Memories from the 1930s

Anthony F Williams (OW until 1939)

Before leaving Wells I had been accepted as a potential candidate for ordination by the Bishop, the late Francis Underhill, and had hoped to proceed to Oxford; but, unfortunately insufficient was forthcoming by way of grants, and so I was invited back to Wells as a member of the Staff the term after leaving! This did not last very long however, because, after the outbreak of the war, I volunteered for flying duties with the Royal Air Force. After a period of what was termed "deferred service" I was summoned to report to Lords Cricket Ground (which was then the Aircrew Reception Centre) in August 1941. I was sent for flying training as a pilot to the former Southern Rhodesia. I still posses a picture postcard of Wells Cathedral which the Bishop sent to me in November 1941 just before I sailed. I returned to England early in 1943 and trained to become a Flying Instructor. After a year as an Instructor I spent six months at Advanced Flying Unit on Oxfords and Operational Training Unit on Wellingtons and three months at Heavy Conversion Unit on Lancasters, before being posted to No.90 Squadron, 3 Group, Bomber Command. So I am a survivor and a veteran!
After leaving the Air Force in 1946 I went to Trinity College, Oxford, to read Theology and then trained for ordination at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, thus following in the footsteps of another former Wellensian, E G Vince, who had also trained there. Several of my generation at Wells went on to be ordained, of whom I remember M M K Warren, H Warren, R H M Treen and W K Thomas.
I was Assistant Curate at Paignton Parish Church and subsequently at the Parish Church of Holy Trinity in the Broadgate in the City of Coventry. During my time there the City was being rebuilt as a result of the wartime bombing raids. The Cathedral next door being still in ruins, events that would have normally have been held there took place in our parish church. My next appointment was to become Vicar of the parish of All Saints in the city. While there I took a very small part in the Consecration of the new Cathedral, namely as marshal to the procession of Metropolitan Archbishops, including York and Canterbury!
My next move was to the Vicarage of a rural parish in Worcestershire. Finally I was presented by the Governing Body of Christ Church, Oxford, to the Rectory of Bluntisham in the Diocese of Ely where John Eddy was a parishioner and Churchwarden. I stayed there for eleven years before retiring in 1988. John Eddy (left Wells in 1950) is now Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council.
Having served in the Church's Ministry for 37 years, I have been called upon to minister in a variety of parishes during the last 12 years of retirement and am still doing so at 80 years of age! Anthony Williams

Frank Martin (OW of 1934-1941)

Over the years I have read with much interest the reminiscences of Old Wellensians, and I was particularly interested in some remarks by Jeffrey Bigny. I had no idea that Prebendary Ritchie had to stand so much of the cost of the school expansion himself. In my time the main increase in size came at the beginning of the war when a preparatory school on the south coast was evacuated to Wells. The headmaster was a Mr Palmer who had previously been a master at Wells. They moved into the house at the top of East Liberty previously occupied by Prebendary Denison who had recently died. He was over ninety and rarely missed a Cathedral service having a stall next to that of the Dean. That must have pushed the school numbers up to about 200. In 1934, my first year, I joined in January, on school sports day (for which I still have a programme) the boys are named and numbered up to 116.
During recent years several ‘old choristers' have recorded their memories so I will restrict myself to a few of the same : - The annual summer Diocesan Festival was a great occasion. All the choirs assembled on the Green in their robes and with their standards before processing into the cathedral for choral evensong. I have several programmes containing the music and in 1938 16 choirs are listed. Before the service all the choristers enjoyed a large tea in a barn near the Bishop's Palace. To the best of my knowledge every Festival day was a fine day
The Wells carnival in November was a memorable show with float after float going past the Cedars; we were all standing inside the Cedars railings. They disappeared when the war started and were supposed to be used to build Spitfires.
Being chapel organist, there were several occasions when the Headmaster would send for me on a Sunday afternoon, to inform me that he was taking Evensong in a neighbouring village church and I should accompany him to play the organ. I had started organ lessons with Denys Pouncey so I knew a little about the various stops and combinations, or I thought I did but some of the old village instruments were a complete mystery to me. The writing on the stops was usually in Gothic German which was hard enough to read and as we generally arrived at the church five minutes before the service was due to begin with the congregation already present, it was impossible to practise. All the stops were very loud so I could not hear the singing even though the Head did his best to shout in my direction; consequently I lost count of the verses in the psalms and hymns!
I recall an incident which took place during the summer holidays in about 1937 when the choristers were still ‘working'. Linzee Colchester was in charge of the boarders. One Monday - no Mattins for the boys - he took us up to Priddy for a picnic. It was a hot sunny day and we had a marvellous time swimming in the ponds and getting very sunburnt. At Evensong that afternoon the choir consisted of fourteen choristers, eight with normal complexions and six bright red lobsters. The Precentor, Canon Davis was furious.
Christmas at Wells will always be in my memory. The choir was on duty until after the Carol Service on Boxing day. Christmas Day was a very busy day. Those of us who had been confirmed went to Holy Communion at 7am. After breakfast we went to the Palace at 9am to sing carols to the Bishop for which he gave each of us one shilling (5p) dated the following year. Then to the Deanery to sing to the Dean and his family for which we received five shillings to be shared amongst us. This meant sixpence (2½p) for the seniors and threepence for the juniors. However the Dean also gave us an excellent tea party about which more later.
After our carol-singing there was choral communion at l0am followed by Mattins at 11am. Then it was back to the Cedars for Christmas dinner with the Ritchie family, a most enjoyable occasion culminating in the ‘Ceremony of the Terry's Chocolate Orange' when the Head dropped this on to the table it always opened symmetrically! I keep this custom going at our family Christmas dinners. At 3pm we staggered back to the cathedral for Evensong.
The Dean's tea-party took place in the old Deanery, that large building on the Green, now the Diocesan offices I believe. Presided over by the Dean, a great thumb-twiddler, and Mrs Malden it was always very enjoyable. After tea we played ‘Murder' all over the house and in the dark. I drew the murderer card on one occasion and duly committed my crime in pitch darkness. Someone had a torch and shone it to reveal that I had murdered my victim in the Dean's private chapel. I was rather upset!
My final memory is of the last day of term in our upper 6th year when we had nothing particular to do, the Head who was a renowned crossword compiler with the pseudonym ‘AFRIT', would be persuaded to show us on the blackboard how to compile a crossword. I owe my love of crosswords to ‘AFRIT'. Frank Martin

