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JOHN READER: KEEPER OF THE ARK
by Margaret N. Alderson
Reprinted from the Beckside

The bare historical facts of John and Mary Reader's time at Ayton would be easy to record, but memories keep flooding in, and their influence over Ayton during the past 37 years has been so profound that it is difficult to commit it all to paper.

John Reader was appointed to the staff as a resident master in 1938. He quickly made his mark on a school that was essentially different to today's Ayton. It was a much smaller school, both in influence and numbers, and, because of war-time conditions, was a unit which was complete in itself: a family group.

When I first knew him he taught, amongst other subjects, "Scripture", a lesson no longer, in that form, in today's timetable. Lessons invariably began in the usual manner. The door would open, and in strode J.R.R., closely followed by a big wooden box known as "The Ark" which contained Bibles. He would march up to the blackboard and draw a sketch-map of the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and his first question to the class was always, "Division of the Kingdoms?" to which we chorused, "722, Sir." Then came the question, "Any passages?" and several hands always shot up. We had to commit to memory at least two passages from the Bible each term, and then recite them in public in order to "make the grade." Some found this difficult, and it was not unknown for certain members of the cricket team to be prompted into learning them, by him, in the pavilion before being allowed to bat. Others found learning easy. His easy way of counteracting over-indulgence was to offer 2/6 to anyone who learned the Bible by heart. Several of us tried to earn the money, but we all fell by the wayside which, I suppose, was what he intended!

In addition to Scripture, he also taught Maths and English, and although I was not a member of the classes to whom he taught these subjects I well remember the whole school going around muttering, "'Go to father," she said, when he asked her to wed, for she knew that he knew that her father was dead, and she knew that he knew what a life he had led. So she knew that he knew what she meant when she said, "Go to father!" It presumably illustrated a finer point of the English language, but I must leave that to another member of staff to explain.

As well as this not inconsiderable teaching timetable, he was also involved in the running of the Fire Brigade, which was part of the National Fire Service, and was called out to many fires in the area. He drove the Fordson van which pulled the trailer pump. The Fire Brigade was a valuable contribution to the community during this period, although the gear changing of the van was rather erratic, particularly in the Ingleby Bank area. J.R.R. was also responsible for teaching physical jerks to the boys early in the morning, an institution not appreciated by the latter at such an early hour. He played for the Club Xl at both cricket and football, being a formidable opponent. He was in charge of the Games room, which supplied everything from laces to footballs. He could, on occasions, be seen painting netball posts or re-marking the red tennis courts with rubber strips he obtained from somewhere, rather than the string that was being used. We were very lucky that games could continue throughout the war years, thanks to his curatorship of the Games Room.

As a disciplinarian he was strict, but usually fair. "B" dorm ran smoothly; in fact there is only one recorded time when the boys were late to breakfast, the master in charge having slept in until the late hour of 7.5 a.m.. Misdemeanours were normally punished in kind. I can remember forgetting to take a ruler to class. The punishment was to report to the Masters' Common Room (now the Tuck Box room) each Recess to assure Mr. Reader that it was still tied round my neck. This continued for a whole week. In spite of my relating this incident, we never felt that we were governed by fear, but rather by respect.

Mary Reader, or Miss Hodge as she then was, joined Friends' School in 1941, and was the mistress in charge of "C" dorm. The west wing of this dormitory was then occupied by twelve small girls, and in those spartan days one of her few privileges was to be presented with a jug of hot water with which to wash at 6.45 a.m. whilst the girls had to make do with cold water. We all looked forward to Miss Hodge's night on duty and got into bed as quickly as possible. This was because she was one of the most natural story-tellers I have ever known, and kept us enthralled with tales of ghouls and ghosts as well as everyday happenings.

Of necessity, entertainment was homemade, and end of term "Pops" were looked forward to with great relish. I particularly remember Mary's recitation of "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly", and John Reader's "musical" rendering of "There was an old man who had an old sow" and "The Swazee Warrior." She has always been a member of the Choral Society, and I seem to remember her playing a rather large stringed instrument in the orchestra. Occasionally, the staff put on a more ambitious production, one such being a play called "One Hundred Years Old" in which both played a part, the stage actually being constructed by J.R.R. and his stage crew.

