The ALMONDBURIAN T H E MAGAZINE OF TH E OLD AL MONDBURIANS’ S OCIETY
November 2010
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IN THIS ISSUE Chairman’s Letter OAS Calendar OAS Membership Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day Terry’s Teaser
From the Headteacher
70 Years at King James’s An evening to remember New Books George Beach: unsung hero Staff v School football match Cricket Soccer Badminton/Tennis Golf Letter from Porthcawl Postbag Obituaries OAS Shop
The next issue of The Almondburian will be published on 1st March 2011. Closing date for contributions: 21st January 2011
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The ALMONDBURIAN Editor: Roger Dowling
November 2010
The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society
Chairman’s letter
A
E M I LY C O M E R / NICKY MURPHY
STHE LEAVES BEGINTOTURN BROWN and the weather turns cooler we can look back at the sunny day that was President’s Day and look forward to the doubtless wet and windy Annual Dinner. President’s Day was again well organised by the Cricket Club and a full report of the event appears on page 29 of this issue.The Annual Dinner is again at the Galpharm Stadium and this year celebrates the working lives of two long serving members of the teaching staff who retired this year: Patrick O’Brien andWalter Raleigh. Patrick 3
and Walter have been staunch supporters of the Old Almondburians’ Society over the years, and they look back on their teaching careers at King James's on page 10. They will be guests of honour at the event and we encourage any member who has not yet bought a ticket to use one of the enclosed forms or apply on our website www.oas.org.uk. This year’s reunion event for those that attended the school up to the early 70s will have taken place by the time you read this and next year’s event for a slightly younger generation will be in the planning. A report appears on page 17 and on the website, so you can see what you may have missed or – depending on your age – what you can look forward to next year!Thanks are due to GaryWoodhouse for all the work he put into the planning of Reunion 2010, and to the Cricket Club for manning the bar. Finally the AGM is due to be held onTuesday, 4th January 2011at theWoolpack in Almondbury and we encourage as many members as possible to attend.
OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDAR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at the ‘Woolpack’,Almondbury on Tuesday, 4th January 2011 at 7.30 pm. Nominations for office on the Executive Committee are required by the Secretary in advance of this date, so that the election of officers can take place at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule Eight.
DATES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, 2010 The Executive Committee of the Society meets upstairs at the ‘Woolpack’ in Almondbury. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at 7.30 pm, with the exception of August, when there is no meeting.Any member of the Society who would like to attend one of these meetings will be made most welcome on the following dates: 1st November; 6th December.
Members are urged to make every effort to attend the Annual General Meeting.
BADMINTON Thursday evenings from 7.30 pm until 9.30 pm, until Thursday, 26th May 2011. Fee: £5 per person per evening. Note that due to school events or examinations there there will be no badminton on these dates: 16th September; 14th October; 11th November; 2nd December.
ANNUAL DINNER Saturday 20th November 2010 at the Galpharm Stadium. Full details, together with an application form for tickets, are enclosed with this issue of The Almondburian and on www.oas.org.uk. FOUNDERS’ DAY Sunday 21st November 2010 at All Hallows Church, Almondbury. Full details, together with an application form for tickets, are enclosed with this issue of The Almondburian and on www.oas.org.uk.
OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ CRICKET CLUB Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening: Saturday, 12th February 2011, at Lockwood Park, Brewery Drive, Huddersfield HD4 6EN. Further details from Jack Taylor (jtaylor73@btinternet.com). 4
OAS Membership
A
AND RE W HAIGH
S WE ENTER A NEW FINANCIAL YEAR, the Executive Committee has resolved to be somewhat firmer about removing members who are in arrears with their subscriptions than perhaps we have been in the past.There are 54 members of the Society who have made no subscription payment in the financial year ended 31st August 2010, ie the subscription which fell due on 1st September 2009 and, as a consequence, these people will no longer be deemed members of the Society as we enter our new financial year beginning 1st September, 2010. Unfortunately, this rather hits our membership figures and we therefore start the current year with a total of only 758 members. Of course, the problem of late payment of subscriptions does not affect those members who pay by standing order, which is why the Society strongly encourages all members to pay their subscription by this method, and I am delighted to say that 88% of the membership now do so, making the Secretary’s life much easier – thank you! It would be greatly appreciated if those of you who don’t yet pay by standing order could complete the mandate that you will find enclosed with your magazine and return it to the Secretary using the envelope provided. If not, you may post a cheque in the same envelope or, alternatively, you may renew online, using PayPal or a debit or credit card, by visiting www.oas.org.uk and clicking on the ‘Join/Renew Online’ button. Subscriptions are due on 1st September each year; please do pay promptly. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we are now entering the fourth year since the subscription rate increased from £5.00 to £10.00 per annum, there are still 53 standing orders that are going through at the old rate. Despite repeated reminders, these standing orders have still not been updated and the Executive Committee has resolved that we can no longer afford to distribute the magazine to those members who are still paying less than £10.00 per annum. To be fair, 20 of those 53 whose standing orders are still going through at the old rate are members who have failed to notify us of a change of address, resulting in us losing contact with them and meaning that they will not be aware that the subscription rate has changed! Including some members‘lost’ in this way more recently, there are 25 people in total who are either life members or are paying a subscription, but who receive no newsletter because we don’t have any current contact details for them. With your help we have tracked down a good number of such members in the past, so thank you to the members who supplied this information. The members with whom we have currently lost contact are listed below and, if anyone knows the whereabouts of any of them, then we would be delighted to hear from you.The list 5
has changed since the last newsletter, so please check carefully whether or not there is anyone on it whom you know. Name
From
To
Name
From
To
Name
From
To
Edward A Armitage
1932
1937
John Chacksfield
1967
1973
Alwyn Faraway Hollings 1934
1939
Anthony John Bramley
1970
1979
Sydney C Edwards
1962
1969
Lucy J Jacob
1995
Kathryn E Auger
Peter Ralph Breach Matthew S Brearey
Frederick C Bungeroth David Philip Burnett Stuart G Carby
1982 1972 1988 1951 1952 1962
1987 1978 1991 1959 1954 1970
Dr Laura Joanne Cliffe
1991
Sarah E Foster
1989
Randon Ian Gallaway
1947
Carl Maxwell Hague
1955
John Christopher Hague 1948 Michael Haigh
1971
1996 1992 1955 1962 1954 1978
Timothy Jackson
1965
Michael J Rimicans
1992
Michael Alan Taylor Gerard N Vinton
Michael Craig Vinton Stephen D Wilson
1990 1965 1977 1985 1970
1973 1994 1973 1983 1989 1977
Finally, we are delighted to have welcomed one new member to the Society already in the new financial year: Mark C.Aylward (1985-1988), who lives in Dalton.
Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day
T
ANDREW HAIGH
HIS YEAR’S ANNUAL DINNER will be another special one, since – as reported in the last issue of The Almondburian – Patrick O’Brien and Walter Raleigh have recently retired after many years’ service. Both will be guests of honour at this year’s Dinner and there will undoubtedly be many of their former pupils and colleagues who will want to attend to wish them well.A collection is also being made for retirement gifts from the Society to Patrick and Walter and if you haven’t already purchased your ticket you may wish to include a donation when you apply. The Dinner will take place once again in the main Banqueting Suite at the Galpharm Stadium on Saturday, 20th November at 6.30 pm for 7.30 pm, so there’s just time left to make sure that you don’t miss out on a great evening. The ticket price this year remains at £25.00 and an application form is included with this newsletter; you can also apply online at www.oas.org.uk. HuddersfieldTown have a home fixture against Exeter City during the afternoon before the dinner and it is hoped to once again negotiate a special ticket price for Almondburians wishing to attend the match in the afternoon. It has even been suggested by one member that the Society should secure a hospitality box for the day and, if any member is interested in participating, then they should contact me as soon as possible (contact details on back cover). The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held at All Hallows Church, Almondbury, at 11.30 am on the day following the Annual Dinner: Sunday, 21st November.Almondburians are invited to assemble in BigTreeYard at 11.00 am for 6
the traditional procession up the hill. The Executive Committee would urge all Almondburians to make every effort to attend this event. It would help if you are able to indicate in the space provided on the Annual Dinner ticket application form whether or not you expect to attend the Founders’ Day Service as well, but it is not essential and you are most welcome to turn up on the day if you are able.
