A Student at Cambridge
A Student at Cambridge
A few weeks after camp, John entered Cambridge University. The university was then made up of around twenty-five colleges, in separate buildings around the town. John had applied to Trinity College, where his father and Bash had both studied, one of the largest colleges in the university. Most colleges are designed around quadrangles, with buildings on all four sides, overlooking a striped lawn. In Oxford University these are called quads after their shape, but in Cambridge University they are called courts. Trinity Great Court is one of the most striking quadrangles in the world.
‘Welcome to Trinity! I’m Oliver Barclay.’ A third year student at Trinity introduced himself to John, and they shook hands. ‘I live over there,’ Oliver said, pointing to his room. ‘Drop in for tea today, if you have time. Say 3.30?’
John and Oliver became good friends from that afternoon. Oliver was studying zoology. He was from a Quaker background, and the Quakers were conscientious objectors – or pacifists, so Oliver had been excused military service. John had also been excused military service, as he believed it was morally wrong for Christians to go to war. John and Oliver shared a deep desire to serve God, and to get to know the Bible better. They spent much time together in discussion, walking round and round Trinity Great Court, or along the backs of the colleges, ‘trying to solve all the problems of Church and State’. Some friendships built in student years can last for life; the friendship between John and Oliver was one of those.
Before John went up to Cambridge, his father urged him not to join the Christian Union in the university, as he did not think it would be good for John. John wanted to honour his father, so he promised he would not join, and he kept his promise. The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU) is still very active today, with a group in each of the colleges. Oliver was a member. While John never formally joined, he did play a full and enthusiastic role in both the Trinity group and the central meetings.
Bash’s letters continued to arrive, week by week. Bash had been impressed by John’s work as Camp Secretary. He was more than a good secretary. He took his own spiritual growth seriously, and it showed.
The following spring, as Bash was planning again for camp, he cast his mind to the future. The camp work largely depended on him. What if he should be taken ill, or die unexpectedly? He had excellent young camp officers – church leaders, schoolteachers and school chaplains. They were all committed to the camps. Should he approach one, and ask if they would step into his shoes if the need arose? Which one should he ask? As he reflected prayerfully on this matter, it was to John he looked.
A month before John’s twentieth birthday, Bash wrote the following:
From The Rev. E. J. H. NASH
10 Craufurd Rise, Maidenhead
Phone 1034
If anything should happen to me, I wish that John Stott shall assume full and absolute control of Kippers – Beachborough – Iwerne Minster Camp. He knows my mind and will guide and appoint officers as he sees fit.
E. J. H. Nash
30 March 1941
Bash lived many more years, but a note like this illustrates the stature shown by John Stott as a young man.
‘John, I’d love to see you take over the schools work when you graduate,’ Bash wrote. ‘You excel as Camp Secretary, and I know you would be well-respected by masters and boys alike in the schools.’
‘I hope I never lose contact with Iwerne,’ John replied. ‘I’m grateful for your confidence in me, Bash. I’ve been praying about my future, as I know you have. I don’t think the schools work is for me. I sense I may be called into the Anglican Church.’ Bash trusted John’s judgment in this as in other areas. John went on reassuringly, ‘I am committed to the twin authorities of the Bible and the Person of Jesus Christ. Committed to them above everything else.’
As finals drew close, John applied to study theology at Ridley Hall in Cambridge. He was determined to do well in his finals, and he did. He was awarded first class honours in both French and German.