THE AY M E S T R E Y M A G A Z I N E

AUTUMN - 1965

T H E AY M E S T R E Y M A G A Z I N E A U T U M N - 1 9 6 5 TAYLOR Very many generations of Old Boys, their parents, and past members of the Staff will hear with sadness of the retirement of Mr. C. M. Taylor, after 41 years of service to Aymestrey. Taylor came to live at the Lodge, with his wife, and work at the school in 1924, two years after the school moved to Crown East from Malvern. From his war service with the Royal Artillery, he brought an ex-soldier's loyalty, cheerfulness under difficulty, and ability to rise to an occasion, which with his natural gifts soon gave him a unique position in the school. He made full use of his old skills and constantly added new ones, dealing with carpentry, painting, decorating, water, gas, electricity, and a hundred-andone other things. No awkwardness of time or of job found him at a loss or other than cheerful, down the well, up on the roof, or dealing with a burst boiler in the middle of the night. Physical strength was not the least of his attributes. One day a gale shifted the gym from its foundations : Taylor was called to have a look : ten minutes later " I've put the gym back, sir." He was the friend of countless boys, mending toys and supplying all their requirements of nails and bits of wire and such like. He remembered them all too, and as time went on he took the greatest pleasure in reading of their later doings in the old boys' column in this magazine. Serious illness struck him in May of this year, and though he has happily recovered he has felt that it is time to stop. He can be sure that he has a vast number of friends all over the country, and indeed all over the world, who will wish him and Mrs. Taylor many years of happy retirement. OLD BOY NEWS M. M. DAVISON We are very sad to have to report the death last year of Michael Davison he was co-pilot of an aircraft which crashed in Austria. He came to Aymestrey in 1932 and had a distinguished career here. He was Head Boy, top of the Vth Form, Captain of Cricket, a member of the Rugger XV and Soccer XI, and a Patrol Leader in the Scouts. He went to Wellington with a Music Exhibition, and was in the VIth Form there and in the 2nd VI for Cricket. He joined the R.A.F. in 1940, served as a night-fighter pilot in the Middle East and was awarded the D.F.C. Afterwards he was a pilot with various air line companies. He leaves a wife and daughter to whom all who knew him will wish to offer deep sympathy. From the Birthday Honours List : Brigadier D. A. Turner, C.B.E.; Surgeon Commander (D) F. L. Hall, O.B.E. S. K. D. Strong and A. F. Thornely met recently in Salisbury, Rhodesia. Strong runs a market-gardening business there, sending much of his produce to Britain. He has a son and two daughters. J. S. Coley is still Captain of Evesham R.F.C., who scored nearly 700 points last season. 3

W. D. Matthews was married in September to Miss P. G. M. Lewis. Engagements : P. D. L. Thomson to Miss Rita Friend. Capt. R. A. Sparrow to Miss C. M. A. Craddock. C. J. A. Gallimore to Miss J. M. Clee. R. E. Barnes to Miss Diana Greenland. R. W. Robbins has passed his latest auctioneer's exam. and takes his finals next Spring. He recently met D. J. Powell in London. C. N. Todd is in the St. Andrew's University Rugby XV and is their first string for the

