trbe Ellesmeriari

Vol. XLIV MARCH, 1954 No. 277

School Officers
Captain of School. ..•.................................................... T. P. Black Prefect of Hall .•.•.................................................. J. W. Scholfield Prefect of Chapel .......................................•................ D. G. Lewis School Prefects J. R. D. Sproson, J. E. F. Lindsay Captain of Rugby Football T. P. Black Vice-Captain of Rugby Football D. G. Lewis Captain of Squash ., '" , D. G. Lewis Captain of Shooting W. J. Ellis Sacristan " , .......•............. J. S. E. Oliver Under Officer, C.C.F. . T. P. Black Librarians C. P. Vernier, J. E. F. Lindsay Secretary of Rugby Football ................................•............... J. Taylor Secretary of Hockey G. E. Stringer Secretary of Cricket J. O. Jewiss " Secretary of Shooting G. L. N. Wood Secretary of the Ellesmerian Society .........................•............ C. P. Vernier Secretary of the Seven Club ..............................•............... C. P. Vernier ~retary of the Thespians ...•...... " ...•..•.•.•.•.•.•...•...•.•... , .J. E. F. Lindsay

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Editor's Notes
After reading hundreds of School Editorials we have come to the conclusion that the majority of them are taken up with deprecating the lack of contributions to the Magazine, or with attempting 'to write-at some length-something about nothing. It is therefore our intention to discontinue the regular Editorial, and to reserve it for those occasions when we really have something about which to write. In the review of Macbeth certain suggestions are made re the Dress Rehearsal of the Play, and we think these are worthy of serious consideration by the powers that be. We were pleased to receive a few photographs from members of the Photographic and hope that more-of School interest-will be forthcoming in the near future.

Society,

School Notes
This term we have had to say good-bye to Mrs. Solomon and Mr. Thew. We wish them both the best of luck in the future, and welcome in their places, Miss Lovatt and Mr. R. E. Ferris, B.A., L.R.A.M., of St. Peter's Hall, Oxford, who comes to us from Felsted School. The Library Committee wish to thank Mr. Deakin most gratefully for another very generous gift of books for the School Library. The customary All Saints' Day. half-holiday

was granted on Monday, November 2nd, in commemoration

of

Three films have been shown to the School in the Dining-Hall on Sunday evenings during the term. They were "Appointment with Venus," "The Lavender Hill Mob" and "The Lady with the Lamp." At the beginning of the term T. P. Black and J. W. Scholfield were appointed Captain of School and Prefect of Hall, respectively, and D. G. Lewis became Prefect of Chapel. Later in the term J. R. D. Sproson and J. E. F. Lindsay were appointed School Prefects. On the morning of Sunday, November 8th, the Annual Act of Remembrance was carried out at the School, when Cadet C. S. M. Black laid a wreath on the War Memorial. In the afternoon, the C.C.F. and Scouts attended a service in Ellesmere Parish Church, when the preacher was the Rev. R. E. Rees, Rector of Whittington. A march-past followed the service and the salute was taken by Col. Kynaston, D.S.O. The exceptionally wet weather failed to damp the spirits of the College contingent, and it deserves much credit for smartness and turn-out, especially on the part of the Band, whose task was made even more than usually arduous by the rain. Field Day, which was originally intended for Tuesday, October 13th, was postponed owing to bad weather and was held instead on the following Thursday. In the morning the C.C.F. carried out a training programme in the School grounds, and then spent a very enjoyable afternoon engaged in a mock battle over a certain railway viaduct a little way out of Ellesmere. The Senior Scouts, accompanied by the Headmaster, went to Llanarmon by bus, walked to Corwen, and then returned by bus to Ellesmere. Under Mr. Fletcher's energetic coaching the First XV, captained by Black, had a much improved . season, although several valuable players were lost through injuries, particularly Hodson, who unfortunately, broke a les in the first match of the season, Full Colours were awarded to D. G.

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Lewis, J. W. Scholfield, J. R. D. Sproson, J. P. Hilliar and W. H. A. Brown; and Half-Colours, to W. J. Ellis, J. S. Hockenhull, J. A. Lyrner and G. Eden Stringer. Mention must also be made of the unbeaten Under-14 team, under Mr. Tippett. We expect great things from them in the future. Despite the efforts of such super-men as G. Twist, the School won the Rugby match against a team of Old Ellesmerians on December 5th. The score was 9-0. In the evening the O.E's. held a supper in the Bridgewater Hotel. In the Senior House Matches, Talbot beat Wakeman in the first round, and then in the final defeated Meynell, whose first round opponents had been Woodard. In the Junior Matches, Meynell and Woodard emerged as victors over Talbot and Wllkeman, respectively, and then Meynell went on to defeat Woodard in the final. On Saturday, October 31st, a Concert was held in Big School. Staff were the performers in a varied and enjoyable programme.

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of the School and

On the evening of Remembrance Sunday, Mr. Reynolds (clarinet and 'cello) and Mrs. Reynolds (violin) gave a most delightful short recital in Big School. The play chosen for this year's Shakespearian Society production was "Macbeth," and three performances were held in Big School on December 15, 16, and 17th. "Macbeth" proved to be something of a family affair, as two brothers, J. S. E. Oliver and M. V. L. Oliver played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth respectively. The play was an outstanding success and we were pleased to see that the producer, Mr. Howard, who proves so reticent on these occasions, was persuaded to come on the stage after the final performance for the applause he so richly deserved. Also sharing the applause were many of the "backroom boys," who do so much behind the scenes with such little recognition. The proceeds from the play were given to the Historic Churches' Preservation Trust. On the last Sunday of term the Annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held in Chapel. Although some seats were reserved for the parents of servers and members of the choir, the service is intended primarily for the School. Rarely has the beauty of the choir's singing been bettered, and in the French carol, "Dans cette etable," they excelled themselves. The Junior School Carol Service, a much simpler, yet very gracious service, was held on the last Monday of term. The Ellesmerian Society has been very active this term. Besides the regular Saturday evening meetings there have been several outside visits, and a party from the Society attended an Everest Lecture in Shrewsbury, given by Messrs. Lowe and Band. The Society held an Open Meeting in Big School on Saturday, November 28th, when Mr. Alan C. Browne have a lecture entitled, "The Charm of the English Lake District." 56 candidates passed the Certificate "A" part I examination, held at the end of the term. J. R. D. Sproson has been appointed Captain of Hockey and F. G. Pyatt Vice-Captain. Eden Stringer is Secretary of Hockey.

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G.

At the end of the term the School received a piece of the carpet which was laid in Westminster Abbey for the Coronation, and which has been cut up and distributed to Schools and Churches all over the Commonwealth. We congratulate M. E. J. Garnett, D, A, Gledhill, D. M, Muzio ~d ~, RQQ~on (:ounty Scholarships, ..

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House Notes
MEYNELL HOUSE T. P. Black (Captain of School) J. E. F. Lindsay L. R. A. Bayley, B. W. Taylor T. P. Black, J. E. F. Lindsay, L. R. A. Bayley Captain of Juniors J. E. Whiteman Junior House Colours J. E. Whiteman, R. R. Pollitt, B. E. P. Beeston Captain of Junior Dormitory .... E. H. Fraser-Smith Captain of House ...•.... Vice-Captain of House House Prefects Senior House Colours

At the beginning of term we welcomed as our new House-Master, Mr. F. J. Tippett, who soon made it clear that he was determined to fill his post with zest and understanding. We congratulate T. P. Black on being appointed Captain of School and Captain of Rugby; also J. E. F. Lindsay, who was awarded his Senior House Colours and shortly after was made a School Prefect. L. R. A. Bayley began the term as a House Prefect and was later joined by B. W. Taylor. One more cup was won this term-the Junior Rugby. The team, under the captaincy of B. E. P. Beeston, beat Woodard 11-3 in the final, after having beaten Talbot 17-0. The Seniors, captained by T. P. Black, beat Woodard 3-0 in the Semi-Finals, but were unfortunate to lose to Talbot by a penalty goal to nil in the last few minutes of the Final. Mention must here be made of the Relay Cup, which we won, after a very tough fight, on the last day of the Summer term. Thanks are due to C. F. Smith for so ably training the team. This term we were strongly represented in the School Rugby Teams. J. S. Hockenhull and F. G. Pyatt, under the Captaincy ofT. P. Black, played regularly for the 1st XV, the former receiving his Half-Colours. J. Taylor, F. M. Emery and A. M. Johnson also played on occasions. In the 2nd XV, which, for the latter half of the season, was captained by J. Taylor, J. E. F. Lindsay, A. M. Johnson, F. M. Emery, K. E. H. Abel, A. A. Robinson and C. J. Squire were regular members. L. R. A. Bayley and P. C. A. Thomas each played in one match. J. W. Benson was awarded his Colts XV Colours, whilst R. D. Chance, J. S. Hanson and J. M. Parry played in the team throughout the season. Five Reds played in the Under Fourteen XV: B. E. P. Beeston, J. A. P. Ray, P. M. Johnson, W. C. Pheysey and J. W. McIndoe; D. P. Whiteman played in one match. J. E. F. Lindsay played in the School Squash team. The customary House Party was held on the last Saturday evening of term and was its usual success. We must thank all the parents who helped to make the cake-laden table-tennis table groan on its legs. The Day-room had been magnificently decorated, mainly through the exertions of J. B. Warham and L. R. A. Bayley. After members of the House and Mr. Tippett had entertained and been entertained, T. P. Black brought the party to a close after awarding Senior House Colours to L. R. A. Bayley and Junior House Colours to R. R. Pollitt and B. E. P. Beeston. We are very sorry to lose T. P. Black this term. As Captain of House and lately as Captain of School, he has always set the best possible example, and has competently carried out his many difficult duties with fairness and understanding. Our best wishes go with him and with K. J. Gordon, J. S. Hockenhull, J. D. French and J. M. Ashworth, who are also leaving. C.J.S. VALETE T. P. BLACK. Entry 1948. Meynell House 1948-1953. Captain of House 1953. Captain of School 1953. School Prefect 1953. House Prefect 1952-53. Under 14 XV's Rugby 1949. Junior House Colours 1950, Colts Rugby XV 1950. Colts Colours 1950. Captain of Rugby 1953.

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1st XV 1951-2-3. 2nd XV Colours 1951. Half Colours 1952. Full Colours 1953. Secretary of Rugby 1952. 1st XI Hockey 1953. Captain of 2nd XI Hockey 1953. 2nd XI Hockey Colours 1953. Captain of House Hockey 1953. 2nd XI Cricket 1952-3. Captain of House Swimming 1952-3. Captain of House Tennis 1952-3. School Tennis VI 1951-2-3. Vice-President of Ellesmerian Society 1953. C. C. F. 1949-53. Certificate "A" 1951. Under-Officer 1953. Thespian Society 1953. Seven Clu b1953. G. C. E. 1951-2-3. "0" Level (6) 1951, (2) 1953. Advanced Level (3) 1953. VI form 1952-3. Senior House Colours 1952. House Athletics 1949. House Relays 1949-53. Shakespearian Society 1953. Captain of House Chess 1952-3. Editorial Board 'Ellesmerian" 1952. Shell "A" Maths and Science Prize 1949. K. J. GORDON. Entered 1947. Junior School 1947-48. Junior School Soccer XI 1947. Junior School Cricket XI 1947. Meynell House 1948-53. Choral Society 1948-53. Choir 1949-52. G.E.C. 1953. Cert "A" 1 and 2 1953. L/Cpl. 1953. Silver Bugler Band 1953.

TALBOT HOUSE

NOTES W. Scholfield J. R. D. Sproson N. W. Bean, A. Hinchcliffe, J. J. Hewitt (Prefects) W. H. A. Brown, J. P. Hilliar L. Done (IV), A. G. Parker (III) J. R. D. Sproson J.

Captain of House Vice-Captain of House House Prefects Senior House Colours Junior House Colours Captain of Rugby

We are unable to report any considerable amount of Inter-House activity this term, but, though it may be suggested by some that this will allow our esprit de corps to waver, it has served the admirable purpose of diverting our unemployed abilities into other channels. The most successful of these was that of the Prefects, who, irritated by the partial consumption and contamination of an excellent cake kept in their "small back-room," were inspired to apply all their fiendish cunning, and aided by divers mechanical contrivances, succeeded in destroying three mice within a week. Although it was considered unwise to make the punishment fit the crime in this case, considerable activity in the oryctolagian world resulted in the approaching of the House Keeper by the House's chief rabbit catcher, who had no such scruples, (doubtless to supplement our dwindling house funds, still in an alarmingly limited state), with samples of his wares, which were refused in their then unskinned condition. In our more orthodox pursuits, we have been eminently successful, notably on the Rugger Field, where, in spite of injuries, we won, for the second year in succession, the House Rugger Cup, under J. R. D. Sproson's able Captaincy. We must also congratulate our players in the 1st XV: J. R. D. Sproson, J. W. Scholfield, J. P. Hilliar and W. H. A. Brown on being awarded their Full Colours. We are proud to record our success in retaining the All-Round Cup, surely the most valuable, and hope to continue to advance our Colours on all fronts. No triumphs now remain to be chronicled, except, perhaps, that of matter(?) over mind, when Mr. Howard's clock shook our foundations by striking thirteen, but we must congratulate various members of the House on individual honours; notably J. R. D. Sproson, on his elevation to th.,

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rank of School Prefect and to N. W. Bean, A. Hinchliffe, J. J. Hewitt, W. H. A. Brown and J. P. Hilliar on being awarded their House Colours. It is our misfortune to have to bid "farewell" to some of our number, including W. H. A. Brown and J. P. Hilliar, who have ably employed their talent and determination in their various capacities to the advantage of the House, and to them, as to the others, we extend our best wishes for the future. N.W.B. VALETE W. H. A. BROWN. Junior School 1945-48. Junior Soccer (Captain). Junior Cricket. Junior School Colours. Talbot House 1948-1953. Under 12-9 Cricket 1948. Under 14 XV 1949. Colts Cricket 1950. Captain 1951. Colours 1951. Colts Rugger 1951. House Tennis 1950-51. Junior House Colours 1951. Captain House Squash 1953. House Music Competition 1949-1950-51. Junior Instrumental Prize 1949. School Choir 1948-1950. Choral Society 1948-1953. G.C.E. "0" Level (6). 2nd XV 1952. 1st XI Cricket 1952-53. Half Colours 1953. 1st XI Hockey 1953. Half Colours 1953. Senior House Colours 1953. 1st XV 1953. Full Colours 1953. Oryctolagian Club 1953. J. P. HILLIAR. Entered Junior House 1946. Talbot House 1948. Vice-Captain Senior Rugger 1953. School Shooting VIII 1952-53.. Colts Rugger XV 1951-52. Colts XV Colours 1952. 1st XV 1953. Full Rugby Colours 1953. Captain Junior Dorm 1951. Cert. "A" 1952. Solo Drummer 1953. Cpl. 1953. Shakespearian Society. House Colours 1953. L. D. JENKINS. Talbot House 1950-53. Junior House Colours 1952. Captain Junior Hockey 1952. Captain Junior Rugger 1952. School Squash Team 1953. Colts XI Cricket 1952. 1st XI Cricket 1953. Colts XV Rugger 1953. Vth Form. Certificate "A" Pt. I and II 1953. Shakespearian Society 1952. Choral Society 1950. Captain Junior Dormitory 1953. G.E.C. "0" Level 1953. Colts Rugby Colours 1953.

WAKEMAN HOUSE

NOTES

Captain of House ...........•...•...... D. G. Lewis House Prefects M. U. Newbold, C. E. Nash Captain of Rugger D. G. Lewis Captain of Juniors T. H. Gray Captain of Junior Dormitory .•...•...... G. J. Watton

This term our House seems to have suffered more than others from the rigours of Rugger. Masters could hardly move down Dining Hall through the forests of sticks, crutches and broken legs, encased in plaster, protruding into the gangways. It has already been suggested that a crutch rack be bought to be placed in Dining Hall, for the especial use of Wakeman House. We did not succeed in gaining either of the Rugger Cups, but were beaten in the Senior House Matches by Talbot, the eventual winners, and in the Junior by Woodard, although we were well represented in the School teams. Lewis IV was Vice-Captain of School Rugby and Nash, Stringer TIl and Ellis, were regular members of the 1st XV and Newbold of the 2nd. Ashley was Captain of the Colts, and we supplied four other members of the team, and also approximately half of the

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Under Fourteen team. Hodson was very unlucky in breaking a leg in the first 1st XV match of the season, and was therefore prevented from playing. We congratulate D. G. Lewis on being awarded his Full Colours, G. E. Stringer III and Ellis, on being awarded their Half Colours, and Baldwin and Hilton, on winning their Colts Colours. Towards the end of the term we held our Annual House Party. The food was so abundant that even the voracious appetities of Wakeman took three days to finish it. The singing was up to its usual high(?) standard and we were further inspired by the Housemaster's ever-fresh rendering of "Tit-Willow." We are very sorry to bid farewell this term to B. T. G. Forgrave, D. R. Lewis and W. J. Ellis, and we wish them the best of luck in the future. M.J.H. VALETE B. T. G. FORGRAVE. 1944-1953. Junior House 1944-48. Soccer XI 1947-48. Junior Cricket XI 1948. Wakeman House 1948-1953. Colts Cricket 1951. 2nd XI Cricket 1953. 1st Hockey XI 1953. Full Hockey Colours 1953. C.C.F. 1951-53. Certificate "A" 1953. Signal Classification 1953. G.C.E. "0" Level 1953. W. J. ELUS. 1946-1953. Junior School 1946-49. Junior School Victor Ludorum 1949. Junior School Colours 1949. Wakeman House 1949-1953. Junior Colours 1951. Colts Rugby XV 1952. Colts Colours. 1st XV Rugby 1953. 1st Hockey 1953. Full Hockey Colours 1953. Colts Cricket 1951. 1st XI Cricket 1953. School Shooting VIII 1951-53. Secretary of Shooting 1952. Captain of House Shooting 1952. School Squash Team 1952-53. Oryctolagian Club 1953. C.C.F. 1950-53. G.E.C. "0" Level 1953. D. R. LEWIS. 1947-1953. Junior School 1947-48. Wakeman House 1948-1953. C.C.F. 1950-53. G.E.C. "0" Level (6 Subjects) 1953.

WOODARD

HOUSE

Captain of House Vice-Captain of House .........•......••.. House Prefects J. A. Lymer, Senior Captain Junior Captain

W. Rucker G. H. Davies B. D. Poston, R. D. Garnett. House Colours ...•.. W. Rucker, G. H. Davies, J. A. Lymer, B. D. Poston of Juniors J. C. S. Jaques House Colours J. C. S. Jaques S. A. Taylor, J. H. James of House Rugby ••...•.........••. J. A. Lymer

This term has afforded us-nothing in the way of Cups, but we put up quite a good show in both the Senior and Junior Rugby Matches. In the Senior, we were rather unlucky to be beaten 3-D by Meynell in the Semi-Final. The Juniors managed to reach the Final, but lost to MeyneIl1l-3. The only regular member of the 1st XV was J. A. Lymer; B. D. Poston and R. B. Satchwell also represented the 1st team, as well as playing with W. Rucker (who was Captain), R. D .. Garnett, M. T. Dod, J. M. Morton and G. L. N. Wood, for the 2nd XV. In the Colts team we were represented at one time or another by Mooney, Ransford, Barnett, LiII, James and Graveley. The term has passed quite smoothly, and thanks are owing to W. Rucker, an able Captain of House, and the Prefects. We look forward to next term in anticipation of success in the various activities to be held then.

