by Brian Bowler (1944-1951) Submitted by his contemporary, Alan Trinder It was traditional at the High School for the sixth form boys to indulge in ‘rags’. These were more or less harmless pranks, outside of the school rules but generally tolerated by the staff as an expression of youthful high spirits. The year I was… Continue reading The perfect rag
Category: Chronicles
Stories & events OHS people witnessed or participated in
The Winter of 1946/7
The school magazine and Andrew Marr. Mike Chew writes: Readers may possibly remember that the first edition of our newsletter contained the editorial in the school magazine about the catastrophic winter of 1946/7. What is interesting about this editorial is how it tells of the hardships endured by members of the School. On two occasions… Continue reading The Winter of 1946/7
A tour of the school
by Ron Baker and Bryan Beames. Ron writes: “I recall that, having made many guesses over the years, the present occupants were surprised to learn that their Common Room was once a large chemistry laboratory, and were impressed by the lecture theatre, still in constant use. However, their imagination had been stimulated most over the… Continue reading A tour of the school
The Winter of 1946/7
April 1947 – EditorialLovers of statistics will probably find some subtle and abstruse connection between the date 1881, 1895 and 1947. These were all hard winters. That of 1881 was remarkable for its snow and old Oxford residents can remember piles of it that were thrown over Magdalen Bridge until it was level with the… Continue reading The Winter of 1946/7
Collecting and Digging for Victory
From wartime magazine no 3 January 1942Almost everyone seems to be busy collectinq something or other these days to help the war effort, and the members of the School have proved themselves no exception to the rule. Apart from our efforts in the National Savings Scheme, of which details are given elsewhere, boys have made… Continue reading Collecting and Digging for Victory
The COS Old Boys’ Machine-Gun Platoon
July 1932 In the Old Boys’ section of the school magazine of July 1932 it is announced that the Old Boys have formed a Machine-Gun Platoon in conjunction with the Machine-Gun Company of the 4th Bn. Oxf. and Bucks Lt Infantry. “Recruits sign on as Territorials for four years and are required to do a… Continue reading The COS Old Boys’ Machine-Gun Platoon
How Lawrence joined the RAF
On August 30, 1922, Lawrence of Arabia arrived at the RAF recruiting office in 4 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London to enlist as John Hume Ross. This newspaper report by W E Johns of Biggles fame (1922) appeared in September 1959 (Johns was 66 at the time and died in 1968). Unfortunately it has not… Continue reading How Lawrence joined the RAF
Experiences in France in 1916
by ADC (Passed by Censor) This is a personal indulgence by Mike Chew who read the article – of which this passage is just the beginning – in the Oxford High School Magazine of December 1916. He left it to others to react in their own way. September 27th 1916 I had the greatest day… Continue reading Experiences in France in 1916
Time to ask what work is for
Ian Lamb writes: The rest of this newsletter is devoted to the full text of an article written by “Jock” Sutton (I am indebted to Alan Trinder for forwarding it to me). I was going to to edit it, to make room for another feature, but as I read it time and time again, I… Continue reading Time to ask what work is for
Arthur Wilson Cave 1888-1900
The Unfinished School History by Geoffrey Hart Chapter 2: The First 12 Years of Mr A W Cave’s headmastership Readers are invited to read résumés of the first two chapters (in Newsletters 4 and 6) of the History of the School, written by Geoffrey Hart just before he died. These cover the first years of… Continue reading Arthur Wilson Cave 1888-1900