100 yards. B. W. Massey was placed in the 1st Class in Part I of the Diploma of Estate Management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. R. M. Urwin has just gone to the Westminster Teachers Training College at Oxford. At King Edward's, Lichfield, he was a School Prefect, Head of his House, C.S.M. in the Cadet Corps, Captain of Shooting, and in the Cricket XI. P. R. M. Conner won the Classics Prize at Bromsgrove. D. N. Wilson was a School Prefect and Head of his House at Wrekin. He has passed three 'A' levels, and goes up to King's College, London to read medicine. R.D.C. Maughan has passed seven '0' levels at Cranleigh. P. M. A. Ashwell met the Asterleys in Scotland in the summer holidays. He was Captain of his House under 16 Cricket XI at Uppingham. P. A. Baddeley was a member of an expedition from Kingswood in the Pyrenees last summer and of another for ski-ing in the French Alps in the spring. He has passed six '0' levels, and plays the viola, trombone, and guitar. W. J. E. Jay is Secretary of Rugger at Bromsgrove. N. C. H. McNeil was second in the High jump at Epsom, and in the College Athletics team. He has passed the C.C.F. proficiency exam. and is now joining the Scouts. His family are moving from Leicestershire to Darlington. A. J. Powell played twice for the 1st XI at Cricket at Cheltenham. At Bromsgrove G. Daniel sang solos in the Carol Service last winter, and was in the Under 14 XV; and T. M. Chandler won the Hurdles in his division, was 3rd in the Long Jump, and has his House junior Athletics Colours. SCHOOL NOTES The following have left: A. P. Bond. Came September 1961. Soccer XI, Cricket XI 1965. P. Bradshaw. Came September 1963. Prefect. Rugger XV 1964. S.J. Dorrell. Came September 1960. Head Prefect. Ogden Cup. Leader of Greens. Rugger XV 1964. Top of VI Form. Reading Prize. Patrol Leader. C. R. A. Leakey. Came September 1960. Prefect. Leader of Greys. Rugger XV 1964-5. Soccer XI 1962-5, Captain 1963-5. Cricket XI 1963-5. Colours for Athletics, Boxing. All-Rounder Shield 1964. Patrol Leader. H.Thompson. Came September 1961. G. Urquhart. Came September 1960. Prefect. Rugger XV 1964. Soccer XI 1965. Cricket XI 1964-5. Swimming Colours. Patrol Leader. New Boys : C. C. Andrews, M. T. Hobbs, J. S. Maughan, A. H. Lane, R. J. S. Powell, R. B. Pratt, P. M. Schilizzi. In the July examination of the Associated Board, S. J. Dorrell passed Piano, Grade III. Miss A. Probert joined the Staff in May as Assistant Matron. COLOUR COMPETITION WORK : 1 Greys, 40; 2 Blues, 33; 3 Greens, 27. Mentions. Blues: Maughan C. 38-8, Urquhart 48-0, Woodward 49-1.
Greens: Dorrell S. 56-0, Lewin P. 40-7, Nosworthy 49-6, Collins 43-2, Lane R. 63-0, Lane A. 57-1. Greys: Andrews S. 42-5, Brown 41-6, Tomlinson 54-2, Tildesley 37-5, Schilizzi 54-0. DISCIPLINE : 1 Blues, 46; 2 Greens, 28; 3 Greys, 26. Mentions. Blues: Bradshaw 14-3, Harrington 12-2, Maughan C. 24-3, Urquhart 19-0, Weaving 11-2. Greens: Dorrell S. 30-0, Lewin P. 18-2. Greys: Andrews S. 15-3, Hickman 144, Leakey 18-1, Paton 11-2, Schilizzi 9-0. GAMES. 1 Blues, 39; 2 Greys, 32; 3 Greens, 29. Cricket : 1 Blues; 2 Greys. Swimming : 1 Blues; 2 Greys. Athletics : 1 Blues; 2 Greens. Pentathlon : 1 Blues; 2 Greys. TOTAL : 1 Blues, 118; 2 Greys, 98; 3 Greens, 84. CRICKET MATCHES

May 16th. AYMESTREY v. CROWN EAST SCOUTS. It was nice to renew this fixture after many years' interval. Our opponents played a keen and sporting game, but were inclined to hit across the line of the ball, while their own bowling was a little too inaccurate. Leakey and Maughan bowled quite well for us, and our fielding and catching were fairly good. Weaving batted with resolution while the issue was in doubt.
CROWN EAST SCOUTS FIRST INNINGS Bowen, c Hill, b Urquhart ......................... Grover, c and b Leakey............................... Bache, b Leakey........................................... Curnock, b Maughan .................................. Bradley, run out............................................ Hopkins, b Urquhart.................................... Taylor, c and b Leakey................................ Ford, c Hill, b Leakey ................................ Stantion, b Maughan .................................. Cowell, b Maughan .................................... Thackeray, not out....................................... Extras........................................................ Total .................................................. SECOND INNINGS Bowen, run out............................................. Grover, c and b Maughan .......................... Bache, b Maughan ...................................... Curnock, c and b Leakey............................ Bradley, b Maughan.................................... Hopkins, c Hill, b Maughan....................... Taylor, c Urquhart, b Leakey..................... Ford, run out................................................. Stantion, b Maughan .................................. Cowell, b Leakey ........................................ Thackeray, not out....................................... Extras........................................................ Total ................................................ 0 0 9 0 7 0 0 11 4 0 0 2 33 11 1 2 5 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 3 28

BOWLING : 1st Innings Urquhart 2 for 22, Leakey 4 for 7, Maughan 3 for 2. 2nd Innings Leakey 3 for 15, Maughan 5 for 10. 5

AYMESTREY Leakey, lbw, b Stantion ............................. Nosworthy, b Bradley ................................ Weaving, c Bowen, b Curnock.................. Maughan, not out......................................... Urquhart, b Thackeray................................ Bannister, not out......................................... Extras........................................................ Total (for 4 wickets declared).......

