CONTENTS
Editorial
Salvete
Father J a ~ n e sAustin
Mr John Hutchings
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BONlS
ARTIBUS
Through His Windows
St Wilfrid's & Parkers' Society
Birmingham Old Boys
Bishop Francis Thomas
Mr Eric Blake~nore
Father Dominic Round
THE
COTTONIAN
Mr Andrew Woodham
Jubilees
Obituary
Gifts t o the School
School Year
School Officials
N o . 13 1 1082/8.%
Prize List
Speech Day
St Thomas's 1982-83
Combined Cadet Force
Snippets from the PM's Book
Skiing Holiday
Music Notes
House Notes
Drama:
'Pillar t o Post'
'The Man in the Bowler Hat'
'Death Trap'
'Androcles and the Lion'
Sport
Valete
Examination Results
d
SANCTUS WLFRI DUS
SAXONUM APOSmUIS
1,iotrt ('ol'cr. I'/roto~~ruroph:
1st XV's Victory Dance (The Oggy)
1Iac.X- Co1.c.r I'lroto,~rap/~.
Stephen Cotterill, Michael Tilt, Amanda Brown, Sean Howe, Andrew Lettington.
Editorial
The Headmaster, Father James Austin, was recalled to his
own diocese of Salford last Christmas. He is now Parish
Priest of English Martyrs, Alexandra Park, Manchester,
where we wish him and his mother every happiness.
He is succeeded by Mr John Hutchings who thus
becomes tho first lay Headmaster in the School's history.
The television programme 'Come Close' fcaturcd the
School in a ten-minute programtne during the year.
Cotton has its first girls. Amanda Brown came to the
School last September as a day girl in the Lower Sixth, and
was later joined by Amanda Illidge, a boarder in the Fourth
Form. Another ten girls will be here in September.
Amanda Illidge and Amanda Brown
The new Headmaster, the old Headmaster, the Archbishop
His wife, Margaret, has also joined the Staff to tcach
European Studies. We welcome them and their four
children and wish them all the joys.
It was with great pleasure that we learned that we now
have a second Old Boy, to join Bishop Leo McCartie, on
the bench of bishops. Bishop Francis Thomas was
consecrated Bishop of Northampton last September.
Archbishop Dwyer celebrated the Silver Jubilee o f his
consecration as bishop and the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood last November. There was a Concelebrated Mass at
S t Chad's Cathedral which the Headmaster and Fr Pargeter
attended.
Five members of Staff are leaving this year. Fr Dominic
Round (OC 1953-59), who joined the Staff in 1971, has
been appointed Chaplain to the University of Warwick. His
successor will be Mr Ronald MacDougall BA, whose wife,
Barbara, also BA, is the Headmaster's Secretary. Mr
MacDougall comes from Cheadle High School. Mr Andrew
Woodham, who joined the Staff in 1973, is becoming
Second Master at the recently opened Stafford Independent
Grammar School. He will be replaced by Miss Clare McGrail
BSc of Hull University. Mr Alan Trehern, who joined the
Staff in 1979, is leaving. He has taught French at all levels
throughout the School and has done much valuable work as
Tutor and in the coaching of sport in the Lower School.
His successor will be Miss Deborah Cox BA from Moorland
High School, Burslem. Mr Mark Delf (OC 1969-74),brother
of Kevin, Christopher and Dominic and son of our Assistant
Matron, is taking up a post at Abbotsholme School. He has
taught Art, acted as a Tutor and been of great help around
the School in the short time he has been with us. He is
succeeded by Miss Pamela Franklin BFA from Wychwood
School, Oxford. Mr Eric James, who has been part-time
Woodwork Master for several years, is leaving t o become a
Building Inspector with the Environmental Services Department. As well as being landlord of 'The Lord Nelson' in
Oakamoor, Eric played The Mikado in the School's production of 1980 and has never ceased to amuse us with his
merry quips. We shall miss him, wood shavings in his hair,
in the Common Room. His replacement is Mr Robert
Chadwick BA from Glascote School, Tamworth. We wish
success and happiness to all departing members and at the
same time welcome their successors.
We should like to congratiilatc Mr and Mrs Andrew
Woodham on the arrival of a brotllcr Sor Luke, Cllarlcs
Ross, in May tlds year.
Mr Neil Henshaw, tllc Scnior I listory Mastcr, is going t o
con~plete'The History of Cotton College' which was left
unfinished at Mr Frank liobcrts's death. I lc would welcome
any reminiscences, anecdotes, ctc. particularly from thc last
50 years.
The Editor would like to thank Fr Pargeter, Mr Goodwin
and Mr Henshaw for Inany of the photographs in the
magazinc .
We acknowledge with thanks the l'ollowing magazines
received during the year: 'The Atnple forth Journal', 'The
Raeda', 'The Edmundian', 'Thc l~llcsmcrian','The Firefly'
and 'The Raven'.
Salvete
M Bond, A Brown, S Bunn, T Ilurke, A Chinyorrga, E
Chinyonga, R Corrigan, A D'Aubcrt, E Dike, R Dolierty,
R Dowc, C Dozie, U Dozie, A Ilnciso, R Felgeres, E
Fitzpatrick, J , P and R Gosncll, L and M Guilfoylc, A and S
I-Iawe, A and S Hawkins, S flutchings, A Illidge, D and K
Ip, A Jallot, M James, C Loisel, T Mbakwe, W McAdarn,
C and E Onwuemene, D Ottewcll, R Perraudiere, N Phelps,
L Reynolds, J Robinson, P Sacco, A Savage, J Shibli,
J Sydenharn, W Smith, J Williams, D Wrotchford.
Father James Austin MA.,
HEADMASTER 1978-82
However, his most lasting memorial and greatest legacy
has been the reorganisation of the internal life of the
School. He saw immediately that the task of the old Prefect
of Discipline was more than any lay member o f Staff could
be expected to undertake unaided. He therefore appointed
Staff with special responsibilities for the discipline of the
Upper and Middle School, in parallel with Fr Pargeter's task
in St Thomas's, and introduced a system of Duty Masters
to share the day-today supervision o f the School during
free-time and at meals. He also devised a Tutorial system so
that each boy should have a specific member of Staff
responsible for his academic and pastoral welfare. Finally,
his own Army training led him to realise the benefits that
a Cadet Force could bring t o the School and there is now a
thriving RAF section which enjoys weekly visits t o Headquarters Air Cadets at Newton, near Nottingham, t o fly in
Chipmunks; its other activities are detailed in the current
number of the magazine.
In the academic field Fr Austin introduced a new course
in European Studies and demonstrated his versatility by
teaching not only this subject but also Latin, French,
Gemian and Religious Studies.
Besides all this he was a devoted parish priest, who
quickly won the hearts of the local community. It was his
priesthood that came before all else and his personal
concern for every boy, Staff-member and parishioner
endeared him to us all. We wish llhn God's blessing in his
future pastoral work in the diocese of Salford.
Mr John Hutchings
- ssciur siol
Father Jarrzcs A~rstitl
"Athenian Democracy in the Fifth Century B.C.? They talk
of nothing else in tllc pubs of North Staffordshire!" Thus
Archbishop Dwyer on exanlining the academic credentials
of the Headrnastcr Designate. Yet if ever a Inan bridged the
gap bctwecn dusty Academe and the 'real world outside',
Jarncs Austin was that man. Two years in the Army,
exl~austiveparis11 work during liis eighteen years' teaching at
Up I lolland Collcgc and his work as a Marriage Counsellor
had produced a balanced (not to say 'well-rounded') man in
whom erudition was tempered with a deep humanity.
This was not an easy time to take ovcr as Headmaster.
Falling birthrate, cconolnic criscs a n d t l ~ cclccision of tilc
Archdiocese not to support prospcctivc Church students at
Cotton from the age of 11 upwards as heretofore meant
that the School had to struggle to keep its numbers up. It
was largely Fr Austin's foresight that made possible the reorganisation and rethinking of the future of the College
whicl~is currently being ilnplc~ncntcdso encrgctically by
his successor, M I - I lutchings.
The four years of his headship saw many material
changes in the College. The School's isolated position has
always creatccl a [>rol~ler~l
when we wish to transport small
numbers of boys on educational and recreational visits.
With tlle gencrous Ilclp of the parents, Irc pi~rchaseda
Leyland Sherpa Minibus wllicll has proved its worth not
only locally but as far i~ficldas the Cotc d'Azure and
Southern Italy. This was rapidly followed by an impressive
computer complex whicll provides boys throughout the
School with cndlcss hours of enjoyment while preparing
them t o tl;~ndlcthe technology oftlie future. A videorecorder came next, then improved washing facilities, so
that all boys now llave the opportunity of a liot shower
after gatncs. Nor were the Staff neglected. The cramped
cluarters of the old Cornrnon lioorn were converted into an
attractive l<cction Room and the large and elegant, but
rarely used, old Reception R o o ~ ntlircctly
,
bet~catllthe
I~leadtnaster'sstiltly was placed at their disposal. He;e
despite vociferous and unaninlous protest, he would regale
us ovcr coffee with his semantic wizardries and Savoyard
cxtravanganzas, savcd from defenestration only by the
'sacrosanctitas' inherent in lzis office!
At 37, John Ilutchings is not only the first layrnan but also
the youngest Headmaster of the College. He was educated
at Wellington School. Somerset. After a degree in
Physiology and Zoology at London University, he obtained
a post-graduate Certificate in immunology at Chelsea
Collegc and was made a Member of the Institute of Biology.
Joining Glaxo Laboratories, he did six years' research, partly
funded by the Arthritis Research Council, into the effect
Mr John Hutchings and his fanzily .
Stephen, Zoe, Margaret and Mark, John, Helen (in front)
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COTTON COLLEGE,
North Staffords
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Beteibeb from .....................
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the sum of
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WITH THANKS
t'
.C ~122
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Manager.
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COTTON COLLEGE
OAKAMOOR
via STOKE-ON-TRENT
ST10 3DP
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c~'BE
COTTONIAN9
Cheques payable t o the Manager, 'The Cottonian'
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To Annual Subscription for No.
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3-0
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Arrears
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NO R E C E ~UNLESS & Q U E S T E ~
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,;f
( l - ~ )
I 5-
of steroid anti-inflammatory drugs o n the development of
lysosomes in white blood-cells. A course of evening talks
which he delivered at the Polytechnic of Central London
led him into teaching, and he joined the Oratory School,
Reading, as Head of Biology, where he has been a master
and Housemaster for the past ten years.
As a Lieutenant in the RNVR, he started a Naval Section
of the Combined Cadet Force at the Oratory, and ran
annual cruises for the boys, sometimes as far afield as
Greece and Turkey. Apart from sailing, in which he holds
an Offshore Certificate from the Royal Yachting
Association, Mr Hutchings's interests include hill-walking,
rock-climbing, bee-keeping and gardening. His wife,
Margaret, graduated in Modern Languages at Manchester
University and has taught at Oakdene School, Beaconsfield,
and also at the Oratory. They have four children.
Monsignor Thomas Gavin
Through His Windows
CLERICAL NEWS
We have a new bishop, our 23rd. Congratulations t o Bishop
Francis Thomas who was consecrated Bishop of
Northampton in September. Felicitations too t o our two
new canons: Mgr Canon Thomas Gavin and Canon Kevin
Good; of the Cathedral Chapter now, six Old Boys are
Fr Ryall's induction at Newcastle.
Fr P Ryall, Bishop Cleary, Fr P Pargeter
The Archbishop and Canon Kevin Good
canons and five honorary canons. Dominic Kavanagh was
ordained priest by Bishop McCartic at Sacred Hzart Church,
Coventry, on 3rd July this year. Fr Laurence Smith assisted
the bishop and Tom Farrell was the deacon. The priests
present included Mgrs Gavin and Brain, Frs Cooney,
Pargeter, CottreU and Evans. Messrs Tony 6i Paul Byrne,
Austin O'Malley, Malcolm Bowen, Joe Maguire, Michael
White, Terry Devenr~eyand Terence Owen were in the congregation. On 9 t h July Michael White was ordained priest
by the Archbishop at St Thomas More's, Sheldon. The concelebrants were Frs Kavanagh, CottreU, Purfield, Devenney
and Evans; Fr Jones was the MC; Kevin Kavanagh was
deacon. The members of Staff present included Fr Pargeter
and Messrs Henshaw and Goodwin. Other Old Boys present
were Joe Maguire, John Carroll, Paul Byrne, Paul Ingram,
Kevin Finan, Francis Walsh and Tom Farrell. On July 16th
at Corpus Christi, Coventry, Tom Farrell was ordained
priest by Bishop Cleary. Tlle concelebrants were Frs C
Kelly, G Murray, A Jones, P McKinney, M Cottrell, D
KavarLagh, P Jordan and M White. The Staff representatives
were Fr I'argetcr and Mr Henshaw. Other Old Boys present
were Tony & Paul Byrne, Richard & Philip Smith, Vaughan
Pollard, Gerard Cusack, James Ryan, Henry Soulsby,
Michael Kudd, Sirilon Onnsby ,Seatnus Halton, Chris
Parkcs, Joc Maguire, l'eter Carroll, Kevin Kavanagh, Kevin
& John Mulchinock. Present Cottonians included Patrick &
Thomas Burke. To all, ad multos annos.
Fr Tony Owen's church of St Joseph's, Darlaston, was
consecrated by the Archbishop on June 29th, the 40th
anniversary of Fr Tony's ordination and the 26th anniversary of the Arclzbishop's.
On Ascension Day Oscott came to lunch and, since the
weather precluded cricket, to basketball and snooker. The
Rector of Oscott, Mgr Kelly, remarked that most of the
Oscott professors were Cottonians, or soon would be. Fr
Anthony Meehan is joining tlzern after studying Moral
Theology in Rome, so too is Fr Pat McKinney. Fr David
Evans is joining them to lecture in Philosophy, whilst Frs
David McGough and David McLoughlin are already there.
Fr David McLoughlin is also chaplain of the National
Council for the Lay Apostolate (NCLA) and is on the subcommittee for the Birmingham Council of Churches.
Sandy Downing and Andrew Kirkpatrick are at Oscott,
while Billy O'Neill, with the Sacred Heart Fathers at Olton,
goes there for lectures. Fr David Keniry was praised in T h e
Catlzolic Herald' recently for putting Ilmington o n the map.
Fr Chris Bester, still with the Navy, is aboard HMS 'Raleigh'
at Tor Point, Cornwall. Whilst in the Falklands he wrote a
~nagnificcntarticle entitled 'NOSH' (Naval Oceangoing
Surgical I-Iospital) for 'The Catholic Herald' in which he
said that they saw themselves as the Royal Navy's answer
to 'Mash'.
BIRTHS
T o John and Sheila McDermott: a son, Gary Neil in
December last. John says that he is a future prop forward.
To Michael and Cathy O'Malley: a son, Paul William
Frederick in March this year. Do they need t o put his namc
down for a place at Cotton yet? To Nicholas and Clare
Baggott: a son, Dominic in May this year. Young Dominic
was baptised by Fr Dominic Round at Cotton in July.
MARRIAGES
Martin Northard t o 'Yvonne Cox at the Church of the
Annunciation, Chesterfield, in May, 1982, Eugene Walton to
Lynn Cabrey at St Peter's, Lurgan, Co Arrnagh, in April
All Ormsbys. Mark, Philomena, Simon, Mary, John, Fiona
and Bruno
this year. Nigel Wood t o Tracey Crofts at St Giles's Church,
Littleover, in April this year. Richard Clements t o Carol
Jones in Leeds last year. Simon Ormsby t o Mary Wright
at S t Elizabeth's, Scarisbrick, Ormskirk, in June this year.
Mgr Gavin conducted the ceremony and the Mass was concelebrated by Frs M Garvey ,Goulbourn and P Pargeter;
Tom Farrell was deacon. Mark & Bruno,Ormsby, Paul
Byrne, Richard Smith, Vaughan Pollard, Henry Soulsby
and Amanda Brown were present. We have also heard that
Gerard Ingram was married in June last year. On September
10th Stephen McGill will be married to Bernadette
Anne-Marie Byers at St Mary's, The Mount, Walsall. In
October Michael Rudd will be married t o Mandy
McGeechan at Holy Trinity, Sutton Coldfield; Fr Torn
Farrell will conduct the ceremony. Henry Soulsby will be
marrying Julie Bayley at Cotton in September with Fr
Round conducting the ceremony. Already married are
Andrew Rudd t o Lynn Jenkinson at Holy Trinity, Sutton
Coldfield, when John Rudd (Jnr) was best man and Michael
Rudd played the organ. Peter Moss was married to Caroline
Wilkes at St Filumena, Caverswall, in September, 1981.
Patrick Scott married a fellow doctor in June last year.
DEATHS
Mrs Nancy Harrison, wife of Wilfrid and a great friend t o
the School, died and the whole School, as well as many
others, attended her Requiem Mass in October last year.
Mrs Mary Rowlinson, Mrs Prince's mother, died in April
and for her funeral on May 9 t h the little church of St
John's, Cotton, was full to capacity. Many members of
Staff were present. We have also heard of the death of Mrs
Pandit, John's mother. Cyril Enwonwu's mother died in
June this year, and Nigel Keates's mother died in
November, 1981. May they all rest in peace.
UNIVERSITIES & FURTHER EDUCATION
Mr & Mrs Nigel Wood
4
Dominic De Tullio is at Paul Smith's College, New York
State, doing a course in Business Administration. James
Banda is now MSc and is going to Zambia before returning
t o take his PhD. Edwin Chong is at school in Baltimore and
hopes t o graduate in Spring, 1984. Robert Meakin is
studying Law at Liverpool Polytechnic. Gerald Saldanha is
at Wolverhampton Technical College. Tom Browne is a
full-time student at the Banbury Agricultural College.
Adrian Bury is farming but does one day a week at
Pickering Agricultural College; he is going t o Askham Bryan
Agricultural College in York this year. Gerard O'Hanlon
is at Newcastle University and has been Assistant at a
Franciscan school in Germany. Conrad Waters is at
Liverpool University studying Law. Fred Enwonwu is at
Hull University also studying Law; he is in the 2nd XV, has
fractured his fingers five times at Rugby and has an Italian
girl friend. Sitnon Sliibli is at Loughborough doing Leisure
Studies; Tom Kilkenny is there too but studying
Econon~ics.Andrew Burr is doing Classical Studies at Hull
University and is hoping to work for De Beers. Simon
Martin is at Nottingham University doing Economies;
Adrian Kirkham is there too (after an 'A' in History at
'A' Level) doing Geography. Paul Bury is at Nottinghatn
University studying Agriculture. Dominic Clancy is still
at Liverpool Unviersity where he is now an Executive
Member (one of the 12 senior students out o f a university
of 8000). He is to be the coardinator for a conference of
2000 scientists of The British Association for the Advancement o f Science. He sometimes sees Paul Teebay through
the office window.
Anthony O'Rourke and Andrew Drummond are at
Strawberry Hill. Anthony has recently done his first
teaching practice in Ealing. Richard Hertnolle is at
Wolverhampton Polytechnic. Mark Ormsby is on an Art
course at Middlesboro~igli.Joe Maguire is at Leicester
Polytechnic doing Youth and Leisure Studies. Andrew
Tovey is full-time at Burton Technical College.
VISITORS
I
I
I
I
1
The Old Boys' Rugby fixture still seems t o attract the
greatest number of visitors so it is as well to start there.
Peter and David Moss are working in the family wholesale
confectionery business and have recently moved into new
premises. John Hughes is a trainee chef and his brother,
Martin, is off to Australia. Dav Devaney has finished at
college and is fanning at home. Andrew Rudd runs a DIY
business at Yardlcy, Birmingham. Francis Smyth ('young
Olly') works in Datsun spares at Moseley. Peter Carroll is
doing auxiliary nursing with the mentally handicapped
at Selly Park. James English is in a textile mill at Tean.
Other visitors for the Rugby included John Carroll, Peter
Willis, S i ~ n o nOrmsby, Nick Barnes and Kieran English.
Tony O'Callaghan is at the Police Training College,
Ryton, Warwickshire. Nick Baggott is setting up a computer
system for Avis Rentacar in Rome; he flies out every week.
John Hemming (first time back for 63 years) arrived with
his wife and son. His son had said that he was taking them
on a mystery trip. John's brother is Canon James Hemming
of Epping Forest. Sean O'Brien SJ came t o see us and his
brother, Michael. Kevin Walton is a theatrical designer in
London. Dotninic O'Byrne is in South Africa now, but he
c a n e with Richard Singleton. Richard, who does musical
recording, is a crack shot with a pistol and at Bisley he
became 2nd Commonwealth chatnpion in his age-group.
His brother, Aidan, has just finished 'A' Levels at
Monmouth School and hopes to be a dentist. Stuart Money
is in computers, whilst his brother, Chris, is in the family
busl~lcss.Douglas Topp~ng1s a d~rccloroT enguleermg wit11
Thorn EM1 Ferguson Ltd. John Mulchinock is in the West
Midlands Fire Scrvice and has been instructed by Vaughan
Pollard, who now has two children. Neil Evans (OC 1962),
after working for Reliant, is now with Norse Glass Fibres.
He lives on Cannock Chase and lzas two children. Brian
Helsby is going back to Indonesia. Mick Rudd, who plays
regularly for Old Veseyans RFC, has played as prop for
North Warwickshire. John Cornwell works for 'The
Observer' and lives in Northampton. He runs a riding school
and is currcritly writing a book (after his book on
Coleridge) about West country farming. I-Ie also works with
the physically handicapped. David Smith is a travelling
representative for medical equipment. He is tnarried with
two children and lives in Halifax. He brought us news of
'Scrag' Mantell who joined the Merchant Service, sailed t o
New Zealand, married a local girl and has settlcd there. Fr
l o m McGuinness, ex-Staff, turned up one day o n his way
from Greece to Ireland. John and Patsy Lowe visitcd the
School last August, but everyone was away. Another visitor
was tlle for~nerFrcnch assistant, Tlzierry, who arrived
from Guadeloupe, West Indies. He was on a teaching
exchange in Stafford.
LETTERS AND HEARSAY
The Editor received a postcard from Julian Knott, at sea off
Australia. Chris Ouston (Coo) was commissioned in the
RAF in June and will soon be starting flying training. Paul
Ingram is now a qualified psychiatric nurse and is starting
SRN training at Selly Oak Hospital. His brother, Gerard,
works for a large electrical wholesale company and is
thinking about taking a BA in Business Studies. Anthony
Isherwood joined the RAF in January and is an Assistant
Air Traffic Controller. Noel Stack, always a faithful correspondent, is a senior chemical engineer with FBC Ltd. and
lives with his wife, Carol, in a new house in Widnes. Noel
often sees Michael Henry, who is in Manchester and
recently married an architect. Michael Hughes is teaching in
Pershore and is also married. Jock Rowland is doing
computer accounting in Kuwait and is in chargc o f an oil
sheik's money! Martin Northard still plays Rugby for
Nottingham and the Three Counties. His brother, Richard,
is on a course in Chester and plays Rugby for Chester RFC.
Nigel Keates ARCM continues in London as a clarinettist.
