Aymestrey Magazine 1974

The AYMESTREY MAGAZINE AUTUMN, 1974

THE AYMESTREY MAGAZINE

AUTUMN, 1974

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Old Aymestrey Association held at the School on Saturday, 15th June, 1974 Present : President A. B. Aitken Chairman : David Hughes N. Blair-Oliphant

P. W. D. Davies

W. B. Stallard C. W. Massey A. Lane D. H. Griffith C. M. Foster

E. R. Lane

J. B. Hughes

C. G. B. Scovell A.Powell G. Tuthill C. D. Samwells N. P. D. Green Price J ulian Gallimore

J. E. Coates H. Tuthill R. Coates E.R. Weaving S.J . C o l e y N. Blair-Oliphant

A. G. Duncan D. McLeod

1. 2. 3. 4.

5.

6.

Notice convening the meeting was taken as read. Apol ogi e s for a bse nc e we r e re c e i ve d f r om B. W. M a s s ey, R. J. Thomason, A. H. Slade, F. M. Sloane-Stanley, R. Tildesley, R. E. Lane, M. J. Hughes. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 9th June, 1973, having been published in the School Magazine were taken as read, confirmed and signed. The accounts were presented to the, meeting and the Secretary pointed out that a healthy surplus was maintained, particularly in view of t h e s p e c i a l m a g a z i n e f u n d . O n a p r o p o s i t i o n f r o m J o h n E y t o n Coates and seconded by W. B. Stallard, they were adopted. Election of Officers : Chairman : A. G. Duncan Vice-Chairman : E. R. Lane Committee Additions: G. Tuthill, D. R. McLeod Secretary/Treasurer : C. J. A.Gallimore School Correspondent : D. A. N. Asterley. Any Other Business : The r e wa s a s hort di s c us si on on t h e d a te o f t h e A. G. M. an d t he possibility of having a set date. It was finally agreed it should be the ' Saturday after the second Monday in June, and the 14th June, 1975, wil l s e e t h e n e x t m e et i n g a t t h e Sc h o o l. Th e s e cr e t ar y wa s a l s o r e q u e s t e d t o m a k e s u r e c a r d s g o o u t i n p l e n t y o f t i m e t o g i v e enough warning to members. A f t e r a n i nt r od uc t i on by J . B. Hu g h e s , a s h o r t d i s c u s s i o n t h e n followed and a Committee was set up for the purpose of investigating the setting up of a charitable trust and was given powers to carry out this investigation. The retiring Chairman then gave a vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Griffith and Staff for their hospitality to Old Boys and their guests during the afternoon. T he Di nn e r i n t he e ve ni ng wa s a g a i n h e l d a t t h e Ta l b o t H o t e l , Knightwick, where a gathering of 47 enjoyed the meal and a run th ro ug h of the Sch ool 's ac hiev eme nts of the past year by Hugh Griffith. The President, Alan Aitken, told the company that this was the year that D.A.N.A. had reached the stage of being what is n o w t e r m e d a S e ni or Ci t i z e n a n d a t oa s t wa s d r u n k t o h i m a n d Jean. 2

OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1974 Surplus Account

Balances in Hand £

p

£ p

£ p

Balance as at 31st March, 1974 ... 313 - 48

Lloyds Bank Ltd. Savings Account

Add Excess of Income over Expenditure 37 - 33

...

82 - 34

Deposit Account 1 .

34-52

Current Account

_________ 350- 8.1

...

Abbey National Building Society

4-19 256 - 99

Magazine Fund Balance as at 31st March, 1974 ...

46- 93

Add Subscriptions during year …

2-30 49-23

Less Contributions to School for Magazine 22-00 __________ 27 - 23 £378 - 04

£378 - 04

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1974 £ p D. H. Griffith for one issue of School Magazine Talbot Hotel — Annual Dinner InlandRevenue

...

..

Excess of Income over Expenditure ...

£

2-50

...

...

71-61

...

...

2-00

...

37 - 33

Dinner Receipts

...

...

Magazine Appeal Subscriptions

73 -00 ...

...

20 -00

...

...

7 - 51

Abbey National Building Society Interest ...

12-93

Bank Interest

£113-44

p

...

...

...

£113-44 Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, C. J. A. GALLIMORE.

