The Briggensian '37

March, 1951.

So we come to the end of another term, and though .a muchneeded hollday Iles Immediately before us, the joys that It bringsw.n.l 1)0doubt be ·somewhat dilu ted for many boys by the thoughtsof the evils that Ile before t hem next te rm. It Is not .our Intention,however , to talk about the University exams that next te rm hasto offer; Spring Is upon us, and, Ilke the new-b orn lambs, ourtho ugh ts , In common with the thoughts of all the Sixth Form ,gambol in more pleasant pastures, Therefore, whlle it Is not ourint ention to 1/ babble 0 ' green fields," perhaps readers wlll forgiveus if we adopt a sl1ghtly lighter styl e and talk upon a moreInconsequential subj ect than is customary for this page.

Of late, the corridors of the school, the drive up to the school ,and (no doubt) the road to the school have echoed to stridentyoung voices exhorting the hearer to " get out of here with yerdump de dump " and informing him that they have lately seena .. pudd1 tat:'

We may add that the ent husiasm for these songs has not·been restricted to.the younger members of the school. With ourown eyes, we have seen a master pluck out the " dump de dump "part of "the Thing " on a stringed Instrument , and we ourselfhave joined In a chorus of It with our fellow 'bus travellers witha deep sense of satisfaction and of something accomplished.

I t Is perhaps slgnitlcant that these two tunes are very popularWith the workers of the school ; the workers, of course, aregentlemen of taste and discernment, and you wllJ not catch themsinging any 01d song , oh dear no! But they tlnd It extremelyrefreshing to forget ·Avogadro's hypatheslll and eleetrophorusesfor a while and .. give out," as our American cousins say, with" I yam a IIckle tiny bird. " For too long, ·the world has beenoffered songs of frustrated love and shattered hopes for Itsrelaxation. Enough of them! we say ; these sUly l1ttle dittiesoffer us a l1ttle laughter, and for this 're ason we hope to hearmany more aT them: for goodness knows, the world needs some­thing to laugh at.

38 The Bl'iggensian,

SCHOOL LISTS - SPRING TERM, 1951

Th e School 01l1clals for this te rm have been :­

Captain of School : J . I . Rickett.

Prefects : J . I. Ricket t , M. Avery, R. Bonsell , B. Bowles, K. Foster ,P. G. Hall, A. J . HllI, R. C. Jacklin, G. R. C. McLauchlan ,M. A. Pea cock, F. Richards, F. D. Woolass.

Footb all Captain : G. R. C. McLauchlan.

Football Vice-Captain : D. Polllcott.

Cross- Country Captain : A. B. Marris.

" The Br lggenslan ": J . A. Su thers (EdIto r ) , G. R. C. McLauchlan,R. Bonsell , B. Bowles, Mr. Rich ards.

House Cap tains and Masters :Ancholme : F. Rich ards (House Captain ) , D. Altoft (cross­

Country), J . M. Un derwood (Football) , Mr. Henthorn.Nelthorpe : A. J . ani <House Capt ain ) , P. Wells (Cross­

Coun try ) , S. Douce (Football) , Mr . Morris.School : J. I . Rickett (House Cap tain ). A. B. Marris (Cross- >

,Coun try) , G. R. C. Mcl.auchlan (Football) , the Heademaster. ,

Sh e1l1eld : F. D. Woolass (House Captain and Cross -Country), 'D. Polllcot t (Football), Mr. Ur ry .

Yarborough: M. A. Peacock (House Captain) , J. Hopper(Cross -Country and Football) , Mr. Knigh t .

Sports Committee : House Mast ers and Cap tains , Mr. Watts(Secretary) .

Sixth Form Library : J . I. Ricket t (Senior Librarian) and all t hePrefect s. •

2nd Br lgg SCout Troop : Mr. Jarvis (G.S.M.) , Mr. Paisley (S.M.) ,B. D. Bowles (T.L.).

Mus ic Society : The Headmaster (President), Mr. Knigh t(Treasurer) , Mr. Rich ards (Secre tary), Mr. Prat t , Mr. Mor ris,Mr. Hen thorn , Mr. Thumwood, Mr. Watts, Mr. Urry.

Chess Club : M. A. Peacock (President an d Secretary) , Mr. Jarvis,Mr . But terworth.

Art Club : F. Rich ard s (Chairman) , Mr. ,Cabourne (Presiden t) ,D. F. Austin (secretary ).

Ph ilosophical Society: J . I. RIcket t (President ) , F. D. Woolass(Becretary), Mr, Bu t terw orth,

The B1'iggensian 39

We con gr at ulate Mr. Urry on his appointment as Headmasterof catstor Secondary Modern School and wlsh hlm success Inhis new work.

We also congratula te Mr. and Mrs. A. 1. Morris on t he ptrthof Isobel Margaret on December 22nd .

The Barnardo Box opening produc ed £ 16 68. 7d. an d thecollection for the Nat ional Insti tut ion for t he Bllnd totalled £9Is . 3d.

once more we h ave had two student teachers from HullUn iversity College and we hope t hat t hey have en joyed theirstay wlth us.

Mlss Ellis, Barnardo Helpers' League Or ganiser. visited th eSchool on February 22nd and talked to the thi rd forms.

The SIXth Form saw a very fin e production of " Dr: Faustus"by the Compass Players at the High School on February 23rd.

Ten large garden seats have been purchased for the playingfield out of " th e halt-crown fund:'

The two elms, which have been dying for some years, andwhich stood at the north end of the Boarding House, have beenfelled. ThIB h as given mor.e llght in the huts, but has left thesite rather bleak and bare.

Another visit to Stratford has been arranged for May 7th.The play wlll be " Henry IV," pt. II .

Sports Day wlll be Tuesday; May 8th, and t he Inter-SchoolSports wlll be h eld at Clee on May 24th.

There was a large ga ther ing of Parents for Parents' Nigh ton March 5th. Each year It becomes more apparent that bothParents and Masters gain much from t hese meetings.

Next Term's Da..... :-Term begins : Tuesday, Aprll 17th.Rober t IrwIn, baritone: Thursd ay, May 3rd.Whitsun Holiday : FrIday, May 11th-Tuesday, May 15th,

inclusive.Term ends: Friday. July 27th.

40 T he Brig gensian

MR. ERNEST URRY.

The n ews tha t Mr. Urry has been appointed Headmaster ofCa lstor S econdary Modem ,Sch ool will be ",ecelve<l with mixedfee lings by everyone - dellgh,'t tPat Jhe has been appointed to th epost that he wanted - d ismay tllat he wUl be leaving the School.

Urry came to Br tgg In 1919 and after a dts tm gutsh ed career­he was senior prefect, captain oI crlcket and vice- captain of foot­ball-he went up to Oxford with a L1nda.ey Sen Ior SCh01arship.

He came back to Br lgg In 1937 as senior Geograp h y Masterand. except fer five years in the R."A:F.. "he 'h as been here since.Ever y as pec t of school lile has beneflted from his help - gam es,ath!letl cs, school plays, the orch estra, everythlng - but It is as alink between t he SChool and the Old Boys th at he h as done suchgood work and, as secretary of the Associati on , rendere d suchsignal service

We wish him luck an d h appiness In his new sphere and thankhim sincerely for his h elp and loyal ty to B.G.S. during t hepast years.

The season which h as just ended h as been one of t he mostsuccessful for a tlme. The F!Ist Team, In particular, have donewell, losing only on e game, drawing two and winning six. Thesecond' XI also won six games; but lost two alid drew 'one. TheUnder XIV t eam won four matches, lost one and drew one . Itregistered the biggest score of the season, 14--0, at the expenseof -Louth aB. Under XIV.

ThIs year, Shemeld House won the Football Cup, wh ich t heynarrowly lost last year, du e to the consistency of their Under XIVeleven. There have been one or two surprtses: for example. therauure of th e Yarborougb F1Ist XI to gain a potnt, but the resultwas more or less as expected. Rain did lnterfere with theprogramme 'at the en d of last term, but It caused no grea talterations.

41

Colours were awarded thIB t erm to: Wlisan, B. A.; BOnsell. R. ;Douce, S.; Boset t , R. ; Alto ft , D:; J1l.cklln , Ro , and' Patt ie, D.

G. R. C. Mcl.AUCHLAN.

-February 3rd v. Louth G.S. (Away).On a very muddy pltchl SChool played Louth In a game that

never reached very great helghts., School kicked 011 fIrs.t andwere the tlrst to attack. After a few minutes, SChool put the ballin the Louth goal, but the Whistle had gone J.ust previously forhands. School continued to attack and It was not lon g beforeUnderwood put School ahead; lie Increased the lead Immediatelyafterwards, but now Louth were coming more into the gam e andth ey soon reduced the lead. But SChool once more swung intothe attack and Unde:wood again scored:

After half-time, Lout h had more of the game, but It wasbecoming very. scrappy, as both teams. wer e finding the groundvery heavy. Pl ay swung from end to end', but It was SChool whowent ahead again; through McLauchlan, just atter Louth hadmanaged to reduce the lead. Throughout t he match both sidesfound th e going heavy and In general the defences were on top.

