The

Aymestrey Magazine
AUTUMN, 1971
 THE AYMESTREY MAGAZINE AUTUMN, 1971

OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION

The twenty-ninth Annual General Meeting was held in the Memorial Library at the
School, on Saturday, 19th June, 1971.
Present: The President A. B. Aitken, J. W. G. Perry, A. B. Aitken, E. J. Wood, C.
G. B. Scovell, J. B. Hughes, E. R. Lane, D. C. A. Hughes, D. H. Griffith, D. M. Knox,
P. E. M. Ticehurst, P. W. D. Davies, M. J. Hughes, J. C. Smith, A. Dorrell, R. E. Lane,
J. L. Aldersey, A. H. Lane, S. J. Dorrell, I. G. Urquhart, T. R. Harrington, M. C. Powell,
A. G. Duncan, W. B. Stallard and C. J. A. Gallimore.
The Chairman John Perry welcomed members to the Meeting.
The notice convening the Meeting was taken as read and apologies were received
from : R. Tildesley, Air Vice Marshal D. N. K. Blair Oliphant, W. A. Banks, D. G. F.
Banks, E. J. Gallimore, T. S. Gallimore, P. Dorrell, J. A. M. Thomson, C. W. Massey,
A. Powell, Richard Coates, J. Eyton Coates, A. N. K. Brown, D. Hickman, R. J. Thomason,
C. Foster.
The accounts were presented and although an excess of Income was recorded it
was pointed out that the News Letter had cost £12 in postage which was not in the
accounts but that the new subscription rates should help the balance sheet in the future.
The Minutes of the 1970 Annual General Meeting were read and there being nothing
arising were confirmed and signed.
Election of Officers 1971/72.
Chairman: R. H. M. Tildesley could unfortunately not be present but was proposed
and seconded in his absence. W. B. Stallard acted as Chairman for the remainder of
the Meeting.
Vice-Chairman: David Hughes.
Committee Additions: A. H. Duncan, M. Powell.
Honorary Auditor: R. H. Collins in his absence abroad tendered his resignation
which was accepted with a message of thanks being recorded for his services in
the past. There being no nomination at the time D. H. Griffith, R. H. M.
Tildesley and the Secretary were requested to try to find a successor.
Honorary Secretary/ Treasurer: C. J. A. Gallimore was re-elected but told the
Meeting that as he had done some ten years' service he will be thinking of
retirement sometime in the near future and the meeting was asked to think of a
possible nomination.
School Correspondent: D. A. N. Asterley was unanimously re-elected and the meeting
recorded a vote of thanks for his service.
Any Other Business.
It was proposed by A. B. Aitken and seconded by W. B. Stallard that Dr. R. W.
Thomason who had been the medical officer to the School for 30 years be made an
Honorary Member of the Old Aymestrey Association. The Meeting unanimously agreed to
this proposal.
The Tree that members have contributed towards as a memorial to the 100th
anniversary of the birth of Tief last year is now planted by the pavilion. and is flourishing.
Mr. Griffith told the meeting that the swimming pool which had been causing
trouble had been put right in a temporary measure, but that further great expense would
recur in about five years' time.
3
There being no further business the meeting closed with a vote of thanks being recorded to
Mr. and Mrs. Griffith and Staff for their excellent hospitality during the afternoon at the
School.
The Dinner was held at the Diglis Hotel in Worcester for the first time for a number
of years. It was attended by 34 members with their wives and fiancees who agreed that it
was an improvement on recent years.
OLD BOY NEWS
L. H. Biggs is senior housemaster* at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, Bristol. [*houseman?]
D. C. F. Fayle visited us when in Europe for a forestry conference in East Germany.
He does research for the Canadian Government Forestry Service and is editor of its
technical journal.
P. D. L. Thomson has twin boys, born in February.
C. Biggs is manager of the Palace Theatre in London.
C. J. A. Gallimore has a daughter, born in the Spring.
M. G. Godsall was married in the Spring to Miss C. F. Tustin.
B. W. Massey has a son, born in June.
C. J. Barnes is manager of a thousand-acre vineyard in New South Wales. He has
two sons.
T. Bates has passed his F.R.C.S. at the first attempt.
A. J. Powell is working for a firm of estate agents; he is at present based on the
Northampton area and is concerned mainly with forestry.
R. E. Barnes, besides running a produce-shop in conjunction with his brother, G.G.,
works for a firm of agricultural sprayers and millers-on-the farm ; and even then finds time
for the Territorial Army.
J. A. Chandler has passed his B.Sc. at Aberdeen University, and has temporarily
joined the staff at Aymestrey before starting to read medicine at Birmingham.
M. C. Powell, studying catering, is at present working as a waiter at the Savoy.
W. I. C. Clark, reading medicine at Cambridge, represents the university at shooting,
of which he has been secretary. His past and future research projects embrace subjects as
diverse as scoliosis and the Somali wild ass.
C. R. A. Leakey, after helping with Aymestrey's scout camp, spent a month walking
and camping on his own in Sutherland and Wester Ross.
R. M. White visited the school recently in the car which he already owned when at
Aymestrey.
M. J. Hughes has passed 6 O levels at Bromsgrove, in addition to the 2 which he had
already.
E. W. D. Tildesley has been awarded a Music Exhibition at Uppingham.
P. M. Woodward represented his house at Wrekin in gymnastics, coming 4th; he won
the diving in his age-group, and had two 2nds and two 3rds in swimming races.

