Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

palgsm93 wrote:Sorry... a lame James Bond joke

well.....don't keep us in suspense...

In 1947 I was a Prep Squit aged 8! The only terrifying thing about being a squit in those days was the announcement passed down the Prep B house table a few days after first arrival (we sat in houses in Dining Hall in those days and this is often how official messages were promulgated!) that "tomorrow all new squits have 2 teeth out"

Can you imagine how many of us lost souls there are out there, permanently damaged by being called a squit for a year. The word has been in common use at CH since sometime BEFORE 1850. So at least 150 years of school boys have (I presume) major problems with self-image? Dont you just love the PC morons?

The only terrifying thing about being a squit in those days was the announcement passed down the Prep B house table a few days after first arrival (we sat in houses in Dining Hall in those days and this is often how official messages were promulgated!) that "tomorrow all new squits have 2 teeth out"

On my squits in MaB, we were warned of impending "knob inspection" whereby all new squits would have to expose themselves to matron. God we were terrified. It never happened, of course. Instead, we had to expose ourselves to the doctor at the sicker.

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary...

squit n. small or insignificant person.

Seems about right to me. I remember having this definition pointed out to me when I was a squit (sorry, "second form"), and finding it highly amusing. Certainly no damage done there!

menace wrote:Can you imagine how many of us lost souls there are out there, permanently damaged by being called a squit for a year. The word has been in common use at CH since sometime BEFORE 1850. So at least 150 years of school boys have (I presume) major problems with self-image? Dont you just love the PC morons?

Political correctness will kill places like CH!

political correctness kills everything, it really annoys me, but I am not going to get started...

On my squits in MaB, we were warned of impending "knob inspection" whereby all new squits would have to expose themselves to matron. God we were terrified. It never happened, of course. Instead, we had to expose ourselves to the doctor at the sicker.

In the early 50s, and presumably before, all the new squits were collected in the Court Room on the day of their arrival and ordered to strip. They were all lined up for the obligatory "knob inspection" by Dr Tommy Scott, the MO.

On a similar vein, there were occasional ringworm inspections for all. Each house would troop off to the sicker and, breeches off, squat down on the end of a table to be inspected by a nurse.

Lamma looker wrote:

On my squits in MaB, we were warned of impending "knob inspection" whereby all new squits would have to expose themselves to matron. God we were terrified. It never happened, of course. Instead, we had to expose ourselves to the doctor at the sicker.

In the early 50s, and presumably before, all the new squits were collected in the Court Room on the day of their arrival and ordered to strip. They were all lined up for the obligatory "knob inspection" by Dr Tommy Scott, the MO.

On a similar vein, there were occasional ringworm inspections for all. Each house would troop off to the sicker and, breeches off, squat down on the end of a table to be inspected by a nurse.

How times have changed... Thank God...

though 'squits' doesn't really offend anyone, it's not right to say that all PCness is a bad thing.
nigger?
very few people want that word back in circulation.

DavebytheSea wrote:In 1947 I was a Prep Squit aged 8! The only terrifying thing about being a squit in those days was the announcement passed down the Prep B house table a few days after first arrival (we sat in houses in Dining Hall in those days and this is often how official messages were promulgated!) that "tomorrow all new squits have 2 teeth out"

Same in Prep B in January 1958, Dave.

I still have, locked away, letters I sent to my late Mother, begging her to stop the school from removing two teeth !

I suppose in hindsight, it did me little time, but over 40 years on, I can still remember the pleasure on the faces of certain boys, telling me I was going to lose two teeth in a few days !