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David Lewis
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David Huw Lewis
| House: |
Junior/Intermediate/Scott |
| Years: |
1958-1961 |
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Came across this site almost by chance recently and was pleased to contact a couple of old pals.
Princo’ recollections:
Numerous memories, both + and - e.g. innumerable canings for trivial offences tho’ never “6 of the best” nor ever caught
smoking! Worst thing was waiting your turn to go in and hearing the vicious swish and thwack of the cane on the previous
victim and miserably speculating on the height of the swing and whether my three pairs of underpants would really offer
much protection! I remember some of the prefects being much more vicious than the staff and went about their duty with
what I thought was excessive enthusiasm.
'Storky' Chadwick (Scott housemaster) used to shake your hand afterwards as if to
say it was his painful duty and no hard feelings! There weren’t either for I liked him and remember him tossing me a
shilling in one of his Latin lessons for correctly guessing what “The defenestration of Prague” meant! He also went to
the trouble of writing to me at my school in Wales early in 1962 to congratulate me on scaling Kilimanjaro (with Borwick,
Woodgate and McCullough) the previous December (Just after Tanzanian independence) – bless him! Despite his military
manner and little eccentricities (which we put down to his being blown out of his tank in the Western desert!) he was a
good old stick and used to have several boys to breakfast of a Sunday morning which I thought was a nice homely touch. I
only went once and remember boring everyone rigid with a long rambling account of the film we’d seen the previous evening
(“A Hill in Korea” I think) but good old Storky heard me out politely and patiently. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t invited
again! I was very gung ho and heroic about military matters then.
I recall a guy called Davo Davis (I think) dressed up in his camouflage gear and sporting a bren gun and various
knives etc. visiting us in Kericho Primary (just after one Sunday service of all times!) and my being quite transfixed
and awestruck by his bloodthirsty anti Mau Mau stories. I’m quite the opposite now though!
Special affection too for 'Pansy' Potter (recently deceased I was sad to hear) and his ridiculous character Don Custardo
Dula Hula Perda! Poor chap was once literally reduced almost to tears trying to teach us Latin!
Charlie Hurst never taught me much Maths but was easily distracted on to long, time- wasting stories. We egged him on
to a long history of the Owen Falls Hydro electric scheme once, which took up most of the lesson!
The science teacher, somebody Caswell, was very enthusiastic and was ambidexterous writing on the board. He often used
the word “bimble” as in b… along!
“Agatha” the English teacher, tho’ middle aged and rather strict was one of the few females we ever clapped eyes on so was
viewed with more anatomical interest than she perhaps strictly deserved!
I went through an odd phase of furtively photographing teachers in their natural habitat during lessons and find I’ve
still got pics of Mr Burbridge doing maths and
Mr Seldon ('The missing link'!)
teaching us biology. Link’s son was in Scott
with me and was a fabulous artist. I can still visualise an amazingly realistic picture he painted of a Citroen in the
East African Safari. How I wanted that picture!
I’m going to bore everyone else rigid if I carry on so I’ll cease.
After Princo':
UK 1962, Wales - Steelworks (Blast furnaces), Royal Naval Reserve (Minesweepers), Teaching Australia 1975: Western NSW,
Norfolk Island, Canberra, S.E. Queensland; UK 1997 Caerphilly; Australia 2002: I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland.
Family, Two Chidlers and 2 g/ch’ds in Queensland. 2 step daughters in UK whom Margaret and I visit for a couple of months
each year.
(Registered - 15th January 2006)
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If anyone wishes to contact David, please e-mail webmaster@oldcambrians.com
to obtain his contact details
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