The Masters
"They don't make 'em like that any more..."
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LT 'Skull' Waddams - Headmaster, 1954-71;
"It may sound like an urban myth, but I remember in my first year witnessing Wadhams walking the length of the old school hall in the High St on his hands and then taking assembly. A young maths teacher (a name like Kinsey) who had been with Wadhams in Hull (?) whispered in a quiet voice "Show-off". It was very hard for us 11-year-olds not to burst out laughing." ...Geoff Howe 59-67;
"He became a missionary in the Pacific. My brother (not a Math boy) met him at a Rotary dinner in Rochester, probably in the late 70s, after his return. I remember him taking PE and showing us how fit he was. By the time I left some of his enthusiasm had waned." ...Geoff Howe 59-67;
"I would describe him as strict but fair. It was he, I believe, who insisted that everybody had some training on a musical instrument (recorder or violin) in the First Year, a policy which resulted in the discovery of several unknown musical talents every year. He was a keen supporter of the RAC Junior Driver scheme in partnership with David Bellingham at the Belle School of Motoring in Rochester. We were taught in groups of 3 in the car and also had 10 hours of classroom tuition (and an examination). Everybody passed first time and we all had our licences just weeks after our 17th birthdays." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"always took each first year class for a Gym lesson, culminating in the walk through the cold showers. Often wondered about that... was also called Oscar in my time" ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
Mike 'Butch' Carver - Geography, Cricket;
1941-1976, former pupil.
Died on a mountain in Skye during a school trip, 1976.
"Butch" taught me Geography for a few years (I'm a teacher and have been previously a head of geography at two schools). I'm not sure if Butch himself was the inspiration, but I went on a few trips into the hills with him and Roger Smith (Dick Goodwin as well), including the awful trip to Skye when Mike was killed. It was out of sight of most of the group (I was on a low-level walk with some of my yeargroup while the others were up on the ridge with Roger and Mike). I remember crying at the time and not really knowing why (16 year old boys are not really in touch with these things), but feeling tremendously sad as we all were. The teachers were a great comfort and hid their sadness from us, but it was the funeral in Luton that brought it all home to us all: I think that he had a young family who we could see from the pews at the back. Since that time I've led a few expeditions for pupils myself, to places such as the Grand Canyon and Honduras, and even take groups Sub Aqua diving to places such as the Red Sea. Many teachers avoid such things - quite rightly - but the experiences (apart from Skye, where I've not been back to since) that Mike and others gave me were inspirational. I will never forget that Butch gave his life for kids like me." ...Neil Roskilly 71-78;
Eric 'Ekky' Jones - Head of Maths, Astronomy;
"He was head of the Maths department in my day (and an excellent Mikado). He did not take the top stream who were assigned to a good mathematician whose teaching skills were not on a par with his academic ability." ...Roger Stokes;
"Mr. Jones was the owner of a fine falsetto voice and was much in demand as a dame when the Gilbert & Sullivan season came round. I remember him as being extremely tall (I am 5'6") and I once saw him put a cello under his chin and attempt to play it." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"A fantastic teacher, always with a story to reinforce a theory. Also ran the school Astronomical society so went to his garden quite a few times, about 6 doors down from the New school." ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
Brian 'Chummie' Ellis - Economics;
'Taff' or 'Ecky' Lewis - Chemistry;
Ex ICI.
"the reason I became a chemist" ...James Petts 71-78;
PGC Green 'Neerg' - French, Speech training, Form master;
'Tapper Neerg' was the full nickname. Died summer 2009 aged 95.
