Rhubarb

St Edward’s r h u b a r b

5

Dear Mr Jones

Ronald Holcroft (F, 1930- 1935), received a birthday card from the Warden on his 98th birthday. In his reply, he reveals memories of his time in Oxford.

You have just returned from the Conservative party conference. Were there any particular highlights? It was very well attended and a lot of younger people were there. A lot of people were engaged in it. Ruth Davidson spoke really well and I think she is changing the face of the Conservative party in Scotland. Ruth is quite distinctive and very good as a public speaker. It was also good to hear reassurance of where we stand on policies, with the Westminster elections approaching and our own elections next year. That’s when the Tory conference will really come alive I think. The Conservatives were initially against the establishment of a Scottish parliament. Do you feel that devolution has been a success in Scotland? It is in Scotland’s best interests to have the best of both worlds – the right powers in Scotland within the strength and stability of the UK. How the Scottish government and each party will aim to use devolved powers is the key question. There are famously more pandas than Conservative MPs in Scotland. What are the challenges of representing a minority party? We would like to have more influence, because in Scotland there is a dominant major party. So the challenges are to influence policies from committees and in parliamentary debates. It is working in a way now, and we are getting one or two liaisons with other parties, but it will not work unless we get more representation. It is perceived that we have the opportunity to increase the number of MPs we have. If you look at the Welsh Tories they went from zero to three, then from three to eight. In 1997 they had none. We need to get a few more seats at Westminster, which will make us more credible up here, and then we need more seats in the Scottish parliament.

closed up and we went to the kindergarten at the Oxford School for Girls. We went there by taxi in the morning and walked home. I walked down the Banbury Road to South Parade, down the Parade, then went to watch the progress of workmen who were making the tunnel under the road for St Edward’s boys to use. One day a man crossed

f e a t u r e s

Dear Mr Jones,

I do so little writing these days that I have gone back to lined paper, I used to use a typewriter, using two fingers and a thumb on each hand, but I lost that skill too! I want to thank you very much for your birthday card. At 98 it must be unusual to get a greeting card from the Head Teacher of one’s old school. I lived in Oxford as a small child. My father was in the local government, I don’t know what he was called. We lived on the Woodstock Road, near Davenant Road. My father had a house on land belonging to the Duke of Marlborough. Whoever owns the house now must be nearly at the end of the 99-year lease. It was just after the Great War and there was no wood that was fit for building, it had all been used for trenches in France. My parents were very great friends of the Warden of St. Edward’s 1 – I can’t remember his name, but I was put down for Teddies, before he left to go to Radley. That made a problem – did they send me to St Edward’s or send me to Radley? I am glad to be an OSE. My father’s boss had a daughter who ran a kindergarten in the Chapel at the Banbury Road end of South Parade. I attended it. She had some unusual ideas – we learnt to write, the left leaf with the left hand, the right leaf with the right hand. We had to go up one form before we could choose which hand to write with! Then she closed it down. The road between the workhouse at Oxford and the one at Chipping Norton was covered with old soldiers walking back and forth to both of them. I made friends with them all – I would sit under the hedge with any tramp. I never had any trouble. Miss Rose’s kindergarten

Ronald Holcroft

Notes It is believed that Ronald Holcroft is one of oldest living OSE. He was a House Prefect. After leaving the School he went up to Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1935. From 1936 to 1939 he was a law and drama student. During the Second World War he was a member of the Security Police, Intelligence Corps and was a Prisoner of War from 1940 to1945 held in Stalag VIIIB and Stalag 344 Lumsdorf. After the war he attended the Lackham School of Agriculture, Wiltshire in 1946 and left for Canada in 1952. There he took up sheep farming and taught horticulture. He achieved a Social and Teaching Certificate at McMaster University and Toronto University. He has also been a Lay reader and teacher in Ontario, and attended several OSE events in Canada and Oxford. 1 The Warden was the Reverend William Ferguson (1913-1925). 2 The pub in the Woodstock Road was probably the Red Lion – the site now acquired by the School. the road from the pub 2 . I can’t remember its name. He looked different, I must have stared at him. As he came level he swung round and hit the side of my head with his hand. It knocked me over. An errand-boy got off his bicycle, beat up the tramp, popped me in the basket of his bike and took me home. Just about then, Father was appointed Assistant Clerk of the Peace for Essex. After a few years the Clerk of the Peace retired and Father was appointed to succeed him. In a year or so there was a Deputy Clerk of the Peace and four Deputy Clerks to the County Council. London was growing and so was Essex. After one more term at my prep school, I came to St Edward’s. My first term was miserable, the rest of the year was unhappy. The remaining three years were the happiest I have ever had. Yours Sincerely Ronald Holcroft