Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else, but that's still CH related.

Moderator: Moderators

Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by Katharine »

Maids had gone at Hertford by the time I went there. Much of my time in Sixes, my house, there was a single bedroom on the top floor that was called the Maid's Room. It wasn't used most of the time. I used it when I was on duty in Chapel as Sacristan at early Communion, as I had to get up before anyone else those mornings. I can't remember it being used at any other time. I have read more recent Old Girls from Hertford saying it was allocated as a bedroom to a senior girl in the House in their day.

We did have a couple of char ladies for each House - but we did so much general cleaning in our 'Duties' before breakfast that there can't have been much left for them to clean! All I can think of was the House Mistress's own rooms! All she got was two rooms, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor, no private bathroom or loo.

Sorry my previous post appeared twice, problems with my iPad!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
User avatar
J.R.
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15835
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:53 pm
Real Name: John Rutley
Location: Dorking, Surrey

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by J.R. »

Katharine wrote:
Foureyes wrote:Katherine,
OK, so I got the numbers wrong, for which I apologise. However, you might have given me a little credit for mentioning Hertford and the girls in the first place.
David
Sorry, but I've known you long enough to know you are a gentleman and don't forget our existence, unlike some other Old Blues - not thinking of anyone on the Forum !
That's good to hear.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by Katharine »

JR, I wasn't in the country at the time of the merger, but some of my friends who attended Old Blues Days at Horsham soon after that, were shocked by some of the comments to the effect that they had no right to attend, as they had never been to Horsham.

More recently, there are fears that the whole existence of a school on the Hertford site, for several hundred years, is being forgotten in CH stories to current pupils.

I do my best to uphold the Hertford flag on the Forum, but it appears I am alone voice now!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
seajayuu
GE (Great Erasmus)
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:20 pm
Real Name: Chrissy Williams (Barnett 5.23 '58-9; 3.10 '59-66)

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by seajayuu »

No, I'm still here!
I remember maids in '58, but only in junior wards - maybe they were also in senior wards?
The term "maids room" was still in everyday use when I occupied that room in 1965-66. I think that the maids room and "little dorm" were probably used from the early 60's on. Sometimes wards had more than 36 girls in; 37 was definitely a ward number in occasional use. The dorms normally held 16 in each; occasionally people were stuck in "fireplace" which gave a maximum capacity of 18 in Upper and 18 in Lower. This along with 3 in little dorm and 1 in maids room made it possible to have 40 in a ward - but I don't remember that happening.

I had malt throughout my time at Hertford. Hated it! Fed it to the Ward cat most days!
User avatar
J.R.
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15835
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:53 pm
Real Name: John Rutley
Location: Dorking, Surrey

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by J.R. »

Katharine wrote:JR, I wasn't in the country at the time of the merger, but some of my friends who attended Old Blues Days at Horsham soon after that, were shocked by some of the comments to the effect that they had no right to attend, as they had never been to Horsham.

More recently, there are fears that the whole existence of a school on the Hertford site, for several hundred years, is being forgotten in CH stories to current pupils.

I do my best to uphold the Hertford flag on the Forum, but it appears I am alone voice now!
As will I Katharine.

I wasn't lucky enough to be educated in co-ed school, and suffered as an early teen making relationships with girls.

I don't know if there are any single-sex boarding schools left in the UK, but if there are, they should be banned !!
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
User avatar
jhopgood
Button Grecian
Posts: 1884
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:26 pm
Real Name: John Hopgood
Location: Benimeli, Alicante

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by jhopgood »

Katharine wrote:JR, I wasn't in the country at the time of the merger, but some of my friends who attended Old Blues Days at Horsham soon after that, were shocked by some of the comments to the effect that they had no right to attend, as they had never been to Horsham.

More recently, there are fears that the whole existence of a school on the Hertford site, for several hundred years, is being forgotten in CH stories to current pupils.

I do my best to uphold the Hertford flag on the Forum, but it appears I am alone voice now!
Unless I am mistaken, at least 3 members of the CHOBA board were at Hertford, and certainly, in my time on the Board, there was real concern to keep the Hertford flag flying. Kerren certainly flew the flag.
Perhaps, because Horsham was originally boys only, and they seem to make up a high percentage of the forum members, it is not surprising that the forum is less Hertford orientated.
I know from my time as OB editor, that the Hertford girls tended to do their own thing, meeting outside Horsham as it was more convenient.
My sister was at Hertford but part from occasionally going to the Carol Service, has little interest in going to the Horsham site unless either my brother or I are also visiting. And she knew it well whilst I was there.
Regrettably, I am sure the memory of Hertford will go the same was as the memory of London.
Who in CH Horsham thought much about CH London in 1932?
Barnes B 25 (59 - 66)
Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by Katharine »

When you were at Horsham were you regularly told the story of the school? Every year on Founder's Day our headmistress - the redoubtable DR West - told us the story of the school. I think she had various versions of the story so it wasn't identical from year to year. This told us about the London origins, the fact that a girl was listed first. We were told about moving away from London - first the younger children and the girls than later all the boys to Horsham. We certainly knew about London and Horsham and their place in the history of the school.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
User avatar
jhopgood
Button Grecian
Posts: 1884
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:26 pm
Real Name: John Hopgood
Location: Benimeli, Alicante

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by jhopgood »

Katharine wrote:When you were at Horsham were you regularly told the story of the school?
Not that I remember, but JR has a better memory than me.
Barnes B 25 (59 - 66)
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by sejintenej »

