Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

There was a science master and his brother (who often came to visit) who were known as AC and DC (or vice versa). I don't know if I ever knew their correct names.

sejintenej wrote:There was a science master and his brother (who often came to visit) who were known as AC and DC (or vice versa). I don't know if I ever knew their correct names.

Alan and David Chaundy?

PLEASE NOTE: BOTH TOPICS HAVE BEEN MERGED, AS REQUESTED.


Unfortunately, it hasn't allowed for date-order, unless Julian has a magic trick up his sleeve !

John. R.

Have just read this thread from start to finish; brilliant!

Bob Rae was always known as "Rocker" during my time, and "Mugger" was John Hargreaves the English teacher. Love the fact Fiona Barren was known as "Fiona Fertile" (obvious I suppose). She taught French. As for the "hottest female teacher" at the time, I always thought Jenny Hayes (English teacher 84-86?) was better looking

Here's a few more - see if you can figure them out:

Boomer
Dodger
Auntie Planty
JED
Pinky (not Palmer this time!)
Dickie P
Hemel
Fossil
Pigeon
Timmy
Chucker
Plug

Were we more inventive at Horsham with masters' nicknames in the 50s and 60s or were the masters more eccentric (not to say stark staring in some cases) back then, and rather invited it?

Fitzsadou wrote:Two more masters without nicknames were JC Tod

Tod was known as "Uh uh", as he tended to make this sound before speaking.

J.R. wrote:Coleridge B Deputy Housemaster early 60's

"O-KAY" ????

R.A. Hewitt, who usually finished a sentence, thus !

He was sent up in the house play in the late 50s, John, when Nick Mudie wandered the stage adding an "OK?" and "All right?" to many of his character's lines - to howls of laughter from the audience. After the play "Bogey" Fryer approached head of house Bob Leach and said: "Ooh Leach, is "OK"...Mr Hewitt?" Bob assured him that he thought this to be the case and Fryer went "Ooh" in his odd Welsh way and went off chuckling to himself. I thought I had a memory like an elephant for these things but reading these sites makes me realise that there's a whole Serengeti of us out there.

rockfreak wrote:

J.R. wrote:Coleridge B Deputy Housemaster early 60's

"O-KAY" ????

R.A. Hewitt, who usually finished a sentence, thus !

He was sent up in the house play in the late 50s, John, when Nick Mudie wandered the stage adding an "OK?" and "All right?" to many of his character's lines - to howls of laughter from the audience. After the play "Bogey" Fryer approached head of house Bob Leach and said: "Ooh Leach, is "OK"...Mr Hewitt?" Bob assured him that he thought this to be the case and Fryer went "Ooh" in his odd Welsh way and went off chuckling to himself. I thought I had a memory like an elephant for these things but reading these sites makes me realise that there's a whole Serengeti of us out there.

What ever happened to R. Hewitt ?

He can't have been at C.H. for very long.

Perhaps Hewitt turned out not to be OK and All-right and that's why he left.

Re: Masters' Nicknames
Postby PeteC » Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:44 am

alterblau wrote:
There is another possible origin for Windy Whitfield’s nickname. His predecessor as junior housemaster in Barnes B was Windy McCracken and so unsurprisingly Whitfield inherited the nickname, perhaps because of the alliteration. McCracken had acquired the name after an occasion when he released flatus in public.

I seem to remember Whitfield and McCracken both being Australian, and always thought the Windy name referred in some way to the accent.

In my recollection, Whitfield was always called The Wind, not Windy. Whichever: I would strongly support '... always thought the Windy name referred in some way to the accent.
It was delivered as The Wiinnnndd, with a rising note, an opening of the eyes, and a raising of the eyebrows - to be followed, if time allowed, with a long-drawn-out hmmmmmmm. Reminiscent, I can vouch, of the breeze sighing through the blue gums (although I didn't know that then).

Windy had a liking for rational explanations for the Bible stories in Divinity classes (or Div as they were known). One week, he told us that Moses had obtained some rare meteorological information that the Red Sea would be at a low ebb on a particular date and this would enable him to lead the Israelites to safety. It seemed unlikely given that the Red Sea is non tidal, but there you go. The very next week Rev Pullin (the proverbial Chain) told us that the same incident was a genuine miracle from God. At this point my 13-year-old brain thought "Shurely shome mistake, you can't both be right" - and doubts set in about religion from then on. It was as well for Moses that he didn't read the Guardian because their long-distance weather forecasts are notably unreliable and he'd probably have drowned the lot of them.

rockfreak wrote:Windy had a liking for rational explanations for the Bible stories in Divinity classes (or Div as they were known). One week, he told us that Moses had obtained some rare meteorological information that the Red Sea would be at a low ebb on a particular date and this would enable him to lead the Israelites to safety. It seemed unlikely given that the Red Sea is non tidal, but there you go. The very next week Rev Pullin (the proverbial Chain) told us that the same incident was a genuine miracle from God. At this point my 13-year-old brain thought "Shurely shome mistake, you can't both be right" - and doubts set in about religion from then on. It was as well for Moses that he didn't read the Guardian because their long-distance weather forecasts are notably unreliable and he'd probably have drowned the lot of them.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on this site in the distant past, but I so well remember querying the 'Virgin' birth with him in an RE lesson, given current medical facts. Needless to say, he wasn't best amused. However, he agree to lead me through Confirmation classes.

Probably better you don't ask me about my religious beliefs in this day and age, given whats going on around the world in the name of 'Religion' !!

This is my problem with religion; it always seems to be full of sophistry, evasions and sacred cows. I don't actually have a problem with the CofE these days because it seems to have moved from being the Tory party at prayer when we were younger to being a branch of the social services in the present age, dealing with the detritus of three decades of Thatcherism. It's a good job someone's doing it although of course not all charitable enterprises are religiously based.

rockfreak wrote:This is my problem with religion; it always seems to be full of sophistry, evasions and sacred cows. I don't actually have a problem with the CofE these days because it seems to have moved from being the Tory party at prayer when we were younger to being a branch of the social services in the present age, dealing with the detritus of three decades of Thatcherism. It's a good job someone's doing it although of course not all charitable enterprises are religiously based.

I don't believe I'm going to type this, but I actually agree with you here.

I can't believe that this thread has gone through 5 pages without ...

...

BOOMER!

(RIP)