MEMBERS OF STAFF, 1907-1976

 1907-1916:

T. Shopland (Headmaster, 1907-1931), S. M. Douglas, F. E. Richards, A. H. Harries, H. C. Mimer, R. Williams, H. E. Russell, L. T. Polglase, W. Howarth, D. M. Nicholls, G. H. Ridout, J. A. Hancox, F. W. J. Bradfield, J. Knight, A. S. Williams, H. W. R. Haselhurst, H. E. S. Dransfield, W. R. Smith, T. C. Bennett, C. S. Hedgeland, A. Pullan, W. W. J. Carl, T. H. Visick, E. W. Thomas, H. W. Rodwell, W. J. Eathorne, Miss M. W. Cane, Miss B. M. Frost, Miss B. Carter, W. Penaluna.

1917-1926:

J. H. J. Beecroft, L. Treloar, Miss E. M. Carter, L. B. van Schoor, W. E. Barnes, J. P. Hensley, B. H. Oates, F. V. Dempster, B. Williams, L. W. K. Happé, G. C. Stevenson, P. Haworth, H. B. Faulkner, C. Clark, C. J. Phillips, H. Young, A. C. Hambly, W. H. Teasdale.

1927-1936:

W. H. C. Sherwood, D. Ralph, E. Chatten, F. W. Weatherill (Headmaster, 1931-1964), D. T. Jones, H. L. Williams.

1937-1946:

S. H. Mayes, W. J. Harris, G. G. Mountain, K. P. Lucas, H. T. Woodcock, A. W. L. Rose, J. B. T. Brown, L. P. Milum, A. Greenwell, Mrs. I. G. Young, Miss. Berryman, Miss A. Trewin, Miss C. Faithfull, B. A. G. Maeer, Miss H. J. Butt, P. H. Heavens, A. W. Worman, Miss D. K. Abraham, Rev. S. A. W. Madge, F. D. Teague, Mrs. N. Bartlett (nee Davies), Miss B. D. Hayward, R. Tremberth, B. C. Wroth, Miss G. M. Stewart, Miss E. M. Cooper, P. R. Brading, P. L. Carver, T. L. Jerman, C. S. Smith, F. Sproule, R. G. Haddon, Miss M. McMenamin, G. E. Medhurst, A. G. S. T. Davey, J. R. Ryder, W. B. Kemp, Miss D. Stideford, A. P. Derrington.

1947-1956:

H. T. Leach, H. W. Bennett, R. A. H. Hunkin, I. M. McSwiney, W. S. Timmins, P. Bonds, R. P. Gudrineau, G. P. L. Bevis, L. R. Natt, H. A. Smith, G. H. Hall, H. A. N. Stickland, R. Whitehead, P. Walker, N. L. Hall,L. A. Tromans, A. S. Worrall (Headmaster,1964-1967), J. Turner, E. C. Penna, H. J. Oliver, D.H. Harris, F. C. Morris, I. C. Herbert, Mrs. D. M. Zekan, C. Pritchard, P. J. L. Beintus, C.F. Nicholas, M. N. Molesworth, G. B. F. Osborn, B. E. Wilkinson, P. M. Plays, D. E. Cox, A. B. Dunn, J. C. Pengelly, G. Medlyn, R. W. Mortimer, M. R. L. Canney, Miss G. Buzza, H. D. Wiard

1957-1966:

K. J. Donovan, J. de Courcy, A. C. Smith, A. A. L. Bennetts, F. W. Morgan, F. J. Balkwill, E. D. H. Freeman, D. F. K. Hooper, G. J. P. Howells, B. Moss, A.G. Crosby, D. J. Herbert, B. R. Martin, T. R. Browne, F. S. W. Furze, D. I. Greenslade, W. K. Reader, C. J. Duhau, R. G. Kay, M. F. Caddick, J. A. Charlton, J. B. Hance, H. W. Skinner, F. E. Moore, R.N. H. Holyhead, M. Shaw, I. Peters, M. P. E. Pacaud, C. B. Hosken, Miss B. K. Wyatt, R. N. G. Haley, R. Rule, K. R. Mullis, Miss M.A. T. Spence, K. D. Bowey, Miss R. A. Webster, A. J. Vincent.

1967-1976:

F. Auld, M. A. Woodward, A. Parkes (Headmaster, appointed 1967), J. M. Peroud, Mrs. B. Holl, R. T. Vinson, M. R. Polkinhorn, F. Villar, G. M. A. Morel, R. J. Sola Buil, D. G. Allen, G. J. Le Noan, M. J. Trezise, I. A. Quijada, H. B. Slater, J. R. Bevan, D. J. Ball, L. Lacorre, G. F. Hunnam, R. J. Lester, C.A. Morgan, G. H. Roberts, M. O. Murton, B. T. O. Trust, L. G. Allen, J. D. S. Holroyd, M.J. Pidcock, J. H. Darling, I. R. G. Cuthell, P. Roberts, J. A. Clutterbuck, B. Driver, G. Grigg, T. A. Pryor, J. Platts, J. J. Labat, L. Ouerchi, I. W. Northridge, B. R. Skelt, Y. R. Kulisz, J. L. Gutierrez, B. Maitland, L. Driver, M. J. N. Ridge, F. H. McWilliams, P. H. Dubois, A.G. Delgado

Excerpt from 1956 - 1957 Jubilee yearbook:   Courtesy of Brian Johns

.... SCHOOLBOY WITH HIS SATCHEL”

1907-1932

In accepting the Editor’s kind invitation to write on the School’s early history, I am fully conscious that I shall fail, adequately, to do justice to the subject. However, it is a modest attempt to trace the growth and progress of the school under the headship of Mr. Thomas Shopland. The formal opening by General Sir Redvers Buller, P.C., G.C.B., K.C.M.G., on Saturday, October 5th, 1907, has been related elsewhere, but the work of this, the first County Secondary School in the Duchy, began on Monday, September 30th, 1907. It was built to· accommodate 150 pupils and to serve an area extending from Gwithian to St. Agnes. The main building then had the present ground floor classrooms, and upstairs a chemical laboratory, the room adjoining as a Science lecture room and one other classroom. The Headmaster’s study was designed with access to a small platform and its two interior windows were included, not only, so it seemed, for increased light, but for observational purposes. The small Inner room above was the Staff room, but it sufficed at the opening, and, indeed, for many years later, as on the first day Mr. Shopland had only three assistants—Messrs. S. M. Douglas, F. E. Richards and A H. Harries, all of whom were graduates. Present also were 75 pupils including 13 Pupil Teachers, but soon the School more than justified the hopes of its founders by increasing in numbers to 102 in the second term, to 110 in the third term, and in September, 1908, there were 154 pupils, four more than the number for which it was built. During the first session two other masters were appointed, but they soon left, whereas the two who came from local schools in September 1908, exercised a profound influence during a long period of service. Mr. H. E. Russell, affectionately known as “Da Cubes,” had been the Principal of a preparatory school and Mr. L. T. Polglase came from Trewirgie, where he had previously served under Mr. Shopland.

 In his report at the first Speech Day, the Headmaster stated that although the School was mainly intended for boys of between the ages of 12 and 18, some were admitted under 12, and at that time 24 per cent were below 12 years of age, 66 per cent between 12 and 16, and 10 per cent were above 16.     Thirtyone held scholarships given by the Education Committee entitling holders to free tuition and books, and they entered into the full activities and privileges of the School; the remainder were feepayers. Year one was a period of consolidation, but the pattern of things to come was well and truly moulded in general all round school development. The pupil teacher seniors who had come from the Pupil Teachers’ Training Centre, of which Mr. Shopland had been Principal, following six years at Trewirgie, formed the main core of those entered for public examinations. Preparation was mainly for Cambridge Senior and Junior, and during the year six boys were entered and passed the Cambridge Junior Local, and it is notable that one, Harold Visick, one of the first Old Boys to become a member of the Staff, was placed 1st Class in Honours, being bracketed 1st in Arithmetic and 29th in Geography. Harry Downing matriculated and spent the second session at school in preparation for his Inter. B.Sc. For the Preliminary Certificate Examination of the Board of Education, the seven entered were all successful in both parts. 3. 1. Knuckey obtained distinctions in Mathematics and Geography, and J. H. Trevithick in Geography.

 Lest it be felt that, in the early days, the complete emphasis was on academic achievement, mention must be made of the Herculean efforts of the Staff to foster games, knowing then, as we do now, of the many valuable lessons to be learned on the playing field. To develop the full corporate life was not easy, because the field problem was so acute that no organised cricket was played in the first year. Nevertheless, in football, played on a field at Wheal Uny, the satisfactory record of P. 22, W. 11, D. 3, L. 8, goals for 59, goals against 49, was achieved. If readers, however, will now consider the conditions under which games were organised and played, they will surely agree that there is something more to note than the mere record of games won and lost. Those pioneer school players were hardy fellows, determined to overcome difficulties and discomfort for the comradely joy of playing in a team and for their school. Their enthusiasm and zeal were more than matched by that of the Masters. Indeed, Mr. Douglas, their leader, will ever be remembered and respected by the boys of those days for his all out enthusiasm—a real old time disciple of hard work and hard play. Hard work here, of course, refers to the classroom, but it was hard work also getting to the field, which adjoined another football ground used by the Adult School. Boys changed at school, and by way of West End, the coal yard, Coach Lane, Trevingey Bridge, over the hedge and down a steep bank, reached the inclined railway line, up which they climbed to the top, the field being on the opposite side of the road from the old signal box. The field had goal posts, of course but no shelter except the hedges. Balls were kept at Inkerman House, at the bottom of Station Hill, which accommodated most of the young masters and to which the match ball was returned. You can well imagine the dribbling practice the ball returners had going down hill to Penryn Street. In those days the Adult School had a hutment shelter or “pavilion” which was later removed to the Redruth Cricket Club’s field at Strawberry Lane. That famous structure was later bought by Mr. Shopland, and you still see it at the bottom of our field, in use as a tool shed, after serving as our pavilion until, in 1933, Mr. Hensley and his volunteers replaced it by the present pavilion. Such were the conditions under which some grand football X1’s under successive captains, H. B. Haine, G. A. Davenport, R. Carab, E. H. Read and S. J. Paull laid the foundations until the Governors succeeded, following protracted negotiations, in acquiring our present field. The first annual School Sports were successfully held at the Recreation Ground, on June 4th, 1908, when H. B. Haine won the mile in 5 mins. 2 sec.—an excellent performance There were prizes in kind in those days, often collected by the senior boys from the traders, and they included penknives, inkstands, fountain pens, shin guards, cricket balls and the like. It is alleged that a selection committee could almost allocate the prizes before the sports were held.

