COLLECTORS' DIGEST VOL. 48 No. 568 APRIL 1994

. THE RIV AL BANDS! ia thi, iuu,) !An A111u1int1lnchlcat from the Loa1 Comp]tle Story or Tom MtlT]' a Co, conlala•d COLIN CREWE COLJ ,ECTO RS BOOKS 128 WESTW OOD ROAJ).['A NVEY ISLAND. ESSEX TELEPHONE: 0268-6937.15 EVENTNGS: BEST

OLD B0l'S AND GIRLS BOOKS SOLD , ROUGHT AND EXCHANGED WITH ENT!IUSJASM YOUR WANTS LIST WELCOME SUITABLE COLLEC TIONS WANTED GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. A bca uLiful day or early spring . Apri l mean s ~rid.el so soak 1bose ancie nt wiJlnws in liru.ccd oil w1d take so me nm pntcLicc . Man y or you wi ll ~c required for T he Grand Schools Reade r!> Cricket Festh ·al at Canvcy L~land thi s summer. Mak e sure your form is good. Vol 3 THE REBEL OF ST .ll~f 'S ALDTNE WILD WEST YARNS 2cl. h,111:Nos. 1069to 1071&9JOu11J31 ALL VERY GOOD COPIES @ -£4 EACII Vol ~ TOM MF.RRY & TUE N IGHT MM Dri ver of the Overl;ind, Kit Carson the RAIDERS Issue Nn~.Hi36 10 1640 & 1619 Fighting Trapper, White R1dc1 of Wyoming, Big Vol 5 THE UOYS OF ST .)li\l 'S l-lom 11-.e The Hill Tramp. The Tigc:,rs of Te~as, LsM~Nos. 1612 lo 1618 Sol Bunk.er ihc Cowboy. The Crooks of C'ra1y Vol 7 flffi SPECTRR OF ST .JIM'S Bar. BiJI CoJy', Fir~l Big Tr:.til.Ti:n Other Tn(eq b,ue Nos. 1397 10 J ,J04 Avuiluble Vol 8 TOM MERRY 'S BEST LIBRARY lss~c Nos.1443. t ..W7, 1464, 1-lSI. 1•158. 1467. ALL VERY GOOD CO PLE S @ £2.50 EA. 1469 10 1470 By John Hunter 20 !~sues Vol. 9 TOM MERRY 'S PART Y By Anthnny Pai·$On~ 35 Iss ues hsuc Nos 15]9. 1540 1552 to 1556 By Hugh Ctevely 7 Issues Vol lO GAY DOGS OF ST ,IJM'S By John Dnimm <\nd l:\T ,sucs Issue Nos . 1233 10 1236 1239 lo 1241 By Lewis Jack son 28 fss ues Vol 11 O' ARCY MAXIMUS By Hilary King G Iss ue, Issue Nos. 788 10 79 1. 808,858 & 899 By Walter Tyrer . 25 Issues Vol 12 HIGH JlNK S AT ST .JIM'S By Warwick JurJ111e 9 hsucs Issue Nos. 773, 774, 795 797. 799. 805. 807 ROYS' FRIEND Id. ISSU l~S OF 1902 Vol 13 TOM MERRY'S ENEMY 111c objec 1 of the Boys' Friend Is lo amuse, lo Issue Nos. 1388 iv 13('.)01392 to 1395 instruct c1ml to advise bo.ys. 30 copies VG for age Vol 14 Tlffi JAPER S OF ST JI.M'S @ £5 en. Re act and Marve l nl how our wo rl d has Iss ue Nos. LI 66. 1198, 1205. 1254, 1277, 13 I 0, cha nged in a time ,;pan or o ne long lifetime. 1319 (Historic papers). Vol 15 THE PLOT'l'ERS OF ST JIM 'S THE ROAD TO GRE\'FRIARS. An ttu1ob. b,;uc Nos. 72610 728. 742. 1548 to 1551 by George R S..unways mJnt co py £12.00 Vol 16 TOM MERRY 'S ROl)YGUARI) GREYFRlARS PROSPE CTUS byJ.S . 1~,ueN os. 737 lo739, 1477, 1478. 148 1. 148'.! Butcher. A finccopy in dust wrapper £10.00 Vol 17 A COCK'IEY AT ST JIM 'S McCALL'S GIUWFRJARS GUIDE. Issue Nos. 1459. 14(10, 1462. 1479, 1480. 1497. Lovely copy in dusiwrapper. £ 10.00 t 49~ GREVFlUARS FOR GROWN-UPS. Vo.I 18 TOM MERRY'S WEEKI.Y L. Sutton. Fine copy ia dustwmpper. fl0.00 Issue Nos.1244 to 1247 & 1249 to J2S 1 FRANK RI C HARO S CHA P BEHIND Vol 19 TOM MERRY & CO ON STR LKE TIU : CHUMS- Gomt chance to obrnin almost bs ue Nos. 1228 to 1232 & 1237 to 1238 mint copy of Mary Cadogan '.:-.~p lcadid out of Vol 20 THE MYSTERY OF EASTWOOD print book £ 15.00 HO USE b sue Nos. 1266, 1272, 127J, 1276. YAROOII! FEAST OF l'' RANK 1284 1287 & 1311 RlCHAROS. Fine cop)' in DW Isl Ed. £10.00 MAGNET by !<'rank Richard s === ~ AT"Y OlrFlU:LOW~mrri~ffi"¥rti~E· ~o ,.._im~~&r-- g-{f~~ R of Cha.'<. Ham ilton. A lmost mint copy (u grc:it COURT lssue No~. 910 lo 917 read) £14.00 Vol 4 BILLY llU NTER & THE TERROR DOWARD BAKER VOLUl\-rES Sec ond - Of THE FORM ts~ue Nos. 1247 w 1254 handifav ailablef.7-SOea. tvUntc opies £10.00ea Vol 32 THE GREYFRIARS COWBOYS GEM by Martin ClilTord Issue Nos.1575 to 1582 Vol l D'ARCY THE R UN AWAY Vol 47 THE SCHOOLBOY SM UGGL'ER ts~ue No~.751 to 758 Issue Nos 1493 10 1497 & 149910 1501 Vol 2 CARDEW OF ST JIM'S Vol 48 BUNTERS CHRISTMAS PARTY Issue No~. 824 to 83 l Issue Nos- 1502 to 1509 (Cut1rinued 0 11 page 31) 2 STORY PAPER COLLECTORS' DIGEST Editor: MARY CADOGAN

COLLECTORS' DIGEST STORY PAPER COLLECTOR in 1946 by Founded in 1941 by Founded LECKENBY W.H.GANDE R HERBERT 1987 by Eric Fayne S.P.C.D. Ed ited and Published 1959 - January

Price £1.03 VOL. 48 No. 568 APRCL 1994

ROOK WOOD ... 's Chat Charles Hamilton's third most famous The Editor school is often somewhat negle cted by co llectors and commentators. although the stories thal feature it have plenty of zest and charac ter. I am delighted to see that ROOKWOOD. a bibliography prepared by Bill Lofts and the late. much missed Derek Adley. is now availab le. Il lists with appropriate cross-references all the Rookwood tales in the Boys' Friend weekly. the Penny Popular, Gem, Holiday Annual, Boys' Friend Library and Schoolboys' Own Library. Il also covers the stories in later publications such as Mandeville /Spring books, Tom Merry's and 's 01rn Annuals - and the Knockout. one of the finest chools As Bill says in his introduction: 'Let us remember Wakefield'. Naturally this in fiction. not forgetting the delightful artist, G.W. illustration : it is a most useful Rookwood lndex inc!udes some of Wakefield' s Grcyfriar s, St. Jim's and Cliff volume which comp lements the Lofts/Adley possess. [t can be obtained House bibliographic s, which many of us already s, LS L6 6BU at £3.00, which direct from Happy Hours, 37 T inshill Lane, Leed includes postage charge .