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We lose this term R. D. Garnett, whom we congratulate on passing the written examination into Sandhurst, and B. D. Poston. They have both served the House well, notably Poston in the sporting sphere. We wish them the very best of luck in the future. G. H. D. VALETE B. D. POSTON. Junior House 1944-48. Under 12 in Football 1947. Bantams' Cricket 1947. Woodard House 1948-1953. House Prefect 1953. Senior House Colours 1953. Junior House Colours 1950. Captain Juniors 1951. Captain of Junior Rugby 1950. Under XIV's Rugger 1949. Colts Rugby 1951. 2nd XV Rugby 1952-53. C.C.F. R. D. GARNETT. Woodard House 1944-1953. House Prefect 1953. G.C.E. "0" Level 1952. Sixth Form 1953. 2nd XV 1952-53. Shakespearian Society 1951-53. Cert. "A" 1953. Cpl. 1953. G. H. DAVIES.

Junior House Notes

Head Monitor ·.................... H. Rees Monitors D. G. Parker, P. F. Bold, J. A. Tunnicliffe, R. Norbury, P. R. Ratcliffe Football Cup Normans Shooting Cup ........................................................•..... Tudors House Colours J. A. Tunnicliffe The term's Soccer has been played without any serious interruption from the weather or injuries, and has included Inter-School as well as Inter-House matches. In the former, six matches were played, three of which were won and one drawn. Both of the other games were lost by the odd goal. The House matches were played on a "League System," the Normans winning their three matches comfortably. The Windors were runners-up. Colours were awarded to Norbury (Captain), Tunnicliffe, Parker, Ratcliffe, and Davies. Others who played in the XI were Berrisford, Collett, Smith, Rees, Hodgkinson, Parry, Geddes and Turner. King's School, Prestfelde Choir School, King's School, Prestfelde Choir School, Results Chester .. Chester .. Chester Chester .. A 2-3 H 3-3 A 3-2 H 6-2 A 1-2 H 5-1

Indoor pursuits also received much support and the "Junior Ellesmerian Society" listened to interesting talks by D. L. Ball on "The Cat Family," and R. G. Rhodes on "Aeromodelling." On November 15th, Mr. H. F. Deakin, who is an enthusaistic collector himself, gave a lantern lecture entitled, "Here and There in the Stamp Album." Parental interest in the boys' activities is something we always appreciate and it was with real pleasure that we noticed parents among the supporters of the football team and the onlookers at the Shooting Competition. We are most grateful to Mr. Parker for presenting a Silver Cup to be awarded as an Inter-House Shooting Trophy to the winners of this competition, which is held twice yearly. The Junior Carol Service took place at 5.0 p.m. on Monday, December 14th, when we were pleased to welcome those parents and members of the staff who were able to come. We extend a hearty welcome also to Mr. M. Richards, the new member of the musical staff, whose skill and enthusiasm have early made themselves felt in the House. R.E.B.

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Examination Results
In the G.C.E. in July, certificates were gained by the following:ADVANCED LEVEL Berry, J. M.; Black, T.P.; Garnett, M. E. J.; Gledhill, D. A.; Lindsay, J. E. F.; Vernier, C. P.; Bayley, L. R. A.; Bean, N. W.; Cox, J. R.; Evans, J. R.; Godbert, F. D.; Muzio, D. M.; Pyatt, F. G.; Robinson, E.; Smith, C. F.; Taylor, B. W.; Thomas, P. C. A.; West-Meads, C.; Williams, P. J. W.; and Wynne-Griffiths, R. M. ORDINARY LEVEL Berry, J. M.; Black, T. P.; Garnett, M. E. J.; Lindsay, J. E. F.; Bayley, L. R. A.; Bean, N. W.; Cox, J. R.; Evans, J. R.; Godbert, F. D.; Pyatt, F. G.; Robinson, E.; Smith, C. F.; Taylor, B. W.; Thomas, P. C. A.; West-Meads, C.; Williams, P. J. B.; Wynne-Griffiths, R. M.; Baldwin, J. A.; Beeston, T. W.; Beeton, K.; Billington, R. A. B.; Bolders, M. H. A.; Broadhurst, D. W.; Brown, W. H. A.; Byle, J. C.; Castle, J. M.; Clegg, W. P.; Davies, G. H.; Dodd, G. R. H.; Edwards, P. T.; Ellis, W. J.; Emery, F. M.; Evans, G. F.; Flewitt, R. W.; Forgrave, B. T. G.; Fraser-Smith, E. H.; Gany, T. J.; Garnett, R. D.; Gordon, K. J.; Gunstone-Guy, H. C.; Hannah, D. M.; Hele, M. J.; Hellberg, P. M.; Hewitt, J. J.; Hewitt, W. D.; Hinchcliffe, A.; Hughes, W. G. J.; Jenkins, L. D.; Jenkins, S. P.; Johnson, A. M.; Jones, K. N.; Lay, E. J. K.; Lewis, D. R.; Lloyd, F. D.; Meredith, D.; Moore, A. S.;.Morgan, H. G.; Nash, C. E.; Oliver, J. S. E.; Pym, P. J.; Rees, E. L.; Rogers, S.; Rucker, W.; Satchwell, R. B.; Scholfield, J. W.; Sharpe, W. B.; Sproson, J. R. D.; Squire, C. J.; Stringer, Geoffrey, E.; Stringer, George, E.; Stroude, B. C.; Turner, J. M.; Wallace, C. H.; Walton, J.; Waters, B.; Watton, G. J.; Wilson, R.; Addison, R. J.; Allison, P. S.; Ashbrook, J. R.; Brown, M. R.; Byrd, J.; Coop, W. R.; Dawson, M. C.; Dod, M. T.; Duckitt, C. F.; Hampson, C. R.; Hodson, P. L. J.; Mycock, B. H.; Newbold, M. U.; Rothwell, E.; Sharrock, P. G.; Tolley, L. W.; and Tomlinson, G. M.

Chapel Completion Fund

Subscriptions to the above come in very slowly, and by August 31st, 1953 £2,809 Is. Od. had been received. During the Michaelmas term donations were gratefully received from:H. Lee, Esq.-£5 5s. Od. H. Clayton, Esq.-£10 Os. Od. J. R. Morrey, Esq.-£l Is. Od. J. Lloyd, Esq.-£2 Os. Od. H. Davies, Esq.-£10 lOs. Od. E. Bostock, Esq.-£2 2s. Od.

Chapel Music and Choir Notes

The fact that we had only three senior members of the Choir leaving at the end of the SUmmer term meant that we were in a relatively happy position with regard to our alto, tenor, and bass voices, for this term. We had quite a large number of changes in the ranks of the trebles, but we were soon able to build up quite a strong team in the Choir as a whole. Thus, we were able, during the term, to attempt an unusually large variety of music, and we succeeded in our ambition of singing different Service Settings-in addition to the Anthem-on each Sunday of the term without any repetition. We have sung three anthems, which have not been heard here before-O Worship the Lord (Travers), Give us the Wings of Faith (Ernest Bullock) and 0 what the Joy (yoI. H. Harris). Other

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anthems have been Thou Visitest the Earth (Greene), Thou Wilt Keep Him (Wesley), 0 Clap your Hands (Martin Shaw), Praise ye the Lord (Tye), Rejoice in the Lord alway (purcell) and Prepare ye the Way (Wise). Saint Cecilia's Day (November 22nd) fell on a Sunday this term, and we observed it by Service Music fitting to the occasion, and by a short Organ Recital after Evensong, during which S. S. Caney sang Handel's aria Let the Bright Seraphim. On the second Sunday in Advent, both during and after Evensong, twelve portions of the Christmas music from Handel's Messiah were sung. All who listened to this music agreed that we were very much indebted to those singers who gave of their time and their skill to make this possible. We welcomed this term, Mr. M. S. Richards in Mr. Cox's place. He soon became at home amongst us, both by singing with the Choir and occasionally playing for Services. A appreciative audience remained after Evensong on October 25th to hear him give a short Organ Recital. We welcome the following new trebles to the Choir: C. J. M. Hunter (Llandaff Cathedral), C. P. H. Tolson (Lichfield Cathedral), T. M. J. Owen-Burke (Saint Mary-of-the-Angels Song School), R. Ashcroft, P. B. Billington, J. C. Chapman, M. D. Lee, R. A. Lomax and P. L. Speer. For the sake of completeness, appended is a list of the Service Settings sung during the term: Eucharist Settings: Creed and Gloria by Lang, Martin Shaw and Merbecke. Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedlctus and Agnus Dei by Bach, W. H. Harris, Harwood in A flat, Healey Willan in B flat, Hunt in E flat, Hunt in F, Ireland in C, Francis Jackson in G, Nicholson in D flat, Martin Shaw Folk Mass, Oldroyd, Stanford in B flat andF. Evening Service: Arnold in A, Harwood in A flat, Ireland in F, Nicholson in D fiat, Noble in B minor, Parry in D, Stanford in B fiat, C, and G, Walmisley in D minor.

The Senior Carol Service

The Annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held on the last Sunday of Michaelmas term. I think it can be said that it compared very favourably with previous Carol Services and, indeed, with other Carol Services in more spacious and more splendid surroundings. The organ voluntaries before the Service were. most aptly chosen and duly played their part in preparing us for the delights to follow. Prompt to time was heard the Treble voice raised in the first verse of Once in Royal David's City," as the Choir advanced down the corridor to the Chapel entrance. This hymn, like carefully chosen voluntaries, is an excellent preparation for any Christmas Service. To my mind, it always seems to convey the sense of eager expectancy. Soon the Choir entered in procession, among them the three Kings in colourful robes, bearing their symbolic gifts. This year the Bidding Prayer was read by the Chaplain in the absence of the Bishop of Shrewsbury, our Provost. The Carols which followed were a mixture of ancient and modern. The first Carol, "Come ye Gentles, hear the Story" does not appear to be a particularly good specimen of a modern Carol. It is much too conventional and has little or no poetic diction. Frankly, I was disappointed. Tlie second Carol, "People. look East" was sung to an enchanting Besancon melody. The words of this one appear to be not far removed from doggerel. It seems a pity that so fine a melody should be sung to such words. Many of the French Carol tunes are quite entrancing and most of them seem to meet with a better fate. The Choir appeared to sense something of this. At any rate they did not seem to sing either of these first two Carols with any special enthusiasm. It was quite otherwise when we came to "Flos de Radice Jesse." The melody is a very old one and was barmonised by Michael Praetorius in the sixteenth century. The music is very carefully written and the beauty of the harmony was well brought out by the Choir in this unaccompanied Carol. This is a melody which appears to "grow on one;" it seems to become better with every fresh hearing. English traditional work was represented by "A Child this day is born." Here the general sense of festivity was enhanced by Mr. Lumley's descant, which provided a pleasant contrast to the wellknown melody and yet excellently blended with it. "In dulci jubilo" provided our fifth Carol. This belongs to the days when it was considered not quite right to produce a religious poem wholly in English; it was thought more reverent to inter-

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leave the English lines with tags from the Roman Mass or from the Office Hymns. Its tune must surely be one of the finest we have got. This Carol was beautifully sung with evident enjoyment. After the Fourth Lesson we had "Bethlehem," a French Carol, sung in French, the setting being by C. F. Gounod. The pitfalls of French pronunciation were well surmounted by the Choir who rendered this familiar melody with commendable elan. After the Fifth Lesson came "A Virgin most Pure, as the Prophets do tell." This must be one of our most popular Carols. It has at least three splendid melodies associated with it, and appears in several English versions. It suffered severely in common with other famous English traditional Carols from the printers' "broadsides" in previous centuries. The ancient words and Charles Wood's excellent setting were given a spirited and enjoyable rendering. The ever-popular "While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night" then gave the packed congregation a chance to raise their voices in glad adoration. This was followed by an old Carol of Lorraine, arranged by Charles Wood. The words after the antiphon "Quem Vidistis" are by G. R. Woodward. This Carol has a lovely melody and was very well sung. After the Seventh Lesson it was again the tum of modem Carols. They were represented by "We Three Kings of Orient Are." This was given what I shall call an "adequate" rendering. I find it difficult to believe that any Choir could possibly be even mildly enthusiastic about it. And so to OUf last Carol proper. "Sing Lullaby! Lullaby baby, now Reclining, Sing Lullaby." How lovely it is, both in its words and in its music. The Rev. S. BaringGould, the very famous Devonshire parson, has given of his best in translation and his words have been enriched by splendid music. It mentions many of the unpleasant things mentioned in "The Three Kings," but here there is no feeling of "gloom" or "tomb." Hush, do not stir the Infant King, Dreaming of Easter, gladsome morning, Conquering death, its bondage breaking: Sing lullaby. The mystery and joy of Christmas and the triumph of Easter meet here in glad accord. No praise could be too high for the way in which the Choir sang this. Then we sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," and so our Service ended. Our grateful thanks are due to the Chaplain, Mr. Lumley and Mr. Richards for a memorable Service. Mr. Lumley's conducting of the Choir in the unaccompanied Carols enabled them to give of their best. The organ accompaniments were beautifully played by Mr. Richards. R.R.W. ORDER OF SERVICE

Processional Hymn: Once in Royal David's City The Bidding Prayer Invitatory: Come, ye gentles, hear the story (Bairstow) First Lesson -read by a Chorister (S. S. Caney) Carol -People, look East. Second Lesson-read by a member of the Fifth Form (G. M. Tomlinson). Carol-The noble stem of Jesse. Third Lesson-read by The Sacristan (J. S. E. Oliver). Carols-A Child this day is born and In dulci jubilo. Fourth Lesson-read by a Prefect (L. R. A. Bayley). Carol-Dans cette etable. Fifth Lesson-read by The Prefect of Chapel (D. G. Lewis). Carol-A virgin most pure. Sixth Lesson-read by the Captain of School (T. P. Black). Hymn-While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night. Carol-Shepherds, in the Fields Abiding. Seventh Lesson-read by The Second Master. Carol-We Three Kings of Orient are. Eighth Lesson-read by The Chaplain. Carol-Sill$' Lullaby.

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Ninth Lesson-read by The Headmaster. Hymn-O come, all ye Faithful. Collect for Christmas Day The Blessing Hymn-Hark / the Herald Angels Sing. Soloists were-So S. Caney, E. N. Hallewell, T. M. J. Owen-Burke, M. V. L. Oliver (trebles). J. J. Hewitt (tenor), N. W. Bean (baritone), and A. Hinchcliffe (bass).

The Junior Carol Service

The Junior Carol Service, which was first held in 1944, has now become a very charming tradition. This year's Service gave pleasure to a large congregation, who enjoyed, as usual, the spectacle of the lighted Crib and the colourful Royal Robes of the Three Kings in the candle-lit Chapel, the reading of the Nine Lessons and the singing of the Twelve Carols. We must thank Mr. Richards for his delightful choice of Carols and for their tasteful rendering. There were no Solos this year, but the Junior School Choir sang with enthusiasm and discrimination. "The Holly and the Ivy" and Terry's Lullay Myn Lyking" are old favourites at this Service, and as novelties Mr. Richards introduced to us the charming fourteenth century German Carol "The Song of the Crib," and "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly," for which he had composed a special tune. The Nine Lessons, which had been extremely carefully, perhaps over-elaborately, rehearsed, were read with precision. I personally do not like these paraphrases of the Bible narrative, which, without achieving the simplicity aimed at, seem to lose all the flavour and richness of the Gospel story; and one felt that the readers, who had been carefully chosen for their pleasant voices and clarity of diction, could have done justice to more melodious and imaginative prose. Rees and Rhodes are to be commended for their intelligent and delightful reading, and we thank Mr. Birkett and his fellow-organisers, for their smooth arrangement of this very pretty Service. H.W.T.

R.S.C.M. Course at St. Paul's

We mentioned in last term's issue of the magazine that Ellesmere was again to be honoured by sending representatives to the Royal School of Church Music's Annual Cathedral Course. This year it was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, from August 12th until the 25th, and we were represented by R. S. Caney S. S. Caney and J. J. Hewitt. The following extracts are taken from the account appearing in English Church Music, the official quarterly magazine of the R.S.C.M. "Fifty-nine boys were in residence at the Choir House, and a further seven came in as day boysTwenty-three Services in all were sung and the music was representative of the Cathedral repertoire of all periods, with special consideration given to music by organists of St. Paul's Cathedral. Much of the boys' time was naturally occupied in practices and Services, but a fair amount of free time was provided, and was spent in sight-seeing and visits to "Proms." theatres and cinemas. The boys also received much hospitality from the Canon-in-residence and the Minor Canons, and were given free access to all parts of the Cathedral, including a visit to the Dome to look out on flood-lit London. Through the generosity of Mr. H. Chadwyck-Healey, a most enjoyable trip on the Thames was arranged, a launch being chartered for the occasion, with a magnificent buffet-supper laid on. Two Concerts were organised, and a large number of guests enjoyed items which in many cases reached a very high standard. Being in London, the Course attracted many visitors. Most gratifying was the presence of boys who had attended previous Courses, and some of them joined the Choir for a Service or two. Many parents, Organists and School Music-Masters attended the practices in the Crypt." On Tuesday, August 25th, Evensong was broadcast. About this Service, Dr. Thalben-Ball, Director of Religious Music to the B.B.C., wrote as follows:

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"Just a short note to say how much I enjoyed yesterday's Broadcast Evensong. The technique, spirit and balance were all so good. It was so unusual to feel over the air an enthusiasm which was never overdone, a control which seemed free. Please allow me to thank the Choir for one of the best Services I've heard over the air." The Rev. W. M. Atkins, Librarian at St. Paul's, writing from the point of view of those who were acting as hosts for the fortnight, said: "When the Choristers of St. Paul's leave for their Summer holiday, the Cathedral normally settles down to a slightly somnolent five-week period of Plainsong, sung by the gentlemen of the Choir. This year for a fortnight, we have had the happy experience of playing hosts to the R.S.C.M. It was a matter of considerable note to us that boys from Choirs in widely separated parts of the country so soon became a single unit which might have been singing Cathedral Services as a normal practice for years. Their singing was a constant delight, and we enjoyed their evident enthusiasm. Specially memorable were the way in which they tackled the long Sunday morning Services, their clean articulation of the Psalms, the boys' voices singing Handel's o Lovely Peace, and the fine rendering of Greene's Lord, let me know Mine End at the Broadcast Evensong, which brought the fortnight to a close, that came all too soon. Besides the music, we have other happy memories-of squads of boys exploring the unseen passages and attics of the Cathedral, climbingo up t the Dome after dark, of an Organ Recital in a St. Paul's lit only by the reflected glow of the floodlighting outside, of a Concert in the Choir School, at which many other talents besides singing were displayed. For all this, and more, we are full of gratitude to a company of guests who, we hope, will come again."

School Music
The first Musical Occasion of the term was the Informal Concert in Big School at half-termwhich, this year, happened to be Hallowe'en as well. T. J. Ganz and J. S. E. Oliver set the ball rolling with a lively piano duet-the Polka from Weinberger's Schwanda the Bagpiper-and from that point, things never looked back. There is no doubt that the 'novelty' of the evening was the appearance in public of various members of the School playing upon instruments other than a keyboard one. T. W. B. Barnes and J. R. D. Billington, T. J. Ganz and J. J. Hewitt are to be congratulated upon the progress they have made from 'scratch' in so short a time so that they are able to appear unashamedly in public! At the time of writing we have some half-dozen violinists (in varying degrees of skill), a couple of 'cellists, clarinet, oboe and three trumpets. It is not too much to hope that before the end of the Lent term, we may have the opportunity of hearing further from these brave adventurers. Needless to say, we are very anxious to welcome further recruits to this happy band. Playing an orchestral instrument is a really worthwhile achievement, and is not a very difficult proposition for anyone who already has some musical knowledge. The same Concert included a delightful piano solo by Mr. Richards-John Ireland's Island Spell; two entertaining trios from Sullivan's Mikado, sung by N. W. Bean, J. J. Hewitt and A. Hinchcliffe; some first-class accordion playing by R. A. Lomax; and a repeat performance of Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock, sung by E. N. Hallewell, with his inimitable skill, and with a no less skilful clarinet obligato by Mr. Reynolds. Other items were supplied by trebles, singing a two-part song of Purcell's, the Tenors and Basses of the Choir, the Madrigal Society, and solos from A. Hinchcliffe (accompanied by N. W. Bean), J. S. E. Oliver and T. M. J. Owen-Burke. A movement from Milhaud's Scaramouche was played on two pianos by Mr. Richards and Mr. Lumley. On the evening of Sunday, November 8th, a smaller and more select audience attended a Recital by the Music Staff. Mr. Richards and Mr. Lumley played a numder of pieces either written or arranged for two pianos, ranging from' Bach, Handel and Beethoven to a group of pieces founded on various dance rhythms, which included a reel, Buttermilk Point, by Joan Trimble and Arthur Benjamin's Jamaican Rumba. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds played the Clarinet and Violin respectively in a trio for these instruments and piano by Mozart; and Mr. Reynolds later played as a 'cello solo-Saint-Saens Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux. We should like to take this opportunity of saying how much we appreciate all the interest which Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds take and all they do for u~ in connection with our School Music-making.

