Donald Innes

April 7th 1921

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With term ending after Easter this year, we are only now assembling material for this term’s edition of ‘The Draconian.’  Here is a flavour – starting with matters medical.

Two of the Public Schools closed early because of the ‘flu’ and at least one other has had a serious bout of it. Joc Lynam [Hum’s son] fell a victim early in the term and, after apparent recovery, suddenly developed pneumonia and pleurisy. He gave us rather an anxious time… He is now going satisfactorily and will, we hope, be back at Rugby for the greater part of next term.

We have had extraordinarily little illness for an Easter Term. A few cases of mild jaundice, but no epidemic of any sort. Nearly all the boarders were inoculated against influenza, which fact may have contributed to our clean bill of health.

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Mary Campbell, currently at the Oxford Girls’ High School (and as head girl presented a bouquet to the Queen earlier this term) has been elected to a Mathematical Exhibition at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

Donald Innes has been appointed Professor of Geology at St Andrew’s University.

Sir William Max Muller CB MVO has been appointed Minister at Warsaw, capital of the newly constituted Polish Republic. He was one the very first 14 boys when the OPS opened in 1877 and has had a notable career as a diplomat. As our Consul-General in Budapest in 1914, he was in close contact with the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, in the weeks leading up to the declaration of war.

Bernard Grindle (who joined the Civil Service in 1903) has had the Cross of Officer of the Legion of Honour conferred on him by the President of the French Republic for valuable services rendered during the war.

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We are grateful to those who kindly came to talk at our Sunday services this term:

Jan 23rd: Mr EC Carter of the American YMCA preached on the ‘Black and White Problem’ – ‘We are all one colour inside!’

Jan 30th: Rev ES Woods of Cambridge on ‘A Personal Knowledge of God’ – ‘Live by the standard of Christ.’

Feb 6th: Maurice Jacks OD on ‘Citizenship’ – i.e. ‘Peace Patriotism’; ‘The Kingdom of God is the kingdom of men who serve one another.’

Feb 13th: Mr Vassall on ‘Oxford House.’

Feb 20th: Alexander Paterson MC of the Oxford & Bermondsey Clubs.

Feb 27th: Rev Harold Gibson MC on ‘The Christian gentleman must be an honest working man’; ‘Our Father’s business, i.e. the making of this world into the perfect, bright and happy place that He intended it to be.’

Mar 13th: Rev DB Kittermaster of Harrow on ‘To love and to help one another.’

Mar 20th: Jack Gamlen on ‘Talents.’

Mar 27th: This Easter Sunday service was held, by kind permission of he President and Fellows, in Magdalen College Chapel. A large number of parents and friends were present, and a bright and happy service was conducted by Rev. Harold Gibson, who also gave an address.

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Lastly, as ever, the Editor of ‘The Draconian‘ has received a number of letters, including this one from Jack Gamlen:

Dear Editor,

There are now so many ODs in the world that the innovation of an OD tie is, I think, both desirable and necessary. The suggestion is not original, and I am not the most proper person to renew it, but I think that it should be put to ODs before the world is any older. There is time for two or three designs to be prepared before the next OD dinner, when they could be exhibited and voted on. Will you see what can be done?

Yours sincerely,

JCB Gamlen

Mr Vassall invites Old Dragons to submit their opinions and designs.

March 28th 1919

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February 4th 1919 – Admiral Tyrwhitt joins us in a school photograph.

As we come to the end of term, we can look back on the pleasure of meeting up again in peacetime with many of our Old Boys. We were particularly honoured by the visit of Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt (who took the surrender of the German submarines).

It has been an especial pleasure to receive visits from those Old Dragons who contributed letters and articles to the Draconian during the war years. What a rich tapestry they have woven for us:

Roger Mott (writing of his archeological find),  Robin Laffan (on the difficulty of being understood by the Serbs), Walter Moberly (who wrote so movingly on the death of Hugh Sidgwick), Leslie Grundy (one of the first British soldiers to enter Lille last year), Maurice Jacks (who used Shakespeare to defeat the censor), Treffry Thompson (dealing with shirkers on a medical board at Cowley), Jack Gamlen (critic at our Shakespeare plays), Donald Hardman (recent winner of the DFC), Pat Campbell (on his experiences at Ypres), Donald Innes (who gave us the Despatch Riders’ Prayer), Pat Duff (who wrote about the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula), Tyrrell Brooks (who was so supportive of ‘Thomas Atkins’), and Geoffrey Rose (who recorded the battle in which Walter Moberly won his DSO).

