COMMENTS & MEMORIES

Just visited your website for Hall's House. FYI, just for the record, the original 4 houses were named after their first housemasters (Leslie Johnston - Latin and Greek and Asst. Headmaster; Steve Corner - Chemistry and Physics, Roy Hanson - Shop; and Bill Hall - Modern Languages). As stated above, Hall's House was named for its first housemaster, William Hall (1951 - 1953). Assistant housemaster at that time was Richard Cobb. Bill Hall taught me French and was a benign, friendly gentleman of the old school . I never heard him raise his voice in anger or heard of him physically punish any boy. On the other hand, Richard Cobb was a sadistic SOB who delighted in slippering or caning me for the slightest (or often non-existent) pretext on virtually a daily basis. He had his favorites to whom he pandered and I was his whipping boy - deservedly or not. Bill Hall treated all his boys respectfully and I am sure he often took my part against Richard Cobb. When Bill Hall announced he was leaving Woolverstone to return to Oxford in 1953 to gain a post-graduate degree in modern languages, I was terrified that Richard Cobb would be promoted from Assistant Housemaster to Housemaster and make my life even more miserable, so I persuaded my parents to let me return to London where I finished my high-schooling at Central Foundation Boys Grammar School (Cowper Street) in the City of London. Ironically, Taffy Evans, was made Hall's housemaster and Richard Cobb was, quite rightfully, passed over. I always got along well with Taffy (I was scrum-half in the under 13's and a boxer and a gymnast). I visited Taffy in 1985 in Chelmo after he retired and he dug out early sport's day pictures showing me, and others of my parents in attendance. He also told me that Richard Cobb died very quickly and prematurely from leukemia in the late 50's or early 60's. Warren Charing - January 2003