No. 3. JULY 21st. 1916.

f ALCESTER

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

RECORD.

PRICE---SIXPENCE.

ALCESTER:

CIIRO N ICLE OFFICE, HIG H S T REE T,

[9[6

~-

ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD.

No. 3. July 21st. 1916.

EDITOR (pro tCIII.)-Mr. V/ells. SUB .- EDITOR-Miss Evans.

COMMITTEE-Dorothy Taylor, Phyllis Alison, Margaret Farquhar, 'vV. Cowper, K. Hall, H . \Vhitehouse.

CONTENTS. PAG E

EDITORIAL TH E S NOWFLAKES PAGE

8 LETTER TO THE EDITOR S OC IAL SERVICE

I SWEEPING AND DUSTING 8 2 THE SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT 8

EVENING: KING'S COUGH T ON A GOOD CITI ZEN

3 SENIOR TENNI S TOURNAMENT 9

A MEDLEY 9 3 JUNIOR TENNIS TOURNAMENT

UGLE. TH E EARTHWORM 3 THE Boy SCOUT S 9

ID ID

4 SCHOOL NOTES AND QUERIES A LEGE ND OF THE SCHOOL BADGE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

5 TE NN I S 6 SCHOOL SPORTS ND COMPETITIONS III 12

THE DIARY OF A WASP - 7

EDITORIAL. It was our intention to have brr)Ught out the

third number of this School Magazine at the end of the Spring term, but unfortunately material was lacking, and without material there can be no magazine. I should like to urge all readers who belong to the school and who possess any ability in writing to try and produce something suitable to appear in these pages.

. At present the work falls rather heavily on a few. It is not unlikely that some may have inter­esting experiences during the coming summer holidays, which might, if written up, make inter­esting articles for our next number.

Mention is made elsewhere of our losing the valuable services of Mr. Ankcorn. Some of us have realised since he went what a number of useful things he used to see after, and how difficul t it is to get them all done now. At the same time I should like to take this opportunity of thanking the School for the willingness shown in taking on extra duties. It is probable that as time goes on we shall have to ask for still further services, and I have no doubt that your love for this place and your pride in its appearance will bring forward many volunteers.

Our chief effort this term in the way of war work was of course the Entertainment at the Corn Exchange, as a result of which a cheque for [2 I 175. 8d. was forwarded to the "Star and Garter ., Fund.

The egg collection for the wounded has brought in on an average about eighteen eggs per

week . I should like to see a very decided improve­ment made upon this when we start again in the Autumn-say a steady average of forty eggs per week.

I hope also that there will be a hearty response to the appeal for vege tables for the Navy.

LETTER FROM P . J. PERKS. FRANCE, 2-7-r6 .

DEAR MR. WELLS, I am taking thi s opportunity of writing to you

because I thought you might like to know that A O. Haslam-formerly at the school-now a private in the 6th Warwicks, has been sent to the Base Hospital.

He and two companions were buried for two hours in a dug-out on ] une 29th. I met him about three weeks ago on his arrival at this front from England where he had been in training for twenty months.

It seems almost unbelievable that three years ago I was at school, and now I have been about so much, and have spent nearly a year in the Army.

I have often thought of the times we had at school and hope that everything is going on as smoothly.

Wishing the school every success and yourself all good wishes.

Believe me, yours very sincerely, P. J. PERKS.

P.S.-I hope that the Sports will be successful in every way, and wish that I was attending them.

2 ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. ]OLY, I91 6.

SOCIAL SERVICE. "There is no pe rfec ting of self save through social service. ,.

Strange as the fact may seem that" there is no perfecting of self, sa\'e through social serv ice," yet it is true. For we all form. a vast con l1lunity -the world; a nd each onc of llS is 8. part of this community and for its safety and well-being we are all responsible- so me more than others­but all to a certain extent. We can do nothing which does not have some effect-either for good or for evil-on the rest of the comlllunity . For all that we do and say we are respons ible to the community . vVe canno t beco me good or greater without making it better a nd greate r, and it can­not act in any way without making us fee l the effects of that action . We are necessary to the community , and the connnllnity is necessary t o us. Our responsibility is ve ry great. It depends upon us, as a wh ole, co llecti vely and ind ividually , whether the world shall be good or evil , rich or poor; whether just ice or inj llst ice shall prevail , right or wrong, virtue or v ice. vVe are the gover­nors, the t eachers, the explorers, the artists and the workers of the co mmunity .

Then, as this is so , as we are part of a whole, andllot complete in ourse lves , but complete only in the communi ty, t he only way in which we can perfect ourselves is by doing so me social serv ice which will help to perfect the co mmunity of which we are a part.

There a re too many ki nds of soci al se rvice t o be set down in full here, but roughly, they may be d iv ided into fi ve, though if each social service was counted the total woulcl be considerably more.

First, perhaps in importance, comes political service. This includes all pa id a nd some unpaid service done for the State, that done by our great Ministers, our Members of Parliament, our judges and magistrates-to quote only a few examples. Their service is of t he highest import­ance, for upon their efforts depend to the greatest extent the betterment of the conditions of the poor and the preservation of justi ce.

Next, comes education, a soc ial service t he importance of which h as only lately been recog­nised. It is important because it consist s of the training of the minds of the ri s i ng generation. What their minds and intellect will be like ; whether they will perform their duties well or ill ; their morals and their future caree r-all depend upon what education they may have rece ived, and

as t his generation will be the fathers and mothers of the next, the welfare of the whole co mmunity depends upon educat ion.

Science, t oo, h as done llluch social serv ice . One h as only to think of the immense st rides which medical sc ience alone h as made within t he last fifty years to rea li se that. If Science has of lat e learnt how to dest roy , she h as also learnt how to mend. For the devices and skill which a re spel1t during wa r in killing and III aiming are more than equalled by the wo nderful »kill of the sur­geons and nurses, both in the hospita ls of the Allies and those of the enemy.

