The Christ’s Hospital Community 25 Years Ago March 2004
The news broke that Dr David Newsome was resigning after nine years as Headmaster. He gave The Blue a ten-page interview: ‘Education is not really about theatres, clubs, computers... It is about standards, values, principles, spiritual ideals, for facing the trials and agonies of living.’ His daughter Janet became engaged to Julian Berkeley (Th B 69-77).
Start of term was delayed by a food shortage caused by a lorry drivers’ strike. Ray Jarman replaced Claud Guest as Postmaster/Headmaster’s Orderly. Dr Paul Maddren (Staff 74- ) married Cynthia Pearce.
The First XI was dogged by bad weather and unable to field the same team twice but captain Bob Kelly and secretary John Sedgwick never flagged.
Reggie Watters (Staff 67-87) and Robin Case (Pe A 61-68, Staff 75-80) staged Ibsen’s The Pretenders, with Nick Pike, Jon Bedford and Paul Ho-Sang in leading roles. Other attractions: an ambitious revue, The Twenties! The Twenties!, and LHB’s The Royal Astrologers.
Bands active in the School were The Ache, The Active, Metropolitans, The Offcuts, Remains of Rebellion, Pete’s Headache and Captain Savage and the Leathernecked Raiders, the last containing Mike Campbell who’s now record producer Mike Swai.
Only one Newgate Streeter attended Old Blues’ Day. The Dance Band played at the Dorchester. In the Mirror two boys, James Bogue and Stuart Billing, rebuked singer Ian Dury for disparaging CH.
At the end of term an invitation rugby match was played in aid of the Chris Burns Appeal. The CH Band performed with the band of the Honourable Artillery Company. The CCF RAF section went to Laarbruch, Germany.
Public honours: Rear-Admiral Tom Bradbury (La A 34-39) CB, Colin Brant (La A 39-48) CVO, Tom Pearce (Ma A 17-22, Governor) OBE. In Belgium: Jack Watt (Ma B 30-36, Governor & Almoner) Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne.
At Waterloo University, Ontario, three Old Blues and a former master were all Professors.
The Newbury OBs’ association was fifty years old.
Robert Sells (Th A 48-55) performed a kidney transplant on television. John Elliott (Ba A 49-57) received the Blue Circle Award for Industrial Journalism. P F Portwood (Col B 37-45) became President of the Association of Educational Psychologists.
The death occurred of the well-loved H T Wickham (8’s, Mid B 1896-1904). Roger Martin (Ba B 47-55, Staff 63-68, 72-96) contributed a sensitive obituary of the Rev Cecil Cochrane (Staff 37-57).
