OB OBITUARIES OB Deaths
Whilst still in the army, he played Rugby League for Wakefield Trinity and met Joan, his wife. It was his Colonel’s suggestion that he applied for the post at Bilton.
October 2011 Thomas Cruickshanks (1947-1969) former staff January 2012 Sir Rupert Shuckburgh, Bart (1959-1962) March 2012 Hon R.T (Tim) Fisher (1969-1992) former Bilton Grange Headmaster Robert Beardsley (1930-1934) May 2012 Frank Charles Stevenson Green (1952-1957) Christopher Pyatt (1952-1957) June 2012 Herbert Hellawell (1927-1932)
Tom Cruickshanks (1920-2011) Tom Cruickshanks came to Bilton Grange in the summer term of 1947. I arrived in the September of the same year and first met this enormous man when lined up in the Gallery on the first morning of term. I was full of awe and, yes, fear and foreboding, as I suspect was a whole generation of Biltonians for the next twenty odd years. We could not have been more wrong. He was born and brought up in Paisley in a humble but hardworking family. Times in the thirties were not easy and his memories in later life were not always cheerful. He joined the army at the outbreak of war and this was to be the turning point of his life. His considerable gifts of teaching and dealing with people were soon recognised in the Physical Training Corps and he ended up as a Sergeant Major, arguably the best rank to hold in the services.
He started by being responsible only for P.T., athletics, swimming, boxing and shooting, but this quickly moved on to being in charge of rugger, as well as involvement in most other games. Because of swimming, I do not recall too much on the cricket side, which is perhaps a relief to us all, having seen his performances with Rex Machin’s sometimes all-star teams. He had an enormous ability to inspire young people to bring out the best in themselves, and we were soon winning shooting shields and regularly beating the dreaded Dragon School and everyone else, at rugger. He was also teaching the Homefield girls and it has been interesting to read some of the reminiscences about him in the Bilton Record over the years. It was one thing to bring out the best in talented people, but it was at the other end of the spectrum that Tom’s really exceptional abilities stood out. He soon spotted anybody who was struggling, either at a particular activity, or more importantly within school life generally. I believe that it was probably this interest that brought him more and more into contact with the Headmaster, and explained his considerable and steady rise in influence within the staff of the school as a whole. He was also teaching geography: I am certain that every boy at that time would know the location of the Grampians and the Dee and Tay rivers.
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