No . 135 The Trusty Servant thank you , Humby & Goddard . May the rust never touch your posts .
Guy Padwick Remembered This impressively long-serving Rackets Professional , who served at the College from 1925-1975 , was remembered by The Trusty Servant in 1984 with a short obituary and again in November 2011 by Clem Sunter ( E , 57-63 ) in his article in praise of Howard Angus ( E , 57-63 ), who went on to be World Champion in both Rackets and Real Tennis .
Professor Sir Bryan Thwaites ( C , 41-42 , Co Ro , 51-59 ) writes ; In my years as a Don , I was an enthusiastic , but mediocre , rackets player who played with Howard in his first year after which he became too good for me .
In those eight years I came almost to revere Guy . Boys might come to the Rackets Courts to play the game , but they would also then gather in little groups to discuss life with Guy , nestled as he was in his little workshop . As Christopher Sunter says , he was hugely influential and his pastoral gifts easily matched those of the better Dons .
Worthy ’ s been Stephen Shuttleworth ( G . 71-75 , Co Ro 11-21 ) writes : When I arrived in Phil ’ s in September 1971 , men in their first five terms were given sweats . These were chores to be completed for the good of the house and its well-running . The three most jun men were assigned the role of gallery-callers . It was their job to wake the entire house in the morning . Each gallery-caller was responsible for one or more galleries . The other members of the house would request to be woken at one or more of four times . I seem to remember that the earliest was at 7.15 and was called Phillips , presumably after the second housemaster . The other times were 7.30 , 7.40 and 7.45 . At the beginning of term , the gallery-callers would take orders , waiter-like , from those they would have to wake . ‘ I would like 7.30 and 7.40 , please ’. It could be a serious matter if one forgot a call . I remember someone needing to get up early to revise for a test and my forgetting to wake him at the appropriate time . On apologising , I received a faceful of invective . At bedtime , the gallery callers had two chores to perform . Five minutes before the main gallery lights had to be turned out , they would stand at the top of the stairwell and chant in unison ‘ Five , four , three , two , one , Worthy ’ s been ’. It took me a while to understand this . Apparently , an early housemaster had a butler called Worthy . He would send Worthy through to the boys ’ side to remind the house that it was nearly bedtime and then he would return to the housemaster . Once he had returned , the famous call went up . Five minutes later , it was a bit of an anticlimax to have ‘ Five , four , three , two , one , lights ’.
50 years on : Plus ca change ... TS 35 of May 1973 began with an introduction from the Head Man , J L Thorn , in which he referred to a number of impending projects , including ‘ a new , additional boarding house .
‘ We feel that it is right that there should be a few more boys in the school , perhaps another 50 or 60 . A new boarding house , on the site of the present Sanatorium , will both ease the pressure in some existing houses and provide space for about 30 extra boarders .’ 50 Years on , the present Sanatorium ( now Antrim House ) is again under threat as we await permission to erect two new boarding houses on KP . The Trusty Servant hopes to bring more news in November .
Then and Now , Win Coll 100 Years Ago From The Wykehamist , No 632 – April 3rd 1923 . AD PORTAS . The Right Honourable H . A . L . Fisher , P . C ., M . P ., LL . D ., F . B . A ., was received Ad Portas on Saturday , March 24th , at 2 p . m .
On Friday , March 23rd , the Right Hon . H . A . L . Fisher lectured to the School on the " League of Nations ." The Headmaster , in welcoming our distinguished visitor , spoke of his great work as Minister of Education in the trying days of the War ; how we had watched measure after measure reach the Statute Book , and how Mr . Fisher , battling against stupid and selfish attacks , had carried his cargo safely through . But he had now come to tell us of another great work which he had done so well — as British representative at Geneva . He was glad that knowledge of the work of the League was growing in the School , and he felt that this visit would do a great deal to help that movement on .
The Trusty Servant adds in 2023 : HAL Fisher went on to be Warden of New College ( and hence Fellow of Win Coll ). He died in London in 1940 after being injured in a traffic accident . Highlighted by the recent Ben Macintyre book , Operation Mincemeat , Fisher ’ s underwear was used three years later to disguise the body of the fictitious Major Martin , a supposed Royal Marines officer , used to spread disinformation about the invasion of Sicily .
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