First Year at IMPERIAL COLLEGE of Science and Technology
I played with Imperial College second team and with the first team of City and Guilds College (engineering)
IMPERIAL COLLEGE EASTER TOUR to PARIS
Rugby with IC to play Union Sportif de Villejuif in Paris.
The nucleus was composed of players from the first and second teams plus a few 'sporting types' like Kitch and Dan Fowler from the fourth team. The captain was Doug Hykin who was first team captain as well.
The only fresher to play for the first team was not on this tour.That was Doughie Brown who left after the first year to transfer to medicine at Charring Cross hospital, a second row forward friend of Peter Kale both ex Neath Grammar School.
The seconds were included John Arnold, Denis (DT's) Thomas who later played many years with Saracens who he also captained, Mike Jones (later vice captain in my cup winning team) and Neil Spencer. Pete McCann afterwards known as 'frenchie' for losing a battle with the white wine we won, was the captain of the Guilds (Engineering) team. I played a great deal also with, Mike Lewis, Dave Bell and Brian Hearn also played for London University.
We played at the Stade Karl Marx and stayed at the Gymnase Josef Stalin, which gives you some idea of Villejuif
First All Night Fancy Dress Carnival at IC
Cycling tour with Keith Upstone aimed at a descent of the Rhine
At the end of my first year at Imperial College, London (IC) and probably my first time that year to be back on a bike. First time anyone in my family had been outside the UK.
My companion Keith Upstone had been a big friend throughout my schooling at Lawrence Sheriff grammar school. Rugby's 'lower school' was founded by the same man as Rugby School after he found his first school was no longer serving the needs of the intended local community. Like me Keith was finishing his first year of university at Birmingham but later found he had failed his first year exams and left and unfortunately I do not recall us meeting again, though I did hear good news of him later from a fellow student at Birmingham who came to visit me together in my tiny IC hostel room one day in that first year.
Keith was the tallest boy in a school of 500 boys, at around 6ft 2 inches, and the second row power house of our Rugby football team and like Doog Thompson the scrum half, our team captain, played the whole season, of about four county games with Warwickshire Grammar Schools in 1952/3. After their first game I was selected to replace Stan Purdy in the front row, a school year younger.
The following year Stan replaced me as head boy and captain of cricket but he also added captain of Rugby. He went on to play regularly for Warwickshire in the County Championship plus numerous tours with the Barbarians. He was selected just once for England against Scotland, in his proper position of wing forward but had to play most of that game out of position on the wing due to an injury reducing the side to fourteen men. Replacements were not permitted in those days - he was never selected again.
At school I had cycled each Sunday with the Fosseway Riders as our small group typically around 10 boys called themselves. The leader did some grass track racing on an expensive bike the rest had rode massed produced drop handle bars versions mine being a Hercules using a fixed wheel to avoid the cost and continual problem expected with de-railer gears of the time.
The brief notes are only as recorded commentary to snapshots as recorded in my photograph album with added reminiscences.
Sunday 26 May 1954
Arrived by ferry in Ostende at 9:30pm and spent night in local Youth Hostel. That presumably is the time we rode from Rugby to Dover about 160 miles overnight, I remember being so tired as to momentarily fall asleep on a down hill stretch, no doubt the fixed wheel kept me pedalling and I woke up avoiding a crash.
Monday make for Bergen-op Zoom instead of Rotterdam, stopped in Blankenberge for coffee.
Tuesday Ride a 120 miles to Arnhem and were asking directions for the hostel when who should walk up but Mike Jones a fellow student then in his second year in IC Hostel. He later stayed to do a one year conversion from Chemistry to Chemical Engineering. He was later one of my very best friends at college and was vice-captain of Rugby the year I was captain and the year IC won the London University Cup for the 5th time in 6 years not bad for a year in which Kings dominated the line-outs with giant Keith Rowlands the future Wales and British Lions captain as second row. The following year Barry Lanz scrum half went on to make it 6 from 7.
