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Elizabeth, named Alex Riddle,
who’d seen us in action in the UK.
Batman was popular at the time and
he was dubbed ‘The Riddler’, our
running nemesis. We race Bishop’s
and Wynberg Boys in Cape Town,
St Andrew’s in Grahamstown,
Grey High in Port Elizabeth and
Hilton College. Our aim was to
win every race on the tour; we did
it, all three times. Bishop’s was the
school at which OW headmaster
Canon George ‘Gog’ Ogilvie
introduced Winchester football
in 1861, so we had a quick game
against them. They found the rules
difficult to master! The trips were
marvellous: visiting South African
schools was like travelling 30 years
back in time from Winchester.
T Who were the main personalities?
J The star runner was probably
Edward Matthews (K, 91-96)),
nicknamed ‘God’. Mark Best (D,
93-98) was brilliant on the last leg
of any relay; he also reached the
final of the men’s 1500m at English
Schools – I had to pay £4 to watch
him! Phil Killingley (G, 93-98) was
a solid athlete and conscientious
in training. Alex Cheyne (I,
94-99) raced in the 2000m South
of England championship at
Crystal Palace; his parents owned
a race-horse who was running on
the same day, and they chose to
watch the horse instead! Edward
Barnett (H, 92-97) was really
impressive because he ran despite
having chronic asthma. Kit Tuke
(H, 90-95) was bit of a wide boy,
and invaluable in keeping the
team’s morale up with a witty
line. Michael Boucher (H, 92-97)
made amazing progress: he came
to the school as tubby little boy,
but ended up as team captain, and
later a 2hr24min or so London
Marathon runner. Alastair Tucker
(D, 90-95) was the brains of the
team, always telling us the latest
research into training methods.
And then James Hogan (F, 98-03),
The Trusty Servant
son of an Olympic hurdler, Aston
McNeilly (H, 90-95), Nick Gribbon
(I, 92-97)… it’s terrible not to be
able to mention everybody, but
those are the boys I can remember.
T What brought the golden era to its
close?
J Other schools started getting a lot
more serious, taking sports scholars
for example. And the authorities at
Win Coll gradually clamped down
on the evening runs, eventually
banning them completely.
T What is the current state of tolling
at Win Coll?
J There are still lots of really
The PE Centre 60 Years on
fantastic boys who run, but their
main sporting commitment lies
elsewhere. The ball sports are
much more dominant than I
remember. But the Steeplechās are
still a big fixture in the school’s
calendar: participation has actually
been better in recent years. I’m
sure it could explode again, if the
right boys got enthused. College got
very passionate about tolling under
Alastair Land (Master-in-College,
03-12); he used to get out with
them. But perhaps our approach at
the moment is more ‘running for
everybody’.
Win Coll is embarking on probably the most comprehensive development plan the
School has had since its foundation, the Kingsgate Park Project. This will involve the
construction of the new Sports Centre and the demolition of the current PE Centre, now
60 years old. This provides an excuse to retrieve a TS article from 1969:
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