LEAVERS AND NEW BOYS

The following have left :
C. P. Brandram-Jones. Came Sept. 1967. (Abbotsholme).
D. R. Hardy. Came Jan. 1968. Prefect. Patrol Leader. (Bryanston).
P. D. Lead. Came September 1966. Prefect. Rugger XV. Soccer XI. Swimming
Colours and Cup 1970. Patrol Leader. (Allhallows).
M. G. Pullen. Came Jan. 1971. Soccer XI. Cricket XI.
S. Twinberrow. Came May 1967. Prefect. Rugger XV. Soccer XI. (Malvern).
4

R. Veal. Came Sept. 1968. Prefect. Leader of Greys. Rugger XV. Patrol Leader.
(Felsted).
New Boys : Sept. J. W. F. Edwards, D. R. Elt, A. J. Johnson, M. St. J. C. Jones, I.
McCulloch. January, G. Johnson, R. Johnson, A. Jones, M. A. L'Estrange, M. G. Pullen.
April, M. B. D. Godsall, S. N. Goodwin, N. Lead, S. C. S. Leece, D. C. Moore, C. G. A.
Thomas.

Dr. THOMASON
After many years of faithful service to the school Dr. Thomason has retired.
At the A.G.M. of the O.A.A. he was unanimously elected an honorary member of the
Association.
To the letter of invitation he replied :-
3 Priory Rd.,
9th July, 1971. Hanbury Park,
Worcester,
Dear Mr. Griffith,
Your very kind letter of appreciation moves me deeply.
My visits to Aymestrey were always a pleasure, and the many associations over the years
give me very happy memories.
To become a Life member of the Old Boys' Association is an honour that I much
appreciate and I look forward to meeting former pupils as Old Boys.
I treasure the tie for all it represents, and which I shall wear with pride. Thank you very
much.
I hope to see you at the Sports Meeting to-morrow.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,
R. W. Thomason.

LECTURE
On March 3rd we welcomed Mr. Darlington, from the Science Dept. of Malvern
College, who gave us a most instructive and entertaining lecture on Beetles with special
reference to the one that causes Dutch Elm Disease.
He brought many exhibits with him and answered endless questions and we are most
grateful to him for all the trouble he took.

