I have one very clear memory of my Henry Thornton (HTS) days at Chichester. From other reminiscences I have seen, relations between the two schools were implied to be cordial, but this was not my experience. We were the “Black Beetles” and they were the “Greenfly”, and disputes and insults were common. School lunch breaks etc. were scheduled so that the pupils from each school did not meet. However, one winter’s day there was a heavy snowfall and someone got the timing wrong, with the result that some fifty HTS boys, including me, were still outside when the High School boys appeared. The result was an almighty snowball battle, the HTS lads being surrounded on all sides by what seemed like hundreds of the dreaded “Greenfly”. We stuck to our guns, although heavily outnumbered, but were in danger of becoming walking snowmen; fortunately, the staff were alerted to the imminent massacre and with gowns sailing behind them came rushing out to break up the battle.
Bert Fallowfield
Old Thorntonian (1940-1943); stayed on at the School (CHSB) until 1946