THREAD 16

Subject: Reminiscences about Eric Shearly, following his death in 2005. However, we are now beginning to drift off into more general sports and PE topics.
Replies: 22

THREAD 28

Subject: Reminiscing about some of the 1950s - 70s masters, incl. Barnett, Guthrie, Hayes, Patrick, Pinnock & Gould, Curzon, Terry, and a number of others, with circumspect references to a dark episode involving a member of staff in the '60s.
Replies: 23

THREAD 31

Subject: A very slow starter, this one - it took 6 years to reach 'hot threads' status. It began with reminiscences about 1950s pupils, including Ferd Pitt and it it was the sad news that Ferd had died (in 2013) that revived the thread. Mention by Ferd's sons of where the grave is has, perhaps strangely, sparked a discussion on war graves and memorials and preparations to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War.
Replies: 21

THREAD 32

Subject: The mighty general reminiscing thread for the 1950s & 60s, started as a quiz by Chris Mungovan.  Dominated in the early stages by Sam C0cks anecdotes (and he's just made a comeback) but most masters and some pupils of that era are discussed in various parts of the thread. Use you browser search facility to find them. I made the difficult decision to close this thread because the management of it was becoming rather complicated, but you can still reply (see explanation of this at the bottom of each Thread 32 page).
Replies: 160

THREAD 35

Subject: Well, it took 9 years but thread finally made it into Hot Threads (so not so hot, perhaps?) Mainly about various masters in the '60s but ther's a bit about Princes Diana's voice coach Peter Settelen, who was at the school in the same decade and, indeed, about Diana herself.
Replies: 11

THREAD 36

Subject: Tributes to DB Fry, on the news of his death.
Replies: 20

THREAD 37

Subject: A sort of club, this, for the 1957 intake, reminiscing entertainingly about each other.
Replies: 14

THREAD 39

Subject: Reminiscing thread for the 1940s, with contributions from our most senior contributors.
Replies: 15

THREAD 48

Subject: Starts with a call from Robin Dare (where are you these days Robin?) for more OEs from the late '60 & early '70s to contribute. This quickly becomes a discussion of notable OEs from that period, the headmasters and the fact that Jeremy Corbyn's son attended the school. For an obvious reason, it briefly became concerned with the 2015 Labour leadership race but then returned (in 2016) to QE in the late '60s. However, we are currently back to Labour woes via OE Kelvin Hopkins MP.
Replies: 14

THREAD 52

Subject: Does QE prepare you for adult life?  The question was asked by a pupil of the '90s but has so far been answered by those who should know the answer - pupils of the '50s & '60s.  Digresses into discussions about Wingfield, Alford, school dinners and cross-country running.
Replies: 18

THREAD 56

Subject: Starts as a beef about discipline at the school in the '50s & '60s but after a discussion about the Cadet Force (which ended around 1953), strays into the territory of academic achievement and teaching standards.  Later discussion centres on the political atmosphere of the school.  Has it shifted from extreme right a few decades ago to extreme left now? After a 4-year silence the thread has sprung back to life via the Cadet Force strand.
Replies: 34

THREAD 65

Subject: The school swimming-pool, including reminiscences of spying on visiting girls from QEGS (including Stephanie Beecham) through peep-holes in the walls of their changing hut ! Believe it or not, we progress from that to the current Chairman of Governors, interwoven with some discussion about the School Chronicle and former heads of Osidge school
Replies: 34

THREAD 75

Subject: Various masters of the 50s-70s, but mostly 'Tiger' Timson. Also mentioned are Bannerman, Evans, Lowe, Postle, Wakelin, C0cks, and Mr & Mrs Alford, as well as Miss Strongman, the bursar. It then turns into a bit of a Latin contest !
Replies: 35

THREAD 78

Subject: A thread started by our oldest member, who was at the school in the 1930s. Some reminiscing about those days, including mention of Bill Storey, Mr Briault and Herr Jung, but with some digression into the '50s by some slightly younger Old Boys.
Replies: 14