 In a long line of famous caretakers of varied appearance, differing moods and attitudes to boys and to work, the first was Sergt. Finucane, a distinguished ex-soldier who brought to bear, in no uncertain manner, his military background. He inculcated in the new generation at West End a respect for property and orderliness, and, indeed, it is reported that he took the whole school for “P.T.” in the yard. For me this has no illusions because, in 1924, on taking a class for P.T., an Inspector enquired, “Army or Board of Education?” to which I replied, “A little of both, Sir!” whereupon he obligingly said, “Carry on, Sir!” The Army, at school, eventually gave way to the senior service, because, for a time, as caretaker “Admiral” Barry made his mark. There was to come, however, one more famous in all the arts and enthusiasms enjoyed by caretakers, and of that gentleman more anon. Our historical review seems to be getting out of hand so that, chronologically, it shocks me to realise that I have dealt with just year “one” and generalities.

 Early in 1909 Messrs. Howarth and Nicholls joined the Staff and remained until July, 1914. The number of masters had increased to seven, and when the new workshop was opened Mr. Knight was the instructor on the practical side until the appointment, in January 1910, of Mr. Bradfield as Woodwork Instructor for the district. Mr. Bradfield and Mr. Hancox, the Art Master, both visited the school conducting abbreviated timetables. Three inspectors were at the school for two days in October 1909, and reported most favourably. G. A. Davenport was captain of the cricket XI which won eight of its 11 matches, and it must have been a lively wicket in those days. The developing community now adopted the House system, naming the Houses Angles, Celts, Danes and Saxons, and School Prefects were appointed for the first time, Davenport being the first Senior Prefect. Another innovation, in pursuance of the development of the corporate life of the school was the establishment of a series of lectures and debates. Eventually these were held fortnightly, on Saturday evenings, and there was reasonable continuity until 1914. Local gentlemen, lecturing on various topics, co-operated most willingly, in alternation with debates or evenings when boys gave papers, some of considerable merit. Attendances fluctuated, but, on the whole, this winter activity was highly successful.

 In 1910 the Headmaster reported that a library of 400 books had been established with the aid of a grant and the help of friends, and that a flagstaff with flag was presented by a local gentleman. To be hoisted on special occasions, the flag was first flown on the third anniversary. In Public examinations highly satisfactory results were obtained, but special mention was made of the success of J. F. Russell, who, though only 12 years of age, gained ninth place in French out of 3.600 candidates in the Cambridge Junior Local. It is notable that two boys, still well known to us, in addition to their examination successes, were prominent on the sporting side, which was well maintained. The House Football Cup, presented by the Masters, was won by the Angles under the captaincy of J. P. Hensley, and at the School Sports, W. J. Eathorne won five first places. It was at Christmas, 1910, that Mr. F.E. Richards succeeded Mr. S. M. Douglas as Second Master, and to the latter, appointed to a Headship, Mr. Shopland paid high tribute for his loyal assistance and his profoundly beneficial influence on the boys, both academically and in all manly sports and games. In those days Speech Days were held in the Hall, the boys being accommodated on the balcony with the choir at then back. A display of woodwork models was a feature on the other side of the yard. As now, the Head’s report often contained references to average ages, the desirability of proceeding to an upper form and the like, and, although it indicated the cultural influence supposedly exerted, it deplored the attitude of those who sent their sons for one or two years in order “to finish off their schooling.” The influence of the School’s training, however, was now increasingly to be noted in the effect produced by Old Boys on local life and in institutions of further education. In those days our products proceeded mainly to the University Colleges of Exeter or Reading and to the Mining Schools at Camborne or Redruth, where they worthily upheld our prestige.

 In the report of 1912, the Headmaster must have been proud to announce that H. J. Downing had become our first graduate (B.Sc., first class, at London University) and that Frank Eathorne had been made President of the College Union at Reading. Additionally, R. Carab, J. P. Hensley, E. H. Oates and John F. Richards were members of Exeter U.C. 1st Rugby XV, G. A. Davenport won the first Silver Medal in the Honours Grade Surveying in the City and Guilds Examination, and A. V. Paull the first place with Bronze Medal in Ore Dressing, each therefore occupying first place in the United Kingdom. It was then, too, that the first Old Boys’ Association was formed with H. J. Downing as its first Secretary. The school field came into our possession on July 10th, 1911, following a long legal struggle, indicative of which were the arbitration proceedings held on February 21st, and the sitting of a Sheriff’s jury on June 21st to determine compensation. To the Chairman, Mr. Arthur Carkeek, and the Governors we were greatly indebted for this successful outcome, and then to Mr. G. A. Simmons, who lectured to the boys on the preparation and care of the field to which he devoted much of his time and skill. The boys, however, will most readily recall the back aching procedure, some time after seeding out, of moving forward in line, from hedge to hedge, collecting loose stones. For the excellence of ground conditions today present pupils might give a kindly thought to those pioneers, as may the players of games, under conditions even today not considered fully ideal, cast their minds in sympathy to those whose “bathing accommodation,” until 1933, was in the wash basins. It is not intended to convey that all the boys in any generation—early, middle or late in our history differed fundamentally from each other. However, it must be granted that great was the responsibility of the early pupil to help cater for his own amusement, whether culturally or on the physical side. Not all engaged in these character building pursuits, but came by various means by train, tram, cycle or on foot, living in hope3 that the day would pass without incident and that at 4.15 p.m. they would once more be free.

 Nevertheless there were such in those early days as C. H. (“Phip”) Reynolds and a zealous band of helpers who started the Museum on their own account, and, generally, there was an endeavour to get the boys to manage all their own affairs as it was considered such training was invaluable to them. Curators F. G. Carkeek and J. H. Clemens were indebted to woodworking enthusiasts, including the ever helpful J. K Vivian, for the new Museum cupboard installed in early 1914 and which contained well catalogued mineral specimens, a good collection of eggs, moths, etc., presented by present and past scholars. It was valuable in those days, but there came the war and diminished interest has persisted until the present. However, the Library, opened in October 1910, with Charles James, later to be a lecturer at Manchester University, as librarian, and Mr. Russell as treasurer, progressed from its frail infancy, through varying periods of growing pains in youth and early adult years, to a healthy maturity. Ill nourished as it was financially and badly housed, it is pleasing now to note its well established virility.

In the autumn of 1911 an attempt was made to keep meteorological records. The Spring Term of 1912 must have been exceptionally cold for, according to the recorder, “ for the great part of the term our record is minus temperatures.” An explanation, however, is forthcoming in another log hook entry which states, “our meteorological observations are again stopped for the second time, instruments having been stolen or damaged on Sunday evening.” Nevertheless, again restored, Clemens and helpers conscientiously conducted this activity of much educational value, until, in the company of the Photographic Club, formed in 1913, both were discontinued in early war days. It was, likewise, the enthusiasts, boys as well as the Staff, who pulled together to establish the School teams as doughty opponents for those of other developing institutions of like character in other Cornish towns. Thus it was that, further to encourage in friendly rivalry, that pride of school and esprit de corps that the Cornwall Secondary Schools Athletic Union (C.S.S.A.U.) was formed in 1912. We were destined to take a leading part in the years of its operation, in football from 1912-33, and in cricket, on the presentation of a second Shield by Capt. G. F. Thomas Peter, from 1920-33. Mr. Polglase was a leading figure in the early organisation of this competition, and, in its closing years, another member of the Staff was its joint secretary.

The year 1912 was one of other advancements and future high hopes, because a school choir gained the Petherick Shield and, with the first issue of the Magazine, under the editorship of C. James, and written by the boys, Mr. Shopland was surely justified in reporting, in 1913, that “the school had outgrown its infancy and is quite a sturdy child.” Parents were taking more interest in the school and its work, boys generally were keener and there was less trouble in getting them to attend extra school functions. He was conscious, however, that much remained to be done, but could see in its ever widening sphere and the response forthcoming, a school with the tone and spirit he desired. Examination results were good. J. F. Russell had brilliantly followed up junior successes by gaining 1st Class Cambridge Senior Honours with distinctions in Latin, French and Mathematics. The School had, however, and perhaps befitting a mining and engineering area, a bias towards mathematical subjects (so ably taught by the Headmaster and Mr. Polglase). His Staff had now increased to eight on full time with two visiting masters and now included Messrs. Dransfield and Haselhurst, who came in 1912. Old Boys’ successes, of which there were many, including outstanding Mining School results, greatly heartened him and the School. The numbers were fully maintained, 25 per cent being Scholarship holders, who were justifying themselves in every sphere, so that an extension to the building was becoming essential.

Our present field was first used in the 1912-13 season. In that year, on April 5th, 1913, the first C.S.S.A.U. Soccer Final was played on the D.C.L.I. Ground at Bodmin, to which, as Western winners, we traveled by train. The home side, Bodmin County School, won by one goal to nil—deservedly as far as one can remember. They were much encouraged, however, by the enthusiastic support of about 250 soldiers and their schoolmates. Anyhow in future all Shield Finals were played on neutral grounds. Our XI was I. V. Gardener; F. 0. Faull, W. C. M. (“ Andrew”) Richards (Capt.); J. S. Hancock, M. Thomas, C. Clark; F. W. Bennett, H. Stribley, S. J. Paull, P. W. Lang, H. A. Downing. I do not know why I was included, but it was probably owing to a regular being injured or players leaving at Christmas. Anyhow, strange though it may seem now to some readers, I was the youngest player on the field. Unhappily for two or three of us we not only lost the match, but our Thursday half holiday as well, receiving detention cards for having missed the return train. The School XI made amends, however, in the following year, on March 26th, 1914, at St. Austell, by winning by four goals to nil against Liskeard County School, although without Percy Lang, the 1913-14 captain, a brilliant ball player, who left school at half term. It included what was known as “the St. Agnes forward line,” and every other St. Agnes boy was an onlooker. A keen Redruth supporter gave each goal scorer a threepenny bit, and I was lucky. We were also given tea in the town, caught the train, and, well remembered, is our near loss of the Shield when Jack Gardenner, expert goalie and acting captain, held it, wide out through the window, almost touching, it seemed, the surprised signalman at Burngullow as he shouted “It’s ours!” Reverting to 1913, although depleted by first choice withdrawals, owing to injury, our Athletics team put up a grand show in the first C.S.S.A.U. Sports, held at St. Austell in July, 1913, Bodmin C.S. narrowly winning the Championship.