"...have sort of fond memories of Neerg. Wasn't he also the master who took 'Speech Therapy', during which I recall a class of 30 boys all chanting in unison "Shhh Fhhhh Seeee Haaaa" and "Nimble as a monkey. Strong as a lion". The word was that Neerg had his chest run over by a Bren gun carrier in the Western Desert during WW2 and had to re-learn speech once the physical wounds had recovered. So, he was the expert." ...Peter Newnham 64-70;
"Mr. Green's nickname I always thought was spelled Neerg, being Green backwards. Why backwards? Those who knew him just think about it for a moment... He knew a lot about the Theatre and was indispensable around most productions, and he could seriously frighten a violin. He operated - possibly also built - a wonderful portable stage lighting board which was used for years for productions in the hall at the old school. He had a Vespa scooter which he fell off more than once. He took us on the most wonderful school trip I ever did, a 3-week exchange to Chateauroux in France in 1957. He treated us 14 year olds as adults and was fully rewarded for his confidence in us. The trip changed my whole attitude to foreign languages and travel and I have never stopped travelling since." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"He was an old fashioned legend who managed to remain relevant to all of us and held us spellbound with his true stories of WWII. We'll never see his like again in the safe and regulated world of teaching nowadays. Thank you for everything. R.I.P." ...David Pearce
"Our well liked and respected form master, nobody minded his strange ways and his lessons were always interesting and entertaining. Generally mild mannered, most miscreants just got his 'pretend that hurt' routine. He did once give me a terrible thrashing in the 1st form - for something I hadn't actually done. " ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
"Went on the French exchange twice, in my time it was to Montauban, about a 22 hour rail journey. Learned to smoke 20 Gauloise bleu (untipped) per day by the time I returned. On the train on the way back - 'Sir, sir what's a povercon?' 'Povercon? Oh, pauvre con, that just means a poor c**t'. One of a kind." ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
'Danny' Kay - Music, Choirmaster;
"He had a crackdown on non-regulation socks (there was a fashion for outrageous colours). 'No-one wearing coloured socks is allowed in my classroom!' 'OK, sir.' 'They will also get a saturday detention.' Socks off." ...Peter O'Halloran 70-77;
Dave Sutcliffe - Head of Religion;
Josh Evans - Rugby, English;
"I was playing in an after school match one wet and dark winter evening when my elbow got broken in a ruck. 'Josh' noticed my suffering after a while and checked to see how bad I was by making me move my arm around. Satisfied that nothing was wrong he refused to let me leave the pitch and I had to finish the game. Needless to say when I turned up with a doctors note and a sling it had to change." ...Michael Hewlett 71-78;
"A boy who I think was called Pollock - perhaps Richard (apologies to him if this is wrong) tied himself up at the back of the English lesson, including a gag, and awaited the arrival of the mighty Welshman. I think Josh left him there for the whole lesson, to the amusement of everyone. He was a fine teacher," ...Neil Roskilly 71-78;
'Gunga' Thind - Science;
"Mr Thind what walking nightmare he was, I remember when he let someone put potassium down the sink and blew up the drains." ...Paul Johnson 79-
"We asked him if the cat had to be alive when we rubbed an ebony rod with the fur to generate static electricity. He said 'Yes.' 'Nuff said." ...James Petts 71-78;
"Great pal of mine was ole Mr Thind. I remember Mick Cannavina recorded the pipps and replayed them over the tannoy at about 3.30. He fell for it and sent us home early. We also covered his car (Ford Escort?) with snow, and told him that it'd been nicked. He ran out and started looking for it !!" ...Neil Galloway 78-82;
Frank Myers - Deputy head;
"This Deputy Head used to scare the living shit out of ALL the Boys, and most of the Masters too... I never even spoke to the man until we did Pirates Of Penzance ('74 ?) for the annual Gilbert & Sullivan thing. We both had a bass voice so were pirates in the first half and policemen in the second (he being the Police Sergeant, naturally). The opening scene had all of us pirates sitting around the stage in small groups, and I had the (dubious) pleasure of sitting next to HIM. Each night, seconds before the curtains opened, he would quietly say in my ear things like "your flies are open" and "I've just farted". At the time I was furious. In hindsight however, he certainly knew how to cure a spotty youth of stage fright!!!" ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"I don't think we had a nickname for him, his surname alone was enough to send a chill to the core. With a demeanour that could belong to a hard-nut detective inspector from the Met (you could easily picture him reducing some hardened gangster to tears), he was responsible for the most frightening moment of my young life. Crashed out on the floor one afternoon after a little too much lunchtime cider, I felt someone kicking me. 'F..k off!', I said a few times but the kicking became more insistent. I rolled over and opened my eyes - it was Myers!" ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
