SEDBERGII AND CANON J. M. WILSON [To the Editor of
the SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—The recent death of Canon Wilson at a very great age reminded me of some facts not generally known except amongst us Sedbergh lads who were still at school when he went to Cambridge in 1855, to become Senior Wrangler in 1859—the most glorious year of our . old headmaster, J. H. Evans, one of the " Johnian Stars" and a double first.
In those days the school never had more than about eighty boys and scarcely any amenities. In that year a Kendal, boy, Son of a-local doctor called Longmire, had been head-boy for a year and it was not until the very last examination in 1855
that Wilson succeeded in beating him by a very few marks, and though Lofigmire failed to do himself justice at Cambridge he came out Senior Op. and Third Classic and so became Second Chancellor's Medallist, being-only beaten by-Sidgwick,' head boy of Rugby and Senior Classic Of his year. .. '„.
Holmes, head boy of Shrewsbury; and said to he the best Classic that Kennedy had ever sent up, was Second Chis_ sic; failing for Chancellor's Medal through weakness in mathe- matics, with this extraordinary result that the " tnin " head boys of a small school like Sedbergh finished by becoming two of the three most distinguished scholars of their year.—!
East India Association, 3 Victoria Street, Westininster,SM.1.'
Previous page
