Frank King (1911-1996)
Charles Collingwood (Westcott 57-60) pays tribute to Frank King:
In my first report at Sherborne, Lent 1957, my Housemaster wrote: ‘He gives the impression that he has found his feet pretty well here and that he has something to offer. I now want him to do some work!’ It was signed F. King. Frank King – a solid, unfussy name. He would never have been christened Frank Cornelius Dampier King. Imagine! No, just Frank King, or plain Frank as he was to us boys.
My appreciation of Frank must necessarily be a personal one and I wish to recall three treasured memories. Firstly, hair. Frank had quite the shortest hair outside HM Forces, and I wanted mine to be the longest. Conflict. ‘Two shillings for you’, he would cry, and off I would trudge for yet more of my precious locks to be insensitively removed. On leaving, I returned immediately to Westcott House where Frank and Maggie (as she was to us) were kind hosts to the Pilgrims cricket team. At breakfast on the first morning, Maggie turned to me and said ‘Charles, you remember Frank always wanted your hair short. I’d like you to know I frequently asked him to leave you alone and grow his longer like you!’ A moment of bliss for a young OS.
Secondly, music. Frank’s idea of light music was Gilbert and Sullivan. I wanted to thump out the popular tunes of the day on the dining hall piano. More conflict. A rattle of his study door handle, a rattle of the dining room door handle, and if I was caught still playing – straight into his study for a painful reminder of who made the rules! On that same Pilgrims tour, Maggie let slip another gem. ‘I so loved your piano playing Charles,’ she said. ‘On many occasions Frank and I would dance round the hall before he rattled the door handles!’ Once I realised Frank was laughing I joined in with much relief. In fact, Frank had a grand sense of humour, although few of us boys thought so at the time. I suppose teenagers rarely say anything their Housemasters find funny!
Thirdly, cricket, in which we shared a common passion. Frank was a fine cricketer, a Cambridge Blue, and he devoted hour after hour patiently trying to raise the standard of my game. Indeed, winter and summer he could be found pacing round Carey’s, pipe in mouth, the black ankle-biting Scottie, Angus, pulling hard on the lead, willing the boys of Westcott to do their best. He was such a good man. We trusted him, and he was always the same. A precious characteristic so valued by us all. You always knew where you were with Frank. He loved Westcott House, and in his way he loved the boys as well, although I doubt if he would have used that word!
He was, I’m sure, a man of his time, Housemaster of Westcott from 1952 to 1966. Perhaps today’s casual teenagers with their heavy metal, punk or rock music shaking the foundations of the House, he would have found rather hard to come to terms with, let alone tolerate!
When I became an actor, Frank began writing me letters, long, caring letters, forever encouraging me as he had when I was a boy. I was touched by his continued concern, and we became firm friends. My wife and I would visit him in Sherborne whenever we were passing by – memories I treasure.
The last line of my first report reads ‘Next time I hope to see a big improvement. He is a very willing boy and will, I’m sure, support me in this. ‘Quite honestly, while at school, I wasted much of my time, ignored much of his advice and failed to support him, but I hope that by allowing me the opportunity now to pay tribute to him, Frank would feel that I did support him in the end.
Old Shirburnian Society Annual Record, November 1997.
Frank King (1911-1996)
Born 6 April 1911.
Dulwich College.
Christ’s College, Cambridge; Cambridge XI, 1934.
Assistant master, Sherborne School, 1935-1973.
Absent on military service, Captain, Dorsetshire Regiment, UK and USA, Anglo-American Intelligence Organisation.
Appeared in the 1948 film The Guinea Pig (coaching Richard Attenborough at cricket).
Housemaster of Westcott House, 1952-1966.
Dorset XI 1936-1956.
Chairman & President of the Sherborne Youth Club.
Chairman of the Sherborne Branch of the Dorset Regiment Old Comrades.
Chairman of the Service Committee of the local branch of the Royal British Legion.
Died 1 November 1996.