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John Schuster and Roger Raymond
iTheir selfless zeal we thankfully acclaim,
For their just paths have been one shining light.9
School Hymn
G.M. Bolton
John Schuster's and Roger Raymond's deaths mark the end of a unique association.
These two extraordinary benefactors and philanthropists together contributed
to a partnership that assured the future of the School and its remarkable
development. A History of Bloxham School, out of respect for John Schuster's
wishes, was never able to record how vital was his leadership, immediately upon
his arrival, to Bloxham's survival and development, nor could it record the extent
of his personal generosity. John's enthusiasm for Bloxham found an ideal match
in Roger Raymond's legendary love, generosity and service to the School.
Their contribution was not to Bloxham alone. Roger Raymond was a great supporter
of the whole of Woodardry. John Schuster assured the establishment of the
Bloxham Project, which has had the single most important impact upon the
religious activity and practice of Public Schools within this generation. Theirs was
an achievement that we thankfully acclaim.
The Bloxhamist, No. 526
Michaelmas Term 1984
Editor : Christopher Aldous
Cover Design : David Matthews
Cover Photographs : Jamie MacLennan, Alan Griffin

John Barkley Schuster 1910-1984 Roger Raymond Memorial Service
Chairman of the Governors, 1967-1975
Chairman of the Finance Committee, 1975-1981
Great men have a habit of appearing at critical times,
Churchill being a classic example. John Schuster's arrival
on the Governing Body in 1966 and his almost immediate
election as Chairman led to a remarkable
change in the fortunes of the School over the next
decade and more. The story is well told in the History of
Bloxham School but inevitably real justice can never be
done to his courage and judgement during those exciting
years.
Against all the odds, he carried a plan through the
Woodard Corporation to expand the School from 250
to 350 pupils. At the same time, with great foresight, he
accepted a policy, almost unknown in schools at that
time, to build a modern house of study bedrooms.
Then, almost alone, he raised three large benefactions
and with a small loan from the Woodard Corporation,
Raymond House was born.
His courage and enthusiasm were never better
illustrated than by that decision, for he knew well that it
committed the School to a huge programme of modernisation
of boarding accommodation and classrooms,
which only ended in the building of a second new house
in 1981. John Schuster had set off on June 1st, 1970, on
"the largest building programme since Egerton's time
and during the worst inflationary period of the
Century". The School has never looked back since.
John Schuster had a remarkable ability to understand
other people's ideas and an instinctive grasp of the fundamentals
of education. Somehow he conveyed to all
those who worked with him an astounding love of Bloxham
and a belief in its certain success.
Over and over again, Governors and Staff were inspired
by his thinking. One remarkable such occasion, not
always remembered, was after the first Bloxham Conference
in 1969 on Religious Education in Boarding
Schools. The 120 headmasters and chaplains present
had unanimously voted to follow the three-day meeting
by a research programme, if possible for the next three
years. It was John Schuster who immediately went into
action and produced another great benefaction from the
Dulverton Trust; on this insight was founded the Bloxham
Project, still flourishing in its 17th year and now
financed by the Head Masters' Conference. Typically,
in spite of all his county and national commitments,
John Schuster remained a lively member of the Steering
Committee until 1983.
John Schuster's personality, his ebullience, his indefatigable
drive, his influence and his sheer charm of
persuasion (especially when making impossible
demands of the Woodard Corporation!) will long be
remembered by his many friends in Bloxham.
Annually, he presided with an inimitable touch at
Founderstide Prizegivings, his widest school audience of
the year. It was then that he left with the whole school
community an endearing warm image, which is perhaps
one of our happiest memories of a very great — and
very modest — man. His name will be forever in the
history of Bloxham School.
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Address by Mr George Stocks
We are gathered here today, in this beautiful chapel, for
a service of thanksgiving for the life of an Old Bloxhamist
who typified all that is best in the Bloxham
tradition.
Roger Raymond first came to this school, with his
elder brother Basil, when he was only 10. That was in
1920. He was in Crake and quickly made his mark. On
the sports' field he broke records in putting the shot and
the hurdles, he won the Victor Ludorium, and was the
heavy-weight boxing champion. He obtained his 1st XI
Cricket Colours and was Captain of Rugby. He rose to
become Captain of Crake House and Captain of the
School.
Fives, swimming and gymnastics were also among his
accomplishments. He regarded being placed second in
the High Jump, Long Jump and 100 yards as
comparative failures! What an unsurpassed school
record — and what an example for all young people today.
After leaving school, Roger was a most ardent supporter
of the Old Bloxhamist Society and its chairman
for 15 years. Indeed, he and Spencer Lester guided the
Society's affairs through some of the most difficult
years.
You will perhaps know too that Roger was a member
of the School Council for over 30 years, an equally longserving
Fellow of the Woodard Corporation, and an
Honorary Fellow on his retirement.
He was, of course, Founder, Chairman and Life
President of Roger Malcolm Ltd.
Despite repeated applications for service in the armed
forces during the war, he was refused admission on
account of his eyesight. In the event, he rendered outstanding
service to the community by organising
emergency repairs to the thousands of blitzed homes
during the height of the bombing of London.
But before looking briefly at his career, we may pause
for a moment to look back many, many years to the
vision of that great prophet EZEKIEL, as he sat by the
river Chebar, in Babylon, during the captivity of the
Jews. You will recall that he saw the Heavens open and
beneath the dazzling throne of Christ Glorified, were
Four Living Creatures.
The first Living Creature had the face of a LION, the
second the face of an EAGLE, the third the face of a
MAN, and the fourth the face of an OX.
These remarkable living creatures symbolised the
Fourfold Ministry with which the early church was
endowed. The LION, the king of beasts, represents the
APOSTLE, the ruler. The EAGLE, with its far-sighted
vision, represents the PROPHET. The MAN, the only
self-conscious living creature, represents the
EVANGELIST. And the OX, the PASTOR.
Why a fourfold ministry? This Divine ordinance —
alas, no longer seen in the Church but to be restored in
the Kingdom Age — ministers to the fourfold nature of
our humanity — our WILL, our IMAGINATION, our
REASON, and our AFFECTION. They correspond in
Roger Raymond

the vision of the four Living Creatures to the face of the
LION, the EAGLE, the MAN, and the OX.
In the Book of Common Prayer, we are taught that
our duty towards GOD is to love him with all our
HEART, and MIND, and SOUL, and STRENGTH,
the same fourfold division. Look again at the
Catechism, it is full of words of wisdom.
The WILL, like the Lion, must dominate.
The IMAGINATION, like the Eagle, must soar.
The gift to REASON must be cultivated.
And LOVE must be all-pervading.
As in this earthly race we press on to the prize of our
high calling as men and women, created in God's image,
and endowed with eternal life, all these four faculties
must be developed in harmony under the direction and
control of the WILL.
So let us look at Roger in this context.
First his WILL POWER:
His school record alone bears witness to his steadfast
determination. He told me that, on leaving school, he
made it his ambition to have his own business by the
time he was 25. So, he went overseas to America, found
a job in the construction industry, studied their building
methods and marketing, which were far ahead of our
own, and made up his mind to create similar housing
estates in the UK.
He also studied architecture and Town Planning. By
1932 he had founded Roger Malcolm Ltd. and built his
first house at Edgware. It had a fitted kitchen and cupboards
and a landscaped garden, unheard of luxuries in
those days, and it sold for £895!
His Company prospered; it could hardly fail. A
recent obituary notice in a Trade Paper wrote of the
"Inspiration of a young man who went West"; of how
Roger introduced to Britain his revolutionary concept
of the total package; of buyers queueing up to pay 50%
more than the average price for a Roger Malcolm home.
Housing estates were developed in the London
suburbs and Home Counties; in Devon, Cheshire; on
the South and East coasts. Roger said about choosing
sites: "If it felt right, I bought it".
He rose to become chairman of the London Master
Builders Association, and a member of the National
Building Trades Association. Later, he merged his firm
with the Capital and Counties Group and was made Life
President.
Members of the School Council also saw Roger's will
power at work. His skill and persuasion in debate influenced
many important decisions. But for his
generous financial help, and that of Bloxham's former
chairman, John Schuster, Raymond House could not
have been built. The 'Raymond' Playing Fields were an
outright gift, likewise Mallets Field, the fine new
residence for the Wilson Housemaster. Another gift was
the Old Carpenter's Shop, soon to be part of the Girls'
House complex.
There were countless other gifts, including help for
another school of the Division. Sometimes, at Council
Meetings, when finance impeded development, Roger
would quietly say: "I'll speak to my trustees". Then we
knew the money would be found. He was self-effacing
and modest to a degree. He epitomised the grace of true
humility.
Secondly his gift of IMAGINATION:
This faculty was also in evidence from his early days
in America, when, with eagle-like vision, he pictured his
dream houses in England's fair and pleasant land.
4
Again, his imaginative ideas were fully stretched at
Bloxham during those remarkable developments that
took place in the Seventies, under the inspiration of that
great Headmaster, Derek Seymour.
Roger's final imaginative gift has been implemented
under the terms of his Will with the endowment of no
less than five scholarships, with full fee remission, for
boys and girls of merit whose parents could not afford
the fees.
Thirdly, his gift of REASON:
This great evangelical faculty was seen at work
throughout his life. He would debate and reason things
out to their logical conclusion. He was an able administrator,
supervising his far-reaching business
activities. No detail escaped him. In later years, when
ill-health prevented regular attendance at the office, he
would spend long hours on the telephone dealing with
company affairs.
And lastly Roger's AFFECTION:
We all loved him because it reflected his own warmth
and marvellous personality. His love for Bloxham was
like a beacon light in his path. He was, without doubt,
the most generous benefactor in the history of the
school, and, I suspect of the Woodard Southern
Division Corporation.
He loved the Hendon Football Club and was a Life
Member at the age of 10. He was the Club Chairman
during its great triumph when, from comparative
obscurity, they won the coveted Amateur Cup. In fact,
Roger was watching the team beat Wycombe Wanderers
in the Cup semi-final when he suffered the heart attack
from which he never fully recovered. Sir Stanley Rous,
the Football Association President, was among the
mourners at his funeral.
Mention must be made too of Albert Griggs who
spent his whole working life with Roger's company; of
Arthur Bircham, who could lay 1000 bricks a day; of
Harry Kimber, his foreman-carpenter who became Contracts
Director. There are many others. And they all
responded to his love.
In Roger's drawing-room at Askett Farm, there was a
silver framed photo of the lovely Sophia Loren,
inscribed: "To Roger with love — Sophia". When I
asked him about her, he told me he first met her when
she was filming at Elstree and staying at the
Edgwarebury Country Club. One day she asked Roger
to dine with her. She said she felt so lonely. When Roger
asked her "Why?" she replied: "Because today is my
wedding day but my Husband is in Hollywood so we
were married by proxy". Lucky Roger! And lucky
Sophia, too, to have his shoulder to lean on!
And in later years, when he bravely endured long
months of illness, Sue provided a loving shoulder for
him to lean on. Her devotion was a great comfort to
Roger throughout those difficult years. But Sue, too,is a
Bloxhamist, and cast in Roger's mould. She has our
heartfelt sympathy. As do brothers Basil and Peter and
his three sisters, Mary, Barbara and Joan. All are with
us today to join in giving thanks to Almighty God for
the life and work of our dear friend and benefactor
Roger Raymond.
I believe that those Four Living Creatures, seen in
Ezekiel's vision all those years ago, are mirrored in their
attributes in the character of Roger.
We may be sure that at the gates of Paradise he was
welcomed with that blessed salutation:
WELL I)ONh' THOU TRUK AND FAITHFUL SFRVANT

EDITORIAL
"Why have you applied to this particular university?"
asked the interviewer, his penetrating stare causing
some uneasiness on the part of the prospective candidate.
"After all," he continued, "the choice is
endless".
The young man squirmed in his chair, 'Tve a friend
whose brother has some connection with the
university," he mumbled. Our hero recognised the need
for a positive statement and explained how his informer
had told him of the university's excellent facilities and
academic repute.
The gimlet-eyed interviewer was not convinced,
"Why", he snarled derisively, "if you have been so impressed
by the university, have you placed it as your last
choice on your U.C.C.A. entrance form?"
The prospective student found himself in a morass of
despair; he had exhausted his store of prefabricated explanations
— his carefully-contrived intellectual facade
had crumbled beneath the probing of his questioner,
revealing his inadequacies.
Alas, this is the scenario of so many interviews up and
down the country when hopeful candidates strive unsuccessfully
to impress the university academics. The
student clearly recognises the need to secure a place, fully
aware of the Damocles sword of unemployment
hanging over him. The struggle for successful entry today
is more desperate than ever. Throughout
September, October and November of this year more
than 150,000 candidates will be applying for degree
courses through the Universities Central Council on Admissions
(U.C.C.A). Competition is tougher than ever
— last year there were 2.2 applications for each place
from U.K. candidates compared with 1.9 four years
earlier. This competition is unnerving for students,
whose anxiety derives from the increasing uncertainty of
job prospects.
Higher A-level demands from the universities have
meant that pressures on the individual student have in­
Preparing for 'the swim': Paddy Barker
creased markedly. To secure a university place three
A-levels at grades A, B or C are usually required; in fact
even many Polytechnics demand two C grades for a
degree course. The competition, therefore, is extremely
rigorous, and the student, in order to be successful,
must either interview very well or secure fine A-level
scores. One of the major weaknesses of the present
system is that it depends far too heavily on A-level
grades. This is bad for students, bad for schools and
bad for universities. Candidates are put under unnecessary
examination pressure; schools are often
forced to spoon-feed and cram their students creating
bad learning habits; dons, confusing intellectual merit
with exam result?, are judging the quality of their
departments by average A-level entry scores. In addition,
U.C.C.A. operates purely as a placement service;
it offers no advice on the suitability of a particular
course for a particular student. Many get places without
interviews, solely on the strength of A-level grades.
Even where students are interviewed, the tutor is almost
always seen as a judge not as a guide.
For departing Bloxhamists, therefore, the future is
uncertain. Despite informed advice from the teaching
staff the student cannot be sure of his suitability for a
specific course. Even when a degree has been secured,
there is no guarantee of immediate employment.
Afterall 40% of those with a degree in philosophy are
unemployed six months after leaving university, and a
quarter of degree-standard historians fail to gain immediate
employment. The situation with regard to job
prospects is now so serious that the student faces a
dilemma on leaving school. Should he choose an applied
course which may ensure immediate employment in a
particular occupation once a degree has been attained,
or should he pursue an academic interest and opt for a
pure intellectual course of little practical value?
Bloxham motivates us to strive for high academic
goals. We should not allow our intellectual development
5

to be undermined by the Government's bias for practical,
scientific occupations, but should continue to
engage in those studies that we find enjoyable and
rewarding. Afterall, studying a subject at an advanced
level is more than achieving a paper qualification, immediately
applicable to a specific career; it provides the
student with an opportunity to develop his intellectual
interests, allowing for a wider scope of vision than
would otherwise be the case. Surely the primary aim of
education is to ensure that individuals are capable of
Miscellany
Welcome to a new school year! There is a great deal of
newness about this September, in many ways the fact
that there are new faces abroad at the bottom of the
school and new prefects at the top will pale into insignificance
for those who were here last year. For the
day has been re-structured. Lessons are now of varying
lengths, lunch is a moveable feast and the timetable is
more flexible, facilitating wider subject choices. The
great innovation on this front is the new General Studies
programme for the upper school which promises to be
excitingly catholic in its appeal.
There has been an enormous re-shuffling in the
deployment of Housemasters. Originating with the
appointment of Dr. Cane as Second Master, Mr.
Stewart has been promoted to Housemaster of Raymond
with Mr. Thorns, a new member of Common
Room, as his assistant. Mr. Wilson takes over the
Stewart slot in Wilberforce. Mr. Mayes has left Egerton
to run our new Dyslexia unit and he is succeeded by Mr.
Bateman. Seymour House too has changes with Mr.
Dillon taking up residence as Assistant
Housemaster,with (perhaps more significantly!) Penny
Ullmann, at seven months, adding her voice to the proceedings.
We congratulate Fru and Alison on their new
daughter.
All this shuffling up and side-ways has given the
tutors a chance to try new stamping grounds, so we have
six houses each with a very new complexion. Exciting
times!
There are five new members of Common Room this
term, and we wish them every happiness and success in
this their new school.
Philip Perkins comes to us, as Head of Economics
and Politics, from University College School, London.
Prior to that he returned to university to read part time
for a Master's degree in Politics and Economic History.
He has connections with the Bankers Institute and
enjoys coaching rugby and football.
The new Head of Physics, Felix Francis, has a string
of extra-curricular interests that seem tailor-made to
suit Bloxham: photography, letterpress printing, stage
management, shooting and flying are a few. He must
prepare for exploitation!
Mark Parlour is an enthusiastic sportsman, listing
rugby, swimming and water-polo as his particular
interests. He arrives from Embley Park School,
Romsey, to teach Biology and Computing.
6
adapting to changes in society; a student that confines
himself to a course of immediate practical application,
as a result of a short-sighted desire to secure employment,
is sacrificing enjoyment and fulfillment for immediate
financial expediency. Despite trends in employment
the individual must pursue interests that he finds
intellectually rewarding — otherwise he may find
himself trapped in an occupation which, although providing
monetary benefit, is unenjoyable and unsuited to
the person concerned.
NEWS
Bloxham will be familiar ground to Keith Thorns,
who moves into the Askwith pad in Raymond. He is an
O.B. and was in fact taught by Mr Askwith who
consequently left feeling his age! Mr. Thorns will be
teaching art part-time but also running A.T.A.C. in
conjunction with the regular subterranean goblins.
The other new Assistant Housemaster is Duncan
Wilson, a Geographer succeeding to that other facet of
Mr. Askwith's Bloxham contribution. This will be his
first teaching post after university at King's College,
London, and a year in teacher-training at Durham. He
also is a keen sportsman, concentrating on Athletics and
Badminton for which he received university colours,
with additional interest in orienteering and the Duke of
Edinburgh award scheme.
We would also like to welcome mesdames Perkins,
Francis and Parlour and their children, hoping too that
they will enjoy being part of the school.
It was sad to say farewell to Joan Murray-White, the
Headmaster's Secretary, at the beginning of July. She
had been at Bloxham for five years, having of course
helped maintain the smooth administration of the
school during Mr. Vallance's first term. Joan is "retiring"
to raise a family. Concentrating on one infant of
her own instead of three hundred and seventy of other
people's is bound to be an attractive scheme. But we
shall miss her. The new face in — already smiling —
belongs to Kay Eleanor. We hope her stay will be long
and happy, if occasionally frantic (but anything must be
better than an induction during the public exam, and
Common Entrance season!)
One other item of news that deserves recording and
congratulating is the award of David Whiteside's doctorate.
Along with Cane, Belcher and Ogilvie he is now
the fourth such titled teacher in the Science department.
This has been a very sad year, for many people
connected with the school have died. The deaths of
John Schuster and Roger Raymond, the school's
greatest benefactors were a great sorrow. And it is fitting
that this magazine should begin with a tribute to
them. It was thought appropriate to publish separately
to this issue an Obituary Supplement, copies of which
are available from the school on request. But a brief
mention should be made here of Jim Sootheran, affectionately
remembered by RS Thompson as the "unconscious
agent for the purchase of Park Close as the
Headmaster's house". Alec Fergusson was the school's

medical officer from 1943 to 1955 and is remembered
for the "calm and unobtrusive efficiency" he showed in
all the varied aspects of medical care. Ruby Garner was
Bursar from 1938 to 1955, which in those days also concerned
the direction of the domestic and maintenance
staff. She was "a kindly, sensitive Christian lady and
did much for the school, espeically during the war
years".
Brigadier 'Zog' Zvegintzov died on Easter Monday, His
career in the army in this his adopted country has been
impressive, yet coupled with a characteristic sincerity
and kindness. Constance Skillington was school sister
for nearly twenty years. Though remorseless to the
hypochondriac "there was no more skilful, caring and
gentle person," when she was nursing those who were
genuinely ill. She was loved by many. The death of Jack
Wolff also came as a sad blow to many friends of Bloxham.
"We remember with gratitude his thirteen years as
our Bursar in most challenging times for the
school...when much new building was taking place."
'Sam' Kahn was a great school-master and it is no
surprise that now, over a year after his death, tributes
are still made to him. As a token of the general affection
and gratitude which has been expressed, the Obituary
Supplement carries the full text of Lieutenant Colonel
EP Gibbs' Memorial Address.
M.J.F.
Originally appointed just for one term, surely Martin
Folliott's basic achievement lies in the extension of that
term to cover twenty-one of the most dynamic years in
Bloxham's history. His career has seen his transformation
from temporary History and Economics
master, to Head of the Politics and Economics department,
to Housemaster of Wilson (after Ken Spring) and
then Second Master.
He says, "I never intended to stay long, five years at
the most." But Martin Folliott could not resist a
challenge and the rapid development which Bloxham
has undergone since the sixties offered plenty of those.
He moves on to become Headmaster of Scorton
Grammar School, a small independent school, in James
Herriott's Yorkshire, now in its two hundred and sixtythird
year.
Martin Folliott's career can be divided in two. After
eleven years at Bloxham, he left in 1974 to take a 'slimline
tonic', that is to say: lose a little weight and take a
refresher course at Bristol University. He succeeded in
the former but decided against the latter, believing
teaching would be too difficult to return to if he took
too long out. After teaching for a while in a State Comprehensive
school he was invited back to Bloxham as
Second Master in 1975.
In those days, the syllabus was based on a system
whereby a boy entered the school and immediately embarked
on a two year course up to O level, then a two
year course to A level followed by a final year which
could be spent either tidying up loose academic ends or,
having left school, in the first year of a university
career. It was a system geared to the 'fast stream'; it had
its advantages; it had its disadvantages — the most
serious being that Biology was not taught at O level.
Martin Folliott's 'mission' (or this school will selfdestruct
in five years) was to initiate changes in the
syllabus so that the fast stream could be maintained but
the subject choice widened, bringing Bloxham more in
line with the national norm. The solution, which forms
the basis for the present arrangement, was the 2—1—2
system: two years to O level for the fast stream plus an
extra year for re-takes, AO exams and additional subjects,
while those of average ability spent three yeas
preparatory to O levels, and then a two year A level
course common to all. It was under the aegis of the Second
Master that the Bloxham working day was
reorganised, so that evening classes disappeared almost
entirely and three half-days with games and
activities'programmes were introduced.
Now, of course, what with the revised Fifth Form
subject scheme and the new timetable, the structure of
the day is changing again as Bloxham accommodates
itself to the educational demands of the day.
The establishment of Stonehill as a girls' boarding
house is now in its second year. The intake of girls into
the lower sixth is now an established, indeed a growing,
phenomenon. It was Martin Folliott who devised the
system of village guardians for girls, thereby allowing
the school to take more than a handful of day-girls each
year. He later organised Merton as a girls' House to
supplement their role in the main boys' Houses. Things
move on: now we have Stonehill with its own
Housemistress.
Martin Folliott can look back at the part he has
played in initiating these vital aspects of Bloxham life
with justified pride. He has left his mark in a very
Martin and Penny Folliott

positive way. Much of this is recorded in the Bloxham
History which is, as he smilingly admits, rather a
rationalization after the event (like all good history!):
the changes were not always as pre-determined as their
chronicle suggests.
Penny Ash came to Bloxham just before the man she
was eventually to marry left 'to go on his travels' in
1974. She was the Headmaster's Secretary and can dimly
remember this other member of staff once offering
her strawberries. Of course, when Martin returned as
Second Master they saw a great deal more of one
another. Cynics might suggest that the increase in administration,
(occasioned by the syllabus changes), the
introduction of the Grey Card and the Calendar and the
origination of the flurry of paper that now keeps over
three full-time secretaries busy, was all a ploy devised by
the Second Master so that his assignations with the
Headmaster's Secretary might pass unnoticed. That
they did pass unnoticed is a fact. When their engagement
was announced in 1975 the dumbfounded amazement
which knocked the wind out of the Common
Room wind-bag must have been reminiscent of that felt
when Edward VIII decided to abdicate so that Wallis
8
Brian Kemp
Simpson could pour him tea at their own domestic
hearth. The difference of course was that neither Martin
nor Penny had the slightest intention of abdicating
(perhaps it was that which caused the pulmonary collapse)
and the Gang of Two (plus the Headmaster of
course!) continued for another few years until Penny
"retired".
The inverted commas are necessary, for anyone connected
with the secretarial side of things will know that
Penny Folliott has never been far away. She has rallied
to the cause, in between appointments to the position of
Headmaster's Secretary; she has worked hard on two
school appeals and she could even be typing this article
on the Editwriter (another Folliott idea) preparatory to
its going to press. She is also tremendous fun and her
new school is very lucky.
Martin Folliott has played a central role in initiating
the change in Bloxham life that has made the school
what it is today and what it will become tomorrow; we
have appreciated the benefits of his service, and we now
can feel glad that another school has an opportunity tc
enjoy Martin Folliott's enthusiasm fostered by his experience
here at Bloxham.
BBK
Where does one start when attempting to write an appreciation
of Brian Kemp? To many of us Brian has
always been the epitome of what Bloxham stands for
and it is difficult to imagine a time when he was not actually
here. But the truth will out - there was a time
B.BBK!

Brian was appointed by KT Dewey to start in
September, 1952, but he came on an ad hoc basis during
the preceding June and took over Dewey's Chemistry
teaching. In the September (Stanley Thompson's first
term) Brian began teaching A level Biology and
Chemistry, together with O levels in all three Sciences.
At that time, what is now Derek Green's tractor garage
used to be the Chemistry lecture room. Sometimes Brian
taught O level Biology in there too as there was no
separate Biology laboratory. Physics was in what is now
the Palmer dormitory with A level Biology being taught
in the Palmer day-room. Then in 1958, the first part of
the Science Block was opened and Brian and David
Hood moved into the Sanderson Wells laboratory. At
last Biology had a home! In 1965, the Science Block extension
was built and was opened in Derek Seymour's
first term. Brian was given Room 36 where he has remained
firmly ensconced teaching O and A level
Biology. It would be fascinating to know how many
boys and girls have passed under his eagle eye and
benefited from his instruction during his nineteen years
in "the end room on the left".
Brian moved house three times during his early years
at Bloxham. He spent his first term in what is now the
Egerton Housemaster's accommodation and subsequently
went to Merton for a year or two. During this
time he ran the Goulde Club (a social club for the middle
school) in his sitting room! Then he moved into what
is now the Palmer changing room and his quarters were
decidedly cramped; so much so that to pull out a drawer
he had to kneel on his bed to make enough room! It
must have been a considerable relief to move into Crake
House in 1956 when he became Housemaster.
Brian's time in Crake is one of the more exceptional
feats in the history of Bloxham. He was Housemaster
for twenty-two years from 1956 to 1978, succeeding
Sam Kahn, when Sam left to start Egerton as a senior
house, after himself spending nearly sixteen years in
Crake. The dedication shown by Brian towards the
three hundred to four hundred boys who passed
through Crake during his reign is legendary, and they
will all remember the great personal interest and care
that he showed towards each one of them.
In 1978 he went back to Merton and took over
Careers until 1983. But his moving days were not over,
for he spent the Michaelmas term of 1983 as assistant
Housemaster of Raymond and then for the Lent and
Summer terms this year, he has been assistant
Housemaster of Seymour. Once again, he revelled in his
pastoral role and showed that he had lost none of his old
touch.
Although Brian would be the first to admit that he
was not a great games player himself, he has always
taken an active interest in school sport. He took nonteam
rugger until about 1960 when, as he says, "I was
no longer required." In the Lent term he was in charge
of cross-country running for many years and has looked
after middle distance athletics all the time he has been
here. Cricket was not a great interest, but he ran the
shooting from about 1952 to 1962. He joined the CCF
as soon as he came to Bloxham, running the Training
Company and the NCO Cadre. He attained the rank of
Captain and was awarded the Cadet Force Medal. He
left in about 1967 to look after the Duke of Edinburgh
Award Schemes but, when canoeing was taken into the
Corps, he became a civilian adviser until July 1983.
Outside his more formal activities, Brian has contributed
much to life at Bloxham. He resuscitated the
Photographic Club, for example, and even ran the
school's Young Farmers' Club for a while! He looked
after the stage lighting which consisted of two conventional
dimmers and one lethal drainpipe/saline dimmer!
He and John Fiori even rewired the circuits together and
both are still alive to tell the tale! More recently he has
been treasurer of the Junior Common Room and President
of Common Room.
Much has happened to Bloxham School during
Brian's years of service. He has known four headmasters
(and seen out three of them!). New buildings
have sprouted in almost every conceivable place on the
campus, changing the original appearance of the school.
For example, three new boarding houses have been
built, the Armitage Building and pavilion extensions
were added, the armoury became the Art School,
ATAC was constructed out of "Ted's Glory Hole" and
significant alterations made to Crake, Wilson and Egerton.
In addition, the Park Close complex was bought,
the Music School created and Stonehill was acquired.
Now, of course, we plan to expand still further. When
Brian came, the 8 + intake was still being phased out, all
boys attended Chapel twice on Sundays and once on
weekdays. They wore white shirts with detachable semistiff
collars, ties of their choice and the regulation, sandy
coloured "bean" jacket. Informal clothes at the
weekend were only introduced by Derek Seymour.
All Schoolmasters have nick-names and Brian has
been here long enough to have had three or four. He still
has no idea why he was initially called Two-gun; then
there was Codders acquired when he took over Crake
and, not unnaturally, Uncle Brian. Perhaps the best
known is Bungie. This, he says, is nothing to do with
Hush Puppies or other more disreputable rubber soled
shoes! Apparently, on one occasion, he had left a form
on his desk which was noticed by his House Captain of
the time, Patrick Ryecart. On this form, his second
Christian name of Benjamin appeared and Patrick
quickly christened him Benjie which became corrupted
to Bungie and stuck!
It is said that teachers never die, they just lose their
class. Nothing could be further from the truth in Brian's
case. He has maintained his standard of excellence
throughout his thirty-two years at Bloxham. Each of us
has cause to be grateful to him for all he has done, often
quietly and unpretentiously, as teacher, friend and
guide. We shall miss him greatly but wish him every
happiness in his retirement in Devon. Bloxham will not
be the same without him.
"And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly
teche. "(Chaucer)
R.J.A.
Richard Askwith leaves Bloxham this term, after
thirteen years of service, to take up an appointment as
Housemaster of Watson House and Head of Geography
at St. Edmund's School, Canterbury. This welldeserved
double promotion has come after a very
thorough apprenticeship — he has lived in Raymond
House since it opened, and he arrived, in 1971 and for
many years was a resident House Tutor. In 1981 he
became Assistant Housemaster and in the autumn of
1983 was Acting Housemaster whilst Dr. Cane was
seconded to York University for a term. He has also
taught Geography successfully helping with many holiday
Field Trips as well as, in recent years, personally
touring Europe, Russia, China and the Far East.
9

As a boy he hated games and it is an eternal source of
amusement to him that at Bloxham he has been in
charge of both cross-country running and swimming
(personal survival and life-saving). He has also run the
'Guild' of Printers, organised the Stars competition
and, besides being a member of the Chapel Choir, has
assisted at Communion and kept Chapel records. As a
Captain in the C.C.F., time has still been found to run
the Survey Section (the only one in England) and attend
Annual Camps.
A Yorkshireman, he has a strong — some would say
eccentric — character. Those living in Raymond will
miss the sounds of organ recitals which float from his
study along the corridors. He is an acknowledged expert
on organ music and has a collection of 1000 longplaying
records and numerous taped recordings, all
meticulously catalogued. These, along with the many
bookcases holding over 4000 books, have resulted in the
'living' space in his rooms being reduced to a minimum!
Recently, cooking has become his passion, relaxation
and, it seems, a means to better health. Scores of boys,
girls and staff have sampled his ethanolic concoctions,
appreciated his knowledge of German wines, and enjoyed
his good-humoured company.
Many Bloxham pupils and parents, past and
present,have reason to be thankful to this committed
and talented schoolmaster, not least for his willingness
to listen to, and solve, those problems which can cause
so much difficulty to young people at school. He will be
especially missed by his tutees but we all wish him every
happiness at St. Edmunds and also in his newly purchased
house at Heme Bay.
Adrian Dyer
Adrian joined Bloxham in September 1982 as head of
the Physics department. He immediately started a major
reorganisation of the department, and is sorry that he is
leaving after only two years with some of his plans still
incomplete. We too shall be sorry to lose him, as he has
been a good friend, and has run a competent and lively
department.
In spite of his short time with us, Adrian has left his
mark on the school. In particular he has revitalized the
sailing division whose equipment was becoming very
dilapidated, and which had not won a match for over
two years. He is a fully qualified sailing instructor (with
tidal endorsement!), and, on account of this he was able
to persuade the Bursar to spend some money on a new
boat, and sundry other equipment. This provided the
necessary 'shot in the arm' for the division, for, with
new organisation at Boddington reservoir, the team immediately
began to improve. Shortly before the end of
the Summer term they actually won a match against St
Edwards, Oxford, which is a great tibute to Adrian.
When he arrived at Bloxham, he was asked to help
with the 'Forty'. He agreed reluctantly, not knowing
what he was letting himself in for, but he has enjoyed it
immensely, and says he has got out of it quite as much
as he put in (which was considerable). He has been a
valuable member of the Raymond tutor team
throughout his time here. He always puts his Christian
principles to work (he is a preacher in the Methodist
Church), and is a most caring tutor. Added to this is his
interest in his own hobby of bee-keeping. (He was
observed retrieving a swarm from Palmer garden in the
10
middle of last term!). This, and his enormous fund of
general knowledge, make him a very interesting person
to talk to — as his tutees can testify.
Raymond House, the Physics department, the sailing
division, the Forty, and Bloxham in general will miss
Adrian greatly. We all offer our best wishes to him, and
to his wife Chris, and their family, when they move to
Brockenhurst, Hampshire, where he will be head of
Physics at the sixth form college in September.
Adrian Dyer
Moira Ogilvie
Dr. Moira Ogilvie is a Scot and it is not infrequently
that one hears the land of her birth invoked (sometimes
to Bloxham's disadvantage) as the source of all that is
superior in the educational and cultural spheres!
If her position as the only female member of Common
Room is an equivocable one, it is certainly to Dr.
Ogilvies' credit that she has defined so unequivocably
the part the girls' boarding house at Stonehill plays in
the school, and her function as Houseware/-. Last
year's lower sixth girls appreciate enormously the advantages
of having their own house where they can get
to know each other, and they are fully aware of the
necessity of allowing this year's new intake the same initial
privilege.
Dr. Ogilvie considers discipline, and the security it
grants by virtue of one knowing where one stands, to be
the secret of a successful home. Her marriage works on
the same lines. Brian Ogilvie laughingly refers to himself
as 'the wife'. We hope his face will be seen around the
school more often now that he is teaching in Oxford. He
leaves the running of Stonehill to his wife, the girls'
quarters being out of bounds for him as for any male
but he enjoys the occasional conversation with the inmates.
One joke between them is Dr. Ogilvie's ailments.