GIFTS
We are very grateful to the following for gifts to the School.
Col. and Mrs. Tildesley for a set of new hymn books.
Mr. and Mrs. Harris for covers for the swimming pool.
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas and Dr. and Mrs. Knox for new football goal nets.
Mr. and Mrs. Lane for new cricket nets.
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy for a set of nature reference books for the library.
Mr. and Mrs. Rosoman for a most generous cheque which was spent, at their
suggestion, on some redecorations.
Mr. and Mrs. Yeoward for a complete set of Shakespeare in single volumes.
5

SUNDAY OBSERVER
We had an unusual experience in the middle of the Christmas term when Mrs. Caroline
Nicholson, who is a free-lance journalist, came to stay. She was doing some research for
an article on Prep. Schools, commissioned by the Sunday Observer.
We enjoyed having her and understand that Aymestrey was one of twelve schools she
was to visit and that her article is due to be published sometime in the Autumn.

RUGGER
The greatest merit of the season was the enthusiasm at all ages, from top to bottom
of the school, and from matches and games to intelligent watching of 'Rugby Special'
on Saturday nights. The junior game, though constantly drained of their best players as
these rose to senior status, showed great keenness and energy, and seldom have there
been fewer 'passengers' in the whole school.
In the senior game there were two big faults ; most players went on far too long doing
things they were told never to do ; and most were dreadfully slow to learn the laws ; you
do not know them until your reaction to being offside, say, is as quick as the movement
of a car-driver's foot to the brake in an emergency. Both faults were partly, but not
entirely, due to our being very young, the average age of the XV was 11.7, and most
were small even for their age.
This made our match prospects poor, and we duly led off with four defeats ; but
the scores against us were lower than we expected. Faced by far larger boys, the
forwards got a creditable share of possession, and the backs, fired by Kingston's
example, tackled heroically, but there was not enough thrust in attack. Then, on a very wet
day which was to our disadvantage, we managed to beat Winterfold 5-3 ; Kingston scored a
good try from a break by Martineau, and Twinberrow (who never did it before or since!)
converted from a wide angle. This was followed by one really bad performance against a
very good Elms side. But we finished in a blaze of glory. Seaford had previously
beaten us 3-18, but we now suddenly got into top gear and won convincingly 16-3.
Bennett and Samwells shared the first try in a general forward surge over the line, and
the others were scored by Veal, Twinberrow and Lead P. It was fitting that most of the
tries were scored by forwards, though the backs too showed improved form. Kingston kicked
two conversions.
In colour matches, Greys beat Blues, Blues beat Greens, and finally Greys
overwhelmed the other two combined, playing extremely well. The kicking cup was
won by Blues, Kingston being easily the highest scorer, but the standard was low.
The XV was : Martineau, Johnson, Twinberrow, Kingston, Peters, Hamer,
Tildesley, MacGregor, Samwells, Lead P., Jones, Veal, Bennett, Lead W., Hardy S.
Special mention must be made of the all-round forward ability of Veal, the splendid
scrummaging of the props, MacGregor and Lead P., the tireless reliability of
Tildesley, Hamer's handling, and the tackling of Kingston. With most of the team still
available for the new season, prospects should be good, but the chickens are not yet hatched.

SOCCER
The standard of football in the senior game was below average and the XI never
settled down to play as a team. Several matches were cancelled due to fields being
unplayable and all 5 of the ones we did play were lost. Very few boys were able to
control the ball properly and this was accentuated by the wet conditions.
Kingston began the season in the forwards but he was never able to get the line going
well, except on rare occasions, and he proved to be of more value to the side when he went
in goal, where he played really well.
The backs were not sound and the halves lacked tactical sense as well as ball control.
6

Hamer did some good things on the right wing but the rest of the forwards were
disappointing. The one exception was Davies J. who would have played in the last match
had it not been cancelled ; he was the only boy in the team who both understood the
value of constructive passes and could give them accurately and quickly.
Those not in matches who played quite well at times were Burgoyne, Masters, Peters
and Davies R.