6 4 14 30 7 0 19 80

May 23rd. AYMESTREY v. THE OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION. This was not on the whole one of the most exciting of Old Boys' matches, chiefly because neither side could get the other out. The school bowled mostly full tosses and the O.A.A. bowled mostly every kind of ball that has ever been thought of, plus a few more that were completely new. The Old Boys' batting produced plenty of the usual towering shots, one of which evidently intended to emulate the Early Bird and disappeared in the general direction of Liverpool. In the school's innings Leakey defended well but missed far too many of the loose balls.
OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION M. A. T. Walker, b Leakey......................... R. I. C. Turner, b Leakey........................... J. R. E. Coates, b Urquhart........................ D. C. L. Hughes, b Leakey........................ A. G. Duncan, st Hickman, b Leakey...... J. B. Hughes, not out................................... C. J. A. Gallimore, b Urquhart ................ Extras........................................................ Total (for 6 wickets declared) ...... AYMESTREY Leakey, not out............................................ Nosworthy, run out .................................... Maughan, c Turner, b Walker.................... Urquhart, not out......................................... Extras........................................................ Total .................................................. 32 19 39 1 8 8 5 4 117

58 19 1 12 31 124

May 26th. AYMESTREY v. ABBERLEY HALL, at home. This was a very exciting game in which we played better than expected. Both sides did some good things, and each in turn threw away chances of victory, Aymestrey by dropping catches and Abberley by not bowling straight. Abberley's defensive batting was good, but our bowling was steady and the rate of scoring slow, the total of 96 for 9 declared occupying 100 minutes. This left us with 80 minutes in which to get the runs, and for a time we kept abreast of the clock; but we could not quite do it and in the end we were defending desperately. Maughan led the side well and set a good example in all departments. 6
ABBERLEY Prideaux-Bruine, b Urquhart ..................................... Pinney W, b Urquhart................................................... Pinney M, run out......................................................... Prendergast, not out...................................................... Sparrow, b Urquhart ................................................ Patterson, c and b Maughan........................................ Hunter-Jones, c and b Maughan................................. Johnson, lbw, b Urquhart ....................................... Priestman, c Hill, b Urquhart..................................... Nicholson, b Urquhart.................................................. Adamson, not out.......................................................... Extras.........................................................................

32 7 7 30 1 3 0 3 2 0 6 5

Total (for 9 wickets declared) ................... 96 BOWLING : Leakey 0 for 20, Urquhart 6 for 52, Collins 0 for 8, Maughan 2 for 10. AYMESTREY Leakey, lbw, b Priestman............................................ Nosworthy, c Pinney, b Johnson................................ 24 1

Weaving, run out .......................................................... Maughan, lbw, b Priestman........................................ Urquhart, lbw, b Johnson ........................................... Bond, c Pinney, b Johnson ......................................... Hill, st Pinney, b Johnson........................................... Hickman, c Patterson, b P-Bruine ........................... Hall, st Pinney, c P-Bruine ........................................ Skelton, not out............................................................. Collins, not out.............................................................. Extras......................................................................... Total (for 9 wickets).....................................

7 17 8 4 0 8 1 0 0 12 82

May 29th. AYMESTREY v. THE ELMS, away. Batting first, the Elms scored steadily and fast though there were no really prolonged stands. Leakey bowled quite well but the others sent down too many loose balls. Urquhart fielded nicely but most of the rest were poor. Our innings began reasonably but after being 34 for 1 we declined, once Leakey was out, to 40 all out. It was a spiritless performance.

THE ELMS Foster, c Leakey, b Urquhart ................................................. Milligan, run out ................................................. Ker, c Tilehurst, b Leakey ................................................. Pardoe, c and b Leakey ................................................. Townsend, lbw, b Leakey ................................................. Evershed, c Urquhart, b Leakey ................................................. Goode, lbw, b Leakey ................................................. Hunt, b Leakey ................................................. Blandy, not out ................................................. Wescott, b Maughan ................................................. Powell, not out ................................................. Extras ................................................. Total (for 9 wickets declared) .................................................

