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morning cocoa at 7.30. And there was always the chance of bumping into another Oundelian and talking of School days.
Then there was the extraordinary industry and endeavour of the boys back in wartime Oundle: the hum and clank of the machines in the workshops as they produced important parts for the War Office; the ploughing-up and extension of School grounds to plant crops and rear pigs. It was very handy that agriculture had been on the Oundle syllabus for some years before the War. The boys also gave up their
the extraordinary Lady Maud Warrender and Daisy, Countess of Warwick, reputedly one-time mistress of Edward VII.
Also find out about the extraordinary career of Frederick Sanderson and his educational revolution at Oundle, which made the School nationally known. So popular had Oundle become, that numbers at the School grew even in wartime, with two new boarding Houses opening in 1917. Yet amidst the prosperity and popularity, Sanderson faced rebellion at the end of the War as the boys marched on the Head’s
There are pictures as well. The Oundle Archive is rich indeed in these, allowing us to put faces to the names. We see the boys as schoolboys and as soldiers. In the haunting photographs of the boys in OTC uniform, we see both at the same time. The front cover of the book features the Dryden House platoon from the summer of 1912, fully armed and ready for action. Eleven of the 34 boys gathered together on that sunny summer’s day would be killed in the coming conflict.
And We Were Young is a cornucopia of a book, telling the
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holiday time to carry on the good work of contributing to the country’s needs. Meanwhile, their academic work continued and supposedly improved, whilst they played games with their usual enthusiasm. On a number of occasions OO pilots flew back to Oundle (and sometimes crashed) to see how things were going at their alma mater.
Meet a cavalcade of famous people who intersected with Sanderson’s Oundle in wartime. H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw and W.G. Grace all played a part, as did
residence in School House.
Then there is the poetry. Oundle’s
war poetry is rich and varied. The Oundelian who died by his own hand in the Libyan desert attracted the attention of a contemporary poet of national reputation. Basil Coates’ sister wrote about the blossom of the chestnut trees in their beloved Cambridge, while one Housemaster, George Tryon, on active service in Salonika, penned a most moving and only recently-rediscovered poem, reflecting sadly on the death of one of his Crosby boys.
story of Oundle’s response to the fighting – home and away – in the words of those who were there. It ensures that the lives and deaths of those young men from Oundle – both Oundle School and Laxton School - who marched off to war are remembered.
To purchase your copy of And We Were Young, please contact the author: colinpendrill@gmail.com. Books cost £29.50 including postage and packing. All royalties and profits go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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