Art renders a different kind of social service. It co ncerns itself mainly in bringing before people's eyes all that is beautiful in paintings, in statuary , in a rchitecture and in writings. A beautiful thing even though it lllay serve' no practical pur­pose h as a subtle unconscious influence for good upon the mind of any person who is able to app re­ciate its beauty. To be able to apprec iate the beautiful is the highest form of education. vVrit­ings, however, perform a different social serv ice h OUl t hat rendered bv the rest of the arts. Not only do they aid in t 11e app reciation of the beau­tiful, but they h ave a n enormous influence for good on public opinion. It has been said that "The pen is mightier than the sword," and this is t rue to the extent that abuses which no fighting . would ever s~op , have, by the writings of eminent men, been exposed, and the public mind h as been influenced in such a way that laws have been passed for bidding such abuses.

Apart from the service which politicians, scienti sts, artists and educat iorialists give to the com l1lunity general service is rendered by the vast number of men and women in other profes­s ions tl1an those already mentioned. vVe work for ourselves and as a means of earning a living, but by doing our work well we h elp others. All work done well is a kind of social service and all---...... li ves lived uprightly a re lives which benefit the . community.

To be rich is no excuse for a lazy life, though it is often the only one put forwa rd. The more one possesses the 1110re one owes to the community and the 1110re one ought to do to better the con­ditions of those who possess little. There is no difference between the lazy rich and the lazy poor save that of wealth. The poor m an has as much excuse as the rich man for li vi ng a lazy life, nay, more, for perhaps his life has in the past been all

JULY, 1916. ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. 3

work and no play. In his wealth the rich man has a splendid opportunity for rendering soc ial se r­vice. The poor man has only one alternative 'co a vagrant life; that of a I ife of drudgery. The wonder is that so few of the poor a re idle.

Neithe'r the rich who give up their li ves to pleasure, nor the poor who tramp the roads, do any social service, save that of giving an example of what should not be, for in the world as in the hive, it is only the workers who count, and it IS

upon them that the general safety depends. D.T.

EVENING: KING'S COUGHTON.

Shadows fall, And the breezes sigh; N ight birds call, While across the sky Apart, alone, To the dim unknown, Wander the great clouds by.

A bluish h aze Be-dineS the lea, Where cattle g ra ze, Contentedly; Flows the stream, As an elfin dream, Onwards wildly.

Rustle the leaves, And swirl away; Beneath thatch eaves Are the bats at play; And the keeper's horn, Faint, forlorn, Winds on the R ic1gewCl.y.

A GOOD CITiZEN.

The first moral duty of a good citizen i s that he should live a godly, righteous and sober life, :::.nd attend a place of worship, tb ereby being exemplary to all around him. For example, going to ch urch wo uld indicate that he was not a moral coward and not afraid of being termed a goody­goody.

Sobriety is always essentia l, but especially at the present time. vVaste of time, money, holidays, labour, fuel ought to be avoided by any good citizen. Home products should be used in prefer­ence to foreign, and leisure hours spent on culti­vating the garden would be of far more lI se to King and country than an evening spent at some s port or the Picture Palace.

Every citizen who is unable to fight for his co untry through physical unfitness can render his aid by making munitions and saving money in every possible way. If his strength will not permit him to make munitions, then surely he could take :he place of a man who would be willing to go if he cou ld possibly do so.

A good citizen now-a-days however ought not carelessly to put forward consci~ntious grounds as an excuse for disobedience to th e law. "Fear God, Honour the King, Love the Brotherhood," are the words which ought not to be considered lightly to-day by anyone who professed to be a good citizen. What would our country have been to-day had it not been for s uch great citizens as Nelson, Gladstone, and Kitchener?

Surely every man and woman can do some­thing towards helping the g rea t canse for which we are fighting. A citizen who does not do this is unworthy of the name citizen, and puts his indi vidual welfare before that of the community at large .

The feelings of a good citi zen a re beautifully expressed in Rudyard Kipling's lines :­

Land of our birth. our faith. our pride. For whose dear sake our fa thers di ed; o motherland. we pledge to thee . Head. hea rt and hand through the years to be.

Indeed, all th e duties of a good citizen can bp. summed up in a few words, duty towards God and neighbours. A man who carries out these two most important items of God's law will not have much to fear when the Master of all good citizens sha ll put them to work anew. G.W.

A MEDLEY.

The other night I thought of A.G.S., Of many things that h appened there to me,

And dropping off to sleep in the process I dreamt I h eard this mixed-Up melody:

j\,[y mother bids me bind my hair \Vith daisies pied and vio lets blue;

But I'll go on to Strawberry Fair, Singing all the time " Cuckoo! "

Perhaps I'll meet bold Willow the King, Or, maybe, t h e Vicar of Bray, sir!

And if it should be a May Day morning We' ll StUlll ble across the Poacher.

We'll call all the way for Bonllie Dundee, And follow the W raggle Taggle Gipsies 0 ;

Then scour t he man on the Golden Vanity, Vhth the land lubbcrs lying down below,

below.

1:/ I I

4 ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. JULY, I9I6.

If Henry Martin should not capture us We'll drink to the maiden of bashful fifteen,

And sing with great gusto the Beggar's Chorus And probably Richard of Taunton Dene.

At last in the month of October we'll land Somewhere on this side of Jordan,

And feast on the roast beef of Old England 'Neath lilies in Mary's garden.

John Barleycorn who thrives quite well, Near the oak, the ash, the bonnie ivy tree,

Shall sing, with the help of his leather botte1, Of our king who went to Normandy.

We'll bring the jolly waggoner, If he's not turnip hoeing;

But we'll waken not the sleeper If it's early one morning.

And if the winter wind shall blow, Why drink to me only with thine eyes;

Yankee 9,oodle, dandy 0, And ladies, no more sighs.

Thus in my dream I rambled on, Till medley into chaos rose;

I woke (methought forty years on) Blissfully humming the Heroes!

UGLE, THE EARTHWORM. (For those who still love tales of the Fairies).

It was night, and the big silver moon shone clearly over the grassy meadow by the river.

The little elf fro111 the red clove r blosso m, and the dainty fa iry from the white clo ver, were sitting together on a big dock leaf . Little Ugle, the poor earthworm, with the thin, purply-red body, saw them , and a pang of jealousy ran to the tip of his tail.

