Newsalianapril2009

BY OLD SALIANS FOR OLD SALIANS

APRIL 2009 NEWS

Snow. What Snow?…if you get my drift The recent heavy snowfalls has prompted me to look back at the winters of my younger days. One thing for sure, the world didn’t stop when the snow arrived, but perhaps we were a much hardier lot We didn’t have central heating, double glazing and electric blankets to keep us warm, and it was often warmer outside than inside when the winter winds did blow because we could run around to keep warm. The winter of 1947 was the worst I remember because it snowed for weeks on end and we all thought it would never stop. We tried to keep warm with a couple of pairs of dad’s socks tucked into our Wellington boots but this didn’t stop them rubbing the back of our legs and making them chapped. Chilblains, by the way, were an accepted part of life. But we could always rely on the school caretaker, who got there early to stoke the boilers. The pipes running round the classroom were red-hot and we’d line up to warm our frozen toes, hence the Chilblains! People used to like talking about the weather in those days and I remember my parents recalling some of the worst winters, like the one in 1933 and one in 1940. The winter of 1940 did not go on as long as the 1947 one, but it was still a bad one, made worse by dense fog, something we don’t have to cope with these days thanks to smokeless fuel. Amazingly people managed to get to work no matter what the weather threw at them, and for those living in outlying areas it meant getting up before dawn to make sure they got there on time. During the winter of 1940, in some areas there were snowdrifts six feet high, and when the buses did eventually get through by dinner-time, dense fog descended and many services had to be called in, leaving the workers to make their own way home. People threw sand and ashes on the icy roads and bus conductors borrowed dustbins from neighbouring houses to throw even more ashes down. On some days, it was deemed too dangerous for vehicles of any kind to descend hills in the district, with the result that long lines of traffic were stranded. There was no criticism of Council workers or bus services throughout, and everybody seemed to accept the situation in a happy spirit. Despite some of the worst conditions in living memory schools kept open. Pupils walked to school, no matter what the weather, and so if their parents could walk to work in the snow. Certainly the children could do the same. The snow in 1940 started in January and continued into February with some parts suffering snowdrifts 10 feet high. Workmen had to use picks to make any impression in the hard packed snow. One farmer, determined to make his regular milk deliveries, resorted to taking it round on a homemade horse-drawn sledge, and our postman found it easier to make his deliveries by walking along the top of garden walls to avoid three foot high snow drifts on the pavement. But the real heroes of the day were the family doctors who made their rounds on foot, and the tradesmen who struggled to open their shops and businesses. In our street one row of houses had icicles reaching from the roof gutters to the ground for the entire length of the block. It gave a curtain-like effect to the dwellings, and householders had to break them off to get out of their homes. As all this happened during the war when there were severe shortages anyway, so it isn’t surprising that the huge demand for coal meant it had to be rationed. If you look at any local archive newspaper of the day you will see many a photograph depicting the heavy snow drifts. As a said at the beginning “Snow. What snow?” Reading to-days papers and seeing what happened when a small amount of snow fell, I really do believe that we were made of sterner stuff. Keith Sibbald (Class of 47)

Photo Gallery

Form 2a 1952

Picture from Roy Partington

School Junior Cricket Team 1953


School 3rd Team 1956/7


School 1st Team 1957


Prefects 1957


Upper 6th 1957


Thanks very much Roy for these great pictures which will bring back many memories for members. I will include a Picture Gallery in each Newsletter providing that members send their pictures on to me. I am also thinking of posting these on the Friends United Web Site unless I hear from you otherwise.

An Old Salian now an Old Sea Dog

TONY COOK (Class of 45)

