Search found 46 matches

by William
Mon Mar 21, 2022 8:29 am
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Michael Cherniavsky
Replies: 93
Views: 51473

Re: Michael Cherniavsky

Another participant in the National Service Russian Course was Derek Humphreys (Ba A), who unsurprisingly was a modern languages specialist while at CH. He’s 7 years younger than Alan Bennett, so I suppose he had no influence on Bennett’s play, The History Boys. I have lost touch with Humphreys so i...
by William
Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:42 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: A question regarding a punishment book
Replies: 19
Views: 31022

Re: A question regarding a punishment book

I too look forward to seeing the final product. Thanks very much Charlie. You may well show us how things have changed. Perhaps you can note which of the punishments you've read about are not acceptable today, and why? Also please tell us which punishment book(s) you have examined (ie from which hou...
by William
Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:59 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Flecker’s Banning of some Comics
Replies: 19
Views: 7594

Re: Flecker’s Banning of some Comics

Mr Flecker’s ban for comics reminded me of another of his (more reasonable?) bans enacted at about the same time. There was a craze for collecting beer mats, amongst the junior half of the school. So boys would write to innumerable breweries requesting mats, which were often duly posted to the boys....
by William
Fri Feb 26, 2021 10:58 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Meaning of colored walls
Replies: 11
Views: 4629

Re: Meaning of colored walls

I totally agree with this opinion, so much so that I wish I had said it first.

Whether such influence of housemasters and housemistresses (if they still have these names) is reflected in today’s houses I don’t know. Could someone perhaps comment?
by William
Wed Dec 16, 2020 8:01 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Pongo - Eric Littlefield
Replies: 34
Views: 17960

Re: Pongo - Eric Littlefield

An explanation that I learned for Pongo’s nickname arose from his idiosyncratic mode of walking. He walked confidently but with his arms directed downwards and slightly bent at the elbows, with the palms directed to the front and so apparently curved forward. This is similar to an orangutang’s (sp. ...
by William
Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:03 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Going nuts at CH
Replies: 25
Views: 10518

Re: Going nuts at CH

Although there has been criticism of the teaching of French at CH in the 40s and 50s (OK, Frank Macracken had a terrible accent and was a both a terrible teacher and a worse man) my teachers, Messrs Reggie Dean and JE Massen, who both taught all modern language grecians, and Arthur Rider were excell...
by William
Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:08 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Going nuts at CH
Replies: 25
Views: 10518

Re: Going nuts at CH

Foureyes wrote The navy was worse, since up to the mid-60s entry to Dartmouth was at age 12-13, ... Surely this is not entirely correct. I certainly remember boys who went to the RN College at Dartmouth throughout the 1950s, who left CH at the usual leaving age (eg Robert Griffiths of Col B who was ...
by William
Mon Aug 24, 2020 12:35 pm
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Pocket money, Nausea and more
Replies: 21
Views: 10560

Re: Pocket money, Nausea and more

Swabbing customs, duties, etc. must have varied between houses. I swabbed in my LE year. For some years they were paid, but I can’t remember how much. This changed by the time it was my turn. My swabmaster, jointly with all the other five for we had six monitors, paid us with a tea at The Old Barn -...
by William
Fri Aug 14, 2020 12:57 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: The Housey Hotspots, etc
Replies: 13
Views: 11914

The Housey Hotspots, etc

Before it’s too late, are there any recollections of the Housey Hotspots , a boys’ jazz band at Horsham in the 1950s? I can only remember them vaguely and they have hardly been mentioned in this Forum. John Austen (Th A) led them. They gave a few concerts and probably played at one grecians’ dance (...
by William
Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:08 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: GRACE
Replies: 71
Views: 33001

Re: GRACE

Comments on the Horsham Grace have to include mention of the occasion, during my time at CH, when the Grecian saying Grace (as usual speaking from the pulpit about 6 feet above the rest of us) simply mouthed it, while the Grace was said by another person on the floor below him. It was not detected, ...
by William
Sat May 16, 2020 7:24 am
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Ken Grimshaw
Replies: 57
Views: 109120

Re: Ken Grimshaw

In the late 40s and early 50s both squash and fives were totally voluntary and popular. Perhaps fives was a little more popular because the house ‘games cupboard’ (will someone write about that?) owned fives gloves, available for general use. For squash one needed to own, or more often borrow, a rac...
by William
Mon May 04, 2020 1:57 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Pongo - Eric Littlefield
Replies: 34
Views: 17960

Re: Pongo - Eric Littlefield

A man of few words, Pongo did not speak unless he had something meaningful to say. Once a week he had a session with his house captain, when the punishment book was presented and house matters discussed. With one house captain, Piers Ashworth, this session often had long periods of silence, for each...
by William
Tue Mar 24, 2020 5:01 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: WATER TOWER
Replies: 21
Views: 10197

Re: WATER TOWER

LongGone is totally correct. But what if you could not approach close enough to the tower to find that it subtended the angle 45 (or 27) degrees? Any two angles will do, not only 45 and 27 degrees, say A & B. Measure one (it’s A). Then walk a measured distance y directly away from the tower. The...
by William
Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:14 pm
Forum: Abuse cases and related discussions
Topic: Did anyone know?
Replies: 159
Views: 81882

Re: Did anyone know?

I too do not wish to prolong this side-topic, which is so much less important than the matter being discussed here, but I’m somewhat hypocritical I suppose. Even so, this will be my last word on the breaking of ear drums. I believe some misunderstanding continues. I agree with Graham’s words, “Rapid...
by William
Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:00 am
Forum: Abuse cases and related discussions
Topic: Did anyone know?
Replies: 159
Views: 81882

Re: Did anyone know?

I disagree with some of Graham’s words, “A clip round the ear, even a hard one, does not do this. The ear drum is housed within some of the densest bone in the human body, It requires direct, forceful contact. A hard fall can do it, as can very loud music (because of excessive vibration), but it ter...