" Oh !" shrieked Clovellie, the white clo ve r fairy, "there is that horrible earthworm again! Clovis, protect me." But U gle, hurt and indig­nant, had sunk back into his hole.

Just above he heard two buttercups talking. " Yes," said one, "it is quite true; Clovis and Clovellie are to be married to-morrow at sunset. The harebells have all had new tunes taught them by the 'Nest Wind in honour of the occasion, and the moon daisies have leaqlt a new dance. \Vhat a gay time we shall have ! " And the two buttercups swished softly to and fro in the cool breeze.

Ugle was ve ry sad. For he lo ved beautiful little Clovellie, and yet he knew she despised him.

" If only I were not so red and slippery, and altogether loathsome-if I were like Clovis," she would lo ve me," thought U gle.

Just then the cock crew, and in the rosy­flushed east the sun began to rise. Clovis and Clovellie fondly bade each other farewell, and flew back to their own homes, the red and the white clovers. (You know, the flower elves are only allowed out at night). All through the hot day they lay in their sweet scented dwellings, while Ugle crawled about below the ground.

As evening drew near, Ugle crept above. From where he lay he could see Clovellie's tiny face peepil1g from her home. The \iVest "Vind was softly rustling round the meadow, cautioning the moon daisies not to forget the sweeping bow in the eighth figure of the new dance , and bidding the harebells ring clearly and in unison when he should gi ve the signal.

Just as the sun sank, all the harebells lifted their heads and prepared for the opening peal, when-' 'Hush," murmured the breeze, "here comes a boy !" The boy came gaily along. Alas! he had a long stick in his hand, and was cutting off the heads of the flowers I

" Moon beams and zephyrs!" moaned the wind. "There goes my best clarion harebell, a nd that moon-daisy-my most graceful dancer." And he shrieked with rage, as he dashed among the fir trees tha t fringed the meadow.

Ugle held his breath-the boy was coming towards him , what if he should ha rm dainty Clovellie;> It was unthinkable, impossible­swish! The white clover reeled, and fell to the ground. U gle heard a faint moan from within it, and the boy passed on, climbed the gate, and tramped away.

Dozens of flower eh'es came rushing to the scene of this awful disaster, and Clovellie was extricated with difficulty from the ruins of her home-but what a changed Clovellie !

One tiny arm was tom off, her face was bruised and blackened, her dainty nose was crushed flat. Ugle could hardly bear to look at her. "Clovis, oh , where are you?" moaned the poor little fairy. Where, indeed , was Clovis ? At last he approached, and the Wind rushed to meet him. "I a m afraid the wedding will have to be postponed, " sighed the wind.

Then Clo vis spoke. "The weddillg will not take place at all ," he said. "Do you think I coulcllive with a disfigured creature like that? "

JULY, 1916. ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. 5

pointing to the shrinking Clovellie. « Let her find someone blind, who cannot see her ugliness; deaf, who cannot hear her moans. I, the hand­some Clovis , will certainly not have anything to do with her." And so saying, he ran away.

Ugle dived into his hole, too miserable to stay up another instant. For hours he lay prone, wretched beyond words, listening to the low moans of poor, suffering, forsaken Clovellie. It was nearly daybreak, and the elves had gone back into t heir flowers.

Suddenly an idea struck Ugle. Surely, Mab, Queen of the Fairies, would have pIty on Clovellie. But it was cert ain that none of the elves in the meadow would tell her, for they feared Clovis. Who, then, could go? Only he himself, Ugle, the red worm. Yet, surely, Queen Mav would hear him, fo r he had heard of her cle l~1ency and justness. Well-he would set out at once, and so h e did.

The horrors of that journey for Ugle are impossible to describe. Constantly haunted by the fear of breaking into a mole run , where the mole would certainly devour him; he bur­rowed his way as best he could. Several t imes he h ad to crawl above the ground, as underneath it was too hard to force a passage; and often he just escaped being captured by a hungry bird .

At last , in a green dingle, he fo und Queen Mab. Serene, and lovely beyond description, she sat on a gossamer throne, surrounded by myriads of brightly robed, gauze-winged fa iry attendants.

Ugle's heart fa iled him. How could he approach this wonderful creature ? But at last , for the sake of poor Clovellie, he crawled before Oueen Mab, and made known his errand. The Queen heard graciously, and said : " ]V[ost cer­tainly, I will cure this poor fairy. Beam, Glow and Sparkle, fly to the palace, and bring me the magic ointment, the magic medicine, and lny

_. Most Magic wand ! " When the three fairies had fluttered away

Mab went on, "After what she has suffered , Clovellie will not want to stay there, will she? Besides her clover plant is destroyed. Well, I want another lady-in-waiting, and I think that Clovellie, when made well by my magic ointment, will just suit me. Go back to the meadow as fast as yo u can, Ugle, I will meet yo u there, and you shall have a rich reward for your devo tion. You have indeed done well, Ugle. Now h urry back, and rest assured that I will cure Clovell ie."

With his h eart full of joy Ugle slipped away, and dived below the ground.

The return journey was easier, for Ugle slid along the passage he had made in coming. At length he reached a hard rocky place where he had to crawl above ground. He was very, very t ired as he slid between sharp stones, and through the choking dust . But soon he wo uld be home, and, surely, to h ave ,von praise from Queen Mab was worth some endea vour. vVhat . would Clovellie say to him when she became well again? Ugle wriggled joyously as he thought of the musical flow of thanks that would surely flow from those sweet lips, and he crawled along as fast as h e could. But what was that big dark shadow that darted. Oh! so swiftly towards him? Horrors! a hungry thrush . One excru­ciating thrill of pain, and with the cry, "Clovellie," in his heart, Ugle gave a last writhe, then hung limply in the bird's bea k.

So died Ugle, the faithful earthworm. His m.ission was accomplished; he had saved the fairy of the white clove r , his belo ved Clovellie ; a nd now he was dead.