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On Saturday, December 12th, the members of the Choir attended a performance of the Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society under the conductorship of Mr. Frederic Morris. Whilst one might make criticisms concerning the balance of orchestra and voices in certain places, and with regard to the clarity and power of the voices of some of the soloists, it was generally agreed that this was a fine performance for an amateur society, and that the stagecraft and general production of the opera reached a very high standard. At the December Examination of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the following were successful: E. N. Hallewell (Grade III Piano); M. D. Lee (Grade IV Piano); R.A.Lomax (Grade IV Piano); R. S. Caney (Grade V Organ); G. E. Stringer (Grade V Organ). In November, T. J. Ganz obtained an 80 per cent pass in the Grade V Theory of Music Examination. On Christmas Eve, those who watched a programme of Carols which was televised from the Crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, were pleased to be able to pick out E. N. Hallewell who was singing with the boys from St. Mary-of-the-Angels Song School. We were even more pleased when a close-up of him revealed that he was the soloist in Silent Night-but we were not so pleased when the television cameras immediately failed at this point, and, although we still had the sound coming through very satisfactorily, we were deprived of the 'vision' until nearly the end of this Carol. However, we are now able to record Ellesmere's first representation on television, and we congratulate Hallewell on giving his usual fine performance. It should also be mentioned that, earlier in the evening, he had sung the same Carol (with 'Encore' demanded) to an estimated crowd of some 15,000, in Trafalgar Square.

Macbeth
Macbeth is in many ways the most suitable of Shakespeare's tragedies for a School production, but the producer who chooses it is faced with the task of finding a leading lady as powerful and awesome as he who plays Macbeth. It is easier to find a Lady Macbeth, perhaps, than to find a Cleopatra, for Lady Macbeth has not the 'infinite variety' of the Egyptian Queen; but the task of playing the savage, unnatural woman, who yet claims some part of our admiration by her sheer force of character and the scale of her wickedness, makes very considerable demands on a boy actor. Lady Macbeth must be strong enough to dominate the tragedy until the murder of Duncan: she must be strong enough to overwhelm her husband in some fifty lines of recrimination and tum him from 'We will proceed no further in this business' to 'I am settled, and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat.' M. V. L. Oliver found it difficult to get the devilish determination of the woman over adequately in this scene: if Macbeth is not driven hard-and seen to be driven hardthen our impression of his own strength diminishes, and so the man himself becomes less of a great tragic figure. But, this one flaw apart, Oliver gave a first-class display of acting-particularly for one so young. His mannerisms and hand movements were assured and well-controlled; he spoke his lines beautifully, and was sufficiently animated by the part to act with eyes and face muscles all the time. The difficult opening soliloquay, 'Glamis thou art, and Cawdor •.. .' showed clearly what was to come, and, at the end, the sleep-walking scene was very finely done, particularly on the second night-though he might have been provided with a light that needed to be rather less delicately balanced when it was set down. The play was very much a family affair, for J. S. E. Oliver played Macbeth ,(this, surely, is the first time in the history of the Society that brothers have thus played opposite each other?) and, as we expected, he gave us a most thoughtful and imaginative interpretation of the part. He fully appreciated that Macbeth, for all his villainy, is one of Shakespeare's greatest poets, and he put over very well the concealed hopes, the doubts, the fears, the gropings, and the increasing desperation of a sensitive but badly twisted and tormented soul. It was a pleasure to hear all the lines so clearly spoken and so obviously felt; and to see such a high standard of acting-though Macbeth seemed somewhat out of practice, to say the least, during the sword fight with Macd\ltf-hardly 'Bellona's bridegroom,' ..

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This admirable acting by the two leading players necessarily made more noticeable the shortcomings of some of the minor characters, but G. E. Stringer was a graceful and royal Duncan with little to do but to be pleasant and be murdered: N. W. Bean played Macduff forcibly, and rose to a fine height of passion during the long scene in England when Malcolm first disappoints him, and Ross then brings him the news of his family's murder. J. J. Hewitt, as Malcolm, did well here, too; for the scene is long, has little action, and was played on the very front of the stage. The witches were good-the opening scene on the heath was particularly well staged-though the first witch, C. E. Nash, seemed somewhat disconcerted on the opening night when 'baboon's blood' suddenly produced flame and smoke from the cauldron: the electricians explained it all afterwards, and the ingredient was properly insulated on the following nights. P. J. Hedges had the most witch-like voice, and T. W. B. Barnes stood on his head with great skill for long periods-which may have been a characteristic of Scottish witches, but which tended to distract attention from Macbeth's words. The sleep-walking scene was made well-nigh perfect by T. J. Ganz's most cautious and bewildered Doctor and by D. Meredith's admirable Waiting-Gentlewoman-both small parts, but so very important if the scene is to justify the expectations of the audience. Notable too, was the Lady Macduff of S. L. Evans, and the precocious son, C. R. Knowles: both were delightfully natural. R. B. Satchwell, as the drunken Porter, lurched about the stage appropriately-sometimes with, sometimes without, a light. He had the satisfaction of knowing that, for the Big School audience, he spoke the most significant line in the play-'This place is too cold for hell.' The battle scenes at the end of the play were confused, and entries and exits were not always well timed. Very few of those handling swords looked fully competent, though the deaths on the stage were well managed. T. P. Black as Siward, Earl of Northumberland, looked so much like a senile walrus, that it was difficult to take his contribution to the battle seriously, but his son (R. E. Gaunt) fought furiously enough and died gallantly-after some trouble getting started on the first night. The escape of Fleance after Banquo's murder was not well arranged, and the audience found it hard to believe the report. "Fleance is 'scap'd" after seeing one of the murderers almost trip over him on the. way off the stage. There were, too, far too many 'noises off' during every performance: Lady Macbeth's opening soIiloquay was badly spoiled on two occasions by scrapings and shuffiings behind the scenes. But such faults must not be allowed to hide the fact that the play was a great success. The second and third performances were immeasurably better than the first, and it is a pity that the School as a whole should have attended the first night, which was admittedly a dress rehearsal with all the dress rehearsal mistakes. Many must have gone away with quite a false impression on the play, for not only do the little things that go wrong amuse the audience and break the spell, but such accidents inevitably put out the players too, and the whole performance lacks an essential sincerity. So much time and energy is put into the play by all those taking part-not to mention the numerous workers behind the scenes-that the ship should not be spoiled for the last ha'p'orth of tar, and the dress rehearsal should surely be what it is intended to be-a rehearsal. The Players DUNCAN,King of Scotland MALcOLM }his sons { DONALBAlN MACBETH } { BANQUO Generals of Duncan's Army
MACDUFF

LENNOX } Ross MENTEITH Scottish Lords , ANGUS CAITHNESS ANOTHER SCOTSLoRD •••••••••••••••••.•••••• '.' FLEANCE,son to Banquo SlWARD, Earl of Northumberland ........................................•... YOUNG SlWARD, his son SEYTON,officer attending on Macbeth Servant to Macbeth Boy. son to Macduff .....•.•.•.•.•.•.•...•..•.••••••••.••••••.•••••.••...•

••••..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

G. Edward Stringer J. J. Hewitt L. V. J. Glover J. S. E. Oliver P. C. A. Thomas N. W. Bean J. R. D. Sproson M. J. Hele G. H. Davies C. J. Squire G. M. Tomlinson W. P. Clegg W. D. Hewitt T. P. Black R. E. Gaunt J. E. F. Lindsay R. S. Caney C. R. Knowles

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Doctor ..•.••...•....•••••..........•.••.........••..•.....••........•.•. T. J. Ganz A Sergeant ••...............•...............•..........••............ J. W. Scholfield A Porter R. B. Satchwell Witches ·.C. E. Nash; P. J. Hedges; T. W. B. Barnes LADY MACBETII •.............................•..................... M. V. L. Oliver LADY MACDUFF •....................................................... S. L. Evans Ladies attending Lady Macbeth D. Meredith; S. S. Caney Soldiers and Servants K. E. H. Abel; J. M. Castle; R. Garnett; P. M. Hellberg; C. R. Hutchinson; G. Eden Stringer and J. Walton MURDERERS ...................•..........•. " .•.......... J. D. Jewiss and R. P. Slayter The Play produced by Mr. C. Howard Costumes by W. A. Hume & Sons (Manchester) and the School Play Wardrobe, under the direction of the Rev. Skene Catling, assisted by A. M. Johnson. Properties, etc., constructed and painted in the School Art Room, under the direction of Mr. R. A. Brown. Make-up by the Rev. Skene Catling, Mr. G. B. Jackson, Mrs. J. W. Nankivell and F. M. Emery. Lighting by Mr. W. E. W. Smith, assisted by M. T. Dod, E. T. K. Lay and M. U. Newbold. Stage Carpenter and Stagehands: Mr. J. Edwards and J. M. Ashworth; K. N. Jones. Stage Manager: F. M. Emery, assisted by R. A. B. Billington, P. M. Hellberg and J. E. Whiteman. Trumpeter: R.S.M. T. Eeles Drummers: J. S. Hanson; D. E. K. Thomas Seating Arrangements and Stewards: Mr. H. P. Cooper, D. G. Lewis, A. Hinchcliffe and M. R.Brown, P. J. L. Hodson, J. M. Morton, P. J. Pym, B. C. Stroude, B. W. Taylor, J. Taylor, J. M. Turner, C. P. Vernier and B. Waters. Programme designed by M. T. Dod Secretary to the Society: Mr. W. L. Sumsion After deduction of expenses the sum of £31 18s. 7d. has been sent to the Archbishop's for the Historic Churches Preservation Trust. Appeal

Seven Club Notes

Owing to negligence on the part of either the late Secretary or the Editor of this magazine (a vote of censure was passed upon both at the first meeting of the Michaelmas Term!) no notes relating the activities of the Club during the Lent Term appeared in the October issue of the Ellesmerian, However, to rectify this unfortunate omission, for which we sincerely apologise, this report contains an account of our activities during the Lent and Michaelmas Term, this year. In the Lent Term papers were read by R. M. Wynne-Griffith and M. E. J. Garnett and Mrs. O. H. Chapman very kindly consented to come and talk to the Club on her experiences in Local Government. Wynne-Griffith's paper was on Mendelism, and he started by giving a brief history of Mendel's life, explaining how Mendel's original paper was published in 1850, and how he did not receive recognition until 1900, Then foUowc;:q !l, ~hort !l,cco@t of Mendel's experim ..nts, tb.. mtios he

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found and some apparent exceptions to these ratios. He discussed sex-linked characteristics and the effects of in-breeding and out-breeding amongst animals, and finished by reminding the Club that heredity was not evolution and that it was not because of heredity changes that evolution took place. The title of Garnett's paper was "Buddhism," and he began by relating the life of Buddha himself and then went on to tell the Club of the early Buddhist disciples and their missionary work. After the Buddha's death two rival schools of thought grew up-the Therevada and the Mahayana. Garnett traced the history of Buddhism in each country where it became important and described the main Buddhist doctrines, finally concluding by demonstrating how vastly different Buddhism could be from the original conception of the Buddha. On March 17th we welcomed Mrs. O. H. Chapman to a meeting of the Club. Mrs. Chapman is a member of the Ellesmere Town Council, and she spoke about the organisation of Local Government and her own experiences in that sphere. She related how she had put up for election to the Council with the local housing problem as her main concern; she had been successful and at the first Council Meeting had joined several of the Sub-Committees, including the Housing Committee. Mrs. Chapman continued by relating some of her experiences on the Council, including the struggle over the building of the new School at Ellesmere, the fight to prevent some private allotments being compulsorily purchased, and the problem of an indoor market at Ellesmere. Mrs. Chapman ended a very interesting talk with several amusing anecdotes and provided the Club with two questions for discussion, concerning, respectively, abstention from voting at Council Meetings and the election of women to Councils. After the talk the Club had the opportunity to look over some of Mrs. Chapman's scrapbooks, and the Meeting ended very happily, with Mr. Nankivell thanking Mrs. Chapman for a very interesting and pleasant evening. Three Meetings were held in the Michaelmas Term. At the first Colonel Spicer of the R.A.M.C. spoke to the Club on Egypt. He went back seventy years in the history of Egypt and described how the British, with their interests in the Suez Canal had withdrawn lately to the Canal Zone. He told the Club of the strong Nationalist feeling prevalent in the country and of the tremendous value and suitability of the Canal Zone to the British as a base. We had to protect our immense supply dumps in the Zone, for there was much looting. At the second Meeting of the term C. P. Vernier read a paper on the seventeenth century writer and dramatist, Cyrano de Bergerac. Vernier emphasised the difference between the Cyrano created by legend and the play by Edmond Postard and the real man. Vernier related the life of Cyrano and his various feats as a swordsman, and then spoke of his works, two plays-Le Pedant Tone and La Mont d'Agnipplve being of surprising worth, while his imaginative Voyages to the Moon and Sun were quaint and of particular interest. At the final Meeting of the Michaelmas Term T. P. Black read a paper on "The Origins and History of Jazz." Black described the birth of Jazz among African negroes transported to America and the development of Jazz in New Orleans. White Jazz also grew up and the "Rhythm Kings" held their sway. Black and White Jazz were mixed in Chicago, but commercialism crept in and 1929 saw a great decline in Jazz, for swing was introduced. However, 1939 saw the beginnings of a revival and traditional groups were formed, the Jazz Concert in the Royal Festival Hall in 1951 being symbolic of a growing enthusiasm. Black's talk was illustrated by gramophone records. Again, the Club has to thank Mr. Howard for the use of his room and Mrs. Stone for kindly providing the refreshments, which contribute in no small way to the success of our Meetings. Members of the Club during the Michaelmas Term, 1953 were: C. P. Vernier (Secretary); T. P. Black; J. E. F. Lindsay; N. W. Bean; L. R. A. Bayley; F. G. Pyatt and T. J. Ganz. C.P.V.

The Ellesmerian Society

Officers for the Michaelmas Term, 1953 Patron ............................................ President .......................................... Vice-President ........................................••.. The Headmaster G. B. Jackson T. P, Black

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Hon. Vice-Presidents C. Howard J. W. Nankivell, Lieut.-Colonel J. Hunter-Watts, R. A. L. Lumley and Rev. Skene Catling. Hon. Secretary C. P. Vernier Asst. Secretary and Treasurer , , J. E. F. Lindsay Members of Committee ...•.. J. Taylor, N. W. Bean, W. Rucker and T. J. Ganz The Society has held ten successful Meetings this term and there have been four outside visitsto Ifton Pit, Wedgwood's Pottery at Bariaston, Stoke-on-Trent, to the Everest Lecture in Shrewsbury and to the Shell-Mex refinery at North Stanlow, near Ellesmere Port. We take this opportunity of thanking the National Coal Board, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd., and the Shell Company, for so kindly arranging these trips. Accounts of all the Ellesmerian Society visits this term appear elsewhere in this issue. The first Meeting of the term was held on Saturday, September 26th, when Mr. G. B. Jackson was in the Chair. An account of the state of the Society'S finances was read: the balance of the Society Account was £22 4s. 8d., and that of the School Grant Account £35 6s. 3d. The President then turned to the main business of the evening-the election of the Society's officers for the coming year. The offices of Vice-President, Asst. Secretary and Treasurer, and two places on the Committee were vacant, since R. M. Wynne-Griffith, D. M. Muzio, E. Robinson and M. E. J. Garnett, respectively, had left the School. Also C. P. Vernier and J. Taylor, Secretary and Member of Committee, respectively, were retiring. N. W. Bean was the only remaining Committee Member. T. P. Black was elected Vice-President, C. P. Vernier was re-elected Secretary, J. E. F. Lindsay became Asst. Secretary and Treasurer, and W. Rucker and T. J. Ganzjoined the Committee. After the elections, Mr. G. B. Jackson welcomed new members to the Society and then the Society adjourned. The next meeting of the Society took place on Saturday, October 3rd, 1953, when a programme of films of general interest was shown. The first film, in colour, was entitled "Alpine Adventure," and described the progress of the annual "Rallye des Alpes." It was sponsored by the Sunbeam-Talbot motor firm. The second film was entitled "The Story of Money" and told of the development of a monetary system from the barter-exchange of primitive times, to the banks and cheques of to-day. Next came "There and Back," a B.E.A. film, which gave an account of the procedure and work involved when a plane-load of passengers travels from Northolt Airport to Lisbon. Finally, a short colour film, displaying the large variety of attractions offered by holidays on the Norfolk Broads was shown. It was sponsored by Blake's, a boating firm. At the conclusion of the programme the Secretary thanked Mr. Jackson for obtaining and showing the films. The Society met on Saturday, October 10th, when a debate was held. The motion "That in the opinion of this House the Death Penalty should not be abolished" was proposed by T. J. Ganz, seconded by F. M. Emery, and opposed by W. P. Clegg, seconded by G. E. Stringer III, T. P. Black, Vice-President, was in the Chair. Ganz firstly gave historical details of the Death Penalty, and emphasised its necessity as a deterrent. The thoroughness of modem justice allowed few mistakes, and he only thought it fit that men who brutally took away others' lives, or treasonably endangered their country's safety, should be executed. Clegg, opposing Ganz, stated that crime was a disease and that punishment must be reformatory. Capital punishment was vengeance, not justice. The public could not know the mental agony experienced by a condemned prisoner. Ever since history began the Death Penalty had been enforced in various forms, crime still existed, and it was time a change was made. Emery, seconding Ganz, stressed that he was viewing the question from a financial point of view, and he expressed disapproval at money being spent on life-sentence murderers when the country was in such a poor state. • Stringer, seconding Clegg, again pointed out that there were reformatories which converted murderers into respectable citizens. He cited examples of miscarriages of justice and urged the House to distinguish between types of murderers. The debate was then thrown open to the House and evoked a good deal of vigorous discussion. After Oanz and Cle~~ had summed up, the motion Wall carried by 48 to 33,