Brian will pass on the word as to what Moira is suffering
from each morning, from the common cold to the sore
shoulder and the multiple sclerosis scare, so that the
girls can be appropriately sympathetic.
To appreciate Dr. Ogilvie's droll sense of humour
takes discernment, but she has in the course of this her
first year contributed her own significant dimension to
Bloxham life while still retaining the option for dry
comment on the other aspects of the school. This is her
prerogative as she has of course had a wide field of experience
besides the merely scholastic, having spent
some years at A.E.R.E., Harwell, all reference to which
is prohibited under the Official Secrets' Act.
Dr. Ogilvie enjoys singing and it was good to see her
relishing the role of harridan virago as one of the
jurymen's wives in Trial by Jury. And we look forward
to seeing her involved in other ventures now the first
formative year of Stonehill is successfully completed.
Welcome to Bloxham, MAO.
David Whiteside
David Whiteside was born in Portsmouth in 1954,
where his father was in the Navy. He went to school,
first of all at Gosport, then at Plymouth and Barrow-in-
Furness. In 1972 he left school and went to Bristol
University where he gained a BSc in Zoology and
Geology (joint honours).
In 1975 he graduated and went to work as a research
assistant in organic remains from the English Channel
for a project sponsored by an oil company. In 1976 he
started his PhD on fossil reptiles and their environment
around Bristol 190 million years ago. He was not
actually awarded the degree until December 1983
because he spent two years abroad from 1977 to 1979,
working for the United Nations in Papua New Guinea
on crocodile farms in rural areas. He was stationed in
the bush out away from any civilisation and miles from
the nearest road. Amongst the many things he did while
he was there was to set up smoked-fish houses in which
to store fish for the natives. Another thing he did was to
export things like shark fins to Hong Kong for shark fin
soup, crocodile scent glands for aphrodisiacs and also
dried crocodile flesh. The easy thing about the shark
fins and crocodile flesh was that there was a high bulk
for a low weight, so they could be transported by air
rather than by sea; and as a result, they would arrive
fresh.
The farm that Dr. Whiteside worked on had 1000
crocodiles of the salt-water variety which are wellknown
dangerous man-eaters. As an illustration of how
dangerous they are: the native that Dr. Whiteside was
training lost a cousin in 1969 due to a crocodile, and a
month before he left a man was taken away by a
crocodile.
In 1979 he returned to finish his PhD research,
published some papers, including one in the journal
'Nature' in 1980. In 1981 he worked for the Nature
Conservancy Council reviewing Geological sites for the
possibility of designating them for S.S.S.I, (sites of
specific scientific interest). He then worked at Bristol
City Museum as head of a Geology and Natural History
group surveying Avon and Bristol in particular. In 1982
he taught at an urban comprehensive in Bristol, and in
September 1983 he came here.
In his spare time he visits quarries and still does
research, and he also lectures to scientific bodies during
the holidays and half-term. He is an avid reader,
especially of current affairs, and also likes to spend time
with his family. He plays tennis, and although he does
not play rugby any more he still enjoys watching it.
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Whiteside, his wife
and two children to Bloxham.
Ian George
Perhaps the happiest new face at Bloxham this year has
been that of Ian George. Educated near his home town,
at Towcester Grammar School, Ian decided to study for
a Physical Education degree. After spending three years
at Culham College in Abingdon, Ian began teaching in
1974. He occupied a temporary post at Wallingford
School for one year whilst teaching P.E. and, as a
second subject, French, which was 'a bit of a scrape!'
The next four years were spent at a comprehensive
school in Henley, called Gillets School, luckily with no
need of French! By 1979 Ian had new hopes, other than
teaching, and for two years worked as a deputy manager
at a sports centre. Unfortunately, this was not a
particularly successful move, and Ian did not
particularly enjoy this period out of teaching. The
Ian George, Moira Ogilvie, David Whiteside
Michaelmas term of 1980 saw his return to the chalk and
gym shorts. This was to last three years, and was at
Highdale School in Reading, teaching P.E. and
Geography. By 1983 he felt the need for a more
permanent teaching position and so came to his first
public school — Bloxham.
Ian's entry into Bloxham life came with an exhaustive
two day training session for the 1st XV before the term
began! His devotion to the game 'designed by
11

hooligans, but played by gentlemen' is even more
apparent when one looks at the track record of 'Boy
George'. Whilst still at school Ian played for both the 1st
XV and the Old Boys teams, which meant every Saturday.
Northampton — the local club, saw Ian for five
seasons until the travelling from Henley became too
much of a burden. Moving to the London clubs, he
spent an unsettled two seasons with Rosslyn Park then
found his roots in the London Welsh side, at scrumhalf,
for almost five seasons. Now at Bloxham the more
convenient side is the original Northampton club.
Regrettably this has meant leaving London Welsh. The
Barbarians invited Ian to play in five games, one being
in Paris, with three All Blacks players! In those five
games — including a Welsh tour — Ian scored five tries,
making his mark firmly on the team.
Now at his first public school, Ian enjoys the
commitment of the pupils and the idyllic setting of our
Oxfordshire village. The plan to stay seems to be a
determinedone, as he has already bought a house in
Unicorn Street. We hope that Ian will stay with us for
many years of fruitful rugby seasons! And, of course,
we wish him and his new wife, Jane, every happiness for
the future.
Egerton
It is not true that Peter Mayes will only go down in
history as the Housemaster whose daughter accidentally
burnt down the Fourth Form day rooms. (It says
something about the man that one can dare begin a
eulogy with that sort of joke.) Peter Mayes is a
phlegmatic, calm man who is seldom obviously ruffled.
He has the perception that can distinguish trivia from
matters of moment — a quality which is rarely found in
anyone caught up in the tangles of a close, boarding
community. If it is possessed by a Housemaster it can be
a mark of genius.
Peter Mayes has run Egerton for over ten years and
his reign has been unique, idiosyncratic and has, more
than anything else, built Egerton into the House it now
is, sufficiently united and cohesive to be able to raise
over £1000 for the 1984 Lent Appeal and be triumphant
in Junior Cricket and Rugby, Standards, Tennis,
Squash, Gymnastics and Junior Cross-Country
Running. That, surely, is evidence enough of Peter's
success.
Of course — references to conflagrations apart —
Peter's family has been an essential element of Egerton.
His wife, Sue, is always approachable, helpful and
charming. She has given an enormous amount of time
and energy to the House. Their two daughters, Pippa
and Jo, will also be missed by their friends.
Egertonians, past and present, were able to show their
very deep appreciation of Peter and Sue Mayes' service
by commemorating their retirement from the House
with the purchase of a cedar-wood greenhouse and a set
of white, wrought-iron garden furniture for their new
(private) home in Courtington Lane. These were
presented along with a splendid cake, iced in green and
white, with a symbolic maze linking two sugar houses.
We wish the Mayes' family every happiness and Peter
every success running the new Dyslexia Unit in Merton.
Raymond House
Yet another era has come to a close this term with the
promotion of Dr Cane to Second Master, and as he
leaves his post of Raymond Housemaster he looks back
with many happy memories of his ten years in the
house.
Dr Cane with his family came to Bloxham in
September, 1970, and after four years as a Wilberforce
tutor he became Housemaster of Raymond in April,
1974. Under his leadership Raymond has won every
possible prize (save the infamous House Shout!) and
standards, whether personal, academic or sporting,
have been constantly of a high level.
The 'Doc' and his wife Rosemary have given the
house a family atmosphere undoubtedly as warm and
unique as the family itself. His attitude to his pupils has
always been one of caring encouragement allowing both
respect and friendship from those in the house. He attributes
in typical modesty the success of the house
greatly to the senior boys who have aided him in his job
over the years. But perhaps one might suggest the
maturity fostered in these characters has enabled this
capability to be revealed. As a housemaster and a tutor
Dr Cane has always been willing to listen and advise
with predictable concern. He believes it is very important
in the development of a pupil to know where he
stands for in this way a boy finds security and from
there can organise his life.
Dr'Cane has many people to thank as he leaves the
house, especially his wife Rosemary who, along with his
daughter, Catherine, and son, Robert, has helped him
in the house in more ways than is perhaps immediately
evident. He also wishes to thank his tutor team which he
says has done invaluable work in the house over the
years. He is indebted to Mr Askwith who has been a
tutor in the house since its foundation in 1970 and who,
for the last three years, has been his Assistant
Housemaster.
The future holds much for 'the Doc' and his family
and he looks forward to the opportunity of involving
himself with a greater number of pupils and staff
around the school. He will, however, be sad to leave
Raymond and cectainly 'the Canes' will be missed, having
given so much time and attention to the house.
Dr Cane's successor as Housemaster is appropriately
Colin Stewart, Assistant Housemaster of Raymond between
1976-81 and Dr Cane is pleased that someone who
knows the house so well is taking over.
All in Raymond, present and past, will be sad to see
Dr Cane and his family leave, having much to thank
them for. But it is good that 'the Doc' is not going too
far and the House wishes him every success as Second
Master.
Energy 83 Exhibition
The Oxford Energy 83 Exhibition took place at the Oxford
College of Further Education from the 7th to the
12th of July last year. It was one of the Science Fairs
which are held in Oxford every two years, for schools to
exhibit science and technology projects. The name was
changed for this occasion because the main theme of the
exhibition was "energy".
13

Bloxham exhibited a number of devices which had
been built during the year. There was a novel solarpowered
motor, built by Simon O'Brien, which needs
no commutator. The idea came up during a Physics
lesson, so he made one to prove it would work, and it
ran on our stand throughout the exhibition. We also
had on display a "quiz buzzer" for television-type quiz
games, which was designed and built by William
Shurvinton and Nick Bannerman for the 'Brainbox'
inter-house quizzes. There were two induction coils,
wound by Andrew Bastable and Jamie Griffin, and the
piece de resistance, a computer driven 'turtle' which
roamed about on the floor. Unfortunately, owing to
some technical difficulties it did not always do exactly
what was expected of it, but it did move, which was
gratifying for the designers and builders, Ronnie Khoo,
William Shurvinton and Roderick Mulley, who had
spent many hours of work trying to complete it in time
for the exhibition.
One of the main attractions at "Energy 83" was a
competition to build the fastest "balloon powered
vehicle" to run along a track 10 metres long by one
metre wide. It is quite a difficult task to get a flimsy
device to run straight enough over such a long distance
to remain on the track, as many competitors discovered.
We had two entries, one by Alex Minshull, and one by
Chris Cooney. Unfortunately Alex's came to grief, and
managed to self destruct on its trial run and never made
it to the finish. Chris ran his on the first day of the exhibition.
He had spent a great deal of time designing it,
and drilling holes in the wheels to reduce the weight. On
its third and final run it managed to go straight, beating
the existing best time by a considerable margin. The race
timing was done automatically by computer — the
whole thing having been set up, and the program written
by Jonathan Bromley, a previous head of Physics at
Bloxham, who is now researching into robot weldingmachines
at Oxford. All through the exhibition we were
on tenterhooks in case Chris Cooney's time should be
beaten. One school came within 0.1 of a second of it,
but in the end he came through as the outright winner,
and was duly presented with a £10 book token as a
prize. (Two years ago, in a similar competition at the
previous science fair, Kate White missed the entry
deadline by five minutes, but her vehicle actually beat
the winning time when we tested it, so we were very
pleased that Bloxham actually went into the record
book on this occasion.) Congratulations Chris!
The exhibition was an enjoyable experience for all
those concerned with it, and thanks are due to the team
of boys who went every day in the minibus to man Bloxham's
stand, in particular the keen third formers who
volunteered to continue doing so on the Monday and
Tuesday after the school had broken up. We all look
forward to the next Science Fair in 1985.
Industrial Conference
This year's Industrial Conference, on the 10th and 11th
of February, was designed to give the Sixth form some
sort of insight into the various facets of Industry with
particular emphasis on the area of management. The
method was to highlight a few of the complex and
diverse problems facing a manager — such as
communication, motivation, effective and efficient use
of time, to name just a few. This was achieved by a
14
series of talks and films interspersed with discussions in
smaller groups. Such discussion groups are always
potentially the most beneficial to students, and for the
most part they were well utilized due to the guidance of
twelve local industrialists (one for each group) who
drew from their experience of managerial positions all
across the board.
The two main speakers were Dr. Ellis-Jones and Mr.
Pat Lowry, chairman of the Advisory, Conciliation and
Arbitration Service. The former gave a highly
entertaining address (which at times bordered on a
performance more than a speech) on the role of a
manager in general. The latter spoke on the role of
A.C.A.S. and explained the concept of conciliation and
arbitration. Unfortunately the scope of his speech was
rather limited, but Mr. Lowry was able to elucidate on
certain specific points during a question session
immediately following his address.
Many thanks to Mr. Stewart, Mr. Simpson (for
chairing the Conference) and the twelve Industrialists
who all contributed to make the Conference a useful
and enjoyable exercise.
Orion
The summer term saw Simon Wood in the chair as
editor, ably assisted by Kate Foster as sub-editor, Joe
Maingot as Junior Orion editor, Howard Wincott as
sports' editor and PE Salinas as the camera man; it was
the last individual who proved the most significant in
this term's editions, for Orion concentrated heavily on
photographs and there was a significant landmark
noticeable in the last two issues, where all the prints
were screened, preventing the Xerox from picking out
the most unimportant bits to copy.
The team worked well as a whole, inspired by the
Friday breaktime coffee and biscuits; in fact, the latter
are probably responsible for all the inspiration of the
term's editions. Orion Productions Inc. reverted to the
old working method, whereby the material was typed in
no particular order and then the editor cut it up and
reassembled it in the way he thought best (which often
wasn't). Letraset transfers were invaluable for bold and
catching headings, and cow gum offered the possiblity
of being able to move about articles that had already
been stuck down. The editions had six of their pages
printed each Wednesday and then the rest on Thursday
afternoon (under the capable direction of Dave 'Dylan'
Knight), to be released as a whole that evening.
The term's contributors leaned heavily towards a
variety of political biases, which is no bad thing as few
could boast of being well informed in all spheres of
some of the major current affairs. Declan Magee and
Guy Smith provided regular articles. Sullivan George,
fresh from his post as editor in the spring term, graced
the paper's noble pages with fringe humour and
provoking comment. Chris Aldous, editor last autumn,
reappeared briefly pen in hand, with an excellent article
on the 'Seymour House Play' that was much appreciated.
A "thank you" is also due for the co-ordination, advice
and help of Mr. Joplin, and to Mrs. Cattrall, our
friendly and accommodating typist. The issues this term
have been, to my mind, admittedly no unbiased source,
worthy of convincing people that a school paper should
exist to serve the school in an even more positive way as
a vehicle for ideas, comment and discussion.

Community Service
Some lucky members of the Community Service programme
have enjoyed a touch of relative luxury this
year: the smooth, quiet ride and superior speed of the
new ("A" registration!) minibus has made the lives of
many that much more pleasant, and has incidentally
reminded us of how soon we will have to replace the
"R" bus. It is appropriate at this time to give public
thanks to Major McCloghry, who has done a
magnificent job — and will, I trust, continue to do so —
of keeping the buses and their accounts in order with
efficiency and astonishing good humour.
The year started on the first Sunday evening of the
Michaelmas term with a social gathering in Merton
under the auspices of our patron, Father Gunner. It is,
curiously, relatively unusual for all the members of
Community Service to meet together, and the evening
provided a pleasant occasion for old and new members
to see each other and exchange anecdotes over a glass of
wine. The business part of the evening comprised short
talks from Father Gunner and Mr Dillon reminding
members of the importance and nature of our work, as
well as the very real sense of fulfilment it affords.
Members were reminded, also, that we are not principally
a gardening service, but bringers of comfort and
care; odd jobs about the house are a very real help to
many of our visitees, but ought to be a conversation
starter, rather than a conversation stopper.
The annual Christmas party went very well, thanks to
the unstinting efforts of the staff wives who decorated
the Great Hall and provided a delicious tea, to Martin
Roberts and his musical entertainers, and to the pupils
of Bloxham Primary School who came and sang carols.
It was an occasion much enjoyed and appreciated by
our elderly friends in the neighbourhood, as it has
always been.
Although the Christmas party may be said to be the
highlight of the year, the real and important work of
Community Service carries on quietly and more or less
eficiently five days a week every week of the school
year, usually behind closed doors, so detailed comment
is neither possible nor even discreet. All that can be
really said is that there have been a very few complaints
and many more expressions of gratitude from the sixtyfive
people in the ten villages we visit. Two exciting
additions to our list are the Frank Wise School for handicapped
children in Banbury, to which three members
have gone once a week to help with classes, and
Penhurst in Chipping Norton, also for handicapped
children, where two of our computer buffs have spent
an afternoon a week writing programs for educational
and therapeutic games. It is to be hoped that these new
connections with the service will continue to flourish.
The one small sour note to be sounded is that in the
Summer Term sunshine, sailing, cricket, examinations,
etc., result in fewer people opting to do CSV even for
one day a week. This is lamentable because, not only is
it the season when grass grows and weeds proliferate,
but also some long-term commitments cannot be met,
and a few people who have become accustomed to
regarding their visit as the high point in an otherwise
uneventful week discover that those visits can no longer
continue because there are not enough volunteers to go
round. It has been particularly distressing this term to
see so little response come from the girls at Bloxham
School, whose tender hearts, one might have thought,
would have made them especially willing to help. There
are several people on our waiting list: We need more
volunteers to expand an already healthy enterprise, let
alone to keep up with our current commitments.
Not to end on this sour note, it only remains for me to
express my deepest gratitude to all those members of
our school community, staff or students, whose
dedicated, responsible and selfless efforts have made the
lives of many people, who are in some way or other less
fortunate than ourselves, that much happier. CSV continues
to be an important statement of the school's
philosophy, and a significant part of everyone's personal
development, whatever his or her age.
Public Works
Public Works — that's all odd jobs and things, isn't it?
Not so. At times this year, a quarter of the School and
over a third of Common Room has taken an active part
in the varied commitments on a Thursday afternoon.
Within the School, consider the following: the Biology
Garden, work in Paperblox, publication of Orion,
libraries (including not only books but also Archive
work), cleaning of Chapel brass, boat maintenance,
tidying Deer Park, secretarial assistance, JCR stockkeeping,
help for the groundsmen, NCOs for the Forty
and a number of groups maintaining and decorating in
Houses. In the village and elsewhere there has been
Community Service visiting; we have been busy keeping
the Churchyard, Memorial Green and verges tidy,
woodchopping to provide winter fuel for CSV's
Wenceslas operations, clearing a stretch of the village
brook which had become fouled with weeds and
rubbish, snow-clearing (the thaw nearly beat us to it)
and gardening for a lady in Broughton at present in a
nursing home. Such have been the regular jobs. "Oneoffs"
such as the cleaning of the Parish Church before
the Festival of Windows, and the shifting of the entire
Drama Wardrobe in one afternoon, complete the picture.
The individual, gloomily contemplating an
obstinate nettle-patch or flaking wall on a cold March
afternoon, may think his own contribution to be insignificant.
Again, not so: the old cliche is true, every
little does help, and the overall effect is impressive. My
very grateful thafTks to all the boys, girls and members
of staff who have helped to make this year's
achievements possible.
Computing
Computing at Bloxham has seen another year of steady
progress, with improvements in both teaching time
available for beginners and in the equipment (hardware)
in use. The first has been achieved by having three
periods a week on the timetable for the third form
within the ATAC option. With an increasing number of
boys owning their own computer or having used one in
their Prep. School, the number needing basic tuition has
been small enough for each to have the sole use of a
machine and progress has been encouraging.
The second improvement has been the linking of all
the junior Commodore computers by cable so that they
can share expensive disc and printer facilities. With this
fast access to their programs, much time has been saved,
with benefit to both knowledge and interest. This was
especially true for the Vlth form general studies group.
15

The cabling was devised and fitted at cost by a parent,
Peter Mulley. The school is indebted to him for all the
effort and time that he freely gives.
The second phase of the Government's 'Micros in
Schools Scheme' allowed us to purchase a second colour
monitor and high-speed printer, to further improve the
facilities in the senior computing room. Here a smaller
band of enthusiasts keep the machines whirring, and the
quality of some of the output has been outstanding,
notably that of A. Modi. Basic equipment has been
added to the electronics bench too, where W.
Shurvinton continues to demonstrate his skill with a
soldering iron and an amazing memory for the code
numbers of a bewildering array of bits and pieces!. I
must also record my thanks to O.B., Martin Winfield,
for his help and encouragement in this electronics area.
B. Phipps and D. Skilton have made weekly visits to
Penhurst School at Chipping Norton, where they are
writing programs to enable disabled children to enjoy
using a computer when they lack the coordination to use
a conventional keyboard. A worthy project!
The BBC computer in ATAC has been upgraded so
that it too can access a disc-drive. This has greatly
increased its use, and also allowed it to travel the
country with the Bloxham Appeal team, using a
program by that BBC expert Alan Griffin. I say
'expert' advisedly as he is the author of a bell-ringing
program for the BBC computer that is a national bestseller!
Looking ahead, there is to be the first O-level
Computer Studies course beginning in September 1984.
This will be available to both 4th and 5th year boys,
although initially the numbers that can take it must be
modest until further facilities come on-line in the
projected Technology Centre. Bob Dillon is
investigating the possibilities of computerising the
Library, extending EJK's shelf-listing program into a
fully indexed electronic reference system needing some
15 million bytes of disc storage!
With computer simulations in science, mathematics,
geography and economics and the realistic possibility of
low-cost implementations of word-processing, databanks,
synthesized speech and music, with computers in
time-tabling, administration and careers advice, can we
look forward to the day when there are as many 'chips'
in use around the school as are served with the fish on
Fridays?
Music
Very shortly after the beginning of the academic year, as
is usual at Bloxham, the entire school found itself in the
entertainment business. It was House Song Week!
Which other inter-House competition employs every
member of each House, demands simultaneous effort,
mixes young with old, male with female, is largely pupilrun,
lasts for little more than half an hour on the day of
the Final yet provides some harmless entertainment for
all? Our adjudicator on this occasion was Alan Vening,
Director of Music at Aldenham School, where the idea
of whole-school musical performance is commonplace
and frequently exercised. So he was no stranger to the
Bloxham style and his comments took account of this,
giving praise where deserved and good advice where
needed. Seymour took the formal prize but Wilson
came a fairly close second and showed what could be
done by a conductor who claimed little in the way of
A.J.G.

musical skill or pretensions. One of the songs which did
not fare well was a good example of a very poor choice
of material, so we hope that this valuable experience will
have been noted for future reference.
The next main music event of the year was the first of
four professional concerts given in the Great Hall.
Fronted by Andy McCullough, clarinettist, it was
described as a Musical Extravaganza for young people
and it brought into the hall a great amount of musical
kit including clarinet, electric guitars, electric piano,
synthesiser, drumkit, microphones, large loudspeakers,
coloured lights, a smoke generator, and a lot of varied
sounds associated with these items, yet it did not entice
into the hall the large number of pupils who, despite
widespread advertising, chose to ignore it. Those who
did come were thoroughly entertained. Those who
didn't missed a good event. The second professional
recital brought John Fletcher, the country's leading
tuba player, who performed some pleasant original
works for his instrument as well as a wide selection of
arrangements, each more hair-raising than the last.
Flute players who regard Bach's second orchestral suite
as their own property would have been amazed to hear
the Badinerie rendered by John Fletcher at breakneck
speed.
Between these professional events we presented some
of our own. There was a Play-and-Listen Concert in
November and in December we gave a Christmas
Concert, this being an adaptation of the familiar
Autumn Concert formula which had been a regular
feature of our calendar for several years. Aimed principally
at an internal audience, the Christmas Concert
offered as an opener the Common Room Symphonic
Ensemble as the mainstay of John Elenor's brief
Concerto for Toy Instruments. A traditional orchestral
set-up was then retrieved to enable Richard Wamsley to
perform a Mozart horn concerto with his customary
dependable skill. Hugo Langrish, Anthony's father,
then enjoyed the dubious pleasure of playing in the horn
section throughout one of the song arrangements for
which he is justly admired in various quarters. The
Choral Society sang the Four Traditional Songs with
gusto and the audience quickly discovered that it, too,
was part of the performance. Now nicely warmed up,
everyone could happily share in the John Rutter arrangement
of The Twelve Days of Christmas as well as
hearing another carol from the same pen.
Our musicians were busy with other events, too,
during the autumn. Two played (as members of the Oxfordshire
County Youth Orchestra) in the Schools Prom
at the Royal Albert Hall in November, the Bloxham
Consort sang in the Festival of Windows in the parish
church in October, a couple of horn-playing members
of Wilberforce performed in an instrumental contest in
Banbury (scoring top and second marks between them),
a motley group of singers sang at an Old Tudorian wedding
in Moreton Pinkney and enjoyed their wine in the
churchyard, and a Fletcher-Campbell-propelled
percussion team assisted a large and well-known school
near Buckingham to give a performance of the choralorchestral
work which David Pope composed for us a
couple of years ago. Much was the amusement among
the Bloxham percussionists upon noting that this performance
had to omit the most difficult movement of
David Pope's piece!
After Christmas we welcomed more visiting
musicians to our hall, first the competent young folk of
the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra in January and later
the Faber Trio in February. Already known to Bloxham
audiences via at least two orchestral events, Ruth Faber

came with her flute-viola-harp trio this time and clearly
demonstrated why her trio now uses the Queen
Elizabeth Hall and other prestigious venues when not
fulfilling engagements at Bloxham.
In early March we presented another home-grown
concert. The Wind Orchestra, unsupported by any adult
players and now containing a considerable proportion
of junior instrumentalists, blew four short pieces and
then made way for Ian Griffin's performance of a
movement from Dunhill's Phantasy Suite for clarinet.
The Bloxham Consort made two appearances, the horns
played some trios with their teacher, Andrew Sandham,
and the first movement of Schumann's piano quartet
appeared somewhere in the middle of the programme.
Nell Wiltshire, two Tudor Hall staff members, and our
own Director of Music formed the ensemble for this
welcome instance of chamber music. Perhaps the
Schumann quintet will be tackled next. For part of its
contribution of four secular songs the Choral Society
came under the direction of Faye Caley, Tudor Hall's
new Director of Music, and we hope that this new
development in the two schools' joint music-making will
be continued.
Certain individuals put in a lot of hard practice
during the Lent Term and we eventually heard that
Gillian Shorter and Andrew Ibbs had passed Grade 8
(piano) and that Charles Eagles had passed Grade 7 on
the same instrument. Considerable individual efforts
were made, too, prior to the Instrumental Competition
(run on a non-House basis this year on account of a
marked inbalance of eligible musicians among the
Houses). Some of the prizewinners agreeably surprised
themselves by their successes and it is good to note that
this competition offers opportunities not merely at the
highest levels of proficiency.
The Summer Term came upon us almost before
Easter was over, it seemed, and a main musical goal was
the Founderstide Concert, cast in a fairly traditional
mould this year to enable the audience to hear some of
our most competent musicians. The soloists were Nell
Wiltshire (cello) and Philip Ng (piano), the horn duo of
Anthony Langrish and Richard Wamsley played a taxing
movement by Leopold Mozart, and the Bloxham
Consort began and ended the concert. (The Psalter, as
many will remember, will never be the same again.) The
Bloxham Consort also performed, giving instrumental
and vocal solos in addition, at a recital in Hook Norton
immediately after the Exeat. Later, in June, an Informal
Concert was presented on a Sunday evening in the
Great Hall and our mid-range and younger instrumentalists
had their chance of performing to each other and
to a sympathetic audience.
Three groups deserve particular recognition in this
report of a year's music. The first is our loyal team of
visiting instrumental teachers, who are kept so intensely
busy during their part-time visits that some of them are
hardly known or even seen by many members of the
school; Chris Britton, Jo Chadwick, Sarah Roberts,
Andrew Sandham, Tom Waddington and John
Whitworth all give highly valued professional service in
less-than-ideal conditions, week in week out, come rain
come shine, with hardly a grumble, and we could not
possibly run the Music Department without their contributions
(which range from teaching only two or three
pupils to visiting the school on three days per week).
The second group which cannot fail to be included in
this particular report is the quartet of a Music Scholar
and three Music Exhibitioners who have served Bloxham's
music outstandingly during the past five years.
Anthony Langrish, Andrew Ibbs, Roger Knowlton-
Clark and Richard Wamsley have been musical leaders
in their year-group, have given unbroken and highly
valued service to the Chapel Choir throughout their
time here, and have all been variously and extensively
employed in a range of musical activities, often
rehearsing for long periods and at what many people
would consider to be unsocial hours. We thank them
warmly and wish good fortune to them all, as we do to
all other musicians who happen to be leaving this year.
The third group is the Chapel Choir which has had a
year to be remembered. The choir has sung a setting and
an anthem at almost every Sunday service of the year
and has worked long and hard hours at rehearsal of
these and other, less frequent, services. Of the latter
there have been many, each provided with special or appropriate
music of some sort: Advent Carol Service,
School Carol Service, two Memorial Services, the
Founderstide Eucharist, three Funerals, a Confirmation
Service, Choral Evensongs in Souldern Parish Church,
Christ Church Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral and
Choral Eucharist in Hereford Cathedral on Ascension
Day. In view of this considerable work on behalf of the
community it is not surprising that the choir appreciates
refreshment and recreation from time to time, and
many members have enjoyed the latter in Cambridge
(mainly in punts on the river) and the former in Deddington
(in the Ice Cream Parlour) and at various
restaurants here and there, usually not far from
cathedrals.
The Chapel Choir has existed on a joint (Bloxham
and Tudor Hall) basis for just over ten years. Largely
for reasons of numbers and of congestion at Sunday
morning services in the Chapel, the two schools will
have independent Chapel Choirs from September this
year and a new chapter in our musical life will begin. It
must be added, though, that Bloxham and Tudor Hall
firmly intend to continue joint musical work in other
areas, which will include orchestral training, Choral
Society and the presentation of professional recitals.
C.C.F.
In the midst of preparing stores, rations and training
programmes for Summer Camp '84 it seems strange to
be casting one's mind back to Summer Camp '83 — but
that is where the last edition's report ended. July '83
saw a small detachment of only twelve cadets sampling
the delights of Mid-Wales near Machynlleth, with walking
over the Plynlimmon range of hills — a beautiful, if
unchallenging, part of the country fortunately away
from the main tourist and hill-walking areas. Lingering
memories are of the heat (it was almost the hottest week
of the summer) the ever-present cows at base camp, the
midges during the night exercise, the local hospital's
midnight repair job on the head of the cadet who tried
to test the depth of a puddle by diving into it, and
another cadet's death-defying dance around the unprotected
mouth of a 200 foot mineshaft. Some good
walking was accomplished, though most of the party
found their navigational skill lacking, and one or two
fell victim to the effects of the sun by the end of the
week. In his enthusiasm to assist another Contingent
during the previous week, the OC had succeeded in injuring
his ankle in an encounter with some hostile
Wasdale scree, and so was compelled to adopt a
Plazatorean role.
Fresh vigour and direction was imparted to the Training
Company by the advent of their new officer i/c,
19

Lieutenant Martin Roberts RNR, formerly to be seen on
CCF parades behind a bass-tuba in the Band. The tone
of the Contingent has been heightened by its education
in the jargon of the Senior Service — the Company
musters in rig, rather than parading in dress, at the end
of the parade its NCOs are washed-up, not de-briefed,
victualling replaces feeding on full-day orders, and so
on. In addition, Lt. Roberts with the assistance of his
team of keen, competent NCOs, has operated a comprehensive
training programme which, by the end of
term, should have produced passes in at least 50% of
the Proficiency Certificate subjects for all cadets.
The 5th-form cadets decided to opt for RE, rather
than Infantry, to a man; this produced an impossible
situation for the Regular Army RE Instructors, and so
the 'RE Troop' was split into two Troops, alternating
fortnightly between RE and Infantry training. In
January, a new Infantry instructor arrived from the
Cadet Training Team; strange manoeuvres were spotted
on second field, inroads were made into the vast inherited
stock of blank ammunition (to the distress of the
Hobb Hill pheasants) and suddenly the popularity of
Infantry training rocketed — the no.4 rifle may be far
removed from modern warfare, but it cannot be bettered
as a source of free fireworks.
Meanwhile the specialist units have quietly carried on
their good work — the surveyors continue to survey, the
canoeists to canoe, and the shooters to shoot. The last
deserve particular commendation — under the tireless
instruction of Ed Wilkowski (a not infrequent prizewinner
himself) noticeable improvements have been
gained, especially among the younger shots, with three
division wins in school postal leagues so far this year.
The Contingent was due for a Biennial Inspection this
year (last year's, by Lt-General Sir Edward Burgess, was
an 'optional extra'). Abandoning the formal 'circus' of
rehearsed activities, around luncheon for official guests,
which has been the traditional format of recent years,
the Contingent invaded Broughton Park, through the
kindness of the Lord Saye and Sele. While stopping
short of the immensely skilful inter-Section coordination
achieved in Major Fiori's famous 'Exercise
Nude' of some nine years ago on the same site, it was
possible to offer an integrated programme of training,
from basic Proficiency drill, skill-at-arms and compasswork
through various aspects of fieldcraft to a platoon
exercise which rounded off the afternoon's activities in
a blaze of blank, thunderflash and coloured smoke.
Climbing skills were demonstrated on a climbing wall in
Banbury, canoeing was laid on on a local river, and the
shooting team shot their 'Country Life' competition.
The Inspecting Officer, Colonel TN Buck, Commander
of 23 Group Royal Pioneer Corps and thus of the Contingent's
affiliated sponsor unit, and his accompanying
Staff Officer, Major APM Horsey (OB), staff officer at
South-East District HQ, pronounced themselves
satisfied with the Contingent's efficiency, despite some
justifiably adverse comments about turn-out, and having
been refreshed only with vamped-up compo from
the Fiori field kitchen, rather than the delicacies of
previous Inspection lunches.
Field Days have seen the Training Company visiting
the Contingent sponsor unit at Bicester, 518 Coy RPC,
for an excellently varied programme, and to 16/5
Lancers at Tidworth, where armoured vehicles were
driven, SMGs fired and the luxuries of a 'Cavalry' Officers^
Mess visited. This last visit was arranged by an
ingenious contact made by Martin Roberts — the husband
of a former 'star' of Bloxham and Tudor Hall
20
Chapel Choir, it is believed. RE Field/Infantry have
had a day's circuit of canoeing, assault-boat paddling,
climbing and full-bore shooting, and another day
visiting a Survey Regiment, learning watermanship, or
rock-climbing.
Easter Camp attracted 18 cadets to Snowdonia, with
base camp on a greenfield site just south of Capel Curig
Training Camp. The weather was remarkably kind for
early April — only one night/morning of rain, and
generally mild temperatures in the valleys. The Carnedd
and Glyder ranges were walked, giving some fairly
testing conditions of deep, partly-iced snow and low
visibility on the tops. Rock-climbing, dry-slope skiing
(at Plas y Brenin) and more walking culminated in the
tackling of Snowdon on the final day in near-perfect
conditions. Despite slow campcraft and dubious
navigation, almost all cadets acquitted themselves at
least competently, and seemed to derive some benefit
from the week.
Concurrently with Easter Camp, our Naval Member
and the senior cadet NCO, Under-Officer Roger
Knowlton-Clark, were enjoying the hospitality of the
RAF and other Services on Gibraltar, in what proved to
be a fascinating week's insight into life on the Rock.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Matthew Petersen was enduring
the very considerable rigours devised for him by 1st
Royal Anglian Regiment on Stanford Training Area, on
the UKLF Cadet Leadership Course; having survived
this, he and Cadet Hugh Bates became the first Bloxhamists,
while still at school, to make a parachute descent
— from 2000 feet under the auspices of RAFSPA
at Weston-on-the-Green — an experience so captivating
that they both wish to repeat it on every available Sunday.
They were followed a fortnight later by Cadets
Murray Graham, Simon O'Brien and Kevin Tat em.
It is easy, especially for the cadets, as weekly parades,
Field Days and Camps come and go, to forget the expenditure
of time and energy by those whose task it is to
run the Contingent activities. To Lieutenant Martin
Roberts for his meticulous administration of Training
Company, Ed Wilkowski and Chris Newbould for their
expert instruction of shooting and canoeing, Sergeant
Johnston of 16 CTT and Sergeant Kirk and his
assistants from RE Long Marston for their weekly instruction,
RQMS Macreedy and Major Shaw Mc-
Cloughry, without whose administrative back-up
nothing would happen, Major John Fiori for his continued
catering services, Martin Owens for rockclimbing
and, last but by no means least, the cadet
NCOs, especially the younger ones in Training Company,
for their enthusiastic co-operation, the Contingent
owes a big debt of gratitude.
And where shall we be now without Captain Richard
Askwith? Founder of what is believed to be the only
Survey Section in the CCF nationwide, general overseer
of RE Field training, producer at minimal notice of a
five-course 'cordon bleu' dinner in a greenfield kitchen
to 'dine out' the retiring OC (and the only officer who
dared argue with him) — his will be a gap impossible to
fill. Fortunately St Edmund's (Canterbury) Contingent
has already earmarked him for even more tasks, including
that of HGV driver. Nor must the departure of
Brian Kemp (formerly Captain) pass unremarked; for
many years Brian gave stalwart service to the CCF in
general and to canoeing in particular, and it was typical
of him quietly to hand over his mantle when a younger
man arrived on the staff with the necessary interest and
ability. With them both go the Contingent's grateful
thanks and best wishes for their respective futures.

As to the Contingent's future, 20 cadets are preparing
for Central Camp at Sennybridge in mid-July, and then
the training circuit will start again in September. And
who knows — with a qualified pilot arriving on the staff
next term, perhaps we shall see a 'stick' of Bloxhamists
parachuting in to Founderstide in 1985.
Geography Field Course
Now that we have thirty-five in the lower sixth studying
A level Geography, two visits to St. Michael's, Tenbury,
in the Welsh borderland are necessary. The second half
will have gone at the end of the summer holidays but the
first group enjoyed the usual kind weather last Easter
holidays.
After the introductory cross-section from Brown Clee
Hills, across Wenlock Edge to the long Mynd, where the
groups could stretch their legs on one or two climbs to
'instructive' views, the groups were subdivided for more
involved practical fieldwork. Armed with clinometers
and large scale maps, the relationship between angle of
slope and land use across Wenlock Edge was tested. The
analysis in the evening, using the Chi2 test, revealed that
the steepest and flattest slopes, as expected, had most
impact — flattest areas for permanent pasture, while
woodland dominated the deep slopes. Surprisingly no
one got lost.
The river work proved most enjoyable and interesting.
The statutory wet feet were achieved as the
former course of the River Teme was surveyed at the
same time as the more interpid frogmen in the group
waded in to the river and measured the cross-section and
speed of flow. A third group surveyed a particularly active
meander which previous years had surveyed, for
comparison. Finally the whole stretch of river for about
Ivy Cottage in disrepair : Antony Bluff
five miles was overviewed as the river, once flowing in a
wide vale (in fact a pro-glacial lake site) turned northeastward
to cut a gorge some 200 feet deep, its overflow
channel during the Ice Period. The peculiarities of the
river's former courses were clearly seen on the maps
drawn that evening from the surveys.
The group moved into the towns on the last day as
first the general character of the settlement was examined
— a comparison between Ludlow, a very successful
March town, and Richard's Castle, a total failure. Then
a comparison was made between the areas served by
Ludlow, Leominster and Tenbury Wells and the respective
urban fields mapped in the evening.
All in all it was both an instructive and enjoyable
course — greatly helped by Richard Askwith's alcoholic
cuisine. I know that the female Furleys too enjoyed their
time and seemed to understand almost as much as the
boys!!
Biology Field Courses
1983. . .
The A-level Biology Field Course was all set to return to
the Field Studies Centre that had catered for our needs
so well in 1982 when potential disaster struck. Some ten
days before we were due to leave an urgent phone
message arrived, "Sorry. You can't come. We've
double booked you." This presented us with a considerable
problem as it is not exactly easy to find a
centre willing to take a Biology Field Course at about a
week's notice. However, our guardian angel appeared
over the horizon in the guise of the Bursar. "I know the
Bursar of Grenville College in Bideford," he said. "I
wonder if they will have you." So the phone lines between
North Oxfordshire and North Devon hummed to

mutual Bursarial tones and in a very short time Grenville
College was our new venue. How well they looked
after us, too! The meals were magnificent, the swimming
pool so refreshing, and everybody there went out
of their way to make sure we had everything that we
wanted. We are most grateful to the Headmaster, Bursar
and other staff of Grenville College for allowing us
to come and for making our stay so enjoyable.
But what about the work? We began by investigating
the organisms living on Greencliff Rocks in Bideford
Bay. These rocks stretch out some 400 metres and
support large numbers of organisms and many rock
pools. Unfortunately, they tend to cover only the middle
shore and were not ideal for the study of animal and
plant zonation that we wished to carry out. So on the
following day we moved to Bucks Mills, a charming
hamlet perched on the top of the cliff some three miles
east of Clovelly. The beach here was much more
suitable, being shorter and more sloping. In addition, a
water-fall from the top of the cliff was impressive and
had quite an influence on the flora and fauna down the
beach as well as acting as a fresh water shower after a
swim.
Summer 1983 was one of the best for years and Bucks
Mills was an ideal spot in which to enjoy it and do some
Biology field work at the same time. Backs soon became
red and even blistered and people on the course
sprouted a whole range of silly hats to ward off the sun.
However, the work on the beach was done very well and
good use was made of the swimming pool at Grenville
College in which to cool off during breaks in the evening
laboratory work.
This was Brian Kemp's final field course and it is
appropriate to mention here how much his help and advice
on all the field courses has been appreciated over
the years.
. . .and 1984
After such a marvellous field course in 1983, it was not
difficult to decide to approach Grenville College again
to ask them whether they could have us this year too.
Fortunately, their term finished before ours and we set
off in high hopes of another marvellous time. However,
although there was a serious water shortage in Devon, it
was decreed somewhere that rain would at last fall on
the weekend that Bloxham School was on its field
course. Fortunately, during the heaviest showers, we
were in the laboratory and only had to survive some
drizzle for fairly short periods on the beach which
proved to be little hindrance to our work. The rain
relented on the Sunday and Monday and we were able to
enjoy some sunshine, albeit tempered by a cool wind.
Once again we returned to Bucks Mills but the work
schedule this year was re-designed to try and introduce
the course participants to quantitative ecology as
opposed to purely descriptive work. On the first day,
profiles were made of particular transects followed by
abundance determinations of every organism on the
transects. Then during the next two days, various
groups carried out several experiments including an
analysis of biotic and abiotic factors in rock pools,
limpet sizes and age distribution, migration of limpets
and wirikles^and barnacle distribution and predation by
dog whelks. In between, there was also time for scouring
the rocks for crabs, getting bruised and falling into
the sea (usually with a little help). In addition, everyone
will remember the gorgeous ice creams from the little
shop at the top of the cliff!
22
David Whiteside and his family came on the field
course this year for the first time and contributed
significantly to its success, although after one minibus
journey the comment was overheard, "Doctor
Whiteside must spend all his spare time on the
dodgems!"
We hope that next year we will again have such an enjoyable
and instructive time working on what is surely
the most interesting and varied field situation.
Norman-D-day
Apart from the proverbial, not much begins at Calais,
and so Normandy represents the shortest route into
France for most people. No marks for originality, then.
But Normandy is nice, and cheap, with plenty of
distractions, and the only skiing is marine. It's the home
of impressionism; here are some impressions. This year,
Harrop 3, there were two new departures: we were joined
by the girls of Overthorpe Hall, vive la difference
deux fois; and the French had done their bit with a
superb new display at Bayeux. This was, of course, the
40th Anniversary of D-Day but we were in before the
rush. Even so we jockeyed with the booze-cruisers and
hypermarketeers on both crossings. Let's hope that the
new passport laws put an end to them.
March 29th, 6.30 p.m. we set out, 52 out of 53 seats
filled, TIH's 50-page worksheet carefully tucked away
at the bottom of our luggage. On with the personal
stereos. Feeling sick, but we ain't seen nothing yet.
10.00 p.m. the boat sails. The girls sleep; the lads play
space invaders, and a good impression they give.
Surface at 6.00 a.m. on the 30th, Le Havre through
the petro-chemical mists and a smell redolent of General
Foods brewing coffee. Home from home, and who says
camembert is the biggest barrier to Anglo-French
cordiality. Was it the shandy or the packet of crisps
which did for Garner?
Bayeux for breakfast. But first, culture. The new
housing for the Tapestry, just back from Sketchley, is
another example of French style. Matilda would have
been proud. The foyer is bedecked, literally, in the sails
and masts of Norman longships, onto which are projected
slides from the Tapisserie elle-meme, while the
Muzak plays shingle and shore. The thing itself is a bit
of a let-down after that, all 70.34 metres of it, although
the smutty Romanesque Bill-Tidy cartoons on the frieze
came as a welcome surprise. Was it the arrow or was it
the sword? Gasping for pain au chocolat, we visit the
Cathedral. L'argent de poche epuise on bangers, Mom's
perfume will have to get lost en route.
Intrepid again, off to La Pointe du Hoc and the start
of a tour of the Landing Beaches. We get our first taste
of Gallic charm and a chance to practise conversational
French: it seems we can't pick-nick here. American
VIPs are due in three months time and the concierges
have got the place all tidy.
And so to Arromanches and the Invasion Museum,
Mulberry harbours and the 43rd party of English
schoolkids sighted since lunch. We've seen the Lions of
Longleat. In the words of that great French literary
figure, Zebedee: 'Time for bed'. But we've a bit more
culture yet. The hotel couldn't manage une etoile dans
Michelin, but it was comfortable. The food was French.
Up and visit the Hypermarket, one day left. Back to
the bus, now smelling like a fromagerie. Or is it Herman's
jeans?