When Clovellie hea rd of Ugle's death·, she flew to the spot, and her fairy t ears dripped down on the hard g round. And where they fell, there sprung up a small plant with purply-red flowers that are something the shape of a worm's head- the flower afte r poor Ugle was called Uglo (but now it has been changed to Bugloss).

You m ay see it in the fields, to this day, a t estimony to m y story. M. F .

A LEGEND OF THE SCHOOL BA DGE.

After the Roman in vasion of Brita in, when a Roman camp was sta tioned upon the Alne w·here Alcester now stands, a legion of so ldiers, under the command of a young Roman lieutenant, was placed at the entrance of the cam p to guard it. An attack upon the camp by the Britons was expected every day, bu t when many days passed by without any sign of their approach, the legion g rew weary of keeping g uard and were eager for battl e. The young lieutenant, who, on account of hi s unusual short­ness of stature, was ca lled "Magnus L egatus" by the huge soldie rs of th e legion, was parti cularly anx ious for fighting in order to ob tain an opportunity of test in g his valour ; and no heart was more rest­less than his when no attack seemed forthcoming.

6 ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD . JUL Y, 1916.

Then ane night, when mas t af the legian were sleeping, a rustling saund in the grass by the river­side brake upan the air. The littl e soldier, who. was keeping watch with a campanian, put hi s hand to. his ear and lis tened intently, peering in the

. directian whence the nai se came as he did sa. Again came the rustling sound, and then again, nearer.

The li eutenant ardered the sa ldi e r with him to warn the sleeping legian to. be ready fa r battle, but hardly had he spaken when aut af the la ng grass near by appeared a number at men, w il d, fierce­laoking , with sk ins thrown ra ughly round them. With harrible yells they rushed to. wards the yaung soldier le ft s tanding th ere, hurling huge stanes, wh ich he dadged with difficulty, as they ran. Th en quickly, when the farem ast a f the at tackers was almast upan him , he grasped his javelin, and hurled it at the ancamer's head , ca using him to. drop daw n immediately. Far a mament this checked the rest af the band, sa surprised were they to. see their leader fall, but, an seeing th e little saldi er catch a stane as it came whirling by an d fling it at ana th er af their men, wi th fi erce screams af anger th ey a lmast threw themselves upon him.

The thaught th a t he and hi s leg ian wauld suffer de rea t unless samething- was dane quicldy passed thraugh th e mind af th e ya un g r~Ol11 a ll. If anly he ca uld keep them back until hi s men were ready; but haw was he to. do it witbaut even a javelin ? Then sudd enl y, witb a loud c ry of " Dei nabiscum State!" which, as a tha ught Hasb ed thraugh hi s mind, he altered to. " Cbri s lu s nobiscum State!" he li fted hi s shi eld and baltered it heavi ly upon those who. had app roac hed near, heads , shoulde rs, limbs, whereve r he cau ld tauc h tb em. As he did sa the sou nd of movements behind made him renew hi s vigaur. A heavy sta ne hit bi s farehead, an d almost stunned hil1l, but he repeated his ma tto aver to. himse lf, and was aware a ll tbe time tbat his men were a lmost ready, and so con- · tinued hi s strugg le. T ben sudden ly be was struck by a heavy stan e club, which felled bim to. the ground just as hi s men with laucl cries rusbed upon his attackers. "Christus nabisc um State! " shauted the little saldier, and at the saund of hi s vo ice the Ramans , far cing back th e enemy with their javelins, slowly' but surely overcame them. In a shor t t ime not one of the band of Britons remain ed st <l nding, anlya number af dead a r wo unded bod ies in tb e grass were left. Then th e so ldiers returned to their young leader, and , to th eir g reat so rro w, found that the blow from the club had killed him, th ough he had saved hi s camp and legion.

Far years a ft e rwa'rds the Romans were proud to rela te the story of the brave little: so ldier, and, in memory of him , some of their coins were stamped with his fi g ure a nd motto. Years haVe gone by s in ce then, and naw the a id" Alauna Castra" is a small tawn, a t the entrance of wh icb stands a Grammar School. Passi ng th ro ugh thi s town hoys a nd g irl s may be seen wearing hats or caps with littl e s il ve r badges on the front; and these badges bear th e figure of a little Roman so ldier a nd the motto' Christus nobiscum State! ' P .A.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

AN OLD FRENCH T RENCH. DE.-\R SIR,

I expect :you will be pleased to hear from me so ha v illg a stock of paper and the time, I wi ll g i,'e yo u a n idea of our sector af t h e trenches and li fe in t he in fantry.

I m ade t he acqua intance of these trenches in the dark, a ft er a march of ten miles from our billets. \Ve carried all our posessions (not a few) in our packs, a nd as lUuch food and as many ca ndles as we co uld find room for. Therefore, by the time we were struggling a long the com­l1lunicat ion trenches over lumps of chalk we were not ove r fresh or happy , a nd ' cursed the French for not making better trenches. However, they ha d mad e us a good, dry dug-out, where forty of us proceeded to make oursel "es at home, and go to sleep .

Next morn ing we were a roused by t he rll1ub­ling of t he F rench "soixante quinze," and' found that we had brought fine weather w ith us. T wo la rks soared up , a nd clos ing my eyes I was once mare a mongst the lanes of \Varwicksh ire. Qpening them, a shattered and deserted v illage in rear to ld me otherwise . Even the trees lining t h e roael were torn and twisted from the effects of shell fire .

As I write (five hundred yards from F ritz) var ious no ises d isturb the beautiful spring after-- -- ­noon, while puffs of white smoke from aeroplane shrap nel mar a glorious blue sky Two of our ae ropla nes a re up , scouting, a nd seem indi fferen t to the a ircraft g unners, who have very poor luck, r arely fetch ing one down. Some miles away, an obse rvation balloon is directing the fire of two big guns, t he shells from which whistle over every few minutes into the village. Our battery replies at t he expense of their trenches, and neither succeeds in doing much damage.