Alan Clements (OW of 1934 - 1942)

I became a pupil of Wells Cathedral School in 1934 after completing 2 years of preparatory schooling at Oakleigh Preparatory School in Glastonbury Road, Wells. I was not a Chorister, but was the Head Boy of 1941/42 and Captain of Games. I left the School in 1942 to join the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve to train to be a pilot. My father (E F Clements) also attended WCS in the years 1910 to 1917 under the then Head Master who was, I believe, the Rev H J Green.
The Head Master in my day was Rev A F Ritchie and other members of staff were Alan Tarbat, Jimmy Carl, Jimmy Carlton, L S Colchester, Miss Ellis and a Mr Taylor. Mr Carlton joined the British Army at the outbreak of the war, was badly wounded at El Alemein (he lost a leg) and returned to the School for a time. He was the Games master before joining the Army and was an excellent teacher of Rugby Football, and thanks to him we won many matches.
I served in the RAF from 1942 until I was demobilised in 1948 in Southern Rhodesia as a Flight Lieutenant. Most of RAF career was served as a Flying Instructor - I ended up with an A1 instructors categorisation. After the RAF I took up civil flying and served as an airline pilot from 1951 to 1991 and held various positions such as Chief Pilot, Chief Instructor and Operations Manager with various airlines. I have flown world-wide and finished active flying with a total flying time of 22,300 hours - approximately 9,300,00 miles!!
My memories of the Cathedral School are a little vague, but certain things come to mind. The dining room in the Cedars was where the School Office is now and next to it there were two common rooms, one large one for the Juniors and a smaller one for the Seniors. Beyond these were the Fourth and Remove Form rooms and just below that the third or Kindergarten Form. I believe the latter was made into what is now the Orangerie.
Dormitories were on the top floor and also some Masters' studies and a study for senior prefects - I remember Mr Carl had one on that floor. Dormitories were also made out of rooms in the basement - we called them the dungeons! This was due to possible danger from bombs which could have been dropped from German bombers. In fact there was an occasion when I and other prefects were on night duty as "Wardens" and we had to throw burning incendiary bombs off the Cedars roof which had been dumped by a German bomber either going to or returning from a raid on Bristol. An interesting time!
With regard to buildings, I was astonished to see how large the School has become. In my day we had the Cedars and three other buildings : the Bernard building, and the two buildings now called Plumptre and Edwards. The latter two were for Junior and Kindergarten pupils, and the Cedars accommodated the Seniors. Mr and Mrs Pouncey lived in the building now called Claver Morris. I remember Mr Pouncey so well - he used to invite Seniors to his study on certain evenings to listen to classical music with tea served by Mrs Pouncey - he was a most kind man. The Bernard Building housed our Fifth and Lower and Upper Sixth Forms; the Library was in the Turret Room above the entrance - I remember donating my collection of Harmsworth Encyclopaedias just before I left to join the RAF. The house now called De Salis was occupied during my time (1940-42) by a girls' school called St Brendan's which had been evacuated to Wells from Bath (I believe).
There was no gym or swimming pool - our swimming was done at the Wells City Baths. We played Rugby, Hockey and Cricket and a considerable amount of cross-country running. The latter was done in all weathers - even in deepest winter. Our route was usually through Milton Lodge grounds (the Follies or 49 Steps?) and along the Mendips to Ebbor Gorge and at times as far as Cheddar Gorge and return. We played rugby on the top grounds of the Cedars, Cricket and Hockey on Mundy's Meadow; we also had a tennis court on the lawn close to the Cedars. During a recent visit to the School I was shown the Sport Hall and was able to find one or two pictures of Cricket or Rugby teams of which I was a member. However I noticed an apparent paucity of pictures of the years 1940-1945; also nothing seems to have been mentioned in the official history during these war years - a pity.
I do hope that what I have given as details may be found interesting and that some gaps in the School's wartime years may have been filled in. Alan Clements.