"Frank Myers in my time was only teaching maths and had not yet become Deputy Head, following the late and affable Andrew Reed and Mr. Hadlow. Strangely it seems that all the Deputy Heads were maths teachers. Any theories ? Mr. Myers was also involved in the school's Lodge of Freemasons." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"Scared the crap out of me, but since I was in Gordon, not Pitt, I did not have a lot to do with him. My antics should have got me up in front of him several times, but since my parents split up in early 1972 (I joined SJWMS in Sept '71) I got cut a lot more slack than perhaps I should have. Anyway, I remember getting my first ever Saturday D from him (for what, I can't remember), and the experience made me determined to avoid him after that, which I did, quite successfully. Incidentally, that Saturday D never showed up on my end-of-term report, so I assumed that none of them would, as did Ray Monsell who was in D with me the same Saturday. Of course, it was an oversight: all my subsequent ones were recorded in their full splendour." ...James Petts 71-78;
DC 'Bogroll' Beattie - Latin, General Subjects, Housemaster;
"I was never taught by him but he was a housemaster. An oddity. Lived in Orpington and was a member of the Plymouth Brethren or something similar." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
"Fully understood the use of ears as handles for boys. Fairly restrained but when he blew, he really blew. Once saw a boy hauled out of class by the exploding Bogroll, the unfortunate's foot caught in the chair and the chair somehow got hooked up with the desk - the entire train was dragged out of the room." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
"I was very good at Latin, so Bogroll liked me. He used to keep me behind after classes and exhort me not to be so badly behaved. It never worked." ...James Petts 71-78;
"Used to stutter when he got angry, so we always got him angry. Made one boy (I think his name was Michael Preston) stand on top of one of the stoves in the B block huts in the old school (it was on at the time). They don't make 'em like that any more." ...David Magasiner 63-70;
Archie ('Rex' or 'Orb') Harrison - Latin;
"I cycled to school from Halling and remember racing the Harrison moped back across the motorway bridge! Two raised fingers from the moped when pedal power ran out of puff!" ...Rob Weller 65-73;
"He was Honourary Chairman of the Kent Archaeological Society also. I went on a couple of digs with him where he was dig director and got to know him quite well. He was actualy a very nice man. He even forgave me for dropping a rather large flint on his head at a dig opposite the Rochester Market site (he had to have something like 20 stitches)" ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"Former Indian Army Officer, in our day was known as Orb. He lived at Bromley and commuted to school by train. He read to us from a book fictionalising everyday life in ancient Rome, and the schoolteacher in the book was one Orbilius Flagosus (the flogger). Obvious connection... Orb advised us that lame excuses for homework not being done were unacceptable, and he would prefer to hear something like - 'on my way to school an eagle swooped down and took my exercise book ...'. Up to about 1956 there was a large air raid shelter on the corner of Blue Boar Lane just before the railway bridge, now occupied by a block of flats. When they came to knock the shelter down a demolition crane arrived, visible from the school windows, with the name Ruston 10 RB painted on it. This was translated into I ORB with some hilarity. Frequently when the formal work of the lesson ended with a few minutes to spare Orb regaled us with some wonderful tales of the Indian Army. A very nice and well respected man." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"Rex Harrison’s favourite joke “n'no boy, it's Carthago, Carthaginis which is good for you...'" ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
'Plank' Walker - History;
Invented a method for enamelling? Spoke Russian.
"Not only spoke Russian, but taught it informally as well for a couple of classes. Can't remember who else took the class. His enamelling method was actually a rediscovery of a previously lost technique, if I remember correctly.