In those days there was Saturday morning school, the half days being on Thursdays and Saturdays. This enabled match or practice play, and mention must be made of the strenuous Thursday Soccer games played for some years before the 1914-18 war. In those, the School was much indebted to Messrs. F. B. Richards, in charge of games, A. S. Williams, H. E. S. Dransfield and H. W. R. Haselhurst. Our opponents included Redruth Adult School, Redruth Athletic, Camborne Thursday and occasionally a team from St. Austell or St. Ives. They proved doughty opponents who gave our senior boys much enjoyed match experience. Additionally, Truro College were regular opponents, and although in this star fixture our successes were few, we were held in high regard. There was always, even in those early days, an urge for an occasional game of Rugby. At Wheal Uny, with sticks tied to the Soccer posts, the early stalwarts, including the Masters and the present President of the Cornwall R.F.U., often indulged. The yard, at break, often enabled two struggling masses calling themselves “Camborne” and “Redruth” to work off excess spirit, the scoring lines being the school wall (there was then no cloakroom extension) and the Woodwork Shop wall. Many arrived in class for third period minus collar, tie, or both, and Mr. Russell often had to admonish his son, Geoff  “dear old Geoff“ for his dishevelled appearance. A term end game of Rugger was often played, and if I recall rightly, Wesley Chandler was a moving spirit and so was the adventurous Bob Wannell, who once gave everyone concerned a fright by absenting himself from his usual haunts, wandering off after a match—the result, it was supposed, of slight concussion. Similar unofficial attempts to popularise Rugby were, I understand, launched in post war years by Roy Jennings and Bryher Williams. Conveyance to away matches was mainly by train, but in the early years the horse drawn waggonette was often used for shorter journeys, and even to Helston and Newquay. It must be remembered that these were the days when, from the rails, we could view, in the road below, the passing trains, and the donkey shay so beloved of the miners. Indeed, until 1914, there was held, twice yearly, at the bottom of Station Hill, a Donkey Fair, when about 100 of these animals would be offered for sale.

Cricket conditions had now improved with the acquisition of the field, but it will be well understood when I state that scores were still rather low. Nevertheless, there were some able players, who were later to prove themselves in higher spheres. A highlight of the 1914 season was our reception, on two occasions, at Carclew, then the stately home of the Tremaynes, whither we journeyed by waggonette and bicycles. We won both games; in the first Otto Faull, 60 not out, and in the second Mr. Polglase, 63, played splendid innings. A sumptuous tea was provided in a huge barn, and at both games, the house party and visitors alike, did justice to the liberal spread. The School Sports were still held at the Recreation Ground, which was also the venue of the second C.S.S.A.U. meeting, in which our under 15 sports day star, Jack Gale, had the misfortune to break an arm in jumping 5ft. in the Open High. The Senior Trophy again went to Bodmin, and we were jointly second with Penzance in Junior events, in which W. G. Bennetts, also a first rate cricketer, performed well.

July 1914 marked the end of an epoch; seven years during which was the birth, the consolidation with its ever widening foundation and the making of tradition, of a school whose sons were to prove themselves mightily in peace and in war. Before the curtain fell on peace in the world came the report of a full inspection of the School in May, 1914. It gave great satisfaction to the Governors and to the Education Committee. The school had now bidden farewell to Messrs. Nicholls, Howarth, Haselhurst and Mr. Hancox the Art Master, in whose stead arrived Messrs. Smith, Bennett, Hedgeland and Pullan. The impact of war was soon to be felt; on the 10th of November Mr. Bennett volunteered at a recruiting meeting and joined Kitchener’s Army. He was soon to be followed by Messrs. Dransfield, Smith and Hedgeland, and for four long war years there was an unsettled and often sadly depleted Staff.

At Christmas, 1914, Mr. Shopland was able, however, to report the proposed enlargement of the School by two new classrooms (the middle rooms off the balcony, opened in September, 1915) and the provision of a dining hall, and, optimistically, the establishment of an entrance examination. Reporting a satisfactory examination record, special mention was made of the success of J. H. Clemens who had gained Cambridge Senior 1st Class Honours with a distinction in Mathematics. So many boys had left on the outbreak of war that only two pre war 1st XI Soccer players remained, and one of those did not play, owing to illness. Geoff Russell, therefore, had a completely new and inexperienced XL which returned an indifferent record, but the whole of the team formed the nucleus for the many route marches which were organised and took place fortnightly. On the first march it had not been sufficiently impressed on the boys that they must follow the leader, but they knew they were going to Portreath. Therefore when Mr. Milner, who was leading, proceeded towards Camborne, the marching squad right wheeled. Happily his attention was drawn to the fact that he was marching alone before they lost him altogether. The School took part in a reception of the men of the D.C.L.I. on Redruth Station and contributed six guineas to a National Relief Fund.

The route marching, to which later was added platoon and company drill under the direction of Mr. Eathorne, who had joined the Staff with Messrs. Rodwell, Thomas and Visick in January. 1915, was the forerunner of the Cadet Corps, which was officially recognised as “D” Cpy. 1st Cornwall Cadet Battalion on October 13th, 1915, and paraded, for the first time, in uniform on November 13th, 1915. Mr. Basset, of Tehidy, inspected the Corps on November 20th and promised a gift of dummy rifles and a field day at Tehidy with “B” Cpy. from Truro College. The term “armoury” for the room in which the rifles and uniforms were stored still survives. The parents had readily responded to the formation of the Corps, the officers of which were: Cadet Captain, The Headmaster; Cadet Lieutenant, Mr. W. J. Eathorne. N.C.O.’s: Cpy. Sgt. Major, Mr. D. Richards; C.Q.M.S., J. F. Russell; Sgt., R. Barbary; Sgt. I. M. Tucker. With Corporals Woodyatt, Gee, Blewett, Rogers, and Lance Corporals Roberts, Ellis and Thomas (R.F.) The valued services of the Lieutenant were soon to be lost because Mr. Eathorne joined H.M. Forces and likewise the French department and the games field were deprived of the good work of Mr. E. W. (“Taffy “) Thomas. In the meantime the first School Sports meeting to be held on our own field took place on June 2nd, 1915, to the accompaniment of selections by the band of the 10th (Miners’ Batt.) D.C.L.I. On July 6th the Pavilion was erected, some reward possibly for a quite good cricket XI, whose matches, with the exception of one, were against school sides. It is worthy to record that Truro College were beaten at home by 63 to 28, and, if I remember rightly, the whole side were awarded caps—very cheap ones and all red. However, this was in keeping with those harsh days when prizes, hitherto awarded at Speech Days and Sports gatherings, were discontinued in favour of certificates. In that year, J. F. Russell, who had so ably edited the Magazine, which now contained rolls of honour, letters from serving O.B.’s and illustrations, reached the peak of his brilliant school career by following up his Cambridge successes by gaining 1st Class Honours (10th out of 6,000) in the Oxford Senior Local and won distinctions in Latin, French, Mathematics, English and History. It occasions no surprise to report that Russell was awarded a County University Scholarship in 1916, when in the Oxford Senior he moved up to third place with the same distinctions.

It was in January, 1916, on the arrival of Miss Cane and Miss Frost, that ladies were first appointed to the Staff. The latter soon left and her place was taken by Miss Carter. Both remained for three years and gave untiring all round assistance, including an interest in games. Miss Carter did much in the early organisation of the dining hall (the present library) which was opened in October, 1916— a very difficult time for her and for Mrs. Buckingham, whose caretaker husband, an ex Sgt. Major, assisted the Cadet Corps. Mr. Richards, the Second Master, and an original member, left in the summer after outstanding work in Science and in the early development of games.

In games organisation much was left to the Captain and Secretary, who did splendidly in adding to school matches, several fixtures with scratch sides. Memorable, however, at least to Clark and Gilbert, were the home and away games with the Devon R.G.A. At Hayle, the soldiers, who included two or three professionals, very comfortably won a pleasant game by 3-0 against a School side weakened by their absence, and, as onlookers, they thought in pep. In the return game, under their influence, a little more virility was apparent in the play of the School XI, but, alas, the soldiers finally really “turned on the heat” and won convincingly by 11 goals to 1. It was, however, a glorious game. The XI of 1915-16 narrowly missed being county finalists, but the Shield was won in successive years by Foster Thomas’ XL (1916-17) and A. L. Carter’s XI (1917-18). The war time cricket XI’s of 1916-17-18 strove mightily and well to maintain previous standards, although, as in sports meetings of that period, there were so many calls on their time that training was often inadequate. The Thomas cousins, A. L. and R. F., were, perhaps, the most dependable batsmen, but the period produced one bowler, J. E. Mill, whose subsequent brilliant career fully justified its early promise.

The Cadet Corps went on from strength to strength, and additional to general training, attended many field days, took part in shooting competitions, engaged in Guards of Honour and were often inspected by visiting officers, including Brigadier General T. C. Porter. Numbers were well maintained around 75 until the Armistice, when there was a slackening of interest. The return of Mr. Dransfield in June, 1917, was very heartening to the Corps and the School because, although discharged severely wounded, he soon entered with characteristic spirit into all his old activities. He became Cadet Captain, and there were outstanding N.C.O. instructors, notably Sergeants R. Barbary, Clemens, L. Blewett, W. A. Opie (now Air Vice Marshal, R.A.F.), and Band Sgt. Blatchford of the Bugle Band.

Other war time events include the formation of a War Savings Group in 1916, the cultivation of the western green, the closing of the woodwork shop in 1916, and the honour of knighthood conferred on our chairman, Sir Arthur Carkeek. Throughout its course many were the Honours gained by Old Boys, but generous, too, were the losses. At its close, as November 11th, 1918— Armistice Day—was at half term, the assembly was addressed on Tuesday, November 12th, and dismissed for the day.

The Headmaster, at Christmas, 1918, reported that all the Masters had been on war service with the exception of Mr. Russell and himself; and their disqualification was obvious. He paid high tribute to those, including Old Boys, who served, temporarily on the Staff during the war and who had “come to our assistance in times of great difficulty.” The development of the School, which was arrested four years earlier, he hoped, would now continue. He must have been heartened, however, by the fact that, despite the catastrophic upheaval, numbers had never been higher than the 196 then in the school. Examination results, although below the usual standard, included the winning, by J. R. C. Woodyatt, of the County University Scholarship. The Magazine had continued publication uninterruptedly, term by term, during the war years, and this had been invaluable as a means of communication between Old Boys and the School. A feature of war time issues was first hand information from the fighting fronts, and many were the expressions of appreciation of the Magazine from those who came back during the early months of 1919.

