THE AYMESTREY MAGAZINE SUMMER - 1958 " TETTIE " Many generations of Old Boys and others connected

with the school will hear with regret of the death at her home in Beverley of Tettie (Miss E. Barnsley), on July 18th. Tettie was Matron at Aymestrey for 37 years, from 1909 to 1946, and throughout this long period she devoted herself without stint to the service of the school and of the boys under her care. She never courted popularity with boys, parents or staff; she ruled her department with a rod of iron, and never put up with any compromise on what she held right and wrong; and her Yorkshire downrightness of speech and action could be disconcerting But her utter honesty, unselfishness and loyalty, combined with her tireless work, skill and efficiency, ensured that even on short acquaintance all who came into contact with her could not fail to accord her a wholehearted respect and admiration; and those who had the chance to know her well soon came to recognise that she had above all the warmest of hearts. She was ruthless with malingerers, but she had an uncanny instinct in spotting real illness in its earliest states; and for those who genuinely needed her she would work till she dropped with infinite kindness, gentleness and patience. The under-dog always had in her a friend and champion, and many a shy and miserable new boy had cause to bless her sympathy and help. After her retirement she kept in close touch with the school and was a regular visitor while her health allowed. She remembered vividly all the boys she had ever known, and never tired hearing of their doings in later years and of all news connected with the school. There are not many like her, and Aymestrey was fortunate indeed in her service. OLD BOYS' NEWS D. N. K. Blair-Oliphant has been promoted Air Commodore. He is Director of Guided Weapons Engineering at the Air Ministry. A. J. French is going to Tripoli with his regiment. He is engaged to be married. His brother, D. J., is in the Canadian Mounted Police and has just been posted to the Great Slave Lake area. D. J. V. Wright has a son. J. S. Morley is engaged to Miss A. F. White; he has recently passed his final exam. and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant. A. F.Thorneh, has returned from South Africa to take up an appoint- ment with Messrs. Blundell Spence & Co. J. N. Thornely has a post in the European section of the B.B.C. R. A. Sparrow passed out first on the list at the R.M.C. Sandhurst and won the Queen's Medal. At Oxford, D. R. McLeod (Hertford) got a Second in Greats, and A. G. M. Slatter (Christ Church) a Second in Modern Languages. McLeod is joining I.C.I. 3

Tief had visits during the summer holidays from A. P. Sherwood, on leave from his teaching post at Achimota School, Ghana; from I. N. B. McGowan, on leave from farming in S. Rhodesia; and from A. H. Duder with his wife and son. P. D. Stokes is Captain of the School at Rossall. He has been Captain of Cricket, winning the Fielding Cup for the second time, and Captain of Squash and Fives. Playing squash in the holidays he was in the semi-final of the Evans Cup, the Lousdale doubles, and the Drysdale Cup. W. D. Matthews is a. School Prefect at Wycliffe. In connection with these last two items, it is worthy of mention that three Old Boys have been Head Boys of their public schools in the last two years, and four others have been School Prefects. W. B. Stallard is out of the army and goes up to St. John's College, Cambridge, to read law. I. W. Routh has won a State Scholarship to Birmingham University from Bromsgrove. Aymestrey was prominently represented at Bisley this year. R. G. R. Owen was Captain of the Repton VIII who won the Ashburton Shield, and M. A. H. Duncan was shooting for Allhallows and W. D. McDonald for Oundle. P. D. Coates was shooting for Cambridge and N. R. Bomford for Oxford, and the latter has been elected Secretary of the Oxford University Rifle Club for the coming year. P. M. Coates won the shooting competition in his battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry at Warminster. I. A. M. Thomson has passed in 9 subjects at 0 level in the G.C.E. at Shrewsbury. M. G. Godsall was 2nd in his division in the 440 at Bromsgrove, and 4th in the half-mile. R. N S. Parry was in the third game at Uppingham in his first cricket season. SCHOOL NOTES The following have left: R, H. B. Davies. Came September, 1952. Prefect; Leader of Greens. Soccer XI 1957. Cricket XI 1958. (Wycliffe). T. J. Gerard. Came May, 1953. Choir. (Uppingham). C. J. Hoddell. Came January, 1956. Soccer XI 1957. Rugger XV 1958. Colours for Athletics and Gym. (Wycliffe). J. S. Sherwood. Came September, 1954. Cricket XI 1957. Athletics Colours. Choir. (GlenallnODd). S. H. P. Taylor. Came May, 1954. (Kings, Canterbury). R. D. Thomas. Came September, 1953. Prefect; Leader of Blues. Rugger XV 1957-8. Boxing Colours. (The Leys). A. M. Turner. Came September, 1952. Head Prefect; Leader of Greys. Head of VI Form. Rugger XV 1956-8. Cricket XI 1956-8. Swimming Colours. Choir. Patrol Leader. (Sherborne). New boys: W. M. G. Lewis, R. F. Snell, T. M. Steadman. A. M. Turner won an Open Exhibition in Classics to Sherborne. The following passed Associated Board Exams in Piano: R. H. M. Tildesley (Grade III), A. J. Powell (Grade II, Merit), J. S. Sherwood (Grade II), R. M. Urwin (Grade I., Distinction). Mr. P. H. Evans, who joined the Staff in 1951, has left to take up an appointment as Second Master at Hydneye House, in Sussex. 4