At the Canadian Safe Boating Gala Dinner (CASBA) held in Toronto on January11, 2009, Tony Cook, owner of Searoom, was awarded the prestigious “Top Volunteer Dedicated to Safe Boating2 Award for 2008. He has served in various capacities with the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, at the national, district and local squadron levels. He is currently Commander of the Toronto Squadron and a member of the Southern Tier Power Squadron of the United States Power Squadrons. In 2004, he received the CPS Chief Commander’s Commendation for his work as founding chair of the national MultiMedia Committee. He acts as an instuctor in various boating courses. Tony has been sailing since 1957. In latter years, he sailed out of Queen City Yacht Club, where he also served as a Director. He was a charter member of Sail Parry Sound and obtained a CYA Race Management rating in order to serve on the race committee for the Shark World Championship held in Parry Sound in 1999. He rebuilt the Canadian Safe Boating Council web site, starting in 2002 and managed them until 2008. He was volunteer Webmaster for the 2002 Around Alone Challenge by Spirit of Canada. Volunteering with regard to safe boating runs in the family…his wife, Annie, a Past Squadron and District Commander, is currently the CPS Governing Board’s National Recording Secretary. She has also taught boating courses for the Toronto Squadron, with special emphasis on younger boaters. lawn green bowling coach Tony’s volunteer work is not restricted to boating. He is a past President of the National Audio Visual Association of Canada (NAVAC), a past director of the Association for Multi-image, Canada, was a volunteer moderator on various industry on-line forums, is a past president of the Ontario Wood Carvers Association, and is a . Editor’s comments Talk about living a full life, I’m exhausted just reading about Tony’s life style. Congratulations on your many achievements Tony. If members are interested, and I recommend that you do so, then log on to Tony’s web site www.searoom.com. It really is very interesting. Any of you other boating enthusiasts who would like to contact Tony to exchange some old yarns then let me know and I will pass on your details to Tony.

http://www.searoom.com/

Cross Country Run

The dreaded Autumn Term had arrived and the holder of the world record for sadistic punishments, a certain H.H. Christian, was in his element once again. The dreaded thong had, like any good conker, been steeped in vinegar over the long summer break and was ready for action and fit for purpose. What made the season so very special for said Master was that the leather thong could, as normal, be put to good use to encourage full participation in matters sporting AND it was Cross Country Season once again. Now this was the time of year when not even a doctor’s note could allow pupils to “slope off” doing the dreaded run around Carrington Moss. “If you’re not fit to run you can walk. The exercise will do you good” was the reply. It would take a surgeons note saying that you had both legs amputated to save you and even then there was no guarantee. “Try running on your hands” might have been the response. From this you will gather that Mr. Christian failed to display any of the kind spirit and goodwill that you might be led to expect from anybody especially from one masquerading under a very religious name. As you will no gather you could not get out of making the run so devious minds set about devising plans to overcome this obstacle. Readers will remember that both Junior and Senior courses started just before the unsurfaced stretch of The Avenue and then proceeded across Carrington Moss, circumnavigating the sewage farms, back into the School grounds via the top gate next to the Second XV rugby pitch and then a short run to the changing rooms. It was at this point that HHC stood greeting you back home with a sharp whip of his thong on your backside if he thought you had not put in a big enough effort. So how to avoid the run and the thong was the challenge and this was the cunning plan that was hatched during a hectic brain storming session by 20 run hating pupils. Part way round the course a group of Sixth Formers would stand, note books in hand, recording the names shouted out by the passing runners. This was to ensure that nobody took any shortcuts (and more of that later) so they stood there, heads down and ears pricked, keeping their records. Our plan was simple but brilliant. All of us would start the race and proceed to the end of The Avenue where the road took a sharp right turn. At this point half of the group would carry on in the race with the other 50% diving into the bushes, then take a very short cut to a point approx 100 yards from the top gate then to rejoin the race when the rest of their group came round breathless in about mid-field of the competitors. This ruse had cut about 3 miles of the run! The group who were doing the run would stay as a group roughly mid-field where the bulk of the runners were staggering along. Safety in numbers was the mantra. All that was needed then was for each one to call out two names and cover for their missing mates. AND IT WORKED. Join in with your running mates, feign acute breathlessness and avoid the thong. Brilliant Other less devious people tried another short cut option. Not good. At a number of points the course took sharp right angle turns as it circumnavigated the sewage filled fields of the sewage farm. Less well-informed people were not aware of what those fields, which were covered in verdant growth, contained. Following their recently taught Pythagoras Theorem they followed the hypotenuse line rather than the sum of the other two sides and it was not sweet violets that covered their lower limbs when they came face to face with “The Thong”. Happy days. Keith Sibbald (Class of 47)

Have your say Humphrey Bloor (Class of 52) writes I did enjoy the February Newsletter. I joined SGS in 2Y after a year at North Cestrian (Dad couldn’t afford the fees any longer) and I couldn’t believe that SGS played cricket on “ordinary grass” in games periods. I had been used to playing on Timperley and Bowden Cricket Club’s hallowed turf.