JULY, 191 6. ALCESTER GRAM MA R SCHOOL RE CORD. 7

At this moment I was wondering wha t the " F ifth" were doing (t hree p .m. Monday) , a nd if lVIiss Deans has all the windo ws open. Here the houses h ave none left t o open, and ve ry few c ivilia ns h ave remained, not liking Fritz; and his rough ways.

:Now we all wear steel shrapnel helmets, which give us a ve ry amusing appearance. Imagine me with a green soup plate, inve rted on m y head , a red leather je rki n, whitened trousers, white puttees , a nd two heaps of wet red clay wh ere my feet should b e. Thus, except for our rifles and bayonet s, we m ight resemble Yorkists or La ncastr ians , inst ead of modern infantry .

This afternoon it is quite a nice wa r, but as a rule, trench warfa re means constant work night a nd d ay to mend d am aged t renches and keep t hem in condition. \Vet or cold 'Heather inc reases t his work , and m akes t hings very unpleasant fo r you as working in a foot of mud yo u get p last ered wit h it, and look more like a huge l1lud pie tha n a ma n. Enfin, we have a ll done mo re spade-wo rk t han we ever imag ined men could do arid do not m ind how soon we forsake spades and picks for OLl r rifles and have a good blaze away at Fri tz .

A few d ays after writ ing t hi s I had the pleasure of seeing an ae ropla ne hi t . There were several up, a nd it was most inte resting to watch his erra tic descent like a wo unded b ird. I have a lso seen m y first Germa ns t hrough a telescope, and t hey were working on wire entanglements , and quite ha rmless .

An revoir, wit h the best of luc k t o you and t he school.

Yo ur old schola r ,

T H Oi\L\.S GOSTLING

THE DIARY OF A W AS P.

8 ·30.-Wake, feeling rather dirty, and no wonder , for I find myse lf in the careta ker' s room, ly ing on a pile of rubbi sh. Hum! ve ry undig ni fie d for one in my sta tion in life. Fly round to explore; can ' t see any way of getting ou t.

8.40.-Door is opened by girl in hl ack, on coming inside see that it is an overall a nd mob cap. Just as she is going to pick up a duster I buzz my loudes t. Sh e screams, drops duster and rushes out. Follow her into the form room, and see a nother g irl making a fri ghtful dus t and drop ping books abollt. "What ever is the matter?" she says to first maiden. "O w, it's a wasp; mind, it's there." "Pooh! fri ghtened of thing like that;

ger- r- r go away," and tbe second maiJ mak~s a vicious lunge a t me with duster. I dodge and g ive ber ni ce little s ting on neck, just for spite. Fly out of room leaving both sc reaming in sults at a poor inoffensi ve c reature like me.

915.- l-Iav e had a little fly round school; nice pl ace, ve ry . Go to see what's happening inside now. They a re very quiet. Fly through broken pane of glass, and see boys and girl s sitting at desks. Seem puzzled , some making good meal of end of pen. \Vonder what it tastes like I Sample a lazy looking boy's. He jumps up and shouts, " Sh oo ! shoo!" All the form laugh, and the master in cha rge says , "What is al l this commo tion a bout, rem ember th a t it is a test." " Bla nk, I believe you 're th e centre of it all, what is it?" " Please sir, it's a wa sp, " s ta mmers the boy. "Very weIl, I'll atte nd to tha t," says the mas ter, and picks up a ruler Think it tim e to retire, so fly out again through pane.

9.50.- Feelin g pecki sh, so fly along to g reen c upboard. Oh , lucky me, th ey' ve forgo tten to lock door. In I fly, a nd see I.ittle parce ls. S mell some ham in one littl e bundle, so fly to it. After d iffi culty, wo rk my way in s id e, and hnJ lovely ha m and jam. Have delicious ll1eal, and am then co nsc ious of dro ws iness creepillg over me.

12.50.- Must ha ve had a long nap. SudJenly rOLlsed by great bustle, and find parcel being lift ed up a nd undone. Kee p c lose to ham, and look ro und. See I 'm in a luge dinin g room with boys a nd g irl s hav ing dinner. Think it tim e to make my p rese nce felt , so start b uzzin g. D ow n go,"s ha m scattered in a ll direc tions, and there's a yell a nd shr ieks of laughter. Fl y up , and find tha t the g irl tha t yell ed is my fri en d of morning , by my mark on he r neck.

Crea te g rea t d i,t urba nce, a nd all make a dash a t me. Dodge them, but one boy catches my wing wi th serviett e. I just save myself from water jug, a nd wa tery dea th. Di ve under tabl e, and g ive boy's leg one of my sharpes t s tings. Mistress co mes by a nd gi ves boy two marks for making so Il1Llch noise; serve him rig ht. I buzz round her head to show my a pproval, and she sa ys , " Kill tha t wasp a t on ce." I make hasty retreat into field.

2.30.-Go to tennis court, and see a crowd. Evidently th ere's a ma tch, Boys v. Girls. Think I will help , so fly ac ross and settle on girl' s hand. S he jumps and th ey lose th e point. T o show no fa vouriti sm, go to boy and do same He hit s ball ya rds out of court, a nd call s me mos t uncompli­mentary names. Fl y round and listen to con­ve rsation. "Oh," says on e pale looking g irl, who

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8 ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. JULY, 1916.

look" as though sh e couldn 't touch a ball , " What an awfu l hit; look, rig ht into the net."

" Oh, yes ! of course we shal l win," says one of the boys, so jus t to take him down I g ive him a fine s ting on wri st. "YOll brute, YOll brute," he shouts, a nd chases me. Don't stay to see result of ma tch, but Ay to dining room wh ile coas t is clear. Then se ttle for ano the r na p on windo w leclge.

Good day to-d ay ! Four stings; no injuries. Clever me! M.K.A.

THE SNOWFLAKES.

You are welcome, li ttle snowflakes, I h ave waited for you long,

Through the summer and the autumn, And now h alf the winter's gone.

You are welcome, little snowHakes, But I wish y ou weren't so co ld ,

You're a pleasure to the chi ldren. But a trouble to the old.

You m ake a lovely carpet Upon the King's h ighway,

For boys and girls to snowball \Vhen they come out to play .