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The Society met in the Lecture Room on Saturday, October 17th, when there was held a playreading, produced by J. Taylor, of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man. The cast was as follows:NARRATOR M. J. Hele RAINA PETKOF , .J. J. Hewitt LOUKA,a servant girl W. D. Hewitt CATHERINEPETKOF T. P. Black SERGIUSSERVAROFF , J. W. Scholfield MAJOR PETKOF G. H. Davies NICOLA, a servant P. C. A. Thomas A RUSSIAN OFFICER M. J. Hele CAPTAIN BLUNTCHLI , J. Taylor Although the play dragged a little in the middle, the reading, on the whole, was good, and special mention must be made of the producer's rendering of Captain Bluntchli. When the reading had finished the Secretary rose and thanked the cast and Mr. Taylor. On Saturday, October 24th, two documentary films were shown. These were introduced by the Chaplain, who spoke on the English documentary in general. The first film, Daybreak on Udi, showed how a native village in Nigeria came to have a maternity home, a symbol of rapidly spreading development in backward areas. The second film, Listen to Britain, was notable for a very fine sound-track. It demonstrated mainly through sound-pictures, the country's spirit in the early years of the last war. After the films, T. P. Black, Vice-President, rose and thanked the Chaplain for his introduction and Mr. Jackson, for showing the films. There was no Meeting of the Society on October 31st, as a School Concert was held on that date, but on Saturday, November 7th, T. J. Ganz, a member of the Society, gave a talk entitled "From Pillar to Post." With the aid of the epidiascope many pictures of English Cathedrals and Churches were shown, while Ganz delivered an interesting non-technical, but very knowledgeable commentary. Most of the main Cathedrals of England were treated, and these were reinforced by pictures of various interesting Parish Churches, some of which added local colour to the talk. At the conclusion of the lecture, T. P. Black rose and thanked Ganz for a very interesting and enlightening evening. On Saturday, November 14th, a second debate was held, the motion before the Society being "That in the opinion of this House modern civilisation is a failure." Proposing was C. P. Vernier, seconded by R. P. Slayter, opposed by C. J. Squire, seconded by C. R. Hutchinson. T. P. Black was in the Chair. Vernier, opening the case for the Proposition, defined civilisation, and, whilst not disparaging the refinements of modern science, deplored the low state of our civilisation. True democrocy was absent and we had little to be proud of. He did not advocate a return to a primaeval enlightenment. Squire gave another definition of civilisation and compared past mishaps with modern triumphs. He delivered an interesting and illuminating analysis of the mechanism of modern daily life, from the intricate working of our domestic water system to the formation of coral, and finally, upheld the success of our civilisation. Slayter, seconding Vernier, in an amusing speech, compared the ghastly and "disgusting" wickedness of modern warfare (upon which his civilisation was evidently based) with the sporting attitude and toy-town atmosphere of the Middle Ages. He advocated the re-issue of clubs to H.M. Forces, and in a similarly entertaining manner, suggested that a system of fair play would greatly ameliorate our present lot. Hutchinson, seconding Squire, began by quoting the wonders of modern civilisation. He favourably compared our modern epicurean civilisation with the unenviable existence of previous ages, and he ended by advocating our present day state, for which mankind had long been working. After speakers from the floor had aired their views, and Squire and Vernier had summed up, the motion was overwhelmingly defeated by 59 votes to 14. On Saturday, November 21st, the Society met in the Lecture Room to hear Mr. J. C. Barton give a lecture on "Interplanetary Travel." Mr. Barton, who was introduced by the Secretary, began by commenting on the impetus given by the last war in the field of interplanetary travel, and then went on to explain the difficulties to be surmounted if a space-ship were to leave the earth

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for the moon. Mr. Barton illustrated his talk with lantern slides of graphs and photographs, and dealt with his subject adequately. He spoke of the absence of life and moisture on the moon, . discussed orbital refuelling and dealt with space-stations. His photographs of drawings of a speculative nature were interesting and illustrated a well-prepared and informative talk. After a short question-time, T. P. Black rose and thanked Mr. Barton for a most interesting and enlightening lecture. The Society's Open Meeting was held in Big School on Saturday, November 28th, when an invitation had been extended to the whole of the Senior School. Mr. Alan C. Browne gave a lecture entitled "The Charm of the English Lake District." Mr. Browne, who was introduced by the. Assistant Secretary, began by explaining how he took photographs, made lantern slides from them and then hand-painted the slides-a very skilful job; he then went on to show photographs of scenes in a small area of the Lake District, while delivering a running commentary. Often he would point out the merits or defects of some photograph, and thus imparted much useful knowledge to his audience. In all, Mr. Browne admirably captured much of the charm and beauty of the English Lake District, with a wide range of photographs, from shots of precariously balanced rock-climbers to those oflakeland sunsets. When he had finished Mr. Browne was enthusiastically applauded by a large and appreciative audience which included the Society's patron, the Headmaster. The Secretary then proposed a vote of thanks and the Meeting adjourned. The last Meeting of the Michaelmas Term was held on Saturday, December 5th, when a programme of three films of general interest was shown. The first film, "Antartic Whale Hunt," showed how the whaling industry is carried on from the exciting chase and killing of the whale to the use made of its products in the factory-ship. The second film, "Mediaeval Castles" described the development of the castle in England from the earth-mound of the early Normans to the fortified manor-house of much later times. The last film showed two scenes-the murder and sleep-walking scenes-from "Macbeth." performed by professional actors. It was felt by many that these scenes were over-acted, and demonstrated how unsuitable a medium the film is for the achievement of the atmosphere of a play such as "Macbeth." At the conclusion of the programme T. P. Black, Vice-President, rose and thanked Mr. Jackson for working the projector, and the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, for choosing the films. The Society then adjourned until January, 1954. C.P.V.

The Thespians
This term we were unable to meet because the School play encroached upon all possible free moments. However, this meant that we were able to share more fully in the delights of the School production. We look forward to a term of many plays next year. J.E.F.L.

The AeromodelIing Club Notes

The Club was very sorry to lose D. A. Gledhill, F. D. Godbert, and M. C. Dawson last term, but has welcomed Hammond and Ghandehari ii in their place. The weather has been fairly good this term, although there has been very little flying. Ghandehari i has built a scale model of the Spitfire, Flewitt has built the "Southerner 60"", a free-flight power model, and Hammond has built the " Skystreak 26" " control-line power model. Abel is in the process of building the" Kapitan ", another free-flight power model. All planes built have been flown successfully. Worrall has set up a new speed record of 52.4 m.p.h. with his own design power model. The Club has turned its interest to rubber duration models. Up to date, four of these models have been built and flown successfully, and another one is ready to pass its test flight. The .Club has found that these models are a much cheaper method of aero-modelling. The Club was pleased to see Gledhill this term, who is at present stationed at Park Hall, and we also hope to see in the near future Godbert, who is challenging the Club to a team-race competition, M.G. and R.W.F.

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'Photographic Society
At the beginning of this term the Society was in a somewhat unsettled state with the unfortunate loss of the President, Mr. Hickox. It was decided to approach Mr. Wilson, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, who kindly consented to fill the vacant office, and we are now settled under his guidance. Several meetings have been held, at the first of which some new members were introduced. At subsequnt meetings several interesting photographic subjects were discussed and demonstrated to us by the President, including pin-hole photography, stereo-photography, copying work, filing and indexing of negatives and prints, construction of equipment ,and trick photography. Many ideas for experiment and study have been given to us, and our main hindrance at the moment is the lack of both an enlarger and time, though various attempts have been and will be made at producing the former. Also, it is hoped to start a print-criticism service next term. Some photographs by members of the Society have been accepted by this Magazine, and it is hoped that in the future greater quantity, originality and variety will be available. N.W.B.

Junior Scientific Society

Joint Presidents Messrs. F. J. Tippett and V. Howard Honorary Secretary J. A. P. Ray Committee T. E. Dickinson, K. J. Ransford, B. D. Rhodes and A. G. Parker The term has been one of great activity. The Society, which is open to all Fourth-formers, held four meetings. All of these had an encouraging attendance and it is hoped that this will continue. The first meeting was held on October 25th, when the annual elections took place. We had great pleasure in inviting Mr. V. Howard, a newcomer to Ellesmere, to become our joint President. Mr. F. J. Tippett was re-elected joint President and J. A. P. Ray elected Honorary Secretary. T. E. Dickinson, K. J. Rainsford, B. D. Rhodes and A. G. Parker were elected as members of the Committee. The second meeting took place on November 8th, when Mr. V. Howard gave a very interesting lecture entitled" Petroleum Refining." He was assisted by a film-strip presented by the Esso Petroleum Company Limited. On November 29th a debate was held. The motion" that in the opinion of this house, because coal and oil deposits are rapidly being used up, civilisation, as we know it, will inevitably decline," was proposed by A. G. Parker, seconded by M. D. Cohen, opposed by J. A. P. Ray, seconded by • B. D. Rhodes. The debate was thrown open to the house and certain members stated their views. It was the Society's first venture upon a debate and although the motion was somewhat one-sided and easily defeated, it was considered a great success. The last meeting of the term was held on December 6th, when three films were shown: (i) Glass Blowers of England, (ii) South African Highways, (iii) Pattern for Progress. The first film showed the age-old craft of glass-blowing and the manufacture of stained-glass windows. The second, in .magnificent colour, described a brief tour of the main towns of South Africa, over the well-constructed highways. The last, though a trifle lengthy, gave a clear picture of the making of steel at the Ebbw Vale Steel Works. . A committee meeting was held earlier in the term and plans put into operation for the Spring Term. These plans included several lectures, more debates and films, and perhaps one or two outside visits for selected members. We are all indebted to Messrs. F. J. Tippett and V. Howard for the work they have done for the Society and the many busy hours they have put at our disposal. J. A. P. RAY.

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Meteorological

Notes

This term the weather has been remarkably mild for the time of year. The total rainfall during October and November was only 3.4 inches, while the mean monthly temperature for October was 48°F., and that of November, 47°. The maximum temperature recorded during the term was 69° on October 1st, the minimum, 29° on October 29th. For the last few days of October and the first week in November, the weather was not good, and the temperatures were a little below normal for the time of year. Over half the rain that fell during October and November was in this period. On November 16th a temperature of 60° was recorded, and never during November, did the maximum temperature for the day drop below 48°. Between the 8th and the 29th of November, the temperature dropped only twice below the 40° mark, and indeed during October and November, there was frost on only two occasions. Up to the time of going to press the weather has continued mild into December, but there has been some ground mist. A temperature of 58° was recorded on December 6th. The mean temperature for the first 10 days in December was 47°, the total rainfall, 0.21 inches. We are indebted to W. R. Rowley, E. T. K. Lay, D. Meredith and D. R. Lewis, for recording the readings during the term. D. R. L.

Chess Club
Last term we lost H. M. Daftary, the Secretary of the Club, and the office was filled by G. H. Davies. We have had a relatively good attendance at the meetings, and have made a certain amount of headway. Some good practice was gained for the House Matches next term. We are indebted to Mr. J. C. Barton for giving up his time to come and take a very active part in our proceedings. G. H. DAVIES.

The Oryctolagian Club

At the beginning of the Michaelmas term, the Club became owners of two ferrets, both Gills, and consequently the members wish to thank the gardeners for their co-operation and toleration in giving up the use of the Golf Hut for our Headquarters. The ferrets were solely responsible for a total destruction of 183 rabbits in the School grounds. At the end of the term the Club loses two of its founder members, W. J. Ellis and W. H. A. Brown. Next term, with only one ferret, production will drop, but there will be plenty of enthusuastic recruits to help G. L. N. Wood in his service to Shropshire. many recruits having offered their services during this term. W. E. B.

C.C.F. Notes
At the end of the Summer term the Corps lost its Commanding Officer, Major J. M. Feist. We who are left behind may truthfully say that for many years 'Le Corps c'est moi' pretty well summed up the situation at Ellesmere-though Major Feist would have been the last to make the adaptation. Throughout his period of command there was never a full complement of officers, yet Major Feist raised the unit to a high level of efficiency, and left it one of the best in Western Command. The most important training innovation of the term was the importing every Tuesday of drill instructors from the Royal Welch Fusilier depot at Wrexham, for which we are very grateful to the Commanding Officer there, Major F. M. Edwards. The R.W.F. standards are very high, and some

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of us had our complacency shaken on the first Tuesday; but the visiting sergeants, on closer inspection, proved to be quite human, and one or two of the most unlikely cadets eventually admittedthough quietly-that they liked it. The N.C.O's. suffered most during the early weeks, but they will now have the pleasure of passing it on. The Field Day was eventually held at Captain R. C. D. Owen's farm, just outside Ellesmere. We had plannedto go to the Crimps Farm on October 22nd, but the day was wet, so we gloomily trooped into School at 9 o'clock and ate sandwiches in Hall at 1 o'clock. Our next date clashed with a Shooting Party at the Crimps, so we had to find a new battlefield at a moment's notice where we wouldn't frighten the birds. However, all went well; and by 4 o'clock the greater part of the Corps had been killed. C.S.M. Black, Sgt. Scholfield and a few others endeavoured to capture a viaduct seized by enemy paratroops-Sgt. Vernier, D/M Sproson and a few others--but, on the whole, they were not successful. The Commando units did not succeed in reaching their objectives; the patrols brought back information that, to say the least, was thin; and the two attacks that were eventually put in were badly co-ordinated. Many rounds were fired though, many thunderflashes were thrown, and the quick and the dead all lined up at the end for the march back through Ellesmere. The whole contingent, led by the Corps of Drums, attended the Remembrance Day Service at Ellesmere Church. The afternoon was wet, but the marching was good, and the band acquitted itself well-a reward for the many hours of hard practice put in by the members and C.S.M. Eeles. During the course of the term two visits were made to the R.E.M.E. workshops at Oteley Park, and we are grateful to the Officer Commanding and to Major Pike, for making the arrangements. Electrical and Mechanical Engineering is always popular, and eight boys applied for War Office courses during the holidays. We were allotted only two vacancies: J. J. Hewitt spent 10 days with No.6 Training Bn. at Bordon, Hants., and L. D. Jenkins, spent 10 days with No.9 Training Bn. at Malvern. Officers and N.C.O's. of the KS.L.I. helped with the Certificate "A." Pt. 1 Examination at the end of term, and 56 of the 60 candidates passed. The first six, in order of merit, were:-Wallace, Ashworth, Rogers i, Evans iii, Ghandehari and Speer. The Camp this year will be near Aldershot in Southern Command from July 27th to August 4th. The following promotions and appointments were made during the term :To be Under Officer C.S.M. Black To be C.S.M. . Sergeant Scholfield To be Sergeants Corporal Sproson, Corporal Bayley To be C.Q.M.S. . Corporal Clegg To be Corporals L/Corporals: Rucker, Pyatt, Taylor vi, Hilliar, Tomlinson, Garnett, Oliver To be L/Corporals '" . .. Cadets: Hockenhull ii, Ganz, Jewiss, Nash, Newbold, Slayter, SatchweIl, Addison, Pym, Walton, Watton, Wood, Baldwin, Gordon, Ellis

Scouts
Once again we lost many good Scouts to the C.C.F., though four were accepted into the Senior Troop. After a few weeks of hectic reconstruction, we succeeded in getting a troop together, which holds much promise. The usual six patrols are now active again, each with seven scouts. As yet we have no Troop Leader. The Initiation Ceremony was held in the last week of October, before the whole Group, and some twenty tenderfeet were admitted. The six new patrol leaders spent a very instructive and enjoyable evening at the Ellesmere Scout Headquarters, with P.L.'s from the whole of North Shropshire. There was the usual Remembrance Day Parade to Ellesmere Church in spite of the pouring rain. O. H. C.

Rugby 1953
The start of the season, mainly owing to injuries, was most inauspicious. Against Wrekin, Rydal and Birkenhead, we saw a very disorganised team, the individual members of which were by no means fit, at least in the Rugby sense of the word. As the season progressed so the standard of

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play improved, and towards the end of the term we saw a few glimpses of good Rugby. A very welcome sight. The first School match was played at Ellesmere, the opponents being Rydal. The ground was firm, and a hard, fast game ensued. At half-time Rydal led 9-3, and on resumption Ellesmere attacked strongly. During this attack Hodson-a centre threequarter-was unfortunate enough to break his leg. This was a sad loss, as he had been doing some. valiant work in defence. However, as Rydal had already lost a forward, this left the teams numerically equal. Rydal gained complete control in the closing stages of the game and won by 21 points to 3 points. The Ellesmere try was scored by Scholfield, who crashed over from a line out; the conversion was missed. Wrekin were next on the fixture list to be played at Wrekin. Here the pack played well, but was very badly supported by the backs. Admittedly, with the loss of Hodson the line was somewhat at sixes and sevens, but this was no excuse for the very bad tackling. This fault was most evident at right-centre, where the opposite number was allowed to run at will-and did-much to the confusion of Ellesmere. Naturally, with but a weak defence to contend with, Wrekin won easily, the score being 20 points to 3 points. Birkenhead were entertained at Ellesmere this year with a pitch in good condition for fast open Rugby. Ellesmere started off very well, and were soon six points up through two unconverted tries scored by Ellis. However, Birkenhead soon settled down to playing hard, fast, Rugger, and managed before the end of the first half to make up the lee-way. In the second-half it was all Birkenhead, and in the latter part of the half they scored almost at will. The final result was an easy win for Birkenhead, 29 points to 6 points. For Ellesmere this was a very bad game; the team as a whole was lethargic and even the number of points scored against failed to rouse them from their apathy. We were very pleased to welcome King William's, Isle of Man, to Ellesmere this season, and we were only sorry that we could not provide them with a drier pitch. For Ellesmere this was quite the best performance of the season. The team lasted the distance, and in spite of some still noticeably glaring faults, played, on the whole, good Rugby. The forwards played very well; especially in the line-outs and loose, and the threequartersfor the first time this season-functioned as a coherent line. The final score was 6-6, but one must say that Ellesmere were unlucky to lose, as King William's scored two penalty goals to Ellesmere's two tries, either of which might easily have been converted. The Ellesmere tries were scored by Lewis and Brown. This result was particularly gratifying, as it is the first time in the history of the fixture that Ellesmere have not lost. H.M.S. Conway were played at home on a firm, dry pitch. This was a hard, tough game in which the School forwards more than held their own, but failed to supply their backs with the ball often enough or quickly enough. Consequently, no score resulted for the greater part of the game, and not until very near the end did Oliver, at centre-threequarter, pick up a loose ball on the opposition ten-yard line and make a determined dash for the line. The resulting try was converted by Pyatt. There was no further score, Ellesmere winning by 5 points to O. The next School fixture was against Cotton College, also played at home. Cotton, although far lighter and smaller than the School, never stopped trying to play Rugby: consequently, the game remained enjoyable for those who watched. Ellesmere in the first half were rather slow to take, or make, their chances. However, good tries were scored by Lewis and Nash, and Pyatt kicked a penalty goal. At the beginning of the second half Cotton were unlucky not to score, but Ellesmere weathered the storm and soon resumed the attack. Towards the end of the game Cotton tired and further tries were scored for Ellesmere by Pyatt, Sproson, Ellis and Hockenhull, Result: Ellesmere 28 points, Cotton 3 points. Liverpool College were played at Liverpool on a good, firm pitch. From the start both teams appeared to be fairly evenly matched. Ellesmere opened the scoring through Ellis, who quickly dribbled a dropped pass down field, to score about half way between the goal posts and touchline. Hewitt converted to give Ellesmere a lead of five points. Liverpool soon retaliated; their wing three-quarter scored in the corner from an orthodox three-quarter movement. A penalty goal for offside, well converted, put Liverpool 1 point in the lead at half-time.

On Board "Parkeston."

An Oryctoiagian.

On Spy Bank.

A Meeting of the Shropshire Club, on Whitemere, September, 1953.

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At the start of the second half a Liverpool forward fly-kicked the ball ahead, and a slow recovery by the full-back enabled a forward following up fast to kick the ball over the goal line and touch down. The conversion failed. Just after this Liverpool were awarded another penalty kick which was duly converted. The last quarter of an hour was all Ellesmere. Hewitt kicked a penalty goal. and Liverpool had to defend desperately to keep their line intact. They were in fact not certainly saved by the final whistle. Liverpool 12 points, Ellesmere 8 points. The last School game was played against Merchant Taylor's at home. This was a very evenly matched game, both sides playing good, hard Rugby. Ellesmere were slightly superior at forward, but the Merchant Taylor's backs looked a little the more dangerous. Ellesmere led for the greater part of the game, but due to a slight misunderstanding the Merchant Taylor's wing three-quarter was allowed to run in and score a try unopposed. Ellesmere were unable to score again and the game was drawn. Merchant Taylor's 8 points, Ellesmere 8 points. A fair result, as neither team appeared to be capable of beating the other. The Old Ellesmerians' as usual, were played at home early in December. A hard and enjoyable game resulted with the School's superior fitness triumphing in the end. Once more we must congratulate the School pack for gaining almost complete possession of the ball in all phases of the game. This probably decided the course of the game, as, when the Old Boy's backs did receive the ball, they were .always dangerous. Ellesmere 9 points, Old Ellesmerians' 3 points. The only Club game this season was against Sale "A" at home. Ellesmere started well with a good three-quarter movement and good backing up. For the greater part of the game the initiative remained with Ellesmere, and Sale only scored from the Ellesmere mistakes, though a missed tackle can hardly be described as a mistake, but rather as a moment of weakness. On the whole, a satisfactory game, with the forwards playing well. Ellis in the three-quarter line showed plenty of dash and determination and, if her had only been well backed up on a few occasions, a try might well have resulted. Sale 12 points, Ellesmere 3 points.

