Here – Spring 2006

Here – Spring 2006

Jack Baldry (G23-29) and his wife Ruby celebrated their Platinum Wedding on Thursday 13th April 2006 and were the subject of an article in the East Anglian Daily Times on 11th April. Jack was a career civil servant, apart from wartime service in the signals section of the RAF. Private secretary to the Postmaster General from 1950 to 1953 he advanced to become Director of Purchasing and Supplies from 1969 to 1972 earning him an entry in Who’s Who. It was their love of tennis that brought Jack and Ruby together and they Played at the Framlingham Club until they were 70.

Jack is wondering if he is the oldest living Old Framlinghamian but this position still seems to be held by Maurice Metcalf (R20-24) who was born on 10th March 1908 whereas Jack’s birth date is 5th October 1911

Christopher Sneath (K51-56) writes:

“They say that certain events are prescribed as “Destiny”. A book on the top shelf, spotted during a browse round a bookshop in Southwold earlier this year caught my eye.

Entitled “One family’s War” written by Muriel Pushman. A glance at the précis on the back cover referred to her father Sir Irving Gane whose name rang a distant bell when childhood holidays were taken at Thorpeness.

“My interest prompted me to purchase a copy and taking the book home discovered early in the book a picture of Muriel’s sister, Audrey, as bridesmaid at my parents wedding in 1934 and, in the background, both maternal and paternal grand parents. What was more revealing to me was another later picture of Audrey who was now married to a Canadian airman. The pageboy and bridesmaid were my sister and I aged three and six respectively.

“A letter to the publishers to find out if Muriel was still alive was answered two weeks later by a call from her and an invitation to join her and her family for a re-union at the House in the Clouds at Thorpeness on August 6th. Twenty-seven of us sat down outside for a Bar-B-Que.

“I subsequently read the book. A most fascinating and interesting story covering her family’s life and her exploits with the WAAF in the last war. She was in fact the WAAF who traced Rudolf Hess’s flight to Scotland. Her experiences were covered extensively on Radio and TV during the recent 60th Anniversary celebrations to mark the end of the war. I have since made contact with Audrey in Canada and also shared this story with James Ruddock-Broyd (G46-52) who also by chance knew her and Muriel opened for James the VE Day 50th celebrations in Kirk Hammerton, N Yorks, on 5 May 1995 with an enlivening talk about her days in the WAAF. All of this created by a chance look at a book on the top shelf of the Southwold bookshop!!

Chris was also flattered to be asked to speak to the boys of his old house Kerrison and talked about his career and time in Building Engineering Services allied to Construction, giving them an insight into engineering rather than the normal route to the construction business. The company that he ran looked after all the Royal Palaces in London including Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London. This covered a period of some 15 years.
He also gave them some anecdotes of his schooldays and a story relating to his father’s days at Framlingham in the late 1920s. It was about the mountaineering boy who managed to put a chamber pot onto the spire atop the school. The only way they could get it down was to get Nips Vale the RSM to shoot it down. One shot with a rifle.He was reported to be the only individual who achieved a possible at 500 yards standing up firing Lee Enfield 303!!

Incidentally, one of his grandsons starts at Brandeston next September. A third generation to start the process to the College.