Man of the Match

What a splendid surprise to be given an envelope yesterday with a note from Nick Courtney (M 1960). Robin Bishop (Staff 1985 -) (General Secretary) passed it, still sealed and with the contents a mystery, to John Palmer (E 1962) (Chairman of the Trustees) with the instruction to shake my hand and offer congratulations. John did so, both he and I mystified. When I opened the envelope there was a note and a medal, announcing that the Haileybury Veterans' Rifle Club have made me Man of the Match for the shooting at Bisley in July.

Thank you Nick - I am not sure I have ever been Man of the Match for anything before, and I am honoured and chuffed. Everyone else shot straighter than I did, but it was great fun to be included. Thanks also to Humphrey Nye (Staff 1961 - 1994) who guided me to Bisley and showed me round.

There are some pictures of the day here, and in the Haileybury Society News 2011, my copy of which arrived today.

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.

A lovely email from John Homan (ISC E 1941 & K) and Past President (1995 - 1996) who has found the blog. John writes:

I was particularly surprised and pleased when you posted so much about the Imperial Service College. It was well timed to put this on record while still a few of us OISCs are about and able to get nostalgic about 'The Coll'.

    I was at Windsor for just two terms before the two schools amalgamated at Haileybury, so I have little that I can add to your Blog accounts. I will try shortly to put together and post a few personal recollections but for the moment I just want to write that I found the description of the demolition of the school buildings and re-development of the site very sad but enlightening. [That of course is not my work, but from a Windsor Historical Society website -  L] Almost total obliteration, just one building remaining, Camperdown House, and that of no architectural distinction! Visiting the site about ten years ago after a long gap I found it quite unrecognisable and could not even work out where the old buildings had stood. Was it not a shame that, presumably to balance the books in 1942, the whole site had to be sold at its wartime value. That was a small fraction of what could have been achieved if delay had been possible. The sale of the much smaller Clewer Manor site when the Junior School moved to join up with Lambrook showed this and, I believe produced a more substantial, if belated, dowry for the 1942 amalgamation.

   

Indeed the 'dowry' from the amalgamation helped to pay for the building of the new Houses required when the school went co-educational. Lawrence, which recievd the boys from the ISC House of the same name, and Kipling, John's Haileybury House, once Le Bas, but renamed for Rudyard Kipling (USC 1878) remained in their original Haileybury buildings. Melvill and Edmonstone moved to new sites.

Former members of Kipling may like to visit the House Website here. I pinched from it the 1942 - 2011 house photo montage at the top of this post.

Boxes Trunks and Packages

We are in the throes of moving to our new house. This is why blogging has not been happening. As yet we have no phone and no internet and everything seems to be hidden behind and in pikes of cardboard boxes. In the days when I packed up all my chattels at the end of each year to move to a new study it seemed a lot in that it filled the boot of the car. Now it has been a huge organisation. We will all be glad when everything is straight. Please bear with me. Normal service will be resumed soon.

The answer to the New Guvs' Test question was, of course, that there are no tiles on the food of Edmonstone because Lawrence is on top. In these more expansive days Edmonstond has a fine new building with many tiles on the roof. Lawrence still has the same number of tiles on it's roof but hiw many that is I do not know as that question was not on the test.

Lift Up Your Hearts

The Dean of Coventry Cathedral is John Irvine (E 1962). The Cathedral is famous for its work if reconciliation. Just as Haileybury will celebrate 150 years in 2012, so in the same year the new Coventry Cathedral will celebrate its Golden Jubilee.

The Dean writes on the cathedral website:

To walk from the ruins of the old Cathedral into the splendour of the new is to walk from Good Friday to Easter, from the ravages of human self-destruction to the glorious hope of resurrection. Your heart is lifted, your spirit is renewed and you feel that there is hope for the world. Thanks to God's mercy, reconciliation is possible.


There is a virtual tour of the Cathedral here. 

Ties

The obituary of HH Maharaja Sriraj of Dhrangadhara (E 1936.3) mentioned that he took a great interest in the design of club ties. On the General Committee of the Society recently we have been discussing the design of a tie which would be suitable to wear to meetings in the modern business world. Personally, as I said when accepting the nomination as President Elect at the AGM last year, I don't get to wear ties as much as I used to. So I have been glad of the advent of the socks. Nevertheless ties are a great thing, and I guess His Highness would have been one of those who delight in the fact that there are so many variants of the "OH" tie. Town and country and crest; Oxford and Cambridge; shooting and rugby and golf, and of course  the Society tie with the winged hearts and crossed swords and anchors. I expect I have missed some, and I have noted the increasing tendency to House loyalty with members wearing their House Society ties.

Ties from the Bear Pub in Oxford. There is an OH tie in the top row, 6th from the left

The Maharaja is not wearing a tie in the picture that went with the obituary but don't let that stop you reading the life of an extraordinary man whose birth was celebrated by "the beating of war drums and the release of all Dhrangadhara-Halvad's prisoners, and towards the end of his life designed Indian tartan on a computer. 

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.