Michael Wheeler works for Lloyd's Bank and liooks for
Effinghatn RFC. He married Susan in 198 1 not 1982, as
stated last year. James Martin graduated from Exeter
University in Accountancy Studies and works for a firm of
chartered accountants in Birmingham. Paul Tecbay is now a
fully qualified dental surgeon and works in a group practice
in Merseysidc; he recently met James Martin at a party in
Cambridge. Mark Menczes is at Liverpool Dental Hospital,
where Pat Conway qualified in 1978. The Muskers havc
moved to 'Ye Olde King's Head' at Chester. Robert is
Front-of-the-House and Reception Managcr at Copthorne
Hotel near Gatwick. Martin is a trainee manager with CRS
Superstore in Shrewsbury. We hope that Bob (Senior), their
father, has recovered from his illness. Hugh Davics, still
exhibiting a fine stylc of writing (those ycars in 5B weren't
wasted!), has been on his back for three months - with
lumbar trouble. Kicran Scott passed his solicitor's final
examination and in September last year started two years
of articles with Patrick Fay, cousin of the late Mgr Fay
of Alton. Patrick Scott passed Part 1 for his Fellowship in
Surgery. He is at Manchester Royal Infirmary working for
Part 1 1 of the Fellowship. John Scott is in dental practice
in Rochdale and is buying a house there. Michael Scott is in
Burton doing a diploma in Business Studies in order t o be
a director of the firm in 1983. Brendan Scott is a financial
consultant. Eamonn Scott is Headmaster of Our Lady's,
Aspull, near Wigan. Jeremy Barnes is in his last year at
Carnegie. He spent three months in USA at the University
of Missouri where he learned t o play baseball. He has also
been farming and is keeping up his Rugby. Nick Barnes is
in London as a motor cycle despatch riderlcourier. He
sailed to France at Easter, but arrived back with a virus
and a temperature of 103. Stephen Martin, after all the
excitement of the Falklands last year, is aboard a charter
boat in the Mediterranean now; he is mentioned in Cindy
Buxton's new book about the Falklands. We should like t o
congratulate Ernest (Jim) Cross (OC 1926) who was
presented by Bishop Cleary with the Cross 'Pro Ecclesia et
Pontifice' at Holy Trinity, Newcastle-under-Lyme, in July,
1982, for his work for education. Joseph Leong is an art
director in Malaysia. Matthew Eccles is in banking. Frank
Darrigan sent the L3itor.a postcard of Southport; he is in
good form but has not been able to get to reunions since he
gave u p his car. Christopl~erMyatt was looking forward to
the confirniation of his daughter, Nicola, at Stone last
Novcn~bcr.Atidrcw Kirkham, mentioned in the University
news already, has been keeping up his cricket. Rugby and
football; lie is a kcen walker and has recently been walking
in tllc Lakes ant1 Wales. Fintan 1Iayes has been promoted to
Senior l'robation Officer. Joseph and Anthony Palniese
now livc in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Steven O'Malley gained
his I'IICS at t11c first attempt in April this year; out of 45
candidates only tcn were succcssful. Well done. Steve. Louis
Mann anti his wife celebrated tllcir Silver Wedding in
January last year, whilst his brother, Peter, and his wife,
Katl~lccn,celebrated theirs in the following August.
Jonathan Wykc is a very keen cricketer playing for St
Mary's Old I3oys in thc Merseyside competition. As wicketkeeper Ilc Ilas claimed many victims. When not playing
cricket, IIC is butcl~cring.We did not contact you about the
Old I3oys' cricket tnatch, .Ion, as it was rained off. Fr
I<or~ndrecently met a Cottonian centenarian: William Ball
of Wolver11aml)ton; hc was 100 years of age last June. Fr
l'argctcr brought us stirring news of tile Correia brothers,
Andrew a d Scott Corrcia
Scott ancl Andrcw. Thcy both play for Bermuda at Rugby
and recently Ilad the honour of beating the oldest English
liugby club, I3lackhcatl1. Andrew scored a magnificent try
after beating about six men, and Scott distinguished himself
by his tlcvastating tackling. Andrew is known as 'Snoozy'
by the way! Last laster Scott played for the Bermuda
Invitational XV against the Irish Invitational XV. Both sides
were s t ~ ~ d d cwith
d internationals, for instance, on Scott's
side wcrc Mike Slcmcn, tluw Davies, Steve Smith, Peter
Wllcclcr and John Scott, all of England, On the day we
went t o press Nicholas Laskowski dropped in. He is married
and Ilas two cl~ildren,has been in the antique business and
now 11opcsto take a BA in Sociology at North Staffs.
St Wilfrid's & Parkers'
Society
145th ANNUAL MEETING
The following Old Boys attended the meeting on May 2nd:
Rev C Adams, Messrs N Adarns, E Blakemore (President),
G Blakemore, G Boucher, B Brierley, L Brocki, A Collins,
Mgr D Cousins, Rev T Dennison, Messrs D Finn, T
Fitzpatrick, C Forbes, J Fox, Rev J Griffin (Chaplain),
Messrs P Harris, W Harrison, R Hermolle, J Hickin, Rev P
Howell, Mr M Hurley, R e w A Jones, J Kearnes, Messrs A
McAtamney, Martin McCormick, Michael McConnick, Rev
G McDonald, Messrs P Maddox, W Maddox, Rev T Meagher,
Dr J Miller, Mgr W Moore, Messrs T Murphy, A O'Callaghan,
P Oliver, Rev A Owen, Mr W Power, Rev W Quinn, Mr T
Regan, Canon P Reilly, Messrs P Rochford, J Rowland, A
Rudd, J Rudd, Rev P Ryall, Mr P Sealey, Revv A Snell,
E Stewart, Messrs Paul Teebay, Peter Teebay, J D Trinham,
J E Trinham, J H Trinham, Rev J Ward, Mr C Waters,
Canon J Welch, Mr J Whelan, in addition t o the
Headmaster, members of the Staff and the Sixth Form.
After the Loyal Toast, the President, Mr Eric Blakemore,
proposed the health of the School. He began by welcoming
the new Headmaster, Mr J Hutchings, and his charming wife
and four children. He then took us back t o 1925 when he
arrived at Cotton t o be taken charge of by Mr Hobday; the
future Archbiship, Thomas Leighton Williams, was then
headmaster. The aims of Cotton that were inculcated into
hitn were: 'Think for yourself, 'Be a good mixer', 'Be
honest and accept discipline'. A steady diet of rice, prunes
and porridge built up the budding Blakemore for skating at
Alton. He learned from Mr J J Moran how t o pronounce
'Trafal'gar'; he was tanned by 'Brasso' (the future Bishop
Bright); and he learned from Fr Rudman that one should
not show off. He captained the Under 15 at cricket and they
did not lose a match; consequently he became a member of
the 1st XI that year. He spoke of 'Laz' Warner's delight
when he achieved a credit in Italian, and of Mr Hobday's
advice that one should always put so~nethingdown o n
paper in an examination even if the answer were unknown:
hence 'Carpe Diem' was translated as 'Fish Day'.
His schooldays ended in 1930, in spite of the fact that
he had been promised the captaincy of the 1st XI the
following year. He continued his cricket with
Wolverhampton CC and many tight finishes ensued.
Eric joined the Territorial Army before 1939 and the
outbreak of war found hitn in OCTU at Aldershot. He
spoke of the time he was given four days' 'jankers' when
the discipline he had learned at Cotton stood him in good
stead. The crowd at Bradford barracked him when he
caught out Maurice Leyland, the local hero. When his Army
service took him t o Motnbasa and Nairobi, he was able to
.,isit Ujiji where Stanley met Livingstone. He recalled the
time at Mogadishu when they found a bishop and 2 3 priests
in the belfry of the cathedral, running a radio station.
Whilst playing for the Army against the Navy, Eric scored a
goal from 1- is own centre. During his time in the Army he
wrote regularly to Fr Billy Dunne who always replied.
After the war Eric married Enid and continued t o enjoy
his cricket. His son, Gerard, came to Cotton in 1959 and,
to Eric's joy, became captain of cricket. Recalling two great
ci-icketers, Sidney Barnes and Fred Root, he told us how an
England's Glory match, stuck into the pitch, could decide
whether you batted or fielded.
The President concluded by saying how good it was to
renew acquaintance with Wilfrid Harrison, the Allens and
the Princes. He thanked the Headmaster, the Secretary, the
Chef and Fr Piercy for arranging the reunion dinner.
After the School Song and the toast to the School, the
Headmaster thanked everyone for the great welcome he had
been accorded at Cotton. After paying tribute to Fr Austin,
his predecessor, he said how impressed he had been at his
first public engagement, Frank Roberts's funeral, by the
vast number paying tribute to Frank.
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His happier news was that Mgr Frank Thomas had
become the Bishop of Northampton; Steven O'Malley had
become FRCS at his first attempt; and that Mgr Tom Gavin
had become one of the eleven Old Boys to be in the
Cathedral Chapter.
He regretted that Fr Dominic Round was leaving at the
end of term to become Chaplain to Warwick University.
This, he was sure, was due to his successful television performance. He may later follow eminent predecessors who
became bishops after being university chaplains!
The 1st XV had enjoyed the most successful season in
the history of the School: 26 matches played, 22 won, 3
lost, 1 drawn; points for: 701, points against: 173. This had
included beating 'the Big Three': Mount St Mary's,
Ratcliffe and Ellesmere .
Apart from the first revolutionary change of having a lay
Headmaster, a second minor revolution involved the taking
of girls into the School. At present we had two, but by
September we should have twelve, boarding and day, girls.
The old convent wing would be their boarding house.
The bequest of the late Fr McEvilly had allowed the
modernisation of the showers. Mr Brocki had also prepared
blueprints for the accommodation of Houses in the old
dormitories.
The Headmaster concluded by paying tribute to Fr
Piercy, Ian Shaw and the domestic staff, not just for
today's arrangements but at all times. He congratulated Mgr
Wilfrid Moore on his forthcoming Golden Jubilee in June.
In proposing the health of the President, Mr Terence
Owen opened by saying that Eric had already made most of
his speech for him. He said that the 1928 'Cottonian'
reported that the young Blakemore was reliable, steady and
effective on the cricket field. Speaking of Eric's five
glorious summers on the cricket field (1925-30), he recalled
that in 1926 he made one run, in 1927 no runs, and in
1928, when he was captain of the Under 14 and Under 15
in the same season, again he made no runs! Young
Blakemore certainly was steady. Mr Owen, in expansive
mood by now, did admit that he had taken many wickets
during those seasons, including 6 for 1 1 against Old
Hanliensians when he was only 15.
The President's mentors had been Fr Billy Dunne, Mr
Joe Moran, Mr 'Laz' Warner and Mr 'Bomb' Hobday and
their eccentricities had rubbed off onto Eric. Billy Dunne
smoked a pipe and taught English: Eric is a great pipe
smoker and loves basic English. Joe Moran had loved his
pint, yet today Eric was drinking wine and had asked for
the bar to be closed! 'Laz' Warner taught Italian and
cricket; 'Bomb' Hobday taught French and cricket: Eric
lived for cricket and had gained a credit in Italian and
passed in French.
Expatiating on Eric's Army days, Mr Owen went on to
tell us of the time when subaltern Eric's bill in the mess
exceeded the Colonel's; the subaltern was posted! In 1951,
during the Old Boys' cricket match at Whitsun, Eric's old
catering sergeant, Wilf Martin, happened to be in 'The Star'.
Suddenly he heard a mighty roar of laughter; he said,
'That's Blakemore'. Wilf thought Eric had been killed in
action ten years ago. What a rejoicing and reunion was
there, my Countrymen. Eric had finished the war as a
major. Thus, to his great delight, he had 'pipped' Frank
Roberts who was a mere captain.
Since the President had been abstaining from beer until
Prefect of Discipline commented 'Discipline: absent'; the
Music master wrote 'Too many pauses between bars'.
And so to tea.
Birmingham Old Boys
The following Old Boys attended the dinner at Sutton Park
Restaurant on Shrove Tuesday this year: Messrs N Adams,
J Bex, E Blakemore (President), G Blakemore, G Boucher,
M Borg, P Castille, N Clarke, Rev J Davis, Messrs V Earley ,
D Finn, J Fox, S Fox, J Gold, J Guyler, M Hurley ,J
Hickin, Rev P Howell, Messrs J Hutchings (Headmaster),
G Ifrati, P Ingram, G Ingram, S Kavanagh, Rew A Jones,
J Kearns, P Lees, D Manion, Messrs S Mott, M McConnick,
J Mc Cormick, P Oliver, Rev P Pargeter, Canon P Reilly,
Rev D Round, Messrs J Rudd (Snr), M Rudd, A Rudd, J
Rudd (Jnr), H Soulsby, A Stanley, D Thurlow, A Trehern,
J H Trinham, J E Trinham, J Whelan, P Williams and M
Williams.
The President. Mr Eric Blakemore. thanked Mr Michael
Hurley for arranging the dinner and then introduced the
new Headmaster, Mr J Hutchings, who spoke of his first
impressions of Cotton: cold, but paradoxically full of
warmth. He had great hopes for the future and would be
taking more girls, but not too many.
Fr Dominic Round then showed a video recording of the
programme of Cotton, 'Come Close'. This was very well
received, particularly when he claimed that he was still
young!
Next year's dinner will again be at Sutton Park
Restaurant on Shrove Tuesday. You may contact John
Trinham at 93, Greenfield Road, Harborne, Birmingham,
B 17 OEH. Telephone: Home: 02 1 4 2 7 4 1 13; Office:
0214544456.
The Old Boys' Rugby match this year will be on Sunday,
November 6th. All are welcome.
Bishop Francis Thomas
It was with great joy that we heard that Cotton was to have
its 23rd bishop in the history of the School. The Rt Rev
Francis Thomas, Bishop of Northampton, now joins Bishop
Leo McCartie on the bench of bishops. The Headrnaster
attended his consecration in Northampton Cathedral on
29th September last year.
The future bishop was born on 29th May, 1930, in
Stone. He was educated at the parish school, St Dominic's,
before coming on to Cotton in 1941. He distinguished hirnself academically during his time here and in his last year
was Captain of Bowdon House and a member of the 1st
XV.
he had made his speech, M r Owen now handed him t w o
cans of the beverage. There was a sting in the tail, however,
for he went on to remind us that Eric had been a shareholder in Wolverhampton Wanderers FC until it had
collapsed.
Ten years ago Eric was involved in an accident in which
hedractured his skull and his leg; his leg had now recovered.
With the threat that he would see him after, the
President thanked Mr Owen for his speech. He then read
out the School report presented to him by the Staff in
1960 when he was 46 years of age. The Biology master
recorded that 'This boy knows too much for his age'; the
Canon J Welch.Bishop Fmncis Thomas,Fr P Ryall, Mr J
Wood
He studied for the priesthood at Oscott College and was
ordaiaed o n 5th June, 1955, in his home parish of St
Do~ninic's,Stone, by Bishop Humphrey Bright, the then
Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham. He spent a year as assistant priest at St Peter's, Leamington, and in 1956 began
further studies in Dogmatic Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. In 1959 he was awarded a degree in Sacred
Theology and appointed t o the teaching staff of Oscott
College where he taught Fundamental Theology for two
years and Dogmatic Theology for a further five years. He
assisted in the development of the liturgical life o f the
college and at Easter, 1968, was appointed its Rector.
Frank was a most able and popular Rector as he steered
the College through the various changes resulting from
Vatican 2. In 1979 he became Parish Priest o f Holy Trinity,
Newcastle-under-Lyme, and was made a VicarGeneral of
the Archdiocese and a Canon of the Cathedral Chapter.
After his consecration he returned t o a rapturous
welcolne in his old parish of Holy Trinity. Here he concelebrated Mass with Canon John Welch, the Rural Dean,
Fr Peter Ryall, the new Parish Priest of Holy Trinity, and
many other clergy. He was presented with a crozier, a
cheque for £800 and an easy chair, in which he could
occasionally rest from pastoral duties. He was reminded of
the time when Cardinal Hume took over at Westminster
and, when asked what it was like to stand in Cardinal
Heenan's shoes, said, 'They are about the only things of his
that I atn not standing in'. Bishop Frank had t o o borrowed
his chain, pectoral cross and robe. The bishop's ring he
wore had been given t o his predecessor, Bishop Grant, by
the late Pope Paul VI. Ad ~nultosannos.
Mr
Eric Blakemore
PRESIDENT O F THE ST WILFRID'S AND PARKERS'
In Spring, 1939, Eric joined 216 South Staffordshire
Regiment and later became an officer cadet with 167
OCTU. He was at AIdershot from December, 1939, until
May, 1940, when he was commissioned and posted t o
Whittington Barracks at Lichfield . In January, 1941, he was
posted t o 1 l t h Battalion South Staffords at Launceston,
Cornwall, and in February of the following year h e was
seconded t o 30th Battalion King's African Rifles at Lusaka,
Northern Rhodesia. The battalion moved t o Mombasa,
Kenya, and then spent fourteen months at Mogadishu in
Italian Somaliland. Eric then returned t o Kenya and was
demobilised in Mombasa in 1945 with the rank of war
substantive major.
Immediately upon leaving School, Eric had continued
his cricket; he joined Wolverhampton Cricket Club in 1930
and played his last game for them in September, 1974. He
captained the 1st XI for four years, the 2nd XI for two
years and the Danes for six years. During the war he had
played for Eastern Command against the Ack-Ack Regiment at Park Avenue, Bradford, and had the distinction o f
catching the great Yorkshire and England left-hander,
Maurice Leyland, on the boundary. According t o the
'Express and Star', over a lifetime of good cricket, Eric
took about 2800 wickets. He was President of the
Wolverhampton Cricket Club from 1976-79 and was made
a Life Member of that club in 1970. He was often t o be
seen at Cotton during the summers before 1974. He once
appeared on five successive Sundays with five different
cricket teams: Staffordshire Gentlemen, Greenflies, Mr
Hickin's XI, Wolverhampton CC and the Old Boys. However, the match that must have given him the greatest
pleasure was the School, captained by Eric's son, Gerard,
against the Old Boys, captained by Eric.
Bowls was another of Eric's sporting activities and he
won the Gossage Bowls Cup (Crown Green) in 1948.
SOCIETY 1983
Eric Blakemore was born on May 4th 1914. He was
educated at Wearings Private School, Oaklands Road,
Wolverhampton, then at Wolverhampton Grammar School
from 1923-25, before coming to Cotton in 1925. He distinguished himself at cricket, particularly as a bowler, and
was in the 1st XI in 1929 and 1930, the year he left.
On leaving School, he joined the family grocery business
Father Dominic Round
'I am a kind of burr; I shall stick' ('Measure for Measure').
Father William A Dominic Round (he never liked the
'William' which was included at his baptism as a sop t o
relations) came from very good Cottonian stock: his
Bdwitl Blakc~norc& Sons Ltd., and roastcd coffcc, blendcd
mother was a Trinllaln. You havc only t o look at a list of
tea and smoked bacon, all aromatic occupations, until he
retired in 1970. From 1960-68 he was Chairman of the
conlpany ; from 1956-60 he was President of the
Wolverhampton & District Grocers' Association; and from
1959-60 President of the Birmingham & District Grocers'
Association.
Old Boys present at annual and Birmingham reunions J H, J D, J E, F, A, P Trinham, with the odd Singleton and
Howell thrown in (all relations) - t o realise the staunch
loyalty of the family t o Cotton. Hence the Shakespearian
quotation above; it is meant as a tribute t o loyalty and
perseverance.
Dominic was a war baby (1940) and spent his early years
at Alton whence he came t o Cotton in 1953. As he matured
he began to show, like a diamond, the many facets of his
interests and abilities. In 1957-8 he was in the cross-country
team, but his annus mirabilis arrived in the School year
1958-9: he was Public Man, Captain of Hockey, a member
of the 1st XV, 1st XI and the Choir. Of these, cricket was
his greatest love: 45 not out against Mount St Mary's,
53 not out for Bowdon in the House cricket. He appeared
in many plays: 'Arsenic and Old Lace', 'Rose and Glove',
'The Unguarded Hour', 'Grand National Night'. He took
many prizes on Speech Day: Latin, Greek, English, Music,
Eric Partridge Essay prize. All this is most significant as
these proved t o be his interests later in life.
After Cotton he spent seven years in Rome (1959-67).
Of those years we know little apart from the intense heat
when Dom had t o rest his wrists on blotting paper so that
he could write his essays; o r of the discreet little trattoria
off the via Laurentina where Alphonse, the head waiter,
had reserved him a corner seat and where the avocado pears
were particularly good that night. Later when he was on
the Staff at Cotton and he mentioned Rome he would be
howled down for throwing his weight around and pulling
Eric Blakemorc
Father Dominic Round
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rank. The Staff are great deflators. Dom would then merely
smile and reply with a quotation from 'Measure for
Measure'. At least that is what he said: it is always a safe
play t o pretend t o quote from since so few know it well
enough. Another method of deflation was to shout 'Thark',
as that was a House play that he had been responsible for;
it would not have taken the laurels at Epidaurus.
Ordained priest in 1966, Dom spent the next four years
at Cambridge. Again we heard little about that apart from
the odd reference t o his oarsmanship in Bumps Week
or the legendary Rev Duckworth who coached them o r
the examinations of Little Go and Great Go. He was the
last of the Cotton priests t o go t o Cambridge, following the
illustrious line of Manion, Owen, Gavin, Armishaw,
Grady and Stewart. He used t o visit us in his vacations and
in one memorable year volunteered to d o all the invigilations for us during the examinations. The offer was never
repeated!
1971 saw him back at Cotton as a master. His interview
for the post, now well-known, smacked of the kennel,
whilst his stay in the Archbishop's suite smacked of the
evacuation of Dunkirk. The former was abreacted at his
farewell party, but not the latter. He taught many subjects:
Latin, English, French, Classical Studies, Religious
Education and Ancient History. He also taught Greek and
who, of that vintage, will forget the memorable trip we
made t o Oxford t o see 'Alcestis' played in the gardens of
one of the ladies' colleges? Dom was in the chair, so first of
all we had t o visit the Ashmolean Museum. During the play
the heat was intense and the men 'with small Latin and less
Greek' found it most soporific. Then followed a visit t o the
Parks where Oxford University, captained then by the great
Pakistani Test cricketer, lmran Khan, were playing. On the
return journey the boys' education was furthered: they
must learn t o 'pay their corner' in the village inn!
On the sports field he coached Rugby and of course
cricket. He was obsessed by pitches; he mowed them, he
marked them, he played on them. After a School match his
first question always was 'What was the pitch like?' When
we visited Old Trafford t o see Lancashire play
Wanvickshire, all rushed for the beer tent at the interval,
except one. Dom was there in the middle inspecting the
square. We went to Edgaston to see Wanvickshire play his
beloved Worcestershire. During the luncheon interval there
was Dom in the middle engaged in earnest conversation
with Bert Flack, the famous groundsman, whom he had
previously met at Cotton when he came to look at our
square through the kind offices of Mr Eric Blakemore.
As Senior Tutor he had his famous yellow book (shades
of Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley and the 'Naughty
Nineties') b u t whenever he was informed of some misdemeanour by the boys he never panicked. But did not the
critic of the Bowdon House play in 1958, 'Grand National
Night', record that Round 'had unshakeable poise and was
quietly deliberate'? 'The child is father of the man!'
Archaeology was another of his interests. He used t o
spend part of his holiday at Haydon Bridge, near Corbridge
and Hadrian's Wall, 'degrotting' Roman finds. I visited him
once there and, on enquiring where I could find Father
Round, was told, 'He's playing cricket'. He went t o great
pains t o interest the boys in this subject.
He loved the minibus and must have the record for the
number of miles clocked up on it. The boys shared in this
love for he took them to Rome and Paris in it. He has even
managed to wheedle a brand-new red one out of the diocesan
authorities for use in his next job as University chaplain.
As Pilot Officer Round he managed to acquire more
letters after his name in the School brochure than any other
member of Staff.