Soon back on the Staff to join Mr. Dransfield (discharged in 1917) were Messrs. Bennett, Eathorne, Thomas, Smith and Bradfield, all of whom had been wounded, Polglase and Pullan. Returning also to a great welcome was Mr. W. H. Delves, the caretaker who came in 1913, and who was one of the first to join up in 1914. During five years’ service in Mesopotamia and India, he had not only done his duty as a soldier but had contributed to the gaiety of his battalion and, indeed, of all with whom he came into contact. “Charlie,” friend of all and enemy of none, was a truly great impersonator of Chaplin, and many were the tales he told of his exploits in “Mespot” and India, enthralling his listeners to the accompaniment of gymnastic twists and turns, Eastern noises and gesticulations which denoted the expert entertainer. More was to be seen of him, because he remained with us for another 23 years.

Thus it was that in 1919 Mr. Shopland could report an orderly progression towards normality, and the gradual recession of activities associated with the war, although the Cadet Corps helped to furnish the Guard of Honour for H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at the Royal Cornwall Show at Truro in 1919. We relinquished the Football Shield, had a splendid cricket season and sound examination results,, but an innovation, some few years later to be discontinued, was the wearing of a newly designed cap, to which the picturesque term “rear lights” was applied. It was in this immediate post war period, too, that Mrs. Richards came as cook in charge of the dining hall, and long and faithfully she served, despite her occasional outburst, “Sir, the boys have been putting salt in the water again! “ Owing to an increase in numbers a Government hut was provided “to use as a dressing room and partly as a gymnasium and/or recreation room for dinner boys in wet weather.” Its eastern end, however, soon became the famous Staff room, and if its walls could speak, great would be the revelations there from, as it progressed from being the “home” of nine to the “accommodation” it now provides for 20 masters.

In 1920 numbers had increased to 250, and the Board of Education, calling attention to the leaving age, which was now 15 years 4 months, decided that normally parents would be required to keep their children at school until they reached the age of 16 years at least. The Governors imposed an entrance examination and a withdrawal clause should a boy fail to make progress commensurate with his age and ability. With a settled Staff, giving ungrudgingly of their time and· effort, the ravages of the war years were rapidly receding and an approach to pre war standards was heralded by most promising examination results in which A. V. Thomas, who was also captain of a Shield winning football XI, was outstanding. He did well in the Cambridge H.S.C. with the only distinction in Mathematics in the county, and, later, won a County University Scholarship.

The School Sports continued successfully to be held, and notable in 1921 were the performances of Tonkin in the 100 yards and Clook in the mile. At this time, too, there was a great upsurge in cricket organisation and the building up of junior Soccer, the fruits of which were to be gathered fully in later vintage years. Mr. Beecher Williams, the County Cricket Club’s Secretary and bowler, and Mr. E. H. Oates, an Old Boy and great all round sportsman, joined the Staff in 1920, and greatly encouraged Mr. Polglase, to whose enthusiasm, vision and organising ability we were mainly indebted for the great reputation gained by the School for cricket in the twenties. Appointed Second Master in 1919, his other love was cricket, and throughout the years his influence and services to the game in Cornwall were immense. Leighton, the Camborne professional, coached the team in 1920, which under the captaincy of A. V. Thomas won the new County Cricket Shield. In the Final v. Newquay C.S., Bertram (“Johnny “) Bennett returned the remarkable bowling figures of six wickets for one run and, with others, was included in the Cornwall Schools’ XI v. County Old Crocks XI, the forerunner of the present County Colts’ Club, for which Mr. Polglase did so much in its early years. Another feature of the games of that period was the wonderful record of the Junior Soccer XI, in which Mr. Eathorne took such interest. From 1919 to 1924 they lost only one game out of 34, scoring 146 goals to 16, and owed much to lads from St. Agnes and Illogan, two Soccer strongholds in a Rugby area. In like manner many splendid junior cricket sides performed during the twenties.

On May 23rd, 1921, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales visited Redruth, and in our yard were assembled all the children of the neighbourhood and ex-Servicemen. The Headmaster had the honour of being presented to his Royal Highness, and had the privilege of presenting other Masters and Mistresses who were present. Then, on June 16th, a very striking and impressive service was conducted in the School by the Bishop of Truro, when his Lordship unveiled the Memorial erected in memory of the 28 Old Boys who had fallen in the 1914-18 war. This service will never be forgotten by those present, and the striking and beautiful address of the Bishop will long be remembered. At this time numbers registered a slight decline which was, in some measure, a reflection of the serious collapse of the mining industry, and a further reduction was forecast owing to a Board of Education regulation debarring the entry of any pupils under 10 However, the School was in good heart; many boys came from homes hard hit by unemployment, but others contributed to local funds over £120, and later responded well to a 1d. per week levy which helped to pay for a summer term groundsman. Mr. Harry Roberts, starting in 1921, and later Mr. Mitchell, both from Troon, rendered great and valued services. J. H. Hooper won the Elliott Scholarship in 1922, and J. C. Davey the Pendarves Scholarship at the School of Mines. In 1923 outstanding was the success of F. J. R. Bottrall, a foretaste of further high honours to be obtained in a brilliant career at the University and beyond. In the Cambridge H.S.C. he obtained the mark of distinction in two Latin papers, two English papers and in Greek. He was the winner, later, of a County University Scholarship and an Open Exhibition in English at Pembroke College, Cambridge. This was a source of justifiable pride to his tutors, Messrs. Dransfield and Barnes, the latter of whom joined the Staff in September, 1919, and brought with him, following over four years active war service, an infectious, enthusiastic zest for his work, and for his play. In those days he will be recalled as a pioneer motorist with his Francis Barnett motorcycle; others will remember his goalkeeping exploits, punctuated by the occasional leap, which denoted his previous prowess as a schoolboy long jump champion.

Then followed vintage years in field games. The Cricket Shield was won in three successive years, 1924, 1925 and 1926, and we were, at the same time, Soccer Champions in 1923-24, 1924-25 and 1925-26 under the inspiring leadership of Leonard Roberts, later to become a noted Rugby footballer, and in 1926, of Rupert Woodcock, a dour games player. In cricket there were quite experienced players, because it was in this period that Mr. Polglase, himself a polished batsman, organised Thursday games against teams containing leading Cornish players. He had in these sides, sometimes as many as four or five together. Messrs. Beecher Williams, Dransfield, happily recovered from a serious wound, and a bonny hitter, Harry Oates, who scored two centuries in 1923, and Clark of the Staff, the teams being made up by boys whose names were later to be well known in Cornish cricket. They included Jimmy Wills, Jack Peters—both School century makers— H. C. George, H. H. Whitford, the brothers S. J and W. H. Pearce, L. Roberts, Ken Williams, S. L. Huthnance, Ken Nicholls, Hubert Luke, Fred Vivian and others. Often umpiring in those days was Mr. L. W. A. Happé, the well remembered French Master, who came in 1921 and remained until his retirement in 1934. His striking facial features were always portrayed in side profile in the photographs of that time. It was notable that in the 1923-24 Soccer XI C. Gribben and J. L. Wills, two juniors, were included, and the latter was awarded colours in his first year, and for four years was our goalkeeper—one of the School’s great players. For a few years in the twenties the Football XI was given a treat, being taken to a Plymouth Argyle home match. Two Masters became, for some time, regular Argyle fans, but I will refrain from naming them.

It was with justifiable pride that the Headmaster reported in 1924 that in the previous four years boys who had proceeded to the Universities had gained five First Class Honours, four Second Class, one Third Class, one M.A., four ordinary degrees, two Associates in Engineering, 14 First Class Diplomas of the School of Metalliferous Mining, and F. 0. Faull had passed the Final Examination of the Institute of Bankers. One of the Old Boys, Mr. C. Clark, joined the Staff in April, 1924, and was happy to find a most virile community eager to absorb his classroom technique and to provide him with full scope in his insatiable love of field games. He was lucky, too, in being one of the five Masters and 76 boys in the Cornish contingent which visited London and the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. We were accommodated in an old munitions factory at Acton; it was a restless first night, and one of the Masters, whose big toe was tweaked a few times, overslept, so that when Stanley anointed William with shaving soap, great was the fun of the excited onlookers at the ensuing struggle. We visited the Houses of Parliament and were received by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at St. James’ Palace. At the Exhibition, one of the boys, in his haste to cross from one Pavilion to another, had the misfortune to run into an ornamental pond. It was a quieter night which followed, and after another full day we entrained for a night journey home.

In that year, in which P. C. Davey and W. R. Littlejohns passed the London Intermediate Science, there was a full three days’ inspection of the School and we were told that great progress had been made in many subjects. More advanced work was being done, but numbers had dropped to 213. This decrease was due not to any falling off in the desire for Secondary education, but was the result of increased fees accompanying decreased spending power, and to a less extent to the Entrance Examination.

In 1925 we bade farewell to four masters who had served the School long and well. Mr. Dransfield, who became Headmaster at Helston C.S., Mr. Russell (retired), Mr. Bradfield and Mr. Beecher Williams, and in early 1926 Mr. Bennett. We welcomed Mr. Hensley as Woodwork Master, and in September, Messrs. C. I. Phillips and H. Young, who gave such grand all round service, particularly in dramatics, and two terms later, Mr. Harold Teasdale, who greatly helped us in his short stay of two years in which he played Soccer for Cornwall. It was at this time that, through the enthusiasm of Messrs. Dransfield and Barnes, the latter carrying on through succeeding years, the Annual Concert was staged. Firstly at the School, and later in the Druids Hall, these performances included the presentation of one act plays, and were essentially team efforts. Staging, lighting effects, scenery, costumes, curtains, tickets and the sale thereof, provided work for many, who were given little rest by the effervescent Mr. Barnes. Preparation for, and the varied evening which followed, were great fun and from “Hiawatha” (does Mr. Eathorne remember?), through such one act efforts as “The Boys Come Home,” “ Shivering Shocks,” “Bloodstains” (by Mr. Phillips) and “The ‘Ole in the Road” to Shakespeare, gave splendid outlet for such budding stage personalities as the Sara brothers, B. Happé, A. G. Davey. O. D. Bennett, Ivor Thomas, E. H. Lee and others. Many and varied were the excellent soloists, including L. J. Pedrick on the euphonium. Mr. Rodwell, who used to reign in lonely state as Detention Master, also presided at the Minor Scholarship Examination, then held in the School. A famous occasion, according to Mr. Delves, was one very wet Saturday morning when he cut the string of a badly soaked and damaged package of examination papers in order to save further damage. This, unfortunately, was not done in Mr. Rodwell’s presence, and Delves. the boxer and gymnast, reports that when the “elfin master” discovered what had been done he threatened him “within an inch of his life,” and Delves “was sore afraid.” “Don’t you ever do that again, Delves,” he said, “wait for me!” They were, however, great pals as indeed Mr. Delves was to many boys whose escapades he knew much more about than did the Staff. Occasionally, apart from “dusting” and balancing his broom on his chin in the Hall, he did good turns for the Staff. To one harassed Master, the production of a wad of Treasury notes, left on a Formroom desk, brought great relief and much jubilation to both when it was a case of “C.O.D.” long before its introduction by the G.P.O.

