Recollections of an Old (but young at heart) Oswestrian, circa 1952 - EPISODE 20, THE 'NEARLY' BOYS OF SPORTS DAY, 1960 (PART 1)

Oswestry School Sports Day in 1960 was held at Park Hall Army camp Stadium on Saturday 2nd April.

Just one individual stood in the way of sporting glory for all of us hoping for success in the track and field events that were held at Park Hall Army Camp in 1960. That person was R A Hughes, our Captain of Athletics, who had set his eyes firmly on winning The Victor Ludorum for a third consecutive year. The rest of us, including those pictured below at the start of the 100 yds final, were pretenders, vainly trying to dethrone the king.

(Left to right) D Pickup, G Hitchen, D Bebb, R Morgan, B Pickup, R A Hughes
(RAH won, B Pickup 2nd, D Pickup 3rd)

Tony was invincible, in a class of his own, and everyone else was playing catch up. He won every track and field event he entered, claiming the Victor Ludorum for his third successive year, and in doing so broke three school records. It was just our misfortune to be competing in an era during which R A Hughes reigned supreme. My brother came 2nd in the 100 yds and 440 yds, Roger Morgan was 2nd in the 1 mile and 880 yds, and I chased Tony home in the steeplechase.

Had Tony Hughes not been present that day, it is very likely that Bernard would have claimed the trophy, but we will never know, and it is worth noting that Roger Morgan went on to win the Victor Ludorum the following year. Another rising young star was J H Woolrich who, in addition to winning five intermediate races, came an outstanding 2nd in the Triangle behind Tony Hughes, the thorn in everybody's side.

1 mile heat
(Right to Left) B Pickup, 'Poshy' Parslew, D Pickup, J Woolrich

 

All the heats were held on the Maes-y-Llan prior to Sports Day, and the pictures show two stages of the 1 mile. The one above is near the start of the race, and nurses were waving and shouting encouragement from the windows of the cottage hospital in the background, whilst 'Stoker' Lewis is in an animated conversation with his back to the proceedings.

 

The photo below is nearing the end of the struggle to be first to the tape, and young Woolrich has moved up into a very threatening position behind my brother. I cannot recall who won this heat, but neither Bernard nor myself featured amongst the placings in the final of the 1 mile which was, needless to say, won by the flying feet of RA Hughes, with R Morgan 2nd, and J Woolrich 4th.

B Pickup leading, followed by J H Woolrich, D Pickup and J Parslew

It was a rather murky day on the Maes-y-Llan when some of the heats took place, and here I am in the 100 yds, desperately trying to catch the maestro, for whom it looks like a stroll in the park. I cannot for the life of me explain why I am not wearing my white shorts and vest.

100 yds heat - R A Hughes and D Pickup

Several events were decided before Sports Day, the Triangle being one of them, and points were awarded to every participant in this race based on his finishing position. These counted towards the final House points tally, giving each boy an incentive to give of his best and enabled everyone, irrespective of ability, to contribute to the overall outcome on Sports Day. In an effort to maximise our chances of winning the House Cup, at Oswald House we began timing each boy's performance during Triangle practice, anticipating that results would improve. By and large this worked very well and most people entered into the spirit of it, being able to better their previous performances whilst improving their level of fitness.

Notice board announcement of my election

Sometime earlier I had been elected captain of Oswald, which was a nice vote of confidence from the boys, as opposed to having been appointed by Mr Williamson, the Headmaster, and on reflection I definitely valued the former rather more so.

I had been aware for some time of a few habitual shirkers, and it was brought to my attention as House Captain that a small group of malingerers were taking the Triangle short-cut during training runs. Once the start of the next practice was underway, I rather sneakily ran up Trefonen Road and waited for them to rejoin the official route half way down the homeward leg. I made them an offer they could not refuse - I took them all round again! There was quite a bit of good-natured banter during all the huffing and puffing that followed, and the aggrieved boys unanimously voted me off their Christmas card lists whilst mutinously grunting warnings about possible apple pie beds, stink bombs, and itching powder (with Cascara pills being the ultimate sanction). However, I am sure they thought twice before repeating the offence, and it served as a deterrent to others harbouring similar thoughts.

 

         

To be continued...