TERRY’S TEASER
Compiled by Terry Buckley (1948 - 1953)
Draw: 31st December 2010
ACROSS 1. Rex Darwin wins! (7,3,5) 8. Worthy lacking an item of furniture (7) 11. Place during festival tonight in Hampshire (5) 13. Make mistake in listening to hesitant sound (3) 14. Found in awareness of conflict (3) 15. Present sound? (4) 16. SpeII letter in message (3) 17. Chuck Switchworth (5)
Prize: 12 months free OAS membership
35. I go to the country to find a native thereof (5) 37. Praise more on the level (7) 38. A bad time for the dragon (5,7,3)
19. Jet set monarch on board (5,5) 21. Singer in formal togs (4) 22. Hear correct ritual (4) 24. Shiny top Italians? (10) 27. Beastly money! (5) 29. French dance in the balance (3) 30. Came out top (4) 31. Hear, Hear! Take a rest at golf for a beverage (3) 33. The wilder part of Regent’s Park (3)
DOWN 1. S E journeyman’s narrative (10,5) 2. Buck behind (4) 3. Food way out west (4) 4. What keeps one going round the tea bars (10) 5. Curtailed destiny - definitely not a slim chance! (3) 6. We learn reorganisation and refurbishment (7) 7. The part-timers of the region confuse Mary (11,4) 9. She moves the seats round (5) 10. A note to stagger the badger (5) 12. Find in no-hopers an expression of discovery (3) 18. Terminal French lady (10) 20. Prompt audible letter (3) 21. Hear my song in Scotland (3) 23. More than one ending (7) 25. Girl leaves Queen to become Miss Doolittle (5) 26. Found at the top of the abbey (5) 28. With 5 she becomes paternal! (3) 32. A note, take a right some distance away (4) 34. US company offers a lift (4) 36. Government produced play (3)
The winner of Keith’s Kryptic Krossword (July 2010) was Stuart Thompson. 7
From the Headteacher
W
RO BERT LAMB
EDNESDAY 21ST JULY 2010, the last day of the summer term, was a sad yet memorable day. Sad, as two long serving members of staff were leaving the school yet memorable because of the excellent farewell given to them by the students, staff and governors. The two members of staff concerned were of course Patrick O’Brien and Walter Raleigh who both retired after long, extremely successful and distinguished teaching careers. Patrick spent his entire teaching career at King James’s School. He joined the school initially in 1971 as a student teacher and was appointed as a teacher in 1972. Walter joined the school in 1978 after starting his teaching career at Almondbury High School. Both Patrick and Walter have had a major impact on the lives of thousands of young people who have been educated at King James's School. Those readers who had the privilege to be taught by Patrick andWalter will remember them with gratitude and respect.They were both outstanding classroom practitioners whose lessons were always interesting and stimulating. Their hard work and contributions over the years have been major factors in the success of our school. They are true legends of the teaching profession and in years to come when the next book on our history is published I am sure that both of them will feature prominently.They will be truly missed by everyone connected to the school and I am sure that you will all wish them both a long and happy retirement. The summer holidays brought two pieces of excellent news.The first was from the Department for Education who informed us that we had been ‘redesignated’ [extended for a further three years] as a Specialist Science College.This means that the school will continue to receive extra funding of over £100,000 per academic year. Specialist status has made a tremendous difference as it has allowed us to refurbish our outdated facilities and install state of the art technology throughout the school. It has also been a major contributory factor to the huge increase in academic attainment that the school has achieved over the last few years. I would like to thank again the Old Almondburians’ Society, the King James’s School Foundation and those ex-students of the school whose sponsorship enabled us to achieve specialist status in 2004. The second piece of excellent news was the tremendous GCSE examination results. Yet again the school has achieved record results and preliminary figures 8
89%
Percentage of students who achieved five or more A* - C
100%
Percentage of students who achieved five or more GCSEs
67%
26%
Percentage of students who achieved five or more A* - C (including English and Mathematics)
Percentage of grades awarded that were A* or A
indicate that for the second consecutive year our 5+A*-C results are the best in Kirklees (see charts). Unlike many schools who achieve results boosted by less rigorous qualifications the vast majority of our results are based on either GCSEs or widely respected vocational qualifications. We are obviously extremely proud of these stunning results and look forward with anticipation to our Speech Night at Huddersfield Town Hall on the 9th November when we can celebrate the successes achieved by our students and staff.
68% Percentage of students who achieved ten or more A* - C
87%
91%
Percentage of girls who achieved five or more A* - C
Percentage of boys who achieved five or more A* - C
Finally I should like to thank you for your continued support of and interest in King James’s School.We have made tremendous strides over the last few years and soon we will be established as the best school in Kirklees.
A few words from your Editor
We were pleased to hear recently from Maureen Makinson, wife of Albert Makinson who taught English at the School from 1952 to 1968. He then taught in Bolton, began to have articles published and did several radio broadcasts for the BBC. When his parents became frailer he moved back to Southport to be with them, and became a lecturer at a Teacher Training College in Liverpool, and then at the University. He took early retirement in the 1980s but continued as Head of Governors at his old school, Hutton Grammar near Preston. Sadly, he is now in poor health and I am sure those Old Almondburians who remember him will wish to pass on their best wishes. We are aiming to strengthen our presence on the social networking site Facebook. A new webpage at www.oas.org.uk/OASfacebook.php contains links to individual Facebook year groups recently set up by Gary Woodhouse: please help us to build up a Facebook community for YOUR year group at King James’s. 9
The Huddersfield Examiner
70 years at King James’s
AU R E VO I R TO WA LT E R AND PATRIC K
Deputy headteacher Patrick O’Brien and assistant headteacher Walter Raleigh notched up a total of 70 years of service before retiring at the end of the Summer term.They look back on their time at the School.
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PATRICK O’BRIEN (1972-2010)
HAD STARTED my PGCE [Postgraduate Certificate in Education] year at Leeds University in September 1971, mentored by the eccentric William Thompson. I waited in trepidation for the letter to appear in my pigeonhole, detailing the school I would be based at for my teacher training practice. The letter duly appeared at the end of October. I was to attend King James’s Grammar in Almondbury. The school meant nothing to me at the time. A day in mid-November was allocated to spend at the school, prior to starting in January 1972. Directions were given and, like many before and after, I missed the turning down St Helen’s Gate and arrived at the Star at Fenay Bridge. Retracing my steps I was ushered into the presence of the awesome Doreen Hinchliffe, the Headteacher’s personal secretary and school manager. A few words with the legendary Harry Taylor and I was escorted to the Staff Room. I was intrigued by the yellow ceiling, not realising at the time that it was due to the incessant pipe and cigarette smoking of the male staff. Passive smoking was a term 10
for the future. In the staff room I was introduced to the fearsome Dave Bush, beginning a professional and personal friendship that lasts to this day. I also became acquainted with the evergreen Jack Taylor, whom I still see occasionally leaving the Woolpack, apparently after some sort of Committee Meeting. Fortune was favourable and with the unexpected departure of Ian Jordan, assistant master in Classics, I was appointed permanently to the school. The 70s was a period of great change and challenge for the school. I was glad that the School did not maintain its Grammar School status, as moving with the times ensured its future with new buildings. Sixth Form College rapidly became comprehensive and the first mixed-ability co-educational students arrived in September 1976. A start was made on staff gender balance, often eliciting the now legendary ‘NABW!’* comment from Ken Ireland at every female appointment. By now I was Head of Classics and Latin and Classical Civilisation both became part of the curriculum at O-level and A-level. As that Patrick addresses staff colleagues. His well known catch decade moved on into the 80s, Alan Conley was phrase (and he says it very replaced by Clive Watkins with Dave Bush and Pat slowly): “Just in case there are Reid as deputies and Jack Taylor as Senior Teacher. any doubts, this is my own hair – Following in Dave’s footsteps I became Examinations not a wig!” Zoe Brunning Officer, a post I held for some 20 years. Although the loss of the Sixth Form in 1990 was a blow to some, it did ensure the future of the school as it coincided with the Local Education Authority wishing to close Middle Schools in the area. King James’s, as an 11-16 mixed comprehensive, was the best way forward as, with greater parental choice, it could become popular and oversubscribed. This was also the decade when schools assessed their performance more effectively and King James’s was at the forefront in the LEA for this. Change was on the horizon. The age profile of the Senior Leadership Group was rising rapidly and it was no surprise when Dave, Pat and Jack all retired within a year. It was indeed the end of an era, although it did finally unblock promotion to the Senior Team for the first time in fifteen years. The premature retirement of Clive Watkins, due to ill-health, early in 1998, meant the school entered an uncertain leadership period. The new team was established by January 2000 with Martin Shevill, Pippa Dodgshon, Walter *‘Not Another Bl**dyWoman!’ 11
Old Almondburians’ Society Secretary Andrew Haigh presents farewell gifts to Patrick on behalf of the OAS and the School Governors
Raleigh, Ann Heafield and myself. Although Martin and Pippa had relatively short careers at King James’s (where 30 years was considered an acceptable minimum) they were instrumental in setting the foundations for the school’s current success. The school was now increasing in size and had its first new buildings since 1978. A new (and many would say unique) Headteacher was appointed in January 2003: Robert Lamb. In January 2004 Robert and the Governors appointed me as Deputy Headteacher. It had taken 32 years in the same school for me to reach that level – probably some kind of record. I will mention Robert’s relentless drive and unerring vision for the school to become the most successful in Kirklees. I think we are there already and we must now retain that top ranking. As numbers to other schools drop alarmingly, King James’s still remains oversubscribed, even with a maximum roll of 180 students a year. The school I started at in 1972 with 380 students now has 900. The last seven years as Robert’s Deputy have been the most challenging and rewarding for me as the school has clearly flourished in many ways. My own daughter, Hannah, has just completed five years at the school, achieving really excellent results. It was with something of a heavy heart that I decided to retire at the end of the Summer Term, 2010.The records tell me that I am the third longest serving member of staff, the longest since 1771†. I am also the last member of staff appointed to the Grammar School. If asked if I would do it differently, if the clock could be wound back, I would honestly say not. The 38 years have flown and there was never a time when I did not want to go into work. King James’s has been a truly great place to work The longest-serving teacher (so far) is Rev Samuel Brook, headmaster for 44 years from 17271771.George Farrand was headmaster for 40 years from 1640-1680.
