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Youmay remember in the last
edition of rhubarb there was a
short article on the origin of the
rhubarb colours. We asked for
your recollections andMajor John
Le Bas FreemanMBE (G, 1947-52)
has been in touch to provide us
with his story:
“My recollections as to the origins of the
Rhubarb colours are as follows;
In the mid 1880’s it was decided to form
an old boys cricket team and do a summer
tour. At the beginning of the year the
sporting of striped blazers in multi colours
had suddenly become the vogue with
Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
The OSE cricket team decided that
they too should follow the fashion but
apparently when they started making
enquiries as to the availability of a suitable
striped cloth all the university tailors, bar
one told them the same story, that they
did not have enough striped cloth left to
make up the required number of blazers.
The one may have been Walters in the Turl.
They had just enough cloth left in a ‘brown,
pink and green vertical stripe’ to meet the
requirement.
It would seem to have been a ‘take it or
lose it decision’, and stripes of any colour
were obviously considered to be better than
none.
I cannot recall my source, but it could
have been my housemaster, Gerald Segar
during one of the talks he gave to new boys
or advising those about to leave as to what
OSE ties to buy. I know that it was said that
when the Martyrs Club was first formed,
only those with school colours were eligible
to become members but I do not believe
that this sort of qualification ever applied to
the wearing of the ‘Rhubarb’.
I hope this may help.
Congratulations on
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picture of Rupert Stevens prompts me to
think I might indulge myself in getting a
similar waistcoat!”
The following post on
www.
paigntonpeople.co.uk
written by a ‘Mr
H’ was brought to our attention….
“Thanks to Paignton’s leading private
eye – my mum – one of the mysteries of
my summer has been solved. Guideliners
who were paying attention back in
September may recall that Mrs H and I
spent a fantastic day at the Goodwood
Revival motor racing meeting.
Much more than a race meeting, it is
one of those occasions that demands the
wearing of period costume, and I had
opted for what I thought the well-dressed
Austin Healey or Riley owner might have
worn for a day at the races about half a
century ago. This included a rather lovely
tie which I bought in a charity shop in
Paignton for a pound. It is striped in
vivid pink, olive and burgundy, and I
thought I looked pretty dashing in it. So
did two chaps in the paddock, who were
wearing the same ties. They were eager
to talk to me, right up until the moment
I blurted out the fact that I had bought it
in a charity shop.
I should have tried harder. I should
have babbled on for a few minutes
about prep, rugger and tuck, but I am
just too honest. At the point where
they realised the truth, their faces fell
and I was shunned. Since then I have
been trying in vain to work out the
significance of the tie, but my mum has
come up trumps.
In a Christmas catalogue she found
a section featuring gifts in old school
colours, and one of the illustrations on
the tie. A little bit more internet clicking
traced the colours to St Edward’s public
school in Oxford, which is apparently
known as ‘Teddies’. You can buy
ties in the colours, for sure,
but also cummerbunds,
dressing gowns, silk
pyjamas and all manner
of things for well-dressed
Austin Healey owners.
Teddies is said by some to
be the top co-educational public
school in the country and its former
pupils include Douglas Bader, Guy
Gibson, Kenneth Grahame and Lord
Olivier. Not me, though.
But if you’re the OSE, as St Edward’s
old boys are known, who donated the
tie to the Paignton charity shop, thank
you very much. Not only did you
provide me with some stylish neckwear
for Goodwood and the charity with a
shiny pound coin in return, you also
gave us a lot of fun in getting to the
bottom of the mystery.”
Source:
www.paigntonpeople.co.ukOSE/School Tie Display
Following a suggestion from the Martyrs, the OSE Office has produced a display of
School and OSE ties which is currently displayed in the entrance to the New Hall.
The Office would be delighted to receive donations of any other School ties not
already represented for this display.
And continuing the theme of ties…
RhubarbMakes Appearance at Goodwood
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I thought
I looked pretty
dashing in it. So did two
chaps in the paddock,
who were wearing the
same ties
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