Caen; I thought this was in the South of France? Visit
churches, on with the stereo. Lost Mr Askwith. And so
to Rouen. Now this is more like it; there's shops. But
why are all these froggies staring at us as we walk singlefile
through the streets? They haven't recovered from
1789, this lot.
Jeanne d'Arc, I didn't know she was Old Testament,
but this church they've put up for her is neat; it's like
the prow of a ship turned upside down, some connection
with nave. What's the French for 'Amusements'?
Steak and chips. It wasn't really horse.
Merci, M. Harrop. Another round of Madeleines,
Marcel.
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Change and Changelessness:
The Fifth Bloxham Conference
The secret of life, said Robert Louis Stevenson in his
poem El Dorado, is 'to travel hopefully'. One could say
that the job of a school is to provide grounds for hope in
the lives of its young people. As a virtue, Hope gets
much less attention than Faith and Charity; and yet if
the present is to have any sense of purpose, Hope,
meaning a positive attitude to the future, is essential. In
practice Hope receives a rather bad 'press', implying
that it is a rather forlorn activity, even one of despair. T
hope so' usually carries with it 'but I'm sure it won't
happen that way'. It was in fact to engender a positive
attitude to the future that the Bloxham Project called its
fifth conference at All Saints' this April. Provocatively
timed for 1984 as if to challenge the gloom and
hopelessness of George Orwell's novel, over 200 heads,
chaplains and heads of RE gathered round the
Director's crystal ball to try to identify the grounds for
hope. Though entitled 'Change and Changelessness'
(words taken from the office of Compline) the Conference
exhibited a marked predilection for the subject
of Change and an equally marked reluctance to centre
much upon Changelessness. In fact were it not for Fr
Peter Ball, Bishop of Lewes and our own Vice-Provost,
preaching at Evensong on the first day the subject
would not have received a specific airing at all, implicit
though it was in much of the worship, and other events
centred on the Chapel.
The undoubted success of this conference, the result
of much careful planning over the preceding 18 months,
was due not only to the great competence of the
speakers but also to the fact that people were engaged in
so many ways which, taken together, produced a most
exciting and colourful atmosphere. It was at once
recognised that for such a large conference to have
personal significance much work would have to be done
in small groups — 19 of them — held in various sitting
rooms round the school. The group leaders had been
trained for their role at a training day in January and
their effectiveness was highly praised. Twelve seminars
were held on two of the days on a wide range of topics
to do with the future. The subjects presented were 'Prejudices';
'The Future in our Hands'; 'Preparation for
Work and the Role of the School'; 'Exploring the
Masculine and Feminine'; 'The Future of Belief; 'A
Creative Approach to Conflict'; 'World Poverty and
World Development'; 'Educating Girls and Boys in one
School or two?'; 'Advances in Science and
Technology'; 'Ethical Implications of the Future'; 'The
School of the Future' and 'The Future of the Church'.
Time was when preparation for the worship to be
offered at a conference could almost be taken for
granted. The Liturgy of the Church was all that could be
required. Not so today. Every Englishman has become
his own liturgiologist and everybody's view is wrong
except mine! The tension for the Conference actually
existed in its title as far as the worship was concerned,
and it showed. What happened in the end was a great
variety of services, the committee trying to ensure that
'there was something for everyone!' Enough to say that
the final Eucharist in Great Hall did manage to
celebrate the Conference in an act of worship which
enabled the many traditions represented to come
together with great joy and achievement.
A thriving bookshop run by Bob Dillon, a wellpatronised
bar run by members of Common Room and
a cuisine for which Bloxham Conferences are renowned,
were all characteristics of the care and attention to detail
so needed in a conference of this size.
The key-note address was given by John Taylor,
Bishop of Winchester and was entitled: The Future in
their hands — Education for Wholeness. In it he said
that it was customary to value the life of a school as a
23

preparation for life, but what had changed so much was
that where, in his school days, he had been prepared for
a life that was to all intents and purposes the same as the
one his parents were living, today such an assumption
just could not be made. "How can we be sure that the
world for which we are preparing this generation of
boys and girls will not have passed away before they
arrive at it?" In outlining so many areas of contemporary
life where change is taking place at such speed, it
would have been very tempting to throw one's hands up
in despair and find the whole educational enterprise
hopeless. But not so, for the Bishop went on to examine
positively what he felt should be given at school. He
pleaded first for Comprehensiveness — a readiness for a
many-sided and kaleidescopic programme of activities
and relationships. Everything, he said, should be done
to dissipate the hard lines of demarcation between one
subject and another, between science and humanities,
between academic and manual, between the school and
community. But having said as much, he also wanted
from school Coherence, a holistic view of truth and life.
Just as ecology offers an impressive picture of the interdependance
of all living things in an integrated
system and can provide an excellent model for the way
in which the whole range of separate subjects might be
taught so as to bring out the connections and the
overlap between them and the relation of each part to
the whole, so the proper role of religious education must
be seen as a gathering together of all other realities into
one frame of reference. His third key-word was Cooperation:
in the past the structure of schools reflected
the hierarchical structure of heavy industry at home and
of the empire overseas. But that is not the world of
tomorrow, and some way of developing co-operative
skills in order to stress interdependance and a mutual
identifying of needs has to be found. "How in fact can
we think of a preparation of future citizens which does
not include in its curriculum a thorough, graded
training in Human Relationships, leading to that selfknowledge
and self-acceptance which are the essential
basis of good relations with any other people, including
a good marriage. A school is singularly failing to
prepare boys and girls for all round adequacy for the
future if it does not treat this as a major subject in the
timetable. And there is no other subject in which it is so
important to learn how to fail and to be undefeated."
It was against the background of Bishop Taylor's inspired
and thought-provoking address that the conference
moved as a whole. Jack Dominian, consultant
psychiatrist at the Central Middlesex Hospital and wellknown
writer and broadcaster, gave an impressively
delivered address on the Future of Marriage, while
Sheila Browne, formerly Chief HMI and now Principal
of Newnham College, Cambridge, gave a most wideranging
and prophetic talk on 'Changes in Education'.
How much the future of what will be going on in our
schools will have been affected by the 1984 Conference,
is impossible to predict. What can be said is that time
was very well-spent and the virtue of Hope somewhat
re-furbished.
The Spire Appeal
It is not just for the Advent Carol Service and the
Founderstide Eucharist — arguably the two most
prestigious occasions in the Chapel calendar — that the
school worships in the Parish Church. There are
24
numerous occasions besides, like the Harvest Festival,
Memorial Services, Rogationtide, when the school is
welcomed to the church as a member of the Parish of
Bloxham. In recognition of the way in which we value
that membership it is right to look towards the Church
which is the focus for the Parish.
To the South, across the valley from our School
Chapel, soars the marvellously elegant spire of Our
Lady of Bloxham built, it is said, by Cardinal Wolsey
500 years ago. The spire is surely the crowning glory of
our church and would not the village be a bleak and
desolate place without it? A hypothetical question
perhaps, but not so unrealistic as you may think!
Last year the stonework at the base of the spire was
found to be seriously decayed and its collapse was a
dangerous possibility. The worst erosion was in what
Bloxham knows as the "Hollis" - a word of unknown
origin unique to Bloxham describing the beautifully
decorated parapet which crowns the top of the tower.
The cost of repairing this parapet was estimated at
£55,000, a sum far beyond the means of the Parish
alone; hence the Appeal.
A typically timely and generous loan from the late
Roger Raymond, just as the appeal was launched,
enabled the massive network of scaffolding to be
erected and the remedial work to be started by the craftsmen
of R.W. Knott & Sons of Somerset. During the
twelve months since then there can be few people
associated with Bloxham who have not been involved in
the campaign to raise money. It was aimed in the first
place at the village, as the church is primarily a village
responsibility. But having received a generous response
locally we felt justified in approaching many former
residents and friends of Bloxham and also a number of
Trusts.
A multitude of fund-raising events have been
organised during the year, and the school has been involved
in many of these including the "Tuppeny Mile"
last summer, the Festival of Windows, a memorable lecture
by David Bellamy and most recently our own and
Tudor Hall's "Walk" which raised the magnificent
total of £4,000. The generosity of the School, with its
parents and friends, has helped the village to raise, in
the first year of the Appeal, over £75,000. This has
enabled all the urgent repairs to the Spire to be completed
and the scaffolding to be removed, but has only
taken us just over halfway to our target of £125,000.
The "Spire" Appeal is really a misnomer because the
need for funds extends far beyond repairs to the spire
alone. To achieve our target nearly £50,000 more must
be raised to put right the many other ravages of time
and weather. The most urgent of these now concern the
wonderful perpendicular windows of the Milcombe
Chapel, where the walls seem to be made of
glass,allowing the inside of the church to be flooded
with light and brightness. Here many of the delicate
mullions, to which the glass is attached, are seriously
cracked and these famous windows will be in very real
danger of collapse unless the necessary repairs are carried
out shortly.
All those involved in the restoration of our Parish
Church feel a deep sense of gratitude for the generosity
shown during the first year of our Appeal, but we know
that we still need as much help as we can muster if the
Church is to be fully restored. Only when that has been
achieved will we feel confident that our heritage of this
beautiful church, handed down to us over the last 800
years, will continue to provide inspiration and joy to
generations yet to come.

The Lent Appeal
The essence of Lent is Change — a recognition that as
the natural world around is changing with the coming of
Spring, so we should actively, as St Paul says, 'work out
our own salvation.' Lest this sound to Pelagian, we
hasten to say that the purpose of our Lenten activity is
simply to provide a fertile ground in which the seeds of
God's grace can grow in us. It has come about equally
that we should not be the only beneficiaries of Lent —
that in our efforts to respond to the warmth of God's
love, we should also be channels for it to affect others
less fortunate.
News of Louise and her deafness first reached the
school via a Deanery Chapter meeting. There was, we
heard, a special unit which had just been set up, for
children whose hearing was severley impaired, at the
Queensway School in Banbury. Six children there had
been provided with the standard hearing aids, but they
were very inadequate for the ordinary ways of school
life, resulting in distortion and confusion for these small
children. We then heard of a recently-pioneered electronic
'phonic ear' which made it possible for these
children to hear, talk and play as other children. By
brilliantly enhancing any residual hearing ability, these
new devices were able to transform the educational
hopes for the children. With certain acclamation the
School Church Council on meeting Alison Holman, the
teacher in charge of the unit, decided that we might like
to be involved in a change for the better as far as Louise,
one of the children, was concerned. The price for the
Phonic Ear was £1300 and it was with the greatest
pleasure that even before the Lent Term was out, we
were able to give a party for Louise and her friends and
to present David Martin, the Headmaster of
Queensway, with the requisite cheque. His letter to
Michael Vallance says all that needs to be said.
26
The Lent Appeal Cheque
Dear Mr Vallance,
We are still in a state of euphoria over the donation
which came from your school last Tuesday which will
enable one of our children to be equipped with a new
stereophonic radio aid. I have already expressed my
thanks to the representative group of pupils who entertained
the children so effectively on Tuesday and to Mr
Stein and Father Gunner.
However I do feel that I should write formally to you
because this was very much the kind of community
effort which I, as a Bloxham resident for the last 14
years, have come to accept from your school community
and therefore I would like the thanks and appreciation
of myself and my staff to be as widely known as
possible.
I felt that the photograph in the Guardian epitomised
the joy and hope of the occasion as well as the evident
caring. I would like to congratulate everyone on the individual
and team effort which will benefit Louise.
In talking to your pupils I extended an invitation to
them to return to the school if they so wished and indicated
that in this specialised kind of education the
input of intelligent adults was welcome, so that if they
came they could be fully involved with the children.
I hope that in time to come we will be able to
demonstrate the advances made by Louise and the other
children with the help of the new aids. Meanwhile please
accept our sincere thanks.
Yours sincerely,
David Martin
Headmaster

Art
Edinburgh
Two British Rail ham sandwiches and three cups of
coffee later the train swept us into Edinburgh station.
After half an hour we managed to accost a taxi and were
sped through the glacial air of Edinburgh's streets to
our guest-house with the six-star bathroom and
mountainous breakfasts. No, this was not just a long
way to go and lie in on Sunday morning and miss
Chapel. Anyone following the progress of the Bloxham
Art Department will of course realise that this was the
pilgrimage to Richare De Marco's gallery at the World's
End. In fact, we never saw inside the gallery so maybe
you will be forgiven for thinking this another excuse for
a week-end away from school.
Although we spent our first evening very enjoyably in
a small Italian restaurant don't be misled into thinking
28
we bypassed the more cultural establishments. We made
rather a flying visit to the Scottish National Portrait
gallery where, other than the usual exhibits, we saw an
impressive exhibition of Press photography. That afternoon
we returned to the Gallery of Modern Art, having
called earlier in the morning in the pouring rain only to
find it closed. This second visit, however, was rewarded
by the discovery of several excellent garden sculptures
by, amongst others, Henry Moore. Having been spoilt
by the Tate, so near to home, the collection of paintings
seemed relatively small, it was however diverse and interesting.
The gallery is situated in public gardens, and
deserves to attract as many visitors as the Tate.
Perhaps the two high-spots of our visit were less
directly linked to art. On what must have been the
coldest day of the year in the coldest place in the British
Isles, we walked the jetty at Cranbridge, muffled in
scarves and coats. The wind numbed our left side as we
walked down and our right side as we returned. But it
was worth it. There is something exhilarating in being

frozen by an icy wind and splattered by sea spray, and
something even more exhilarating about the sight of a
small pub tucked beside the road on the return home.
Later, as it was getting dark we drove on to the Forth
Bridge, across it and back. With the car parked a little
way beneath it we admired the lights of the Forth and
the small railway bridge running parallel. Funny how
many have admired the splendid iron-work of the great
Forth road bridge, but no one seems to have ever noticed
the exquisite little railway running next to it.
We did of course also manage to visit the castle (and
tea-shoppe) and Prince's Street before reluctantly climbing
back onto the train for our long journey home.
Dufy and Hockney
In February of this year, the Art Department travelled
to London where the Lower Sixth and Mr. Matthews
visited the 'Genius of Venice' Exhibition, the National
Gallery and the Tate, being joined there by the sixth
form and Mr. Bateman who had been to the Hayward
Gallery to see Dufy's exhibition of late post-
Richard Crowther
impressionism work and David Hockney's novel joiner
photography. The former was ablaze with colour and
tropical fun. Flags fluttered at Ascot, Henley and
French National celebrations. Verdant plants hung in
towers visited by brilliantly coloured Pacific birds. Blue
seas glittered and flowers swirled in profusion over
fabric designs. The exhibition was a feast for the eyes
and a Paradise for the senses. One which I wandered
around endlessly before my eyes gave in to the pleas of
my feet.
The Hockney exhibition, however, was one which I
was disappointed with. Having seen a documentary on
his work which fascinated me I was looking forward to
seeing something new. Perhaps I would have been more
satisfied by the work if I hadn't known about it before.
As it was however, I felt that it was fun and a novel
idea, but one that quickly lost its interest and cloyed
with time. There was nothing new in each picture as they
all followed the same formula. There was merely lacking
Hockney's genius with a paint-brush.
29

lst XV Rugby
I feel the season as far as the lst XV is concerned can
best be summed up as frustrating. The playing record of
won 7, lost 6, in no way reflects fairly the performances
overall. Through no fault of the players, there was
something of a congestion of fixtures immediately after
half term, when the team was asked to play four matches
in the space of seven days. Added to this, in the
same week were County trials for more than half the
side and it is therefore no surprise to record that of the
four matches played that week, three were lost.
The team however added to their problems with some
inconsistent performances. At times they played some
superb rugby and at others it was what can only be
described as mediocre. In several games, they
dominated the opposition without really threatening to
score a try. They must certainly learn to be more
ruthless if they are to gain success.
The season did have a lot of extremely satisfying
moments. One remembers particularly the destruction
of the two Magdalen College sides, Brackley and Oxford,
an outstanding performance in beating RLS Buckingham
by 38 points to 7, and a very exciting final game
against the touring St David's College side from Llandudno,
which ended in a narrow victory for us.
T. Wright headed the points scoring table by a long
way. As the season progressed, he was striking the ball
beautifully and his goal kicking proved to be vital in
several games. The backs only occasionally showed
what they were capable of as a unit, although individually
they played well. I. Davies grew in confidence
and proved to be an extremely accomplished fly-half
and he thrived on the excellent protection and service he
received from N. Whiteley. Outside the half-backs, R.
Shouler and S. Janes were a powerful, thrusting pair of
centres, although at times they perhaps lacked the
necessary confidence in their own ability. On the wing,
J.Rice, the old man of the side, showed he had not lost
that knack of scoring vital tries.
The forwards on the whole performed well. They
scrummaged particularly well at times, although again,
inconsistency and concentration were problems. The
line-out work was far too loose, and poor Nick Whiteley
at scrum-half must have had nightmares about the ball
he received from the line-out. Indeed, as the season
went on, his hair turned decidedly grey, or was it white?
The back row excelled, with T. Straughan and J. Tarrant
working tirelessly. Mention here must be made of
the contribution made by the Captain, D. Schnurr. He
matured as a leader through the season and worked extremely
hard throughout. He is certainly to be congratulated
on his efforts.
SPORT
Five boys were selected for the County Under 18
squad — I. Davies, G. Francis, S. Janes, W. Johnson
and J.Tarrant.
In conclusion, I do feel sorry for the players as they
did not achieve the success they deserved. They worked
extremely hard at all aspects of the game and trained enthusiastically
at all times, However, experience is a great
thing, and I hope lessons have been learned for future
sides.
2nd XV Rugby
The second XV had another good season, playing good
quality rugby witfi determination and commitment. The
first match was played in appalling conditions at Abingdon
and we were unlucky to go down .7-10 in a
game which could have gone either way. The experience
was invaluable, for the side needed all the courage and
determination it could muster in a fine win against
Warwick. After we had scored two excellent tries in the
first half, Warwick came back strongly in the second.
But we held them off and scored another fine try in the
closing stages to win by 14-8.
This began a run of five matches, all of them won.
Rendcomb and St. Bartholomew's were overwhelmed
by 44-4 and 38-6 respectively, Dean Close were
mastered 9 - 4 in a scrappy one and Magdalen College
Oxford were well beaten 25-0. The side was playing attractive
and positive rugby, and travelled confidently to
Bromsgrove. Unfortunately we conceded points to a
bigger side at the start of the match and, although
finishing well on top, went down 6-16. Royal Latin
were efficiently dispatched by 20 - 0 but Kingham Hill
snatched victory 10-15 with an interception try in the
last minute. The record of 6 wins and 3 defeats, with a
points tally of 173 -63, would have been better but two
schools, whom we normally meet, were unable to raise
sides to play us!
31

The success of the team was undoubtedly built
around an efficient and talented pair of half backs,
backed up by young and improving centres. Phil
Hawkins at scrum half is a fine ball-player and should
do well next season, as should the two centres, Bobby
Arbuckle and David Knight, who gained confidence as
the season progressed. At fly half, Dave Maxwell was in
his second season in the side and his experience was
invaluable in steadying the side at critical moments. On
the wings, Stephen Simpson and Nick Deane both had
well-deserved spells in the First XV and Stephen, an
elusive and deceptive runner, also scored ten tries for
the Seconds in only five matches. He also is a good
prospect for next season.
The forwards generally had to work hard to provide
good ball for the backs, the stronger players being less
mobile and the speedy back row being somewhat small.
Mark Lavington, Tom Rees and Peter Blake provided a
solid front row, and Simon Philpot and Chris Cooney
scrummaged well and contested the line outs fiercely.
The biggest and best forwards were Dave Finney and
Hadi Kanan, both of whom played for the First XV on a
number of occasions. In the back row, Mark Coxeter,
Murray Brown and Alex Mollo did a lot of good work
and will be valuable players next season.
Chris Cooney was an enthusiastic captain and Bobby
Arbuckle had a high success rate as the kicker. All of the
team contributed much towards an enjoyable season
and, with so many fine players contesting for a First XV
place, the prospects look good for the Second XV again
next season.
3rd XV Rugby
This year's side was a particularly young one, and there
were fewer of the old and experienced lags remaining.
Tony Bluff and Ralph Ward-Hill who shared the captaincy
of the side through the season particularly gave
the benefit of their experience, and in the third fifteen,
this tends to be invaluable. Unfortunately, because of a
change in the calendar, the match against St. Bartholomews,
Newbury, was cancelled and the team had
to face Abingdon for their first match; the scoring
power was at the base of the scrum and not from the
three-quarters, who rather lacked experience, and it was
not surprising that the only try came from Alex Mollo in
a neat dash from the back row near the line. The try was
unconverted and the team did well to hold Abingdon to
a 6-4 loss, with some very promising play from both the
front and back rows of the scrum. The following match
against King Edward VI School, Stratford, provided
weaker opposition, and the chance to put some attacking
moves into practice; tries came from Matthew
Petersen, as number eight, and at last from the threequarters:
Peter Rice, beginning to control the threequarter
line, Nick Bell, and a fast run and score from
Nick Rudge.
There were some changes in the side for the away
match against Warwick, and Ralph Ward-Hill took
over the leadership from the front row, and Ian Barker
was brought in as scrum-half. The team lost heart
against a side that featured many talented players, and
only managed a converted penalty from Peter Rice,
against the opponents' 22 points. The team was further
strengthened in the weaker areas of the centres in the
match against M.C.S. Brackley 2nd XV, and Bobby
32
Arbuckle and David Knight were most welcome additions,
and, with Paul Mosey and Richard Poole on the
wings, provided possibly the strongest line of the
season; Richard Poole and Paul Mosey scored and Bobby
Arbuckle converted both, and put over a penalty,
against the opponents' one penalty. This certainly
boosted the team's confidence, and they had an excellent
game and a well-deserved win against Rencomb,
winning 27-0; Paul Mosey ran in two tries, Ian Liddington
one, Mark Lavington one and Roger Knowlton-
Clark one. Peter Rice converted two and one penalty.
A new fixture and a very hard-fought game on both
sides, against Berkhampstead 3rd XV, brought a loss by
two unconverted tries, and a side depleted by illnesses
and injuries in the 2nd and lst XV's played away to
Dean Close, losing 24-4, though Charlie Wilson proved
a courageous and accurate full-back. However, a match
against a rather unskilled side from Magdalen College
produced tries from nine of the side, and a final score of
54-0 adjusted the scores for the score-book, though as
usual, when the Bromsgrove match arrived, the side was
much depleted, and did well to hold to a 0-0 score for
quite a time until finally being beaten by fifteen points.
My particular thanks to Ralph Ward-Hill for his captaincy
over a happy and most enjoyable season; the
final score-board read 127 points for, and 78 against.
This was a most creditable season.
4th XV Rugby
It was our kick. But on the whistle we were always too
hesitant, either too lumbering or too courteous, to
snatch initiative in those first minutes. Still, the pack
were there eventually, spurred on more often than not
by Philpot W's snarling battle-cry or Furness'
anthropoidal enthusiasm. And then, if we were lucky,
the ball would be out from the melee and — Yes! —
down the line: not always as far as the wing, not always
covering much distance (except sideways) but usually as
far as the centres. Sometimes, (and then it was
splendid), Galletly the Iberian gazelle got it and ran.
Who cared if he had only met a spherical ball before?
Who saw if he jumped the odd tackle? His legs were
long and he enjoyed the sprint. And when the action
touched him, Wong on the other wing was fleet of foot
too, treading a precarious course between 'touch' and
the five-metre line.
If the ball went out of play, we would seldom win a
line-out: no spring, or too much lunch, or something.
We were no good at defying gravity. But we could spoil
alright and save a mess. And when we did clear it from
the line or the loose, Roe made a neat link to the threequarters.
We practised tackling many a time, but few had the
nerve or the verve to succeed whole-heartedly in
bringing their opposite number and the ball down in a
match. Davies C.J. and Bloomfield were our two
consistent saviours, with Aldous, who caught and
kicked as a full-back ought.
The season was fun and fair. The division coped very
well with the enthusiasm of an ignorant coach and the
poachings by the 3rds (who had been poached from the
2nds, who had been ... up the ladder). It was not at all
unusual for the team still to be uncertain even while the
coach revved up outsided main entrance. Kawar G. the
long-suffering, last-minute reserve was a real chap.

Colts Rugby
The Colts XV enjoyed a successful season winning all
but two matches, and these were extremely closely contested.
Results, however, inevitably tell only one side of
the season's story. More important is the manner in
which the results were achieved. In this the Colts can
have reason for considerable satisfaction, since the
season saw a development of unit and team skills
without quite so much reliance on the individual
prowess on which the team's past success had been based.
The forwards were a powerful unit seldom bettered.
Justin Giles in the end adjusted well to playing prop,
while Philip Austin at right-hand displayed great allround
technique. Murray Graham started well at
hooker but was unfortunate to sustain a serious neck injury
in the match against Warwick. Not only did this
prove a handicap in that match (finally lost 10-6) but the
position of hooker remained something of a problem
for the rest of the season. At first Evan Watson proved
an able deputy, but illness prevented him from playing
in the last part of the season when he was replaced by
the enthusiastic but inexperienced Spencer Voakes. The
second-row pair of James Russell and Alastair Teare
served the pack well and, in addition to their normal
duties, their mobility ensured some good support tries.
The back row of Mark Chapman, Jonathan Axbey and
Stuart Davies proved a formidable combination, each
complementing the other. Davies will long remember his
four tries against King Edward VI, Stratford. Axbey's
good defence and mauling still were always an asset,
and Chapman's presence inevitably gave the opposition
cause for concern. In addition to his contribution as a
player, Mark Chapman's captaincy was an inspiration
to the side, which owed much to his drive and direction.
The half-backs were very important to the success of
the side. Mark Nash's skill, persistence and bravery (in
the face of people several times larger) provided standoff
Anthony Stimpson with good service which was well
used. Stimpson's kicking was effective and he was
always capable of providing a surprise for the opposition.
His break against Bromsgrove set up an excellent
try for us to win a very hard-fought match. His goal
kicking lacked consistency, but that he is talented in that
direction is not in doubt.
In the centre Peter Rozee and Matthew Collins (who
also successfully played at full-back) could make room
for their wingers and developed a better sense of timing
the pass. This is reflected in the number of tries scored
by the wingers during the season. Kojo Mensah was a
great success in his first season on the right wing.
Although at times in practice his handling appeared
suspect, he never dropped the ball when a try was on!
On the other flank Neil Garner provided speed and
penetration, and was rewarded with several good tries.
He also played successfully in the centre when the occasion
demanded.
At full-back Michael Eden well displayed his accomplishments,
hampered only by a slight lack of pace.
He also played in the centre and at stand-off when injuries
required, and left spectators in little doubt as to
his class. When required to play, others also performed
creditably. Redvers Mole was a dependable player,
while Jonathan Sturgess showed promise when called
upon in the latter part of the season. It is an indication
of the strength of the side that Matthew Civil could not
retain a regular place. However, he played on several
occasions and always made his presence felt. In addition
to this valuable contribution, he captained the 'B' team
in their unbeaten season.

AYLESBURY • HIGH WYCOMBE • SLOUGH
and QUEENSMERE SPORTS, Slough
Junior Colts
Victory in the final three matches of the season was just
reward for a season that had seen much improvement
but had not previously brought much success. The rucking
and mauling technique of the forwards was at times
outstanding, and indicated an application and concentration
that was even more commendable when success
was not assured. The forwards lacked the depth in
height and size to provide them with initial control, and
the ability to bring to fruition their own efforts. The
backs lacked the size, Chris Clee apart, and coordination
to turn hard won balls to advantage. Always
exposed for defence on the flanks, particularly on the
blind side, and playing the majority of games away on
pitches where such deficiences were more difficult to
hide, eventual exposure led to defeat.
The first matches against Abingdon and MCS
Brackley were lost as the team attempted to organise
itself, but already improvement was obvious against
King Edward VI, Stratford, where the game was turned
by the strength of their scrum half. By the visit to Rendcomb
the forwards had put their act together and victory
was well deserved, and only the vagaries of
mischance stopped a complete runaway. An undefeated
and confident Warriner side were surprised at the
resistance they had to overcome, and had the team
possessed- the ability to capitalise upon their initial
counter attack after half-time they may well have upset
the odds. Defeat followed in an unsatisfactory game at
Dean Close, but good efforts at MCS Oxford and
Bromsgrove were pleasing if not rewarded. And so to
the final victories over Royal Latin, Kingham and
Cokethorpe.
William Wright captained the team well; always
positive and willing, he led by example. Joe Maingot
and Robert Fry made up the rest of a strong front row.
Nigel Hinde and Adam Bolton showed excellent im-
34
provement at lock, though neither possessed the height
normally required, and their best work followed in the
loose. Lee Johnson and Ed Sadleir worked on the
flanks; both tackled and drove well. Daniel Morgan was
at number eight by virtue of his singular height, which
was often exposed by lack of cover, and it took
sometime before he could use his natural advantage to
good effect. Behind, Chris Clee dominated at full-back;
his handling and kicking were impressive as were his
counter-attacks launched frequently from deep inside
his own half. Often spectacular they will be more successful
when they are launched nearer the opponents'
line. Roger Brown, slight and small, struggled determinedly
at scrum-half but was not able to take advantage
of good ball win. Nick Bertram moved to stand-off
and showed a fine ability to read the game, and with
greater strength has much promise. Hugh Bates has
much natural ability but was often singular in his approach.
Neil McLellan, David Hill, Greg Benfield and
Simon Dunt made up the rest of the back division. The
team has much potential, and will do better than their
present record, but they can be well pleased with their
efforts and improvement.
Under 14 Rugby
The side made a steady improvement during the season
to finish with a record of won four, lost six.
The season opened five days into the term with a
heavy defeat (27-0) at the hands of Abingdon when the
boys names were scarcely known let alone their ability!
Things were a little better by the following Saturday but
the side still went down 26-6 against MCS Brackley. The
improvement continued however so that they were
unlucky to lose 18-16 to King Edward VI, Stratford.
With a break of five weeks in the fixtures, a more
established pattern of play, adapted to the better-known
strengths and weaknesses of the side, had the desired effect
of a win, albeit narrowly, over Rendcomb (6-4).
Now the team went from strength to strength scoring an
emphatic win over the Warriner (42-6). Even though
they lost 7-0 to Dean Close, they defended well against a
good side — earlier in the season they would have lost
heavily.
It was all the more annoying then that through a couple
of silly mistakes the game against MCS Oxford
should have been lost (18-12) when apparently won
before the last ten minutes. Also a better kicker would
have levelled the scores.
However, the side re-established itself with two good
wins over Bromsgrove (27-18) and Royal Latin, Buckingham
(38-0) alas to go down in the numbing cold at
Kingham Hill (22-14).
The team undoubtedly improved significantly during
the season and there are some talented players in the
group. Chief amongst them was Turton, the captain,
who really led by example. He was ubiquitous in attack
and defence, a powerful back row player in the making.
Alongside him in the pack was Mawle at loose-head
prop — he too will establish himself as a player to be
reckoned with in the future. Not far behind these two
were O'Donnell, Perry and Morris. So with these five to
form a nucleus in the pack, there should be a good
potential for the future. Holton is a good hooker and
improved in the loose well while Pinnock,

Pothecary,Teare and Heidt (when he came in from the
centre) all had their movements in a scrum that worked
increasingly well as a unit.
Deeley and Pears made an effective pair of half-backs
though Deeley must remember that his first job is to setup
his three-quarters with good ball. Pears played an encouragingly
balanced game at stand-off but could not
quite release the backs outside him. Scheltens was
plagued by injuries but with his turn of speed will do
well, and Conrad-Pickles, despite his height, showed a
nice eye for the opening. On the wings Lang and Dundas
buzzed about without quite finishing off moves with
tries.
At full back Nicholl tried very hard without quite
having the natural flair for the position and Russell
when he was moved late in the season showed how good
he should be when he gains experience and confidence.
Hargreaves, Blayney and Crowther played in- the
three quarters sometimes and gained experience for the
future.
First XI Hockey
The lst XI squad started their season in impressive style.
The two weeks prior to the planned opening fixture
being energetically used for fitness and skills work, the
battle for places was on. Six players remained from the
preceding team, together with three boys with a full
season in the Seconds, and the successful Colts side of
1983. Certainly, there was little disparity between 'A'
and 'B' elevens when the time came for full-scale trial
matches, and hopefully this augured well for a strong
second team unit for the season.
As ever, after a fortnight's uninterrupted use of our
grass pitches, the weather intervened and frozen pitches
led to the cancellation of the matches against St. Bartholomews
and Warwick respectively. Thus, the Royal
Grammar School opened our season, a well-established
team with a term's hockey already played and a sprinkling
of talented County players as their foundation. An
exciting game ensued, dominated for the most part by
two well-organised defences. A goal by Hawkins saw
the scores of 1-1 well into the second half. Forward
composure in our opponents' circle was lacking, not unnaturally,
and the lack of sustained match practice of
this pace became more evident as the game progressed.
A penalty flick missed by Tarrant proved critical, two
late goals were conceded to a jubilant High Wycombe,
and the XI were left to ponder upon missed opportunities.
However, the team bounced back impressively
just four days later with a fine all-round performance,
in wet and slippery conditions, against Cheney School.
Goals by Hawkins, Whiteley, Wright and Shouler confirmed
an emphatic victory fashioned by a dominant
performance from the midfield and consistent use of
both wings. This pattern was sustained later in the same
week in the home game with Dean Close School, an
even encounter over the years but with a Bloxham victory
overdue. The early deadlock was broken by a
Davies goal from a short corner, but our opponents
looked dangerous on the break. However, the eleven
then produced, midway through the second half, a sustained
spell of exceptional hockey, a "purple patch"
when each attack seemed to bring a goal. Shouler scored
with an unstoppable drive from the edge of the circle
following a good build-up; Wright converted a penalty
36
flick with ease, with Hawkins and Davies demonstrating
their impressive skill with two fine individual goals.
Thus, 5-0 was the result, a fine win and an excellent
team performance.
Half-term then intervened, followed by frozen pitches
and cancellation of the Bromsgrove match, unfortunately,
for the second successive year. By this stage,
three of the team were regulars in the County Under 19
side, while generally the eleven were gaining in confidence
and understanding, showing great promise for
the remainder of the term, culminating in the Oxford
Festival. Against King's School, centre-forward Coxeter
confirmed his early season promise by notching both
goals in a comfortable 2-0 win, while skipper Davies had
a field-day against Oxford School, scoring four times in
the 7-0 victory. Tarrant notched from the penalty flickspot
in the same match, while Whiteley ran riot on the
right flank, also scoring twice.
The game against the Oxford Bulls, increasingly a
strong combination of Radley masters and boys, proved
equally as entertaining as in recent years, a 1-1 draw (the
fourth in successive seasons) being the outcome of a
keenly-contested encounter played at a rapid pace, with
Davies the inevitable scorer. In the following match at
Solihull, a fast dry surface saw the home team take the
lead, only for left-winger Wright to equalise with a
neatly-taken goal. In a close finish, it was that man
Davies who again snatched the winner, this time from a
short corner. The next day saw an excellent, open game,
considering the damp and holding conditions, against a
youthful Old Bloxhamists' team. As the game progressed
the fitness and organisation of the School side
became increasingly evident, and three sparkling openplay
goals resulted from Davies (2) and Hawkins; 3-0
was the final score.
Then followed two rather poor performances by the
XI, frustration and anxiety increasing as chances went
begging in attack. The defensive deadlock against King
Henry VIII was eventually broken by a superb openstick
break by Wright on the left-wing, then cutting in
from the twenty five and powering his shot from fifteen
yards in off the far post; Davies added a second, a
superb solo dribble beating four men before rounding
the goalkeeper. At Rendcomb, Coxeter scored, after
only one minute's play what proved to be the only goal
of the game. Bloxham was squandering chances at one
end, while, with a shaky display from the full-backs,
giving 'keeper Liddington a good deal to do at the
other. A better all-round performance then resulted at
Abingdon in a close encounter, with Shouler, Hawkins
and Davies dominating the game from midfield, and
goals from Wright (penalty flick) and Davies seeing
Bloxham through to a 2-1 victory. The final fixture of
the term was played on the Ridgeway pitch (Park Close
being waterlogged) in varied conditions, a thunderstorm
being followed by bright sunshine. A splendid game
resulted and six goals were shared in the dominant forward
battle, Whiteley having an outstanding game on
the right-wing, with himself and Davies (2) the
goalscorers.
Thus the eleven went to the Oxford Festival for the
last three days of term, with fixtures on the opening day
against Clifton and Worksop. In the former on a small
flat pitch at St Edward's, Wright produced one of his
best performances of the term, scoring both of our goals
and setting problems with skilful dribbling or pace. The
game was as good as won, despite a brilliant performance
from Clifton's centre-half, when a goalkeeping
error in the last minute let in the equaliser (2-2). Against