†
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in and it has been a pleasure to work with the many hundreds of staff and a privilege to have taught the many thousands of pupils over the years. I will still be maintaining contact with the school, as I am a member of the Governing Body and I have also done some supply work for the school since retiring. It just remains to wish the school well for the future. Secondary school re-organisation is again with us and we must be vigilant, even though the school appears to be the best performing and most over-subscribed in the LEA.The new Senior Team and all the staff will bring further success to the school. I envy them their active role
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WALTER RALEIGH (1979-2010)
’D LIKE TO BEGIN by saying a big ‘thank you’ to the many staff and students, both past and present, Governors and friends of the school who have been so kind in sending cards, messages and gifts to me at this time. They are all very much appreciated. On the Friday before the end of term, Patrick O’Brien and I, with the help of Sue Cope, Ann Turner and other staff from school, organised a Barn Dance at the Huddersfield RU club at Lockwood Park. It was a wonderful occasion where both past and present staff met for a drink, something to eat and some of us even had a dance! It is events like this which remind me, if I needed reminding, why King James’s School is such a special place to work. I really do feel privileged to have spent 32 years of my teaching career in the old place. My appointment at King James’s was my third teaching post and little did I know that I would spend the rest of my career there. From the start it was different.The staff were a small group of very professional teachers and they all seemed to get on well together. It was just as well because the old staff room had around twenty five chairs but thirty five staff. This meant there were no cliques as people simply sat in any available seat. Staff quickly got to know one another which was to be important in the activities around school. This ‘togetherness’ was reflected in staff after-school activities. Though a small staff, Bob Field was able to organise or coerce enough of the male members to play football every Wednesday evening. What a line up we had! O’Brien and Hargreaves tracking out wide, Taylor dominating the defence, Bush with his silky skills spraying passes from the mid-field to the athletic Field playing centre forward; and Alan ‘the cat’ Gaukroger dominating the 18 yard box in goal. Happy days indeed, especially having a drink in the pub afterwards reflecting on the match and seeing how much food Alan Thomas could consume. Sadly, this no longer takes place as the demands of team meetings after school together with the lack of male members of staff under 50, restricts the sort of social events which can be organised. Similarly, the camaraderie of the staff in my early days was reflected in the end of 13
term staff social events. From memory, all staff attended the events. For many the highlight of the staff social calendar was the Staff Car Rally in the Summer Term. Dave Bush saw this as a personal challenge. It was not just a fun event but a matter of personal pride not only to win but to answer all the questions and have travelled the correct mileage. Dave would frequently arrive later than everyone else back at the prescribed hostelry in his attempts to complete every aspect of the quiz. Whilst the rest of us tucked into the food and drink he could be heard arguing his case for an extra half mark when he was clearly wrong! However, it was not just the staff who made King James’s such a great place to work. From day one it was a privilege to teach the many students who have passed through the doors.When I began, the likes of Steve Slack and Martin Tunnacliffe were in the 6th Form. They were great students then and they have both had a lasting connection with school through their sporting prowess and support of other school functions. In September 1978 King James’s students all came from Lepton Middle School into the ThirdYear, orYear 9 as we now call it. My first group of students – I say mine because up to this point the boys had been taught by Ken Ireland – were a magnificent bunch of boys whom I would find it difficult to better in the whole of my time at King James’s. There have been boys who were as talented since then but in sheer numbers this one intake was simply outstanding. They were incredibly sporting, particularly at football and cricket. They were, in fact, the first cricket team from King James’s for 30 years to win the Marshall Shield, the trophy provided by one of our old Headmasters in 1890. As Head of Siddon House, Walter bursts with pride as Siddon win the Dartmouth Shield for the first time since the 1970s. They also won the House athletics competition for the first time. Zoe Brunning
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Walter addresses staff colleagues. His well-known catch phrase: “Can I just tell you…?’
However, besides their sporting ability they were simply great kids. They led the school for five years. They were involved in everything from Sport to Drama. They were real role models and set the tone for the rest of the school population. After 32 years the names of Gary Hodgson, Neil Parkin, Neil Taylor, Andrew Mitchell, Peter Warry et al still trip off the tongue. The school owes a debt of gratitude to these students for their role in taking the school forward after the end of the Grammar School era. It would be remiss of me not mention a couple of girls in this cohort of students though you can understand Zoe Brunning my bias as I was a boys’ PE teacher! However, girls such as Helen Darwin and Caroline Schofield were also hugely important at this time. During this period, the school had the fortune to appoint a new music teacher called Jim Morgan. Together with the Drama teacher, Dave Houldsworth and the enthusiasm of English teacher Liz Hayward, the three of them transformed the school. Suddenly, King James’s became a centre for performing arts. Every term there was a production of one sort or another. My particular memory goes back to the fabulous Victorian Evenings which took place. At these events students sang and played Old Time Musical Hall songs. They were so popular they were sold out for three night on the run. Together, the three staff wrote and produced a musical based on the old monologue ‘Albert and the Lion’. It was so good it won through many stages of a national competition and was eventually performed in the newly opened Barbican Centre in London. I had no talent in this area of school life, but like most other staff was willing to get involved in any way possible. I remember working with Christine Hazel and later Angela Melling to set tables out, provide food and drink and finally sell tickets for these numerous events. Again, this was an indication of the way events pulled everyone in the school community together. At this point I must mention the first Headteacher I served under at King James’s, Alan Conley. Whatever the suggestions staff made for productions or activities which would benefit students, Mr Conley always gave 100% support. He saw that school was not just a factory to produce students who would leave with excellent academic results but a place which developed the whole person. King James’s school owes him a debt of gratitude for his leadership. Founders’Weekend was also a very important part of school life in the early years of my career at King James’s. For staff like Dave Bush, Jack Taylor and Christine Hazel they spent most of their Founders’ Weekends at school. On Friday afternoon Years 9 and 10 made the trek up St. Helen’s Gate to the church for the service whilst the 15
Dancing the night away at the retirement party with colleagues past and present at Lockwood Park Rugby Club.
older students went home. It was the turn of the older students on the Sunday. On the Saturday the Annual Dinner was held in school and this, Jenny Ainger for most, was the highlight of events. I remember Dave Bush speaking to the school in assembly telling them that it was always a personal dilemma for him in choosing which was more important, Founders’ Weekend or Speech Day (now Presentation Evening) at the Town Hall. Sadly, there is now no difficulty in seeing which is the premier event. For school – and I mean both staff and students alike – Presentation Evening is the main event of the school calendar. For most people Founders’ Weekend is simply an OAS event.There is no-one to blame for this but simply events have moved on. The school kitchens are now unable to cater for the numbers attending the Dinner and with the event taking place at venues such as the Galpharm Stadium there are no longer opportunities for our older students to act as waiters and waitresses at the event. It was this that showed the participating students that they were part of one big community that continued after school. However, it is easy to lament the ending of traditions and think that what is on offer now is inferior. It isn’t! It is simply different.The events of the 400th Anniversary celebrations showed that we still have large numbers of students, staff and Old Almondburians who have a love for the school and are willing to help progress the school into the next stage of its development. The school has a wonderful staff, led by Robert Lamb, which will continue the goal to make King James’s the best school in Kirklees and later the best in Yorkshire. This aim is being addressed and this year’s examination results may indicate we have achieved it. The retirement of Patrick and myself will have little effect on the relentless progress school is making as we have been replaced on the Senior Management Team by Stephen MacNamara and Rebecca Walton, two excellent Heads of Department, outstanding teaching practitioners and good people. Similarly, the OAS is being led by a hard-working team whose hard work and commitment are an example for us all. They know that they can call upon the help of many stalwarts who appreciate what King James’s has done for them. There is also a great deal of love and affection for the school in the Huddersfield community. It is quite humbling to see so many parents at school events who attended King James’s and then moved back into the area so their children could also attend our school. We must have done something right! My I finally encourage as many of you as possible to attend the Dinner in November. I am sure it will be a wonderful event and one which will add even more memories for my, hopefully, long and happy retirement. 16
An evening to remember
O
G A RY WO ODHOUSE
NCE AGAIN, a thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all who attended this year’s Reunion. Some 94 Old Almondburians and partners attended, enjoying the opportunity to meet up with old friends to catch up and reminisce. A team quiz helped those from class years with a low attendance to mingle with other years in order to make up teams of four or five. The winners with 18 out of 25 points were David Sinclair (class of 1959), Eric Abbott (class of 1958), Gerald Whitehead (class of 1958) and Ralph Beaumont (class of 1937). However, they failed to beat a teachers’ team of John Hargreaves, Patrick O’Brien and Alan and Marie Thomas in the ‘fastest on the buzzer’ Teachers v Pupils final that followed later on the stage. There was music from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, and the cricket club did a good job of keeping the spirit flowing with an efficient bar service. Enlarged photos on the wall in the gym had everyone pointing out themselves and their classmates, and the display of photo albums was a big draw. But without a doubt, the main attraction was when we opened up the old part of the school for a short while, with around 60 people visiting the Big, Small, ODH and the old dormitories. All in all, the event was a great success and we have plans for something more on the lines of the last year’s Disco Reunion Party next year for those who left the school Photographs: Austen Smith between 1979 and 1989. The year after, we may organise a 1990-2010 leavers’ party.
