Eggs

March 28th 1918

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With the Easter holidays starting yesterday, it is time to take stock and reflect on the term past.

Since the last edition of the ‘Draconian,’ we have lost two very dear Old Boys: Martin Collier and Cyril Emmett. Three have been wounded, 2 have been made CB, 3 have got the DSO, 3 have had bars to the MC, 6 have won the MC, 1 OBE, 3 special promotions, 2 have been given the Croix de Guerre, 18 Mons Stars have been won and 12 have been mentioned in Despatches.

Capt. Reggie Carr-White (Indian Army) had the honour of introducing to the King two from the parties of Indian officers who visited England from the Western Front. At this investiture were Capt. Geoffrey Rose (OBLI) receiving a bar to his MC and Lieut. Stopford Jacks (RFA) his MC.

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I had great pleasure in handing to Miss Bagguley and Miss Williams each a cheque for £100, and a considerable sum will be paid later on. Miss Bagguley has been a valued member of staff for nearly 30 years, and we are fortunate enough to continue to retain her services. Miss Williams, owing to her brother’s blindness, has to live in London now, after 17 years at the OPS. She is at present at work at the Food Control Office, and made a pretty little speech, promising to do her best for our meat supply!

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I am sorry to say that war economy has compelled me to part with my dear macaws. Their cheerful bray and quaint ‘Form Fours’ and ‘Goodbye’ will no longer drown the voices of Mr Vassall and Miss Beevor, when conducting their attentive classes. I often long to go to Liverpool and buy them back! Polly and Joey I still happily retain to delight my little Lodge tea-parties.

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The Matron tells me that Miss Field has collected from the School more eggs than all the other contributors put together. The total for the last two terms is 1,813, and the grand total 6,749 since Mr Fletcher spoke to us in December 1916.

Colonel Hoare talked to the boys about the War Savings Association, and a sum of about £40 was collected from the boys for “Destroyer Week.”

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The health of our boarders is an important concern for any housemaster and my brother,  Hum Lynam, is providing some interesting “House Notes” for the ‘Draconian’:

“On the whole we have been exceedingly fortunate in the matter of health, though early in the term we had cases of ‘flu’, and soon after half-term we started measles. The latter was limited to seven cases, all quite normal in character, and the epidemic ceased before the end of term…

If the weighing machine is a good judge of health, it appears that the substitution of cereals and vegetables for a considerable percentage of meat food is all to the good. All boys, except three, increased in weight, some to an extraordinary degree; and several of these had lost weight in the Christmas holidays. The combination of magnificent weather, a short term and the ‘new’ feeding have kept the sick rooms practically empty, except for a few epidemic cases.”

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I fear that the events on the Western Front will over-shadow our holiday. It is clear now that the German Advance has been a significant one; indeed it seems we have now been driven back to where we were before the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Along with their families, I will be pleased to hear that our Old Boys have come through unscathed.

 

The Summer Term will start on Tuesday 30th April.

April 4th 1917

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The holidays are here and we have every reason to be thankful, that during a term in which there has been a great deal of illness at many Preparatory or Public Schools, we have had nothing worse than an epidemic of mild mumps. Otherwise we have been delightfully free even from colds and coughs. Several boys have suffered from bad chilblains.

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We will remember this term particularly for the ice-skating. In the end, we had glorious skating for three weeks (Jan 27th – Feb 18th) on the University Skating Club flooded meadow. The authorities were good enough to admit us at half fees (3d a time) and, even so, got about £15 from the School!

Mr Haynes produced about 30 pairs of primeval skates that had been stowed away in the dim past, but before the skating was over many new ones had been purchased.

The morning was quite the best time to go and we took off one of the morning hours of work. Often the Caravan-Ambulance made three or four journeys with small boys and provisions for picnic lunch on the ice (once, when changing a wheel for a puncture, she went down gracefully on to her axle and was derelict for some hours).

ice-skating-6

Many boys learnt to skate quite well – Dennis Buck (who, given the opportunity, will rival his brother Geoffrey some day) and Fred Huggins could cut all forward threes and do outside edge backwards. This is G.C’s description of their performances – G.C (Mr Vassall) also gave them handsome skating prizes as rewards for their efforts.

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Miss Field’s collection of eggs for the wounded soldiers has been greatly appreciated at the hospitals. During this term 1,738 have been delivered, making a total of 3,531 since the start at Mr Fletcher’s instigation in October last.

 

Next term begins on Wednesday 2nd May.

 

Postscript. We have had word that Jack Haldane, who had recovered from his previous wound and gone out to Mesopotamia, to his intense chagrin, was wounded again the day before the fall of Kut. He was injured whilst trying to put out a fire in his camp, when a bomb exploded and wounded him in the leg.

December 18th 1916

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As this term comes to a close, it is right that we should record some of the many note-worthy events that have taken place:

The Ambulance has been used for meeting convoys of wounded and conveying them from the station to the various hospitals. I have to thank the boys and others for supplying grapes, for which the wounded men express thanks. After their long and often tedious journey, a few grapes are found more refreshing than anything else.

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Lieut. Hoare, brother of two new boys, gave us a capital description of the Tanks. He had just come from the Somme and had seen them in their first actions.

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Bathing Parade!

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These boys have kept up the morning bathe in the river with Mr Haynes before breakfast for the whole term: A. Owen, J. Tew,  C. Jaques, A. Rees,  E. Moffatt, whilst B. Mallalieu, R. Ferguson, T. Horsley and C. Salkeld only gave it up for the last ten days, owing to feverish colds. They started on Sept 20th (58°F) and finished on Dec 16th (34°F).

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Mr CRL Fletcher (the father of Regie and George came and spoke to the boys early in the term about collecting new laid eggs for the wounded soldiers in the Oxford hospitals. Miss Field undertook the arrangements and the conveyance of the eggs. The response has been enthusiastic – 1,416 eggs ‘of the best’ have been handed in to the Matron at the Base Hospital during the 8 or 9 weeks since Mr Fletcher came.

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During the second half of term, the VIth Forms learnt the whole of ‘The Passing of Arthur’ by Tennyson. With only one or two exceptions the whole form of 35 boys knew the poem perfectly and I am sure they find it a ‘possession for ever.’

As our hours for English are so limited, I fear that the form will come out badly in History and Geography.

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NOTICE

In response to an appeal from many quarters, we have decided to add another week to the holidays this Christmas.

The boarders will return on Tuesday, January 16th. School will begin on Wednesday, January 17th, at 9 a.m.

The Play (Midsummer Night’s Dream) will be on Saturday January 20th at 2.30 and 5.45 p.m.