Team Characters
T, P. BLACK. A conscientious and hard working prop forward, who performed his duties of captaincy very well indeed. J. W. SCHOLFIELD. Played very well in the line-outs and also improved his play in the loose. J. R. D. SPROSON. Centre three-quarter. A much more mature player this year. His tackling was often good, but he lacks a little in speed. D. G. LEWIS. A very hard working wing, handicapped by his lack of inches. Showed a distinct deterioration in defence this year. J. IDLLIAR. A good roving wing-forward. Was rarely far away from the ball. Inclined to hesitate before going into a tackle. W. H. A. BROWN. Serum-half, A much improved player. His service was accurate and long. JEWISS. A courageous full-back; but he is much too slow in everything he does. HODSON. He was most unluckly to break a leg on his first appearance: he looked to have promise as a centre. OLIVER. Played very hard, if not particularly good Rugby. His handling and passing needs a great deal of attention. ELLIS. Wing-threequarter. Improved towards the end of the season. Always tried hard, both in defence and attack. HEWITT. Played two games at the end of the season as wing-threequarter and never in any way let the team down. PYATT. Improved toward end of the season, but never really took the ball when moving. His handling was quite good, but his passing and tackling need improving to make a success of the outside-half position. TURNER, HOOKER. A reasonable hooker, but his play in the lose left much to be desired. NASH. Hard working forward, who will improve.

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LYMER. Played very hard and often used his physique to advantage. STRINGER, LOCKFORWARD. Quite a good season's play, and he looks as though he will improve. Is inclined to delay his pass a shade too long.' HOCKENHULL. A hard working wing-forward; his play was spoilt by his weak tackling. FULL COLOURS:T. P. Black, J. D. HiIliar,J. R. D. Sproson, J. W. Scholfield, D. G. Lewis, W. H. A. Brown. HALF COLOURS: . A. Lyrner, W. J. Ellis, G. E. Stringer, J. S. Hockenhull. J Opponents RYDAL WREKIN BIRKENHEAD KING WILLIAM'S H.M.S. CONWAY SALE "An LIVERPOOL COTTON OLD ELLESMERIANS MERCHANT TAYLOR'S Ground Home Away Home Home Home Home Away Home Home Home Result 3-21 Lost 0-20 Lost 6-29 Lost 6-6 Draw 5-0 Won 3-12 Lost 8-12 Lost 28-3 Won 9-3 Won 8-8 Draw

Matches Played Ten; Won 3; Drawn 2; Lost 5. Points For, 76. Points Against, 116. The 2nd XV The team opened the season by playing away against Oswestry R. U.F.C., whose superior weight and experience was checked to a remarkable degree by the fitness of the School side. However, Oswestry won by 9 points to 3, Hewitt having kicked a penalty goal. At Sandbach the team had most of the game, yet suffered perhaps from a lack of harmony between forwards and backs, without doubt due to several recent changes in the team. Sandbach scored 1 goal and a try, giving them a victory of 8 points to 3. Our try was scored by Poston. The next match was at home against Lindisfarne. Open play, close marking and backing-up ensured a victory of 6-5 for us, Pyatt having scored one try and Emery the other. At Whitchurch, the forwards tended to take the ball with them throughout the game, the back division therefore being left solely with the task of tackling a faster three-quarter line. However, the forwards gained two tries, both scored by Nash, of which one was converted by Hewitt. The team was defeated by 13 points to 8. Away at Priory, the XV met a superior team, the opposing forwards dominated the serum, and again the back division had concentrated tackling practice. However, the team pulled together more in the second half, enabling our own three-quarters to attack, and despite the loss of Poston, who was concussed, the team made an attempt at good open Rugby. ResuIt:-Priory 2!l points, Ellesmere 011. Whitchurch came to play at Ellesmere next, and after a series of methodical forward rushes we were rewarded with a penalty kicked by Hewitt. In the second half, the team played good Rugby, which was reminescent perhaps of the Lindisfarne match, and were quickly able to score a try and another penalty goal, also kicked by Hewitt. The team won 9-6, after a very hard fought battle on the home line in the concluding minutes of the game: Liverpool College sent a very strong team to play us this year, but hard forward play, backedup by very hard tackling in the back division enabled the score to be kept at 5-3 in Liverpool's favour, Brown having kicked a penalty goal. The last match of the season was disappofnting to us all, in that the forwards and backs displayed lack of confidence in each other. However, in the second half the forwards would have benefited, it was felt, if the ball had been given to the backs, whose marking was unfortunately poor. The result was a victory for the Merchant Taylor's of 25 points to 6. Our points were gained from a try by Tomlinson and a penalty by Brown.

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It does not seem fair, however, not to have mentioned that only two of the nine teams played were second XV teams, the rest being the first XV teams of Schools sometimes larger than our own. However, we feel that the second XV has played better Rugger this year and contains a good deal of promising material for next season. Representing the second XV were:-J. Taylor, M. R. Brown, A. M. Johnson, M. V. Newbold, J. E. F. Lindsay, F. M. Emery, W. Rucker, B. D. Poston, G. N. L. Wood, C. J. Squire, J. M. Morten, A. A. Robinson, K: E. H. Abel, R. B. Satchwell,G. M. Tomlinson, I. C. Johnston, andA. Hinchcliffe. J. J. Hewitt, J. S. E. Oliver, W. J. Ellis, J. M. Turner, F. G. Pyatt, L. R. A. Bayley, D. C. A. Thomas and H. G. Morgan, also played. J. T.

COLTS This year's team contained a good deal of latent ability. One felt, from the very beginning,that it ought to do well. The first two matches, however, against Rydal and Wrekin respectively, were both lost, the first in spite of good defence, the second because of bad defence: In both games our attack was practically non existent. -. After these initial setbacks, certain positional changes were made, the standard of handling improved, and the side started to operate as a team. Only one other match was lost, Liverpool winning 6-0, after a game in which injuries took their toll. Throughout the season the side were always attempting to play an open type of game. Praise is due to the forwards for the unselfish way in which they supplied the backs, even when the latter were not using the ball to the best advantage. Every game produced moments of first class football, moments which lengthened in the later part of the season until, in the last match, against Priory, the real capabilities of the team were demonstrated to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. Ashley, the only old colour, captained the team and led the forwards. His work in the second row, in the line-outs and in the open was of a high order, and the example he set in keenness and enthusiasm contributed in no small way to the successesof the team. At full-back, Chance, who had started the season in the centre, was a fairly safe tackler, though rather slow in recovering when caught out of position. Parry, at wing-threequarters, played pluckily, but lacked the real determination of Jenkins on the other wing: The centres, Ransford and Barnett, combined well when their earlier handling mistakes had been corrected. Ransford's tackling was particularly good. The halves, Rees (serum) and Mooney, (fly), after a somewhat shaky start to the season, developed into a dangerous combination. Rees gave good long passes and Mooney was always capable of a burst to initiate a passing movement. In defence, Rees was not always prepared to go down on the ball, and Mooney's tackling was at times too high. In the forwards Flint hooked well and was often to the fore in the rushes. Watton and Lill, the props, were good workers, the latter also playing well at wing-forward when this was necessary. Hanson's weight in the second row was well applied, though he was somewhat slow in the loose. The wing-forwards, Benson and Hilton, were both extremely good, their quick breaking in defence and excellent backing up in attack proving invaluable. Baldwin, the lock-forward, shone in the line-outsand was always wellup with the play. James, Graveley and Foster also had games with the team. Colours were awarded to Rees, Ransford, Benson, Baldwin, Jenkins, Mooney and Hilton. Results of the matches were:v. Rydal. Home; Lost 0-3. v. Wrekin. Home; Lost 3-15. v. Birkenhead. Home; Won 16-9. v. H.M.S. Conway. Home; Won 13-8. v. Cotton. Home; Won 19-0. v. Liverpool. Away; Lost 0-6. v. Merchant Taylor's. Away; Drawn 3-3. v. Priory. Home; Won 15-0. V.H.H. UNDER FOURTEEN XV This has been quite a good season for the team, which remained undefeated to the end. As at the beginning of most seasons, the XV started as a number of individuals, but very quickly settled down to work closely together, and that, along with commendable ability to play hard, contributed

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very largely to the successes gained. The pack, although rather small, was speedy and did well in the loose, thus enabling the backs to see a lot of the ball,-the serum-half, Johnson v, providing a good .service for Bevin at stand-off. As the season progressed the backs combined together to produce some good movements, and some intelligent kicking was seen. The first match at home to Wrekin saw two teams very evenly matched for size. However, Ellesmere proved to have more thrust, although there was not the cohesion so apparent later in the season. Ray ii and Pheysey formed good front row props, Ray also being very useful in the line-outs, whilst Loxham and Sanders ii, although light. combined well in the second row. At Sandbatch the teams were again evenly matched for size, and a very hard game resulted. Until a few minutes from the end Sandbatch were winning 6--3, when a second try by Rhodes, well converted by Beeston, gave College a narrow victory. The forwards failed in this match to get the ball back quickly enough and the backs, although safe in defence, were not penetrating enough in attack. Varey, who until this season had never played at full-back, covered well. The next two games against Lindisfarne and Whitchurch resulted in easy victories for Ellesmere. It was pleasing to note that practically all tile seoring in these two games came from the backs, (the wings) Lewis iii and Mcindoe ii seeing their fair share of the ball. Away to Priory the opponents proved to be much bigger and in set serums, despite good hooking by Dickinson ii, the pack was very often outpushed. However, the wing-forwards, Hannah ii and Flewitt ii, gave little time to Priory to get the ball away. and in the loose College was much faster. Rhodes played a particularly good game at lock-forward. The backs saw rather less of the ball than usual, but Bevin seored an excellent opportunist try, while Beeston kicked an excellent penalty goal from well out. Probably the best match of the season was against Liverpool, when the opponents were much bigger. It was unfortunate that Rhodes and Hunter were unfit for the match. For the first fifteen minutes Ellesmere did all the attacking, but could not cross the Liverpool line, despite good service by Johnson to his backs. Then came a breakaway try by Liverpool after which the game raced quickly from end to end. A fitting result came when, in the last second of the game, Liverpool seored to level the scores. Naturally the team has much to learn; backs who hold the ball too long; over-eager forwards giving penalties away for offside; too much taking when heeling is the order of the day, and so on. Provided, however, the team practises and trains hard, and their performances augur well for the future. Whilst all the team, led by their Captain, Flewitt, did well and played hard, it would be unfair not to mention the sterling work done by Beeston ii, who in all phases of the game gave of his very best. F. J. T. RESULTS Oct. 17 v. Wrekin Oct. 24 v. Sandbach Oct. 28 v. Lindisfarne Nov. 4 v. Whitchurch Nov. 7 v. Priory Nov. 25 v. Whitchurch Nov. 28 v. Liverpool (H) 17- 0 Won (A) 8- 6 Won (H) 44- o Won (A) 33- o Won (A) 6-- 0 Won (H) 41- o Won . (H) 11-11 Draw (H) 26-- 5 Won

c;

UNDER

Dec.

9 v. Merchant Taylor's

14t

Shooting
This term has shown a vast improvement in the standard of the Shooting viii, mainly owing to the fact that younger and keener members have been introduced, namely, Addison, Broadhurst and James; Addison, especially, has the makings of a first-class shot, provided he practises continually and seriously, and realises there is always room for improvement. This term we welcomed Mr. Sutherby, and the Shooting viii wish to thank him for the interest and support he has given them.

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On the whole, scores have been above the average this term, as many matches having been won as lost, which is something of a novelty to us. We are sorry to lose W. J. Ellis and J. P. Hilliar from the viii this term, both of them veterans of three "Country Lifeh shoots. Next term, the "Country Life" Competition is being shot off, and on this term's showing, we should find ourselves higher up in the list than in previous years, -and we sincerely hope that this will be the case. ,. G. W. ' King's College, Taunton 636pts. Ellesmere 546pts. Lost King Williams', LO.M. Ellesmere Bromsgrove School Ellesmere Liverpool College Ellesmere 52lpts. 545pts. 590pts. 552pts. 517pts. 563pts. Won Lost Won

The Ellesmerian Society Visit to the Shell-Mex Refinery at Stanlow, Ellesmere Port
Anybody's initial impression of the Stanlow Refinery must be of the enormity of the place. From the entrance, as far as one can see, stretch towers and chimneys of all shapes and sizes, as well as all sorts of storage tanks. We were welcomed by Mr. A. S. Brooman, who continued as one of the guides throughout our tour of the refinery. He showed us into a small lecture hall, and thence proceeded to tell us the plans and functions of the refinery. The whole plant is really in two parts. The North side, which was built before the war, refines semi-manufactured oils to produce finished lubricating .oils of any and every description. They also manufacture detergents such as 'Tepol.' The South side. which is post-war, is the main refinery plant, manufacturing crude oils into finished fuels, etc. To give an idea of the immensity of the plant, let me quote a few statistics. It covers 1,800 acres, or approximately 3 square miles, all of which were marsh originally. Inside the refinery are 16 miles of roads, 20 miles of railways and 500 miles of pipes. It refines 15,000 tons of oil daily, for which it requires 750,000 tons of water, also daily, for cooling purposes. The total plant is worth over £45m. It is generally imagined that the chief task of a refinery is to split the crude oil into all its components by a process of distillation, and then to refine these individual oils. This, however, is only a very small part of the work done. When crude oil is distilled, only 8 per cent of the distillate is natural, or 'straight-run,' motor spirit, whereas 35 per cent of the sales are motor spirit. Thus, one of the main tasks of the refinery is to convert other oils into motor spirit, otherwise much of the products would be wasted, and the whole plant would be uneconomical. All the oil is imported from Kuwait by tanker. The present tankers are of 14,000 tons capacity, and'are able to go up the Manchester Ship Canal, and dock by the side of the refinery. At the moment, however, Shell are building up a fleet 18,000 capacity tankers, so the Ship Canal Company-all docks on the canal are owned by the Company-are building new docks at the end of the canal, 6 miles away, as the canal is not deep enough for the new vessels. Eight tankers a week, of the present capacity, are necessary to keep the refinery working, and this necessitates a fleet of over 60 tankers for this refinery alone. The crude oil is distilled in a fractionating tower, and separated into its chief elements-fuel oil, diesel oil, kerosene or paraffin, aviation turbine fuel, motor spirit or petrol, and gas. All these are roughly separated in the first fractionating tower, all in varying degrees of purity. The problem

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now is to change some of these oils into motor spirit. This is done by a process of molecular reconstruction, as all the oils are different molecular combinations of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Aviation spirit is changed in either a thermal or catalytic reformer to motor spirit. The catalytic reformer, by the way, is the only one in Europe. The strength of the thermal reformer, and other apparata, can be realised when you know that it has to stand a pressure of 1,300 Ibs. per square inch and 500 degrees C. Fuel oil is converted to motor spirit by the process known as "fluid catalytic cracking," commonly known as "cat-cracking," and this produces another 12 per cent of motor spirit. The catalyst used is micro-pheroida silica-alummina. What the micro-pheroidal part means is that although the catalyst is-at ordinary temperatures-a solid, it is so fine, that it runs like a liquid. Incidentally, it is worth over £100 a ton. Another 2 per cent of motor spirit is made by polymerising the light gases which leave the fractionating column. Much hydrogen sulphide also leaves the top of the fractionating column. This is made into pure sulphur, and the refinery now produces about 10,000 tons annually, or about 4 per cent of the country's needs. Some sulphur, however, always remains in the fuels, and shortly Shell-Mex are to get a sulphur-removing plant, which will be the only one in the world. This much we gleaned from the short lecture, and our inspection of the refinery only served to impress it on our minds. We went-by bus because of the tremendous size of the place-firstly to the docks, and then round all the various plants. What really impressed us was, I think, the lack of personnel. There were no personnel on the plant, except for a few engineers repairing or erecting machinery. Every plant was controlled from a control room, which was very compact and absolutely sound proof. Also the railway engines are rather strange; they are propelled by steam, but there is no boiler on the engine, just a storage tank. Each is filled with super-heated liquefied steam, and is propelled for some hours on that steam. Lastly, I should like to say how indebted we are to Mr. Brooman and our other two guides, and to the Shell-Mex Company, not only for allowing us to visit the refinery and taking us round, but also for providing a very pleasant tea. B.W.T.

Denmark, 1953
In the evening of September 9th, 13 boys arrived back from Denmark, having been under the pleasant leadership of Mr. Feist for a period of 13 days. Members of the party.included J. A. Baldwin, L. R. A. Bayley, J. W. Benson, M. H. A. Boldero, J. C. Byle, E. H. Fraser-Smith, J. D. French, G. E. Stringer, B. C. Stroude, B. W. Taylor, J. Taylor, P. C. A. Thomas and F. G. Pyatt, who acted as Treasurer. The party, who went on bicycles, stayed at Danish Youth Hostels. The tour, which was arranged by Mr. Feist, left London on August 28th, the party having assembled at Liverpool Street Station at 9 a.m., without any absentees. We embarked at 12 o'clock on the "Parkeston," having travelled on the boat-train from London. Although the voyage was calm, the sleeping accommodation in the "Tween-Decks" was inclined to stuffiness. However, we docked at 12 o'clock on the next day at Esbjerg. A day to day report now follows:August 29th. We spent the remainder of the first day in travelling to Yejen, where we slept the night in a technical college classroom. August 30th. We saw little of Danish life at Yejen in the morning, as we commenced our long 55mile journey to Odense early. After a few miles the going became harder and we realised that Denmark is not so flat as we had anticipated! Our lunch consisted of bread, unrationed butter and cheese, cakes and fruit which we took; on the roadside near the Littlebelt bridge. We were very tired when we reached Odense, the second largest town in Denmark, and well-known as the birth place of Hans Andersen. August 31st. We left Odense early, as usual, after doing the hostel duties, and soon arrived at Nyborg. Here we spent some time waiting for the ferry to Korsor. The ferry took an hour and a half to cross the Great Belt from Funen to Zealand. On arriving at Korsor we bought food and stopped to eat it near Slagelse, then we continued to Ringsted, passing through Soro, famous for its Royal College and beautiful lakes, That evenins we arrived at the best hQ3tel which we vlsited during the tour.