In the musical field he played the clarinet and violin; he
was Choirmaster; he appeared at Cheadle in 'The Desert
Song' in which he had six words: 'They have ridden on
ahead, sir'; he organised the choreography for the School
production of 'The Mikado'.
He has an extensive wardrobe: there is the Max Wall outfit, the debonair RAF uniform, the 'little-boy-lost' garb, the
tractor gear, of course the inevitable cricket flannels, and
the dead men's clothes. In paying tribute t o the Staff he
said that they would give you the shirts off their backs and frequently did !
He was a delightful colleague at Cotton with his zest for
life, his sense of fun, his love of people (witness the number
of converts he brought into the Church). He invariably
found the apt quotation, not always from 'Measure for
Measure', t o meet any humorous situation. Fr Annishaw
had done a good job in his English Literature classes. His
farewell party bore witness t o his many friends and
interests; there were people there from all walks of life: he
omitted no one.
At Warwick University I am sure he will be a great
success: giving the students the benefit of his wide
experience, driving his brand-new red minibus full of
students t o Stratfordan-Avon to see a play, bowling with
the famous dipping wrist action balls full ofjcunning and
guile at the nets, tuning up his violin for the Vice
Chancellor's garden party.
Now that he is in the Phylossan fortification agegroup,
the following quotation seems appropriate:
'Thou hast nor youth nor age; But, as it were, an afterdinner's sleep, Dreaming on both'. ('Measure for Measure')
AGS
Mr Andrew Woodham
Murphy's law decrees that bread shall always fall t o the
floor butter-side-down; Merlin's law that chemists shall
always be slightly mad. Possibly the polluted air they daily
breathe has something t o d o with it. The only solution
(apologies!) is t o get them young, before esters, isotopes
and the like have destroyed too many of those braincells
that keep the rest of us on an even keel.
Following in the footsteps of a middle-aged Ph.D. who
habitually sported an umbrella in the laboratory, the
youthful Andrew appeared, on arrival, remarkably normal.
Such cerebral decomposition as had taken place manifested
itself in an addiction t o "Tiswas" and an appealing zaniness which would compose conifer-shaped crosswords for
thc Christmas party, extctnporisc irreverent answers to
examination papers while invigilating, draw plaintive airs
from a £5 note o r concoct anagrams of the names of fellow
Staff. Of the latter, 'Rat-hernia' was a notable example
which passed into regular Common-Room usage.
As can be imagined, the boys responded warmly t o hls
humour, openness and total lack of arrogance, pomposity
or prejudice and he became a very popular master. His
classroom discipline was based on the affection boys had
for him as one who cared about them and was near enough
in age and temperament t o understand them. As Senior
Science master he taught Chemistry, in which he achieved
notable successes with his A-level students, Maths, Physics
and (;cncr:l Studies. W l ~ c the
~ l new tutorial system was
inaugurated by I:r Austin, Andrew and his wife, Sue, who
taugllt Matlis Ilcrc for six ycars before t h c birth o f thcir
sdii. wcrc anlong the most successful in grasping its pastoral
p<)ssi!)ilitics al~tlb~lildiligL I a~ rclationsl~ipo f trust with
those undcr their care. It is not surprisi~lg,therefore, that
for his last tllrcc ycars with us IIC was appointed Careers
Master, a task hc discharged with vigour and quiet
cfficici~cy.
Ncvcs orle t o 'count the Ilours', lie threw himself into
lnany c x t r ; ~ - c ~ ~ r r i:~ctivitics,
c ~ ~ I ; ~ ~I ~le ran the 1st XV Rugby
t c a ~ i iSol. eight ycars, assisted with gymnastics ant1 athletics
and startctl up ant1 ran t l ~ r c ebasketball t c a n ~ swithi11 the
scllool. A liglltning 62 runs for Staff against boys deserves
recording as docs a feat acco~nplislrcdonly once bcr'ore
within living memory, the co~nplctiono f the Upper Scllool
Cross-country course in a timc rcpresenting one minute for
cvcry ycar o f his age. O f late hc Ilas turnctl his talents t o
drama, protlucing a I~igl~ly-acclaimed "Olivcr" in which he
playcd a ~iicmorableI3ill Sykcs ancl starring as Koko in T h c
Mikado'. At the timc o f his departure lie had just
colnplctcd l ~ i own
s
~nilsicalversion of thc well-known talc
"The I'rincc :111d the l'aupcr", composirlg b o t h music ant1
lyrics, t'or ~~cl-f'orn~:wcc
by tllc Scliool. An accomplisllcd
guitarist, 11c ~,erl'orn~ccl
in Scl~oolconcerts and forlncd a
local f o l k - g ~ - o ~giving
i)
cl~;irilyC O I I C C ~ . ~for
S scliior citizc11s
and at the local women's prison, which were greatly appreciated, We thank him for ten years o f devoted service t o t h e
College and wish him well in his new post as Second Master
at t h e recently opened Stafford Independent G r a m n ~ a r
School.
Mr Andrew Woodham
Jubilees
MONSI(;NOI< WII,l:I<II> M001<1i I> Litt
From 1927 t o 1933 he was at Oscott. Once ordained
priest, Ile continued his studies at Fribourg University
where he gaincd thc degree o f Doctorat cs Lettres. After
doing some research in t h e Vatican Library, h e joined the
Staff at Cotton in 1936. He taught History and French
and was Bowdon llouse Master. From 1949 until 1966 he
was I Icadmastcr of Crosby Hall School at Acocks Green,
Birmingham. In I 9 6 6 he was made Chaplain of Honour and
appointed Parish Priest o f All Saints, Stourbridge, where
happily h e still remains. He was President of the St Wilfrid's
& Parkers' Society in 1978.
FATHF,R GEORGE RRFWSTtIR
Born in 1902, George was at Cotton from 1915 t o 1920.
Ordained priest in 1933, his first appointment was t o St
Patrick's, Dudley Road, Birmingllaln. The11 followcd a
ycar at Oscott and t w o years at Kidderminster. He went t o
Souldcrrl in 1937 and rcmained there for t e n years before
going t o Our Lady o f the Waysidc, Shirley, Solil~ull.From
1962 t o 1977 hc was I'arish Priest of St Mary's, Willcnhall.
Ilc is now the Chaplain t o Stafford Convent.
FATHER DENIS TUOI lY
Denis was born in 1905 and, after leaving Cotton, he
studied for thc priesthood at Wonersh from 1919 till 1923.
He worked first in tllc Southwark diocese and t h e n latterly
in t h e diocese of Arundel and Brighton until he retired t o
live in Tadworth, Surrey.
SILVER
I3orn in 1900. Will'rirl ca111c t o Cotton at the tender age o f
nine. Ile quickly ~iiatureclancl t o o k part in all aspectsof
S c l ~ o o lil'c:
l
Sllakcslxaria~~
plays, prizes o n Spccch Day,,
1st XV for t l ~ r c cyc:lrs. 1st XI for two years a n d Captam in
1927, Victor L U C I O ~ L:I(I Isports.
II
Fr Antliony Browne, Parish I'riest of Our Lady and St
Benedict, Abbey Hulton.
Fr IJetcr Gallagher, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes,
Cradley Heath.
Fr IJcter Lloyd, Parish Priest o f Sacred Heart and S t
Teresa, Coleshill.
1
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Obituary
MONSIGNOR CANON FRANCIS HAROLD
DRINKWATER (1 898-1903)
Monsignor Canon Francis Harold Drinkwater
Canon Drinkwater was a liiali who took t o heart the Lord's
teaching t o invest your talents. In 19 19 he did that literally
when he used the money he had saved froin his pay as a
wartime chaplain t o start a modest monthly publication,
'The Sower'. That invcstinent has, for over more than half
a century, produced a rich return for tliousands of people
throughout the world, measured not in money, but in a
deepening knowledge of God, a growth in true faith and a
maturing love of Jesus Christ.
The vision of this great man was quite simply t o help
ordinary men a i d women, boys and girls, t o understand
and value their faith.
Canon Drilkwater, born the eldest of seven children
on 3rd August, 1886, in thc heart of England, at
Wednesbury, Staffo~dsllire,was essentially English. Ilis
approach t o life's mission was equally English. He did not
dream up grand sclien~esand theories: he saw real needs
among actual people, tlien had the insight t o work out how
these needs might be met.
Doubtless his training at Cotton Collcgc and then at
Oscott had prepared the ground. His work as a curate at
St Peter's, Learnington, aftcr ordination in 1910, will have
given him his initial insight into the needs of ordinary
Catholics. But it was really in tlie trenches in France in
the First World War that the 'Sower' vision was born.
Life in any presbytery can be a bit insulated; but as an
Army chaplain froin May, 1915, until 1919 he was in the
thick of it. I-Te was woundcd at t h e Rattle o f T,oos, mentioned in despatches in 1916 and gassed in 1918. At the
S o ~ n m eJuly,
,
1916, lie had shared a dug-out with StuddertKennedy ('Woodbine Willie'). What he experienced and saw
in those trenches and battlefields made hi111 vividly aware of
what the Incarnation really rueans.
This truth, the Incarnation, was to dominate all his
religious thinking. He experienced the misery and the
wounds of a fallen world, but at the same time the power
of Christ t o raise it up.
He saw a soldier on a stretclicr, woundcd in both arms
and legs and in tlie side. 'Why, this man was a living irnagc
of Christ crucified. He carried the marks of the I'assion in
his own body like St Francis of Assisi. I felt as if I ouglit to
kneel down and kiss every one of those five wounds'.
The chaplain knew that the only answer was for these
men t o be brought into a vital contact with the crucified
and risen Christ. In 19 17 lie wrote : 'For tlie liundredtli
time I marvelled at the sacramental systcm which cnables
a priest t o walk into a camp and in an hour o r so to get all
the results worth having of a revival oi mission without tlie
froth'. But in a sense t ~ l caacralncnts are not enough.
Although we say that s:~cramcnts'aork cx opere operato',
dependent on the power o f thc Iloly Spirit, nevcrthelcss
they are not ~iiagic.They are not like shots of morphinc.
They are personal encounters with thc riscn Christ.
The personal benefit we receive from them can be limited
by our lack of faith or inadequate dispositions.
That nleans that we need t o grow in our understanding
of Christ and His work. This is the purpose of Christian
religious education. It was here that Canon Drinkwater saw
a desperate need. When he returned from the war he was
hauntcd by the memory of men, young and old, facing
suffering and death, little sustained by the stylc of religious
education they had received. And he determined t o d o
something t o remedy tliis. From tliis 'Tlic Sower' was born.
Fro111 his new church of the Holy Family. Clnall Hcath,
Birmingham, its parish priest, Fr Drinkwater, poured out a
growing stream of writing wliich would soon change
entirely the face of religious education. There were books
for children: four volu~nesof stories linked t o an abbreviated catechism to 'pcrsonalise' thc material.
He was alive t o developments in child psychology; so
rote-learning methods diminished while art, drarna, poetry
and, above all, story-telling increased.
Other tcachers began t o share his insights, and for the
rest of his long life he devoted himself to helping them to
bring alive the religion they were trying t o teach.
First there was 'The Sower' itself, which he began at
once in 1919. The airn was to promote religious education
in an atmosphere of moral freedo~n,and t o be practical.
Then in 1922 he was appointed Inspector of Schools in
the Birmingham archdiocese. Me was reelected annually
until he resigned in 1954.
By 1929 the 'Sower Scheme' was in operation in the
elementary schools in the archdiocese, supported by a
stream of aid books for teachers. A volu~neof 'Educational
Essays' was published by Macmillan in 195 1. Gradually
more and more priests, teachers and parents responded t o
his lead; and what we later came to idcntify as new catechetics spread.
When travel abroad became possible again after the
Second World War, Canon Drinkwater was off t o France,
Germany and the USA. He attracted to tliis country
theologians and catechists who were producing a new
generation of catechisms, Baltimore, German, Dutch.
He was in that main stream, and a very active part of it,
that led up t o the Second Vatican Council.
One remarkable effect of his influence was that in the
1930's a religious order was founded in Arizona, based o n
the philosophy embodied in 'The Sower'.
At a Munich conference in 1934 a distinguished German
theologian acknowledged that his whole outlook o n catechetics had been overturned by a typical Drinkwater article
on 'overteaching'.
In the 1950's modern catechetics was under way, and
marked by a series of international conferences. Canon
Drinkwater (he was made honorary Canon of St Chad's
Cathedral in 1956) was fully involved in these.
A note he made at a 'Lumen Vitae' conference in 1956
sums up his vision and explains his incredible drive. 'Catechetics must be progressive: every year something fresh t o
discover, new aspects, new treatments of the one Mystery!'
It was a counsel that he observed right up t o his death.
In 1961, aged 75, he was off t o the States to lecture, the
energy unflagging, the vision undimmed. Three years later
he officially retired, but the work continued. Books and
a i ~ ~ c lstill
e s poured forth. I'articularly worthy of note were
'Our Lord's Church andNer Message', 'The Question of
God' (translated into Spanisli) and 'The Fact of the
Resurrcctio~i'.
1lappily, the richly deserved honours for all his labours
were not delayed until after his death. In 1970 he was made
I'relate of I lonour; and in 1980 Bishop Konstant presided
over a small but distinguished gathering at which a volume
of essays on Religious Education, 'The Voice of the liidden
Waterfall' dedicated to 'a pioneer of the catechetical movement, one wliose tllouglit and fame spread throughout the
world', was presented to him.
Even at that time, although he was now old and being
cared for by the Sisters of Charity of St Paul at Aston Hall,
liis mind was alert and grappling with modern problen~s.
lle surprised Bishop Konstant and the others present by
pulling from liis pocket a petition about nuclear warfare
and persuaded them all t o sign it.
Right up to the e,nd he was busy writing and speaking
on matters of vital concern for Christians in our modern
age - nuclear weapons and disarmament, population,
~ilarriagcand the family, Christian unity.
That initial vision of suffering humanity in need of tlie
healing touch of the risen Lord burned on, and drove
Canon Dririkwatcr to speak out and to be Christ's minister.
He was a rnatl of truth and courage, of deep prayer and
humanity. I le was a writer and teacher of genius; a pioneer
and a pastor. But above all he was a man of God -- a
prophet. He died appropriately on tlie eve of Gaudete
Sunday aged 96. He liad been an inspiration t o countless
people in his lifetime. I-le is so still.
Derek Lance
(This article by tlie Editor o f 'Tlie Sower' is re-printed with
his kind permission. Ed.)
FATHER ALEXANDER GITS SJ (190243)
Alexander (;its was born in York of an Italian noth her anti
a Belgian father in 1887. Ilc and his brother, Francis, came
to Cotton as lay boys in 1902. Alexander was also educated
at Mount St Mary's College and, before entering the Socicty
of Jesus in 1910, worked as a clerk in a shipping office.
Me began Theology at St Beuno's in 1916 and was ortlained
priest in 1921.
I-Iis n~inistryf i o ~ nthen on was chiefly in giving rctreats
and working in parishes. Before going to Glasgow, he was
Superior of tlie Jcsuit retreat house in Birmingham during
tlze war, and afterwards worked in St llelens and
Sundcrlantl.
llis chief work, liowever, was in Glasgow where he calizc
to the parish of St Aloysius in 1949 and stayed until his
death in November, 1982, at tlic age o f 95.
Ilc was well-known t o all the people of Cowcaddens,
Catliolic and non-Catholic alike, for his ge~ierosit).and
universal kindness. He was a particular favourite with tllc
children wlio~nlie used t o entertain with his puppet-show
both in tlie streets and in tlic classrooms of Garnetllill
Convent Scllool.
lie is rc~netnberedtoo for his years of dedicated service
in the confessio~ialof St Aloysius, where lze gained a
reputation among people and clergy as one of tlie most
understantling and saintly priests in the city. Even in liis
nineties, hc insisted on hearing confessions in the church
every day, and the constant queues outside liis confessional
were a tribute t o a priest who truly served the people of
Glasgow.
Father Joseph Griffin
JOSEPH W GRIFFIN (OC 1919-1925)
Words are treacherous things. If you say that Joe Griffin
was ebullient, out-going and extrovert your reader may
conclude that he was a liearty insensitive and not co~lcerned
wit11 the things of tlie mind. In Joe's case this simply was
not true. He was always full of life, full of the joy of life
(though he liad his share of suffering) but he was percipient
and sensitive (in tlie right sense) to people and the finer
things of life. Let it be said that it was a joy t o I<now Ilim,
as liis many friends will bear wit~zess.
For his Golden Jubilee of Ordination he wrote a frank
and amusing account of his life which has ~ n a d ethe task
of your obituarist very easy.
Me was born in Leamington in 1905 where he went to
the local scliool until Iic was fourteen when he took up a
job with an 'Italian Wareh~usemanand Wine Merchant'. In
a way it was a case of future events casting their shadow
before them. Joe always liked a good glass of wine. Under
the influence of Canon William Barry, parish priest and a
most distinguished scholar and writer, and Fr Sam Gosling,
who remained a life-long friend, Joe decided for the prieshood and came t o Cotton in 1919. He was rather older than
usual to enter Cotton and he 'found study and learning
extremely difficult'. But he persevered and carried off the
Roman History p r i ~ ein his last year and received a 'Missale
Romanum' fro111Thomas L Willaims, then Headmaster and
later Archbisllop o f Birrnuiglzam. The occasion was the first
visit of Cardinal Bourne to the School in 1923 when Joe
served his Mass.
Joe had a fine body and he used it. He shone in games
becoming a member of the rugger XV when the Scllool
changed t o that code and was made Captain of rugger in
1924. He records that the Headmaster liad prornised a
holiday for the first ~iiatchwon in tlle first season. The
team did not win even one, so the holiday was granted for
the first try scored .... the deed, if this writer remembers
riglitly, o f Bernard Dealey. In athletics Joe was outstanding,
winning the 100 yards 'Jones Cup' twice and twice the
'Hensler Cup'. A contemporary, Bill Douglas (OC 19191925), recalls that Joe as a runner was very fast and in
better conditions would have done even bctter. All this and
a place in the cricket XI would seen1 to indicate that Joe
was a wizard athlete. What has to be said is that he worked
hard at games and showed a tenacity that not all suspected.
In his last year a witness to his quality was his appointment as Captain of the School (or Public Man).
But this office brought him some tribulation. The
Prefect of Discipline was Fr Pat Moore, a notable athlete
but of somewhat moody temper. The causes of conflict
have gone beyond recall but Joe recorded that several times
he upset the Prefect of Discipline until there came 'a final
almighty clash when he (Pat Moore) issued an ultimatum:
"Either you go, Griffin, or I do". The headmaster
intervened and we, with some reluctance, patched up our
differences'.
This is not a mere anecdote. It illustrates one of Joe's
characteristics. He had an explosive temper which broke
out from time to time but there was no malice in him
whatsoever.
From Cotton he passed t o Oscott taking with him a
Rugby ball, but his attempt t o introduce the game was
frustrated after two games, on the score that it was
dangerous. There is much that might be said about Oscott
in 1925 but one must be content with Joe's assessment:
'Cottonians at Oscott were not very law-abiding and as a
'gang' we were often called t o correction.. My minor orders
were put back for 6 months'. On the other hand, he gave
the impression of being a good student and was ordained
priest in 1932 without further difficulty.
He served as curate in three parishes: Uttoxeter,
Coventry, St Elizabeth's, and St Anne's, Birmingham. Each
had its special characteristics and its incidents. At Uttoxeter
Canon Buscot was "engaged in writing his "History of
Cotton". "1 endured it (and one might add, him) for 9
months .... It was not a smooth passage. The shell burst,
the Canon exploded and I was fired". In fact, it was Joe
who exploded. He threatened to assassinate his parish
priest! Life was nlore tranquil at Coventry 'where I was sent
for a spell of corrective training'. Canon Leonard Emery
was the parish priest who did not receive him with enthusiasm, but they became good friends. Canon Villiers,
learned and infinitely charitable t o the many poor of the
tiine, presided over St Anne's where, however, the living
conditions were squalid. Joe had to go out and buy a bed,
and it cou!d be said that he went to bed in an umbrella, as a
sky-light over the bed leaked. There was either no bath or
it was inoperable. Joe had to go round the corner t o the
public baths.
Canon Villiers died while Joe was there and he was
regarded as sufficiently 'corrected' to be made Parish Priest
of Carterton in Oxfordshire where he turned two barns into
a church which is still in use.
Joe had a sane love of his country and before the war
offered himself as chaplain to the Territorials so that when
war was declared in September, 1939, he was immediately
mobilised. His war was full of incident. First France saw
him and he was billeted at the Petit Seminaire at Boulogne.
He had t o retreat with thc troops in 1940: 'With Inany
wounded I went on board a hospital ship w h c h docked at
Southampton whence we travelled to Leeds where I found
a billet with a Jewish family, joining in their Sabbath ritual
meal and was a guest-- the only Christian-- at a Jewish
wedding in their synagogue'. The warmth of his character
comes through very clearly. He was moved t o Exeter
(where he met Norman Adams) t o an Ack-Ack unit, then t o
Surrey when he and his men had t o travel to Glasgow three
times in one year, and finally he joined the invading forces
after D Day in 1944. On the Normandy beaches he met
Jack Dwyer who 'found' a tent for Joe who held on t o it
henceforth. I t was, of course, a dangerous posting and 'As
we approached the Normandy beaches an officer said t o
me "Get out your prayer-book, padre, and invoke the
Almighty". My first duty was to tend t o the wounded and
bury the dead; and for two weeks I patrolled the sandy
beaches doing just that, without a decent wash or change
of clothing, saying Mass on a stretcher in a trench'. With
the troops he advanced through Belgium, Holland and into
Germany. 'On the road to Lisieux I met Ben Cox and later
Syl Copsey who came back from a ruined chateau which
we saw in the distance being shelled. When I was
de-mobbed in October, 1945, Clifford Howell, S.J., took
my place in the Brigade'. It looked as if Cottonians were
running the war!
On demobilisation Joe was sent to Hcdnesford t o assist
Fr Healey, already a very sick man. When he died in 1947,
Joe was appointed Parish Priest and began his long ministry
there. The church, which had been completed in 1934,
presented problems. In reinforced concrete, though in neoGothic style, it rang like a bell! Joe dealt with this by
having acoustic material put on the walls and microphones
at the altar and in the pulpit. He brought some colour t o
the church with a large crucifix (placed over the altar)
designed and made by Paul Lindsay Clark who also
designed the Stations of the Cross. In addition, he installed
side altars, the pulpit itself and some stained-glass windows.
As he records himself, the high-lights of his life there
were the Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage which he initiated
(the Church is dedicated t o Our Lady o f Lourdes) and the
annual Polish Rally : 'At one time we had a gathering of
nearly 10,000 and were honoured by the presence of Mr
Zaleski, the Polish President in exile, who escorted the
Blessed Sacrament in procession along with General Anders,
Commander of the Polish Forces'.
For the rest, his ministry was that of any priest. He saw
that the liturgy was celebrated with dignity, he got together
a good choir-- he himself had a rich baritone voice which
became well-known in the dioceseand he prepared his
sermons with care. But above all he gave himself to his
people and at Hednesford, as everywhere else, he made
many friends. As Old Cottonians will know, he had a great
affection for the School and visited it assiduously year after
year. In 1966 he was elected President of the St Wilfrid's
and Parkers' Society and o n the death o f his friend, Denis
McEvilly, became chaplain of the Society.
But in all the last thirty years of his life he had much
pain and was handicapped by an injured hip (which became
arthritic and in any case inoperable) and he felt he must
retire, as he did in 1972. Even so, he managed t o help out
at Hednesford and in neighbouring parishes. He was in very
good form when he celebrated his Golden Jubilee at
Pershore in 1982 and the end came quickly in 1983 o n
20th May, the eve of the fifty-first year of his ordination.
