NEWSLETTER MARCH 2007

An Adobe PDF verion of this newsletter is available here.

ANNUAL MAGAZINE

The annual magazine or letters for members of the OW Club were posted in January with articles and news of OWs. If you are not a member of the Club, and would like to become one, either complete the application form to be found on the website, (please click here), or contact me and ask me to send you one. You will then be able to receive this year’s magazine. Life Membership for £30 must be regarded as very good value! In recent weeks we have had quite a few OWs joining us.

SOME REMINDERS!

The Annual Dinner will take place on Saturday April 28th in the Queen's Hall. There will be opportunities for OWs to have a tour of the buildings before the Dinner, attend the Annual General Meeting, and hear a report on how the School is doing. Do contact your OW friends, and come with them to the Dinner! The Guest of Honour at this year’s Dinner will be John Roebuck. Since 1970 John has taught History at the RGS and been Head of the History Department since 1991. He introduced fencing to the RGS, and twenty of his fencers have represented England, Wales, or Great Britain. He has organised History trips, helped to initiate the American Exchange, ran cross-country, and participated in the Staff Revue. So if you were one of his history or fencing students, you may want to come to the Dinner with your OW friends, to say farewell to him. Please click here for the Application Form for the Dinner, or email ianrclarkuk@yahoo.co.uk.

SPORTS REUNIONS

If you are a hockey player, David Stone is organising a hockey match for Old Boys (OWs) on Saturday April 28nd. If you were a fencer at school, it is hoped that there will be the opportunity of taking part in a fencing match for OWs on the same day. If you used to shoot as part of the CCF programme, there is an OW match against the present school team scheduled again for April 28nd. All these activities will take place in the afternoon and in the evening is the Annual OW Dinner. Please let me know ianrclarkuk@yahoo.co.uk

Jerry Cook died on New Year’s Day, and a large number attended his funeral. Peter Toller, OW and RGS teacher, conducted the funeral. Below are some extracts from his talk:

“His two main circles of friends came from the Royal Grammar School and Wycombe Rugby Club. His long association with RGS, began when his father Austin was headhunted for a new job and the family moved from Hull down to Naphill. Jerry started at RGS as a student under headmaster Malcolm Smith. The school was later fortunate enough to benefit from his service as a governor, from 1993 to 2003. The friendships Jerry made through RGS were very precious to him.

I got to know Jerry through living in the boarding house with Steve and Pippa Gamester. The shining example of their friendship with Jerry was one that I will not forget. And it was at a ‘Rest in Peace’ dinner party, organised by Pippa a couple of years ago, when Jerry scribbled down the eclectic mix of music he wanted played at his funeral. In keeping with his wishes, we’re hearing three of those pieces today. At the age of twenty-five, as a powerful forward, Jerry became vice-captain of the 1st XV of Wycombe Rugby Club and three years later became captain. He went on to become chairman and then a life vice-president. But again it was the friendships Jerry made at the club, which made it so special to him.

He went straight from school into full time employment with a certain Allan Janes solicitors. Little did he know at the time, that he would spend the rest of his career, working for this fine company, eventually becoming a partner and head of their private client department. Jerry gave 35 years service to the company that rewarded him well in return.

We shall remember too Jerry’s love of birds and wildlife in general. His passion for bird watching began at an early age and lasted throughout his life. He was recently described as a “Globe-trotting ornithologist”. For those of you who weren't sure, that's the reason for the tripod in front of us and the fact that Jerry is today dressed in his bird-watching outfit - another of his requests from the ‘Rest in Peace’ dinner party.

Whether you knew Jerry well or not so well, you couldn't help but be drawn to his warm personality, his sharp wit and his unconditional acceptance of you whoever you were. We all have our own special memories of him, but I hope I've been able to give you a brief review of the life of our friend Jeremy Cook.”

SAD NEWS

It is very sad to record the recent death of Matthew Mawhood, who was at the RGS in 1992-1992. We extend our deepest sympathy to his parents, his brothers Andrew and Patrick who were also at the RGS, and his friends.

We have heard too of the deaths of D.A.H Bourke (1935-1940), and Ewart Joy, (1946-1947).

The boarders had the school grounds to themselves on Thursday. They wasted no time in collecting a few tons of snow to construct a 12 foot snowperson.

Ed: What are your memories of the RGS when it snowed?

