Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

didn't have much time for cricket, which was too slow for me. I was particularly keen
on rugger and quite enjoyed the gym classes. Here there was only one snag: when we
had boxing training we paired off with sparring partners, but I always seemed to be
pitted against the Welsh gym master, Mr Jones, who was rather large and expert; quite
often my head was ringing at the end. As to more academic pursuits, I suppose I was
reasonably diligent, but I don't recall enjoying the lessons, except perhaps Geography,
and Geometry which seemed more logical than many of the other subjects. Speech Day
was an annual occasion and I must have done reasonably well because I still have some
prizes with book-plates recording success in a number of subjects, and even form prizes.
Then there were school plays and light operatic performances. I had a minor
singing role in "The Mikado" and was involved in "Ruddigore", but as a scenery painter
- presumably my lack of singing ability was soon ‘rumbled’. (Later as Master of a
Cambridge College I found myself thinking of "Ruddigore" when I presided at High
Table at College feasts before the portraits of previous Masters; but they didn't step
down from the walls to prance and sing!).
In earlier years I had been a keen attender at Cub-Scout meetings, where we played
games in the Methodist Church Hall, learned to tie knots and primitive first aid. At
Dame Allan's I was an enthusiastic Boy Scout, a member of the "Peewit" Patrol, and
greatly enjoyed the annual camps. These took us to interesting camp sites surrounded
by beautiful country mainly near the River Tyne - Riding Mill, Healey, Slaley, with
cross-country exercises, on one occasion all night by moonlight across the Blanchland
Moors through the heather, which made quite an impression on me. It was fun to cook
‘dampers’ and ‘twists’ over open fires and to improvise camp ‘furniture’, like swing
gates, into our kitchen area. I also began to take the various qualifying tests for the scout
badges, which are an incentive to learn about various practical and more academic
subjects. It was at the first of these camps that my interest in natural history was further
stimulated by the discovery of a moorhen's nest on a small island in mid-stream, with
three exquisite blue eggs - I can still recall the excitement of that moment.
Then in l939, when the ‘war clouds were gathering’ and I was aged 13, I went to the
Scottish Schoolboys' camp at Bruar, near Pitlochry in Scotland. This was pitched at the
junction of the Rivers Bruar and Garry. We slept in army bell tents and the leader of our
tent was a very competent older boy, probably about 16 or 17; I don't remember his
name - Jan I think. But he dressed in black shirt and shorts and taught us a great deal
about the outdoor life; he became for us what now is called a ‘role model’! We went on
some long walks past the Falls of Bruar, through pine and deciduous forest and up onto
the heather moorland. The route took us up to the top of Ben a'Ghlo (3,000 feet) and later
we climbed Ben Dearg. These two "Munros" were the first mountains, more properly
hills that I climbed. The camp was attended by very bad weather and heavy flooding,
which almost swamped the campsite, the rivers on either side of us rising rapidly and
becoming strong brown torrents. It was exciting.
So life was continuing in a steady way when events arose that were to change my
future life, and the lives of millions of others, completely.
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