The record shows something o f what manner o f man he
was, but only those who had the pleasure of his friendship
can know what a glorious man he was. One imagines that
he brought much joy to the heavenly courts when he
arrived there.
J.D.C.
FATHER WILLIAM MACDONALD (1924-25)
Father William Henry MacDonald was a native of the
Potteries. A serious illness in his early teens was followed
by a long stay in hospital in Scotland which gave him a lifelong love of the Highlands and a desire to become a priest.
For health reasons he was not accepted in his home
diocese, but Bishop Dunn o f Nottingham decided t o give
him a chance. The Bishop sent him t o Oscott College but he
was not happy in what would have been his native
serninary . After Philosophy he transferred to St Bdlnund's,
Ware, and for many years sang the praises of his lecturers
in Dogmatic and especially Moral Theology.
After his ordination he went as assistant priest to St
Mary's, Derby. He was made Parish Priest of Bzlper and
during the war acted with enthusiasm as chaplain to the
Bevin boys who were trained in one of the pits in his parish.
His health broke down again and when he became fit
for light duties he went to live in lodgings in Church Street,
Lenton, Nottingharn, and acted as chaplain t o Nazareth
House. He was given the parish of Spilsby, larger in area
than the whole of Salford Diocese, according to Bishop
McNulty. He used t o say that his nearest approach t o ecumerli~rnwas when he borrowed churches in which t o eat his
sandwiches and take shelter between buses when he was out
in the far-flung parts of his parish visiting his parishioners!
He was transferred t o Luttenvorth, but already
Parkinson's disease had begun to take its toll and he began
to slow down t o the pont when he became unable t o cope.
He went into 'semi-retirement', as he put it, in St Patrick's
Presbytery, Nottingham. He never missed his daily Mass,
but, because of his infirmity, he preferred to shut himself
in the sacristy. Turning the pages in his breviary became
such a burden that he replaced the Office with his Rosary
and it was rare that he was found in his room without his
beads in his hand.
After ten years his illness became so acute that he
needed day and night attention. The Sisters of St Joseph of
Peace received him into their nursing home at Cleethorpes.
By the beginning of 198 1 he had lost his power of speech.
He died in the nursing home in the year of his Golden
Jubilee as a priest and was brought back t o Nottingham for
his burial in Redhill Cemetery.
Philip Soar
FATHER FRANCIS WILSON (1926-29)
But t o deeper things. People saw that he was devoted t o
the Church. He lavished caie o n the sick. He was more than
chaplain t o the local mental hospital: he was a trusted
friend. Even after he retired he would travel back t o
Witham t o visit the patients and staff. His kindness was
unobtrusive and practical. He took t o country life, and
the town gave him its friendship and love. I think it is true
to say that it was in Witham that he found great happiness.
During the war he had served in Ilford and the east end o f
London and had been devoted in his care for the sick.
Cardinal Heenan never forgot the way Francis looked after
his parents who lived in Ilford.
After leaving Cotton he studied for the priesthood in
France and was ordained priest in Brentwood Cathedral
in 1935. Apart from Ilford, he served in Walthamstow,
Saffron Walden and Manor Park, East London.
His fidelity to duty and his frugal life-style made a
deep impression o n me. One day he gave me a copy o f
Manning's 'The Eternal Priesthood', and eventually I went
off to the seminary. Throughout the years of training he
was always supportive and encouraging.
In 1979 he reluctantly decided that he should retire a second stroke had taken its toll. So h e went t o live with
the Sisters at Nazareth House, Westcliffan-Sea. They made
the evening of his life very happy. He may have been
physically weak but the same droll humour and sparkle
in his eyes was there.
I like t o think that Cotton taught him much in the way
of love of the Church and devotion t o one's vocation. His
faith was built o n rock, and he was justly proud of his
northern roots and the sturdy faith of Salford. We have lost
a character and a holy man, a man who was kind t o a whole
community.
He died very peacefully just after Christmas, surrounded
by the care of the Sisters. The Bishop presided at his
Requiem Mass and later there was a memorial Mass at
Witham where, in the packed little church, we sang 'Faith
of Our Fathers'.
May he rest in peace after his great labours. Priests and
people of the diocese thank Cotton for helping t o form a
man we loved and still miss. I only hope that he finds
someone in Heaven t o share his passion for steam trains.
Brian O'Shea
FRANK ROBERTS (OC 1919-24; Staff: 1931-74)
Father Francis Wilson
Cricket and steam trains: I sometimes used t o wonder if
Cotton were responsible for developing this dual passion in
Francis Wilson! Without doubt he received much there,
made enduring friendships, and set his young mind towards
the priesthood.
For thirty-seven years he served the Brentwood Diocese
with the greatest of devotion, gently easing his northern
humour onto the flatness of Essex, disarming all with his
charm.
I was seven years old when he arrived at the small
country town in Essex, t o take up his duties as Parish
Priest. Of course he arrived by train, wearing a black hat
and formidable boots. He looked a bit stern, but he gave
my elder brother a whole shilling for serving his first Mass
among us in the little Caen stone church.
He was no great administrator and believed in keeping
away from Bishop's House. Was i t at Cotton that he learned
to love 'Faith of Our Fathers'? At the slightest excuse he
would get us to sing it, loudly and draughtily. His singing
and the wheezing harmonium were part of my childhood.
Mr F G Roberts KSS, BA
As the clergy formed into ranks before F'rank's Requiem
Mass on January 1st this year, one of the brethren said:
'This is the end of an era'. And how apposite that was.
Frank had been associated with the School for 6 3 years,
having known it when sometimes there were as many as
160 Church students; the Headmaster and the majority of
the Staff were priests, whilst the remainder were unmarried
laymen; all were boys; all were Catholics. Now there were
girls; non-Catholic boys (once a Buddhist!); lady teachers;
regrettably very few Church students; and the first lay
Headmaster. Not that Frank would have disagreed with the
changes (unlike the changes in the liturgy) if they were for
the good of Cotton, for his love for Cotton was life-long.
It began in 1919 when he c a n e here as a boy of ten.
It is interesting to note how he acquired the nickname
'Whisky'. His cousin, Douglas Priestley, was here and when
the other boys asked him his name he was so shy that he
mumbled it and it sounded like 'Whisky'. So Frank became
'Whisky' and a later cousin was called 'Soda'. The emergent
Roberts soon established hi~nselfas a wit with his amusing
articles for the short-lived T h e Weekly Snake'. He also
proved to be a good cartoonist and this gift came into full
flower in his later sketches of the Staff. The Rugby report
of 1924 stated that F Roberts was 'a young boy who
promises well as a centre three-quarter; rather timid yet'.
He overcame this tunidity when he went t o
Northampton Gramnlar School in 1924 for he was captain
of the 1st XV there for the ncxt two seasons, as well as
being a hard-hitting batsman in the 1st XI. He went on t o
Nottingham University where he graduated with a good
honours degree and returned t o Cotton as a member of
Staff in 1931. French was his main subject but he also
taught Greek, Latin, Mathematics and Geography. He
coached and played Rugby, cricket and hockey; he helped
in the building of the swimming pool; he spent nine year as
Assistant Master to Fr Billy Dunne in St Thomas's; he
organised the Cottonian Association which has raised at
least £10,000 for the School; he worked with the Scouts
and accompanied them t o Lourdes where they had the
honour of being the first English Scouts to work as brancardiers among the sick.
When war broke out Frank became the Cointnanding
Officer of the local 'Dad's Army', t o be succeeded as CO
by his great friend, 'Laz' Warner, when he joined the Royal
Artillery in 1941. His war service took him to Palestine,
France and Italy. He was torpedoed in the Mediterranean
and succeeded in wetting his big toe;he always paid tribute
to the Navy for lus rescue and the great hospitality shown
to him. He was deniobilised with the rank of captain in
1946 and when he returned t o teach at Cotton he
declaimed t o the Staff that he had shed his blood all over
Europe for them. Quite unmoved by this emotive appeal,
they said that he had plenty to spare anyway.
Frank settled down happily to take up the reins where
he had left off in 194 1. In the meantime he had married
Miss Catherine Dwyer of Rocester. Kit's father and brother
had been at Cotton and so she was a dyed-in-the-wool
Cottonian. She became the Bursar's Secretary and a great
friend to both boys and Staff at the School. They lived
at Field House; it could just as well have been called 'Open
House': their Sunday mornings became legendary and n o
Old Boy returning t o Cotton felt he had completed his
pilgrimage without a visit t o Frank and Kit. Father Piercy,
in his funeral oration. spoke o f the three great loves of
Frank's life: Kit, the Church, the School. Frank visited her
every day when she was in hospital with the illness that was
t o result in her death on the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption in 1967.
Frank was a man of many interests: he was never bored;
n o one could ever be bored in his company. He found
interest in everything. Someone once said of him that if he
were stranded for hours on a railway platform waiting for
the next train he would be engrossed in his surroundings,
inspecting the time-table, chatting t o the station master,
doing a c~osswordpuzzle, reading the cricket scores,
especially if Northants were playing. He played once for the
'Saints' (Northampton RFC) against Plyn~outhAlbion and
was proud t o have worn the jersey that so many future
internationals had worn.
The books of P G Wodehouse were one of his great
loves: he had them all and I a n sure that a good proportion
of his scintillating wit sprang from the master. Recusant
and local history were other great interests. He was a
founder member of the Staffordshire Catholic I-Iistorical
Society and its Chairman for many years.
In 1971 Frank was invested by Archbishop Dwyer with
the Order of Knighthood of Pope St Sylvester for his work
for the Church and the School. In 1974 he retired frotn the
Staff after teaching for 4 3 years, a record eclipsed only by
'Laz' Warner, who completed 47 years and two terms.
His sister-in-law, Miss Winifred Dwyer, Kit's twin sister,
went t o live with him in his retirement. The boys used to
refer t o the twin sisters as 'Whisky's two wives'. When
Frank's health began to fail, it was Miss Dwyer who tended
him and prolonged his life. He died on Christmas Day,
1982.
The chapel at Cotton was crammed for his Requiem
Mass: Old Boys, relations, friends from the many walks
of life that had interested Frank. Bishop McCartie, who had
sat at Frank's feet as a boy, presided at the Mass and was
assisted by 17 concelebrating priests. There were many
other priests in the congregation. When the School returned
after the Christmas holidays there was a lnelnorial Mass for
him. Some days later the Knights of St Sylvester arranged
a Mass for him in Westminster Cathedral, where many
friends frotn Cotton and London turned up t o pray for
him. We should like t o extend our deepest sympathy t o
Dorothea, his sister; t o Miss Winifred Dwyer, his sister-inlaw; and t o all his relations in Northampton.
Frank was a true son of Cotton: a man o f culture,
charm, courtesy, unswerving loyalty; the perfect host, the
perfect guest. As Fr Piercy said at his Requiem Mass: 'a
Christian gentleman'.
AGS
WILLIAM TERENCE (TERRY) MOORE (1948-55)
7th April, 1983 - Teny Moore, o n the occasion o f his
Silver Wedding Anniversary, with his newly baptised granddaughter, Rachel
I first met Terry Moore when I went to Cotton in 1953
to d o my 'A' levels. We left together in 1955 and our
frientlsliip dates from those two years together in the Sixth
Fortn. It was with a deep sense of shock that I heard news
of his death on the 15th of April, 1983. To all members o f
his family we offer our sincerest sympathy. It was an
enriching experience to have been befriended by Terry and
a privilege t o have known him as a close friend over Inany
years.
Tcrry went to Cotton in 1948 as a Church student and
had the wl~olcof his secondary education at the College.
During liis Cotton days, he became Vice-Captain and
subsequently Captain of Milner. He was Prefect of St
Thon~as'sfrom '54 to '55. He played for the First XV. His
association with the College choir helped him to develop
a love of music and singing that remained with him
throughout life. By the time Terry left Cotton he had
ceased being a Church student, but during his schooldays he had acquired a deep love of Christ and his Church.
This love inspired him tllroughout his life.
When Terry left Cotton, he spent a short time teaching
at the Mount, Walsall, before joining the R.A.E.C. for a
period of thrce years. While in the Army, Ize married Joyce
llancock at St Peter's, Bloxwich, on the 7th April, 1958.
When lie left the Army in 1959, he undertook a career in
the Civil Service. He worked in a number of different places
and capacities in thc Midlands, and eventually his work
took him to Bristol, wherc he was Principal Officer with the
Manpower Scrvices working for youth opportunities. At the
tinlc of his death at the age of 46, he was Area Manager
for the South West. As a civil servant, the orientation of
Terry's life was the service of others, the theme of his
t'avouritc prayer "Otl~crs,Lord, yes, others
let this my motto be,
I~clprile to live for others,
that I niay live for thee."
Tcrry was a person of enormous energy and deep
com~nittnentto people. Both these qualities were very
much in cvidcnce in his family life and in the work he did
in ant1 for the Church. As husband t o Joyce and father to
Cathcririe, Mark, Stephen, Peter and I-Ielen, he did not spare
himself. To visit the Moore family was to experience a truly
Christian home, where the love of Christ and each other
was central in the normal ups-anddowns of life.
I-lis work for the Church took many forms. He worked
selflessly in many parishes in the ~ e s t ~ i d l a n dWorthy
s.
of
particular mention was his work in various forms for adult
cducatiori. As a brother in the KSC, his energy and
devotion were responsible for many projects undertaken by
Council 564 of the Birmingham Province. Particularly outstanding were the Pacex Vocations Exllibition at St Thornas
More's Colnprehensive School, Willenhall, and the raising of
funds for a project t o make the scriptures available to the
Camit people in India, who have no written language.
Wllcn the family moved t o Nailsea, near Bristol, Terry's
tireless love of the Church put his time and energy at the
disposal of an infant parish. T o say tlrat he was a friend
of priests is merely to hint at the depth of support and
encouragctncnt that many priests received from him. In
somc ways, he could scare priests by the sheer quantity
and quality of the ideas that emanated from him! Everything, Ilowever, was for the building up of the Body of
Christ.
We shall all miss Terry very much, and none more than
his fatilily. It was very fitting that his parish priest at Nailsea
asked him, barely two weeks before his death, t o carry the
I'ascl~alcandle into the church during the Easter vigil, and
to proclaim thosc words of faith, 'Lumen Christi'. May tlie
lisc~lChrist receive him into tlie Kingdom of his Father,
where we l ~ o p cin faith to join him in God's good time. May
his family and his friends find consolation in the presence
of the sanic Risen Christ in their lives.
We have also heard of the deaths of: HENRY HARDING
(19 15-20), WALTER HOFLER (1924-29) and MICHAEL
OSWALD CROOK (1930-33).
As we go t o press we learn with deep regret of the deaths
of Percy Maddox (1926-29) and Oswald Doran (1919-21).
Their obituaries will appear in the next issue of the magazine.
DOMESTIC STAFF
DAVID PRIME
'Dav' Prime came to work on the domestic staff here when
he was 15 years of age. He became a familiar figure to
generations of Cottonians as he went his way about the
School o r up t o his little cottage just below Three Lows o r
on a short but regular visit to 'The Star'.
He retired when he had completed 50 years' service at
School and went t o live in a new house in Cauldon Lowe.
We did not see much of him after that, so we were very sad
when he died suddenly in May this year after just 1 0 years'
retirement. At his Requiem Mass Fr Piercy said that
throughout lus life he never did anyone any harm.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE
Gifts To The School
We should like to express our gratitude for the following
gifts:
A bequest from the late Fr Denis McEvilly for the
rnodernisation of the showers.
Solid gold chalice, which belonged t o the late Fr Joseph
Rowland, given by his brother, Mr John Rowland.
The Archbishop's Cup for the 1500111in Catholic Preparatory Schools Athletics Competition.
Mr John Rudd's two shields for the Catholic Preparatory
Schools Athletics Competition.
£100 from Mr H Millar.
School Year
HEADMASTER
R J Hutchings Esq BSc MI Biol
RECTOR
V Rev P Pargeter
Master of St Thomas's
STAFF
Rev A P Piercy
Bursar
Rev A G Sims BA
Challoner House Master
Rev D A Round MA PhL STB K C E RAF VR(T)
Senior Tutor
OC RAF Secn CCF
T P Owen Esq T Cert
Bowdon House Master
Mrs M R Hutchings BA PGCE
N R Clarke Esq MA BA (Econ) ATCL Dip Tchg
Senior Master of Studies
A C Woodham Esq BSc PGCE
J C Bex Esq BSc MIERE C Eng
N F Henshaw Esq BA PGCE
J D Cahill Esq BA ACP
D F Coggan Esq T Cert LCP (Dip SMS) Assoc Inst Biol
RAF VR(T) Contingent Commander CCF
P Jones Esq
Milner House Master
A D Trehern Esq LLB MIL
P Bodemeaid Esq BSc
P Goodwin Esq B Ed
E James Esq (Woodwork)
M M Delf Esq BA (Art)
Miss L Bottomley (Brass)
Mrs. C Drew (Violin/Piano)
B Wilson Esq (Woodwind)
A T Baxter Esq (Guitar)
Miss B Sharkey SRN SCM QN
Mrs R Delf SRN
Matron
Asst Matron
PRIZE
LIST
HEADMASTER'S SECRETARY
Mrs B M MacDougall BA
BURSAR'S SECRETARY
Mrs E Johnson
School Officials
Sean Howe,Public Man
Public Man
S Howe
Prefect of St Thomas's, Captain of
Milner, Captain of Athletics &
Tennis
B Ormsby
Prefect of St Thomas's &ViceCaptain of Challoner
P Smith
Prefect of St Thomas's
M Rahim
Captain of Bowdon
I Jones
Captain of Challoner & Captain
of Cross-Country
M Orrell
Vice-Captain of Bowdon, Captain of
P Cheng
Basketball & Librarian
Vice-Captain of Milner
C Winning
School Prefect &
Captain of Hockey
D Rosario
School Prefects
J Cowan
S Cotterill
Captain of Rugby
A Lettington
Captain of Cricket
G Eccles
Sacristans
C Lettington
D Bermingham
Study Place Assistants
C Ononye
C Owen
A Allen
UPPER SIXTH FORM
Mathematics
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
French
History
Economics
Geography
English
Ancient History
D Rosario
D Rosario
D Rosario
D Rosario
G Eccles
G Eccles
G Eccles and C Winning
C Winning
B Ormsby
M Tilt
LOWER SIXTH FORM
English
Ancient History
Economics
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Mathematics
Doctrine
J Sacco
J Sacco
J Sacco
R Jawis
R Jarvis
T Jordan
M Rahim
B Watson
FIFTH FORM
Latin
History
Chemistry
Additional Mathematics
German
Geography
Plzy sics
Biology
Classical Studies
Woodwork
Mathernatics
English
Special Merit
M O'Brien
M O'Brien
M O'Brien
M O'Brien
P McNicholl
P McNicholl
P McNicholl
P McNicholl
C Scramell
C Scranlell
A Manton
J Tye
A Allen and T O'Brien
FOURTH FORM
German
History
Mathematics
French
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Latin
Geography
Classical Studies
English
D Bermingham
D Bermingham
D Ber~ningham
V Owen
V Owen
V Owen
V Owen
D Rosario
C Pyatt
S Ferguson
V Milner
Doctrinc
D Tuolly
Woodwork
E Onwuemene
THIRD FORM
Doctrine
Latin
German
History
Geography
Science
English
Mathematics
Woodwork
M Prince
M Prince
M Prince
M Prince
M Prince
D Weston
D Weston and J Shibli
R Corrigan
J Williams
SECOND FORM
English
Latin
French
Geography
Mathematics
Woodwork
Doctrine
I-Iistory
Science
FIRST FORM
English
Geography
Mathematics
Woodwork
French
History
Science
Doctrine
M Boucher
M Boucher
M Boucher
M Boucher
M Boucher
M Boucher
G McEvilly
G McEvilly
D Soares
M Bond
M Bond
M Bond
M Bond
S Hutchings
S Hutchings
S Hutchings
S Hawe
SPECIAL PRIZES
HEADMASTER'S PRIZE
P Burke
MONSIGNOR GAVIN PRIZE
(Presented by the late R Schenk Esq) Not Awarded
O'DOWD DRAMA PRIZE
(Best Actor)
KEMBLE I'RIZE
(Supporting Actor)
LOCAL HISTORY PRIZE
(Presented by the late
Rev J D McEvilly)
J Shibli
MATHEMATICS PRIZE
(Presented by B Clarke Esq)
Derek Rosario
LODWIDGE MUSIC PRIZE
S Ferguson
B Ormsby
V Owen & C Owen
ARCHRISHOP GRIMSHAW MEMORIAL
LATIN PRIZE
(I'resented anonymously)
I' McNicholl
NEILSON MEMORIAL VIOLIN PRIZE
V Owen
(Presented anonymously)
ULLATHORNE MUSIC PRIZE (Chorister)
(Presented by Rev P Sankey)
D Soares
ERIC I'A RTRIDGE ESSAY PRIZE
1 Jones
JOl IN RYATT ELOCUTION PRIZE
D Weston
THE BARNES SPORTSMAN O F THE
YEAR CUP
(Presented by Mr and Mrs Barnes)
B Purchase
RICI IARD WEST MEMORIAL
I IISTORY I'RIZE
I Jones
THE STAFFORD AWARD
(To the Public Man)
S Howe
Speech Day I l t h June, 1983
Speech Day. Mrs Fitzherbert-Brockholes, Mr FitzherbertBrockholes, Headmaster, Mrs Hutchings
Our Gucsts o f IIonour this year were Mr and Mrs
Fitzllerbcrt-Brockholcs, Mr Michael Fitzherbcrt-Brockholes
has taken a close interest in Education, is a governor of
several indepcndent schools and was Chairman of the
Lancashire Education Committee. He was educated at the
0 r ~ t o 1 -Scllool,
y
which is now ncar Reading. However,
in 1850 Cardinal Newrnan's intention was to found the
Oratory School of St Wilfrid at Cotton. In fact notices
appcarcd in eight papers to that effect. Owing to a number
of difficulties, the school did not open here, but was eventually started in Birmingham. The connection between
Cotton, or more correctly Sedgley Park, the previous site
of the College, and Mr Fitzherbert-Brockholes's family
goes back still farther, ahnost t o the beginning of both.
William Fitzherbert entered the College in 1767 (four years
after its foundation.) In 1783 he succeeded t o t h e estate
of Brockholes at Claughton in Lancashire and assumed the
name of Fitzherbert-Brockholes.
Tlle Headmaster began his Report by thanking our
Guests of Honour and hoping that their visit would serve
to renew their family's connection with the College. To
some extent the last year had been one of uncertainty for
Cotton and for all public schools. The political future of
the country had now been made clear for the next few
years, but it was still very important that we made wellknown the benefits to the country of a strong independent
sector of education. That would compleliient the niaintained schools sector by providing diversity and catering
for the particular needs o f the community. In our case, as
the oldest English Catholic school, we provided a good
education within a Catllolic co~nnlu~lity
which in today's
world must make a valuable contribution to the health
of the nation. That had always been the aim o f the School
since its foundation, but the way in which we pursued our
airns nlust vary with the circumstances of our society.
Today the layman played a much greater part in the life of
the Church and that would always be reflected in the life of
Cotton. Partly through the reduced number of clergy in the
Archdiocese and partly through a conscientious decision, it
had been decided to place the running of the College more
and more into the hands of laymen.
The College would always retain a priest on the Staff as
College Chaplain and its Catholic ethos would not change.
