Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

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Brentwood College Magazine Warleywoods Hospital, Brentwood, Essex, May 10th, 1942. Dear Mr. Privett: I am afraid that it is a considerable time since I last wrote to anyone at the School, but I have at last been smitten, partly by my conscience and partly by a desire to learn how Brentwood is faring as the result of the present turmoil. It is rather a coincidence that I should have been sent here to another Brentwood — and a somewhat different one — as a consequence of the war. For the first year of the war I was at the London Hospital doing a variety of jobs, though for part of the time we were not kept busy as we were waiting for the long-expected air attacks on London. Gradually, however, more and more of the usual routine work of a hospital was resumed, and I found myself as R.M.O. to the private wards — a peculiarly ussless occupation during wartime. Just as I decided that it was a complete waste of time so far as the war was concerned, the Blitz started in earnest. Jerry carried out his attacks nearer and nearer to London, so that one caught a glimpse of damaged build- ings on the outskirts, but it was not until that never-to-be-forgotten night in September, 1940, that he attacked London as if he meant it. I was just completing a period of leave on the first night of his attack, and shall always remember the sight of the bombed homes of East London as I passed through on my way back to the hospital. When 1 reached the hospital I found that the rest of my colleagues looked somewhat pale and drawn, but the only explanation I received was just you wait until to-night. And what a night it turned out to be! Hardly had the warning sounded than one bomb struck one of the Nurses ' Homes and another landed at the front gate of the hospital, smashing all the front windows in doing so. All the patients in the block of which I was in charge were removed to the air raid shelter in the basement, except two who could not be moved, and they were on the second floor. As a result I spent the night touring round from one part of the building to another, one minute breathing a sigh of relief at being in the comparative safety of the shelter and the next summing up courage enough to ascend to the more exposed second floor. The whole night con- sisted of a series of sickening roars as a bomb whistled down, mingled with the deafening crash as it exploded and the resultant rumbling of falling masonry and tinkling of smashed windows. I, for one, did not realise what escapes we had that night until the following morning (possibly more aptly expressed as Came the dawn ) when I wandered out to see the damage. I found that two of the Nurses ' Homes and the Hospital Laundry had re- ceived direct hits — both buildings being within a hundred yards of the block where I had been — and there was a gaping hole in the middle of the road just behind ; pieces of this road we later found on the roof of the private wards, and two fragments had actually broken the skylight on the fifth floor. But I had had a soft job compared with some of the resident staff. They had the job of receiving the casualties, tending to their wounds, operating, and easing the last hours of several badly wounded victims. Of course the onset of the Blitz put paid to the continuing of the private wards, and after five similar hectic nights I was transferred to night duty in the general wards. The amount of activity varied from night to night, and it was probably excusable that it was with a sense of relief that we realised that another part of London had been chosen for the brunt of the attack on a particular night. Certainly the Blitz was no picnic, but throughout it all the spirit and determination of the people was amazing, and has been described on numerous occasions far more adequately than I could ever hope to better. 1 Page Twenty-eight]

