No . 131
The Trusty Servant
the 1899 board , a half century earlier . K ( Ken ) O Hunter and R ( Robin ) Stormonth Darling ( C , 1894-99 ) were contemporaries and matched each other almost stride for stride in sporting achievement . They are seen together in 1899 after winning the house cricket competition , Turner Pot .
As well as proudly playing in Lords , nephew Peter also played House cricket with success in Toye Pot . If the picture of the Cook ’ s House XI below is anything to go by , cricket looked a lot more fun in 1948 than in 1899 ! Peter loved his cricket and led the Lords bowling averages in 1949 , although his batting did not , according to the chroniclers , live up to its promise . He would have smiled wryly at the observation that ‘ Stormonth Darling played some fine strokes , but was then out to an inexcusably wild shot !’ He once had the distinction of dismissing the great EW Swanton for a duck by 11.18am !
Both of Peter ’ s uncles also played in Lords for two years at least and subsequently enjoyed long and illustrious cricketing careers . Their friendship clearly continued to blossom throughout their university careers at Oxford and extended into their family circles . Ken Hunter married Margaret May , Robin Stormonth Darling ’ s sister , in 1907 . They had two daughters , one of whom married a Wykehamist and the other became the mother of Sir John Kemp-Welch ( E , 49-54 ). The family bonds strengthened as Patrick Stormonth Darling went through school with RJ ( Dick ) Hunter , each following their respective elder brothers into Cook ’ s from 1899 – 1905 .
Ken Hunter continued to play sports for many years including an appearance for the Old Wykehamists in 1946 at the age of 65 . I have an image of his 14 year old nephew , Peter , watching his uncle with admiration tinged with schoolboy nerves that Uncle Ken might do something embarrassing like score too many ( or no ) runs ! He most certainly would have known of the visit as his father ,
Patrick SD ( C , 1899-1905 ), who was then a partner at Hunters Solicitors , the firm at which KOH ’ s father had also been managing partner . Peter ’ s brother RA Stormonth Darling ( C , 40-44 ) later began his career ( and ended as senior partner ) at Laing and Cruickshank , where Ken Hunter had also been senior partner . With so many close connections stemming from a friendship forged in the 1890s , it is very fitting that Hunter Tent and the PSD Nets should come together in 2021 .
The closeness of these ties merely shows the tip of the iceberg ! In tracing the direct Wykehamist connections between the Hunter and Stormonth Darling families since the arrival at the school of Robert Hunter ( C , 1865- 70 ), the records show 19 names . That is a remarkable record of loyalty to scholarly heritage .
How appropriate it is then , that the PSD Nets and Hunter Tent should stand together to enrich the lives of future pupils of a school which has already given so much to so many ?
The PSD Nets will be completed in early Cloister Time , with a formal opening date to be announced .
Evidence of progress during April and May 2021
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