Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Yes I would, I have not been sure whether it would be any use or relevant but if it is, then sure.

thatfrankie wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:55 pm Yes I would, I have not been sure whether it would be any use or relevant but if it is, then sure.

I think Richardb could well advise you before making an initial advance.

J.R. wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:04 pm

thatfrankie wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:55 pm Yes I would, I have not been sure whether it would be any use or relevant but if it is, then sure.

I think Richardb could well advise you before making an initial advance.

And it would be helpful if you could remember anyone else who was present

JR - this is pretty common senes. It's simple information and should be passed on. Hopefully Richard will comment soon.

Frankie - thanks very much. He's the school's generic address

Our dedicated email address –safeguarding@christs-hospital.org.uk–is staffed by a small team of specialists who can respond to your concerns or pass them on to the relevant authorities. All approaches will be dealt with sympathetically and in complete confidence.

Here is Simon Reid's PA
Direct Line: 01403 247583
Email: kbq@christs-hospital.org.uk

I've PM'ed you the Police details but please post on here if they don't come through as the PM system isn't 100%

I would go straight to the police.

This is absolutely crucial information and could lead to new lines of inquiry.

The police can speak to police that the school cannot. Those on here who have contacted the police have been impressed by how carefully they dealt with the information.

Presumably the Officer in Charge may not be available for now (although I've sent her email and mobile) but if you call 101 they will set up a call back and a reference number

Thank you - I will do this asap.

If the lady officer you are trying to call is the one who was originally assigned to the case, I believe she is on maternity leave. But her number will be answered, hopefully by the same male officer I spoke to who was professional, well briefed, engaged and entirely objective. A credit to the force, cliche though that might be.

richardb wrote: Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:20 am I believe that sexual abuse existed pre 1963 Rob.

First, there was AH Buck.

Second, there was Frank McCracken who was banned from the premises as undesirable.

Corporal punishment is a wholly different issue. A lot of boys were beaten and in many cases it was for no good reason, although it is difficult to know whether teachers got any sort of pleasure from it.

It is about time that the school were taken to task for corporal punishment. As well as the pleasure that may have been derived from the act of beating pupils, some teachers inflicted pain well beyond what was reasonable chastisement.

Beatings were well known. Sexual abuse was something else altogether and I would be surprised if the victims ever wanted to share it, so much of it went on unchecked.

With the likes of Husband and Dobbie, it is remarkable that no other members of staff ever suspected them of inappropriate conduct (consensual or otherwise). We know that Husband was moved on because he was "caught" but we don't know how he was caught.

Husband and Dobbie each seem to have known what the other was doing, likewise it is not unreasonable to assume that Webb and Burr knew about each other..

thing is corporal punishment was allowed pre- mid 80s so very difficult to judge using the standards of today.

Also, something youve missed is that ALL homosexual activity was illegal pre 1967 regardless of age

graham wrote: Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:21 pm

Scazza wrote: Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:41 pm

Robinson wrote: Wed Aug 22, 2018 4:26 pm
Also, I remember that Mike Gladding used to HATE it when his students went to Dobbie's house, which was just opposite Peele B when he was housemaster. Maybe he just didn't like the guy.

As a biologist Gladding was contemptuous of all things religious but there may have been other reasons.....

Gladding was great! Such a cynical b@$t@rd but a brilliant teacher with a passion for biology. I had him for GCSE and A-Level and definitely owe him some gratitude now I'm a professor of (paleo)biology. I don't want tot hijack this thread but if anyone has contact info for him, please DM me!

Gladding was a cock of a housemaster, though. possible drink problem

This seemed like the least wrong thread to put this in - there is an interesting (shocking) story on the BBC today talking about a Welsh boat owning paedophile Art teacher who seemed to manage to perform serial acts of abuse for years inside a state school (at roughly the same time period) and how he even ended up getting invited to his victims graduations etc - it shows how these abuses could go on undetected (or at least reported) at that time. That abuser was still writing xmas cards to a victims mum up until last XMas !!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48763471

wurzel wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:58 am This seemed like the least wrong thread to put this in - there is an interesting (shocking) story on the BBC today talking about a Welsh boat owning paedophile Art teacher who seemed to manage to perform serial acts of abuse for years inside a state school (at roughly the same time period) and how he even ended up getting invited to his victims graduations etc - it shows how these abuses could go on undetected (or at least reported) at that time. That abuser was still writing xmas cards to a victims mum up until last XMas !!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48763471

More disturbing reading, Wurzel.

robert totterdell wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:26 pm Hi All

We all have our own views on what happened at CH (at Horsham) from 1969 to 2001, although I would suggest, on police evidence 1963 to 2014.

