Eagle News Jan 2012 - Bedford Modern School

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80 Memory Stir later: ‘I thought you might be interested in a photo I took last August at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, near Orianenburg, Berlin, where British pound notes and US dollars were forged by Jewish prisoners (plates and notes were later found in an Austrian lake, as described in the book, Operation Bernhard). The former commandant’s house is now, appropriately, a lavatory. I was in Berlin for the 50th anniversary of the Wall, which was begun on 13 August 1961, and then visited Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. I also went to Dresden, now a beautiful city again, having been rebuilt and restored after the Anglo-American firebombing in February 1945.’ Ed recently found his father’s notes on possible English boarding schools (he thought that Stowe School was ‘snooty’). Ed’s thoughts about School House in the early 1950s include: ‘The magazines from the 1890s, featuring adverts for magnetic corsets and Pears soap, in the study hall bookshelves, above the remains of an old radio which served as a trash can, coal and coke used for heating and cooking, lead used for everything from water pipes, church roofs, toys and toy soldiers, Teddy boys (the louts of the day), suppressors in cars to block interference during the few hours of BBC TV, daily school milk in the quad (and the delivery thereof by electric carts with the operator walking in front to steer and stop), cars and trucks with one headlight on, fog lights and the round licence displayed in the front windshield. Wasn't that just yesterday?’ smythhoward@gmail.com MIKE CRISP (1950-59) writes: ‘I was most interested in JOHN DIXON’s reminiscences last time. It seems I must have been a complete innocent, as I had no idea of the existence of such “dens of vice” as Joe Keech's Billiards and Snooker Saloon, though I did visit Barbara's Bun Shop in St Loyes Street! However, I feel I must take issue with John's description of the then Headmaster and Vice Master as "a miserable pair". Goodness knows JET had his faults, and it was certainly difficult to penetrate the prudery and pomposity with which he insisted on surrounding himself, but under it all he did have a sense of humour, albeit one that, like himself, was more than a little out of touch with the times. I think he should be given credit for trying. The Revd E J BENNETT I found to be a kind and often very witty man who could have us in stitches in the form room with his eccentricities and asides. I particularly remember his praying at the beginning and end of term services for “Fee Leep, Duke of Edinburgh.” Could that mispronunciation just possibly have been, metaphorically of course, tongue-in-cheek?’ andeven@greenbee.net PETER LITCHFIELD (1951-61) whose obituary of his father JESSE (1930-35) appears elsewhere, went up to Jesus College, Oxford. He became a physicist studying elementary particles, first at CERN in Geneva, and later in the USA. Peter’s first wife, Pauline Kenyon, was killed in a car accident in 1971. In 1972 he married Suzanne Spry and they have two children, Michael and Kathryn (Fin). Michael married Claire Edwards and so Jesse had two great-grandchildren, Harry (5) and Dylan (2). BARRY WATSON (1953-59) writes: ‘For many years we classmates of the Fifties, RICHARD BURGESS, JOHN QUENBY (Club President), NORMAN WELLINGTON and I have met up regularly at School and at the House of Commons. This has involved a long journey from deepest Norfolk for Richard, so it was decided to meet on neutral ground on Friday 2 September 2011. The venue was The Lazy Otter at Streatham near Ely, on the banks of the Great Ouse. After some very fine food, we then walked a couple of miles along the river bank. We agreed to repeat the event on a regular basis.’ btwatson@hotmail.co.uk
TERRY ROTHWELL (1954-61) and Evanne, who live at Fish Hoek, near Cape Town, went to Wynberg Boys’ High in August 2011, to watch the touring BMS rugby team. Evanne writes: ‘Unfortunately, the games had been brought forward, so we arrived as they finished. Here is a picture of some of the boys and staff, with a backdrop of Table Mountain.’ terry@marques.co.za Terry Rothwell (standing, 4th from right) with some of the BMS rugby squad and staff TIM BOON (1955-65) writes: ‘On 2 July 2011, I was joined by my sons ADAM (1985-92), DOMINIC (1985-94) and TOBY (1990-2000) to compete in the one-mile Great British Swim in the Royal London Docks. There were over 3000 swimmers on the day, with each race having around 300 participants, and races being started every 30 minutes. It all looked rather intimidating when the organiser pointed to a tiny buoy on the horizon, and told us that was the half one point. The start was quite a scramble, with a lot of swimmers employing water polo tactics in an attempt to get ahead of each other. However, as the swim progressed, the field spread out and swimmers were able to find their own rhythm and even enjoy the experience, but it was quite a relief when the finish line came in sight. Times were as follows: Dominic 27 mins 03 secs, Adam 28.41, Toby 32.25, Tim 36.47. At the moment we all intend competing this year and would welcome any OBMs who would like to join us. Were there any competing last time?’ timmyboon@hotmail.com MICHAEL DANIELS (1959-64) writes: ‘Life and retirement in British Columbia have been excellent. My wife and I visited with a friend in Bedford in August 2011, en route to London Memory Stir (from left) Norman Wellington, Barry Watson, Richard Burgess and John Quenby and Southampton to catch a repositioning cruise back to New York and a flight to Vancouver. In retirement, we are travelling extensively, having made monthly excursions to California (October 2010), Hawaii (November 2010) and Mexico (February 2011). We made a 24-day trip to the Amazon last year, but spend most of the summer at our home in Maple Ridge, BC, acting as hosts to those whom we have met on our travels.’ michaeldaniels@shaw.ca TOM DEVESON (1957-66) wrote an obituary of the writer and teacher David Holbrook (1923-2011) in The Guardian on 2 September 2011, in which he said: ‘I experienced his generosity and humanity as a Cambridge undergraduate more than 40 years ago. His responses to my essays are models of their kind – pages of closely typed arguments, jokes, assertions, disagreements, suggestions and speculations, with further hand-written footnotes in black ink, courteous and thoughtful (from left) Adam, Tim, Toby and Dominic Boon 81
Page 1 and 2: The Magazine of the Old Bedford Mod
Page 3 and 4: The London Lunch will be held in th
Page 5 and 6: The President’s Project Iam delig
Page 7 and 8: INTER-OBM RUGBY 7s FESTIVAL ‘AN O
Page 9 and 10: BOOK REVIEWS Bedford Then & Now in
Page 11 and 12: Returning to BMS after eleven years
Page 13 and 14: No Room For for Crooners in In the
Page 15: Philip Simms, John Comerford and Ba
Page 19 and 20: period, and he made a full recovery
Page 21 and 22: GOLF Ben Pile writes: ‘The OBM te
Page 23 and 24: S T A N L E Y W A L T E R WALKER (H
Page 25 and 26: down after a stroke a few years ago
Page 27 and 28: efore retiring fully to North Norfo
Page 29 and 30: Eagle News Directory Accountants Jo
Page 31 and 32: WWW.FISKENS.COM SUPPLIERS TO FISKEN

Eagle News Jan 2012 - Bedford Modern School

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