Team : Wilson , B. A.; Hopper, Bonsell ; Douce, O'Boyle,Polllcot t ; Boset t , McLauchlan, Jacklin, Underwood, Patti e.

Half-time score : Louth I, SChool 3.Full-time scor e : Louth 2, School. 4.Scorers : Underwood 3, McLauchlan I .

March 3rd v. Clee, at Brig&,;Th~ conditions were Idea.l:'f-or prayin g foot ball and both sides

opene d with quick attacks down the win gs. Play swung fr omend to end, Clee playing the better football In midfield , but Schoolbeing the more direct In attack. It was not long before Clee scoredafter a scrimmage In the School goalmouth , but Immediat elySch ool drew level as Boset t scored after a cent re from the leftwing . Clee were doing most of the attacking : but were up agalnota defen ce that gave nothing away . Gradually Sch ool took morecontrol of the game and before half- time scored twice "morethrough J acklin and McLauchlan .

Again, at the beginnin g of the second half , Clee attackedfor long periods, bu t once more School gradually took control.Underwood from a lon g pass down the middle of the fieldregi stered School's fourth goal . Clee made great efforts to reducethe lead, and on one or two occasions It looked as though Schooldefence migh t be pierced, but It eventually weathered the storm.Not long before the end, Underwood scored a fifth goal.

Team : Wilson , B. A.; Hopper, ' Rlckat80n ; Douce, O:Boylp,Pollicott; Boset t , McLauchlan, Jacklin, Underwood, Pat tie.

42 The Briggensian

Half-time score : SChool 3, Clee 1.Full-time score : Sch ool 5, Clee 1.SCorers : Underwood 2, Jacklin, Bosett an d McLauchlan one

each.

Seeond XI Results:February 3rd v. Louth G.S. Second XI (Home)February 10th v. Calstor G.S. (Away) ..March 3rd v. Clee G.S. Second XI (Home) ..

Won ~lWon 5-1Lost 7-3

Under XIV _ts:February 3rd v. Louth Under XIV (Home) Won 14-0

House Football Cup :1st: She1fteld .. .. .. ...... .. . .. .. .. .. 12 poin ts2nd : SChool 103rd : Nelthorpe 7 ..4th : Yarborough 55th : Ancholme 5 ..

CROSS-COUNTRY

7th March , 1951.

Until th e day before the r ace th ere had been speculationabout record breakin g, bu t a thorough drenching of th e groundat the last momen t, after a February which h as fllied the dykesmore generously than-any February of the las t h alf-cen tury ,t urne d th e talk towards fa lls an d possible disappearances In theflood-waters. A half gale made a belate d attempt to dr y thecourse, but on the whole was a handi cap to the runners.

In t he junior race, McLauchlan's long legs soon took him tothe front and at St. Helen 's Roa d h e was a little ahead ofParkins on , with SCarborough, B ., leading a bunch of runners somet hl r,ty yards away. These positions were much th e same a t St.Helen's Well. In Wrawby village, Parkinson passed McLauch lanand Clarke passed SCarbor ough . In the mud of Brickyard Lane,Parkinson's perfect balance and n eat style en abled him to drawaway. To a distant observer through fleld glasses, he seemed to

Th. Bri,.,.,,,s'lJn 43

be running on some cinder track which his floundering pursuerswere unable to flnd. Parkinson main tained his lead th us gainedand came In an easy winner with McLauchlan , Clarke andRuss ell second, t hird and fourth at clearly marked Int ervals.Scarborough was fif th a nd then came Shaw (h ither to undis­tinguished as an athlete) at the h ead of a pack of young runnersfrom his House (Yarborough) which was dens e enough to securefor them firs t plac e In the House competitio n. School House weresecond with three new boys In t heir team of eight , a n excellentperformance for third formers .

In the senior race, Marris was un challenged throughout,except by a dog whose glaringly mixed ancestry h ad en dowedhim with th e outward characteristics of both the greyhoun d andthe bull ter rier . Even this embodimen t of fleetness an d t enacityhad to admit defeat. Having kept with Marris for some threemUes he fell back and found a less exacting pacemaker. Farbeh ind, there had been an mt erest tng struggle. At St . Helen 'sRoa d, Ricket t led a group containing Wells , the Brlttllffs , Rl andRo, and Hall who was sevent h . At the top of t he hill , Hall hadcome to the front and there were murmurs of ., a dark horse "among th e spectators at Wrawby. More murmurs greeted thenext runner. "It's Ri," "No, it 's Ro" and then "It 's Ri and Ro" aseithe r RI joined Ro or Ro joined Ri and the twins very consider­a tely came out Into the village together . At the entrance toBrickyard Lan e, Hall h ad increased his lead and was followednow by Rickett and Scarborough In front of the Brlttllffs andWells who h ad been troubled with stitch. Beh ind these runnerswas an almost uninte r r upted lin e of SChool House representativeswho seemed to have the team race well in hand. Th e order ofth e leaders did not chang e again. Marris won by over twominutes, but in the conditions had little chance of approachinghis own time of 25 mins. 43 sees. which he put up last year inth e inter-School race over the same course, or Coulthurst's recordtime for the School race of 26 mins . 8.6 sees. SChool House wonth e senior event by having eight men in the first fourteen-aperformance which has not been bettered since 1934, whenNeltlJorpe House h ad eight In the flrst twelve. .

Congratu lations to;SChool House upon winning the combinedsenior an d junior events, and a word to some of their rivals .You really cannot hope to succeed with a team containing boyswho have not been round the course for twelve months. Also,runners who arrive in such a condition that they can finish Witha long sprint at hundred yards' speed have seriously under­estimated the ir powers in the main part of the race.

Information from the team of checkers was rather scrappythis year . One member regret ted he had no t been a ble to wr it e

Positions42153

TotalPoints

57936

AncholmeNelthorpe .SChool .SheMeld ..Yarborough

44 The Briggensian.

because of the wind and handed in a blank sheet. Another ,. near the end of the course and eviden tly in a more sheltered

spot, had. time to make a full 11st of t he leading runners andalso to report seeing " ma ny causult tes," no t flying saucers , heexpla ine d when asked, but " chaps who had had It."

Details.Junior Race : 1st-Parkinson , M. F . (Yarborough ).

2nd-McLauchlan, J . (School).3rd-Clarke, J . A.' (Nelthorpe).

Time : 23 mlns. 43 sees.

Senior Race: 1st-Marris, A. B. rscncon .2nd-Hall P. (Ancholme).3rd- Rlckett. J. I . (SChool) .

TIme: 27 mlns. 36 sees.

_ PoiDts.Junior Senior

Points Points215 2 202 3193 3 175 41884685306 1 206 28252531

INTER-SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY

The Inter-SChool Cross-Country Race was }leld this year onthe 14th March at c aistor, Som e spe ctato rs were conveyed bycar, while the t eam Its elf went by t axI. A few enthusiasts cycledover to see the rac e. The team was unfortunately withoutRickett, who was away at Oxford, and Altoft, who has not beenable to run at all t his year.

I t was a bleak. dull day ; rain had made the muddy tracksvery slippery, and the Iow-Iying fields were water -logged. Theteam h ad not expected such a d1lficult course-they h ad practisedroad-work on the Wolds. but were not prepared for such steephills which were even muddier and more treac herous than Brick­yard Lane at its worst . I am. sure the team will rememberCanada Lane for a lon g Ume! The h 111 was no t the only partor the course where the going was sticky, slippery and wet . Manyof the field s which had t o be crossed h ad become bogs. and th etwo trlflln g water -splashes turned out to be a very swollen streamand a pond about te n yards across and eighteen In ch es deep.There were also eight stlles. Only a small proportion of thetrack was along roads, and this consisted of steep descents atthe beglnning and the end.

FOOTBALL 1st XI, 1950-51.

Standing: R. a cnseu. J . M. Und erwood. J . T . Hopper , B. A. Wilson . S. H . Do uce, D. C. P nt.t te . A. S. Den ton .Sitting: R. 'aos evt . D. Alton., a . R. C. Me ct. c ucnto n . D. Pc fjtcot t. H. C. J acklin .

The Brig g ens ian 45

The team go l. orr to a good start. with the exception ofScarborough. who fell after having gone only a few yards ; hegot up and continued, bU~ his chances of doin g well had beenseriously im pair ed . Marris soon t ook the lead and kept itt h ro ugho u t , al though h e was dog gedly pursued by a Lou th anda Clee runner, with Hall close at hand. Wade, Fl ear and Brl ttli ll'were at flrs t packing well in the early twen ties. and were joinedby Scarborough, who was attempt Lng to mak e up lost ground,but Br lt tll ll' tWiste d h ls ankle a nd h ad to drop back. The fieldgradually spread out an d a t t he to p of the h ill Marris was afew ya rds In fr on t , with Hall lying fifth . Wade, Flear and Scar­borough were st ill toge t her but h ad dropped back a li ttle. Marrisnow Increase d his lead' and after his usual flne burst at the end.won comfor tably in a time Which was extremely creditable con ­s ider tng ,tJ1J'.PQ\Idltl gps. Hall soon followed, b~"»·Jjle. Fl ea r a ndscarborouzn did n6t arrive until the late twenties.