From time to time he used to completely lose his rag. In a P-block classroom lesson, I hid under the teachers desk once, and tied his laces to the legs of his chair. He nearly fell over when he tried to stand, and started kicking viciously under the desk. I didn't get hurt, as someone (Fergal Monsell, I think, or perhaps Stuart Dale) managed to distract him and I made my escape. ...James Petts 71-78;
Tim Briault - Biology, A-level Zoology, Cross Country;
"Represented England at the Commonwealth games I think - his head went further and further to the right as years wore on" ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
"Head of the Junior Christian Union. Good biologist, but a weird person. Set us an essay very early on on the limitations of science, especially evolution." ...James Petts 71-78;
Tom Osborne - Physics;
"Right. The whole class is making a noise, so I'm going to punish Petts!" ...James Petts 71-78;
"Did work in cryogenics. Used to tell us tales of how they would dip rats and mice in liquid nitrogen and then shatter them by throwing them against the wall." ...James Petts 71-78;
'Trog' Haydon - Physics, Electronics, Housemaster;
"Rumour had it that he was discovered in an underground cave (hence the name) when the swimming pool and sports block were being constructed." ...James Petts 71-78;
"Famous for screwing up any practical demonstration he got his hands on." ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"He ran the electronics club. I once presented plans for a computer I wanted to build - a fancy thing with lots of TTL. I was pissed off when he told me it was too complicated and I'd probably never get it to work. Years later, with hindsight and knowledge, I realised he was absolutely right." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
Rhodes 'Pusser' or 'Pussy' Purle - Sports, Drama;
Former Math pupil. Died around May 2003.
"One of the best things about doing the Operettas (and the School Plays) was witnessing 'Pussy' Pearl in what I think was his true calling, as Stage Director. As Head of Sports (I think he was about 105 or 6 at the time)he did not realy inspire. In this other role he was supreme. He could get even the likes of me to act. The "ACTORS" however, he could reduce to ashes, and everyone else to gibbering wrecks of laughter through his extremely dry ascerbic wit, which was always delivered with expert timing. One of the true characters of the School during my time. One thing I do remember is the emotional Assembly when he retired. He was cheered long and loud, the "unofficial" School song sung and no-one got into trouble for it." ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"Mr. Purle was the only master who did not have a degree, but he had been an RAF Officer and that was probably just as good. He was an excellent all round sportsman and was able to tell me that I would never be any use at rugby after my first 15 minutes on the pitch." ...Allan Haynes 54-61;
"As I remember, Mr Purle took significantly less than 15 mins to dismiss my prospects as a Rugby player. I was a very skinny, unathletic sort and I always thought that the insistence on not wearing a second shirt or vest under the rugger jersey in freezing weather, bordered on 'cruel and unusual punishment'" ...Ian Donald;
"I remember signing up for hockey with Pusser one September, and with me was Mike Stephen. Mike gave his name, and since he was particular about the spelling of his surname, he said 'Mike Stephen, Stephen P.H.' to emphasize that the name was not spelt 'Steven.' Pusser entirely ignored the 'Mike,' and wrote down 'Stephen, P.H' instead. Mike and I could never agree whether he was having a joke or just missed the point entirely." ...James Petts 71-78;
Len 'The Egg' Lingham - Maths;
"was the board rubber shot I feared." ...Rob Weller 65-73;
"Would give Sat morning detention to parts of or whole classes who didn't share his enthusiasm for maths. It happened a couple of times in my second year, then the parents kicked up. There was a confrontation between Wadhams and Lingham and guess who won." ...Geoff Howe 59-67;
"Form master 5c, and a superb shot with the board rubber. Did the dust ever fly when it bounced off an errant head." ...Michael Rowney -65;
"Mr angry, maths teacher who threw the board rubber alot" ...Jeremy Hall 71-77;
"I saw him get annoyed by a wasp buzzing in the window and tried to kill it with a box file. Hit the window so hard that it was a wonder it wasn't smashed but missed the wasp!" ...Paul Bennington 63-70;