John P Dennis (OW of 1935 - 1944)

Memories of a Cathedral Chorister of Sixty Years ago. One of the consequences of the proposed millennium celebrations is to focus minds upon the past. Not that one individual's recollections are likely to have any particular significance except insofar as such memories are a record of particular events or evoke a way of life that has altered considerably over the years. Yet, one set of memories may help to draw attention to the larger historical field. The number of choristers I knew was very limited and my experiences relate to one Cathedral and its School. But, look at the whole; taken over the centuries and encompassing the large number of choirs that existed, the intensive musical experience of early years would have been seminal in the lives of so many British composers and thus in the development of music in this country.
Turning, then, to my experiences: I joined Wells Cathedral School in the summer term of 1935 and left at the end of the summer term 1944, a period of 9 years and a term, which splits into four years and one term before war was declared and five years of wartime. For the early part of the latter period few changes were observable and, until the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, the bombing of home towns (London, Bristol, Cardiff) and the increasing constraints of food rationing, little occurred to disturb the even pattern of life. From mid 1940 onwards objectives, hopes, and ambitions fluctuated as awareness of issues and what was at stake developed with the news of the loss of school friends. In contrast, reflecting upon the years 1935 to early 1940 suggests a stability and predictability in day to day existence that was not to be found later.
In May 1935 the School numbered 105 or so boys; and I think I was number 104. The composition of the School was considerably different from what it is today : boys only, and of these at least 20% were choristers or ex-choristers. The link between Cathedral and School was pervasive. The Rev A F Ritchie was not only Head Master of the School but was also one of two priest-vicars conducting Cathedral services every other week. He was also AFRIT of the Listener, a major innovator in the development of crossword puzzles. He kept bees (but where?) and had been a fine cricketer.
Being a chorister set one apart from non-choristers. Naturally we shared meals and (as boarders) lived in the same dormitories, went to the same classes and played soccer, rugby and cricket. But life was different in certain respects, particularly : - The Cathedral - Holidays - Pattern of Education
The Cathedral
It is difficult now to envisage the obligations placed upon a member of the Cathedral Choir sixty years ago. At that time Wells Cathedral maintained the full sequence of choral matins and evensong throughout the week plus Holy Communion on Sundays. There was some respite : Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon services were men only and, reciprocally, Tuesday matins and evensong were boys voices only. Thus the duties involved thirteen services per week, which were supported by daily practices - Monday to Friday 8.30 to 9.50; on Saturdays the principal rehearsal followed matins and there was further rehearsal on Sunday mornings. As a consequence, formal education did not begin until 11.00, except on Mondays. Services on Friday were without the organ.
Much of the choral repertoire had been in place for decades; Stainer, Garrett, Ousley, SS Wesley, Croft, Boyce, and King (a prolific but rather pedestrian composer described by Punch as a serviceable man). Musical experience was broadened by the use of sections or separate numbers from Mozart's Requiem, Brahm's Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah, and so on. Somehow all this led me to a passionate love of Bruckner, Mahler and Berlioz and to a life long involvement in choral singing.
Public attendance at matins and evensong during weekdays was very limited, and frequently at evensong consisted of a single individual - said to be the city Librarian. There were other rewards; very occasionally in the dim, gas-lit (most appropriate) Cathedral a greater horse-shoe bat might be seen. The Observer's book of mammals of that time recorded these bats as being found principally in large buildings and instanced Wells Cathedral. I believe that locally these bats are now restricted to the Mendips.
Choral activities were not entirely confined to the Cathedral. In the late Thirties there was a major concert in Sherborne Abbey with the Boyd Neel ensemble and the choirs of Exeter, Salisbury and Wells. The programme consisted of a mass by Schubert and (I believe) Palestrina's Stabat Mater. In my age group there was some amusement that the organist of Sherborne Abbey had the name of Wearden.
A statistical footnote. The number of services I attended in the Cathedral sums up to at least 3,500, implying 7,000 journeys up or down Vicar's Close. How many times must I have heard Jack Blandiver?
Holidays