But when the SllOW is melting, Our feet get very wet ;

So let us hope for sunshine, And the colcler days forget.

E .B. (age 10 years).

S \VEEPING AND DUSTII\'"G.

OUR NEW CRAZE.

In the Form to which I belong the boys do the sweepiilg, and the girls do t he dusting. As I am a boy I will desc ribe the sweeping.

The boys are very clever at sweeping. They use about half a tin of powder a day , and wo uld use more if they we re a llowed.

My sweeping partner fetch es the broom, dust­pan, etc., belonging to another for111. After a g reat deal of confusion we find our own appli­ances , and return the others to their proper owners, who a re justly irate.

vVe now set to work with a wilL We move the desks, sp iliing everyone's ink-except our own, and accidentally (?) putting dust into t he inkpots. When the floo r is cleared we put a layer of powder deep enough for a barricade for

I . ~ \ ~) I

r

two battalions of toy soldiers. After some quarrelling as to who shall sweep, the strongest st arts.

I think som e of us boys would m ake capital road sweepers a t a shill ing per mile .

It h as been suggested. that .resp irators should be worn when · sweeping, as t he dust gets clown your throat like German gas ! .

I th ink t h at since the boys have done the sweeping the Hoors look a lot cleaner, but the dust is scattered broadcast over the A. G.S.

R.H.

THE SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT.

The School Entertainment on M~Y25 th was quite a success from a dramatic and financ ia l point of view. T he who le programme was carried ou t wel l, in ·spite of the anxiety with regard to cer tain items at the las t rehearsaL

• Tbe chorus sin ging went surprising ly well, no doub t due to the morn ing practices, an d the girls' part songs we re app reciated by everyone. Form I I. (th e tenth littl e nigger boy es peciall y) should be congratulated upon their render ing of "Ten Littl e Nigger Boys." What realist ic" nigger boys" this form makes. A ll the da nces we re enjoyed, from those of Form 1. to the Fifth Form dance; but in the minue t it seemed very st ra nge to see U pper Third boys looking so graceful and elegan t. One usually assoc iates inky fingers and tousled hair WIth the male members of thi s form .

The scenes from Julius Coesar we re a lmos t fau ltl ess ly acted, but I wonder if the Roman mob though t that a piteo us spectacle was a st range anima l or a pec uli ar eatabl e. Ev iden tly E.S. did to j udge from his tone of voice . . Coesar seemed rather hard-hea rted not to have been won over by s-uch a n ent reating Calpurnia as K.P. ; and one can quite forg ive the mob for being so easi ly swayed when a Brutus like lVJ.F. , or a Mark An tony like G.T., ap pears upon the scene.

In Mechanica l J ane a marve llous impro vemen t in th e voices of Tabitha and Priscilla had been made since the p rev ious rehearsal. VI/as it due to the effects of th e gymnastic feats seen in the Fourth Form room-namely, two figures lying at full length on the floor sc reaming out speeches and being kept down by the weight of a kneeling figure on their llacks? The remark made by the cabman was no t a t a ll app licable to Mechanical J ane, a li ra in-pipe does not look q uite such a subs tanti ab figu re even when tied up in a tig ht brow n-pape r·

JULY, I9I 6. ALCESTER GR AMM A R SCHOOL RECORD. 9

parcel. It would be well if the gravi ty of M.A. as Mechanical J ane was made use of on more occasions than this.

A boy, even though a black one, who could spoil a ca ke, d rown a puppy, melt butter, an d jump upon mince pies as a rtl essly and innocently as R.H . as Epaminondas did, wel l dese r ved the thrashing from hi s Ma mmy, which could be hea rd so pla inly .

If there is a s much interest a nd enth us iasm throughout \ iVarwickshire for the S ta r and Garter Home as th ere was taken by the members of A.G.S . the ,Yard will soon be provi ded for. P .A.

S ENIOR TE NN IS TOURNAM EN T.

On Saturday , Ju ly 15th, a T enn is T ournament took place between the Jackal s, B row nies, and Tomtits, the fi ve bes t couples out of each side being chosen to pl ay . T\\'o courts, Mr. \iVell s's and the F ront court we re lIsed for t2 e games, whi ch began a t ha lf-past two a nd las ted until e ight o'c lock, fin e wea th er hav ing been enjoyed the whole time. A great change in th e style of some players was noti ced a ft er tea; was it due to the amount of cake th ey had eaten or to tbe s traw­berri es ? It was thought by many of the spec tators that M.]. had been st udying Indian war hoops, to judge from th e frequent " wa-ahs " which came from her direc tion . The tourn a ment resulted in I29 ga mes for th e J acka ls, 92 for the Brownies, and 79 for the Tomti ts. P.A & M.A .

JUNIOR T EN N IS TO U f~ N AiVIENT ON " BACK" CO U R T .

L et us take a peep behind th e scenes. O n the F ront Court all is orderl y a nd we ll cond uc ted. But what of it on the" Bac k. " Ba ll s are fly in g hither and thither, va inly end eavo uring to touch the sky overhead. N ow one fli es ove r the wa ll a t a height which puts even aeropl anes in the shade, another fli es into a sma ll g roup of excited lit t le people, and a certain voice sc reams out in rasp ish tones, " Oh , you are mean ! "

Anothe r person is att empting to sco re with but littl e success , for now and aga in th e score is d is­puted by the opponents ' and th e ba ll has to be sent

. aga in . Suddenl y our a tt ention is d raw n to loud talking or rat her sc reeching a t the fa r end of the court. A certa in person with rath er a vinega ry expression is attempting to make other people believe that she is to pl ay nex t, wh en a meek littl e voice interposes oaying "I thoug ht Mi ss Evans said I was to play nex t. " Then the pantomim e

beg in s. A ll thi s t iLl1 e the scorer is shou ting a t th e top of her vo ice , "Be qui et th ere, and ge t off th e court; I'll go a nd fe tch Miss Evans if yo u don ' t be qu iet." A ft er a tim e order, or rat her an apo logy for order is resumed, an d the pl aye rs go on bliss­fully scattering the birds in all direct ions as the ir ba ll s soa r up wa rds, unti l No . 2 pantomime beg in s .