Worksop on a first-class pitch at Abingdon School,
Coxeter scored the game's only goal after ten minutes in
a well-deserved victory, with the Bloxham defence of
Francis, Knight, Tarrant and Mosey in dominant form.
On Tuesday, our only game was against a strong and
well-organised Wellington team at Horspath. A firsthalf
goal was conceded, but Bloxham came back
strongly in the second half, creating several good
chances as a result of penetration on the right by
Shouler and Whiteley, only to see the final shot go
astray. However, the XI regained their winning streak
on the Wednesday when, after conceding a goal after
two minutes, Hawkins and Shouler found top gears in
skill and speed to control the match, Davies and Wright
(2 penalty flicks) sharing the goals in a 4-1 win. In the
last game, Bloxham twice took the lead in a fast and
open contest against Stamford. Arbuckle notching his
first goal for the eleven with a deft flick and Wright adding
the second, but a determined fight-back by our opponents
saw them snatch a draw.
Overall, the team had a most creditable season, playing
17 matches (3 cancelled), winning 11, drawing 4, and
losing only twice, with 42 goals for and 15 against. The
stability of the side was an important factor, eight
players being ever-present over the season, with one
other team member missing only one game. However,
the XI were a skilful and athletic unit, with three County
players in critical positions, Ian Liddington in goal,
Ian Davies in central midfield, and Tim Wright on the
left wing. The two Ians also played in the Divisional
Trial at Bisham Abbey: Davies (16) and Wright (10)
scored 26 of the team's 42 goals. Ian Davies led the side
by example. He was, inevitably, the outstanding player
on the pitch, and the scorer of many fine individual
goals, possessing a ferocious scoring shot to combine
with his excellent stickwork and dribbling skills. At fullback,
Murray Brown significantly improved his game
over the season by hard work, while John Tarrant
possessed good speed, and marked tightly; both players
worked hard on their stickwork. Guy Francis, an experienced
player who organised those around him well,
gave the defence its stability. He was a clean striker of
the ball on his day, and loved to come forward in attack.
Paul Mosey at left-half was again the fittest player
in the team; he marked well and enjoyed overlapping
down the left. Philip Hawkins and Rob Shouler assisted
Davies in midfield and when all three were in song, the
team was at its best. Shouler fulfilled defensive duties
particularly well, and hopefully will be able to get forward
more often into goalscoring positions next season.
In contrast, Hawkins disliked defending, but was
perhaps unlucky not to register more goals in attack: his
stickwork was excellent at times, and he combined well
with Wright on the left-wing. Mark Coxeter led the attack
skilfully and unselfishly, finding space and acting
as a goal target; he will want to improve, though, on his
four goals in the 1985 season. Nick Whiteley continued
to develop well over the season, playing several games
of distinction on the right-wing, getting behind the
defence and laying on centres for the strikers, also going
all the way to goal himself on occasions. Besides these
core players, Robert Arbuckle and David Knight played
six games each, which should prove valuable experience
for more regular appearances in 1985. Peter Rice and
James MacLennan also played in the XI; the latter was
unfortunate not to have played first team hockey more
often over the past two seasons, during which time
Bloxham must surely have possessed the most talented
pair of goalkeepers in the county.
Thus, 1984 proved a successful and enjoyable season
for a skilful and hard-working team, with a large
number of enterprising and entertaining matches. As
ever, sincere thanks must go to Derek Green and Frank
Watts for their conscientious preparation of pitches for
both practice and fixtures.
2nd XI Hockey
After the most strenuous limbering-up exercises in the
Gym and on the quad, the team felt ready to tackle any
traffic cones that they might come across. Just as
well,since the January monsoons kept us off the grass!
It was not until the third scheduled match that we actually
started play in earnest. All our pre-match warmups
and team meetings seemed at last to have been of
use, in fact Dean'Close seemed to be rather like the traffic
cones we had until then only experienced. They even
wore red and white! A good win was recorded with
Knowlton-Clark showing himself to be difficult to stop
in the box! Almost three weeks later the monsoon
abated enough to allow a trip to a misty Gloucester. The
2-1 win gained was only memorable due to the fact that
Clive Gunn the Gloucester umpire managed to perform
in a plaster cast on a pitch rather like Doyle's Great
Grimpen Mire!
The sun came out for us in Solihull, but for once we
played as if we had never seen each other before and
only just scraped a 1-1 draw. Whilst the team were playing
the Old Boys on Park Close, I was umpiring the lst
XI over near Park Close — I remember four loud cheers
— two from either side and a large grin from Bill
Johnson! Having had a game away from my umpiring,
the team were obviously wanting to show just what they
could do to Henry VIII, Coventry. Perhaps we thought
they were the Mattese Soccer Team but sufficient to say
that when we got to double figures the tea and sandwiches
seemed more important! Anyway Arbuckle and
Rice already had had three a piece and three is enough

for anybody! We played some good out-touch hockey
to dismiss Abingdon. At the last hurdle versus
Magdalen College, Oxford, on the Siberian Steppes of
Ridgeway, we succumbed at last by two goals to one.
Team spirit was always high and, even accounting for
the weather, it was altogether a good season — well
done!
3rd XI Hockey
This was a most successful season, with only one defeat.
The side cheerfully led by R. Warner, played some
positive attacking hockey. G. Kawar led the attack well,
showing good skill in tight situations. E. Davies worked
hard at centre half, showing considerable ability. The
defensive pairing of R. Warner and C. Cooney was
always solid, if somewhat lacking in pace!
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the season was
the amount of strength in depth, at this level.
Competition for places in the 3rd XI was fierce, and we
could often have fielded a good 4th and even on
occasions, 5th XI.
Colts Hockey
The Colts XI had a rewarding season — four wins, two
draws and two games lost. On the whole there was more
individual flair exhibited than solid teamwork.
Following a drawn game at Dean Close, the team
went on to record convincing wins against Royal Latin
and King's Gloucester. A hard game at Solihull was lost
in the dying seconds by the only goal of the match. At
High Wycombe the Colts were well beaten by a very
good Royal Grammar School 2nd XL
38
Clare Holifield
The season finished on a high note with a somewhat
fortuitous draw at Abingdon and good wins against
Rendcomb and M.C.S. Oxford.
Mark Chapman, as captain, set a good example, he
played solidly at back, usually in the centre, while on his
left Jim Hartwell had a wonderful season, showing
great skill and application in defence. Both Matthew
Civil (reserve goal-keeper) and Redvers Mole played
once or twice at right-back but Andrew Johnston worked
hard to establish himself in that position. In goal
Mark Boiling was brave and skilful and his unruffled
approach was invaluable in times of stress.
Kojo Mensah was effective and always cheerful at
right half. In the centre Mike Eden was both strong in
defence and forceful in attack, though inclined to boil
over at times. Mark Nash, very skilful and adaptable,
generally played left half. He showed a wonderful
temperament and work rate and was always good value.
The attack was spear-headed by Stuart McLellan who
gained confidence with every game — he put in seven of
the 21 goals scored in school matches. Kevin Lee improved
throughout to give good service on the right
wing. Stuart Davies, from hesitant beginnings,
developed into a mature and skilful player, able to use
his speed to some purpose on the left flank. That important
position at inside left was filled by Tim Dean. His
good humoured approach was deceptive — he may have
appeared easy going but his control of stick and ball
enabled him to operate with some authority.
Mike Eden and Tim Dean played regularly for Oxfordshire
and were joined later by Mark Nash and Jim
Hartwell — all four were awarded their County Colours.
The rest of the Colts Division were not without
endeavour and there were many who showed promise —
Gibson, Hollomby, Greenwood and Teare are names
which spring to mind. The player who improved the
most was surely Ewan Watson who never gave less than
100% effort.
In conclusion, thank you to Mark Chapman and the
many others who helped in various ways both on and
off the field throughout the season.

Juliet Battersby
Fives
This was the first season for many years where results suffered from the fact that two of the best four players also
played for the lst XI hockey team and thus were unavailable for the majority of the Fives fixtures. At its best the
lst IV was extremely powerful: the full IV of Janes, Deane, Davies I and Hawkins defeated St Dunstans who could
reasonably claim to have been the top Fives school in the country in recent years. At other times the regular IV of
Janes, Deane, Bell and Maxwell or Simpson struggled to defeat against fairly average opposition. Irrespective of
results: played 12, won 4, lost 8, the senior IV worked hard and my thanks are due to the Captain, Shaun Janes,
who was an able number 1 and kept the team going well.
The Colts IV suffered from the occasional injury which depleted the side for a couple of difficult games, but
generally produced some very powerful Fives when at full strength. The first pair of Rozee and Collins were a
match for anyone at their best, although they occasionally lost concentration in the doubles. The second pair of
Brown and Axbey, or later Brown and Bennett, provided solid support, Brown being probably the most improved
player in the division on a par with Collins and Rozee by the end of the season. The colts played 7, won 4, lost 3.
The junior colts probably represented the other side of the enjoyment of Fives. They suffered from the loss of
their number 1, Castle, for most of the season with appendicitis, and their results were unimpressive. However,
they played with great enthusiasm, putting in more practice than anyone, and never failed to enjoy a match or to
learn from it. Tse and Eagles C were the most successful players, but Eagles J, Dufoo and Harris also played well.
At still more junior levels the season saw a large and talented group of under 14s learning the game and the
general enthusiasm throughout the school is as great as ever. The future seems assured.

Junior Colts Hockey
There were two outstanding features of the Junior
Colts' season — firstly the improvement which came
about during the season and secondly, and possibly contradictorily,
the inability to score goals.
The season opened with a heavy defeat at the hands
of Dean Close (8-2) and my feeling was: the worse the
weather for the season the better, as fewer games would
be played! But to the side's credit they worked hard at
improving their game and a measure of that improvement
was a narrow 2-0 defeat to Rendcomb late in the
term. Rendcomb only three days before had drawn
with, and been unlucky not to defeat, Dean Close. The
overall record of wins, defeats and draws, including the
festival at Warwick, does not really do the team justice
— and the main reason was this extraordinary inability
to score goals.
Anyone watching the game within five yards of the
opposition goal would have been peppered with hits —
yet few were on target! Clee was our leading goal-scorer
— from centre half! At the Warwick festival, in two
hours' play, the side scored just one goal!
Yet we had some very good players, outstanding in
the case of Clee. For a young man of his age his hitting
power is quite phenomenal. His level of skill is equally
high — but as yet his distribution and use of other
players is limited. He fell into the trap of doing too
much. But undoubtedly he is a high class player. Not so
far behind him was Bertram, the captain and back. He
was always steady, sure in the tackle and thoughtful in
distribution. Alongside him at back Benfield, or Baker
J, or Griffin showed promise but they need to improve
their distribution and positional play. Either side of
Clee in the half-backs, Wright and Hill worked hard
and supported the forwards well with good distribution
— they made up a most effective half-back line. In the
forwards, McLellan showed some good ball control and
speed but was too easily discouraged; Bates ran and hit
the ball hard, though not always in the right direction;
Mackay and Brown showed some nice touches but both
will need to speed up and Dunt made some good runs
and crosses but was ignored too often.
Clee and Bertram represented the County U15 side
and they will form a good nucleus around which to
build the team. Once the forwards find the target better
with their shooting the group will do well.
U14 Hockey
As With most U14 hockey seasons, the term began with
an extensive programme of games, coaching and trials.
It was soon evident that there was considerable potential
in this particular age group with a wide range of talent
at different stages of development. The fact that 18
players were used in a nine match programme and that
three of these were goalkeepers promises well for the
future.
The first game, away to Dean Close, was a tough test.
The lack of experience in the team was soon evident
against an opposition able to push the ball around with
an authority which can only come from being together
as a team over a considerable period of time. Excellent
work at centre back by Currall and two or three inspired
40
blocks by O'Donnell in goal helped to keep a clean sheet
during the first half. Accepting that we could not match
the quality of the Dean Close build-up, the team settled
down in the second half to play a good defensive game.
Turton gave away a penalty flick late in the game
following a rather rash tackle in his own 'D' but made
amends soon afterwards by converting a penalty corner
to secure a draw.
The standard had been set and everyone who played
knew that there was a lot of hard work ahead. To be fair
to Dean Close, had their finishing matched their approach
work, the game could have been well won in that
first half but, having survived that period of the game,
the Bloxham team showed a good deal of character in
forcing a draw.
The bad weather ruled out our game against Brornsgrove
so it was not until the day following our return
from half-term that we found ourselves on a flat and
very fast pitch at Kings School, Gloucester. The team
played as if suffering from "jet lag". Defenders were
getting caught in possession inside their own 'D' while
attackers almost invited the opposition goal-keeper to
clear before shooting at goal. This 3-0 defeat against
sound but unimpressive opposition was quite a setback
and nobody was really satisfied with their individual or
team performance. The one bright point from the game
was the promising debut of right-winger Scheltens.
The mid-week game, away against Oxford School,
was played on a pitch which did not encourage close
control. Turton did not have a happy time with the
numerous penalty corners awarded to Bloxham. The
uneven pitch made it difficult to stop the ball and ex
ecute a clean strike. The encouraging factor from this
6-0 victory was the number of goals coming from open
play showing a greater degree of teamwork than had
been evident in previous games.
The Saturday game at home against Solihull gave
Teare his chance in goal, the third goalkeeper to be used
in as many matches. Following an uncertain start he
settled down and produced a couple of good saves but
generally had little to do as the Bloxham team took control
of the game. Morris, as if sensing that his low workrate
and lack of action in the attacking 'D' was not going
to be good enough to secure a permanent attacking
position, responded with a more aggressive game and
three goals in a 5-0 win.
Our game at Rendcomb College promised to be a difficult
one but the team gave a sound display winning
3-1. The pitch was flat and fast and it was interesting to
see phases of the game where the careful and thoughtful
build-up gave way to lapses in concentration resulting in
a low percentage of attacks leading to direct shots at
goal.
The defence was now looking quite solid with Currall
playing an intelligent game at centre back and Perry ad
ding good distribution to intelligent positional play and
sound tackling at left back. Turton as captain of the side
had by now settled into the centre half position where he
was able to use his tireless running and sound tackling to
maximum effect. He was given good support from
Conrad-Pickles at left half, who showed excellent control
and timed his tackles well. In contrast, Heidt at
right half provided the aggression which kept the attack
supplied with solid hitting from defensive positions.
The game at Abingdon gave everyone associated with
the team immense satisfaction to be able to come home
with a 4-2 win; three of the goals being scored by Turton.
This game was followed by another away win by 4
goals to 3 against RGS, High Wycombe. This set the

team up nicely for the final match against MCS, Oxford,at
Bloxham. Always a competent side, MCS won
2-0 despite Bloxham having most of the game in the second
half. This game, as with the Dean Close fixture,
showed the value of a settled side which had been
together rather longer than the Bloxham team. It exposed
areas of individual and team play which can only be
improved by constant practice and further match experience.
The team spirit throughout the term was excellent and
surely was typified by Baig who played a squash tournament
match before the final game, insisted on staying
on the pitch for the second half of the MCS match
knowing he had another squash game to follow. I am
sure the enthusiasm in the squad spilled over and captured
the imagination of parents who, as well as turning
up as far away as Cheltenham and Rendcomb College,
came in force to Bloxham for the MCS game.
I must once again express my thanks to RJB for all
the invaluable help given throughout the term, to Ian
Turton for leading the team so well and to those parents
who so regularly braved the elements to give their support.
D Currall made selection to the final 22 of the
English Independent Schools U14 squad but unfortunately
did not make the squad of 15 which toured
Holland during the Easter holidays.
Senior Cross Country
The team never really came up to the standards that last
year's lst VIII had achieved, even though there were
fine individual performances on many occasions and
general improvement throughout the term, both as individuals
and as a team. In the first match of the season
against Stowe, Bradfield, Highgate and the Old Bradfieldians,
we lost convincingly on a long, cold course at
Bradfield. Michael Davies was our only runner home in
the first ten, and it was a pattern he set for the rest of the
term, leading always in the events, whether at home or
away. Dan Schnurr was 18th and Richard Wamsley,
struggling with his asthma for much of the term,
managed a commendable 20th. Two newcomers to the
VIII were David Finney and Ben Harvey, and they added
some weight to the team by their efforts.
In the area trials, we were completely successful at
U20 level and U17 level, winning the title for the second
year running in the senior event. Davies in a sporting
gesture let a Croughton runner in first, since the
Croughton runner had stopped to redirect him.
Schnurr, Petersen and Wamsley became members of the
North Oxfordshire area team for the county trials later
in the term. It was the only match of the season where
there was snow on the ground. Fortunately, the weather
proved more amenable later in the term, even if it did
rain from time to time, giving rise always to the pious
hopes that events would be cancelled or washed out. Little
did the runners realise that nothing, apart from six
foot of snow, is likely to halt the Cross Country runner.
In a match at Worcester against the Royal Grammar
School, we fared very badly, with much injury and unfitness
playing havoc with even the best runners. The
course was completely new to the team, and they found
circuits at a high speed very unlike our own version of a
course. In this match, Mark Inman demonstrated an increasing
maturity of style which should put him in a
good position next season if all goes well, coming in
15th in a very strong field. Michael Davies was again
our only scorer in the top 10.
At Kingham Hill, there were no such problems, for
we decisively beat them, even if we did have to borrow
two of our more experienced Colts runners, Joe Maingot
and Spencer Voakes, to help us along. Here for
the first time, Howard Wincott showed his true form as
a determined runner with potential for the future.
Against Bedford and Wellingborough, at Bedford on
their 'round the Crematorium' run, we were second to a
remarkably strong Wellingborough team, Davies competing
against top county runners and performing very
well to come in third.
It was slightly frustrating to be beaten by just four
points at St Edward's, one of our oldest rivals on the
circuit. A fine performance from Davies and Wincott
helped us close the gap, and Bjorn Aarhuus, on loan
from the Colts for the occasion, added to the near miss
on the score. Against Shiplake we were unlucky, even
on our own course, for a fine run by Davies just did not
have the backing to make anything of a good possibility.
We therefore lost the Woodcock Trophy, just failing
to make it a hat-trick of wins against Shiplake.
Cheltenham College on our own course was not much
better — I think by now the runners were tired and looking
forward to the end of term. A certain amount of
good humoured merriment was seen at the massive
match versus the Old Boys, where a team of 26 had to be
produced to match the huge droves of OBs who turned
up to run against school. It was an object lesson to all
that the fastest runner of all was also the oldest participant,
Mark Levitt!
In the National Championships at Croydon, Michael
Davies represented the U20 Oxfordshire team, whilst
Jane Fountaine and Elizabeth Harris were the first girls
from the School running in the area trials, the county
trials and the national trials. All three were deservedly
awarded their full county colours on a cold wet and very
miserable day in the inappropriately named Happy
Valley at Coulsdon.
Dan Schnurr led the team in a quiet, determined way,
and although not having as successful a season as he
might have wished for, deserved the reawarding of his
full colours as Captain; Michael Davies gained full colours
on the field in the county trials, and showed that he
will be a force to be reckoned with next year. I am not so
sure the remainder of the team will be able to cope with
his rigorous plans for their training as soon as the Lent
Term begins! He acted as a most competent and efficient
secretary throughout the term, even coping with
the noisome task of the cross country vests after a
match. Half colours went to Richard Wamsley who battled
on through the term, and gained in stature considerably;
to Mark Inman who showed style and
humour as he gained in speed in the training; and to
Howard Wincott who surprised himself on several occasions
by producing good solid results. There was a good
back-up from Ben Harvey, Matthew Petersen and
David Finney, with Abi Ogunsola and Stephen Hill
coming in where necessary to make up depleted teams.
My best wishes for the future. I have enjoyed the ten
years of management of the teams — idiosyncratic we
may be in the training programme of warm-up in Great
Hall, in two Bodicote Runs in one term and in individual
temperaments, coach included — but at least
we get somewhere on most occasions! It is not necessary
continued on page 44
41

Still Life : Charles Butler

to be crazed to be a member of the cross country
divisions year after year, but it does help. I leave the
divisions in the competent hands of Michael Davies as
Captain, Spencer Voakes as Secretary and Joe Maingot
as Colts Captain for 1985.
Colts Cross Country
Before describing the season enjoyed by the Colts VIII
one might as well announce the fact that the Lent Term
was characterised by great enthusiasm and determination
from the Junior Division as a whole. In many ways
Cross Country running is a sport for individuals; it was
good to see individuals working together to build up a
friendly division swift in the squad, dogged in
support,and reliable when called upon to mark the
course.
The triangular fixture against Stowe and Bradfield is
always a nasty one to start the season. This year
Highgate were also running the Bradfield course. It is
not particularly steep — nothing, except perhaps
Kingham Hill, can compete with our own Hobb Hill
course — but it is swift and speed on the flat is not the
strength of our squad, especially when freshly returned
from a holiday of Christmas bingeing. Bradfield were
clear winners with 46 points, but we did very well to
come in with 99 against Highgate's and Howe's 85. Our
score reflected the talent of our leading four; Maingot
(2nd), Aarhuus (8th), Voakes (10th) and Hargreaves
(18th) who were to establish themselves as an indomitable
team throughout the season.
The Area Trials were run in snow. (One of the
delights of the season is the variable conditions under
foot: frozen mud, mire, surface water — but this was a
real novelty.) Hargreaves was our only entry in the
Under 15 age group and he came in fifth out of fortyeight.
In the Under 17 bracket Bloxham won as a team
with 116 points, the Warriner School coming second
with 129. Once again Maingot, Aarhuus and Voakes
were in the top fifteen and went on to run in the County
Trials in Oxford where, with Hargreaves (U15) they ran
hard round a monotonous course though without
securing a place at the National Trials.
The match at R.G.S. Worcester against that school
and Malvern was a close run thing. Although we were
second (64 points) to Malvern (50) our leading four
scored 27 points against Malvern's first four's 36. It was
a lesson worth heeding; though a sport for individuals,
success depends upon all of the six runners to count
keeping as far out of the double-figures as possible.
The day after exeat saw the Colts contributing two
men, Voakes and Maingot, to an open away match
against Kingham Hill. Despite early trouble with his
knee, running on the tarmac, Maingot ran in third only
1.69 minutes after ME Davies came in first. Voakes
came in fifth 28 seconds later. It was clear that our
senior VIII had some pressing rivals.
Success continued with an embarrassing convincing
win (39 points) against Wellingborough (72 points) and
Bedford (96 points) over Bedford School's flat urban
course. The defeat three days later at St Edwards, Oxford,
was a disappointment. The age qualification when
we run against St Edwards is lower so the Colts lost
Aarhuus to the senior VIII, which perhaps made a
difference. Our confidence was also knocked when the
St Edward's team took off on a course which decidedly
was not the one outlined at the start. It is impossible to
take the lead when you have no idea where you should
be going. So this was a resounding, if explainable,
defeat of 60-26. Unfortunately this pattern continued
with the away match against Rugby, lost 64 points to 23.
The Rugby course is very unlike the rough of Hobb Hill,
being one-third road, one third grass and one third old
railway track. But the most off-putting aspect of this
match were the six 'guest' runners who were not
counted but nonetheless complicated things. There is a

strategy to team running which depends upon knowing
and pacing your opponents, this we were unable to do.
However, the two victories over Shiplake and
Cheltenham made a pleasant change with their respective
scores of 33-47 and 37-44 closing the inter-school
season on a successful note.
Throughout the season, Spencer Voakes was an
admirable Captain; he will be succeeded by Joseph
Maingot. The strength of the squad seems assured, basing
an assessment on this record and with some promising
Juniors moving into the division. However, it is important
to remember that a successful squad is born out
of a committed division and mention should be made of
the dogged runners, Shurvinton, Mulley, Hulme,
Lucas, Channing and Lloyd who participated enthusiastically
and regularly.
Inter-House Cross Country
The Senior and Junior events held in March are always
keenly viewed, sometimes with enthusiasm, and
sometimes with loathing, but they are two of the biggest
single occasions for the sports programme, and always
give housemasters, captains of running and the masters
in charge of the cross-country divisions the most
headaches and problems, as well as moments of sheer
frustration.
This year, the senior event was anticipated as
providing some good competition for those who had
trained regularly with the cross-country division and
those who were fit and keen to show that they too could
manage the 4 miles of the senior Hobb Hill course. In
the end, Michael Davies of Raymond took the title and
the course record, with a fine run; followed by Nick
Whiteley and Howard Wincott. The house
championship was seized by Wilberforce with an
excellent turn out of all the house seniors who were
actually able to run that afternoon — a fine
achievement, this — and a well deserved triumph for
Richard Wamsley as the House Captain of running.
Raymond came second with 412 points against
Wilberforce's 240, and Wilson were third. One
impressive sight was to see the heavier members of the
hockey, fives and squash divisions valiantly pounding
round, and in many cases doing very well. After the
sheer doldrums of this event a few years ago, this sort of
determination augurs well for the future. It shows a
decided house spirit emerging to win this collective
event.
In the junior event, Egerton smashed all known
records for the best score with nine home in the first 16.
To make quite sure, Spencer Voakes and Joe Maingot
took the first two positions — it was quite a sight to see
them come in to the cheers of the spectators. Then the
stream of Egerton shirts, broken only by a valiant
Michael Conrad-Pickles at third place, Richard
Woolliams back to his old form at 5th place, and Mark
Pears of Crake at 6th place. Murray Graham, Nicholas
Taylor and Jeremy Wales came in the first 16, but the
rest were all Egerton, whose score of 186 for 13 counters
was quite remarkable. Crake were second home at 553
points, Wilson third at 556 and Raymond 4th with 670
points. There were even fewer short cuts and casual
approaches to the event this year than last, and again
this was a good sign for the future.
A well contested girls' event took place on the same
day as the Senior event, and Jane Fountaine took the
cup setting a new course record for the event. 18 girls
took part, the largest number ever. As was proper,
Elizabeth Harris, the other county runner, came in
second.

Shooting
Shooting at Bloxham has been brought out of the Stone
Age with the introduction to the CCF of the new
Parker-Hale 7.62mm rifles. Despite the few atavistic
grunts that may still be heard echoing aroung the
Otmoor range in these enlightened times, the sense of
power felt by loosing-off a round is enough to beguile
the most sophisticated shooter with a sense of
irreversible progress.
The Michaelmas Term saw the Bloxham VIII Cadet
Pairs et al, careering down the motorway to Pirbright,
in order to take part in the CADSAM shoot — a school
and ACF competition in which the more military aspect
of shooting was concerned. Instead of the normal
'Bisley' targets (i.e. the black bullseye on white
background) we had cut-out men to shoot at, and we
were using the old Lee-Enfields with their magazines to
do the shooting as well as trying our luck with LMGs.
As for the quality of the shooting it was, shall we say,
rather a hit and miss affair. The results failed to live up
to the expectations of the team, under the guidance of
the Captain, Simon Furness-Gibbon, and the
redoubtable Secretary, Dave Nash. CADSAM was,
however, a relief after the rather grisley Bisley of last
summer, where the heat and sweaty Gurkhas proved
somewhat stifling.
Bloxham's success lay in our .22 shooting. After
much coaching and direction from Mr Wilkowski, we
had at last some victory. In the Michaelmas Term the A
team won the BSSRA Divisional Championship, and
last term the C team followed the success. Adorned with
ridiculous badges we are now able to strike fear into the
heart of any opposing team. Bloxham's success for the
future seems to lie in some of the younger members of
the division, who in practices this term have produced
some very good full-bore scores. However, no matter
how good the shooting in practices, the actual
competitions seem to spell disaster. This was reflected in
the Oxfordshire Rifle Association meet at Otmoor in
May. We probably could have done better with
peashooters, but on reflection they may have proved a
bit of a strain at 500 yards.
Hope, however, springs eternal, and it is within the
realms of possibility that this term and in particular
Bisley, will prove more successful.
The .22 teams were as follows:
A Team — Furness-Gibbon, Nash, Morgan,
Davis, Gibson
B Team — Bannerman, Cordingley, George,
Morris, Ray
Tennis
The School put out one of its best VPs for some years
this season. The first pair of Taylor and Deane was extremely
hard-hitting and a match for any pair, as indicated
by their victories in all three rubbers against
Eton this term. The second pair of Fowler and Brown M
was very steady, particularly early in the season, providing
excellent support to the first pair, and for
example winning 3 points to the first pair's 2Vi against
Dean Close. The success of the first two pairs enabled us
to persevere with a very talented Colts pair, Buchli and
Davies SJ, as the third pair in the lst VI. Though rather
inconsistent, at their best they were capable of beating
almost anyone and improved steadily over the season. A
back injury to the Captain, Giles Taylor, kept him out
of the team early on, and one or two clashes with exams
later meant that the record of won three, lost four, was
disappointing. However, some excellent tennis was
played and my thanks are due to the captain and to Nick
Deane who set a wonderful example throughout the
term.
The Colts team was less successful, winning only one
of their four matches. However, they too progressed
greatly over the season, improving in particular, in
doubles technique. Lee K and Boiling were the most
talented pair, but McLellan S and Dean; Godfrey and
Taylor B; and Stimpson and Yates all worked hard over
the season.
A feature of the tennis in recent years has been the
dramatic rise in standards at schools with large hard
areas and indoor tennis facilities. This was reflected at
the BSLTA Championships (Clark Cup) where Taylor
G and Fowler did well to reach the quarter-finals of the
plate competition. It is to be hoped that Bloxham will
also be able to boast such facilities soon.
Sailing
This season the division approached its sailing with
spirit. One potential submarine was replaced by a rather
better fibreglass boat during the winter and the team
competed in eight matches against other schools with
the conviction that they were good enough to win. Thus
victories were logged against teams from Oundle and St
Edwards, and the matches against Rugby and Stowe
were judged to have been close won things. Another
puff of wind to help Carr and Sadleir gain six inches
would have meant victory over Rugby.
CJ Cooney and RT Ward-Hill sailed GP 9939 for the
school in the Banbury Sailing Club Sunday series of
races, achieving several excellent placings plus a notable
first.
Five house rages were sailed near the end of term.
These resulted in the Wilson team coming first overall
with Seymour the runners up.
Results:
May 19th v Solihull School away at Oulton Mere .. .lost
May 22nd v Radley home at Boddington lost
June 2nd v Dean Close away at South Cerney lost
June 16th v Rugby home at Boddington lost
June 23rd v Oundle home at Boddington won
June 26th v St Edwards home at Boddington won
July 3rd v Wellington College away lost
Team:
Helm Crew
CJ Cooney (capt) RT Ward-Hill
RG Barker ST Nattrass
AA Carr JE Sadleir
DWJ Brounger (Secretary) and TA Berry also crewed.
ST Nattrass helmed in the match against St Edward's
School.
Fleet:
6 GP14s
g.r.p. sail numbers 9939: 9560: 9514: 9509:
wooden sail numbers: 10,001: 6636;
47

Squash
Despite having lost all five first-team members at the
end of last year Bloxham squash has not suffered or
dwindled — indeed a new period of growth and
strengthening has begun.
In the squash division eyes have been on the Juniors,
on whom our future success depends. David Eary was
the new arrival this year, and despite lacking fitness has
shown promise for the future — he and David Rice have
been challenging hard for the top positions in the Junior
team. Throughout the season, Ben Burrows and Ben
Taylor battled it out for the No 2 junior spot. More
often than not Mr Burrows has come out on top, more
by luck than judgement perhaps. During the various
school matches both have, though losing some of their
fixtures, proved themselves worthy to succeed the present
senior players in future years. The mainstay of the
junior team has of course been Mark Nicholson who,
with much determination, pulled himself through a very
difficult season, and showed signs of improvement and
maturity.
The Senior team, stricken with the loss of last year's
players did surprisingly well, losing narrowly to Rugby
and Warwick, both far larger schools. Justin Fowler
and Mark Coxeter played consistently well, with reliable
performances from both, at No 5 and 4 seeds respectively.
Anthony Yates, the No 3 had a more erratic season,
only justifying his seed towards the end of the season.
Giles Taylor, our captain, again proved consistent, and
pulled off jome surprising victories in matches against
Beauchamp and Warwick. But by far the most outstanding
player this season was Najeeb Baig, who was
unbeaten until the memorable encounter with Chalky,
in the Old Boys match.
48
Paddy Barker
All thanks must go to Mr Harrop and Mr Stead, who
ran the division very effectively, and made the season an
enjoyable one for all. Mr Folliott should not pass
without a mention, faithfully providing competition for
the seniors throughout the season.
In all, it was a mixed season, with few victories in the
schools' league, unfortunately, but the school squash
team is still undergoing a period of recuperation, and as
Mr Stead says, in two or three years time, the squash
team will be stronger than ever before, and more able to
compete in popular tournaments like the Schools'
Squash Festival and the Premier National Squash Competition.
Life Saving
Each summer term, anxious eyes are cast heavenwards,
and then toes are dipped experimentally into the swimming
pool, haunt of glaciers and icebergs (so it is
claimed), to assess the chances of a good swimming
season in Life Saving and Survival. In my usual cheerful
manner, I insist that they — the heroic band of life
savers, that is — go into the water come what may,
bearing in mind that we can never be certain what the
conditions will be like when it comes to the actual
awards and, more significantly, the majority of life saving
rescues are undertaken in far worse conditions than
our pool. The work for the Bronze Medallion award is
exacting — it requires physical stamina, quite a lot of
theoretical knowledge, and sheer guts to keep going
when the water is cold, the weather gloomy and the instructor
more demanding than usual. There are

casualties — some fall by the wayside early on when
they realise that it is not going to be quite the easy option
they thought it was. Opting-out solves little but it
does give them an easier life, I suppose. Others find that
they are simply not yet strong enough to cope with the
physical demands, and decide to go for the lower
awards to give themselves a chance to build up to the
high awards in a year's time.
At the other end of the swimming-scale come the poor
swimmers or even the non-swimmers. They have an
equally tough time to start with, for they need to overcome
their dislike of the water and gain sufficient confidence
to start swimming in what are still fairly chilly
conditions. The Banbury Spiceball pool is of great use
in these early stages therefore. Later on, as our pool
warms up, they can manage to survive in the chill and
then even enjoy the warmth. Between these two extremes
come the ordinary swimmers who improve their
style and gain some award in life saving or survival as a
result.
This year, the division has concentrated on Life Saving
awards offered by the Royal Life Saving Society.
The Amateur Swimming Association awards have
changed so much that until there is time to assess their
scope, it is better to leave them alone. The rules for
becoming a privileged swimmer have also been amended
to state that anyone in the 4th form or above possessing
Intermediate Life Saving RLSS, or Level 2 ASA Survival
may now count themselves to be swimmers. The
ASA awards are examined internally whereas the RLS
examinations are by external assessors, so there is the
added complication of travel arrangements and
weekend working.
What successes? Eight Bronze Medallion awards,
with the almost certainly unique occurrence of a Warriner
swimmer joining us, gaining his award and appearing
in the division photograph. David Warren is now in
the Marines, training, and the Bronze Award was a
useful extra to his pre-Marine training. He blended in
very well with the other swimmers and enjoyed the experience.
Our own awards were gained by Philip Kirby,
Philip Dainty, Jason Bradley, Andrew Bastable,
Spencer Voakes, Jonathan Pryse and Mark Inman.
Without exception, they tried hard and gave a great deal
of time to gaining the award. I shall not forget the occasion
when in the examination itself, Jonathan Pryse
managed the rope throw in 59.8 seconds, 0.20 seconds
outside the necessary time! Split second timing indeed.
He seemed unconcerned by it and carried on as if
nothing had happened! There were several failures. It
would not be fair to list them, as they may well try again
later. It does go to show that there is no certainty in the
event at all. What did disappoint me in this, my final
year as trainer of the division B, was the fact that several
swimmers who had trained through the term did not
bother to turn up on the day in question for the award,
or opted not to complete it. It is a sad comment on their
determination perhaps. Well done, though, to those
who completed the course. We gained two intermediate
awards in the form of Richard Cambray and Jamie
Griffin, and Water Safety awards from Andrew Gibson,
Bruce Phipps, Robert Fry and Simon Griffin.
The Survivalists had a complete new range of techniques
to learn, including the H.E.L.P. position and the
HUDDLE position in the water. Many from outside the
division had a go at this and did well. They were mainly
lower school, to gain the status of a privileged swimmer
next year, but David Dent had a go just to prove it could
be done even by someone of his advanced years! I
should, at this stage, mention David's help in the term
teaching and coaching alongside me with such a large
number of swimmers to deal with. He would make a
good coach for swimming with his patience and
resourcefulness.
I have enjoyed setting up division B as a viable alternative
to the team swimming, and running it for the last
10 years. It has been rewarding to see the high awards
gained and the non-swimmer launch himself and finding
that the water does hold him up. I shall not forget the
sight of Robert Fry discovering that the deep end was
just as good a place to swim as the shallow end. Even
those who do not swim easily should be encouraged by
the determination of Simon Griffin windmilling across
the pool. An extraordinary sight and one not easily
forgotten! I am most grateful to my colleagues who
have lent a hand in running the general swims, particularly
Mr Kemp, Mr George and on one occasion, the
Editor-in-Chief of The Bloxhamist, Mr Matthews. My
most abiding memory of the pool enclosure? Sunny
early morning swims with a motley crowd of dressinggowned
and slippered individuals wending their sleepy
way across the lawns (!) and along the paths to the pool
and the surface of the pool suddenly awash with waves.
These early swims have had one other unexpected result
- they have allowed FRU to get on with work early in the
day whilst Thomas has watched entranced from his window
as swimmers have cavorted, leapt and splashed
around. Above all, I hope they have enjoyed
themselves.
49

