Thanksgiving for Rodney

There was a fine Haileybury turn out for the Thanksgiving service for Rodney Galpin (M 1945, President OHS 1987-88) this afternoon. Past Presidents Michael Freegard (BF1947), John Palmer (E 1962)  and Donald McLeod (A 1950) were there, as was Edward Walker-Arnott (B 1952). Jean Ross, Chairman of the Education Committee of Council (and Donald's wife), was also present, as were the General Secretary, Robin Bishop (Staff 1985 - ) and the Assistant General Sceretary, Roger Woodburn (Staff 1978 -). The Rev'd Chris Briggs, (Chaplain 2000-), was with us, together with Paul Wilkinson, the Bursar, Debbie Wright his deputy, and Pauline Cassidy from the Haileybury Society Office. (I hope I have not missed anyone.)

S Peter's Church Knowle 

Edward Walker Arnott and John Palmer both wore the 'town' OH tie which was Rodney's choice. He never, apparently, wore the bright magenta or the Hearts and Wings ties.

It was a fine thanksgiving and the church, of which Rodney had been both churchwarden and treasurer in his time, was packed. The balcony where many of us ended up gave a good view, but while the seats were beautifully designed to kneel to pray, they were a bit cramped for sitting.

Our prayers for Syliva and the family and for all those who mourn Rodney.

Haileybury was mentioned as just one of a great number of Rodney's interests and commitments, but on the back of the service paper were printed the words from The Pilgrim's Progress which are round the dome in Hall:

"My sword I give to him who shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles, who will now be my rewarder." So he passed over, and the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.

Mulberries

Haileybury of course has much longer holidays than the primary schools and tomorrow is the last day of term for them. I have been looking back as I finish tomorrow after nine years as Chair of Governors of the Mulberry Primary School in Tottenham. It is a non-church school in my former parish and I have been a community governor there since 1995. All three of my sons were there before going to Haileybury and my wife teaches there.

The Mulberry serves a wonderful community which has extraordinary challenges. The population mobility is very high and more than a third of the children leave and come each year. About three quarters have English as an Additional Language; over half qualify for free school meals; the 650 pupils speak upwards of 60 languages. Everyone has the experience of being in a minority. At the Year 6 leavers' assembly this morning a child who entered the school just over a year ago with no previous experience of formal education and no English spoke - with good grammar - of his memories. The nationally recognised provision for children on the Autistic Spectrum is also on site. It is a school well below national levels in attainment: but the progress the children make from their starting point is extraordinary, and much better than most schools in the country.

I know it is blue, but Allenby hooded tops are blue! Green and black remain the colours!

My boys have not been the only Haileyburians educated at the Mulberry; an Allenby hoodie was to be seen in the school today as the teenagers come to help out in their old school in the last week of term. There was a chap now at S Edmund's Ware in school yesterday. it is wonderful that the Attlee Fund at Haileybury and similar schemes in other schools helps children from Tottenham to come to Haileybury. if you have contributed thank you for helping our Mulberries and others like them.

Allenby and Tutankhamun

I went searching for a picture of Lord Allenby at the tomb of Tutankahmun. I found one, but it is licensed and the website seemed to want $675 to use it. So I shan't post it, but you can see it here.

Meanwhile here is a picture of Sir Henry McMahon, (Th 1876) High Commissioner of Egypt 1914 - 17 President of the OH Society 1915 - 1919.

Allenby in Egypt

As we watch events unfold in Egypt we remember that two of the British administrators of Egypt were OHs. Sir Henry McMahon (Th 1876) was British High Commissioner in Egypt, 1914 - 1917. (He was at the same time President of the Haileybury Society, for four years 1915 - 1919.) McMahon was succeeded in Egypt a few years later by Field Marshall Allenby (BF 1875).

Lord Allenby with his pet stork in the Residency Garden, Cairo

Allenby arrived in Egypt at a time of seething unrest. He took firm action, though action which was much criticized, for he saw that the disaffection could not simply be defeated and acceded to some of the demands made by the rioters. This was seen as an outrageous climb-down. A Foreign-Office spokesman concluded "thus a fortnight of violence has achieved what four months of persuasion failed to accomplish. The object lesson will not be lost in Egypt and throughout the East." However by the end of his tenure it was said of him (in The Times, July 1925) "His personality alone did much to restore the name and word of an Englishman to the high profile on which they had stood in the East before the war."