3 ENID BL YTON 'S MAGAZIN E ... Wright, has - in Another indefatigable contributor to our hobby, Norman co-operation wjth Tony Summerfield - produced an index which many collector will warmly welcome. Entitled ENID BLYTON'S MAGA2/N£ 1953- stories that appeared 1959: An Index it is a comprehensive bibliography of the magazine. The illustrators' names are this attractive and much sought after 1 in Enid Blyt0ns many also given wherever possible. This Index cover<;not only Josie. Click and and varied stories for the maga7ine - from Brer Rabbit and Five and Secret Seven - but also lists the first appearance Bun to the Famous an advert for a Blyton related toy or game. lls Introduction provides of every readers fulfilled the interesting history of the magazine which for most of its promise which Enid Blyton made in its first issue: '1l is all my very own and in it you shall have all the stories you love best.' include postage This excellent index can be obtained at £3.50 (which I lcrts. WD I 4JL. costs) from Nom,an Wright, 60 Eastbury Road, Watford. Happy reading. MARY CADOGAN

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E. Grant-McPherson NE W BOY AT T. F RA K S by No. 3 Larr y Scott e by ald Winston Glenthome was returning to St. Frank's Colleg Archib ,ful gale d was mo t unhappy: the night w as very dark, and a powc fool. a n walking was o his discontent by blowing in his face. The reason for his added t and Belton. that a landslide had blocked the railway line between Bannington his weary way, he suddenly heard a cras h, foUowed by a As he wended he got cry. Hurrying onward. he saw a tree lying across the road. As plaintive to drag the body rer h e could see a figure under the branches. Managing nea his face was e realised Lhat it was a boy, about his own age, and that free h us, helped him red in blood. Archie, finding that the lad was still con c io cove e storm towards St. to hi feet and half carried, half dragged him on through tl1 Frank's. tl1cysee a light Archie him elf is just about at the end of his tether when Knocking on the through tbe trees and approaching it. come to a cottage. 4 from door, Archie i surprised to find lhat the occupants are a party of 'bloods' engaged in playing cards. However, he impresses the urgency of the College, and matter upon them, and they take the now almost unconscious strange r the of Archie in. They undres them. wrnp them in blankets and sit them in front a sip of the fire. Kenwood, who appears to be in charge, gives the stranger to his brandy, which seem:,,lo do him a bit of good and returns a little colour face. The party-goers then find some water. and after cleaning the blood from leaving the lad's face and bandaging his head, return to their game of card , ling a the two in from of the fire. Ar lhis point, Archie, being very tired and fee smoke. bit diz1y from his exertions and the fumes from the fire and cigaretle drops off to sleep. After a while. Archie wake up and, finding that his clothes have dried in from of the fire. dres ·es himself and prepare~ to leave. At this point Fullwood. ha ju t left the card table. notices him, still looking a bit unsteady, and who had tells him to take it easier wilh the champagne next time, saying "that he drunk a whole bottle himselr'. At thi statement. Glcnlhome begins to worry as he does in fact still feel leaves quite diuy: but he ays nothing, and, seeing lhe other lad is still asleep. to return the cottage. The storm by now has abated considerably. He is able to Sr. Frank's with no great trouble and Phipps manages to smuggle him up to hi bedroom. The following morning, Archie discovers that the lad whom he had met the previous night is, in fact, a new boy, named Larry Scott who i destined for the remove. to Scott causes quite a stir when he talk to some of the junior . and all Handl'orlh in particular, Handy, in hi s usual blum way, want to know Scotl. who counters by telling Edward Oswald Handforth that he is quite about have lhe ugliest boy tJ1at he has ever seen. Afte r Church and McClure Hm1dy succeeded in restraining Handy's attempts to punch Scott's nose. on Lee decide that he will 'let him off this time' and peace is restored. Net arrives and, after welcoming Larry Scott, tells him that he is to join Singleton in study . in When Larry gets to the study, Singleton tells him that "he's not coming this study. and that he can tell Lee 10 'go and eat coke" '. Later on Mr. Lee meet Scott and asks him how he i getting on with Singleton. The happens to Lee new boy tells the Housemaster that the Hon. Douglas would not let him in, 'Eating asks if that was all he aid. and Scott gives him the message about Coke' whereupon he is told to return to study N and take up residence. After the removite.s realise that the new junior is incapable of speaking the truth. many of the more caddish junior get a lot of fun from anything but of asking Larry questions, many very personal, about his early life, which he. r e, always an . wers truthfully, until the practice become s known to such cou ears sutlwarts as and Handy. Then the fun becomes mixed with thick and black eyes. 5 the story of how he asked about his arrival, so late at night, When Scott is and naturally most of the arrive u1 the collage comes to light, and Archie became a member of the parry. immediately a s ume lhat Archie rcmovites le story from Scott. Lee hears rumours the and gets the who Later any blame. and in fact is highly Arctue is. of course. exonerated from while the actual panygoers are found and praised for bis courageous punis hed. never again takes a leading Larry Scott appears a few times after this. but role. *********'********************************

by W.0.G. Lofts MARTI N SPEED Martin Spt:ed was publisher Gerald of dctec1ive S\\an's <.lonation to the realms fiction. Stories of this sleuth appeared dunng the Second World War in various Jiffercn1 publication) under a number of names. fully In an interview \\ ilh Gerold Swan told me reported in C.D. November 1970. he saw no that he created Martin Speed as he have their reason why hi~ firm should nor boys own detccuve almost every other up a bi1of paper and comic had one. Making vnriow, background. be then commiss ioned He authors in hill stable IO pen the yarns. William rcmemberccJ that Re, Hardingc and E.S. J. Elliou wro 1e some. and possibly Brool-.s. fiat in Martin Speed lived in a very large Large that RusseU Square. London. It was so it served as his office as wcli. Hi;; assistant:; and Sue were ac tually his cousins, twins Sam Spry. Sam was officially his main assistant, typ1s1. whiJst Sue wac; his secretary and numerous though bo th were involved in his . Daisy investigations. I lou ekeeper was Mrs person. Duncan, a very stric1 and dour 6 Speed was nicknamed 'The Playboy Detective' being very slapdash with everylhing except criminal investigations and having a number of friends at Scollam.l Yard. Stories appeared in many Swan publications, mainly in the boys paper 'Scramble' as well as its yearly Annuals. There was also a short lived Martin Speed Library that ran for ten issues. "George Elliott'' was almost certainly W.J . Elliott, whilst one would have to select from 'John Norman', 'G.J-LLister' and 'G.M. Byrne' as to which name applied to Hardinge or E.S. Brooks. One author's name on a number of stories . Maurice 0. Hugi, was believe it or not bis real name. Born at my own birthplace, St. Marylebon e, he djed quite young in the late forties. Whilst other writers used different foils to Martin Speed at Scotland Yard , his own was. believe it or noc, someone of the name of Detective Inspector Bunter of the C.l.D. described as a portly man with a plump red face! Obviously Hugi was a former Billy Bunter and Magnet fan. The Margin Speed adventu res were mainly short. They reminded me of those in the Dixon Hawke Case-books of D.C. Thomson. There were also several series in 'Scramb le' towards its end. Although not having such a long run as the more popular detectives, Martin Speed at kast to me brings back very happy memories of living only a stone's throw away from where they were all published. ******************************************

~\SING INp~ c,?

I TEL : 0273 682048 I 23 Prin ce Regents Close, Kemptown , Brighton , BN2 SJP

7 ! by J.E.M. APOLOGIE S TO S EXTO BLAKE - EVERY ONE OF AIM JACK and DETECTIVI: I fi rst met him around 1930 and. through the pages of UNION on to other kinds of WEEKLY. enjoyed his company for two or three years before moving courtesy of tl1eDIGEST. and reading. More than three decade, later. I renewed his acquaintance. great detecuvc wa, an interrupted have never been out of touch since. If my relauonship wi1h the But while so many attrauions of one. it has clearly been something more than a brief encoumer. standing of Blake himself for me the cdcbratcd caseboo1' never. for a moment. IO\ l their gnp. the to the multiple authorship of the wrfercd a great many ups and downs. This was due largely er. Kestrel. Zenith. Waldo I oflen felt that Blake's colourful adversaries - Marsden Plumm \aga. they were exclusive Lo their and a \Core or others - remafacd convincingly the same because different idea of the ~leuth's own creator~. By contrast. every Blakian author seemed lo have a G.H. Teed's two-fisted globe­ haracter. and these conceptions were pretty vaned. For example, c alia, appeared a very

11 looked." addition of a cab le plait he would have looked cxacLly as Bessie Clara and tell Miss She is quite prepared to bilk the taxi driver. then shift the blame to somcy.hat to that august lady's Primrose airily that she is prepared to let Lhc matter drop, astonishment. arc aghast when she is So Bessie's advent is not exac tly auspicious, and the chums and home. so to speul... until placed in Stu

For the exchange of Readers' views

From BILL L OFT : T 1hink Brian D oyle hits the nail on the head."' hen he says he never had a T.V. set whi.:n the 'ghost' William series was on in 1956, lo remember it. Ne ither did the majori ty of viewers then as Commercial T.V. only started September l 955, when wages were low. a nd to have a T. V. set capable of receiv ing it considered a luxury. Unlike today when often or not people arc able to have a set in every room! Derek Adley and I had hundreds of letters pertaining to the William Index . yet not ooe reader me ntioned the omissio n of mention of this TV series. Neither did anyone at the William Conventions. no t eve n Mrs. Ashbcc. the copyright owner of the William stories. in correspon dence or conversa tion. Certain ly the cast of the show is mysterious in itself as, apart from a sligbl memory of Cavan Mal one, I've never h eard of th ose nam es befo re. It wouJd be unfair to j udge the series. wi1hou1 see ing it. bu t it does not seem to have enchanced any o f the ac tors to reach star status. Thanks are due to Brian for writing tbis up, so that it i s now recorded for furure enlhusiasLSof the William saga.