A ‘Big’ attraction (right) while it was spotting-oneself time in the school gym (below)
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New books
S TO C K I N G- F I L L E R S FOR CHRISTMAS
LETTERS FROM A PROFESSIONAL NUISANCE Improbable jobs, impossible items and implausible complaints by Michael A Lee Portico £9.99+postage/packing; pp316 (available online from www.oas.org.uk)
Lovers of whimsy will be delighted by the latest book by Old Almondburian Tony Lee (1971-1978), a compilation of three previous titles. His witty letters to a wide range of organisations and individuals lead to some hilarious exchanges. He asks the Post Office – not unreasonably – if they can supply him with a ‘poetic licence’; he writes to Harry Ramsden’s complaining that he has a chip on his shoulder; and he asks the British Ambassador in Cairo is they have an opening for a ‘pyramid seller’.The joy of some of the letters is when recipients completely fail to see the joke: he asks Heinz for some ‘canned laughter’ but is gravely advised that because of budget restraints they would ask to be excused on this occasion. Some replies are as clever as the letters. When he asks Next for a ‘Freudian Slip’ (for his wife who, alas, is no longer a Jungian) their customer services department can only suggest a ‘Cheeky Devil’ slip by another designer; nonetheless they would like to know more about the Freudian brand as a possible addition to this ‘Nietzsche’ market. This is the sort of book that is best read in private. The guffaws and chortles may be profoundly irritating to partners and fellow-travellers.
BOMBER JACK The Second World War and its Effect on One Man’s Life by Valerie Ashton Lulu £13+postage/packing; pp234 (available online from www.oas.org.uk)
No one can deny that, for a relatively small school, King James’s has produced more than its fair share of notable alumni: the worlds of medicine, law, sport, government and entertainment have all been well represented over the years. Now, we learn of a courageous Old Almondburian who took 18
part in no fewer than 71 bombing operations in North Africa and Italy in the Second World War, at one stage as a member of a Squadron that had just dropped a spare artificial leg for war hero Douglas Bader. This was Jack Ashton – ‘Bomber Jack’ – the subject of a fascinating new book by his daughter Valerie Ashton. Jack Ashton was born in Oldham in 1920 and attended what was in those days known as Almondbury Grammar School during 1931-2, forming a deep friendship with schoolmate Eric Westerby. Unlike many of his comrades, Ashton survived the War, but it was an experience that scarred the rest of his life. He suffered nightmares for years after leaving the RAF and was dogged by guilt and remorse at the deaths resulting from his wartime bombing activities. Valerie Ashton’s well-researched book gives a wealth of detail about her father’s early life, his wartime career and his problems in settling down to life as a civilian. It will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in local family history, flying and the RAF. THE INTRUDERS AND OTHER POEMS by David Morphet Notion Books £9.99 inc postage/packing; pp72 (available online from www.oas.org.uk)
This is the seventh volume of verse by David Morphet (1951-1958). In The Intruders, the dubious characters of Angel and Fox vie for attention in an amusing sequence of twenty poems on the follies of ambition and the pitfalls of skulduggery – drawn from David’s personal experience! The second part Songs and Observations covers varied ground. The first two poems are satirical. ‘What you’re meant to hear’ takes oddities of experimental music as its theme, and ‘How good he was!’ is a villanelle about art world jiggery-pokery, first published in the Times Literary Supplement a few months ago. Next, in contrast, comes a poetic tribute to precision, entitled ‘Trust the Engineers’. The fourth poem ‘Looking after ourselves’ subverts the theme of precision with a wry glance at human vulnerability and recourse to myth. This short sequence is followed by a range of lyrics on eight different elements from the Periodic Table and by a group of poems with a scientific flavour, including ‘GPS’, which first appeared in The London Magazine. Then come five ‘selfish’ poems, including ‘I do what I like’, first published in Magma; five poems about poets (Pope, Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Ezra Pound, Louis MacNeice); and five songs of affection, involving amongst other things marmalade, Turk’s turban pumpkins and dim sum. The collection ends with a couple of poems of personal reflection. A selection of poems from all David Morphet’s previous collections can be found at www.notionbooks.co.uk. 19
REPUTATIONS
George Beach: unsung hero
Having laid aside his Leeds University blazer, George Beach bowled his off-breaks very slowly. But he bowled three masterly deliveries – mathematics, chess and music – which were to be a gift for his Headmaster and the School. Four Old Almondburians pay tribute to his contribution to school life.
G
EORGE BEACH, a graduate of Leeds University, came to King James’s from Ackworth School, Pontefract in 1949 to take charge of the Mathematics Department. Though George Beach was Church of England and the son of an Anglican clergyman, he was much in sympathy with the Quakers. Previously a determined pacifist in the 1930s, a member of the International Voluntary Service for Peace, he had been a conscientious
objector in the Second World War, working in agriculture in the Cotswolds. Outside School he was a member of Huddersfield Parish Church and of the Glee and Madrigal Society. In School, inter alia, he was a member of the Jacobean Society of course, Housemaster of Dartmouth for ten years, a strong supporter of the Old Almondburians’ Society and he even began an Under 14 cricket team on Saturday afternoons to bolster the cricket.
IAN SHAW (1946-1954) has long-established links with King James’s: his father and his uncle both attended the School and the former was OAS Chairman in 1956. Ian was Senior History Master at Sir George Monoux School, Walthamstow from 1958 to 1972 and Deputy Head of Whitby School from 1972 to 1980. He then became Headmaster of The Bishop’s Stortford High School up to his retirement in 1998. Ian Shaw was Chairman of The Old Almondburians’ Society in 2006. 20
Above all, his music gave the School aYorkshire reputation and the chess a national status, inestimable qualities for a Headmaster searching to attract able members of Staff to a small two—form entry school. The Headmaster Harry Taylor, and his ubiquitous Deputy Fred Hudson, along with Gerald Dobson and Gerald Hinchliffe, were the guiding spirits of the fine ethos of the School in our era. George Beach was a diffident, creative, outstanding schoolmaster to the forefront in presenting the School’s pupils with a multitude of wonderful opportunities. He enriched their good talents – academic, social, organisational – and, in the process, both nurtured their personal development and splendidly ennobled and enhanced the name of the School.
Mathematics: Douglas Kaye
As Senior Mathematics Master from 1949, George Beach taught me to be curious. Mathematics can be a drag, a bore, something to be avoided.To enjoy mathematics you need two strokes of luck at the beginning. The first is to have some empathy for it and given this the second is to have a good teacher. DOUGLAS KAYE (19491957) was George Beach’s first A good teacher isn’t ‘double maths’ students. After a one who can get you to brief career in the Patent Office, tick all the boxes and he taught in a Grammar School pass all the tests. A good and a College of Education, followed by 30 years teaching teacher can draw out the statistics and later computer shape of mathematics, languages to computer can let you see its beauty professionals at Manchester University. and form, so that mathematics becomes akin to poetry.With a good teacher, mathematics takes on meaning and comes to life. You begin to see the pattems, the symmetries, the sheer power and beauty of the subject and in doing so begin to become a mathematician. You also begin to feel a part of a three thousand year old discipline. Alongside this, the good teacher must instruct you in the technical requirements of the subject, which are considerable, and which are completely necessary and which are not easy to teach (or to learn). George Beach did all this for me. George Beach was a good mathematics teacher. George Beach was a good mathematics educator. On a personal note, whilst at university he invited Brenda, my future wife, and me to tea. I was vaguely aware that Ellen, George’s wife, was Head of Domestic Science at Greenhead. I know good things improve with the passing of time, but could she cook – I can still taste it. 21
Chess: David Anderson CMG
When Mr Beach arrived at the School in 1949, chess was in the doldrums. The school had a team; but the very few matches, played against the College and other local schools, all ended in defeat.The School magazine for Christmas 1949 noted that ‘this term saw a complete revival of Chess in the School’. A committee headed by Mr Beach had been formed with House Chess captains; each House had a weekly chess dinner-hour and the newly formed chess club met every Wednesday, running a ladder competition. The Chess Notes ended by looking forward to a time ‘when the school will be noted externally for its Chess’. These changes soon produced results. A year later, the Chess teams in 1963 Standing left to right: D M Gledhill; M J Wortley; N D Beaumont; first match was won – D T Beach; J S Derham; George Beach; J Rangeley; I Smith against Honley GS. In Sitting: A B Irvine; P A Shaw; J Moorhouse; J E Graley; J M Pearson; 1951, both senior and S A Bremner; C M Graley junior teams enjoyed unbroken success, including wins against the College and Bradford GS. New fixtures against Doncaster GS and Leeds GS were played. In 1952, Mr Beach was able to note in the magazine that the School had ‘one of the strongest teams in Yorkshire.’ Its record was ten wins and a single loss to Bradford GS. For the first time a team was entered in a national competition – the Junior Postal Chess Club League, run by the magazine Chess. The first of several simultaneous DAVID ANDERSON (1948-1955) studied law at Leeds and the LSE before becoming a barrister and a legal adviser in HM Diplomatic Service, working for many years in the Foreign Office but with spells in Bonn and New York (at the time of the Falklands conflict, after which he was appointed CMG). From the mid-1970s, he focused on the law of the sea. From 1996 to 2005, he was an elected judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, hearing inter-State cases about the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In retirement, David has published Modern Law of the Sea and remains active in international maritime circles 22
displays by visiting experts (one by the Lancashire champion, Mr Beach’s brother) was held at the School. In 1953, the first team won the JPCCL (and the Sir George Thomas trophy), while the second team was runner up in Division II. As if this was not enough, the first team repeated their win the following year, and this time the second team won Division II. Medals were awarded to team members at Speech Day and a team photograph was included in the School magazine. Matches were now played not only against other Schools but also Clubs such as Lindley, David Brown Tractors and Leeds University.The School competed for the Watkinson Trophy in Huddersfield. By the mid-1950s, the early prophecy had clearly been realised: the Chess Club had 50 members; the School must have been noted externally for its chess.The credit clearly belonged to Mr Beach who had re-organised chess throughout the school, opening new vistas and enthusing both seniors and juniors.