Louth won t he te am race, their first four h ome bein g 2n d,6th. 14t h and 19th. and Galnsborough packed extremely well(11th . 12t h , 15th and 16th ) to gai n second place. Brlgg wcr ethird, just beati ng Scunthor pe and Wln trlngham .

':Phe race was very well organised; the course was nd m ira hlystewarded, and an excellent tea was provided for the runn ers.

Det alls :- '1. Louth .. 41 points2. - Galnsoorough .. 54 points3. Br lgg 61 points4. Bcunthorpe .62 points.5. Wlntrlngham 64 points6. Calstor 74 points7. De Aston 118 points8. Clee 138 points9. Barton 159 points

10. Alford 163 pointsI nd ividual results : I , Marris (27 minutes 47 seconds) ;

2, Louth; 3, Sc unth orpe ; 4, Wlntrln gh am ; 5, Hall ; 27, Wad e :28'-Flea~ : 30, Scar borough; 54, Br ittlUI'.

SCOUTThis term has seen several chan ges In our Scou t Troop. The

old P .L.'s have been replaced by n ew blood In the form of Cook ,Clark, J ames and Grimble,' wh ile Goodman and Wln dass h ave

46

,

Th e nrig g ensian

been promoted to the rank of T.L. to take over the duties ofadmi nistration. A eompcnuon has been opened for the vacancie sfor Seconds, Whic h has excited great Interest, resul ting In anincreased demand for the services of old and new o~c1als to passTests. New recruits Include Cald er , Chudley, Davies, Hutson andParker , T. Cook and Clark have passed their Speaker', Badge.

The most recent Patrol Competi tion was won by the Hawks,followed closely by t he Sea gulls and Peewits . The Owls were leftso far behind that an adjustment of patrols was tho ught necessaryto give the Owls a chance !

For our Summer Camp we hope to revlslt Brynbach . We alsohone to have one or two representatives at t he Scout Jamboree InAustr ia lh A11IU\. 'II. BOWLES.

MUSIC NOTES

It was with som e trepidation that we Invited the IntimateOpera Society to use our Uttle stage for a performan ce. But weneed not have been concerned, for the artists who came assuredus that they had play ed on smaller and that the size of the stagewas admirably compensated for by the excellence of the lighting,wh ich made eflectlve t he slightest gesture or facIal expressIon .It Is Interesting to note that the Society was formed' In 1930 andnow has a company of twelve performers. A short annualLondon season Is given , and for the res t of the year the artistsare divided Into sec tions who undertake tours In t urns. Thissystem allows the art Lsts to accept engagements on their ownaccount and ensures understudies In case of Illness.

Maldl Arnold, Roy Ashton and Eric Shllllnll, with theiraccompanLst Grace Shearer, flrst of all performed" Don Quixote "to musIc by Purcell. The opera was notable for Its excellen tcharacterisation and In particular for the elaborate make-up ofRoy Ashton as Quixote. The eflect of dawning da y was admIrablyachieved.

For "Love In a Coflee Cup," adapted from Bach 's CofleeCantata , period furniture len t by the Headmaster provided a

Th e Brigg en sitm 47

fit tin g setting. Since the cantata con tained 110 tenor aria, thearranger had borrowed a Iamous one from th e Birthday Cantata.This has become so famlllar to the l1stening public and is soclosely associated with the words .. Sheep May Safely Graze," tha tIts Inclusion came as something of a shock in this new set t tn cof comedy . The manager of the Society, Mr. Charles Nelli , com­menting on this, said .. I had sent me an American l1bretto ofthis work made at the" opera faculty " of some universi ty. Nowthis did t ak e liberties! .. Lelschen " was transla ted down to" Lizzie," presumably to rhyme :w1tll " dizzy."

.. Jacques and Jacquel1ne " by Offenbach concluded theevening. This was very gay and tuneful, included much spokendialogue, and had the chatllLand happy rhythms one associateswith Offenbach's music.

So much were these operas en joyed that It is sa fe to sayth a t the Intimat e Opera Society wlll be invited to come again .

Th e one remaining concert of th e season is to be given onThursday, ,May 3rd, at 8 p.m., wh en Robert Irwin , bass-baritone,wlll give ~ recital of songs.

THE AR:J' CLUB

Last t erm, although no no tes a bout the ac t iviti es of theArt Club wer e wri tten for the magazine, the club h ad a busy t ime.All the decorations, props and back cloths for th e Chr istmas con ­cert were the work of members.

This term our members and other boys h ave h elped to bringtogether a la rge co'tectton 01 011 and water colour paimtlngs anddrawings which we are to exhl.bit on Parents' I.'~: .: :"': ::~ which Isbeing held on March 5th.

Th e work of mounting, framIng and arran gin g the drawingsand pa in tings h as been the sole work 01 Mr. Cabourne, F. R ich ardsand D Sllburn to whom the Club should l eel deeply in debted.

In conclusion we offer our thank s to Mr. Henthorn for kin(il yconsenting to write a criticism 01 the paintings in our exh ibit ion.and also our thanks to Mr. Cabourne lor his guidance and h elpin the production 01 the exh ibit ion. D. F. AUSTIN.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

This t erm has seen the formation 01 the Phltosophlcal Society,the first 01 its kind to be termed In the school. Its aim Is toexamlne some 01 the findings '01 the llIreat · thinkers 01 the

48 T he Briggens ion

past and present wh o hav e sought the meaning of tIJl'un iverse; and to Iind to what ex tent, and by what mean s, suchinvestigations 'may be usefull y pursued. We hope to fulfil thi sobject by means of ta·.ks , discussio ns and debates. and so far therehas been much enth usiasm among the sentor members of theschool.

An introductory talk was given by Mr. Butterworth on Febru­ary 26th . An outline was given of met aphysics, which attempt sto describe th e nature of reality as dist inct from appearancederived from sens e-experience. Th e Works of th e Orphtcs and.-.rlsto Ue \Nere compared wit h th ose of the :Idealist , 'Locke,Berkeley an d Hume: and la ter with the philosophies of Kant andMoore. The ensuing disc ussion "revealed much interest in thecontroversial issues which had arisen.

The second talk was given 'by Mr. Oakley, of Hull Universi tyCollege , on March em , and described t he philosophical bases ofChristi anity. Stress was laid on th e need for some firm basis onwhich any r ellglon must be based , an d the roundatlons of Christ ­ianity were thoroughly examined A most stimulating" discussionwhich followed revealed th at the talk had been en joyed.

Membership of the Society is open to a U. Noti ces of futuremeet ings will be found on the sixth form notic e board.

PARENTS' EVENING,An opportunity to meet the Headmaster and staff to discuss

the ach ievements or sho rtcomings of th eir sons attracted a ;argenumber of parents on Monday, 5th February, SpeeCh Day in theAutumn term and athletic sports and cricket ma tches in th eSummer term provide their own opportunities for parents to visitthe schoc, and learn of its progress. This occasion in th e Easterterm , however, enables paren ts to converse with members of th esta ff at greater leisure and pursue th eir enquiries in greaterdetail. It Is evid ent that both parents and masters find th isdiscussion or great value,

Jun iors served tea and cak es -and others from forms through­out the school could be seen at work in various ways. In th ewoodwork shop was a display of articles made during t he pas tyea r, and several boys were contin uin g th eir woodwork or engin­eer ing drawing In order to give the visitors some idea or thenormal routine. Those paren ts Who found their way to theworksh op were obviously impressed.

In the chemistry Iaboratory could be seen G. R. r< 1\.f('L~ uch­

Ian and J, A. Suth ers busy with the prepa ration of aspirin ; F

49

Flear and It. F. WILson proving the compostt ton of water byweigh t ; J. D. T. G oodman and J. R. T. WRson prepa r in g NitricOxide ; B. L. Tayl«r an d T J . D. Lowe Nitric Acid ; and K. Kitchin ­son and W. Rickatson r edu cing oxides to metals. .

In the Physics ·la boratory experi men ts were In pr ogress : th ethermo-electric effect by Denton and Haw ; th e variation orelectr ical resis tance with temperature by Wade and Sellars ;electro-magne tic induction by Redpath and Plant ; the variationof the boilin g poin t of water with press ure by J am es and Gr imble ;t he expans ion of metals by Youd and Baker ; the la tent h eat ofvapor lsatlon by Young and Earnshaw.

Various occupa tions were In progress In t he biology labora­tory: the dlssectlon of a frog by Austin an d Hopper ; of a cock­roach by PoNicott ; of an earthworm by Ricket t and Rowbottom ;food tests by Parker, B. Robinson, Tracey and Dent : exa minationof flower structure by Walker, Binns, Tyson and Neave ; and so;'tests by Ha mmon d, Sumpte r, Pickard and Calder .