Holidays were much truncated by staying on for Cathedral duties. In effect, depending upon the exact location of Christmas Day within the week and the date of Easter, Christmas and Easter holidays were frequently less than three weeks in duration and sometimes only a fortnight. Due to the nature of the Cathedral services and practices (Easter Day, Christmas Day, Carol Services) the 10-14 days passed quickly, and, in the case of Christmas, profitably (1 shilling each from the Bishop, 5 shillings between us from the Dean for singing carols early on Christmas morning). We also, as previously noted in the Wellensian Flyer, had a share out of the collection made at the Carol Service. This collection was taken in the Cathedral by the choristers - few of the congregation escaped. I remember little of these times except running over the bridge into the Bishop's Palace on a cold and icy Christmas morning, and at some time or other trying to play ice hockey on a frozen pond up the Old Bristol Road with a bar of soap as a puck.
Summer holidays were different. The days were warm, long and pleasant. We had four weeks or so to fill. Due to the services at the Cathedral there was not much that could be done before lunch except on Mondays. Afternoons afforded some opportunity for walks around the moat, to Tor Woods, or in the hills around Wells. The space behind the Cedars gave opportunity to play cops & robbers or cowboys & indians, until one year when H E Taylor produced a gun firing blank cartridges which did our hearing no good. Wednesdays offered the greatest spread of time. On many summer Wednesdays Priddy lead mines beckoned. There were two quite substantial ponds - the most southerly, deep, cold sinister, was not appealing, but the northern one, quite extensive, shallow, and usually warm was another matter. At one time we built a raft there. No-one knew or cared about lead poisoning, nor did we appear to suffer any ill effects. Priddy was a wondrous place. The long, horizontal chimneys stretching out across the land to provide adequate draught offered opportunities for exploration. Even in spring the place was a miracle of nature with squadrons of breeding toads.
There was other excitement as well during the holidays. I remember an outing, I think it was to Burnham. I have a strong impression of seeing the German airship : the Hindenburg - could this have been so? Not easy to imagine it. In the summer of 1940 we went to Weston-Super-Mare. I very confidently identified a lone aircraft flying over the beach as a Handley Page Hampden, but it turned nasty and dropped its bombs not far away. We ran for safety to the bus station with its flimsy roof and stocks of petrol. One summer just before the war a monumental storm hit the Wells area. Croscombe church was damaged (so that should date it) and the roof of the Cedars leaked so badly that water flooded down the main stairway into the basement leaving a high tide mark of a couple of feet. Mr Colchester donned a bathing costume and sallied forth on the roof to see what could be done, but with little success.
During the "holidays" supervision was somewhat relaxed but I have no memory of anyone either missing or late for practice or service - a legacy of time-keeping which has stayed with me (obsessional, in other words).
Education
By any standards the pattern of education for choristers was limited; constrained by the requirements of attendance at services and practices at the Cathedral. This is shown by the subjects I took in public examinations :
1940 (age 14) : Oxford Junior Certificate : History, Religious Knowledge, French, Arithmetic, Mathematics.
1942 (age 16) : School Certificate : English Language, English Literature, History, Religious Knowledge, Mathematics, French.
1944 (Age 18) : Higher School Certificate : Principal Subjects : English, Mediaeval and Modern History. Subsidiary Subjects : French, Latin (failed). (I had to take School Certificate in Latin at a later date in order to qualify for entry to Bristol University).
In many respects this was an education that severely limited ones choice of career. No maths after 16, no Latin until older than 16, no Physics, no Biology, no Chemistry and no Geography. The reasons are understandable. In addition to the restrictions on time available for lessons, the very limited number of students in the fifth and sixth forms would have made it impossible to plan for a broader range of topics in the senior years. Several choristers took advantage of their training to make music their careers. For my part things worked out well. For my first year at Bristol I took the BA general course but realized that it was almost impossible to do justice to oneself in balancing the demands of four subjects. I moved to the joint honours programme in Philosophy and Psychology. At that time Psychology was establishing itself as an independent subject outside the Department of Philosophy. Also mathematical skills, although essential, did not have to be developed much beyond School Certificate level. In retrospect, the very limited number of pupils in the sixth form classes make a striking contrast between sixty years ago and the pattern of today's education. Happily this was also the case at Bristol where there were five individuals in the Psychology group of my year.
My best wishes to all who remember Wells Cathedral Grammar School of the thirties and forties and a quiet thought for those who have passed away. John P Dennis