Michael White

[Rogernoble]

Michael White - French Teacher

Michael White's name is a recurring theme in the Hillside story. It is genearally acknowledged that he was a brilliant French teacher. Some anecdotes:

Nikolai Tolstoy.
I didn’t realise there were two Mr Whites.  Our Mr White was (I believe) Jewish, and I further assume at some time changed his name from e.g. Weiss.  My recollection is that he spoke with a slight foreign accent – perhaps more an intonation.  He certainly spoke excellent French – I was already pretty well bilingual, having had a French governess during the war, so I would have been able to tell.  Perhaps you have heard this already, but another Old Hillside boy (I don’t recall who) once told me he was eventually (after my time) obliged to leave owing to being a bit too matey with a boy or boys.  All I can say is that throughout my four years at the school I never saw or heard of anything to substantiate this. Mr White was very musical, and played the piano to us admirably.  At one of Mr Whicker’s weekly Brains Trusts he was asked what he would like to do were he not at Hillside.  He told us he would like to have a BBC wireless slot, where he chose classical records.  I’m sure he would have been good at it.Nikolai Tolstoy
I think Mr White must have been romancing about dodging barrage balloons, etc!  All I learned from him of his earlier life was that his much-loved grandfather was a tough old lancer officer in the French Army (in the war of 1870?).  He would let Michael White and his other grandchildren tug at his hair and moustache without ever moving a muscle.He read marvellous books to us in the dormitory, most of which still remain my favourites: e.g. Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Gerard and Sherlock Holmes, also Rodney Stone.  I don’t find the latter so good today, but it gave me a lifelong fascination with the Regency period.  Our nice Scotch matron (I don’t recall her name) lent me a lace cravat, which despite the remainder of my clothing being grey shorts and green blazer made me imagine I looked like Beau Brummell!

Simon Hocombe,
Robin may have something more to say about Michael White. I have often wondered how he came to be in England and teaching. Maybe he was a refugee from Hitler. I can confirm that his behaviour with us boys was always absolutely correct. I understood that his departure from Hillside was due to events outside the school but which were mentioned in the local paper, giving RHRW no choice but to ask him to leave. Great tragedy in my view: as mentioned, he contributed much to our musical education as well as French. The two strands met when he set avoir to music for us to sing — and what about the School Band? Impossible. to get a good tune out of a comb now Bronco bogpaper has disappeared!I hope Desmond Adeley will forgive the following anecdote which links eerily to his French oral interview. RHRW was standing one day at the top of the terrace steps with a couple of prospective parents. He used to hold forth in a rather sonorous voice on such occasions. He was pointing out the tennis court and leafy woods beyond when suddenly there was loud clattering stage left. Desmond crashed down the steps from the front drive on a small, rickety bicycle, pedalling furiously and wearing a tin hat. He shot across in front of the spectators, still rattling, and disappeared down the steps right with another deafening crash and vanished into the woods. This explains what Desmond said at his interview — but I wonder whether the couple decided to send their boy to Hillside.

Des Adeley.
Simon Holcombe article brings back memories. I would second his opinion that Michael White was a brilliant French teacher and taught us far more than I ever learnt at Marlborough,  where I passed the oral but failed the written O level exam.I remember my oral, because we had all been told to mug up on something, possibly a future career. So when the invigilator asked me what I wanted to do in life, I replied in my best French, Michael White accent, that I wanted to be a professional motorcyclist.The rest of the interview was conducted in English and I had a mega bollicking about wasting my parents money to send me to that school. I suspect he did not know the French for carburettor or overhead camshaft, so I passed that bit of the exam.Robin may have something more to say about Michael White. I have often wondered how he came to be in England and teaching. Maybe he was a refugee from Hitler. I can confirm that his behaviour with us boys was always absolutely correct. I understood that his departure from Hillside was due to events outside the school but which were mentioned in the local paper, giving RHRW no choice but to ask him to leave. Great tragedy in my view: as mentioned, he contributed much to our musical education as well as French. The two strands met when he set avoir to music for us to sing — and what about the School Band? Impossible to get a good tune out of a comb now Bronco bogpaper has disappeared!