The Victor Ludorum Cup, dated 1915 has kindly been returned to Bloxham
Bloxham is delighted to receive the Victor Ludorum Trophy; a long-lost piece of the school’s history.
Bloxham School has been reunited with one of its oldest and most prestigious sporting tophies, thanks to a generous stranger.’Dick Eburne from Herne Bay recently bought the pewter cup in an auction near his home. Reportedly, it had been found in a house clearance in Kent last year, and no-one is quite sure how and when it left the school’s possession. It bears the date 1915 and the school’s name, coat of arms and motto as well as the inscription ‘Senior Championship’. Mr Eburne contacted Bloxham School, and research by School Archivist Simon Batten has revealed that this is the long lost trophy for the Victor Ludorum, the outstanding athlete on Sports Day.
Mr Eburne has now donated the trophy to Bloxham School. What makes the trophy especially significant is that the winner in its first year was Douglas Cain, who was portrayed on stage two years ago by Ben in the school play ’79’, which followed the stories of some of the Old Bloxhamists who fought in the First World War. Douglas Cain, who won the trophy after winning the 100 yards, quarter mile and hurdles races at the 1915 sports day, retained it the following year, unsurprisingly given that he managed to win seven of the eight events he entered that year!
Douglas left school in December 1916 to join the Royal Flying Corps and was swiftly out in France flying over enemy trenches. In September he was shot down in a dogfight with four German planes, and fell to the ground from 1,000 feet. Remarkably, he survived the crash, but after being released from hospital after 11 months he returned to Bloxham as a sports master, despite having had one foot amputated. The school is immensely grateful to Dick Eburne for his great act of generosity in allowing it to rediscover such a significant part of its past.