* Frederick Kennedy Wilson Girdlestone *

 ID JKag

Born on the 30^th July 1844 at Rumworth - Lancs� and was away to school at Charterhouse at the age of 12 in 1853 - joining as a gown boy [ a title given to pupils who have won Scholarships to the school ].

 Frederic spent the next four years there before taking a Classical Demyship at Magdalen College Oxford, following with a First Class Classics in Moderations, and Third Class Classics turning B.A. in 1867.   

 Frederick came straight back to Charterhouseafter graduating and took a position as assistant Master then House Master from 1867 , starting his own house called Girdlestoneites ; houses are named after their respective first master and still is  called this , though better known as �Duckites� because of Frederick�s peculiar waddle

 Frederick would remain for the next 45 years until his retirement in 1912 � including 2 positions as Mayor of Godalming in 1894 and 1899 , being a local magistrate and alderman.

 Frederick enjoyed 10 years of semi-retirement ( he kept busy wherever he was ) before his quick death at Teignmouth 28^th Oct 1922 aged 78 � only the week earlier he was in London to attend a Founders day as steward.

 Frederick was a joint author to the Charterhouse Register 1872 � 1910 � see appendix for details

Letters to the times newspaper from or including Frederic were published on :

15^th Apr 1880 : Sports Day

14^th Jul 1886 : Defence of a Mediacal Outbreak

2^nd Nov 1922 : Obituary.

  As a teacher, he was old-fashioned, but in the general life of the school no man ever took a fuller part or exercised a wider influence.  He led the choir, ruled the school band and played in it, organized entertainments, concerts, theatricals, and lectures, managed the "tuck-shop," and bought playing-fields with the profits, took boys hunting, got up balls for the school mission, exercised an unbounded hospitality, so that his house became almost an Old carthusian Club and, in fact, whatever task, however irksome, had to be under-taken, he undertook it eagerly and carried it out effectively.

The Times, Wednesday, Jul 14, 1886; pg. 6; Issue 31811; col D
     Charterhouse School.
F. B. CARRITT.; FREDERIC K. W. GIRDLESTONE.; NOBLE SMITH

The Times, Wednesday, Nov 01, 1922; pg. 7; Issue 43177; col F
     The Public School Spirit.
Mr. Girdlestone's Devotion To Charterhouse

The Times, Thursday, Apr 15, 1880; pg. 10; Issue 29856; col G
     Athletic Sports. Charterhouse School.
Category: Sport

B-P was in Girdlestoneites House for most of his time at Charterhouse. Like all the other 'houses' at the School it was named after its first Housemaster, a Mr Girdlestone. The boys, however, called it 'Duckites' after the master's nickname, occasioned by the way he waddled rather than walked.

The picture shows Girdlestoneites House at Charterhouse, which still features a duck by the front door!

The Housemaster system at Charterhouse comprised a group of boys of different ages and responsibilities, directly responsible to one adult and is not too dissimilar from the structure of a Scout Group! There is no doubt that B-P had a great respect for his housemaster, and he kept up a correspondence with him whilst in the army.

B-P was also a 'Gown Boy'- a title given to pupils who had won one of the few scholarships to Charterhouse - only forty in total, spread over all the year groups. This was important for B-P, because though he came from a large well-connected family, his mother was widowed the family were not particularly well off. What his mother Henrietta lacked in finance however, she made up for in her ability to 'pull strings'

- scouting site to Mr Baden Powell