Music: Martin Priestley
George Beach brought the verve of the enthusiastic amateur to the founding and development of the School Orchestra. Many of us recall how he got so carried away in performance that the baton sometimes flew out of his hand, on one occasion snapping after a collision with the scroll of a viola. The Orchestra first performed at the School Fair in 1957 and became established in the next few years during George’s son, David’s, time at the School. Lacking a viola player David was press-ganged to rectify MARTIN PRIESTLEY (1963the situation. In 1963 1971) taught for over 35 years in the Orchestra and Choir Barnet, Croydon and Lincolnshire. played at the opening of He retains a keen love for music, playing the piano and singing, the new buildings. although his violin stays in its George’s musical case these days. His wife, Jane, enterprise received a works at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. considerable boost with the arrival of Vaughan Kitchen in 1A in 1963. King James’s Grammar School was blessed with the presence of many other talented instrumentalists during the 60s, but it was above all violinist Vaughan who provided the leadership and musicianship at a high level which enabled our two-form entry boys’ school to scale wonderful heights of performance under George Beach’s guidance. In successive years we played a Vivaldi violin concerto, Brandenburg Concerto No 5, piano and violin concertos by Mozart and a keyboard concerto by J S Bach; in 1966 S.H.Crowther, music critic of The Huddersfield Examiner, referred to the Orchestra’s ‘understanding of Mozart’. George entered his orchestra in successive years at the Mrs Sunderland Competition and the Pontefract Festival, a policy which 23
culminated in the outstanding mark of 90 at Pontefract in 1968. Writing in The Almondburian, Martin Woodhead declared how ‘we now expect great things of the performers’, and stalwart cellist Paul Wilson voiced the sentiments of all members of the orchestra when he thanked Mr Beach for all the ‘time and enthusiasm he has given us during the several years he has been in charge’. George relinquished his conductorship in 1968 during the period when Mr Higginson was Head of Music, but resumed the role in 1970 and assisted Mrs Noble during the last years of his career down to 1975. His generosity of spirit was there for all to appreciate in the tribute which he paid to school musicians in 1971, his unfailing enthusiasm having made so much possible for a disparate bunch of schoolboys who thought that they might play a bit. What areYOUR recollections of George Beach? Write (address on back cover), or email the Editor at almondburian@oas.org.uk. George Beach’s orchestra in 1967: (Back row) A Lloyd; J R Stafford; J H Stafford;T G Slater; G S Sellens; D W Beacham; G Mosley; C Slater Middle row R Batty; D J Sykes; P A Shaw; S M Priestley; D A Coppell; J H Cole; D G Slocombe; A C Phillips Front row: P D Wilson; J E Grayson; J L Hart; D V Kitchen (leader); George Beach; M J Priestley (deputy leader); M H Sellens; S Horner; C D Sykes
Correction
In the July 2010 issue of The Almondburian, we wrongly stated that Bob Goldsmith was at one stage head of the first UK Delegation to the then European Economic Community. In fact, he was deputy head; the head was Sir Michael Palliser. 24
MEMORIES: WEDNESDAY, 22ND MARCH 1967
Staff v School football match
W
DAVE BUSH
HILE clearing out some old papers I recently came across some souvenirs of the 1967 soccer match between the Staff and the School first XI. The first of these matches had been staged in 1966 and it was such a success that it became an annual fixture. I had joined King James’s six years earlier, initially on teaching practice and then as a full time member of staff. I was impressed by the school’s strong sporting tradition and immediately became a member of the Old Almondburians’ football team. The 1967 event took place on the grandly re-named ‘Arkenley Stadium’ (Jack Taylor’s description, while he termed the cricket field ‘The Arkenley Bowl’) and was refereed by head of P E, Ken Ireland, supported by linesmen with the TOP PICTURE The Staff XI (Back row, left to right): K Davies, J Jenkinson, C Graham, J Taylor, S Wroe, M James, G Beach; (Front row, left to right): P Tracey, P Heywood, D Bush, J Kenyon, W R Knight
BOTTOM PICTURE School First XI (Back row, left to right): D Rockett, P Bamforth, D Gledhill, I Robertson, M J Wortley, K L W Ireland (referee); (Front row, left to right): R H N Booth, A R Trueman, M W Bevins, Headmaster, J Armstrong, G M Powner, G Boothroyd 25
TEAMS. THE SCHOOL.
Colours:Shirts, Amber %nd Bl%ck Shorts, very GLEDHILL BOOTH ROCKETT ARMSTRONG TRUEMAN WORTLEY BAMFORTH BEVINS POWNER BOOTHROYD ROBERTSON
SECOND ANNUAL GRAND FOOTBALL MATCH KING JAMES'S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1st. XI v. e e Y St%ffe of Y GRAMAR SCHOLE OF KING JAMES in ALMONDBURIE XI
P.HEYW
OOD
D.BUSH
K.DAVIES
OFFICIAL SOUVENIR PROGRAMME. Price 2d. All profits to Ch%rity.
J.TAYLOR
N
M.JAMES
S.RO E
W.R.KNIGHT
J.JEN KINSO
EACH
ARKENLEY STADIUM Wednesd%y M%rch 22nd., 1967. Kick-off, 2.0 p.m.
G.L.B
J.KENYON
J.C.GRAHAM
THE STAFF. Colours:- Shirts, R%inbow %ssorted Shorts? or Pints?
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ADVERT &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
REFEREE:K.L.W.IRELAND (GLOS.) LINESMAN:- P.Fl%gw%g% (Czeckoslov%ki%) D%i the Tr%in (Ll%nf%irpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrn-drobwll-ll%ntisilio-go-gogoch)
After the M%tch Meet your Friends %nd
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Discuss the
Since this M%tch t%kes pl%ce in School Hours, %ll spect%tors will do the following HOMEWORK Answer ANY FIVE questions. Answers should not exceed one word in length.
M%tch Down %t the OLD BALL AND BUSH, Rushfield Dyke. ADAM's Ales
ADAM's Ales 1. 2. 3. 4.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Wh%t do you think %bout the M%tch? Wh%t do you think %bout the St%ff? Wh%t do you think %bout? Do you think?