BOWLING : Leakey 6 for 36, Urquhart 1 for 51, Maughan 1 for 14.
7

AYMESTREY

Leakey, b Evershed .................. Nosworthy, b Evershed ......... Weaving, b Goode...................... Maughan, b Evershed ............... Urquhart, lbw, b Evershed ....... Bond, c Ker, b Goode .............. Hill, b Evershed ..................... Hickman, c Ker, b Goode......... Hall, run out................................ Shelton, b Evershed................... Tilehurst, not out ........................................................

20 3 9 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 40

June 2nd. AYMESTREY v. ABBERLEY HALL, away. This was an even worse show. The bowling lacked penetration, though Leakey was unlucky in several times beating the bat only to have the ball go over the stumps. Our fielding was listless all round. Our batting was mostly dreadful. Maughan played nicely for an over or two and made some really good strokes, but the ball from Abberley's quicker bowlers was often flying head high, and Maughan after fending one off from his chin had a shooter the very next ball which hit the bottom of the stumps. No one else except Weaving showed any determination.
ABBERLEY Prideaux-Brune, lbw, b Urquhart ............................. Pinney W, not out......................................................... Webb, run out ............................................................... Pinney M, not out......................................................... Extras........................................................................ Total (for 2 wickets declared) ................... 12 65 21 2 21 123

BOWLING : Leakey 0 for 34, Urquhart 1 for 30, Maughan 0 for 34.

AYMESTREY Leakey, lbw, b Pinney ................................................. Nosworthy, b Pinney ................................................ Weaving, b Pinney .................................................... Maughan, b Pinney ...................................................... Urquhart, b P-Brune ................................................ Bond, b Pinney.............................................................. Collins, b P-Brune .................................................... Hickman, b P-Brune..................................................... Hill, lbw, b Hunter-Jones ........................................ Hall, b P-Brune.............................................................. Tilehurst, not out........................................................... Extras ........................................................................ Total .................................................................

0 2 8 11 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 33

June 19th. AYMESTREY v. SEAFORD COURT, away. We played better in this match though there was still much to criticise. Urquhart bowled very well, Leakey moderately, and Maughan was very variable. The fielding was still very shaky, though our opponents' was not much better, but on the whole we did well to get Seaford out for 89. The main feature of our innings was a very good stand of 55 between Maughan and Urquhart. They batted with real concentration against good bowling and ran very well indeed between the wickets, stealing many short ones with good judgment. As long as they were together we looked like winning, but when they left within a couple of runs of each other with three overs to go, the task was beyond us.
SEAFORD Milburn, b Leakey ....................................................... Johnson, c and b Urquhart ......................................... McNaught, b Maughan ............................................... Leachman, b Maughan ............................................ Carter, c Maughan, b Urquhart.................................. Houlbrooke, b Maughan.............................................. Butler, b Urquhart .................................................... Rogers, b Maughan ..................................................... Gardner, not out ........................................................... Glover, c Bannister, b Urquhart................................. Sweet, b Urquhart .................................................... 11 31 5 5 4 6 19 0 0 0 3

Extras ........................................................................ Total ................................................................. Bannister 0 for 9.

5 89

BOWLING : Leakey 1 for 26, Maughan 4 for 28, Urquhart 5 for 21,

AYMESTREY Leakey, c Gardner, b Johnson.................................... Nosworthy, b Johnson.................................................. Weaving, c and b Johnson ......................................... Maughan, c Butler, b Leachman................................ Urquhart, b Johnson ................................................ Collins, b Johnson........................................................ Bannister, not out.......................................................... Hill, b Leachman........................................................... Pearce, not out .............................................................. Extras ..................................................................... Total (for 7 wickets)......................................

