I had to get his car fixed. when the car behind at the lights started, waking up my boss when his car was shunted. This was in Buenos Aires, where patience amongst car drivers is a scarce commodity.