3

OLD BOY NEWS

M. Bates has been appointed Cardiac Surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. J. B. Hughes is Vice-Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the new Hereford and Worcester County Council. Since the Chairman is T. W. Barnes, father of four O.A. sons, we are well represented. Miss D. M. ' Robinson has been entertaining at her house in Hull A. F. Thornely, who was under her at Aymestrey, and J. A. Chandler, of a later vintage. P. D. Coates has been appointed to a Housemastership at Oakham. C. J. A. Gallimore has another daughter, born in December. R. W. Robbins has been promoted to be in charge of the Cirencester office, of Messrs. Jackson, Stops & Staff. C. N. Todd is engaged to Miss Alison Abbott. P. M. A. Ashwell was married in January to Miss Annie Jounier. A. J. Powell, now qualified as a Chartered Surveyor, is with a firm of estate agents in High Wycombe. T. M. Steadman is engaged to Miss J. Hall. M. C. Powell is working in reception at the New B ' erkeley in London, aft er th ree yea rs at the Savoy as wait er, barm an, che f, meat po rter, Covent Garden porter, and office clerk. C. J. Dowson is now managing his father's farm near Pershore. S. J. Dorrell has been adopted as prospective Conservative candidate for Hull, East. E. F. Wea vi ng ha s gone t o Am e ri c a f o r p r ac t ic a l e x p e ri e n c e i n agriculture. N. A. K. Brown was married in May to Miss Jane Kirby. M. J. Hickman is working in his father's business; and S. L. Hickman is on a Business-Studies course and takes his final exams thisyear. M. J. Hughes has left Bromsgrove, where he was Head of the School, a n d wo n t h e H e a dm a s t e r ' s P r i z e a s we l l a s a gr e a t m a n y h o n o u r s i n Cross-country and middle-distance running. He has been in New Zealand, and goes to Wye Agricultural College in the autumn. A. H. Hartley has also left Bromsgrove. He was a House Monitor; won the Hurdles and Discus and had his Athletics Colours; was Captain of Shooting; and was in the 2nd XI for Cricket and Hockey. C. Yuvaboon has left Rendcomb and returned to Thailand before going to an American university. E. W. D. Tildesley is Head of his House and a School Praepostor at Uppingham. P. M. Woodward is, a Prefect at Wrekin. J. C. Nicholas is in the Shooting VIII at Monmouth. D. Knox played several times, for the 1st XV at Rendcomb. R. J. S. Veal was in the Colts XV at Felsted. S. A. M. Hardy was Captain of the under-15 XV and Captain of the ju n i o r c o lt s h o c k e y XI at Br ya ns t on, a nd wa s Nor t h Dor s et ja v e li n champion in his age-group. J. P. Munns was in his under-14 XV. M. C. L. Harris gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra as a Tu ba pla yer a nd was in t he li ve broa dc ast fr om the Alb ert Hall on August 23rd. S. Twinberrow has left Malvern College having passed ten 'O' levels. He is now at Hartlebury Agricultural College, C . B r a n d r a m J o n e s passed 8 'O' levels at Abbotsholme and is now at the Hereford Sixth Form College.P. M. Martineau has passed Piano Grade VII and Trumpet Grade VI, both with a Distinction, and Organ Grade VI, at Cheltenham. 4