PRIZES Form VI: A. M. Turner (2), R. H. M. Tildesley, G. A. Hughes. Form V: P. R. M. Conner, J. F. Goulding, Form IV: T. H. Eva ns. Form III: A. J. Powell, R. H. Collins. Form II: E. J. Gallimore, A. M. Gosling, P. A. Baddeley. Form I: H. Tuthill, J. C. Dowson. Writing: M. J. Stokes, 7. J. Mills Reading: M. J. Stokes. Shield (best all-rounder at games): D. H. Snell. Fielding Cup: M. J. Stokes, Swimming Cup: M. J. Stokes, R. H. M. Tildesley. COLOUR COMPETITION WORK: I Greys, 42; 2 Greens, 38; 3 Blues, 20. Mentions: Blues: Powell 60-10, Mills R. 51-5, Evans 47-0, Hughes 39-3. Greens: Conner 67-4, Goulding 54-2, Fisher 53-7, Collins 52-6, Dowson 48-7, Sherwood 49-3, Gosling 45-5. Greys: Gallimore 66-8, Trotter 65-8, Stokes 61-5, Wilson 51-6, Tuthill H. 50-3, Tildesley 49-1, Turner A. 41-3. DISCIPLINE: 1 Greys, 42; 2 Blues, 36; 3 Greens, 22. Mentions: Blues: Duncan 33-1, Thomas 28-2, Snell D. 20-4, Mills T. 15-0, Brinton 13-0, Gerard 13-3. Greens: Davies 13-3. Greys: Turner A. 21-1, Hoddell C. 18-2, Todd 18-2, Hoddell J. 16-2, Stokes 16-3, Wilson 14-0, Tildesley 14-4. GAMES: 1 Greens, 42; 2 Greys, 39; 3 Blues, 19. Cricket Cup: Greens. Swimming Cup: Greys. Athletics Cup: Greys. Drill Cup: Blues and Greys. Total for Term: 1 Greys, 123. 2 Greens, 102. 3 Blues, 75. Total for Year: 1 Greys, 356. 2 Blues, 276.3 Greens, 258. CRICKET It was a difficult season. The weather was discouraging and deprived us of a good deal of practice time, and we had a young and inexperienced side with very little on which to build. The younger members however in some cases came on well, particularly Green, who was our steadiest bowler and showed some promise as a batsman. Stokes was eventually made captain and increased in skill and confidence, and he showed at all times an excellent example both in ability and in alertness in the field. Tuthill G. as wicketkeeper, was good in keeping down the byes and was just beginning to accept his stumping chances at the end. The se c ond a nd j uni or ga m e s pla ye d kee nl y, a nd t he s e c ond i n particular reached a good standard. 5

CRICKET MATCHES May 21st. AYMESTREY v. THE LICKEY HILLS, away. We started the season with five members of last year's team, but the strongest batsmen had gone and all the bowlers, and there was no obvious claimant for the captaincy; so our first match loomed up as even more of a question mark than usual. In the event we were soundly defeated by a team stronger in all departments except fielding. Almost everyone did his best in batting against an attack which was always respectable and sometimes more than that, but our woeful lack of technique was clearly shown up. The Lickey batsmen on the other hand had sufficient strokes and confidence to make runs fairly easily against our untried bowling, though our fielding was keen throughout. AYMESTREY Green b Lewis ... 4 Urwin c johnson b Scott 4 Stokes c Spencer b Lewis 7 Turner I. b Scott ... ... ... 0 Turner A. b Scott ... ... 8 Thomas c Strickland b Scott ... ... 2 Scholefield c and b Lewis... ... 2 Snell lbw b Scott ... ... ... 4 Todd not out ... ... 3 Tuthill G. c Stickland b Lewis 1 Sherwood run out... ... 0 Extras... ... ... 4 To t a l . . . ... ... ... ... 39 14 0 2 35 13 11 28 1 0 2 0 13

