the Cliftonmagazine For Cliftonians, past and present 2011 Special features: Sport, BB & Hockey 1911 - 2011 FROM THE HEAD MASTER’S Contents Editorial 1 COMMEMORATION SPEECH 2011 Hockey 2 From its foundation, Clifton has always embraced the Bude 16 Heraldry 26 liberal (in the correct sense of the word) approach to Clifton and the Ashes 28 education and it is thus no surprise that our present The Cliftonian 31 Head Master continues in that tradition, as he made Salvete/Valete 32 clear at Commemoration this year: Commem 36 Art 40 t strikes me that as a nation we have In all the chatter about categories of got ourselves into something of a school, of Free Schools and Academies, Chapel Notes 42 Ipickle in our approach to education. perhaps Mr Gove should stop listening Music 43 Our exam system is now wholly based to trendy headmasters who grab his Literary / Activities 45 on the notion that the candidates attention and headlines by throwing who write answers that most closely away all their library books in the Trips 48 correspond to the examiners’ mark pursuit of happiness, or those who are CCF 54 scheme gain the highest marks. Exam politically motivated to see education as success is therefore achieved by learning the last battle ground of the class war, Drama 59 the template that the marker is using and focus instead on what we think as Community 67 to mark the paper, and from which the a nation we are doing in educating our marker is not allowed to deviate . young people . Sport 68 We know it is all nonsense yet we have At Clifton . we want to ensure that The Old Cliftonian 87 no choice but to go along with it and our pupils grow into the best possible OC Secretary 88 do as well as we can. The exam process version of the people that they already may require tactical awareness and good are; we want them to be able to think Notes & News 89 technique but it rarely requires much for themselves, almost in spite of the OC Business 94 thought and in some cases precious little exam system, and thereby leave Clifton OC Sport 98 knowledge as well. liberated to do brilliant things with Thinking is not just a luxury . but a their lives. Branches and Reunions 101 necessity for life and a necessity in the And reading the pages of this year’s edition Masonic Lodge 106 workplaces of tomorrow. If you want of The Clifton Magazine, it is pretty clear Book Reviews 107 confirmation of that ask employers that the Head Master’s aspirations are what they are looking for when they already being realised. Obituaries 109 recruit graduates. So Mr Michael Gove, I set you this challenge. If thinking Letters 127 is so important, then why have we Clifton Past 129 constructed a school exam system that AGM 141 almost wholly militates against it? Accounts 142 [The full text of the Head Master’s Speech can be found on page 36.] OC Clubs 144 03 EDITORIAL EDITORIAL nough of Chapel”, I A voice from another age, and before The emerging sun streams through the events which this all too tragically “ hear you cry. Well, I am painted windows, Enot sure that one can prefigures, reminding us of the roots ever have enough of Clifton’s Two dazzling ladders of unfolding light, of the Clifton story. Next year’s special edition of this magazine will be the wonderful Chapel but it is time to And flashed against the brasses of the dead. place to reflect upon these things and to consider other things. One final A skein of tangled colours – Green for Hope, look forward to the next century as the postscript – I stumbled across College’s 150th Anniversary hoves into Purple for Youth and Love and quiet Dreams, this poem written anonymously view. Memories and recollections across in 1909 by a pupil and, given the While Scarlet blazed Life’s battle. the board from the oldest to the youngest fact that we are still technically in Suddenly will thus be most welcome! the Chapel’s Centenary year (that And what of this year? Several is certainly true of the organ), it A cloud swept o’er the sun: the Hand of God anniversaries to consider – we cannot gets an airing after over a Swept o’er a life; and on the darkening walls claim any connection to 1611 and the century of being hidden The colours glimmered – and a soul went forth. King James Bible (sadly, for both Kim on a dusty bookshelf: Taplin and this editor would love to be able to find an excuse to write about that!) – but 1911 saw the birth of Hockey and the foundation of the playing fields at BB, whilst 1941 witnessed the evacuation to Bude. These and other matters, along with the record of another good year for School and OCs alike, are 2012 Celebrations - Major Dates considered in this edition which, as always, we hope you find of interest. Friday 21 October 2011 : Dinner at The Mansion House, London As usual, thanks go to Simon Reece, Lucy Nash, Kit Taplin and Peter Smith (many excellent photos), Adam Sibley, Geoffrey Friday 6 July/Saturday 7 July 2012 : Commemoration Hardyman and Burleigh Press for all their help and guidance and support. Errors Saturday 29 September/Sunday 30 2012 : 150th Anniversary weekend and omissions are down to the Editor. Bob Acheson EDITORIAL 1 Sport: Growth of Hockey The Unattainable Ideal HOCKEY AT CLIFTON: THE EARLY YEARS 1870-1910 n the edition of The Cliftonian which latent talent is appearing, the game is being came out in February 1911, the editors taken seriously and is decidedly popular….. Iconfidently announced we can prophesy for Hockey a great future and a hold on the School’s affections. From the beginning of this Term dates what may be described as the Hockey Age of the As the editors implied, this had not school. always been the case. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the required reading Although this may subsequently have for the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ proved to have been a rather over- classes, along with those who aspired ambitious and optimistic claim, Clifton to status in society, was the Victorian can rightly accept that 2011 sees the equivalent of Tatler or Country Life, centenary of the establishment of entitled Land and Water. From time to Hockey as a sport in the College. The time this publication carried special emergence of Hockey as a recognised articles on Public Schools and, amongst sport owed much to the purchase of advertisements for Rot-Proof Canvas playing fields at Beggar’s Bush which, (as supplied to HM’s Home, Indian and therefore, also celebrate a hundred Colonial Governments as well as to the years of existence. In the somewhat Ugandan Railway Company) or for the flowery prose of the time, the editors Sheringham Hotel (Golfer’s terms 10/6d went on to explain; per day, July and August excepted), as well as lengthy articles on such subjects As these columns have long testified, the as The True Sublime of Deer Stalking and Hockey question in the abstract is no new the joys of otter hunting, the publication one, and we have become so hardened to the for July 21st 1900 featured Clifton as Modesty and manners were clear conception of Hockey as an unattainable its school of choice, a remarkable feat priorities, as indeed they remain at ideal that the reality gives us an almost given that the school had only been in Clifton today. The editor of Land and personal satisfaction as of a life’s dream existence for thirty-eight years. Water continued accomplished. From the editorial point of view we must regret the passing of a fruitful We dismiss the early influence of John We have witnessed many matches in the source of lively correspondence, but we Percival in terms of setting “the tone” of College Close, but with one single exception cannot hope for the sympathy of the general the College at our peril. As the article we never heard boys cheer at the fall of an public in this purely domestic sorrow. At the goes on to suggest adversary’s wicket, nor did we ever hear a sound calculated to annoy or discourage any beginning of the Term we were content to bid Dr Percival’s violent aversion to hero adversary in any way whatsoever. the new game welcome, as a stranger, but worship did Clifton infinite good – indeed, the majority may now pride themselves on a there may be found evidence of the success the single exception being CL knowledge of the more important rules, whilst of his system all over the world. Townsend’s hat-trick against 2 the CLIFTON MAGAZINE 2011 [PHOTOS OF CRICKET ON THE CLOSE AND NETS ON THE CLOSE c 1866] [PHOTO OF GF EBERLE PAST V PRESENT] Cheltenham. No mention is made of A glance at the Football Caps of 1900 the academic curriculum at all in this gives some idea of how daunting some article, and virtually the entire piece of these young men must have been; is given over to “manly pursuits” ie., What heroic contests these House matches sport. More to the point, there is not the were, and it must be added, how ferocious! slightest hint that Hockey featured at all It is true that the rule forbade hacking above in Clifton’s life. the knee, or when a player with the ball was Cricket takes pride of place; held, but the recognised method of dealing with the opponent who was nearest to the There is probably no school where a larger ball was to hack him over, and the ordinary proportion of boys have made cricket the player could not be expected to have occupation of their leisure time during the mastered the fine art of always bringing the On the common some young men were summer terms.