OV Bill is Back!

It was an absolute delight to welcome OV Dick Bailey (Cl 43-54), known as ‘Bill’ when at King’s, and his three daughters, Helena, Sophie and Torsie, back to King’s on 18 January 2023.

Although Dick had visited King’s on a couple of previous occasions, this was the first time he had been able to bring all three of his daughters with him, which made it a particularly special trip down memory lane.

Alumni Relations Co-ordinator, Amanda Sutcliffe hosted Dick and his daughters on the walk around King’s as it is today. The first stop was by the Biology Block and the noticeboards, where Dick and his cohort were given their daily quart of milk, particularly memorable as rationing was still in place from the War, so they felt very fortunate. Inside the Biology Block, which in Dick’s era housed all the science labs, much was very familiar and he remembered some of his lessons. Dick also recalled a rather enthusiastic school friend whose lunchtime Chemistry experiment went wrong one day, resulting in a minor explosion. However, that didn’t stop his love for the subject and he went on to a successful career in the chemical industry.

While reminiscing in the Biology Block, OV and King’s Biology teacher Nicki Essenhigh (Co 84-86) joined Dick, talking through some of the changes in the laboratories but both noting how much of the historical building had been retained.

Unfortunately, College Hall was in use as the Fifth Form exams were in progress, so the group were unable to venture in, but Dick could easily recall the inside and describe it to his daughters, and how he met with his Scout Group in the Undercroft, which is now an event space run by the Cathedral.

In Edgar Tower, Dick met with Classics and Latin teacher Elizabeth Shepherd (Hon OV). When at King’s, Edgar Tower had been Dick and his classmates’ Sixth Form room, so somewhere he spent a lot of time; he remarked how similar it all felt, despite also being different. This is a familiar feeling for many OVs when they walk around the King’s site today.

Choir House, currently the English block, brought back very vivid memories of Miss Anne Campbell and her younger, more intimidating sister, Miss Myfanwy Campbell! In the courtyard behind Choir House, where Dick and his friends played football during breaktimes 80 years ago, Dick was interested to see the three trees now there, two of which are larger than the third. Dick suggested this was due to the two larger ones being planted where the outdoor urinals used to be!

One of Dick’s favourite subjects at school was Art, so he was delighted to see the Art School and spend some time speaking with Head of Art, Chris Haywood (Hon OV), discussing the opportunities for today’s pupils in the bespoke building, compared with Dick’s art room, which was upstairs in the Geography Block, and which held many happy memories for him. It was also great for Dick to remember what had been in the building’s previous footprint: somewhere his own father had visited many times.

There are a number of new buildings, in addition to the Art School, that have joined the King’s site since Dick’s time, including the Dining Hall; Dick recalled eating in the ‘Dayboys’ Dining Hall’, which was a pre-fab building in the Quad between the Geography Block and School House.

A quick trip down to School Gardens was next on the itinerary, somewhere Dick spent many a lunchtime with his compatriots and which had not really changed since his time at King’s. Dick enjoyed showing his daughters where the King’s pitches still are, across the river.

Walking back to Reception, Dick was very happy to see the reading desk still in situ in the Reading Room, which is currently a Sixth Form common room, although he noted that very few boys actually read the newspapers that had been provided! More poignant for Dick was that the Mulberry Tree, although much smaller in his day, was still there, as it held a special place in his heart.

We hoped you enjoyed your tour, Dick, it was our pleasure to show you around King’s today and hear all about your time at School, especially how your time in the CCF inspired your career in the Army!