Mary Reader taught Art in what is now the Physics Lab.(and French to the few). We appreciated our lessons and, I suppose, many Old Scholars' love of paintings was fostered by her influence.

During 1943 it became apparent that the Scripture master and the Art teacher were spending rather a lot of their free time together: John was a keen fisherman and Mary used to accompany him! I well remember a famous cricket match when the staff dressed up in costumes of a century ago, and how a great cheer went up when "Rosemary Reader" and "Henry Hodge", the umpires, took the field. It came, therefore, as no surprise when, at the end of the Swimming Gala in 1945, Mr. Carr, the then Headmaster, announced that Mr. Reader and Miss Hodge were engaged and were to be married in the summer holidays. I cannot remember what Mr. Reader said, but Miss Hodge's speech was short and to the point: "Please don't ask me 'Can I have a paintbrush, Mrs.!' "

After the holidays they returned to school and made their home in the upstairs rooms of Rawdon House. Those of us who were members of the Art group of the Senior Arts Association used to meet regularly there and discuss the relative merits of square or round clocks, modern furniture or paintings by Old Masters. It was a bright spot in our week, to be invited into someone's home and to be able to sit around a coal fire, chatting and drinking coffee. It was a privilege in those wartime days, and their kindness to us will always be remembered. In 1946 a large number of staff left Ayton, amongst whom were the Readers, and many of us felt the school would never be the same again. The years passed, and in 1952 those of us on the staff, who were Old Scholars, were delighted to learn that the new Headmaster was to be John Reader. They returned to Ayton during the Christmas holidays. They must have had a very cold welcome to what is now Mr. Oughton's house, as most of the staff and all the children were on holiday. We were delighted to have a young family living, once more, in the Headmaster's house, and the children soon made friends with staff and scholars. In fact, I suspect that their parents had a difficult job to stop people spoiling them. The youngest seemed to spend hours speeding round the playground on his trike, and I can remember the middle one being rescued from a watery grave at Bottom Corner, thanks to the vigilance of a member of staff.

Since John and Mary Reader came back to Ayton their interests have been so all-embracing that it is hard to know where to begin. The material things are perhaps the most obvious. The school buildings have more than doubled in area since 1953: a new teaching block, a biology lab., girls' changing rooms, Rosehill, and Leven Hall, as well as many alterations and improvements to the old buildings. All this has been achieved thanks to his foresight and persuasive powers both, I suspect, in Committee and also in raising the necessary monies. I suppose these are the physical monuments to 23 years as Head of Ayton School.

It is, however, the intangible things that mean more to us as pupils, teachers, Old Scholars, and parents. It is impossible to guess just how many people's lives have been altered and influenced by John Reader. Each of us could cite examples which we know, and there must be many more of which we have no inkling. Children have been helped over difficult periods during their school careers; parents, when things became too much for them to cope; teachers, not only in various aspects of their work, but also when they needed help in things not connected with school. Old Scholars always felt free to come back to Ayton and discuss problems at any time. In with this caring f or others, I would include such things as the Mountaineering Club and Glenthorne weekends, which opened up new vistas for many members of the school and gave us opportunities to know them on a more personal basis.

Mary Reader has always made the sick her concern, and I am sure many parents have been grateful for her care and thoughtfulness when their children were ill. She has also done many things for school which we have tended to take for granted, and we will only appreciate the extent of her influence when they are no longer there. I would cite but one example. The floral decorations in school have always been appreciated, not only by visitors, but also by all the members of the school, as well as members of the Meeting. To have done this, not just for important occasions, but week in week out for so many years, has helped us to see beauty in the things about us.

May I conclude by addressing a few words to John and Mary Reader themselves? I should like to thank them from all of us, whether we be scholars, Old Scholars, parents, staff, or Members of the Meeting.

"Thank you for all you have done to make Ayton the school it is today. I suspect that at times it has been frustrating and worrying, but I hope that there have been many more occasions when it has been satisfying and worthwhile. When we, who are staying, look around and see what has been achieved by your influence and hard work over the past 23 years, we are glad and profoundly grateful that you decided to make your home at Ayton School."

Margaret N Alderson

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