"If Lenny Lingham had been as successful at throwing darts as he was with the blackboard duster, he would have been a millionaire!" ...Bill Jamieson 63-70;
"Mumbled and shouted "Wake up England!" Scary and unpleasant." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
Dave Lee - English;
"I recall a prefect, from my first year, who, having done the college bits, returned as a master before I'd finished A levels. Always struck me as slightly odd .... " ...Rob Weller 65-73;
"Also gave some good Private Study courses on Cinematography." ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"During the late 1970s was deputy house master to Alan Skinner for Gordon House. Many a time he would tell stories of the old school in the city; and certainly on many occasions was able to use his own experiences to find the perpetrators for a number of 'crimes'." ...Paul Johnson 79-;
"When Dave Lee stood in the mock elections as an Independent Neo-hedonist his election song was as follows (to guide me oh thou great redeemer)'Hedonists unite together"...Malcolm Partridge 63-70;
united we'll still further be
seeking out all lustful pleasures
drinking, smoking, sex and song
riotous living, riotous living
we will live and love with dave (love with dave)
we will live and love with dave'
"Very quick with both hand and slipper..." ...James Petts 71-78;
"In the year that I remember, the said Dave Lee went to the real hustings to see Harold Wilson speak and was clearly seen on television being removed from the hall for heckling." ...Colin Mellows -67;
"...remenber dave lee standing as Neo hedonist candidate in one of the mock elections in the sixties (was it 1964?) and giving free penny chews to second formers who promised to vote for him - who says political sleeze started in the 80s!!!" ...Ray Woodhams, 64-70;
"I was one of the Second formers whose votes were bought: by the distribution of Fruit Salad chews from the back of a mini van that toured round P block :) He won by a huge majority, if I recall." ...Rob Weller 65-73;
"Once I hit a ball extremely hard at Dave Lee, and it rolled up his stick and hit him in the 'nads. He was not very active in the game after that." ...James Petts 71-78;
"Dave Lee was head boy when I was in the second year, gave two of us a 2,000 word essay on the workings of the internal combustion engine for (persistent) cycling in the lower yard. Parents objected but Skull upheld on appeal. I wrote about 1500 but no one counted J. Was only given the penalty after increasing quantities of 'knowledges' were handed down." ...Tony Parkinson 1966-71;
PF James - Chemistry;
"Let us get away with some amazing Chemistry" ...James Petts 71-78;
"Very encouraging to those of us keen on chemistry. Would give out hard-to-find chemicals for home experiments. 'I'm having a go at making bakelite Sir, I've got the phenol and conc acids, but can't get the formaldehyde...', 'Have you brought a bottle?' he asks." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
KB 'Jesse' James - Head of Physics, Housemaster (Castle);
"Was in Gordon, then switched to Castle when housemastership offered. Not particularly pleasant in the harsh mid-1960s although I'm sure he mellowed." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
"Good teacher, strict and remote. Had a reputation for handing out a 'D' for the slightest provocation." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
Bob Foulds - Biology, Wine Appreciation;
"Great Botany teacher with a dry sense of humour... 'Here Norris carry this gas oven across the canal without using the bridge!'" ...Phil Pinder 67-74;
"Had been a Company Managing Director. Then in his late thirties looked for the MDs in their late 40s. I quote: 'There weren't any because they were all dead. So I said Sod this. I'm off' and went to Teacher Training Colledge." ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
"He needed apple pickers 'with a brain' one summer [picking apples for a commercial fungicide trial his former partner was conducting] and recruited the whole A level Botany set. At a very competitive rate, too :)" ...Rob Weller 65-73;
Reginald T Childs - Head of German;
Al 'Scal' Skinner - Maths, Hockey, Housemaster (Gordon);
"Nice guy. Pretty ineffective, but a decent chap. I think he became Head of Gordon house after Dave Sutcliffe left in 1972 (he went to Eastbourne)" ...James Petts 71-78;
Peter Vokes - Metalwork, Technical Drawing, Form master;
'Fuhrer' Davis - German;
"Du bist eine esel! Du bist eine hoffnungslose fall!" ...James Petts 71-78;
