Lives in Cricet No 33 - Jack Robertson and Syd Brown

17 which moved there in 1939 and which in more recent times has included in its ranks future Middlesex players Andrew Miller, Keith Dutch and Mark Ramprakash. Another Middlesex cricketer, George Hart, played for the club in the early 1920s. Jim Boyden MP, the son of the first Headmaster, remembered the school as a ‘vigorous family-style community’ where ‘parents, pupils and staff were on good terms and happy … ’. 17 All was not completely rosy, however. The school had been built for 292 pupils (aged five to fourteen) but by the end of 1932 it had 639. Apart from the obvious adverse effects on class sizes, overcrowding could also lead to serious health issues. In early 1930 measles and mumps were rife, and there were even cases of scarlet fever, whooping cough and diphtheria. Fortunately the school had a strong sporting ethos, with pupils finding success in various fields of activity. The school history, however, does not go into a lot of detail. With regard to cricket it commented that ‘The cricket team also had its successes, one of its star performers being Sid ( sic ) Brown.’ It also states that he was so inspired by the magnificent batting of Don Bradman in 1930 that he decided to take up cricket as a career. It wasn’t only on the cricket field that his talent stood out because, reporting on a return visit he made to the school in 1954, the Harrow Observer said that in 1932 he had won the Victor Ludorum trophy for his allround performance at the school sports day. Unfortunately I have been unable to discover any more about his performances on the day. Contemporary accounts in the 17 Lewis, M.E., Service not Self. 1929-1979. The History of Headstone/Nower Hill High Schools Over Half a Century , publisher unknown, 1979. Beginnings: Syd A much-thumbed scrapbook picture showing Syd, wearing a Harrow and District schools badge, captaining a Headstone School football side in 1931/32.