Puke Fight!

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

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scrub
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by scrub »

Anything behind a locked door was usually safe. Th B had a tuck room that was locked except for a few set times. It was fairly common for anyone going in to get "taxed" by any older kid who saw you go in. If you were dumb enough to keep anything outside that room (I was) in a box with a flimsy lock (again, I was) then it was pretty much fair game. You learn quickly though, so it's not a mistake you repeat too often.

Day room lockers and toyces (sp?) were basically open property as far as some kids were concerned, same for wardrobes in dorms, albeit to a lesser degree. I had post opened and money stolen out of it, as well as out of lockers and desk drawers, and my wallet was nicked out of my bunk during my deps. I got pretty good at finding and making stash places. Something that came in handy when there was a series of booze busts when I was in Pe A.

The bullying has been talked about before, same with food denial. The move to a cafeteria system reduced that during breakfast and dinner, but it was pretty much a daily thing at lunch. Especially if anything decent was on the menu although it depended on who the seniors were on your table. Some were fair, others ... not so much.
ThB 89-91, PeA 93-96
DazedandConfused
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by DazedandConfused »

The girls weren’t quite as physical, but I witnessed more than one girl being made to sit with a bin over her head and sing nursery rhymes whilst older girls hit the top of the bin with hockey sticks. There were rumours of a girl being thrown down the stairs in a wardrobe but I hope that was a Housey urban myth.
Goatherd
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Goatherd »

I've commented on this before, but I would be interested to see if any of my peers would think that I'm looking back through rose-tinted spectacles. I have no recollection of this sort of thing going on in the 60's. Rigid hierarchy, yes. But physical punishment by monitors had been banned the year before I arrived (1964). All lockers, toyces, studies etc. were open but I don't remember any thefts. What happened?
Goatherd
dsm
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by dsm »

AMP- you were punched in the face repeatedly until the House Captain broke his wrist??? What??? Sounds like Nazi Germany or a Gulag rather than a school in Sussex in the 90s! Your face must have been a bl**dy mess by the time he broke his wrist. What did matron, other masters, less sadistic monitors have to say?
AMP
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by AMP »

dsm wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 8:31 am AMP- you were punched in the face repeatedly until the House Captain broke his wrist??? What??? Sounds like Nazi Germany or a Gulag rather than a school in Sussex in the 90s! Your face must have been a bl**dy mess by the time he broke his wrist. What did matron, other masters, less sadistic monitors have to say?
Not me. I was quoting another boy who had posted about his horrendous experiences on the Corporal Punishment thread on this forum some years ago.
And he recently posted on the Elizabeth Cairncross thread that she had liked eight of his tweets!
I think his name is Duncan and he suffered terribly at the school.He is now a community pastor and abuse advocate.
Avon
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Avon »

Goatherd wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 9:55 pm I've commented on this before, but I would be interested to see if any of my peers would think that I'm looking back through rose-tinted spectacles. I have no recollection of this sort of thing going on in the 60's. Rigid hierarchy, yes. But physical punishment by monitors had been banned the year before I arrived (1964). All lockers, toyces, studies etc. were open but I don't remember any thefts. What happened?
Yes, we get it. CH Horsham in the 60s was a bucolic paradise. But those pupils of the 60s who became masters of the 80s and 90s presided over a flawed and a very poorly governed school. So thanks for that.
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 8:33 am
AMP wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:11 pmWas Gladding Housemaster of PeA after Jeffers?
Nope. Jim Endacott got that job and (IMO) he did a lot to change the culture of the house for the better. In my Grecians year, Howard Holdsworth took over from him and continued to improve things. There's only a few teachers from my time there I remember positively and they are high up on that (very short) list.
And let House Monitors administer corporal punishment using bedboards?
I've been hit by/beaten with many different objects at CH, but never bedboards, although given that corporal punishment had been officially phased out when I was there maybe people older then me remember something like that. Even the worst psychos I remember would (probably) not have resorted to boards.
Hang on. I was on my UF in Endacott's last year, and if you're saying that he improved things a lot I dread to think what Peele A was like when he took over. He was basically absent all of the time and you didn't see anything of his wife either, and it seemed the running of the house was in the hands of some of the Grecians(?). One of the things I remember is that my entire year group used to spend all of Sundays camped out at the Sports Centre watching TV to avoid being given jobs and errands...

