Tromp l'oeil

Being the father of sons one tries to make history interesting and the anecdote of Lord Anglesey (Then still Lord Uxbridge) at Waterloo fits the bill. As the last shots of the battle were fired a stray shot smashed his leg. Turning to Wellington who was just next to him he commented with immense sang froid, "By God sir, I've lost my leg," to which the Iron Duke replied, 'By God sir, so you have." There is a story that he went on the anniversary of the battle to dine with his sons at the table on which the amputation was performed. 

He had the first fully articulate wooden leg made and would walk eight miles a day on it round his estate at Plas Newydd on Anglesy.

So on holiday we went to visit Lord Anglsey's wooden leg. The gracious House at Pals Newydd is in the care of the National Trust. One of its glories is the dining room, decorated with a superb and enormous tromp l'oeil mural by Rex Whistler (Hi 1919). In an adjoining room there is a small Whistler Museum featuring a number of his sketches, letters and designs for stage sets. There is a page of characatures similar to those he made of Haileybury beaks which you can see in Imogen Thomas's Haileybury 1806 - 1987.

Whistler's time at Prep school is mentioned and his training at the Slade, but not Haileybury. 

Haileybury and Hogwarts 2

I said there was more to the link between Haileybury and Hogwarts and there is.

When CC Farr founded Haileybury on the shores of lake Temiskaming he named the newspaper The Haileyburian and took the motto 'Sursum Corda.' For some reason the town seems to translate this 'be of good courage.'

Originally the Town's logo was the familiar Hearts and Wings, and Imogen Thomas tells us that the hockey team played in Black and Red for Trevelyan.

The strip for Rowling's imaginary Haileybury Hammers Quidditch Team is not described. The similarity between a winged heart and Golden Snitch is noteworthy.

Now I am aware that by now those who have not read Harry Potter may be utterly lost, so here is an explanation of Quidditch. (You may need to skip the advert.)  Keep the similarity between the snitch and the winged heart in mind, and I will post some more on this another day to draw all these strands together.

Motto?

I have had an email from Peter Fowkes (H 1957), Father of Chris (H 1987) and Pen (H & Alb 1988) and uncle of George (H 1982) asking whether Thomason has a House Motto.

He writes

I looked up the blog trying to find Thomason’s motto; Helen Tranter [Director of Development] provided me with Edmonstone’s (Nil nisi bonum) – odd as it usually applied to the dead (de mortuis) - but no one can provide Thomason – not even Bob Eastwood (Th 1957) who is coming to a reunion (which is why I want the motto). Can you help?

 

In similar vein, does Hailey have a new and more ladylike motto? Quid fortius leone (what is braver than a lion?) was fine when we were a bunch of thugs;  we won the boxing cup almost every year between about 1956 and 1962, partly by entering 9/10^th of the House, and Cock House rugger I think four times between 1954 and 1961, though we drew with Allenby after extra time in 1961.

 

I do have one other claim – the XXX in 1961 not only won all its matches, but did not have its line crossed. I wonder if any other side can match that! Again we were more a bunch of thugs than skilled players – our impressively large outsides came right up at every lineout – if we won the ball I, as scrum half, kicked it further up the line or gave it to the fly-half to do the same. The rules did not prevent this gaining ground in those days. If the other side won the ball our outsides tackled them very hard, so they knocked on and we had the scrum – which we almost certainly won as our pack weighed a ton!

 

I wasn’t the second best fly half – the younger Sibcy (E 1958) was – but Basil Edwards (bless him) (Staff 1955 - 1972) wanted a thug who could kick with both feet.  Sibcy was a very elegant boxer; I don’t know how good his chin was as he was almost impossible to hit – I never succeeded! As to kicking with both feet, “Killer” Cook insisted we practice with the “wrong” foot, which improved the “right” foot as well. As a former All Black we respected his opinion; his walking stick on the field was much respected too!

 

Imogen Thomas says in Haileybury 1806 - 1987 that the badges were adopted in 1868 to identify teams on the football field. She says that the origin of all the badges is not known, and Thomason is among those. It appears without a motto. Neither Lawrence nor Highfield have a motto.

Royal Couple

Congratulations to the Royal couple. The re-use of the engagement ring recalls another jewel. When the Duke and Duchess of York opened the Hall in 1932 they had been married for nine years. Imogen Thomas relates that the key which the Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) used to open the hall for the first time had a decorated fob designed to be removed and worn as a brooch. I wonder what happened to it. 

The Duke and Duchess of York with the Master & Mrs Talbot

VJ Day

Menu Card for the 1945 OH Dinner at Changi

The sixty fifth anniversary of the end of the war in the Far East us being marked today with what may be the last formal reunions of the so - called "Forgotten Army." Andrew Hambing in his Haileybury in Two World Wars records that William Marley (LeBas 1924) was a liaison officer with General McArthur and was present on the USS Missouri when the surrender was signed. As the POWs began to be able to send news and to return home harrowing stories came to light. There were also some lighter memories. In the midst of the suffering in the notorious Changi Goal Haileyburians from Hertfordshire and from Australia has saved and scraped together rations to hold dinners of the Haileybury Society. Imogen Thomas gives the details in her Haileybury 1806 - 1987. On 21st March 1943 Privates RWL McCall (M 1928), ADA Mosley (he seems not to be in the Haileybury Register) and AS Cassells (Ha 1929), Sgt RH Wade (Ha 1918) had dined on salt fish, rice, bananas and tea. On 18th August 1945 Maj FAH Magee (L 1917) , Capt JC De La Mare (M 1921), Maj J Radford (Tr 1921) and LT Cdr VCF Clark (M 1922) of England, dined with Lt JW Huddlestone and LT WE Smith of Haileybury Australia. Hambling tells us they dined on native beans and dripping. Of these McCall, Wade, Magee, De La Mare, Radford and Clark survived the war. Cassels died at Kuching PoW camp Borneo in July 1945.

Changi by Ronald Searle who was a prisoner there