2 2 7 35 15 0 4 0 0 12 77

June 26th. AYMESTREY v. THE FATHERS. A most pleasant game, in which the school played a good deal better than they had done against the Old Boys. Their innings started rather dully with far too much missing of the ball, and at no stage did the boys really hit; but Maughan and Urquhart batted with correctness and concentration and ran very well between the wickets, and the latter's innings in particular showed plenty of determination. It was in the field however that they excelled. The bowling was fairly steady, particularly Urquhart's, the ground fielding was far better than in any

9 previous game, and five catches were held. Hickman hung on to a real snorter at mid-on, and Weaving held one above his head on the mid-wicket boundary, while Urquhart was responsible for a very good run-out.
AYMESTREY Leakey, b Mr. Dorrell ................................................. Nosworthy, c Mr. Bannister, b Mr. Nosworthy....... Weaving, b Mr. Hickman............................................ Maughan, c Mr. Dorrell, b Mr. Nosworthy.............. Urquhart, not out........................................................... Collins, b Mr. Bradshaw ............................................ Bannister, b Mr. Bradshaw ........................................ Hill, c Mr. Lane, b Mr. Urquhart ............................. Bond, c Mr. Hill, b Mr. Lane .................................... Hickman, b Mr. Lane .................................................. Hall, c Mr. Bannister, b Mr. Maughan..................... Extras ....................................................................... Total ................................................................. 11 6 1 19 27 11 1 3 0 5 0 16 100

BOWLING : Mr. Bannister 0 for 5, Mr. Lane 2 for 16, Mr. Maughan 1 for 6, Mr. Nosworthy 2 for 10, Mr. Dorrell 1 for 8, Mr. Hickman 1 for 9, Mr. Collins 0 for 8, Mr. Bradshaw 2 for 4, Mr. Chatfield 0 for 8, Mr. Urquhart 1 for 10.
T H E FAT H E R S

Mr. Nosworthy, b Leakey .......................................... Mr. Dorrell, c and b Urquhart.................................... Mr. Hill, c Hickman, b Urquhart ............................. Mr. Urquhart, c Hickman, b Urquhart..................... Mr. Chatfield, run out ................................................. Mr. Collins, c Weaving, b Urquhart ........................ Mr. Maughan, not out.................................................. Mr. Bannister, b Urquhart ......................................... Mr. Bradshaw, c and b Urquhart............................... Mr. Lane, b Urquhart................................................... Mr. Hickman, lbw, b Leakey...................................... Extras........................................................................ Total ................................................................

0 1 7 0 11 11 24 2 0 4 2 5 67

BOWLING : Urquhart 7 for 29, Leakey 2 for 17, Collins 0 for 4, Maughan 0 for 12.

June 29th. AYMESTREY v. SEAFORD COURT, home. The season dragged to a dull end with an unsatisfactory game. The pattern of our ground-fielding was set off the very first ball, when a gentle shot worth one run was allowed to go tamely for four through sheer laziness, and this happened any number of times. Maughan did almost all a captain could, bowling very well himself and setting his field sensibly, but he was very poorly supported. His bowling analysis of 16 overs, 8 maidens, 42 runs, 8 wickets was a good performance. Seaford however, having got thoroughly on top, went mad and allowed their innings to drag on to two hours, leaving themselves barely 1 hour in which to get us out. Not to be outdone in insanity, we proceeded to try and steal short singles when the state of the game made it quite pointless. The foolish running out 10

of Maughan when he alone was batting well was particularly stupid and could have lost us the match, though in point of fact Urquhart and Collins had no difficulty in playing out time.
SEAFORD Milburn, c and b Maughan ........................................ Johnson, lbw, b Maughan............................................ McNaught, not out ....................................................... Butler, b Maughan ....................................................... Houlbrooke, c Hall, b Leakey.................................... Carter, lbw, b Maughan .............................................. Champion, b Maughan................................................. Leachman, b Maughan................................................. Rogers, b Maughan ..................................................... Gardner, c Bond, b Maughan..................................... Sweet, not out ............................................................ Extras........................................................................ Total (for 9 wickets declared) ................... 9 25 59 4 1 4 1 6 0 2 9 8 128

BOWLING : Urquhart 0 for 54, Leakey 1 for 16, Maughan 8 for 42, Collins 0 for 8. AYMESTREY Leakey, run out............................................................. Nosworthy, c Milburn, b Leachman......................... Weaving, b Johnson..................................................... Maughan, run out......................................................... Urquhart, not out.......................................................... Collins, not out.............................................................. Extras........................................................................ 1 0 8 11 4 9 10

Total (for 4 wickets)..................................... COLOUR MATCHES

43

Blues beat Greys by 3 wickets. Greys 39 : Maughan 6 for 13. Blues 40 for 7. Greys 102: Leakey 35, Nosworthy 7 Greys beat Greens by 62 runs. for 37. Greens 40 : Leakey 5 for 13, Hill 4 for 14. Greens 40 : Urquhart 7 for 10. Blues Blues beat Greens by 9 wickets.

