Tag: Wartime

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COHS in the early 1940s

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. 

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The Early 1940s

by Ivan Mazonowicz (1940-46)

Ivan Mazonowicz (Mason since 1957) 1940-46 writes:

There were some fine teachers, eg Harry Jacques (Chemistry), ‘Pongo’ Bodey (Physics, who was my role model when I became a teacher, and ‘Tich’ Wright, among others. Some were not so fine. I vividly recall one pupil crying, on his hands and knees, being brutally kicked along a corridor by two of them.

I had two main interests – Chemistry and the ATC, and I took no part in any sports. I left with Higher School Certrificate in Chemistry, Physics and Zoology and a gliding certificate, courtesy of the ATC. On the same gliding course was Don Bennett who was caught one day by a freak gust of wind and landed his glider upside down. It frightened all of us present, but he emerged unharmed.

In form 5b my close friend was Desmond McCarthy. We talked much of our ambitions. His was to become a teacher, mine to fly with the RAF. I became a teacher, he became a navigator in the RAF – a short career. He was killed in 1958 when his Canberra crashed into a German mountainside.

On leaving in 1946 I worked as a lab assistant at the Pressed Steel Company, then at AERE Harwell until National Service struck. I spent two years as a private in the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry – mostly in Somalia. Disliking this greatly, as soon as I was released I joined the RAFVR to ensure no further army service.

In 1953 I was commissioned into the Training Branch and served 19 years with the ATC until, having qualified in the meantime as a sailing instructor, became Lt RNR with the sea cadets. In 1974 a stroke ended my nautical career and later led to early retirement from teaching.

In 1950-52 I qualified a a teacher at Culham College, then taught in Oxford, Montreal and Dorset, taking early retirement in 1981 and devoting my time to travel and writing with modest success.

In 1954 I did the wisest thing of my life and married Joyce Tennant (ex-Central School. Our daughter Penny has two daughters, one a doctor and the other a vet. Our first son Robert died at 40 of childhood cancer, Our second son (PhD in Chemistry) teaches in Christchurch.

 In 2000 I had a second stroke which left me needing a wheelchair. This we manage to take to Spain twice a year. Otherwise Joyce and I lead quiet valetudinarian lives in Dorset.

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It could have been written by me

by George Pulley (1944-49)


“I have to respond to the article in the July Newsletter No 8 by Mike Brogden

This could have been written by me of my experiences and feelings when at school in the forties (1944-9). I went, as I failed the 11 plus, as a paying scholar!, and my parents paid for me, for only two terms, I think when the government of the day decided to scrap that and they no longer paid. I felt as this group we were looked down upon and got the worst teachers, although I do not know if there were many good ones then. Most of our classes we had “Solar’, who “taught” us everything, or was it nothing? His speciality I believe was Latin, after one year it was dropped from our syllabus.

One of the teachers was younger and a right charlatan. How he missed being in the forces I do not know, probably on medical grounds, having nothing between his ears. A few anecdotes about this “teacher”. That being a horse racing addict from one year old (my grandfather being a jockey, I was 6 feet and 16 stone – believe that if you will), I often ran a book for big races i.e. Derby?, Grand National, with another boy Pat Forrest. Pat had the list of odds and was taking bets, probably a penny or sixpence max, when he came into class and caught him. “What is this?” he asked Pat. “Nothing Sir” as was the standard reply. He removed the document from Pat and said “This is odds for The Derby, let’s see what the price is …….?”, and promptly gave Pat a sixpence to wager on the horse, which incidentally lost. 

Another time he threw a hard blackboard duster at me, I ducked and it hit and broke a picture behind me; he thereafter stopped this practice. As it was wartime, things were hard to get, and he would often bribe boys to get things he wanted in return for letting them off detention etc. My speciality was Brylcream, which he liked, and I had a tame hairdresser who would supply me. I got a lot of detention and lines so he could bribe me. A lovely man! (A prize for guessing his name)

Although now I revere Ian “Spud” Taylor, I learnt little of physics, except those which related to Rugby football, a game I hated and still do. Luckily I wore glasses from age one and still do, so managed to avoid being a Hooker!