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September 1st. After going a few miles we had our first puncture; when Baldwin's tyre burst. We stopped at Roskilde and some of us visited the splendid old Cathedral where there are 40 tombs of Danish kings. Just as we were leaving Roskilde, the rain began to fall and we were compelled to have our lunch under a railway bridge. Soon after lunch, however, we arrived at the outskirts of Copenhagen and, after a perilous ride through crowded streets, during which B. W. Taylor's chain slipped its moorings and Benson and Bayley had their first experience of Danish trams, we arrived at the Copenhagen hostel. The-tour of Copenhagen was done on foot and by tram, as bicycles were forbidden by Mr. Feist, for our own safety's sake (with the full approval of Taylor, Bayley and Benson!) . '. . The party split up that night into groups, whicp. mostly went to the Tivoli, where much money (in some cases too much) was spent on entertainment. "All some of you boys think about is beer, cigarettes and girls." Stringer went on a fairground ghost train, where he was accompanied by a panic stricken Danish lady, who clung to him and screamed throughout the ride. September 2nd. This day was spent in seeing the ,sights of Copenhagen, which included the Zoo (from which the party escaped safely), the harbour, palace, shops and Hans Andersen's "little Mermaid,"-a famous rock, with a statue of a mermaid on the top of it. By the end of the day most of us had spent all our money. September 3rd. This was our longest, wettest and most tiring day, a distance of over seventy miles being covered in wind and rain. We stopped at Elsinore and visited Hamlet's Castle, from which we saw Sweden quite well. After leaving Elsinore we went into a strong wind and driving rain. We were compelled to stop and a farmer very kindly invited us into his house and gave us coffee and biscuits. At last the rain stopped and we pressed on towards Hundersted, where we spent the night in a hostel, a few hundred yards from the sea. This we could tell as most of the sandy shore seemed to be in the beds. September 4th. The day's journey was begun by boarding a ferry at Hundersted and crossing to Rorvig on a somewhat ancient vessel. The wind remained strong and made progress tedious, so we arrived late at the Kalundborg hostel, where difficulty was experienced in sleeping on a very hard floor! Bayley, Pyatt, the two Taylors and Thomas had also been on a beer-garden dance floor. September 5th. We left Kalundborg on a fine, windless day, after having looked at the famous Church, with five towers. Fate, however, was soon unkind to us again when Stringer provided the second and last puncture of the tour. We had our lunch near Slagelse and arrived early at Korsor. At Korsor we found that there was a good beach, where quite a number of us swam. The hostel was good, but the warden was strict on the rule of 'lights out' at 10 o'clock, which Bayley and B. W. Taylor failed to obey." ',. September 6th and 7th. We crossed the ferry to Nyborg and then cycled to Assens, where we tsayed the night. The following day we continued to Ribe via Assens-Aaros ferry. Both rides were . enjoyable as the conditions were good, but there were no interesting towns to visit. September 8th. We climbed the tower of Ribe Cathedral giving us a splendid view of the surrounding district before we battled on against a high wind, for the last sixteen miles to Esbjerg, and after Mr. Feist had spent an hour looking for the dock (we all knew the right way, but he failed to tell us what he was looking for), we passed the last few hours in Denmark, having a last look round and buying presents. We then returned on the "Parkeston" to Harwich. At Harwich we were all passed through the customs except Byle, who was thoroughly searched. (No comment!). We then proceeded to London and dispersed. Many thanks are due to Mr. Feist who so ably arranged the tour, and gave us a most enjoyable holiday which we will not forget for long to come. M. H. A. BOLDERO and E. H. FRASER-SMITH.

The Visit to Ifton Pit

On Wednesday, October 21st, a party of eleven boys selected from the Ellesmerian Society visited Ifton colliery, accompanied by the President of the Society, Mr. G. B. Jackson. The party travelled along four or five miles of winding roads to the mining village of st. Martin's, some in.a seven-seater bus (if it may be called such) and others in Mr. Jackson's car. It is interesting to note hat, although Ifton i:l situated in the North WaIe~ coalfield, it is pevertbele~s in En~an~1 Wh~

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we arrived w~ had to wait a time after changing while hundreds of miners were descending to the depths of the mine for the afternoon shift. We made good use of the time by asking questions and receiving information about the pit. This information corroborated the evidence of our eyes as to the size of the mine, and later, while at the coal face,. we Were told that one tunnel extended to underneath Chirk-over four miles from shaft bottom! We then examined the machinery that pulled the cage up and down the mine shaft. The wheel with its massive girders, made us look very small, and the majority of us were horrified when we saw and heard what our speed to the bottom of the shaft would be. Then we donned helmets and electric lights and our guide collected the Davy lamp-saviour of many miners' lives. Our tum soon came to enter the cage, and we were whisked down to the underground gaIIeries -in a metter of seconds. After a brief period of indecision and explanation, the guide led us among the steel pit props alongside an underground railway and conveyor belt. One of the party struck his helmet against a piece of wood protruding from the roof and a minor landslide ensued, which did not altogether soothe our nerves! We were, however, able to continue our journey towards the coal face and soon the pile of rubble was left far behind. Every nook and cranny-and there were very many of them-was fraught with interest. I half feared our guide would loose his way among the maze, but, very fortunately, he had a good many years' experience of it. After a few miles walking, we reached the coal face, 500 yards below ground level, where the air was stifling to our unaccustomed noses. Here we saw an interesting piece of machinery at work-the coal cutter. Driven by an electric motor, a steel chain tore up the coal and undermined it. Water was shot from a jet to exclude the possibility of fire and to ease the coal safely to the floor. Supervising the work here was the Division Superintendent, to whom we were introduced. We scrambled over some heaped coal to reach another passage, where the air was thinner. Here we were informed of the ventilation precautions, carefully carried out to ensure that each coal face had sufficient air. We continued our return journey among the seemingly limitless quantities of coal. We also saw the remains of a runaway truck and workmen mending the roof where a more serious fall had occurred, this constantly reminding us that, although a greater degree of safety had been introduced into the mines during the last few years, there was still a lot to be done,-I, for one, still would not relish the idea of becoming a miner. All good things have to come to an end sometime, and by a different route we quickly reached shaft bottom and ascended rapidly in the cage. I was not sorry to breathe again the kindly fresh air into my lungs, soot-ridden after two hours underground. At the shaft-top, Mr. Jackson thanked our guide while we dispensed with the helmets and lamps and collected our everyday wear. We then went to the newly-built pit-head baths. With the addition of a little coal dust we looked more like miners than school-boys, but the baths removed this grime and we recovered our scholarly appearances. We were shown the adjoining modern surgery, where a lecture was vigorously delivered by a minor-cum-medical orderly on the merits of various notlons and potions. We then returned, and, had the motion been proposed, 'that in the opinion of the party the trip was both enjoyable and interesting ..,' I feel sure that it would have been carried unanimously. P.M.H.

Everest Lecture
A party from the Ellesmerian Society accompanied by the Headmaster, and several members of the Staff, had the pleasure of attending the Everest lecture, given by Messrs. Lowe and Band at the Music Hall, Shrewsbury, on Tuesday, December 1st. The speakers were introduced by Colonel West, Mayor of Shrewsbury, who paid tribute to the fine achievement of Colonel Hunt and his team and recollected his own feelings on hearing of the ascent of Everest on Coronation morning. Mr. Band first horrified the audience by outlining the time and money needed to prepare for a venture such as an Everest Expedition. There was little time to collect and test equipment, but all 7 tons were safely stowed in the holds of the S.S. Stratheden by February 12, when the main party left England. They arrived at Kathmandu safely and porters and Sherpas were enlisted. A total of 300 coolies were required to carry the baggage over lofty ridges and across swaying bridges to Thyangboche, where a base camp was established, from which the party climbed the surrounding mountains, to acclimatise themselves. This period was considered unnecessary in all post-war expeditions, as

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it took 3-4 weeks to cover the high Tibetan Plateau. At the end of the period on April 22nd, all equipment had reached the Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier at 17,900 feet. It was also on April 22nd that a great step forward in the Expedition's history had been achieved -the Ice Fall had been climbed. The route through the Fall crossed crevasses, using snow bridges, climbed steep ice walls, and squeezed down a crevasse and between two unstable masses of ice known as "Mike's Horror." All the climbers who pioneered this route had to use all their mountaineering skill and have a sound knowledge of engineering in connection with pitons, fixed ropes and collapsible ladders. All the equipment required at the higher camps had to be carried along this overhanging route.* An Advance Base Camp was set up at Camp IV in the WesternCwm, while Lowe accompanied by Ang Nyima and later Nogue with Annalla, chipped their way with ice axes up the incredibly steep Lhotse Fall to one of the most abominable and barren places on earth-the South Col. This depression in the ridge linking Everest with Lhotse and Nuptse had the unpleasant habit of collecting all the wind closing on Everest and therefore making life very uncomfortable. By May 22nd the climax of the Expedition was approaching when 13 Sherpas, led by Wylie, established a dump of supplies on the Col. Two days later, Bourdillion and Evans with Hunt, Da Namggall and Ang Tensing left the Advance Base on the first assault. BourdiIIon and Evans reached their objective-the South Summit-and climbed higher than any previous expedition, and so this achievement should not be underestimated in comparison with later events. On May 26th Hillary and Tensing left with the support party, among whom was the tireless Ang Nyima. They reached the Col. on the same day, but were stormbound on the following day. May 28th, however, ~dawned fine and the camp X at 27,900 feet, was established to hold Hillary and Tensing for one night. The following day Hillary and Tensing climbed to the South Summit and then up through the unknown to the Summit of Everest. They stayed there for 20 minutes, while Hillary took photographs and Tensing offered a little of his precious food to the Gods, thanking them for placing him safely on the Summit. They climbed down to camp VIII on the Col where they were met by Noyce, Lowe and Pasang Phutar. They retraced their steps down the Lhotse Face, after placing the pre-arranged signal of success with sleeping bags placed on the snow for the benefit of members of the team waiting patiently below. At camp IV they were met by Hunt and most of the Expedition. The rejoicing started at this point and it was not to end for many months. Simple ceremonies at Thyangboche led on to civic honours in all the towns through which they passed on their honoured journey . ... t this stage in the Expedition History Mr. Lowe took lip the story in connection with the high A climbing above the Western Cwm. D.G.L,

Correspondence
Dear Editor, I learn with interest that Ellesmere has acquired a piece of the gold carpet from the Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey, for use in the Chapel. Your readers may like details of carpets made for the Coronation. Thirty-one carpets, representing an area of 2,965 square yards, were specially woven in the Glasgow factories of James Templeton & Co. Ltd. Seventeen of these were for the Abbey, fourteen for the Abbey Annexe. Total weight of carpets was over 6 tons; total cost, about £6,600. Many of the carpets were woven on the widest power loom in the world, capable of weaving seamless carpets 33 feet wide. Seamless Chenille Axminster of exceptional fineness was the material chosen, having no fewer than 288 tufts of 6-ply worsted yarn to the square inch-extremely rare closeness of weave. The pile was made specially short in order not to impede the passage of the robes during the Coronation procession. The main carpets were those in the Coronation Theatre and Sanctuary, where there were 971 square yards of gold carpeting; the great Nave carpet, in two tones of blue, 188 feet 6 inches in length; the Annexe carpets-l,298 square yards blue; 187 square yards gold. Ellesmere is one of about 150 applicants to whom a carpet has been allocated, Other recipients

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are mainly churches of many denominations in the U.K. and the following Commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, Southern Rhodesia, West Indies, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda. I am, Sir, Yours faithfully, A. J. GILMOUR (O.E.)

Acknowledgments
The Editor gratefully acknowledges the receipt of the following magazines and apologises for any inadvertent omissions:The Aiuredian, The Bloxhamist, the Caldeian, The Denstonian, The Faraday House Journal, The Gresham, The Herefordian, The Icenian, The Lancing College Magazine, The Liverpool College Magazine, The Rydalian, The Salopian(3), The S.S.M. Quarterly, St. Bee's School Magazine, St. Winifred's School Magazine, the WelIingburian, The Worksopian, The Wrekinian.

Editorial Board
Chairman: Mr. H. P. Cooper Vice-Chairman: C. P. Vernier Treasurer and Editor of O.E. Chronicle: Mr. J. W. Nankivell House Representatives: C. J. Squire, N. W. Bean, M. J. Hele, G. H. Davies

O-E. CHRONICLE
No. 88

MARCH,1954

Officers of the Club, 1953-54

PRESIDENT:

R. W. RABY
VICE-PRESIDENT:

SIR HAROLD WILBERFORCE-BELL,

K.C.I.E., D.L., J.P.

LOCAL SECRETARY. LONDON:

K.A.H.ROGERS 21 Links Road, Epsom, Surrey.

LOCAL SECRETARY. MANCHESTER:

H. T. BARRON Rose Cottage, 41 Bulkeley Road, Handforth,

LOCAL SECRETARY. UVERPOOL:

Cheshire.

R.KENYON 291 Church Road, Litherland, Liverpool, 21.

LOCAL SECRETARY. BIRMINGHAM:

P. SNAPE 10 Uplands Avenue, Bradmore, Wolverhampton.

LOCAL SECRETARY, CARDIFF:

R. G. W. SAUNDERS 10 Dumfries Place, Cardiff.

HON. TREASURER:

J. E. MANGNALL Nuholme, Ashton Lane, Ashton-on-Mersey,

JOINT HON. SECRETARIES:

Cheshire.

W. L. SUMSION and J. W. NANKIVELL The College, Ellesmere.

J. W. NANKIVELL,

EDITOR:

O.E. CHRONICLE:

The College.

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Editorial Notes
A meeting of the Executive Committee was held immediately after the O. E. Rugger Match on 5th December, 1953. Much discussion on the financial affairs of the Club arose after the Hon. Treasurer had made an interim report, and these matters will receive further attention at the Annual Meeting. In recent years the attendance at the Annual Meeting has been meagre, and members of the Executive would be glad if all those O.E.'s who are corning to the dinner will also come to the meeting first. At this meeting, matters of importance to the Club are open to discussion, and it is of great value to the club officials if the views of members are made known in open discussion. Cyril Scott presented an excellent report on the Annual Dinner, which once again was a financial success. The Executive was unanimous in the desire that he should be asked to organise the 1954 Dinner, and we are happy to say he was persuaded to undertake this heavy task once more. Members could very greatly lighten his labours by close attention to the forms enclosed in this magazine, and by writing to him as early as possible. The Editor of the Chronicle would also find it helpful if all those wishing to play any games against the School at Whit would let him know as soon as they can. As members are aware, the Club authorised a small committee to carry out the unanimous decision of the Annual General Meeting to make submission to the College of Arms for a grant of arms. The heavy cost of this grant will be borne by the O.E. Club, and to mark Coronation Year, the Club will present the school with this gift. We hope to have an article dealing with the new College Arms in our next issue, and it is expected that a coloured reproduction will be available by September. We have invented several coats of arms during the last seventy years, and although in England (but not, we believe, north of. the Border) it is not illegal to invent and use arms unauthorised by the College of Arms, it is obviously undesirable to do this, particularly when serious errors in heraldry are made, and we have perpetrated some daring deeds in our previous inventions. The most pleasing of these was one used for some time fifty and more years ago, and a beautiful steel engraving was made. This was reproduced on a book-plate, and a drawing by M.T. Dod has been made oeit for the magazine, to be published later in the year. The Editor has been sent many photographs of people and places connected with the school some years ago. We have many photographs dealing with events of the past thirty years, but we still lack pictures of the chief personalities of the early days. Photographs, articles and odd reminiscent recollections will be gratefully received by the writer. Members of the Club will be happy to read of the successful service of Carols and Nine Lessons, of the play-once again produced by Mr. C. Howard-and of the improved standard of Rugger played this year. Although the 1st XV. had a disastrous start, they improved week by week and were playing very vigorously by end of term. The wonderful success of the Under XIV team and the high standard achieved by the Colts were very pleasing. The O.E. match was a good game, but the side was seriously weakened at the last moment by the withdrawal of J. Shaw, the Cheshire wing, J. Taylor, of Blackheath, and P. Griffiths, of Eaton Hall, and well though their substitutes played, a slight weakness at forward and in the backs was noticeable throughout the game. Graham Twist, the old Lancashire forward, was a fine leader. The team was: E. R. Atkins, P. L. Carter, J. D. Mason, E. J. S. Bygott, P. Hanson, D. J. Latham, R. A. T. Rowley, Roper Evans, A. N. Other, P. Ashbrooke, G. G. Twist, E. P. Jenkins, P. L. Squire, I. Wynn-Jones, G. Leech. After the game a supper was held in the Bridgewater Hotel; this was judged to be good fun. It was a very happy party which departed homewards that evening. Many members of the Staff attended and several O.E.'s who had come over for the Executive Committee meeting. The Club is most grateful to Mr. Johnston, father of I. C. Johnston, Talbot House, for his gift of a very handsome leather-bound Visitors Book. The previous Visitors Book, now filled up, was in use for nearly 25 years. The Club does not possess a set of The Ellesmerian, though the writer has copies of all from 1895-1905, and from 1935 till to-day. Copies from 1905 till· 1935 are urgently required, partly to complete the O.E. set, partly to duplicate the College set. These copies and photographs should be sent to J. W. Nankivell, at the College.

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Dinners
Manchester Dinner. The President, R. W. Raby, took the chair at the annual dinner held at the Queen's Hotel, Piccadilly, Manchester, on 21st November, 1953. The dinner was admirably organised by the Local Secretary, H. T. Barron. The night was brilliant and the guests, the Head Master and J. W. Nankivell, had excellent journeys to and from Ellesmere.' F. O. Baron made the journey from St. Anne's, a great effort for one who left Ellesmere fifty years ago. P. G. Griffiths proposed the toast of the President, and the President briefly and charmingly made reply. J. L. Carter proposed School and Staff and the Head Master replied. Those present also -included E. Mangnall (Hon. Treasurer); P. Snape (Local Secretary, Birmingham); H. Wilks, G. Howarth, B. V.Bancroft, D. H. Bancroft, G. A. Gaskell, P. C. Houghton, H. Barber, P. Nunn, E. Russell, A. R. A. Elston, P. Ford, J. S. Allison, P. Allison, G. R. H. Dixon, D. H. Evans, R. B. Butterworth, R. Coop, D. Hannah, D. Mottershead, J. Ashbrook, M. Anderson, R. Anderson, K. Rogers and C. H. Scott intended to be present were prevented at the last moment. Birmingham. The Annual Dinner was held at the White Horse Hotel, Birmingham, on the 16th January, 1954. The change of hotel proved a great success, as it was agreed that the Dinner was the best for many years. It was very good indeed to have the School so well represented, which is not always possible. The President (R. W. Raby) presided. N. A. Plummer proposed the Toast of the Old Ellesmerian Club and the President replied. The Toast of the School and Staff was proposed by F. A. Farrow. The Headmaster replied. The Visitors Toast was proposed by G. F. Woodward and Prebendary Walters replied to this Toast. All speakers referred with enthusiasm to the work of Peter Snape, the Local Secretary and his assistants for their manner in organising the function. Members and guests present included :-R. A. Raby (President), The Headmaster, Mr. Howard, Mr. Nankivell, Preb. Walters, P. F. Bebb, L. M. Brockwell, J. C. Copeland, Roy Carver, C. Davies, J. Dakin, F. Dakin, F. A. Farrow, D. Hockenhull, H. J. S. Hilton, G. Jones, M. C. Mobberley, N. A. Plummer, G. Parker, G. J. Phillips, V. D. Royston, C. B. Ryley, G. Sale, C. A. Sale, T. C. Spratling, P. Snape, M. T. Smith, A. Tasker, G. F. Woodward, W. D. Webb, P. Walker, W. Walker, J. Wells, G. Maynard (guest) and F. Cox (guest). Date of next Birmingham Dinner, White Horse Hotel, Birmingham on Saturday, January 15th, 1955.

O.E. News
J. P. Edwards, C.B.E., late Director of Forestry, Malaya, and his wife are now living at 65 Cottesmore Court, Kensington, W.8. He is adviser to several official forestry organisations. Both his boys are still in the Malayan Police. D. F. Howard had the rare distinction of winning two prizes at Sandhurst. He gained the Armstrong Memorial Prize for the best officer cadet in Science, and the prize for Administration, and was excused the inter B.Sc .. Eng .. London. He is now at Larkhill. D. WeedaU is in the Education Corps and is stationed at H.Q. Tripolitania. The only O.E. he has so far met is D. Burleigh, also in the Army. Weedall goes to Chester Training College when leaving the Army. He played a good deal of Rugger when in England both for York and the W. Yorks Regt. He finds there are some compensations living at Commando Marina, Tripoli. Major M. Towers is also in Tripoli. H. F. J. Lewis has been with Africongo in the Belgian Congo for three years. He is stationed at Elizabethville, but travels widely for a firm of Mining engineers. He remembers his Ellesmere-days with affection, especiaily his Woodard friends J. W. J. Steele (nowretired from Army Chaplain's Dept., C.B.E., Vicar of Braemore), TattersaU (now living near Ruthin and in business), D. A. L. Seddon and H. L. Horspool (both Past Presidents). Horspool's brother has returned to the Congo after leave. J. R. Williams is now at the College of Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering at Chelsea. A. J. Bennett is helping to manage the North British Hotel, Edinburgh. He will be glad to see any O.E. 's if they are passing through Edinburgh.

