‘A COMPLETE AND INTERESTING RECORD’ TWO CENTURIES OF THE HARROVIAN

‘…a font of information and a source of historical record’ is how today’s Harrovian is described. As one of the longest-standing newspapers in continuous print and one of the most frequent newspapers published by an academic institution, this was not always its principal purpose. Its first incarnation, first published in March 1828, was to allow boys to publish examples of their creative writing, historical and literary criticism, and translations of usually classical texts. It seems that the editors never intended the magazine as a long-term venture, and only six issues were produced, the last in August 1828.

The Portico Public School Magazine first appeared on 2 November 1857. It was not, as its name suggests, intended exclusively for Harrovians and Old Harrovians: its audience and contributors were to be public schools more generally as well as students at Oxford and Cambridge, something that continued long after the magazine ceased publication. Its first “editorial” suggested a list of potential subjects:

‘Old customs or traditions of your particular school – their origin, history, and effects – games, and the various modes of playing them – coming events, great matches, school changes, and the like – school phrases, their meaning, origin, and value – epigrams and other poems, classic, foreign, or vernacular – memoirs of eminent men, our predecessors – school life and college life, their troubles and pleasures, their rewards and punishments, their struggles, defeats, and victories – excellent subjects, all; and much to be desired for our little magazine… Prose or verse – serious or humorous – comical or philosophical – in style concise or style verbose – send us an article with all convenient speed; so shall readers and contributors alike be satisfied’.

The Portico lasted only until 1859, when it became The Triumvirate, presumably with a change of editors. Although it contained a similar range of literary endeavour, The Triumvirate was noticeably more involved with the world beyond the public schools and featured contemporary political satire and commentary.

The Triumvirate was published only in 1860 and 1861. After a year in abeyance, it was revived under a new name, The Tyro. The editors of the new magazine were clear that their interests were political and that:

‘…though there are a very great number in the school who do not care the least for politics, yet we should be clearly falling short of our purpose, were we to omit politics altogether; for there are many in our upper forms who take a very great interest indeed in them, and have strong, though inexperienced, political principles; and it may not be uninteresting to some of our readers to see a few ideas of Harrow boys on so important a subject.’

The Tyro ended its run in 1866, with ‘The last time

The regularity of publication fluctuated over the decades from termly to fortnightly. It finally became a weekly publication in 1936, changing at the same time to its current A4 format. In the intervening decades, The Harrovian had evolved into a rather tedious series of lists of university awards and scholarships, School prizes, OH appointments and obituaries, along with endless sports reports and team lists. In 1937, much of the content was cut to produce a much briefer, four-page publication. At that time, it also lost, very controversially it would seem, its blue cover, although the endlessly obliging School bookshop undertook to provide blue-bound volumes on a monthly or yearly basis to those OHs who couldn’t cope with a weekly delivery of the magazine in its naked form. In 1943, a result of the paper shortages of WWII, its size was briefly cut to two sides of A4, although it swiftly returned to its customary four pages. In 1959, there was a series of ‘utility issues’ – two sides of typewritten A4. Major changes came in 1992, when printing came inhouse, and in 2006, when it was first published online. The only recent gap in publication was during the Covid pandemic in 2020/21, when it went entirely online and appeared on only a termly basis.

Important School events punctuate the yearly pattern of content: Speech Day, Contio, the Lord’s match, Churchill Songs and Founder’s Day. Reports on drama productions and art exhibitions have also always featured prominently, along with club and society reports – at first just The Phil and the Debating Society, then the Musical Society, the Scientific Society and the Rifle Corps, until the myriad societies that exist today. For most of its existence it has recorded the arrival of new beaks and the departure of long-serving Masters. One can also follow the growing importance of music and the development of Harrow songs, as well as the physical growth of the School as land was acquired and new buildings constructed.

The most ink has probably been devoted to sport, much to many readers’ irritation in all decades if the Correspondence section is anything to go by. Through The Harrovian’s pages, one can chart the changing fortunes of different games. Harrow football, cricket and rackets were there almost from the start, and you can see the development of soccer and rugby from the original Harrow game, along with the growing emphasis on organised sports in the second half of the 19th century. Climate warming seems to have put paid to the oncepopular and competitive ice skating, which has now completely disappeared from the magazine’s pages. The sports section for many decades also recorded the winners of the the three-legged race, the sack race and an event called picking up stones at the annual athletics meeting known as School Sports.