How glad we were to see them all back at their old school after such years!

Many have told me that their deepest impression is the revelation of the supreme worth of a British Tommy. This seems to have formed a bond between classes which must in the end wipe out many class distinctions.

August 28th 1918

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In addition to the Military Crosses won recently by Jim MacLean, Pat Campbell and Philip Frere, we must record the honours gained over recent months by eight other Old Dragons.

Bar to DSO

Lt.-Col. JGP Romanes (Royal Scots): “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He commanded his battalion with great skill and courage in a night attack. Under his leadership the battalion captured all its objectives without check, inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, captured over 50 prisoners, and consolidated all the ground won under intense shell fire.” (London Gazette 26/8/18).

DSO

Capt. EH Evans (Royal Welch Fusiliers): “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an attack. He showed great skill in consolidating and organising against counter-attack. He moved about the firing line continuously encouraging the men and organising the defences.” (London Gazette 18/8/18).

Maj. EHW Williams (Hussars): “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led a mounted charge along a hostile line, after the infantry line had broken back, taking the line in flank, and in the face of the heaviest machine-gun fire, he carried out the manoeuvre successfully, sabring nearly 100 of the enemy, and taking 100 prisoners, although his own troop was only 150. His fine action rallied the infantry, who advanced and recovered over 3,000 yards in depth of the whole line.” (London Gazette 26/7/18).

2nd Bar to MC

Capt. CM Hughes Games (Gloucs). “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst in command of the support company of the battalion he displayed wonderful energy and determination in checking the enemy advance, which had broken into our front line. He formed a block and organised its defence with machine-guns until badly wounded by a sniper. His example of courageous coolness was responsible for holding the hostile advance, and gave his battalion time to reorganise and take up a new defensive position.” (London Gazette 18/7/18).

MC

Capt. GC Drinkwater (RFA). (London Gazette 16/1/18).

Capt. RJK Mott (Special List). (London Gazette 3/6/18).

Lieut. DEI Innes (RE). (London Gazette 3/6/18).

Capt. CP Warren (Rifle Brigade). (London Gazette 3/6/18).

May 4th 1915

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A number of Old Dragons are involved in the battle that has been going on in the Ypres area since April 22nd. Donald Innes enlisted immediately at the start of the war as a despatch rider in the Motor Cycle Corps:

Donald Innes

Sgt. D. Innes

May 1st 1915. “On one of my rides I came across Treffry Thompson OD at Hazebrouk; he seemed very fit. Since Ypres is at present the centre of interest, perhaps a short account of it would not be amiss… 

One’s first view of the Cathedral reminds one of Magdalen tower; and the cloisters attached are very like those there also. The town has been smashed up more or less in zones, just short of and just beyond the Cathedral: where the shells fell short or overshot it. I was there the night before the attack on Hill 60, and then the Cloth Hall did not seem so very badly damaged, but of course I don’t know what this other bombardment has done.

The inhabitants seem to take things very philosophically, and one got a limited but quite excellent dinner there in a more or less patched up café. Where the shops are absolutely smashed, the owners sell their goods in the street outside.

With regard to the actual fighting, one sees very little of it and it is just a matter of chance if one happens to be there at the time, the trenches acting as a kind of touch-line inside which we play; so I will leave the description of that to ODs who are in the thick of it. 

I saw a little of Neuve Chapelle, and for an infantry man a modern attack can only be described as ‘Hell let loose.’ I thanked God I was a Despatch Rider. Our troubles are rather neatly put by one of the D.Rs in what he called the D.R’s prayer:-

From holes, shells, and motor ‘bus

Good Lord deliver us.”

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Donald Innes was one of the five Old Dragons to win Oxford hockey blues in 1911. All five of them are now in the Army.

1911 Hockey Blues

Standing: Donald Innes (Sgt. Motor Cycle Corps) and Patrick Duff (2nd Lieut. RFA in Gallipoli)

Sitting: John Brooks (2nd Lieut. Indian Army), Sholto Marcon (2nd Lieut. OBLI), Ronnie Poulton (Lieut. Royal Berks).