From ROY WHI SK.IN: Frank Richards fmally gets a mention in the Broadstairs guide - I'm not too sure about the refe rence to Port Regis Preparatory School. however. Fr om Busy Broadsrai rs 1994): "Billy Bunter", the fat boy ofG reyfriars, was created by Frank Richards - the pen-name of Charles Ham ilton - who lived in Kingsgate for many years. He is said to have based " Greyfriars" o n Port R egis preparatory sc hool. John Buchan wrote ''f he 39 Steps" while living at St. Cub y on Cliff Promenade. The staircase still remains opposite t.he house, prov iding a private access to a s mall be ach, but there arc actually twice as many steps.

From BRI AN DOYLE : R e. Martin Wat ers' article on 'The RAF Career of Capt. W.E. Johns' in the February iss ue, a nd hi s co mments o n the slow promotion of officers: During my ational Service for two years in the RAF. 1949-51, l was pos ted for a few wee ks to 1he Fighter Command Stat ion a t Delling. Nr. Majdstone, Kent. before my pennanent posting to Biggio I lilJ (where 1 stayed for 17 months) arrived. O ur C.O . at Detling (quite a smaJI station tl1cn adminedly) was a Flying Officer (that's one s tep up from th e lowest com.misc;ioned rank of Pilot Officer). He must have bee n in his 'fifties. had whit e hair, and was very ecce ntric, shouting everything out twice and a lways bad-tempered (hardJy surpri sing seeing that his RAF career had slowed t o tortoise-like promotion speed ). l reca ll him n ow as a very thin, raki h version of 'Victor Meldrew' in the TV series "One Foot in the Gra ve". I think he probably retired as a Flying Officer ...!

***** * ********** * **** * ******** *** *** * ***** 14 BRANDS FROM THE BURNING by Peter Mahony Part 9: Herbert Verno n-Smith (2) his For lhc ncx1 five years, Smithy's performances were very 'curate's egg'. One of XJ. recurrent grievances - and quite a juslifiable one - was his exclusion from 1he Remove 10 him . on Several Limeshe had proved bis playing ability, but Whanon refused pick like spuriously high-minded grounds. (ApparcntJy. it was O.K. to select a scapegrace 10 trouble. Hazeldenc but not one like Vernon-Smith! Wharton's unforgiving steak often led Jim's and That's why I rate him as an inferior skipper to Tom Merry and Jimmy Silver. SL This Rookwood nearly always fie lded their strongest teams - Greyfriars often didn't.) included problem surfaced in Magnet 273 (May 1913). The cricket Xl co visit St. Jim's Ogilvy, Nugent. Penfold and Micky Desmond - all players inferior toSmithy.

"I'm Wl'lar-100_. _ _ J

Verno11-Smirli'sfirst appearance mto The Bounder made Bulstrode and Desmond lose the train and wangled h.uru.cif bagged a one uf the vacancies. Nemesis - in the fonn of Fa11y Wynn- overtook him and he 'pair'. Wharton saved the game. and Smithy's claim to a _permanenrplace came a cropper. and The problem arose again over football. This time Smithy accepted his exclusion a place in the Remove went off 10 play successfully for Lantham. As a rcsull he was given master) side. He promptly 'blew it' by pursuing a vendetta against I lcr Gans (the German 15 Jim's he cul which n etted him detentions for every half-holiday. For the away game at St. unrcfonned detention and dodged Quelcb. At St. Jim's he bribed Le\.1son (the old-style. excelle nt yam . edition) to head Quelch off - whil'h was duly achieved. (Trus was an '297 - with Vernon-Smith and Levison a t their respective worsts.) The Bounder Magnet his scored the winning goal - then returned to face the music. Quelch, naturally. demanded expulsio n • and got it. Smithy did not go home, but camped out in the old tower. Quelch Bounder risked discovered him, but came to grief when 1he ancient stairs colJapscd. The f his own neck to save Quelch - and. of course. was reinstated. for A few weeks later be was expelled again. Th is time he had been sent to 'Coventry' bad enlisted mucl.cing up a football match a1 Counficld (left out for 'blagging'. Smithy Ponsonby & Co. 10 help disrupt the game - shades of modem football hooligans!). the "brave" Rescntin!.! his oscrucism. the Bounder sent a £20 'reward' to Dr. Locke for the bait. Rcmovit~ who had saved the lite of a "Colonial traveller". The Head swallowed rival claimants! asl..ed for the brave lad to come forward - and was confronted by four - told widely Skinner. Snoop. Bolsover and Bunh:r - complete with scars on their arms was having v:tr} mg ,w1 ics of derring-do. Dr. Locke bowled out Bunter and Snoop. but he was all a hoax. trouble deciding between Skinner and Bolsover whea Smithy revealed it e 'sack' for the Floggings all 1·ound for the claimants: u red-face for Dr. Locke; and th through the ice: Bounder. The school broke up for Christmas. Bunter wem i.kating and fell again, the Smithy came to his rescue; Colonel \Vhanon ialcrceded with Dr. Locke. Once Bounder',; luck he ld (Magnet 305). did it: A snow fight with Highcliffe resulted in Mr. Mobbs being tu, by a stone. Snoop loomed but Smith y. among othe rs, was quesuoncJ. He refused to neak and expull.ion Snoop was again. Fortunarely. a pa ·sing witness w,1s found who identitietl Snoop. for refusing to flogged. though ,.,,hy Vernon-Smith should be threatened with expulsion Dr. sneak while che real culprit only merited a thrashing is hard Lo understand. Perhaps Locke was loo king for an excuse to get rid or che Bounder! It's not su1-prising. Bounder Magnet 323 found Smithy breaking out again. A cla.h with Loder Jed to the from school. 'braining' the prefect with a cricket bat. Thinking the worst. Smithy bolted ; of course. it Pursued to the coast. he actually tried 10 drown himself rather than face trial llected another all tWlled out satisfac torily - Loder was not badly hun - but the Bounder co Even Smithy flogging. (This is the only yarn \\ here the Bounder's famed 'nerve' cracked. quai led at fucing a capital charge.) characters Smithy's be!ler side was in evidence several wcel..\ later. The leading wa:,, hit over Lhl' 'tripped' to France on Founders' Day. TI,1s time 11was the Bounder \\ ho e for thi.:casino! head - by Haze ldenc, who wanted the conten ts of Smithy'~ wallet as a stak lt was all hushed up - for Marjorie's sake, of course. of Jerry Shonly afterwards, Vernon-Smith's sins came home to roo~t in the hapc by socking Hawke . He blackmailed Smithy with an o ld l c11er. The Bounder retaliated on bread and Hawk e wilh a loaded stick and then keeping him chained in the old tower that water until he srumped up Lbe letter. Mr . Hawke was a chastened character after experie nce! Hazci.t replacement. The Bounder tried the same dodge and, when Wharton & Co. stopped him, he arranged with some of the Cross Keys toughs to keep Ogilvy and Bob Cherry away from the match. Wharton. shon-handed, had to fall back on the Bounder. Smithy played u 'blinder' with bat and ball: Grcytriars won easily. When 17 llected n heavy hammering Cherry and Ogilvy returned, the truth came out. and Smithy co from Bob. He also lost his place in the team again. be left out. arranged Their next opponents were St. Jim's. Smicby. determinedn ot to hired bargees, they with Temple & Co. to lake over the fixture. With the help of some emple, captaining tl1e side kidnapped the whole Remove XI and went to St. Jim's instead. T 'i. good baiting \\ as witJ1 his us ual swank, ~oon gave St. Jim's the initiative. Smilhy defended stoutly while the neglected until 6 wicket~had gone for 8 runs! Fortunately. Scoll 105! ( lncidentally. the Bounder counter-altacked. Greyfriars totalled 120, Smithy of the school if Sco1t Greyfriars Remove XI would have been more strongly representative assengers like Hazeldenc and Hobson of the Shell had reen included. Carrying semi-p insular.) St. Jim's cored would not have been necessary, if Wharton & Co. had been less e a demon • Temple. a1 130; then Smithy notched anOLher'ton'. The Bounder bowled lik on's share of the attack. long last realising that victory was possible, gave him the li rap wi1hWhart on. Greyfriars won by 2 runs, but Vernon-Smith was booked for a sc il wa..\due: then Ill.! Perversely, Smithy dodged the tight. He went out of ga tes when in Lbc dormitory, the 'sported his oak' when the Remove came looking for him. Cornered Johnny Bull • a11d Bounder refused to fight Wharton but willingly took on Lbcbelligerent the following Monday. licked him! Bolsover. ever-ready to bun in, challenged Smithy for the Bounder collected a two days later. Still suffering the effec1s of the Bull fight, out of gates to rest in hammering. Quelch broke it up and the battered Bounder went good advice - anc.Jgot seclusion. Marjorie Hazeldenc encountered him and gave him some her quid pro quo!) him to promise to 'keep an eye on Hazel'. (Marjorie always e>.tracted sen~c to him; then. I lazeldene was on 1hc gamble again. Vernon-Smith tried to tall,,. until ii was too late Ill when the scapegrace broke bounds. he locked him in the wood-shed Wharton to believe that visit the Cro:,s Key!:.. Hat:cl retaliated by 1elliog hes which led for "du-gooding". tlid Smithy had led him aslray! The Bounder contcmp1uous of himself this 11me. Going '-lraight not den)' it and collected another hammering - from Whanon came out crooked rorSmitl1y a t this period! always took Wharton 10 They ,,.,ereboth detained for lighting. South)'. man C'-cellcntchapter. in XI c..lcspiteevidence for: (a) believing Hazeldene's story; (b) keeping H::11,cldenc the 1usk and (I;) for of his 'blagging' - after all he was excluding Smithy on U1esame grounds: a vic1om,young ras~al. assuming that Ha1eldcne wa~ a ,.,cal,. fool, easily led. rather 1han 1hcm for 1h.:nex1 They came lo blows again - and Quelch caned them. a.<;we ll as detaining had 'plw1gcd'with £5 halfholida)' the