SWIMMING For the second year running, swimming went extremely well. We started very late owing to weather, but the spirit was good from the beginning, and tests were passed regularly and rapidly throughout. The beginners were in some cases interrupted by colds but six of the eleven learned to swim. In the middle areas of ability especially good progress was made by Banks, Chatfield, and Richards. Colours were won by Hickman, Harrington, Urquhart, and 11

Paton, and besides these Maughan and Pearce passed Life-Saving. The individual cup was won by Hickman, with Harrington and Urquhart both very close to him. The inter-Colour cup was won easily by Blues. The results in the swimming sports were :
SENIOR : 100 yards

1 length Life Saving Diving Underwater JUNIOR : 50 yards 1 length RELAY : 1. Blues

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2.

Hickman Hickman Harrington Harrington Hickman Banks Woodward Greens

2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2.

Urquhart 3. Harrington Urquhart 3. Harrington Pearce 3. Paton Urquhart 3. Hickman Harrington, Pearce Powell A. 3. Blake Banks 3. Davies P.

ATHLETICS The Standards section of the competition produced a barely average over-all performance. Fourteen boys improved on their previous figures but an equal number did less well. Those who passed all standards were Maughan C, Leakey, Harrington, Nosworthy, Collins, Hickman and Banks, and the Blues were easy winners. Sports Day itself was for once gloriously fine and sunny all day. This was of course a tremendous help, but things went well in their own right and it was one of the pleasantest of these occasions that we have ever had. The Service at the beginning ' felt ' good, and set a happy and satisfying tone for all that followed. The athletic events went with a swing; and although Blues won easily, the competition between Greens and Greys was close. There were many good performances, and a desperately exciting last event, when

in the Sprint Relay the three boys running the last leg all finished within a yard of each other. The outstanding performance was in the High Jump, when Leakey beat the 27-year-old record set by his uncle, and reached 4 ft. 8 in. Maughan's hurdling was scarcely inferior : records are not available, since we have from time to time altered the distance, but he is almost certainly one of the two best performers we have had. He was also only a fifth of a second outside the 100 yards record, and threw the cricket ball within 22 yards of the previous best. Collins' 100 yards in Div. II was fast, and Yeoward did a good Long Jump in Div. III.
DIVISION I.

440 yards 100 yards Hurdles Hurdles Long Jump Cricket Ball

1. Leakey 1. Maughan 1. Maughan 1. Leakey 1. Maughan 1. Maughan 1. 1. 1. 1. Collins Collins Nosworthy Hall

2. Maughan 2. Urquhart 2. Leakey 2. Maughan 2. Leakey 2. Bond

DIVISION II.

3. Urquhart 3. Leakey 3. Dorrell 3. Dorrell 3. Dorrell 3. Leakey

67.8 sec. 12.2 sec. 4ft. 8in. 13ft. 9in. 64 yds.

220 yards 100 yards Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

2. 2. 2. 2.

Hickman Weaving Hickman Harrington

3. 3. 3. 3.

Weaving Hickman Harrington Collins

29.6 sec. 12.8 sec. 3ft. 11in. 11ft. 11in. 41 yds.

1. Weaving 1. Collins

2. Nosworthy 2. Weaving

3. Harrington 3. Nosworthy

12

DIVISION 111. 100 yards

1. Yeoward 1. Aldersey 1. Bannister 1. Yeoward 1. Bannister 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Maughan J. Powell Woodward Banks Maughan

2. Tilehurst 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. Tomlinson Tilehurst Bannister Tomlinson Banks Banks Powell Maughan Blake 1. Blues 1. Blues 1. Blues

3. Hughes 3. Ashford 3. Aldersey 3. Tilehurst 3. Marshall 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 2. 2. 2. Powell A. Maughan Schilizzi Woodward Woodward Greys Greys Greens

13.6 sec. 3ft. 6in. 12ft. 3in. 41 yds.

Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

80 yards

DIVISION IV.

Hurdles High Jump Long Jump Cricket Ball

3ft. 4in. 10ft. tin. 35 yds.

