At Rope Hill 1956 1958

A Memory of Boldre.

I must say that my memories of Rope Hill while CGC Arch was Headmaster are not particularly happy ones.
I remember him as a sadistic, flatulent fellow who was fond of the cane. Perhaps I was too much of a troublemaker.
Some of the people I remember.....
Staff:
Edwards, older, stout, taught Latin, easily distracted and enraged in class. favorite swear words "Damn me......"
Paul Rowland, taught English, was a writer of satiric novels, one of which featured wise crows as heroes (at least, that's my memory). he was one of the kinder teachers i encountered there, and inspired me to become a writer (something I just do for my own amusement, not publication).
Matron (and pubescent daughter Claudia....fodder for many schoolboy fantasies, she lived with her Mum next to one of my dorms.) Matron a bit severe, germanic. My mother always thought there was something odd about her relationship with Arch (lovers, siblings....?)

Students:
Schofield....known as Scoffa-woffa.
The Popes Major, Minor and Minimus....all good athletes. Remember getting concussed after foolishly tackling Pope Senor head-on in rugby .
Herbert...American student
Dick Mitham....a good friend, remember shooting with his 410 shotgun on a visit to his family farm.
Atkinson....introduced me to self-abuse.
And a strange, slightly autistic genius who studied the British Railways timetables constantly, and who we would tease with questions like "Donald, I need to get to Edinburgh from Kent. Whens' the next train?" He usually had an answer. Don't recall his last name.

Other memories:
Long runs through the country roads around the school.
Miserable, tear-stained journeys by train back to school. One embarrassing and funny (in retro) story about one of these rides back to school with Mum, in a crowded train compartment: I'm reading Camp on Blood Island about prisoners of the Japanese in WWII, came across a word I did not know: "Mum, what's fornication?"
Dead silence settles over the compartment, Gamely, Mum starts out with "Well, you know how they make babies..........". Embarrassed silence on my part follows.......
Boxing in the gym. Who was that ex-military sergeant Someone who was in charge of PE? Very military bearing. Used to do fancy tricks on Field Day at the end of our demonstrations.....running somersaults over multiple students crouched in a row. Stuff like that.
Tuck box time: lining up weekly(?) for a chance to take out one or two items from the tuck box, while Matron oversaw and prevented gluttony.
A visit from a sister school for girls: hopelessly inadequate opportunity to develop some social skills with the fairer sex. I remember afterwards writing to one of the girls; the letter started out something like "Several of the boys here are vying for your favor......." No wonder i was a late bloomer with women.

Ah well, that's about all I can dredge up.
Would like to hear from others who recognize any of this....... Steve Brooks