THE LICKEY Bell c Snell b Green ... Johnson c Urwin b Stokes Metcalf c Snell b Stokes Scott c Tuthill b Snell Spencer lbw b Snell Lewis run out ... ... Somers c Stokes b Green Smart b Stokes ... ... Upton c Turner I. b Stokes Wathes not out Strickland b Green... ... E x t r a s ... To t a l . . . ...

... ...

... ... ... ... ... ...

... 118

Bowling: Snell 2 for 19, Stoke., 4 for 35, Green 3 for 32, Sherwood 0 for 6, Turner I. 0 for 13. May 24th. AYMESTREY v. ABBERLEY HALL, away. Abberley batted first with a young and inexperienced team but we set a reverently defensive field, inviting the quick singles which our opponents eventually began to take. Our bowling was loose and the fielders tried hard but suffered strange lapses. Abberley declared with plenty of time for us to make the runs, but only Urwin batted with any spirit. Abberley's tactics in the later stages were a model for us, with the net of fielders drawn very close and everyone on his toes. 6

ABBERLEY Butler b Stokes ... 1 Hardy lbw b Snell... ... ... 2 Prideaux-Brune i. not out 24 Stuart-Brown lbw b Snell ... 3 Sabarro c and b Green ... ... 13 Cobb run out ... 5 Prideaux-Brune ii. c Turner A. b Todd 2 Burton b Todd ... ... ... 1 Bailey not out ... 14 Extras... ... ... ... 2 Total (for 7 wickets dec.) ... 67 Bowling: Snell 2 for 19, Stoke3 1 for 15, Green 1 for 19, Todd 2 for 12 AYMESTREY G r e e nr un out ... ... ... 5 Urwin c P.-Brune i. b P.-Brune ii. ... 10 Stokes b P.-Brune i. ... ... ... 6 Turner I. b P.-Brune i. ... ... 0 Turner A. lbw b Stuart-Brown ... 2 Snell b Stuart-Brown ... ... 0 Todd lbw b Stuart-Brown ... ... 0 Tuthill G. not out... ... ... 0 Franklin b P.-Brune ii. ... ... ... 0 Tildesley c Stuart-Brown b P.-Brune ii. 0 Tuthill F. b P.-Brune i. ... ... ... 0 Extras... ... ... 2 To t a l . . . ... ... ... 25

May 28th. AYMESTREY v. SEAFORD COURT, away. This was a better game than the previous ones. Seaford batted well but our bowling had much more vim, Green in particular showing deter mined accuracy, and our fielding was good. Our batting however was not strong enough to stand long against accurate bowling. Turner I. played a good innings and Franklin showed up as a stout defender. The end was exciting and Seaford deservedly took our last wicket on the stroke of time. Lampard not out ... Wilde b Snell ... Tinkler b Green ... Graham lbw b Green Blackleg b Green... Turner not out ... Extras SEAFORD ... 58 ... 1 ... 27 0 14 17 8

...

...

... ...

Total (for 4 wickets dec.)... 125 Bowling: Snell 1 for 26, Stokes 0 for 44, Green 3 for 25, Todd 0 for 14, Urwin 0 for 8. 7

Green st Graham b Wilde ... Urwin lbw b Reeves Stokes b Wilde ... Turner I. b Reeves... Turner A. b Turner ... ... Tuthill G. b Turner ... ... Todd lbw b Wilde... Franklin not out ... ... Snell lbw h Reeve,, Tildesley lbw b Wilde ... Tuthill F. lbw b Reeves ... Extras... ... Total ...

