War Letters of a Public-School BoyJones, Henry Paul Mainwaring
History
War Letters of a Public-School Boy
Jones, Henry Paul Mainwaring
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, British
In 1914 he was elected Captain of the 1st XV. No distinction he ever
won--and there were many--gratified him more. In a great public school
the duties that devolve on a captain of football are laborious and
responsible. They entail many hours of work weekly, the careful
compilation of lists of players for the numerous school teams, a
vigilant oversight of training and a watchful eye for budding talent.
But Paul loved the work, and love lightens labour. He threw himself
into the duties with all the enthusiasm of his nature. The amount of
time he was devoting to football in September and October made me
doubtful of his ability to carry off a Balliol scholarship in
December. Accordingly I suggested that he might relinquish the
captaincy temporarily, say for a month, so as to allow him freedom to
concentrate on his history reading before the examination. He would
not listen to the suggestion. He said he meant to fulfil the duties of
captain to the uttermost. If this jeopardised his chances for a
scholarship he would be sorry, but whatever the cost he was not going
to fall short in his work as captain of football. In the result he
brought off the double event, winning the scholarship and leading his
team with shining success.
[Illustration: Winning the Mile, March 27, 1915.]
His athletic career culminated at the school sports on March 27,
1915, when he won the mile flat race, the half-mile, and the
steeplechase, and was awarded the silver cup for the best forward in
the 1st XV. He tied for the "Victor Ludorum" shield with his friend
S. J. Hannaford (a versatile athlete reported missing in France,
September, 1917). These successes at the sports were a dazzling
finish to Paul's school days. He bore them, like his scholastic
triumphs, very modestly, but in his heart he was proud and happy. It
was not his nature to plume himself on any achievement. Only once do
I remember his betraying pride in what he had accomplished. It is
the custom in Dulwich to inscribe on the walls of the great hall the
names of boys who distinguish themselves on entering or leaving the
Universities and the Army. In due time the ten Oxford scholars of
1914 were walled. During his first leave from the Army Paul
revisited the old school, and I recollect his telling me that the
names of those who had won scholarships at Oxford had been duly
painted in hall. "My name is placed first," he said with a smile;
adding with emphasis, "and so it ought to be."
It was his hope that his own success would give a stimulus to the
study of history at Dulwich. In 1916, when he learnt that another
Dulwich boy was thinking of preparing for a Balliol scholarship in
history, he wrote to me from France, requesting that his notes,
memoranda, essays and books should be placed at the student's
disposal. He added in reference to a matter on which I had asked his
opinion:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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