by Ernest (Em) Ames (1941-46)
Reminiscences of Wartime COHS Schooldays and Beyond by Ernest (Em) Ames (1941-46)
Firstly I was not an outstanding student academically but the “Oxford Education” has stood me in good stead through the years opening doors that would have been otherwise closed to me. Not only was academic prowess a main theme but the gentlemanly deportment and attitude insisted on during all activities was an integral part of the COHS education.
Some of the recollections that spring to mind are not all good of course and I like many others had to cope with what is now called a “culture shock” when transferring from Donnington Primary as I did, to the world of an English Public School with all its traditions. We did of course survive but I have a suspicion that we may have altered a few of those traditions to a less rigid regime.
They say that first impressions are the ones to be taken note of and my first notable impression was at my interview with the be-spatted Mr Badham & Mr Searson. The first thing Mr Searson did was to look me up and down, then straight in the eye. His comment was “Brown Eyes – Deceit” – ooops!- My Mother being a feisty Yorkshire woman with brown eyes actually held her tongue which was surprising to me but the rest of the interview progressed well though under a slightly cooler atmosphere than I would have expected.
I think at that time I and a group of other students were the first intake from Primary schools under scholarships etc though I cannot recall the actual system change at that time. At the end of the interview Mr Searson contemplated for a while then said “I think we will put him in Salter House”. Why that recollection stands out I will never know, but it is one of those things that always stays with one’s memory.
I used to cycle in from the Littlemore Rd in Cowley via Westbury Crescent, occasionally meeting up with David Savage at the top or with Ronnie Barker (who was one year ahead of me, I believe) at the bottom of Church Hill Rd. Funny thing that – Ronnie was always a “Dag” (sorry about the Australian description but it fits him perfectly) and was told on frequent occasions that he would never make anything of himself if he carried on like that. That of course was proved wrong in no uncertain manner as he did finish up being one of COHS’s notable students.
The stricter discipline and established routines took a while to get used to but most of the new intake soon settled down. Saturday morning school with sports in the afternoon and lots of homework were quite unsettling as was the insistence of wearing the school uniform correctly whether in school or outside. And Yes, I did get hauled into the Head’s office to be given a lecture on correct behaviour while walking around Oxford with my cap on back to front and tie askew.
The wearing of Army Cadet & RAF Cadet uniforms on Saturday mornings was condoned as a necessity during wartime as we had to attend our cadet training immediately after school at that time. Other things like the out of bounds tower were always a challenge but managed by many without getting caught.
Practice evacuations to the air-raid shelters were always a nuisance event though we did enjoy the break from study while there. I can still recall the smell of that place.
As an aside at this point I will include some personal data:
My bedroom in the house on Littlemore Rd was on the Morris’s airfield flight path of the fighters coming in sometimes on a wing and payer from their action in the blitz and leaving after being repaired. So I had a constant air-show with fighters being tested at my disposal as well as the Tiger Moths that Morris’s built.
During the Blitz years I can remember the morning convoys of “queen mary’s” (low loaders) going past on the Littlemore Rd with German aircraft heading for the dump behind Morris’s and the Pressed Steel. I did have my own souvenirs of course from that dump till it was fenced off and made out of bounds because of the ammunition stored there.
At night the off-beat drone of German bombers following the Thames to the Midlands managed to keep me awake for hours. When London’s blitz was at its height I could see an orange halo in the night sky from my window and wondered how my cousin who lived in Hammersmith was fairing.
I often wondered why Hitler never bombed Oxford but found out after the war the there were detailed maps of all of Oxford and the surrounds but he wanted to maintain it as traditional seat of learning for his new proposed regime. There was also the same set of maps etc for Cambridge. There were not many air raid warnings but we did have to use the air raid shelter a few times that my father and I built in the back garden. After the war it was used to store the vegetables that my father grew. I can also remember the long army convoy of Canadians being brought in to help us, through which I had to thread my way to get to school.
Traditions – Dunking of heads down the bog as was the custom of kissing the chalk cross on the old wall – did not happen in my case and many of the new intake. They were traditions we could do without and in our minds unacceptable and something to be strongly resisted to the consternation of the perpetrators who came off second best in most cases.
Physics was always one of my favourite subjects and Mr Bodey (Pongo) was to my mind the one of the finest teachers I have ever met. He treated all students with equal respect and called us “Gentlemen” from the start and insisted on polite behaviour first and academic prowess second.
He did of course come in for some ragging and once his little Austin 7 car had a plaque placed on it where he would not see when getting into it. It read —- “In which we SWERVE” which of course was a play on a wartime quote. He was cross, of course, but took it in good part. That little car came in for a few more japes, the least said the better about those. He insisted that you could not split the atom but on leave from the army I visited and we had a chuckle about that as it of course had been done. I must admit that I used to query him frequently about many of the Physics theorems but he was always patient and took the time to explain further till I grasped the processes involved.
My writing I think was ruined with the time I spent in the Chemistry lecture hall and Lab trying to keep up with the notes being written on the blackboard by Harry Jacques and I did get a taste of that little wand. It was always amusing to see him rip his gown apart to get a rag to clean the blackboard. Accidents will happen of course I was responsible for mixing Sulphuric acid and water the wrong way round and I finished up taking Latin instead for the rest of that year!. It was almost as spectacular as Harry’s Big Bang experiment.
Mr Swires (my form master for a while) got a reputation for having one of the biggest tie collections in the world.
Mr Nelson’s French class was a hoot to me. His insistence on correct pronunciation resulted in some hilarious events when we could not emulate his probably very competent diction in that language – “pills” for instance. Later I did find a use for that subject when serving in the Middle East though at the time I thought it a waste of time.
Latin – Now there is a useless language that we had to learn but again found that it is the basis for all modern structured languages and once learned the others are easier to master. I think it was Mr Atkinson that taught Latin and had left wing tendencies, though my memory is hazy on that point, and why I remember that I do not know. Amo, amas, amat etc!.
Incidentally is there a really correct translation for the school motto – NEMO REPENTE SAPIT? There are various versions none of which I think are the correct exact translations. NEMO (No-one), SAPIT (The Wise, Wise, get wise) REPENTE (Repents, Go slow – slowly – etc). There were a few, such as “Don’t rush us” – “No-one repents wisely” – “No-one gets wise slowly” are some of the versions that come to mind. The other Latin motto was “Labor Vincit Omnia” which I can still decipher as “Labour Conquers all” or (“everything” maybe). After 60 odd years it is hard to recall some of the Latin or other subjects for that matter.
Geography with Mr Searson in his Geography Hut near the tuck shop with its dry dusty buns, scones, call them what you will, was also a highlight and a subject that I enjoyed. If I remember rightly he used to organise the swimming sessions at lunch time. We would all pile into a double-decker bus and go to Cowley baths which was indoor and heated. I still have all my long distance certificates signed by him.