Sorry - and where did this bedboards claim come from...?
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 9:49 am
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 8:33 am
AMP wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:11 pmWas Gladding Housemaster of PeA after Jeffers?
Nope. Jim Endacott got that job and (IMO) he did a lot to change the culture of the house for the better. In my Grecians year, Howard Holdsworth took over from him and continued to improve things. There's only a few teachers from my time there I remember positively and they are high up on that (very short) list.
And let House Monitors administer corporal punishment using bedboards?
I've been hit by/beaten with many different objects at CH, but never bedboards, although given that corporal punishment had been officially phased out when I was there maybe people older then me remember something like that. Even the worst psychos I remember would (probably) not have resorted to boards.
Endacott was a good bloke, but someting wasn't right in PeA. There was no bullying and no corporal punishment under Jeffers and certainly Monitors did not have that authority.

Maddren was a nasty piece of work and had anger management problems. Those juniors who were in PeB moved up to PeA in the late 80s early 90s. Strict beatings was their early upbringing.And public dormitory crackings by staff is a new one on me.

This is from the Corporal Punishment thread:

"In Peele B between 1987-89 (and possibly 90), crackings (as I seem to remember calling them) were common. I remember there being 3 types:
1) The staff on duty (although I only remember Flemming doing it) would administer them in the dormitory in front of the the other boys. Mr. Flemming would ask who had a good slipper. Some boys would rush to get theirs if they thought that it was particularly weighty.
2) Dorm monitors (who sometimes were only 1 year older than you) would administer physical punishments in front of the other boys.
3) You would be sent down by a dorm monitor and given a cracking by Doctor Maddren (the house master), and his green flash trainer, with the infamous run up.
I cannot remember how many of the first 2, I received, but it was frequent. I only got Maddren's green flash once, and ironically it was unfairly given.

I didn't have a problem with corporal punishment, but I did feel that method's 1 and 2 often seemed like a show for the boys, who sometimes looked on with glee as someone got punished.

In Peele A in 1990 we were once disciplined by the Grecians with bed boards. Around 1991 the house captain disciplined me, by punching me repeatedly in the face in the dorm until he broke his wrist and had to go to the sicker.

I don't disagree with corporal punishment, but I do believe there are certain principles that can be used to ensure that it is fair, and productive."
Hang on. It was my understanding that Endacott took over Peele A in 1990, and you are describing incidents from precisely that time period - are you suggesting that this supposed culture erupted as soon as he took over, which was in contrast to the halcyon days of Jeffers just a year or so earlier? That seems doubtful to me.
Last edited by Pe.A on Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

viejoazul wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 11:15 am Following on my earlier post today, in view of others’ comments on the use of bedboards, to my recollection those very few monitors who did beat (in the 40s & 50s) only used a girdle.
....only used a girdle...??

If i was to take a few strokes across the a*se, i think i'd rather take my chances with the bedboard, to be honest - and least it's a bit wider and there's a bit more wind resistance on the downstroke... :lol:
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:06 pm
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:22 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 10:08 am

Agree. The culture stunk.
Definitely. From the time I started at CH, Pe. A had a pretty bad reputation, so much so that (years later) more than one guy on my year told me that when they found out it was going to be their senior house, they started crying. I was just glad I wasn't going to Th. A.
There were boys in PeA who suffered from big fish in small pond syndrome. Nobodys who thought they were somebody. Thought it was cool to talk absolute twaddle in the dormitory until 12:30am every night, keeping everybody else awake.
That was the best part of domitories - the late night chats, banter and p*sstakes...
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:22 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 10:08 am
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 8:33 am
Nope. Jim Endacott got that job and (IMO) he did a lot to change the culture of the house for the better.
Agree. The culture stunk.
Definitely. From the time I started at CH, Pe. A had a pretty bad reputation, so much so that (years later) more than one guy on my year told me that when they found out it was going to be their senior house, they started crying. I was just glad I wasn't going to Th. A.
How was Thorn A worse?
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:06 pm
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:22 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 10:08 am

Agree. The culture stunk.
Definitely. From the time I started at CH, Pe. A had a pretty bad reputation, so much so that (years later) more than one guy on my year told me that when they found out it was going to be their senior house, they started crying. I was just glad I wasn't going to Th. A.
There were boys in PeA who suffered from big fish in small pond syndrome. Nobodys who thought they were somebody. Thought it was cool to talk absolute twaddle in the dormitory until 12:30am every night, keeping everybody else awake.