Athletics Swimming
This was one of the warmest Athletics terms for many
years. We all enjoyed ten days of hot weather at the
beginning of term which made getting fit a comparatively
pleasant business. However, this spell was not to last
for the Woodard School Athletics meeting, held at
Ellesmere this year. We were royally hosted at this wellrun
meeting but it was too early in the term to tease
many good performances out of the athletes on a cold
and blustery day.
Our results in the inter-school Athletics matches were
better than initially anticipated. Both the Senior and
Intermediate teams had areas where our coverage of
events was rather stretched, but nevertheless the Intermediates
were successful in their matches with
Cheltenham and Abingdon but lost to Dean Close and
Radley, whereas the Seniors lost to Cheltenham and
Abingdon but did beat Dean Close in a triangular match
at Radley. In the Area and later the County Championships
at the Iffley Road stadium, there were some fine
individual performances, in particular from Nick Rudge
in the 400m and Paul Mosey in the 200m.
Paul Mosey was Captain this year and he could
always be guaranteed to turn in good performances in
the 100 and 200m and established a new school record
of 22.9 sees for the 200m. Guy Ingram proved a careful
and competent Secretary and did most of the paperwork
for the Standards Competition. New school records
were also established by Jonathan Sturgess in the Intermediate
Triple Jump with a jump of 12m 16, and by
Kojo Mensah in the Intermediate 200m with a time of
24.1 sees.
Full colours were awarded to Nicholas Rudge and
half colours to Stephen Eberlin (for his long services in
the Discus), Michael Davies, Guy Ingram and Matthew
Petersen. Colts colours were awarded to Kojo Mensah,
Mark Chapman, Redvers Mole, Neil Garner and
Jonathan Sturgess for consistently good performances
throughout the term. Clare Holifield should also be
commended for her results in the Discus at the Area and
County Championships.
On the penultimate Sunday of term a number of Old
Bloxhamists gallantly agreed to compete against the
School team in a match to mark the retirement of Brian
Kemp who has given unflagging support to the School's
athletics for many years. They were perhaps not as fit as
they were when they last competed but nevertheless
some stirring performances were put in by Keith Thorns
and Ian George (running for the OBs on this occasion!)
in the sprints, by James Wigmore and Nick Warren-
Evans in the 800m and by Ashley Keenes and Bobby
Simpson who proved that the speed and strength of
their throwing arms had not diminished. As agreed
beforehand, the result of the match was a draw!
In the end of term Sports it was Raymond House who
dominated, winning both the Senior and Junior competitions
while Egerton won the Intermediate competition
and the Standards Cup. Mrs Mosey kindly
presented the Cups, a great number of them to her son.
Finally, I would like to thank Brian Kemp for his unfailing
assistance and good humour. He has been the
mainstay of Bloxham's athletics for many years
coaching with infinite care the middle distance runners.
David Whiteside joined the Division this year and has
been an enthusiastic assistant in all areas, and the
Ground Staff have kept us well-cut and well-marked
out. My thanks to them all.
50
The omens were not particularly favourable for this
season: out of six matches on the calendar, one was
cancelled because of bad weather, one because there was
a teachers' strike, and so there was no-one to man the
pool, and one because the headmaster had sent all the
sixth form home at the end of their A levels, and the
coach had no-one left to swim... Of the three matches
played, the first was won and the next two lost.
However, despite all this, the team trained better than in
most years, thanks mostly to the example and leadership
of Tony Straughan; we were able to use the Spiceball
Pool much earlier than usual in the season; the size of
the squad too was small, which made training in a
public pool during public time possible. The first match
against Sibford School was for Open, Under 16 and
Under 14 age groups, which gave us a chance of having
a look at the younger swimmers in action, and certainly
the Under 14 group of Craig Perry, David Curral,
Simon Blayney and Ian Turton swam with style and
determination, and this augured well for the future. All
three groups won decisively, with a final score of 54
against Sibford's 29.
After the exeat, we were able to use the Warriner pool
on a couple of afternoons a week, which added more
flexibility to the training. The away match against
Wycliffe College was lost heavily, as expected, by 38
points to 82, the one redeeming light being Christopher
Clee's performance in 100 yards backstroke, and the 33
yards freestyle. The away match against Warwick was
also a conclusive defeat, by 40 points to 80, though
Carlos Galletly gained a well-deserved second in the 100
yards freestyle, and Philip Hawkins began to show his
strengths in the breaststroke sprints. Immediately after
this match we were straight into the House competition,
and with good weather and the solar panels now working
properly, the heats and finals attracted competitors
and spectators alike. Wilson had the strongest showing
and were assisted ably from the cricket division by Sean
Janes and others. And Ian Davies emerged from the
cricket division to win the senior 50 yards butterfly, and
also the senior 100 yards freestyle for Wilberforce.
which was rather depressing for those who had been
training throughout the term The final score was:
lst Wilson, 91; 2nd Egerton, 55; 3rd Raymond,36'/2;
4th Seymour, 31; 5th Wilberforce, 30Vi; 6th Crake, 9.
My particular thanks go to Tony Straughan for all his
hard work and encouragement in a frustrating season,
and to David Knight for his efficiency as Secretary.
lst XI Cricket
For the first time in recent years we were able to use the
nets and the square before the first match due to the
warm spell of weather. This paid off as we batted with
confidence in the first two matches. It has, however,
since then been a rather mixed season with the bat. The
opening pair were heavily relied upon to set us up for a
good score. This was only achieved a few times
however. MacLennan started the season well with Rice
lacking in confidence. However, by the end of the
season Rice — with new bat! — showed a great deal of
grit and determination. An opening partnership of 105,
sticks in the mind. Janes was either brilliant or dreadful,
but all in all managed to stay on the plus side until the

last game. Davies I, who never looked entirely happy as
a batsman, at times held the middle order together.
With injuries to Eden and Tarrant, Wright came into
the side for the Woodard School Festival at Hurstpierpoint
and was a revelation with match-winning performances.
Even Rozee managed at times to become a
batsman: and very effective too. As for the bowling,
Hartwell and Rozee have been magnificent at times as
the figures show. Rozee, always the great trier, was
most effective, especially against Worksop College in
the Festival. Davies I and Shouler, as first change
bowlers, have managed line and length and have tied
down many a middle order.
Thanks must go to Derek Green and John Bull for
preparing some magnificent tracks and outfields for us
in a season when too much sun was a problem!
Match Results '84
Bloxham 197-5 dec. Janes 55
Wellingborough 138-4 Match Drawn
Warwick 187-8 Smith 107
Bloxham 177-5 Match Drawn
Rendcomb 195 -4 dec.
Bloxham 131-9 Match Drawn
J. Rice's XI 169-4 dec. Russell 100 n.o
Bloxham 121 Match lost
Stowe 161 - 3 dec.
Bloxham 78 Match lost
Bloxham 65
Bromsgrove 66-8 Hartwell 7-34 Match lost
Bloxham 193-8 dec. Janes 67
XL Club 92-7 Hartwell 6-26 Match Drawn
St. Bartholomew's Newbury 109
Bloxham 113-2 Match won
Common Room 148-9 dec.
Bloxham 150-3 MacLennan 66 Match won
Old Bloxhamists 199-9 dec. Cooper 76
Bloxham 189-9 Janes 92 Match Drawn
M.C.C. 199-8 dec. Palmer 65
Bloxham 106 - 7 Match Drawn
Dean Close 160 Davies I 7-40
Bloxham 133 Davies I 70 Match lost
Bloxham 207-5 dec. Shouler 54
M.C.S. Oxford 163-4 Match Drawn
S.O.A. 207-3 Carter 64 n.o.
Bloxham 209 - 3 Rice 54 MacLennan 52 Match Won
Abingdon 127 Rozee 6-40
Bloxham 110-6 Match Drawn
WOODARD SCHOOLS' CRICKET FESTIVAL
(Hurstpierpoint)
Bloxham 169 Wright 51
Hurstpierpoint 173-6 Macmillan 63 Match lost
Ellesmere 202 Holmes 66 Hartwell 6-81
Bloxham 203 - 6 Match Won
Bloxham 147
Worksop 142 Rozee 8-64 Match won
Peter Rozee
Batting Averages
Inns Runs Highest Not out Average
Score
Janes 18 494 92 2 30.88
MacLennan 17 465 66n.o. 1 29.06
Davies IR 14 272 70 2 22.66
Collins 13 228 44 3 22.8
Shouler 17 323 54 2 21.53
Rice 18 308 54 0 17.11
Wright 4 116 51 1 38.66
Bowling Averages
Hartwell Overs 206.5
Rozee 232
Davies IR 177.1
Shouler 125
Maidens Runs Wickets Average
58 552 40 13.8
51 686 36 19.06
30 527 25 21.08
22 404 15 26.93
51

2nd XI
The Second XI enjoyed their best season for some years.
Victories against Wellingborough, Stowe, Bromsgrove,
Dean Close and MCS Oxford, and the better of draws
against Warwick, Abingdon and Kingham represented a
fine achievement. Only against Cokethorpe lst XI did a
weakened bowling side perform badly; whilst a much
decimated side went down to Rendcomb.
The season started with an outstanding batting performance
against Warwick with John Tarrant just
failing to get his century, ably supported by Tim
Wright; Warwick were left well short with few wickets
standing. Wellingborough were dismissed cheaply, and
Guy Francis saw the side safely home. The finest victory
came against Stowe who were well restricted to a modest
score, but left few overs for which to gain victory. After
a cautious start, bold batting by Tim Wright and Ed
Davies brought victory in the final over by seven
wickets. Bromsgrove and Dean Close could provide no
opposition to our bowlers and success was never in
doubt; whilst an exciting victory was gained in the last
over against MCS, Oxford. Kingham Hill scored a draw
against after a good batting performance by us, and the
season finished with Abingdon hanging on in the last
over with one wicket remaining. This game wasn't one
of the side's better performances, but was a good end to
an enjoyable season.
The team was well captained by Tim Wright, who
handled the bowling well and whose approach was as
positive and as uncomplicated as his batting. The
strength of the side rested mainly with its bowling led by
Tom Rees and Matthew Parrington who opened, and
were able to move the ball consistently enough to worry
most oppositions. Chris Jory proved a useful offspinner,
whilst Nick Dean from the tennis division
helped out on more than one occasion, and Tim Wright
bowled some useful overs. The batting sometimes looked
fragile, but only really failed against Cokethorpe.
Chris Jory, John Brown, and Mark Nash provided the
more orthodox defence, though Mark Nash was often
frustrated by his inability to punish the bad ball and
rarely gained the runs promised. Tim Wright attacked
well, whilst John Tarrant and Ed Davies soon departed
to the first eleven after their success. Guy Francis,
David Maxwell and Roger Knowlton-Clark added some
useful runs, but were all notable in the field, where the
side's performance was often impressive. Some spectacular
catches, and David's and Guy's fine out
fielding, combined with good bowling and some purposeful
batting, made it a season worth remembering.
Under 14 Cricket
This was a most successful season for the Under 14's.
After losing the first match to a very good Wellingborough
side, the team developed into a fine all-round
side which promises much for the future.
Against Wellingborough, we batted first on a damp
wicket. Facing a good attack, we found runs difficult to
come by and were dismissed for 65. Turton with 15 and
Morris with 29 made the score look something like
respectable. Wellingborough passed that total only
losing two wickets in the process. That proved to be the
52
only defeat of the season and the only time we were in
any sort of trouble.
A much improved performance against Rendcomb
saw us dismiss them for 67, with Baig and Blayney
taking 4 wickets each. The total was passed for the loss
of 3 wickets.
We always held the upper hand against Bromsgrove,
although the game ended in a draw. Batting first, we
totalled 140 for the loss of 7 wickets, Turton scoring a
hard hitting 46. At close of play, Bromsgrove were 114
for 9.
Cokethorpe proved to be rather easy opposition. We
again batted first and totalled 170 for 9. Currall scored a
fine 62. In reply, Cokethorpe had no answer to the pace
of Baig who took 6 for 6, and the guile of Holton who
took 3 for 16, and they only managed a total of 41.
Against Kingham Hill, we managed another high
score, reaching 170 for 7. Turton with 42, Baig 34 and
Pears 27 being the main contributors. In reply,
Kingham were 103 all out, Hockey bowling with great
pace taking 6 for 27.
Perhaps the best all-round performance was against
MCS Oxford when chasing a total of 142 for 5, we
passed the total comfortably for the loss of 5 wickets,
with time to spare.
Against Abingdon, we scored the huge total of 207
for 4. This was mainly due to some ferocious hitting
from Baig (81 not out) and a fine innings of 43 not out
from Hockey. The innings of Hockey proved just how
strong a side this is, as he had been at number 11 all
season and had not actually batted. Needless to say, the
Coach was suitably embarrassed! In reply to this enormous
total, Abingdon made no attempt to go for the
runs and although batting for more than two hours,
managed only 99 for 5.
The side certainly shows a great deal of potential for
the future. There is good all-round strength in the batting
with Turton, Currall and Baig all scoring nearly 200
runs. The bowling attack is nicely balanced with genuine
pace from Hockey, Baig and Pears and the variation of
Holton and Currall.
Mark Pears proved to be a capable Captain. He is a
fine all-round cricketer, who perhaps did not fulfil his
true potential with the bat. However, he will score many
runs in the future I am sure. Cricket is an extremely
difficult game to captain, particularly at this age, and he
has much to learn. However, he has matured greatly as
a leader as the season has progressed.
Many congratulations to all involved in a fine season.
We look forward with interest to seeing you all in the
First XI in future years.
Junior Colts Cricket
Two things make for a successful season at this level: a
couple of individual performances per match with ball
and/or bat and hard work by the team. We had our
share of individual performances, although not quite
enough to turn draws into wins; and occasionally the
back-up was solid enough. But we did not play with
either confidence or concentration; ours was the English
problem of the season: we went out thinking we were
not going to win and our concentration faltered at those
times when we might have been able to turn the game.
We won our opening match in great style by seven

wickets, drew another five, then lost three of our last
four (admittedly without the injured captain, Bertram).
The major contributions were made by the captain in
the first half of the season, by Clee who batted with
awesome power, Hill who captained the side well at the
close of the season and by Brown who bowled outswing
Headmaster's Speech
Mr Chairman, Sir Edward, Provost, Ladies and Gentlemen. I add my
welcome to that of the Chairman and, in particular, welcome Sir
Edward and Lady Burgess. It was recently announced that next month
Sir Edward will become Deputy Supreme Commander, Allied Forces
Europe with the rank of General — how splendid it will be to have an
Old Bloxhamist in Monty's job!
A special welcome also to Mrs Simpson, whose father was "one of
Mr Egerton's boys" and who is attending her seventy-third
Founderstide.
1 should also like to thank our Preacher, Canon John Fenton, for
his excellent address. Canon Fenton has had a distinguished career as
a theologian; he was Principal of Lichfield Theological College before
becoming Principal of St Chad's College of the University of
Durham. He is now a Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. He is a friend
of Bloxham and, those who heard him this morning, will not be surprised
to know that he gave the Sixth Form a memorable Chapel
address 18 months ago. I warmly thank him for what he said today.
with a consistency which promises much for the future.
Maingot and Williams also made useful contributions.
We were generally not a gifted team and so we had to
keep trying; our failure at the end of the season suggests
we just ran out of steam.
Prologue
Unfortunately it rained, but this was not to undermine
the success of a change of format — the speeches and
prize-giving were held in the morning with the result
that everybody was far more conscious during the proceedings;
post-prandial drowsiness, therefore, was not a
problem this year.
The Jeremy Durrant Award for drama was presented
this Founderstide by the Durrants in memory of their
son (Egerton 1974-79). It is a new, annual award and the
Durrants' generosity is much appreciated. This year's
recipient was Anthony Bluff.
Despite the weather, the cricketers played an enjoyable
afternoon's cricket — in fact the only event
which seems to have been cancelled as a result of the wet
conditions was a little "surprise" exercise laid on by the
C.C.F. The sturdy marquees afforded great protection
during the ball, and the participants soon forgot about
the noisy waters outside — perhaps the readiness of
liquid refreshment helped to instil this oblivion.
Anyway the ball proved to be the culmination of a very
successful Founderstide.
FOUNDERSTIDE
During this last year the School has been shocked by a series of
deaths of people held dear: Dr Alec Fergusson, for so many years our
Medical Officer, was much loved; Ruby Garner, who helped KT
Dewey save the School during the War years; Jack Wolff, the Bursar
under whose guidance so much development took place, and who was
such a great friend of our sport, particularly Hockey. And three
others who have played major parts in the history of Bloxham.
Brigadier Zvegintzov, "Zog", who was such a fine character, loved
the School greatly and did so much for it. "Sam" Kahn, who was
surely one of the great schoolmasters of this century, cared for
everyone — from the newest small boy, to the oldest Old Boy and the
newest Headmaster — with such affection and devotion. He did
almost every possible job in the school (either officially or
unofficially) and it is fitting that the new Music School should be
named after him.
Roger Raymond was certainly the greatest benefactor of Bloxham
since the Founder, and I have heard him described at a Woodard
Chapter Meeting as the greatest benefactor of the Corporation since
Woodard. Of course, Bloxham is full of his gifts, but it is wonderful
53

that we now have Raymond Scholarships which may be worth up to
the value of full fees plus essential extras to assist a parent who cannot
afford a Bloxham education. These Scholarships (and the first was
awarded yesterday) will not only benefit individuals but also the
School, as over the years they should attract many able youngsters.
This is not the last time that I shall say thank you to Roger but I do so
now with a sense of awe at his great gifts to us.
These men stood for the changeless values of Bloxham and of
Christian men and women, of which we were reminded in the great
Bloxham Project Conference held here last month and attended by
over two hundred people — the premier religious conference in independent
education.
Every year the School receives many generous gifts. I will mention
only one more today. Mr and Mrs Robin Leaf have endowed a Personal
Development Award which will be awarded for the first time
next year and will go to the member of the School who has overcome
major disadvantages to make growth and development of his or her
potential. It is a valuable award in monetary terms and we are very
grateful indeed to the Leaf family for it.
Academic results this last year have been generally sound and in one
case brilliant. The Fifth Form managed an 'O' level pass rate of over
72% and an average of 6.7 'O' level passes per candidate at the first
attempt. There was an 82% pass rate at 'A' level and Sixth Formers
achieved an average of between 2'A and 3 'A' level passes each.
There was a very remarkable achievement in the Oxford Scholarship
Examinations. Julian Callow won both an Organ Scholarship
and also an Open Scholarship to read P.P.E. This has previously been
done only once in the history of Trinity College and, of course, with
the abolition of entry awards (at least for the time being!) it may never
be done again. Julian is here today and so in a position to receive your
applause personally.
This last year has been one of tremendous variety in activities and
achievements. Last June over half the Fifth Form sat 'O' level Art and
only one failed; this Summer over two-thirds of the Fifth Form have
sat. Art is now so much and so exciting a part of School life that it is
necessary for me to appoint a second Art Master for next year. By the
end of term the Chapel Choir will have sung in three Cathedrals this
year; high standards have been achieved by a number of our instrumentalists,
particularly on the Horn and the Piano; two of them
played in the Schools' Prom, at the Albert Hall. Our standards in
Drama are certainly among the highest in schools nationally. There
have been eight full productions in the last 12 months, three of them
entirely produced by pupils. "Measure for Measure" was our major
production before Christmas and particularly memorable.
This year we had a new style of CCF Inspection — no parade but
plenty of adventure type training. We have, I understand, a little
exercise to divert the General today too. All Saints' School is well
known locally for its Community Service and this has continued as
strongly as ever. We also raise money for a variety of charities in a
year, this time most notably to buy a phonic radio ear for a four year
old deaf girl in Banbury and, with the help of a sponsored walk three
weeks ago, for the Spire Appeal of our Parish Church. For these two
objects alone members of the School have raised over three thousand
pounds.
There have been many fine sporting achievements. The Fifteen at
times played very exciting Rugby and had some good wins, but they
also lost some games they should not have lost. The Cricketers ended
last season by doing well in the Woodard Festival and Tom Cooper
was one of the outstanding players in the Woodard Schools. A promising
start to this season too. At Fives, Shooting, Squash and Cross
Country we have not had distinguished seasons at Senior level but in
all cas'es there have been some very promising juniors. The same is
true of Swimming. We have some good athletes at all levels and there
were some fine performances last season and promise of them this —
when we also have an excellent Tennis team.
The outstanding sporting success this year has been at Hockey. The
Eleven had a very fine season and at all levels we had successful sides.
All this is summed up by the fact that two boys reached the National
Divisional Trials and we also had nine County Colours in the School
— a larger number than ever before.
Girls' sport has continued to make progress. We have two girl
Cross-Country Runners and one has played Hockey for the County.
We certainly intend that the girls' sport shall go on developing and
look forward to continued progress with the slightly larger number of
Sixth Form girls due in September.
As is usual at the end of a year, we are losing members of the staff
54
who will be sadly missed. I personally (and indeed all those who work
close to the Headmaster) am very sad that my secretary, Joan Murray-
White, is leaving us, though we are delighted that the reason is that she
will be having a baby later in the Summer. She has done the most
wonderful work in looking after both Derek Seymour and myself over
the past five years and I would like to record publicly my own great
debt to her. I thank her most warmly for all she has done for Bloxham
and wish her happiness and fulfilment in the future.
We also have two changes of Housemastership: Dr Mike Cane is
leaving Raymond (where he will be succeeded by Colin Stewart) to
become Second Master; and Peter Mayes is leaving Egerton to run our
new Dyslexia Unit, about which I will be saying something later, and
he will be succeeded by Andrew Bateman. Mike Cane and Peter
Mayes are our Senior Housemasters (each having been in the job for
ten years) and they and their wives, Rosie and Sue, have been
responsible for the establishment of these houses with the full status
and reputation thay they now enjoy. As Housemasters, their styles are
very different — Mike's being characterised by efficiency, perception
of the need of the individual, the management of a team of masters
and boys who have worked with great care, sympathy and understanding
to nourish the talents in the House. Peter's style is more individual,
relying on the projection of his warm and colourful personality,
but equally caring and instinctive. And what great houses
these two styles have produced! On behalf of the School and of all
those boys and girls who have enjoyed their days at Egerton and
Raymond, on behalf of all their parents too, I say to Peter and Sue
Mayes and to Mike and Rosie Cane: we are very grateful.
Adrian Dyer has been at Bloxham for just two years and is now
leaving to take up his post as a Senior Lecturer at Brockenhurst
College in Hampshire. I thank Adrian for the many good things he
has done for Bloxham, both in the Physics Department and more
broadly. Those to whom he has been a personal Tutor will remember
him with great affection and the Sailing Club has particular cause to
be grateful. We wish him and his wife, Christine, great happiness and
good fortune in the future.
Richard Askwith has been at Bloxham since 1971. He now leaves us
to become Head of Geography at St Edmunds, Canterbury and in
1985 he will also become a Housemaster there. Though we are very
sorry to see Richard go, we all congratulate him on achieving such a
double promotion. He has done so many things here: he is a good
teacher of Geography — and also of cooking; he has presided over the
only Survey Section in a public school CCF anywhere and has made it
a great success; he has coached and encouraged multitudes of crosscountry
runners so that some of them have reached excellent
standards; he has printed our notepaper and taught boys the skill of
that craft; he has run the non-team swimming with great dedication
and some idiosyncrasy. Perhaps, above all, he has been a resident
member of the Raymond House Tutor team since the foundation of
that house: there is no doubt that he will be terribly missed there and I
should like to thank him on behalf of all the Raymond boys and girls,
their parents and also so many others for whom he has cared during
their time here, for all he has done for Bloxham. We wish him great
happiness and further fulfilment.
Brian Kemp was appointed to Bloxham to teach Biology by KT
Dewey and started in 1952. For over thirty years he has given unstinting
loyalty and support to the School. The most recently new Headmaster
has cause to be grateful to Brian for his friendship and care
when he first came and since. Brian has taught Biology with his professional
skill and has done so many other things in the School that 1
could not possibly list them all — Careers and Canoeing; CCF and
Sport; hosts of committees which he has served and different jobs that
he has done; but all those who know Brian's work are aware that the
most important things have been in his tutoring of individuals and in
particular, of course, his Housemastership of Crake. He presided
over that house from 1956 to 1978 — no other Housemaster has
reigned for anything like so long in the history of the School. Since
then he has been a tremendous help to me and to Housemasters in the
way he has been willing to step in at a moment's notice to do a job as
an Assistant Housemaster and to help and support individual boys.
Many, many individuals are grateful for his kindness and care of
them, for his perception into problems and for his skill as a
counsellor. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for all he has
done for Bloxham and Bloxhamists and wish him great happiness in
retirement.
Congratulations to the Second Master, Martin Folliott, on his
appointment as Headmaster of Scorton Grammar School in Yorkshire

Corridors of Power : Eugene Wong 55

from next term. Martin came to Bloxham in 1963 to teach History
and, but for a short period away in the middle '70s he has been here
since, returning to Bloxham as Second Master in 1975. His wife Penny
has also contributed much to school life — not least as Headmaster's
Secretary in earlier days and by the vitality and charm of her personality.
Martin himself has done almost every possible job in the
School — for example, Housemaster of Wilson; a distinguished coach
of a variety of sports (we shall miss the annual demonstration to the
Junior Colts Rugby XV of, as the School newspaper Orion called it,
the "famous Folliott sideways shunt"); work for societies like
Political Forum, the Concert Club, for the present and earlier Appeal,
and in so many other ways too.
Martin's work is part of the history of the School and so it will remain.
He is an able teacher and is also the founder of social sciences at
Bloxham — now a large and flourishing area of our Sixth Form
teaching. He knows how to persuade boys and girls to organise
stimulating intellectual debate and to take a full part in it.
During periods when the Headmaster has suffered ill-health and
been away from School, Martin has taken over and acted as Headmaster
in such a way as to prevent any check in its forward progress.
As Second Master his particular strength has been insight into the
needs of the School and of its community: his training as a sociologist
has been of fundamental importance in the development of the
understanding of how social pressures work within a community and
need to be directed and controlled.
As the man responsible for our printing and publicity, he has been
concerned to introduce our very modern and excellent printing
systems. In this area too I shall much miss his perception and
understanding of situations and events. It is he who more than anyone
else has organised this Founderstide.
We all have cause to be grateful to Martin and Penny Folliott: for
their good nature, for the loving and devoted service they have given
to the School. They deserve the opportunity of the wider challenge
that a Headmastership brings and, with great affection and gratitude,
we warmly wish them happiness and fulfilment as they go to Scorton,
at the foot of the beautiful Teesdale: look out for exciting
developments at that school!
Whence come such men again! Well, four are going and I have appointed
five to replace them! I am very pleased with the appointments
we have made and particularly that Mike Cane has agreed to become
Second Master next term. But also about the strong team of new
masters who will be joining us.
As you know, we have exciting plans for the future, though many of
them will be subject to planning permission! Since last Founderstide
we have opened the Girls' Boarding Centre at Stone Hill: it is proving
a great success and a further improvement is now being made at
'Watendlath' next door. Next term we open a small unit for highly intelligent
dyslexic boys — the maximum intake in any year being five
and it being necessary for admission that the boy should be clearly a
candidate for possible university education in the future. Peter Mayes
is going to run this Unit: it is a very exciting venture and one where
Bloxham is particularly suited to give a lead nationally. We are being
inundated with applications and to date have sadly had to turn down
over half the candidates tested, even though we only get to the point of
assessing those who are apparently very able.
I will speak about the Appeal in a moment. We have plans for a new
Technology Centre and a better School Hospital; the "Sam" Kahn
Music School will be in the present Gymnasium building, in the centre
of the School. Our application for detailed planning consent for the
KT Dewey Sports Centre on the Raymond Field has been refused by
the Cherwell District Council Planning Committee and it may be
helpful if I say something about that. There is no doubt of strong feeling
in the village in favour of this development, though
understandably there are objections from some (though not all) of the
people who live near the site that we would like to use and which was
originally chosen after consultations with Cherwell. No-one at
Cherwell has said to us that he or she is not in favour of our building a
Sports Centre. Our legal advisers tell us that we have good grounds on
which to appeal, but that would take time and we prefer to negotiate
with the Council to find a solution which will be acceptable both to
them and to us. I believe this is perfectly possible and am confident
that, one way or the other, we shall have our Sports Centre before
long. As we know from the history of Seymour House, it is no new
thing for planning applications to meet with delay, though it is very
frustrating! I am sure that in this venture too we can be confident.
One of the pleasant things that has emerged from the discussions
56
about the Sports Centre has been the considerable local support for
the School. Indeed, we feel, and have always felt, ourselves very much
part of the local community and enjoy our Community Service,
making our amenities open to the village, our fund raising and public
works.
I promised I would tell you the latest Appeal total — for the Dewey
Centre and the "Sam" Kahn Music School. At the end of March I
announced that the target for today was £160,000: in fact we have today
achieved £171,726.08. We are thus well over two-thirds towards
the target of £250,000 in just over six months — great credit to the
Apeal Director, John Fiori, and to Craig Nicholl's Appeal Committee.
We have adventurous plans for continuing the Appeal but many
of you have already fully contributed and I should like you to know
how much your speedy and very, very generous support is appreciated.
Thank you so much.
We have exciting plans for the future improvement of the School.
At the same time I remind parents that last year's fee increase was
below the national inflation rate and add, the Finance and General
Purposes Committee of the Governors have authorised me to say, that
though it is not possible to guarantee because particular costs may
escalate beyond national inflation rates, it is our intention that fee
rises in the foreseeable future should be only at or near the national
inflation rate. Our greatly improved Scholarship Fund is attracting
more able boys and girls to Bloxham and so gives hope that our
already good academic standards can continue to rise. The position
with regard to applications for entry to the School is very encouraging.
So I now regard our all-round position and outlook as being
strong. We don't want to be a large school: we want to stay at about
the same size as we are at present, small enough to know and care for
the individual, but able to offer opportunities and amenities that are
at least the equal of those offered by the larger boarding schools: a
small school that offers excellence in care, teaching and facilities — a
magic combination. We are already a long way towards doing that
and I am confident that we can achieve it within the next few years,
given your continued friendship and support and that of the wider
community. Mr Chairman, All Saints' School stands for changeless
values but looks to the changes of the future with confidence.
Founderstide Speaker
LT GENERAL SIR EDWARD BURGESS
After a few general introductory remarks, in which he mentioned that
the School is now larger than it was when he was a boy here and also
bigger in terms of achievement, Sir Edward continued:
If you just think for one moment of the Headmaster's Report, of
the academic achievement there on the one hand, the achievement and
what the School is doing, its plans for the future, the way that the
magnificent Appeal has developed, all this is rich and bodes well for
the future of the School. It certainly gives me an enormous sense of
pleasure and pride, as indeed I suspect it must give to all of you in this
Hall and outside. But there is one thing which of course is touched
with sadness and that is the folk who have died during the course of
the past year, and for me, personally, again I feel that it is so right and
proper that the two objects of the Appeal should be dedicated both to
Kenneth Dewey and "Sam" Kahn who amongst a few others kept the
School going during those very difficult years of the War, which is the
period of course which I and a number of people here knew.
Well, I could go on talking about the School's achievements for a
very long time indeed but that wouldn't serve an awful lot of purpose
when you have a time limit upon you. I should be rather like the
Territorial soldier, or you should feel like the Territorial soldier that I
saw about six months ago, I suppose, as I went my rounds, visiting. I
get shown the training that's going on, and I was taken round the side
of the Drill Hall and they were doing First Aid, and there was a chap
practising what I thought had practically gone out with the Ark and
that was artificial respiration by pressing on the chap's back and
lifting his arms up. I watched for some time and it went on unbearably
long and I said, "How long do you go on doing this?" and the chap
said, "Oh, till I'm sure he's dead, Sir!" So I had better not go on until
I'm sure you're dead — I don't think that would be popular.

But as I listened this morning it was a nostalgic occasion because it
is just over forty years since I sat where you are there and looked up at
the visitor, who was Kenneth Oxon our Bishop I recall; and also on
the stage that day there was an Old Bloxhamist who was pointed out
as having been at School in 1904. Well for those of you who are
mathematically inclined you will realise that that was forty years
before. Now when I realised what I thought of that chap, I realised
what some of you might actually be thinking of me and it was very
salutary. But what is really salutary is that that man in 1904 on his
Founderstide would have attended it in big school under Crake, and
the conversation which passed between them at luncheon was no
doubt about Orville Wright's first powered flight the year before.
Bleriot still had five years to go before he flew across the Channel.
When I was here forty years ago our conversation was about D-Day
and about the Gloucester Whittle Jet, which was actually being proven
at Barford St Michael, at the airfield there. We didn't know it was a
jet in those days. And there were still some years, well at least the
following year, before we even heard of the atomic bomb, and we
were nearly a decade away from the sound barrier and the four minute
mile. And here we are today and it is commonplace for all of you folk
to see men going to the moon, men working in laboratories in space.
The pace of technological change is quite unbelievable and it is very
daunting and it seems to me that it creates problems for you who are
preparing yourself to step out into this very busy, hectic world. You
see, now we can communicate across the world with great facility, you
find that you can influence events and hurry up the pace of events. It
makes life extremely complex and it seems to me that everybody now,
in order just to live in this very hectic world, needs to be more literate,
more numerate. If you're going to make some sort of contribution to
technology then you have got to have deep scientific awareness. Travel
now makes or encourages use of language, no longer do you shout
loudly in English (as I would have done) if you want to make
somebody understand. For you here, playing with a computer is commonplace;
for me it is still daunting. I may not be quite pre-historic
but I would certainly place myself in the pre-decimalisation age.
The whole of this demands high academic achievement and I think
that the School reaches out and achieves that. But you know that is
not enough. Education is a much wider thing. Education at its best is
producing the fully rounded man. I don't mean someone who has
eaten too much, but fully rounded in all aspects of life. And that
education starts here. This school, Bloxham, starts out on developing
your judgement. It's not something that it can do instantly because
judgement is one of those things which develops with experience but a
start can be made here. If I can offer you an illustration of the cannibal
father and son standing on the beach watching a girl struggling
ashore from a shipwreck. The father says to his son, "My boy what
are you going to do when she gets ashore?" The son says, "I shall rush
into the surf, father, and I shall rescue her and I shall take her home to
mother and we shall wash her, and dry her and oil her, and dress her
hair and then I shall eat her." And the father said, "Silly, witless boy!
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I shall go in and rescue her. I shall
take her home to your mother and I shall wash her and dry her and oil
her and dress her hair and then I'll eat your mother." But that sort of
judgement only comes with experience.
But even in this modern world there are certain human attributes
which are essential. It is a funny old world, isn't it. Dangers, doubts,
disturbances, and you folk just starting out on the path may well look
at us, your elders, and say, "My God, what a mess you made of it.
How on earth did you allow it to get like that?" I hate to tell you but I
was saying exactly the same thing when I was your age; it just
happens. And life is not easy and in order to cope with it you have got
to have certain qualities. Qualities which are created in you in a school
like Bloxham. And the first quality I would suggest to you is perhaps
an odd one. It's unselfishness. You know most of the ills of the world
could be cured if only people were genuinely unselfish. If only they
realised that they depend for their daily living in this complex world
on their neighbour. And if their neighbour doesn't do his job for them
then they are going to suffer. And if their neighbour is going to do his
job for them then it is only right that their neighbour should expect
you, me, to do our part not for ourselves but for the neighbour who is
contributing to you, and then you build up mutual respect into
reliance and these are the sort of things that make life so very much
easier: if we only stop and remember that. No man is an island unto
himself. You depend in this complex world on your neighbour and it is
wise always to remember that. I believe one wants to hear much less
about rights and far more about responsibility.
I think the second thing that you need in order to cope with life today
is courage. Courage in a number of different forms. The first
courage that I think you learn at School is the courage not to run away
from the effect of what you have done. The courage (I think all of us
have met this in our early days), the courage to tell the truth regardless
of the impact it is going to have on you for ill. But it's a surprising
thing how disarming it is when somebody does tell the truth. I recall
the Duke of Edinburgh who was stalking a stag at Balmoral. He saw a
marvellous beast on the skyline and just as he was about to raise his rifle
the stag threw up its head and cantered away. And over the ridge
came a little line of teenagers singing and swinging along. Furious
Prince Philip was and met them on the track and said "What on earth
do you think you're doing?" "Finishing our Duke of Edinburgh
Award Scheme" they said. So you need courage to face the unpleasant
things.
You will also need courage to endure and I think it was Dr Johnson
who said, "Unless a man has that virtue he has no security for
preserving any other". I would like to tell you a little story about endurance
just to give you a flavour of what I'm thinking of and the subject
of this particular story was only perhaps twelve months older than
you folk who are leaving Bloxham this year. I would like you to picture
a ski-slope somewhere in Austria. Four skiers traversing it and
suddenly an avalanche comes down and all four are engulfed. After a
time one man manages to riggle out of the snow and he looks around
— he can't see any of his companions, he does actually find one ski.
He is obviously badly hurt — he had broken three ribs. He went down
the mountain on that one ski, he found help, he took help back up.
The helpers searched the snow and they found one man alive. That
man had the courage to endure and in the process of enduring he
saved a friend. That needs courage.
But courage is not just physical. Courage you need also against the
mental stress of such things in life as bereavement, illness and indeed
in these days the prospect even of unemployment. That sort of
courage is perhaps the most difficult of all and it needs an enormous
amount of faith, which is the bedrock of what you get Sunday by Sunday
in your Chapel.
There's another form of courage as well which comes out when the
going gets really difficult and that is courage to face the unseen, the
unknown. Because man when he is faced with the unknown doesn't
always know how he is going to react to it, whether he will get away
with it. It is at this point that people come together so that they pool
their courage and from that courage find the strength to win through
and this is where you find the tremendous bond that usually follows a
war and which raises men to heights that they don't believe they have
in them. Heights of unselfishness and awareness of their neighbour
and their brother if you like. The great pity is that that sort of feeling
doesn't often endure after the danger has passed. If only we could
make it, how much better the world would be. I recall a letter left by
Scott in the Antarctic which was found after he and his companions
had died. It was actually written to James Barrie and he says, "We are
in desperate straights, feet frozen, no fuel, a long way from food but it
would do your heart good to be in our tent and hear our songs and our
cheery conversation." They had pooled their courage against the
unknown. And what did Barry say? What was his comment?
"Courage and greet the unseen with a cheer".
And "cheer" perhaps leads me to my very last thought; and that
might lead you to cheer as well. And that is that at your age (I speak
now to the boys of Bloxham) at your age, you have a zest for life. Experiences
are in vivid technicolour. I can feel some of them now. I can
feel the wind on the morning, bicycling down Sun Rising to Stratford
to see As you like it, I can feel the effect of people shouting you on
when you are finishing a mile race. I can also feel the first peel of the
bells from Bloxham Church when the War ended. Everything was
vivid. As you get older, cynicism, disappointment, world-weariness
tend to dampen that zest. I say to you don't let it. You've only got one
life and it's meant to be enjoyed. Life should be fun — make it so, enjoy
it to the full. I'm sure God meant it so and I think even Heaven
would be the better for your high spirits.
So, consider those qualities that are needed besides your academic
achievement: unselfishness, courage, zest for living. These are the
things that Bloxham sets out unobtrusively to develop in you and it
also adds the spiritual dimension that you will certainly need to
grapple with the difficulties of the world today. It gave it to me and I
think as you reach my age you will find it has given it to you and I am
eternally grateful.
57