THE OXFO RD BOOK O F SCHOO LOA YS, Edited by Patricia Craig. (Oxford University Press, 1994, £17.95) Well, were they? The Happiest Days of Your Life, r mean. I refer 10 schooldays. We've all known them. enjoyed them, endured them, suffered them, or revelled in them. Many hated them. others loved them. To most people. J suspect. their own schooldays were a kaleidoscopic mi>.Cure,a combination of good a nd bad. funny and sad, indifference and boredom. Now. Patricia Craig presents us with THE OXFORD BOOK OF SCHOOLDAYS. and its 450 pages range from the 16th Century 10 the present and her many excerpts are drawn from fiction. autobiography, memoirs. letters and poetry, and all concern chools and schooling. schoo lboys, sc hoolgirls and schoo lteachers. The book is divided into I I sections, with such h eadings as Schools an d Schoolmasters, Friends and Enem ies, [n tl1e Class room and so on. Pat Craig - who has previously co-wri tten with our wonhy Editor, Mary Cadogan, such excellent and entenaining books as " You're a Brick. Angela" and "Women and Children Fir st" - has chosen well. if in a rather limited way (more of that later), and memorab le quotes leap ou1 from the page as you browse through. "Public schoo ls are the Nurseries of all Vice and Immorality. Alt the wicked Fellows whom J remember at the University were bred at them." That's Parson Adams talking to the eponymous hero of Henry Fielding's novel "Joseph Andrews" ( 1742). ''There's no rule, that I've ever heard. agains t trying on new corse ts in the lower music room." From Dorita Fairlie Bruce's "Dimsie Intervenes" ( 1937). Co rsets? On young schoolgirls? Whatever next! J have a feeling that the late and much -missed Arthur Marshall would have loved that one. "Are you the Bully, the Pride of the School, or The Boy Who Is Led Astray and Takes 10 Drink in Cha pter 16?" Psmith politely asks Mike Jackso n on first meeting him at Scdleigh. to which the l,ltler sensibly replies: "The last, for choice, but I've only just arrived. so 1 don't know." That's from P.G. Wodehouse's early novel "Mike" (1909), one of the finest school novels ever written. though Ms Craig attributes it to a 1953 reprint of the second half of this book, published under the title "Mike and Psmith". Some peop le hated sc hool: "Sc hool to us was a place t o get away from as soon as possib le and for as long as possib le. Everythin g exciting, mysterious. adventurous happened outside its confines, not within them. We were poorly taught, admittedJy. and lacked utterly the team spirit. Our South London Cockney grated sharp ly on the car. o group photographs of us were taken . We had no blazers or gilded caps. We were urchins of the suburb s. Looking back, J feel gratefu l that it should have been so. O n the whole, the more boring and flat educatio n i s, the better. Glamorising it constitutes a kind of brain­ washing." That was. surprisingly perhaps. Malcolm Muggeridge reminiscing about his 'Happiest Days;! Other people loved school: "Not eve n the horrors o f 'North and Hilliard' could significantly diminish the peculiar sensation of being happy at schoo l. T sel off unnecessarily early eac h morning ... I looked forward to seve n out of the day's eight lesson periods. And I thought of the staff as my senior friends t o be trea ted with a fraterna l respect. .. I had become a far grea ter success in lessons than I had ever been on the playing 19 become field and I had to adjust my lite accordingly." Tha t's Roy Ha1Lersley, later 10 in his "A Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. and latterly a raLher good novelist, writing Yorkshire Boyhood" ( 1983 ). dirty, Some peopl e {many. it seems) were very unhappy al school: "I was now (ifleen. m} inky, miserable, untidy, a bad fag, a coward at games, la1.y at work, unpopular with 1 got a b:nd masters and superiors. anxious lo curry favour a11dyet to bully whom [ d11Jcd... by Cyril report and was described as 'cynical and irreverent'". From "Enemies of Promise". ) Connolly ( l 938). Social codes at public schools were very impmtant: •~rhcsocia.l of code Charterhou~c second tem1 rested on a strict caste system ... a new boy had no privilege at all; a boy in his might wear might wear a kni1ted tic instead of a plain one; a boy in his second year collars. coloured socks: the third year gave most of the main privileges - turned down such as coloured handkerchiefs. a coat with a long roll. and so on: fourth year. a few more. These the right to get up rafncs: but peculiar distinctions were reserved for the blood.;. the right included light-grey nanncl trousers. butterfly collars, jackets slit up the bnck. and or walking am1-in·am1." From "Goodbye to All That" b} Robert Graves ( 1929). even One could go on quoting endlessly: there is much 10 amuse and divert nnd arc instruct in these scholastic pages. Many famous and well-known au1horsand characters here - Squccrs, Tom Brown. Eric. A.J. Wentworth. Wmston Churchill. David Copperfield. Bra2il, Dyl:m Thomas. Shakespeare. Alice. Phillip Larkin, John Bctjeman. William. Angela George Orwell. Talbot Baines Reeds, C.S. Lewis. Graham Greene ... same The funnie!)t piece - about a multin1dcof boys named Smith. alJ at school at 1he cpendent" time - is by a writer new to me: Richard Curtis, and appean:d in "The Lnd newspaper in 1991. rather There are around 400 excerpts in the book and this huge number tends to give a seen 'bitty' effect; pieces range from 4 lines to 3Y2pages. Personally. I would rather have fewer but longcr extracts. "I am sorry if some [n her interesting lntroducrion. Pat Craig apologises in advance: obvious or very apposite accounts of schooling have been overlooked ... " has This is all very well but. despite her 450 pages and 400 cx.cerp1s,Ms. Craig 'overlooked' and omitted many of the b.!~t and most memorable pieces of writing about have surely school life and characters in the entire genre - pieces and books which should a book as 'picked themselves' and which are truly 'conspicuous by their ab sence' in such this. r from There is nothing whatsoever from James Hilton's ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips"; o ''The Compton Mackenzie's "Sinister Street"; Eric Parker's •1~1ayingFields"; Shane Leslie's Lanches1cr Oppidan"; John Van Druten's "Young Woodley"; G.F. BrJdby's ''The Connell':, Tradition"; E.W. Homung's "FaLhcrs of Men"; Beverley Nicholls' "Prelude"; John Salaam's "Lyndesny"; Wynne Willson's "Early Closing"; Ernest Raymond's "Mr. Olim"; and Mr. (G.F. Lamb) "Chalk in My Hair" (and its sequels); Hugh Walpole's ''Mr. Perrin er Side of Traill": R.F'. Deldcrfield's ''To Serve TI1cm AllMy Days"; or [an Hay's ''fhc Light Scbool Life", to name but a few classic 'adult' books about school life. line:. And surely, amidst all these pages. Ms Craig might have found room for a few 'Mr. from such popul:ir boys' school story writers as Hylton Cleaver (whose housem:ister er - and Dennett' of Greyminster one orthe great fictional portraits of a public schoolmast Desmond ba cd upon a well-remembered real -life master at St. Paul's). Gunby Hadath. and, Coke. Richard Bird, Warren Bell, Jeffrey Havilton, Harold Avery, R.A.H. Goodyear contain perhaps most of a ll, from Eden PhillpotlS' erics of "Human Boy" books. which written. some of the finest, truest and most entenaining talcs of school and schooldays ever 20 Why, even 'Molesworth' is absent from these pages (one can almost hear him screeching "Down wi1h Skoolday.-,!"from behind tbc bicycle sheds ... ). hool And. before I'm accused of being sexist, where are tbe samples from such girls' sc School' story authors as Elsie J. Oxcnha.m, ElinorBrent -Dyer (and her very popular 'Chalet books). L.T. Meade. Mary Harris and Christine Chaundler? \1'2page Reader~ of the 'SPCD' will be pleased to know thal Ms Craig includes one 3 Remove Greyfriars e,tract from a l 936 "Magnet", involving Mr. Quelch. Bunter et al in a writer of cla\sroom scene. And Lha1is that! ot one word more from probably the greatest -Mr. school stories of all time. Nothing from the dramatic series, nothing of the Mr. Quelch lhat truly Prout feuds, nolhlng of Harry Wharton or Bob Cherry or Lord Mauleverer, or great character. Herbert Vernon-Smith, the Bounder of the Remove. You'll also look in 't get a vain for even a mention ot St. Jim's or Rookwood. Euwy Scarles Brooks doesn the look-in either. so no St FrJnk's. They've all been expe lled. the whole lot of them: Punishment Room must be bursting at theseams ... In her lntroduc1ion. Pat Craig slates thal both the "Mag net" and Lhe "Gem" ceased e latter publication in 1940. Wrong. Ms Craig. The former did finish in 1940, bul 1h stopped in 1939. The book'l>I ndex is hardly satisfactory, including, as it does. just names: referred it might have been helpful also to include actual titles of books, stories and articles three to. And, incidentally. was it really necessary to include the 'F-word' no fewer than times in one excerpt from a 1989 book by an authorI. for one. have never heard of? On the crcdi1 '-ldc, Pat Craig's book is entenaining, amusing and often surprising: an years are ideal bedside book for the dorm1 Some of its extracts about school life over the or real eye-openers. Nostalgia abounds and the book will certainly arouse memories (good bad) of one's own schooldays and school friends of the years gone by. As Charles Lamb wrote: "I have had playmates. I have had companions, In my days of childhood, in my joyfulschoo ldays. All, all are gone, the old familiar faces. And as Mark Twain once said: "J never le1sc hooling come between me and education ... "