I also enjoyed the letters from past inmates, about Herr Stein, although I think that he may have departed before I arrived. His reputation, however, still lived on. Mike Highwood’s memories were of particular interest as we had been family friends for many years and had reached the point where Christmas cards were our only point of contact. However the article stimulated a phone call to Mike and a promise to make the long trek down to Lee on Solent. So many thanks Keith. Now to nicknames and other things. J.Porter. He tried to teach me German and failed miserably, although I think the miserable bit was me. He was known to us as “Spike” or “Ekips Retrop”. He accompanied many of us on an exchange visit to Soest in Westfalia to the local Gymnasium. I can recall being most impressed with his addressing the whole Schule in GERMAN ! On our journey home we jumped on the train at Soest station and the coach a few of us had selected was uncoupled from the main part of the train at, I think Hamm station and we found that we were on our way to Berlin ! However, some quick thinking (Not me Sir) found us alighting at the next station and catching a fast taxi to Dusseldorf to meet our fellow pupils. HP Cresswell taught us English and behind his back we called him “Happy”. Not that I can remember him being of that disposition, but looking at his initials you can see whence came the nickname. SD Carter was known to us as” Doug” I came across him on the rugby field where he taught us to “get our retaliation in first” I have more memories of him and the first was the whole school being marshalled into the hall for no given reason and no amount of hushed whispering could elicit a cause for this massed gathering, until the bawling entry of our said friend brandishing a machete. “Who is the owner of this weapon?” was the question, which was greeted by a stony silence. I cannot still remember if the machete owner was found. My second memory as of his being convinced that this miserable pupil (we weren’t students then) did have a brain, which was capable of retaining matters of historical interest. He was correct, because wonder of wonders I managed to pass GCE history thanks to his faith and extra tuition. Mr. Aldcroft taught me maths for a period. He could draw a perfect freehand circle on the black board (what did I say?!! You can’t say that, it’s racist) He told us that the longest word he knew was “elastic” and he kept a brown laceless plimsoll in one of the drawers in his desk. He told us that if he had to use it, we would receive a plimsoll line! Humphrey Bloor Last Word There was a half decent response to Bernie Abbott’s request for you to test the “Grey Matter” and come up with the proper as well as the nicknames of the Masters that he listed in the last issue. So here is a summary of the information gleaned. Does it bring back memories?

Master Christian Name Nickname 1 Nickname 2 Nickname 3 Norrish Percy Knocker Kemp ? Killer Brown Robert Blinker Basher Porter John Spike Ekips Rotrop Cresswell Peter Happy Aldcroft ? Clem Baldy Happy Wray ? Brumas Carter ? Doug Syd Farter Irwin Basher It seems that we knew more about nicknames and less about actual names. None of us were on first names terms so nicknames were the order of the day. Now as for Bill Shepherd, my nickname for him is a seven-letter word starting with a “B” and ending with a “D” We also had some additions to the list. “Basher” Urwin , “Ikabod” Hall, “King Kong” King, “The Mekon” Porter, “Ernie” Wilcox and “Bob” Hope.

Now Bernie, as a thank you for this information, how about a contribution from you on how you finished up in Canada and what you are up to now and for that matter, what your career was. A lot to go at there. Should keep you out of mischief for a while. There was a good response to the last Newsletter with lots of good information coming forward to improve my records and some new members discovered. The fact that you are now reacting to content is great but how about going that one little step further and writing some copy about yourself and either what you got up to at SGS or what you have done since There just has to be something very interesting for all of you to relate. Will you all remember to let me have details if you change your email address so that I can keep contact? If you know of any old school friends who are not on the mailing list then please let me have details. Last Newsletter I asked if anybody had information on Stuart Titterington (Class of 1950). Unfortunately there was nothing forthcoming so very sorry Roy. A number of readers have contacted me following the report in the last issue on the Class of 47 re-union dinner asking why we don’t have another Old Salians Dinner. Whilst serving Old Salians this newsletter has nothing to do with the Old Salians Association. I started producing the Newsletter when the Association ceased to do so. I think that it would be a good idea to have a dinner but this can only be decided by the Association Committee and for them to get it organised if they see fit. They get copies of the newsletter so maybe this will act as a reminder. For the record, only 50% of members get the newsletter because it only goes out to those on email. It is up to the Committee, who have the funds, to get it printed and posted to those who do not have email facilities. I don’t think that this is happening. It only goes to show how important it is to expand our email list and grow our community. If any of you are interested then you and your partner are more than welcome to come to the next Class of 47 Dinner which this year will be held on November 7th at Styal Golf Club in Cheshire. Contact Graham Howe on [email protected] for details. You will notice a different photograph below it is of me and my wife Jennie wearing our Chains of Office as Mayor and Mayoress of our town Mirfield. Well, who would have thought! The lad did have some abilities after all. This is a one-off. Back to normal photo next time.

Keith Sibbald (Editor)

mailto:[email protected]

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Newsalianapril2009