ART EXHIBI TI ON 1951

Oscar Wilde once said : "There are two ways of disliking ar t.On e Is to dislike It , and the othe r Is to like it rationally." TheImrJilcat lon Is not kind to cri t ics, who spend t heir da ys doingprecisely th ese th ing s. But perhaps cr itics are not pers ons Whodeserve any kindness : .another Irishman , even better known ,appears to have thought so when he remarked : "I h ave neverbeen able to see how the duties of a critic, which consts r largelyin making persona l remarks about the most sen sitive of his fellowcreatures, can be reconciled with th e manners of a gentleman."For tunately th e difficult y of such a reconcUiation Is not presentedto t he cri ti c of an exhibition of schocillx>ys' paln tings. As waspointed out reeen tly In the "Studio," t he pain tings of childrenare "th e dir ect expre ssion of youthfUl imagmation , without themast er y of medium. They h a.ve the appeal of sincerity as whenone smiles at a child's inexpert speech tumtfJ.1ng in pursuit of athought wh ich is nevertheless made clear with the means avail­able Ideas are expressed in conventions that are createdInt uit lvely. " Wh en one comes upon an exhibit ion of this kindone cannot feel disposed to carp; one may not even be particu­larly moved With admiration ; but one does enj oy it and givethanks for It .

Not that all. the pictur es shown this year are "'children's art":there are works by Old Boys, and some Of th e efforts by boys Inth e school are finished ane mature. But there are a number orpaintings by Quite young boys. I observe that many of the mhave been done as C'lassI.'oom exercises. All Mr. Ca bourne's pupils

50 ~e Brig gensian

appear to be able to draw. AU his geese reall y are swans. Hisclasses must resemble most closely Horace Walpole's idea ofheaven-something l1ke a Hand el oratorio, in which everyone hasto sing, whether he has a voice or not.

T,1e O'd Boys represented here are G. F , Motson , J, Edlingtonand J, Bri ghton, 0, F, Motson's sure handling of his materialsis revealed beyond doubt In his beautiful pencil sketc h, "FarmBuLdlngs," and hi s delicate little flower stud y, at onc e evocat tvsof admir ation, J , Edllngton's "Ermine Street Lodge" (In otls)is a sombre but handsome picture The lodge buildin g is drawnwith a little too much attention to detal1, but the trees andgeneral setting ar e excellent. J. Brighton's "Win ter Landscape" Isanoth er somewhat sombre study (th is time In wat er colour) , bu tone that produces its eftect :economtcadz.

Three boys in the school have oil-paintings on show thi syear. All show promise. and one- F. Richard s-more th anpromise. Richards' "Lincoln Cathedral," "Durham ," and "St.Paul's" are based on' sketc hes not mad e by h ims elf. but , his"Thornton Abbey," his own work in conception an d execution,Is a beautiful little pictu re. Grey is th e pr edomin ant colour, butits drabn ess is relieved by t he warmth of the brickwork and t hepath and by t he cleverly suggested yellow border- flowers.Richards' "Wild sea" is not ab'e for th e treatment of sea andsky-decidely imp resston tst, (ImP!"'lSston:ts!.i£ 'tOo is t he fta tappearance of the sh ip). J . E. Thompson chooses as hIs subjecta man's head, a criminal type if ever I saw one. Presum ably ithas gangster appeal. The painting Is bold though somewhatn at, But perhaps It Is th at kind of face. A. Turner's "IslandFor tress " Is t he only othe r 011 painting h ere For an eal'lyattempt it is most praiseworthy. The castle tends to lack a thirddimension , but the sky and water are excellently done.

It need hardly be said RIchards' water colours a re good ,par ticularly his tree s tudies. D. C. Sllburn exhibIts seven waterco'ou rs and one work in poste r colour. His "Tulips" achieves adelightful colour effect and a most successful representation ofa. cut-glass vase. HIs "Home From Sch odl," wit h a ch air as th epiece, whlIe not challenglng Van Gogh's ,famous studv, neverthe­less has character and compels attention. I was not convincedby h is "Pedagogue"; would, though, that the average pedagogue'sIlle were as highly coloured as this picture suggests. But theposter colour of a clown Is a magniftcent piece of colour and fullof imagination.

C"'.our too Is the keynote 01 K. Foster's painting 01 theorig in al (now bricked-Up ) doorway to the old sch ool. Neitherh is n or RIch ards' attempt at the same subj ect is enti rely

~l

verlslmllltudinous, but, as Olive Bell said In connection wit hCezann e, painting can be som ething better than an expe nsive sub­stitute for photography or an accompanimen t to poor poetry. On ewonders whether Foster thinks school Is as colourful as that,even on the surrace, or If h e thinks it needs all the brighteningit can get. C. J. Tyson In his "Frozen - up" gives us colour, strongand Vivid. He uses colour In small quant ities also to gOOd effeetin "Bkaters,' a snow scene with the green of trees, the red orthe setting sun, and .. firellt Window providing touches of warmthand comfort. The setting SUD seems a. preoccupation of oneor two other exhibitors. Is It a sign of our decl ine, or Is itJapanese Influence? M. A Tay:or's Peter Scottlsch e "WildGeese at sundown,' an attractive llttle painting, reveals Itstrong'1'y.

There are not many an imal studies t his year, but M. A.Ta ylor 's dogs are most me-like. It they ar e drawn from Ill eTaylor bas a future as a dog artist-a Munning s of the canineworld. T. Evett's " Horse's Head " Is good ; the shape of the headIs nic ely bal anced by the skyline. Nor is there very muc h Inthe exhibition In the way of sttlj Ilte ; G. Metcalf's "Frult" is verysuccess ful howev er.

Of the pictures containing action "Stop 'I'h1el ," by A. Turner ,s tan ds out lor Its contrast between the dynamic and th e static,the human figures providing movement, and the old fashionedbulldlngs In the background the peace. "At the 'Bus Stop" Ispro mising too, with Its group of disconsolate people who appearjust to have missed th e 'bus , and Its small boys balanced some­what un convlnclngly on the rail' with their backs to the traffic.J . E. Thompson In his "Guying" shows his usuas Ilklng for redcolouring. There Is nothing vegetarian about Thompson, noth­ing anaemic D. F. Austin gives UI a. colourful conception of howto shoo t the rapids In compa ny with an Ind ian chi ef. I par­t lcularly en joyed the look 01 apprehension. on the lace of thetra.pper In the can oe, balanced by the supremely confident,though sour, expression on the redskin's lace. W. B. S. Doblcalso produces a river scene, th ough one more domesti c and notso excitin g. The water, trees and reflections are charmin glydone, and the house In the background Is simply but mostpleasin gly treated . Evett's picture, " The' Hole In the Road ," Isfull of colour and human interest. His figures are really con­vincing.

Mr. Cabourne may wen feel that the work t he ar ran gin g oft his exh ibition has caused h im a nd h is helpe rs h as been morethan worth while.

52 The B rig g ensian

HOUSE NOTESANCHOLME

As I write these notes the time draws nearer to the cross­country race. By the time these notes have been printed thegreat event will be over. D. F. Altoft has been appointed cross­country captain ag ain this year. At the mom en t the Anch olmesare training hard for t he great day. As usual t he Juniors arevery en thus iastic. Everyone con cerned with the race will bepleased. I am sure, if the weather holds fine until the seventh.At th e moment, Brickya rd Lane Is very " sticky" and a littlesunsh ine will make all the difference, giving It a ch anc e to dry.

Con gr atulations to D. F . Altoft and D. C. Pa ttie on ga iningth eir First XI football colours .this yea r. We now have threemembers In th e House With colours. Underwood having gained hi slast year. We are well represen ted In the School 2nd XI t oo. :

In view of our good representat ion in the School First andSecond Xl's It is surprisin g that we did so badly In the Inter-housefootball thi s year. However. the members in the teams enjoyedthemselves, h avin g h ad many thr illing gam es.

Next term we will be turning to ath letics, SWimming andcricket. It Is to be hoped t hat we sh ine a li ttle bet ter In t heseth an we did In football.

Press on regardless. Anchors!

NELTHORPE

F . RICHARDS.

And so, 'tis time for house notes once again! Make yourselfcomfortable-and read -on :

Cross-coun try trainin g has been in full swing and now th egreat day fast approaches. Our prospects do not seem too bright,but , never theless, under the captaincy of P. D. Wells . we sh allcer tainly not be disgraced. We expect great things Irom ourcaptain and th e. U Heavenly Twins " (or, "Terrible," just as youchoose) whose feet work overtime. Let us hope that th e extraenergy they use will repay them handsomely, It is up. to us othersenior members to back th em up well, The Jun ior Section alsoh as brigh t prospects , particularl y In A. Clarke and J . K. Britcliffeand I urge all those taking part to run as they have never runbefore, for believe it or not, every in dlvldual effort counts , !'hope that th ose who live far afield and who, because or th eext ra hour's trainin g on a Wednesday. have not reached nom»until nearly th ree o'clock, can say " It has been worth it",

I

\ 53

The Footb all Eleve[Jll played exceedin gly well and I shouldllk e t to congrat ulat e every member of the two teams, especiallythe first eleven goalkeeper, A. Bowers , who, with luck on his side,played very well In deed. Congratula tions to Douce, S. H., amember 01 the School 1st XI, on being awarded his lootballcolours. Well done !

I sho uld like to ment ion t hat t he new boys appear to ha ve 'settled 'down very well and to h ave fitted In with the SChoolroutine. Let us hope they will seize th e advan tages t hat school­Ufe offers the m- we are only young once! We are sorry to loseSparks to Sh effield House and I sincerely hope that n o one elsewill be caught by the lever 01 leav ing the House. We are sur ethat Sparks will be of grea t benefit to Ills new House.