Wednesday Lunch at Wesel then on 96 miles to Munster by 6pm thus completing 470 miles in 5 days of hard wet riding, including my second serious skid on tram lines. Here by arrangement we joined our school
friend Doog who was doing his 2 years national service there. We met outside the NAFFI and celebrated by eating supper out.
Thursday Changed plans to spend a day with Doog in Munster. Seemed to spend day lazing in TOC H or NAAFI but managed to find time for some shopping on which I bought a track suit for 27/- (shillings).
Friday Reached the centre of Dortmund and planned lunch when bent my back wheel double as a result of crashing on tram lines. Unfortunately over here HP (high pressure) wheels are 28 inch whereas the British standard is 26 in so no replacement was possible. I watched as the repairer bent and hammered my bent rim back to a shape which would pass through the back stays. We decided to carry on although Keith would have prefered to go back to Ostend. Later that day Keith was riding down a steep hill in the middle of tram lines when he spotted a tram coming up but on braking his cable snapped but he managed to cross the rails without mishap. Just to complete the strains on our nerves we witnessed a car crash in Wuppertal. Eventually reached the hostel in Radevormwald by 9pm which was a terrific place built just three years earlier in 1951 and beautifully set in the wilds.
Saturday reached Cologne by 12 midday, Spent most of the afternoon looking around the Cathedral and the completely rebuilt city centre. Ran into Dave Ainge ?? who was there on a course. Leave at 4pm for Bonn where we first met Molly, Val and Steve. Have to sleep in tents.
Sunday 1 August. Have dinner just outside Koblenz. We were plaued all afternoon by a faulty valve in my back tyre so we made to St Goar in a series of sprints between reblows. An American at the hostel presents Keith not only with a 'light' but a packet of 20 king size cigarettes. Spend the evening at the William Tell Festival being held in the castle and held memorable conversation with an English speaking German. There were among others two school teachers from Liverpool and a party of English schoolboys at the hostel.
Monday Started off for Heidleberg but my valve failed almost immediately so we decided to take the steamer to Mainz and to try to buy a new inner tube there. We eventually bought a 26 x 1 7/8 in, over wide version but had no trouble from it. This must rank as one of the best days for both the weather and the scenery were beautiful. A day marred only by the hostel which was a just series of mizzen huts. Met the schoolmasters again but being just one minute late has to climb a 7 feet iron barbed wire gate. One of the women removed her skirt for the attempt but we were disappointed to see the perfectly respectable shorts underneath!
Tuesday This was the hottest day I have ever experienced and certainly not one for cycling on, it was 95 F in the shade at 4pm. We spent about three hours in a small roadside cafe and bought our first cooked midday meal. Riding in the afternoon was agony and we had each convinced ourselves of sunstroke by the time we reached Speyer hostel another perfectly equipped hostel built after the war. The night would have been comfortable apart from GNATS. The hosdel was invaded by coachload of French women and first we see of three German girls.
Wednesday Make Karlsruhe for elevenses.
Then pass Molly and Val once more and stop together for lunch cadging some water from a nearby stall to make tea over a primus stove. As a result of complaints about the still terrific heat I was presented with a rather nondescript hat they had bought in the Pitcairn Islands on their way over from New Zealand. Molly sew up a tear in the bottom of my shorts. We made Kehl hostel where we met three attractive English school and the three German girls of the previous night.
Thursday Set out early intending to make it to Basle but had trouble with a lifting patch on a tyre and broken spokes. Considering the hot weather as well we decided to give up the attempt to reach Switzerland and stay in Freiberg instead. Once again we meet up the three German girls who have the laugh on us as we were so confident of spending the night in Basle. We were impressed by two 12 year old German boys who were cycling 100km a day on big 'sit up and beg' cycles hundreds of miles from their home in Dusseldorf. They were however just typical of numerous others travelling similarly equiped.
Friday unfortunately no more recorded but we made our back home via Colmar the border to the Vosges and back to Ostend via France.
I I know we stopped at a bank in Colmar, presumably to change money, because I left my passport there but we crossed the Dover border without problem and eventually got it back by post simply addressed to Mr Brian Henry Corbett, Schoolboy, Rugby, England.