THREAD 90

Subject: Reminiscences from '50s & '60s Old Boys about Gerry Reid, Oliphant (English grammar textbook) and the school pound.
Replies: 15

>THREAD 93

Subject: John Finnett, who taught Latin & Greek at the school in the 1950s and 60s, and a brief mention of his successor John Lewis. This later led to a discussion about whether or not certain activities (such as bellringing) should be regarded as sport, but we are back to JWF now.
Replies: 29

THREAD 94

Subject: Sam C0cks and censorship by filters in public libraries. It's Thread 32 that the ghost of Sam C0cks mainly inhabits, but 32 was apparently blocked by the porn filter in Jas Cowen's local library, so he started this thread instead. Unfortunately, 94 was also blocked until I realised that Sam's surname was to blame and replaced the 'o' with a zero. More recently, Thread 128 has been set up as a 'restricted topic' thread, dedicated solely to Sam and prefaced with a large number of extracts from messages about him from all over the site.
Replies: 11

THREAD 96

Subject: General reminiscing about the school, covering the period 1954-72 (so far).
Replies: 24

THREAD 98

Subject: Ralph McTell and his appearance at the school, leading to reminiscing about the Black Bull, Whetstone. This in turn has now led to General reminiscing about Whetstone.
Replies: 11

THREAD 99

Subject: Starts as a discussion of the musical life of the school in the 1950s and early '60s and slides into reminiscences of two science masters of the time - Fairbairn and Ambidge. Later, it returns to the musical theme, with a discussion of QE boys' rock bands in those days.
Replies: 26

THREAD 102

Subject: EH Jenkins, Headmaster 1931 - 60: his life, books and obituary. Turns into a discussion about the prefect system and the high but narrow aims of QE in the '50s & '60s, before returning to EHJ.
Replies: 23

THREAD 103

Subject: Recent QE exam and league table results, what they imply and whether they matter.
Replies: 24

THREAD 104

Subject: Begins as a discussion about privacy (sparked by pics of the houses of former masters appearing on this site then wanders via Sam C0cks (as usual) into the QE / Oxbridge relationship. Later, 'Bop' Wakelin becomes the main topic.
Replies: 37

THREAD 106

Subject: Begins with 1950s/60s pupil CR Brand, with surprise, then horror expressed about his website. Progresses via Brand to the school Christian Union in the '50s, then a Cliff Richard concert at the school. This sparks musical reminiscences (as in other threads) but then we are back to Brand.
Replies: 19

THREAD 107

Subject: Reminiscences of Councillor Woodruff and School Captains Davernall, Spence, Daffern, Dixon, Whittaker and Shagool. More anticipated!
Replies: 10

THREAD 108

Subject: The annual dinner Debate and Speech Day, past and present, developing into a discussion about OE Wilfred de Ath. Later discussion is about the proportion of State school pupils getting into Oxbridge and the merits/demerits of Borehamwood and the Barnets - oh, and Bury St.Edmunds! National Trust houses began to form a new focus of attention, but I shifted that topic to Thread W8 and we returned to the dinner debates etc, with controversy concerning the 'black tie' rule. However, we then revisted W. de Ath, whose anti-Cambridge remarks sparked a discussion of cities and cathedrals. OE Sir Leslie Fielding KPMG also features (and the question is asked as to why the QE newsletter mention only the 'worthies' among us OEs). Carol Vorderman has made an appearance and the death of Asa Briggs and Cliff Michelmore prompteded a discussion about those two. The 2018 University Challenge final was briefly discussed, leading us back into the subject of Oxbridge rivalry. But but after a peice of Guiness cake in the Music Hall café, Shrewsbury, it's that University Challenge final again in relation to Hannah Rose Woods for PM. Come mn Hannah, let's have your thoughts on that or anything else in this wonderfully tangled thread.
Replies: 139

