Intimate Biographies Disclose Diversified Interests of English Debating Team Members

The following biographies of the members of the Cambridge University debating team which is touring the eastern colleges this fall were forwarded direct from Cambridge. Written by intimate acquaintances of the debaters who are in an excellent position to know the interesting details which appear in the accounts, they show the Englishmen to be men of wide accomplishment in varied fields. These three operators, who will dispute with the University team on October 28 at Symphony Hall, are Mr. H.G.G. Herklots of Trinity College, and Mr. A.L. Hutchinson of Christ's College, and Mr. W.G. Fordham of Magdalene College. The appended biographies reveal them as men of wide interest and as representative of the high traditions of English university life.

The biographies which follow are those of the members of the Cambridge University Debating Team which is touring the eastern colleges this fall under the auspices of the Institute of International Education, 522 Fifth Avenue, New York City. They are all distinguished members of the Cambridge Union, and in their different styles they will exemplify English debating. They are also representative of University life.

Mr. H.G.G. Herklots was born in India in 1903, and received his early education at Trent College, Derbyshire. He is a rather unusual member to be elected officer of the Union Society, for he is not a politician. It is true that he occasionally puts in an appearance at the committee of the University Conservative Association, yet although he describes himself alternately as a Conservative and as an independent with reactionary tendencies he is probably far more progressive than he allows himself to think. The fact that he takes a keen interest in the, work of the International Student Service and that in 1925 he represented Cambridge at their conference at Gex, Switzerland, goes a long way toward making this clear.

Herklots Known as Author

Mr. Herklots is probably best known as an author. Not only has he edited his college magazine at Trinity, but also during the past year he has been editor of the "Granta", the best known university journal in Europe. His first book, "Jack of all Trades", a miscellany of verse and prose, was published by Ernest Benn, Ltd. early in June. And his reputation as a writer of light verse is not entirely confined to England, for more than once his initials have been found in "Life."

Mr. Herklots is a bachelor of arts, having taken second class honors in history and theology. He is now at Ridley Hall, doing post graduate work in history and theology and hopes within a year to be ordained a deacon in the English Church. Although he has been seen upon the football field he has never shone at the game, but he is one of the few people in England who have been to Switzerland and back with a tent on a bicycle.

Hutchinson is After Erudition

Mr. A.L. Hutchinson comes of Lakeland stock, though his home is actually in Cambridge. His father, Mr. Arthur Hutchinson, F.R.S., is or was till lately Tutor of Pembroke, and his uncle, Sir Arthur Shipley is, Master of Christ's. It was to this college, the Alma Mater of Milton and Darwin, that Mr. Hutchinson himself went, when three years ago he first came to Cambridge. Here he has studied history with a viger and an earnestness that sometimes dismays his friends who try to lure him away to coffee in the middle of the morning. One of his first recorded utterances at the Union was this, "Cambridge does offer learning, there's little doubt about it." And there is even less doubt that Mr. Huchinson has gone out for all the learning that the University has to offer.

Mr. Hutchinson's school days were spent at Gresham's School, Holt, a few miles from the Norfolk coast, and his holidays in Cumberland amongst the lakes. In such ideal surroundings it is hard to conceive where he learnt Socialism, but a Socialist he is; the fact constantly appears in his speeches and conversation. He is always running away on a bicycle or in a Ford to address mass meetings in the Midlands, or to stir up the lazy villagers of Cambridgeshire to take a greater interest in the running of their country.

It was not his Socialism but his powers of debating that caused Mr. Hutchinson in March of this year to be elected Secretary of the Union. And his speeches are not all of a political nature. In non-political debates he is equally happy. Suddenly he will arise, to struggle manfully with a quotation from St. Thomas Aquinas, or to explain to a bewildered house what is meant by the theory of relativity. All these things Mr. Hutchinson has at his fingers' tips, so at least it seems. Little wonder then that he has been elected President of the Milton Society, the debating society of Christ's and Secretary (subsequently Vice-President) of the Union.

Mr. Hutchinson plays lawn-tennis and fives with varying degrees of efficiency, but his main exercise is walking and he is a fine companion on a walking tour.

Wilfred Gurney Fordham was born in London and has spent the greater part of his life in the capital. He was educated at St. George's School, Harpenden, one of the leading co-educational schools in the country, where he was school captain and a prominent footballer. He thence proceeded to Magdalene College, Cambridge, coming into residence in 1922, and taking his degree in June, 1926. For three years of this time at Magdalene, Mr. Fordham came under the Mastership of Dr. A.C. Benson, the popular essayist and novel-writer, whose generosity and personal charm were so highly valued by his college.

During his residence at the University, Mr. Fordham's interests and occupations have been many. A law-student, a most prominent and persuasive speaker at the Union Society, a member of the Inner Temple, deeply interested in educational problems and in all political questions, especially those concerned with land and industry, his influence among political thinkers at Cambridge enables him justly to be termed one of the leaders in undergraduate political life at the University.

Among the many offices which he has filled with conspicuous success have been the presidency of the Magdalene Law Society, and the Senior place on the Committee of the Union Society, upon which Committee he has been elected to serve three times, thereby becoming a life member.

His political creed is that of Liberal ism, and throughout his stay at Cambridge he has been one of the chief supporters of the Liberal Party there and has often contribute articles on Liberalism to the University journals. His interests however do not remain within Cambridge. He is as much sought as a popular speaker on Liberal Party platforms both a his home and in the East End on London and also in many other parts of the country. His reputation as a speaker in the Cambridge Union has led many prominent men including members of Parliament to enlist his eloquent services on their Parliamentary campaign and his wide experience as a public speaker both in the Union at Cambridge and at public meetings at election times has given him that grasp of facts and fluency of expression which alone can command an audience's attention