I played with Imperial College second team and with the first team of City and Guilds College (engineering)
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| Front row Mike Lewis, Fred Bunting, Dave Bell, Pete McCann (capt), Doug Hykin (IC capt), Brian Spooner, Tony Palmer |
IMPERIAL COLLEGE EASTER TOUR to PARIS
Rugby with IC to play Union Sportif de Villejuif in Paris.
The nucleus was composed of players from the first and second teams plus a few 'sporting types' like Kitch and Dan Fowler from the fourth team. The captain was Doug Hykin who was first team captain as well.
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| Back John Arnold, Me, John Reader, DT's, Dan Fowler, John Arthurs, Tusker Hague: 2'nd Polly Evans, Pete 'Frenchie' McCann, Doug Hykin (capt), Mike Jones, Stan Copperman, 'Kitch': front Mike Lewis, Dave Bell, Neil Spencer, Brian Hearn | i |
The seconds were included John Arnold, Denis (DT's) Thomas who later played many years with Saracens who he also captained, Mike Jones (later vice captain in my cup winning team) and Neil Spencer. Pete McCann afterwards known as 'frenchie' for losing a battle with the white wine we won, was the captain of the Guilds (Engineering) team. I played a great deal also with, Mike Lewis, Dave Bell and Brian Hearn also played for London University.We played at the Stade Karl Marx and stayed at the Gymnase Josef Stalin, which gives you some idea of Villejuif
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| Champs Elysee, Mike Jones John Arnold and Pete McCann photo by Dave Bell |
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| A Dinner out in Montmatre |
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| Ralph Robins Later Rolls Royce Chairman, Mike Jones, Me , Tony 'ace (winger)' Palmer |
Cycling tour with Keith Upstone aimed at a descent of the Rhine
At the end of my first year at Imperial College, London (IC) and probably my first time that year to be back on a bike. First time anyone in my family had been outside the UK.
My companion Keith Upstone had been a big friend throughout my schooling at Lawrence Sheriff grammar school. Rugby's 'lower school' was founded by the same man as Rugby School after he found his first school was no longer serving the needs of the intended local community. Like me Keith was finishing his first year of university at Birmingham but later found he had failed his first year exams and left and unfortunately I do not recall us meeting again, though I did hear good news of him later from a fellow student at Birmingham who came to visit me together in my tiny IC hostel room one day in that first year.
Keith was the tallest boy in a school of 500 boys, at around 6ft 2 inches, and the second row power house of our Rugby football team and like Doog Thompson the scrum half, our team captain, played the whole season, of about four county games with Warwickshire Grammar Schools in 1952/3. After their first game I was selected to replace Stan Purdy in the front row, a school year younger.
The following year Stan replaced me as head boy and captain of cricket but he also added captain of Rugby. He went on to play regularly for Warwickshire in the County Championship plus numerous tours with the Barbarians. He was selected just once for England against Scotland, in his proper position of wing forward but had to play most of that game out of position on the wing due to an injury reducing the side to fourteen men. Replacements were not permitted in those days - he was never selected again.
At school I had cycled each Sunday with the Fosseway Riders as our small group typically around 10 boys called themselves. The leader did some grass track racing on an expensive bike the rest had rode massed produced drop handle bars versions mine being a Hercules using a fixed wheel to avoid the cost and continual problem expected with de-railer gears of the time.
The brief notes are only as recorded commentary to snapshots as recorded in my photograph album with added reminiscences.
Sunday 26 May 1954
Arrived by ferry in Ostende at 9:30pm and spent night in local Youth Hostel. That presumably is the time we rode from Rugby to Dover about 160 miles overnight, I remember being so tired as to momentarily fall asleep on a down hill stretch, no doubt the fixed wheel kept me pedalling and I woke up avoiding a crash.
Monday make for Bergen-op Zoom instead of Rotterdam, stopped in Blankenberge for coffee.