Paddy Barker
Different Angles....
Political Forum
The end of the 1983 Winter term witnessed the end of
one era and the beginning of another. The rule of Julian
Callow and Louise Maingot was coming to its conclui
sion; in their place a set of new faces was elected at the
Annual General Meeting: Mark Lavington (Publicity
Manager), Chris Aldous (Chairman) and Peter Lucas
(Secretary). To follow in the footsteps of the success of
the Forum seen in the previous year seemed to be quite a
task, but nevertheless, the new committee got their
heads down, in an attempt to formulate some sort of interesting
programme that might attract an audience.
However, the election of the new committee was soon
followed by the end of term which saw the trio break up
and go their separate ways, a state of affairs that
brought to a halt all sense of organization. As a result
when we all returned for the next term nothing had been
done with respect to organizing speakers. The buck was
passed from Chairman to speaker to publicity manager

and then back to Chairman, who then took great
initiative and motivated the Secretary into action.
The problem ahead seemed insurmountable — how to
find a speaker willing to come to Bloxham, given only a
few weeks notice. Luckily Mr. Perkins, the trusty
President, had arranged a meeting for the beginning of
term so that people could at least know that the Forum
had not decayed due to lack of interest. This first
meeting was on Local Government and was given by Mr
Gardner. Seeing as this was the first meeting under the
auspices of the new committee it was viewed as a real
test of their ability. Despite a rather nerve-wracking
beginning, when the bulk of the attendance arrived in
the last few seconds before the planned start of the
meeting, it seemed as though the Forum could be in for
a good year. The turn-out was most encouraging, with
the whole of the Wilberforce T.V. room filled with
people eager for enlightenment. Local Government is
one of the burning issues of the year with controversial
Government policies on Rate-Capping and the
Metropolitan Counties; in the light of this and the way
in which local government will effectively feature in all
our lives, the talk, although very fundamental, was
most interesting.
It was not for many weeks that the next meeting
occurred, due to the afore-mentioned problems of
organization. However, by March 6th notices were seen
appearing in many unexpected places advertising the
next meeting, headed with the question, "Does the
media give an adequate service?" (The grammar of
which was questioned by Mr Hatton, a well known
Bloxham intellectual and Member of the Common
Room.) Margaret Smith, sub-editor of the Oxford
Times and Mail, had kindly offered to come to Bloxham
having been given all of three days' notice by the
Forum's Secretary. Her talk, at her request, took the
shape of a question and answer session, a format to
which Bloxhamists soon adapted and by the time the
meeting was half through questions were flowing with
amazing frequency. Again the attendance amazed the
President who seemed rather dubious of the
committee's ability at times, or so it appeared. The
meeting proved to be most enlightening on the media
generally, as well as touching on many political questions.
The final meeting of the term was the best planned.
Dave Cook had agreed to speak at Bloxham many
weeks before the meeting's day — this must be a
testament to the committee at its best. Mr Cook, a
member of the Friends of the Earth, brought with him
the message "time is running out..." His talk was based
on exploring the structure, organization and aims of the
Friends of the Earth. Although relatively unheard of at
national level, this group does much at local level and its
activism and international structure surprised many in
the audience. It seemed as though the Friends of the
Earth were talking a great deal of sense, and it was only
the apathy of the world's people that prevented their
policies from being implemented, since they were certainly
not advocating anything too unreasonable. This
meeting also heralded the best attendance of the term
(supplemented by a large influx of Tudor Hall girls) and
also the greatest interest.
In summary, the programme of the Forum this year,
although short, was reasonably enjoyable and seemed to
go down well all round. The advent of exams in the
Summer prevented any further meetings but the
continuance of the Forum is assured. Finally many
thanks must go to all the faithful and loyal people who
came along to the meetings this year and reliably came
up with questions when required; they are too numerous
to mention individually, although I feel that Guy Ingram,
Declan Magee, Bjorn Aarhuus and Howie Wincott
all deserve special mention, among many others. I
hope that the committee managed to provide a satisfactory
programme and also that the future committee
shall continue to do so.
Public Speaking
The ancient art of rhetoric demands from its exponents
logical thought, clarity of expression and persuasive
delivery — all qualities which are gained as much by
practice and experience as through innate ability. It has
therefore been an unusual feature of the Bloxham scene
this year that little interest has been shown in debating
within the senior school, while among the juniors much
promising talent has been revealed.
It has to be admitted that the Senior House
competition foundered in its early stages, when one or
other House (or sometimes both) repeatedly failed to
appear for a debate. Among the Juniors, there were
keen contests with carefully-researched expositions on
animal experimentation, the Northern Ireland question,
capital punishment, and one or two other traditional
topics. The outcome was a decisive win for Wilson
(Richard Woolliams and Nick Taylor) in the House
competition, with Egerton (Joe Maingot and Nick
Mollo) and Crake (Mark Pears and Jonathan Lang)
achieving spirited arguments. While all the 'table'
speakers are to be congratulated, it was a shame that the
'floor' attendance was so sparse on almost every
occasion.
William Shurvinton, Nick Taylor, Joe Maingot and
Richard Woolliams subsequently proceeded to represent
the School in the Banbury Rotary Club's Inter-School
Debating Competition. Any misapprehension that
somehow an independent school education provides a
hidden advantage over the state sector in such
competitions was rapidly dispelled within just three
debates. The unlikely motion "This House prefers cats
to dogs" produced an unexpectedly lively debate (on
one of the most frozen evenings of term), with a
polished pair of speakers from Chenderit School
defeating the Bloxham 'B' team. The 'A' team fared
better against Cooper School, on familiar ground with
the animal-experimentation motion again; they went on
to Denbigh School, Brackley, where they lost to a considerably
more experienced pair in the tricky motion
"This House would rather see the film than read the
book". Participation in this competition proved most
worthwhile; one remembers William Shurvinton's
authoritative expositions, Nick Taylor's enthusiastic appeals
to commonsense, Joe Maingot's rivetingly mature
arguments, and Richard Woolliams' irresistably persuasive
charm.
The Sanderson Wells Speech Prize attracted nine
junior entrants; their speeches were all marked by
evidence of careful research, and it was difficult to
select five for the Final. Mr Barry Webb, Assistant
English Master at Radley College who is currently working
on a biography of Edmund Blunden, adjudicated
the Final; he found at least one prize-winning quality in
each speaker, but eventually declared Richard
Woolliams, with his speech on 'Satellites', the winner
59

for his obvious rapport with the audience. Jamie Griffin
was a close runner-up on the topic of 'Surrogate
Motherhood.' Of the only two senior entrants, both of
whom chose 'Unemployment' as their topic, Ed Davies
narrowly defeated Tom Rees with a finely-prepared and
emotive speech.
Literati
The Society gathered for the first time on January 22nd,
1984, to hear Jane Willis' "economical" paper on
Matisse, the celebrated French artist. Like many men of
genius Matisse was one of those who stumbled on his
talent by accident. Each phase in his development
represented a significant advance for him but of equal
importance was the confusion and disillusionment
which spurned him on. He never lost sight of his goal: to
express an "almost religious feeling towards life ... by
the simplest means possible". Jane's talk was illustrated
with an effective range of slides, as she traced the
artist's association with Derain and the influence of Van
Gogh and Seurat which led him to Fauvism. Even
towards the end, Matisse was still exploring and experimenting
as his work with papier decougee showed.
The Secretary, Simon Furness-Gibbon, delivered the
second paper of the term, entitled "Restoration
Comedy." Simon opened his paper with the arrival of
King Charles II in London from exile on the continent.
His quotation from Dryden captured the spirit of joy
and release from the emotive years of the Commonwealth.
Even the cliffs of Dover stepped forward to
meet their King:
And welcome now (great Monarch) to your own;
Behold the approaching cliffs of Albion:
It is no longer motion cheats your view....
The land returns, and in the white it wears
The marks of penitance and sorrow bears.
From here on, he traced the survival of the theatres
under men like Jolly, Beesten, Hillingier and D'Avenant.
They were much helped by the present interest of
the King. An insight was also given into the construction
of the theatres, which owed much to Elizabethan
design, and into the nature of the audience and actor.
Simon concerned himself with the comedy of manners
chiefly, showing how it derived inspiration from Jonson's
Comedy of Humours and how the style was continued
by writers like Sheridan, Goldsmith and Wilde.
Several dramatic extracts enlivened the paper and for
forty-five minutes Park Close became a Restoration
Salon.
The summer term opened with a paper on Evelyn
Waugh delivered by a friend of the school, Mr. Richard
Martin. As Mr. Martin showed, Waugh was a master of
English prose of his time and undoubtedly the most
brilliant satirical novelist of his day. Most of his novels
were composed in the period 1930-38 and gained him a
reputation for sardonic wit and technical brilliance. His
writing betrays the harsh, sometimes cynical glitter of
the 1930s. Although novels like Vile Bodies and Decline
and Fall focus attention on the Bright Young Things of
the 1930s and betray the author's delight with the
elegant, cultivated circles in which he mixed, there was a
sad melancholy underlying his writing which turned
eventually to self-loathing. The paper was illustrated
with extracts from Waugh's novels and letters which
showed that despite his cruelty, snobbery and elitism, he
was lucid, witty and fundamentally honest.
60
The summer theatre trip saw the members embarking
with Mr. Jeff to the Oxford Playhouse for a performance
of The Knack. The play captured the zany
liberality of the 1960s which, one supposes, many of the
members had thought long and wistfully. Each act was
opened and closed with tracks from the Beatles first
L.P. and which breathed joy and youthfulness into the
production. Even certain members of the Common
Room seemed invigorated. On one level, it was a piece
of sheer clowning and tomfoolery, but on another it was
a play of conflict and resistance, which centred mainly
around the lone brooding figure of male sexuality. The
play was well-received by everyone.
The last meeting of term was held on the 8th of July
when Frank Ow-Yang presented his talk on Malaysia.
Since many of the members were largely unfamiliar with
this South-East Asian peninsula, it was as well that
Frank scanned all aspects of the country. As well as
outlining a few geographical points, such as
temperature and rainfall, Frank described the historical
development of Malaysia. It was of importance from
900 A.D. onwards when inhabitants of Thailand and
Southern India showed an interest in it. European influence
stemmed from the Portuguese capture of
Malucca and the Dutch take-over of the latter in 1641.
To this day, Malaysia still shows signs of European influence,
especially that of the British, with a political
system not unlike our own. The slides were very
enlightening ranging from the statue of a Hindu clad in
a semi-recumbent posture to a leather-backed turtle
soaking up the sun. What was particularly emphasised
was Malaysia's economic importance, it is the world's
largest exporter of timber and rubber and at the moment
is riding on the crest of a technological wave.
Throughout, Mrs. Variance's teas have been
delightful and all the members would like to express
their thanks for them.
Jonson Society
Some of the faint-hearted may have thought that the
Jonson Society had gone to join the Great Societies'
Fair In The Sky. Not so. The committee of Simon
Furness-Gibbon, Mark Lavington and Jane Willis,
piloted by David Matthews, has played an almost
diplomatic game. Events have been staged, including a
talk by Alastair Pearce of the Oxford University Computing
Service, an outing to a film Betrayed and a
bizarre quiz, but the committee has contented itself with
seeing which way the wind was blowing, in preparation
for seizing next year's market.
Alastair Pearce's talk demonstrated the links between
language and the computer, as well as giving the
members an insight into the intricate threads that make
up linguistics. By using examples from art and architecture,
such as the surrealist artist Magritte's picture of a
train emerging from a chimney with its steam passing up
the chimney, Mr. Pearce demonstrated the verbal intersections
and reflections that make linguitics such a
complex but fascinating study. Other examples, such as
a musical scale and a bridge consisting of several arches,
reflected similar samples of intersections through art as
did the age-old joke about the man taking his wife on
holiday and a friend questioning him: "Jamaica?". The
word here obviously fulfils a dual function.
The film Betrayed shown at the Chipping Norton
"Palais" of all places, provoked a mixed reaction from

the members. .It is certainly one of those films which
repays a second viewing if, like me, you were unsatisfied
by it at first. However, it had its fair share of
celebrities— the screenplay was by Harold Pinter and
starred Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Hodge.
As one might have expected from Pinter, the film's interest
lay in its peculiar use of dialogue. The plot, so far
as one could see, was largely subordinate to it. Seemingly
banal conversations reflected earlier moments in the
characters lives. Underlying such conversations was a
sinister irony — the audience was aware of Irons' and
Hodge's affair. What it was not quite so sure of was
how much the mercilessly cold Kingsley knew of it all.
His casual invitations to Irons for a game of squash, his
ironic remarks about Irons' life as a publisher all hinted
that he knew more than he cared to mention. Coupled
with this was a very effective reverse time sequence
which explored the characters' minds as much as it did
the events in their lives.
The bizarre literary quiz was organized and hosted by
the indomitable Miss Willis. She and the committee concocted
a fiendish competition whereby if one of the participants
got as many as three questions wrong, he
would be made to swallow some foul potion or other. It
made the witches brew in Macbeth sound like a fivecourser
at the Savoy. Nor was this all, in the way of pain
and misery — an unfortunate victim could be made to
swallow as many as five cream-crackers, as dry as Bob
Dylan's throat. Most unpalatable. The whole exercise
was summed up in Mr. Matthews' euphemistic phrase,
"literary forfeits". What was even more disconcerting
was the obvious glee with which certain of the committee
members, especially Miss Willis, administered these
delights.
These fiendish activities have not sapped the society's
creative and artistic spirit and 1985 will see a Forties
Evening, a performance of Ted Hughes' Songs of Crow
and the institution of a poetry forum where members
will be invited to read and discuss some of their own
writing.
Natural History Society
The Natural History Society had the inaugural meeting
in January of this year. The society has aimed to make a
study of the natural environment throughout the
seasons.
Our earliest field trip was to investigate the effects of
flooding on the wildlife living in the stream that runs
through Bloxham. It was noticeable that the freshwater
shrimp Gammarus thrived in the muddy, turbulent
waters, an indication that the stream is relatively unpolluted.
In the summer term when we resampled the
stream water the diversity of organisms had increased
dramatically and we were able to investigate the habit of
caddis fly larvae, from tadpoles, water-beetles, pond
skates and the larvae of chironomid midges.
Our collections of pond life yielded fascinating
glimpses into the metamorphosis of Crustacea and also
the dangers of being a mauplins larva of Daphnia when
an unknown transparent species of worms obligingly ate
large numbers of the larvae. Subsequently we were able
61

to watch the passage through the gut of the ingested
Daphnia.
Terrestrial field work resulted in an insight into extraordinary
insect behaviour such as the defence
response of the click beetle which springs away from the
slightest touch and then plays possum for ten minutes.
In this way it avoids being eaten by rapacious songbirds.
Possibly our most exciting encounters were with the
bones of the dinosaur Thecodontosaurus which had
perfectly preserved stars on the bone, indicating the
former attachment of muscles. A visit to Wroxton
quarry yielded the nest of 150 million year old
brachiopods, animals which lived in the life style of
modern dog but are totally unrelated to them. Jonathan
Griffiths should be congratulated on finding these nests
and other fossils where others had failed.
Our members are always enthusiastic and special
mention should be made of Gregory Bell, Jason Armes,
Robert Hancock, Tarun Sabharwal, Abi Ogunsola as
well as Jonathan Griffiths; these have made the
meetings of the society enjoyable occasions.
Science Society
This year the Science Society has enjoyed a fascinating
programme of meetings covering a wide range of subjects.
Dr Whiteside, who had only been on the Staff for
a couple of weeks, found himself billed as the first of
our speakers. He gave a well illustrated talk on
"crocodile farming", an unusual subject to say the
least. Dr Whiteside had in fact been responsible for setting
up crocodile farms for the government of Papua
New Guinea some years earlier and so was able to give
us an expert account of the problems of this rare form
of animal farming. He explained its importance to the
economy of Papua New Guinea not only on account of
62
the skins produced for export, but also because of the
crocodile meat destined for human consumption.
A few weeks later we staged a new event entitled "All
Saints and Scientists". This was a balloon debate
between two teams composed of three scientists and
three artists. The idea was that the scientists should
choose a scientific personality to portray and the artists
should likewise each choose a saint. All of them were
then put into the basket of an imaginary balloon that
was rapidly crashing. If three people could be thrown
out, the balloon would rise again and the remaining
three would be saved! The intrepid arts aviators were
Louise Maingot, Julian Callow and Mr David Matthews
who chose to play St Rita (patron saint of lost causes!)
St Francis of Assisi and St Nicholas (Father Christmas)
respectively. For the scientists, Miranda Gardner was
Sir Alexander Fleming, Christopher Davies portrayed
Sir Isaac Newton and Dr Richard Belcher impersonated
Dr Barbara McLintock (recent Nobel Prize winner).
Each member of the teams made a short speech in support
of their character. The standard of oration was excellent
and, at times, both funny and informative. The
crunch came when the audience was asked to vote on
who was to go! First out was St Rita, true to her calling,
closely followed by Newton with his wide knowledge of
the effects of gravity, but then of all people out went
Father Christmas! Fleming and St Francis remained
along with Dr McLintock (whom nobody had ever
heard of!). One wonders who failed to receive their
Christmas stocking last Christmas!
The final meeting of the Michaelmas Term took the
form of a trip to the University of Warwick to hear the
Annual Faraday Lecture of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers. The subject was "Let's Build a Satellite"
and appropriately was given by British Aerospace. It
was a most impressive production involving superb
visual aids and the building of a full-size mock-up of a
telecommunications satellite on the stage. It was a
fascinating insight into a realm of science of which most
of us have only a superficial knowledge.

The three meetings in the Lent Term took us in a very
different direction - down to Earth! Professor MGH
Wallbridge from the University of Warwick gave us an
excellent account of Modern Chemical Industrial Processes.
Not only did he tell us about some of the science
of the modern chemical industry but he also pointed out
the necessity of considering the costs involved and how
economics has played an all-important role in the
development and adoption of new manufacturing processes.
Professor Wallbridge gave us one or two small
scale demonstrations of some chemical processes,
preceding his experiments with the comment that if
things went wrong, he might burn down the labs! Fortunately,
all was well!
We were very pleased to welcome the Captain of
School's father as our next speaker. Professor LE
Schnurr's special interest is in communications and he
told us how to send computer data by telephone. Many
people did not see the problem before he started but, by
the time he had finished, we not only understood a few
of the difficulties but also how some might be overcome.
As well as propagating information, Professor
Schnurr put several questions to his learned audience,
certainly putting us on our metal and showing who
really did know something about computer data
transfer. His link-up with the Chelmer Institute computer
was impressive even though we only found out
that it had gone to bed until Monday morning!
The final talk of the term was given by Dr RW Girdler
who had come all the way from the University of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne to speak to us on the "Break up
of the African Continent". Dr Girdler is a geophysicist
who has travelled widely investigating the formation of
rift valleys and the movements of the Earth's crust. His
findings are in full agreement with the plate tectonic
theory and he gave us an excellent account of this with
particular reference to Africa. His many diagrams and
colour slides were fascinating, especially those which
showed geomorphological phenomena actually occurring
at plate boundaries.
For the Summer Term, we were privileged to welcome
Professor Lazlo Lajtha, one of the foremost scientists in
the field of cancer research. Professor Lajtha has come
to live in Bloxham having recently retired as the
Director of the Paterson Laboratories of the Christie
Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in Manchester. Not
unnaturally he spoke on "Cancer" and presented us
with a brilliantly clear account of what cancer is, what
causes it, how it can be treated and the hope for the
future. The audience was spellbound as he unfolded the
complex mysteries of the cancer cell in such an intelligible
way. In addition, it was so encouraging to hear that
there really is a considerable possibility that many forms
of this frightening disease should be conquered during
the life time of present members of Bloxham School.
Professor Lajtha did not miss the opportunity of warning
against the dangers of smoking saying that because
of addiction to nicotine (which is just as addictive as
heroine) smokers found cigarettes very difficult to give
up and every day did themselves damage by taking carcinogenic
substances into their lungs; he added that people
taking up smoking "should have their silly heads examined".
We have been fortunate to have such excellent
speakers this year and are very grateful to them for the
time and trouble that they put into their talks. Thanks
are due to Daniel Schnurr (Hon Secretary), Miranda
Gardner (Treasurer), Nicholas Whiteley, Eugene Wong,
Jude Wong and Michael Davies for being on the com­
mittee. It is hoped that next year's committee will be
able to carry on their good work when, once again, the
Science Society will attempt to blend information with
pleasure.
B.S.F.A.S
The Secretary writes:
BSFAS has again presented a full and varied
programme of films of 16mm. Woody Allen and
Jacques Tati opened the season with The Front and
Trafic, a wry combination memorable for Tati's
wonderful crash sequence. Reds arrived to keep the
hundred and fifty strong audience entranced by the
events of the Russian Revolution for over three hours.
Never has the full force of the Bolsheviks emerged from
the Bloxham screen and never has a Bloxham audience
felt so revolutionary. The Tin Drum provided a
thoughtful allegory of Germany's decline into the Nazi
hell and Looks and Smiles opened the Lent Term with a
bleak and all too realistic story of an unemployed school
leaver that was lightened only with touches of survival
humour. The Last Metro convincingly portrayed a
'typical' French resistance story of a theatre director
hiding from the Nazis in Paris during the occupation —
in his own theatre. In an oblique way it presented the
themes of Les Enfants Du Paradis through the other
end of the telescope and Catherine Deneuve and Gerard
Depardieu were wonderfully watchable. The crime
infested streets of New York surfaced in Hammett and
those of Dublin in Angel where the bloodshed and
intricate secrecy of Irish terrorism were starkly exposed,
yet with a compassion that gives some faint hope for the
troubled island. The Draughtsman's Contract lived up
to its reputation and dazzled and delighted with its
wilful teasing — a fine example of the 1980's British
cinematic revival.
Of video screenings One Flew Over The Cuckoo's
Nest was shown on four separate occasions; life seems
infinitely more interesting in a mental asylum with Jack
Nicholson. David Bowie was revealed in his latest exotic
role in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, but drew
divided comment. Perhaps he has become too much of a
cult extra-terrestial figure to keep his following in
anything so earthbound as this tense drama set in
wartime Japanese held territory. The B.S.F.A.S. video
library is steadily growing: among recent additions are
Sophie's Choice, Stroszek, Alphaville, and Yol (infinitely
more watchable than they are pronouncable!)
The President adds:
The Society has cause to be most grateful to Frank Ow-
Yang for his year as one of its most accomplished
secretaries. His foresight and complete control over
events have been a great strength. Nick Whiteley's
posters stand as amongst the most attractive the Society
has displayed and Andrew Ibbs completes three years as
the Society's projectionist. To these too our thanks.
Next season we hope to show again Cabaret,
Apocalypse Now, Quintet and The Tree Of Wooden
Clogs and to introduce Woody Allen's latest, Zelig, the
new American sci-fi feature, Android, as well as Avanti
with Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder in their evergreen
partnership. Continental cinema will be further
represented by Finally, Sunday; Providence; First Name
Carmen; the Raj by James Ivory's Heat and Dust.
Matthew Petersen is Secretary for 1984-5 and Jonathan
Pryse and Tony Yates take over as projectionists.
63

Measure for Measure
Shakespeare's Measure for Measure was undeniably a
daunting and ambitious choice for the Michaelmas
term's senior school play, presenting a formidable
challenge to both cast and producer in terms of its interpretation.
In the words of the Orion reviewer, Simon
Furness-Gibbon, "it rests wearily between the realms of
comedy and tragedy". Its light-hearted comic relief
should not obscure or detract from its sinister overtones,
and the difficulty arises in capturing alternately
the two antagonistic moods on stage. However, under
Brian Joplin's experienced direction, the play attained a
remarkably impressive coherence and force seldom
found in any school production.
The cast of over fifty began rehearsals in September,
headed by several sixth formers in their last major performances
at Bloxham after long acting careers. Steve
Cherrington realised an ambition in his memorable portrayal
of Duke Vincentio, the longest part in
Shakespeare's entire works except for Hamlet. Steve's
transition from a figure of benevolent but firm authority
as Duke, to one of saintly humility as the Friar, seemed
effortless; his lines were executed audibly and
faultlessly, contributing to a consistently powerful and
credible portrayal.
The part of Isabella, played by Fiona Nicholl,
demanded an unwavering assiduity for the duration of
the play, to maintain an almost impossible intensity of
passion without lapsing into melodrama. Fiona succeeded
in conveying to the audience the agony of the dilemma
she faced between her condemned brother's life and
her own chastity and honour, a theme of great importance
in the play.
64
Philip Ng, the Electrician in 'Black Comedy'
Anthony Bluff gave a moving performance as the
sinister machiavellian Angelo; renowned and respected
for his apparently inflexible loyalty to the state, he is
tormented by an awareness of his guilt and hypocricy
when he realises that Isabella's passionate pleas for the
life of her imprisoned brother (Ian Liddington) have
aroused in him a desire that compromises his honour,
and he is torn between duty and a selfish impulse, eventually
succumbing to the latter. Angelo's presence and
stature on stage did not falter, even when he was
ultimately exposed and punished for his corruption.
Lucio (David Maxwell) and Froth (Piers Dunn)
deserve credit for their entertaining portrayals of foppish
and frivolous members of the court. Piers' movement,
gestures and voice coincided exactly with the image
of the effeminate but captivatingly elegant Restoration
courtier preoccupied with his extravagent dress and
social etiquette. Lucio's flamboyance and vivacity won
him great popularity. His appearances on stage lightened
the oppressive atmosphere when needed, and it was
impossible not to feel some'pity for him when he was
eventually condemned for his blatant abuse of the
Duke. The infamous Pompey Burn (Mark Lavington),
always drunk and out of breath, provided more comic
relief, but in contrast to Lucio and Froth in his slapstick
earthiness especially in the memorable prison
scenes. Notable performances also included Escalus
(Jamie Maclennan) Mariana (Elizabeth Harris) and
Mistress Overdone (Amanda Ward and her understudy
Tania Steinbeck). With such a large cast it is impossible
to mention all the others involved without whom the
majority of scenes would not have had the same
strength.
The set, designed and built by Andrew Bateman over
many late nights, and the excellent make-up and ac-

David Maxwell as Lucio
curate (if expensive) Restoration costumes were vital
contributions to the play's theatrical success, as were the
effective lighting and sound effects. However, the
rather contrived head, dripping 'blood' onto the
prisoners tended to detract from the seriousness of some
prison scenes by its obscenity. Congratulations are due
to all those involved in any way; the play was extremely
well received and made a lasting impression on those
present.
She Stoops to Conquer
Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer is a conventional
farce; however, David Matthews' superb production
of it as the Junior School Play turned that statement
into merely a useful identification tag.
The plot is obviously contrived — Mr Marlow, the
son of Sir Charles, is engaged to marry the daughter of
Mr Hardcastle, who is an old friend of Sir Charles! Mr
Hardcastle's step-son, Tony Lumpkin, is to marry his
cousin, Miss Neville, but Tony thinks differently, disapproving
of his doting mother's match for he is in love
with the elusive Bet Bouncer. He plans to interfere with
his sister's happiness by placing Mr Marlow under the
false impression that the Hardcastle's respectable house
is in actual fact no more than an inn — so Mr Marlow is
therefore encouraged to act accordingly, treating the
landlord (as he believes) and the servants, with contempt.
Yet, unsatisfied with these bare essentials
Goldsmith elaborates further — Mr Marlow has a
friend, Mr Hastings. He is in love with Miss Neville and
as soon as she can take her dowry away from the grasp
of Mrs Hardcastle into her own possession, they plan to
elope to France
The audience could not contain its laughter for long
— the very first appearance of Nick Mollo as the
coquettish Mrs Hardcastle fussing behind her never
stationary fan, provided the catalyst for an evening of
stimulating entertainment, and Gavin Sanderson's
sober performance as Mr Hardcastle was an excellent
contrast. Jo Mayes cheerfully undertook the part of
Kate Hardcastle, perfectly capturing the love of
mischief required to turn herself into a barmaid in order
to secure the immediate attentions of Mr Marlow,
played by Neville Harris. He confidently changed as his
company required, from a modest gentleman to a brash
young fellow, and Nick Bertram as Mr Hastings portrayed
his love for Constance Neville, (Sarah Hillman)
convincingly.
However, the main intrigue of the play relied upon
the many devices thought up by the cunning Tony
Lumpkin. Steven Hargreaves fitted the part in every
way but one, he was incredibly sprightly for a character
Gavin Sanderson as Mr. Hardcastle,
and Nicholas Mollo as his wife.
with such a weighty name, yet his elfin manner contributed
a delightful sauciness to the production — the
most notable example being when he and Constance
were arguing, with the help of fisticuffs.
While remembering the various talents of the cast
however, it must not be forgotten that they could hardly
have been successful without Mr Matthews having placed
them in their allotted parts to begin with. The production
was undoubtedly the result of many weeks of
painstaking rehearsal, but the audience's great enjoyment
of She Stoops To Conquer owed much to the obvious
"team-spirit" and the clockwork precision with
which the production was run.
65

French Without Tears
The choice of French Without Tears for a House play
with a cast of relatively inexperienced actors was a
daring one and, in many respects, proved to be well
justified. The difficulty with such a play lies in the fact
that its action takes place in one room. Thus, there is
not the same scope for expansiveness as the dimension
found in plays where the action if dispersed. The
strength of it, though, is that one producer can focus on
several people in one room, bringing to the audience's
attention the cattiness and frozen charm, as well as the
sympathy and respect which can only come from several
people who are either on good terms or feel like
pounding one another. The enclosed space highlighted
these actions. Atmosphere is all.
Unfortunately, there were lapses. Audibility, for instance,
became a serious problem in the second half of
the play when Kit Weilan (Andy Allen) had to deliver
his speeches from the depths of an armchair — not easy
at the best of times, but all I could see were his legs, extended
before him. The Hon. Alan Howard might
almost have been talking to a statue. Also, the actors
could hardly have been helped by a photographer who
took it upon himself to make hit-and-run raids on the
stage, returning each time with a look of relief at having
taken the "vital shot".
Fortunately, the actors rallied round, particularly in
the second half, to save the, er, day...! Dan Pulham
gave a stirring performance as the Hon. Alan Howard
who found himself reluctantly drawn into the web of
seduction by the flippant and laid-back Diana Lake. I
forget how many men she 'rubbed shoulders' with
KM
(Editor's censor) but there were quite a few and poor
old Alan was one as he flitted or stole across the stage
(depending upon how you viewed the 'violence' of his
movement). Whenever words began to be lost or the
atmosphere seemed to fade then Dan leapt to the rescue
with a few cutting phrases and a laughing exuberance.
Also enjoyable were the scenes between Lieutenant
Rogers (David Knight) and Diana Lake (Helen Budd).
David came over well as a staid, stolid 'Naval type'
apparently indifferent to the charms of the seductress
who confronted him. To his credit, David was always
audible, speaking with the clipped precision of a man
who has known nothing but life aboard a ship. It was
delightful to see his cold reserve broken down by those
around him, especially by Diana Lake who seemed to
'awaken' him and the Hon. Alan Howard who poked
fun at the cautious officer by informing him that instead
of going to bed, he was 'going aloft'. Superb!
I liked Helen's effort — she always seemed to be
going for a bathe and there's a lot to be said for 'a quick
dip before breakfast'. She also had a remarkable way
with men — they all seemed to melt before her (even the
naval man) and, as they gradually came to blows over
her, she was able to detach herself from the chaos she
had caused and cast a cynical eye over the proceedings. I
almost wished that she had succeeded but I fear an
English 'milord' clocking in at around five stone proved
too much even for her.
Louise Maingot gave an interesting performance,
discharging a difficult part with sincerity. It would have
been ridiculous for her to have been stormily passionate
with Kit Weilan, and so a balance had to be reached.
Fortunately, she reached it. Perhaps the most sincere
and sympathetic person on stage.
The quality of French did the Modern Languages
Department credit, particularly that shown by Monsieur
Maingot (Richard Woolliams) who, overcoming all
odds, (namely his size) discharged the part of the
stormy, truculent French tutor admirably, with a
Highland fling to boot. Did he attend the Highland
Games at Braemar this year, I wonder?
Some of the actors often seemed to lack the selfconfidence
to move easily on stage, and as such were a
little stilted and unnatural but with time they will improve.
I can say with conviction that one never knew exactly
what Diana Lake was going to do next (apart from
eat the odd man for breakfast) and that at the same
time, it was delightful to see each stolid bastion of
tradition like the Commander being pulled down now
and again. If this play is anything to go by, Rattigan
should not be ignored as a possible choice for future
House and School productions.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, the Raymond House
Play, started the Bloxham drama for the Lent term on a
serious note with Andre Previn's and Tom Stoppard's
joint venture in a musical play.
This play is a worthy innovation in play-writing, for it
employs the use of an orchestra situated on the stage
itself. This leads to the creation of a rather different atmosphere
discernable by the audience, if only because
the music is live and not a crackly pre-recording, and
that it plays an integral part in the play itself.
David Knight and Helen Budd.

Andrew Allen and Louise Maingot.
Heading the cast as well as producing the play was
Guy Ingram (Alexander), as a Russian dissident who
has been placed in a mental hospital, although he is
sane,because he has spoken out against the Russian
system. He has been confined with a genuine lunatic
realistically portrayed by Peter Rice (Ivanov), who
believes that he can hear an orchestra playing for much
of the time, in which, if he is not conducting, he is playing
his triangle.
The dilemma of the play centres around the attempt
of Alexander to leave this home and disprove that he is a
mental case by 'fighting' against the doctor and the
orchestra who represent the totalitarian state of Russia.
Meanwhile his son, Sacha, played by William Deeley,
fights against the dogmatic pronouncements of his
teacher, movingly imploring the audience for support
against the State. Amanda Ward launched herself into
the didactic role of his teacher in a way which added
extra zest to the play.
The lunatic holds the play together and Peter Rice
was gripping in the attention which he commanded
from the audience. The doctor (Matthew Petersen) and
the colonel (Jim Davidson) also deserve credit for their
supporting roles in the cast. Mr. Fletcher-Campbell conducted
the semi-professional orchestra, which included
a number of pupils. He did a fine job in making the performance
cohesive, despite a lack of rehearsals.
Being a member of the orchestra, I could quite easily
imagine myself as a part of the totalitarian state and
pronouncing sentence on these two so-called lunatics.
The doctor, the man with responsibility for curing the
'insane', ironically plays in the orchestra in his spare
time, thus linking the two dimensions of the play.
Credit goes to Guy Ingram, as another pupilproduced
play, and especially one that is so notable for
the subtlety of its delivery, succeeds at the school.
The Heiress
Henry James' novels, with their emphasis on
conversation and the tensions of personal relationships,
always convert well into film or stage drama.
Washington Square in the play The Heiress, adapted by
Ruth and Augustus Goetz, was the choice for the
Stonehill Play in the Lent Term and witnessed the Bloxham
debut of some very able actors and actresses.
The heiress herself is Catherine Sloper. Dominated by
her father (a successful New York doctor who blames
his only child for being the cause of his beautiful wife's
untimely death in giving birth to the daughter)
Catherine is untalented, dull in company, awkward and
plain. She is also naively oblivious to the attractions her
fortune, controlled by her father, might have for
unscrupulous young men, lacking an income and a wife.
The equilibrium of the Sloper household is disturbed
by Morris Townsend, fresh from the sophistications of
Europe. He captivates the daughter but fails with the
father. Catherine without her money is nothing and he
abandons her, only to re-appear — with considerable effrontery
— two years later when the doctor is dead and
her money is Catherine's to dispense as she chooses. It is
now for Catherine, experienced in the bitter tricks of the
world, to encourage Townsend only so she can herself
abandon him. She takes up embroidery instead of
romance.
Elizabeth Harris' performance in the lead role was
remarkable. She grew through gaucherie; it began with
defiance of her father only to fade into lonely bitterness.
The splendid costumes, evidence of hours of work by
Mesdames Parrington, Stein and Cane, echoed this
growth to sophistication. Alex Mollo played opposite
her as Morris Townsend in his first major Bloxham
67

part. He was assured, debonair and charmingly cruel.
He was aided in his designs by Catherine's aunt, Mrs
Penniman who busied herself too much with matters
beyond her control. Sarah Druce recreated Lavinia Penniman
with an extraordinary vitality and stage-presence.
She bullied her unrelenting brother, Doctor Sloper —
played most competently by David Brounger — with
energy and coaxed her timid niece with a fine regard for
authentic characterization.
Lucy Bowden, Kate Foster, Ambrose Carr, Jane
Fountaine and Jane Spalton were reliable supporting
members of the cast.
Deborah Phipps is to be warmly congratulated for
this, her first Bloxham production. She used the
confined space of the Workhouse to full advantage. We
had drama literally brushing past our knees and yet the
world of Washington Square never slipped from its
period into ours.
Black Comedy
The Seymour House play, Peter Schaffer's Black
Comedy, proved to be a light evening's entertainment,
relying for most of its impact on the farcical situations
in which the actors found themselves. The comedy was
excellent and, by the end of the performance, my
intestine ached with the effects of excessive laughter. I
came away with the feeling that here was a play which
must surely rank as one of the best House plays for
many years. Bob Dillon, a meticulous producer, had
chosen it with great skill, and the favourable reaction of
the audience (after all, they were rolling around in their
chairs a lot of the time) demonstrated that the actual
performances were of more than creditable proficiency.
The initial minutes of the play were performed in the
dark which, despite the few murmurings of complaint in
the audience as many screwed up their eyes to see what
was happening, was all according to plan. Brindsley
Miller, played by Paul Swain, and Carol (Jane Belshaw)
were discussing the risk involved in Brindsley's having
borrowed, without permission, his friend Harold's
furniture. Then, suddenly, there was a power cut and as
Brindsley groped for the light switch the stage lights
came on. We now watched the characters as they
stumbled around the stage, acting out their impeded
vision with brilliant skill. The reversal of the actual
situation proved to be extremely entertaining, and the
manner in which Paul Swain tripped and fell repeatedly,
each time with great conviction, was hilarious. The
entrance of Miss Furnival, and elderly lady played by
Elizabeth Harris, added to the comedy, and, again, the
standard of acting was faultless; she was later joined by
the griff Colonel Melkett (Simon Gruffin) and Harold
Gorringe (Piers Dunn), the character of the latter
providing an amusing portrayal of doubtful sexual
tendencies! Brindsley's lover, Clea (Sarah Lewis), was
impressive, and the complementary roles of electrician
and Kawasaki (Philip and Paul Ng) gave the finishing
touches to a performance which afforded great
enjoyment on the part of the audience.
I congratulate Mr. Dillon on his production (what
could be better when external exams are looming?) and
on the skill with which he marshalled the vivacious
talents at his disposal.
Trial by Jury
In what could well become a "G & S" slot in the
school's drama calendar, the Common Room staged
Trial by Jury on the last night of the summer term. Bob
Dillon directed the show as well as singing the part of
the judge with gusto. His splendid leapfrogging of the
judicial 'bench' as he came to the front of the stage to
explain his rise through the legal profession met with a
delighted cheer from an enthralled audience. Roger
Stein was the defendant who decided, on the strength
that "you cannot eat breakfast all day", to jilt the actual
Mrs. Stein for the actually pregnant Mrs. Folliott,
who sat demurely sensitive of her 'condition' while the
spurned bride flounced amongst the bridesmaids. The
Bridesmaids, led by the deliciously coy Heather Belcher
and Zoe Spring were the misses Belcher, Furley, Stein,
Spring and Wilkowski, all daughers of Common Room
and transparently revelling in their role. The more
aggressive female contingent, wives of the jurymen (all
too susceptible to the wiles of the flirtatious plaintiff)
were championed by a redoubtable Margaret Griffin
and Moira Ogilvie who beat their menfolk back into
time and tune with a rolling-pin and umbrella. Richard
Belcher as Counsel was a perfect reincarnation of mid-
Victorian resonant baritone. While Martin Roberts hit
the low notes with comic ostentation appropriate to an
absent-minded Clerk of the Court.
A lot of hard work, slogging against the odds in the
busiest part of the year, had gone into the production.
Christopher Fletcher-Campbell received a
commendation from the cast for his patient work at the
piano through rehearsals and his accompaniment on the
night. It is perhaps a pity that, setting aside the euphoria
of the last night of term when anything will go down
reasonably well provided it is light-hearted, the school's
response was only luke-warm. Common Room should
not be over-influenced, when next summer comes
round, by their love of Gilbert and Sullivan. Why not
exercise the considerable musical talent that exists in
Other works? Rumour has it that Bob Axbey and Ian
Hatton know all the lyrics from Oklahoma.... then
there's the Boy friend...{any nominations for the title
role?), Oliver or Show Boat. The musical only began
with G & S so the Bloxham repertoire need not feel constrained
to surge ahead.
E.D.S.
The Experimental Drama Society is now two summers
old and flourishing. Under Brian Joplin's patronage
and the two-year dual presidency of Simon Furness-
Gibbon and Anthony Bluff, this society has given Bloxham's
drama new dynamism, and fostered an almost
professional enthusiasm for the art. The key to the
success of the society's productions (and this year we
have had City Sugar and Private Lives) is that they are
pupil-produced. As the dates of performance draw
nearer the cast, resting perhaps a little complacently on
their flair, with lines still too sketchy to be safe, have
been able to see the dark terror that hounds the Man
Responsible written in the juice from broken veins
under the eyes of one of their own number, a contemporary.
The patron might descend, deus ex machina, in
the last week to steer or swear but the strain, pain and
euphoric acclaim belongs to members of the school.
69

And it is that, most certainly, which has injected every
E.D.S. play with the verve we have experienced. Next
season begins, a fortnight into Michaelmas Term with
Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, and finds the society experimenting
for the first time with the Great Hall stage.
City Sugar
City Sugar is menacing — a play with a message driven
home with brutal and uncompromising clarity. The
targets are the besotted teenage fan and the object of her
adulation, today's rock heroes, tomorrow's nobodies.
The message itself has probably been relevant since 1963
— the year of the release of The Beatles first LP, of
screaming, frenzied girls, lurid pin-ups and autographs.
What City Sugar seeks to do is to set rock star adulation
within the confines of the radio station. Mr Colter
is something of a hall of menace — on the 'air', voices
are silkily cheerful and optimistic; inside the radio station,
they are bitter and reflect the futility of it all.
The DJs are the prime element, though. Poliokoff,
the play's author, tries to show how the new jokers in
the pack, the DJs, tune people into becoming the victims
of a pernicious mass culture, with its idiotic
platitudes, unimaginative news-reports, and assinine
competitions, designed to 'plug' the name of the latest
group.
The DJ here is a very reluctant source of power.
Leonard Brazil, played by Edward Davies, commands
the attention of thousands on the air. There is hope for
him — he has seen through the facade but struggles
uselessly to escape from the prison of his own 'Empire'.
Ed captured this dilemma well. Essentially, Brazil is two
people: the silky-voiced DJ and the bitter world-weary
70
One member of E.D.S., Piers Dunn.
man, depressed by the futility of his role. Ed gave a stirring
performance, his voice matching the typical DJ lilt,
but it had an appropriately menacing edge to it. He was,
though, rather plagued by technical hitches which
meant that his voice was sometimes cut altogether from
the speakers or simply faded away into nothingness.
Fortunately, we were not cursed with any 'earshattering
feedback'. What really impressed me though
was the way Ed was able to make the switch of character
on and off the air, and always remain domineering both
to his audience and his employees.
John, played by Guy Ingram, was the unimaginative
news-caster who read out whatever news was put before
him, sometimes with blankly comic results. The whole
thing would have given Sue Lawley or Selina Scott a
very nasty turn, I'm sure. Guy always looked relaxed
and comfortable in his role — brow-beaten continually
by Brazil, yet still able to betray hints of iron in his
retorts.
The three girls were the archetypal fans, able to report
whether or not the bass-guitarist in 'Duran Duran' liked
red or green jellly, and wore silk pyjamas on a Sunday.
They were most entertaining — particularly when they
were unable to recall who The Beatles actually were.
Nicola, played by Sarah Lewis, was the childishly
naive and innocent victim of the music world, entering
for competitions whenever she could, scribbling her
answers on dirty postcards, and so on. Quite simply,
Nicola could be any one of the thousands out there and
Sarah certainly seemed to understand this, enlivening
her performance with a few comic movements. For instance,
the 'jam butty' incident which was very nearly
the end of her as an ordinary mortal, I am sure.
From the point of view of stage presence and sanity,
Susan, played by the indomitable Clare Holifield, stole
the show. Somewhat spiteful, changeable and forever
letting her enthusiasm run away with her, she gave a
very convincing performance.

