Recollections of an Old (but young at heart) Oswestrian, circa 1952 - EPISODE 7, LIFE IN A 'BUBBLE'

As the coronavirus slowly ravages the European continent many parts of the world await with bated breath the seemingly inevitable spread of this dreadful pandemic. Forced into not-so-splendid isolation in an effort to avoid contracting the virus, life in a bubble today presents its own challenges as most of us attempt to sit out the crisis.


During the 1950's School House boarders returning from their holidays faced a different kind of life in isolation. Our well-meaning parents little realised the privations they were unwittingly inflicting on us so soon after World War 2 in this all male environment, and each of us had to find a way of dealing with it.

The Tuck Shop was the small wooden shed that can be seen to the far right, just above the right hand side boy.

Rationing finally ended in 1954, but food was always in short supply and I remember feeling permanently hungry. Sweet rationing was still in place during our first couple of years and at tea time each boy was allocated just 3 sweets. Tuck boxes and the School Tuck Shop were lifelines for those with spare money, offering a much needed supplement to school food which left a lot to be desired!

We were living in a very different era back then, as many of my contemporaries will recall, and our tuck boxes appeared to be fair game to a coterie of older boys who would send out invitations to join them in the tuck room (which also doubled up as the music room). I once arrived at the room, which was to the immediate right of the clock in School House corridor, and adjacent to the dining room, where I was asked to share the contents of my box with a bunch of losers. To my astonishment one of them, who was sat astride the piano, peeled an orange in front of me and promptly put it in his mouth! I remember hoping that it would choke him. This was just part of life and I do not recall telling our parents; what happened at school stayed at school...

My memory is vague on this, but I think there were about 135 boys attending Oswestry at this time; 60 in School House, 30 in Holbache, and the rest were day boys. Whilst the boys from Holbache saw something of what was happening outside school life on their daily trudge through the town, and along Upper Brook Street into the main body of the school, we, at School House, were completely confined within the grounds for the whole term unless granted special permission for a visit into town to buy a birthday card etc. On requesting such a visit from the Headmaster, Mr Williamson, in his study, he peered at me over his horn-rimmed glasses and remarked drily, "Pickup senior, I note this is your mother's second birthday this term. Please let it be her last!"

Mr Williamson is the tall, elegant gentleman on the right hand side.

Resisting the temptation to point out that I certainly had no wish for this to be my dear mother's LAST birthday, I kept my counsel. Ever mindful of the large iron key he kept in his left hand pocket, precisely for dealing with such wisecracks, I concluded that discretion was the better part of valour.

The ethos of the school management was to keep us permanently busy. Fully aware that the Devil finds work for idle hands to do, at one point it became compulsory to join an after-school club. Given a choice of several (aero-modelling, singing, photography etc) I opted for the Chess Club which became quite successful even without my invaluable contribution. I had decided from the outset to concede all my matches in order to pursue much more enjoyable physical activities.

(Left to right) Bobby Prestwich, Michael Higgins, Nigel Birch, Jack Greves who are supporting Michael Cliff who is seated and poring over the chessboard planning his next move.

From the newspaper clipping it would appear that members of the Chess Club exacted revenge on the Boys' High School, who had earlier inflicted a most humiliating defeat on our 1st XI football team.









I had recently been appointed School Captain of the football team by Mr Williamson and we were a very young and inexperienced group, whereas the High School had an older team which included 3 boys who went on to become professional footballers.

Back: (Left to right) 'Poshy' Parslew, Jack 'Grevo' Greves, Trevor Ashworth, R C 'Arsie' Bassadone, Tim Moore-Bridger, R A Hughes
Front: (Left to right) ?, Don Berry, David Pickup, Bernard Pickup, John Woolridge

For several weeks following the trouncing suffered at the hands of The Cabbages (our name for the High School Boys, because of the color of their caps) life was made unbearable for the boys wending their way to and from school, and for once 'Life in the Bubble' was advantageous.

I am pleased to add that we beat The Boys' High the following year once their more experienced players had moved on.

One of those boys just happened to go on and play a starring role in England's World Cup Winning Team of 1966 …………………..  Alan Ball!!!!