AYMESTREY 3 3 9 27 ... 4 ... 1 1 7 0 0 ... 0 ... 15 ... 70

May 31st. AYMESTREY v. THE LINK, home. It was a showery afternoon on which not much cricket was possible The Link made their runs without trouble and their bowling was good. We found it difficult to score and poor running slowed down the runs still more. Still, we did at least show defence dogged enough for us to draw the game. Barnard c Green b Stokes Barnett b Todd ... ... ... Wynn-Williams lbw b Green Hunter b Snell ... ... ... Roberts not out ... ... Worral not out E x t r a s . . . ... THE LINK ... 13 ... 22 6 7 15 4 ... 5

Total (for 4 wickets dec.) ... 72 Bowling: Snell 1 for 9, Stokes 1 for 26, Green 1 for 18, Todd 1 for 14. AYMESTREY ... 10 ... 0 0 ... 13 0 ... 7 30

Green not out ... U r w i n r u n out ... ... Stokes lbw b Wynn-Williams Turner I. b Worral Tuthill G. not out... Extras Total (for 3 wickets)

June 4th. AYMESTREY v. THE ELMS, away. This was a pleasant afternoon's cricket. We bowled too many loose balls but our fielding was keen and we kept most of the batsmen quiet, though we were lucky in that two good men hit their wickets. Once again 8

our own batting was weak, though Tildesley and 'Thomas struggled gamely to play out time successfully. Westcott hit wkt b Todd Foster lbw b Snell... ... Priest run out ... ... Greaves hit wkt b Tuthill F. Parker b Snell ... ... Penn b Green Usher run out Figtree b Snell ... Tadman b Green ... Kaye not out ... Eckford b Green ... Extras... ... Total... ... ... THE ELMS ...14 ... 29 ... 11 ... 1 ... 2 ... 10 ... 1 ... 4 ... 1 ... 0 ... 0 ... 6 ... 79

...

... ... ...

Bowling: Snell 3 for 12, Stokes 0 for 20, Green 3 for 16, Todd 1 for 11, Tuthill F. 1 for 12. Green c Penn b Eckford Urwin b Eckford ... ... Stokes b Eckford ... ... Turner I. b Priest ... ... Tuthill G. b Eckford ... Franklin lbw b Priest Tildesley not out ... ... Todd b Eckford ... Snell c and b Priest Thomas not out ... Extras ... ... ... ... A YMESTREY ... ...3 ... 8 ... 4 ... 1 1 0 ... 0 ... 0 ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 23

... ...

Total (for 8 wickets) ...

June Ilth. AYMESTREY v. ABBERLEY HALL, home. Half hearted shots and bad running, both of which troubled us all the season, kept our score low. But Snell and Green took useful wickets early in the Abberley innings; and from the moment that their captain hit a bad ball hard to leg for Todd to make a really fine catch our morale went up and theirs went down. Our fielders were brought in close, more good catches were held, two men were run out through smart fielding, and we won an unexpected but well deserved victory, the moral being as usual that fielding brings its reward. AYM ESTREY Green lbw b Stuart-Brown ... ... Tildesley c Stuart-Brown b Hardy ... Stokes b Prideaux-Brune ... ... Turner I. st Butler b Hardy ... ... Urwin b Hardy ... ... ... ... Turner A. c Prideaux-Brune b Stuart-Brown Tuthill G. lbw b Hardy ... ... 9 1 2 1 11 1 9 0

Todd lbw b Hardy... Snell c Blair b Hardy Thomas not out ... Tuthill F. b Hardy... Extras... To t a l . .

... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ...

0 10 4 0 2 41

ABBERLEY Hardy b Snell ... ... ... 4 Butler st Tuthill b Green . . . . 7 Prideaux-Brune i. c Turner A. b Snell 6 Stuart-Brown c Todd b Snell ... 0 Nabarro c Turner I. b Stokes ... 0 Prideaux-Brune ii. c Green b Snell ... 0 Benton run out 2 Farquhar run out ... ... ... 5 Bailey c Turner A. b Green 1 Blair not out ... ... ... 0 Burton lbw b Green 0 Extras 2 To t a l . . . ... ... ... 27

Bowling: Snell 4 for 11, Stokes 1 for 12, Green 3 for 2, Todd 0 for 0. June 18th. AYMESTREY v. THE ELMS, home. The Elms batted first and our fielders wilted and dozed in some unexpected hot weather. The Elms captain played a good innings but he ought not to have been allowed to make so many and he would have run out of partners if catches had not been dropped. Their big score however had taken too long to give their bowlers time to win the match. We started badly, but with no chance of making the runs, Turner I. and Urwin had no difficulty in playing out time. THE ELMS Westcott st Tuthill b Todd ... ... ... 10 Harrison lbw b Green ... ... 19 Priest hit wkt. b Tuthill F. 11 Greaves b Turner I. ... ... ... 78 Parker c Todd b Green ... ... ... 1 Penn b Tildesley 0 Pugh c Turner 1. b Tildesley ... 5 Figtree b Green ... ... ... 7 Armistead c Turner A. b. Turner I . ... 0 Kaye st Tuthill b Green ... ... 0 Eckford not out ... 4 Extras... ... ... ... 11 To t a l . . . ... 146