LEAVERS AND NEW BOYS The following have left : December D. M. M. Bowen. Came ' September 1971. Rugger XV, Cricket XI. M. A. Jeavons. Came, May 1970. A. J. Johnson,. Came September 1970. Rugger XV, Soccer XI, Cricket XI Choir. July M. Clarke. Came September 1969. J. C. Davies. Came September 19,68. Prefect. Rugger XV, Soccer XI, Cricket XI; Boxing Colours. Choir. D. R. Elt. Came September 1970. Prefect; Patrol Leader. Rugger XV, Soccer XI; Athletics Colours. Choir. I.M. Harvey. Came September 1971. Choir. A. G. G. Jones. Came January 1971. Patrol Leader. Rugger XV, Soccer XI. J. K. Masters. Came September 1971. Rugger XV. J. Samwells. Came September 1969. Prefect, Patrol Leader. Rugger XV, Cricket XI. Choir. T. J. Southorn. Came January 1974. New Boys : September : P. A. Collis, J. P. Kimpton, S. D. G. Partridge, A. B. Phelps, M. J. ,Stephens, J. D. C. Tainton, S. N. Tudge, P. W. S. Wallace. January : T. J. Southorn, N. J. Southorn. May : R. J. Edmonds, S. L. Mee. PAUL BRINTON MEMORIAL The Brinton Memorial Prize was won by S. N. Fields. KINGSTON PRIZE The Kingston Prize was won by G. F. F. Johnson. GIFTS We are most grateful to the following for presents to the school : Dr. and Mrs. Davies for classical records. Mr. and Mrs. Elt for new books for the Memorial Library. Jonathan Samwells for new wicket keeping gloves. Mr. and Mrs. Miles for six new footballs of the excellent kind used by Hereford United, though of course schoolboy size. Mr. and Mrs. Samwells for a most generous cheque with which we are buying a new stereo gramophone. The cheque kindly given by Mr. and Mrs. Burgoyne last year was spent on a Malvern circuit board for the Science Room. TOWNSEND WARNER HISTORY PRIZE Davies and Edwards J. N. entered for this paper, which is open to all Preparatory Schools, but neither qualified for part II. RUGGER A strange season. T'he first phase held some pleasing practice games a n d p r e paration for the 'Sevens', but the Sevens themselves brought disappointment. On pa pe r we di d not do ba dl y. We l os t 6 - 1 0 to t h e eventual runners up, won two games by a fairly wide margin, and lost the lo sers ' final ' 4- 10. So we wo n t wic e and lo st t wic e, and s cor ed many more points, than were scored against us; but at no time did we

look a s good as we ha d done in pr acti ce, ha ndli ng, c ombi nati on, a nd dash being all disappointing. Edwards J. W. and Bowen did best. The next stage was worse. Most individuals were slack; for instance, it is not much to ask that every member of the team shall skip and do press-ups f o r a f e w m i n u t e s i n h i s o w n t i m e e v e r y d a y, b u t n o b o d y did it. The XV never became a team. No captain could be found who showed leadership, and there were two self-appointed captains who were ready to tell the rest what to do, but not to obey their own instructions. 5

The re s ult wa s i ne vi t a bl e . I n no si n g l e m at c h di d th e si d e d o we ll , although there was more individual talent than last year, and although there were some players who generally did their best. We lost every match, the scores against us increasing steadily, while we got precisely two tries ourselves. In all t his, one senior pl ayer, Samwell s, tho ug h as slac k as an y to start with, played with increasing determination and did seem to resent the prevailing spirit; two boys of 11, Edwards D. and Fields, at least looked better in matches than in practice; and three tenyear-olds played their hearts out. An under-12 match was played against the Elms, and we did at least make a fight of it, losing by two tries to three, though the influence of the first XV's lack of drive could still be felt. This was a ray of light in the gloom. T h e n t h e s u n r o s e . A n u n d e r- 11 m a t c h w a s a r r a n g e d w i t h S t . Richard's, and in the few days' practice available a new spirit could be felt. Our opponents had beaten Winterfold juniors handsomely, and when they scored after only a minute or two it looked as if our losing habit could not be broken. But under McCulloch's leadership, which was a vital factor throughout, our pack began at last to drive forward, and from a scrum ten yards out Maiden at number eight took the heel and plunged through a crowd of defenders to make the scores level. From t he n on it wa s cl e a r t h at o ur f or wa r d s we r e d om i n a nt , a n d Edwa r ds J. W. rightly played to them as captain, so that we were in our opponents' 25 most of the first half. Tackling was quick and effective, St. Richards' handling grew shaky, and presently Tudge snapped up a dropped pass and just reached the line with a burst of speed which surprised everybody, including perhaps himself. The second half was territorially more even; but though losing line-outs and mauls we left no gaps in defence and continued to win rucks and scrums, even against the head. The pack presently worked their way to the line, held the ball as they drove forward in a scrum, and Harvey, who had been scurrying about tirelessly at scrum half, got his reward with an easy try, which Hughes converted. Then the forwards decided to do it all themselves and got a pushover from a five-yard scrum. And finally Hughes, as a reminder that threequarters could join in, placed a kick ahead well. Thomas caught the full back and took the ball on, and Hughes was up for the try. Besides those already mentioned, Bearcroft and Tyler were outstanding in the pack, and Green-Price sensible and effective on the wing; but it was the spirit of the whole thing that really counted, and to this every man contributed. It was a spirit which made them go twice as hard because it was a match, not h a l f a s h a r d ; w h i c h m a d e t h e m t r e a t a t a c k l e a s a n a t t a c k , n o t a despairing defence; and which, not least, made them remember what they had been taught to do. Whether the spirit will persist remains to be seen. SOCCER A disastrous season during which we lost all five matches by a wide margin. The forward line never really got going as such at all. What little strength we had lay in defence but the halves were ineffective because they either passed too inaccurately or too late, and as a result the backs were often overwhelmed. However they were a young side and eight of them will be here next year. Godsall, at full back, was the best player: he has a very powerful kick for a boy of his