Athletics now begin to occupy our att ention and I would h aveyou note that Sports Day is in early May. I do urge all' membersof the House to put the ir whole heart and soul into their train ­ing, whether during games periods or other "a ppoin ted times.

Exami nations loom upon th e horizon and I am thinkingespecially of those candIdates for the General Certificat e or'Education, an examinat ion set at two levels, s imilar to the oldH.S.C. and S.C. Do not n eglect your studies and work h ard. An dto those I say, the bes t Of luc k.

May everyone come back after the Easter holidays wit.h amin d refreshed and a sp irit determined t o work h ard a nd to takepart in sum mer games . A. J . HILL.

SCHOOL

This te rm we welcome in to School House, S. Hutson , T.KlImore and J . Da vies. Triggs and Motson lef t us at the end oflast term, Motion to become a .. Sheff."

Now that all House football match es have been played, wefind ourselves second in the House Championship, Thi s is thefourth successive year in which the House first team has won allits matches. It Is to be h oped tha t this wUl continue next year .R. C. J acklln Is to be congratulated on winn ing h is football colours.Th is te rm, we have been represented in the Sch ool teams byG. R. C. McLauchlan , R. C. Jacklin arid W . Rlcka tson in t he1st XI; D. ThompSQn, R. F . Wilson . F. A. Flear and C. Windass inthe 2nd XI , and J . Glllatt a nd S. Hu tson In the Under XIV.

At the time of wri ti ng , cross-country train ing Is In progress,and h as been littl. affected by 'tlu or ot he r a liments. The wea therhas improved, but recen tly it was not conducive to fast runn ing.

~4 . Th e B,lgg en slan \

Brickyard Lanewas very treacherous, and there have been maRyspills and lost .. daps." Several Seniors have don e much road­work around Wrawby, and some have tr ied the hills at Elsham.We are expecting great things from these runners. We also havesome good runners amongst the Juniors. Many Juniors are keento run, but are too youn g; however , they have the right spiritwhich Is needed In the Junior section of the House .

With the revival of hockey, several members of the Househave become \teen enth usiasts and have practised during theirspare time. It la now possible for the House to tleld a fullhockey team.

Many boys have at tended the Sunday evening" concerts " ongramophone records, given by the Headmaster. We have hadselections from operas, a complete symphony concert, selectionsfrom ballet music, and mtscellaneous pieces. These eveningshave been so popular that the at.tendance has often exceeded theseating capacity. Other members of the House regularly attendScripture Union. .

Th e SCouts have a large membership ; there are eighteenScouts In the House.

Even though the football season Is not yet over , the youngerbrethren have taken up cricket (English and Chinese) Inan ticipation of next te rm's sport. J. I. RICKE'IT.

SHEFFIELD

Let us congratulate ourselves on winning the Football Cupfor the fir st time In years. The Junior eleven Is to be especiallycommended on Its fine performance In not losing a match. Ourhopes of the cross-country race are not very good, but they havenot been In past years when we have won the Cup, so let us runhard a nd keep It In the House.

May I on behalf of Shemeld House congratulate Mr. Urry,our House Master , on his appointment as Headmaster of catstor

. Secondary Modern School , and may he have every success .

We have been represented In the First XI by Polllcot t (vtce­captain ), R. Bosett and B. A. WUson ; the latter two are to becongratulated on being awarded the ir football colours.

This term has been very short and examinations have beenheld and the results given out . Several members of the Housestopped af ter school to help with demons trations on parents 'evening. Members of t he House have taken to the sport of

T~c Briggensian 55

hockey, The expressions of former years are snn to be heard.

.. Take your st ick from my back, old fella me lad," or II 0 0 on,

pr an g it with your pole."

D. PolUcott Is to be congratulated on passing the Cambridge

School Certificate examination held in December. Old Sheffs

that have visited us and from whom we have heard Include : B. E.

Knowler ; G. C. Monteith, a t University College, Hull ; L. Green,

Sergeant, Education Corps ; G. Foster, sergeant at Tamworth ;

and G. W. Foster , posted With the R.A.F.

So, with the cross- coun try pa st , and swImming, athletics and

cric ket In the future, we go forward wIth our eyes on the Cock

House CUp. D. WOOLASS.

YARBOROUGH

After last season 's victorious campaign , thIs year' s result s

on the foot ball field came as a severe disappoin tmen t to those

of us who had hoped that Yarborough House would rega in Its

traditional supremacy In the football competition. The Juniors

did very creditably, winning th ree games out of four, but the

Sen iors faOed to get even 'one poin t from theIr four games. Thi s

ter m the fst team lost 2-0 against School House, and 5-4 against

Ancholme after we had been lead ing 4-2 fifteen minutes from

t he end; the Juniors bea t School 7-1, and Ancholme 5--1. This

te rm we were represented In the School teams by Hopper and

Bonsell In the 1st ; Stothard, Markham and Thomalley In the 2nd,

and Parkinson, Waller , Marshall and Chapman In the U.XIV.

R. Bonsell Is to be congratulated on winn ing h is footb all colours .

With the approach of cross-country the re a re the usual

complaints about 'buses hindering training. The Wide area over

which the House Is scattered makes It Impossible to arran ge

special 'buses, and consequently we have had dlmculty In

arranging days for t rain ing. The condition of the course,

especially the Brickyard Lane, has not encouraged any boys to

put in any extra time on their own. Our main hopes 1n the

Senior are Hopper, Conboy, and Ausnn, G. B., and In the Junior ,

Parkinson, whom we naturally expect to win as he came second

last year.

Several members of the House, who travel to and from school

by rall, have been inconv enienced by the Brit ish Ra llways' effor ts

at saving coal. Many senior members have participated In the

weekly hockey matches now bein g played. and, If In the fut ure

the re Is an In ter -house competition in this sport , we should be

well represented.

The B"iggensla n

Finally In saying goodby e I should like to t ake th is opportunityof wishing the HO\1Se and my successor the best of luck.

M. A. PEACOCK.

OLD BRIGGENSIANS' ASSOCIATION

Since the December issue the main event for the Associationh as been the Annua. Reun ion Dinner . Oth er t han th at OldBoys' news ts singularly lackin g. We have, howev er, gleaned thefollowin g items :-

Noel Cobb who has been at the Scunthorpe Technical Schoolis taking UP So new appointment on 1st May at Roundhay School,Leeds. He was married on 29th July, 1950, to Miss Muriel Hop­wood, at Leeds Mr. Daughton was present at the weddin g.Cobb's address wl1l be 89, Green Road, Meanwood , Leeds , 6.

B. W. Hodlln wntes to tell us his news. He left teaching In1940 to join the Scientific Civil Service and is now a PrincipalScientific Officer In the MInistry of Suppi,Y. He is llving a t I ,Th e Lynch es, Albert Road South, Grea t Malv ern.

J ohn Gray writes from t h e Elephant a nd Cas tle Hotel , Knares­borough , which he has recently taken over. He promises a goodmeal to any Old Brlggen sian callers.

J . K. M. Young is doing survey work with the OrdnanceSurvey. He writes from Sway thling, near Southampton.

J oh n Rhodes is playlng in goal for Wadham Col!e ge, Oxford',an d has gained hi s colours.

Reg. Baxter is to be cong ratulated on the birth of a dau ght er,Valerie Susan, 24th January, 1951 Baxter is a Oustoms an dExcise Officer.

R. Watmough is ser ving with t he Royal Engineers.

Peter Gray Is now back in Scunthorpe afte r hi s Glasgowsojourn. He has been appointed manager of the Tarmac Kantat Appleby-Frodingham. He and Mrs. Gra y a re t o be congratu­rated on the birth 9f a dau ghter .

J. C. White is in his secon d t erm a t Pembroke College, Oxford.He h as been stroking th e College second eigh t in the Torpid races.His crew made two bumps . ·

A. R. May. who was for some time With the G.P.a. in the Brfggarea is now working with the Air Ministry. He is doing research

\Th e Bf'iggensian 57

on electrical instruments for use tn meteorology. He is alsoattend ing Birkbeck College where he is stud ying for the LondonB.Sc. degree . He Is \l vln g in Harrow and is contm ulng hi. foot ­ball by playin g for Wea'dstone in the Athenian League.

Roy O'Neill , our Assistant Hon. Secretary, is to be con gratu­lated on passing the Intermediate Examination Of t he Instituteof Cha rtered Accountants.

J. E. Johnson and L. Green are bott. sergeants in the ArmyEducation Corps. John son expects to go East .

We offer r ather belated con grat ulati ons to H. E. D. O'NeiL'. onhis appointment to the Headship of Burnhfll Gr een SCh ool, nearWolverhampton.

Charles Braml ey. our evergreen accompanist, has just com­peted 50 years as a Church organist, a wonderful performance,He is Headm aster of Ashby School, an d is organ ist at the Centen ­a ry Meth odist Church, Scunthorpe.

Visitors this term have not been numerous. At the momentour notes and our memory recall only R. Watm ough, Arthur Maw,J . R. Melless an d F . Hardak er .

Subscriptions - Special Note.

Subscr iptions for 1950/51 became due on 1st October last.