Bowling: Snell 0 for 15, Stokes 0 for 21, Green 3 for 50, Todd 1 for 2, Tuthill F. 1 for 17, Tildesley 2 for 13, Turner I. 2 for 17. 10

Green run out Franklin run out ... ... Tildesley b Priest... ... Turner A. hit wkt. b Figtree ... Stokes b Figtree ... ... Turner I. not out ... Urwin not out ... ... Extras... ... ... Total (for 5 wickets)

AYM ESTREY ... 4 5 1 4 ... 0 8 9 ... 5 ... 36

June 28th. AYMESTREY v. SEAFORD COURT, home. Our bowling had improved and made the Seaford batting look less formidable than before. Stokes bowled much better than his figures suggested, Todd was steady, and Green kept a nagging length. Our fielding showed some zest but was unreliable and, as often happens, we dropped at the beginning of his innings the man who went on to make top score. Still, Seaford were all out for 61 and we were in quite a good position But once again many of our batsmen failed badly and Stokes, who appeared to have played himself into form in the Colour matches, was idiotically run out by his partner. Urwin hit hard and Tuthill G. defended well, but we failed by eighteen runs. Lampard lbw b Todd ... Tinkler c Urwin b Todd Graham c Stokes b Green Blakey lbw b Green ... Reeves c Urwin b Green Turner run out ... ... Wildeb Green ... ... Coulson c Urwin b Todd Charles c Stokes b Green Cotton b Green ... ... Daniel not out Extras ... To t a l _ ... SEAFORD 12 7 2 ... 0 ... 6 ... 17 ... 7 8 1 0 0 1 ... 61 Todd 3 for 28, Green 6 for 13. A 3 1 0 6 0 1 16 4 0 6 0 5 43 11

... ... ... ... ... ...

...

Bowling: Stokes 0 for 19, AYMESTREY Green c Coulson b Reeves ... Franklin b Coulson ... ... Tildesley c and b Coulson ... ... Turner A. b Reeves Stokes run out ... ... ... Turner I. st Graham b Tinkler ... Urwin lbw b Reeves Davies c Coulson b Tinkler ... Todd lbw 13 '1 inkier Tuthill G. c Coulson b Reeves Tuthill F. not out ... ... ... ... Extras... ... To t a l . . . ... ... ...

J uly 19t h. AYMESTREY v. THE OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATI ON. The Old Boys batted first and hit out with enterprise, and the school failed to adapt their tactics and go for the many catches in the deep which could probably have been collected. Tuthill G. however accepted well from stumping chances and gave his best performance as wicket-keeper. Our batsmen, as so often happens in this match, were so overawed by the better bowling that they largely failed to take advantage of the worse, and count less loose balls went unpunished. Green however played a useful innings, Davies showed determination, and Snell hit the best shot of the match; but in the event the Old Boys easily won the first victory in the series for a long time. O. A. A. G. L. Phipps c Turner A. b Stokes 5 J. S. Morley b Stokes ... ... ...14 J. B. Heath c Green b Stokes ... ... 10 I. W. Routh st Tuthill b Tildesley 41 H. S. Morley b Stokes ... ... ... 0 E. J. Wood b Urwin ... 18 R. L. Steynor c Stokes b Green ... 11 M. F. Heath st Tuthill b Green ... 20 J. H. Phipps st Tuthill b Green ... 0 F. J. T. Robins st Tuthill b Green 0 M. Bates not out ... ... 7 R. Johns not out ... ... 0 Extras... ... ... ... 4 Total (for 10 wickets dec.) ... 130 AYM ESTREY Green st Heath b Robins 11 Franklin c Phipps J. b Phipps G. 5 Tildesley c Wood b Phipps G. ... 0 Turner A. run out ... ... ... 1 Stokes c Wood b Routh ... ... 0 Turner I. hit wkt b Johns 1 Urwin lbw b Bates... 3 Davies not out ... ... 10 Todd b Morley H.... ... ... 1 Tuthill G. lbw b Routh ... I Tuthill F. c Wood b Phipps G. 0 Snell st Heath b Phipps G. ... ... 8 Extras... ... ... 21 To t a l . . . ... 62

