The Old Albanian Club

former pupils of St Albans School

Charles Bloxham

Former pupils and colleagues will be very sorry to learn that Charles, who was a member of the History, Geography, English and Games departments for 43 years with the war years intervening, and an erstwhile Head of Lower School, died on Wednesday 24 March at the age of 94.  To the end, Charles retained a lively interest in the School, and, as an Oxford rugby Blue, took a particular pleasure in the successes of the First XV.

Charles had requested a family funeral only, but the School will organise a memorial service at a later date. 

An Obituary

Is there any man alive who knew Charles Bloxham, in his pomp?  He must have been awesome figure in the 1930s.  Three years head boy of King Edward VI School, Nuneaton. Captain of rugby, Captain of cricket, Captain of athletics, swimming and water polo.  He was the first in his school to go to Oxford where he was ‘the man' in 1934.

Selected to play rugby for the University in his second week, he was still only eighteen. He had previously played for Nuneaton, Hinkley and Leicester. Playing against Cambridge in 1934 was playing against one of the best ever University sides and Oxford lost 28-3. The Universities then provided most of the original thinking on rugby and Charles Bloxham had an immense knowledge of the techniques of game. One of his best games was against Blackheath whom he later joined.

‘Blackheath were unable to hold the fast Oxford University team, which gained a decisive victory at the Rectory Field by three placed goals, a penalty goal and a try, to a dropped goal.

The man of the match was unquestionably Bloxham, the Oxford forward, who revealing both pace and anticipation obtained 15 of his side's points.

Renwick paved the way for Marshall to go over for an unconverted try, and Bloxham increased Oxfords lead before half time, landing a penalty goal.

Skilful running by Watts resulted in Bloxham obtaining two great tries, both of which Bloxham converted. Tallent dropped a clever goal for Blackheath, and Marshall added a further try for Oxford. Bloxham again adding the goal points.'

Four years ‘a blue' and 62 games for varsity, Bloxham had to wait until his final game for Oxford, on the 7th December 1937, to have the satisfaction of a win against Cambridge. ‘Almond, Bloxham and Pennington tore into it as though their lives were at stake.'  He came down from university and won the county championship with Warwickshire, England selection seemed a foregone conclusion for 1939 or 1940 even though he was exceptionally young for an international forward. He made reserve for the England Ireland game in 39 and then came the war.

In schoolboy fiction he probably should have died with a VC in some heroic action, along with the seven members of the Oxford team, who ‘did not make it' through the war. Instead came back to St Albans from the Far East only a little broken.

 In all he spent 43 years in relative obscurity as a schoolmaster at St Albans preparing rugby teams and trying to persuade the likes of Stephen Hawking to be a little neater in their work. He was President of the Old Albanian Football Club in the early fifties and on the Herts. Schools Rugby Committee for 40 years.

One of the senior staff at King Edward VI, a friend of W. T.  Marsh, had written of Bloxham ‘I think he will make a rattling good Schoolmaster and a magnificent Rugger coach'

Frank Kilvington before his death picked out one of his favourite phrases, he was ‘agin mollycoddling and spoon feeding'.

Chris Whiteside took time out from electioneering in Copeland to write in his Blog. 'Charles was a very charming and compassionate man, and he was also a man of massive integrity, in which he would have stood out in any generation but particularly so in the present age. ‘This evoked an immediate response from Tim ‘Here, here! A truly wonderful, warm, compassionate human being with a wicked sense of humour.' ‘Remember his best observation?' "Now don't go expecting life to be fair, cos it ent!"

Dr Roderick Chuck, a pupil from the 50's, writing from Switzerland, ‘I look back on him as a stern but fair master, whose praise was praise indeed, but his training and teaching methods were above reproach. His attitude to the game and school life in general was an example to us boys in those days - scholastic, sports and as a foundation for life after school.'

Kieran Kilmartin, a pupil from the 70's wrote, ‘I always remember him being a very fair and caring man who took immense pride in the school, especially the Lower School which he presided over with a very protective eye. He was a wonderful man who helped shape a lot of lives he will be sorely missed.'

The many other tributes can be read in the school archives together with more detail on his early days.

One final tribute from Robert Matthewman OA. ‘I remember Mr Bloxham (but never Charles) as an inspirational teacher and rugby master.

He helped our young Colts under 16 rugby team to two unbeaten years and then promoted 8 of us under 16's directly into the St Albans School 1st XV for the school.

I also remember being caned with six of the best across the palm with six others of my year for once trying to encourage a boy to participate in our games in the Orchard at lunchtime, but his mother complained of bullying. I offered no self justification or defence, which Mr Bloxham respected, and I took my punishment like a man, but he was a big bloke and it hurt!

St Albans was a wonderful school to have the privilege to attend (through a scholarship) and I have great memories of all the friends and people at the school that made our school years such fun and so rewarding.

Charles Bloxham gave a huge amount of his personal time, particularly after hours for training and on Saturday afternoons for match days, to develop the rugby and games at St Albans School.'

He played his last cricket match at 65 but was well into his seventies when he took his last rugby rugby practice, helping Dalwood and Dill (later Cambridge ‘blues') to an unbeaten school  season!

In the words of Robert Matthewman again ‘He has had a good innings'

Charles Bloxham was born on 23rd of November 1915 and died on 24th March 2010, peacefully at home, the last gentleman in Hertfordshire.  

Nigel Wood-Smith