I suppose the fundamental question is - did people know about what was going on or did they not? That is not for me to answer. It is for you.

When you were at the school did you know what sexual abuse was happening or was it just 'another normal thing''?

Did masters not committing abuse know what was going on?

Did anyone link the cases of extreme 'Corporal punishment' to sexual desires?

Simply did you know what was happening to others or not?

One of the questions that I will be asking the governing council of today is, when I address them as the first boy or girl to do so since the Foundation back in 1552, is it plausible to suggest that no member of the previous authorities, being the Governing Councils, including Alomoners, not know what exactly was happening at CH?

Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

Friends

In view of the ongoing anti-Christ's Hospital, anti-Independent School rantings of one of our members, and the often negative comments from others about their experiences at the school, I thought I'd look to readdress this very valid topic because I, like many if not most other Old Blues, have much to be grateful for.

My view is simply this: that nobody other than the abusers, those abused and perhaps the closest friends of those abused, knew the abuse was taking place - full stop. If they had then they would have done something about it as evidenced by Webb's dismissal in the early 1980s. Okay, his offences weren't referred to the Police (as far as I know) but it is perfectly possible that the evidence was considered to be insufficient, at least at the time.

Yes, I heard about the Dining Hall 'paedo' incident though I wasn't there, and I think we generally assumed that the older bachelor masters were likely to be homosexuals, probably non-practising and possibly in denial. Whilst in modern parlance, where the term paedophile is applied to anyone who has any form of sexual relationship with someone under the legal age of consent, I think we generally thought that they probably quite liked 'boys' though kept their desires firmly to themselves. I am quite sure we didn't think that these, generally dedicated men, were paedophiles. As for Webb, he was always one of the 'nice' masters, friendly and interested in his charges (though little did we know how interested). Similarly Martin, someone I hardly knew as I wasn't in Barnes A and was never taught by him. We all thought his naked house baths was odd but just put it down to the way that things were done when he was at the school.

I am quite sure that even Webb's, Martin's and Burr's close friends were not aware of what was going on and I do believe that, whilst they might have been willing to give all three of them the benefit of the doubt in the absence of hard evidence, they would not have condoned their activities for one moment. I can't comment on any of the others as I never knew them except for Husband, and Horsham was boys only during my time there so he presumably wouldn't have been interested anyway.

Most of this abuse happened a long time ago and, without in any way whatsoever wishing to dismiss the enormous pain and anguish it caused its victims, I do not see any reason to suspect that the Christ's Hospital of today is in any way the same place as that which enabled the perpetrators to conduct their disgraceful activities. Those who are victims will obviously need to see this through to the end and, if they feel it appropriate, to seek some form of redress, though what that might be I do not honestly know.

For those of us who are not abused, perhaps we should take a step or two back. Christ's Hospital is taking an increasing number of full-fee payers and the talk now is of bursaries rather than scholarships which means that those in receipt are likely to paying a significant amount towards their children's education. Personally, I do not think this is a good thing but the more the school's name is dragged through the mud then the harder it is going to find it to find the necessary funds to pay for the education of the truly needy and deserving cases.

I am grateful for the education that I received at Christ's Hospital; the fact that I would fail a means test to send my own daughter there is perhaps an indication of the school's success. In general, we go to Christ's hospital so our Children don't have to - they have other options!

We have lost loads of members of this forum over the past few years and I can't help but think it is down to the negativity of many of those who currently post. If you weren't a victim of abuse, and if you are not actively helping or supporting someone who was, please think about what you post and try and cut down on the negative aspects. It doesn't help the school or the pupils who are either there now or may go in the future.

Thank you all

Andrew Loring
LHA / Col A (73 - 80)

Andrew - thank you for your post. I fully concur with what you have said. Robert - I have been mortified to learn of the abuse you suffered and you will always have my support but I think Andrew speaks for many of us in that we were simply unaware of what was going on.
With kind regards to all Old Blues on this forum.

No.

There is sufficient evidence to suggest that there was institutional awareness of these things, such that, on occasion, a blind eye was turned. In at least one case the victim was silenced.

It’s not enough to make the assumption that things have changed, that there are fundamentally nicer people in charge these days and better governance and checks. People aren’t fundamentally nicer, we’re British, we don’t do governance and checks particularly well.

It’s the same CH. In hock to the doctrine of ‘it’s all part of the pageant’, fawningly in awe of being ‘royal, religious and ancient’ and spending money it hasn’t got. The School has the cheek to refuse to engage with my generation and tell us why Poulton, Sillett, Cairncross et al were so incompetent, and yet send me clumsy yet chiding requests for money at the same time?

This site is my place to tell them to go **** themselves. And I know they are reading this.