Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

and the socks were bright yellow if playing in a school team and white cotton ankle socks (bless them) for other times, when Kerren and Katharine were at Hertford anyway, before any younger HOBs comment.

Skirt length, at least in DR's early days, was in inverse proportion to the fashionable length. When the "New Look" came in and skirts were well down the calf, members of school teams had to have skirts about 2 inches above the ground when kneeling, and the rest of us at ground level. I call that spiteful!

AArrgghhh! I don't remember bright yellow socks for sport.. but following earlier postings on this thread I am scared of Mary and her recollections! I do remember having to kneel down for the checking the length of skirts, including sports kit. (Kneeling down is something I can no longer do.... and in response to Katharine's earlier post I could never, ever, now, hurtle down a hockey pitch towards the goal. Nowadays I have trouble walking, let alone anything else - but it has often occurred to me to wonder if, re my current disabilities - which should dissolve anyone's fearful memories of a sporting person or a scary Upper Sixth person - I should blame the stresses put upon my physical frame by the sporting demands of my time at school. Who knows!).
Sorry folks, that's a very convoluted and probably not coherent message. Aarggh. Put it down to Old Age.....

Kerren the school hockey teams did wear the bright yellow socks. The first XI had yellow blouses and wraparound skirts, I was abut to write the seconds wore normal blue aertex sports shirts, tunics and yellow sashes but since most were in the VI form they wouldn't have had tunics - think again Katharine! Help!

Mary, I don't remember white socks, only darkish brown cotton ankle socks.

In the tennis team we had white ankle socks, which we had to wash ourselves. My first pair were returned to me by MKP because the heels and toes were not white enough. I had to soak them in Parazone to get them bright enough to meet her standards. I can't remember what socks we wore for netball, hockey & cricket but I remember the ghastly pre-war style tennis dresses, so starchy you could hardly move in them and with short sleeves when our opponents frequently wore sleeveless ones.
Tunics, when I started, had to be 2" above the knee, and Sunday best coat-dresses and summer mustards were, I think, knee-length. ISTR the navy skirts in Lower VI were knee-length too.

When I started we had brown nylon ankle socks in summer for regular wear, and white cotton socks for sport, which were easy to darn as they didn't stretch. But shortly thereafter we were given house colour ankle socks for sport as detailed elsewhere.

I agree with Katharine about the yellow (football?) socks for the 1 XI hockey, Kerren what colour do you remember?

Yes ! I remember Kerren tapping me on the shoulder, with the remark "AH ! -- you're Neill the notorious ! "

-------- I promptly shut up !!!

Public message for Kerren --- You may be disabled, but at least two things about you, are in Perfect Working Order -------

Your Brain and your Sense of Humour ----- You may call yourself "Stupid" -- but you ain't, and anyone else who does, will have to deal with us !!!!

I was in the 1st XI hockey team in my time and I seem to remember yellow socks, yellow shirts and wraparound skirts (dark blue?). I didn't like the stretch white top and skirt that we wore in the school tennis team - far too clingy!

Isn't he luvverley?!
Back to hockey gear. I am afraid I have absolutely no recollection of yellow socks or shirts or wraparound skirts. Weird! Or clingy dresses for tennis. Yet I played in both first teams, and in cricket. What did we wear for cricket?!

kerrensimmonds wrote:Isn't he luvverley?!
Back to hockey gear. I am afraid I have absolutely no recollection of yellow socks or shirts or wraparound skirts. Weird! Or clingy dresses for tennis. Yet I played in both first teams, and in cricket. What did we wear for cricket?!

We wore those awful tennis dresses in the cricket 1st XI, at least in 1959 we did. Don't remember yellow socks though. Wraparound skirts? How frightfully modern! Not in my day, I'm afraid.

Should I suggest that the good burghers of Kent quote CH Hertford sports kit in an attempt to mitigate their vehicle recovery charges?

Only joking carry on!

I suspect that this is "Off Topic" --- but mention was made of the "New Look".

I seem to remember -- as a callow 20year old, that it was not the skirt length which was attractive -- it was the voluminous layers of starched, frilly petticoats, showing an inch ot two benrath the hem !!!!
I'll go and lie down now !!