THE

ot.n

EttESMERIAN CHRONICLE

Dr. C. A. Rogerson is serving with the R.A.F. in Iraq. Sgt. D. A. H. Evans is with the 1st Armoured Regt., Australian Army, stationed in Victoria. He is to go on a Warrant officer's course. J. Moss and R. Nichols have been commissioned in the Royal Warwickshire Regt. They are on courses preparatory to being posted to Korea. J. Taylor is commissioned in the Royal Corps of Signals. He has been playing for Blackheath this season. I. Wynn-Jones gained his Honours degree in Architecture, with a first class for his thesis, from University College, London, in July last. He is now working with a firm of chartered architects in London, and is taking a post-graduate course in Town Planning. He recently gained his A.R.I.B.A. Jones played for the O.E. team in Dec. He plays for a London Welsh team regularly. He has met J. Warren frequently since he was commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He is at Hythe, having been in Trieste. Hugh Vaughan works for the Shell Oil Co., and is now engaged to be married. D. Appleyard takes his Architecture finals in June. Peter Howells learns business methods at Selfridges, where he is Rugger secretary. Wynn-Jones also sees T. Hughes from Tenby, J. Davies, now married and farming in Pembrokeshire and Michael Watts, a housemaster at Ardingley, and recently engaged to Miss Gillian Morgan. The heraldic illustrations at the head of the House Notes were drawn by Wynn-Jones when he was at school. M. E. Brown is probably leaving his present career and taking up teaching. He now lives at Newton Ferrars, Plymouth. The Liverpool Post recently carried an excellent illustrated article on G. G. Twist in its series "Merseyside's Men of Rugby." The writer pays high tribute to this young farmer. "To farm here, you must be tough, you must have drive, you must have enthusisam. G. G. Twist, second-row forward, captain of the very successful St. Helens team, Lancashire stalwart and England trialist, brings these qualities to his farming and his Rugby." J. R. L. Martindale has been playing full-back for Liverpool this season. An increasing number of our O.E.'s are taking up farming and many are going to Agricultural Colleges. There are many at Harper Adams, including P. Allison and at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, are J. O. S. Bailey and A. P. Bridden. Percy still lives in Holyhead but is now at Glangore, Caergeiliog, A. S. Moore has been doing his preliminary training in Leicester. R. Taylor is stationed at Taunton and plays rugger for his company and Taunton. He is company clerk. W. R. Nock is with Field Security, Furstenfeld, Styria. He has met W. Cook in Holland, also in the Army. V. Barnett is in Field Security in Austria. G. Portus is with a Field Ambulance and is stationed at Luneberg. J. K. Milo is an officer cadet at Mons O.C.S., where D. Suckling, last year's Captain of School. is also stationed. P. Griffiths and M. Cooper are at Eaton Hall O.C.S. Major Russell Hatch, M.B.E., is in Germany and Captain K. Clayden is in Austria. D. A. Gledhill goes to an O.C.S. C. Ganz was at Catterick but is now at Mons O.T.S. J. M. Scarrett has been posted to Hong Kong. M. Berry is at Catterick. M. E. J. Garnett is at Eaton Hall. The two Morelli brothers visited Ellesmere with their mother after many years absence. The elder brother is in Coutts Bank. The younger is manager of the paternal business in Chelsea. J. A. Long is working in the Costing Dept. of J. Laing & Son and lives in Johannesburg. He has been able to visit the Kruger National Park, Lourenco Marques and the Rhodesias. He was in Bulawayo for the Rhodes Centenary celebrations. L. W. Tolley is a journalist in Leamington, P. Leaney in Montgomery and R. Cr05SDUUl in Oswestry. M. de Vere Roberts, after gaining first class honours at Manchester, has now gained a Ph.D. at King's College, London. R. L. Roberts trains for navigator's certificate. He is sailing mostly in Pacific waters from New York, with M. V. Siddons. P. A. Hall has left Salisbury and has recently moved to Uley. His home is still at Stapenhill, Burton-on- Trent. A. G. Shepherd is now living in Jamaica, where he is to stay for three years. R. B. Pritchard lives at 5 Beach Lane, Earley, Berks. He is in "Malting." He has a family of two, a five year old girl and a baby boy. His brothers, J. S. and D. M. are also in the brewing industry, both at their home town of Cardiff. D.M. has three sons. J.S. is still a bachelor. R. B. visited Ellesmere in November. Another very welcome Cardiff visitor last term was the Rev. Raymond Davies, home on leave from Sophiatown, Johannesburg. He returns to South Africa in the Spring. He was a foundation member of the Seven Club in 1935,

40

THE OLD ELLESMERIAN CHRONICLE

. J. R. Morris. who won a Mining Scholarship recently gained 2nd class Honours in Mining Engineering at Sheffield University. News of the five Tate brothers was brought when two of them came to Ellesmere in November. Alan.is in the Bank of London and S. America and is stationed now at Balanquilla, Colombia, after many years' service in Argentina. J. W. Tate is married and is with the firm G. Atherston & Co., in India. Colin Tate is married, lives in Egremont and works in a bank in Liverpool. Barryworks for a'firm of Exporters and Shippers in London, and Paul goes back to the National Provincial Bank when he completes his Army service. Many readers will learn with sorrow that the father of W. Smirk, of Morecambe, died last Whit. Harry Smirk for many years was a frequent visitor to Ellesmere and always a loyal friend to the School and Club. Billy Smirk, now in business in Morecambe, rarely misses an Annual or a Manchester dinner. G. R. D. Dixon is a keen marksman. He dropped only six points out of a possible in a recent match of the Home Guard against a Bisley R.A.F. team. He is very anxious to see Ellesmere send a team to compete for the Ashburton (we last sent a team in the twenties under Captain E. T. Stealey). Both he and S. Cheetham-one of the Oldham golf stalwarts-would like to see Peter Snape enter an O.E. team for the Halford Hewitt Cup. Correspondence on this question will be welcome from all interested. T. Stafford has deserted Cardiff, which he has lived in since early days, to live in Leeds. A fine rugger player, he has done much, with I. Rhys Davies and the Lyndon Jones family, for S. Wales Rugger, especially for the Glamorgan Wanderers, whose secretary is T. K. Matthias. C. W. W. Rigby, after five years as golf professional to the Crewe G.c., has been appointed to a similar post at Nuwara ElIiya, Ceylon, a health resort 6,000 ft. up in the hills. The eldest brother, H. C. Rigby, is now concentrating on the Sandbach branch of his legal business. The Rev. J. B. Rigby was inducted to the living of Rye Park, Hoddesdon; Herts., on 30th September. The Rev. H. E. S. Meanly, vicar of Cawthorne, Wakefield, has been preferred to the living of S. George's, Barnsley. P. Mulliner is doing temporary work at a school in Margate. D. M. Paterson is also temporarily teaching in a prep. school. H. Lamb has started teaching in a prep. school. K. F. Carlisle is now living in Brentwood. He frequently meets C. L. Heyne, who is the Borough Surveyor of Sudbury, Suffolk. G. Dickinson recently met Dr. Kodicek at Waterloo Air terminus and discovered they both live in the same road. He has also met M. F. H. Ellerton, who took a B.Sc.(Economies) and is now studying accountancy. Dickinson also sends news of Dr. Galliner, for many years Art Master, who has a studio at Kilburn and had an exhibition of his work on show in London. Dickinson's daughter, Carole, was born last year. He runs a guest house at Swiss Cottage, and recently had staying with him the father-in-law of D. Daria. On Dickinson's visits to his native Wales he meets Dick Saunders and A. Brown, now at Cardiff Technical College. Roper Evans is at Cardiff University College. Graham Towers in a letter to Mr. Feist (now very. happily settled in as Headmaster of the Preparatory School, Wycliffe College) writes that he is learning teaching practice at Melbourne Teachers, Training College, and he hopes to be given a school in the bush next year. Graham is married. His younger brother is also in Australia. P. Rogerson is a Housemaster at Raj Kumar College, Rajkot, Saurashtra, in India; one of the Colleges described by Sir Harold Wilberforce-Bell, K.C.I.E., in this issue. The new addresses of the Rogerson farriily are noted later on. J. R. Hilton is working for an auctioneer and valuer in Wigan and is attending a night school. J. M. Pedley is also attending night school in Shrewsbury, working for Civil Service examinations. C. H. Scott has been in touch with F. Grey who went to Ellesmere in 1896 and, has now, after many years absence from our functions, rejoined our activities. D. J. Latham is an apprentice at Austin's, Birmingham. R. A. T. Rowley is farming in Cheshire. C. E. Beggs is in Insurance-he visited Ellesmere in October. Also in Insurance is J. Clarke, J. L. Gaunt is 'in' cotton. He has been playing rugger for Sevenoaks, where he has met A. S. Philcox. Mr. E. H. C. Hickox, for so many years Senior Science master, is now farming at Short Hill Fruit Farm, Crossway Green, Nr. Stourport, Wores. M. Barton, a partner in a firm of solicitors in Bristol, is also a lecturer in Commercial Law as Bristol University,and a part-time announcer (early in mornings!) at the B.B.C. E. Bowen Jones

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is also working for the B.B.C. Basil Jones increases his .reputation as an actor yearly. Heis playing in T. S. Eliot's The Confidential Clerk. R. F. Leadley has changed his name by deed-poll to R. F. Dendy. He is in business as a wholesale tobacconist and confectioner and has left Chelmsford for Penn, Bucks. A welcome visitor to the school in December was the Rev. C. H. Sinclair, who brought wishes from the Bishop of Auckland, the Rt. Rev. W. J. Simkin, who was at Ellesmere nearly fifty years ago. Mr. Sinclair is at King's College, Otahuhu, a school founded on principles similar to the Woodard Schools, of which the Bishop is governor. Our only other O.E. Bishop is the Rt. Rev. T. A. Harvey, of Cashel. R. D. Margrave-Jones has passed his finals LL.B. at Aberystwyth and sits for Honours this year. He has been playing hockey for the College. J. Watkins lives in Aberystwyth, where he learns auctioneering and estate management. R. de-Lacy Wheeler, Superintendent of Police, Western Province, Tanganyika, in a delightfully long letter makes an appeal to boys now at school to consider adopting a career in the Colonial Service. "There are so many interesting careers, and Colonial life is ideal. One is comfortably housed, salaries are good, and there is a plentiful supply of average to good servants-a rarity in any but the higher salary groups in England. On the social side, nearly every District Headquarters has a good club, where all games can be played, in addition to which there are few parts of the Colonies where good shooting cannot be had for the asking. A tour of service is 30 months, during which one gets two periods of local leave, followed by six months English leave at the end of the tour, travelling expenses to and from England all paid. "Can you not," he asks, "print details of Colonial careers in the back of the magazine 1" Wheeler was appointed head of the C.LD., Tanganyika, after the war-he was an early graduate of Hendon Police College-and for over two years he toured the Territory, covering over 20,000 miles. Since 1949, he has commanded the Police in Central Province, Northern and the Coastal Provinces. He hopes to be on leave in 1955. He recalls with pride that Meynell in 1928-29, (he was then House Captain) was cock house. "Would you be good enough to convey my salaams to T. P. Black (Captain of Meynell and of School) and M. J. Garnett (now in Army, son of Colonel E. Garnett) and tell them that in the next issue 1 expect to find Meywell once more in the ascendency over Talbot, who in the twenties were only recognised beeause they held the overflow of boys who could'nt get into the House." (Talbot is still winner of All Round Cups!). Wheeler has three daughters, and no son to emulate his interesting and well remembered days at Ellesmere. H. S. Wynne-Jones was prevented, by illness, at the lastmoment from attending the O.E. Rugger. Match and Supper. He wrote "I was very distressed to read of the passing of T. H. St. G. Harpur. He was a very dear friend of mine; he occupied the next bed to me in the Conqueror for many years . He nearly died at school from an attack of pneumonia, and I remember his father, who was the Rector of Loughgilly, Armagh, coming over. He had a younger brother at school too." K. J. Crane still at Bristol, reading law, plays much rugger, F. D. Godbert, St. Peter's Hall, Oxford is rowing this term. Others up at Oxford are M. V. Haygarth, who came to the playas did C. R. T. Nankivell; M. Jeffs, is at Trinity and I. C. Howard at St. Peter's Hall. J. Savage and M. Daftari are up at Cambridge. J. Wallick visited the school on his leave from Malaya. He brought his wife (he was recently married) and stayed several days. A. J. Gilmour is Press Officer to the Ministry of Works, and has found the last eighteen months almost hectic, as his office has been greatly concerned with such extra duties owing to the death of the late king and the Coronation. The photographs opposite have not been reproduced before. The rugger XV is of 1896, with C. D. Penn as Captain. He was later on the staff here-scholarly historian and linguist, now living in retirement. His team had a successful season, and beat Denstone 9-0, Wrexham twice, and Liverpool Institute, losing one match to a scratch team. Others in the team include: Back row: Rev. B. R. Hibbert, for long secretary of O.E. Club; G. Inglis, a good athlete, very prominent in all activities for many years as boy and master--especially keen on levelling the top field: for many years taught at Ellesmere, Ruthin and Arnold House School, Blackpool. T. A. Harvey now Bishop of Cashel had a genius for all games, famous Irish Rugger Internationalist ani T.C.D. athlete: C. H. Lea, a very keen amateur actor, later taught classics at Blackheath, King Edward's, Sheffield and at Allahabad University. E. B. Lane, later Captain of School, a good forward. H. T. LocketFord, a soldier in Boer and Great Wars, settled in South Africa. A. M. Taylor, "a forward of great

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promise" as was F. W. P. Beviss: centre row, G. T. Walker became a Schoolmaster and for a while was at Worksop; an Irishman and a singer. Later an engineer, having graduated at T.C.D., in India, attached to a Native State; Then sits the Captain; next R. H. Pbillips, distinguished athlete at Ellesmere and Oxford, a beloved schoolmaster and chaplain here, a missionary in Africa, later a priest in Channel Isles, who died after internment in a Nazi prison camp. The last figure sitting is F. H. Haward, schoolmaster for six years here, later at Heidelberg and Leeds Grammar School; then in Nigerian Education Department: Deputy Director of Education; was ordained and held livings in Yorkshire and Shropshire and is now retired-lives at Rye. Front row: G. Hetherington, J. H. Holroyd, C. W. Brown and C. D. Harvey, later Captain of School, on staff; and then in lighthouse service in Ireland-on Staff and A.D.A.Q.M.G. in Egypt 1914-1918 war, mentioned in despatches and awarded Order of the Nile, a fine athlete like his four brothers. The other photograph is the first taken of the O.T.C., previously the volunteers. The year is 1909, just after the Headmaster, the Rev. H. Wolsey had resigned the command to Captain J. G. Sinclair, later Major, Northumberland Fusiliers. The C.S.M. was 'Serg' Sims of the Hussars. Some of the boys are still wearing the volunteers' uniform. This photograph must be one of the earliest of any School O.T.C. Nearly all of the boys were later to serve in the forces during the Great War, and many were killed. The West Indian, standing behind the Headmaster, in volunteer uniform, and Captain Sinclair, is T. A. Toote, later M.L.C., and Acting Attorney General, Bahamas. He died two years ago. ' Amongst the many visitors last term to Ellesmere, the following signed the O.E. visitors book. Ft-Lieut. R. Morris, W. A. Winslade, R. Kingdon, A. D. Garrett, M. F. H. Ellerton, R. M. Love, P. Lance-Jones, D. M. Lynn-Jones, M. V. Little, E. J. Lilly, R. Wilson, R. A. Wiggins, D. V. Lewis, G. F. .Rice, F. P. Lawton, M. Wallick, G. Snowie, P. Leaney, J. G. Knaggs, J. A. Parkes, D. R. Eaton, G. Fairley; and of course many members of the Excutive Committee and the O.E. Lodge who came to School frequently. Willall D.E's. please sign the book: and leave a note if there is any change of address?

Letter referring to "Memories of Sixty Years Ago"

we hope to reproduce later. Boucher lives at Penarth. In his letter, he refers to an article in the last magazine, as have several other correspondents. "I was very interested in the Memories of 60 years ago in the last issue of the Ellesmerian and they brought back to me many incidents of my own time. Perhaps the following may interest you: 60 years ago, May 1893, I entered St. Oswald'sCollege,and the outstanding memory of my first term is of the death of a boy named Rose, who was suffocated in a fall of sand. He and others had from time to time been burrowing tunnels in the banks at the bottom of the playing field and the inevitable happened, the bank collapsed and Rose and one or two others were buried. The latter fortunately were rescued but Rose was suffocated: His body lay in the Crypt Chapel until taken for interment. The Rev. Harrison was Headmaster at that time and was succeeded quite shortly afterwards by the Rev. R. Beviss Thompson. Mr. R. E. Forster was Secretary, a rather stoutish and pleasant gentleman, affectionately known amongst the boys as "Piggy" Forster. He was instrumental in having the wall oil lamps in the Crypt Chapel replaced by hanging oil lamps, which were a great improvement. I am able to confirm all the Old Boy of 60 years ago said of conditions. I also was a chorister and mighty glad of the cup of milk and biscuits which was served out to members of the choir before 8 a.m. Celebration on Sunday mornings. I do not remember ever having an egg for tea but we did have jam and cake for tea on Good Friday, having had a snack lunch early in the day so that we could attend the long Chapel Service. I do remember the whole school being taken down to Ellesmere one night to seethe fireworks over at Oteley Park on the occasion of the engagement I believe, of the late Queen Mary and the Duke of Clarence. I noticed with regret the passing of Tommy Day. He and I were friends and each had bicycles which got ,us about a bit. We went to Wrexham one afternoon and visited his aunt,

J. A. Boucher has sent us several most useful photographs of people of his days here, which

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and of course, were regaled with a good meal. The ride back, however, I cannot forget, the bicycles were "boneshakers" and we were so tired that we simply fell off at the end of the journey. Roads then were not as to-day! I last saw Day at his home in Congresbury about 1925 and I also called at the same time on the Rev. R. Beviss Thompson, who was then living in Langport. The "Event of warm importance" I remember very well, but your correspondent is not quite accurate in stating that the whole school was caned. As a matter of fact, I was one of a class which escaped, the reason for which was a mystery at the time. It was said afterwards that the Chaplain, the Rev. T. E. Stevens, together with the headmaster's wife, intervened and stopped the proceedings. During the' four years I was at Ellesmere I spent quite a lot of time helping to level the playing field by excavating, filling small trucks on rails, pushing them to the bottom of the field and discharging. ".Bunny" Hare was in charge of operations and was himself a very hard worker. It was because of his lovable nature and the example he set, that we boys did so much to help. I once bought a tree of damsons for a shilling in a cottage garden in Tetchill and sent a big box of the fruit home! Of course I came from a district where there were no damsons. The water pump worked by the famous donkey will always be a memory. Writing the foregoing has completely taken me out of the present and landed me back a school. They were happy days, but I did not think so at the time."

Marriages
Brian J. P. Edwards: to Miss Jacqueline Karis, only child of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Marsh of Kuala Lumpur-July 25th, 1953, at St. Mary's, Kuala Lumpur. G. M. Baddeley: to Miss Diana Cardall of Sutton Coldfield-in April last.

Hugh Coryn, of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, was recently married. M. P. Mathews: to Miss Marjorie Simister of Ayden Hall, Whitchurch, Salop-at ham, on November 24th, 1953. H. H. Bevin was Best Man. St. Chad's, Tushing-

Ron Jones: to Miss Margaret Lea of Weelock, near Sandbach, at St. Mary's, Sandbach, 'by Canon R. N. Betts. G. Leech was Best Man and the Groomsmen included David Lea. E. P. Wright: to Miss Penelope Ann Thompson, daughter of Lt.-Col. and Mrs. M. H. Thompson, at St. Ebury's Church, Bicester, on January 23rd, 1954. G. Daltry: to M;i~~ Brenda Fells, at Tring Parish Church, Eckersley was Best Man. on January 2nd. The Rev. R. H.

