40s and 50s Memories
Patrick Fowles, recent photo
P. J. GAGE
Meynell 1950
Peter Gage left King's in 1950 after 6 years in
Meynell House, when Howard Padfield was
Housemaster. English and french were his
favourite subjects and Mr. May, the english
teacher impressed him. He took part in
various school plays and was editor of 'The
Aluredian'. He made the 1st XV rugby team
and excelled at shooting, becoming Captain of
the Shooting VIII, a team which won the UK-
wide inter-school Country Life Cup in 1950, the
demanding group, snap and landscape 0.22
rifle competition. He won a one-year English
Speaking Union scholarship to Westminster
School, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Of this period in the U.S.A. and of his later
working life he writes:-
At Westminster School, Connecticut, I had a
good year playing American football, winning
my colours ("letter") in the 1st team, and
becoming a lead singer in the VI Form Octet. It
also enabled me to visit Bermuda with a school
friend's family for Easter 1951. In the summer,
it enabled me to get some work experience as
a roustabout labourer in the Texas oilfields. It
was tough, dirty, hot (100 degrees F+), and
dangerous work - I have a broken big toe to
prove it!
I returned to England in1951 to take my place at
Wadham College, Oxford, where I read English Literature. It was a full life in all respects and
full of opportunities of which I took advantage.
Cultural activities such as acting and singing;
and sport. I played rugby, rowed and was a
member of the Freebooters Cricket XI. During
the vacations I earned money driving delivery
vans.
In 1954 National Service called. I joined the
Somerset Light Infantry and was commissioned
2nd Lieutenant in April, 1955. I married my wife,
Sheila, the day after "passing out" from Eaton
Hall. Soon I was involved in active service in
Malaya during the "Emergency". As Platoon
Commander I led my platoon on aggressive
patrols in the mountainous jungle terrain in
Pahang; ten days in the jungle and five days
out, again and again. A very demanding period
of action from which, thankfully, the whole
platoon returned safely. In Malaya I served with
a fellow O.A., (Captain) Keith Shapland who is
now, sadly, no longer with us. Back in the U.K.
I subsequently became a Mechanical Transport
Officer responsible for 300 vehicles, ranging
from jeeps up to massive searchlight trucks.
After National Service, in 1956, I took a post
with John Holts, an export/import company, as
Assistant Venture Agent in Northern Nigeria.
This company was in the traditional mould of
selling bicycles, sewing machines, printed
cloth, enamel goods, cigarettes and petrol,
etc. I bought hides and skins, groundnuts, and
cotton. To function at all in this environment
called for some fluency in the local language,
Hausa, which I had to learn. Sheila joined me
there after the birth of Christopher, our first son.
We all survived several severe bouts of malaria.
In 1958, we were back in England living in
Thornbury, Glos., and I was now working with
Bostik Ltd., and subsequently its offshoot
company, United Marketing. Over the next
13 years my jobs progressed through Product
and Sales Divisions and by 1967 I was Sales
Director of United Marketing. During this period
we lived in Great Glen, Leicestershire.
In 1971 I became Marketing Manager with a
watchband company in Burgess Hill, Sussex
and we moved to Chailey, East Sussex. In
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