Jane, played by Debbie Phipps, came over well, if a
little nervously, though one song she and Nicola were
compelled to sing in the radio station was against them
— it drew laughs for the wrong reasons.
The production was compelling and intimate for most
of the time; the audience really did feel as it if was on
the inside, so the play was saved from being a mere spectacle
which the audience had no part in. It was enhanced
by numerous 'additives', certainly the brain child of the
producer, Simon Wood, who never ceased to delight us
with an impersonation of a 'Common room figure' and
ridiculous Birmingham gabblings about pink sacks, red
jelly and ice cream. This was a stirring and encouraging
production which successfully rose above even technical
hitches thrown in its path! Well done!
Private Lives
The somewhat dingy doorway of the workhouse was
entered by many, I think, with a deal of foreboding
between June 14th and 16th amidst exclamations of,
"Oh, I saw so and so in it at London, Windsor, Katmandu,
etc. and it was superb, I hope this is going to be
worth seeing!" Some of this atmosphere I think unfortunately
transmitted itself to the cast in the first few
moments but then any production of one of the most
popular of Coward's comedies must suffer a little overshadowing:
a challenge which the cast and producers
must meet and overcome. I'm pleased to say David
Brounger as producer and his cast of Alex Mollo, Peter
Rice, Sarah Druce, Debbie Phipps and Jane Spalton
coped with the task admirably and entered fully into the
hair-letting-down spirit of the play, so brilliantly created
by Coward. The simplicity and precision of structure
and elegance of dialogue allowed the full vitality and
propensity of the cast to laugh to transmit itself to a
very receptive audience.
The play certainly has a very familiar and simplistic
theme, used widely in comedy since Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream that of two pairs of lovers
meeting and exchanging partners. Coward though adds
the fascinating twist of a previous marriage and a
remarkable antithesis within the original pairs. And
what a pair of lovers! Victor a "fat old gentleman in a
club chair" his wife Amanda "a bad tempered wicked
woman". Filyot, Amanda's ex-husband, a cad, Sybil,
his new wife, a kitten who grows into a cat; Elyot and
Amanda experienced in life; Victor and Sybil naive and
from sheltered backgrounds.
Somehow I didn't quite find Deb convincing as a kitten
but at the comic and emotional climax of the play
when she finally grows into a cat she reached her forte:
claws out, hackles raised and spitting. In fact the only
one who at this stage maintains any degree of cool is
Victor, played by Peter Rice who throughout maintained
a stolid but suave gruffness, complete with a
moustache; the loss of his bow-tie left him unperturbed,
"I was looking for my wife and my bow-tie come to
that". These two, true to Coward's plan, complemented
each other perfectly and provided perfect foils for the
fireworks of the Elyot/Amanda relationship. These two
were obviously destined for each other, from the moment
we first meet them with their respective new lovers
we are aware of this — a compliment to Sarah Druce's
and Alex Mollo's acting. I don't know how much of the
antagonism between the two was actually active but all
credit to the producer for matching so well the two personalities,
to produce that situation where neither knew
how to manage the other's amazing verve, taste for life
and calm unruffled sophistication. Congratulations to
Sarah, Alex, and David Brounger.
Congratulations, again, should go to all involved for
a smashing production even more so for the way they
made full use of the small space and facilities of the
Workhouse. Thanks for this must particularly go to Andrew
Bastable and his stage crew; David Dent and
Declan Magee — who enabled the brilliance of the acting
to be encapsulated in a fitting set.
The cast of 'Private Lives'
71

Kate Foster

Avoiding Doublethink in 1984
He was quite bright when he arrived at the school.
Today, just three years later, he is dishevelled and
truculent — and in trouble. He looks set to fail his O
levels, he has a record of petty pilfering, he avoids
games, has no interest in hobbies and seems bent upon
finding remote places where he can smoke in peace. In
the eyes of the school Jack is a failure. Tomorrow he
may well be a dissident and the next day he could be a
reject — rejected by the school and probably by society.
What will the school do for him? What about others like
him and what about girls who have similar records at
school? How do schools cope with failure? How do we
prepare even our most successful pupils for failure —
failure in the job market or failure in relationships?
The Christian Gospel, certainly as it can be encountered
in the New Testament, acknowledges failure,
welcomes the outcast and the reject and has little interest
in the worldly successful. It challenges the rich,
the mighty and the successful. They are 'sent empty
away', 'put down' and are no more able to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven than a camel is able to pass through
the eye of a needle. Today's schools, partricularly independent
schools, are geared to the pursuit of excellence,
but the justification for this seems often to
derive more from expedience than from the Christian
Gospel. There is confusion between the pursuit of excellence
and the struggle to be successful in the eyes of
the world. The statistics of success are clearly
proclaimed in terms of examination results and places
gained at universities, so that it is easy to think that the
main concern of independent schools these days is to remain
successful in business terms, by enabling as many
pupils as possible to be successful in their turn.
However, many independent schools are Christian
foundations and most take their responsibility for
transmitting Christian beliefs and values very seriously,
and yet they are in constant danger of paying only lipservice
to Christianity. There is a sort of 'doublethink'
going on, described by George Orwell in Nineteen
Eighty-Four as the 'power of holding two contradictory
beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting
both of them'. Two conflicting sets of standards are
COMMENT
evident — the economy of the market place and the
ideals of the Gospel.
The tension between these two sets of standards can
never be resolved completely without damaging the
most important educational opportunity for pupils —
the chance to begin to realise their potential as human
beings. Schools which ignore business factors risk losing
the freedom to do anything very much, while schools
which are committed to being competitive in business
terms cannot afford to be too generous. If this is so, it
means that 'doublethink' can only be avoided if it is admitted
that there is tension and that there are problems
which need constant attention. Once this is admitted, it
may be possible to see that such problems are often the
creative growing points in a school. Avoiding
'doublethink' would then mean accepting the challenge
that the need to consider change is an essential and permanent
feature of school life. So it is that the question
of failure, once examined honestly, might lead to
positive and exciting developments in the life of the
school, of the staff and — most importantly — of the
pupils.
It is a charge sometimes made against prefects that
they have double standards — one which they feel
helpless to rebut. What they experience is but a
microcosm of what happens in the school at large, and
indeed in society itself. Everyone accepts the principle
that you should practise what you (by virtue of your
office) preach. Immediately anyone with a position of
authority is exposed; then the loftier the ideals, the
greater the exposure. In an increasingly pluralist society
as ours is becoming, it is remarkable that failure to live
up to high ideals is still as censured as much as it is. The
quality of a school's response to failure — failure in its
individuals and failure in its own life — is one of the
many criteria according to which judgements can be
made about Christian education — just as it is one example
of instances of double standards operating in
schools. Courage and fearlessness in facing the truth of
this is essential if any such community is to grow in
spiritual maturity.
The Chaplain
73

74
Voices
A roaring horse gallops into the swirling sand,
An echo resounds into the waiting charger's ears,
With a heave of his mighty body
He turns and lunges for the deep,
Curiously silent in death.
And more and more the painful charge
And more and more the echoes
Cry out in vain to silver steeds who pay
No heed to echoes from the dead.
Screaming cliffs give way to laughing hills
And whips of naked bones crack bitter 'gainst
a mournful sky.
Decaying youth lies weeping at its own self's feet,
Whilst evil gnaws at bitter hearts for warmth
To fuel cold, bald limbs.
Food for worms,
Her splendour gone, she wails.
Sinews binding life as rope strained taut cuts
sharp through flesh.
What once shone smooth and supple gold
Drops dead
And sobs consume those wrinkled shadows with their
tears.
Clare Holifield

"At Banbury Cross,
there died a white lady"
Trapped in the torrid, teeming peopled heat,
We stewed gently in our green bubble,
The Smothering, sickly stench of tarmac thickened,
Itself smeared on sweat-sodden clothes.
A thousand carboned snouts belched forth,
And gutturally-piped groans rent the air.
The cavalcade rolled, and stopped, and cursed.
It was a merciless day.
A striking match rent the velvet air,
And a bluely-tinted ring up-curled,
As I felt the cold and angry smoke of sweat
Trickle down my starched and prickly back.
And there sat my sainted sickly aunt,
A patient cherub amidst selfish bustle,
Her hackled dog sniffed her stale scent,
And wilted was its pink meat tongue.
Then up-swelled a groan, a mighty farce,
It bore the years of world-weariness,
And servile passionless hate.
It was an end, a crying, useless end.
Her hands clawed the heated, pitiless air,
Crooked, craggy, painting to lying God.
Agape I stared at twisted, tearing flesh.
This is death, ignoble, sagging death.
Simon Furness-Gibbon
The Soul Under Socialism
The chief advantage that would result from the
establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that
Socialism would relieve us from "that sordid necessity
of living for others " (The Soul of Man Under
Socialism"; Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde's vision of Socialism is both Utopian and
anarchistic. In the same work quoted from above, he
posits the diminution of poverty, ugliness, crime, want
and suffering. By redistributing the world's wealth,
there will be plenty of everything for everybody and an
end to the state of "starving in the midst of plenty".
The machine will become man's slave, allowing him to
fulfil his potential in the most agreeable amd fruitful
manner. It would give an economist apoplexy. In his
review of the book, George Orwell pointed out the inadequacies
of the argument, making the comment that
"Wilde's version of Socialism could only be realized in
a world not only far richer but also technically far more
advanced that the present one." He wrote his article in
1948.
Whether the world is far richer in real terms in 1984
than it was in 1948 is debatable, but it is certainly
technically superior. Although a state of ideal Socialism
is clearly unattainable economically and politically,
Wilde's comments nevertheless seem less naive and
ridiculous in the light of the current technological
revolution. One of the comments he makes is that
"Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will
lead to Individualism".
I would choose simply to substitute 'Technology' for
'Socialism'. Technology will lead to a growth in Individualism
because it will unshackle man from the
time-consuming labour on the factory-floor and in his
own home. For the idle, the improvident and the infirm,
the age of technology ought to be a halycon age of peace
and calm. In The Times recently, for example, was pictured
Mrs. — of Moseley, Birmingham, selecting her
groceries from the computer list of 1,000 items available
at her nearest chainstore. Her requirements were fed into
the computer, received at the other end, the items
selected, and subsequently delivered within a day. Of
course, man will never be entirely unshackled. There
will always remain tasks requiring his flexibility to complete
them successfully. Thus, he will never be entirely
freed from the regimentation of direction of labour, fixed
working hours, differential wage rates and so on.
However, as Wilde hoped, machines are advanced
enough now for us to stop and draw a breath or two and
perhaps think constructively about the extra time we
have available. Individualism ought now to be in the
ascendent, no longer the exclusive province of the
married, the idle or the idle married, if you like. It is
quite likely that by the year 2000 for example, the "rat
race" will be a thing of the past. There will simply not
be the economic necessity for it. Let us hope so — I, for
one, welcome the prospect of being paid to stay at home
and take up thatching or bee-keeping. At any rate, let us
hope for a steady decline in the "beavering classes" —
the poor oppressed individuals who only just manage to
catch the Waterloo train from Brookwood, who sweat
manfully in their suits and who return exhausted to the
arms of an adoring wife when the day is done.
I sincerely hope that we have entered the age where
long-forgotten and respected hobbies are exhumed,
dusted down and given a new lease of life. I hope that
evening classes, especially those concerned with
handicrafts and linguistic skills, become commonplace.
I would aim at an ideal if I could, a race of scholarathletes,
but reason dictates otherwise. We shall still
need our roadworkers and builders and a good thing
too. We need an anchor for lofty and sublime ambition.
Besides this, to live life artistically and intellectually
would be to respect the needs of those around us.
It is my secret hope that we shall all have more time
for one another, for rediscovering an old acquaintance,
or for making a new one. E.M. Forster, if he were alive
75

today, would welcome the dawning of this age, for it
would allow the consideration, sensitivity and pluck of
his "aristocracy", his treasured few, to come into play.
These are qualities which have been dulled by an apparent
over-familiarity. Like our neglected interests,
they need a new lease of life. I hope this age will give
them that and I hope, like Forster, that personal relationships
will come to mean as much, if not more, to the
individual as the nation does.
Of course, these may be the ramblings of an idealist.
We may all simply sink into listless apathy and come to
regard the flick of a switch, the tapping-in of data to be
an impossible effort. Far from releasing us, technology
may enslave us. Ideally, one would welcome a complete
turn around, a return to the lost world I talked of
above, after the technological revolution has died away.
If cycles work as they ought to, this may yet happen.
But I fear not. Even in an age of Individualism, the
computer will always be a powerful reminder of a
sophistication and an efficiency which has given us the
freedom which we enjoy. We shall not be able to forget
the machine in a hurry simply because it has overwhelmed
our public and private lives. Even whilst learning pottery,
I shall be reminded of the machine and will be
disturbed by a feeling of subservience to it . . .
Simon Furness-Gibbon
The School Captain writes:
Arriving here in the Lower Sixth Form, from the totally
different Comprehensive system, meant a great change
in my life. In my first week, I mistook the initials MWV
and MCVC for military awards for great bravery and
valour, whilst I was sure BBK, RKA and SMcC were eccentric
academic qualifications. My knowledge of social
etiquette was as extensive as a four-month old puppy's,
who still can't manage to get outside before it is too
late!
Yet after just one term I felt re-born. The opportunities
I have been able to take advantage of here have
opened doors I never realised existed. Obviously, I am
not the only person to have these opportunities: all
pupils here today have the same facilities to develop
their potential for the future.
Let's take sport for example. Within the school, the
competition of House championships has been excellent.
Wilson won the rugby, Crake the hockey and
(I'm hoping) Wilberforce will be destined for the cricket
cup. The Common Room Rugby XV have long since
retired, due to the fragility of dotage and their large
cocktail cabinet, but they did manage to field a hockey
XI to challenge and, quite by chance, beat the eleven
county players. The masters' cricket XI promises to
reach Second XI standard, with the first team resting on
their laurels after last summer's victory. Our sport is
clearly a large part of our life here at All Saints.
Our school is a caring, Christian community and has
been for 124 years. That is something one does not often
find in the cut and thrust of today's high life. Our small
Oxfordshire school has seen many different faces,
whether masters, pupils or those who look after our
welfare. All have experienced the community life here
and, for some, this summer will be an abrupt end to it.
But September will see the start of a new era, with new
pupils, shuffling-up through the years in the same All
Saints' community.
Daniel Schnurr
76
Jump
We arrived at RAF Weston-on-the-Green at 8.20 a.m.
Ten minutes later we went to the lecture room where we
had to fill out the paper work. We were then split into
three groups, Kevin, Simon and I were all in the same
group. We had a very good instructor who taught us the
basics of jumping out of the 'plane and how to land. I
never knew there was so much to jumping from a plane
at 2500 feet.
The next day we returned to the base where we were
told how and when to use our reserve parachute (but
they assured us that we would not need it!). Our jump
depended greatly on the strength of the wind. We were
scheduled to jump at 2 o'clock, but in the morning the
winds were so light they tried to push us through at midday.
As we walked from the lecture room after the last
briefing the winds got up. They then said we would
jump at about 3 o'clock or as soon as the winds went
down. We were not allowed off the base so I had to turn
an offer of lunch down. We were waiting for hours doing
nothing, just getting more and more nervous.
Eventually at 8 o'clock we were told to put our
parachutes on and go to the plane. There was still more
delay and it was not until 9 o'clock the 'plane took off.
There were eight of us in the 'plane, Kevin was first out
and then me.
When we were over the drop-zone our instructor
opened the door and told Kevin to get ready in the door,
he did so. The instructor said, "Go!" in a split second
he had gone.
Then I had to get into the door. By this stage I had
not looked down; I still tried not to. As I let my legs
dangle from the aircraft the wind tried to push them
away. The force was amazing. I had to hold on tight or I
would have been pulled out and fallen in an awkward
way making it difficult for my parachute to open
properly. It would have twisted up and could have
caused problems. When I was told to go I had no time to
think what I was doing. I don't remember being pushed
out of the door but I must have been. I left the 'plane, I
shut my eyes and was paralysed. I had to wait about
four seconds until the parachute took my weight and
slowed me down .... Those four seconds seemed like
hours. When the parachute felt like it was fully open, I
reached up and took hold of the steering ropes and
began to look for the drop zone. It was a mile square
but it was still very small. I turned to run with the wind
until I was over the D.Z. Everything was so small; I
could not make people out to start with: they were too
small; roads were the size of matchsticks. My heart was
in my boots. Gradually things began to get bigger — the
grass as a mat of flat green. When I could make out the
blades of grass I knew I was soon to land. I soon hit the
ground forgetting about landing properly, I just flopped
down.
It had taken no more than two minutes to get down
but they were probably the best two minutes of my life.
Murray Graham

Reminiscence
This is not an attempt at a record of Bloxham School
but rather some idle thoughts from an idle fellow of the
life and times of the School at the beginning of the
century. Now I think I'd better introduce myself. My
name is Edward Lancelot Roberts and I came to Bloxham
in 1903 at the age of thirteen and left in 1907. Now
a little bit of arithmetic will tell you that I am in my
ninety fourth year. I can not say with any degree of
truth that my scholastic career was a distinguished one.
It was exactly the opposite. In fact my prowess in the
field of athletics was no better. It is on record that a certain
master in his term report remarked "He appears to
be very dense". Well in the years to come that very
dense boy was to be Chief Operating and Power
Superintendent of the Madras and Southern Maharatta
Railway, one of the Indian Government Railways, a
department of over two thousand employees and
because he had done over twenty five years in the Indian
Auxiliary Force was appointed Honorary A.D.C. to the
Commander-in-Chief carrying with it the rank of
temporary full Colonel. The Commander-in-Chief was
Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. You know I have
since come to the conclusion that there are none so
dense as those who want to be.
Let us just have a look at the School generally before
we go into any detail. It was a hard, tough School and
devoid of any creature comforts. The discipline was
very, very severe indeed and looking back, I think now
they made far too much use of the cane or, as it was
called then, the stick. If you were to tell a boy now in the
School that if he forgot or failed to number his sums
after two warnings, he got two cuts with the cane, he'd
hardly believe you. He'd laugh but that's what
happened to us. Also I do not think it is right that a
prefect on some pretext or other could give you six with
the cane when a clip over the ear would have done just
as well.
Now there was no electricity in the School and I don't
think that it had even come to the village. The School
was lit by gas, not even gas mantles but the flaring gas
jets. There was no telephone in the School. There was
no tarmacadam on the road. Consequently in a dry
summer year, the hedges were grey with dust. There was
no bus service from Bloxham to Banbury but there was
a rather infrequent train service - whether that was made
much use of, I don't know - we never used it. Banbury
itself was entirely out-of-bounds and we only went in
possibly to see the dentist in which case we were always
escorted by the Matron. We were never allowed in by
ourselves. I don't know why but we weren't.
Of the main block of buildings, externally, I don't
suppose very much has changed, although a lot of new
buildings undoubtedly have gone up since my day. Well
now, there was no wall isolating the playground from
the main road. Consequently cows not infrequently,
when being driven down the main road, would invade
our playground, leaving their trademarks all over the
place to the fury of us small boys who wanted to play
small footer. Small footer, I may add, was played with a
tennis ball because in those days we played soccer and
not rugger.
If we walked from the cricket field, the first building
we came to would be the Tuck Shop, run by a Mrs.
Bartlett, a formidable old lady, and I've seen her more
than once take a boy by the ear and lead him outside her
shop and tell him to stay out until he had learnt to
behave himself. She sold ginger beer at a penny a bottle,
homemade and very good too. Except, of course, there
were no tumblers to drink it out of, you swigged it out
of the bottle. She also sold another wonderful
confection called a pink cake; that was very expensive
though. It cost tuppence, and when you only had sixpence
a week pocket money, tuppence was quite a lot of
money.
Coming out of the Tuck Shop on the righthand end as
you faced it, was the washroom — stone floor with iron
basins, and hot water was laid on in the afternoons in
the winter months only. In the summer and spring there
was no hot water at all, only cold. In the long main
room, there was a line of pegs, a bench running all down
the wall and, underneath the bench, pigeonholes in
which you kept your boots or shoes or what have you.
Coming out ot the pavilion, which was not exactly a
comfortable room to hang about in, there was an open
fives court and a lane leading down past the new gym.
77

We called it new in those days, it had only been up a
couple of years or so. If you went straight on you came
to the masters' house on the left hand side — a private
house rented by the School for some of the masters to
live in. They only had their studies there, they had all
their main meals up in the School. Beyond that was a
lone building which was only used once and that was
when there was an epidemic of mumps. Otherwise it was
kept shut the whole time I was in School.
Now let's go back to the playground and, if you were
facing the Chapel, on your left would be a small
chemical laboratory, above that a room in which was
stored twelve ancient rifles. I think that they called them
Martini Henry. I am not sure but I think that was the
name. Anyway they were completely out-of-date
weapons, I think they came in just after bows and
arrows had been disbanded. Underneath that was the
box room where we kept our tuck boxes. Now every boy
brought back at the beginning of the term a tuck box
with jam, potted meat and sardines and the like. You
also had a lock and key to your box where you could
keep things privately. As an example, my last two terms
I was possessed of a very powerful B.S.A. air pistol
which indeed was quite a dangerous weapon and I
didn't dare keep it in my desk in the
Schoolroom,because some prowling prefect or master
might spot it and I would have been in dire trouble for
having it. Across the way was the darkroom where the
camera club did all their developing. Beyond that, to use
a modern word, were the loos. We called them bogs.
They were very primitive. In fact they were nothing
more than earth closets. But one strange thing about
them was that the doors had no bolts or locks. Consequently
when a new boy arrived and modestly closed the
door behind him, it was immediately kicked open by the
first boy passing. For it was never done to close the
doors.
Behind the Chapel were the kitchen gardens where
they grew all their own vegetables.
Now let's go inside the main building, where I have
no doubt very great changes have taken place. In my
day, the first door on the left was the Great Schoolroom
with long desks and long wooden forms. Each desk had
its flat lid and in front of each desk was a little tiny ink­
DEATHS
pot, let into the woodwork. Because, you see, ballpointed
pens were unheard of in those days. In the centre
of the room there was a platform on which there was
a table and chair for the duty master or duty prefect as
the case may be. At the right-hand end of the room
there was a clock on the wall and in the far corner there
was a door and just inside that door there was a little
tiny shop, where you bought india rubber, pens, pencils,
nibs and pins and exercise books — those sort of things.
There was a long corridor underneath the Chapel in
which there were three classrooms. I won't describe
them to you because they were all exactly the same — no
pictures on the walls or anything like that, just desks
and forms. But if you turned to the right directly at the
top of the corridor, you went into the vestry which the
choir used. Beyond the vestry, and keeping straight
on,you came to the Headmaster's study. Beyond that
was out-of-bounds, completely out-of-bounds. But the
Headmaster did take four or five pupils and they had a
study — two boys to a study. Well, the studies were not
exactly comfortable rooms — in the middle was a small
ink-stained kitchen table and two kitchen chairs. No
carpets on the floor and no curtains on the window. It
was heated by one hot water pipe and there was a shelf
on which you could put your books and things. The only
advantage was that you could leave your things lying
about without having them disturbed and the School
were not allowed to go into these studies without the express
permission of the Headmaster. And then you were
only allowed for one hour.
Right, lets just go up the Chapel stairs a little way.
Halfway up there was a School bell and a Chapel bell. A
boy was employed to ring the School bell (not the
getting-up bell in the morning or the lights-out bell at
night) but all other bells during the day. Another big
and stronger boy was detailed to ring the Chapel bell.
The Chapel itself, I don't suppose has changed. It was a
beautiful Chapel, but I don't suppose it has changed
very much. Except I believe some years ago a new organ
was installed. I remember the old one very well because
I used to pump it for a bit. I found that I was able to
dodge tedious sermons that way.
OLD BLOXHAMIST SOCIETY
Edward Lancelot Roberts OB
President: The Provost. Vice-Presidents: M. W. Vallance, Esq., D.R.G.Seymour, Esq.,
R.S.Thompson, Esq., S.G.Lester, Esq. (1933-40). Chairman: F.D.Boss (1943-49).
Hon.Secretary: M.S.Hedges (1969-74). Assistant Hon.Secretary: E.F.H.L. Wicks (nee Fiori) (1965-68).
Hon. Treasurer: I.R.Charles (1970-75). Hon.Auditor: G.E.Mead (1938-42).
Committee: C.J. W.Apps (1927-34), P.J.P.Barwell (1945-53), A.G.Disney (1943-46), R.M.Galletly (1958-63),
N.H.L.Gibbs (1959-63), J.R.Hartley (1945-54), M.W.Liddington (1943-46), S.J.P.Minter (1968-73),
C.G.Nicholl (1946-53), S.Smart (1972-77). Co-opted: l.G.Langrish (1973-75).
200 Club Organiser: P.J.P.Barwell. Resident Secretary: Major S.McCloghry M.B.E.
Once more we have the melancholy task of recording the deaths of
Members of the Society and our Friends:
Michael J.A. FISHER (Cr 45-52). Father of O.B.s and Benefactor
of the School.
78
Edgar M.L. GREEN (1910-13). A Member of the first platoon of
the newly-formed Bloxham School Officer Training Corps and
Member of the 200 Club.
William A. HAMBLETT (1915-19). Grandfather and father of Old
Bloxhamists.
Charles S.H. HAWKES (Cr 17-23). His son writes to say that his
father had many happy memories and was always proud of his time at
Bloxham.

William D. HOMFRAY (Wf 24-28).
Julian M. HUXTABLE (Wn 58-63) after a long illness.
Eric E.LAW (Cr 19-23). A banker all his working life, in East
Anglia and Hampshire.
Doug LEAF. Although not an O.B., many will remember his turning
out to umpire at our cricket matches.
Roger M. RAYMOND (Cr 20-28). Member of the School Council.
Vice-President and former Chairman of the Society. Benefactor and
faithful attender at Founderstides.
R.A. ROGERS (Hds 16-21).
Revd William V.F. RUSHTON (1916-19).
John B. SCHUSTER. Member of the School Council. For a time
Chairman of the Council and Chairman of the General Purposes and
Finance Committee. Benefactor.
Constance M. SKILLINGTON. Sister of the School hospital from
1953 to 1972, much respected and loved.
Harold S. ("Jim") TAYLOR (Cr 24-26). A National Judge of Suffolk
sheep and an exporter of pedigree suffolks to the U.S.S.R.
John A.H. ("Jack") WOLFF. Colonial Servant, School Bursar,
wicket-keeper, umpire and friend.
Brigadier Dimitry D. ZVEG1NTZOV C.B.E. (Wf 23-29). Commissioned
Border Regiment 1934, served India and Burma 1939-45 War,
Commander 4th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment 1955-57. Member
of the School Council and Vice-President of the Society.
NEWS
Kathleen ALLEN (Ry/Mn) is now reading medicine at Sheffield. We
had a very nice letter from the Professor and Head of Civil Engineering
of the University of Surrey on the occasion of Robin
APPLETON's (Ry 74-78) first. Robin is married and working to be a
Chartered Accountant (?). Brian ASHBY (Wn 42-49) continues his
practice as Consultant Surgeon in the Southend District. He was
recently awarded the Cutler's Medal for innovation in surgical instrumentation
and he has also been appointed a Hunterian Professor
at the Royal College of Surgeons. Anthony ASHMOLE (Wn 45-48)
transferred from British Telecom to the G.P.O. and is Workshop
Supervisor for fleet maintenance in a large area of Cheshire.
Reynold BADGER (Wf 53-57) let us have his new address in
Weston-Super-Mare where he has bought a business of his own, having
left the family firm. Andy BASHFORD (Cr 64-69) and his family
have moved to St. Albans. He is working in London as Catering Adviser
to the Costain Group of Companies. Previously he has worked
for Trust House Forte Airport Services and before that with the Post
Office Catering Divison. Ralph BATES (Wf 67-72) has moved to
Taunton and is teaching at Queen's College. After graduation, Mark
BELCHER (Eg 75-80) is joining Thornton Baker and hopes to gain
professional qualifications in commerce. Mike BENNETT (Wn 66-71)
went to St. Lukes, Exeter for three years before taking up a
P.E./Geography appointment at Rossall School. In 1980 he took over
the family farm in Blackburn. Married, he has a boy and a girl.
Christopher (Wn 63-68) is a qualified architect, married with two
children and living in Canada. Gerald BODILY (Wf 65-69) now helps
his father with his philatelic business. Recently he was in South Africa
as a judge in an International Stamp Exhibition. Jon BRIDGWATER
(Ry 76-79) has moved from Yeovil to a newspaper in North Wales.
After an abortive year at the Royal School of Mines, Nigel BRISCOE
(Eg 71-73) went to Liverpool University where he graduated. He joined
a firm of chartered accountants (Thompson, McLintock & Co) and
became chartered last year. He is currently a Group Accountant for
the Engineering Division of S. Pearson & Son. Married last year to
Fiona (also a Chartered Accountant).
Humphrey BROOKS (1912-14) well remembers School milk
puddings. They were dished out by a one-armed man called Mallet,
nicknamed Jumbo, a general factotum and always on tap for
everything. Other chaps of this time were Bartlett who taught carpentry
in a building next to the School tuckshop and lived in Strawberry
Terrace, and there was Grinter who was O.C. physical drill, gymnastics
and a sergeant in the School O.T.C. under Captain Arthur
Child. The Maths Master is remembered as one who prowled round
very quietly especially in dormitories. In the list of those who were
killed in the Great War, there is one master, Bryant, and no less than
16 contemporaries whom he remembers well.
John BRUELL (Ry 76-81) should be coming to the end of his time
at University College, Cardiff where he started a degree course in civil
engineering in 1982. After the first year he was given an award for the
year's course and another for being top in the examinations. Last
summer he got considerable experience by working for a firm of contractors
in Botswana. Graham BULL (Eg 73-78) keeps us up-dated by
saying that he is in Wales teaching music at a local (Chepstow) comprehensive
school - he is also organist and choirmaster at the Priory of
St Mary's. He has had a few anthems published. Jeremy BULOW
(Wn 68-73) - on October 11th in New Zealand to Sheryl and Jeremy, a
daughter, sister for David and Kim. Congratulations to General Sir
Edward BURGESS (Cr 41-45) on his promotion to full General and
on his appointment as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Frederico BUTELMAN (Cr 79-81) gained his H.N.D. at Hatfield
Polytechnic.
Martin COALES (Wf 57-62) is now tied to the house whilst his wife
spends an academic year at Wrexham University doing a Health
Visitor's Course. Martin, before his retirement from the R.A.F., was
a regular player for the Yorkshire Gentlemen. Since moving to
Bomere Heath he has become the Captain of his village team. Hence
we are unlikely to see much of him during the cricket season. Simon
CHUNG (Wf 77-80) has returned to Hong Kong after graduation,
hoping to use his engineering qualification despite the lull in the construction
industry. Since leaving the Rowley Gallery in London,
Michael CUNDALL (Wf 63-67) has worked at a Studio/Gallery in
Guildford, still enjoying picture framing. Unfortunately they will
have to move from good premises within the next year owing to
development.
Ian DAVENPORT (Wn 73-79) read politics, not accountancy as
reported by us, at Durham. He spent a year "globe trotting" before
starting a career (42 years) with the International Accountancy firm of
Arthur Andersen in their London office. Roger DAY (Wf 12-20)
sends us his memories of Father Blofield. He recalls his arrival from
All Saints, Margaret Street — his biretta, the tinkling bell and coffas
with lace edgings which all came as a bit of a shock at first. As a
Server, Roger preferred beating the gong which seemed more reverent.
Father Blofield was keen on sport and during the cricket season was
regularly at the nets bowling a medium pace good length. At soccer he
was first class but the Christmas term 1919 saw the end of soccer at
Bloxham — rather to his disgust. Noel de JONGH (Music 62-66) is
now Director of Music at Edinburgh Academy. His baby girl, born in
the Horton in 1963, is now in her first year doing music at UEA, Norwich.
There is a lot of musical talent up north but there is also curling,
canoe-polo and fly-tying to get in the way of orchestral rehearsals. We
hear that Mark de SILVA has his Master's and PhD from Surrey
University in Biochemistry. Peter DUNCAN (Eg 58-62) is married
with two sons. He is a senior executive in the Republican Press
Publications Company of South Africa.
David EASTWOOD (Cr 29-37) has taken on a small flock of sheep
in his retirement. David EDGELL (Eg 63-68) emigrated to the U.S.A.
after finishing at Bristol. He is married with 2 boys and a girl and is in
the building trade. He built his own home in Montana and had to keep
under cover for several days when Mount St Helens blew its top off.
Trade slumped a few years ago but he held his own and now runs his
own business with some large projects in hand. Martin EDWARDS
(Cr 65-70) has just got married and is now Assistant Director of the
Municipal Planning Department for Natal, after qualifying as an
architect. Donald DOWIE (Cr 64-69) is just down the road. Marcus
EROOGA (Wf 70-73) after gaining a M.A. in Sociology at Manchester,
is now starting probation work in that city. Richard
EVEN(Wn 77-81) is working for Martin Marnetta Corporation in
Annapolis, Maryland. In particular, he is working on organic corrosion
inhibitors in connection with the space shuttle programme. Why
don't I have his address?
David FLETCHER (Wf 69-73) goes for training this September for
the ordained ministry at Chichester Theological College. Paul FOX
(Wn 78-82) has just been elected as a Liberal member of the Oxford
Uiversity Student Union Executive and as a representative on the
National Liberal Party Council.
Bob GALLETLY (Eg 58-62) has been on a business trip to South
Africa and was able to provide both Andrew Marek's (Eg 55-60) and
Peter DUNCAN'S (Eg 58-62) addresses. The Mareks dined with him
at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town and he spent a weekend with
the Duncans in Johannesburg. He then went off to Saudi Arabia via
Cyprus where he hoped to see Sandy Dean. Jeremy GRATTAN (Wf
74-77) has been transferred from Lloyds Bank, Banbury to High
Wycombe. Mark GUTHRIE (Eg 77) is now studying with a view to
becoming a barrister.
79