G .B .W.

THE B O Y SC OUTS.

Sin ce our las t Nl agaz in e th e above Club has progressed considerably. Th is term we persuaded several of th e old er boys in th e school to join us, and although they did no t do so as full y qualifi ed B. P . Scouts, yet th ey fell in with all our rul es , a nd I believe' they enj l)yed our mee ti ngs to the full. In addition, we have been pleased to enrol as Scouts several boys in th e Up per Schoo l.

Up to the presen t we have not turned ollr a ttention to any of the more ser ious s ides of scout­ing , but have mainly conten ted ourse lves with the li ghter side. Nex t term, however, we hope to begin full in st ruction in seve ra l of th e more se rio us a nd ad vanced branches I)f the Boy Scout mov ement.

The following ha ve now passed the tenderfoo t tes t, a nd a re entitl ed to wear th e Boy Scout Badge :- Cow per , Thomas, Howse, Gardner, B untin g i, J ephco t t, Clark, \V ri ght, and Bomford i.

Th ese are now proceeding to the Second Class tes t, which is a more elaborate and difficult ma tt er. F irs tly , the boys have to be ab le to follow a marked trail of four miles in 48 minutes , and then on return to draw a sketch of th e ro ute taken with marks to indicate where notes we re hidden, and wha t was contained in the notes. W e held this test th is term; a ll sa ti s fied th e ti me limi t, but fa il ed to fi nd th e last note, a ll d were therefore di squa lified. A second test for the Second Class rank the boys ha ve taken thi s te rm, a nd many have passed. This con­sis ts in expos ing to their view for one mi nute a co ll ec ti on of fifty s u ndry ar ticles ; then in two mi nu tes they a re to writ e a li st of the ar ticles. Several s ucceeded in wr iting down between thi rty and fort y.

\N e hope next te rm to continue th eSE: tes ts for the Second Class ran k. Some of the additiona l tests includ e elementa ry firs t a id know ledge; sig ­na lling (either i:vro rse or Semaphore); to be abl e to I ight a fir e in t he open , usi ng not more th an t wo matches; to cook mea t an d po ta toes o\'er a ca mp fire, and to kcow the prin cipa l points of th e compass .

Th ere a re s till many boys in th e school whom we should li ke to see a mongs t us, and we take thi s opportunity of aga in ass uring a ll boys that in thi s

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10 ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD. JULY, 1916.

Club they will fi nd not on ly an amusing but also an interesting and instruct ive method of pass in g a few of their spare moments .

Vve regret that we shall be losing at the end of this term Cowper, who has been one of our best and most regular Scouts s in ce the commencement of the Club. Ho wever, as he IS not going fa r away, perhaps in the near future he will be a master of a troop of his ovvn, and we sha ll then be pleased to challenge him to an enco unter should such a troop come into existence.

E. S. WALKER, Scoutmaste r.

SCHOOL NOTES AND QUER I ES.

'Ne are pleased to anno unce that a new Hobbies Shie ld has been presented to the school by Mr. and Mrs. \Ne ll s. The three sides-Browllies, J acka ls and Tomtits-will compete for thi s in the various Sports Day competit ions.

Instead of the usual obstacle race a cross­country race took place on the Thursday previous to Sports Day, in which competitors ran up Canada Road, through Cold Comfort Wood, and ret urned home along Alcester Heath.

A t present P. Perks is in F rance guarding two wounded German prisoners.

A short time ago T. H. Gostling returned home from France for a week's leave. He has received a st ri pe for his work as a sniper.

vVe should be very pleased to know why ce rtain peculiar odours from the laboratory have pervaded the school late ly . I s th ere any necessity for making us accustomed-to the smel l of bad eggs?

No, we are not learn ing to be domestic servan ts . Vve are keeping the school swept and dusted dLtring the absence of th e school caretaker.

If parents find their washing diminishing, and miss see in g small holes in blouses and dresses caused by laboratory ac id s, let the m be thankful to th e black s'lteen overal ls worn for sweeping 'lnd dusting, and in the labo ratory.

Fancy G. Hemans being a mall! vVe had a lways though t that th e poem" Casabianca" was written by Mrs. Hemans until M.S. informed us otherwise.

It has been su pposed by some unenligh tened people that the boys have suddenly grown energetic. If this is due to the ir frequent mowing of the Tennis Court the above suppos ition is quite wro ng. vVhich do boys usually prefer, lessons in school or light work outside?

Owing to the fact that the whole school turned out to work the other afternoon, some to sweep the bicyc le shed, some to molV the grass, and others to hel p with a bonfire, we have been asked if we have formed a "Busy Bee Society." Oh, riO, but as

. . . -- ordinary lessons cou ld not continue owing to the D. Cook has JOIn ed the 12th BattalIOn of the b of l\'II'ss Deans we did some of the care-. 1 d . . . - . 0 a sence c ,

Royal vVarwlc {s, an IS now 111 tralnmg 111 orset. take r' s work.

Vile regret to say that Mr. Allkcorn has left the school temporar il y. H e r.as joilled the +th Battalion of the \Varwicl, s, a nd is now in tb e Isle of W ight .

Mr. Hall has rece" tly been organising spo rts in d ifferent parts of the country. H e has visited Newcastle, York, Hu ll and Grim shy.

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Mr. H ayes re turned home a few mont hs ago to train for a comm ission.,

We have always been taug ht that an island was a piece of land surrounded by water. How ever, there must be a mistake somewhere, si nce P .]. informs us that" isles" a re found in churches.

TEN NIS.

GIRLS v. 13o ys .-During tlt e l er~l a match was play ed betwee ll the boys an d g irl s of this schoo l. Th e six best players were chosen from each side. The weather was rather showery , but

JULY, I9I6. ALCESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL RECORD I I

in spite of this an enjoyable afternoon was spent. Amidst areat excitement on the part of both boys and girl;' the boys finally succeeded in beating the girls by ten games. The final score was 50-+0.

SPORTS' DAY I9I6.

