40s and 50s Memories
my own consultancy in the natural gas industry.
This entailed my advising several companies
active in North Sea exploration for gas on the
commercialization of their finds. I was also
consulted for advice on gas matters by Exxon
International on their European gas interests,
and by China Light and Power in Hong Kong,
on the purchase of gas discovered in the South
China Sea.
In 1994, I retired from consultancy work in the
gas industry and moved from Surrey to Poole,
in Dorset.
My working life has been one involving travelling
widely, particularly in Europe, throughout
France, Germany and Italy, and together with
my wife and having three languages at our
disposal we have enjoyed living and sampling
life in all three countries.
Internationally too we have been able to travel
a great deal. Hong Kong during our stay there
was a stepping-stone for visits to China, Borneo,
Japan, Hawaii, Thailand and the Philippines. My
work with Exxon likewise provided numerous
opportunities for visits to the U.S.A and Canada.
My hobbies include sketching and painting,
and we are often in London for the latest art
exhibitions. Both of us have always been
passionate about skiing and this has taken
us regularly to Switzerland, Austria, France
and Canada for over 50 years; our last trip as
octogenarians! Now, after 61 years of marriage
we are obliged to slow down and enjoy the
beauties of Dorset, catching up on our reading
and, of course, keeping in touch with our friends.
Surprisingly enough, in spite of the war, my
time at King's was relatively carefree and the
atmosphere in the school caring and friendly,
sadly punctuated by the announcement of the
death of an old boy in combat. At the time and
in retrospect, this was a place to which we all
felt proud to belong.
R. HUGHES
Meynell 1957
Roger 'Frank' Hughes began his King's
connection at the Junior School and it came to his mind recently a memory of crawling into
three storm drains in the lower fields, with two
other boys, to explore them, something he
couldn't imagine doing now.
At Senior School, cricket was a key interest and
he remembers advising Paul Twose in 1955 to
take up cricket rather than tennis the latter was
considering. In Roger's opinion Twose was
more than good enough for the Junior Colts.
And so he proved, for the following year he
bypassed the Senior Colts and got into the Ist
XI. His son Roger has since excelled his father
by playing Test cricket for New Zealand, the
only OA to have reached that standard as far
as Hughes is aware.
Of his later life he writes:
On leaving King's in 1957 my intention was to
return to my home in Cardiff. I thought I would
do any sort of work where I could save money
with a view to starting my own business. I also
thought of doing some professional boxing. I
did some weight training and broke the Welsh
records at my weight (9.5 stone). One was for
250 lbs for the 'Squat' and the other 65lbs for
'Hold Out in Front'.
However I soon found out that my father was
seriously getting on my nerves, with criticisms
and so on. My main concern now was to get
away. If I had known about YMCA hostels
I would probably have moved into the local
Cardiff YMCA. There were also the Services
such as the army but I wasn't inclined toward
that. All I could think of was a live-in hotel job. I
therefore ended up on Guy Fawkes Day 1958
as a trainee hotel manager at the Queen Hotel,
Chester.
I worked in the bar and did the cellar work. I
knew no one in Chester. My work colleagues
were four barmaids aged 50 to 68.
After a year of this I packed it in and moved to
London where I was in contact with some OAs.
I obtained a clerical job with Board of Trade.
It turned out that there wasn't enough work to
keep all staff fully engaged and I did about one
hour's work a day next to an Old Etonian who
did nothing. Twice I had to be woken up at my
desk!
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