No.127
The Trusty Servant
Tolling: the Golden Age
20 years ago Winchester College enjoyed
an unprecedented and unrepeated run
of success in cross-country running. Tim
Giddings spoke to John Brooks to find out
more.
T John, how did you first get involved
with tolling at Win Coll?
J Colin Upton (Co Ro, 86-09) had
been MiC since taking over from
Vernon Wilkins (Co Ro, 78-86).
I’d been working at the school
since 1973, but when I moved into
school accommodation in ’87 or
’88 Colin asked me to get involved.
I think he’d seen me out running!
It was rare for non-teaching staff
to be involved in extra-curricular
activities, so I was keen.
T Did the two of you have any great
secret which brought such success?
J Not really: it was mostly just
down to Colin’s excellent
schoolmastering. He saw that
we had a sudden strength in
depth who could be very good. I
brought the practical skills, such as
computerising the scoring – we still
use the same system for Steeplechās
today.
T What do you mean by ‘excellent
schoolmastering’?
J He was a catalyst, persuading boys
to get involved and keeping them
motivated. He was in Flint Court
between hours encouraging them
to come to training. He produced
a weekly newsletter, handed out
each Monday, with news of who
had done well, announcing pussies
and ‘doggies’ (cross-country socks),
and awarding points for winning
races. It also included a ‘naughty
corner’ with a risqué limerick [John
shows me one rhyming ‘secret
desire’ with ‘boy in the choir’].
He put on suppers at Wellington
Cottage when boys did well. His
front room was filled with running
shoes – and also a strange collage
of disintegrating biscuits which had
been posted through his letter box
by cheeky Cookites.
T How did the team train?
J The most successful innovation
was the evening runs, five nights a
week after Preces. They came about
because Peter Metcalfe (Co Ro,
78-81 & 86-10) banned footballers
from running during the day. The
boys loved the slightly naughty,
under-the-radar approach – ‘If
you see Mr M, pretend you’re not
running.’ Sometimes we’d have
80 boys training in the run up to
a Steeplechā. Of course it wasn’t
that under-the-radar: housemasters
loved boys returning wiped out and
ready to crash into bed!
Route 1, our main circuit, went
from Beloe’s Bar, up round
Freddie’s and along Southgate St,
down Canon St, along College St
and round to Wharf Farm, past
the Black Boy, along Chesil St to
Winchester Mill, back through the
weirs, and then back along College
St and Kingsgate St to Beloe’s. The
record was held by Mark Best (D,
93-98)); I think he did it in 9m 31s
or something like that.
T What were the results?
J The golden era was 1995-2005.
There were two big competitions,
the Knole Run and the King Henry
VIII relay in Coventry. We won
both three years in succession.
It was a brilliant achievement,
prompting articles in The Times
and Telegraph.
T Our success provoked envy at
other schools. For some years we’d
won both junior and senior relays
at Ardingly. Their headmaster
responded by barring us from
future races. James Sabben-Clare
(HM, 85-00) was incandescent
and made a representation. The
outcome was that we could only
enter juniors. The following year
our junior boys duly won the
senior competition! It was agreed
that we should keep the shield,
which, to the best of my knowledge
is still in Chawker’s.
We also took the team on three
tours to South Africa during the
summers of 1998, 2001 and 2003.
We’d been invited by a teacher
from Grey High School, Port
John Brooks and tollers
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