The annual School Sports were held on Thurs­day, July 6tb. Unfortunately, however, the weather was very un se ttled; blit, in sp ite of the prevailing conditions, a large number of people had assembled when the time came for tbe first event. The racing commenced at 2.30, and many excIting contests were witnessed. Later in the afternoon, a very bad s torm interrupted the programme, and the last three events had to be abandoned. During th e afternoon a collec tion was made in aid of the "Star and Garter Home" for Incurable Soldiers and Sai lors. The sum real ised was {2 9S. 9d.

FIFTH \'. FOUR'fH.-The six best players out of each form played a tennis match on June I5th. Two gallles we re played each side of the net, and on the whole the style was very good. The Fifth proved themsel yes to be the better team by beating the Fourth 23-I3 The Fifth regret that A. P. J ephcott, one of their best players, was unable to play. .

TEAM MATCHEs.--Tennis matches between th e three teams have been played during the term . On all occasions great en th usiasm was shown by all the members of the teams. The scores were as follows :-

In the Hall and Art r{oom were the Girls' competitions.

Brownies v. Tomtits

Brownies ' ,f. Jackals

Jackals v. Tomtits

EVENT. Quarter-:l-lite

100 Yds . Egg and Spoon

100 Yds. Egg and Spoon

220 Yds. H alf-Mile 100 Yds.

Pootball R ace Slov/ Bicycle

H alf- i\,Iile 220 Yds .

T UG-of -\Var '" Hurdl e Race

Sack R ace [00 Yds.

Three -I,egged Race Consolat io n

Pootball Race High Jump The Mile

Three-Legged Race Hurdle Race Crab Walk Consolation Relay Race Crab Walk Higll Jump Long Jump Long J Ulllp

Throwi ng Cricket Ball Throwing Cricket Ball

Cross -Country Race (J lUlls .) Cross-Country Race Cross -Country Race

AGE. Over 14

12-[4 Under [ 2

Over 14 Girls [2-14

Over [4 Under 12

12-14 Open [2-14-

Over 14

Over 14 Un de r 12

Girls Under [2

12-14 Over 14

[2-14 Over 14

Girls 12-14

Over [4 Over 14

I2-2

I2-5

8-I2

M.S.

Mr. vVells asked Mrs . Brown to present the cup and shield. Th e shield was presented to Hall (the Captain of the Jackals), this being the third year in succession that th e Jackals have won it. The cup was then presented to Cowper (Captain of the Tomtits) . There were again no priz~s this year on account of the war. H.W.

PIRST. SEco:m . TIME. Whitehollse Burden 1111. 4secs.

\\fright Gardner [s secs. Bird lIT. \Vayte

Whitehouse Hall [3 secs . P. Winnett E. W iles lllith

J ames H e ighway 32secs . Cowper Sl11i th 1. 2111. 42secs. S isam Bird Il . Heard Brown

Phillips Cowper H eard Clark 211l. 4Ssecs.

V/hitehouse Bunting 1. 30secs. Jackals

\Vhitehouse Hall Bunting IIl. Bird Il.

K. Wilesl1litll P. Wi llllett I 6 ~se c,. Bunting and Collius Buuting HI. and Bird IT.

Haiues N icklin Hall Cowper

Bird I. (49ins. ) N icklin Cowper Wh itehouse 6mins.

M. Sisam & P. vVinnett E . Wilesmith S: M. LlGyd Heard Brown Hall Bunting T. Burden Staff

Three Teams J ackals Tomtits 12-14 H eard N icklin

Over I,> Cowper (52ins.) H all (S [ins .) Over 14 Cowper (16ft. [[ins .) \Vhitehouse ([6ft. 6in.)

[2-14 Wright ([ Sft .) H eard ([ 4ft. lOins.) Over 14 Rimell (73yds. 7ins.) Hall (nyds. Sins .)

12-14 Stevens (59yds . 2ft.) Heard (58yds. 2ft.) Over 14 Cowper H a ll

12-14 Heard Wright Under 12 Bird Il . Bunting III

12 ALCESTER GRAMMA[{ SCHOOL RECORD. JULY, 19t6.

SPORTS' DAY, 191 6.

The weather was not favourable for Sports' Day, but never theless it was quite a success , as th e receipts, £ 7 10S., show.

The long tables in the Hall were occ upied with specimens of sewing, cookery, etc . At th e "Home-made Toy" table M. Farq uh ar was 1s t, with a Punch and J udy Show. Finnemore's clever toy was 2nd, .and May Stock's golliwog was 3rd.

Speaking of golliwogs, we experienced a shock at hearing a comical toy, of the " Johnny Jingle" species, apostrophised as " lovely" and" beautiful. " Although the Johnny Jingle was very well .11ade, the beauty "vas not a pparent! In Div. 11., IV!. Burke's rabbit was adjudged first. Second came Phillips' dovecot, and S. Burke \Vas third

The tabl e bearing the " Col d Sweets" looked exceedingly attractive. Here E. Finnemore was first.

At the "Home-made Cake" table the fvllowing dialogue was overheard :-

A.G.S. gir l, earn estly, to spectator: " What do you think of that cake? "

Spectator: "I see it's fin;t. A.G.S. girl: "But what do you think of it ? " Spectator: "I t looks very good indeed, in fact

excellent." A.G.S . girl, modestly : '" S' mine! " I t is to be presumed that the spectator

thanked her stars that she had praised the aforesaid cake.

In the Caricature Competition M. Farquhar was first, B. Tipping second, and B. James third. From what was overheard, the opinions of the visitors differed considerably in regard to the sketches; some pronounced them "good," others thought they were" feeble."

I\ S tb e rain put an end to the races, the visitors departed early. First, however, the Cup and Shields were presented in the Hall. Tbe Games Sbield was won by the" Jackals." The Hobbies' Shield, presented by Mr. and Mrs. Wells, was won by the" Brownies," and Lily Gostling thanked Mr. and Mrs. Wells for it.

Altogether the afternoon was quite enjoyable, although we hope for better weather on Sports Day, 1917. M.A. & M.F.