zberg. "TIL E EN DURIN G GAM E: An 1-SPYclopaed.ia 1948- 1993," by Fran cis Hert Reviewed b y Denni L. Bird . Higher Published by Roots (The Redskin Press), 48 Shalmarsh Road. Prospect Hill, Hill. Bebington. The Wirral, Cheshire. Price: £5.25. tha1 Do you remember the "News Chronicle" and Big Chief I-Spy? It was through not know newspaper column that J first became aware of Lhe I-Spy movement. What I did in fact is until I read this book is that it continued after the "Chronicle" closed in 1960, and still very much in being after more than 45 years. was "I-Spy" was the brainchild of a most remarkable man, although the actual name " The suggested by bis wife - a much more vivid lille than the original "Learn from Life. sfield. founder was Charle~ Warrell, head-master of Pleasley Hill Senior School in Man of Ernest Nous: born in 1889, he was still going strong 103 years later. He was an admirer Scout of Thomp_._<:0n Seton. the British-born naturalist who in 1910 became the first Chief 1902. an the USA. Pre -Baden Powell, Seton fou nded th e Woodcraft Indians i n of organisation designed to teach young Americans about wild life and the tracking methods the Red Indians. Charles Warrell similarly wished to make young people more aware of the wortd e. He around them · not just in nnture, bur in science. technology, history, music, literan1r Office on was a great believer in "the fun of finding out." and as an adviser to the Home 21 tum young minds in healthy directions. teaching in Bors tal inslil1Jlions. he was concerned to "I'll Teach You" booklets. so ld in From L 940 he produced a series of little ninepcnny idea in 1948: the "I-Spy" books ("I Woolwor 1h's. This and other enterpri ses led to his great gsrers on what to look out for. scoring spy, with my little eye ... "). The e would guide youn at rotaJ of J ,500 sent Ill to Mr . point s which could be adt.lcd up, verified by an adu lt. and a a badge. A simple idea. but rnost Warrell himself, who would reward the claimant with effec tive . grounds. then says ''Which I As C).amplcs. the boo k on cricket describes Test match of your cou111y side's sco rer? gro unds ha ve yo u visited? Score 70... What is the name cars. then asks "Whut was Alec Socrc 120.'' The Cl~sic Cars book describes Morris lss1go nis's most famous design ? Score 5." And so on. g ChieJ I-Spy". und he ran thing s Following Seton' · exam ple. Warrell called himself "Ri Mail" gave him space for a column in from 1948 to 1957. From 1949 lo 1951 the "Dail> however, and soon transferred 10 the their paper; he was not en tirely happy with them. r Big Chiefs afler him: Arnold pages of the "News Chronicle" . There were cwo othe Then the famous botanist Professor Cawthrow ( 1957- 1978) and Robin Tu cek ( 1978- 1982). from l982 to 1987. afte r which tJ1c David Bellam y 1001.. over as just "Chief I-Spy." appoint111ent seems to have lapsed. itc, own demise. Si11ce 1960 The "New!> Chronicle" published the little books until being the Michelin tyre company of there hav e been four Other publi shers, the most recent a much glossier appearance. with Franc.-e: tl1ey took over in 1991 and gave the booklel<; modestly priced (£1.25) and cover colour ph otogmphs instead of drawings. They a rc still and i11cluding Castles, Dino ·aurs. lnn an eno nn 0us range of subj ects. from Aircraft to Zoos. Signs, London, the ight Sky. -Spy enthusiast since 195 1. Mr. Hertzbe rg (Liule Chier Wily-Feather) has bee n an I 1ai ns, under alphabetical headings. when be was 11. and his "1-SPYclopaedia" coa "the enduring game" or looking every thin g anyone could possibly wi1

****************************************** January to 1912, Nos. 44 l to BOUND VOLUMES of "MARVEL" Nos. 415 to 440. LO e 1920. "CHAMPTON" bound 460. JuJ y to October 1912, Nos. 832 to 857. Janu ary Jun lume 1950. Nos. 1458 Lo 1509. Few year vo lum e 1949, No s. 1405 to 1457. Bound year vo copies of NELSONLEE LIBRARY, bound volumes of .B.F.L. ! Sl and 2nd series. L,0ose would exchange. WANTED: S.B.L. S.13.L. 3rd series. S.0.L. various othcl'. Offers, or EN D, 7 North Close, Willington. 2nd series. DIXON HAWKE LIB. e1c. K. TOWNS Derby. D E65 61:.A.Tel. (0283) 703305 . ******************************************

22 10 start MARK TA HA (London): Victor Colby\ anicle in LheMarch C.D. inspired me facts that reading the swrie!t he mentioned. I've read the fin.1 two and was struck by the that Blake used an assumed name as a warder bu1 his own surname as a soldier. I suppose inevitably Sherlock Holmes would h:1ve been like Blake if he'd appeared week!), thus diluting the quality,~ it were - and didn't Blake and Tinker once fca1ure a!. schoolmaster and pupil on an undercover mission? the EDWARD RAKE (Bristol): T particularly like reading aruclcs in the C.D. m which odd writer tells of how he or she manages to come across - sometimes in very tt vef) full circumstance~ - a long sought edition of a boo!,..which means so much because is of deeply loved childhood memories.