I t was, however, time t o bring the College t o a stage where
we fully met the needs of the 1980's and a reappraisal o f
our direction had been under way for some time. Cotton
had a fine scholastic achievement and we should pride
ourselves on ensuring that every pupil achieved his maximum academic potential.
Perhaps the greatest change t o the School was the admission of girls. Amanda Brown blazed the trail in September
last year and had since been joined by another Amanda.
In September we should have ten girls in the School varying in age from 11 t o 17. To accommodate them, the
Convent wing would be converted during the summer into
a girls' house providing dormitory and study accommodation together with a girls' day-room.
Our accomrnodation for boys was also in need of
modernisation and, owing t o the generous bequest of the
late Fr McEvilly, we had already made a start o n the
improvement of the showers. During the course of the
summer the residential accommodation of the senior part
of the School was to be re-designed to bring it up t o today's
requirements and to allow the boys t o live in houses rather
than by forms. The plans for that work were available for
inspection. He hoped that those improvements would make
life at Cotton more enjoyable for,all its pupils.
It was important that school should educate the whole
pupil, not simply in academic subjects, very important as
those were, but in every aspect of life. We were trying t o
promote many extra-curricular activities, such as judo,
music, photography, horse-riding, CCF, drama and overseas trips. Those together with our main sports provided
enjoyment for many. On the Rugby field the College, in
Speech Day Guests
spite of being very small, had had its most successful
season ever. We had played 26 matches, won 22, drawn 1
and lost 3. Points for 701; points against 173. They were
the first team in Cotton's history to beat Ratcliffe, Mount
St Mary's and Ellesmere in one season. In the Seven-a-side
tournaments we won the Woodard Sevens at Ellesmere
and at the Rosslyn Park National Sevens we were beaten by
Millfield who won the competition.
It was most i~nportantthat we justified our existence
by our achievements not only within the School but by our
contribution t o the community as a whole by our present
pupils and by our Old Boys. Our approach to the future
must be outward-looking and positive. Tlie College had a
great deal to offer and it was hoped that we should assist
our pupils' parents t o send well-educated Christian ladies
and gentlemen into the world.
After the distribution of prizes, Mr FitzherbertBrockholes said what a great pleasure it had been for him
and his wife to come to Cotton, particularly in view of the
strong connection of the Sclzool with Cardinal Newman.
He said that schools today were more sympathetic places
than they used to be. For instance, MacDonald Hastings,
writing of his days at Stonyhurst, recorded the many
hardships: no newspapers, no 'Pickwick Papers' (only the
promise of 'The Weekly Register'!), no going home for
Christmas.
He congratulated all the prize-winners and their parents.
With the General Election just over, there was a need t o
defend our schools. Schools such as Cotton had much to
offer in making a responsible and caring society. They did
not create an elite, since obligations were taught as well.
With the current shortage of employment, they gave no
guarantee of a job, but provided sufficknt resources and
personality to keep sane in the situation.
His Iloliness Pope John Paul 11 in England last year had
said to young people that freedom really meant peace,
truth, justice and love. At schools like Cotton one made
relationships which formed a corner-stone of life. In
speaking of one's debt t o teachers, he quoted H E Bates's
autobiography where he wrote that his old English master,
Edmund Kirby, enabled him to grow into what he was to
be. The long history of the School would sustain our endeavours.
The Headmaster thanked our Guest of Honour for his
speech and then introduced the concert which is recorded
in the Music Notes. This was followed by a gymnastic
display involving the use of trampette and crash mat;
crossbox and springboard; longbox and springboard;
rotation on buck; high buck; and ending in a grand finale of
crossbox and high buck. The following gymnasts took part:
D Shibli, D Soares, D Carr, P Cotterill, N Crowther, B
Eccles, D Felton, J Hall, P Knott, C Lettington, D Rowley,
C Scramell, N Brownhill, T O'Brien, N Chesters, K Denver,
L Jeffrey, V Owen, M Elwood, R Corrigan, A Jones, F
Kenyon, A Purchase, J Shibli, D Weston, G McEvilly,
P Sacco, R Doherty, V Milner.
St Thomas's 1982-3
MICHAELMAS TERM
Term began with thirty-nine boys in St Thomas's, nine o f
who111werc day boys. The monitors were Martin Elwood,
Gavin Murray, Philip Vale and Dominic Weston. The
Prefects werc Bruno Ormsby, starting his fifth year of
residence in St Thomas's and Peter Smith, starting his first
as a boarder. All coped well and helped t o make the year
one of the most peaceful and uncomplicated I can remember.
Within a fortnight of the term's beginning, our attention
was directed towards the big world across the Bounds especially on Septernber 23rd when, amidst a welter of cars
carrying Governors and would-be Headmasters, there
emerged Mr John Hutchings, the duly appointed successor
to Fr Austin. Later o n in the term we contributed to the
latter's farewell present and heard tributes paid t o his work
at Cotton ovcr tlze past four and a half years.
Feast days these days are few and far between but o n
October 7th we did celebrate the external Solemnity of St
Wilfrid wit11 Bishop Cleary as our Guest of Honour. The
boys' part consisted chiefly in eating a massive lunch,
applauding Sean 1-Iowe for his witty speeclz and then in
disappearing into the highways and byways for the afternoon.
I11 the wake of the senior teams' successes, the Under 13
XV likewise did well, winning all their games this term,
including a football match against St John's. The Under 14
werc not quite so successful but they enjoyed their Rugby
nonetheless.
Entertainments and outings were both in evidence. The
I-louse Plays of necessity involve the senior boys but Gerard
McEvilly did appear in the Milner Play and Dominic Weston
took a large part in Bowdon's "Death Trap". The advent
of a new video in S t Wilfrid's, as well as the new colour TV
in St Thomas's, brightened our lives as winter approached.
As the Choir consists chiefly ofjunior boys, St Thomas's
was well represented in tlze Advent Carol Concert in church
on Dccembcr 12th. Later, on that same evening, St
Thomas's produced their annual Concert - there were carols
and sotne sketches. 'Top of the Flops' and 'The Wandering
WalIet' were finally produced by Forms 1 and 2 after considerable gestation problems whilst 'Pink Pieter', with the
local Dutcl~boy taking a colourful role, emerged from
Fort11 3 . The Master oSCerernonies, Kichard Corrigan,
told jokes and attempted t o rnake things run srnoothly .
The t c m ~had a number of outings - Mr Henshaw took
a minibus load to Ilhyl on September 25th, Mr Goodwin
includcd a number of St Thomas's boys o n his October
6th excursus to Leicester to see Midland Counties play the
Fijians, Mr and Mrs Bex entertained a number of junior
boys out at Mayfield on October 24th and at the very end
of term almost all the boys accompanied Mr Henshaw in
seeing "L.T." at Hanley. Nicholas Coxon had his own
outing in thc early part of the terrn - out t o New York o n
Concordc (and because it was his birthday, sitting next t o
the pilot for the first hour of flight) and then a more
leisurely return on the Q.E. 11.
On the whole it was a good term with the customary
ups-and-downs (the most memorable of which was the day
of retribution after the 3 a.m. high jinks on the morning
of Ilalf-Term). But G.H. on December 17th was as welcome
as ever - even the thin cover of snow was appreciated!
LENT TERM
Though term officially began on January 13th, there were
the usual late stragglers who had obviously felt that a month
was not long enough. There was one new boy, Stephen
Hutchings, who, as is customary, arrived with his parents
but then most unusually kept them with him o n the
premises! In fact this momentous day in Cotton's history,
the advent of a lay Head Master, seemed no different from
any other. Nonetheless we hope that Mr & Mrs Hutchings
and their family do appreciate how welcome they are.
Later on, after half-tenn, two other new boys, Andrew
Chinyonga and Ramsay Doherty, arrived.
The Under 13 had a number of fixtures during the term
including one with Ernest Bailey's which is best forgotten!
There were also a couple of soccer fixtures with St John's.
Mr Trehern looked after this part of junior school-life and
is t o be thanked for his enthusiastic support. Indoors a
Pool Competition was held in which Nicholas Coxon
defeated Pieter Athmer in the final and found himself
richer by a whole 70p.
Mr Hutchings took eight boys on a walking expedition
to Milldale on January 23rd and, six days later, fourteen
members of St Thomas's went t o a Disco in Stafford, being
invited there by Anthony Hawkins, our only weekly
boarder, celebrating his birthday in fine style. After halfterm on March 4th there was another outing for Forms 1
and 2 who were invited t o a production of "The Lion, The
Witch and the Wardrobe" at Abbots Bromley School.
During January Mr Goodwin worked even harder than
usual and transformed the old Model Room into a
Photographic Room. This helped to keep a few boys very
happy for hours on end. Spiritual refreshment was provided
just before Half-Term by Fr Francis McKenna, O.S.B., who
gave the boys a day's Retreat.
Much of the time this term was devoted t o Mr Jones's
production of "Androcles and the Lion," which was the
Association Day play this year. A small model exhibition
was also held o n the same day in the Geography Room.
On the whole it was a relatively quiet term, happy
enough for the most part and especially for Gavin Murray
who, after an exploratory operation o n his knee, was able
gradually to resume a more active part in games.
St Thomas's Prefects, Past and Present. Sean Howe and
Peter Smith
WHITSUN TERM
An odd term indeed, mainly because of the peculiar state of
the weather - cold and very wet throughout May, thus preventing any cricket matches, then hot and dry towards
the end of term with the occasional miserable day when
circumstances demanded a good one!
C.B. o n April 21st saw the arrival of five new boys:
Sean Bunn, Eamonn Fitzpatrick, Dilip Ip, David
Wrotchford and, for one term only, Richard, Felgeres. Later
another French boy, Christopher Loisel, also joined St
Thomas's. Half way through the term, Bruno Ormsby,
having been Prefect for five and a half terms, laid down the
mantle of responsibility. Pete Smith took over as Senior
Prefect and Mazin Rahim became his assistant.
In retrospect the term seems to have consisted of
separate events, each following hard o n the other, and each
one demanding a marathon 'clean-up', inside and out! May
2nd heralded the visit of the St Wilfrid's and Parkers'
Society when old and new joined together for High Mass,
but then the boys disappeared for their only free day this
term and, in spite of foul weather, managed t o enjoy themselves in the way they know best. Sunday, June 5th, was
unusual in that we did not go to church here at all instead, we travelled t o Port Vale Football Club ground t o
attend the Papal Anniversary Mass presided over by Bishop
Cleary and at which the Choir members of St Thomas's
sang very well. Six days later the Choir were once more on
show in the Speech Day Concert arranged by Mr Jones.
Patrick Sacco made a lovely Delilah for Ephraim
Onyekwelu's muscular Samson in "Swinging Samson".
On June 13th Bishop Cleary was again with us, this time for
Confirmation.
A fortnight later all but fourteen of the boarders were
given an exeat for 36 hours. This was t o enable us t o
provide beds for members of St Martin's School, York, and
the Oratory School. So most of St Thomas's rliissed the
first Catholic Preparatory Schools Athletics Meeting though they were given a report on the proceedings by
those who were there and by those who took part as
honorary members of St John's, including Philip Vale who
won the splendid cup presented by Archbishop Couve dc
Murville t o the winner of the 1500 metres. Another
honorary member of St John's, Ephraim Onyekwelu, also
did very well and Miss Yvette Wray, member of the
Commonwealth and Olympics' teams (Great Britain) was
loud in praise of Dominic Weston's win in the hurdles.
Junior athletes had earlier been in evidence in the Speech
Day Gymnastics Display - Patrick Sacco's daring expertise added a few white hairs t o the fleadmaster's head!
To cater for all tastes, two excursions were arranged on
July 1st - one by Mr Jones to hear the IIalle Orchestra
give a concert in Manchester and the other by M r Coodwin
to an Athletics meeting at Perry Barr, Birmingham, where
Steve Ovett was the principal attraction. Though Lights Out
were somewhat late, both events were enjoyed by those
who attended them.
This year has been a happy one, made so in particular by
the helpful and friendly attitude of the Third Form. 1 was
very much impressed by a tremendous act of generosity,
instigated by the monitors, which produced over E30 in
payment for a replacement guitar for Michael Kenyon after
his had been accidentally broken afte! its use at one of our
Tuesday evening Masses. These Masses, incidentally, were
always joyful occasions, made so by the musical accolnpaniment of Dominic Weston, Marlon James and Douglas
Soares. For my part, I am very grateful t o the Prefects, the
monitors and all those who had jobs to do during thc year
- not least t o Mr and Mrs Milward who ensure that both
boys and place are clean and t o Matron who keeps them all
healthy.
PP
The French Connection
Combined Cadet Force
(Cotton College CCF
(RAF Section))
The first birthday of Cotton's CCF Contingent was celebrated by an event which mirrored and typified the whole
year's progress: the summer camp. It was hard work but
brought first-class results and well-earned enjoyment.
Progress has indeed been made despite inevitable teething
troubles.
Altlzough many boys joined in the Cadet events of
Speech Day last summer term, approximately 60 cadets
enrolled in September and the training programme began.
A small number of cadets departed, but several new boys t o
the College joined. Numbers have thus remained fairly
constant with 6 3 o n the roll at the end of this summer
term.
The first part of the training was started. 'Proficiency 1'
would enable a cadet t o participate actively and publicly,
especially with the traditional 'perk': Air Experience
Flying. The Proficiency 1 Stage included the successful
co~npletionof the following tests: shooting and safety (safe
handling of weapons, using the trusty 303 Lee-Enfield
rifle), the recruits' test (basic ServiceIRAF knowledge,
turnout, wearing of unifonn), map reading and drill.
Training was carried out by the 3 3 Cadet Training Team
(Army), our Liaison Officer (Flt. Lt Roy Johnson from
RAF, Newton) and our Liaison NCO (Flt. Sgt. Alec
Dobinson from RAF, Cosford), visiting drill instructors and
Cotton's resident officers. Almost all cadets were successful in tlzc examination which was coupled with an Aircraft
Safety Procedures Test. All were set for Air Experience
Flying in Chipmunk aircraft at RAF, Newton.
Unfortunately the RAF gremlin struck o r rather rain,
snow, ice, wind and fog did. It was more a case of air
inexperience. Never did so many fly so little so often. There
cannot be many priest-CCF officers, but the Staff at
Newton were convinced that Plt. Officer Round was not in
favour 'upstairs'. In fact we flew only once before Easter.
Such a run of bad luck could not have come at a worse
time. The cadets, eager for practical experience of CCF and
having had a long, hard stint working for Proficiency 1,
faced continued disappointments, and maintaining morale
was difficult.
However, our temporary acting cadet NCOs worked hard
and encouragement came from all sides, including the
'Senior Service' as the contingent welcomed Lt. J Hutchings
RNVR as Headmaster in January.
We held our first Field Day by visiting our parent
station, RAF Cosford, near Wolverha~npton.This was
followed by another day at RAF, Newton. Eventually
flying re-commenced and, since Easter, with virtually no
cancellations, many of the cadets have flown, some several
times. We now have a new reputation: one pilot said, 'They
are a gutsy lot; all they want t o d o is aerobatics!'
Studics turned t o Proficiency 2 and 3 1 cadets entered
the March examinations with 16 passing the tests in
principles of flight, airframes and aircraft operations. Cadet
R Jarvis did very well to gain a distinction, so did Cadet N
Connor who gained a credit pass. In the light of these
results, the Contingent Senior Cadet, D Shibli, was
promoted t o corporal with 'A' Flight. Senior Cadets A
Lettington and P Smith joined 'B' Flight, while Senior
Cadets M Orrell and J Gosnell and Cadets R Jarvis and A
Tye were promoted to junior corporals.
Further success came our way when, not only were we
fortunate in obtaining two places for cadets t o undertake
RAF sponsored gliding training, but Cadets Junior
Corporals Jarvis and GosneU successfully completed the
courscs (at R A F , Cosford, and Linton-on-Ouse respectively)
by flying solo in the Venture glider. They subsequently
received the Gliding Proficiency Badge.
A Field Day in the Summer Term was held at
Whittington Army Barracks near Lichfield where 6 0 cadets
attended for a day's shooting, using the new Parker Hale
762 rifle.
For the summer camp we were allotted places at RAF,
Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, from 9 t h t o 16th July and 15
cadets including Corporal Shibli and Junior Corporals
Jarvis and Tye as NCOs attended.
The cadets were determined t o show those from other
schools participating (Epsom College; King's School,
Worcester; King's, Bruton; Dean Close and Wrekin College)
that they were the best - and they did. In every event
Cotton cadets were featured in the winning team. Eight
cadets gained RAF swimming proficiency certificates and
five gained marksman's badges. Over 45 hours o f VC 10
aircraft flying were recorded by our boys, in addition t o the
Chipmunk flying. The week's activities, made all the more
strenuous and tiring by the hot weather (42 C o n the
tarmac), included swimming, shooting, flying, raft-building,
lake-crossing, map-reading, visits around station sections
(such as the Met Office and the base hangar) and a visit t o
the RAF Museum at Hendon. They visited the parachute
training school where they tried out the dreaded 'fan',
a device enabling trainees wearing a harness t o make a
controlled jump from inside a hangar. They witnessed an
RAF police dog demonstration in which the 'criminal' was
caught within 11 seconds. They saw Falcons (RAF) and the
Red Devils (Parachute Regiment) parachute display teams
in action. They took part in a drill competition; all this plus
tent inspections at 7 am daily.
During the summer holidays J Cpl. A Tye and Cadets
P Thorpe and T O'Brien are attending further gliding
courses and I wish them every success.
I wish t o thank all the cadets for trying to make this first
difficult year the success it has been overall. Thanks t o the
regular assistance of Flt. Lt. Johnson (now departed o n a
new tour of duty) and Flt, Sgt Dobinson for being so
totally reliable and a first-class right-hand man. I thank Mr
Hutchings and especially Plt. Off. Round who leaves the
contingent. All of us are indebted t o him for the
enthusiastic efforts he constantly puts in.
We welcome hls replacement t o the contingent; he is
currently undergoing the commissioning procedures and
also Flt. Lt S Duffil from RAF, Newton, our new Liaison
Officer.
Finally, to the cadets, remember that the contingent was
established for you to extend the range of school-based
activities while developing your own qualities of leadership,
self-reliance and responsibility. It is hard work t o be a good
cadet.
I look forward to next term when our now seasoned
campaigners can help with the training of the 'rookies'.
L'
D Coggan, Flight Lieutenant, Contingent Commander
(We congratulate FI. Lt. Coggan on his promotion - Ed)
C Scrammell, scaling fibre glass rock face at the N.E.C.
GLIDING
Five cadets from Cotton have been on gliding courses. They
are J. Cpls Jarvis, Gosnell and Tye; and Cadets Thorpe and
T O'Brien. The glider they flew was the Venture T Mk 2
motor glider. This aircraft has a propeller and uses the
engine t o gain sufficient height. The engine is then turned
t o 'Idle' or 'Off and gliding commences.
The first flight is a familiarisation exercise. It has the
same format as a typical Air Experience flight and lasts
about 45 minutes. The next two flights are flown at
between 2000 and 3000 feet. They show the pupil how t o
control the glider and how t o prevent stalls occurring.
All subsequent flights are based on the standard circuit:
Engine on, take off, climb to 5007,turn 9 0 left (crosswind
leg), climb t o 700', turn 9 0 left (downwind leg), climb to
800', engine off, glider to 500' (use spoilers t o lose height
if necessary), turn 9 0 left (base leg), turn 9 0 left (exact
point of turn must be judged by pilot), line up with
runway, full spoilers, land.
When the pupil is deemed proficient in flying circuits
emergency procedure is practised. This includes fire drill
and engine failure drill at different altitudes. The pupil
usually flies one more sortie before flying a solo circuit.
The solo circuit is much easier t o fly because there is less
weight on board and the aircraft is much more responsive.
Having completed his solo, the cadet receives an 'A'
certificate and his 'seagull wings'. He may then join the
British Gliding Association and fly privately-owned gliders
solo or under instruction.
R. Jarvis
T O'Brien in flying kit
RAF, Newton, Notts
A Kenyotz ready for air
experietzcejlyirzg
KAF, Newton, ~ ~ t t s
Amanda Brown and admirers
23
Snippets from the PM's Book
146 boys and 1 girl turned up for the opening of the School
year. School in a state of shock: was it the one girl or
Howson's beard? Stellar privileges extended t o Lower
Sixth. Video comes t o Cotton and boys enjoy 'Every which
way but loose' (What on earth does it mean?). 1st CCF
parade. P Baptie, when asked t o vote for Sixth Form
committee member, asked 'How much does i t cost?' Seven
Africans shower at 7 am. 1st XV defeat Mount St Mary's
for the first time since 1964, in the course o f which game
the PM concusses himself in breaking a Mount man's leg.
CCF now licensed to kill: weapons issued. Sean O'Brien
returns t o laugh at boys still 'doing porridge'. The
'pacifists' (non-Rugby types) enjoy vicarious Rugby o n
video. Tejuoso voted best-dressed man at Cotton, narrowly
beating Mr Henshaw. Next day Mr Henshaw retaliates in
an open-necked shirt and a 250 watt pullover. Shibli,
playing against Wolverhampton RFC, adopts SAS motto
'Who dares, wins'. Shibli dared, was carried off and they
won. On St Wilfrid's Day, the PM, assisted by Bruno
Ormsby and a mighty dust-covered tome (who gave him
permission t o remove it from the Library?), made an
ingenious speech. His hopes for the future were: more
girls, a Sixth Form bar and no plugs in Top Dorm. In reply,
the Headmaster said that he had broken every rule o n the
book but made them rock in the aisles and HOW(E). The
gaseous nature of Tejuoso's arguments has earned him the
nickname of 'The Balloon'. After the 1st XV's defeat o f
Ellesmere Mr Cahill is found in an osculatory situation with
Mr Goodwin. The winner o f the Silver Boot match, Andrew
Lettington, is awarded his prize by Amanda: the boot and a
kiss. Bruno will get his at Christmas.
During the Central television programme 'Come Close',
Derek Rosario was so laudatory about the School that the
boys suspected he had had a rebate o n his fees. An
excellent time was had when Abbots Bromley girls arrived
for a Sixth Form dance. Some of the Rugby tourists of the
south departed from Bournemouth t o meet Ray Tilt at
Portsmouth. Bowdon House won the pancake through
extortion and Amanda Brown. Amanda Illidge, the first
girl boarder, arrives.
Skiing Holiday
On January 8th the Cotton ski-party paid its second visit
to Sauze D'Oulk. We were delayed in leaving Cotton
because Reg Egbuniwe had left his passport in Fr Piercy's
safe. Where was Fr Piercy? He had already left o n his holidays! What were we t o do? We called in 'master safebreaker' Fr Round who, after rnuch difficulty, solved the
problem by producing a duplicate key. We eventually left
Cotton at 5 am.
We arrived at Luton Airport only t o find that Reg and
his compatriot, ChiChi Ugochukwu, had failed t o obtain
visas. There was another delay while this was attended to.
How patient we are!
On arrival at Milan one of our party who had visited
Italy the previous year stepped off the plane and enquired
in a loud voice, 'Hey, sir! How many pesetas are there t o
the pound?'And so o n t o the 'high class accommodation'
which can only be described as 'home from home', home
being the Sixth Form rooms. The least said about the food
the better; the only redeeming feature was that there was
no 'slosh' on the menu.
The following morning found us early on t o the skislopes and so began an excellent week of skiing. Almost
immediately my ski-stick was broken by a strange Welshman (an acquaintance of Mr Goodwin) who had somehow managed t o be included in our party. The beginners
made rapid progress, and nearly everyone was skiing well
within a couple of days. Jeremy Shibli appeared t o have
some difficulty as he preferred t o go backwards rather
than forwards and developed a love-affair with the ground.
