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28.01.01	1941 starter Gordon Shaw:- I was at school from 1941 to 1948 in the era of Messrs. Benson, Haythornthwaite, Curnow, Murdoch, Beaumont, Breeze et al. Mention of Mr Beaumont and Mr Breeze inevitably brings me to rugby: I was fortunate to play for school teams throughout my time at school finishing up in the 1st XV in 1947 and 1948 in company with such stalwarts as Jack Quarmby, Harry Hesketh, Ernie Abrahams, Peter Threlfall, Don Cummins etc. Permit me just two reminiscences. During the war, clothes rationing meant that our jerseys and shorts could not be renewed with the result that they became very tattered and torn - a glance at any team photo from that era would convince the viewer that he was looking at a bedraggled huddle of Kosovo refugees! Secondly, in these days of intensive training and coaching it is salutary to recall that, at one time, our "training" was in the hands of a legendary one-armed school porter named Langfield who had a Rugby League background. The sessions took place in the playground by the Memorial Hall and took the form, principally, of tackling practice with only an extremely worn and thin square of coco matting for protection - I still have the scars! All this was accompanied by exhortations from our tutor to incapacitate our victims by "smiting them hip and thigh" - a quotation from the Authorised Version of the Old Testament now translated "attacking them viciously"! Best wishes to all, Gordon E-mail:- Gordon Shaw	1941

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