No. 140 The Trusty Servant
A Reclining Notion
Michael St John Parker( CoRo, 69-75; GoBo, 06-13) writes:
I recall that I entered my div room one day in( perhaps) Short Half 1971 to find the Aulae Prae comfortably reclining in his bed, fully dressed and gowned, and surrounded by a group of Collegemen who were quick to assure me that they were simply exercising an immemorial notion. I made an immediate judgement to swallow my doubts, and we proceeded without delay to an animated and( as I recollect) quite profitable hour analysing a French text( was it a passage from Zola’ s Germinal?) The Aulae Prae took assiduous notes, not without difficulty caused by his supine position, and was ceremoniously carried out at the end of the hour; I rather think he fell out of bed as his party descended the staircase.
It was a happy jest which agreeably lightened the process of learning- for all concerned. I was Head of the History Department at the time. Life since Win. Coll. has, generally-speaking, been much less entertaining.
Silence in School! Rev Brian Cranwell( Q, 43-45) writes:
In early February 1945, we as Quiristers were told to go with the rest of College to the Old School, where Field Marshal Montgomery would be addressing us. We all duly went in and sat in the old Masters’ benches so were looking down on everyone. Monty’ s son was a Commoner at the time.
Monty duly came in and stood on the platform, and was welcomed and introduced by Dr Leeson( HM, 35- 46).( Monty’ s two red-capped Army Police stayed outside). He began in his familiar rather nasal-sounding voice, by saying that he was going to tell us how the Allies would beat Jerry completely within a few months
But after a few minutes he stopped and said‘ Now I am fed up with all the coughing and sneezing that’ s going on while I am trying to talk. I’ m giving you 2 minutes to blow your noses and clear your throats, then I don’ t want to hear another sound.’ We all hastily complied, then he resumed. I think we were sure that the MPs would take us
RNLI Connections
Jon Chapman,( Coll, 73-78) writes to enquire:
… if any OWs have any current or former connections with the RNLI. I have been very privileged to be lifeboat crew at Teddington Lifeboat Station( one of the 4 Thames stations set up following the Marchioness disaster and which went operational in 2002) for 12 years now. We operate between Richmond and Molesey Locks and, unlike the other 3 stations, are fully volunteer-staffed. We had over 100 shouts in 2024.
I finally made it onto the BBC’ s Saving Lives at Sea programme in early August this year with a medical evacuation of a former Blue Peter presenter after an accident on the Thames towpath.
Jon would love to hear about any other OWs with RNLI connections. Please let Win Coll Soc know and they will put you in touch( see back page for contact details).
out and punish us if we were to repeat any coughing.
I don’ t recall anything he said, and when he had finished we went off to Quirister School on Kingsgate Street, where we were expecting Dr Leeson to take us for an hour of Divinity. Dr Leeson was late arriving and we assumed he was tied up with Monty, and wondered if he would be able to come at all. Then the classroom door opened and in walked Dr Leeson- with Monty!. Again, I don’ t remember what he said but he went around the class and shook hands with each one of us. Dr Leeson showed him out and then came back for our lesson.
Monty was a great hero at the time and my friends found it hard to believe me back home when I told them. One of them commented‘ I bet you didn’ t wash your hand for a week!’
Obiter Dicta On 17 May 2025, Oliver Board( Coll, 85-90) and Nicholas Walter( Coll, 94-99) attempted to hike the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim and back in one day, a round trip of 42 miles and a total elevation change of 20,000 feet. Alas, in a retreat that can only be compared with Alexander’ s halt on the right bank of the Indus, faced with 200,000 men-at-arms and 6,000 elephants across the river, or perhaps Xenophon’ s catabasis following the heroic death of Cyrus at Cunaxa, our valiant adventurers were forced by terrain, exhaustion and shortage of time to turn back 5 miles from the top of the North Rim. Nevertheless, they celebrated their moral victory with Heineken and Taco Bell and have vowed to try again.
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