My recollections of Aldenham in my last years were very happy but not the first ones. I was fortunate just to get a smallish scholarship which meant that I was put into forms of a standard that I could hardly keep up to, especially as this was combined with a lot of ‘Fagging’.
I particularly disliked and was afraid of the French master, Fred English whose class I left as soon as possible but not before I had one pleasant and enlightening lesson when Fred was sick and his charming wife took his place.
My later years were most enjoyable on the maths and science side with excellent tuition from Mr Webber and Mr Jones as well as Physics from Mr Green who, in the months before the outbreak of war was in charge of assembly by the senior science forms of gas masks. We also had instruction in dealing with incendiary bombs; I believe this was useful later in the war after I had left Aldenham.
My particular friends at School were Bob Sproule and (Sir) Anthony Jephcott with whom I still correspond (mostly at Christmas) and two that were sadly lost in the war. Lesley Manser of VC fame with whom I had a common interest in building radio sets (valves not transistors). Another friend of contrasting abilities to Lesley and myself, was good at those things at which I was hopeless and vice-versa. Tim Fox was a very good swimmer, a good fast bowler and a brilliant mouth organist in the style of Larry Adler. No academic, but a delightful person to be with; tragically he was apparently lost in his first operation as a rear gunner.
I do not have a very clear recollection of the visit to the School of a Hitler Youth hockey team as I was not in the School team. I do recall their master in charge who insisted that he play IN their side! Naturally our hockey master Vivian Cox (a hockey “Blue”) played with our team but they had not practised together; regrettably I cannot recall the outcome of the match. However, I did notice the sabre scars on the cheekbones of the teacher, reminding me of the stories my father told me of his experiences as an engineering student at Bonn university in about 1892 when it was considered cowardly NOT to have such scars. His offer of a boxing bout was not accepted. Apparently Hitler and their military encouraged sabre bouts.