TERRY JONES (Glouce ter ): In a world surrounded by tra~h reading 11 is amazing chat a linle magaiine, can appear every month devo1ed exclusively 10 the quality li1crn1ureof our childhood. h must be the only one in the workl Where else can one vi,11 Wharton Lodge at Christmas'? Where else can one narrowly miss Coker charging down on you on a blazing summer's da) so many years after he spread fear and rage on the lt.111111~ River Sark'? The Collector's Digest ,., unique in bringing 10 us all a warm glov, with memories of the past. Long may it conunue 10 be wi1hus. clattering Mage­ The late 18th century atmosphere of bustling ways ide inns. the and foot pnds (a subtle coaches and horsemen are all brought vividly to life. Highwaymen ss-roads wac;to be seen a distinction here) abounded. while not infrequentlyat lonely cro might be occupied. ILwas solitary gibbet outlined against the sky: also not infrequently this in many ways a fearsome and rumbustious age. 's 1-lighwayrnan' by I think a fitting companion 10 Yoxall's book could be 'Cecily century ( 1750-60) is all the Dorothea Moore. Here again, although set a linle earlier in tl1c nd these were very roughly f activtty of life on the great roads. very few of which existed (a of which are corn,tructed ) in that period. Among Dorothea Moore's fine works, many n. a story of one remembers 'Captain Nancy', set in the 1745 uprising. 'Bro\\ historical, by Agnes Badcn- Waterloo', and certainly 'Terry the Girl-Guide'. The latter had a foreword a remnrkable Boy Scout to Powcll. The 'Schoolma~ter' in it<;review stated, "It would take most c,citing ..." out,;hine Terry, who is a really charming creation ... the finale is lli ghwayman inscribed b) (Edit or's Note: Amongst my treasures is a cop} of Cec,/y'\ first Guide novcb to be Dorothea Moore. Terry the Girl Guide (1912) was one of the published and gives a hvely picture ol the earl} days or the Movement. However. Charles Scouts' in Gem, ,ot. 3. no. Hamilton (us Marlin Clifford) wrolc even earlier about the 'Girl Cousin Ethel. The earliest 78 ( 1909). The story, called The Bo) Scouts' Rm1/s. featured was a ~rial called 71,e story of girli-' involvement in Scouting which I have come across July 1909 - u month before Girl Smuts. By Evelyn Yates. it began in the Girls' Reader in Hamilton's Gem .,,ory.) ****************************************** News Of The Old BoysBook Clubs

NORTHERN O.B.B.C. Our gucM speaJ...erwa s It was good to have an attendance or 19 at our meeting. Dever. of Irwin Jorwik Publishing of Leeds. Russell daughter of Comment \\-as made on the exccllcnl presentation of Gillian Baverstocl... at a Leeds school. Si, Enid Olyton. when she spoke about her mother at a recent meeting members of our club bad attended. r.o we are quite well represented. as opposed 10 Russell Dever pointed out that really he WU.'> a publishers' "packager" I le creates ideas and ~.omeone who actually published b ooks for sale in book shops. book fairs them to potential publishen; - and this can be achieved by attendmg presents 1hat had such as Bologna and Frank.fun. We were told of some very amusing incidents occurred on his tra,cls. 1here had seen Since the communist countries had opened up their market, people more books for children quality children's books after many years' denial. Britain produces in languages 01hcr man than any otl1er country in Europe and produces many of iliese 24 child will continue English. IF a child is still reading books at 15, theni it s quite certain Lhat s how a book was reading well into adulthood. On the technical side, Russell showed u LO the final product. created - from the beginning with the co mmissioning of' a writer nal and we look Russell's presentation was infonnaLive. entertaining and very professio forward LO his visiting u~ again. Margaret came along wiLhso me or her home baking - now becoming a very popular Featureof our refreshment lime! JOI lNNY BULL MINOR CAMBRIDGECLUB Whiskin. 1l1e For our March meeting we gathered at the Linton village home of Roy He traced its afternoon's proceedings began as Bill Lofts delivered a talk on llotspur. t comics - and ils progress - No. 2 in the 1938 best seller lisl for D.C. Thomson tex otspur. this ters. from its launch in September 1933 to its demise in 1959. As New H charac the Red boys paper continued with picture scrips until the early 'eighties. The aerivilies at Circle school were undoubtedly the abiding memory from Hotspur. n strip format Then Roy explored the 'Classics lUustrated' series: these were cartoo in America in versions of stories by some of the world's greatest authors. These had started in the UK. Roy 1941 entitled Classic Comicl, and years were. later. widely distributed and showed us provided a great many examples of the Classics flluscrated comic books, some modern versions of the concept. Recd. Just Keith Hodt...insonlater told us about the Victorian author. Talbot Baines ote stories about like Charles Hamilton he never auended a Public School although he wr c'~. Many of his them with ao intimate knowledge. notably in The Fifth Form of St. Domini s of lhcse. works were published by the Boys Own Paper. and Keith circulated example together wiLh some of his stories published in book form. ADRIA PERKINS

LONDON O.B.B. C. of Peter and There were 22 participants at the March meeting held at the Ellham home 10 supply the Liclcs Dorothy Mahony. Brian Doyle presented a quiz where members had by Mark, Mary and aulhors of books after hearing the ti,s r line. Chris came first followed Alan Pratt. and and Mall Peter Mahony introduced us to Lucky Lannagan from the Western Library Bill Bradford Marrion from a comic s trip in the Evening News from 1955 - 1958. ut?" Norman presented his " Mixed Bag" quiz. starting o ff with "Who published the Sco a Greyfriars story can1e first with Roy and Peter second. Roger read an extract from the piece told us • involving Mr. Quelch and Vernon Smith and asked us to consider what t Mr. Quelch. abou are asked The meeting on April 10th will be at Bill Bradford's Ealing home. Members the N.H.S. requires to conlim1 the meeting place with Bill on Wednesday. 6th April in case his presence. The aHemativc venue wiH be Eltharr.. SUZANNE HARPER

25 SOME D.C. THOMSO N ANNUALS by D.J. O'Leary Number Four: THE SKIPPER BOOK FOR BOYS 1941 I was too young to have known U1cSKJPPER story paper ( 1930-41) but as I started w read story papers later in the War I came across a number of SKIPPER ANNUALS from the thirties. They were eagerly exchanged and discussed in the Junior School playground along wilh other pre-war Thomson annual!.. Although some annuals did appear during the War. !.hey were scarce and any reading matter was in short supply. IL must have been several years after publication that I swapped somclhing or other for this one, doubtless attracted p articularly by the intriguing cover. The SKlPPER followed the Thomson formula of vivid covers ,m

26 I. THE PEACEMAKER OFNAKUDA by Alan Drake A Kenya District Commissioner has to deal with a native uprising fomented by Nazi­ the loyal weapons. Unfonunatcly. his urgent pica for arms and ammunition to arm supplied But ingeniously. natives is met by the mistaken dispatch of a load of carnival equipment. the rebellious natives for U1e Conunissioncr ~ets up the fair and proceeds lo charge fair 10 the rebel chief for aumission to the rides - in guns and bullets! Finally. he gives Ulc his own village in exchange for a peace treaty. ISLAND THAT WASN'T by C.V.L. Cunnison 2. THE and Lionhe:trt Logan of the Mounties solves Ule mystery of a disappearing island rescues an innocent man from lynching. 3. THE FIRE-FL YER OF TOBO by Leslie Grant saving an ainnan Young \.fick Stewart finds his model aeroplanes very effective in who's crashed among Ulehead-hunters of Papua. 4. THE DUKE'S Cl IAMPIONby C.L. Spier!> ro the realm of lhe Rcdgauntlet, Champion of the Duke of Burgundy. travels 10 tighr a duel treacherous Duke or Orleans in search of his long-lost brother. Forced United. Uley return against Orleans' champion, he finds that he is fighting his o,"n brother! 10 Burgundy. 5. WHE. TULLY DROPPED A BRICK by K.G. Stevenson refuses 10 kow­ A story of life in an Oregon lumber-camp where "Half-a-tick" Tully 10 Follow his usualcustom of scuing a tow 10 bully ''Tombstone" Hogan. When Hogan tries load rn piling lhe heavy murderous worl, pace for his partner, Tully matche\ hin1l oad for green limber. Moreover. Tully infuriates hin1with his cheerful banter. The inevitable light for causing a fire. He redeem~ leads 10 their sacking and then Tully finds himself "framed" chimney. Hogan finally himself by the brave and i.kilful demoliuoo of a dangerous factory big bonus. confes~es his guilt and Tully 1s re" ardcd his job with back plus a Mu.1lu-dSm1t.h was '' hot ,tuif/' no doubl a.bout lb.at. But he could bea,ly-Lhat is to &&1, bar•ly ha•• ,uceeeded in ,avina Redwood School ,( \t hadn't be,n lo, Su:1-thal u lo "'1• s.butlan.