"Hated me as I already spoke fluent German before starting his lessons in the third year. Clouted me across the head during the mock O level for no apparent reason." ...Matthew Arnold 77-82;
"He told us a story once about his National Service in Germany. Apparently he was dating a German girl, and was having tea with the family. The mother asked if he could come to dinner that weekend, and he was unable to since he was going on manoeuvers. So he told the family that he couldn't go because he was involved in 'scheissen' - shitting - when he really meant 'schiessen', or shooting. I think he just wanted to swear in front of the class." ...James Petts 71-78;
Dennis W Jardin - Head of Physics, Engineering Science;
"Apparently gave up a good paying job to go into teaching. Nice bloke with a slightly short temper (with me anyway!)." Graham Ford 73-80;
"Immense respect and appreciation for the man - probably the one with whom I got on best - he took a few of us (2nd years) for a 'field trip' down to Reculver one Saturday (I think chosen from those that were apparently most keen in the class) - but as I remember it, we never quite made it there as the weather was so totally appallingly wet, and we ended up in the local cinema watching the film 'The Battle of the Bulge'. This was probably the first time that I'd had fun in the presence of one of the teachers. He extended to me an almost fatherly understanding and encouragement..." ...Robin Crane 66-73;
'The other' Mr Green - Music;
"My 3rd year class tried to see how many times we could make him shout 'shut-up!' in one lesson (38). He also tried to teach me clarinet ('You're a fool O'Halloran. A very pleasant fool, but a fool')" ...Peter O'Halloran 70-77;
Mademoiselle Moumi - French;
"Used to wear short skirts and you could tell where she had been by the smell of her perfume left behind! She was not particularly tall and was caught out when the blackboard duster was effectively stuck to the wall 7.5ft from the floor (remember? - bang the duster on the wall and push caused the varnish to act like glue)" ...Paul Bennington 63-70;
"Was my form teacher in my first year (yes - remember THAT perfume...), I believe is actually Mademoiselle Malouski whose home town was Toulouse - maybe the perfume was to detract from the garliccy extravagances of Toulouse sausages......?" ...Robin Crane 66-73;
"It pains me to tell you that certain boys in 2C of that year (I can't recall who, although the name Ray Newman comes to mind) also tried a similar trick: they scribbled all over the blackboard, then put the board rubber on the ledge above the board, forcing the diminutive French mistress to reach for it. Her knickers were both frilly and scarlet." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
"2C never tried the board rubber trick on the wall with Madamoiselle Moumi, we developed the art of putting the rubber on the ceiling. Results were much better!!!! What about the guard of honour along the corridors or up the atrium to the staff room." Ray Newman -71
'Dagger' or 'Colonel' Browning - French;
"Never known as Dagger in my time. Usually Don, sometimes Batman - he was one of the last masters to wear his cape in the Swinging Sixties era of capelessness. Scary in the extreme but fascinating." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
"Scared the life (and most of the French) out of me: "O'Halloran! Levez vous! Ou est la gare? Asseyez vous!" Anyone remember the strange slide show he used to teach with? The high point was the haunted house: "Je suis le phantome de la maison!!!" Very useful. I was so nervous I used to fall asleep in his lessons and wake up sweating and wondering how long I'd been nodding." ...Peter O'Halloran 70-77;
"Difficult to describe the aura of menace that surrounded this master - probably the most frightening of all the staff. You'd be up to something and the lookouts would cry 'Oh God, Dagger's coming' and we would register the fear in each others eyes. That 'rabbit in the headlight' moment was long enough for Dagger's purposeful stride to cover the length of P block - the chance to bolt would have passed." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
"I remember his reading of French texts: it would go something like this:<French accent> Monsieurall without missing a beat. I found it remarkable." ...James Petts 71-78;
<Upper-crust English accent> Charles G. Wallerman
<French accent> est monté dans son <Upper-crust English accent> Hotchkiss <French accent> pour conduire a Marseilles.
