40s and 50s Memories
P. FOWLES
Carpenter 1957
Patrick Fowles spent ten years at King's in both
the Junior and Senior Schools. He became
a Prefect of Carpenter House and as well as
playing in a number of teams was a founder
member and Chairman of the Fishing Society.
I first arrived at King's in September, 1946, just
two months before my eighth birthday. Here in
the United States people marvel that a boy so
young should be sent to boarding school, but
it was more common then and my parents had
a good reason. My father was in the Control
Commission for Germany, the civilian arm of
the occupation force controlling the British
sector in post-war Germany, and had been in
Germany continuously since even before the
end of the war. My mother wanted to join him,
but the British schools set up for military and
CCG dependents in Germany were not very
good and the only alternative was boarding
schools in England for my older sister and me.
For several years my terms at King's followed
a familiar pattern. The dreadful homesickness
of the first couple of weeks would give way to
a generally very happy month or two, during
which thoughts of home were limited to being
forced to write a letter every weekend and
receiving tuck parcels, until the excitement
of end-of-term would revive the desire to be
back home again and, for me, the anticipation
of another two-day trip by train and troop ship
back to Germany. The early homesickness of
the younger boys was ably handled by Matron,
whose name I cannot remember, but whose
kindness and understanding I surely do. Others
who readily come to mind from my Junior
School days include our first teacher "Granny"
Grainger, who we used to tease mercilessly
and tell awful stories about behind her back,
but who patiently and ably began our "King's"
education, and Miss Phillips, who was both
an excellent teacher and a great mentor when
needed, and who many of us had a crush on
at one time or another. She, of course, later
married Mr. Padfield, the Physics master in the
Senior School.
Of the male teachers in Junior School, only
the Headmaster, Mr. Becket stands out. While
he was a stern, chain-smoking disciplinarian
(some say he relished this role too much),
he could also be very kind and considerate. I
experienced both sides of his personality. I was
a fairly naughty boy and found myself leaning
over the arm of his old leather couch for "three
(or six) of the best" from his very old and floppy
gym shoe on many occasions, all of which, I
might add, were well deserved. But he was the
one who came to pick me up at the Castle Hotel
in Taunton after I had run back there after lights
out when a rare visit from my mother during
term time rekindled my homesickness, and it
was he who comforted me when my father died
suddenly. He handled both these occasions
with empathy and understanding.
The year I moved up to the Senior School,
the Junior School moved to Pyrland Hall and
I became a founding member of the Carpenter
House. The teachers who influenced me
the most academically were Mr. Morgan
and Mr. Padfield; they are most responsible
for me becoming a chemical engineer. I'm
always amazed that, although mathematics
was probably my favorite subject, I have no
recollection at all of the mathematics teachers at
King's. When I was in the 6th Form Mr. Morgan
predicted that I would eventually earn a PhD,
something that seemed very far-fetched at the
time, but eventually came true. Other teachers
that I remember with respect and gratitude
are Mr. Wilson, who taught me to climb on
Dartmoor, Mr. Pytches, who ably guided our
scouting adventures, including a memorable
trip to Corsica, and Mr. Jaquet, who helped me
set up the King's Fishing Club and taught us
fly-tying and other vital skills. I chatted with Mrs.
Jaquet at an OA event recently and we recalled
with pleasure the afternoon teas at their house
after a day of fishing before he delivered us
back for Sunday evensong. And finally there
was Mr. Lyons-Wilson, unstructured and easily
flusterable, but who demonstrated repeatedly
that, through the teaching of art, one could also
teach about relationships and risk-taking and
daring and all those more subtle aspects of life
that make it more enjoyable and productive.
42