CRICKET
 The cricket this year was strange, for although there were seven or eight boys capable
of batting quite well and making runs and two more who could use the long handle
effectively, they only managed to do it in the games and never, or hardly ever in matches.
As has happened before match nerves got us out more than the opposition's bowling, so
that of 11 matches played we drew 5 and lost 6.
As for the bowling, the captain, Kingston, stood out head and shoulders as the best. He
bowled throughout every match, no mean feat, and returned figures of 49 wickets for an
average of just under 9 runs each. At his best he bowls fast and well. Against the
Fathers he took 6 for 46 including a hat-trick. When the fast bowling was not going
well he changed to slow leg and off breaks and bowled them quite tidily. It is no good
expecting one man to do all the bowling though, and there just was not enough support.
Samwells C. and Lead W. promised well to begin with, but the former faded right out and
Lead only once had good figures, when he bowled against Winterfold and took 5 for
21. Johnson A. and Harris were hopelessly erratic though the former is young, shows
promise and bowls the occasional good ball. Late in the season Hamer demonstrated that
if you bowl straight and to a good length wickets will fall, and doing this he took 6 for
26 in 17 overs against Abberley ; Kingston apart, this was the best bowling performance
of the term and bodes well for next year.
Kingston's 59 against the Fathers was the best innings played. His defensive
technique against good bowling is sound and he hits the bad balls very hard, especially
to leg, but it was lapses in concentration when doing this that nearly always caused his
downfall. Unfortunately he never produced his powerful off drives well except in the nets
where he looked very good. Johnson played one remarkable innings against Abberley.
Coming in at No. 10, with the score at 32 for 8 he played out time for 40 minutes with
Tildesley, scoring 19 not out in a stand of 33 runs. Tildesley batted stubbornly as he had
done on some previous occasions. The only other innings worth a mention was 16 not
out by Harris against the Elms. This was the last match and the Elms had won all their
previous games. However they made the mistake of batting too long, in making 150 for 9
declared, and then found they could not get us out. Though taking nearly an hour for his
runs Harris batted with courage and good sense to make this creditable draw possible
against a very much stronger side.
The overall impression of the fielding was unsatisfactory, particularly on the ground
and when throwing, far too much of it being clumsy and slow. Nearly all members of
the team did well in practice but they lacked the vital concentration necessary in
matches. There were three exceptions to this : Kingston, who was very safe and
quick ; Pullen, who caught some splendid catches ; and Johnson, who was alert in the
field ; all three can throw really well.
Hardy's wicket-keeping was erratic, with one good performance against Seaford, where
he had 5 victims, 4 of them stumpings, which showed what he could do.
Kingston was awarded his colours.
We were most grateful to Mr. B. M. Brain, who recently retired from the Worcester
County side, who and gave us many hours of valuable help. What a pity the results were
such a poor reward for all the time and effort he put into his expert coaching.
7

In the final match the side was Kingston, Hardy, Harris, Pullen, Tildesley, Hamer, Lead W.,
Johnson A., Jones C., MacGregor and Samwells C. Others in the senior game who
showed some promise were McCulloch, Masters, Rosoman, Davies R. and Burgoyne.
Of the juniors Moore, Ridley, Edwards J., MacLaren, Edwards J. W. and Godsall
showed up well.

GYM
The standard rose considerably this year. The cup was won by Blues, with Greens
second ; and colours were awarded to Kingston, Hamer, Tildesley, and Lead W. Bennett,
Johnson A., Peters and Martineau did well, and special mention should be made of Hardy
D. and MacGregor, who made great progress through hard work without marked natural
ability.

SHOOTING
This went badly, far too many boys being apparently content to be worse than their
predecessors. The competition was won by Greys and the individual cup by MacGregor,
who was awarded his colours.
 PENTATHLON
Tildesley, who won it last year, was the only holder of the white badge. Bennett and
Johnson A. made very good progress for one year, McCulloch N. did well, and these
three plus Lead W. have a good chance of completing all tests next year. Blues were top
scorers.

CROSS COUNTRY
Blues also won the cross-country running, the first three individuals in being
Kingston, Hardy S. and Martineau. Times were pretty good.