Naturally hilarious moments occurred o n the slopes, such as
Mr Woodham's triple somersault, double twist and hand
spring down a 30' drop; and the race between Danny Soares
and Jeremy Shibli down the mountain - o n their bottoms.
'Experienced' skiers like Mr Goodwin and Mr Waine showed
their expertise by falling off the ski-lift and being run over
by the next skier. Mrs Woodham, expecting a baby, was
skiing for two and risking life and limb at the same time,
while young Luke Woodham made his debut o n the front
of his father's skis.
At the end of the week a ski race took place and the
supposedly worst skiers of the party, one being the featherless bird, Orville, (another of Mr Goodwin's acquaintances),
were the only ones to win medals.
The evenings were lively and entertaining. A spaghetti
competition was held and Bob Charnpeau, owing t o his
experience in the culinary arts, proved t o be invincible.
The member of the party who asked about pesetas at Milan
appeared t o find the sangria evening very enjoyable, flat o n
his back. One member of the party claimed t o have won a
bottle of champagne in a dancing competition. Since the
ice rink was as smobth as a ploughed field, our skating
evening turned into a pizza evening when only the 'fatties',
such as Taff, the strange Welshman, managed t o finish
theirs. A rain dance took place since there was a shortage of
snow; it worked, as snow fell two days later.
Apart from the constant dinners of chips and breakfasts
of bread, it was an enjoyable week. Each evening was spent
racing down the mountain just so that we could have a 'hot'
shower. Our thanks are due to Messrs Goodwin and
Woodham for organising the trip. There were no accidents,
n o breaks, no sprains or bruises; the only damage was
suffered by me and that was from Italian bottom-pinchers
in the ski lift. Where were you, Cottonians, when I needed
you?
Amanda Brown
On the Piste
Hamilton in spaghetti competition
Mr Goodwin and friend
Amanda and Isobel, medal winners
Music Notes
There have been two concert trips this year. The first
was t o Stafford to hear the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra; the second was to Manchester t o listen t o the
Halle Orchestra give a mixed bag of well-known pieces.
Many of the younger boys attended the second concert and
enjoyed it.
Speech Dav allowed at least one member of Form Two
to 'let his haiidown' - well, he was playing the part o f
Samson. After the Speeches the following concert was
given:
If it is true that music in schools has its 'ups-and-downs'
then this year, if not quite 'down', is possibly at a lower
level than last. Let me say firstly that the Choir continue to
maintain a good standard and have worked hard throughout
the year. Individually, several instrumentalists have made
pleasing progress and the College can now boast a small
number of quite competent players. Unfortunately though,
there has not been a great deal of opportunity for ensemble
playing and during the Micliaelmas and Lent terms the
orchestra lay dormant, t o reappear in the Summer for the
Spaech Day concert.
Liturgical music has involved the whole community and
the introduction of several pieces o f the music from Taize
seems t o have warmed most people's hearts. Other diverse
styles of music abound in the College's worship and it is
with some pride that I record the involvement of the Choir
in leading the music at the Mass t o celebrate the first
anniversary of the Papal Visit at Port Vale Football
Stadium on the 5th June. Many of the five thousand people
present commented favourably and thanked us for our
efforts,
Orchestra
'Portsmouth'
Forms I & I1 'Swinging Samson'
Samson - E Onyekwelu
Delilah - P Sacco
Strings
'Autumn'
from the Four Seasons
Clarinets
Intrada and Rigadoon
Brass
Two dances from 'Terpsichore'
French Horn Slow movement from the Third
Horn Concerto
Solo - Simon Ferguson
Orchestra
Ballet Music from 'Rosamunde'
Old field
Hurd
Vivaldi
Purcell
Praetorius
Mozart
Schubert
Instrumentalists:
Flutes. R Dowe, P Vale. Clarinets: Fr Round, M Prince,
C Pyatt, A Hawe. Saxophone: A Allen. Trumpets: D
Soares, J Griffin. French Horns: S Ferguson, N Connor.
Baritone Horn: V Milner. Trombones: J Hall, R Johnson.
Violins: Mrs C Drew, Fr Round, V Owen, D Weston, N
Coxon, R Dowe. 'Cellos: Mr P Jones, D Connor.
There is much inusical talent in the College, even if
instrumentally much is still at a beginner's level. However,
there is a foundation on which t o build and next year,
especially as this writer will be able t o concentrate more on
teaching music, should definitely be 'up' and not 'down'.
House Notes
v
Ivor Jones
llousc Mastcr
l Iouse Captain
I louse Vicc-Captain
Mr T P Owen
I Jones
P Cheng
Compared with the last few years, this was a reasonably
succcssfr~lyear. We started off with a convincing win over
Challoner in the 1Iouse Rugby final. It was a spirited
performance against an adnlittedly weakened side. In the
samc tcrm wc produced, thanks t o Mr Henshaw, a House
play that was successful, but perhaps for the wrong reasons.
Andrew ant1 Christopher Lettington, Atnanda Brown and
David Shibli are t o be congratulated on their performances.
In the Ilousc cross-country David Carr, Christopher
Lettington and David Shibli are to be congratulated for
their efforts in Middle and Upper Schools respectively,
although there was an unusual number of absentees in
Lower School. We finished the term with a convincing win
in the Pancake conlpetition.
In the summer term we were overwheln~edby Challoner
in thc first leg of the cricket. However, the athletics competition was a very close-run thing, with Challoner eventually beating us by a mere 5 points overall. I should like t o
pay tribute to David Carr, Victor Ludorum in Middle
School, Dominic Weston, Victor Ludorum in Lower
School, and Bernd Watson, David and Jeremy Shibli,
Andrew and Christopher Lettington all o f whom gained us
valuable points.
During the year House Colours were awarded to: David
Carr, James Tye, Amanda Brown, Christopher Lettington
and Patrick Thorpc, My special thanks go t o Peter Cheng
for all his extra help in running the House.
1 Jones
Challoner House
House Master
House Captain
House Vice-Capt ain
Bowdon House
Martin Orrell
Fr A G Sims
M Orrell
P Smith
After a very good Rugby season for the 1st and 2nd XVs,
the House Rugby proved to be just as good. We played
Milner in the first round and, after a very hard game, we
were rewarded with victory. It could have gone either way
as the score was 18-16; some said the game was the best
ever seen. Unfortunately in the final, Barry Purchase was
injured in the first five minutes and left the field not t o
return. Bowdon then took control regardless of how hard
we tried.
The House play, although short, involved all the usual
hard work that is carried out in putting on any play.
The willingness of boys to work for their House was
brought out in the House cross-country. This was especially
true of Kevin Denver and David Harrison who ran
excellently in Lower and Middle Schools respectively.
Upper School, who should have set an example t o the
others, were disappointing and so we lost.
The rewards of effort were achieved in the House
cricket. With a bye into the final, we met Milner and put
them in t o bat. Thanks t o the bowling of Barry Purchase
and Guy Eccles we were soon chasing a score of 59. This
did not take long and so the cup remained ours.
The athletics competition proved t o be very close. We
eventually won by five points over Bowdon. Michael Tilt
was Victor Ludorum for Upper School in spite of the close
attentions of Bruno O w s b y . Barry Purchase took the
Javelin, Shot and Discus in Upper School. In Middle School
Philip Cotterill, Timothy O'Brien, Andrew Vale and Charles
Onwuemene won us valuable points. The heroes of Lower
School were Kevin Denver, Liam Reynolds, Martin Elwood,
Theophilus Mbakwe and Alvaro Enciso.
I ihould like t o thank Fr Sirns, Peter Smith and everyone else who gave me help and supported Challoner.
House Colours were awarded to: Peter Smith, Philip
Cotterill, Timothy O'Brien, Benedict Eccles, Andrew Vale,
Timothy Jordan, Charles Onwuemene and Reginald
Egbuniwe .
M Orrell
concerning a stolen ruby deposited in the left-luggage
department at Waterloo Station, the ticket for which is in
a hat-box at Paddington, the ticket for which ........
Meanwhile an old couple look on, from tune to titne interjecting such illuminating lines as
I le: What are we doing here?
She : This is our house.
Ben Bcclcs, an old pro by now, played the old man
convincingly. Andrew Vale, his spouse, was not so much at
h o ~ n eand frequently inaudible, as was Paul Curley as
Heroine. Peter Smith was a competent thug and David
Harrison a real find as the cockney spiv, this being only his
second appearance on the School stage.
The usual smattering of topical jokes was interpolated.
I, for one, do not object to this. It was a device frequently
employed in Attic comedy, as in the West End today, t o
create a rapport between actor and audience, and seems
justifiable on those grounds provided that it does not
intrude on t l ~ eaction or appear out of character with the
player. Of that more anon.
Bowdon I louse's offering was
disbelief required of the audience; we were reminded that
this was, after all, 'only a play' being performed by fellow
members of school. The second evil genius was the door,
which displayed a mind of its own and intruded more and
more on the action as the play proceeded. It was kicked
and shoved and pushed open at right-angles (it was a sliding
door), spent most of the second act propped drunkenly
against the rear wall and upstaged the blood-spattered
finale by disappearing with a thud into the outer darkness,
affording a superb view of the blank back wall of St
Thomas's.
The longest of the three House plays, running for 90
minutes, it entertained us enorn~ously,though largely for
the wrong reasons.
THE SCHOOL PLAY
DEATI-I TRAI'
by Ira Levin
CAST
Sidney Bruhl
Myra Bruhl
Clifford Anderson
I Ielga tcn Ilorp
I larry Milgrill1
Andrew Lettington
Amanda Brown
Christopher Lettington
Dominic Weston
Simon Ferguson
A small cast meant that there need be no weak links, and
there weren't. The twin leads were taken by the Lettington
brothers, Andrew as the aging West End playwright on the
way down, Ctiristopher as his pupil. Andrew began his
delivery rather too fast and with a flat intonation, but gradually slowed down as his nerve returned, and the natural
understanding between members of the same family helped
them t o achieve a considerable degree of credibility.
Christopller was more at ease and natural, down to small
dctails like reaching for the telephone while still talking;
he has an interesting voice with good inflexion but needs t o
realise that it is up to him to manipulate the audience,
especially in a thriller, rather than letting them manipulate
him. Amanda Brown notched up yet another record as the
first girl in the School to appear on stage. We hope that the
cxpericncc she gains here will set her o n the road t o a
drama career as it has several Cottonians before her. As
might be expected before an audience composed predominantly of boys, she was initially nervous and delivered
her lines too fast and too quietly, but she has a pleasing
inflexion and from this beginning she was t o improve
greatly by the time of the School play. It is, of course,
extremely difficult to maintain one's equilibrium when
settees are upset over one ("Pooh" said Owl, "Yes", said
one of the chairs.) It is equally disconcerting when the
script runs itself into one of those endless loops so that
one is twice told to "sit down, Myra" before one has
ventured to rise!
This trio was superbly supported by Dominic Weston as
the clairvoyant - Madame Arcati with touches of the first
witch in 'Macbeth'. His was the most professional performance of all. He knew when to pause for laughter and
varied his speed of delivery intelligently. Simon Ferguson
completed the quintet as the solicitor. He has a stage presence and projects his voice naturally and has the intelligence to understand his lines. He worked particularly well
with Wcston and the scene they shared in Act I1 was the
best in the play.
Sound and lighting effects deserve special mention; from
the discreet bird song of the opening scene t o the use of
ghoulish background music as the action hotted up.
Flowever, two things marred an otherwise promising
performance. One was the interpolation of topical references already referred to. This has its place in comedy, but
when employed in a thriller it breaks the suspension of
ANDROCLES AND THE LION
by Bernard Shaw
CAST
Janles Tyc
Richard Corrigan
Vincent Owen
Christopher Lettington
Derek Rosario
Amanda Brown
Calvin Owen
Daniel Tuohy
Richard Corrigan
Bruno Ormsby
Ferrovius
Spintho
Benedict Eccles
Slavedriver
Nicholas Brownhill
Patrick Sacco
Call-boy
Editor
Paul McNicholl
Caesar
Guy Eccles
Patrick McCarthy
Retiarius
Secutor
Patrick Howson
Menagerie-keeper
Dominic Weston
Liam Reynolds, William
Soldiers
McAdam, Paul Baptie, Darnien McAdam, Philip Vale
Gladiators
Paul Walton, Vincent Milner
Daniel Connor, Lee Jeffrey, Francis Kenyon, Ephraim
Ony ekwelu
Christians
Douglas Soares, Robert
Snow, William McAdam, Nicholas Coxon, Gerard
McEvilly, Thomas Burke, Martin Elwood, Jean-Paul
Jeffrey
Slaves
Anthony Hawkins
Damien O'Brien
A Lion
Megaera
Androcles
Centurion
Captain
Lavinia
Lentulus
Metellus
Any playwright who relies largely on verb'al gymnastics for
his effect or o n an examination of human psychology is
heading for the rocks when performed by a school cast.
It was therefore very brave of Mr Jones to attempt this
production of Shaw. But he did more than that; he transformed it into a most entertaining extravanganza with
borrowings from "Quo Vadis?" and "Up Pompeii", adding
gladiatorial scenes of suclx vigour that they were bound
t o appeal to boys ploughing their way through the
Cambridge Latin Course or "These were the Romans,"
t o whom 'retiarii' and 'secutores', emperors and praetorian
guards are old friends. Shaw's tongue-in-cheek treatment
of the motives for and value of Christian martyrdom was
made visual through musical parodies, notably at the
curing of the lion, whose dance to the Blue Danube Waltz
was superbly choreographed and drew many a sympathetic
"aaaah!" from the audience (and cast) and the irreverent
caperings of the Christians on their way t o the arena t o the
strains of "The Boogy-woogy Bugle-boy from ConxpanyB".
The 'ham' was continued in the antics of the weary and
dispirited praetorian guard, whose driU reminded one of the
efforts of the newly-formed CCF and the comic-strip
killings of the gladiators by the redoubtable Christian champion Ferrovius.
Thanks t o the House plays, Mr Jones now had a cast of
experienced actors who knew their own strengths and were
able, with the licence he permitted them, to mould their
characters t o their own capabilities. Of the main parts,
Vincent Owen has established himself as an intelligent actor
with a naturally clear diction, so that there was never any
question of the audience straining t o catch his words. Derek
Rosario displayed a manly presence befitting the captain of
the praetorians and handled the task of playing opposite a
real woman with confidence and sensitivity. For her part,
Amanda Brown made a statuesque Lavinia. Her voice was
now stronger than in the House play, her delivery slower
and more deliberate. By the third performance the
nuances of her part as patrician, convert and infatuated girl,
and the tensions between them were becoming clear t o her.
Bruno Ormsby possessed both the physique and the
temperament for the obstinate thug-turned-champion
Ferrovius. His bull-like voice carried his words t o the back
o f the hall despite a lack of clarity in his diction.
Besides these main characters, entertaining vignettes,
largely of their own concoction, were provided by Calvin
Owen as an effete senator, his confrontation with
Ferrovious being especially memorable. James Tye gave a
most sympathetic performance as the lumbering lion, It was
clear he and the producer had put a lot o f work into the use
of his costume in this totally silent role.
Guy Eccles, whose name is stangely absent from the
original cast-list, achieved a pomposity as Caesar by the
slowness of his diction, though one felt there was an
opportunity for him to ham-it-up still further.
The spear-carriers, Christians, soldiers and gladiators
obviously enjoyed themselves and the audienice responded
enthusiastically t o the result. It may not have been Sllaw
but it was great entertainment. Nor niust the scenery be
forgotten. Those "massy pillars" built by Fr Piercy for the
Amzishavian productions of the 60's were patched up t o
fonn part of a simple and effective all-white set, coloured
only by the discreet stage-lighting and a few paper leaves.
Mr Jones is t o be congratulated on understanding his
audience, realising the pit-falls and strengths of this play,
avoiding the former and enhancing the latter.
Androcles and the Lion
i
SPORT
RUGBY
FIRST FIFTEEN
RESULTS
Camp Hill
Mount St Mary's
Newcastle HS
Wolverhan~ptonRFC
Friary Grange
Ratcliffe
Abbotsholme
Ellesmere
Old Boys
Abbotsliolme
Walton 11s
K E Stafford
Tettcnhall
Oscott
Burton
Tettenhall
Denstone
K E Lichfield
St John's Leatherhead
Epso~nCollege
Winibornc
.4ndovcr Colts
Shrewsbury
High Arcal
High field
K E Camp Hill
Won
Won
Lost
Lost
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Drawn
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Lost
Won
Won
I'laycd 26; Won 22; Lost 3; Drawn 1;Pts For 701 ;Pts
Against 173. The following boys played: A Lettington*
(captain), I3 Ormsby* (vice-captain), B Purchase*, T
McGougll*, P Cheng*, I Jones*, D Rosario*, S Howe*,
D Shibli*, C Winning*, J Cowan*, C Ononye*, C
Enwonwu*, S Cotterill*, M Orrell*, M Tilt', M James',
R Champcau', P Smith', P Cotterill', G Eccles', A Vale,
N Crowther, P Knott, B Watson, D Carr, T Jordan,
*denotes Full Colours; 'denotes Half Colours.
The reaction of most squad members on seeing the array
of the season's fixtures was not one of complete confidence. Wc were apprehensive about the first seven matches
because of the likely strength o f the opposition. The season
really started with two days of solid'training t o break us in
after the nine-week summer holiday. At this stage places in
the t e a n were open t o those who showed the most determination; this formed the basis of the team for the first five
garnes.
K I Ca111pHill provided fine opposition in our opening
game which was closely fought and won with two tries in
the last ten minutes through efficient rucking and mauling.
We had enthusiastic support and great team spirit for the
match against the Mount which we won by five tries t o one,
in spite of the fact that the opposition had brought a video
tape crew t o record the game and that we had not beaten
them for something like 18 years. The Newcastle game
brought us down t o earth as we lost a close game because of
their superior scrumrnaging. Wolvedzarnpton RFC sent a
teat11 of strong forwards and hard-running backs whose skill
and strcrigtll were beyond our standard, although our
youtl~fulfitness held them in the second half. We hope that
we provided some competition for men and earned their
respect. This, however, left us with a 50% record and some
serious re-thinking to do.
We played Friary Grange, Lichfield, in the first round of
the Staffs Under 19 Cup which they had held for the last
two ycars. We were behind at half-time but came back t o
beat t l ~ c n This
~ . trend o f coming back from behind seemed
t o prevail tl~rougl~out
the season and can be attributed to
the determination and fitness of the team as a whole. The
30
next match was against Ratcliffe who had narrowly beaten
us 8-4 last season. This time, however, although they led
at half-time through an interception try, hard rucking and
mauling by the pack and fierce and fast running by the
backs saw us score three tries to win 12-6, the first time
we have beaten them for 19 years.
The omens for the rest of the season now seemed good.
The annual Abbotsholme match gave young bloods from
junior teams the chance t o experience 1st XV play. Spirited
opposition proved no match and our possession of the ball
usually ended in a score. In winning the next match against
Ellesmere, we entered the annals of Cotton's history by
being the first team t o beat Mount, Ratcliffe and Ellesmere
in one season. They opened the scoring with two penalties
and this spurred us on to a 22-6 win with backs and forwards playing equally well in their respective departments,
The annual Old Boys' match brought a strong team of
club players who played good, clean, hard Rugby, no
doubt stemming from their playing days at Cotton. We won
by 20-10 thanks t o the individual flair and unique ability
of some players, particularly C Enwonwu. The return
match with Abbotsholme resulted in another convincing
win. In the next match against Walton HS we avenged our
narrow defeat of the previous year by a victory of 42-0 in
spite of the rain and sleet. Against K E Stafford, Ormsby,
Enwonwu and James scored at least three tries each and we
won 58-3.
Tettenhall have produced players like Nick Jeavons, the
Engbsh international, and the prognostications of Ballard
and James, both Old Tettenhallians, did not comfort us.
This match was the quarter final of the Staffs Under 19
Cup. Tettenhall scored first, but we drew level by half-time
and went on to win a hard running game by 26-10. We had
a close game against Oscott last year, but this time we beat
them convincingly with several 2nd XV players making
their debut and scoring points for us. Against Burton we
again came from behind t o win the match. Tettenhall then
visited us for a non-cup match which we won after a rather
scrappy game. Our morale was high the next day for the
Denstone match. l'l~rougliour colnpaccllcy illcy scorccl
first, but, just as we were beginning t o dominate the scrums
and had been awarded a penalty try, the match was
abandoned because of the atrocious weather conditions.
The next match, against KF: Lichfield was our fourth of the
week. Purchase, playing out of position as flanker, scored a
hat-trick of tries and we won 24 - 0.
There was a fortnight's break before our tour of the
south when we were t o play four games in five days; these
are recorded in a separate article.
Our next school fixture was against Shrewsbury. They
had several penalties but missed them all and we did not
really realise our potential until half way through the
second half when we took the score from 9-6 at half-time
to 32-6. We were without Purchase and Jones for the next
match with High Arcal. They were sadly missed in the loose
and line-out respectively. It was a gruelling, scrappy match
which, had we drawn as we were doing until the dying
minutes of the game, would have given us the semi-final of
the Staffs Under 19 Cup. However, a dropped goal won
them the match and ended our run of 19 games without
defeat, from 7th October to 23rd February, a period of
four months.
Highfield (Ernest Bailey's GS) was our penultimate
fixture. We had seen and played against them in several
7-a-side tournaments. Our mistakes gave them their 1 4
points and we should have scored more than 2 9 points. The
individual running of the backs, notably Cowan, provided
most of our tries. KE Camp Hill came to Cotton for the last
game of the season (they had also provided our first
fixture). We had beaten them 8-4 then when they were
without several key players..Our victory of 34-3 showed
how a team's attitude and skill could improve with practice.
So ended a long and glorious season, in which team spirit
was the key to our success. Individual try-scoring records
were broken by Enwonwu in the backs (148 pts) and
Purchase in the forwards (78 pts). Mr Goodwin must be
singled out for praise: his patience was endless and his
criticism served to correct mistakes in making the 1st XV
the most successful in the School's history.
At the end of the season several players: Shibli,
Purchase, Ononye, Tilt and Lettington were invited to play
for Stoke Colts in the final of the Potteries Cup against
Congleton. Stoke won 20-0 and the Cotton representatives
scored all the points.
Training
Rugby XV
Back Row: B Omsby, M Owell, I Jones, P Cheng, B
Purchase, J Cowan, S Ho we
Front Row: D Shibli, M Tilt, D Rosario, A Lettington, C
Ononye, TMcGough, C Winning, C Enwonwu
Before the kick off at Denstone
THE 1st XV TOUR OF THE SOUTH 16th-20th February
I
I
Two weeks before the tour we played four games in seven
days and so were given some insight into the demands of
four games in four days. Nevertheless spirits were high and
we looked forward to the tour.
St John's, Leatherhead, were our overnight hosts and
provided our first game. Both teams thoroughly enjoyed
the game which we won 32-0. We were invited to dinner
with our opponents that evening and one of our players
made a humorous speech. The next morning members of
the team described the mansions they had stayed in overnight and how they had mistaken the bidets for foot-basins.
Ormsby then drove us down to Epsom College, the archrivals of St John's. The muddy Epsom pitch reminded us of
home. They scored first, but then we began t o play t o our
true potential and eventually won 32-4. Those four points
were to be the only points scored against us on the tour. We
stayed that night at the Redlands Hotel where a rota system
was introduced for getting the kit cleaned at the laundrette.