Encouraged by Mr. Phillips and some keen seniors, and with the blessing of the Headmaster, Mr. Clark, whose instructional behests on the football field were said sometimes to be heard in Coach Lane, embarked on a Rugby experiment in the Spring Term of 1926 and continued in Spring, 1927. Laurie Old and R. H. Woodcock were the captains in two series, each of about eight matches, mainly against heavier teams. It was the first serious attempt to foster the handling code in Secondary Schools, and great was our indebtedness to the Redruth R.F.C. on whose ground the home games were played and to Messrs. J. Davey, J. Tregellas, W. Prisk and Roy Jennings. Throughout the years the Annual Sports were held, and when Mr. Eathorne, who organised them, had low entries he adopted military methods by enlisting the “support” of many compulsory volunteers. However, there were many serious contenders, who trained conscientiously and put up some splendid performances, especially L. H. P. Roberts, L. Old, S. R. House, D. S. James and W. T. T. Davey, who were Victores Ludorum. In 1927, when an Educational Week was held at Truro, Reggie House was our outstanding performer in a County Athletic Meeting. To the Education week we sent Art, Woodwork and Geography exhibits, arranged and explained the Scientific exhibit, and took our share in the evening entertainments. Although there had been earlier Cross Country runs these were the days when the route was over Carn Brea, and many were those who reached the Monument and bided there awhile with their ill digested midday pasties. In 1926, Mr. Chas. J. Cooke kindly presented and suitably endowed two silver cups, the first winners being L. Old (Senior) and B. H. Thomas (Junior). This reminds me, too, of the great kindness of Mr. Harold Griffin, who presented, annually, a cricket bat for the leading batsman.

During those late years of the twenties, numbers remained about 200, but there was increasingly more advanced work being taken by a growing VI Form. At that time there was a heavy demand on Senior Masters as their range of work, with limited time, was wide, including preparation of those taking Cambridge H.S.C. for County University Scholarship purposes, and others taking London Inter, Arts or Science. We were much indebted at that time to several scholarships which were available. Following the award of a County University Scholarship to M. Hattam in 1926, S. J. Pengelly won the Chappell Scholarship and R. H. Woodcock the Elliott Scholarship in 1927; in 1930 G. H. Gilbert won the Elliott, and in 1931 W. J. Harris the Chappell Scholarships. Several did well in the Intermediate Examinations and results in the School Certificate were consistently good.

Field games prospered during the closing years of Mr. Shopland’s regime, although in Soccer our senior results being somewhat below a former high standard, more concentration was given to the building up of a junior organisation. In cricket, however, the XI’s of 1928 and 1929, under the able and popular captaincy of W. Ken Nicholls, won the County Shield. Deservedly, Ken, in both years, was included in the newly formed Cornwall County Colts XI v. Devon, as was W. J. Harris in 1930. Harris and M. O. Bolitho had the distinction of scoring school centuries in that year, the latter having previously made a century for the Junior XI. It is interesting to record that in the years of the County Championship Shield Competition we. won both shields on more occasions than any other school—seven times in football (1912-33) and eight times in cricket (1920-33).

The services of Mr. Sherwood, who came in 1928 as junior French Master, were enlisted in the changing order of Physical Education. Despite the lack of gymnastic accommodation and equipment, he did much to popularise this branch of school work. He also took an all round, enthusiastic interest in games and remained with us for 15 years. Two years later, Mr. E. Chatten, a great all round games player, joined the Staff and he was soon instrumental in reviving the Magazine which had temporarily lapsed. Mr. Shopland, before presenting his last report, was happy to invite Sir Arthur Carkeek to distribute the prizes at Speech Day, 1930. He was the last of the distinguished gentlemen he had welcomed on Speech Day, but is was most appropriate, because Sir Arthur had been Chairman of the Governors from the start of the School. In analytical vein the Headmaster, contrasting figures with those of his first report, indicated the progress made with regard to ages of entry, of leaving, and of time spent in the School. Great; however, is the contrast with 1957, when one reads that the former lack of competition for free place “has been remedied with a vengeance for last year 126 boys sat for 16 places, though 18 were awarded.” He reported on examinations, including the successes of G. H. Gilbert, Inter. B.Sc., and G. Brown, Inter. B.A., eulogised the continued University awards of Old Boys, outlined the usual out of school activities and referred to his impending retirement with the hope that he would be “able to hand over an Institution that has been built on sure foundations.”

For two more terms he continued as Head; the School progressed through its normal routine, although, greatly speculative, its more mature members had problematical thoughts on what the morrow might bring. In the meantime Delves reigned supreme in his tuck shop struggling with his many customers, but with an ever watchful eye on them, and on the stokehold below. Times may change, but there was always “Charlie” who, in his fulsome knowledge occasionally mistook the shadow for the substance. I well recall coming to the rescue when Delves persisted, much to the incredible astonishment of the Headmaster, that Joe Beckett was a boy in the School. “Joe” was, of course, his name to his junior pals, but not his name on the register.

Thus it was than an epoch making date in the history of the School came, when, on Tuesday, July 28th, 1931, Mr. Shopland, its first Headmaster, laid down the reins of office. A presentation was made to him by the Staff and boys of the School, and by the Old Boys, many of whom were present. He had been an outstanding Headmaster—firm in decision, sound in judgment, considerate and helpful to everyone. His work for education continued until his death on October 27th, 1947—the passing from the Cornish educational scene of one of its greatest figures.    C. CLARK.

... “AND SHINING MORNING FACE”  

1932-1957

The Education Act of 1902 which made County Councils responsible for secondary education came into operation in 1903 on 30th September, and it was on the same date four years later that Mr. T. Shopland with four masters and seventy five boys assembled at the School for the very first time. The following Saturday, 5th October, the School was officially opened by General Sir Redvers Buller, v.c., on whose land the School, had been built.

The two devastating world wars were yet to come and Britain was regarded by most people as the strongest and richest power on earth. Edward VII was King, Campbell-Bannerman led a Liberal Government in a Parliament to which Labour members had only recently been elected for the first time. The School had cost only £4,000, but then Income Tax was only 9d. in the £ and the “West Briton” that week was advertising first class pass­ages to New York for £14, whilst one could have bought a duck at Redruth market for as little as 2/6, beef at 6d. per pound or a pound of butter for 1/-.

I came here as Headmaster in September 1931 when the world was facing one of the worst financial crises in history. Two months later a National Government was formed in Britain to deal with the situation; 3,000,000 were unemployed in this country and 40% of the local employable population was on the dole. It is not surprising therefore, that many boys in those days left at an early age. I started with 213 boys of whom 115 paid fees of £3. 5. 0. per term, and they bought their own textbooks. The Staff consisted of nine full time masters of whom the only ones left with us today are Mr. Eathorne, a pupil in 1907 who first joined the Staff in 1919, Mr. Barnes, who started in 1919, and Mr. Clark, another Old Boy, who returned to teach at the School in 1924.

I valued Mr. Shopland’s long experience too much to think of making many drastic changes in the internal arrangements of the School, but out­side the classroom it was different. Instead of one weekly drill lesson, for which the boys did not even change, I introduced the latest system of Swedish gymnastics and had the hall equipped with apparatus, the House system was re-organised so that Juniors could take part in the competition for the first time, a games lesson was brought into the timetable, and we were the first school in Cornwall to introduce modern athletics with “Colours’ and inter school matches. We were also the first Cornish school to start regular matches in Rugby and my first new master was Mr. Jones who joined us as Physical Education Master in 1935.

That was the year of a General Inspection of the School; I had never before encountered one of H.M. Inspectors of Schools, and it was a welcome relief when I found them so human that one slept soundly throughout most of a lesson. We had an excellent report which is not surprising, for we were on the crest of a wave. At the end of 1933 W. H. G. Armytage won our first State Scholarship (only the fifth from a Cornish school), also a Rows University Scholarship and the gold medal which was awarded in those days to the pupil with the best examination record in a Cornish secondary school; and the successes of C. Rowse and J. F. Johns made us the only school in the country that year to gain two passes in the London Intermedi­ate Examination in Engineering. The next year Armytage won an open Exhibition for History at Downing, College, Cambridge (it was very kind of Professor Armytage to present the prizes at our last Speech Day at the end of the twenty fifth year of his old History Master) and J. Cadwell, who gained an open Mathematics Scholarship at my old College, Sidney, Sussex, Cambridge, also won a State as well as one of the only two County University Scholarships then awarded each year as well as the County Gold Medal. Except for the public schools and two large secondary schools, Redruth was the only other school that year with as many as two successes in open scholarship ex­aminations at the two older Universities. Just before the year of the Inspection S. Vivian had won an open Scholarship to University College, Exeter, and every School Certificate candidate had passed.

And so it went on. At the last Speech Day before the outbreak of war I reported that we had had no failures in my time, whilst for five years only one candidate (a student who passed at his second attempt) had failed to win a School Certificate and to gain one of these Certificates a candidate was expected to pass in English and five other subjects. Woodwork had become an examination subject at the School and when in 1933 I failed to persuade the Education Committee to erect for us a new pavilion, Mr. Hensley and his boys built one at a cost of only £185.

What happy days those were! The School was not overcrowded as it has been for so many years, and we had reached a total of only 253 boys in the last year before the war. What was more important even than accommodation was the fact that in my first seven years only three masters left; Mr. Happé retired in 1934, Mr. Rodwell in 1938 after 23 years service, and Mr. Chatten, also in 1938, because of illness which led to his unfortunate death soon afterwards. I don’t think boys have changed much since I was a boy, but I do think that the pre war scheme sent us far fewer misfits than happens today but I don’t blame the un­successful boys of today so much as their parents. Up to 1938 we had a preparatory department which a boy could enter when he was eight and some stayed for as long as ten years, usually exert­ing a most beneficial influence on their fellows. Prior to the abolition of fees in 1945 of fee payers the parents took a keen interest, making sure that they got a good return for their money; the only boys entered for the Special Place examinations were those whose parents were sincerely anxious to secure a secondary education for their sons, where­as today every primary school child of eleven takes the selection test and too many unfortunately come from homes where education is not valued, and the boys in consequence get little encouragement from their parents.

