St John's Prep

Mr Manby (Mamba) the head with Ray Brown

The cast list for Alice

I thrived in the Prep. I adored Miss Parnwell my first teacher and was heartbroken when she left to go to England, In the second year Mrs Glover who was the wife of Cyril Glover the rector at Orange Grove. She once got me to read to the class while she went to see the head. The previous head Mr Argyle whose son was Hector and in our class had been forced to resign because he had divorced. I recall reacting to a small argument at home between Mum and Dad hoping that they would not divorce. It must have made us all worry. Mr Manby known as Mamba became our new Head. In the fifth year we had Mr Lewis to teach us Latin. He had been wounded in the War and had a limp. He would watch us in the reflection in his glasses as he stood at the board.  In the play "Alice in Wonderland" in the quad I played the cook throwing cardboard saucepans at the Duchess played by Richard Peregrine. It was great fun! Our teacher in final year in the Prep was the legendary Walter Macfarlane who later became Head of the College. I thrived on English literature especially Shakespeare read in class as a play. I recall mispronouncing schedule in Julius Caesar. Every year I won a prize usually for English and got to choose lovely books like Prester John and King Solomon's mines in fine white binding.  

In 1959 I won a scholarship and that I know was a great help with the school fees although it was only £20 a year! My prize was the Oxford Junior encyclopaedia Natural history. In 1962 Mum and Dad bought me a beautiful book by the Scotts about nature page 79. Walter Macfarlane's book Greater than we know gives much insight into this period with Mr Lewis holding the fort after Mr Argyle's resignation.

 Miss Parnwell 1953

Mrs Glover 1954

 Lower IIA Miss Smith who had been bitten by a dog. 1955 Back row Richard Hogben, Smith, MacDuff, Robinson, Trollip, Dawson, MacRobert, Radley
Front row Wilson, Peregrine, self, Dane, Hunt, Cretikos, Hausler, Sceales, Susman, Gear
Absent Mills

Upper IIA Trinity term1956 Missing Sussman

Back row Dawson, MacRobert, Dane, MacDuff, Pringle, Mills, Hausler

Second row Trollip, Hogben, Matthews, Puckrin, Jarrett, Weehuizen, Robinson, Radley, Greaves

Front row Gear, Fulton, Peregrine, Hunt, Cretikos, Mr Wilkinson, Sceales, Ridley, Thing, self, Wilson

This is the form which mostly stayed together for the following years also some went into B and C streams. Mr Wilkinson it turns out fondled Ant at the back of class - Ant did not know what was happening. How awful! 

Lower IIIA

Back row Dawson, Dane, Robinson, Brakespeare, Harrison, Sceales,Cretikos

Second row Argyle, Weehuizen, Jarrett, Chancellor-Maddison, Buchan, Puckrin, Matthews, Trollip

Front row Peregrine, Gear, self, Ridley, Rees, Mr Lewis Latin master, McRobert, Ritchie, Lamond, Wilson, Thing

Upper IIIA Easter term

Back row Robinson Maddison, Trollip

Third row Jarrett, Weehuizen, Puckrin, Buchan, Argyle, Matthews, Ritchie

Second row Deveaux, Rees, Cooper, Thing, Mr Mcfarlane, Peregrine, self, Wilson, Gear

In front Brakespeare, Harrison, Ridley, McRobert

Missing Dane