If this is your first visit to this site you may want to look at the November and December pages.

Many thanks to all those members who have already returned the questionnaire sent to you at the end of November. So much information has come in that it has been impossible to include everything in this edition. A number of you have made suggestions and some of these are given below, together with my response. All ideas will be carefully considered by the committee, and we will keep you posted. Please continue to give me all your news and ideas.

It would very much help if those of you who have not yet completed and returned the questionnaire could do so, so that our records could become really accurate and everybody could receive the annual magazine. Also when you reply, could you please make your e-mail address legible!

Sadly about 250 letters and questionnaires were returned unopened because the OW no longer lived at the address that was in our records. If you did not receive the letter before Christmas, we may not have your correct address. Please contact me. A list of some of the ‘missing’ OWs is given below. If you do change your address, please let me know.

Here are some of the suggestions made:

‘It would be very helpful if the data-base was sorted by date as well as by name’.

(David Horley 57-64)

Editor: ‘Good idea, and we have organised the data-base accordingly’.

‘Why not use the OW web-site to arrange work-experience/shadowing for those currently at the RGS?’

(Nicholas Lunn 93-99 and Antony Morris 69-76)

Editor: ‘The reason that OWs could no longer receive the School magazine was because of the considerable cost of the magazine and postage. The Committee will consider the suggestion.’

‘Could we have news about teachers?’

Editor: ‘Good idea. In each edition we’ll have a section on where the teachers are now. Do let me know if there is any particular teacher you would like to hear about.’

More of your suggestions will be published in the next edition.

PHOTOS

Many thanks to Gordon Dyer who recognised the housemaster of Tylers Wood in the last edition’s photograph. Reg Pattinson ran the RGS CCF for many years and was Deputy Head in the 1970s before very sadly dying on a CCF camp. Do any Tylers Wood boarders recognise themselves or their friends in that photograph?

Many thanks too to David Pratt who recognised some of the Chess players. Anyone else recognise any others?

Below is a photograph of a Physics lab. What was the room used for later, and when was this photograph taken? Answers to me please. If you do have any photographs that you think may be useful for John Mitchell, the RGS Archivist, do bring or send them to him. He would be very pleased to receive them.

Below is a photograph of a group of boys. Do you recognise any of them? What is the group? Boarders? A choir? In which year was the photograph taken? Any information please to me.

Jock Learmonth, Director of Sport in the 1960s and 1970s retired about twenty years ago to his native Scotland. I heard recently that one OW married his daughter. Otherwise no news of him.

Mervyn Davies, Head of German and Careers for many years at the RGS, as well as Housemaster of Uplyme House and Secretary of the OW Club, retired in 1979, and still lives in High Wycombe.

Oliver Rundell, who left the RGS in 2000 went to Peterhouse, Cambridge in Autumn 2001, and has since been awarded a Choral Exhibition. Well done!

Murray Fane (1970-75) sent the following e-mail:

I have been looking through the RGS web site, as I do from time to time, and I suddenly remembered an incident during my O' levels.  I remember sitting the biology O' level in the main hall.  The whole year was involved so there were desks covering the entire floor with boys scribbling away intently in silence.  It was 10 minutes into the exam when the revolution occurred.  I had not been 'in the know', but a plan had been put together to disrupt the session and cause mayhem - right in the middle of the exam at the RGS no less!  Right in the middle of the O' level!

It started with a small section of boys tapping their pencils rapidly and insistently on the desk.  Slowly more and boys joined in the uprising.  I remember sitting bolt upright and looking round in confusion as the noise grew.  Slowly, more and more boys joined in.  It must be 5T I thought to myself - they have always been brave dissidents.  The sound grew louder and louder.  The revolution intensified.  The noise became deafening. Some boys started to smirk, others plainly laughed and smashed their pencils harder and harder, while I just sat there stupefied.  "Why had they not told me?  Who organised this?  Where will it end?"  The savage banging had replaced the silence and was echoing unchallenged throughout the corridors.

(

Suddenly a master shouted out above the din, barely able to be heard.  "Silence" he cried.  Now we were for it.  The taps fell away silent, only to reappear a few moments later, but quietly.  These guys were asking for it, but I had to admire their bravery.

I also had to return to my paper - biology was not my strong subject so I tried to put this all out of my mind and start the next question.  A few minutes later I was on question 2 - about an amoeba.  I started drawing an amoeba as instructed.  "Now to draw the granular surface of the creature", I thought to myself.  I held my pencil and tap, tap, tap, tap.  Doh!

Editor: Anybody remember being there in 1975, or starting the tapping?

Ralph Stockwell sent the following e-mail:

In the 6th form you were allowed to show your superiority by wearing a navy blue blazer. Caps were plain maroon though a prefect without games colours had a gold tassel. Caps for colours were I think 6 sections, maroon, blue and green with a badge for first team colours, without for second team or for half colours where the appropriate sport did not carry full colours.

With the blue blazer and colours there was a special badge with a pale blue background I think and a narrative e.g. RGSRFC or RGSCC.

I also recall that towards the end of my time at RGS caps were abolished for senior boys either all 6th formers or all prefects or perhaps just for colours-memory fails me! Caps were worn on the very back of the head leaving the Tony Curtis "quif" fully exposed.

A relative would like to make contact with Rod Braybrooke who left in 1955.

A friend wants to make contact with Ben Parsons who left in 1999.

Any information on either of the above, please get in contact with me. Many thanks.

Antony Michell would like to make contact with everyone in his 5^th Form in 1981. Please contact him at amichell@netvigator.com.

I had a lovely one hour conversation about the RGS with John Taylor who was at the RGS in 1918. When I have transcribed what is on the tape recording I made with him, I hope to produce a full article which may be in next year’s magazine with extracts on this site.

THE FINAL PICTURE PROBLEM FOR THE MONTH

Which play? Which year? Who’s the main actor?

Have you heard the one about the glider on the School Field in the early 1970s? Full details on this and other matters in six weeks time.