SWIMMING
The standard in the upper half of the school was high. Lead P. was a very powerful
and stylish swimmer, able to stand comparison with any we have had except in diving;
Lead W. and Peters are very polished all-rounders with two summers still to go ; besides
them, Colours were awarded to Mead, MacGregor, Bennett; and Tildesley and
Kingston would almost certainly have joined them but for a shortish season and their
absences at cricket matches. We have seldom had as many competent performances.
Ridley, Johnson A., Samwells J. and Leece showed promise further down the list, and
there were a number of hopeful beginners. Ten previous non-swimmers were afloat by
the time we reached Sports Day. Greys won the Swimming Sports but Blues passed so
many more Tests that they won the Cup. The results in Swimming Sports were :-

SENIOR : Free Style 1. Lead P. 2. Peters 3. Lead W.

Breast Stroke 1. Lead P. 2. Lead W. 3. Tildesley
Back Stroke 1. Lead P. 2. Peters 3. Lead W.
Underwater 1. Lead P. 2. Peters 3. Lead W.
Life Saving 1. Lead P. 2. Peters 3. Tildesley
Diving 1. Peters 2. Lead W. 3. Mead
JUNIOR:
Free Style 1. Johnson A., Ridley 3. Samwells J.
Breast Stroke 1. Ridley 2. Leece
Back Stroke 1. Ridley 2. Lead N. 3. Samwells J.
Diving 1. Ridley 2. Johnson A. 3. Leece

RELAY : 1. Greys 2. Blues

8

ATHLETICS
Competition was keener and more exciting than for several years, both between the
Colours and between individuals. The number of Standards passed rose by 7 per
cent; and those who passed all their Standards were Kingston, who was awarded his
Colours, Hardy, Peters, Hamer, Martineau, Tildesley, Johnson A., Masters, and Ridley.
In the inter-Colour competition, Greys were 3 points ahead of Greens in Standards,
and went further ahead in the Sports in Divisions I and II, a vital factor for them being
that Lead P. in the senior division did better than expected; but Greens were powerfully
represented in the two junior divisions, and at the end of the individual events they were
10 points up. Greys however won both relays, which just gave them the Cup, the
decision being only a matter of a few feet in the last race of the day.
There were no outstanding performances in Division I; but in II Martineau and
Hamer both did extremely well, as did Johnson A., Elt, and Masters in III, and Ridley and
Moore in IV. The results were :-
DIVISION I.
440 yards 1. Kingston 2. Lead 3. Twinberrow 68.4 sec.
100 yards 1. Twinberrow 2. Kingston 3. Pullen 12.4 sec.
Hurdles 1. Kingston 2. Lead
High Jump 1. Lead 2. Kingston 3. Twinberrow 4ft. 1in.
Long Jump 1. Twinberrow 2. Lead 3. Kingston 13ft. 91n.
Cricket Ball 1. Kingston 2. Pullen 3. Lead 51 yds.

DIVISION II.
220 yards 1. Martineau 2. Hamer 3. Tildesley 30.4 sec.
100 yards 1. Martineau 2. Bennett 3. Hamer 13.2 sec.
Hurdles 1. Hamer, Tildesley 3. Martineau
High Jump 1. Hamer 2. Jones C., Martineau 3ft. 11in.
Long Jump 1. Bennett 2. Martineau 3. Hamer 12ft. 5in.
Cricket Ball 1. Hardy 2. Martineau 3. Peters 50 ½ yds.

DIVISION III.
100 yards 1. Elt 2. Johnson A. 3. Masters 14.2 sec.
Hurdles 1. Johnson 2. Elt 3. Masters
High Jump 1. Johnson 2. Masters 3. Elt 3ft. 8in.
Long Jump 1. Elt 2. Johnson 3. Masters 11ft. 5in.
Cricket Ball 1. Johnson 2. Masters 3. Davies R. 45 yds.