George Beach is believed to have been responsible for the Programme. His inverted name suggests that he was not sure of the direction of enemy fire
unlikely names of P Flagwaga and Dai the Train. The latter allegedly came from the Welsh village with the longest name in the British Isles, Flanfair PG (I will spare readers the full name in the interests of saving space), and this leads me to conclude that the programme was almost certainly produced by George Beach whose favourite party piece was to rattle off the full name of Flanfair PG without drawing breath. The pen portraits (overleaf) contain many ‘in-jokes’. Ken Davies was the caretaker and therefore played the role as the team’s ‘sweeper-up’, while drama teacher, Mike James, was inclined to ‘take the Mickey’ in his ‘highly dramatic’ performances on the field. Pete Heywood, head of the Languages Department, had to watch his language to avoid trouble with the referee. Dick Knight had recently left the School to become Education Officer with the West Riding County Council; later he became Chief Executive for the Bradford Authority. Who could be better to ‘reorganise the attack comprehensively’? 26
George Beach admits that he is ‘inclined to fiddle’ which is not surprising as he was a keen violinist who had recently started up a very successful school orchestra. The ‘harmonising’ player was our music teacher Peter (I think that was his forename) Kenyon, nicknamed ‘Pugsley’ for PEN PORTRAITS OF THE STAFF XI. some reason. His tenure J.C.GRAHAM. Old Almondburi"ns' go"lkeeper, "nd well known "s " Yorkshire County Tennis pl"yer "nd " Huddersfield B"dminton "nd Squ"sh expert. at KJGS was a short one. G.L.Be"ch. Now somewh"t of " veter"n, if not "n “old crock”, in his younger d"ys he performed (if th"t is the right word) in the “Extr" B” Jack Taylor’s te"ms for v"rious Soccer, Rugger, Hockey, "nd Cricket clubs. His cool pl"y h"s inspired m"ny opposition "tt"cks; r"ther inclined to fiddle in portrait as a ‘quiet his own pen"lty "re". gentleman’ was really a S.WROE. A close-se"son signing, "t " subst"nti"l but undisclosed fee, from Huddersfield New College, he h"s " reput"tion "s " dyn"mic but strong-t"ckling wing-h"lf. contradiction in terms as The “Sweeper-up” "nd the key m"n in the te"m's defensive his thunderous tones and J.TAYLOR. str"tegy. Kirkburton’s veter"n p"ce-bowler in wh"t p"sses for the summer, during the rest of the ye"r he pl"ys centre-h"lf for the Y.M.C.A. "nd is known throughout the District Le"gue "s the g"me’s scything tackles on “quiet gentlem"n”. anything above daisy K.DAVIES. A member of Br"ckenh"ll United, he h"s " well-deserved reputtion "s "nother very efficient “sweeper-up”, especi"lly for the height proved. St"ff. An ide"l link m"n, his perform"nce should be highly dr"m"tic. Apocryphal stories relate M.JAMES. Often t"kes the mickey out of his opponents. that on one occasion J.JENKINSON. C"pt"in, Old Almondburi"ns F.C. (Note to Press. - kindly refer to this pl"yer "s “A.N.Other” or “the tri"list”.) when an opponent was P.HEYWOOD. A f"st r"ider in Continent"l styl. It is hoped th"t his l"ngu"ge will not get him into trouble with the Refereee. being carried off the D.BUSH. (C"pt"in, or “Skip”) Heh"s flowered into " consistent go"lfield with a suspected scorer with the Old Almondburi"ns; scorer of both go"ls in l"st ye"r’s m"tch, he hopes to do even better this ye"r. broken leg, Jack W.R.KNIGHT. A former member of the St"ff, now in educ"tion"l "dministr"tion with the West Riding County Council. The schemer of the boomed: “It’s only a flesh side, he is "t "ny time li"ble to reorg"nise the "tt"ck comprehensively. wound!” J.KENYON. Tr"nsferred from Mirfield Sund"y School Le"gue "t Christm"s, he rem"ins somewh"t of "n unknown qu"ntity. We hope his style of pl"y will As to my role, I see h"rmonise with th"t of the rest of the te"m. A Prefect " few ye"rs "go; his f"ther is " Footb"ll that I had ‘flowered’ into P.TRACEY.(Substitute.) Le"gue referee. a consistent goal scorer, ---------------------------------------------------------------------a bush being a flowering By Order of the Chief Const"ble of Almondbury, we insert the following POLITE NOTICE. DON’T SHOOT THE REFEREE, HE’S DOING HIS BEST. shrub for those who do Anyone he"rd s"ying “Who for” will be li"ble (i) to incur the wr"th of the English Dep"rtment not appreciate George’s (ii) to be sent to run tround the Senior Cross-Country Course; (iii) to be suspended sine die from future use of, "nd/or the highest be"m in the Gym. humour immediately. The match itself was fiercely competitive – they always were, as much ‘street cred’ was at stake – and was played on a heavy pitch on a typically misty late autumn afternoon. However, Ken was not called upon to book anyone, there were no dismissals and I do not think substitutions had yet been invented. The general level of play was high; the school had an excellent side and apart from George B (age) and Kenyon (inexperience) the staff team contained nine competent players. I’m pleased to report that the result of this keenly fought match was a 2-0 victory for the Staff XI. And if you REALLY want to know who scored the goals, I must tell you with due modesty that they were netted by me and Peter Tracey. 27
Cricket
A
JACK TAYLOR
FTER A LACK-LUSTRE START to the season the First Eleven won several games in mid-season only to end the season on another losing streak, thus finishing in a creditable seventh position in Section A of the Arrow Huddersfield Central Cricket League.The Second Eleven, after a change in captaincy in mid-season, nevertheless acquitted themselves well with a below average age squad. Unfortunately holiday commitments, injuries and the obligatory attendance at ‘Music Festivals’ decimated both the teams throughout the season. In the first game of the season, on Sunday 25 April at Arkenley, the First Eleven were all out for 31 in reply to Birkby’s total of 239. Thankfully a gradual improvement followed as the season unfolded. FINAL LEAGUE TABLES 2010 First Eleven: Section A
Mirfield and Denby Grange were relegated to Section B; Silkstone and Upperthong Birkby Rose Hill* (Champions) 22 14 4 101 were promoted to Section A from B. Old Almondburians’ (7th) 22 8 9 62 In the Premier Section our neighbours *Birkby Rose Hill, playing at the Nuffield Ground Almondbury Wesleyans were runners-up to (formerly Brook Motors), were previously known as champions Cumberworth by a one point Birkby Nuffield – and before that as YMCA. difference (96 to 95). Unfortunately they were frustrated by inclement weather on the final day of the season – when their visitors were Cumberworth ; now they know how Yorkshire feel! Our congratulations go to the Wesleyans on finishing in such an elevated position on their first season in the top section and commiserations on going so close to achieving the championship. FIRSTS
P
W
L
Points
28
SECOND ELEVEN : Section E SECONDS
P
Silkstone (Champions)
20
Old Almondburians’ (7th)
20
W
14
PLAYER
Tim Taylor
7
Innings
Runs
17
400
19
Steve Slack
Will Atkinson
11
Luke Booth*
11
Simon Lyons
19
Points
6
52
4
Leading players’ averages: First Eleven Batting
L
91
34.67
247
27.44
452
First Eleven Bowling
Av
624
279
Silkstone and Birchencliffe were promoted to Section D.
PLAYER
Steve Slack
30.77
Luke Booth Tim Taylor
25.36
Overs
Wickets
108
23
133 190
Av
28
14.68
39
18.41
17.83
23.79
*Luke held nine catches in his eleven games. One of the youngest in the team, he joined the club this season. We have high hopes that he will continue to show steady improvement next season.
James Cliffe made some useful contributions with both bat and ball and we look forward to him totally severing his connection with golf so that he can play more regularly next season. John Clutterbrook took eleven catches and made five stumpings from his seventeen games with the First Eleven. He was also not out on seven occasions in his twelve innings. Second Eleven Batting PLAYER
Richard Taylor
Innings 17
Runs 323
Second Eleven Bowling
Av
PLAYER
21.53
Joe George
Richard is obviously lacking support on the batting front!
Overs 68
Wickets 20
Av
12.85
Joe would appreciate some additional input on the bowling front!
PRESIDENT’S DAY
Our traditional President’s Day was held on Sunday, 29th. August at Arkenley. As the day dawned against a background of grey skies and persistent drizzle, the chances of cricket appeared to be nil. Miraculously, two hours later, a blue sky and sunshine replaced the all too evident heavenly canvas experienced this ‘summer’. A six a-side ‘round robin’ competition, featuring an OACC team, an Almondbury Casuals team and an ‘Almondbury Village’ team was the main attraction.The event commenced at 11.00 am and by 6.00 pm the eventual winners were the hosts; the ‘OACC Six’. Great excitement was provided for the spectators by the lusty hitting, necessitating the provision of a bucketful of spare cricket balls on the pavilion verandah. One lost count of the number of balls that disappeared into the trees, onto the football pitches and into the Arkenley gardens. Against this backdrop brilliant fielding and superb catching were features of the cricket. 29
THE OACC PRESIDENT’S DAY TEAM Back row left to right: John Clutterbrook, Jonny Mansell, John Headey, Chammi Mudalige, Jack Taylor (Chairman) Front row left to right: Steve Slack (captain), Sean Wienand, Luke Booth, George Brady
In particular grateful thanks should be recorded to joint secretaries John Headey and John Clutterbrook, First Eleven captain Steve Slack and playing colleague Andy Pearson for ensuring a prompt start, a smooth progression with barbecue, bar and food provision. On behalf of the club I should like to thank all Almondburians who supported the event and we look forward to seeing them again next year. Please note the revised date for our Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening, now to be held on Saturday, 12 February 2011, at our usual venue; Lockwood Park, the home of Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club. Richard Taylor assures me that we have engaged a top class comedian to entertain us, having encountered him at a previous sporting function.Within a matter of weeks we will be looking forward to Season 2011 and hope very much that many Almondburians will join us at the incomparable setting of Arkenley.
