RGS Senior Newspaper

We were charmed by RGS HighWycombe during the grammar school tours. We were evenmore delighted to learn that the School offers ten boarding places above its normal number, for which there is no catchment area for Boarders. State boarding really is the best of bothworlds! RGS Parent Our boarding house, FraserYouens , is named after two remarkableOWs, FrederickYouens and Ian Fraser , who fought in the First and SecondWorldWars respectively. They continue to be an inspiration to us all, and a source of pride thatwe - throughRGS - are so closely associated with them. Bothwere awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award ‘forgallantry in the face of the enemy’ that a serviceman in the British and Commonwealth forces can aspire to attain. “… some havemade the greatest sacrifice of all. They felt that their country called them, and they did not hesitate to answer to the call: while we deeply mourn their loss, the School will always keep their memory green, and when happier times come back again, the example of their self- sacrifice will still remain for all the succeeding generations who will receive their education within these walls.” Mr G.W. Arnison RGS Headmaster, 1915 P10 RGS HIGHWYCOMBE Our VCs Frederick Youens VC Born August 1892, High Wycombe Old Wycombiensian (OW) 1911 Active Service First World War (between 1914 & 1917) Rank 2nd Lieutenant Died July 1917 (killed in action), aged 24 years Buried The Railway Dugouts, Belgium In July, 1917, Frederick Youens was fatally wounded in Belgium, just one month before his 25th birthday. A High Wycombe boy, he had made his mark at RGS through acting in school plays, as a prefect and as a member of the Debating Society too. Frederick had wanted to be a teacher before the war, and had been offered a scholarship to Oxford University. The outbreak of the FirstWorldWar was to change all of that. Although he had already been injured, Youens went to help organise a Lewis Gun team that was in disarray. An enemy bomb fell on their position and, when it did not explode, he picked it up and threw it over the parapet, away from the gun team. Another bomb fell almost immediately in the same place. Again Youens picked it up in an attempt to save his comrades. Tragically, it exploded in his hand, fatally wounding him and some of those he had tried to save. His selfless courage rightly earned him the highest military honour, and a place in our own hall of fame. Centenary 1917-2017 Type Light machine gun (and anti-aircraft gun) Production Perfected and mass-produced in the UK by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Design Distinctive barrel cooling shroud and top-mounted magazine Weight 13 Kilograms Total length 50.5 inches Calibre .303 (British) Action (and rate of fire) Gas operated: 500 to 600 rounds per minute Effective range 800 metres THE LEWIS GUN: designed in 1911 by Colo- nel Isaac Lewis (and Samuel Maclean). It was in service from 1914 until 1953. For Valour There is sufficient bronze left from the original cannon to manufacture about 80 more Victoria Cross medals.