Ludgrove School Football Poem, Circa 1911
Scope and Contents
A letter written to a British schoolboy taking the form of a humorous poem detailing a series of football losses to a rival school. The recipient, named Lees, was apparently ill or otherwise unable to play the games the author discusses: “no doubt you have already heard how badly we were beat/And how at Stanmore we received a horrible defeat./Of course we can excuse ourselves with many specious pleas,/We had to face the Stanmore lads without our little Lees!” Stanmore refers to the now-defunct boys’ school at Stanmore Park, London. They shared a sporting rivalry with the Ludgrove School in Middlesex, and the author of the poem was most likely a student or perhaps football coach there. In addition to Lees, the other surnames mentioned in the poem, Brecknock, Stancliffe, Dudley-Smith, Ferguson, Kidston, Warrender, and Hill-Wood all match students recorded as boarding at Ludgrove in the 1911 census, suggesting that the poem was written around that time. Written on one side of the sheet in brown ink; pencil doodle on the verso.
Dates
- Circa 1911
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
Ludgrove School is a boy’s boarding school now located in Berkshire, England. Founded in Middlesex in 1892, the school rapidly became popular with families from the aristocracy and landed gentry, most famously William, Prince of Wales (b. 1982) and Harry, Duke of Sussex (b. 1984).
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu