Rhubarb 2021

ST EDWARD’S

It quickly became apparent, as if I had not known it before, that the School possessed a very rich history, much of it forgotten, unknown or lost over time.The last School history by Desmond Hill (MCR, 1946-1961) had been written way back in 1962 and very little, except for some articles in the aforementioned, excellent Chronicle , had been published since. Apart from the likes of Bader, Gibson, Warburton, Grahame and Olivier, the long line of very eminent OSE were basically unknown to all but a select group.

needed them. Included were Jack Scarr (MCR, 1942-1980), Fran Prichard (MCR, 1952-1987), John Vernon (MCR, 1955-1972), John Alexander (MCR, 1941-1969), Hubert Beales (MCR, 1936-1976), Derek Henderson (Cowell’s, 1939-1944), Cameron Cochrane (MCR, 1957-1966), now all sadly passed on.Today Malcolm Oxley (MCR, 1962-1999), former Second Master, Housemaster, History teacher and School Historian is a wonderful sounding board. During 2010 the position of School Archivist was reintroduced officially byWarden Trotman. So, after ten years as a part-timer, I was legitimate! In 2012 the Archives moved again, this time into the ‘Lemon Tree’ building, newly acquired by the School. While the main motivation for this move was that the School needed the wooden archives building for classroom space (a regular refrain!) there was also a need to have a ‘presence’ at the front of the ‘Lemon Tree’ to deter undesirables and possible break-ins. This was the Archives’ home for the next nine years, still occasionally troubled by insect infestations, but perfect in terms of space, ventilation, humidity, shelving, warmth in winter, parking etc. Also, outside visitors could find me easily. Here the collection grew steadily up to nearly 800 boxes, quite apart from large items, books, ledgers and so forth. A slight disadvantage was that it was located outside the main School and most of the inhabitants never knew of its exact location.

FEATURE

A few examples of Chris’ publications

From my privileged position of putting the Archives together again, I was able to write several books about St Edward’s past, with the support of the School and/or Society, mainly covering times of war and the sporting arena. In 2013 as part of the School’s 150th anniversary celebrations, the late Derek Roe (Apsley, 1950-1956) (OSE and Governor) and I edited a new School Roll, the result of two years’ research. During that very busy period the newly organised Archives were used to assist several other publications, including A New History of St Edward’s School by Malcolm Oxley (CR). Throughout these years, particularly in the early ones, I had the comfort that I could call on many very knowledgeable individuals if I

Part of the School’s 150th Anniversary celebrations

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