Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Two points on matrons. First, the tradition of such posts goes back as far as that of the school itself. From the start, the pupils at C.H. were divided into wards and each ward was run by a 'dame', invariably middle-aged or elderly - no housemasters in those days. They were frequently widows. Secon...

"...thinking back, I can't really remember any references to Hertford other than it existed in Hertfordshire and was our 'opposite number'." Things must have changed. I was at Horsham from 1948-55 and we were very aware of the girls school at Hertford. The Grecians used to go up there every Summer ...

JR wrote: " ...As one of the people who tried to locate the CH punishment books years ago and was unable to even establish their original existence, I also wondered at the extensive archives of CH documentation...." I think that I may be able to help here. In the 1990s and early 2000s I did a lot of...

bakunin writes: "...and both employed in private schools..." I would be interested to know the evidence for saying that Canon Michael Porteous is employed today in a private school. As far as I can see he is a priest in a group ministry, covering several former parishes, as is quite common today in ...

Coincidence? I urge caution, as it is by no means impossible that it really is a coincidence. I have done a great deal of research, unrelated to C.H., into family trees and the same forenames do appear and reappear, not only in successive generations, but also in different branches in the same gener...

Michael, I take your point about a school not being a 'business.' However, that argument is weakened by the growing number of people (some in very elevated positions) who make remarks like 'don't forget a school is a business'. Indeed, that argument is being increasingly used to re-label headmasters...

" I don't know how much VAT CH pays (most of its expenditure is presumably on non-VATable items such as salaries)." It is covered in the accounts - see https://www.christs-hospital.org.uk/information/publications/financial-statements-2016-17/ VAT is explained at page 26 and quantified at page 36 Da...

I totally agree that VAT should be a non-starter for British students, but I have sometimes thought that foreign students should not be similarly exempt.
David

golfer said: "...I am just a little surprised that threat outlined in this thread - which could significantly undermine CH's ability to fulfil its mission..." To give people slight encouragement, C.H. has a long tradition of financial crises - often self-infllcted - and then overcoming them. There w...

His many friends will be saddened to hear that Keith Mackness, Thornton B 1949-1955, passed away this morning, with his family at his bedside. Architect, gifted artist and lover of Christ's Hospital he was a good friend to many Old Blues.
David Miller

Michael, I was teasing. When I served in NATO my boss was a Dutch brigadier-general who used to get very hot under the collar when Brits referred to his country as 'Holland' which they did quite often, but never more than once when he was around! His argument, which I admit seems logical, is that Ho...

I lived in The Netherlands (not 'Holland', please note) and one of my enduring memories is that on one day a year they all used to put out the national flag and get dressed in their best. Then the men would wear what looked like tea cosies on their heads and get paralytically drunk. They would then ...

May I correct the statement:
"Guy Perricone (not an old Blue) lasted one year as Treasurer & Chair."

It is certainly correct that Perricone was not an Old Blue, but he was actually Treasurer and Chairman of the Council from April 2013 to September 2018, a period of 5 years 6 months.

David

Mid A15 wrote: "I wonder whether or not 'the CH boy' could have been Linton Andrews, later to become Sir Linton Andrews and editor of the Yorkshire Post?" How perceptive and how splendid it would be if it was. A great man, unfortunately now almost forgotten. He served throughout World War One in the...

Michael, An exceptional find, for which many thanks. The ladies' fashions are out of this world - those hats! Concerning, the boy. I am sure he is a Housie boy and that he is from Newgate Street rather than Hertford, as his girdle has a Broadie buckle. Concerning the white thingie, this is a guess, ...