It h as been decided by the Committee that subscription s shallIn future be sent to the Hon . Treasurer and not to the Hon . Sec­retary So if yours is st ill unpaid please send it to:

The Hall . Treasurer, Old Br tggenslans ' Associat ion , 40. Bigb yStreet, Br igg.

Please do tht s With futu re subscriptions.

G. W. Brocklesby, Pin gley Lan e, Brig g is anxious to get i nt ouch with a n,y Old Boy wh o may have a, spa re copy of th e"Panora" SChOOl photograph of 1927-28 or 29.

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND

AN NUAL RE UNION DINNER, 1951.The 25th . Ann ual Reunion Din ner was held on Sat urday .

20th J anuary, at the Angel Hot el and was preceded by the AnnualGeneral Meeting.

The meeti ng was attended by a fair number of Old Boys. It

58 T he llri gge nsian

was not a ,:.aug meeting and the following are the main items of

business transacted.Accounts. The Treasurer, R. L. Patch et t, presen ted h is

report wh ich showed that there was a balance of £ 136 lOs. 5d.

The main detalls are printed below.

Election of Officers.Presid ent : Col. O. S. Nelthorpe.Vice-Presidents : J . R. Baker , D. Munro, W. Bains , H. L. Munro,

E. F. Brown, R. B. Munro, J . T. Dau gh ton, H. F. Sergeant,

J. G. T. Eccles, T. N. Sumpter , A. E. Knigh t , E. Taylor , N. C.

Matthews, A. Lyon.Chairman: G. A. Robinson .Vice-Chairman : D. Gligallon (re ti r in g chairman).

Hon. Becretary: E. Urry .Hon. Treasurer : R. L. Patchett,Hon Assistant Becretary : T. R. D. O'Neill .Committee : A. E. Knight, A. Lyon, J . G. T. Eccles, E. Tay~or, T. N.

Sumpter, R. Ketterlngham, E. W. Nixon, W. Ba ins, H. 150t ton ,

R. Taylor, R. G. Tear, R. N. Coulthurst , R. A. Binns, W. T.

Good.Hon. AUditor: G. Goodman.

George Rob inson Is t o be congratulat ed upon succeeding to

the chair. He has a long record of service to t h e Associati on

and has been one of our most dependable commit tee men .'\

He has th e satisfac tion of having presided at what' many

consider t o have been one of the most en joyable dtnner s In recen t

years. The new seating plan was a distinct success , the meal

was excellent, the entertainment first -class and the company

eon genlal . The speech es were taken at rather shorter in tervals

than usual th us leaving lon ger for O:d Boys to reminisce.

Mr. F. J . Blrkbeck, Director of Edu cation, was un abl e to be

present owing to Illness, so h is place was taken by the retiring

chairman , Dennis Gllgallon . who proposed th e t oast of "The

SChool." The Heaflmas ter responded . Commander G. W. Wells

proposed the to ast of "The Association ." In his speech he stressed

the openings otTered by the st eel Industry and mention ed t he

prominent part being played at Appleby-Frodlngham by Old

Brtggenslans. The Hon. Secretary. E. Urry, responded The

toast of ''The Guests" was proposed by the Presiden t . Cal. Ne',­

thorpe and repli ed to by Mr. E. G. Bratley, Hea dm aster of Glebe

Road SChool.

The duties of Toastmaster and M.C. were ably carried out

by J . G. T . Eccles. Charles Bramley officiated as accompanist

Entertainment was provided by Pat Tierney, ven trlloqulst-com ­

edlan , a nd Bernard Ingham , teno r.

.. • • •

Th e Briggensian 59

The .following O~d Briggenslans and masters were present :

A Lyon , W, Brooks, J , Edlington , A, J , Stevenson , C. R.Metham, R. G. Tear. J. RobllUion, Alan Maw. C. P. Stevenson. A. G.West, T . Freeman, T. N. Sumpter. R. Sumpter, G. F. Wood . B.Know:er. R. P eatlle4d, C. 11. Wood. E. R. Clark. P. Dlbben, O.Wr lcht. J. Rose, C. S. Rowbottom. J . R. Wri ght, R. N. Coul thurst.G . A. Robinson. G . W. Cabourne, N. C. Matthews, R. A, Binns.R. W. Stringer. M. Silv erwood. W. Binns. J . Senn ltt, E. Taylor .W. T. Good . J . C. ceae, R. L. Patchett. E. Urry. S. G. Sass, P . R.Gray. C. Dawson, O. Ki n gdon . E. Dodd. H. J. Turner , G. Brumby,F. M. Lea. R. L. Stevenson , D. Stevens, D. W. Shaw. L. Summers,R. C, Roberts, J . G . T. Eccl es. D. OllgaHon, H. Gll gallon, S. Chap­man. A. E. Knigh t , W. Wa tts, I . Butterworth, J . Waters, A. I .Morris, F. Henthorn. H. Wright , T . R. D. O'Nell\ . W. Br own, E. W.Moxon, P . D. Plant. J . Lyon, R. Ket terlngham, R. Pimlot t , W.Grimble, C. W. Dunham. W C. Dickinson , R. F. Davy. T. F. Raby,L . R. Stephenson , E. F:.etcher, F. wens, J . C. Baggot t , R. W. Prat t ,C. E. Bramley, B. E. Fox , J . Barnes, V Draper, G . Brocklesby.

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR

ENDED 30tb SEPTEMBER. 1950.

Recei....., £ s. d . £ s. d .Cash Balances brought forward 58 19 11 ,21% Defence Bonds ... .. . ... 35 0 0

Members' Subscriptions .. .21% Defence Bond InterestSaving Bank InterestSurplus on 1949 Dance

..,93 19 1184 10 0

17 6I 3

142

£ 180 12 10

28 2 G2 14 0

13 5 11

£ S. d. £ s. ct.

101 10 535 0 0

---- 136 10 5

Paym~nts,

cose of 2 Issues of t he Brtggenslan (740coptes) ..

Dellclency on Re-union Dinner J anuary, 1950Printing, Stationery. Advertislnc and

Postages .. . ... ... .. .Cash Balances carried forward2!' i- Defenc e Bonds .. . ... ...

£ 180 12 10

Note : The Summer Term issue of the Br tggensla n was owin gat th e date,

RALPH L. PATCHETT. A.C.A.• Hon . Treas urer .

60

.--------~~-.p_-_~ --~~-

T he Brig gensian

I he reby certify that I have audtted th e Accounts and tha tto the best of my knowledge these Accounts are correct.

W. C. STAINTON. A.LB.• Hon . Auditor .

Pembr oke College.Oxford.. 3rd March. 1951.

Dear Sir.

In many ways one is at a disadvantage when asked to writean Oxford lett er a t th is t ime of the year because HIlary Term Isthe least interesting of th e three. It lacks th e sunny weath erand vtstttng reia tlons which next term should have. and th efreshness, af ter a break of sixteen weeks , that Michaelmas Termh ad. This Is the middle of the yea r. the doldrums as it were.t hat must' connect a fa ir beginnin g to a 'glorious en d. By thistlme the Freshmen have .foun d thei r footing. and t he novelt y ofUniversity lite Is beginrdng to dimini sh. Those in their secondyear . with nothin g to br ea k their peace of mind. pretend to in­dulge In a lazy life. whll e those with schools fou rteen weeks aheadconvince themselves that they will reaDy do a lot of work overEaster and during next term, to make up for the easy time the yare now enjoying.

The weather has been th e worst feature of the past eightweeks . In turn there was frost , ice , a light fall of snow, and 80

much rain that th e Isis rose t o alarming h eights; even so ent hus­tasm was not damped' and th e Univ ersi ty ho lds Its own againstCambridge in the majority 01 sports. Som e very promis ing pel":"formances have been given in the int er- college eu pper mat ches,which are now drawing to a close. Torpids were rowed In th efifth a nd sixth wee'," of t erm. and In spite of the squa' Iy con­ditions many supporters and spectators I ined the tow-path, NewCoilege remained h ead of the river for the third year in suc­cess ion. Th e Boat Race ta kes plac e on the day after Good Friday.Oxford last won in 1946 and there Is much speculatton as towhethe r Cambridge will make It five In a row.

.J ..~

At half-t er m Mr. Hen thorn came to Oxford and all the OldBriggenslans met at Exeter College for a lunch given -by Rev.ErIc Kemp. John Hunt is in his fourth year at Wadha.m, -an dis a very active mem ber of his college ath ettc s team . His broth erMichael, at St . Stephen's House, is to be ordained this Easter.Ralf Markar ian spen ds his leIsure playing golf a nd being an evenkeenerscout (not the college variety) th an ever. John Rhodeskeeps goal! for Wadh am an d recently p'ayed against Pembr oke.Cambridge, where he met J ohn Kin gdon and Donal d Fra nce fortea. Oltver Bandert is an officer in the Intelli gence Corps at

• •

Nun eham Courtenay, and, when his. duties permit . he travelsthe six mites Into Oxford to see us.

The Proposed call-up of the Class "Z" Reservists for a shortper iod In the summer has been treated very casually by, mostpeople here, but the sam e light-heartedness does not seem totouch other things. Oxford poetry has very little of fresh airand green meadows In It, but p;enty of blood splHlng over thepaving-stones and death on the pillow. In the theatre not onecollege dramatic socfety has put on a comedy this te rm. and theO.U.D.S. has presented a very lugubrious " Duchess of Malfi."

