40s and 50s Memories
7
Tors on Dartmoor.
Ten Tors Command 1987
At the end of 1989 I retired from the Army and
went to live in Shropshire to take the job of Chief
Executive of the Reserve Forces and Cadets
Association for the West Midlands based in
Birmingham. I retired from that in 1999 to garden,
fish and watch Somerset play cricket. My wife,
Myrtle, and I married in Cornwall in 1961. We
have a son, Justin (T83) and a daughter Clare
(St Audries, West Quantoxhead) and four
Grandchildren. We now live in Somerset.
M. BISSELL
King Alfred 1958
Martin Bissell spent eight years in Junior and
Senior Schools at King's. He enjoyed singing
throughout his time there and has fond
memories of Hugh Large the music and choir
Master, and housemaster of Woodard House.
The choir had an additional attraction for him
as the evening practices took place at the same
time as Friday Prep.
It was with mixed feelings that the time arrived at
the end of the 1958 summer term for me to finish
my education at King's, having been a boarder
there for the previous eight years. I would miss
the friendship of colleagues and a particular way
of life I had become accustomed to, but it was
time to move on and forge a career for myself
within the catering profession, and this led me
into enrolling as a student at the Acton Hotel and
Catering College, London, an establishment
now incorporated within the University of West London. I took a two year course entitled 'Hotel
Operations' which involved all aspects of the
industry, including advanced cookery, waiting,
reception, dietary and nutrition, and French. At
this time, 1959 and 1960, Britain was lagging
behind its counterparts in Europe with its
standard of catering, though thankfully things
have now changed. We were advised to gain
experience in all departments prior to seeking a
position in management, and so, on completion
of my course, I obtained employment as a
'commis' chef at the Savoy Hotel, London.
I am arrowed in this photo. My wage was £7-10 shillings
per week. Savoy Grill January 1962
There were 50 chefs employed in 'The Savoy
Grill' kitchen, 80% of them were French and
all the dishes were à la carte. The orders for
the dishes were shouted out in French, so you
had to be alert and respond accordingly. The
head chef Monsieur Alban had served as an
apprentice under Escoffier, who at the time
was known as 'The Chef of Kings' and the 'The
King of Chefs'. His book 'A Guide to Modern
Cookery' is still in print today.
At this time in London, on the sporting front,
I played cricket for the RAFA Ealing for three
seasons, opening the batting for the Ist XI, and
achieving an average of over 100 in my last
season.
My time at the Savoy of just over two years
was a great experience and I can lay claim
to having cooked for Sir Winston Churchill,
Duncan Menzies when he was Australian Prime
Minister, Baron Rothschild and Lord and Lady
Docker, amongst others. On leaving, I received
a very favourable reference from Monsieur