St Cuthbert's Association

St. Cuthbert’s Association

Newsletter, 1955-56.

Before last year’s letter was in print, we had news of Mr. Butters’ resignation. He is now Assistant Registrar to the University of Reading and here I can place on record the debt of gratitude which the Society owes to him together with our best wishes to him and to Mrs. Butters. Among his legacies to the Society was a system of administration well devlsedthat we could contemplate a reduction in personnel. Miss Robertson has the new title of Secretary and Bursar. Mr. Holmes, without change of title, has assumed responsibility for the detail of academic business.

The Rev. A. Wordsworth is President of the Association and it is a happy chance that his son will be among those who enter the Society in October. The new Treasurer is Mr. J. Harrison, a Tutor and a Philosopher, who already sees financial disaster looming ahead. The Annual Meeting is on June 16th in conjunction with the Society’s annual festivity. Luncheon will be the formal meal to which members may bring their ladies as guests and there will be a dance at night. This combined occasion is pleasant and convenient, but new proposals would have to be made if a greater number of Association members were to come than is at present the case, a development which in itself would be extremely welcome.

The extension to No. 13, with eleven single rooms, ought to be finished for October 1957. We are expecting to see two men with a wheelbarrow at any moment. A scheme for re-shelvingand re-lighting the Library will be carried out during the summer.

B. Topping has presided over a Society of 156 members. Domestic festivities, the Christmas Dinner, the Society’s Dance and the Resident’s Dinner-Dance, were extremely well organised. The Gramophone Club has met on Sunday evenings and a Light Music Society, born and weaned under our auspices, has graduated rapidly to the status of a Durham Colleges’ organisation. The Literary and Debating Society heard two papers from experts on Old Films and is contemplating a Literary Tea. Its great achievement,
however, was to stage a performance of Oscar Wilde’s deservedly unknown play ” Vera, or the Nihilists,” which had a notice in The Times and in the Manchester Guardian. The Gala Night was a distinguished occasion.

On the athletic side we can report a victory in the November Races for the Challenge Pair Trophy, and with three men playing in the Colleges’ 1st Tennis VI we have some hope of the Tennis Trophy. In the Colleges’  Sports,  A. Hodgson won the Discus and Shot, T. Baker the Javelin, and P. Mallalieu the Long Jump, and these successes have been repeated at higher levels. St. Cuthbert’s men have played in Durham Colleges’ teams with impressive regularity. Outstanding achievements which must be mentioned are A. Hodgson’s full Palatinate for Rowing and H. Cartwright’s election as Secretary of D.U.A.F.C. after playing regularly in the D.U. 1st XI which won the U.A.U. competition. Elsewhere on the Colleges’ scene we had T. Owens, who won the Robson Cup last year (and brought it to St. Cuthbert’s for the third time in succession), as Secretary of the Union. This term J. T. Hall, the Society’s Secretary, is President of the Union, and M. Ford is Assistant Secretary. The Society makes its presence known at the Union through many other gifted members. G. W. Bartholomew indeed, has won the Robson Shield. It is the more surprising that our own Visitors’ Night Debate was poorly supported. It was a pleasant evening nonetheless. J. T. Hall, who was largely responsible for the production of “Vera,” has taken a hand, with other members, in D.C.  Dramatic Society’s productions.

We could boast of three Firsts in Science Honours last June and with these we had the only place in the First Division of the Science Pass Degree. Four of our members were in the First Division of the Second Class in Honours Schools. The Society has contributed so much in other directions to the life of the Colleges has held its own in what I am bound to regard as an extremely important field.

Mr. A. Laing, who joined us as Tutor in October, left Durham temporarily in April to organise the pursuit of edible fish, and his place has been taken by Dr. Ivy. To our great regret, the Rev R.P. MacDermot left us
for a teaching post at Bede College. The Society had no Chaplain to rebuke sinforrwo terms, but this deficiency has now been made good by the advent to St. Mary-le–Bow of the Rev. O. T. Owen.

For several years the Y.M.C.A. has had an arrangement with Bede College by which men in industry come to the university for a term under the supervision of Mr. R. W. Hall.  (One of our members, J.P. Palmer, is helping to supervise a similar scheme elsewhere). The locus of the scheme has now been transferred to St Cuthbert’s with satisfaction to all concenied.

May I repeat the plea l made a year ago, that members of theAssociation play their part in keeping the Society’s life strong and healthy by taking every opportunity for renewed contact or new acquaintance with those of us in Durham.

W. A. WHITEHOUSE.