Recollections of an Old (but young at heart) Oswestrian, circa 1952 - EPISODE 21, THE 'NEARLY' BOYS OF SPORTS DAY, 1960 (PART 2)

(Or otherwise titled, 'A 3rd Title for Tony, but Oswald Scoop the Pot!')

The big day had finally arrived and excitement was running high as we gathered together in small groups at Park Hall army camp stadium prior to the start of the first race on Sports Day 1960. The nervous tension was almost palpable as tracksuits were removed, and realisation dawned on us that the waiting was almost over and the moment of truth was upon us. As we walked towards the starting line I reflected, with a touch of relief, that we had been spared the dreaded stodgy window frames pudding at lunch time, and took a quick glance at the other competitors, wondering if they felt as jittery as I did. They all looked confident and calm as cucumbers, particularly Tony Hughes who oozed the air of a boy who had already won the Victor Ludorum twice, and for whom this race was just the first step towards adding a third.

Victor Ludorum Trophy

RAH's confident look was fully justified as he crossed the line in front of Bernard to win his first race, and I came home in 3rd place. Now that we were literally up and running, at this point all the nerves disappeared, and I was ready for more action. I did not have long to wait as my next appearance was as a participant in the long jump, an event from which RA Hughes had scratched. I jokingly said to my brother, "Perhaps he wants to give the rest of us a chance of winning something on the day", to which our kid said, "No chance of that, he is running scared as he knows I will win it!" 

Now, I admire Bernard's confidence in his own ability, and he did indeed come 1st in the event with a leap of 16 feet, 4 inches, winning as he had done the year previously. I came 2nd, just 2 inches short,  and inwardly reflected that a couple of generous portions of the infamous Holbache House beans might just have helped propel me a few more inches further along the pit to put me in front of my brother.

D Pickup jumping into 2nd place with a leap of 16' 2"

Another event from which RAH had withdrawn was the 220yds, leaving it wide open for the rest of us to shine. The photo shows me and my brother about to cross the line together, sinews and faces straining with determined effort. You cannot tell at this point whether it ended in a dead heat, but I maintain to this day that we breached the tape simultaneously! Without the benefit of an action replay system we will never know, and I am probably being a sore loser as, unfortunately for me, the result went in Bernard's favour. His brown envelope must have been bigger than mine.

Dead heat or not?

At this point in the afternoon, with all my efforts behind me (apart from participating in the House relay race), it was all too clear I had been elevated from my position of nearly man to nearly, nearly, nearly man, having crossed the line in 2nd place, once behind Tony Hughes, and twice behind my brother. It is always so nice to be promoted. Grrr...

 

I don't quite know why, but I kept hearing the words always the bridesmaid, never the bride running through my mind. White dresses don't suit my complexion anyway, and I lack confidence in high heels, but, to be fair, it was the weekend!

Pink is definitely more flattering!

Out of the six finalists in the high jump, Oswald were well represented with four contenders, and it was Jeremy Parslew who gave us 2nd place. He can be seen bending over in the background just under the crossbar, preparing for his last attempt, as Tony Hughes, who had also won the previous year, is flying over the crossbar to clinch another triumph.

Tony Hughes winning the high jump

The final race of the day was the senior relay, and our team of D Pickup, R Morgan, J Sharples, and B Pickup was, as a whole, generally regarded as the strongest on paper. However, Burnaby had unparalleled fleetness of foot in the shape of RA Hughes, with whom we would have to compete on the homeward straight, and our only hope was to build up an unassailable lead by the final leg to enable my brother to bring the baton over the finishing line in front of Tony. As anticipated,  this was no easy task. With a mixture of hope and trepidation, expectations were high, and although Oswald had a commanding lead going into the last leg, it was the sheer talent of the Captain of Athletics that enabled him to catch, and overtake, Bernard, who was no slouch, and who would go on to win the race for Burnaby.

R A Hughes breaching the tape, with Bernard close behind

As expected, Tony Hughes duly completed a superb hat trick, justifiably winning his 3rd Victor Ludorum before going on to win further honours in the athletics field after leaving school.

As the proceedings drew to a close, it gave me great pleasure to accept the House Cup on behalf of Oswald, and see Headmaster Frankland looking on, smiling through gritted teeth as Mrs Humphreys presented me with the trophy. There was a mutual dislike here and we would be glad to see the back of one another at the end of that year. I feel bound to comment about my tracksuit ensemble - it is plain for all to see that I was no fashion icon, and 1/10 on the style metre would have been flattering, but at the end of the day it wasn't meant to be a fashion parade, so I rest my case.

D Pickup receiving the House Cup

Back at School House, I snatched a solitary moment of celebration in the library, captured here for posterity, drinking the intoxicating elixir of success from the House Cup (Tango pop I think it was... certainly not alcohol!)

David Pickup drinking in the moment of victory

 

I was very soon roused from my quiet reverie by the noisy arrival in the library of a raucous bunch of reprobates bearing the spoils of victory and in party mood. It had been an unprecedented tally of silverware, and all the boys in the photograph had contributed to our successes earlier in the day. In joyful mood, we reminisced over the ups and downs of the afternoon and wondered if it could ever be done again in such style. Later that evening we raised our glasses, hypothetically, to the Captain of Athletics in acknowledgment of a very special 3rd Victor Ludorum, whilst simultaneously sending him our commiserations for not winning the House Cup with Burnaby.

Left to right: (Back) D Pickup, B Pickup
(Front) J B Greves, J Sharples, R Morgan, J Parslew

Despite not taking 1st place in as many races as we would have liked, helped by a sterling effort from young John Woolrich, who won 6 races in the intermediate class, Oswald House as a team were supreme, and our collective efforts enabled us to accumulate an impressively winning total of 235 points. All the training and hard work had paid dividends, and we finally brought home the bacon in the form of a grand collection of trophies. We had scooped the pot!

The final results