Older people, who have been In Oxford all t heir days, saythat life a t the University Is not what Is used to 'be. Perhapsthey have just cause for complalnt ; we Who are youn g cannotsay, but at least the undergraduates try to live up to the name.Today with more people depending on grants this Is not so-easyto do, but by careful budge.tlng, enough money caee be saved tobuy an umbrella, an embroidered, waistcoat, and two bow-ties ;and, for the socially ambitious, to dine at the Mitr e, even It· enJ.yonce a term. In our midst there are stH! those who park theirBentley's outside Chrlst Church.

1lCHJrS sincerely,

JACK w&IE.

WIl~ IS. PI'"

The undersigned will aWOJ'd a prize to the boy whQflrst olIershim a correct list of the twenty-six sumames of boys In the school.Indicated by the fo~owing clues. It should be noted that In, a fewcases the answers merely suggest the names, being slm1lar insound but not alik e In spelling:

Birds live here . All "coppers" wear them. Eight penny­worth of meat does not fill It . Prlnce Charles has lots of them.King of the Jungle. These lly. Good at Archery. Measur esof electricity. Studied In biology. Water Is found' In them,A da y of the week. A senior rank In the Army. He lost an eyein battle. He p/layed for Yorkshire. You raise it when it rain s.An Inhabitant of a monastery. A northern holiday resort. Asouthern holiday resort. He used to sit cross-legged. Measuresof weigh t. A talkative bird. Assembl y point at 9 a.m. Th ewitches danced here Sometimes known as Mr. Bun . Jockeysmust have a low one. They tap th is at Scunthorpe.

M, POLLICOTT.

82 Tho Briggonsian

NOCTURNE

The couched Sun Inflames t he western sky,In ragged rout the rooks wing , cawing, by ;,.The zooming beetle rides the limpid airAnd bats emerge the darkling dusk to dare.

From la tty Ash the t hrostle spee ds the day,Full trII1lng, as It Dawn inspired his lay.Sottly Night's pa.il o'erspreads the lucent West ,And all diurnal Nature SInks to rest,

Now, in the East , glows sott an amb er light,Where CIty's man-made glow defies the Night ;The hollow pavements sound to hurrylng feetThat bear theIr owners far trom slumber sweet .

Some to the dlnnlng workshop shifts r epah- ;Others, gay -clad, in nlght-clubll' roeuu air,With Bacchanalian revelry bemockThe Hours, perverted for a. sensual sock.

But, in the hamlet , 'neath a crescent moon,The simple rustle, blest with Morpheus' boon ,In slumber deep renews his strength , hard-wornBy husbandry, against the morrow morn.

G W. CABOURNE.

A VISIT TO THORNE COLLlFBY

On Saturday, December 2nd, 1950, a small party of boys andtwo masters left Brlgg tora visit. to Thorne Col1lery.· Arrivingthere at 2 O'Clock we entered the colliery yard, where we weremet by a begrimed miner. He took us to the building wherethe pit-head baths are installed, and atter changtng' Into over allswe were supplied with a lamp and a helmet, and then led to thepit-head by our miner trlend. We entered the cage , the bar swere placed across the door and we then prepared tor a drop ateIght hundred yards at sixty miles per hour; soon we were rushingdownwards and by the t ime we reached the bottom we could nothear anything, but found that the simple method at yaWnIngsolved the problem. The pit bottom was dr aughty and cool anctwater was dripping tram the roof, but very soon, as we entere dthe workings, the air became stiflingly hot, though all the timea ventilation breeze was b:Owing past us. We walked for abouta mile, kicking up cloucts of dust , tripping over small stones an ct .coal-truck lin es , bend in g down, to avoid hittin g our heads on thelow root in places anct squeezing past parked coal trucks or tubs,Such was our first experience of a main road in a coal mine.

The Briggensi4n 83

Then we came to a squat dtesel locomotive wit h a numberof trucks behind ; we boarded this train and were soon rushingthrough the workings along a h igh and fairly wide t unnel, upand down slight gradien ts, and the air was beginning to growwarmer and warmer After about two mil es th e train stopped,we dismoun ted and once more began to walk towards the coalfac e which was stUl a mile further on.

We·kept on walking along tunnels, supported by bow-shapedsteel girders whose walls were dusted with a white powder tokeep coal d ust at bay . The first sign that we were n earing thecoal face, which we were to yisit , was the conveyor belt which

. car ries coal to the tubs, Eventually a hot, dusty and sweat­covered party arrived at the coal face ; this is abou t four feet hi gh,eight y yards in length, and each man has to hew coal fr om a"stin t" tWe,\ve yards in length and four feet in depth eachsh1lt. Behind the face is another conveyor belt to carry thehewn coal to the main belt. A1l there were no men at work, wecrawled on our knees along the belt for eighty yards, pausingevery now and then for a discussion on the problems or mtnlng.At one such poin t we heard a bang and saw some rock falldng,and, when we enquired what it was, our guide cheerfully told us,"Oh , it 's only t 'gas -exploding." Coming away from the face wecrawled through a small gap into the main tunnel past someminers Who were engaged on maintenanc e work. Our pores werewot"k!ng overtime producing sweat, while they looked as "cool ascucum bers," being dressed only in shorts and vests , but verygrimy all the same.

On our way back !rom tbe face, we walked some distance,travelled a long way by the traIil and eventually reached anotherpart of the ' mine, where the fifty pit ponies are stabled. Ourfriend proudly told Us that not one of them was blind or alle(! atall, even though some had not been to the surface for twentyYears. This part of t \1" mine was retreshlng to aR of us, becau sea cool breeze was blowing the re. Followin g many old passages,we finally reached the pit bottom, Which we had left two an d ahaaf hours earlier, an d we were then whisked to the pit-headin the case.

From the pit -head we went to the power house where thewind Ing gear is Installed. Twice we watche d the two enginesraise an d lower the cage at the speed of sixty mll es per hour

By now it was dark and a tired an d grlmy par ty retraced itsste ps to the bullding it had left earlier in the afternoon. Wereturned our heimets and lamps-what a weight ,we had foundthem!-and then had a shower-bath before ret urning home.

That December afternoon we h ad seen what a strenuous andtiring Ille the miner's life Is. We had seen the condlttons heworks under - sweat, dust, grime and always the threateningdanger - and we left Thorne Colllery firmly convinced that

~ 11M BnlptlS;';"

though we should. nev.er like a miner's Ille we showd sympathise

with hI& lot. G. M. GUNSON.NO WAY OUT

Others had taken the same way out, but it would not be easy .

He hesitated; shou'd h e go on, or be weak and give In? It would

be so easy, he thought, Just to slip it around the neck, t ie the

knot, pull it tight, and then all would be over. What would hi.'

trlends say when th ey saw him - hls face livid , cr imson upon

his chest? They, too, would feel. his shame ; they, too, would' be

sorry tor him.His wite? She would be pleased ; she had driven him to it.

Somehow he felt sorry tor her-how could she want him to do it ?

No more time tor sentimental musings, the time had- come.

He dung it around the n eck, deft, practised fin gers tied t he

knot, strong hands pulled ti ght around the throat ; it was all over .

He turned down his collar and looked In the mirror. "Ugh,

why do relations bUy such loud ties for birthday presents?"PETER O. KALL

CHOP$TlCKSAxes are queer things, You needn't bother to con tradict me,

t or I know it omy too well MIn" was the queerest - a kind

of Old Nick among axes, and an Old Nick of a particularly nasty

disposition at that. We never did come to t erms all the time I

owned It ; It was cine long .,.,ar from beg1nn1ng to end, and I was

on the losing side, I'm alrald.The hatehet gave me an idea of pleas ur es In stere by biting

me as hard as It could soon art er I had bought It Nothing serious

of course, but I should have k)lOwn. r should have been fir m.

What I ought to have done was to sen the wretched thing before

It could do any more damage. But then I' m Just a big "cho pping­

block" anyway; I can't bear to let oth er people take the blame.

It's my sympathetic nature you know. So r call ed myselt all

manner ot sU:y names and dec ided that I h ad wielded the ax e

wrongly ; it was all my fault.Nevertheless I avoided using the enemy as much as possible

during the weeks that fC\llowed, and whil e the summer he at-wave

lasted I managed to keep out of range quite easily. But as Winter

drew nearer we had to have firewood, and that meant firewood '

had to be chopped .Creeping quietly to the door of the shed I peeped inside, and

saw the axe embedded in an enormous piece of oak which served

(like me) as a chopping block. There was such a malevolent

gleam on the axe-blad e, even In repose, that I leaped back.

bad!y sh aken. Gatherlng up a morsel ot courage I dash ed inside

the hut and seized the axe handle, hoping of course to take it by

surprise. The ruse failed, however, and the blad e remained

embedded In the wood. There was now nothing left for me

except sheer brute torce, a qulilllty. In which I am singularly

The BrigZ.,.sia,. 65

deficient. Holding the handle in anerveless grasp I pulled vIgor­ously, Nothing h appened. I tugged ; again nothing happen ed.I pushed. st rained, kicked and heaved and leaned, but all In vain .So I climbed on to the block and put a foot on each side of theoffending ch opper ; then I grabbed the handle once more andleaned backwards very firmly. Then I jerked with aU my mlgh t .The world reeled violently, ' hal!-remembered sh apes lurch eddrunkenly before Imy eyes ; .there was a sickening crash , and Icame to r est In a t angle of twisted, .meta.! wh ich had once beena watering-can. It had .been a gOOd water ing-can, too, and Ibegan to feel sorry I had ever seen that axe.