On February 18th we played Wimborne Colts (including
some veterans) and won 22-0, a victory particularly
notable for a ten-yard push-over try. Iceakating figured
among the amusements for the evening. For our next game,
Andover fielded a young team some of whom were of
county standard. We won 16-0, this time scoring a try
after a push-over from 24 yards.
The following went on tour: A Lettington, D Shibli,
T McGough, A Vale, D Rosario, I Jones, C Winning, M
OrrelI, C Ononye, C Enwonwu, J Cowan, B Ormsby, P
Cheng, R Champeau, B Purchase, P Cotterill, G Eccles,
M Tilt, S Howe ,Messrs P Goodwin & A Woodham
Match abandoned at Denstone owing to snow
Good jump, Ivor (v St John 3, Leatherhead)
31
FIRST SEVENS
Barry Purchase waits
The following boys played: A Lettington, B Ormsby, D
Shibli, B Purchase, C Winning, J Cowan, C Enwonwu,
S Howe (sub).
We took part in four major 7-a-side tournaments. The
first was the Staffordshire County Sevens, We hadn't done
any conventional practice but convincingly beat Tettenhall
whose style we were accustomed to from 15-aside. In the
next round we met Friary Grange whose skill and practice
enabled them t o beat us 10-4. We had beaten them at 15-aside and so had the potential t o do the same at Sevens.
Next we went to EUesmere College for the Woodxd
Sevens. We won Pool B by beating Wrekin, Newcastle HS
and Adams' CS. In the semi-final we were against Rossall,
the holders of the Cup, whom we beat 14-8, the margin
by which they had beaten us last year t o win the Cup. We
met Newcastle HS in the final, as they had beaten the
leaders in Pool A. At full-time the score was 12-12, but, in
the extra time of 2% minutes each way, we scored several
fine tries t o win the Cup by 24-12.
Our next trip was to Hereford Cathedral School for the
Hereford Marches Sevens. We lost our first match t o
Monmouth 12-18. This meant that we had t o beat
Kingswood and Millfield to go through t o the next round.
We defeated Kingswood 22-6, but Millfield posed some
problems as they were the reigning national champions.
However, we scored an early try and converted it. At halftime they led 12-6, but we replied with another try t o
make it 12-10. Ultimately their superior experience told
and they scored two more tries t o win 20-10.
The last tournanent was the Rosslyn Park National
Seven-a-Side Championship. Other teams in our Pool were
John Adams of Harpenden, Ashfield and Millfield. We beat
John Adams comfortably and our next match was against
Millfield. The wounds of our last match with them were
still smarting, but they managed to beat us 18-12.
We thank Messrs Goodwin and Woodllam for their tireless advice and support on these occasions and t o all who
strove to increase the glory of Cotton. May these efforts
continue in the years t o come.
Andrew Lettington
THE COACH'S REPORT
v Andover Colts
We approached the season with trepidation rather than
optimism when we returned in Scptember t o find the
School number at 138. It was due t o the fact that this fear
was overcome that so much success then followed.
The victory over Mount St Mary's early in the season
provided an encouraging start (after all they had beaten us
by 50 points for the last three years). Furthermore coming
from behind to d o so removed a trait that had become
apparent from reports over recent years: namely, matches
were close until the XV had points scored against them;
then the opposition tended to take complete control as
heads dropped.
Another factor that contributed greatly to the success
was that from a 1st team squad of eighteen, with the
exception of two, everyone attended almost every training
session. With very often two games a week and three
training sessions, this obviously required considerable
commitment. This was, however, absolutely necessary
because fitness lessens the risk of injury and, in order to
show a gradual improvement as the season progresses,
extreme hard work is required.
The aim for each game was to play expansive Rugby
which was usually possible once the forwards had
become dominant after the first twenty minutes. This was
achieved in the line-outs by superb jumping from Jones and
in the scrums where a great deal of work was put in. This
work resulted in our ability to 'walk' weaker opposition
backwards, sometitnes twenty to thirty metres in set
scrums, and discourage their loose forwards from dropping
backwards from scrums, consequently leaving our backs
more room when the ball was released. The forwards were
UNDER 15 FIFTEEN
able to control scrum-ball at will and this resulted in many
push-over tries.
Another ploy in the earlier stages of matches was t o
encourage the backs t o bring the ball back t o the forwards,
which Orrnsby (17 tries) managed t o d o very effectively.
This allowed our forwards t o establish superiority in the
maul, an area where Purchase was phenomenal owing t o his
great strength. Mr G Edgar of Denstone, after refereeing
the second match against Callip Hill, described him as the
best schoolboy forward he had ever seen. I uphold this
tribute. At loose head forward he was the second highest
try scorer with 19 tries. He also initiated much of the
attacking from the forwards. Frorn his example others
gained confidence to peel from the rnauls where initial
break-through in this area led t o tries being scored.
Practices were geared to encourage players to stay on
their feet when tackled, which allowed the very effective
back-row of Howe (blind side), Shibli (No 8 ; 15 tries) and
Lettington (open side; 10 tries) t o reach them and keep the
ball available for the front five when they arrived. The back
row forwards were particularly good in defence with the
ability t o catch and knock down the Inan in possession.
Lettington was especially adept at knocking Inen down
with bone-shuddering charges, whilst Howe was always
quick t o the ground t o smother tlie ball and then present it
on our side.
Play in the backs concentrated on smooth and efficient
passing aimed later in the game t o stretch the opposition
and use the particularly potent attacking wing, Enwonwu
(37 tries). He was also used from the blind-side in a move
with the stand-off half which worked regularly. Both wings
and full-back were encouraged to run bad kicks back to the
opposition which opened up play and led t o scoring
situations.
It is obviously easier to tnaintain good spirit when winning, and this was in evidence throughout what was a
successful and enjoyable season. An essential ingredient
was being able t o play as a team and, although I have
picked out certain individuals, those who have not been
lne~ltionedare every bit as important in making such an
outstanding team.
Played 18; Won 11; Drew 1 ; Lost 6
The teaiii proved t o be a solid and reliable squad, led
with ability and great enthusiasm by Chris Lettington.
They trained and played generally with spirit and determination. It was, however, a season of niixcd fortunes. On
the one hand, remarkable victories against Dcnstone (6-O),
K E Stafford (played in darkncss without floodlights!),
Tettenhall, Ratcliffe and St Joseph's College tended t o be
offset by less inspiring perfo rnmances, notably against
Shrewsbury and Ernest Bailey. However, thc team was
greatly handicapped by a crop of injuries, thc p~.omotionof
some players (eg Vale, Gosnell, ctc) to scnior teams and a
small squad anyway.
Outstanding contributions to the success of the sidc were
~iiadeby C Lettington, A Vale, D Soares, N Connor and
'Player of the Season' Tim O'Brien, a player of great
courage, ability, drive and detern~i~lation.
IIc was
throughout an inspiration to the team. Others who played
regularly included juniors drafted in from the Under 1 4
tearn. In the matches which these boys played towards the
end of the season their perfortilances can only be described
as tremendous. These stalwarts were L Jcffery, A I'urchasc,
Desrnond Rosario, B Simmons, L Reynolds and K I>envcr.
UNDER 14 FIFTEEN
RESULTS
Mount St Mary's
Lost
Ratcliffe
Lost
Abbotshollne
Won
Elleslne re
Won
Walton
Won
King Edward's Stafford Lost
Tettenhall
Won
Biddulpll
Won
Denstone
Lost
Shrewsbury
Lost
St Joseph's
Won
Leek High
Lost
Newcastle HS
Lost
P Coodwin
Played 13; Won 6 ; Lost 7 ; Drawn 0
SECOND FIFTEEN
RESULTS
Mount St Maly's
Newcastle HS
Ratcliffe
Ellesmere
Walton
Tettenhall
Denst one
Abbot Beyne
Lichfield
Shrewsbury
Ernest Bailey
H
A
A
A
A
H
H
11
A
A
H
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Lost
Won
Won
18-4
26-10
10-3
20 - 0
16-0
34-0
36 - 0
17-0
4 -8
32-12
22 - 0
Playcd 12; Won 11 ; Lost 1 ;Pts For: 256; Pts Against: 55.
The following boys played: T Jordan, R Hatnilton, A Vale,
P Cotterill, P Knott, D Carr, 1' Smith, B Watson, I Illidge,
P Cheng, G Eccles, P Howson, F Ugorji, R Jarvis, C
Onwuemene, J Sacco, P Thorpe, P Burkc, J Gosnell,
A Keny on.
As the results suggest, the 2nd XV enjoyed a very
successful season, winning eleven out of twelve matches.
Although we were never sure whether the team would be
the same the following week, whocvcr playcd fittcd into a
side playing with tremendous spirit and determination.
Jordan, Hamilton, Vale, Cotterill, Knott, Carr, Smith,
Watson and Illidge played consistently well throughout tlie
season which provided thcm with a good apprcnticcsl~ip
for 1st team Rugby next year.
The following boys have played: A Purchase (Captain),
N Brownhill, T Mbakwe, P Vale, M Elwood, L Reynolds,
B Simmons, L P Jeffery , M Chanlpeau, V Owcn, K Dc~lver,
C Forde, E Onwueniene, A Jones, M James, D Weston,
D Rosario, D O'Brien, R Snow, R Corrigali.
The Under 14 team has had a mixed season this year.
Inexperience and slnallness of physical stature were to lead
to initial defeats; a depressing prospect f o the
~ remainder
of the season? Certainly not! Under the able leadership of
Purchase, the self-dubbed 'Animals' became an enthusiastic
bunch who were never seen to give up. Basic skills
improved, especially in the forwards, and, cncouragcd by
a resounding victory over Walton, the tcam settlcd down t o
become an efficient unit.
Mention lnust be made of the hard-working pack, whose
drive and determination often Inore than made up for poor
handling in the backs. Cover play was good, as was the play
in sct scrrltnmages. Well protcctcd h y the omnipresent
Mbakwe and Jeffery, tlie tiny figures of Brownhill or
Purchase could often be seen emerging from the loose,
doggedly hugging the ball to set up the maul again some
distance ahead.
The backs proved to be tlie weakness of the tcam.
Enthusiasm cannot always compensate for slightness of
build and, despite a willingness to tackle anything on two
legs, no matter how large or fast it was moving towards
you, opposing players often ran through.
All in all, the team has had a cheerful and modestly
successful season. The outstanding game against King
Edward's, Stafford. perhaps cxhibits bcst the attitudc of the
players towards the game, where. despite losing by two
points, they could still conic off the field exhausted but
happy.
PJ
UNDER 13 FIFTEEN
RESULTS
Marshlands
Longton
Ellesmere
Abbotsholme
Walton
St John's
St John's
Higllfields
Football
St John's
St John's
Won
Won
Won
Won
Lost
Won
Lost
Lost
A
A
Won
Won
ATHLETICS
5-2
4-3
The following boys played: D Soares, Enciso, P Vale,
Corrigati, James, McEvilly, O'Brien, Onyekwelu, Weston,
Coxorl, C Dode, U Dozie, Elwood, A Jones, W McAdam
(Captain), Griffin, S Hawe, Athtner, Prince, F Kenyon,
Boucher, Woodcock, Bond, P Sacco, Robinson, Williatns,
Dohcrty, Johnson, T Burke, Smith.
Onc can be moderately proud of seven victories and four
losses; and at times the handling and moves of regular
players such as McAdam, McEvilly, Coxon and O'Brien
showed class. O'Brien, however, still has t o learn that the
job of a scrum-half is above all to try and open up the game
by feeding good three-quarters. I-Ie still has too much of a
tendency t o go blind. C Dode (80% of the time) and
Doherty (who joined us for his first match at Highfield)
revealed t hcmselves t o be intrepid tacklers. Bond, Prince
and Boucher stood out by their all-round play and loyalty
to the team.
At Highfield we met our Waterloo. The opposition was
much bigger and played aggressively, but showed up our
weakness - tackling!
The lesson t o be learned is that you are not fully
committed to a Rugby side - unless you are prepared to
make every tackle count.
On the football side, an enjoyable time was had by all,
and I am told that, as far as menlory serves, this was the
first time we had beaten St John's.
HOUSE CROSS-COUNTRY
Milncr
363 points
Challoner
289 points
Bowdon
198 points
UPPER SCHOOL
1 . Winning
2. Shibli
3. Knott
391n 36s
39m 44s
3911148s
MIDDLE SCHOOL
1. Lettington
2. Carr
3 . I-larrison
251n 48s
2611108s
26m 16s
LOWER SCHOOL
1. Coxon
2. Kenyon
3. Elwood
18111 09s
19m !Is
19m 3 1s
The main challenge to Milner came in MiddIe School
where Lettington and Carr took first and second places repectively for Bowdon. Harrison was third for Challoner.
Bowdon won the section with 121 points to Challoner's
106 and Milner's 82.
In Upper School Bowdon did very badly, scoring only
42 points altogether despite Shibli's coming in second and
collecting 22 points. Milner took the other four places out
of the first five, with Winning being the victor and K ~ l o t t
third.
Milncr, winning Upper and Lower sections, were overall
winners of the House Cross-Country Cha~npionship.
In Lower School they proved particularly dominant by
taking five o f the first six places. The pre-race favourite,
Elwood, carne third behind Kenyon and the winner, Coxon,
a Second-former who recorded a tirne of 18mins 9 secs.
RESULTS
U20
U17
v Mount St Mary's v Woodhouse Grove (A)
Cotton
116
55
Mount St Mary's
85
106
Woodhouse Grove
85
125
v Ratcliffe (A)
Cotton
Ratcliffe
78
65
59
84
U15
75
121
99
80
63
This year's athletics team has been very unfortunate. It
suffered from a lack of sunshine compounded by a lack of
matches, as the Up Holland and Ellesmere and Oswestry
matches were cancelled. As can be expected, this dampened
the enthusiasm of some of the team. However, t o their
credit, this was not the case with the hard core of the team,
especially some of the Fifth-formers. This bore fruit when
we could take part in the ~natclies.
Against the Mount, Enwonwu was dominant in the U20
age group with five first places. His hurdling and sprinting
were exemplary, so were his jumps. James also contributed
much in the sprints and jumps. However, Purchase was not
to be overshadowed as he won all the throwing events with
new School records. Tilt ran extremely well and improved
throughout the season showing what a very good athlete
lie is. Watson, Howson, Sliibli, Kenyon and Orrell all
contributed ~nagnificentlyfor Upper School t o walk away
with a fine win. It is always sweet to beat the Mount at
Rugby and athletics.
The U17 age group had a lack o f competitors owing t o
external examinations. I-lowever, the licw ~ccruitsgained
valuable experience and put all they had into it. Most
notable on the day were Watson, Scramell, Denver and
T O'Brien. The Juniors also fared badly. However, good
results were recorded by Onyekwelu in the throw, James in
the sprints and Vale in the longer distances. Weston,
Mbakwe, Shibli and Coxon all put in creditable
performances.
At Ratcliffe the athletes previously mentioned,
particularly Watson and Howson, had to take on more
events. McGough and Winning made their debuts here.
Purchase's huge javelin throw of 51m 88, which required
two tapes to tileasure it, was another new record.
In the U17, despite having a full team, we were still
beaten. However, excellent perfornlances were produced by
Carr, Cotterill, Crowther and McAdam. Carr and Cotterill
were outstanding in the sprints and jumps. The most dedi~ a t e dathletes of the year were Carr, Knott, Tye, Lettington
and T O'Brien as they never failed to turn up for extra
training.
In Lower School James, Vale, Weston, Mbakwe and
Onyekwelu all turned in very good results, with Vale
breaking the School record in the U15 1500m with a time
of 51n.05.3~.
Shibli, Jones, Coxon, McEvilly and Corrigan
all put in a great effort and gained good results.
The following boys also competed in a local athletics
league. Although Cotton did not win overzll, remarkable
performances were achieved by Weston, Enciso, Elwood,
Onyekwelu, Tuohy, James, Forde, Coxon, Vale, Shibli,
Mbakwe and Denver. Mbakwe and James were asked t o
represent St.iffordshire county.
co~~clusion
I should like-to thank Mr Goodwin for the
hours of work which he put into the track to get it into the
excellent condition it reached for the House Sports. Messrs
Clarke and Trehern also deserve thanks for the help they
gave in training the lower forms.
CATHOLIC PREPARATORY SCHOOLS ATHLETICS
COMPETITION AT COTTON
26th June, 1983
The following schools took part in this most enjoyable
occasion: St Martin's, Nawton, York; The Oratory
Preparatory School, Reading; All Hallows, Cranmore,
Somerset; Upton Hall Convent.The Wirral; Grace Dicu
Manor, ~oa1;ille; Llanarth Court, Raglan, Gwent;
Winterfold House, Chaddesley Corbett; St Dominic's,
Hartsl~ill,Stoke-on-Trent; St John's, Alto~i;and St Bede's,
Manchester.
The running track looked at its best as we all made our
way tlzere after lulich in tlze Refectory. A tnarquee had
been erected on the far side at tlie top of the bank by the
cricket field and there was a loud-speaking van, housing Mr
Jones, which sprouted so many speakers that it looked like
the ten-horned red dragon of the Apocalypse. Two little
girls whom I escorted t o the track let out a gasp of surprise
and wonder as they topped the bank and saw the
magnificent arena.
Tlie track and field events proceetled apace and what an
unusual and refreshing sight it was to see little girls of under
12, in gym slips and with pigtails flowing in their wake,
valiantly running in t!ic 800 ~nctrcs,wl~ilelarger little girls
ran 1500 metres in the Under 14 group.
Alton Towers very ki~ldlypresented the Trophy for the
Outstanding Athlete of the day. The Archbishop of
Birmingham and Miss Yvette Wray, Olympic athlete and
C o m ~ n o ~ ~ w c aBronze
ltli
medallist, graced us wit11 their
presence and presented the prizes. 7'11e Oratory Preparatory
Scliool, Reading, bore away the palms of victory.
We hope that this will be an annual cvent and we thank
all the schools who took part, some travelling very long
distances.
I
Vincent Owen and Robert Snow
- - -
-
-
Caihoirc .Preparatov Scltools Athletics
HOUSE SPORTS
As can be seen from the score-line, the House athletics was
a very closely-fought contest. Although conditions were
perfect on both days, only three School records were
broken: the 80m Hurdles by Weston who recorded a time
of 11.98s; and the Shot and Discus by Onyekwelu with
throws of 1 1.50m and 26.58m respectively.
The Senior Victor Ludorurn was Tilt who won by a
liair's breadth from Orlnsby, the School athletics captain.
Honours were even between them on the track, with Tilt
winning the High Jump t o clinch victory. Purchase was
particularly good in the throwing field events, and Winning
won both the Triple and Long Jumps.
In the Middle School competition Carr was Victor
Ludorum, although he was well challenged by James and
Knott in the track events. P Cotterill won both the Triple
and High Jumps.
In the Junior events Weston, despite his lack of stature,
won all the sprints t o become Victor Ludorum, Elwood
re-discovered his form to run Vale close in the 800m and
1500111 races, while Onyekwelu was unbeaten in the
throwing events.
Christophers Lettington and Scramell
RESULTS
UPPER SCHOOL
1OOm
Hurdles
,
1. Howson
2 . Watsor)
3 . Ormsb y
1. Orlnsby
2. Watson
3 . Howson
1. Or~nsby
2. Tilt
3. Winning
1. Tilt
2. Rosario
3 . Ormsby
1 . Tilt
2. Shibli
3. Or~nsby
1. Watson
2. Tilt
MIDDLE SCHOOL
1OOm
Hurdles
Long Jump
Triple Jump
Discus
Shot
Javelin
Relay
Victor Ludoru~n
1. Tilt
2. Cowan
3 . Watson
I . Winning
2. Tilt
3. Lettington
1. Winning
2. Lettington
3. Watson
1. Purchase
2. Lettington
3 . Ormsby
1. Purchase
2. Lettington
3 . Orrell
I . Purchase
2. Lettington
3 . Shibli
1. Milner
2. Bowdon
3 . Challoner
Tilt
1.Ip
2. Onwuemene
3 . Orrell
High Jump
1. Carr
2. Cotterill
3 . James
1. Carr
2. Cotterill
3 . James
1. James
2. Carr
3. Knott
1. Knott
2. Carr
3. Lettington
1. Carr
2. Knott
3. Tye
3 . Carr
High Jump
Long Jump
Triple Jump
Discus
Shot
Javelin
Relay
Victor Ludorum
1 . Cot terill
2. Connor
3. Egbuniwe
1 . Carr
2. Cot terill
3 . Onwuemene
1. Cotterill
2. Carr
3. Onwuemene
1. T O'Brien
2. Vale
3 . Lettington
1. Vale
2. Soares
3. Carr
1. Hall
2. Scramell
3. Lettington
1. Challoner
2. Bowdon
3 . Milner
Carr
LOWER SCHOOL
1OOrn
Victor Ludorum
13.24
1. Weston
2. Enciso
13.41
3. Shibli
13.60
27.85
1. Weston
2. Shibli
27.90
3. Enciso
28.21
1. Reynolds
63.80
2. Weston
64.39
3. Vale
64.53
1. Denver
2m.30.16
2. Vale
2m.3 1.1 3
3. Elwood
2m.35.13
1 . Vale
5m.10
5m .2 1.45
2. Elwood
3 . Denver
1 . Weston (new record) 1 1.98
2. Denver
12.98
3. Shibli
13.32
1. Mbakwe
1.44m
2. Shibli
1.41m
3. Vale
1.37m
1. Shibli
4.46m
2. Mbakwe
4.26m
3. Kenyon
4.2 1m
1 . Shibli
9.65m
2. Weston
9.37m
3 , Elwood
9.28m
1. Onyekwelu (new record) 26.58m
2. Mbakwe
26.31m
3. Murray
24.71m
1 . Onyekwelu (new record) 11.50m
2 , Mbakwe
10.30m
3 . Shibli
9.97m
1. Onyekwelu
25.72m
2. Jones
22.45m
3 . Denver
20.1 6m
1. Challoner
56.10
2 , Milner
56.59
3 . Bowdon
Weston
HOUSE RESULTS
1. Challoner
2. Bowdon
3. Milner
301 points
296 points
262 points
200m
400m
800m
1500m
Hurdles
High Jump
Long Jump
Triple Jump
Discus
Shot
Javelin
Relay
FIRST XI CRICKET
Results: Played 7; Won 1 ;Lost 4 ; Drawn 2
Mount S t Mary's (H)
King's, Macclesfield (A)
Oscott (A)
Oakamoor C .C.
Ratcli ffe
Newcastle H.S.
Royal Wolverhampton
Lost by 112 runs
Denstone 218 for 5 dec.
Cotton 106 (Purchase 81)
Cancelled
Won by 42 runs
Cotton 8 1
Belmont 39 (Lettington 6 f o ~
18 ;Purchase 4 for 14)
Lost by 54 runs
Staffs Gents 147 for 5 dec.
Cotton 9 3 (Lettington 25;
Ononye 23)
Lost by 55 runs
Oratory 175 for 8 dec.
(Eccles 3 for 36)
Cotton 1 17 (Purchase 47;
Cowan 26)
Denstone (A)
Match abandoned
Mount 118 for 8 dec.
(Lettington 5 for 48)
Cotton 35 for 1 (Purchase 26
not out)
Lost by 4 wickets
Cotton 105 (Cowan 45 not
out, Purchase 40)
King's 109 for 6 (Purchase 3
for 32)
Drawn
Cotton 9 1 for 9 dec. (Rosario
28)
Oscott 4 0 for 9 (Purchase 4
for 10; Lettington 4 for 32)
Cancelled
Cancelled
Cancelled
Cancelled
Abbot sholme
Belmont Abbey
Staffs Gents
Oratory School
Averages:
Batting
Purchase
Cowan
Inns.