SWIMMING We celebrated the installation of the new water-system with a good season in which the standard was higher than for some time. There was only two boys in the school who could not swim by the end of term, many in the middle grades made very good progress, and there were both more and better experts than usual. Colours were awarded to Barnard, Brinton, 12

Snell D., Stokes, Tildesley and Turner A., and others to do well were Thomas, Hughes, Gerard, Mills T., Evans, Banks, Collins, Fisher, Tuthill G., Tuthill F., Wilson and Lewis. The Picked Squad put on a particularly good show on Sports Day. Greys won the Cup pretty easily, and the Individual Cup was shared by Stokes and Tildesley. The outstanding performance was achieved by Turner A., who beat his own record for underwater swimming with a distance of 112 feet. The swimming sports results were: SENIOR. 50 yards: 1 Stokes, 2 Snell, 3 Barnard. 1 Length: 1 Turner A., 2 Barnard, 3 Stokes. Life Saving: 1 Tildesley, 2 Turner, 3 Duncan. Underwater: 1 Turner, 2 Tildesley, 3 Barnard. Duck Diving: 1 Brinton, 2 Stokes, Tildesley. Diving: 1 Stokes, Tildesley, 3 Barnard. JUNIOR. 50 Yards: 1 Tuthill F., 2 Collins, 3 Banks. 1 Length: 1 Tuthill, 2 Lewis, 3 Evans. Diving: 1 Tuthill, 2 Lewis, 3 Fisher. RELAY. 1 Blues, 2 Greys. ATHLETICS During the practice period conditions were good and the level reached in Standards was about average. Those who obtained all their Standards were Hoddell C., Sherwood, Turner I., Tildesley, Tuthill G., Duncan, Snell D., Tuthill F., Powell, Butterworth, Jay, Barber R. and Mayson R. Sports Day itself was pretty wet and the jumps and hurdles had to be postponed until the Monday, but the performances on the whole were quite good. Hodde l l r a n a fa st 440, a nd i n Di vi si on II Tur ne r I. be a t t he Division I height by 2 ins. Greys won the competition fairly easily. Colours were awarded to Hoddell C., Sherwood, Todd and Turner I. DIV. I 440 yards: 1 Hoddell C., 2 Scholefield, 3 Davies; 65 4/5 secs. 100 yards: 1 Scholefield, 2 Hoddell C., 3 Todd; 12 4/5 secs. Hurdles: 1 Hoddell C., 2 Todd, 3 Sherwood. High Jump: 1 Davies, 2 Scholefield, Sherwood; 4ft. lin. Long Jump: 1 Davies, 2 Todd, 3 Turner A.; 13ft. lin. Cricket Ball: 1 Turner A., 2 Davies, 3 Stokes; 58 yards. DIV. II 220 yards: 1 Turner I., 2 Mayson D., 3 Duncan; 303/5 secs. 100 yards: I Turner 1., 2 Duncan, Mills T.; 13 1/5 secs. Hurdles: 1 Turner I., 2 Tildesley, 3 Snell D. High Jump: 1 Turner I., 2 Snell D., 3 Duncan; 4ft. 3ins. Long Jump: 1 Turner I., 2 Trotter, 3 Duncan; 13ft. lin. Cricket Ball: 1 Snell D., 2 Turner I., 3 Brinton; 552 yards. DIV. III 100 yards: I Butterworth, 2 Tuthill F., 3 Peate; 13 2/5 secs. Hurdl e s: 1 Tut hil l F. , 2 Butt e r wort h, 3 M ac Ra e . High Jump: I Green, 2 Gallimore, Tuthill F.; 3ft. 6in. Long Jump: 1 MacRae, 2 Tuthill F., 3 Lloyd; 11ft. 3in. Cricket Ball: 1 Tuthill F., 2 Green, 3 MacRae; 46 1/2 yards. DIV. IV 80 yards: 1 Powell, 2 Barber R., 3 Mayson R.; 11 4/5 secs. Hurdles: 1 Powell, 2 Jay, 3 Barber R. High Jump: 1 Mayson, Powell, 3 Banks, Barber; 3ft. 3ins. Long Jump: 1 Powell, 2 Barber, Jay; llft. tins. Cricket Ball: 1 Powell, 2 Jay, 3 Mayson; 41 1/2 yards. RELAYS Medley: 1 Greys, 2 Greens. Sprint: 1 Greys, 2 Blues.