In those days of financial stringency boys had fewer opportunities in outside activities than today. Each year we staged a concert at the Druid’s Hall (now the Gem Cinema) and in 1934 our presenta­tion of “She Stoops to Conquer’ was particularly successful. I am no cricketer but I think that the eleven of my first year which won the County Shield under the captaincy of W. J. Harris (later to join the Staff) was the best of my time and the Junior team went several years without a single defeat. In 1938 the Rugby side won every school match, scoring 135 points for only 8 against, and G. Williams in 1939 won our first Junior Schools International cap; we had four boys in the annual Cornwall Secondary Schools’ match with Plymouth, which I had introduced that year. We did not cancel matches so easily in those days and I remember one soccer match played in pouring rain, when our goalkeeper, now Dr. Ken. Hosking of Camborne School of Mines, dived for the ball and was lost to view in a deep pool of water; I had to dash home in my car to equip him with a dry out­fit. Record breaking at the Sports is no new feature for five of the existing nine records were broken in 1932, and by 1939 the only long standing records were those for the Senior high jump and the mile; the annual triangular fixture with Penzance and Falmouth was one of the events of the year when the Head, several masters and their wives and often a hundred boys from each guest school would assemble whilst the home school would be gathered in full force. Boxing was taught by an ex R.A.F. champion who had a curious habit of puffing out his cheeks and most of our boxers, thinking, no doubt, that it was part of the technique, puffed and blew in the ring like whales. “Nipper” Laity’s prow­ess was renowned throughout the West Country and the bout in the House finals between Maurice Channon and Jim Carlton is not likely to be forgotten by those who watched it, and certainly not by Maurice, who appeared for a Rugby match next day with two black eyes and finished with a broken collar bone. The annual cross country race in those days was run along the rough path at the foot of Cam Brea by the quarry pool; one year there was much consternation when a runner failed to return and I hastened to his home only to find him finishing his tea, for on leaving the starting line he had set course for home. Some years later, when he was a Fleet Air Arm pilot, he took off from the “Prince of Wales” during the Jap attack on Malaya and this time he again failed to return to his ship for tea for she was sunk whilst he was in the air in what was one of the most serious naval reverses in the last war.

But in many ways the happiest events of the school year were the summer camp held at Feock in 1937, 1938 and 1939, when Mr. Jones and other of the younger masters and I, along with Caretaker Delves as cook, and some 70 boys spent the first week of the summer holidays under canvas. We used to take a large joint roasted in the School kitchen, for lunch on the first day and much was the dismay at the first camp when “Charlie” Delves was so engrossed in selling from his private tuck shop on our arrival, that he failed to see the farm dog escape with the whole joint, but such was Charlie’s popularity that we all soon forgave him. (He is still a well known figure in Redruth because of his likeness to Charlie Chaplin and his good nature and we were all sorry when he retired during the war after 30 years at the School.) One very windy night we were aroused from our slumbers by loud shouts, and rushing out of our tents, we saw Mr. Williams, the burly Chemistry Master, and a very tough County rugger forward, at one end of a rope, with the marquee at the other end like a kite, and on another occasion the “accidental” ducking in the Fal of a prefect, now a distinguished Regular Army officer, delighted all but the victim. At our last camp in August 1939 we had arranged for flying boats from Mount Batten to alight on the Fal to take up the cadets of our newly formed Air Defense Cadet Corps Squadron, but they never came, for war was only three weeks ahead.

It was generally admitted that we suffered more during the war than any other Cornish secondary school, but I have never felt prouder of the School than in those grim days, for almost everyone in the School co-operated in the common cause to quite a remarkable degree. When war seemed imminent we offered to help in the assembly of Redruth’s gas masks and by turning the hall into a factory and by working late into the night for almost a week, we turned out 4,000 of the 9,000 we required, and would have finished the job if others had not been completed elsewhere. Two days before the war began St. Marylebone Grammar School, without the slightest warning to me, were disembarked at Camborne railway station and our war trials had begun. No one who experienced it is ever likely to forget the Autumn Term 1939. Private evacuees were joining our ranks daily, but many soon re­turned home when the expected enemy bombing did not start, and that term we reached our then record total of 257. St. Marylebone had some 350 boys, their Head and 20 masters, so perhaps you can imagine my difficulties when I was asked to plan a suitable scheme. For most of the term both schools worked half time shifts of four hours’ dura­tion with the two schools alternating each week between morning and afternoon working. The Thursday afternoon holiday and Saturday morning session which had operated since the School began were dropped and the present five day week was substituted. By the end of November, after much exploration and negotiation, I acquired the use of the Redruth School of Mines and all the secular rooms at the Fore Street Chapel. We then pro­ceeded to operate what we called the “Box and Cox” system, which was favoured by the author­ities, but not by me, as an attempt to offer equality of accommodation to the two schools. One School would operate in our School buildings in the morn­ing and in the town in the afternoon, and vice versa next week. We kept our books at the School and the London boys had theirs at the Chapel, we used our laboratory and they the laboratory at the School of Mines, the St. Marylebone Head had an office with a secretary in the town, and I put my present study at his disposal, when his School were operating on our premises, but when it was our turn to work in the town I had to do all my clerical work, without a secretary at a table in the basement room at the Chapel in which three classes were being taught. We were most anxious to co-operate to the full with the evacuated school, many of whose masters and senior boys served under me in the Home Guard, but the scheme seemed to pro­vide the maximum amount of inconvenience to both schools and after two years we took over sole occupation of the School except for the woodwork room and St. Marylebone kept to the town premises until their return to London.

Numbers were increasing all the time and we had 90 more boys at the end of the war than at its beginning. Staffing problems had been acute since 1940, when five of the 11 masters joined the Forces, and there were no fewer than 35 staff changes during the war years, one being caused by the retirement of Mr. Polglase (my Second Master) a brilliant teacher of mathematics and a very keen cricket enthusiast, who left in 1945 after 27 years at the School. Boys are apt to think that their school­masters are not as other men are, and perhaps they are right. There certainly were some queer types in the Staff Room during the war; there have been weird ones since. Pupils of those days will remem­ber “Holy Joe,” whose Scripture lessons resembled the battles being fought overseas, and I once saw him in charge of a Rugby practice, in which many of the players wore both raincoats and school bags, and when the ball neared the gate some would lip away to catch an early train. One very well qualified master with an amazing memory for Shakespeare and the Classics was remarkably absent minded in other ways. He was known to light up his pipe during lessons, to arrive at School by mistake on a Sunday, or to stay at home on Mondays, and he had walked from Redruth past the main entrance and up the slope in front of the School each school morning for some weeks before he noticed the main gateway. Another master, a Cambridge high jump “Blue “, after his first month disappeared one Friday and all I ever ‘heard of him again was contained on a picture postcard he sent me from Florida, which gave no explanation for his wartime leap across the Atlantic. Another fast mover departed hurriedly, and when he had gone we discovered that he was always one ahead of the income tax collector. The briefest sojourn here was that of a lady who reported one morning, when we were working at the Chapel and a fire from an open grate was belching forth smoke, which filled the whole building; it was too much for our latest recruit who did not report for duty in the after­noon, nor ever again. One young lady refused to appear at Assembly one morning and on going across to the staffroom I found her in tears, and adopting a fatherly manner, I ascertained that she had Just opened a letter from her boy’ friend who had jilted her; after much persuasion she agreed to see the term out. And there are many other stories I could tell, but I expect the boys of those days could cap the lot. And yet some of our temporary wartime staff, both men and women, rendered splendid service, whilst the work of the few pre war members, not in the Forces was beyond all praise. Mr. Clark, in particular, was quite outstand­ing, for besides his work as Geography Master, he was Adjutant of No. 77 A.T.C. Squadron, ran both football and cricket, for a time he was in charge of the School Savings Group, he dispatched regular News Letters to Old Boys serving in the Forces, and in his spare time was a member of the Redruth Air Raid Precaution Service.

Evacuation accommodation and staffing problems were not all with which we had to contend. When bombing of Britain first began we were ordered to take refuge in the cloak rooms and dungeon which were classed as “air raid shelters” ; the windows on the south side of the main stairway were walled in and were not opened up till 1956; the main doors were sealed up and walls were built up as protection in front of the entrances to the lobby and the woodwork room. It was fortunate that I visited the School one day in the holidays for I found workmen erecting a wall only one foot from the woodwork room door; if the work had con­tinued no one could have gone in or out. After a few months of taking shelter, whenever an air raid alarm sounded we decided to carry on with lessons, for, as one might imagine, very little work could be done when we were crowded in the “shelters”. Every night for three years different teams of one master and two boys did fire watching duty on the premises from their headquarters in the middle room of the long hut. One night when it was my turn for duty we had a splendid view of an attempted raid on the R.A.F. Station at Portreath when an enemy aircraft dropped bombs in a line from the eastern edge of the airfield to Chapel Porth knocking out the shelter at Porthtowan and causing a great blaze from the burning heather. These fireguards were invariably in their places next morning at Assembly. Most masters and many senior boys were members of the Home Guard or A.R.P. Service and their duties kept them well occupied out of school hours and the frequent air raids and alarms at night often kept many of us awake. Clothes rationing made it very difficult for boys to turn out properly dressed for games, but enterprising mothers made up football shorts from black out material which was unrationed. We had difficulty too in obtaining groundsmen during the war years and I once saw Mr. Clark cutting a pitch himself at 10 p.m. after we had finished the Town A.T.C. instruction.

When one takes into account the manifold trials of wartime schooling I cannot help thinking that our achievements in 1943 were the best in our history for we repeated our success of 1934 by gaining two awards in Cambridge open scholarships examination. S. T. M. Moon, although only 16, won an award for Geography at St. Catharine’s College, and G. B. Harris one in Natural Sciences at the same College. (It was a great blow to his family and the School when ten years later Geoffrey Harris met his death in a road accident after achieving high distinction in the scientific world.) I have often maintained that Cornwall sets too high a standard for its County University Scholarships and it is significant that neither of our open scholars that year found favour with the Cornish Selection Committee although both proved their worth at Cambridge by gaining First Class degrees. Another distinction that year went to Andrew Richards who was our first boy to win a cadetship at the R.N. College, Dartmouth. Andrew was an outstanding sportsman and a member of the 1943 soccer side, captained by an evacuee, Ron Cox, which I personally regard as the best eleven I have known. (Ron now a successful business­man called at the School as I was writing these notes).