"Don Browning never changed, striking terror into the hearts of generations of pimply youths but getting most of them thru French o level. I still admire the classmate who replied to Dons question 'what do we call a female goat?' with the response 'ewe sir'. no-one laughed but Dons moustache curled at one end by 2 millimetres to signify his appreciation." ...Andy Morrison 69-74;
Bernie Argent - Art, Swimming, PE, Housemaster (Bridge)
"I remember during a pottery class bernie argent saying to me (with a wry smile) 'treat the clay as you would treat a woman... gently but firmly'. I've thought about that a few times since.." ...Steve Rose 72-79;
"Dippy" Derrington - Religion and Latin? French?.
"(amazing hair) actually managed to teach me some French. More importantly, his 6th form general studies classes (based on the works of Francis Schaeffer) taught us how to think and argue logically." ...Peter O'Halloran 70-77;
George Thornhill - History, Housemaster (Pitt);
"was a long-serving teacher at the school. ...an excellent teacher and a kindly man who genuinely liked the boys he taught. I vaguely recollect George telling us about an encounter he had with the SS on a railway station in Germany during the Third Reich!" ...Trevor Brook 65-72;
"Proved to be an alright person (after all he rode a small motorcycle to school!) - but was pivotal in absolutely destroying any chance that History had with me - by giving me my first ever detention for poor marks in a history test. I already struggled with the subject, and that was it's death knell...." ...Robin Crane 66-73;
"The thing I remember most about George Thornhill was his assertion that if you won a battle you got to pronounce the name YOUR way. Thus, he pronounced Crécy as Cressy, Poitiers as Poytears and Agincourt as Adjincaught." ...James Petts 71-78;
AR 'Sludge' Hall - Deputy head, Head;
Took over as head after Skull retired in 71.
"A nice chap - and a total shock to the school after the sadistic LT Waddams. His appointment was a deliberate attempt by the governors to bring in a liberal for the 1970s after the bullying Skull." ...Stephen Rayner 66-73;
"even the Masters called Mr Hall 'Sludge'" ...Mike Stephen 71-78;
'Stan' Braxton - Woodwork, Maths;
"A strict, probably fair, master who ruled with a strong will, total control and fear." ...Anthony Bernthal 60-65;
Howard Kent - English??
Jim Bayliss - History;
"Probably a nice teacher but we never gave him a chance - he could never control the class and was ragged terribly. He did once assert himself for a few seconds: he overheard the term 'sexual intercourse' coming from the direction of one John Parkes. For some reason he exploded - 'What did you say!' he bellowed. For a few seconds the class was stunned into silence by the unaccustomed assertiveness. The quick thinking Parkes replied 'Social intercourse Sir - it means talking', 'Oh, that's alright then' he said, and normal chaos was restored. He disappeared one day and the rumour was that the 4th form had sent him over the edge - drawing christmas trees on the window or something. If only just once he'd beaten the daylights out of one us..." ...Paul Nicholson 70-74;
'Ben' or 'Tickler' Gunne - English;
'Scratcher' Pearce - French;
"how did he put up with us!! Remember his famous catch phrase, "You scurvey knave, sir". Also being water bombed as he came out of The Blue Boar at lunch time in the entrance at old school in Free School Lane. French was never the same again!" ...Andrew Werendel 65-72;
Mr Chiltern - Maths;
BH 'Boring' Bentall - History, Librarian;
Brian Turner - Head of English, Careers Master;
Keith Baker - History;
Bob Milner - Maths;
Ralph Goldswain - English;
John Graddon - Economics;