I never aspired to School Cert, as it was then, and at just under 16 Lay told my father perhaps he should find a job for me.. This was done, and although I hated Maths, most of my early working life was with figures. I spent 18 years at Pressed Steel in Accounts and Research, where figures were the order of the day. For all its faults I made my way successfully and for over thirty years, from age 38, ran my own Private Detective business, becoming President of my trade Association. I have since written a book of my memoirs, now out of print.

I was never interested in old boys club etc, until I heard that some old boys were getting together to form a new one. I went to the inaugural meeting at The Greyhound and the rest is history.

So, did things ever change at School after the forties and fifties? I wonder.”

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The WW2 Memorial

The school’s WWII Memorial is located in the Oxford Community School (previously the Oxford School, previously to that Southfield School and now the Spires Academy).

The Inscription reads: Grati Dulcem Colimus Memoriam Horum Huiusce Scholae Alumnorum Qui Pro Communi Omnium Libertate Vitam reddiderunt. MCMXXXIX – MCMXXXXV. 

The translation offered in the April 1966 Scvhool Magazine reads: “Gratefully we cherish the dear memory of those pupils of this scholl who for the general liberty of all men gave up their lives.”

Denis Tomlin offers the following alternative: “With thankful hearts we honour the cherished memory of those former pupils of this scholl who laid down their lives for the universal freedom of all men.”

The names of the 56 people remembered on the memorial are:

B C Adamson – H F Bannister – P L Bayzand – D H Beare – H M Beeson – M H Bullock – H T Burden – H D Buswell – J D Cox – A G Davies – R C France – W A Freeborn – R Griggs – S D J Grimsdale – J G Halliday – A F Hamilton – K C Hampson – S J Heath-Smith – R B Hester – D S Hill – K G Hill – J E Hills – P W Hine – T V Holbrow – K J Howes – H G Jarman – R Jennings – W G Johnstone – H R Keen – H A Kidd-May – C F King – E A Legrand – P J Lewis – W C Liebermann – P R Loose – J W Lynes – J N M Muir – J B T O’Neill – W J Pearce – R G Robbins – J A Rowley – H Sabarsky – H W J Savin – S M Seddon – E A Sims – H C Nichol Smith – I T Stanley – F W Taylor – J E Timms – J D Turner – J A R Ware – P A Watts – A W Webb – M D J Williams – C N Woodcock – CW Wright. 

An unknown pupil writes:

I was moved by the reference to the WWII memorial. Several of the men named on it were known to me. I was aware that one or two had been killed, but some others came as a shock. Even at this late date the thought of those young lives being lost is very saddening.

Among the names that I see is that of Jack Halliday, who was, I think, our last Cricket Blue (1935). When I joined the School he had just left, but he had obviously been a great sporting hero, and there was much talk of his getting a Blue, in which he was eventually successful in his second year.

Also among those lost is S J Heath-Smith (generally know at school as S J H Smith. My recollection is that he boxed for the university, though I am not sure whether it was before or during the war.

(Note from Ken Powell: There was a photo of S J H Smith in the school hall over the stage next to one of an eclipse! He boxed for Oxford before the war.)

One name missing is that of Dick (R S?) Withers. I have no certainty of his death, but I remember being told by Peter Quelch soon after the end of the war that he had been killed – I believe in an RAF bombing raid. He was a great chap, with whom I had much pleasure in collaborating on a Sixth Form magazine in the early days of the war.

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The School During WW2

by Don Adams (1939-45)

Don Adams (1939-45) writes:

I joined COHS in September 1939. The school premises were shared: COHS in the morning and Clement Danes in the afternoon. We were set 3 hours homework. Sizzy announced the fall of France on a trip to Whipsnade Zoo. Morley would “drill” us on the tarmac.

Honorary Sixth: was I the only incumbent? I failed OSC in 1944 with 7 credits but no English. Head Badham called me last on listings. Passed in December, left at Easter.

Note from editor Mike Chew: I remember going for some lessons to a building opposite the National Canteen by Gloucester Green. On some Saturdays we went to St Hilda’s College in Cowley Place, by the Plain.