HURDLES RELAY MEDLEY RELAY SPRINT RELAY

CAMP

This year it seemed a good idea to engage a well-known modern poet to write the history of Camp; but his Union had a ban on overtime or something, and all he produced was : Camp Damp: Flood, Mud. This admirable piece of literature, accurate and totally free of padding, nevertheless leaves out one or two things, and the S.M. has after all got to fill in the gaps. Lying in his bath afterwards, thinking of twenty-two scouts all over the country similarly employed, and trying to imagine what Bannister looked like with a clean face, he wondered how many of those parents who squelched round the camp on visitors' day really know how comfortably and safely we do in fact manage to live. Certainly it is sometimes a fight, and boys new to the job have occasionally to be spoken to pretty fiercely to make them understand how important the safety-rules are. But they learn, and it is a good piece of knowledge to have. In fact, only one bed got wet (and we always take spare bedding); every scout had always at least one complete set of dry clothes; and we always have at least two, generally three, hot meals a day, culminating this year in that mammoth affair of stewed steak, potatoes, broad beans, onions, suet pudding and treacle. There was one burn and sundry blisters, but not a single complaint of feeling poorly in any way. When you come to take a careful look at it, the weather was really remarkably kind. There was 1 1/2 inches of rain the night before we started, it rained throughout the journey; but within five minutes of our arrival it stopped and did not rain again all day. We had nothing worse than showers or drizzle, with quite a lot of sun, till Saturday evening, when a heavy storm brought a lake up through the floor of the Peckers' tent; but an efficient piece of housemoving was carried out, and the night was dry. A short but intense downpour at midday on Sunday brought another crisis, and the S.M. and half-a-dozen scouts had to stay away from church and carry out a second tent-move on behalf of the Cuckoos. But again the weather relented, and though about fifty v i sitors saw us at our muddiest it was dry overhead and they were able to have tea, look round, and watch bathing in comparative comfort. The next

13

days were dry; and although there was four fours of rain on the last night, which meant that the tents had to be packed wet, it had stopped by morning. Things might easily have been far worse, both in the quantity of rain and in its timing; and we can certainly feel that all those present learnt a great deal about how to deal with difficulties. A camp that is a mere picnic does not teach nearly so much. Pigeons were just the best patrol, keeping a good all-round level and seldom dropping far below it. At their brightest Peckers outshone everybody, but they were erratic and at times their less reliable members spoilt things. Cuckoos were the quietest, with some very good patches. Eagles were the noisiest : " Percy, a spoon. Quick. No, not that one. Hurry. Now look what you've done." Their Dorrell representatives also fell down most; S. went full length (which means something) in the muddiest places at every opportunity, and the time he did it with a 14 lb. sugar tin with a loose lid was worth seeing : A. fell on the boiler-plate and went about all bandaged up, and then fell in the river, presumably in a belated attempt to make sure he wasn't still on fire. This time we had a Camp Cat, an attractive tabby with one eye. She came first undisguisedly for food, eating bread and marmalade and other unlikely things, constantly exploring, and upsetting, the refuse bucket, and needing a constant watch to keep her out of the stores; but in time she just settled down for company and was no trouble, though it is doubtful if the sight of Harrington nursing a cat and frying bacon at the same time would appeal to the best health authorities. There were the usual two hikes, the one to Llandegley Rocks being accomplished by both parties in 10 minutes under the normal 4 hours. The other took in Water-breakits-neck and the summit of Radnor Forest, blanketed in mist, and included the customary lavish tea at the Severn Arms. Those who completed the full course had 15 miles behind them by the end of the day. Only once was free time spoilt by rain. There was a wave of enthusiasm for fishing;

large numbers of salmon parr were put back, without too much toothache, we hope, and Maughan caught a good trout. The local District Commissioner paid his official visit while we were still there this time; he inspected quite thoroughly too and asked a great many questions. He seemed impressed, but we have not had his report yet. Luckily he did not examine Weaving's toothbrush, or see Thompson in full uniform bowler hat, mackintosh down to the ankles, and stockings in folds over boot-tops. This year we had two Old Boys in camp. Paul Baddeley came again as acting A.S.M., and Michael Powell attended as extra supernumerary P.L. It was fun to have them, and a help to the manager. We should be grateful too to the P.L's.: we can seldom have had a more loyal and conscientious quartet. Finally we must record again our thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Collard and Mr. Lloyd; this is the tenth time we have enjoyed their hospitality, help and kindness, and our gratitude increases year by year.

14