Soccer
W
MARTYN HICKS
HAT BEGAN AS A WHISPER became chat and is now a shout! Following the demise (henceforth lets call it a hiatus) of the Almondburians’ Football Club in 2007, there have been many occasions when the question has been asked “why don’t we get the band back together?” The question has often fallen on older deafer ears who – perhaps jaded by past exertions and mellowed by golf club intoxicants – chose the path of least resistance, and did nothing. Shame on your doors. Finally, the yoof (and let’s be honest, it had to come from them), frustrated by the nonactivity, toiling as they where homeless in a currently stagnant sea of District League football mediocrity, began whispering late at night in all the right nightclubs and bars of Huddersfield: “Lets do it ourselves…!” And they have. Reformed, re-suited with new nets, flags and medical bag, they re-applied to rejoin the Yorkshire Old Boys League (soon to be renamed TheYorkshire Amateur League). Despite the late application they were voted in unopposed at 40 votes ‘for’ and none‘against’ (quite 30
DIVISION 4
Almondburians
2
Played
6
Pts
an achievment and a testament to good preparation). Now re-established on the top field at the school (the Arkenley East Ardsley Res 2 4 Stadium, cheaper in construction than Wembley but with far Norristhorpe 1 3 superior views) the team brimming with enthusiastic talented Colton III 1 3 attack-minded gazelles have begun their new adventure most Batelians III 2 3 splendidly: they beat all three teams in the pre-season friendlies Sandal Athletic Res 1 0 Hudds Amateurs III 2 0 and trounced Leeds City OB 4-0 and Shadwell 7-1 in the first two Centralians III 1 0 League games.You can follow their progress as they climb up the Shadwell Res 1 0 ladder out of Division 4 towards the promised land on Leeds City OB Res 3 0 www.yobleague.co.uk. Or better still, to view their silky skills, fluidity and awseome fire power at first hand, come along and support them on Saturday afternoons (the fixtures are on theYOBL site too). Entry to the ground is through the turnstiles, the admission fee is a flask of coffee or biscuits, and to qualify for the executive seats bring a hip flask (that rules Gez Whitehead out then). Going forward with so many players signed on it will make it a difficult balancing act to keep everyone happy with game-minutes throughout the season.The club’s intention is to get to two teams up and running as quickly as possible so, old and new, if you want to get back on board the AFC express, contact our secretary Robert Antich at robantich@googlemail.com. The train is pulling out of the station heading to Pleasureville – jump on board quickly to bag a seat. Thornesians Res Modernians V
2 2
6 4
Back Row left to right: Julian Atkinson (Co-Manager/Player), Mark Sutton, Robert Thompson, Robert Antich, Adam Taylor, Bruce Atkinson, Gary Lumb, Greg Sykes, Paul McCabe, David Fisher, Martyn Hicks (Co-Manager). Front Row: Chris Dunn, Matthew Grindey, Charles RyanHicks, David Worthington, Steve O'Brien, Dan Pointer. Players away at this match: Marcus Hedley, John Mellor and John Clarke.
31
Badminton and Tennis
T
ANDREW HAIGH
HE 2010 TENNIS SEASON cannot be regarded as one of the most successful on record. Only about half a dozen members played this season and, due to the fact that they all took holidays at different points in the summer, there were a number of weeks when there weren’t enough people to play, which is a shame given that Thursday evenings were largely unaffected by rain this summer. Please consider joining us for next season, which will start on Thursday, 9th June 2011. The new BADMINTON season started on Thursday, 2nd September and we will be playing in the school sports hall on Thursday evening during term-time, from 7.30 p.m. until 9.30 p.m., until Thursday, 26th May 2011.The fee, to cover the hire of the sports hall, shuttlecocks and showers, is £5 per person per evening. Please come along and join us. However, please note that due to school events or examinations there are four dates this season on which there will be no badminton: Thursday, 16th September Thursday, 11th November Thursday, 14th October Thursday, 2nd December
Golf: Gothard Cup
T
SIMON RU SSELL
HE GOTHARD CUP was played on what was probably the last decent day of this typical British Summer: 16th July 2010. It was good to see John Bradley again over from Australia where summers remain summers.Despite as ever,some last minute cancellations eighteen entrants battled away over the superb Woodsome Hall course. As usual the golf was followed by an excellent dinner and conversation in the club house. This year’s winner was Robin Merchant with an amazing total of 42 ponts from a handicap of 9. He was proud to tell us that his gross score was 73 – a worthy winner indeed. The view around the room was that an end of June date would be better for all next year and I will arrange accordingly. Contact numbers remain the same but confirmation from you to me by the end of April will facilitate much easier planning. 32
Letter from Porthcawl
I
DAVE BUSH
HAD BEEN WORRYING. I had searched my book shelves without success. I felt sure it had never arrived but was assured it had been posted. The cause of my anxiety was the March edition of The Almondburian. Then in true imitation of London buses, the March and July publications arrived within a week of each other. It appears those posted earlier in the year to Vice Presidents are languishing in a bundle in the corner of someYorkshire sorting office. Still ‘mas vale tarde que nunca’, as the Spanish say.What delight they bring and what a standard of presentation Roger Dowling continues to set. The article about Graham Gelder, who was before my time, reminded me of a story about him which seems typical. Apparently in a football match on the top field the lace had partly come loose in the ball. Would older members please explain to younger ones all about lacing up a leather soccer ball? Graham bent down , picked up the ball in his teeth by the lace and ran with it into the opposition goal. I’m sure some OA’s will know more details. Another article featured Leonard Ash whom again I never met. However, Harry Taylor recounted how in retirement the Ash family constantly changed address. His address book, he informed me, showed their 26th change and there were more to come. Not so Jim Toomey who has migrated only once since retiring from his Bromsgrove school. Margaret and I visited him and Betty in June at their lovely home near Stourport-on- Severn. A glorious day meant we were able to spend most of the time in the garden. I am pleased to report that Jim continues in good health, still ploughs through medieval manuscripts and remains a connoisseur of fine clarets. Mentioning Jim’s retirement leads me neatly on to the 16th and 17th of July. I had received an invitation to attend the ‘leaving do’ of two King James’s stalwarts, Patrick O’Brien and Walter Raleigh. Their combined service totals , I believe, some 64 years. I do not want to say too much here as I suspect I shall be prevailed upon to deliver a few words at the Annual Dinner. I do hope Old Almondburians will turn out in great numbers on the evening to pay tribute to them. How will King Graham Gelder: First XI soccer captain in 1954-55 33
Jim Toomey: still ‘ploughing through medieval manuscripts’. His Records of Hanley Castle 1147-1547 gives a fascinating account of the lives of ordinary people in the middle ages
James’s manage without them? I thought that, when Jack Taylor and I left, the school would collapse but it goes from strength to strength! The Friday evening at Lockwood was memorable and I met many former colleagues whom I had not seen for 14 years. A pie and peas with mint sauce supper, a giant tin of Quality Street won by Jack and me at Barkisland Junior Cricket Competition on the Saturday morning, superb fish and chips for lunch and the long drive back to Porthcawl seemed comparatively short. I was disconcerted by two pieces of news over this weekend. It will be remembered perhaps that I along with many others have long lamented the demise of the Old Almondburians’ Football Club. Then came the news in some Executive Committee minutes that Martyn Hicks had numerous players lined up to resurrect the team for the coming season .However, it seems that there are problems around their playing at the school. I desperately hope they can be overcome. (They have been. Ed). Secondly Patrick O’Brien’s retirement inevitably means there is some uncertainty about the future of Latin in the school curriculum. It has been taught at St.Helen’s Gate for over 400 years and so successfully for nearly the last 60, ever since Jim Toomey became ‘magister’. Headmaster, Robert Lamb, assured me it will be retained in some form. I urge all those with influence to assist him in his endeavours. From that last sentence readers will readily deduce that I cannot and will not disassociate myself from happenings at King James’s and indeed from schools in general. With daughter Catherine a teacher and grandchildren passing through secondary school – grandson Jordi enters the Sixth Form in September – my ears are constantly assailed by matters pedagogical. So one moment please while once more I mount my high horse ‘Education’. That’s better. From my lofty saddle let me read to you the concluding quarter of granddaughter Anna’s Science report (the first 75% was in the same vein):‘Anna refines the success criteria, reviews the learning strategies and applies her learning to the new and abstract situations.The next step is to be more quantitative in the work, make further predictions and to go on to carry out further enquiries’. ‘Cui bono?’ as Cassius or Cicero would have said. What gibberish! What a waste of ink and paper! She has a veritable booklet of this computer-bank generated rubbish. 34
Multiply this by all the pupils in her school and all the schools in the UK –it was just the same in her junior school – and then let’s begin a campaign to restore some sanity to the system. ‘Government requirements’ is the standard defence of the status quo. Well, they need abolishing. I am minded of the parent,Yorkshireman no doubt, who, when confronted with this gobbledygook , demanded of his son’s form teacher. ‘All I want to know is it a bike or a b*ll*ck*ng?’ Back on terra firma, not ‘terra cotta’ as Lord Prescott once said, I contrasted present day reports with those single sheets I received and completed as pupil and teacher in the 1950s and 1960s. I still have mine and I suspect many Old Almondburians have theirs. Now here’s some potentially wonderful archive material. Perhaps our esteemed Media Editor might consider a separate page on our web site. I suggest you, dear reader, might contemplate sending him some items. My word limit is almost up but a few memories to get things underway. Harry Taylor’s only comment on Eric Abbott: ‘Missed Founders’ Day’ Ray Bishop who intended to write ‘He really must pull himself together next term’ but missed out ‘together’ Wilfred Western’s much repeated RE comments ‘No Exam. Good’alternated with ‘Pleasant and well behaved’, Anon who asked of a regular absentee, ‘Who is this boy?’ And how Jack Taylor and Bob Field took advantage of Doc L’Amie’s renowned uncertainty of who should be in his classes by inserting a fictitious pupil’s sheet into his group. It was duly completed. Do YOU have any school report gems? If so, please send them in and we’ll print the best (editorial contact details on back cover).
