"This is not an attempt to write a character sketch of a remarkable and much-loved man. It is a request to Aston Old Edwardians to write down some of their memories of Charles Hudson, and to send the stories to the Editor of this magazine so that it may become possible to compass a really adequate tribute.

When I arrived at Aston in January, 1937, Chas had already served as Head Porter for several years, after beginning his career with the Foundation as groundsman at Trinity Road. He made me very welcome, piled coal on the fire in my room, and, if he thought it had burnt low, revived it with wood which he kept inside an enormous clock.

I soon became aware of his phenomenal memory. If I asked about a boy he would tell me his father's occupation; where he lived; how many there were in the family, and whether or not they were living beyond their means.

But he would never get a boy into trouble. He might talk about sensational episodes of earlier years, but he would never tell tales about the present. I suspect that boys often owed him money for their dinners, but this he kept completely to himself. To me he was equally discreet about staff affairs, though sometimes he was less diplomatic elsewhere. His regular holiday haunt was Tenby, and on one occasion a master (with a family) asked him where he stayed. Chas gave him the address but told him that he would find it too expensive.

I once asked him how he was able to remember so many facts so easily. He said that he always pictured a boy as living in a particular house in a particular street, and that this helped him to store up all the details. I believe that some memory-training devices use a similar system, putting facts into boxes which can be visualized: but what always puzzled me was how Chas ever formed detailed pictures of the very large areas of Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield from which our boys were drawn. So far as I could see, his only journeys during term-time were to the bank at Aston Cross. Apart from this, he rarely left the school premises.

In a sense, the building belonged to him, and at week-ends he surveyed the whole of his estate, repairing broken locks, door-handles and blinds. Sometimes his enthusiasm was greater than his skill: but the vital thing was that he loved the fabric of the school as well as the boys, and spent his time without question when anything needed to be done.

So far as I knew he had no hobbies. He had a daily paper, and in later years had a television set, but I doubt if he watched it much.

He was responsible for the heating and cleaning of the school: but his daily duties went far beyond this. Few visitors ever called without finding that Chas was the first person to greet them: he was constantly on the alert.

For many years the tuck shop and school dinners took up much of his time, though for both of these he had the help of Mrs. Hudson and their daughter Margaret: two very skilful cooks. Mrs. Hudson was extremely deaf, but somehow the family never failed to communicate.

At dinner, the main course was usually roast meat (put on the plate by hand) with an ample helping of vegetables. All fat was cut from the meat, because Chas was convinced that boys would not eat it. It was rendered down to be used in the puddings and pies which always seemed to be the most popular part of the meal. Often there were "seconds" for the lucky ones.

At first these meals were cooked and served in the basement under conditions which would certainly cause a strike today. Later the kitchen was improved, and the School Meals Service of the Education Committee began to assume a general responsibility for the provision of dinners. As a first step, Chas was required to keep accounts of receipts and expenditure, and this bothered him greatly. I tried hard to help him, and I have a clear memory of one occasion when I added up all his bills for the Spring term and showed him that he had spent substantially more than he had received, the difference coming from his own pocket. He may have been surprised, but he was certainly not distressed. All he said was that things were dear in the Spring, and that the Summer term would put the matter right.

At a later stage the School Meals Service took over the preparation and service of dinners completely, though the school still had the laborious task of collecting the money. From time to time the accountants were convinced that not all the dinners eaten had been paid for: but if they were right, the loss was now financed from public funds.

So much for a few random recollections. Please ransack your own memories of Chas, and help us to build up a worthy tribute."