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“Journey’s End”

by Ron Baker (c.1949)

Ron Baker (c.1949) writes:

Further to Ted Bown’s reference to “Journey’s End”, the play was produced by George Wright and performed on 2nd to 5th February 1949. The cast:

Captain Hardy: Alan Stokes
Lieutenant Osborne John Robinson
Private Mason James Higgins
L/Cpl Broughton Maurice Croxon
2nd Lt Raleigh Howard Jones
Captain Stanhope Paul Groves
2nd Lt Trotter Michael Somerlad
2nd Lt Hibbert Alan Lower
Co Sgt Major Michael Tregoning/Keith Gibbons
German Soldier Maurice Croxon
The Colonel Ron Baker

Paul Groves, who had left School in 1947 to study at RADA, took over the part at short notice after P Wharton was injured during County Rugby Trials, and Keith Gibbons took over as CSM when Michael Tregoning became ill just before curtain up on the second night.

The School Caretaker, Mr Durham, was also involved behind the scenes, one of his duties being to make the “stage whisky” with cold tea.

Eugh! 

Ed. This production was written up in the school magazine here. Journey’s End is a 1928 play by R. C. Sherriff, set in Northern France towards the end of the First World War. It has often been produced, as it provides a glimpse of life in the trenches and is of a manageable size for performances by amateur societies. First performed at the Apollo Theatre in 9 December 1928, it starred a young Laurence Olivier. (Wikipedia)

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A Memory of Mike Winters

by Derek Jeffs (1940s)

Derek Jeffs (1940s), at the School during the war, reminisces in the Oxford Mail about a disastrous night when he took part in a gig with the future comedian Mike Winters:

Mike Winters, whose real name was Mike Weinstein, was one of many evacuees who had come from London to Oxford. He later teamed up with Bernie Winters.

Four boys formed a quartet – Derek was on the double bass, Peter Payne on drums, John Beesley on piano and Mike Weinstein on clarinet.

“We mostly played in private in Peter Payne’s house, but on one occasion we were asked to do a professional gig.

Unfortunately the people who were there wanted to dance, and we didn’t have any dance music. Our music wasn’t what they wanted.” 

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The Air Training Corps

by John Bolt (1937-41)

John Bolt (1937-41) writes:

“In 1941, soon after the Government established the Air Training Corps (ATC), No. 1250 (Oxford Schools) Squadron, ATC, was formed; the schools involved being the three boys’ Grammar Schools in Oxford at that time. They were the High, Southfield and St.Clement Dane’s, the latter being an evacuated London school sharing the premises and facilities of the two Oxford schools.

The Squadron’s HQ and base was at Southfield School which had more suitable classrooms for instruction on navigation, meteorology, signalling, etc., and where the forecourt was useful for parades and inspections. Some of the teachers in the schools became the Squadron officers, the High School teacher/officer being D V “Douggie” Gilbert, whose subject at school was German.

A formal Squadron photograph taken in front of Southfield School on the occasion of an official inspection c.1942 shows some 55 cadets, of whom about 15 are High School pupils. A few High School pupils were already members of the City Squadron (No. 150), having joined the Air Defence Cadet Corps which was a forerunner of the ATC, and had elected to remain in that Squadron rather than transfer to the Schools Squadron. Also in the photo, as one of the guests, is Mr Badham, the High School headmaster.

Every ATC unit was affiliated to a Royal Air Force Sation and for No. 1250 Sqn. this was RAF Kidlington. It was there that many High School pupils, myself included, had their first ever flight. In 1941 this would have been in twin-engined Airspeed Oxford trainers. Later, when pilots were being trained for the invasion of Europe, our flights were in Hotspur training gliders. 

I don’t know how many boys went on to join the RAF, but certainly one High School pupil who did was Ted Beare (1937-41), who became a Sunderland flying-boat pilot but sadly was killed in North Africa.

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The School in Wartime

Writer unknown (1941-45)

When originally published Mike Chew apologised that he had temporarily mislaid the name of the author of this item, but would acknowledge its provenance in due course, which he never did. “Sua culpa”, as he said at the time.

“Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the latest COSA Newsletter I was trying to remember the various masters during the period 1941 – 1945. Old (very old) school reports gave me the following.

Continue reading “The School in Wartime”
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COHS in Wartime 1940-45

by Brian Gumm (1940-45)

Brian Gumm (1940-45) writes:

Looking back over some sixty years or more, my recollection of the COHS in war time was surprise that the process of education proceeded in a more or less orderly fashion with few interruptions due to the war raging across Europe. This I am sure was not the case, but through the eyes of a schoolboy it was the usual round of lessons, homework etc relieved by some of the exciting things going on around us.

Continue reading “COHS in Wartime 1940-45”
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