Winchester College 1959-1964

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Winchester

Following St Ronan's, Herry went to Winchester from 1958 until 1964, in Phil's (Sergeant's) where Francis King was his housemaster. Although his father Patrick had been at Repton, his mother Annette's brothers were all at Winchester as was her father, and she had been at St Swithun's.

Although a distant relation, Herry didn't get on with King, partly because of his (Herry's) eclectic reading tastes (Maupassant, Zola, Iris Murdoch) of which King (a devout man) did not approve. King also ran an appalling kitchen, the taste of some foods remaining with Herry to this day.... Herry's mother probably contributed inadvertently to the reading problem by maintaining an account for him at Harringtons in Parchment St and encouraging him to buy any books he liked - a practice which he later continued with his own children. She also supplemented his food rations by maintaining an account at Cullen's, a rather smart grocers in Jewry St, not far from Barclays Bank, where he used to have his cheques cashed by the beautiful Carol.

At Winchester, one was expected to play many hours of sport a week, which Herry enjoyed but he was no more than a useful footballer and cricketer (as he had been at St Ronan's), and being small until the age of 16, played an indifferent game of Winchester football. He was also cox of his house four and eight. However, as with his father Patrick, his best sport was long distance running ('tolling') and he became school captain (making his nickname at St Ronan's the more prescient). However, he lost the senior steeplechase of 1963 in spectacular fashion, after leading throughout. Thinking he was well ahead, he slowed up a few yards from the tape and was passed by Simon Beloe....

Of the dons who made an impression on Herry, probably the most important was Graham Drew, the art master, who taught him art history.  Drew is remembered to this day, but one of his legacies, the planting of the great Brazilian Wingnut trees along Brandy Stream beside the Falloden Nature Reserve, was inexplicably felled in 2013. 

He particularly remembers The Masque which was put on to celebrate the opening of the New Hall. It was written and produced by the dons, particularly by Ronnie Hamilton, Michael Burchnall and Colin Badcock. The programme can be seen here

Herry made a few good friends at Winchester, his closest probably being David Mallet, who had his own pop group while still at school. Herry used to go and stay with him in the holidays at his parents' house (Sir Victor and Peggy's) at Wittersham and once they drove up to Liverpool together to see the Beatles (they weren't on, but they did see the Cavern). Another close friend was Nils Pherson, a noted musician, whose family lived on Sleepers' Hill and who were wonderfully hospitable. In his last summer term, they would allow Herry to park a car in their drive, to be used discreetly when we wanted to go out somewhere - mainly to Old Winchester Hill for picnics.

Herry was keen on the corps (CCF) which led him naturally to join the TA later.

Click the heading to see some more photos from his time at Winchester and some modern ones here
Here too for the Winchester College Society 50 Years On Dinner at which Herry was happy to see old friends such as Angus Maclay and (Sir) Roger Vickers and well as David Mallet.

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Comments

  1. Teresa Stokes14 April 2019 at 16:14

    Graham Drew moved to number 7 Kingsgate Street after we left in 1960. Maybe you visited him in there yourself, as in those days if you were a schoolmaster the door was never locked so that boys would come and go. In our day the door was yellow and then after we left somebody painted it black, as it remains today. I remember the Burchnalls who lived next door with identical twin daughters Sabena and Sophia.

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  2. Neil Welton23 April 2021 at 19:30

    When I was younger I really hated and resented public schools like Winchester. Indeed when I first learnt of Winchester College at the age of about twelve I couldn’t believe a small number of boys of my age were going to have such an education. I did not want to believe and I just could not believe such a school was going to continue for my generation too. Just as it had done so for countless generations of boys before us. I simply couldn’t understand why all the parents and all the adults wanted it to continue. Couldn’t they see how unfair and unjust this was? Couldn’t they see how such schools were going to perpetuate inequality in society? Couldn’t they see that the class system was going to continue if you allow some boys to have such an advantage and privilege within education? It is difficult to explain, and as a teenager I never thought I would say this, but as you become older you slowly begin to see for yourself the important role a school like Winchester plays in education. You begin to understand and also to acknowledge the invaluable and incalculable role such a school plays in educating each generation. Above all else you begin to see how special it would be if it continued. Not only for the next generation but also for the future generations of boys who will follow after them. Put simply the boys who attend Winchester are just very lucky and very fortunate so to do.

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