LETTERS/EMAILS TO THE EDITOR

Re the article by Andrew MacTavish on "149", and Mr TV Sheppard. I still remember with shame the time that either the Boss or Sam came into our Geography lesson and told us of Tusk's hard time in the war and that we really should not tease him so much. His lessons were often pandemonium - that's probably when I was in VUs in 1960. “Tell us about 149, Sir" - I remember it quite clearly! As for Andrew MacT, please ask him if he can he remember the time when we were lucky to get away with our lives on Salisbury Plain when he took a few of us in the CCF to see a gunnery demo with the Royal Bucks Yeomanry in about 1963. A smoke shell was incorrectly loaded and it came down short of its target quite near us... if it had been high explosive ...??!!!

Happy days

Andrew Dixon.

Dear Ian,

'MacT' (Andrew MacTavish) encapsulated the phenomenon of 149 in the latest newsletter with his customary brilliance. There is little to add except that the magic number was still causing hilarity amongst small boys to the very end of the 1960s. It is worth emphasizing that it was only regarded as truly risible when pronounced 'one-four-nine'. For some reason 'a hundred and forty nine' failed to tickle the RGS funny bone to the same degree.

It was interesting to hear MacT's different versions of the 149 story. By 1963, the handed-down story of 149 had become set in stone as follows. 'TUS 149', we were informed by the 'three-bugs', was the number plate of some ancient car formerly owned by Mr T.V. Sheppard (detention for MacT for misspelling his name). But, even as a 10-year-old, I'm not sure I believed a word of it.

It should be added that 'TUS' (derived from Mr Sheppard's initials TVS as if they were Latin capital letters) was far more than just a master's nickname. Like its numeric equivalent 149, 'tus' was a dangerous explosive, possessing sufficient comic force to disrupt the lessons of all but the most stern members of staff. When the school choir was rehearsing a performance of Verdi's Requiem, certain singers would try to emphasize the -tus adjectival endings (e.g. Sanctus) for comic effect. Choir master Derek Watmough showed us how to pronounce and sing the word 'Sanctus' properly. Hearing a few muffled titters as some of us deliberately failed to reproduce his desired pronunciation, he interrupted us with 'No - not TUS - TOOSE!' to gales of uproarious merriment. But it was quite evident from the wicked grin on his face that he was in on the joke.

Another example of tus-mania occurred regularly during Christmastime assemblies when an oft- repeated line in 'O Come All Ye Faithful' would be rendered as 'O Come Le... TUS... adore him' with heavy emphasis on the beloved monosyllable.

Regards

John Saunders (1963-70)

Hi, Ian

149 was certainly associated with T V Shepherd in the 60s. It was universal as was T V Shepherd's popularity. I was at the last assembly of term when it was announced that he was retiring. The cheers for this man raised the roof, not because he was retiring but in appreciation of him. He stood on the stage and a tear ran down his cheek. What greater accolade for a life time of teaching than 1,100 boys cheering for you.

I was luck enough to be at the school in the days of many of its characters. Sam Morgan was another. My first encounter with him was on the Saturday before joining the school, when we attended with our parents (1962). Afterwards as we were leaving a car was also leaving the school premises and my mother ran to get out of the way. Sam rolled down his window and said "Don't worry, we don't run over parents- only the boys".

And then there was Bulldog (Wally Clark). He was not everybody's cup of tea, but was a man I liked and admired. If you were good at maths he would treat you right. Once a year he would disappear into the small room at the front of his class (little more than a storeroom) for a week or so and work out the timetable for the next year.

David Moore.

Hello Ian

I greatly enjoyed the most recent Newsletter. Several items brought back vivid memories.

Andrew MacTavish’s reminiscences of “149” are absolutely right. I clearly remember the 149 virus and the efforts to manipulate Mr. Tucker into speaking that magic number at assembly. Roy Gravestock (1957 - ?) and I actually wrote to the Goon Show asking for a mention of the “Tuss Bus, no. 149”. The comment was indeed inserted into a script and spoken by Eccles, to our great delight. I also briefly went out with a young lady from Hazlemere – our relationship was doomed the moment my friends discovered she lived at no. 149.

Speaking of T.V. Shepherd, I recall that he was savagely ragged by the boys of my era who, to our shame, found it entertaining to provoke him into fearsome rages. OWs from that time may also remember the “extra-special anti-cheating tests” he gave at the end of each school year.

Last week I was at a Global Strategy Meeting of my company in Pune, India . Other OWs in the corporate world are sure to have attended many similar grim events – in this case, I was delighted to discover that a colleague, Nick Sale, was at School from 1978 – 1984. Nick now has a senior role in European marketing for our subsidiary company, INCAT.