Katharine wrote:When you were at Horsham were you regularly told the story of the school? Every year on Founder's Day our headmistress - the redoubtable DR West - told us the story of the school. I think she had various versions of the story so it wasn't identical from year to year. This told us about the London origins, the fact that a girl was listed first. We were told about moving away from London - first the younger children and the girls than later all the boys to Horsham. We certainly knew about London and Horsham and their place in the history of the school.
To answer your first question, so far as I remember the answer is a firm no to regular lectures. Indeed the fact that CH had female pupils was not mentioned. ISTR we might have been told specifically in connection with the quartercentenary celebrations in 1953. At that time a thick history was published and I suspect that most boys got a copy - my daughter, who is that way inclined, has half-hitched my copy.
What I do have here is an illustrated 81 page account of the Quartercentenary Celebrations with three "interesting" photographs:
- two groups of girls, behatted, marching past in front of the Horsham dining hall; the guests being saluted at are off camera
- a curve (as in not quite a straight line) of the girls about six deep with HRH The Duchess of Gloucester and some stout woman in black with what looks like white earmuffs walking past them. Interestingly there is a boy in Horsham uniform in the front row dwarfed by the girls. This was taken at Hertford
- Margaret West (the President's presentee) being presented to HRH the Duchess of Gloucester with a background of the girls. Also taken at Hertford

For Horsham pupils of my era, Corks is roundly lauded not only for the choir's performance but also for his composition of the Te Deum

As to your penultimate sentence apart from the original London site and Horsham did she tell you about the other two sites close to Hertford? As to London ISTR a reference here suggested a move in London following the Great Fire in 1666.
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
User avatar
postwarblue
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 409
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 12:12 pm
Real Name: Robert Griffiths
Location: Havant

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by postwarblue »

As far as the older barnacles encrusting this website are concerned, during our time at CH, except for the Quatercentenary visit the girls were entirely invisible to us.

As to the maids, (1) someone mentioned Eithne, that rings a bell as I had a friend called Alf in one of the Barneses who rather liked her and (2) a contemporary in Col B borrowed my rather primitive sit up and beg bike one afternoon and someone told me he had seen it propping up a haystack. Nudge nudge wink wink.
'Oh blest retirement, friend to life's decline'
Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by Katharine »

sejintenej wrote:As to your penultimate sentence apart from the original London site and Horsham did she tell you about the other two sites close to Hertford? As to London ISTR a reference here suggested a move in London following the Great Fire in 1666.
Yes we were told about Hoddesdon and Ware, a visual aid used some years was a wooden doll rescued/recovered from the Great Fire. One of the things Kerren did was to obtain the scripts of these talks - and reproduce them for publication. I've got it somewhere but with Christmas approaching I'm not sure I can put my hand on it now.

We always knew that as we didn't have the iconic uniform we were mostly unknown to that general section of the public who knew of "the Bluecoat School" it is only this forum that has made me realise how unknown we were to those being educated at Horsham at the same time.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
michael scuffil
Button Grecian
Posts: 1612
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:53 pm
Real Name: michael scuffil
Location: germany

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by michael scuffil »

We weren't regularly regaled with the story of the school's foundation, but I had the impression that most people knew it well enough. I remember it being read out in chapel on Founder's Day (curiously I only remember it being read out once -- by 2nd Master Bill Armistead -- although I experienced eight Founder's Days).

We saw a very few of the girls on St Matthew's Day and our Speech Day. And a chosen few (1st Partings, I think) went to Hertford on their Speech Day, where we made the small girls swoon, obviously something sexy about the (Grecians') uniforms. Never had so many people photograph me at once (and not one of these photos can be found!)
Th.B. 27 1955-63
Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by Katharine »

Michael, I've told the story here before of getting into trouble for talking to Randall Cousins when he came to Hertford, he'd stayed with us several times in school holidays. I don't think I had any idea that you were only supposed to speak to a brother. Presumably a list had been sent in advance with the names of the visiting Grecians, and my brother wasn't on it. Did you come the same year?

I don't think I ever had a camera at school, how did they get away with photographing you? I suppose my 'crime' was to be seen to be actually having a conversation not just pointing a camera like others did!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
User avatar
J.R.
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15835
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:53 pm
Real Name: John Rutley
Location: Dorking, Surrey

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by J.R. »

jhopgood wrote:
Katharine wrote:When you were at Horsham were you regularly told the story of the school?
Not that I remember, but JR has a better memory than me.

I only have a very vague recollecton of one class lesson at school regarding the history of the school.

HOWEVEVER
- I already had a good grounding of the history through my maternal Grandparents who had family connections to the school and even visited the site of the old London school before even entering CH in 1958.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
gneuss
2nd Former
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:43 am
Real Name: Geoff Neuss
Location: South Wales now; Barnes B then (1959-66)
Contact:

Re: Cod Liver Oil and Malt

Post by gneuss »

I've told the story here before of getting into trouble for talking to Randall Cousins when he came to Hertford, he'd stayed with us several times in school holidays. I don't think I had any idea that you were only supposed to speak to a brother.
I was certainly aware of Hertford while I was at Horsham and the fact that there were girls there. I once wrote to a girl at Hertford when I was about 12 and my sister, Paula, who was older than me and still at Hertford was hauled in and told in no uncertain terms that her brother was not allowed to write to girls in the school. Somehow, I can’t remember how now, I became friends with Wendy Lee from Hertford when I was in GE. We saw the Beatles together in Fairfield Hall in Croydon in 1963 before they were really famous. We used to party together with other girls from Hertford. Linda Smith and Doreen Buvyer spring to mind. Once we got a record request played on Radio Luxembourg (remember Keynsham spelt K E Y N S H A M?) on 208 on the medium wave and the disc jockey said he hoped they got well soon as we had included which wards they were in.
Post Reply