George Robson (FN 57-64) and John Ogden (FS 51-56) have compiled the following piece:

The King of All the Japes?

“I guess it is usual for schoolboys to devise practical jokes, and in particular those at boarding schools.
For example, I remember that in 1962 some of the Foundation prefects thought it a good idea to explore the roofs of the chapel, the lecture theatre and the then physics lab during hours of darkness. The scheme went as planned until a roof tile fell down to the Terrace alerting a member of staff who was locking doors for the night. I cannot remember what punishments were meted out.

And then there was the matter of Old Boys' Day 1962. We Foundation boys woke up on the morning after Old St Beghians' Day to see an amazing sight from the dormitory windows. During the night a large, mature tree had been felled, transported and replanted in a very large hole dug in the centre of The Crease. I daresay groundsman Jack Holdroyd would not have been pleased!

But the king of all japes must surely have been that devised and delivered by a group of Foundation prefects in the summer term of 1955. This was two years before George’s arrival at the school, but he was soon to hear an outline of the details of the enterprise.

The idea, dreamed up by Foundation prefect John Ogden (FS 51-56), was to provide secret communications between Foundation, Grindal and School House by laying a telephone line, known only to certain senior pupils, on all three Houses.
A trapdoor had been cut in the floorboards of the first prefects' study on the left in the short corridor almost opposite the Quadrangle entrance into Foundation. It led into a large space. This was big enough to hold four or five crouching boys. The trapdoor leading to the 'snug' was not easily spotted and with a few adjustments became undetectable. This 'snug' was of course used for smoking and the storage of other illicit objects. The thought was that, with ingenuity and planning, a telephone line could maybe be laid from this space connecting Foundation, Grindal and School House. The idea of a private phone to the other two Houses seemed appealing. Some weeks were spent planning how this could be done: e.g. endless lengths of telephone wire were stored in the armoury to be taken on CCF field trips but very rarely used. The fact that John was the sergeant in charge of signalling and responsible for all signalling equipment was useful to the enterprise. Most buildings within the school's domain have ventilation bricks and so give easy access/egress to wires. A bridge across Pow Beck behind the cricket pavilion could easily carry an unnoticeable line across, both above the water in the beck and below the railway lines. The wall alongside School House lane was also useful and, with what is now the car park in those days being merely a dirt track and no New Block or Whitelaw Building, devising a route between Foundation and School House was not too difficult. Similarly, a plan for a line between Foundation and Grindal was worked out and it was not long before communication between the three houses' prefects started during the latter part of the summer term of 1955. And it was over one year before things came to an end.

So how was this enterprise uncovered?

During the 1956 summer holidays workmen came in to check and update the central heating piping beneath Big School. Some of the floorboards were removed when the workmen discovered and reported the wiring running alongside the pipes. Also discovered was the 'snuggery' beneath the prefects' study. In due course the routes that the wiring took to Grindal and School House were traced.

somehow the name of ex-pupil John Ogden came to light and Headmaster Wykes wrote to him. The tone of the letter was curt. It didn't ask for the names of fellow plotters but showed curiosity. Sadly, this letter has been mislaid but John remembers ‘evil smelling snuggery’ featured in it.

If any of those involved in the caper other than John are still alive perhaps further details of this could be supplied.
And I am sure the editor of The Old St Beghian will be pleased to hear details of other mischief at the school - I know, for example, of a number of amusing activities that happened during the three-quarter day cycling outings.

On St Beghians’ Day 2022, George Robson (FN 57-64) bumped into John Ogden on the Terrace and suggested the two of them tour the Priory interior and afterwards pay homage at the graves of those we both remembered. It was during this time that the subject of the telephone caper arose. John agreed to provide George with details, and he would then stitch the facts together to form an article for the Bulletin.”

 

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