Tuesday Ride a 120 miles to Arnhem and were asking directions for the hostel when who should walk up but Mike Jones a fellow student then in his second year in IC Hostel. He later stayed to do a one year conversion from Chemistry to Chemical Engineering. He was later one of my very best friends at college and was vice-captain of Rugby the year I was captain and the year IC won the London University Cup for the 5th time in 6 years not bad for a year in which Kings dominated the line-outs with giant Keith Rowlands the future Wales and British Lions captain as second row. The following year Barry Lanz scrum half went on to make it 6 from 7.
Wednesday Lunch at Wesel then on 96 miles to Munster by 6pm thus completing 470 miles in 5 days of hard wet riding, including my second serious skid on tram lines. Here by arrangement we joined our school
friend Doog who was doing his 2 years national service there. We met outside the NAFFI and celebrated by eating supper out.
Thursday Changed plans to spend a day with Doog in Munster. Seemed to spend day lazing in TOC H or NAAFI but managed to find time for some shopping on which I bought a track suit for 27/- (shillings).
Friday Reached the centre of Dortmund and planned lunch when bent my back wheel double as a result of crashing on tram lines. Unfortunately over here HP (high pressure) wheels are 28 inch whereas the British standard is 26 in so no replacement was possible. I watched as the repairer bent and hammered my bent rim back to a shape which would pass through the back stays. We decided to carry on although Keith would have prefered to go back to Ostend. Later that day Keith was riding down a steep hill in the middle of tram lines when he spotted a tram coming up but on braking his cable snapped but he managed to cross the rails without mishap. Just to complete the strains on our nerves we witnessed a car crash in Wuppertal. Eventually reached the hostel in Radevormwald by 9pm which was a terrific place built just three years earlier in 1951 and beautifully set in the wilds.
Saturday reached Cologne by 12 midday, Spent most of the afternoon looking around the Cathedral and the completely rebuilt city centre. Ran into Dave Ainge ?? who was there on a course. Leave at 4pm for Bonn where we first met Molly, Val and Steve. Have to sleep in tents.
Sunday 1 August. Have dinner just outside Koblenz. We were plaued all afternoon by a faulty valve in my back tyre so we made to St Goar in a series of sprints between reblows. An American at the hostel presents Keith not only with a 'light' but a packet of 20 king size cigarettes. Spend the evening at the William Tell Festival being held in the castle and held memorable conversation with an English speaking German. There were among others two school teachers from Liverpool and a party of English schoolboys at the hostel.
Monday Started off for Heidleberg but my valve failed almost immediately so we decided to take the steamer to Mainz and to try to buy a new inner tube there. We eventually bought a 26 x 1 7/8 in, over wide version but had no trouble from it. This must rank as one of the best days for both the weather and the scenery were beautiful. A day marred only by the hostel which was a just series of mizzen huts. Met the schoolmasters again but being just one minute late has to climb a 7 feet iron barbed wire gate. One of the women removed her skirt for the attempt but we were disappointed to see the perfectly respectable shorts underneath!
Tuesday This was the hottest day I have ever experienced and certainly not one for cycling on, it was 95 F in the shade at 4pm. We spent about three hours in a small roadside cafe and bought our first cooked midday meal. Riding in the afternoon was agony and we had each convinced ourselves of sunstroke by the time we reached Speyer hostel another perfectly equipped hostel built after the war. The night would have been comfortable apart from GNATS. The hosdel was invaded by coachload of French women and first we see of three German girls.
Wednesday Make Karlsruhe for elevenses.
Thursday Set out early intending to make it to Basle but had trouble with a lifting patch on a tyre and broken spokes. Considering the hot weather as well we decided to give up the attempt to reach Switzerland and stay in Freiberg instead. Once again we meet up the three German girls who have the laugh on us as we were so confident of spending the night in Basle. We were impressed by two 12 year old German boys who were cycling 100km a day on big 'sit up and beg' cycles hundreds of miles from their home in Dusseldorf. They were however just typical of numerous others travelling similarly equiped.
Friday unfortunately no more recorded but we made our back home via Colmar the border to the Vosges and back to Ostend via France.
I I know we stopped at a bank in Colmar, presumably to change money, because I left my passport there but we crossed the Dover border without problem and eventually got it back by post simply addressed to Mr Brian Henry Corbett, Schoolboy, Rugby, England.