John HARDING (Wn 72-75) spends every available minute while
he is awake, working with another chap operating a small garage for
the service and repair of tractors and cars in a country district in Eire.
Duncan HARRINGTON (Wf 59-63) carries out genealogical and
historical research for others and also teaches for the University of
Kent at "Canterbury. Andrew HARTWELL (Wn 69-72) is in the
U.S.A. for an indefinite period. He is at present in Fort Lauderdale.
Neil HAWKINS (Wn 75-80) spent last year studying in Cairo before
returning to Exeter to take his finals. Robert HEATH (Eg 70-75)
sends an invitation card to his wedding with Franciose Mollard-
Magnin at Saint Didier au Mont d'Or on 28th April.
Revd. Michael HEWLETT (Cr 29-35) visited the School to look at
the changes. He says that brother G.F.G. (Cr 30-36) is now retired
from farming and brother John (Cr 34-39) worked for Ealing Studios
and B.P. Petrol before becoming an amateur sculptor and also an
agent for sculptor's tools. He, himself, won a classics exhibition to
Merton where he graduated with a 2nd in Mods and Greats. He read
theology in Queens College, Birmingham, before being ordained in
Chichester in 1948. He served in Brighton, Crawley, Maiden (Surrey)
and is now in a Team Ministry in Devon. In his spare time he writes
hymns and has had about 25 published, including five in 'English
Praise'. He also won a television competition in 1968 for 'A Hymn for
Britain'.
Julian HILL (Ry 74-79) is taking a correspondence course for the
Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Christopher HORAN (Cr 63-66)
seems to be going from strength to strength in gastronomic New York.
He had a large spread on English Pub cooking in a food magazine and
on the strength of it has conned St Martin's Press into giving him a
large advance for a book which he proposes to call 'Regional English
Country Cooking — Including Pub Grub'. John HULL (Wf 40-44)
has been making enquiries from Zimbabwe about entry for boys into
the School. He has moved from Kenya to plug a gap in Railways (Zimbabwe).
Although he has not yet seen Denis NORMAN (Wn 41-48),
he has heard from him that David GRANT-ADAMSON (Wf 41-45) is
Daily Telegraph political correspondent in Harare.
Alan JONES (Eg 68-73) still works for a tree and shrub nursery in
Ashford, Kent. He was visited by Richard ASKWITH from the
Common Room last summer. Richard (O.B. designate) will be moving
into the Kent area. Charles JONES (Wf 50-53) has been abroad from
1963 working in France, Spain (most of the time) and the Dominican
Republic. He hoped to settle in Mexico, he married a Mexican girl, but
galloping inflation and crisis drove them to the sanctuary (?) of the
U.K. He has two young children and lives not far from Hawkstone
Park Golf Club. He lives not far from John BOWDEN (Wf 50-55)
and they have monthly pub lunches — let us know the date and time
and we can advertise it for other O.B.s in the Shrewsbury area.
Liaqatalli KAPD1 (Wn 75-77) has sent an invitation to his wedding
in Zimbabwe to his former Housemaster. Major Nick
KAPLOWITCH (Wf 57-62) seems to be missing from the address
which he left with our computer but is visible in the April 26th copy of
the Daily Telegraph, instructing the Foreign Secretary in the Battle of
the Imjin. Apparently he and 35 other soldiers is all that is left of lst
Comwel Div. Simon KAYLL (Ry 77-82) has changed from medicine
to merchant banking by way of a degree in economics. Says that
Phillip GRIFFIN (Sy/Wn 77-82) is enjoying Oxford as well as work,
choral society and the Union. Mark KENDALL (Cr 75-79) is floor
manager at Sainsburys, Muswell Hill. We have no address though.
M.R. attended the wedding of Ian LANGRISH (Ry 73-75) on
September 10 last year. Also there were Anthony LANGRISH (Wf
present), Ian CHARLES (Hon. Treasurer) and wife and Tony
SHARP (Ry 71-76) with girl friend. Revd Geoffrey LAW (Cr 19-22)
says he is long retired (1975) but assists in a minor capacity at St
Olave's Church, York. Like his brother whose death we sadly record,
he entered banking after leaving Bloxham but was ordained in 1939 by
Archbishop Temple. We are sorry that he has not been able to visit us
since he left School, he would be quite startled by the changes. Peter
LIVERMAN (Wf 64-68) is growing three million chrysanthemums a
year in Sussex in association with his father. They have expanded their
nursery by taking over the next door one to their own. Robert
LOADES (Wf 63-66) has a motor business in Coventry. Freddie LOH
(Cr 75-80) has completed his second year at Exeter with a comfortable
second class mark — not good enough says his Tutor and he could do
better. In the same letter he announces his engagement to Miss Jean
Collins whom he met at Exeter while she was a student at Rolle
College of Education. We apologise to David LORD (Wf 45-50) for
losing him while he was playing golf for us all the time. He is married
80
with two daughters and is in business as an independent management
consultant.
Andrew MAREK (Eg 55-60) has two daughters. He operates his
own company in Cape Town and holds agencies for several other
firms. A note from Richard BEEBY (Cr 59-62) tells us that Clive
MARIN (Cr 59-61) and wife Francis have built a lovely house on the
banks of the St Lawrence seaway. They have a 2 year old son. Clive
teaches history and theatre in a local school and both he and his wife
are official historians to the County and have published a history of
that part of Canada. Laurie MARSHALL (Ry 68-74) is very busy advising
farmers in his capacity as an agricultural adviser. This covers a
multitude of sins including lecturing at the local agricultural college
and acting as a consultant to the British Veterinary Association in
some of their education courses. He is off to the Okavanjo Delta in
Botswana to record the annual game migration just before the floods.
Robert MASTERS (Eg 72-73) was in London on a international banking
course last year. He is still with the Bank of Bermuda, in Bermuda
and plans to get married next year.
Geoffrey NEWMARCH (Wf 66-70) writes to register his three sons
at the School. His eldest takes Common Entrance in 1989. We are
pleased to hear that his grandfather still reads the magazine with
interest.
Duncan PAGE (Wf 62-67) has moved to Jersey with his job in the
Midland Bank. He is now Manager's Assistant at the Library Place
Branch. Andrew PHILLIPS (Eg 69-74) has travelled pretty
extensively with the Army — Germany, Northern Ireland, Cyprus,
France and now Hong Kong. Brother William (Eg 75-80) trains as a
Chartered Surveyor at Bristol.
Adrian RAWLINGS (eg 67-72) has been working at the Open
University for two years now. Tim READ (Ry 78-81) is in the process
of attempting to obtain a commission in the Army Air Corps. Angus
RICHARDSON (Wf 77-82) is a second year student at Humberside
College. He is reading for a Social Science Degree in Legal Studies. He
seems to have collected two hamsters, a black and white labrador
puppy called Sooky and a Geordie girl friend. He is into The Social
Science Revue, running an underground College Newspaper and
joining 'grants demos' in London and Hull. Rent-a-crowd Gus?
G.J. RIDGE (1964-68) has sold his house in Hertfordshire and
moved to the Isle of Dogs to open up an ASDA store. We still have no
address. After teaching R.E. for 3 years at Sandown High School,
I.O.W., Michael RILEY (Wf 70-75) goes to Edinburgh in October to
train for the Anglican Ministry. A daughter to Marsha and Patrick
RYECART (Cr65-70) on 11th February.
Michael SALE (Wf 48-54) is still in insurance, Lloyd's brokers, and
manages to scratch a living. Has three children — one at Pangbourne
doing A levels, daughter also doing A levels with a view to a secretarial
college course in Oxford and younger son at St Edwards doing O
levels this year. Clive SEATON (Wn 60-63) is Chairman of the family
business which is the main Ford dealer for cars and trucks in Yeovil.
He now has three boys — twelve, nine and one. Andrew SHAW (Wn
70-74) continued his studies after leaving Bloxham with varying
degrees of success, preferring less arduous pursuits such as Rugby
Football and Cricket. He took up his first job, grave digger with
Kidlington Parish Council in 1975, and then in other forms of
employment, culminating with driving articulated juggernauts around
the country. He then started a business in Woodstock which he sold
up five years later when in 1981 he decided to go to University (late
developer?). He feels that he was particularly lucky to be offered a
place at the University of Buckingham where he gained a Second Class
Honours Degree reading Law. He married in 1983. He is taking his
solicitor's final examination in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this summer and
hopes to join an Oxfordshire firm of solicitors. As he plays cricket for
the S.O.A. we expect to see a lot of him now. Apart from sport, the
other great love of his life is politics and he is an active member of the
Liberal Party. Linda SQUIRES (Wf 74-76) now sells for a large
American pharmaceutical company. Mark STALLABRASS (Eg
75- 78) markets combine harvesters. Andrew SUMNER (Wn 65-69) is
farming in Jersey but hopes to move back to the West Country with a
view to setting up in farming on his own.
Peterborough of the Daily Telegraph reports that Richard
THEOBALD (Wn 52-57) was seen visiting Saudi Arabia with the
Headmaster of Worksop to drum up trade for their respective Schools
from among the expatriate Brits there. Richard THOMPSON (Ry
76- 81), we would like to know if you were selected for the post of electronic
engineer/physicist with the British Antarctic Survey. If so,
please give address for the next two years. David THORNTON (Wn

55-58) has returned to South Africa. He has been appointed Managing
Director of a Natal based company, African Commerce, and is living
in Durban. He managed a brief visit to the School during his short
stay in England and reported to R.S.T. "It all 'felt' just the same."
Simon WALL (Wn75-77) hoped to enter the Guiness Book of
Records during a single-handed crossing of the Atlantic.
Unfortunately he had to be rescued by a cargo ship after his 30ft sloop
Rotaract Challenge was holed in mid-ocean. Peterborough of the Daily
Telegraph picked up the news from the Leicester MERCURY mainly
from this quote 'he was forced to abandon his attempt to be the
youngest person to sail the Atlantic both ways on Monday afternoon'!
Peter WATSON (Ry 72-76) is in insurance for work and diving for
leisure. Married Annette Griffiths (Australian) in Old Garrison
Church, Sydney, on 6th January. Kate WHITE (Ry/Mn 80-82) tells us
that last year she was at Oxford Poly but is now at King Alfred's
College, Winchester, studying to become a school teacher in
mathematics. She says that S.K.P. can count himself responsible for
this. Bill WHITE (Wn 47-53) is now Consultant Radiotherapist at St.
Luke's Hospital, Guildford. Tim WHITESIDE (Eg 74-79) is food and
beverage supervisor at the Princess Grace Hospital in London. Our
friendly local R.A.F. Schools' Liaison Officer has kindly let us know
that William WILSON BSc (Eg 79-80) has been appointed to a
permanent commission in the R.A.F. (GD/Pilot Branch). He was at
Edinburgh University. Tim WORLOCK (Wf 77-82) is coming to the
end of his time at Leicester and is looking for a job with a firm of
Chartered Surveyors. In preparation for his finals, he spent a week
skiing in Italy and another walking in Wales. Jonathan YARDLEY
(Wn 53-56) was paid a visit by Paul STEVENSON (Eg 53-58) when
Paul was across at Camp Wainwright, Alberta, as CO. of 42 Commando.
Jonathan continues with his architectural practice with Arthur
Erickson in Vancouver and combines it with running a small 15
acre farm.
E.J.K. MEMOIR
"I clearly remember what must have been Sam's first 'boy trouble' as
a new Housemaster. We were new boys and, in fact, the first intake into
the new junior house (Egerton)...the date was September 1940, I
was ten! We had been out enjoying that fine summer weather of Battle
of Britain fame. Upon returning to the House (via was it Lookers
Lane?) opposite Ivy Cottage, we espied an old carriage standing under
cover near the back entrance to the House. We soon had it out in the
lane. However, Sam must have scrambled faster than any Spitfire, for
we were duly intercepted a mere few yards down the lane. Having been
'dealt with' (pretty lightly) in the manner customary of the time, we
were suitably impressed - clearly our Housemaster was a force to be
reckoned with."
"He taught me Latin and I very nearly got 'O' level — very close —
missed passing, I think, by one mark! Sam was so perceptive, knew
exactly what you were up to, was really very psychic and once or
twice, I remember, he would catch Marek and myself up to no good
near a place where the dustbins were, near Crake changing rooms!
Anyhow, whilst Marek had a quick drag we'd be just chaffing and all
of a sudden you'd hear this tick, tick, ticking of his bicycle — he had a
very nice green bike with a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed and this used to
give the game away — I'd say "C'mon Andy, look sharp, Sam's coming!!"
— and we'd make a run for it. A couple of right villains we
were, but we knew the law and had great respect for him. Yes —
memories come back. I do remember several uncomfortable moments
hiding in the hedge behind the tuckshop with A.Z.M. whilst Sam ticked
by!!"
"I have just received the latest Bloxhamist. 1 was sorry to hear of
the death of Sam Kahn. We did not always see things in the same way
but I remember him as a man of great charity, integrity and humour.
These are all rare qualities, even separately and even more so in such a
splendid combination."
"I have a number of memories of Sam Kahn, but a couple stand out
in my mind: his incredible memory for names and addresses even 6 to
7 years after I had left the School (the last time I saw him), and how he
would silence a noisy class by simply leaning against the door post and
looking! He was always extremely helpful and kind when approahced
with any questions. A sad loss."
"I have only known Mr Kahn as a librarian. His efficiency and
radiating kindness will always be in my memory."
"Even in the horridest of boys, he would always find some good
quality."
JHW, RMGD, DCD, RAI, AKCT, SMcC
SPORTS TEAMS
We hope to be able to raise some more sports teams with two
volunteer Hon. Secretaries. We will pass on any address which we
hold of Members who have signified interest in CROSS-COUNTRY
RUNNING and in LADIES' HOCKEY but please write yourselves
with details to:
HON. SECRETARY LADIES' HOCKEY:
Miss R.A.Mathers (Ros), Sparrows Cottage, Hinxton, SAFFRON
WALDEN, Essex. CB10 1QY (0799 30203)
HON. SECRETARY CROSS-COUNTRY:
R.J. Askwith (Richard), St. Edmund's School, CANTERBURY,
Kent. CT2 8HU
CRICKET
O.Bs. v First XI
The highlight of the O.B's innings was the batting of Tom Cooper
who came in with the third wicket down and was the last man out
before the declaration. His sustained innings of 76 held the side
together whilst wickets fell regularly at the other end—mainly to Ian
Davies. After a poor start the School recovered with a magnificent
innings by Shaun Janes, whose 50 came in 48 minutes; however, apart
from Robert Shouler, few of the School's batsmen had an answer to
the fast and accurate bowling of the Ramsay brothers. As the scores
indicate it was a close and exciting finish.
Scores
O.B's 199 for 9 dec. (T. Cooper 76, J. D. H. Griffiths 28, 1. Davies
16-3-59-5).
School 189 for 9 (S. James 92, R. Shouler 30, D. Ramsey 17-7-38-3,
G. Ramsey 20-3-49-3).
O.B. CRICKET FESTrVAL
The 1984 Cricket Festival followed the pattern of recent years, in
that a thoroughly good time was had by all, but success on the field remained
elusive. We started with a strong side against the Northants
Amateurs, but bad batting reduced us to 70 for 7 at lunch. The last
wicket partnership was the highest of the innings, but still we felt that
our total was quite inadequate. However, David Ramsey's fast
bowling was so accurate and sustained that the Amateurs had to struggle
for 49 overs before winning by the narrow margin of 2 wickets.
On Friday the S.O.A. made full use of the excellent batting
conditions, but we made a good attempt to get the runs, led by Furley
and Abraham, and only an unfortunate run out near the end
prevented us from achieving a really close finish.
We struggled to raise a side to play the Oxford Downs, but
Griffiths, who had kept wicket for 396 runs on the first two days
without conceding a single bye, played a sound innings which allowed
us to declare. The Downs, in the person of Michael Deeley (O.B.), enjoyed
some good fortune, which brought them to victory with one
over to spare.
There was another high scoring match against the Weybridge
Wanderers, with a century by Simon Smith and 99 from Tom Cooper,
who had assured a doubtful umpire before lunch that he had not in
fact hit a ball which went for a single, and a leg-bye was accordingly
signalled. Very rapid scoring by the Wanderers after tea led to another
close finish, when they fell just short of the target. Meanwhile the
village proved too strong in depth for our other team.
On the last day both sides were short of regular players but we made
a good score, with a fine aggressive innings by Nicholl. The Cryptics'
81

task was made more difficult by the loss of two early wickets (one of
them c Blake, b Edwards, for the first time for 31 years), and
thereafter neither side could establish a winning position.
Scores
Old Bloxhamists 131 (M. J. Tideswell 37, D. Ramsey 27)
Northants Amateurs 132 for 8 (D. Ramsey 17-2-47-6)
S.O.A. 264 for 1 declared (M. L. Beaumont 150 not out)
O.B.'s 232 for 8 (N. C. W. Furley 77, T. Abraham 50)
O.B.'s 208 for 3 dec. (J. D. H. Griffiths 88, B. E. Hopkins 35*)
Oxford Downs 209 for 2 (M. R. Deeley 78*, D. Bent 80*)
O.B.'s 259 for 6 dec. (S. C. Smith 101, T. Cooper 99)
Weybridge Wanderers 249 for 6 (B. Foskett 114)
Bloxham 152 for 9 dec. (J. M. Edwards 9-0-41-3)
O.B.'s 80 (M. R. Deeley 35)
O.B.'s 213 for 8 dec. (C. G. Nicholl 73*, N. C. W. Furley 36)
Cryptics 179 for 5
So many people work hard to make the festival a continuing success
that they cannot all be named; they include Society officers and other
volunteers (and their wives), scorers, umpires, captains, caterers,
groundsman, barbecue organisers and cooks, masters and Headmaster.
Visitors included our two retired Headmasters and their
wives, and we were especially pleased to see them looking so well. Two
familiar faces were missing, however, those of Douglas Leafe and
Jack Wolff, who have contributed so much to the Festival over many
years, and we are very sorry that we shall see them no more.
82
UNIVERSITY NEWS
We have received news of the following successes at Universities and
Polytechnics:
Robin APPLETON (Ry 74-78) lst Class Honours in Civil Engineering
at Surrey
Mark BELCHER (Eg 75-80) 2:2 Class Honours in Civil Engineering
at Birmingham
Nigel BRISCOE (Eg 71-73) 2:1 Class Honours in Mechanical
Engineering at Liverpool
Nigel BUXTON (Eg 74-79) 3rd Class Honours in Philosophy at the
University of York
Simon CALLERY (Cr 74-76) lst Class Honours in Fine Art at the
South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education
Rupert HOLDERNESS (Eg 74-78) 2:1 Class Honours at University
College, Cardiff
David LAI (Wn 79-80) 2:1 Class Honours in Engineering Science at
Durham
James SAUNDERS (Ry 71-76) BSc in Land Management from
Leicester Polytechnic
Our records show that the following O.B.s are at Universities or
Polytechnics reading for a degree. We should like to be kept informed
of places by individuals, because, quite frankly, the system creaks a
bit and there has been a lot of guesswork. We apologise in advance for
errors of omission and commission:
Agricultural College
Amherst University USA
Art School
Bangor
Barcelona
Bath
Birmingham
Brighton Polytechnic
Bristol
Bristol Polytechnic
Bulmershe Coll. Reading
Cambridge
City University
Dorset
Durham
Ealing College
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Harper Adams College
Heriott-Watt
Hong Kong
Hull
Keele
Humberside College
Kent
Kingston Polytechnic
Lanchester Polytechnic
Leeds
Leicester Polytechnic
Liverpool
R.C.MOLE(Cr)
A.SABOUNCHI(Wf),
S.THAVISSIN(Eg)
D. M.JACKSON(Eg)
A.Q.CHRISTELOW(Ry post
grad), L.GASCOIGNE (Cr)
A.M.GALLETLY(Eg)
K.PARKER(Cr),
M.A.PENHALLOW(Cr)
M.C.SILVESTER(Wf)
A. TAYLOR(Eg)
E. S.HAYNES(Wf),
S.NAGELE(Ry), D.A.RILEY(Eg)
J.V.SADLER(Wf),
J.J.D.WILSON(Wn)
R.P.CLEE(Wn)
S.R.AXBEY(Ry & St John's),
R.J.FOUNTAINE (Wn & Jesus),
K.J.GRIFFIN(Wn & Corpus
Christi)
B. K.H.LEE(Ry)
D.R.TAVERNOR(Ry)
C. L.GLADSTONE(Wn),
U.ONWERE(Sy)
R.W.SIMPSON(Wn)
T.J.R.NEIL(Eg)
J.F.BENFIELD(Cr),
N.HAWKINS(Wn), R.S.HIT-
CHENS(Wf),F.I.F.LOH(Cr),
K.M.WINTER(Cr)
A.Y.S.PEI(Sy)
M.E.B.BROWN(Wn)
V.TALWAR(Ry)
J.C.H.TANG(Ry)
J.K.LIM(Ry)
C.JOHNSON(Wn),
A.C.S.TEH(Ry)
A.C.RICHARDSON)Wf)
C. L.GORMLEY(Wf),
P.M.SHARPLES(Wf),
G.G.H.TENG(Wn)
R.P.ALDOUS (Wf)
M.J.FURSEY(Eg), K.J.SIMP-
SON(Wf), A.SPOONER(Eg),
I.C.TRUMPER(Eg),
M.S.TRUSS(Eg)
D. K.CHRISTELOW(Ry)
T.E.T.WORLOCK(Wf)
R.N.HSYLOP(Ry), E.J.McNAL-
LY(Cr), A.MILNE(Ry)

London
London Polytechnics
Manchester
Manchester Polytechnic
Mercer USA
Miama Kent State USA
Middlesex Polytechnic
Michigan State USA
Milan, Italy
Newcastle Polytechnic
Nottingham
Oxford
Oxford Polytechnic
Plymouth Polytechnic
Portsmouth Polytechnic
Reading
St Andrews
Sheffield
Sheffield Polytechnic
Shuttleworth College
Southampton
Southampton,La Sainte
South Wales
S.Wales Polytechnic
S.Wales Institute of
Education
Swansea
St Mary's Twickenham
Trent Polytechnic
UMIST
U.S.A.
Wisconsin USA
King Alfred,Winchester
Windsor Polytechnic
Writtle College
I.C.ACKLAND-SNOW(Eg & St
Bans), N.S.BARKER (Wn & Imperial),
A.J.BAYLY(Eg & Imperial),
J.P.BROOKS(Cr),
C. A.CHIN(Cr & Guys),
S.A.CHIN (Eg & Kings),
G.KHAMMAR(Eg & Kings),
R.S.H.KHOO(Sy & Imperial),
S.D.LEACH(Ry & Bedford),
B. C.H.LEUNG(Eg & Kings),
G.J.Y.NG(Wn & Imperial),
D. E.NICHOLL(Cr &
Goldsmiths), C.H.PAIK(Cr &
L.S.E.), A.R.RATNAM(Wf &
Imperial), T.A.STIMPSON(Wf &
Bedford), B.C.TAM(Eg & Imperial),
F.J.WELFORD(Eg & Imperial),
N.J.WHITELEY(Sy & St
Mary's)
C. ANDERSEN(Wn), M.P.CAT-
TON(Wn), A.S.CIVIL(Wn),
P.A.D.FARRAR(Wn),
D. J.OSWELL(Wf),
W.M-C.TENG(Wn),
R.F.WRIGHT(Cr)
M.R.DYE(Sy)
A. W.NAGELE(Ry),
T.J.ROGERS(Cr)
K.SHAH(Ry)
S.I.O.GIWA AMU(Eg)
G.HAWKINS(Wn)
S.MUNDKUR(Ry)
J.NICELLI(Sy)
I.S.MacLENNAN(Ry),
R.W.MILLER(Wn)
R.C.BENNER(Wn),
N.D.LAKIN(Ry), K.LID-
DINGTON(Wn)
J.M.CALLOW(Ry & Trinity),
P.J.FOX(Wn & Balliol),
P.J.GRIFFIN (Sy/Wn & Christ
Church), P.KEYTE(Wf & Oriel
post grad), M.L.MAINGOT(Eg
& Corpus Christi),
C.W.MOKHZANKWf & Balliol)
B. N. G ATW ARD(Cr),
J.S.HONEY(Cr),
J.M.K.SPURGEN(Ry), G.WAR-
WICKER(Cr)
G.M.SAMPSON(Eg)
C. T.HUDSON(Cr)
A.V.GEORGE(Cr post grad),
G.P.C.MULLEY(Wf),
F. J.WELFORD(Eg)
G. F.BUTELMAN(Cr)
K.C.B.ALLEN(Ry), R.GARD-
NER(Ry), A.D.HILL(Ry)
T.M.COOPER(W0
E. S.GURNEY(Wn),
J.S.HAYNES(WO,
T.N.STOKES(Wn)
C.J.DAVIES(Ry), J.D.RICE(Ry)
K.J.KITE(Cr)
S.K.CHAN(Eg)
T.J.PETERSEN(Ry)
C.J.PETERSEN(Ry)
J.M.SLAWSON(Wf)
H. A.COVINGTON(Sy)
N.A.BALE(Wn)
R.E.DAINTY(Sy)
R.SHAH(Ry), L.P.K.TSE(Eg)
I. DOANY(Wf)
K.M.WHITE(Ry)
R.R.WATERS(Eg)
S.D.JOHNSON
ADDRESSES
P.J.ALLSO (Wf 64-68) 20B Witham Bank West, Boston, Lines. PE21
8PU
A.P.ANSON (Cr 61-66) 4330 Wilson Avenue, Notre Dame de Grace,
Montreal, Canada
J.A.ARCHER (Cr 67-71) c/o Sarawak Shell Bermaro ECA/411,
Lutong, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Lt Col R.P. ARLIDGE (Wn/Eg 52-57) 3 Lower Folly, Wilton,
Salisbury, SP2 OLZ
P.J. ATKINSON (Wf 58-62) Chelsea Villa, Torrs Road, Ilfracombe,
Devon
R.C.BADGER (Wf 53-57) Priory Stores, 335 Locking Road, Weston
Super Mare, Somerset
J.W. BAILLIE-HAMILTON (Ry 70-74) c/o Knowle Croft, Shoppenhangers
Road, Maidenhead, Berks
A.R. BARKER-BENFIELD (Wf 77-78) Royal Hong Kong Police
HQ, Arsenal Street, Hong Kong
T.W.E. BARKER-BENFIELD (Wf 31-39) 3 Merani Street, Devonport,
Auckland, New Zealand
Dr. D. BARTLETT (Cr 34-36) Flat F, Kings Ride House, Prince
Albert Drive, Ascot, Berks
J.F. HYDE BLAKE (Cr 48-53) 49 Netherhall Gardens, London NW3
D.R. BATES (Ry 67-72) 17 Stoke Road, Taunton, Somerset, TA1
3EH
G.M. BOLTON (1934-67) Oriel Cottage, Workhouse Lane, Bloxham,
Banbury, Oxon
A.J. BOUGHEY (Ry 74-76) Ash Farm, Iddesleigh, Winkleigh, Devon
J.R.G. BRIDGWATER (Ry 76-79) c/o Breaksea, Clevedon Avenue,
Sully, Penarth, S. Glam
Baron M.F. BURCA (Wf 65-68) 55 Addison Road, Kensington, London
W14
J.P. CALLERY (Cr 78-79) Langworthy, Langworthy Lane,
Holyport, Maidenhead, Berks
S.C. CALLERY (Cr 74-76) Langworthy, Langworthy Lane,
Holyport, Maidenhead, Berls
Miss C.R.M. CHANNON (Wf/Mn 78-80) 90 Bengal House, Duckett
Street, London El 4SX
I.R. CHARLES (Wf 70-75) Jacaranda, 69 Sandford Road,
Winscombe, Avon, BS25 1JF
N.R. CHILD (Eg/Ry 69-72) 167A Portland Road, Wyke Regis,
Weymouth, Dorset
N.A. CIVIL (Wn 69-73) White House, Brixworth Road, Holcot, Northampton
J.CO. CLAY (Cr 66-70) 72 Highlands Heath, Putney Heath, london
SW15 3TX
I.G.M. CRICHTON (Wf 58-63) No4 The Crescent, Groombridge,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 9QP
R.H.H. CROSS (Cr 65-68) Ajman Cement Co, PO Box 940, Ajman,
United Arab Emirates'
R. DAY (Wf 12-20) 8 Forester Close, Robin Hood Road, Norwich,
NR4 6BJ
N.H.C. de JONGH (1962-66) 54 Darrell Road, Edinburgh, EH5 3PJ
S.C. EARP (Cr 63-68) 23 Littleworth, Wheatley, Oxford
P.D. EDGELL (Eg 63-68) c/o Small Street Cottage, New Road,
Westbourne, Emsworth, Hants
M.J.S. EDWARDS (Cr 65-70) 2 Marriott Mews, 22 Marriott Road,
Berea, Durban, Natal, RSA
P.M.J. FAHEY (Cr 64-68) Ringway Machine Tools, Beechwood,
Manchester Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0NA
P.A.D. FARRAR (Wn 76-81) The Freemasons, 39 Western Road,
Hove, Sussex
D.M. FLETCHER (Wf 69-73) 17 Lockeridge Close, Blandford
Forum, Dorset, DT11 7TT
S.H. FOX (Eg 76-80) 11 Surbiton Court, St Andrew's Square, Surbiton,
Surrey
C. J. FREEMAN (Wn 57-60) 3 Lyons Drive, Guildford, Surrey
R.M. GALLETLY (Eg 58-62) Blackthorn Stud, Laughton, Lewes,
Sussex
N. GEORGE (Ry 70-74) 1555 Avenue Road A403, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, M5M 4M2
P.A. GLASER (Cr 65-69) Bramble Hill, Bramble Lane, Highcliffe,
Christchurch, Dorset
D. J. GRATTAN (Wf 74-77) 16 Lansdowne Crescent, Derry Hill, Nr
Calne, Wilts
J.D.H. GRIFFITHS (Ry 74-79) 63 Sweet Briar Walk, Edmonton,
London N18
83

D.J. GROSE (Eg 70-75) c/o Marshway, Leveretts Lane,
Walberswick, Southwold, Suffolk
C.E. HANCOCK (Ry 74-79) Flat 3 Hedley Court, Putney Hill, London
SW15 3NS
M.J. HANCOCK (Ry 76-80) 84a Norwood Road, London SE24 9BB
J.E. HARDING (Wn 72-75) Bullinastran, Bunclody, Ennisworthy,
Co Wexford, Eire
S.G. HARTWELL (Wn 66-69) 5 Sylmar Gardens, Bournemouth,
BH9 3EN
J.C. HAY (Eg 59-61) Red House Farm, Durham Road, Dawsmere,
Spalding, Lines
L. HELLBERG (Wf 52-55) 20 Stanway Road, Earlsdon, Coventry
C. C. HERBERT (Cr 62-66) c/o 16 Kings Road, Lymington, Hants
D. R. HOLT (Cr 59-62) Midhurst, The Hill, Almondsbury, Bristol,
BS12 4AE
Miss A.J. HOWE (Cr/Mn 80-82) 77 Camden Hurst, Pless Road,
Milford on Sea, Hants
J.P. HULL (Wf 40-44) National Railways of Zimbabwe, PO Box 703,
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
D.W.P. JACKSON (1953-57) Mill Cottage, Calver Road, Baslow,
Bakewell, Derbyshire
B. E. JONES (Wf 48-51) 5 Elmore Drive, Ashley Heath, Ringwood,
Hants, BH24 2JG
A.J. LAKIN (Ry 76-81) 75 Highway Road, Evington, Leicester, LE5
6RF
N.D. LAKIN (Ry 78-83) 75 Highway Road, Evington, Leicester, LE5
6RF
A.J. LAMONT (Wn 61-65) 26 Frewin Road, London, SW18 3LP
J.D. LAMONT (Wn 62-67) 8 Martindale, London SW14
S.H. LIDDINGTON (Wn 59-63) 69 Anne Boleyn's Walk, Cheam,
Surrey
K.R.L. LUCKHOO (Wf 63-68) 18 West Park Road, Kew Gardens,
Richmond, Surrey
A.G. MARTIN (Wn 54-59) Little Thatch, Brook Street, Kings
Blount, Oxford
P.J. MARTIN (Wn 51-56) Flat 10 Eton Court, Buckingham Gardens,
Upper St John's Street, Litchfield, Staffs
C. W. MAY (Wn 60-64) 3 Chesholm Road, Stoke Newington, London
N16 0DP
N.H. MAY (Wf 62-67) 23 Camberley Road, Norwich, NR4 6SJ
P.C. MAY (Wf 66-70) Appletree Cottage, Pickett End, Hanley Swan,
Upton-upon-Severn, Worcs
C. T. MCCARTHY (1971-74) 1 Seymour Close, Newmarket, Suffolk,
CB8 8EL
CD. McGREGOR (Ry 69-73) 3 The Stables, Haversham, Milton
Keynes, MK19 7DZ
I.M. McGREGOR (Ry 73-77) Twin Oaks, Great Rollright, Chipping
Norton, Oxon, OX6 5RF
P.C. MUSSON (Wn 60-63) 11 Medway Court, Broom Road, Teddington,
Middx
P. NAPIER (Hds 20-23) R.R.I. Duncan, British Columbia, Canada,
V9L 1M3
T.B. NELSON (Cr 78-82) 15 Lyttleton Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham,
B16 9JN
D. G.E. PAGE (Wf 62-67) Les Cerisiers, Coast Road, La Roque, St
Clement, Jersey, C.I.
Capt A.G.K. PHILLIPS 16/5 L, HQ Gurkha Field Force, BFPO 1
M.C RILEY (Wf 70-75) Flat 3, Orchard House, 53 Station Avenue,
Sandown, I.O.W.
I.W.S. ROBERTSON (Wn 60-65) The Batch Cottage, Chesterblade,
Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4QU
R.M. SCOTT-CUMMINGS (Eg 60-65) 221 Fulwell Park Avenue,
Twickenham
J.A. SENDALL (Ry/Wn 67£72) 71 Fitzroy Square, Palmerston
North, New Zealand
S. SMART (Ry 72-77) 7 Scarth Road, Barnes, London SW13
A.J. SMITH (Wf 80-83) 20 Grosvenor Avenue, Forest Park, Lincoln,
LN6 0XT
CD. SMITH (Wn 60-65) Oak Lye, 22 Furzefield Road, Beaconsfield,
Bucks
F.A.W. SMITH (Wn 45-47) 10 Mare Leys, Linden Village, Buckingham,
MK18 7AX
J.M.K. SPURGEN (Ry 75-80) The Old Bell House, The Common,
Penn, Bucks, HP 13 6PT
C.R. STALLABRASS (Eg 57-63) Stuart Close, Chepstow, Gwent
E. H.S. STEWARD (Eg 60-64) 137 West Barn Street, Baltimore, MD
21201, USA
84
A.J. SUMNER (Wn 65-69) Cowley Farm, Maufant, St Saviour,
Jersey, C.I.
J.S. SURRIDGE (Cr 64-68) c/o Stuart Surridge & Co, PO Box 1,
Witham, Essex
P.C.C. THOMSON (Eg 59-63) 14 Lomond Drive, Linslade, Leighton
Buzzard, Beds, LU7 7XX
D.P.C. TIDSALL (Cr 74-76) Flat 1, 210 Queens Road, Wimbledon,
London SW19 8LY
A. TODD (Wn 63-67) The Coach House, 16A Lansdowne Road,
Wimbledon, London SW20
Mr & Mrs CD. TURNER (Eg 73-77 & Ry/Mn 75-77) 26 Huntersfield,
Stanford in the Vale, Farringdon, Oxon
J.R. WALLER (Cr 68-73) 2 Malvern Drive, Stony Stratford, Milton
Keynes, Bucks
Miss G. WARWICKER (Cr/Mn 79-81) Flat 1A, 27 Lexham Gardens,
Kensington, London W8
P.M. WATSON (Ry 72-76) 27/62-70 Parramatta Street, Cronulla,
NSW 2230, Australia
T.R. WESTOBY (Eg 63-68) Orchard Lodge, Bramley End,
Hughenden Valley, High Wycombe, Bucks
R. St.J.P. WEST (Wn 64-69) 40 Westlecot Road, Swindon, Wilts
D.C WHITE (Cr 72-77) 18 Vicarage Close, Church Road, Northolt,
Middx, UB5 5AD
Miss K.M. WHITE (Ry/Mn 80-82) 1 Evelyn Close, Cumnor, Oxford,
OX2 9BZ
S.H.K. WILLIAMS (Eg 60-64) 13 Queen's Road, Ealing, London W5
2SA
I.C WILSON (Cr 68-81) The Cottage, Church Bampton, Northampton
S.G.A. WOOLDRIDGE (Wn 43-46) Summerlea, Station Road, Hurst
Green, Sussex
Major I.D.ZVEGINTZOV MBE, 10 Larkhill Terrace, Woolwich,
London SE18 4JU
OLD BLOXHAMIST LODGE
This Masonic Lodge was founded in the School's Centenary Year
(1960) and membership is open to Old Boys and Masters at the School
— whether past or present. Regular Meetings are held at Chipping
Norton, Oxfordshire, on the second Saturday of March, May,
October and December. Information may be obtained from the
Secretary:
C.J.W. APPS (Wn 27-34), Mile End, 12 Cochrane Close, Pedmore,
Stourbridge, West Midlands. DY9 0ST
TIES AND CRESTS
Society ties and Bloxham School wall crests are available on application
to the Resident Secretary, Old Bloxhamist Society, Bloxham
School, Banbury, Oxon, OX15 4PE. Cheques made payable to the
Old Bloxhamist Society, to be sent when ordering please.
There are three types of tie, all pure terylene, 48 inches long: 'Formal'
- Dark blue with small amber School crests. 'Informal' - Dark
blue with narrow amber, black and white stripes. 'Sporting' - Broad
half inch amber and blue, and narrow black and white stripes. All ties
are £4.50 each and 20p should be added for postage. Wall crests cost
£6.50 each plus 50p postage.
HISTORY OF BLOXHAM SCHOOL
Brian SMITH (Cr 46-51) has written a fascinating history of the
School from its Foundation to the present day. It is a highly entertaining
and readable account drawing on old records and papers unknown
to earlier historians, thus permitting a new assessment of Egerton's
foundation. It costs a mere £6.00, plus 50p postage and may be
ordered from the Resident Secretary of the Old Bloxhamist Society.
MONTHLY EVENINGS
Evenings are held in London on the first Wednesday of each month
at: The Buckingham, 62 Petty France, London SW

Directory of Staff
M.W. VALLANCE M.A. St. John's College, Cambridge Headmaster 1982
M.C.V.CANE B.Sc.,Ph.D.,M.R.S.C.,C.Chem Birmingham University Second Master 1970
THE REVD. L.F.P.GUNNER M.A. Keble College, Oxford Chaplain 1969
R.L.STEIN B.A.
R.A.H. HILLMAN B.Sc.,M.R.S.C.,C.Chem
P.R.MAYES M.A.
A. J.GRIFFIN M.A.
B. M.JOPLIN M.A.
M.J.TIDESWELL Cert.Ed.,Dip.P.E.
N.L.H.WEEKES M.A.
N.C.W.FURLEY B.A.
C. D.STEWART B.A.
F.R.ULLMANN M.A.
M.ROBERTS M.A.,B.MUS.,A.R.C.O.,(CHM)
S.McCLOGHRY M.B.E.,R.E.(ret),M.B.I.M.
E. G.WILKOWSKI B.Sc.
T.I.HATTON B.A.
R.K.AXBEY B.Sc.
S.K.PRICE B.Sc.
THE REVD. P.G.RIX M.A.
R.J.BELCHER B.Sc.,Ph.D.,M.I.Biol.
A.BATEMAN A.T.D.
R.H.DILLON B.A.
L.G.HARROP B.A.
I.STEAD B.Sc.
C. M.FLETCHER-CAMPBELL M.A.
D. N.MATTHEWS B.A.
C. NEWBOULD B.Sc.
I.GEORGE Cert.Ed.,Dip.P.E.
Moira A.OGILVIE B.Sc.,D.Phil.
D. I.WHITESIDE B.Sc.,Ph.D..F.L.S.
F. R.R.FRANCIS B.Sc.
R.M.PARLOUR B.Sc.
P.C.PERKINS B.A.,M.Sc.
A.K.THOMS B.Ed.
D.A.WILSON B.Sc.
Exeter University
University of Wales
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
St. John's College, Oxford
St. Luke's, Exeter
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
University College, London
Warwick University
Trinity College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
Morehead State College
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Birmingham University
Nottingham University
Magdalen College, Oxford
University of East Anglia
Birmingham School of Art
Exeter University
Queen Mary College, London
Hull University
Magdalen College, Oxford
King's College, London
Leicester University
Culham College
University of St. Andrews
Bristol University
Westfield College, London
University of Wales
University of Wales
Exeter University
King's College, London
Printed by The Holywell Press Ltd., 9 Alfred Street, Oxford.
Head of Modern Languages 1964
Housemaster(Wilson) & Head of 1967
Chemistry
English 1967
Physics 1968
Head of English 1970
Housemaster(Crake) & Geography 1970
Head of History 1970
Head of Geography 1971
Housemaster(Raymond) & Economics 1971
Housemaster(Seymour) & History 1972
Director of Music 1973
Master in College 1974
Mathematics & Careers 1974
Director of Sixth Form Studies & 1976
History
Housemaster(Wilberforce) & Maths 1977
Mathematics & Computing 1979
Second Chaplain & Languages 1980
Head of Science & Biology 1981
Housemaster(Egerton) & Head of Art 1981
English 1981
Director of Academic Administration 1981
& Languages
Head of Mathematics 1981
Music & O.C.C.C.F. 1982
English 1982
Physics 1982
Director of Physical Education and 1983
Games
Girls' Housemistress & Chemistry 1983
Biology & Chemistry 1983
Head of Physics 1984
Biology & Computing 1984
Head of Economics & Politics 1984
Art 1984
Geography 1984