Allenby managed to achieve peace of a sort. General Wavell's biography of Allenby sums up his time in Egypt as follows; "In a most difficult period in the  relations between the two countries he upheld essential British interests without causing bitterness; he secured for Egypt independence from a reluctant British government and a liberal constitution from a reactionary monarch [King Fuad]."

We must hope and pray for Egypt (and the Middle East) the establishment in the modern world of a suitably liberal constitution.

Just a final note. Allenby, as High Commissioner was one of the very few present when Howard Carter opened the tomb of Tutankhamun.

"Wear it Out"!

Sir Bartle Frere and Henry Melvill are buried in the crypt of S Paul's cathedral where we gathered last evening following the installation.  There were lots of living Haileyburians as well. The Master; the Chaplain, The Rev'd Chris Briggs; the General Secretary, Robin Bishop; the Chairman of Council, Michael Gatenby (K 1958) were there as well as the two of my sons who are so far Haileyburians, my sister Anne (H & Aby 1984).

James Thomson, the Master of the London Charterhouse & Past President (C 1953) is sadly not in the picture but he was there. He was the originator of the President's medal which he presented to the Society in its 50th year. I slipped it on under my robes, but the magenta ribbon was showing and the Dean asked after it. He siad "Wear it out!" meaning on top of the robes so that it could be seen in church which I duly did. The Bishop was similarly indulgent. 

The Master, by the way, must be getting fed up with me. I went to a parents' meeting on Tuesday and saw him there, he kindly came to the installation yesterday, and tonight he was at the General Committee of the Society which I chaired. More about that meeting tomorrow.

The happy event which I hope to be able to report looks as if it may indeed come to pass, but be patient on that one. 

The Sadness of Winter

Alison Stephens (Aby & Ha 86) died this week. She was an immensely talented mandolin player. Here she is playing a piece called La Tristezza D'Inverno - the Sadness of Winter.

The Evolution of Dormitories 4

The movement over the last twenty years has been to smaller and smaller dormitories for younger pupils and to bed sits for the more senior. The pattern has been to have a 'dormitory' for Removes and Middles and study bedrooms for Vths and above. When the school became co-educational the new Bartle Frere and Edmonstone were set up in this way. Colvin and Melvill meanwhile were equipped with single rooms throughout. Hailey has a dormitory (the old Upper) but the Lower was divided into rooms for four girls each. This is similar to what was done in Allenby when the conversion was made. That pattern has recently been replicated in Trevelyan and Thomason where the Removes and Middles live and work in rooms of four. (Four is a pastorally good number as it reduces the chances of a two on one division happening in a room.)

Meanwhile the new Lower School boys' accommodation in Highfield is in Dormitories of eight.  The Lower School girls' dormitory is in Alban's and while it has great character it is not as swish as the boys' rooms.

Many of the boys' houses have clever bunks in a "T" shape where the top bunk is at right angles to the bottom one and supported at either end by wardrobes.

The Evolution of Dormitories 2

Once the East India College became a school the old single rooms were knocked together to produce the 'long dormitories' which were to be part of Haileybury life from the 1860s to the 1990s. At first each bed was surrounded by a cubicle - 'comparts' as they were known - with high walls.  The hot water of Old Haileybury days was done away with. Dr Bradby, Master from 1868 - 1883, insisted that the wash jugs be filled in the evening to ensure the morning was was always in cold water. It was under Wynne Wilson, Master between 1905 and 1911 that the compart walls were cut down, though in his time curtains were provided around the head of each bed to allow some privacy.

The curtains went in due course, but the old hospital style beds survived until the mid 1980s when new beds were provided with drawers underneath, and the old chests of drawers were removed. In some Houses every other compart wall was removed. The new bed meant that 'lampposting' became impossible as lifting the bed up onto the headboard was now impossible. Maybe this was something only done in Hailey (and Allenby?) as we - being civilized places - had three smaller dormitories rather than one long one. It meant that inter-dormitory raids took place.

Lift up your Hearts!

A Saturday evening thought to take into Sunday.

When Lord Allenby (left) entered Jerusalem on 11th December 1917 he did so on foot. He and the other commanders accompanying him dismounted at the Jaffa Gate and walked to the Citadel. He would not ride a horse into the city his Lord had entered on a donkey.