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Brentwood College Magazine Tea was served on the verandah overlooking the inlet, which provided a beautiful scene for the usual amenities. Afterwards the visitors strolled about the grounds and viewed the exhibits of Manual Training, Architectural Draw- ing and Photography in the Library. i i i PRIZE LIST 1942 Grade IX. — Form Prize R. Wellsted Grade X. — Form Prize - M. Butler Grade XI. — Form Prize, 1st - - - - R. E. Ainscough Grade XI. — Form Prize, 2nd R. Young Grade XII. — Form Prize, 1st - - - - A. E. Gillespie Grade XII. — Form Prize, 2nd - - - - O. J. A. Cavenagh Science Prize A. E. Fox Mathematics Prize - - A. E. Gillespie and O. J. A. Cavenagh Williams Prize for Languages R. E. Ainscough and R. Young Scott-Moncrieff Prize for English - - - A. E. Gillespie Mechanical Drawing Prize ----- R. E. Ainscough Architectural Drawing Prize - - - - A. W. Calhoun Manual Training - - P. McCulloch Senior Tennis Doubles ------ J. T. Clarke and J. M. McClean Senior Tennis Singles J. T. Clarke Junior Tennis Doubles J. W. Pitts and R. Young Junior Tennis Singles - R. Young Senior Sculling J. E. Schinbein Junior Sculling C. E. Jukes Senior Badminton Doubles - - - - J. T. Clarke and G. A. Underbakke Senior Badminton Singles O. J. A. Cavenagh Junior Badminton Doubles J. W. Pitts and C. L. Graham Junior Badminton Singles P. A. Cherniavsky Senior Squash Rackets J. T. Clarke Junior Squash Rackets A. Pollard 100 Yards Challenge Cup W. A. F. Pinckard Junior Challenge Cup R. Lewis Intermediate Challenge Cup - - - - C. E. Jukes Victor Ludorum A. E. Gillespie and W. A. F. Pinckard Shooting Cup - - J. M. McClean Yarrow Shield and Medal A. E. Gillespie House Cup — Cricket (Mrs. Oliver) ---------- Upper House Rugby (Capt. Levien) Upper House Tennis (Mrs. Privett) Upper House Rowing (Mrs. Heme) Upper House Shooting (Mrs. Parr) .......... Lower House Inter-House Cup - Upper House [Page Twenty -seven]

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Brentwood College Magazine I was destined to endure the Blitz for only three weeks in London — though I can ' t say I enjoyed even that short period, especially after an objec- tionable Hun dropped a small bomb fifteen yards from where I was attempting to play bridge (probably started by someone who suggested a quiet rubber) — as I was offered the post of R.M.O. in charge of this hospital. I came here in October, 1940, and though we have had some noisy nights and some pretty close bombs it has been nothing like those hectic nights in London. Now, of course, only the coastal districts and 3 -Star Baedeker cities are getting it. Here I am in charge of the medical (as opposed to surgical) side of the hospital, and am also responsible for the administration of the place, a job which entails a good deal of office routine; in fact I am beginning to look upon myself as little more than a filler-up of forms. However, that criti- cism applies to many jobs these day s, particularly in the fighting services. We have 186 beds in use with a certain number of additional beds kept in reserve in case we receive casualties at short notice, and we draw our patients from two London hospitals and from nearby military units chiefly. As a result we are kept fairly busy and seldom have less than 150 patients in the hospital at a time. Sometimes I get very fed up with treating ordinary civilian sick, but there are compensations in that we do have quite a number of service patients so that one does feel that one is doing something in the war; never- theless I am sometimes very tempted to resign and go into one of the services even though I get more medicine here than I would in the services. And what of Brentwood? It is a long time since I saw anyone who has any up-to-date news of the School or of any Old Boys, and I am looking forward to receiving the magazine and learning of the latest activities. I understand that there are several Old Boys over here now — Rocke Robertson, John Calland, Ballachey and others, though I have not seen them. I saw Julius Griffiths the other day — he is acting as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross. Then, of course, I frequently hear the voice of Gerry Wilmot announcing the Canadian programmes on the B.B.C., but so far I haven ' t seen him. In fact, I have practically no news of Old Boys. I was very sorry to hear that Bruce Hanbury was killed while on active service with the R.A.F. though; it is only when one hears of distressing news like that that one realises the costly price and sacrifices which are being made in this ghastly struggle. Many of my colleagues at the hospital have been killed or are prisoners of war, and it is very difficult to decide which is the best roa,d to take in one ' s own sphere to avenge their sacrifice, I am rapidly becoming morbid in my utterances, and so it is high time I stopped. If any Old Boys you hear of are coming over to this country do let them know that I would be very glad to see them, for although I have been over here for nearly twelve years I still cherish the hope that I shall return to Canada some day and am always only too pleased to see any Canadians but particularly fellows from the School. With kindest regards and the very best of wishes to yourself and all at the School, past and present, Yours sincerely, MAURICE D. YOUNG. [Page Twenty-ni