A History of Giggleswick School from its Foundation, 1499 to 1912

by Edward Allen Bell

In the same year another inspection of the School was invited by the Headmaster and the Board of Education sent down three examiners. The result was most encouraging for they had come down somewhat prejudiced about the usefulness of the education received there but they went away convinced that Giggleswick was performing its duty in a way that merited the highest commendation. The Carr Exhibitions at Christ's College, Cambridge, which were reserved for Giggleswick boys, were still given but, owing to the decrease in the value of land, were at this time limited to one in every three years. They nevertheless proved a most useful means of helping those boys, who were unable to go up to the University without aid.

A year later, on May 26, 1908, Mr. G. B. Mannock died suddenly. Since 1874 he had been a Master at the School. He had taught the First Form during the whole of the time and had also in earlier days taken over the charge of the Drawing and Music. In 1887 when it was decided to lease Bankwell as a house for those boys who were too young to go immediately into the Hostel, Mr. Mannock, who had been previously a Dormitory Master for the younger boys in the Hostel, was asked to undertake the responsibility of being the Master-in-charge. He continued to do so till his death. The influence that he had exerted was a very remarkable one. No boy ever came away from Bankwell without feeling that for some time in his life at any rate he had lived under the protection of one of the most saintly of men. Friendship and sympathy were the very essence of his character and he taught every one with whom he came in touch, that gentleness and courtesy were weapons, stronger and more valuable than any others. A fund was raised to perpetuate his memory and it was decided to decorate the Class Rooms with panelling and hang them with pictures. In the Sixth Form Room Honour Boards were also erected. It was felt that this improvement in the decoration of the School would be a fitting tribute to one, whose joy in beauty was so deep and sure.

The close of Mr. Vaughan's time at Giggleswick was marked by two schemes of the utmost importance. A contingent of the Officers Training Corps was established under the direction of the Rev. C. F. Pierce. Mr. Pierce had enjoyed no previous experience of military training, but he threw himself into the work with enthusiasm. The Summer Term in 1910 saw its beginning, and within a year there had been a consistent average of between fifty-five and sixty boys in the Corps. They have two field-days a term, and go to the Public Schools' Camp at Aldershot or Salisbury each August. In 1911 the Corps went to Windsor to be reviewed by the King, and were members of a Brigade which was widely noted in the newspapers for its appearance and marching.

OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS.

The second scheme that was undertaken at this time was the improvement of the Cricket Ground. The ground rested on a foundation of peat, which acted like a sponge, and it was almost impossible in an average summer to get a fast wicket. It was proposed that a sum of six or seven hundred pounds should be collected, and some means should be found of draining the ground thoroughly. Mr. Edwin Gould, one of the Assistant Masters, was chiefly instrumental in gaining acceptance for the scheme, and his appeal for funds was responded to well. The work was begun in the Autumn of 1910, and it was hoped that it would be finished before the Summer of 1911, but this was found impossible. The underlying foundation of peat was so deep that all hope of digging it up was abandoned. It was instead decided to heighten the general level of the ground by six feet, and to do so by filling in with earth and stone. The work was very laborious owing to the blasting operations that had to be carried out, but the ground has been enlarged in every direction, and in course of time should prove one of the best in England. While the work was in progress Cricket was played during the Summer of 1911 on the Football Field, and a remarkably fast wicket was obtained.

During Mr. Vaughan's time the Athletics of the School had not been maintained at the same high pitch as in previous years. The great success of the ninety's had not continued. It is difficult for a school to be successful both in work and games, and in the early years of the century the School was not so large in numbers as it had been in the best years of Mr. Style; the choice of players was therefore more limited. Nevertheless, throughout the School there was a general tendency to take up more than one branch of sport. Golf, Fives, Gymnastics, all received gifts of Challenge Cups, and considerable competition resulted. In 1908 Captain Thompson, of Beck House, generously presented a Cup for a Cross Country Race. The Scar-Rigg Race, as it has been called, is three miles long, and starting near the top of the Scar Quarry, the competitors run along its top till they get to the summit of Buckhaw Brow, after which they run across the fields, over the High Rigg Road and down to the finish near the Chapel. It is a fine course and, though a hard one, does not try the strength of the runners unduly.

In April, 1910, the Headmaster received an unanimous invitation from the Governors of Wellington College to be the Master there. It was a great grief to Giggleswick that she should lose one, who, though she had known him only for six years, had even in that brief period stamped himself upon the imagination of them all.

During his Headmastership everyone connected with the School seemed to gain a closer and more personal interest in its fortunes. He treated men as if they were themselves possessed of more than usual individuality. No one was expected to be a mere automaton, useful but replaceable. There was a special part of the School organization which each man was made to feel was precisely the part that he could play. Dormitory Masters were given greater independence, boys, especially the older boys, were made to realize that they also had a deep responsibility in the welfare of the School. The great features in Mr. Vaughan's character were his insight into the best qualities of all who surrounded him and the generous optimism of his judgment. It was a difficult task for any man to succeed to the work of Mr. Style, who had built up the School afresh through many arduous difficulties, but Mr. Vaughan realized that the passing of the period of rapid enlargement laid upon him the responsibility of fostering the slow and unostentatious work of profiting by the past and of seeing that the reputation of the School was maintained and increased. He was essentially an idealist, a dreamer of dreams, a visionary, but he never lost sight of the practicable. Organization was his handmaid.

Parents, Masters and Boys were quick to recognize the sincerity of the man. He was often impetuous but he was always candid. His decisions were firm, but he never shirked an argument. His sermons in Chapel were not steeped in oratory but the directness of his appeal, the persistent summons to the standard of Duty and the obvious depth of his emotion gave them power. Largeness of numbers never appealed to him, and he did not in any way strive to call the attention of the world to the School. He wished for success in Scholarships and in Athletics but he regarded the School as he regarded the individual. Distinction in work or games was no passport to his favour, but he continually looked only for the right use of such capacity as each one possessed. Frequently he would take boys from the lower part of the School and himself give them private tuition. Character was more than intellect. The boys learned to know him as their friend and he would go into their studies in the evening and be gladly welcomed. The unity of the School was much increased, the Hostel had no special privileges and at the close of his Headmastership the six years had witnessed a steady growth in the effectiveness of the School. No one ever forgot that he was Headmaster but at the same time he never failed to encourage others to act for themselves. He had a single-minded desire for the good of the School and he inspired others with it. His contempt for outworn conventions, his sincerity, his generosity of heart, even his impetuous nature impressed all alike with the feeling that they were dealing with one, who was essentially a man.