Dr Ian Finlay, research fellow at Harris Manchester, is due to cycle 300 miles between Glasgow and Oxford in memory of an Oxford scholar who made the same journey in the late 1930s, in order to begin his studies at the University.
Ralph Glesser, who was brought up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, at the time one of the biggest slums in Europe, won a scholarship to Oxford University in the 1930s. Unable to afford the train fare, Glasser bought a second-hand bicycle from a friend, then cycled more than 300 miles to Oxford in order to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Magdalen College.
Dr Ian Finlay will be repeating his journey, in order to mark the 10th anniversary of Glesser’s death. Accompanied by his son, he will depart from the Mitchell Library in Glasgow on Saturday 25 August and arrive at Harris Manchester College, Oxford on Monday 3 September 2012.
Dr Finlay explained that his own father had experienced a similar fate to Ralph Glesser. Having grown up in a Glasgow tenement a few years after Glasser, he too had to leave school at 14 to help support his family, despite being the dux (top pupil) of the school. Like Glasser, Finlay’s father later attended Oxford.
Commenting on the ride, Dr Finlay said, “It seemed appropriate on the 10th anniversary of his death to mark Ralph Glasson’s achievement by retracing his steps – or at least his wheels. Ralph made the journey in four days, but he had a few years on me and I plan to take a more leisurely pace”.
He added that he hopes to make “good use of the opportunity on my way down to talk about Harris Manchester College to aspiring undergraduates, young and old, who may never have thought about trying for a place at Oxford.
“I like to think that if HMC had been part of Oxford University in the ’30s, it would have been Ralph’s first choice for his delayed education. It is the only Oxford college open only to mature students and offers anyone over 21 – irrespective of their age – the opportunity to study for an Oxford degree. For many students, it provides a second chance to gain the first-class education they missed out on first time around. I believe Ralph would have applauded its mission.”
Dr. Finlay will be cycling in aid of the Harris Manchester College JCR Trust, which supports mature students by providing modest cash grants to those who have a pressing short-term need for extra funds.