THREAD 109

Subject: Initially a discussion about the house photos on the site (in the 'museum') - mainly the challenge of trying to name everyone in them - which morphed into reminiscences about products popular in those days. It then evolved into a discussion about shops, 'divi' methods of the era and the Lamson Paragon system. This in turn led to a discussion about 'U' & 'non-U' and obsolete expressions in the English language, but were back to products briefly, just before Hedley Morgan kindly returned us to the original message!
Replies: 57

THREAD 110

Subject: Music masters of the '60s, with an excursion latterly into Old Rockers and the Links Club, Borehamwood, then 'prepared' pianos! The death of Chuck Bery in March 2017 has triggered some reminiscencees about him.
Replies: 28

THREAD 111

Subject: School uniform and, more recently, the school pound.
Replies: 11

THREAD 112

Subject: The modern practice of closing schools in bad weather, especially snow. The hard winter of '63 and short trousers.
Replies: 21

THREAD 114

Subject: The the story of the dead cat in the tree in the '50s & 60s, interweaved with discussion about the availability of EH Jenkins' book An Elizabethan Headmaster. There's also a mention of Mr Mayes, caretaker during the era of the dead cat.
Replies: 12

THREAD 116

Subject: Started by a current pupil intrigued by a piece of work he found by a '60s pupil called AJ Britten. Developed into a discussion about the system, past & present, for numbering the forms (classes), but has returned to the question of AJ Britten.
Replies: 11

THREAD 120

Subject: Started as a plea from me for reminders of expressions specific to QE boys at various times in the past, but the discussion soon broadened to include more generally popular expressions from the '50s & '60s. However, the thread is now veering towards a discussion of current usage of certain words and phrases.
Replies: 29

THREAD 125

Subject: Basically about staff in the '60s, including Apple, Perry, Wimpress, Fairclough, Gould, Boot(e), Jordan, Kobish and (inevitably) C0cks, but also features the 'alternative' mag Jackpot and later, by a rather tenuous connection, the number of boys coming to QE from Underhill school is discussed.
Replies: 26

THREAD 127

Subject: Eric Croft and school music, interweaved with a discussion about the merits and de-merits of the Comprehensive system. Has recently veered towards comments about antisocial behaviour.
Replies: 11

THREAD 128

Subject: Restricted to anecdotes about geography master RM 'Sam' C0cks (spelt with a zero to fool porn filters in libraries). It's to be read in conjunction with the collection of Sam anecdotes extracted from threads throughout the site.
Replies: 33

THREAD 129

Subject: What were you doing when ...? General reminiscences of Old Boys about where they were and what they were doing when they heard about various world-shaking events.
Replies: 14

THREAD 133

Subject: News of the death of Rex Moore 'Winkie' Wingfield (classics master 1949-62), sparking reminiscences about him. This thread is restricted to comments about Wingfield.
Replies: 16

THREAD 135

Subject: This thread is restricted to discussion of former staff members who are otherwise poorly represented (if at all) on the site.
Replies: 33

THREAD 147

Subject: Started by Ken Pegden as reminiscences of the school in the mid-50s, but has branched out into various subjects, including the Essenden Cricket team and the English Electric Lightning.
Replies: 17

THREAD 149

Subject: Would it be true to say that QE has produced few people of "real distinction" and if it hasn't, why not? Later morphs into a discussion about Union Street in Barnet, and the associated topics of the workhouse, the Assembly Rooms and Screaming Lord Such before returning to the theme of QE superkids.
Replies: 56

THREAD 150

Subject: An article about QE in The Independent triggered this thread. However, my rejection of a reply (from CR Brand) led to a discussion along the lines of freedom of speech versus PC. From there the topic somehow evolved into Founders Day, valve amplifiers and the split infinitive! The latter topic brought Sir Lancelot Oliphant into the discussion. We were briefly back to the topic of Chris Brand and his views before returning to Founders Day.
Replies: 53

