NO.121
T H E T R U S T Y S E RVA N T
said?’; ‘Oh, Sir, it’s particularly
nasty weather today, isn’t it?’!
However, an interesting insight
into Wykehamical qualities as a
whole emerged at this stage,
namely that perhaps Wykehamists
don’t always seem to receive the
publicity and accolades they may
deserve. Why? Maybe they don’t
‘strut their stuff’ quite enough,
tending instead to adopt a more
self-effacing stance? Maybe they
attach too much importance to
detail, thus making them into
excellent staff officers, or the
civilian equivalent, rather than
displaying the necessary élan to
get on and become commanders
and leaders? That said, Neville
was duly proud of the fact that a
fellow Trantite, General Sir Nick
Carter KCB CBE DSO (H, 7276), is the current Chief of
General Staff!
On the whole, the senior men
were looked up to in considerable
awe, though there were inevitably
some bullies among them.
‘Sweating’ took up an inordinate
amount of time and led to
Neville’s only beating, for ‘failing
to produce afternoon-tea for the
prefects to the required standard’,
no less. His sentence: six of the
very best by cane (interestingly
Neville was not aware of the
notion for this weapon) – in
toytime and in front of the whole
House!
I asked Neville if he had any
particularly favourite dons. By and
large, he found the best div dons
to be the Housedons, most
probably because many of them
had lived through active service
in the First War. His favourite was
Revd ‘Budge’ Firth (later,
Housedon of Trant’s, 1939-46),
with his wonderful sense of
humour, his great knowledge and his real
ability to offer appropriate praise. This
choice delighted me personally, as Budge
had married my parents in 1948. Another
favourite was ‘The Bobber’ (Malcolm
Roberston, Housedon of Hopper’s from
1920 to 1943), who, mid-div hour, would
suddenly call for complete silence in order
to listen to and identify a particularly
vociferous bird.
Whilst he did not claim any major
sporting prowess, I did remind our hero
that he had been in XVs and on VIs dress,
both for two years, the latter only due to
an injury earlier in the season that
prevented him taking his rightful place
above the line on VIs Roll. Otherwise,
much of his spare time was spent in Mill,
where he developed what would become a
life-long love of carpentry under the
watchful eye of the excellent Laverty.
Wednesdays were favourite days for
Neville, as it meant he could get up in his
With brand new Trant’s House Pussy
uniform. He greatly enjoyed his time in
the Corps (‘OTC’), achieving ‘Certificate
A’, which invariably fast-tracked
candidates towards a commission in the
Armed Forces. Monty Wright, the
Second Master, commanded the Corps in
those days, and he undoubtedly
influenced Neville’s decision to join a
Guards Regiment, albeit not quite to the
extent of following directly in Monty’s
footsteps into the Coldstream Guards.
All in all, Neville enjoyed his time at
Winchester, taking away with him the
ability to learn, which stood him in good
stead at the Staff College, and to
concentrate when under fire. His wife,
Poppy, always admired his powers of
concentration, in spite of the general din
emanating from the nursery (including
Andrew: H, 62-67), when writing Army
Reports – adding that this was something
that her three Etonian brothers could
never have begun to achieve.
6
Finally, I asked Neville for the
secret of his great longevity.
‘Simple enough,’ he said; ‘I share
with our Queen the love of her
“usual” – a more-or-less daily tot of
gin and dubonnet, but strictly no tonic’,
plus his daily joust with Sudoku, giving up
smoking 40 years ago after suffering a
heart attack and, perhaps above all, the
enjoyment and the support he has been
encouraged to draw upon over time,
particularly since the death of his wife 30
years ago, from his great interest in and
love for his old regiment, in which so
many members of his own and his wife’s
family have served, again including their
son, Andrew. He remains to this day in
frequent communication with one of his
former sergeants, for some years now a
proud Chelsea Pensioner.
It was time to leave, but the last word
came from our centenarian: ‘May I enquire
into the health of the Sen Man?’ – a
perfectly innocent and well-meaning
question from Win Coll’s 2nd Sen Man, one
would have thought; but there again, there
was that definite twinkle in his eye!
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