Some boys undertook so many war duties in the evening and at weekends that it is surprising that we were able to maintain our successful record in the examinations and yet during the six years of war only three Higher Certificate candidates failed (the first in my time), and 83% of our School Cer­tificate candidates were successful. The spirit of the School in the darkest days of the war matched that of our Old Boys, forty of whom paid the supreme sacrifice on Active Service and many won decora­tions. At School we ran one of the earliest, largest and most successful pre Service air training units (its achievements are mentioned on another page) and the Scout troop formed in 1941, did all it could to support the national effort, including the gathering of three tons of paper salvage. The tennis court which previously occupied the site on which the Fifth Form block now stands, was turned into gardens where teams of boys followed Mr. Churchill’s advice by “digging for victory “, whilst as many as 40 rabbits at a time were reared in hutches in the old cycle shed, where they competed strongly with the smells from the chemistry labora­tory (now the art room) overhead. Nearly every boy in the School was a member of our National Savings Group and sums which today would be regarded as quite fantastic were raised (in “War Weapons Weeks’ our total was £1,039). We adopted six D.C.L.I. prisoners of war and supplied them regularly with parcels and we raised £300 for the Red Cross Fund. We continued our summer camps, but they were changed in character and we spent a month of each summer holiday assisting the farmers to harvest the grain, which was so essential if Britain was to overcome the submarine menace. My wife and I ran these camps, usually supported by a master, and Mrs. Sturtridge gave grand help on the last two occasions. We all really enjoyed ourselves, for these were almost the only type of holiday one could spend away in those days, when the beaches were either mined or classed as pro­hibited areas. We camped near Looe on two different occasions and other months were spent at St. Germans and Bude respectively. What a sight met our eyes when we arrived at Bude in 1944, for an American ship laden with canteen stores had just been torpedoed offshore and the surface of the sea was strewn with cases containing watches, cigarettes, sweets, etc., and we disregarded the thick layer of oil whilst wading out along with the local inhabitants to secure the spoils.

Despite the many difficulties, inter school matches were as keenly contested as in peacetime and although we could not travel far afield some most exciting games with St. Marylebone ensued. We seemed to thrive on wartime food, and the tri­angular athletic matches with Falmouth and Penzance, which I introduced in 1935, were amongst the most exciting of the series, which unfortunately came to an end, much to our regret in 1950, when we won for the fourth successive year. The most eventful match I think was in 1942 when Falmouth included Tarraway, a future Olympic runner, but it was our H. J. B. Howe who stole the limelight by clearing, what was then regarded an incredibly long jump of 21 ft. 1¾ ins., a distance only beaten since by one Cornish schoolboy, J. Medlyn, our Cambridge “Blue “, and like Medlyn, Howe, who won a R.A.F. scholarship, went up to Cambridge and represented his University though no “Blues” were awarded in wartime; (whilst on a special wartime course S. Vivian played for Oxford versus Cambridge at Rugby).

When V.E. (Victory in Europe) Day came in 1945, all schools enjoyed a holiday, but in many ways peace brought more problems than war, and the first term after the Allied triumph was one of the worst I remember here. We had an intake of 95 boys, the largest we have ever had and our total went up to 347 boys who had to be squeezed into the same classroom space as the 213 of my very first term in 1931. And yet the hut, now standing near the new Canteen entrance, was lying on the premises, awaiting assembly for a whole year. Messrs. Davey (Hon. Sec. of the Old Boys’ Associa­tion for many years) and Mr. Ryder joined us in January 1946 and in the summer of that year we were delighted to welcome back from the Forces Messrs. Brown (appointed in 1939), Harris (1937-1949) and Jones. Almost every month there were staff changes for lady teachers left to join their husbands, another not to be outdone married a demobilised officer and departed on her honey­moon, and the male staff changed almost as quickly. At my wits end in October 1945, I called in George Medlyn, School Captain of the previous year, but in November he was called up to serve in the Navy. Many will be the stories related about some of the stranger inhabitants of the Staff Room. I remember one morning in 1941 immediately after assembly, when the cry went up that IVc room (the lower A.T.C. hut) was on fire, but when I reached there it was only to find that the narrow chimney from the stove was blocked and smoke was pouring out, but as the Form Master had lost his gown the cause of the trouble was not far to seek and when the missing gown was removed from the chimney all was well.

In October 1947 Mr. Shopland died and his death was a great blow, not only to the School which he had served with such distinction for 24 years, but also to education throughout the County, for he was the only surviving founder member of the Cornwall Education Committee. He lived to see his old School reach its fortieth year, and a very successful year it was. D. Cock won an open Exhibition for Natural Sciences at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and thus became our fifth boy to win an open award at Cambridge, a feat then un­equalled by any other Cornish school during my time. It is noteworthy that each of these Cambridge scholars eventually obtained First Class degrees. Cock also won a County university award and so did three other boys, this being the first time we had won four University awards in one year for in those days Cornwall made fewer awards than is its policy today. The year 1947-48 was also notable in other respects for Roy Harris won our second Schoolboy (under 15) Rugby International cap and Graham Smith was the first of many Redruth boys to play for the England A.T.C. XV; he was also one of the twenty five privileged A.T.C. cadets selected to visit the U.S.A., and he eventually gained a good degree at Cambridge. The B.B.C. singled out for special mention our Savings Group which had averaged £1,000 per term throughout the year, whilst the School choir at its first appear­ance at the County Music Festival won the Shield for boys’ choirs. The year also saw the beginning of the Parents’ Association, the erection of the small hut, and our taking over as our Canteen the old Nissen hut which had served as Redruth’s “British Restaurant” during the war. The perpetu­ally darkened hut (last term’s IVc) which had originally housed a balloon barrage crew at Falmouth, and the rusty tunnel like canteen were the only “buildings” acquired since my appointment and they were certainly no adequate answer to the accommodation difficulties which were now really acute. In 1948 the old kitchen was converted into a classroom, but as it took a year to obtain official permission for putting in the windows on the north wall, artificial lighting was essential throughout the day, and upstairs another class had to be accom­modated in the old dining hall, whilst a Sixth Form set was left to find inspiration in the old scullery. There was no end to our tribulations for the horse which pulled the grass cutter died of old age, but this was a blessing in disguise for after much correspondence we managed to obtain per­mission for the purchase of a motor mower. We bought an old nissen hut from a disused camp and some of the pieces were re-erected to make a stage at the western end of the Canteen. Another innova­tion was the Senior Society which has proved so successful in the training of budding orators and the Sixth Form Society which placed on an official basis the close unofficial links which have no doubt existed between the grammar schools of Camborne and Redruth throughout our fifty years.

1949 saw us transform the Canteen to serve also as an Art Room with the appointment of Mr. Hall as our first full time Art Specialist when Mr. Hambly retired because of pressure of duties at the Redruth School of Art. The Dramatic Society that year staged an excellent full length play in the Canteen —“ The Duke of Darkness “, and it did not need much imagination for the School to feel a deep sympathy for the pathetic nobleman who had spent so many years confined in his grim prison. But we seemed to thrive on discomfort. C.V. Symons who the previous year had visited Canada with the A.T.C. special party, won our first cadetship at the R.A.F. College, Cranwell, and R. H. Adams a County University Exhibitioner, was Reserve for the very first England Schools (over 15) team against Wales, for whom Cliff Morgan was making his debut. Five Redruth boys played for England in A.T.C. Rugby and we were placed third in the Milocarian athletic competition which is open to all British schools, whilst the standard of our table tennis was so high that we reached the last eight in the English Schools competition before being beaten at Rhondda Valley School, although I have often wondered what English qualifications that Welsh school possessed. Accommodation was a very serious problem indeed for numbers in 1948 reached 384, a total not exceeded till six years later, and the low salaries and difficult housing conditions made staffing a nightmare. The Sixth Form boys, whilst preparing for examinations in 1949, had had two different Masters from French, no Senior Maths. Master for two terms and as no Senior Chemistry Master could be found Mr. Eathorne, previously in charge of Physics, took both Physics and Chemistry until Mr. Worrall, a splendid schoolmaster with a First Class degree, had joined us as Senior Physics Master.

In 1948 4 established an official link with the College Modern at Douarnenez in Brittany, and my wife and I visited the College; the next year the French Head and his wife stayed at my home and in 1950 our boys made their first exchange visits and had a most enjoyable and profitable time. Back at home we were on several occasions hailed by the national press as one of the leading athletic schools in the country. In the A.T.C. National Athletic Championships held at Manchester we came first amongst 750 squadrons of the Corps, and K. J. Westlake who broke two records there, was placed third amongst the British junior hurdlers in the Amateur Athletics Association official rank­ing list. In Rugby it was a similar story, for when England by beating Scotland, won the A.T.C. international championship for the first and only, time, J. Varker captained the side, which included no fewer than six other Redruth boys.

1951 marked the turning of the tide, and one by one we began to leave the misfortunes of the immediate post war period behind us. This was the year when the General Certificate of Education Examinations were introduced and our first candi­dates sat for the examination in the two new Fifth Form rooms which had been erected at a cost of £2,500, and we also took over for the first time the lower field. For the next three years, although the total number of boys in the Upper Sixth was only 21, they won 14 University awards, J. M. G. Jenkin and T. W. Grigg being our first boys to win County University awards for Classics.

I am a great believer in the value of travel and we try to break down the stay at home mentality and to foster a spirit of adventure. In 1951 we sent our second party to Douarnenez, two members of the Scout troop attended the Jamboree in Austria, and P. C. Garland flew to the U.S.A. with the official A.T.C. party, was made an honorary citizen of a town in Connecticut and broadcast to the American people. D. J. Davey gained his Aero Club pilot’s certificate, five of our boys played for England in Scotland in an A.T.C. Rugby interna­tional match and I accompanied to Hanover the Cornish Youth Rugby side on what was probably the first British youth Rugby tour of Germany; G. M. Cock was one of the party, and he travelled further than the rest, for when our coach was dis­connected in Holland, Graham was asleep in another coach and he was nearly in Copenhagen when he woke up; he made his way to Germany alone. All these A.T.C. activities cost the particip­ants nothing so it is perhaps not surprising that 95% of the eligible boys are members of the Corps. It owes a great debt to Mr. Ryder whose work was officially recognised when he received the Air Ministry Certificate of Good Service.

The next year he also received the Scout Long Service Decoration. This was the year when B. Bowden won our first England (over 15) Rugby cap when he played scrum half against France at Grenoble, and he gained our second Cranwell cadetship. Cornwall for the first year sent a team to compete at the All England Athletic Champion­ships held at Bradford where R. Solomon came fourth in the long jump.

