FROM THE ARCHIVES
FROM THE MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
Our annual delve into the past looks at what was in the magazines 75 , 50 and 25 years ago .
1942 ...
Editing under war-time conditions , produced a revised and succinct edition of The Pocklingtonian for January to June 1942 .
In February , snow covered Chapel Hill and sledging was officially declared the order of the day , as the boys enjoyed the ride , mixed with the fear of the last bump , and the tree stood square in the path of the sledge – it apparently struck terror into the hearts of all but the boldest !
The First XV rugby season was deemed a great success , with only one school match being lost , against Ampleforth . The team scored in every match except one .
Two Pocklington School teams entered in the Civic Day seven-a-side knock-out rugby match , with the ‘ A ’ team being strongly complimented on their performance after being finally knocked out to an extremely strong Army team .
Gerald Chatham ( 36-42 ) repeated the previous year ’ s wins in the mile and half mile , beating J D G Jones ( 35-42 ) into second place in each , by his fine finishing sprint . Chatham won the Stewart Challenge Cup for the second time , for his fine performances in the long distance events .
The Junior House Fives were played during the Easter Term with Gruggen easily beating Wilberforce , with Hutton third and Dolman Fourth .
Before the official opening of Youth Day in Warships Week , Lord Middleton inspected a Guard of Honour of the ATC and Scouts and commented very favourably on their turn-out . In the evening , a march past was performed by the ATC , the Corps and Scouts . The ATC demonstrated silent marching , where the cadets suddenly changed direction on the march without orders .
The Scout Troup enjoyed a camp fire at the end of the Michaelmas term , with the Headmaster being the guest of honour . Star turns came from J Moore with his ventriloquist doll and a special edition of the “ Brains Trust ”, produced by P / Ls Kent and Harvatt .
1967 ...
Two new teaching staff from St John ’ s College , Oxford , joined the teaching staff : Mr Barnes , to teach Classics and Mr S P Dodsworth , who joined the music department .
G F D Pearson ( 20-23 ), Housemaster of Wilberforce Lodge and Geography Master , sadly passed away in March 1967 . His teaching was legendary in the school , passing on a true love of his subject to many boys , with tremendous enthusiasm .
The Rugby Football House Matches provided exciting entertainment . Dolman , having defeated Hutton in the first round , were themselves narrowly defeated by Gruggen in a breath-taking final . Two tries by D W James ( 59-67 ) and an incredible touch-line conversion by A R Lamb ( 60-68 ), saw Gruggen take the House Trophy .
Every member of the First VI tennis team were awarded colours after the most successful season for many years . Success in school matches was followed by success in the Glanville Cup , reaching the North of England Final as Yorkshire Victors .
The Duke of Edinburgh ’ s Award Scheme began to operate in the school , with six boys working towards their Bronze Level award .
The Reverend Dr Lord George McLeod visited the school in the Lent term , to give a talk to the sixth form on the ‘ The Problems of Faith Today ’. He gained the attention of his audience with a vast repertory of anecdotes , before closing with a powerful flourish on the subject of Hiroshima , the atom bomb , or as he called it , ‘ misuse of the garment of God by man .’
Captain John Ridgeway , one of the men who rowed across the Atlantic in the summer of 1966 , came to the school to give a lecture on behalf of the Army . After the lecture and a cup of tea , he reportedly withdrew to the school track , where he ran five miles in just over forty minutes .
Mr Midgley and Mr Hardaker organised a very successful skiing trip to Austria , with all members of the party returning home without serious injury .
In his first Speech Day Report , the Headmaster referred to his own dream ( which was by then , more than a dream ) of a Design and Construction Centre , and also plans for a Sixth Form Unit , where the oldest boys could lead a more grown-up life in preparation for university , and perhaps , boys from other countries might be introduced .
1992 ...
The Junior School moved into new premises on the site of the former Wilberforce Boarding House , which was formally opened by Lord Halifax .
Mr David Gray was welcomed to the school as Headmaster , following the retirement of Mr Tony Pickering .
Mr Malcolm Woodruff retired after 20 years ’ service to the school .
Several new members of staff joined the school : Miss Louise Hopkins to teach English ; Mr Andrew Towner to teach PE and to be House Tutor in School House and Mrs Janet Danby to teach girls ’ games part time .
Archivist , Angie Edwards with space bear , Major William .
The school welcomed its first Russian student , Ludmilla Sadovskia , and Atul Savin from the Scindia School in India , who spent the Summer Term at Pocklington School .
For the first time the Head of School was a girl , Catherine Chambers ( 90-92 ).
The main school theatrical production was ‘ It ’ s a funny old world ’, an entertainment compiled and produced by Terry Hardaker .
The rugby First XV had a highly successful season , winning eleven games including those against QEGS Wakefield , RGS Worcester and Leeds GS . Diccon Edwards ( 81-91 ) played for the England Under-21 XV v Italy .
In hockey , Jonathan Haines ( 83-93 ) represented Yorkshire at Under-18 level and Ben Bryden ( 91- 96 ) represented North of England at Under-14 level .
Stephen Gwilliam ( 87-94 ) had a very successful season on the athletics track , winning the Yorkshire Youths 200 metres and came sixth place in the England Schools ’ Championships . Other notable performances came from Ian Lane ( 82-92 ) who won the Humberside Senior 400 metres and Jonathan Haines ( 83-93 ) who claimed victory in the Senior 110 metres hurdles .
The girls ’ Under-14 and Under-13 Hockey XIs were undefeated and Amy Bean ( 90-97 ) was the Yorkshire Under-13 badminton singles champion .
Outside of school , there were three outstanding achievements . Joanna Stephenson ( 92-96 ) was a member of the winning England team in the Junior Horse International Show Jumping Championships ; Carl Stannard ( 87-97 ) finished 8th in the British Schoolboy Motocross Championships ; Timothy Wright ( 85-94 ) won the Junior British Open High Gun Championships in clay-pigeon shooting .
The First XV Rugby team went on tour to Zimbabwe which will be remembered as much for the matches , as for the ‘ rest days ’ when various sightseeing tours were arranged . The white water rafting trip on the Zambezi was ‘ an unforgettable day ’ according to Mr Binks .
Captain N Tomaszewski devised a new training programme for CCF cadets , which combined RAF and Army cadet training in the Fourth Year . The CCF underwent its biennial inspection by Brigadier W Mundell , who was impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the cadets .
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