7
5
n.0.
1
1
runs
225
89
hs.
81
45no
Bowling overs
Lettington 8 1
Purchase 91.4
Eccles
53
runs
262
208
183
wkts
24
13
9
av.
10.9
16
20.3
av .
37.5
22.2
No doubt every school will have written this year of the
frustration brought about by the spring deluge and the crippling lack of practice that resulted. I t may well be,
however, that Cotton holds the record for 1983 in being
unable t o get on t o a grass surface before June 19. For a
team that was potentially the best for some six years this
was particularly galling. The failure t o break through and
take the last wicket against Oscott seemed somehow t o sum
up the character of the season.
But one match was won; a new fixture was started
against the Oratory School; and Purchase played some fine
aggressive innings, bowled well and took some stunning
catches. The season will be remembered for his all-round
contribution if for very little else - even Perera could not
have hit the ball harder than he. Cowan gave sound support,
but insufficient batting depth was apparent once early
wickets had fallen. It was a major disappointment that
Eccles did not continue his batting progress of the last two
years, though his bowling was fairly effective and his
captaincy sensible if a little passive. If only the hard determined approach of our illustrious Rugby teams could carry
on into the summer term the First XI would be more of a
force. You cannot afford t o put down six catches against
Staffs Gents.
I t was sad that a good wicket-keeper like Cotterill was
prevented from playing by his shoulder operation. In t h e
event, no less than four others filled this role and perhaps
special mention ought to be given t o Tilt for his willingness
t o stand in.
TENNIS
1st Team: B Ormsby (captain), S Howe, A Brown, P Smith,
P Cheng and C Winning.
Under 16 Team: M Elwood, A Enciso, C Lettington,
B Eccles, P Cotterdl, and P McCarthy .
This year's tennis teams were unfortunate in two
respects: we played only one match which we lost, and the
unpredictable weather precluded training and matches.
However, the team did play with a great deal of enthusiasm
and energy. Enciso and Elwood deserve a special mention
for being two of the best young players I have ever seen.
Despite their tender years, they did not lose one set in the
Under 16 match against Mount St Mary's.
Our special thanks are due t o Fr Piercy and Mr Goodwin
for all the work they put in on the nets, netting and courts.
UNDER 15
v Abbotsholme (A)
B Ormsby
Abbotsholme 69 (Soares 5 for
9)
Cotton 5 9 for 8
Neither side had been on the green before this match and,
considering the lack of practice, the standard of achievement was very high.
v Denstone (A)
Cotton 9 9 (Weston 26)
Denstone 102 for 3
Since several of the team were sitting public examinations,
this became a combined Under 14lUnder 15 fixture. The
younger members of both sides made valuable contributions. James showed himself t o be a good bowler and, with
more practice, Coxon could be a brilliant fielder. The
match was played under a cloudless sky which contributed
to a most pleasant occasion.
v Belmont Abbey (H)
Belmont 155 (Purchase 4 for
42)
Cotton 5 5
Played on a beautiful day at the end o f term, this was our
first home fixture. The '0' Level leavers were not available
so the younger boys had a chance t o prove themselves.
They rose t o the occasion. fielded well and held some good
catches. Our bowling was keen but the skill and enterprise
of the Bellnont batsmen overwhelmed us.
A final word o f thanks t o the ground staff, in particular
to Fr Round who has so often produced a very good wicket
out of nothing; the square was under water until about
12th June.
UNDER 14 CRICKET
Once again we have t o report a meagre season in terms of
rnatches played against other schools. The side performed
creditably in the S t Bede's 6-a-side competition, though
failing to reach the semi-finals, and played an exciting tied
game with S t John's, Alton. Despite the impossibility of
playing o n grass for niost of the term, an enthusiastic squad
turned out day after day to play limited-over matches on
the Recticel matting on Top Bounds. This is, perhaps, n o
bad thing, as i t gives boys the confidence of playing on hard
and true wickets which they need t o develop their forward
play wluch they will never encounter o n a grass wicket at
Cotton until the squares are dug u p and relaid. The most
pronlising batsmen were A Purchase and M Elwood, while
of the bowlers A Jones continues t o improve as a left-arm
leg-spinner and D O'Brien has discovered how t o bowl
banana out-swingers. Marlon James is proving a natural allrounder, with a fluidity of stroke-play and smoothness of
bowling action that mark hun as an asset for the future.
The squad is t o be congratulated on its unflagging
enthusiasm.
Fr Piercy and Christopher Winning
Valete
BOWDON HOUSE
I JONES (1976-83) - House Captain 1982-3. School
Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983. Rugby
XV 1981-3, Full Colours 1983. Captain of Tennis 1982.
P CHENG (1977-83) - House Vice-Captain 1982-3. School
Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1980-1, A-Level 1982-4.
Rugby XV 1982-3, Full Colours 1983. Hockey XI 1982-3.
Tennis Team 198 1-3. Basketball Team 1980-3, Captain
1981-3.
A LETTINGTON (1977-83) - GCE 0-Level 1979-80,
A-Level 1980-3. Rugby XV 1980-3, Captain 1982-3, Full
Colours 1983. Cricket XI 1981-3. Hockey XI 1982-3.
Athletics Team 1980-3, Full Colours 1983. Cross-Country
Team 1979-82, Basketball Team 198 1-3. Plays: 'The
Acharnians', 'Death Trap'.
D SHIBLI (1981-83) - GCE 0-Level 198 1, A-Level 1983.
Rugby XV 1982-3, Full Colours 1983. Cross-Country Team
1982-3. Cricket XI 1983.
F UGORJI (1982-3) - GCE A-Level 1,983.
C UGOCHUKWU (1982-3) - GCE 0-Level 1983.
C LETTINGTON (1980-3) - GCE 0-Level 1983. Sacristan
1982-3. Hockey XI 1983. Plays: 'Androcles and the Lion',
'Death Trap'.
P McCARTHY (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1983.
A ALLEN (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1983.
R CHAMPEAU (1 978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1983. Rugby XV
1982-3,Half Colours 1983.
CHALLONER HOUSE
M ORRELL (1979-83) - House Captain 1982-3. School
Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1981. A-Level 1983. Rugby
XV 1981-3, Full Colours 1983. Cross-Country 1982-3,
Full Colours 1982, Captain 1982-3. Athletics Team 1981-3.
Hockey XI 1983. Sacristan 1979-81. Plays: 'Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead', 'Post Horn Gallop', 'See How
They Run', 'The Man in the Bowler Hat'.
P SMITH (1976-83) - House Vice-Captain 1982-3. School
Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983. Rugby
XV 1982-3, Half Colours 1983. Tennis Team 1983. Play:
'The Man in the Bowler Hat'.
G ECCLES (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983.
Rugby XV 1982-3,Half Colours 1983. Cricket XI 1979-83,
Full Colours 1982, Captain 1983. Hockey XI 1981-3.
Basketball Team 198 1-3. Plays: 'The Acharnians',
'Androcles and the Lion', 'The Man in the Bowler Hat',
'See How They Run'.
M TILT (1976-83) - GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983.
Rugby XV 1982-3, Half Colours 1983. Cross-Country
Team 1980-3,Vice-Captain 198 1-2, Full Colours 1980.
Athletics Team 1980-3, Full Colours 1980. Hockey XI
1982-3. Basketball Team 1981-3. Cricket XI 1981-3,
Vice-Captain 1983, Full Colours 1983.
J COWAN (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1980, A-Level 1982-3
Rugby XV 1981-3, Full Colours 1983. Cricket XI 1981-3.
Hockey XI 1981-3.
J UGORJI (1982-3) - GCE A-Level 1983.
P COTTERILL (1979-83) - GCE 0-Level 1983. Rugby XV
1982-3,Half Colours 1983. Athletics Team 1983.
P CURLEY (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 198 1, A-Level 1983.
Plays: 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', 'See How
They Run', 'The Man in the Bowler Hat'.
D HARRISON (1981-3) - GCE 0-Level 1983. Hockey XI
1983. Play: 'The Man in the Bowler Hat'.
A WONG (1980-3) - GCE 0-Level 198 1 , A-Level 1983.
P HAYNES (1978-83) - GCE 0-Level 1982-3.
J HUGHES (1976-82) - GCE 0-Level 1980-81. Iiugby XV
1980-81. Mays: 'See How They Run', 'Post Horn Gallop'.
MILNER HOUSE
S HOWE (1977-83) - Public Man 1982-3. Prefect of St
Thomas's 198 1-2. GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983. Rugby
XV 198 1-3, Full Colours 1983. Tennis Team 1983. Cricket
XI 1982. Sacristan 1980-1. Plays: 'The Druid's Rest', 'After
Magritte', 'Off the Rails', 'Arsenic and Old Lace',
'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', 'The Acharnians'.
B ORMSBY (1976-83) - House Captain 1982-3. School
Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983. Prefect
of St Thomas's 198 1-3. Rugby XV 1980-3,Vice-Captain
1982-3, Full Colours 1983. Hockey XI 1982-3.Athlctics
Team 198 1-3, Captain 1983, Full Colours 1983. Tennis
Team 198 1-3, Captain 1983. Basketball Team 198 1-3.
Plays: 'Arsenic and Old Lace', 'Off the Rails', The
Acharnians', 'Pillar to Post', 'Androcles and the Lion'.
C WINNING (1976-83) - House ViceCaptain 1982-3.
School Prefect 1982-3. GCE 0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983.
Rugby XV 198 1-3, Full Colours 1983. Hockey XI 198 1-3.
Tennis Team 1983. Basketball Teaill 1983. Play: T h e
Acharnians'.
D ROSANO (1978-83) - School Prefect 1982-3.GCE
0-Level 1981, A-Level 1983. Rugby XV 1982-3, Full
Colours 1983. Cricket XI 1981-3. Hockey XI 1979-83,
Captain 1983. Plays: 'Androcles and the Lion', 'Arsenic and
Old Lace', 'Pillar to Post'.
T McGOUGH (1976-83) - GCE 0-Level 198 1, A-Level
1983. Rugby XV 1982-3, Full Colours 1983. Cricket XI
1982-3. CrossCountry Team 1981-3, Full Colours 1982.
Athletics Team 1982-3. Plays: 'The Acharnians', 'Off the
Rails', 'Arsenic and Old Lace', 'Pillar to Post'.
S COTTERILL (1978-83) - School Prefect 1982-3. GCE
0-Level 198 1, A-Level 1983. Rugby XV 198 1-3, Full
Colours 1983. Cricket XI 1982-3. Cross-Country Team
1981-3, Full Colours 1983. Athletics Team 1982-3, Full
Colours 1983. Basketball Team 1982-3. Tennis Team
1981-3.
P HOWSON (1976-83) - GCE 0-Level 198 1, A-Level 1983.
Cricket XI 1983. Athletics Team 1981-3, Jlalf Colours.
Play: 'Androcles and the Lion'.
J RUTTER (1977-82) - GCE 0-Level 1982. Plays 'Arsenic
and Old Lace', 'Off the Rails'.
EXAMINATION RESULTS
' A ' LI<VI<L
Chcng I'
Cotterill S
C'owan J
Curlcy I'
Ecclcs (;
I lowe S
Ilowson I'
Jones I
Mc<;ough T
O r ~ n s b yI3
Orrell M
Kosario D
Shibli 1)
Smith I'
Tilt M
Ugocl~ukwuC
ugolji F
Winning C
Wong A
Lower Sixth
Brown A
Dike 1:
Or~wuetnertcC
K a h i n ~M
Sacco J
Dike 1
Gosncll J
--
--
-
--
-
-
-
-
--
I'hysics, Chemistry
Ancicnt History, General Paper
Matl~crr~atics,
l:conomics, English Literature
Ancient History
French, History, Economics
English Literature, History, General Paper, Geography
German
English Literature, History, Economics, General Paper
Ancient llistory
English Literature, Ilistory, General Paper, Geogaphy
Ancient History, English Literature, Geography, General Paper
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, General Paper, Mathematics
Physics, General Paper, Mathernatics
Biology, General Paper
Ancient History, English Literature, General Paper
Biology, Mathematics
Ancient History, General Paper
Economics, General Paper, Geography, Mathematics
Ancicnt History, Mathematics, University Entrance Test in English.
Ancient llistory
Ancient History
Ancient llistory
University Entrance Test in English
Ancient History
Ancient History
Ancient l-listory
T h e following Sixth-formers passed in Use o f English:
Balltic I', I3rown A, Curley P, Egbuniwe R, Howson P, J a ~ Rs (Distinction), Jones I (Distinction), Jordan T (Distinction),
Onwuetncnc C, Sacco J. Thorpe P
'0' LliVF.1.
Baptic I'
-
Brownhill A
-
Carr I)
-
-
Cottcrill I'
OelP 1)
Ecclcs I3
Enwonwu C'
(;osnell J
Cosncll I'
Ilall J
IJarnilton K
tlarrison D
Haynes I'
Justicia 1:
K a i r o u ~T
Knott I'
Lettington C'
Lo K
Manton A
McN icholl
O'Bricn M
Ononve C
Onwiemene C
Owen C
Purcl~aseB
Rowley D
Scramell C
Soares D
Thorpe I'
Tye J
Ugorji I <
Ugorji P'
Vale A
-
English Language (B), English Literature (C), History (C), Geography (C), Latin (B), Chemistry (C),
Physics (B), Biology (A), Technical Science (B), Mathematics (B)
English Language (B), English Literature (C), Geography (C), Physics (C), Biology (C), Technical
Science (C), Mathematics (C)
English Language (C), English Literature (B), Geography (C), Latin (B), Chemistry (C), French (C),
German (B)
English Language (C), Geograpl~y(B), Classical Studies ( C l )
English Language (C), English Literature (C), Latin (C), Physics (C), French (C), Music (C), Technical
Science (C), Mathernatics (C)
English Literature (C), Physics (C), Mathematics (B)
English Language (C), English Literature (B), Mathematics (C), Classical Studies (C 1)
English Language (C), English Literature (A), History (C), Geography (B), Latin (B), French (C)
English Literature (B)
Geograplly (R)
English Language (C), English Literature (C), Classical Studies ( A l )
Pllysics (C), Technical Science (C)
- Classical Studies (C 1)
- English Language (B)
- Biology (C)
- English Language (B), English Literature(B), Geography (C), Latin (C), Biology(B)
- English Literature (C)
- English Language (B), English Literature (C), Geography (C), Latin (C)
- English Language (C), English Literature (C), Biology (B)
- Chinesc (C), Mathernatics (C)
- English Language (C), English Literature (C), History (C), Latin (B), Mathematics (C), Physics (C),
Biology (C), Technical Science (C)
- English Language (C), English Literature (C), History (C), Latin (B), Biology (B), Classical Studies
(B 1)
- ~ n $ i s h Language (B), English Literature (B), Geography (B), Chemistry (C),Physies (A), French (A),
German (B), Biology (B), Technical Science (B), Latin (A), Mathematics (C)
- English Language (C), English Literature (A), History (B), Latin (A), Geography (B), Che~nistry(A),
A 0 Additional Mathematics (B), Physics (A), Biology (A), Technical Science (B), Mathematics (B)
- Latin (B), Chemistry (C), Physics (B), Biology (B), Technical Science (C), Mathernatics (C)
- English Language (C)
- English Language (C), English Literature (C), Classical Studies (Bl)
- Art (C)
- English Language (C), Classical Studies (BI)
- English Ldnguage (B), Classical Studies (B1)
- English Literature (C), General Science (C), Music (C), Biology (C)
- Biology (B)
- English Language (B), English Literature (B), History (B), Geography (A), Physics (C), Latin (C),
Biology (B)
- English Literature (C)
- Classical Studies (A)
- English Language (B), English Literature (C), Geography (B), Biology (C)
-
The following Fourth-formers passed in Classical Studies
Brownhill N, Ferguson S, Gosnell R, Harbour C, Jeffrey L, Onwuemene E, Reynolds L, Tuohy D. Ip K passed in Chinese.
Athrner P passed in Dutch.
'AO' LEVEL
Baptie P
Brown A
Burke P
Egbuniwe R
Gosnell J
-
English (C)
English (B)
English (C)
English (B)
English (C)
Guilfoyle M
Illidge I
Onwuemene C
Sacco J
- Additional Mathematics (C)
English (C)
- English (B)
- English (B)
-
CSE GRADE 1 (equivalent to '0' LEVEL GRADE C)
- Human Biology, Religious Education
Baptie P
- Human Biology, Religious Education
Brownhill A
- Religious Education
Burke P
- Human Biology, Religious Education
Carr D
- English Language, Classical Studies, European Studies
Champeau R
Connor N
- Human Biology
- Human Biology
Cotterill P
Crowther N
- Human Biology, Woodwork, Science
- Human Biology, Classical Studies
Delf D
- Human Biology, Mathematics, Religious Education
Eccles B
Gosnell J
- Mathematics
- Classical Studies, English Language, Religious Education
Gosnell P
Hall J
- Human Biology
Hamilton R
- Religious Education, Classical Studies
- English Language
Harrison D
Justicia F
- French, Hurnan Biology
Knott P
- Religious Education
- Human Biology
Lettington C
Manton A
- Human Biology, Religious Education
McAdam D
- English Language, Human Biology, Religious Education, Classical Studies
McNicholl P
- Human Biology, Religious Education
- Human Biology, Religious Edcuation
O'Brien M
O'Brien T
- Geography
- Human Biology, Religious Education
Ononye C
- English Language, Classical Studies
Onwuemene C
Owen C
- Classical Studies
Purchase B
- Woodwork
- French, Science, Geography, English Language, Classical Studies
Rowley D
- Mathematics, English Language, Classical Studies, Science
Scrarnell C
- Geography, Human Biology
Soares D
- Mathematics
Tilt M
- Human Biology, Mathematics, Religiour,Education
Tye A
- Human Biology, Religious Education
Vale A
Walton P
- European Studies
ST WILFRIDtS & PARKERS' SOCIETY
This is t h e oldest Society o f its kind in t h e country, having been established in 1839. I t exists with the object of bringing
together, year b y year, Past Students o f Sedgley Park and Cotton; o f renewing and perpetuating old associations; o f fostering
and stimulating b y gifts and prizes the spirit o f the College Studies; and o f maintaining and promoting t h e general welfare o f
Alma Mater.
PATRON :
The Most Rev Maurice Couve de Murville M A, MPhil., STL
PRESIDENT :
PAST PRESIDENTS
E Blakcmore, Esq.
L W Warner, Esq., PhD (1959)
The Rev Monsienor P Rees (1962)
The Rev L w ~Gnes,Ph D, DD, B s c (1964)
Joseph Trinham, Esq., (1967)
R A Eccles, Esq., OBE (1969)
The Most Rev Anthony J Emery, Bishop of Portsmouth (1970)
The Rev Monsignor H F Davis, MA, DD (1972)
ELECTED COMMITTEE The Rev P Pargeter
'The Rev F Grady
The Rev K Conry
Mr A McAtamney
Mr P Oliver
The Rev P Devaney
Mr A P O'Hare
MI J Cuylcr
Thc Right R e v Joscph F Clcary, Bishop of trcsitna (1974)
The Rev L Smith
The Rev J Davis
Mr P P Castille
Mr'N Baggott
Hickin, Esq., (1975)
Thomas P Murphy, Esq., (1977)
The Very Rev Monsignor W J Moore D Litt (1978)
The Right Rev Patrick Leo Mdllartie. B i s h o ~of Elmham (1979)
J H ~ r & h a mEsq.,
,
(1980)
N F Adams, Esq., (1981)
The Right Rev Wilfrid Doran MA (1982)
jW
I
!
1
I
There is an Annual Mass f o r all Members and t h e Holy
Sacrifice is offered for every Member deceased.
Annual Subscription is £3.
All information, and Subscriptions made payable t o : T h e Secretary & Treasurer, Mr J D Trinham,
93 Greenfield Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 OEH. Telephone: 021-427-41 13
C T CHANCE
IS THERE OF
GETTING ON IN
ACOMPANY
AS BIG
AS BARCLAYS?
To many of you our size is probably our biggest disadvantage. After all, how will your individual talent and hard
work ever be noticed in a company employing thousands?
In fact, it's our size that provides some of the best reasons
to think about working for us.
We can offer career opportunities that range from working in one of our local branches to helping markYet Barclaycard.
And because we work in small teams rather than huge
departments, it's often easier to get noticed at Barclays &an
manv smaller or~anisations.
'~ou'llcert2nly find there are more opportunities.
Before you can start getting on, thoiih, you'll need
to get in.
Write to: Mr F T Belchet; Recruitment Liaison Office4
Barclays Bank PLC, Fleetway House, 25/27 Farringdon Street,
London EC4A 4AD. He'll send you
our booklet on careers at Barclays.
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D.I.Y. Centres Limited
DULUX
VALSPAR
VYMURA
NOVAMU RA
CERAMIC TILES
ADHESIVES
SANDTEX
LARGE
DISCOUNT WAREHOUSES
HUGE STOCKS
PERSONAL SERVICE
BRAND LEADERS
TIMBER
HARD BOARD
CHIP BOARD
LADDERS
D.I.Y. MATERIALS
GARDEN REQUISITES
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
CANNOCK - New 20,000 sq f t Superstore
Walkmill Lane, Bridgetown
(Phone 0922-4 16 1 15)
Directors: F.J. Rudd, B. Wood, M.R. Rudd, J. Wood
JANET and ER lC JAMES
Specialists
in
Outside
Bar
Catering
For all your requirements in
BOOKS - STATIONERY - ARTS
CRAFTS
-
TOYS - R E C O R D S
see the displays on four floors a t
THE LORD NELSON
OAKAMOOR
STOKE-ON-TRENT
Telephone:
Oakamoor 702242
BRIDGEHOUSE
Alton, N. Staffs
Licensed Restaurant & Accommodation
PROPS: JOYCE & KAREN WILSHAW
The Midland
Educational Co Ltd
Coffee, Lunches, Teas
Traditional Sunday Lunch f3.95
Private Parties by arrangement
104-106 Corporation Street,
Birmingham B4 6SZ
Tel. 021-236 274115
Bed & Breakfast f.800plus V A T
Bed, Breakfast & Evening Meal f13 plus V A T
OPEN SIX DAYS EACH WEEK
Telephone Oakarnoor (0538) 702 338
Branches at Leicester, Wolverharnpton,
Coventry, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon,
Sutton Coldfield.
THE CHURCH FURNISHERS
STATUES A N D PLAQUES I N CARVED WOOD STOCKED I N A L L SIZES
CHURCH WOODWORK MADE O N THE PREMISES
VESTMENTS, ALBS, CASSOCKS A N D COTTAS EXPERTLY M A D E B Y OUR
SEWING STAFF
M E T A L WORK, SILVERWARE
FIBRE GLASS A N D PLASTER STATUARY AND CRUCIFIXES
SANCTUARY ALTERATIONS A N D REORDERING - DESIGNS A N D
QUOTATIONS UPON REQUEST
CLERICAL SHIRTS A N D GENERAL REQUISITES
- 5.30 pm
O u r S h o w r o o m s are o p e n M o n d a y t o Fr,iday 9 a m
Ample parking space on the premises
Woodland Works, 542 Southport Road Scarisbrick, Lancs. L40 9QQ
Telephone: Scar isbrick (0704) 880294
Also Ormsby of Dun Laoghaire, Ardeen House, Marine Terrace,
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
Telephone: 805380