ࡱ> 463 "bjbjqq 4(ee  0|~~~~~~ ^~~j||P,F@h0   `~~  : Derek J. Hall m. 1944 Recollections of a wartime undergraduate at ͨs College Cambridge. (In response to a request for memories for September 10 Reunion 2011) I wonder what kind of recollections you expect? Im afraid mine are not very academic, although this is not because I was idle; in fact, I came across my University notes etc. Recently and was very surprised to find how hard I must have worked at my law studies. Why have I forgotten so much? As my time at ͨs was in an unusual brief period in the Colleges 500 year history these jottings might be worthwhile. I went up to ͨs under the Y Scheme which was designed to give an educational opportunity to a few fortunate men who, at the age of 18, would otherwise have been fully conscripted. I assume there must also have been a desire to keep the Colleges functioning with a steady stream of undergraduates. Those chosen were deemed to show OLQ (Officer-like qualities) although there were many more hurdles to clear before that goal would be achieved. When I think of it now it occurs that it must have looked like an avoidance of active service but my service but my conscience is clear that this never entered my head at the time: it was an educational opportunity not to be missed. Candidates were interviewed by Service personnel, myself by Their Lordships as our masters were known in sailors parlance, at the Admiralty, because although the courses involved mostly normal academic study they were a preparation for our war service with one day each week set aside for Naval, or other Service, training. I had no interview by College authorities. Our course lasted six months from October 44 to April 45 with a short vacation at ͨmas and we covered the first year of our degree. Although many earlier pupils from my Grammar School had gained a place at Cambridge I have to be honest and say I wonder if I would have achieved it in normal circumstances. At least my results did include a pass in essential Latin. I am surprised that I cannot recall any other of my 6th form colleagues applying for the Y scheme. Every Wednesday we paraded in our naval uniforms as the University Naval Division with square-bashing and other more technical training signals, seamanship, navigation, etc... This took place at Downing College with occasional trips to the Cam to mess about in boats. Our undisputed course cadet leader was John (?) Methven who later became chairman of the CBI before an untimely death. I am sure every effort was made for the College to be administered as normally as possible whilst coping with the problems of wartime. I shared bare, dimly-lit rooms, H6, I think, with Derek Wilkes with whom nearly 60 years later I was pleased to renew acquaintance when he became our 1944 Years Representative. We did have the services of a gyp but could hardly say we lived in comfort. Heating was by an open fire and we had to manage with a meagre ration of coal which we personally collected from a heap in a back court. With food rationed we were pleased to be provided with our main meals in Hall; they were adequate but they must have been very basic. In Cambridge there was little risk of the physical ravages of war but, although the end of the campaign in Europe was in sight, London was still enduring the V2 rockets which arrived silently and unannounced (no air-raid warning to put one on alert) at any time and I was constantly concerned about my parents: near and yet so far. Communication was principally by letter but I recall putting the handset down in a phone box in town and realising I couldnt be sure Mum and Dad were still safe only moments later. Gowns were worn as much as possible for academic purposes but they were in short supply and tended to circulate. I played my first game of squash at ͨs, on the old courts, of course, having used a school prize of 2 guineas to buy a racquet. I joined the Boat Club but my naval vaccination turned nasty and I was unable to continue rowing; I do recall enjoying watching the Bumps which took place as usual. I joined the Cambridge Mummers and had two supporting roles on the Arts Theatre stage and the ADC. One of these was in a Smoking Concert, then in fashion but imagine such an event nowadays! (I went to the Footlights regularly until the humour changed from satire and wit (Griff Rhys Jones et al) to shock and it grieved me that the audience in this great seat of learning seemed to enjoy it.) Fitted into our schedule of lectures and tutorials we regularly congregated at the bustling Copper Kettle for morning coffee. Exotic eating places were a rarity so I remember my first Indian meal- at the Koh-i-Nur restaurant (in Bridge St.?). In our all-male world I missed feminine company in the social scene. It was unthinkable- or beyond my technique- to breach the bounds of Girton or Newnham and my friends teased me over my brash advance when I asked a local girl sitting next to me in the cinema Dyou dance? Well, she did and we went to the Tea Dance in Town together and became friends- but Ive forgotten her name! Parts of Cambridge have changed beyond recognition with all the redevelopment and it is my sad impression that ͨs building, being in the centre, has been over shadowed- a disappointment and environmental loss. In 1944, apart from Students rushing to lectures the atmosphere was calmer, somehow more in keeping with a place of study and research. It was then a University Town, not a City. Motor traffic was minimal with petrol virtually unavailable to private motorists, who were few and far between in those days, so the roads were almost the preserve of the traditional cyclists. I had no report at the end of my six enjoyable, varied and beneficial months but believe I would have been able to go back to complete my degree when I returned home from the Royal Navy in 1947. I felt, however, that I would be at the end of a long queue of men in a similar position and decided, naively, perhaps, to get a job before they were all filled- so that is what I did, qualifying as a Chartered Secretary (ACIS) which led to a satisfying career. I feel sure my Cambridge association helped me get this job. Well, there it is! Much more than the space you allowed and regrettable virtually nothing about friendships; it was a short association and we all went our separate ways in the turmoil of war quickly losing touch. Those who went back after the war no doubt re-established and cemented friendships. However, by coincidence, our signals training officer in the U.N.D. (a bearded Lt. Scarfe) and I later spent much of our working lives as office colleagues and we became family friends. Derek J. Hall August, 2011-08-16(Dubbed Albert at College by J. Stuart McClure) Q  3 oA("x"y"z"{"|"""""¾hg7hfhINhOhQ )hNuh:xh LhlFh)xhqhqH*hqh hmh~hHk h L6hHkh]6h]hh]5CJaJ' F >UW~q>D ("{""gd]21h:p^ . 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