Colin Edney (FN 50-54) has sent the following:

“Reading Rob Rew’s article in the July edition of the Bulletin prompted many memories of my time at St Bees, and the fact that he had a poster of the 1952 production of The Pirates of Penzance signed by all the cast was remarkable. The Producer, Mr. Schofield, gave me my first experience of a ‘con job’ as he took me to one side and told me how I was so good at singing that it was helping my fellow pupils with their performance. I was bursting with pride only to discover that he had said this privately to every member of the cast in an effort to improve the whole show!

The national lockdown and now the local restrictions have given all of us an opportunity of reflecting on life generally and, for me, from many years ago.

I entered Foundation in September 1950 and at that time discipline was enforced by the house prefects, and one of the first requirements was to be able to recite the names of those prefects in order of seniority when asked at any time, something I can still do to this day. Failure to get it right resulted in a ‘Triangle’ or, if the prefect was in a bad mood, a ‘High Walton’.
I left St Bees in 1954 when Head of  Zwees - a year earlier than usual - because once I had obtained the necessary O levels to start my five year  articles to become a solicitor, and with the financial constraints of a further year in private education (in spite  of T. A. Brown’s  offering me a middle school scholarship), plus the prospect of two years’ National Service, it would be at least another seven years  before I could be of any benefit to my father, who was a sole practitioner in  Berwick-upon-Tweed, a town which has always  been my home. In those days, for me personally, going to university did not have any attraction.

As well as a formal education at St Bees, we had at that time the opportunity of enjoying a wide range of sporting activities, and as I came from a sporting-minded family, this was very much of great personal benefit. My father was a county standard tennis and hockey player and my mother somewhat of a pioneer by being a girls’ PE teacher in the 1920s. This was reflected perhaps more on my sister’s side as she is the mother of Judy Murray and grandmother to Jamie and Andy Murray. As their great uncle Colin, I have had the privilege of being at the Centre Court for both of Andy’s Wimbledon triumphs as well as supporting Jamie and Andy in Belgium when winning the Davis Cup as well as on many other memorable occasions.

My own sporting prowess has been extremely modest by comparison, although during the 1960s I did represent the County of Northumberland at golf and was selected as a member of the Borders Group in the National Badminton Scottish District Championships.

I was lucky enough to be much involved with Round Table during the heady days of the 60s and 70s. I was elected to the National Executive in 1969 and became National Secretary for two years before standing, unsuccessfully as National President in 1973. In hindsight it may have been a blessing in disguise in view of the expense and commitment of time that such a position demanded, but the many valued friendships made throughout the UK during that period still hold true to this day.

I remained in private practice all my working life before retiring in January 1993 as the senior partner of a small four-partner country practice.

I married Pamela in 1962 and we had two children - Clive (FN 74-81) and Josephine. Pamela was always interested in horses and encouraged me to join her in riding out and eventually subscribing to the College Valley and North Northumberland Hunt for some 28 seasons. The CVNNH is a hill pack and very much welcomed by the local hill farmers, whose livelihood is greatly dependent on fox control.
Having had great fun in being involved in horse racing syndicates with four or five friends (National Hunt only), I was tempted to buy a racehorse of my own, which I named Foundation North. This venture was spectacularly unsuccessful
and he was retired after only one season. I hope no OSB saw it running and backed it because of the name!

Sadly, Pamela died unexpectedly in 2003 but I was left with 41 years of happy memories which remain with me to this day. In 2009 I remarried and Anne and I are enjoying a fairly quite retirement. I still play golf  (very badly) and after over 40 years of competitive bridge, this has had  great benefits in passing the time in online bridge events, which are a godsend in the present Covid climate.

Looking back I have a lot to thank the school for in giving me the confidence to meet the vicissitudes of life that we all have faced in the years that followed.”

 

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St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

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