Nothing was sacrosanct:

1.I aways had my rugger boots and trainers taken from my boot locker on day 2 of term. Never seen again. Still don't know where my Mum found the money for them.
Only thing worse than someone nicking your boots was ending up only ever finding one of them.
2. Sports kit taken from changing room and later found discarded on the floor (if you were lucky)
Can remember someone complaining one time that someone had borrowed and used their jockstrap - my mind still boggles that one...
4.Housey buckle removed from broadie and never seen again
That really was a bummer.
5. Kitchen surfaces left caked in butter and toast crumbs for Smeggy and her husband to clean up daily
"...her husband..."? To whom are you referring...?
Why did life have to be so hard?
Come on, what you are describing is hardly Oliver Twist...
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:16 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:06 pmWhy did life have to be so hard?
The state of the kitchen didn't change, but the level of mindless vandalism was definitely lower when I got there, which I'm guessing would be around the time you left?

Stuff went missing all the time but you'd usually get most of it back. In terms of clothing that is, food, batteries, and pens would be gone. If you kept money in an easily findable place, it'd only be a matter of time before you didn't have it any more. Then again, that was my experience in Th B as well and it seemed to be common throughout the school.
Your post made me think more about the place than I have in ages, now that I have, I'm surprised that walkmans and CD players never seemed to get stolen as often.
Walkmans and CD players were usually on people, not lying around.
Neither did tapes or CDs, which is odd now I think about it.
They did - but only if those tapes and CDs were good...

To be honest, tapes were easier simply to copy onto a blank tape rather than nicking someone's original copy and trying to pass it as your own. Same as CDs...
Pe.A
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by Pe.A »

AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:43 pm
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:16 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:06 pmWhy did life have to be so hard?
The state of the kitchen didn't change, but the level of mindless vandalism was definitely lower when I got there, which I'm guessing would be around the time you left?

Stuff went missing all the time but you'd usually get most of it back. In terms of clothing that is, food, batteries, and pens would be gone. If you kept money in an easily findable place, it'd only be a matter of time before you didn't have it any more. Then again, that was my experience in Th B as well and it seemed to be common throughout the school.
Your post made me think more about the place than I have in ages, now that I have, I'm surprised that walkmans and CD players never seemed to get stolen as often. Neither did tapes or CDs, which is odd now I think about it.
Hemel Hempstead took over ThB from Martin in BaA. BaA was the most lax junior house by a country mile. Nobody gave a damn about anything and their performances on the sports field were risible.

Hemel was a good bloke but too nice really so not surprised to hear that ThB was a riot.

I left not long after the merger, but I'm still shocked at how quickly things got so much worse.

Anything behind a door seemed to be safe, so to hear of money being taken is dreadful.
Tuck in the tuck lockers, dorm wardrobe, dayroom lockers was pretty secure. Amazing with hindsight, as there were no locks.But anywhere else was fair game.

Although the level of antisocial behaviour was intolerable, there was no physical bullying , even in the name of bona fide punishment.

And I was not aware of food denial in dining hall, although it seems to have been going on during my days.

Poulton was my last HM.
During the earlier parts of the 80s, was the running of the houses, especially the senior ones, more directly controlled by the HMs, or more delegated to the House Captains/Monitors...? Was there a difference from when you started to when you left...?
AMP
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Re: Puke Fight!

Post by AMP »

Pe.A wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 10:31 pm
AMP wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:06 pm
scrub wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:22 pm
Definitely. From the time I started at CH, Pe. A had a pretty bad reputation, so much so that (years later) more than one guy on my year told me that when they found out it was going to be their senior house, they started crying. I was just glad I wasn't going to Th. A.
There were boys in PeA who suffered from big fish in small pond syndrome. Nobodys who thought they were somebody. Thought it was cool to talk absolute twaddle in the dormitory until 12:30am every night, keeping everybody else awake.

Nothing was sacrosanct:

1.I aways had my rugger boots and trainers taken from my boot locker on day 2 of term. Never seen again. Still don't know where my Mum found the money for them.
Only thing worse than someone nicking your boots was ending up only ever finding one of them.
2. Sports kit taken from changing room and later found discarded on the floor (if you were lucky)
Can remember someone complaining one time that someone had borrowed and used their jockstrap - my mind still boggles that one...
4.Housey buckle removed from broadie and never seen again
That really was a bummer.
5. Kitchen surfaces left caked in butter and toast crumbs for Smeggy and her husband to clean up daily
"...her husband..."? To whom are you referring...?
Why did life have to be so hard?
Come on, what you are describing is hardly Oliver Twist...
Sounds like you fitted in perfectly in the 90s.
But I couldn't care less what your sort think.
Last edited by AMP on Sun Feb 27, 2022 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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