age. Miles did well in goal. Hughes, Green-Price and Maiden look like footballers but lack tactical sense. Moore D. and Fields S. can run well on the wing but their finishing was poor. It was bad luck on Davies, the captain, that there was no-one to relieve him at centre-half, as, though he can kick well, he has not yet the physique for the position. 6

The team was :— Miles, Elt and Godsall, Hughes, Davies and McCulloch, Fields S., GreenPrice, Jones A., Maiden and Moore D. Edwards J. W., twice, and Tudge W. also played.The pick of the others who were not in the team were Johnson R., Tyler, Moore A., Wallace G., Harvey, Bearcroft, and Milward. The best juniors were Kimpton and Tudge S. CRICKET Played 7, Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 5 Though the record was poor and much of the cricket below standard, particularly the batting, the XI was a side that showed signs of becoming a team: what is more they were improving all the time in this respect. Hughes made a good start as captain and is beginning to understand the difficulties. He arranged the field well and is particularly good at managing bowling changes. He is less good at knowing when to take himself off but that will come with experience. Apart from Twinberrow, who was technically the best batsman, the most promising cricketers were all young. Seven of the side will be here next year, five of whom should be here in 1976 and two of those in 1977; so at least prospects for the future are bright. Our single victory was against Winterfold. We had played them at home in the first match on an under 12 basis and been slaughtered, but this time the tables were turned. Hughes and Moore A. did all the bowling, and did it very well. Hughes took 4 wickets for 12 runs and Moore 6 for 7. Winterfold were all out for 24. Our batting was for once reasonably calm and we knocked off the runs easily with only 3 wickets down. This was an encouraging way to end the season particularly as good bowling had been supported by good catching, a feature noticeably absent in previous matches; the old adage, "Catches win matches", had been proved by us too many times in a negative sense. Isolated incidents that stay in the mind were the 6 with which Twinberrow began the scoring in the Fathers' Match: a very hot caught and bowled by Davies and the skilful timing of the captain of the O.A.A. side; all four possible results could have been achieved off the last ball of the match. Other boys in the team who showed promise as batsmen were :- Green-Price, McCulloch and Johnson R. As bowlers Hughes and Moore A. were in a class by themselves but Green-Price is coming on and so is Edwards J. W., though his arm is not very high. MacLaren S. has a good action but he is not yet very accurate. The fielding was generally poor though Davies was reliable and Moore D. and Wallace G very quick. Johnson R. is always alert and catches well close to the wicket. Godsall shared the wicket keeping with Samwells but neither is yet an attacking force which is one of the most valuable assets a side can have. Of the others in the senior game Maiden can bat and he, Edwards J. N., Thomas and Edwards D. all played in some matches. The best of the juniors who can bowl were Colyer, Bearcroft, MacLaren A., Tyler, Kimpton and Wallace P. Milward, Harvey, Kimpton, Packman and Coley can bat a bit whilst Tudge S. has the makings of a good all-rounder. Greens won the Colour Matches with Greys second.