I

27 Chrysrnl 6. PEA -NUT PETE - NUT CRACKER by J.C. known u,; Pea-nut Pete because of his The small but deatlly Dcputy -Man,hall Dolan, While Owl Gang. site. unma ks the mysterious leader of the ca~tle--rustling 7. THE T IN-CAN TOTEM byG.N . G,my with rhe ferociou\ ew Guinea head ­ Explosive s ex pert "Blast" Benton ensures peace -mast 1sa superior 10 1c m 10 worship after hunter'- by persuading them that a redundant radio he is fo rced to des troy their old one. stard Smith" Story by Arthur Radcliffe 8. TROUBLE "BRUIN" IN REDWOOD A "Mu joins the class of "Mustan.l" Sm1U1in A friendly brown bear. quite tame. unexpcct.cdly Apart from delighting his pupils. Sam his school hut in Redwood in the Canadian Rockie~. to clo~e the school. And when Sam\ the bear proves invaluable in thwarting attempts Redwood a rev. ard whirh ensures the future ci rcus proprietor arrives, he iii delighted to give o r the sc hool. Drew 9. BY THE SK IN OF HIS TEET I I hy Gordon from snobbcl) in hii. "posh" school. Sun of a circus acrobat, Jimmy Radley suffers from n burning building, supporting hi s But when be carries one of the snobs to safely school rally to him. Bui the superciliou, unconscious burden with his reech. most or the Head-boy still "cuts him dead". finds himself repeating the feat, now Year s later, in the Anuuon jungle, Jinun> recognise~ his rival's real worth. rescuing that very Head-boy. Finally. he. too. CHAIR" by Arnold I WI 10. Wl IE N PENANG PET ERSO 'TOO K THE they've bitten off more Lhan they can Mutineers aboard a ~hip bound for Java find Peterwn .:ind his friend young Jim Win slow. chew when they come up agains t "Penang" he has nor lost hi s pugnacity nor shootin g Although "Pcnang" is confmecl to a wheelchair sonating a ghos t, Lhc gallant two end up fully skills. First teni lying the mutineers by imper in contro l of the ship. seem to me of les:. interest than those With regard to the stories. I must say that many the !>IOries,'The Duke's Champion". "Peanut in many T hom son annuals. Certain ly, some of little impres sion. 'The Duke's Champion" Pete". and "By the Skin or his Tee th". make themc~. particularly those connected with recaJls the Thomson papers' interest in hiscorica.l of stories about the Scoltl!>hBody guard Sir Wa.lter Scott. (They ran. for. c:.ample. a series much to Scott's "Qucmin Durward ".) of Loui s XI. France's "Spider King" which owctl feeblest of B Westerns. such as we "Peanut Pete - Nutcracker" reminds me of the " f hc Tin-can Totem" features an exp losive~ watched on Saturday mornings. On ly feebler . figure Dynamner Jim, 1!, distinguished by a expert who, like the more familiar Thomson . "By the Skin or bi, Teeth" rather ove r­ ruth.less disregard for natives that get in his way his main 1om1entors over a span of ycan, and does coincidence when the hero re scues both by similar means! The i.:ycca tching cover mu.st So why do I choose this annual as one of my favourites? Logan and "Mustard" Smith. be one reason. Then th.:re are familiar name s like Lio11bean years the h,::uling "trouble brum" was a The fomiiiar punning tiilei; which boys lik~ (for scuings of the rales: Africa. New Guinea. favourite phrase of mine). The anrnctivel) varied light heaned offerings ol bizarre photos and the Wild West. medieval France, etcetera; tJ1c grew up possessing a v;u;t store of facts which ensured that genermiom, of Big Five readers useless infonnation! '11,e Island that Wasn't" did have a Not all the stories , orcourse, were below par. Peterson'' was a live ly mutiny advent ure genuine puzz le for Lionhcart to solve. "Pcnang 28 likeable with a "ghostly twis1. ''Trouble Bruin in Redwood" had in "Mustard" Smith a mosl crooks figure, a fim1 but sympathetic teacher who can cope with a bear in his classroom or trying to scan; him off. of But of all the !.lories I would choose ''Tully Drops a 81ick" and ''The Peacemaker Nakuda" as the best. are "full y" 1sthat rare 1hlng- a story about work where the selling and work processes enough essential to the plot and !>uccmctlyexplained. The page illustrations. too. arc good ro add 10 the tcXL'simpact. We accept !he 1ough world of the lumber-camp where the just but irascible boss makes cope fighting a sacking offence, where the men arc strong and hard-working but unable to fight All with the camp bully un11l 1hcindomitable newcomer bests him at \I.Orkand in a this makes a convincing and :iuthentic background. check The plo1. too. i.!>\\Cll -crafted. Tully's habit of breaking spent matches to the villain poS\ible fire danger i,eems eminently sensible for a lumberjack but al!>osupplies be with an e:L~yway of laying blame on him. And Tully's angry remark chat the boss will he was sorry for firing him seem!. evidence of malicious inLentionsaltllough. in fact. through before Tully referring 10 1hc amazing amount of work tl1a1che two men had got convincing turned the table s on Hogan's attempt to work him into tl1c ground. Such a ii is rare portrayal ot a working environment is not common in adult tic1iorL In boys' fiction indeed. ''The Peacemaker of Nakuda", despite its background threat of rebellion and massacre, !he change has a light-hearted air about it. Although the initial evenL~seem to be menacing, accomplished by the ingenious Commissioner can be no surprise 10 the reader who has seen fair with the cover. The ru se that ended wilh the natives cager to purchase rides on the if it their guns and ammunition. is, of course. pretty unlikely. But boys could easily accept of the fair. only to enjoy the diverting picture of huge African warriors enjoying the delights a world very familiar to youngsters. which Tbis. I think. is one of the very few stories I know in the Thomson annuals in the the illustrations are essential to. and, indeed. superior 10. Lhe text. Tbe art work in "Duke's Thomson annuals of the "Rig Five" is usually far inferior to the tex1. Her c the Champion". for instance, has third rate drawings. Only ''Trouble ''Bruin" in Redwood" has humour? art-work of a comparable sumdard. Is it a coincidence that both are stories full of us One last thought. Among the odd facts on the inside covers is one which infonns of bis that Noel Coward has a room in his house which he has papered with the fir~t scripts time Noel successful plays. Not many people know that! It certainly struck me as the only made the SKIPPER! (11/ustrarions copyrig ht D.C. Thomson) ****************************************** 334-444, FOR SALE: CQ.L E CTO R ' DIGEST Nos. 263-278. 280-295, 297-300, 98. 500-509. 447,448,450, 452-455. 457-466, 469. 472 -474, 476-478, 481-484, 487, 490-4 ters Road, I 51 I, 513, 5 15-567. 50p each plus postage. EDWARD ALLA TT S1. Pe130 CO\\n._,EY.Midd!e sex. UB83S D. ******************************************

