Sports Day

July 4th 1919

Leave a comment

Following a most successful Sports Day for the Junior Department, it has been the turn of the rest of the school.

A fine day and some excellent performances gave the spectators a very pleasant afternoon on the last Wednesday of term.

Laurie Salkeld’s high jump of 4 ft. 5 in., Michael Carritt’s hurdling, and Cyril Gadney’s all-round performances are worth special mention.

Laurie jumped in beautiful style.

Laurie Salkeld

The school hurdling has improved tremendously. The regular practice they have had made a deal of difference. Michael Carritt won with a time of 17 seconds, with D Hunt second and K Horsley third.

Michael Carritt

Other results included:

Broad Jump (Open): Ist – C Gadney (14 ft. 7 in.), 2nd – W Kaye, 3rd – G Hardman.

Hop, Step & Jump (Open): 1st – C Gadney (30 ft. 6 in.), 2nd – L Salkeld, 3rd – G Hardman.

100 yds. (Open): 1st – C Gadney (12.2 seconds), 2nd – B Sheard.

Cricket Ball (Open): 1st – V Forrester (65 yds.), 2nd – F Grove.

We also had 100 yd races for under 9/10/11/12/13/14 year-olds, a Bicycle Race (6 laps), Girls’ Races & High Jump, a Tortoise Race, a Three-Legged Race, A Donkey Race, a Team Race (Boarders v Dayboys, in which the Dayboys went all out to win by 3 or 4 yards) and senior and junior Obstacle Races.

We hope that this year’s practice of timing the races will be continued.

June 29th 1919

2 Comments

Hum Lynam with the first Juniors (1906).

Our junior department was opened in 1906 at 1, Charlbury Road, for children from 4-8 years of age. The aim has been thoroughly to ground the children in reading and writing; the older ones do easy English and Bible History, Geography and Arithmetic, and begin on a little French.

The school (now consisting of 19 boys and 4 girls) has this term had their first ever Sports Day, and what a joyous occasion it was. I am grateful for this account of the occasion for the ‘Draconian.’

“I wasn’t quite up to time (10 minutes late), but it didn’t matter, as owing to the hubbub, the competitors had not realised that it was desirable to start operations some time near the given hour.

When all superfluous energy had been exhausted in cart-wheels and games of ‘he,’ the younger members ran a race, followed by the older ones, and after that came the race for the whole school.

There were various ways of running a race at the Baby School: some flatly refused to remove their hats, others shed them, as well as shoes, while one budding athlete was seen busy rolling up his shirt sleeves and after that his trouser legs. Someone started with his hands in his pockets, but the smallest competitor went one better and waited the signal to start in the most correct position, crouching on one knee and steadying himself with one finger of each hand on the ground…*

There was a long jump. I didn’t attend it properly as two small sisters had to be shown where the river was; but I heard afterwards that he in the white shorts who fell over in the black earth was as big a hero, if not bigger, than he who won the event rather brilliantly…

When these and the [cricket ball] throwing were duly finished, the high jump was prepared. This appeared the most popular event amongst the children; great excitement prevailed, and it didn’t matter if Dick took Tom’s turn, or Douglas got two to everyone else’s one, all were fearfully happy and just lived for the next opportunity of a jump.

After this came greater and more frantic excitement still – the team race, a really wonderful effort, one side only just winning by a yard or so.

This and a rush to the tent for lemonade and buns ended for me one of the most enjoyable afternoons of this term. Let us hope that if these sports are made a yearly institution, they will all be as successful and give as much pleasure as the first Junior School Sports certainly did to onlookers and candidates.”

* Unfortunately, what he gained in style he lost in speed of gaining balance and actually starting!

I also gather Mrs Hum made an appearance with a large box of sweets, which almost stopped the show!

July 20th 1918

4 Comments

The Summer Term has ended in pell-mell fashion, with four days telescoped into one. This did not make it easy for Hum and his School House boarders:

“A ‘soaker’ for the whole afternoon of Sports Day; followed by a very showery carrying out of the programme, a few hours before the departure of the boys’ luggage, increased enormously the difficulties of packing, which are not mitigated by the habit of leaving boots and macintoshes, sun hats etc., in the field, pavilions, and even hedges, in spite of many exhortations to bring such things up in good time.”

Cecil Salkeld on the banks of the Cher.

As a result of the ‘soaker,’ our final day of term started with the Sports Day programme. In between the showers we completed all events except the Obstacle Race and, in spite of the bad conditions, Cecil Salkeld beat the school record with his Hop, Step and Jump, which was measured at 32 ft. 7 ins.

From Sports we moved on to Prize-giving. Numerous cups and prizes were presented and speeches made – including one of my own, which I will come back to another time.

Then it was time for the Concert, featuring a violin trio by Mendelsohn, a Beethoven piano solo, ‘And did those Feet‘ for solo and chorus (a new piece written by Parry) and numerous other musical items and recitations. It was all rounded off with ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and the singing of the School Song, which rather took our critic by surprise:

“Little boys can make a noise, a master knows it well; but never have I heard such a cry as that roof-raising yell!”

He went on to note that there is only one thing that you should expect at the OPS, and that is the unexpected.

“And so ends the Concert, which, on top of Sports and Prize-giving, you might think enough for one day. But is a Dragon tired or lacks he voice for more? Feed him with supper and he is ready for the House Smoker [‘Sing Song’].  Now beware the Skipper’s eye. The sword of Damocles hangs over you and sooner or later it will fall: for he has got you on the list and you will none of you be missed. Visitors, the ladies, servants, les fiancés, ‘salvete, ‘valete,’ all are called upon and none may refuse the summons.”