WINTER ACTIVITIES

For a long time Gym work was rather poor, and to the end there were too many boys just moderate when they could have been quite good; but in the last few weeks the standard of those at the top went up rapidly. Moore D., Miles, Hughes, Fields S., and Edwards D. were awarded Colours, and Green-Price and Manning did well. 7

The improvement made last year in Boxing continued. There was a good, keen spirit, and a squad of twelve put on a thoroughly pleasing s ho w on Op en Da y. Hug he s, J eav on s, Dav ies a nd Gree n- Pric e we re the be st , a nd th e o t h er s i n th e s q u a d we r e Wa l la c e G., Wa ll a c e P. , Samwells, Elt, MacLaren S., Edwards J. W., Johnson R., and Kimpton. Of Shooting all that can be said is that it was thoroughly bad. But Cross-Country running reached a useful standard. Davies was the best, with Elt not far behind, and Fields S. and Masters were useful. Bearcroft was outstanding among the younger boys. PENTATHLON Miles, Edwards D., and Fields S. won the White Badge during the year; but below there was much too much of a gap, only Hughes and Manning making good progress. SWIMMING In a moderate season, a satisfying feature was that the number of those who could not swim at all was down to five, which is the lowest for some time. Otherwise the standard was lower than in the last few years, which were outstanding. Edwards D. worked very hard and was much the best by the end; he won the individual cup and was awarded his Colours. Others who did well were Jones A., Fields S., Southorn T., Southorn N., L'Estrange, Bearcroft, Fields A., Harvey, and Tudge S. Blues won the competition, coming first in both tests and swimming sports. The swimming sports results were: Senior : Free Style 1. Edwards D., 2. Southorn T., 3. Jones A. Breast Stroke 1. Jones A., 2. Miles, 3. Edwards Back Stroke 1. Edwards, 2. Southorn, 3. Samwells Life Saving 1. Edwards, 2. Southorn, 3. Miles Under Water 1. Miles, 2. Edwards, 3. Jones Diving 1. Edwards, 2. Miles, 3. Masters Junior: Free Style 1. Tudge W., 2. Southorn N., 3. Tyler Breast Stroke 1. Tudge, 2, Southorn, 3. L'Estrange Back Stroke 1. Tyler, 2. Tudge, 3. Southorn Life Saving 1. L'Estrange, 2. Southorn, 3. Tyler Under Water 1. L'Estrange, Southorn, 3. Tudge Diving 1. Tudge, 2. Southorn, 3. Tyler Under 10: Free Style 1. Tudge S., 2. Kimpton, 3. Phelps Relay : 1. Greys, 2. Blues ATHLETICS The St a ndar ds pa rt of t he c om pet it i o n wa s wo n b y Gr e e n , wit h Greys second. The level of achievement was not high, and only four boys passed all their standards - Elt,

Fields S., Hughes, and Wallace P. Elt and Fields were awarded their Colours. In the finals Greens again won from Greys, though the competition was close enough to depend on the relays. Elt, Moore D., and Fields S. all did well in Div. I, Jones M. and Edwards D. in II, Hughes in III, and Kimpton in IV. Hughes' hurdling was outstanding. Division I 440 yards 100 yards Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

1. Elt, 2. Fields S., 1. Elt, 2. Fields, Moore D. 1. Moore, 2. Elt, 1. Jones A., 2. Fields, Moore 1. Elt, 2. Fields, 1. Moore, 2. Edwards J. N.,

3. Davies

68 secs. 12.8 secs.

3. Fields 3. Miles 3. Elt.

4ft. 3in. 13ft. 9in. 48 1/2 yards

8

Division II 220 yards 100 yards Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

1. Bearcroft, 2. Godsall, 3. Edwards D. 1. MacLaren, 2. Edwards, 3. Mee I J ones M. , 2. Edwa r ds , 3. Ma c La r e n 1. Jones, 2. Edwards, 3. Stephens 1. Johnson R., 2. Edwards, Jones 1. Jones, 2. MacLaren, 3. Johnson

31.2 secs. 14.6 secs.

Division III 100 yards Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

1. Wallace G., 2. Hughes, 3. Godsall 1. Hughes, 2. Godsall, 3. Fields A. 1. Hughes, 2. Bearcroft, Green-Price 1. Green-Price, 2. Hughes, 3. Bearcroft 1. Hughes, 2. Green-Price, 3. Moore A.

14 secs.