Turning to look at the cause of .all this suffering and tronbleI was astonished to fin d ,It smlltng softly at me. It seemed toinvite work, such was the benign expression on its face. It lookedas though chopping wood was just too easy and I'm ashamed tosay I was comp lete ly taken rn by Its benevolent appearance. It 'smy sympathetic nature you ,know.

I began to th ink that I h ad been wrong abo ut tnis hatch et .All that was wanted was a littl e underst anding - 'You had t osympathise with it , and make allowances for tts l1tt;ie pecular i­t ies. And who should know 'wh at t hose were better than I ?

The ax e al lowed me to pick it up, .and Jm Plr..d my confidenc eby refusing to cut me when I tested Its edge. After all, it wasonly an ordinary axe ; It 'might have had a rough Vfe - split tinglogs With your head Isn't exactly f un at t he best .ot t imes - bu tIt was snre:y just an ordinary axe. Supremely con fident I swun git above my h ead, then brought i t down m .a..slzzllng arc towardsa scared-looking log. It needn't have worried. "The hatchet -sud ­denly became as a feather In my bands. There was no weight toIt at all. I caught a fieetlng glimpse of the headless 'h andle andthen took a terrlflc blow on the back of my head. The .f1oor rearedtowards me .

A confused jumble of sound Impinged on my ree11ng senses.Dynamos, h am mers. bells and ghostly chlnklngs. A cllcklngsound , and the woodshed roof appeared above me, shimmeringthrough a mist of tears . I felt a hazy urge to get up. I toldmyself I was probably going to die, h orribly mang' ed : it wouldbe In the papers-headlines of c9urse. But my Ilmbs refused tofunction. This was no goOd - I sho uld' have t o be firmer. "Gctup and chop some wood " I lay there Inactive sWL "You mightbleed to death, you fool!" That did It. I shot three feet Into theair and ran, and I didn't stop running until I reached the kitchenwhere the firs t -aid t in reposes.

I sold the axe -on the very next day. We couldn't agree , ..ndthat was an end to It ; so It went to the first ,bidder . Can'tremember how much It made - I don't care. All I kn ow Is thatI've I1nIshed with axes, an<\ buy my firewOOd now .

W.A~Y. _

•

66 The Briggensian

THE BULLThere was a man who bought a farm;He found a bull (which meant no harm).He saddled It - It gave a grunt ,He sat on It , but back to front.The bull ran off with many a jump,.The man gave shout, clung to Its rump,And when the bull then tossed and rearedThe man's best belt on horns were speared.The bull now charged at fearsome paceAnd with a strange and mad-like faceCrashed through a shed with chickens In;The roof Ie:~ down to add to dln.The bull ru shed on, the man would clin gTo rail ings, roosters - anything !But laster yet tbe bull now cameUp to a gate - but, what a shame!It saw too late that It was shutAnd threw the man on to a hut.Th e man rolled down and hi t tbe ground.He la y there still, but then came round,And, when he did. he sold his farm,He sold th e bull (which meant no harm) :"Of all the things I'll be," said he ,"A farmer's one I'll never be."

A. J . TRACEY.

BEBIND THE IRON CURTAINIvan shUffled along the snow-covered streets of Josephgrad .

He had nowhere to go and no money in h is pocket. He could notafford even a licence to commi t suicide, for in the state of~one needed a licence even for that.

Onc e upon a time Ivan had had a brothe r who had ' beenunlucky enough to cough when tbe local commissar had beenspeakIng on th e recent improvements made by the government,and he had thereafter mysteriously disappeared.

As Ivan shambled along, he began to wonder how he couldget himself kUled without having to pay for the pr ivilege.Suddenly he had an Idea. His brother had been liquidated lorcoughing. He, Ivan, would stand outside the commissar 's houseand call out rude names. The guards would surely advance uponhim and shoot him for such an insult.

Arriving outside th e commissar's house, Ivan began to shoutthe most Insulting cr ies, and enjoyed hims elf In so doing, lor h isvocabulary was rich and his Inven tive powers remarkable.

When the amazed guards rushed out to see what the mat terwas, all they found was poor Ivan shivering In the snow.Incredulously, the sergeant demanded: " What Is the rnatter-?Have the Americans and British taken over t he goverfiment? "

The Brig-g-ensi"n 67

Belore Ivan could answer. the soldlers. delirious wtth joy.ran of! In t he direction 01 t he nearest public house. leaving Ivanstlll shiv ering. J. R. POTTS.

THE OWLThe sun has gone at las t to restBehind tile distant rolling hlll.Down In the valley, one by one .The lamps begin' to wlnlo and fillWith twlnkllng stars the valley's bowl.

Now comes the owl !

With staring eyes and pointed earsIt wtngS Its way above the house.But when It sees Its sought -for pr eyIt swoops straight down and ea ts a mouse.Then files away wtth screech an d howl.

The leathe red owl !B. HOUGH.

. THE HOUSEThe House stood on a hill overlooking the sea. It was abarren stretch 01 coast, lar away from' any village; rugged andInhospitable. A hundred years belore. many good ships had beenwrecked there. and many good men had lost their lives. and Itwas perhaps because 01 t his that the place waa shunned by the

locals. and was associated wtth death.The House Itsell was called Gaunt-e. fitting enough name,lorsuch a lorblddlng looking house. When the locals spoke ofGaunt . they spoke In awed. frigh tened whispers, and when. atnight. they had to pass It . they crin ged away Irom It wtth uneasyexpressions on their l aces .Man y strange happenings were connected with that house.At night, the people In the local publi c house would stare out01 the 'IlIndow at It as It stood silhouetted on t he sky-Une agatnst,the moon. and presented to their cowed minds an awe-inspiring,devilish place. and would te ll some newcomer the firs t dreadfulhappening.In the early elghteen-hundre'ds. a rich sea-trader bought thehouse, and moved In. Although It was a lon ely spot . he likedIt, and lor several weeks all went well, One night he bega n tofeel depressed and Irlghtened. and the thought came Into hishead that someon e was In the room wtth him, This, 01 course.was rtdleulous, as he well kn ew. and. put t ing ~hIs depression downto the l act t hat a terrible storm was raging outside, he pickedup a candle and went upstairs. Hall-way up the st airs hestopped . Uncontrollable terror and panic seized htm-c-someone.was coming up the stali. bihlnd- hlm. With a shrill t error-Illledcry 01 .. Who Is It ? .. he spun round-no-one was on the stairs,

•

66

With an eflort. he pulled h!mBe1! 'together and went to -bed ,

A few hours ,later . he woke uP. with the feeling that

somethtng WQB wrong. He WQB very cold, and saw that the

window was open. He Jumped out of bed. shut the window-and

turned round. Then he screamed, and screamed, horror and fear

In his voice , for standing In front of him was the tleshless n gure

of a black-stored monk.Next day. the sea-trader was found lying In front of the

window-dead. On his face was an expression of extreme

loathing and fear. To the most rustle person. It was obvious h e

had died of fright.From that day. at regular Intervals, lights were seen at the

dead of night In 'upst airs rooms. and tlesb1ess , skeleton figures

were seen walking slowly past the windows.Again. one afternoon. years later. a boy , wIshing to show his

fr ien ds how brave he was, ent er ed tpe 'h ouse . supremely confiden t

and not In the least bit afraid. That night, a crowd of men h ad

gone in search of him. but these 'men were filled with fear, and

It was only their great love of the boy that overcame It. After

a dlllgent search, they found the boy. He was squatting in a

comer. sobbing hysterically with t error. His hands were clench ed

so hard that his nails had dug deep into his palms. and the look

dn his face so terror-stricken that It Wllll a badly frightened body

of men that carried .htm out. The boy was found to be a raving

lunatic, and it was never found out what he had Been , But then ,

what dld it matter ? Everybody Imew,So the House. Gaunt, now stands untenanted , shunned by

IIOClety, and even. for that -mat ter , by birds and animals, tor

around the house, and the hill on which it stands, is a cloud of

mYBtery, deep. terrifying mystery through which n either 'man ,

bird nor beast can pass and live. F. A. 'FI;EAR. ,

A NONSENSE R~It was a wet, dark. stormy night,The roads were dry and clean,And I was wa1klng bacl<w\U"daTo the place where I had been.When suddenly I smelt a nolse ;I shut my eyes and 'looked.I saw a nolse-what could it be ?I felt that I'd been spooked,I got up closer to myselfAnd clung tight hold of me.I did the spUta. had tlfteen fttaAnd left myself with me.

B. R. BROWN,

Caldlcotts. ,pl"inters, Brigg and ,Galn"""o\l. b ,