An important change to arrangements had to be made for the evening. In amongst all this excitement, around midday, six boys collapsed with the ‘flu’ (we had five cases about a fortnight ago).  Hum is to be credited with this successful move:

“A successful innovation in connection with the house supper was the adjournment to the School Hall (necessitated on this occasion by illness in the sickroom, above the Dining Hall) for the ‘Sing Song’ after supper. There was more air, more freedom, and certainly more talent displayed than on previous occasions.”

A full final day indeed, but what are the holidays for if not for some rest?

 

CHRISTMAS TERM will start on SEPTEMBER 20TH 1918

 

July 22nd 1917

2 Comments

The Summer Term has finally come to an end with a number of special events. We had a beautiful afternoon for our Sports Day. Notable performers were John Tew with 32 ft. in the Hop, Step and Jump and George Naish with 4 ft 4 ins in the Under 13 High Jump. These are new records.

Our friends from Somerville muscled in on the Tug of War competition, until they managed to break the rope! One of the most exciting races of the afternoon was the 100 yards race for officers – a pair of crutches won by inches from a bath chair, and the prize-winners received a stirring reception at yesterday’s prize-giving.

The prize-giving included a Challenge Cup inscribed “From the Officers now in Somerville. July 1917” which was presented to the School, to be awarded each year by the vote of the whole school to the boy who ‘has the most gentlemanly bearing and best influence on other boys.’ Our first winner is Tony Disney.

Just how much the young have helped reinvigorate our battle-scarred soldiers can be seen in an appreciation received from one the Somerville officers:

“To us it has been unalloyed pleasure and no words could express our gratitude in being privileged to enjoy so many happy afternoons among the boys… The golden days of youth came back to us this summer, those glorious days when enthusiasms are fresh and alive, when one never sickens of effort and when the game we play is everything to us…

You have given us many happy days and have helped us once again to re-discover the springs of youthful joyousness and love of life. May the memory of those happy days, spent with you on the banks of the Cher, ever live with us, go with us when we return to duty.”

 

 

 

July 5th 1915

Leave a comment

Sports Day & Prize-giving – July 1915

For the first time in the history of the school these were amalgamated. We had War weather on the Sports Day proper and could only finish off the High Jump in the shelter of the tent. Then we boldly announced that the rest of the events would be decided next morning at 9.00 a.m. before Prize-giving – and they were!

A gathering like this and our Sports and Prize-giving seem out of place in this terrible war year. I am not going to apologise for holding them as usual – and yet not as usual – for nothing is the same…

Mr Harvey, father of Cyril, was due to given away the prizes, but was unfortunately detained in London owing to the War. Had Mr Harvey been able to be present he would have spoken on the following lines. We very much hope that all the boys and girls (and shall we say grown-ups too?) will read, mark, learn and inwardly digest what he intended to say.

“It is a very great treat for me to be here…

I went to school in the big provincial town where I was born. I hated it. I was a scholarship boy, or what was called a ‘free bug.’ I was also a day bug, a chapel bug and every other kind of bug. The 6th kept the lower school in order by licking them with a long strip of rhinoceros hide and by roasting them on the stove of the big school room. We had half holidays on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays… That was the part of school I enjoyed. I used to go messing about on the river, fishing and sailing and falling overboard, or I used to fool about on a farm.

I played cricket once and had my teeth knocked out. I played football once or twice and got my nose broken.

About the age you boys are going to leave here and go to a Public School, I left school altogether. It was a rotten school. It was rotten because I had a rotten time there. What the boys think about their school is right. If you have a good time at school, that means you are at a good school. My boys enjoy their holidays, but they were always glad to get back here, and they were right. Cyril has told his mother that he is going to send his children to the OPS…

There is one thing that all us grown-ups have to think about these times besides our kids, and that is this great war… Although your lives are not directly altered, I expect you sometimes wonder whether there is anything you can do to help your country. You make contributions for the wounded, you make things to help the soldiers and sailors who are fighting for you and I do not think you are too young to understand how you can help in another way…

There is now a tremendous waste going on. Waste that cannot be avoided. Every soldier in the fighting line has to have six or seven rifles provided for him. The powerful cordite in the cartridges makes such heat that the bolts seize after 30 or 40 rounds of rapid fire. A little mud will spoil a rifle and rifles get lost and broken. The guns wear out very quickly with the heavy firing and one shell costs sometimes £100 and sometimes £1,000. The waste of cartridges is enormous…

And this is only some of the waste; there has got to be lots more and this waste will ruin us, unless we can save as much some other way. Here is where you come in. Don’t let your people buy anything for you that you can do without. Don’t help to give employment to anybody who is not making something that helps in this war…

When we were at peace, we wanted wool and silk for new clothes and socks and neckties. We wanted to be a nut. Now we want everything that goes to make guns and shells, rifles and cartridges…

There is a definite limit to the amount of things we can buy from abroad. And that limit is the amount of gold or other things that we have to give in exchange. We have £55,000,000 gold in the Bank of England and the war costs £3,000,000 a day. If we give our gold and other things for spotted socks, we get much less ammunition. And we have got to knock off lots of things besides spotted socks. We have got to knock off tea and coffee and cocoa and sugar and lots of everything that comes from abroad…

When you boys get back for the holidays, you will see that your people are trying to save and what you have got to say is ‘Right Oh!’”