Division IV 80 yards 1. Wallace P., 2. Phelps, Hurdles 1. MacLaren, 2. Wallace, High Jump 1. Kimpton, 2. Colyer, Long Jump 1. Kimpton, 2. Milward, Cricket Ball 1. Milward, 2. Kimpton, Medley Relay : 1. Greens, 2. Greys Sprint Relay : 1. Greens, 2, Greys

3. Kimpton, MacLaren A. 3. Coley 3. Milward, Tainton 3. Coley 3. Coley

3ft. 11in. 12ft. 5 1/2in. 46 1/2 yards

3ft. 7 1/2ins. 11ft. 10ins. 46 1/2 yards

3ft. 5ins. 11ft. 1ins. 36 yards

SCOUTING : CAPTAIN H. M. SPRECKLEY Captain Spreckley, who died a few months ago, was the father and grandfather of Aymestrey boys, but that is not the reason for this article; nor is it for us to speak of his service in the Royal Navy or his public work in Worcestershire. But it seems fitting, and indeed important, to record his passing, because of the enormous influence which he had on Aymestrey's Scouting. No less a time than thirty-one years passed between the occasion when D.A.N.A., in charge of his first Camp, anxiously awaited inspection b y t h e D i s t r i c t C o m m i s s i o n e r w h o m h e ha d n e v e r m e t b e f or e , a n d Captain Spreckley's last visit to our Camp; and it would be difficult to over-estimate the effect he had on the way our Scouting went. Sometimes a criticism or suggestion was direct; and you took notice. More often it would be a hint very likely a story against himself - so quietly and kindly given that the full impact did not strike you till afterwards; but there was a quality in him that made words which he

himself probably soon forgot never forgotten by the hearer. These lines are written for those readers of the magazine to whom their Scouting was fun and important. Many of you, even, have never heard of Captain Spreckley till now. Whether you have or not, spare a moment for the thought that you owe him much. CAMP If you had to write about a performance of a Beethoven symphony, and you went to the Albert Hall, and ten bars from the end the roof fell i n, y o u wo u l d b e i n a di ffi c u lt y. Th e p l a yi ng of t he f ir s t move m e nt would have been just as good as if the place hadn't collapsed; but it wouldn't be eas y to do it justi ce, ev en th ou gh y ou c oul d des crib e in glowing terms the heroism of the third 'cello from the left in rescuing survivors. The finale of this year's camp was not quite as exciting as that; but when we had a hotel tea which turned out to have been prepared by people with a sickness bug, and they generously let us have the germs they didn't want, and over half the Troop were as sick as cats all through the last night, it becomes harder to remember all that went before. Which is a pity, because much of it was very good. Come to think of it, you could have a Camp Symphony. Movement 1: introduction, Lento molto (Cuckoos getting out of bed); followed by 9

Allegro vivace (everyone on hearing the horn for breakfast). 2: Andante con very little moto (Hughes going in to bathe). 3: Scherzo (Tudge frying an egg). 4: Presto (MacLaren remembering he's got to brush his teeth before free time). Or Pigeons' mysterious experiments in brewing tea could be called the Enigma Variations. Or you could have the Planets, with Jeavons fetching water as Mercury, the winged messenger; and Saturn, bringer of old age to ex-Scout-Leaders; and Mars, bringer of war to the Fields family seventeen times a day. And after the Planets the ground would be littered with suite papers, and — but this is getting terrible. Last year's account put serious comment under three headings — hard work, skill, and discipline. As regards willing labour, this camp and last would come out equal, with very high marks. Nobody slacked; at least — well, he wasn't so much lazy as just determined to annoy his brother. It was good to see how often a boy went to help another who wa s f o r t he m om e nt ha vi ng a ha r d ti me . I do n ' t m ea n t he c h a p wh o was bored with his job and saw an excuse for a change, but the one who, for example, had just lugged a heavy watercan down the hill and went back to help someone else. And the best of it was that he didn't think it was anything wonderful but just the obvious thing to do. Last year's discipline went wrong over 'Don't do that' rather than Do this ', but as re gar ds ' Don't s' this c amp was quite di ffer ent. The P/Ls had their faults, which will be considered later, but it is safe to say that they all did their loyal best to put right what went wrong last time. The others too took in what was said to them before we went, and it was specially pleasing to find boys who are not exactly famous for their love of rules and orders at school giving absolutely no trouble at camp. You can make your own guess at which ones I mean. I n t he m at t er of s kil l we st a rt e d fa i rl y fa r d o wn t h e l a d de r ; we never reached the top, but we climbed a long way. A shaky beginning was natural enough, because nearly two thirds of the troop were new since l a s t y e a r ; b u t t h e y i m p r o v e d s o f a s t t h a t i t wa s e a s y t o f o rge t h ow inexperienced they were. The old hands however seldom reached quite the heights they should have done. Little that they did was bad, but little was e xcel lent, s o that the ne wc omer s could not catc h exc elle nce b y infection and were not taught it deliberately. This business of leadership was the camp's weak point. Assuming as a matter of course that the P/L is conscientious and really means well, he can nevertheless do a poor job You will almost certainly see him working like mad, and at first sight you may think he is setting a wonderful example — which is what he thinks himself. But t a k e a l o ok r ou nd . H i s Se c o n d i s w o r k i n g wi t h h i m , s o t h a t a l l t h e

