OV Ian Rogers Returns

We hugely enjoyed welcoming OV Ian Rogers (S 75-82) back to King’s this month, especially as Ian was only back in the UK for a very brief period from his home in the US, where he has lived for over 20 years.

When Ian left the School in 1982, King’s still had four boarding houses, some day pupils, and only a handful of girls, all of whom were in the Sixth Form. You can imagine how different the school looked to Ian when he started walking around the site just as a break began, with pupils pouring out of classrooms and an equal number of girls and boys!

Having boarded in School House, that was, of course, the first stop. Ian recalled the layout from his time with great clarity and was pleased to see the game room now a smart café for the Sixth Formers.

Ian shared many great memories of his time as a boarder, including the Willow Run, which many boarders will remember! A punishment given by Monitors, the boys would ‘check-in’ with the monitors before School, then run around the river to the Willow tree on the opposite side, which could be seen from the School House dormitory windows. The boys had to reach the willow tree within a certain time, then the monitors, from the comfort of their rooms, would count the number of hands raised to ensure they had all made it. Ian recalled how some enterprising boys had secured bin bags, into which they put their clothes and swam across the river in the warmer days, ready to be counted! They swam back, dried off and resumed their daily duties. Here we have a snippet from the School House Rules Ian had written as Head of House regarding “The Run”:

Recalling his time as Head of House, Ian, along with the monitors, would patrol the dormitories of an evening to make sure the younger boys were all tucked up and sleeping after lights out. On one occasion, he remembered feeling as though someone had bumped into him as he walked through what is now the Pimley Room, on the top floor of School House. After speaking to some friends, he realised he was not the only one to whom this had happened, and the belief was that it was the spirit of Mr Passey, the late School House cook!

A keen rower when at King’s, Ian headed down from School House and through the School Gardens to see the Michael Baker Boathouse. Walking through the doors, Ian was left speechless by the most recent evolution of the school’s boathouse. There, he met with Boatman Will Bird (Hon OV), who had himself spent many years in California so chatted with Ian about living there and showed Ian the very impressive boat garage. They also found a photo of the boathouse that had been there during Ian’s time – although the photo was from the opening in 1961, and was not in as good condition by the time Ian was using it!

A scientist at School, Ian revisited the Science Block to retrace his steps in the Chemistry and Physics labs, but it was in the Biology Block where Ian had his strongest memories, recalling the “rat fridge” and even the layout of the benches.

Due to the Mock exams taking place, Ian was not able to visit College Hall, but did enjoy seeing some of the newer buildings around the School, including the Art School and the Keyes Building, and was reassured to see the DT workshop was unchanged and still in great working order!

While walking around the site, Ian shared many wonderful memories of his time at King’s, although, as other boarders will undoubtedly agree, many of the antics are not for publication!

You can read more about Ian’s time at King’s and subsequent successful career in Beyond King’s HERE. One thing Ian was most keen to share, though, was how his life at King’s, his experiences, his teachers, especially the late Marc “Boggy” Roberts (Hon OV), set him up to be able to cope with life beyond King’s with the ability to tackle any opportunity head-on.