Chronicle-1971

The time Eric Groom,taking us for our 6 a.m. run and exercises, found me as usual at the end of the line far behind the others. Picking me up by the scruff ofthe neck he rushed me to the front and for the first time in my life I was first home. The little tuck shop at the end ofthe classroom block which Dame Eraser opened just be foresuppereach evening and where we would queueto getour squared paper for Copperplateten lines wasenough for anyone especially when Matty wason duty,he wentthrough it all with a toothcomb and you had to do it again if he did not accept it. Terry Smythe at the Debating Society- he seldom said more than a few words, but the mere fact of his standing to speak would throw the whole chem. lab. into hysterics. Old Knubbley,who stepped into the breach to take Maths and Arith. He didn't hear very well and you could get away with quite a lot. "Sir, go and wash your face with a broom." "What's that?""May I borrow a rubber from Groom?" Half the class were "being excused" anyway. Meddy who knew all the girl friends' names and if you were not attending would every now and then say quietly "Brian, why are you thinking so hard about Olga?" or something like that. The Saturday morning when things had gone wrong at prep the previous night and half the school were lined up outside Squitty's office. The queue stretched from Gillingham half way down to Pic's house. The big storm,no lights,no water,no lavs all weekend.Water everywhere and everything soaked. The lawns were like swimming baths. The black out.Prep at5 p.m.,blue lights in the houses,bed at8 p.m.and a wonderful loaf between supper and that when we roamed about in the darkness and played rugger on the field in the moonlight. Graham Boyd-prefect 1940-who was not content with one"fag" but had to have two, Noel Baker and Dickie Dyson; the things Dyson had to do and bear could not be in print. Bazley-the first boy I metat Kearsney,head prefect atthe time and oneofthe finestcharac ters one was privileged to know. He and Boyd both were killed in the war. The time Squitty gave us detention and then forgot about it. After waiting for a while we went off. Squitty came later and found us gone. The next day he said "didn't you know I was coming back ? I left my hat there." The repeat detention found every desk with a basher or cap on it but no boys. I am pleased to say that Squitty called it a day. Squitty's excursions into English Grammar while he took evening prayers before cocoa and bed. The approach to Gillingham in the 40's. ■ . ■ \ i « * * , rrn M..5 V %■ The time when Squitty was on supper duty and as usual had wandered round the hall asking for complaints. We put some salt in his tea but unfortunately the top fell off and the whole potful went in. We fished out the top and then sat still. Squitty returned, stirred the tea vigorously and then without turning a hair drank the-lot. Matty with his pen-knife at the supper table. One blade was for his roses, one blade for something else and the third was for his fruit. One night when we had oranges we all contrived to have a penknife and the whole table produced them at theappropriate time. Getting the dining hall ready for bioscope on Saturday night and taking long enough over it to be able to get the best seats as the rest of the school came in. The time we had a blow-out on the front wheel of the Daimler bus on the way to play cricket at St. Charles. Colley managed to stop the bus inches froma water gully near Mkondeni, otherwise there might have been a serious accident — probably 1942. Matty's "My dear donkeys!" 43

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