experience is concentrated in one place instead of being spread out. A and B are doing a dull but important job, and the P/L neither visits them t o c h e c k n o r r e l i e v e s t h e m i n t w e n t y m i n u t e s ' t i m e . C, w h o i s t h e smallest, is working by himself at something needing physical strength. D has simply been told to 'do something', so he is doing nothing. All will be cursed if they go wrong, but not praised if they don't. Now, listen in to a good P/L. "'Look, you know what he said about this job yesterday; we're going to be the best. A and By one bucket and one spade and fetch soil from that bank. Not that spade; take the light one. C and D, fill in this trench and put the turf on . . . . Hullo, you've b e e n q ui c k; we l l do n e . N o , a t t h e h e a d o f t h e t r e n c h , n o t t h e s i d e , b e c a u s e . . . . Wa i t a m i n u t e ; y o u n e e d m o r e s o i l t h e r e b e c a u s e i t sinks. Look; like this . . . . That's a bit heavy; I'll give you a hand. Now, wha t el se? Oh ye s, cl ean wa ter in th e b owl; I'll do that. J olly good, all of you. If he ca n find any fa ult with th at, I'll eat my h a t . B y t h e w a y, B, w h e r e i s y o u r h a t ? G o b a c k a n d f e t c h i t t h e n . Come on; we'll do the refuse-pit next. Got both spades? Where? Next time don't lay it down; stick it in the ground so that it's easy to see. 10

A, check that the tin's properly shut. C, pick up that sweet-paper. Come on . . . . " And by lunch time he may have used his muscles less than anyone else, but he'll be the tiredest of the lot; and the great point is that his patrol feel that he knows his job. Although we did not often approach perfection, mostly for lack of leadership, and sometimes fell a long way short, there was all the same a great deal that was pretty good. Eagles set a high standard of digging on the first day, which was well kept up by the rest, especially Pigeons. Al l we r e good at wo o d , Pi g e o ns t h is t im e t he l e as t s o. Cu c k o o s a r e remembered specially for a hard bit of water-carrying done without a grumble. The tooltent was tidier than for years, and you could find what you wanted first shot every time; chief credit to Fields S. No tools were lost, and we actually found the hacker missing two years ago; it was no longer as good as it had been, and we thought of sending it as a birthday-present to Ridley or Johnson A., since one of them probably had it last. Even allowing for Mrs. Griffith's organisation beforehand, Elt did a marvellous job with the food; he knew where everything was and how much he had left, and there was very little waste — except for t ha t s a u s a ge y ou d r o p p e d i n t h e f i r e , y o u n i t . A l l t h e c o o k i n g w a s reasonably good, some very good, though the meals often took too long b e c a u s e o f b a d o rga ni s a t i o n i n t he ki t c he n. Wa s hi n g u p wa s g o o d , swilling rather poor, again mainly because P/Ls did not oversee and ins pect. No o ne did an ythi ng all th at sill y in free time or in deali ng with wet weather; and bathing was happy and sensible, even if for some people the sensible thing was to spend seven minutes getting in, thirty seconds swimming, and thirty seconds getting out. Yes, there was much that was good; and it was interesting to note the scorn that was inspired in the troop as a whole by the camping methods of Miss Meadows en' de gals' on the other side of the river. True to the Uncle Remus tradition, they 'sot up a monst'us gigglement' at every opportunity, and in spite of camp beds, gas stoves, and other luxuries they just disappeared whenever it rained. To — er, well, those two boys, they were of course just an opportunity for a little bird-watching; but to the rest they were an object of pitying horror. You could see boys thinking, "Golly! At least we don't camp like that". They did us a good turn by increasing our pride in our way of doing things. The historian is now licking his lips, pen etc. in readiness for a bit of out-and-out praise, however jealous it may make the others. Slowly but surely Peckers became the exception to nearly all the criticisms that have been made above, pulling out ahead of the