 As I’ve mentioned to you previously, Chris Sweeting and I are very keen to organize a celebration next year of the 50th anniversary of our entering School – I’d love to hear from anyone else who started their life at RGS in 1958, in the Nissen Huts of Uplyme, under the tender care of Mr Hollingsworth. My e-mail ID is william.laws@tatatechnologies.com

Best wishes

William Laws

Just flicking through the Old boys website over lunch, I was saddened to read of the death of Gospodin (Mr) Perfect. He was my Russian teacher for 6 years through O and A level from '68 to '74. A little personal tribute is given below.

 Best regards

Nicholas Berendt

Some Personal Memories of John Perfect

John Perfect was my Russian teacher for 6 years from 1968 to 1974. He took me through ‘O’ level and on to the heady heights of ‘A’ level – where I was the only pupil! Can you imagine a double period of Russian (or any other topic) on a 1 to 1 basis?! I can still see the scene now – head bowed down into my book, elbows on the desk and hands firmly clamped on either side of my head, shielding my eyes and trying desperately to keep awake!!

Mr, or Gospodin in Russian, Perfect was always the perfect gentlemen. I never saw him riled, even when in younger years certain “stunts” were pulled. On one occasion, we decided to have a race from the front to the back of the classroom. Each time he turned to write on the board, members of the class would drop back one desk. I forget who won but he ignored us till all safely at the back of the room and then asked if we would be good enough to move to the front again. No screaming or shouting and we complied meekly enough.

Another time, we nearly created a diplomatic incident which he had to sort out. In 5th (O level) year, it was arranged for us to go to Wycombe High to watch Battleship Potemkin or a similar Russian language film with the girls there. The route on foot was down Amersham Hill, through the town centre and up Marlow Hill. Bearing in mind that John had a raised sole on one of shoes, (I never knew the extent of his disability) this was probably plenty of walking for him.

As we descended Amersham Hill, one of our number, Carl L produced a Russian flag and stick and we started to walk towards the town centre parading behind the Soviet flag – remember this is 1972 and the Cold War. Half way up Marlow Hill, we became aware of a man chasing up the hill on foot after us and remonstrating that we were not allowed to fly “that flag”. Mr Perfect, polite as ever, explained who we were and where we going but the complainant was having none of it. He insisted John go back down into the town centre to the Police Station where this person wished to register a complaint.

We were left to complete the climb to the girls’ school and watch the film. Half-way through, Mr Perfect arrived, having gone to the station and then climbed Marlow Hill for a second time. The Police had informed the other gentleman that we had a perfect right to fly the Russian flag. I don’t recollect him saying a word to us about the events of that afternoon, although I think 1 or 2 people were spoken to. To me, his actions fitted perfectly with this quietly spoken man who, in reality, I never knew much about.

Working for a Global company, I still use some of that Russian today although I never shone in the language, so Spasibo, Mr Perfect.

 Thank you.

Nicholas Berendt 1967-74

Dear Ian,

I was sorry to hear of his recent death. He was the form master of 2b in my first year at the RGS. This was in 1957 and I can still recall him quite clearly. One story about him which may have become lost down the years and which I think worth repeating is of him becoming the School's first media star. John returned to the UK following a visit to the USSR. This would have been around 1957 - 1958, a time when the Cold War was at its height. He was interviewed 'live' on the BBC in their early evening news programme. This caused quite a stir amongst the lower forms, but John Perfect survived not only this brush with celebrity but also much frenzied speculation amongst the fags as to exactly which side he spied for.

Bob Barlow.

DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS TEACHER?

My website www.rgs.tonyhare.co.uk continues to grow with further inputs from "boys" as far apart as Canada and New Zealand. I frequently get requests from relatives of boys or Masters and recently, with the help of a few recent contributors, was able to help Ruth, the daughter of Alan Coventry find a photo of her late father. (His photograph appears above.) Alan was an old boy at the school who returned as a Master in 1949 until his untimely death in 1954.

 Ruth wrote:

Hello Tony,

Yes, that was my Dad, all 18stone of him, probably one of the reasons he died at the age of 39, even though he played Rugby and cricket for RGS, and cricket for Stokenchurch and Ibstone. He died of a brain haemorrhage in the August of 1954.

Thank you for your e-mail of him. He resembles my son so much, so part of him lives on.

Best wishes from Ruth.

Ruth says that her father had the nickname "Killer" and wonders how this came about as he certainly didn't deserve it. Checking with some of his contemporaries fails to confirm this nickname, rather that he was known as "Curly", probably due to his deficiency in the hair department! When I asked Ruth if she would give permission for all this to be published, she replied as follows:

Hello Tony,

Only too pleased for you to mention my father and put a picture in if you can.

