Record Number: 30645
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Meeting held at “Oakdene”, Northcourt Avenue. 2.3.43
S. A. Reynolds in the chair.
1. Minutes of the last meeting were read & approved.
[...]
5. Bruce Dilks reported on behalf of the committee, that in order to provide a
controversial evening seven people had been asked to come prepared to speak or
read about seven widely differing subjects. [...] The subjects would be open for
debate and it was not proposed to cut short an interesting discussion in order
necessarily to include 7 all subjects [...].
6. Rosamund Wallis read an extract from “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis.
She was a lesson in the act of tempting, especially the kind of temptations into
which people are most likely to be led during war time. A discussion followed on
whether or not war produced a ‘moral torpor’ and whether it is necessary to live
dangerously, in order to develop physical and moral courage. C. S. Lewis says that
“Despair is a greater sin, than any of the sins that provoke it.”
7. Alice Joselin’s subject was Experiment in Education and she read first from E. S.
Grant-Watson’s book “The Old School” which described the founding of Bedales in
1893 and its gradual change from its cranky, ultra-idealistic outlook then into a
good modern progressive school. Her other reading was from A. S. Neil’s book
“That Dreadful School” the author being founder and headmaster of “Summerhill”.
[...] It was clear from the remarks that followed that this system of education had
no support from members of the club. Dorothea Taylor. as an old Bedalean
confirmed Grant-Watson’s A/C of the school (except that she had no recollection of
the use of the switch) and told us of the great loyalty of old scholars. [...] This led
on to the question of co-education and the very strong Sidcot contingent present at
the meeting began to throw its weight about until Howard Smith recalled that in
his Unit of the F.A.U. during the last war, the Old Sidcotians were labelled “Gods
little Gentlemen”[.] Knox Taylor exhibited himself as the exception to this rule &
the subject was considered dead. [Note: the F.A.U. is the Friends’ Ambulance Unit;
Sidcot is a co-educational school associated with the Quakers.]'
1900-1945
Date:2 Mar 1943
Country:England
Timeevening
Place:city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Oakdene, Northcourt Avenue
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:1872
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Formerly schoolmaster, now occasional lecturer and supply teacher, and supported also by wife's unearned income
Religion:Quaker or associated with the Friends
Country of Origin:n/a
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
Members of the XII Book Club
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:Party Politics
Genre:Politics
Form of Text:Manuscript: Unknown
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceowned
Source Information:
Record ID:30645
Source:Manuscript
Author:Margaret Dilks
Title:XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943)
Location:private collection
Call No:n/a
Page/Folio:145–151
Additional Information:
Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes.
Citation:
Margaret Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 145–151, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30645, accessed: 04 May 2024
Additional Comments:
Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).