others and staying there. Look at their tent-extension for instance; they seem to have only half as many boots, towels, raincoats, and so on as the others. They have just as many really, but everything is neat and in a place of its own; and as a re sult life is s o muc h ea sier, a nd McCull oc h ca n fi nd his hat at once, instead of having to dig like Smuggler at a rabbit hole, sending other people's clobber flying in all directions. Or come to the kitchens when they are cooks. Again it looks so empty somehow, because everything not in use is put away or stacked at once; and the 'cows' and the sugar are already on the table, and the washing-up water is waiting in advance; and everyone knows what to do without panicstricken last minute shouts. No wonder the boss chose their cooking-day to oversleep; they were called fifteen minutes late, and we finished breakfast five minutes early. Weather was a mixture. Three all-important bits were fine — the first day, the parents' visit, and the last morning — and we are thankful for that. One other morning was sunny, but the rest was mostly grey and w i n d y, o r d r i z z l i n g ; a n d t h e t w o r e a l d o w n p o u r s c a m e a t t he m os t difficult time, when we were lighting the fires and cooking breakfast. Still, we di d light them and we did cook it, an d no bo dy s eeme d too depressed to eat it either; and when all's said and done the basic level of skill and disciplines was good enough to ensure that we were never in the least danger of being defeated by the weather. 11

The short hike was a great success; the course was covered in good time and the leadership in this case was better than usual, there being very little straggling. The long hike, was scuppered by the weather. It looked as if we couldn't go at all, and when we decided to risk it the late start made a really long walk impossible; but both parties made the best of it, and the Severn Arms tea, however uncomfortable its effects later, was a sumptuous affair at the time. Mr. Elt agai n very kindly bore t he b ru nt of our tra nsp ort to a nd from camp, helped this time by Mr. Tyler; and you ought to remember that it is pretty difficult for Mr. Griffith to fit in his journeys too. Another debt you owe is to Hugo Tuthill, latest in the line of past patrolleaders wh o h a ve gi ve n t he i r t i m e t o h e l p u s ; h e w a s a l wa y s g l o o m y a n d unhelpful and lazy, of course, but — what? Oh well, perhaps you're right. Lot s m ore t hi ngs ought to be de sc r i b e d i n d e ta i l b u t t h er e is n 't room. Visitors' Day: a good church service, though I bet you've already f o rg o t t e n w h a t C e f n L l y s m e a n s , a n d i t w a s a g o o d j o b t h e p s a l m didn't say it was clean knees that go with a pure heart; and tea served in record time to parents, none of whom complained of sons looking under-fed or homesick. The visit of Stuart Hardy and his pal, who set such a good example of early rising, being nearly always up by lunch-t ime. Fishing in free time: no marked increase in food supplies, though F i e l d s c a u g h t a d a c e a n d a h u n d r e d a n d t h i r t y o n e t r e e s a n d s o m e electricity wires, nylon apparently being a non-conductor. Several photographs we should like to have: Lead N., a scarecrow with goggles; two bits of string round the ankles, which were Masters' idea of garters; an enormous raincoat and sou-wester apparently moving about the camp on their own, Tudge being an invisible engine inside. And a tape-recording (wah! wah! wah!) of Fields A. explaining why he couldn't do what Fields S. said. And so on; you could write a book. On to the final hours and the assault of the Germ; midnight stillness punctuated by the grisly sound of boy after boy depositing the day's food on the grass outside the tent — mostly very neatly done, too; the morning, blessedly sunny, with the casualties sprawled listlessly about till they could struggle up the , hill to the transport, while the survivors tackled the whole job of striking camp and packing up with only half the proper number of hands for the task. Which leads to a final bit of praise. It is in a crisis, when things are tough, that you can judge boys' quality. The ones out of action gave no trouble and didn't grumble, and the dauntless ten who remained toiled and sweated magnificently, so that we were a c t ua l l y

r e a dy be f or e ti me .. It wa s a nobl e j o b; a n d i n s p it e of th e scrappy ending, the impression grows that it was a good Camp, with t h e Tr o o p ( s t o m a c h s a p a r t ) a b e t t e r o n e w he n i t c a m e a w a y t ha n i t was when it arrived.

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