Apart from very regular, and rather desperate, exhortations to readers to send in contributions, there are a few perennial topics of discussion and correspondence.

A contribution in the very first edition in 1828 was an essay ‘Scenes at a Public School: First Day at Harrow’, and this is one of the themes that has popped up most frequently over the centuries. Other regular subjects include “types” of Harrovian, fagging, School food,

School dress, the desirability or otherwise of compulsory sport and Rifle Corps, the academic curriculum, and the place of public schools in society.

One of The Harrovian’s more enduring features, and perhaps the most read, is the section that features unintentionally, or sometimes intentionally, funny things boys and beaks have said. In its original incarnation, Master Malaprop’s Trials, the examples were often classics - or history-based mistakes. In The Harrovian of 2 February 1888 were:

Obruet unda rates. – "The water rates will ruin him."

Orangemen. – "A club organised to resist the Salvation Army."

"Cicero was killed by one of his greatest friends, Brutus. He defended himself with a steel pen."

"Dante wrote to the Infernal."

Chief industries of Scotland. – "There is a large Public School just outside Edinburgh."

The action of soap on hard water. – "It turns it into ice."

Now known as Gaffe and Gown, the issue of 5 November 2022 included:

“Sir from the bottom of my heart you are very handsome today!” “Thank you, but I am not going to improve your grades.” “Oh.”

“Sir, the square in question 5 – are the lengths equal?” “It’s a square.” “But sir, is it a regular square?”

The amount of space devoted to events in the world outside Harrow waxes and wanes, presumably depending on the interest of the editors. The progress of wars, particularly those that directly affected many Harrovians – the American Civil War, the Boer War, WWI and WWII – are chronicled, including their melancholy Rolls of Honour. Later conflicts such as the Falklands War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attract less commentary, and of the bombing of the Twin Towers in 2001 there is barely a mention. More locally, the encroachment of London into the green fields of Harrow is much lamented over the decades, although the arrival of the railway and electric lighting are more enthusiastically received.

It is interesting to follow through the pages of The Harrovian the rise of the cult of Winston Churchill whom the edition of 14 December 1895 reports ‘has joined the Spanish forces in Cuba as a volunteer.’ On 17 March 1900, the reviewer of Churchill’s novel Savrola recalls ‘a boy with views and a singular capacity for making them known.’ As Churchill’s political career progresses, references to him become increasingly reverential until a whole edition, 30 January 1965, is devoted to him on his death.

Always a boy-led endeavour, among The Harrovian’s young editors are some who have later became wellknown at Harrow and beyond, among them Richard Curtis (Rendalls 19702), Simon Sebag-Montefiore (The Knoll 19783), L P Hartley (West Acre 19103), Alain de Botton (The Knoll 19831), Christopher Tyerman (Newlands 19663) and Jeremy Lemmon (The Knoll 19493). Playwright Terence Rattigan (The Park 19252) was certainly a contributor.

Some of these boy editors are later recorded by the magazine as having visited the Hill as distinguished guests, among company such as soldier Lord Montgomery of Alamein; politicians including Hugh Gaitskell, Clement Attlee, Ernest Bevin, Enoch Powell, John Profumo, Edward Heath, Norman Tebbit, Geoffrey Howe, Michael Portillo, Douglas Hurd, Michael Heseltine, Ken Livingstone, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Margaret Thatcher; the poet John Betjeman; novelists C P Snow and Dorothy L Sayers; actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry; archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans; art historian and Russian spy Anthony Blunt (twice); explorer Ernest Shackleton; and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

Although, throughout the centuries, the content and feel of The Harrovian has adapted to reflect the changing priorities and concerns of the time, as well as the authors’ various enthusiasms, it has always retained the ability to be both serious and trivial, entertaining and informative, and, perhaps most significantly, it has continued to be an important contemporary record of Harrow and Harrovians.

BY DALE VARGAS ( DRURIES 19523)