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Student doodles reveal college life in the 50s

3 October 2008

Exeter College, Oxford, has published a book of undergraduates' doodlings and comments from the 1950s.

The 'Exeter College JCR Suggestion Book' contains a series of witty dialogues and drawings by Exonians, including writer and priest Brian Brindley, television writer and director Ned Sherrin, and TV presenter and broadcaster Russell Harty. It offers a vivid insight into undergraduate life in the 1950s at one of Oxford University's colleges.

The Junior Common Room (JCR) Suggestion Book exists for undergraduates to write comments about aspects of college life for the attention of fellow students, and in particular the annually elected JCR President.

The late 1950s has become known as the 'golden age' of the book, as the number and content of suggestions expanded greatly, especially with the addition of drawings and cartoons.

The publication features a foreword by Alan Bennett, who was an undergraduate at Exeter in the 50s and himself made contributions to the book.

Contributions vary widely. "This is the first time that I have looked at this book for over twelve months," writes Christopher Bryant on one page, "and five minutes' perusal has been sufficient to convince me that most people here start off with the enormous advantage of having nothing to say and are consequently able to devote all their energies to saying it."

On another page Ned Sherrin contributes some verse:

To Pun
Is fun,
But Spring's
A Thing
That has been slightly overdone.

Elsewhere Alan Bennet writes in a parody of sentimental poet Patience Strong:

Marcel Proust had a very poor figure
He hadn't the chest for sexual rigour.
He lay with Albertine tout nu;
'Ce n'est seulement le temps qu'il a perdu'.

Old Members John Speirs (1956) and John Leighfield (1958) compiled the book at the suggestion of former Rector Marilyn Butler. The book can be bought through Exeter College Development Office, and is currently available at Blackwell Bookshop on Broad Street.

The Rector of Exeter College, Frances Cairncross, said: 'This book is a work of both literary genius and scurrilous schoolboy humour. Exeter is proud of the talents of its students, and immensely grateful to the Old Members who have brought this project to fruition.'

For more information, please contact Katrina Hancock, Director of Development, Exeter College: 01865 279 662, katrina.hancock@exeter.ox.ac.uk

The following pictures from the book available on request:

1) A sketch depicting a flood in the JCR (the student common room), perhaps a reference to a late night of festivities.

2) A cartoon of Alan Bennet after he got a first in his History BA finals and returned to the college the next academic year to pursue graduate studies.

3) Another cartoon of the student Alan Bennet, perhaps a reference to his increasing interest in the theatre. During his time at Exeter he began work on the Beyond the Fringe series with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore.  

Notes to Editors

  • Exeter College is one of the 38 colleges of Oxford University. Exeter is a medium-sized college in the heart of Oxford. With 320 undergraduates, 200 graduates and 43 Fellows, Exeter is a close-knit community composed of people from many different backgrounds. The JCR Suggestions Book still exists today. www.exeter.ox.ac.uk
  • Alan Bennett Alan Bennett matriculated in 1954 and obtained a First Class degree in Modern History before remaining at Exeter as a graduate student and JCR President. During this time he began work on the Beyond the Fringe series with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore and has since written and acted in a number of stage and radio works, including The Madness of King George and The History Boys.
  • Marilyn Butler Professor Marilyn Butler was the first woman to head a previously all-male Oxford college, becoming Rector of Exeter College in 1993. She was previously King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge, and is a Fellow of the British Academy. 
  • Frances Cairncross Frances Cairncross became Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, in 2004. She was a senior editor at The Economist for twenty years, and chaired the Economic and Social Research Council from 2001 to 2007. She was also President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science from 2005 to 2006. She is married to the newspaper editor, Hamish McRae.
  • Brian Brindley The Reverend Brian Brindley was a distinguished Anglo-Catholic canon and writer. After graduating with a BA in Modern History at Exeter, Mr Brindley was ordained as a priest in 1963. He died in 2001 aged 69. A book of reminiscences, Loose Canon, was written after his death and is edited by Damian Thompson.
  • Ned Sherrin Edward Sherrin read Jurisprudence [Law] at Exeter from 1951 to 1954 before embarking on a distinguished career as a television writer and director. He devised and directed the popular BBC satire That Was The Week That Was, which first aired in 1962. Mr Sherrin died in 2007, aged 76.
  • Russell Harty Frederic Russell Harty was a television presenter and broadcaster. He read English at Exeter from 1954. Becoming a household name in the 1970s with his series Russell Harty Plus, he died in 1988 aged 53.
  • John Speirs John Speirs matriculated in 1956 and read Literae Humaniores [Classics]. He became a Managing Director at one of the world's largest aluminium products companies, holding several key positions including President of the National Society of Clean Air and Environmental Protection. Mr Speirs is now retired and has two sons and several grandchildren. 
  • John Leighfield, CBE
    John Leighfield matriculated in 1958 and read Literae Humaniores [Classics]. A distinguished IT businessman, Mr Leighfield is Chairman of RM plc, which provides information communications and technology services to educational establishments in the UK and around the world. John Leighfield was awarded a CBE in 1998 and lives in Oxford. 

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