THREAD 152

Subject: Starts with a discussion of some of the school play pics in the 'Museum', then drifts into Founders Day 2014 and school library appointments in the 1960s. Via the recollection of an MP's visit to the school the thread later becomes concerned with contributors' MPs before returning to the library theme.
Replies: 34

THREAD 155

Subject: Gigs at QE in the 1960s & 70s and the fascinating story of Franz Stampfl, PE master at QE for a few months in 1940.
Replies: 19

THREAD 163

Subject: Memories of interviews for getting into QE (or in some cases, for persuading boys to choose QE). Leads to a defence of Welwyn Garden City!
Replies: 36

THREAD 165

Subject: Restricted to tributes to and memories of Hew Purchas (1932-2016).
Replies: 22

THREAD 170

Subject: Discussion arising from a 1919 school photo.
Replies: 11

THREAD 171

Subject: Started as a challenge to identify the subject of a school report from 1961. Turned out to be Nigel Wood. A further challenge to identify the masters from their signatures has led to a discussion about the form system at that time and who the form masters were.
Replies: 16

THREAD 173

Subject: Restricted to the subject of rebelliousness at QE or in general.
Replies: 13

THREAD W1

Subject: Steam railways is the subject of this restricted topic thread. This first 'Wider World' thread made it into Hot Threads only 3 months after the new board was started.
Replies: 131

THREAD W4

Subject: Getting out and about to various attractions has been the main theme of this thread so for. Recently the emphasis has been on Cardiff. Unlike Thread W8, on the territory of which it tends to trespass, it is not restricted.
Replies: 14

THREAD W6

Subject: Television! But not a restricted thread, so may well wander in time.
Replies: 10

THREAD W7

Subject: Restricted to branded products, being an extension of that theme in Thread 109 (see above).
Replies: 27

THREAD W8

Subject: Resticted to discussion of National Trust, English Heritage and Cadw properties or other such places open to the public although there's been a slight wandering into cucurbits lately and, as you gardeners will know, cucurbits can sure wander.
Replies: 31

THREAD W9

Subject: A restricted thread specifically for reminiscing about Barnet, Borehamwood, Southgate or anywhere else where contributors lived while at the school. Bus routes are a strong element in this thread, although shops in Borehamwood in the 1950s and Second World War bomb sites in the area have also featured strongly. The Arkley (Hotel) and 107/107A bus routes have now made an appearance.
Replies: 94

THREAD W10

Subject: Restricted to aviation. Took off very quickly!
Replies: 21

THREAD W11

Subject: Restricted to sport.
Replies: 55

THREAD W12

Subject: Restricted to motoring, this thread began with a moan about MOTs but quickly settled into reminiscing about cars and motorbikes of the past.
Replies: 14

THREAD W13

Subject: Magna Carta was oiginally the main theme but, unlike most other Wider World threads, this one is not resticted to the topic of the original message and has recently moved on to the Battle of Barnet and the British Library.
Replies: 34

THREAD W14

Subject: Started by Jas Cowen as an "is it me or ..." thread, it soon branched out in all sorts of directions, including the schoolgirls lost in Syria, the 'William' books of Richmal Crompton and school reports! Our tastes in TV drama, the menace of compulsory music and Liam Byrne's 2010 Treasury joke were later developments. Recently, the discussion has been about whether or not we are morally obliged to watch the adverts when watching commercial TV and whether sports people should be funded by the National Lottery.
Replies: 40

THREAD W16

Subject: Restricted to discussion of the English language as regards points of grammar, vocabulary, usage etc. Clearly, what are necessary corrections for some constitute irritating pedantry for others. The name 'Tuppence' sparked some discussion and now it's 'brexit'.
Replies: 125

THREAD W20

Subject: Restricted to discussion of tv, radio and film.
Replies: 29

THREAD W21

Subject: Restricted to politics. The June 23 referendum has so far been the main topic and recently the focus has been on the antics of the Daily Mail.
Replies: 32