I have browsed through lots of the old photos and seen lots of masters who I knew when they played cricket for Bledlow village, as my husband and family lived there for 7 years running the club, and very pleasant times they were too. I shall be interested to read your article. As far as I know my Dad taught Maths and English also a very keen cricketer and rugby player. Perhaps we may learn a bit more about him from readers although it is such a long time ago. He would have been 91 had he lived.

Thanks for your interest,

Ruth.

My collection of Grey Books covering the 50's is nearing completion with the addition of the 1953 going on any day now. The Gilbert & Sullivan opera programme collection is also almost complete I think, though I still haven't discovered the reason the 1948 performance of The Gondoliers was postponed till the spring of '49. Can anyone shed any light on the anomaly? I would love to get sight of the Programme for the very first G&S opera, Pirates of Penzance in 1947.

If anyone can help with this I would be quite pleased. Emails to rgs@tonyhare.co.uk

Tony Hare (1951 - 1956)

Hi Ian

I recognize Peter Carpenter (bottom left) in the basketball team photo shown in the January newsletter. I believe he is in the old boys list. I recognize several others but no names sadly.

Best regards,

Neale Minch

Ian

Re a photograph in a recent newsletter:

This was the VIII I captained in 1966. Front row. Chris Andrew, David Hedgeland, Bill Seymour and Ian Fox.

Back row. XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, Julian Killingley, Ian Firth.

I know you are in touch with Chris and David. I'm sure their memory will supply the other three members. Hope to see you and them on April 28th.

Regards

Bill Seymour

Photographs from the past

Ed: Many thanks to Michael George for sending these in. Do you recognise anyone, and can you guess the year?

Dear Ian,

My contemporary at the RGS was Eric Macfarlane who subsequently went into education and became head of one of the first and largest 6th form college, Queen Mary's at Basingstoke.

He may have told you about the book he has written, which has quite a bit about his experiences at the RGS which, in those days, was very different from how it is today. The world too was different, apart from schools and teaching methods. It should be interesting to those who knew the school in those days, and his subsequent story of his career in education should appeal to those particularly who share his views on the shortcomings in the traditional education system.

Eric hasn't asked me to publicize the book but I have told a few people who may be interested. The book is very well written, and I enjoyed it a lot, particularly as we grew up in the same village, played sport together, as well as attending school at the same time. Eric has written learned books on education before, but this is different, and well worth a read, particularly for those in education. These are Internet links to it:-

http://www.penpress.net/biography10.htm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Maverick-Eric-Macfarlan/dp/1905621647

David Wiltshire.

Dear Mr Clark

For some time now I have been logging onto the Old Boys’ pages in the vain hope that some of my old school pals will have left their contact details.

As yet, the 3 school pals I would dearly love to contact have never left their details and I was wondering whether you could help?

Is it possible that you have on your records the old grey book contact details for Barry Edwards, Peter Stuart or Richard Hoskins - they all left in 1988.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Kind regards

Neil Cook

Ed: Any information to me please.

School Production of ‘Anything Goes’ last week (14-17 March 2007)

The RGS-WHS production of Cole Porter's Anything Goes played to enthusiastic audiences in the Queens' Hall.

The large cast, orchestra and lighting & sound team, put on 4 shows. Directed by Ian Cornish, who was supported by a host of choreographers and a large support team, the show was a great success.

Ed: Did you ever act in a musical when you were at school? Please let me know.

David Stone writes

Stuart Penman (ex. R.G.S. and H.W.H.C.) has again been selected for Cambridge Univ. in the annual Varsity Match v. Oxford at Southgate H.C. on Tues. 6th March. With 4 games left, Cambridge is top of the East Premier League and is hoping to make it back into the National League.

Stuart played for the Bucks U21 team, which were Nat. Champions in 2004.

Also playing in that Bucks team was Seb Malti who has been scoring Nat League goals for Belper this season while still at Nottingham Uni.

Duncan Parnis (the current H.W.H.C. Player Coach) and Sam Roberts (who has just moved back into the area and rejoined H.W. after Christmas) were also in the same Bucks squad although Sam was not available for the finals.

All 4 players above played for South U 21's, HWHC and RGS.

NEXT NEWSLETTER

This will be published on May 7th. Please send in your contribution, your memories, and your photographs to me, Ian Clark ianrclarkuk@yahoo.co.uk.

Ian edits the Newsletter, Judy De Gelas embellishes it and Martin Berry ensures that it appears on the website.