Griffen 2014

23 www.oaclub.org.uk Following an article about the Skye trips in the January 2013 Abingdon News, Mark Dunman wrote to say: I was one of the founder members of the group in 1957 and indeed I took the black and white photographs which you displayed. The group was conceived as an Easter vacation explorers’ club in which pupils, mostly in science subjects, undertook investigations. The biologists studied mosses and lichens, while the physicists studied geology. We did serious study under the watchful eyes of Joe Talbot and John Blagdon, but there was plenty of time for mountain walking and exploration. The trip was great fun, but also demanding. We camped close to the Cuillin mountains and we hiked nearly four miles to obtain our provisions at Elgol. We had sun, rain and snow and one night we were washed out of our tents. Conditions made it impossible to carry our equipment back to Elgol and we had to be taken off by boat. The following year (1958) we camped at Wastwater in the Lake District. Our trip was no less strenuous as we faced the rigour of climbing Scafell, Scafell Pike and Great Gable along with weather almost as inclement as that on Skye. From Mark Dunman (1958) - Skye Group My photograph did not show the full complement of nine pupils, but it was rewarding to see that the group had grown by 1963. For the staff, John Blagdon was still there, but Tom Moore (geography teacher) had taken the place of Joe Talbot. I still possess (and wear) the leather boots I first used on Skye! Mark Dunman (1958) A High-Tech History of Abingdon School – in 63 Objects Why 63? As good Abingdonians, you don’t need to be told how in 1563, on his 63rd birthday, John Roysse endowed a school for 63 free scholars in a schoolroom that was 15 feet wide by 63 feet long. And how, ever since, the number 63 has been significant to the School: the school bell used to be rung 63 times, the 1963 prefects walked 63 miles to commemorate the 400th anniversary and last year a group of sixth-formers walked 63 miles in 24 hours to mark the 450th anniversary. So it seemed like a good idea to write a history of Abingdon School in 63 objects – a much better idea than writing it in 100 objects anyway, much less work. That’s why every term-time Tuesday and Thursday since 31 January 2013, a new object was uploaded to the School website. The site made full use of modern technology so that it’s possible to deep zoom into the details of the medieval document that granted John Roysse the right to the properties with which he endowed the School, turn the pages of the 1844 Admission Register, watch a five minute extract from Ut Proficias (the film Michael Grigsby made in 1953), hear The Master Singers’ version of The Highway Code and read again James Cobban’s advice to his sixth-formers on ‘How To Do It’. Some people have found it fascinating because it’s brought back their schooldays, others because they’ve been interested in the light it has thrown on education in the past – subjects studied, books read, work done – and still others, who have nothing to do with the School but have found records of their ancestors on the site, or have been pleased to learn more about the history of the town of Abingdon. The very last object, number 63, could be of interest to you all. It’s a searchable online version of the Abingdonian covering the first edition in 1890 to the most recent edition in 2013. Just put your name into the search box and the history of your schooldays will be revealed before you. It’s been a lot of fun – and a lot of work. Do have a look at the site if you haven’t already. I’ve enjoyed being able to share Abingdon’s rich past in a way that just isn’t possible in an ordinary exhibition or printed book. The web address is www. abingdon.org.uk/63objects or you can scan this QR code with your QR reader and it will take you straight to the site. Sarah Wearne School Archivist