Recollections of an Old (but young at heart) Oswestrian, circa 1952 - EPISODE 44, 'PUSSY CAT' LEWIS, SCHOOL PLAYS AND PAGEANTRY

Dai Lewis, the 'Beast' of Senior School Masters, was a fascinating and complex character, and although I never quite forgave him for calling me a dour but very conscientious boy in a reference I asked him to provide for me on leaving school, I did have much respect and a great deal of time for him.

Stoker (far right), producer and director of The Man in the Bowler Hat in 1957
Cast (L-R) G Hutchinson, D Pickup, K Mottershead, B Pickup, J B Greves

There can be no doubt that Stoker Lewis, Fattie (D G W Felton), and Purdy (J F Tilley) will go down in the annals of the history of Oswestry School during the 1950s and beyond as Masters who dedicated themselves to long illustrious teaching careers, furthering the development of pupils under their tutelage, and I feel privileged to have been at School House during their time as Masters.

J F Tilley, D W G Felton, R Sale (Headmaster), Dai Lewis

In my era, c1952, the above fine crop of tonsorial treasures would have been targeted by Mr Williamson's demon barbers, who would have left most of them on the cutting room floor and, sadly, in many cases decades later, low maintenance shining domes would appear requiring just a daily polish!

Stoker and Purdy in 1986 either side of Chris Symons (author of Oswestry School, A Commemorative History, 1407-2007)

However, to put it bluntly, for most boys Stoker Lewis could be a very intimidating personality, particularly in the early years of life in Upper School once we had been released from the more benign atmosphere of Ma Walton's Prep Deptartment.

Me, and all my classmates, were in awe of this strict disciplinarian even before he set foot over the threshold of Form 3 to take us for English in the first period after lunch on Tuesdays, and it was the one part of the week during which he had our undivided attention.

Stoker, in typical pose, very definitely in charge

Ties were straightened, pencils sharpened, rubbers were buffed up as new, and desk tops looked almost pristine as we prepared for the arrival of the terror of Tuesday afternoons! All sweets disappeared until the end of the lesson, chewing gum was stuck to the underside of desks and, stranger than strange, there was not a dog biscuit in sight as I glanced nervously across at my brother Bernard. Even Cobber Walton's dodgy magazines had all gone missing for the duration. There was no fanfare to announce the arrival of Mr Lewis as he strode purposefully through the open door; just an eerie silence, and you could hear a pin drop as the lesson began in earnest.

He would tolerate no dissent in an effort to preserve his strict reputation, which he could not allow to be compromised by showing any sign of weakness, and I recall in later years the whole of our class being put on detention for sniggering and giggling with glee, as schoolboys do, when we came to the line in Shakespeare's Henry V where it says, "and Pistol's cock is up". Ha HA! You could almost see the smoke coming out of Stoker's ears as he banged his fist down in annoyance on the front row desk of a startled Charles Parker Jones! 

As time went by, I came to know him better and gradually learned when, and when not, to confront him on certain issues, but over the years we had more than a few contretemps as illustrated by the following entries from my Diary. In the first extract it turned out I was right about the dodgy pitch which, whilst bad for me personally, proved even worse for Bedstone College who were all out for 18 runs with Jack 'Grevo' Greves taking a stonking 5 wickets for 6 runs.

Their Captain, mistakenly and very unsportsmanlike, accused me of fixing the pitch in an act of retaliation for the year before when, playing at Bedstone, some rogue members of their team had spiked our bowls of sugar with salt at tea time; definitely not cricket!

A black day for Bedstone

The next extract came born out of frustration at the amount of time Jack and I were being called upon by Stoker to perform 'duties' as he called them, when we should have been focussing on our fast approaching A Levels. He relented, and we were excused mowing duties.

Mowing duties given to Tony Hughes and Fuller

On the heels of yet one more run in with Dai Lewis on 11 July 1960, Headmaster Frankland tried to impose more sanctions on School House having discovered that unscheduled sporting activities had taken place beyond the camp perimeter in direct contravention of newly announced restrictions. Jack Greves and myself were caught playing with a couple of nurses over on the hospital tennis courts, whilst good old Roger Morgan was honing his slip fielding techniques on the cricket cradle with the willing help of Pat, a friend of ours. 

Returning to school as Old Boys we could see a completely different side to David Lewis and realised he was far from the bete noir of yesteryear ; he was at heart just a Pussy Cat in disguise.

More restrictions on School House

From the moment we arrived at the Prep until leaving school there was an emphasis on drama and musical productions and I was a keen participant in these activities. The Headmaster's lawn was usually the stage and setting for Prep Department plays, but in 1952 inclement weather drove us all indoors and I remember playing the part of Will Scarlet to Jack Greves's Robin Hood.

In 1955 the school concert was held in the Memorial Hall for the first time and Ken Mottershead and I were cast as two sly, swaggering courtiers to King John. It was slightly worrying and discomforting to see it reported later in The Oswestrian that we portrayed the parts 'admirably'. 

A couple of years later Ken and I were teamed up again as Mary and John in the Dai Lewis production of The Man in the Bowler Hat, and we can be seen below in the Memorial Hall going through our lines. A quiff, trouser turn-ups, and shiny patent leather shoes were the in thing shortly before the arrival of more exotic hairstyles, tight trousers, and winkle pickers!

David (left) and Ken (right) at rehearsals

For the first time in its 50 year history the Lichfield Diocesan Festival of Witness took place in Oswestry during the Summer of 1956 and well over a thousand people processed through the town. A series of tableaux depicting biblical events accompanied the throng and the School was honoured by being asked to present a tableaux representing the spread of Christianity during the time of St Oswald.

Description of the event as reported in The Oswestrian

The Pageantry on display that day in June 1956 was colourful and impressive giving the Saturday afternoon shoppers an unexpected treat that would stay in the memory for years to come, and according to many onlookers it was the Oswestry School Tableaux that stole the show !