No . 132
The Trusty Servant
Ad Portas , 9 th September 2021
The Editor of The Wykehamist wrote of Ad Portas that it ‘ had become one of those many notions , which everyone was supposed to know , and about which no one had any distinct ideas .’ He also wrote , ‘ Not that Ad Portas is one of the longdiscontinued customs of Winchester ; on the contrary , it is only nine years since [ the last one ]… yet a period of nine years is quite sufficient , in School life , to sanction the discontinuance of any custom .’ These words could have been written today , there having been no Ad Portas since Sir Jeremy Morse was received on 6 th July 2012 , but in fact were written exactly 140 years previously , in the November 1881 issue ! He wrote at a time when Ad Portas had stumbled from being a part of the annual College pattern , and was being reborn as an occasional celebration of a distinguished alumnus or other dignitary . From 1881 it is clear that Ad Portas is the highest honour that the College can bestow on one of its own .
At midday on 9 th September 2021 the whole school formed up in Chamber Court to receive Ad Portas General Sir Nick Carter GCB , CBE , DSO , ADC Gen . General Carter is an OW ( H , 72-76 ) and has been Chief of the Defence Staff since 2018 , occupying this country ’ s highest military position .
The Prefect of Hall , WM Goltz welcomed him with the following speech :
Abhinc quadraginta et quinque annos , alius Wiccamicus , idem munus gerens eodem loco stans , a viris huius collegii ad Portas exceptus est . Illo die in vitae limine audisti ; hodie vestigia eius ingrediris . Non in ultimis honorum hoc est , excipi ad Portas ; sed tu eo alios honoratos excellis , quod solus miles es et — quod decus uno tantum alio Wiccamico datum est — hodie iterum reciperis . Quapropter par es episcopis et regibus .
[ 45 years ago , your predecessor , a Wykehamist Chief of the Defence Staff , stood where you are today and was received Ad Portas by the men of Winchester College . You were in the audience that day , during your last term in the school and now , today , you follow in his footsteps . The honour of being received Ad Portas is not lightly bestowed , and yet you stand out among our honorands as the only soldier and one of only two Wykehamists to be received for a second time . In this you stand on a par with men of God and with Royalty .]
After leaving Winchester , you joined the Royal Green Jackets , a regiment that shares a long and proud association with Winchester College . Its successor regiment , The Rifles , of which you are Colonel Commandant , continues that association . Today , in War Cloister , poppies mark the names of Wykehamists who fell during the two World Wars while serving in the regiments that later formed the Royal Green Jackets . There are 110 poppies for them alone , an indication of the hundreds of Wykehamists who , like you , have served their country as Riflemen .
Your Wykehamical and Regimental friends have watched with pride while you served with distinction , commanding troops , not only of this country but also those of our allies , on operations in the Balkans , Iraq and Afghanistan . The motto shared by both the Rifles and the Royal Green Jackets is Celer et Audax , ‘ Swift and Bold ,’ a suitable phrase to describe both your career and a Wykehamical approach to soldiering .
The General and the Aulae Prae looking relieved after their speeches
Nuper scripsisti te , hosce intra muros eruditum , ad officia varia quibus in armis functus esses , paratum fuisse ; imbutum te esse ratione cogitandi ad imperii labores maxime idonea . Ego et hi sodales Wiccamici gaudemus eo cultu quem agnoscere adhuc possis .
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