In December 1952 Mr. Hensley retired after 32 years of excellent service at the School and was succeeded by Mr. Oliver who has done excellent work. This was Coronation year and we celebrated it in splendid fashion. There were only six boys in the Upper Sixth, but they won seven University awards including a State Scholarship for Classics gained by T. W. Grigg. D. M. Thomas besides winning a County Scholarship, was awarded the “Bernard Abraham” Essay Prize in a competition which is open to all grammar schools of both Cornwall and Devon and he came sixth out of 1,233 candidates in a National French essay prize. Another outstanding achievement was that of R. B. Nicholls, who won for the School the first prize of £150, for his model, in the “News Chronicle” Coronation Competition, open to all British schools. P.G. Claridge, a County University Exhibitioner and a Queen’s Scout, was awarded the Scout Gilt Cross for gallantry for life saving, and Peter Garland, School Captain of 1951, received the Life Saving Certificate for saving persons from drown­ing on no less than five different occasions. M. J. Jones became our second aeroplane pilot, J. Phillips was twice Vice Captain of the England (Under 15) Schools’ Rugby XV and A. C. Bench was Reserve for the England Schools (Over 15) team. We were one of the first twenty schools adopted by the British Golf Foundation Scheme and Henry Cotton was photographed with the School party. Mr. Davey edited a memorable Coronation number of the School Magazine which won glowing praise in the local press and he had laid the foundations of the modern library moved from the tiny inner room of the long hut to the old dining hall, and here at very little cost to the School he has trebled the number of books. During the year one of the upstairs classrooms was converted into a Physics Lab., for which we had had to wait far too long. At the end of the year, a party again spent a fortnight at Douarnenez: I arrived there at the beginning of a continental motor tour, and on the eve of the boys departure, and it was very fortunate that I did for a French rail strike had stranded them in Brittany and I spent a hectic time, arranging bus transport to get them to St. Malo. On the final morning M. F. Smith went down with appendicitis and had to be rushed to hospital for an operation. It was probably a great shock to him when he recovered consciousness and found he was being nursed by nuns and I hope his French was adequate. He was surprised too when his appendix was discussed by the House of Commons.

The next three years have been reported in previous magazines and are too recent to need detailed accounts. In 1954 R. Rule won a County Exhibition to Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he is reading French under Dr. Peter Rickard, himself an old Redruthian, who attended the 1939 holiday camp and astonished us all when we visited a Norwegian whaler by speaking to the captain in his native tongue. M. J. Jones secured a Dartmouth cadetship, and in the next two years we won several County University awards and a studentship at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham.

In September 1954 we welcomed Mr. Osborn as our first fully qualified Physical Education master, and Mr. Nicholas our first part time director of music. One of the most impressive School functions of the year is now the annual Carol Service started in Mr. Nicholas’s first term and Mr. Osborn’s gym. team gave an excellent display at the Bath and West Show at Launceston. Our two plays “Henry V” and “St. Joan” were by general agreement the best we have ever staged. Mr. Hall’s pupils continue to excel and in 1954 R. K. Jenkin’s life sized carving of a mer­maid was given the place of honour at the National Exhibition of Children’s Art in London. I have to fill in scores of different forms and one of these is required every time a master is absent, so when Mr. Hall strained his back lifting the mermaid into the van at the beginning of her journey to London, and missed a day at School I wrote as explanation of his injury  “Lifting a mermaid!” The County Hall couldn’t swallow this without further elucidation.

1955 was a year of all round achievement for besides the University successes already mentioned by winning the Gillan Trophy we came first amongst all the A.T.C. Squadrons of the United Kingdom for sport in the Milocarian Competi­tion we were placed second amongst British Schools for athletics and in the Goodson Trophy for a sea exploit we finished third amongst all the Scout troops of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We have continued to win national Honours on a scale quite undreamt of in pre war days and it is a striking fact that the boys who shine most outside the classroom are usually the best in the academic sphere. We could have no better advertisement than John Medlyn, Captain of the School in 1955, who won a County Exhibition to Christ’s College, Cambridge he was a prominent member of both the dramatic and debating societies, he played for England v. France in an (over 15) Rugby International match, he won a place in the County Colts cricket XI and in two successive years was runner up in the All England Schools Long Jump; Flight Sergeant in our A.T.C. Squadron, he went on the 1955 visit to the United States, he won a scholarship to the Out­ward Bound School, captained the England A.T.C. Team in Ireland and was the A.T.C. hur­dles champion. Going up to Cambridge he won a Full ‘ Blue’ for athletics in his first year and was the youngest member of the Cambridge team. He is the first boy to win a ‘Blue’ direct from a county grammar school though in the twenties J. Smith went on from Redruth to a public school and eventually won an Oxford Soccer ‘Blue’ whilst Medlyn was winning sporting distinction at Cambridge the same year.

D. M. Thomas brought honour to his old school when he was the only man to win a Dis­tinction in English. Indeed one rarely takes up the “West Briton “, but what one reads of the success of some Old Boy and the more recent achievements are dealt with in Mr. Clark’s notes.

In 1956 we won four County University awards, the A.T.C. Squadron made history when a con­tingent took part in the very first A.T.C. Guard of Honour ever mounted for the Monarch, we won the Gillan Trophy again. H. R. Casley cap­tained the A.T.C. Rugby XV and P. G. Johns was unfortunate to be third on the All England Schools Senior Quarter Mile.

We look back with real satisfaction on last Spring Term when the buildings, costing close on £20,000 were ready for our use. We are delighted with our new quarters, the more so perhaps because we have waited so long for them. A new industrial revolution is in progress and the demand for well qualified scientists is insatiable, so that it is fortunate that we now possess two excellent laboratories equipped with the most modem apparatus whilst in the same block is all excellent handicraft room which will enable us for the first time to do metal work. The new can­teen is a very welcome change after the old nissen hut and although a school of our size and reputa­tion in Physical Education should certainly have a separate gymnasium the canteen is well equip­ped for physical training and we are glad thus to have rid ourselves of the noise which inevitably reached the classrooms when gymnastics work had to take place in the hall. What memories that hall must conjure up in the minds of boys and ex­pupils for the last fifty years. A definite break with the past will have taken place when we return in September to start our second half century, for during the holidays the hall is to be converted into four rooms, one to become the new staff room, another to be used for Geography and the others as ordinary classrooms, whilst the old woodwork room will become the Music Room.

The G.C.E. results are not yet available as I write, but already one member of the Upper Sixth has won high distinction. He is P. J. Symes who last January took the entrance examination for candidates for Dartmouth, Sandhurst and Cranwell; he came first of the 60 candidates successful at Cranwell and in two of his five subjects he was placed first of all the 604 candidates including those for the other two Services. In 1956 he had been one of two A.T.C. cadets selected to visit Norway. The School won one of the prizes of £5 awarded by the Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies to the twenty schools in which “the intelligent study of world affairs seems to be most successfully studied “, and Mr. Ryder was awarded the Scout Medal of Merit, a high distinction, for only three other such awards have been gained by Scoutmasters in the Camborne­Redruth district during the last twenty five years. Another richly deserved honour went to Mr. Whitehead who received the A.T.C. Certificate of Good Service. The Scout Troop is one of the most successful in Cornwall and last year it became the first Troop in the district ever to have four Queen’s Scouts in its ranks. The Art department again received much publicity, for a processional cross designed by A. G. Rowe has been accepted by the Air Ministry as the gift of the A.T.C. to the Church of St. Clement Danes, London, now being rebuilt on the ruins of the old church of ‘oranges and lemons’ fame as the memorial church of the R.A.F. Once again we had a most successful year on the games field: the staff play a very pro­minent part in the sport of this County and a new distinction came our way this summer when Mr. Medlyn won the Cornwall amateur golf championship.

It seems difficult to keep out of the news these days; in one week last March we were mentioned in the “Sunday Express” for our athletics, in the “Empire News” for our Rugby and in the House of Commons for our lavatories. Such is fame!

In the last week of the Summer Term we held a jubilee open day and fete when governors, parents and old boys assembled in large numbers to inspect the new buildings and the exhibition of work and hobbies. The Parents’ Association were in charge of numerous stalls and refresh­ments and the day finished with a dance. How the Edwardians of 1907 would have rubbed their eyes if they could have glimpsed into the future at this colourful scene with the boys of 1957 and their charming partners dancing so well and with such decorum to the strains of what all agreed is a really excellent School dance band composed of masters and boys. These dances were an innovation last year and were conducted in excellent taste by the School Captain, Edmund Smitheram and his committee of boys.

The opening ceremony at the Fete was performed by Mr. F. L. Harris, the newly elected Chairman of the Governors. Earlier in the term the staff had made a presentation to Canon W.R. Ladd Canney who had been a most popular and active Chairman of the governing body for eleven years. The School has been well served down the years by its Governors; Sir Arthur Carkeek held the office of Chairman from the opening of the School down to 1933, Major G.Gilpin then held office till health compelled him to retire in 1942, and he was followed by Mr. W. T. Hart who died in 1946.

So much for the past! What of the future? Unless there is a national catastrophe I feel con­fident that the School is entering on another most successful era. We have a grand team of masters, most of whom are not only academically well qualified, but they regard their work as their vocation and there have been few staff changes in recent years. The accommodation difficulties are mostly behind us and parents at long last are beginning to realise the tremendous value of a sixth form course for their sons. In fact, in my opinion the only serious handicap we have to face is due to our proximity to Truro School which every year since the war has creamed off many of the boys who had come top in our entry lists. Our Sixth Form in consequence is much smaller than is usual in a school of our size, and as the public rather naturally is apt to judge a school by the overall number of its examination successes our prestige may have suffered if we are compared with schools with twice or three times as many advanced candidates. Even our teams are at a dis­advantage in their matches with schools which can field so many more older and heavier players; but we win far more matches than we lose.

I am very proud to be Headmaster of Redruth County Grammar School for it is such a happy school where masters and boys pull together, and because of this we have triumphed over all our difficulties to win for ourselves in many fields of endeavour a national reputation. I am prouder still to be a school master for I firmly believe that we in the schools are leaders in a movement which may well decide the fate of this country and per­haps even of civilisation.  

F.W.W.

SURVEY

This Survey was taken from the whole school of 400 boys with an age span of eight years (i.e. 11-plus to 19-plus). Of these only one boy had neither father nor mother, nine had only a father living, 32 had only a mother, whilst 358 had both parents. The average number of children per family was 2.5, boys being in the ratio of approximately seven to three of the girls. Rather more than one in five of the boys was an only child (88 of 400).