No . 133 The Trusty Servant
70-81 ). He was summed up in his Vale as ‘ a man who is not only the author of several learned articles on Magnetoplasma Diffusion with application to the F-2 layer of the Ionosphere , but is also addicted to jigsaw , who as readily entertains a cast of 70 to supper as offers a dram from the filing cabinet to the harassed don with a time-table problem , who has stage-managed everything from Shakespeare to Pantomime , set new standards with his own operatic productions and still laughs readily at other people ’ s jokes .’
Watford Exchange
An update from the College Archivist , Suzanne Foster
Thank you to all those OWs who contacted me in the autumn after my appeal for information about the exchanges between Win Coll and Watford Grammar School in the 1960s . I ’ m grateful to all those who took the time to send me their memories .
We still cannot determine the exact date when the exchanges began . One old Philite thinks that he was involved in 1962 and thought that his exchange was a difficult one , with experiences of life and school being too far apart . Another OW thought that the programme began in 1964 with a small group of boys spending time in each other ’ s schools – he recalled that the Watford Grammar School boy who ended up in Cook ’ s was the author and poet Michael Rosen . Mr Rosen has spoken very positively about experience of Win Coll in various interviews , including this one www . totalpolitics . com / articles / interview / wouldnt-you-knowmichael-rosen-interview . Another OW remembered Mr Rosen as a ‘ very outgoing person ’ who engaged well with everyone in the house .
An article in The Wykehamist in May 1967 helped a little more . The author felt that the main issue was the different experience of being at a day school compared to a boarding school . At Winchester , school was the ‘ whole of life ’ and at Watford it was ‘ just part of it ’. The grammarschool boys had more freedom , better trained teachers and , sometimes , smaller classes . He thought that in comparison , Wykehamists had an ‘ exaggerated respect for intellectualism ….. and narrow social and cultural horizons ’.
In November 1967 , The Wykehamist reported on a visit by a group of boys to the Sixth Form of a comprehensive school at Ifield near Crawley in Sussex . Once again , the main impressions are of the freedom , facilities and comfort offered by a day school .
If this has provoked any more memories , please do contact me at sf @ wincoll . ac . uk .
Rogues ’ Gallery : Cricket , Carousing and Criminality
The Old Ebor blog about pre-WW2 cricket has published an article about Thomas Barkley Raikes ( I , 1916-21 ). He first played for Lords in 1919 , in a side captained by Douglas Jardine ( C , 1914-19 ) and containing Claude Ashton ( E , 1915-20 ). In 1920 , under Ashton ’ s captaincy , he took 54 wickets , including nine in the win over Eton and 5-32 in victory against Harrow . He captained the side himself in 1921 , taking 60 wickets in a season most memorable for JL Guise ’ s ( A , 1917-22 ) knock of 278 in the loss to Eton . Raikes was no slouch with the bat himself , scoring 985 runs in his three seasons for Lords . He went up to Trinity College , Oxford ,
The new sports hall
The swimming pool
The new Sports Centre has reached full height south of Kingsgate Park , with roofs now on all sections . It remains on course for completion early next year .
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