"

Obituary
There recently died in England an Old Boy of whom the School should cherish a proud memoryhe was K. J. H. Lindop. The son of an O.E., E. C. Lindop, he entered the school in 1906 and left in 1909. On the outbreak of War in 1914, like all his splendid contemporaries, he put scholarship behind him and joined the army. He was gazetted to the King's Own Shropshire Light Inf¥itry, and before the fighting was over he had attained the rank of Captain, and had gained the Military Cross, to which a clasp for further gallantry in action had been subsequently added. In 1922 he was one of the small number of men who had been of scholarship standard at the Universities who were taken direct without examination, into the Indian Civil Service-that splendid service to whose

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work and integrity the Empire owes a great debt. Posted to Burma he was there when the Japanese overran Malaya and Burma in 1941, and had much to do with the organisation of those civilians retreating to India before the sinister menace of the oncoming enemy. He was again commissioned with the rank of brigadier and his devotion and enthusiasm put courage into the thousands of refugees and heartened them to continue their most exhausting flight. Not till all possible stragglers had reached safety did Lindop think of his own, and mercifully he also was spared the rigours and martyrdom of a Japanese bayonet or prison camp. For his valuable services he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Returning to England after the transfer of power in 1947 he lived quietly, his health greatly impaired by the climate and his exertions under terrible conditions of hardship and distress. A fine character, let us remember him as one of those many Ellesmerians-known and unknown-who put into full practice the school motto "Pro Patria Dimicans." May he rest in peace. H.W-B. To his father, E. C. Lindop, we have sent our sympathy. the club in its early years and was President in 1906. E. C. was a very great worker for

We regret to announce the death of E. A. Greeves, brother of Dr. N. M. Greeves, both of whom entered Ellesmere in 1906. E. A. Greeves was in the Reds and was prominent in all games. He served in the First World War and was commissioned in 1914 in the Connaught Rangers. Later he was Captain, R.T.V. Staff. He was wounded near Kut in 1916. He died on August 3rd after an illness lasting some weeks. To his family we send our deep sympathy in their loss .. W. G. Hilliard entered Ellesmere in 1926. He died last May, as a result of heart trouble. Hehad had a major operation earlier in the previous year. Geoffrey was in the Yellows and was not the least lively of the many Irish boys that house once enjoyed. Of substantial build, he was brimming over with jollity, and except on the rugger field or when baited a bit about the home-land he was easy-going and full of fun. He had much ability, but the academic life did not always suit him. He was a good rugger player, and always played with enormous energy, which in one of his size, made him a dangerous opponent. He and his wife visited Ellesmere in recent years. He was a loyal son to his old school, and was glad to recall the many happy hours he spent here. It is sad indeed that one so young should have passed away, and we send our deep sympathy to his family. W. B. Whittington-Inee, second son of the late Canon E. J. C. Whittington-Ince died, aged 64, at Hove, November 15th, 1953. He was one of several brothers here between 1900-1914. His elder brother, C. H. Whittington-Ince was a noted athlete and Captain of School. It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of John Maldwyn Jones, of Gobowen. He passed away in October in tragical circumstances at the early age of 23. He came to Ellesmere ten years ago; he was in Wakeman House. He played a good game of rugger, and Was interested in many school activities. He is well remembered, not least for his enthusiasm, especially in house plays. He kept up his rugger and frequently played for Oswestry. He was also a very keen motorcyclist. Since finishing his national service, he had been articled to an Oswestry firm of solicitors. To his parents we send our sincere sympathy.

The Princes' Colleges in India.

Among the many things imperfectly understood in England about the British Empire in India, which ended in 1947, was the fact that roughly one third of the country was not subject to British rule •.. Seventy four million inhabitants of Princely India were comprised within the Indian States, which varied in size from Hyderabad, a country as large as France, to small Thakurates in Rajputana, Central India, Western India and the Deccan of, in extreme cases, only a few hundred acres. The relations of the States with the Crown were conducted through the medium of members of the Indian Political Service-which, of course, had nothing to do with "politics," as we understand the term in England-who were in effect the Diplomatic Service, and were accredited either as

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Residents for the greater States or groups of States, and Political Agents in smaller entities. The Service was recruited by selection from members of the Indian Civil Service and officers of the Indian Army in the proportion of one to three. Since the Princes, both greater and lesser, were hereditary rulers, some means had to be found for the modem education of themselves and members of their families. A small number of them were educated at Public Schools in England or at our Universities-His Highness the Maharaja of Gondal, for example, was a noted doctor, and held the degrees of F.R.C.P. and M.D. of the University of Edinburgh. But in general we preferred education-at least below University level-in India; for to separate a boy for a long period of his boyhood from close contact with his people and with Indian conditions was scarcely fair to him. Some were educated by specially selected tutors, either in England or India, but the great majority received their education at the Princes' Colleges which, except in one case, were limited to taking boys who were already titular Rulers of their States, or members of the ruling families, or distantly connected therewith. These schools for "Kumars"-as they were termed-were the Mayo College at Ajmer in Rajputana; the Daly College at Indore in Central India; the Rajkumar College at Rajkot in Western India; and the Aitchison College at Lahore in the Panjab. All these schools sought chiefly to develop character and only secondly to inculcate learning, for generally speaking the ruling families did not favour educational attainment as expressed in University degrees. The Aitchison College differed from the other three in that the boys for whom it primarily catered were the sons of the landed gentry in the Pan jab proper, which was part of British India. It is now, of course, in Pakistan and continues more or less as a Public School. While the Panjab was undivided before 1947, it enrolled a number of Kumars from the great Sikh States of Patiala, Jhind, Nabha, Kapurthala and Faridkot and from the Dogra States of Mandi and Chamba, as well as from the Moslem States of Bahawalpur and Khairpur, but since partition the Sikh and Dogra States are no longer in Pakistan, and the Princes and others from those States go elsewhere in India for their education. The mixing of Mahomedan and Hindu was an excellent feature of this school-as indeed it was to a lesser degree in the other three colleges-and the departure of Sikh and Dogra boys from the Aitchison College was unfortunate. The schools were, so far as possible, run on the lines of an English Public School. They were made up of boarding houses and class rooms, and the teaching of the forms was governed by a strict time-table.· But the prefect system had no real place in the schools. Teaching was up to what was known as the Post-Diploma Class, comprising the fifteen or twenty elder and more advanced boys in each case, and the Diploma was roughly equal to Responsions at Oxford or LittleGo at Cambridge. Games and sports were everywhere in evidence, and the Mayo, Daly and Rajkumar Colleges maintained well mounted and reasonably efficient Cadet Corps. Until after the Great War, many Princes on leaving school passed into the Imperial Cadet Corps, which reached the height of its brilliance and attainment at the Imperial Durbar at Delhi in 1911. Many Cadets from the Corps were commissioned into units of the Indian Army. Discipline at the schools was good and so were turn-out and.general conduct. Games were not compulsory but most Kumars willingly played them, and the standard of cricket in particular was high. The oldest of the schools was the Rajkumar College founded in 1870, and it is difficult now to imagine the prejudice there was by the ladies of Ruling Families against the idea of their sons being taken while children from home and brought up by strangers. But when it was seen that estrangement from parents never occured and that their children benefited in every way by the experiment, suspicion gave place to enthusiasm and much good teaching was accomplished. The headmaster and senior assistant masters of all four Colleges were English, and among them were some very distinguished educationists-Aberigh Mackay-author of The Lays of Indand Charles Waddington, for example. The masters and tutors of the lower forms were specially selected Indians of high character and often of high scholarly attainment. The work of all was of the greatest service to the Empire, and their results were most marked. It must be remembered that in the first half of the last century many-perhaps most-Ruling Princes were illiterate, and some could not sign their names. As against this, however, there were some who were accomplished Persian Scholars. The boys educated at the Colleges all spoke excellent English-a language which the Oriental mind imbibed with unusual facility-and were well grounded in the languages spoken in their .respective States. To ensure that this should be, each Kumar had-in all the most important cases-his own tutor (or Musaheb), appointed by his father and a couple of lesser servants. Since 1947 several boys from the colleges have entered the Diplomatic Services of India

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OLD ELLESMERIAN CHRONICLE

or Pakistan, and represent their respective countries abroad with credit. One of them is at present Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. He is a nephew of the famous "Ranji," who learnt his cricket at the Rajkumar College at Rajkot and developed it at Cambridge and in Sussex, playing often also for England fifty years and more ago. The Ruling Princes were seldom lacking in humour, much of it derived from their years of practical joking at school. A classic example is that of H. H. Maharaja Sir Udaji Rao Puar, K.C.S.I., K.C.V.O., K.B.E., of Dhar State in Central India, who was a noted horseman and "whip," and who was tickled with the idea that for a monetary payment he could obtain from an American University degrees in his own pet subject of M.A., and B.A., and when .he died there was found in his gun room, displayed on two walls, huge certificates declaring that he had obtained these degrees "in the following subjectEquitation-by correspondence." Mark Twain could not have enjoyed a joke more. The writer knew all four of the Princes' Colleges intimately, and indeed, while "bear-leading" a young Mohamedan Ruler at Ajmer before the Kaiser's War, he undertook to teach English History at the Mayo College, to the two Diploma Classes, that is the 6th Form. His teaching as such was no doubt of a poor order, but at least he can aver that he taught no wrong dates, and no historical false quantities. He greatly enjoyed the experience, and he developed an affection for the colleges and the boys who filled them, and a deep appreciation of their work and usefulness. H.W-B.

Masonic Notes
At the Lodge held on September 12th, 1953, Bro. J. E. Mangnall was installed as Worshipful Master. At this Meeting, the Lodge was honoured by the presence of the Provincial Grand Master of Shropshire, R. W. Bro. Lord Forester, P. G. W., together with the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, W.,Bro. R. J. S. Parry-Jones, P.A.G.D.C., and many other Provincial Officers. At the Lodge, held on October 10th, Bro. F. A. Farrow was to have been passed to the Second Degree, but was unfortunately taken ill at the last moment. The Director of Ceremonies, W. Bro. A. C. Shepherd, P.P.G.Regr., read a most interesting paper, which was appreciated by the Brethren . .'Parts of the Masonic ceremony were also given by W. Bro. F. B. Scoffham, P.P.G,D. (Wores.), of the Masefield Lodge No. 2034, by Bro. J. E. P. Lewis and by W. Bro. J: H. Barker, P.P,G.Regr. The Worshipful Master announced that W. Bro. A. C. Shepherd, who holds the rank of P.P.G.Regr. for Shropshire, had also been honoured with a similar rank .by the Province of Nottinghamshire, a fact which gave great pleasure to the Brethren. The Lodge Secretary is R. W. Raby, "Fernlea," Leighton Avenue, Parkgate, Cheshire.

O.E. Colours
These may be obtained from the authorised agents, DAVIES and SONS, SCOTLAND STREET, ELLESMERE. 7s. 6d. Ties, Artificial Silk lOs. 6d. Ties, Rayon ISs. Od. Ties, Silk £1 Is. Od. Squares, Art Silk £1 11s. 6d. Squares, Rayon £2 5s. 6d. Squares, Silk £1 17s. 6d. Blazer, Pocket Badge £5 ISs. 64. Bla~er, striped, from ..

double-breasted or sinsIe-breasted

£S Ss. Od.

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41

New Members
BYLE, J. C. (1948), "Bowlfield," Bowlacre Lane, HYDE, Cheshire. COOP, W. R. (1949), 54 Lullington Road, SALFORD 6, Lancashire. GARNEIT, M. E. J. (1949), "Glenshiel," Courtlands Way, Wallace Avenue, WORTHING. GUNSTONE-GUY, H. C. (1947), 60 Norman Avenue, Harborne, BIRMINGHAM, 32. ROBINSON, E. (1945), Church Street, DALTON, Devon. WYNNE-GRIFFITH, R. M. (1944), National Provincial Bank House, WELSHPOOL, Mont. TRUSTED, Sir Harry, (1901), 31 Sloane Court West,LONDON, S:W.3. MOORE, A. S. (1947), 30 Monsell Drive, Lutterworth Road, LEICESTER. ALLISON, P. S. (1946), "Trees," Chapel Road, ALDERLEY EDGE, Cheshire. EVANS, J. R. (1944), 6 The Grove, PONTYPRIDD, S. Wales. GODBERT, F. D. (1946), Tynn-y-Brynn, BEITWS-Y-COED, N. Wales. HANNAH, D. M. (1945), 36 Wellington Road, Eccles, MANCHESTER. DAFTARY, H. M. (1949), 47 Du Cros Drive, STANMORE, Middlesex. EVANS, E. C. (1949), "Afallen," NEWTOWN, Mont. . WATSON-TODD, M. W. (1949), Hollinside, Victoria Road, HUYTON, Lanes. WILKINSON, R. F. (1950), 5 Allsprings Drive, Gt. Harwood, BLACKBURN, Lanes. SMITH, C. F. (1949), 52 North Side, Clapham Common, LONDON, S.W.4. MAUGHAN, R. (1950), "Highfields," AUDLEM, Cheshire. WILLIAMS, P. J. B. (1947), The White House, Weston Lane, OSWESTRY. GORDON, K. J. (1947), 160 Manchester Road, Heaton Norris, STOCKPORT. COWAP, F. L. (1944), Greenway Bank, Chalk Hill, WATFORD. HILLIAR, J. P. (1946), The Cottage, Linden Hill, Nr. TWYFORD, Berks. LEWIS, D. R. (1946), "Normanhurst," 49 Gibbs Road, NEWPORT; Mon. BLACK, T. P. (1948), 96 Knightlow Road, Harborne,BIRMINGHAM, 17. BROWN, W. H. A. (1945), "Cairnsmore," 1 HiIlbrae Avenue, Moss Bank, St. HELEN'S. HOCKENHULL, J. S. (1949), 113 Warrington Road; PRESCOT, Lanes. FRENCH, J. D. (1947), "Larkhill," Astley, Nr. MANCHESTER.-' MUZIO, D. M. (1944), Gresham House, Heacham, Nr. King's Lynn, NORFOLK. ASHWORTH, J. M. (1948), 35 Cornhill Road, DAVYHULME, Lanes. GRIFFITHS, P. E. (1942), Holt Street House, WREXHAM. LEWIS, H. F. J. (1922), 36 East Court, N. WEMBLEY, Middlesex. TOLLEY, L. W. (1945), "Cranehurst," The Crescent, HAMPTON-IN-ARDEN,. Warwicks.

Changes of Addresses
BAKER, E. E. (1920), Castlethorpe, Newcastle Circus, The Park, NOITINGHAM. CARTER, P. L. (1937), Breck Farm, Clarke Green, ADLINGTON, Cheshire. DODD, K. F. H. (1942), Stansty Park, WREXHAM. GLYNNE-THOMAS, P. (1936), Queen's Park School, OSWESTRY, Salop. JOHNSTONE, M. D. (1946), Talbot House, Wordsworth Street, PENRITH, Cumberland. LINDOP, E. C. (1888), 30 Earlham Court, NORWICH. FIRTH, R. T. (1924), "Edgemoor," Grasscroft, Nr. OLDHAM. SHEPHERD, A. G. (1927), 39 Paddington Avenue, Linguanea, St. Andrew, JAMAICA, B.W.I. TATE, C. L. (1936), Flat 1., "Seabank," Egremont Promenade, WALLASEY. LOVE, R. M. (1940), 117 Craigton Road, ABERDEEN. GARNEIT, A. D. (1937), 115 Beechwood Avenue, St. ALBANS, Herts. HEYNE, C. L. (1922), 20 Gainsborough Road, SUDBURY, Suffolk. ROBERTS, J. E. M. (1933), 1 The Avenue, BARNET,Herts. STAFFORD, T. (1918), 1 Lidgett Place, Roundhay, LEEDS, 8. ROGERSON, P.(1932), Raj Kumar College, Rajkot, SAURASHTRA, Western India. ROGERSON, N. (1936), Canford Dene, Stafford Road, ECCLES, Lanes. ROGERSON, P. (1932), 77 St. George's Crescent, Pendleton, SALFORD (i., Lanes.

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THE OLD ELLESMERTAN CHRONICLE

BENSTEAD, C. G. (1910), Woodroffes, Russell Ridge, Roman Road, SHREWSBURY. CARLISLE, K. F. (1925), 3 Friars Avenue, Shenfield, BRENTWOOD, Essex. HOLLWAY, K. H. (1924), 11 Kirklee Quadrant, GLASGOW, W.2. TOWERS, G. W. (1938), C/O 164 Head Street, Elsternwick, MELBOURNE, S.4., Australia. LEADLEY, R. F. -DENDY, R. F. (1927), "Lark Rise," PENN, Bucks. ASPLAND, K. (1927), The Dragon House, Pinley Green, Nr. CLAVERDON, Warwicks. GRANT, J. G. (1948), S. Bridget's Rectory, WEST KIRBY, Cheshire. BADDELEY, G. M. (1939), Wyndley, Burton, Wirral, Cheshire. MASON, R. H. (1939), "Twisty Corners," 3 Pleasant Way, BRAMHALL, Cheshire. TUSTAIN, B. C. (1939), Priors Lee, Clumber Road, POYNTON, Cheshire. THOMAS, Capt., J. R. (1932), Adjutant D.L.O.Y., (T.A.), Lancaster House, Whalley Road, MAN· CHESTER, 16. FORD, P. (1942), The Vicarage, DISLEY, Cheshire. BARTON, K. G. (1940), 3 Roving Bridge, Whixall, WHITCHURCH, Salop.

Addresses Unknown
("EUesmerians" returned in October, 1953) C. J. Baker (1925), B. Butler (1933), J. P. Carlisle (1937), R. A. L. Coward (1935), M. F. H. Ellerton (1938), Lt. Col. G. Greenwood (1928), T. H. B. Hammonds (1898), G. I. Portus (1949), B. A. Rice (1917), G. C. Roberts (1926), D. B. Russell Taylor (1945), R. V. H. Settle (1912), J. Storey (1901), W. B. Jones (1925), S. G. Woodworth (1937).

Late O.E. News

Peter Fraser of Westhide, Herefordshire, owner of the famous Westhide herd of pedigree cattle, has been in the U.S.A. for some weeks advising breeders of Hereford cattle in California, and working out a breeding programme to be prepared in consultation with the University of California to test the effect of English Hereford blood on the American breed. One of Fraser's bulls will probably be used in the experiment. Fraser became a farmer after the war. He won a Running Blue at Cambridge in the 'thirties, and was later Secretary, and Biographer of Sir. Pendrill Varier-Jones. H. J. Clee, former County Hockey Captain, has been elected Vice-President of the Shropshire Union of Golf Clubs. Clee, who lives in Ludlow, has a son at Ellesmere. The County Championships will be played on May 23rd, this year, at Oswestry, where later in the Summer, Peter Snape will organise the annual match for the Cyril Scott Challenge Cup. A. A. Jilani is now a Captain (G.S.0.3) on the Staff, H.Q. 14 Div. Dacca, East Pakistan. His brother, N. A. Jilani is in the Pakistan R.A.F. John Hilliar has left Britain, with his parents, for Australia, and intends to farm in the Blue Mountain district, Australia. I. H. Webster has been awarded M.S., B.Ch. at Cambridge and has been appointed House Surgeon to Sir Stanford Cade at Westminster Hospital. He gained the Chadwick Prize at Westminster last year. We regret to announce as we go to Press that R. Brandon Trye died recently. David Yardley has been granted the degree of D.Ph.Oxon. He is at present at Chicago University, but takes up his appointment as Fellow of St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford in the Summer. M. C. Cockin has been successful in the final examinations for Solicitors. S. OdIum was commissioned in the R.A.F. this year. P. Clarke, 'Baccy' Cole, and J. Winn are in M.E.L.F. P. Clough is in the Catering Dept., R.A.F., at Wellesbourne. H. L. K. Jones is an officer cadet at Mons. P. Scott, son of Cyril Scott, now has a daughter, Valerie. The Liverpool dinner was held at the Adelphi Hotel on 27th February, 1954. The Lo!ldon dinner will be held on 20th March •. There will be no Cllrl'liff dinner.