DIVISION IV.
80 yards 1. Moore 2. MacLaren 3. Ridley 11.2 sec.
Hurdles 1. Ridley 2. Jones M. 3. MacLaren
High Jump 1. Ridley 2. Jones 3. Edwards, McLeod 3ft. 6in.
Long Jump 1. Moore 2. Ridley 3. Jones 12ft. 2in.
Cricket Ball 1. Ridley 2. Moore 3. Jones, 41 yds.
MacLaren

CAMP
In contrast to the blazing sunshine of camp week itself, its previous background
was somewhat cloudy. A year or two ago the Scout Standard was introduced,
corresponding to the old Tenderfoot and Second Class. Here and there the required
tests tend to be irrelevant to our conditions; some are too easy and we make them a bit
harder; but by and large they are thoroughly sensible, useful and interesting. For some
time boys' attitudes to them have been getting worse; tests are either passed far too
slowly, or they are passed and the knowledge is promptly forgotten. Things came to a
head in May. The Riot Act was read : a list of twelve of the most important tests was drawn
up : and anyone who did not pass or re-pass them in a month
9
(or in the case of the newest-joined make at least creditable progress) would not go to
Camp. A few boys qualified with ease and speed, and then turned and helped the rest of
the keen ones ; and in the end two-thirds of the troop made it. The fact that those who
did not included three who were at Camp last year leaves the S.L. sad but unrepentant
over his Draconian decree, which was in fact only a return to our principle of earlier
years, when the passing of Second Class was a condition of going.
So it came about that only sixteen scouts piled into Mr. Batty's van and left the Prison
Gates with a cheer - leaving also, incidentally, the camp notice-board and Peters'
jersey. This was our smallest army for a long time, which in some respects increased
the amount of work per man; but they were sixteen who seemed likely to be keen to go
on deserving the privilege they had earned, and this likelihood soon became fact. For it
is safe to say that we have never had a more consistently cheerful set of hard workers,
and that in spite of the weather.
Yes, I said "in spite of" ; for (addressing for a moment the 697 people who told us
what lovely weather we were having) dry weather is a help, except for the fact that you
don't learn how to cope with wet, but hot weather is a hindrance. It is not always easy to
cart another can of water from the farm, or cut and lug in another load of wood under a
broiling sun when it is already three hours since breakfast and you have been working all
the time ; but not only was there no " It's not my turn," but it was usually an offer of "
I'll go," or someone had already gone unbidden.
 Heat apart, there is of course a great cheerfulness in sunshine, and it has many
other effects. It enables Hardy to go about without his shirt, ostensibly for comfort
but really to show his muscle ; it enables Kigstod, id spite of hay-fever, to pludge id first
at swibbig tibe, instead of creeping id so slowly that id's all out before he's half id ; and it
makes what little of Hamer's face is visible under his hair so sunburnt that it looks like a
mixture of strawberries and sandpaper.
Nights however, by a river at 700 feet, are often cold, with the grass silver with dew
under the mist at dawn ; and two or three of ours were the chilliest our S.L. has known,
at any rate since his reputed early camping experience in the Napoleonic Wars. The
Camp however slept well, and as early as the third morning every scout was still asleep at 7
a.m.
This was a welcome sign of efficiency, since sleeping well on the ground is both a skill
and a reflection of confidence ; and in two other respects there were good points worth
recording. One was that really good use was made of the bathing pool ; no one could say
that bathing was a solemn affair, but boys really swam instead of pointlessly fooling
about, and we have probably never had so much diving done. The other point was that
equally good use was made of free time. The Castle was climbed, attacked and defended
from every angle ; several boys extended their exploration to One Tree Hill ; five went to
Alpine Bridge by road and back by river - after the long hike too; and many were
completely enthralled by fish. Fish indeed provided a great deal of entertainment. Boys
paddled earnestly about for hours after minnows, bullheads and loaches ; (incidentally
these may have had something to do with Willie's taking 15 minutes to brush his teeth,
which is a little more than the time he spends over it at school); Kidstod, sorry, Kingston
more ambitiously caught his first two sizable trout on a fly and duly ate them ; and there
was a splendid salmon in our own pool right by the tents, so that a good deal of time
was spent saying 'Cor' when he jumped.
Apart from interference by fish, washing up was pretty good, except for tea-stains,