Postbag
YO U W RITE …
‘You’re fired!’ says Harry
From David Beach (1958-1966)
I
HAVE GENERALLY PLEASANT MEMORIES of Harry Gledhill [Reputations, October 2009], and had some sympathies for him in his attempts to teach often reluctant pupils. His background as a church organist and choir master, with little other musical experience (hence his reluctance to set up an orchestra) does go some way to explaining why lessons could be little more than having a few songs to sing. My main memory is the traditional first lesson of every new school year, when one by one we were required to stand and sing a solo scale or two so that he could 35
recruit his new trebles for the choir. I recall the embarrassment of one boy, who turned the shade of a ripe tomato while grunting, and I use the word kindly, a few totally off key notes. He was not selected. Being unaware of the risks involved, I sang a reasonable scale or two and was told that I was ‘in the choir’. There was no question of this being an invitation requiring a decision on my part. It was the schoolboy equivalent of a three-line whip. For a year I tolerated the choir, sandwiched between one boy who had bad breath and another who sang off key more often than not. Being a complete philistine, I cannot claim to have enjoyed the music either. Then, at the next voice tests, I was suffering from a bad cold and could not reach the upper notes of the scale. My voice was well short of breaking, but I was told to ‘join the altos’, of which I imagine he was a bit short at the time. I hated it, being deprived now of even having the tune to sing. Within weeks, I recall having a chess competition match to play, and during the lunch break skipped the choir practice to play the game. At the end of the session, Harry came in, asked why I was not at choir, and in the manner of Alan Sugar, announced that I was ‘fired’, in a tone which implied that I ought to be really upset. Perhaps he felt that, being the son of one of his colleagues, I ought to be setting a better example. I have to say that being sacked from the choir was the best news I had that term. Minehead, Somerset
The rediscovery of the School Charter
From Emeritus Professor Colin Robson (1946-1953)
I
MUST WRITE to congratulate all involved with the special Taylor Dyson issue of The Almondburian. It was beautifully produced and had a very high standard of consistently interesting and well written articles. I found the Taylor Dyson contributions most revealing, presenting a well balanced picture of a complex man. The obituary for my contemporary Carl Goldsmith was very moving. A teacher in charge of the home side at the Blackpool school mentioned was most upset by Carl’s perfectly fair but very fast bowling, and by our Australian influenced Carmody placing of a ring of fielders round the bat! On a personal note, can I enter a claim to a part in the discovery of the School Charter in 1952? I read an article in the Yorkshire Evening Post about the Yorkshire Archaeological Society exhibition which mentioned that a Jacobean charter of a local school was to be displayed. From the description I thought that it might be THE charter and mentioned this to Fred Hudson, who said that we should look out for it on our visit to the exhibition. I was subsequently one of the group who rediscovered the Charter. Bath 36
Obituaries
G O N E B U T NOT FO RGOT TEN
STEPHEN JOYCE (CLARKSON) (1961–1968)
Keen school sportsman who fought injury to regain football and cricket skills
At school, Stephen was the perfect example of the dour Yorkshireman, a sharp sense of humour but often reluctant to communicate any more than what he wanted you to know! We started at King James’s together in 1961 and our friendship continued through the 60s and 70s, after which circumstances were to dictate that we would not meet up again until the 400th anniversary dinner. Stephen was an able scholar and sportsman but always tended to understate his abilities. In the mid 60s he suffered a traumatic injury to his leg in a traffic accident. This interrupted his progress through the school football teams where his midfield destroyer abilities drew parallels with Nobby Stiles. His determination to regain fitness won through and he returned to a first team place at school and went on to play for the Old Almondburians and Sunday league team BIC Sports. My best memories are of our times together in the school cricket teams and afterwards (with many other Almondburians) at Lockwood Cricket Club. Stephen was a dependable middle order batsman, able to grind out the runs when the team was in trouble and cut loose when acceleration was needed. He was also an alert fielder – his agility making up for his suspect eyesight! After school, Stephen – who later adopted the surname Clarkson – developed a very successful career with Midland Bank (HSBC).This was complemented by his thirty year marriage to Gwen and family life with their sons Ben and David. I last came across Stephen on the touchline at the 400th reunion ‘old crocks’ football match. ‘Aren’t you playing, Steve?’ was met with the reply that with reluctance he had had to refuse on health grounds. A debilitating illness had caused his early retirement from work and was eventually to take his life. Richard Teale
DAVID McKAY (1943–1951)
Farnley Line fifth form pipe-smoker who became a successful dental surgeon
David McKay – extrovert ex-pat Scot, dental surgeon and a dear friend – died on 29th March 2010 at his home in Cowie near Aberdeen, aged 78. Bom in 1932 (a vintage year), David left Almondbury Grammar School to study dental surgery at Leeds University, graduating BChD, LDS. Conscripted for national service in the RAF he took a short service commission and after basic training was posted to RAF Limavady, Northem Ireland. 37 3340
Demobbed in 1958, he joined the government dental service as a peripatetic surgeon, visiting schools in the province in a mobile surgery and laboratory. He returned to Aberdeen in private practice, which he left to join the local schools service. He retired at the age of 60, (a decision he never regretted, according to his widow) to become a keen gardener with the creed ‘grow it if you can eat it’. David and I were in the same class as Willum Booth (obituary: The Almondburian, July 2010). David, Dennis Berry and Ken Brown ran a smoking club, pipes only, on Farnley Line in the Fifth Form. Our fourth form had no form room and hence no desks. Instead we used a line of lockers in the corridor leading to the gym. In a hot summer we complained to David about the smell from his locker and insisted that he open it. Inside was a fox’s head, half rotten, “waiting to be boiled clean so I can examine the jaw and teeth structure”. Don Sykes, who started at Leeds with David, recalls a train journey in which he told David that his dentist told him that he had excellent teeth and would probably never need dental treatment.The unbelieving McKay lured him to the dental school, pinned him to a chair and examined the Sykes’s mouth. “Well,”quoth he , “I’ve only seen better teeth once and they were in an ape.” AsYeats nearly said “ …and say my glory was I had such a friend.” A pithy, one-off he leaves his widow, Betty, two sons, two daughters, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren with a third due at Christmas in Israel. Peter Burns Bob Letters adds:“David visited the school at the end of his first term at Leeds University and met ‘Tich’ Blackburn in a corridor.“How are you, McKay?” enquired the latter.“I am very well, Blackburn,” replied David, asserting his equality right to be addressed as ‘Mr’.
MRS IRENE MANN
Parent who worked tirelessly in support of School activities
Old Almondburians at the School in the late 1950s and 1960s may remember the elegant presence of Mrs Irene Mann, mother of Christopher (1958-1966) and Nicholas (1962-1970) at many of the functions held during those years. Some may also recall her immense energy supporting the scout troop and creating elaborate costumes for the annual plays directed by Frank Anderson, Albert Makinson and Alan Brown. She died on 24th July, only a few days after a pre-90th birthday party organised by her sons at the family home at Beaumont Park, to which several Old Almondburians were invited. One Old Almondburian has written:‘Like so many of her generation, she had the gift of combining an immense dignity with an irrepressible sense of fun.She always knew what ought to be done, and got on and did it – as I was growing up, she was always one of the people who were involved at King James’s, always supporting the School. Her death is the end of an era in Huddersfield.’ 38 33
HISTORY
OAS SHOP VIDEOS
CHINA MUG
The Royal Charter rns to its home at King retu James’s
ROGER DOWLING tells eventual chance rediscoverthe strange story of the Charter’s ‘disappear ance’ y in 1952 by members of the School’s Surveying and its Society
‘T
HE ORIGINAL LETTERS PATENT do not exist’, recorded Taylor Dyson in his classic Almondbury and its Ancient School of 1926, echoing the words of Canon Hulbert’s earlier Annals of the Church and Parish of Almondbury. But they were both wrong: the Letters Patent (‘the Charter’) in fact lay, undisturbed over many years, in a strong box at the unlikely location of Denby Grange Colliery just a few miles away on the road to
Wakefield. So how did the School come to be parted from its own Charter? And why did it require services of the School’s the Surveying Society to reunite it with the School on 6th April 1954? It all started with a planned Society, led by Geography visit by members of the master Fred Hudson, local history exhibition to a being organised by Yorkshire Archaeologica the l Society in Leeds. Hudson was
HISTORY
An Illustrated History of King James’s School: £12.50 inc pp (UK)
China Mug: £10.00 inc pp (UK)
TEDDY BEAR Floreat Schola! DVD £15.00 inc pp (UK)
HISTORY
Teddy Bear: £13.75 inc pp (UK)
PAPERWEIGHT
A History of King James’s School: £12.50 inc pp (UK)
Anniversary Weekend DVD: £15.00 inc pp (UK)
ANNIVERSARY TIE
ANNIVERSARY PRINT
Anniversary HISTORYTie: £12.50 inc pp (UK)
Anniversary Print: £25.00 inc pp
Paperweight: £31.50 inc pp (UK)
KEY FOB
Key Fob: £8.50 inc pp (UK) HISTORY
All items available online at www.oas.org.uk or by post from Andrew Haigh, Floresco House, Oak Hill Road, Brighouse HD6 1SN. Please make cheques payable to33 ‘The Old Almondburians’ Society’
Joint Chairmen EMILY COMER and NICKY MURPHY 4 Arkenley Lane Almondbury, Huddersfield HD4 6SQ Mobile: 07855 264043 Email: emily@conscious.com nicky01@conscious.com
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