29 by A.E. Sims EARCH ENDED the searc h for Al the end of August 1990r retired from teaching and began canal boats. oil painting by a really satisfy ing hobby. 1 tried building model activities but none really gripped numbers. bird watching and countless other me. - a pa sion rve had T found myself more and more falling back on reading printed word since! I first realised the great joy which can be obtained from the in story fom,. ed that 1 was really enjoying At this stage in my reading l was rather asham Crompton. Surely 1 ought "Gim let" by W.E. Johns and "William" by Richmal the like ? LO be reading Dickens. Trol1ope, Chaucer and Thriller" published by J.M . T hen [ read "Sexton Blake Wins" - a "Cla sic the name and address of one Dent & Sons Ltd. At the end of ii l came across concerning "Greyfriars", "SL Eric Fayn e. lf l wanted any more infom,ation Jims". "Nelson Lee". etc. I should write lo him. letter and sugges ted I got in This I did. Eric ve ry kindly wrote me a long the monthly paper "Collector's touch with Mary Cadogan and sign up for ription was duly paid. "C.D." Dige st". Mary replied promptly and my subsc years. Long may it con tinue . bas aITived faith fully each month for the las1 l Y2 Literature", more I sti II felt rather ashamed of my intere t in "Childrens' s out [ stud ied G.C.S.E. EngHsh enhanced by the arrival of C.D. To level thing con·espo ndence. At tbc same time I found the name of Colin Literu ture by ha.1;n ow telephoned him. Colin. for well over a year, Crewe in C.D. and Joh ns supplied me with a monthly parcel, consis ting mainly of books by W.E. and 11Wi1.ard 11 comics of the '50s. erature and che day after it In Jun e l took my examination in English Lit the date pre-.trranged between ended the monthly parcel from Colin arrived on us. You can rely on Colin to the letter. I am certain 1 owe a great J received an 'A' grade for the examination and gives a correct balance between deal of this s uccess to this hobby of ours. Ct but light. refreshing, academic study and something which is literature fascinatingly interesting and wo rth studying deeply. nos talgic and yet Mary who keeps me My grateful thank!i to Eric, who introduced me to it; I am no longer in tou ch with it through C.D. and Colin who keeps me reading. good to know that other 'adults' ashamed of this wonderful hobby of ours. It is ended. share my fascination for it. My search for a hobby is ******************************************

30 COLI N CREWE Continu ed ......

Vol 45 GllN l\1EN AT GR F\ f-l(I ARS Issue Nu,. I "17I tu I t 71( \-o l 49 T HE \ I YS T £R , \I A'\l O F GREYH t l.\ RS l"u.: J\o,. 16 'i lo 1622 \. ol 50 LUL U BUff E R 'S EAS1 F.R T RJr '"UC l'53to l'i.55& 132110132'.!& 1221 F\!.iw.=hu°:~!\;:r!..~c&d. B•'• e, ·er 1a.nunc for a r~ to 1223 To fe.ul Lil ta:Jd' •·)f'II onl (14 ll . LI ONA IRI NG WI fll Vo l B .. F.at not lO u~. l,ut. Ir•"la Nt t" RUNT F.R Issue N1>s.1381 lo 1389 & 1042 h lluntcr'• du-er, mu,m: No Jinntr, 11.1\0Ur f, er '"'f'l~ Vol 65 (; RE\F RI ARS OJ\ SA FARI Co11ld ef'.-:r ovcri.a.J Um. h~ue J\"1" . 1228 10 I H6 St:.l"d,t.·'o...~~::·:!.Zl:"· AT G RF.YFRI ARS Vol 66 RL C TIO NS B~7,~':;;:,~~·..~~.!~t far. hsu.: No,. 1237 10 1243 & I I 35 When not tAJ•Btd '" f'Jtln1 pie•, Vol 67 lllJNTER AT ST JIM 'S 1 Issue No,. Mugncl . ~69 to 572 & 585: Gem: 57 l n;1::~·d~~":hfr~t'.;!,•.~,~;fi~. lila1un; lhtUJ flOMfl•haLital.tJ tc>574 b: 576. 578. 579. 585 And •bru tht-1 uttli b1m 1n lhe .rt \'ol 68 fll E R OG t E OF n u,; RE MO \-E A G,H. t.t ('OIDn u, art.Ion. AoJ ..t~t:;.' CeoC'Ct .. 1 ••,-,1.J:, l,suc No,. 1129 to 1131 & 115410 1155 & 1157 ~h.~h 1.o 1heir ~hafltllon I 10 I ISi.< ( ;Rt;Y FRl ARS To 11\\IIJ)' 1l;,ot1 110 J1llN h11 car, Vol 69 TII E Bl 'I.I .Y OF ln q·,.r,L of lnform.1tt0n~ hsuc \Ill\, 1111 to 1117 An,I a.1.an.} ,tot;c.,. 11ranu and quttr, ltt S-•U.u. cu~ut., .on Vol 70 ll ll .L\ " Bl VrER 'S CON\1 CT '' l MJ. JOU f~1101lia."b. •ill b.111\, 1,~uc '1/o,. llJ4. i03'i. 1039 le> 1041. 1056 and .. l tt Mag..~rin,: Ql"'Wt-ob. ralheT I 1057 Att1l1>~f:~t.~'~!~ hu~"r:~t~~-;--- ND Vol 7 1 TH E GR F.YFRIAR S S ECO (\" \n.: h, l't'<"'"'"oM\ t:n, ..r,\·to .\l l\.nt~r ,-.,, ~b.·o t.•1'l'.tt",o ''\. EL F.\'1'.:-.1b,ue No~. 9111to 922 & 932 & 933 1 \ \ Uf \~_..I \ ('~Jl 6u.J 1.0 \ .l,"'t' \,o l 72. T HE S IIYLO C K Of G R F.Y­ 0 10 1128. n!!'.6A't~~n':J}:,.j~~·h!\wn1k1 a· FRJARS lrn1c No,. 111 O. 1126 ,mir\.J. 1134, 1136 m, (at.uoua h al\\t7,pank1, 1133, A... 1h~y not. wrh.un in Lh&\\Ofl..t Vol 73 l'N DER IH INT E R'S T ll UMll Of H1iJurd.1'-ttntal frank:,t ls,uc l\o, 1015. 10'\0, 1051. 1052. 1068. 1090. & 1137 ~*******t****•+********* •**********~****** GE MS OF IIAMI L TO NIA - NO. l. Mr . Prout (From MAGNET No. I 5~6) "Prout lcaneJ back in- his chair and then. in sudden am:uemcnt. he a gave \lart. His cyr, fo.cd ;===-' """::.~--foe!- ~ ...!LH!,• .e!f:! ·"=·s..nOllUlalilinl!obici: L Prou ha two · , . thouoh °'ia'aamaa:::·::::m===== an im:rc.i,e m cm'umfercnl'c. 11 was sonw year., since he had seen them. There ,,en: some hundreds of inhabitant, u1 Grcyl'riars Schoo l. every one provided wilh the usual allowam:.: of feet. So it was not the fom in i1sclfthat ama,ed Proul. It wa, the fac11ha1 he ,aw ii under 1hc be <;tud) table. It \\a, clear. ol l'tlUl"iC that thc foot belonged 10 somebo

31 THE FAIRY CINDERELLA

CAN'T to to the Midsummer Ball," "I Said a poor little Faiq -girl. "I have no gems to deck m> hair, Nor a chariot made of pearl. I am only a little Mender of Wings, And no one cares about me I But l'd love to 1cc the Fairy Prince!" And then she sighed heavily.

Then came a tound of fluttering wings, And she heard Pixie voices call, "You have been kind to us, Fairy.gi rl , Come with us to the \lidsummer Ball I" They brought her Dowers for her hair, They said, "You'll be sweetest of all!'' For her chariot, a rose, and dragonfly gtecds, And off they Ocw to the Ball ! <$> _..,, <$> And the Fairy d~nccd wi1h the Fairy Prince, For he thought she looked so fair; "Do $lay," be begged, "and be my bride I" And how all the fairies did stare I "I'm ooh a Mender of Wings," she said, "No matter I" be cried, "Please stay t" So the Fairy Mender became the Queen, And she reigns this very d11)'I

The (COPY RIGHT . This non -profit making magazine is pri"atcl) circulated. from reproduction of the contcnti.. eithl.!r wholl) or in part. without written pennii.sion Thi.! Editor. is s1ric1lv forbidden.) fahtor: Maf) C.adogan, 46 Overbury A,enuc. Bcckenham. Kent. BR3 2PY. Printed by Quacks Primer s. 7 Grape Lane. Petcrgate. York. YOI 2HU. Tel. 635967