which accumulated too easily ; they are harmless maybe, but look bad. Frying-pans were
on the whole cleaner than faces, Veal's and Harris's being dirty for twenty-three-and-
three-quarter hours a day, while Mucky - well, what can you do with a name like that?
Anyway he rubbed the term's inkstains off his fingers by weaving a marvellous beret-
basket for his patrol out of plaited rushes.
10
Because of the heat we abandoned the usual short hike and substituted a large-scale
stalking game centred on the castle. The long hike was interfered with by a few boys' going
mildly sick, a thing we have had happening before in very hot weather; but twelve boys
made a good day of it, the two parties handling their maps and compasses well enough to
meet successfully on the summit and get back to tea at the Severn Arms ahead of time.
Visitors' Day went well. There were more local people than usual at the service, the
church was packed, and the singing was spirited and of considerable volume. Afterwards we
entertained between thirty and forty people to tea, showed them round and let them see
us swim, and it was all very pleasant, including the various gifts of food for which we were
extremely grateful.
Talking of gratitude, it is to be hoped that boys will really try to appreciate the rare
generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Collard and Mr. Lloyd, who not only give us our site and
suffer invasions of their kitchen but also supply all that tractor-fuel and time in the
middle of hay-harvest without letting us pay a penny. It was good that we were able to
give a little extra hay-making labour in return, and we shall hope to do so again. Our
thanks are due to Charles Leakey for again giving a week of his holiday to help us, and to
Mrs. Griffith for organizing our supplies to such perfection that not even our quartermaster
could make a mess of them.
Actually one is compelled to admit that he was rather good. No supplies gave out or
went bad, and our larder in a ditch under a culvert, though not as handsome as a fridge,
was extremely effective. Cooking too was good and quick, so much so that one took it
for granted and was only occasionally reminded of what might happen, as when a rather
surprising brew of tea turned out to have been made in the porridge-water which had
three tablespoons of salt in it.
One feature of this camp was that, though never downhearted, we may perhaps be
said to have been cowed. The cows which belonged in our field all had calves, which did
away with their usual destructive curiosity so that they never interfered with us at all.
But the ones across the river spent much of the first three days in determined assaults on
our frontiers, breaking in five times. We did a good deal of fence-making with thorn
bushes and odd bits of barbed wire. " There ; they won't get through that," we said . . .
and they were through in ten minutes. But after the last night attack (a scene with
cowboys in pyjamas would make a nice change in a Western), they went off to watch T.V. or
something and left us alone.
Another change from last year was that there were nothing like as many minor injuries
and we used only about a tenth as much sticking-plaster. But in other respects tradition
was upheld. For instance, we assemble for free time, various instructions are given, and
Mead is reminded that last year he started by falling in the river. Off we go to our
various pursuits . . . Mead falls in the river.
For a final assessment, there seems no harm is comparing our camp with two others.
There had been campers (not Scouts) in our field a week before, and the litter of paper
and plastic and half-buried tin cans gave us a good example of how a site should not be
left. And the S.L. has just been seeing a good deal of another Scout camp. They were a
good Troop, and there was much to admire and to learn from. When the whistle
(corresponding to our horn) went, all scouts arrived at the double; but our patrol tents
were tidier. They had far more and better gadgets, mostly made at home and brought
ready to set up, and at least two of their ideas we must copy; but our lashings were much
better. Their cooking was more varied than ours, some of it much more ambitious, some
not. But where we were most different — and here I do not mean to run their camp down
— was in simplicity. Their equipment must have cost three or four times as much as ours
— gas cooking stoves all round, for instance ; about one grown-up for every two boys and
the grown-ups seemed to do a great deal of the work (what did you say? Shut up!); nearly
twice as many tents as we had ; a tuck-shop (no we won't); and so on. Theirs was a good
camp ; but so was ours. And I think that our way of camping is something to be proud of,
and so was this example of it. Well done.
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