Hurdles: 1 Greens, 2 Greys. 13

CAMP (By NOAH) It is 8 p.m. on Monday. Last Friday we had nine hours of rain, on Sunday the same again but heavier, and now it is coming down in a steady, drenching smoke of water. However, we have had supper and have even washed up and the Scouts are all in bed, and if we stood those other two days surely we can stand anything. The S.M. has peeled off a sodden mackintosh and is gropingly making his bed in the dusk. A squelching of feet outside: " Sir, there's a river in the Cuckoos' tent." Well, there was. The waters from the hill above, tired of making their way underground, had decided to come up and have a look round and had chosen the middle of a tent for their sortie. As groundsheets were peeled up the whole floor-space was simply an oblong of water. Bedding was hastily rolled up in such groundsheets as were still dry on top, and was rushed to the Shelter with the kit, and we paused for breath and plan- making. Reinforcements were mobilised from the members of other patrols who had the stoutest mackintoshes, the bedding was all checked over and eve ryt hing rej ecte d t hat t he wat er had re ached, the other te nts we re ransacked for all rugs and groundsheets that were not being used, and m i r a c ul ou s l y a c o m pl e t e s e t w a s e xa c t l y a c hi e v e d f or e ve r yb od y. Miraculously also the rain stopped. Two Cuckoos were lodged with other patrols; the acting A.S.M. P. D. Coates, who had nobly given up the week again to help with camp was evicted from his tent and condemned to share the S.M.'s; tools were chucked out and the remaining four homeless Cuckoos were safely housed. We breathe again, butS.O.S. from the Eagles: large lake outside the tent, just about to come in at the door. Out spades and torches, and some fifty feet of extra river are added to the waterway, of Wales. The tide goes out and the Eagles are saved. But for how long ? We'd better move the drowned-out Cuckoos' tent to a new place. The clouds wer e now shr edding away, a full m oon shone out, and by its light a triumph of removal was achieved; in an incredibly short time the tent was repitched on a dry site, and we now even had a spare tent for the next emergency, which however mercifully did not arise. To set the seal on the evening's work, a brew of cocoa was produced, and by 10.30 we were all in bed again, safe, dry and warm. A full description of this episode is given, although it did not involve actively the whole troop, because it was the highlight both of our difficulties and also of our achievement It was a really good show, and all who were called upon rose to the occasion magnificently. The first three days were fine and mostly sunny; this was lucky in any case and especially so since quite a few of us had contrived to catch colds at school just before starting and it gave us a chance to get them largely subdued before the wet came. There was some good bathing, and we just got in the usual expedition to Llandegley Rocks, the first real rain setting in as we got back. But it was unkind of the weather to be whole-heartedly wet for visitors' day on Sunday. We filled the church to overflowing and afterwards successf ully gave tea to more than fifty guests. Their courage was admirable, and they not only cheerfully put up with our entertainment but paddled off to their cars without quite daring to suggest that wouldn't it be a good thing if they took Johnny home now as he was obviously going to get pneumonia 14

if he wasn't drowned first. Seriously, that really was rather noble, and as a silently stoical vote of confidence in our ability to look after ourselves it was very encouraging. It wa s not perhaps one of the reall y gr eat camps in the Tr oop's history. There was just too much frittering away of time which made jobs take too long, and small oddments of inefficiency and foolishness which might have been serious. But cooking was mostly very good, there was a complete absence of anything approaching grumbling (except by Ahab), and no one can have failed to learn a great deal. Cuckoos were the best patrol. When all is said and done, we had to deal with the heaviest rain we have ever faced. Another troop camping in the neighbourhood were driven from their tents to a village hall, and we heard of a camp that was beaten altogether and forced to return home. We were undefeated, fully fed (thanks to Miss Worton, Mrs. Asterley, and Todd in charge of the stores) and dry. We were inspected on our last day by the District Commissioner. unfortunately not till after some dismantling had already taken place, and this account may well end with his report: " This was a most completely organised and efficient camp. Despite extremely bad weather all scouts were cheerful and had obviously enjoyed themselves; and the standard maintained reflected much credit on them."

15