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N ial O ec YS Sp R D e O ssu i
YL TA
JULY, 2010
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IN THIS ISSUE Chairman’s Letter OAS Calendar OAS Membership Another issue for ex-Editor And what became of…?
Fifty years of Speech Days
Keith’s Kryptic Krossword Back to school for Reunion 2010 Annual Dinner / Founders’ Day Badminton and Tennis Golf Cricket And back at the School… The Taylor Dyson Library Taylor Dyson Remembered Postbag Letter from Porthcawl Obituaries TH E C OV ER
The cover of this issue of The Almondburian would have been familiar to Taylor Dyson. It was used throughout his long headmastership of King James’s from 1913 to 1945, though we have taken the liberty of correcting the date of 1609 which for so many years was thought erroneously to be the year in which the School received its Charter from James I. This special issue marks the formal transfer of the 550 books that form the Taylor Dyson Library into the safe keeping of the University of Huddersfield, the institution – in the days when it was ‘Huddersfield Tech’ – in which Taylor Dyson himself once studied as a young man.
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The ALMONDBURIAN
Bethany Smith
Editor: Roger Dowling
July 2010
The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society
Chairman’s letter
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E M I LY C O MER / NICKY MUR PHY
ELCOME to the July issue of The Almondburian. This is our first Chairman’s Letter since being elected in February. The normal process would see us in office in January but the inclement weather (several feet of snow!) meant a quorum could not be established and the January AGM had to be abandoned. February therefore saw a combined Annual General Meeting and committee meeting with pie and peas being provided as usual by our Secretary Andrew Haigh, who as always did an outstanding job. April saw the running of the Annual Quiz at the Conservative Club in Almondbury, and a full report appears on page 5 of this issue. President’s Day held jointly with the Old Almondburians’ Society for the first 3
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time last year was deemed a success so it will be repeated this year on the 29th August when we hope as many Old Almondburians as possible will come along and enjoy an afternoon of cricket and barbequing.The cricket club will again be providing the bar in a marquee so rain will be unable to stop play. Further details appear on page 15. This year’s Reunion is for those who were at the school between 1940 and 1979. Further details are given on page11 and on the slip enclosed with this issue. The annual dinner is again booked in at the Galpharm on Saturday 20th November; tickets are selling well as the guests of honour will be Patrick O’Brien andWalter Raleigh, two long serving members of staff who will no doubt recount many tales from the past during their obligatory speeches. We look forward to seeing you there.
OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDAR
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: 7th June; 5th July; 6th September; 4th October; 1st November; 6th December.
OLD ALMONDBURIANS CRICKET CLUB ANNUAL DINNER: Saturday, 16th October, at Lockwood Park at 6.30 for 7.00 pm. See Cricket report on page 15. REUNION 2010 Saturday, 25th September at the School See article on page 11.
ANNUAL DINNER Saturday 20th November 2010 at the Galpharm Stadium. Full details, together with an application form for tickets, will appear in the next issue of The Almondburian and on www.oas.org.uk. It is always good to see members making a special effort to stage a reunion of their year at the dinner and such occasions are always enjoyable.Those with a special anniversary this year – members of the classes of 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, 1990 or 2000 (or indeed anyone else who takes a notion to do so) – should consider starting to organise their class reunion earlier rather than later.
TENNIS From Thursday, 10th June to Thursday, 26th August on the School tennis courts (weather permitting) from 7.15 pm until dusk. See Tennis report on page 14. GOTHARD CUP GOLF COMPETITION This will take place on Friday, 16th July at Woodsome Hall Golf Club. See Golf report on page 14.
FOUNDERS’ DAY Sunday 21st November 2010 at All Hallows Church,Almondbury. Detailed arrangements to be announced. See announcement on page 12.
OLD ALMONDBURIANS CRICKET CLUB PRESIDENT’S DAY: Sunday, 29th August, at Arkenley at 10.30 am. See Cricket report on page 15. 4
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OAS Membership
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AND RE W HAIGH
UR TOTAL MEMBERSHIP currently stands at 819. Since the last magazine was published, we have been delighted to welcome the following two new members to the Society: Amelia de la Cruz (Kirkheaton) and David Hughes (Lascelles Hall). Subscriptions are due on 1st September each year so, if you receive a letter with this newsletter pointing out that your subscription is not up-to-date, please do complete the updated standing order mandate that accompanies it and return it in the envelope provided without delay. 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.
Quiz Evening 2010
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AND RE W HAIGH
HE ‘FOOTBALL’ TEAM – also known as Doug Norris, Gerald (‘Jez’) Whitehead, David Sinclair and Ralph Beaumont – were the triumphant winners of the annual Quiz Night at Almondbury Conservative Club on 28th April 2010. Some 30 Almondburians assembled for another enjoyable evening of questions set by Quizmaster Keith Crawshaw. As usual, there were two semi-finals, followed by supper and then the final. The first semi-final was contested by three teams: ‘The 1970s’, who were defending their title,‘Cricket’ and ‘Staff’. The teams were neck-and-neck after the first round, but Cricket established a lead in the third round to which they held on despite a good performance from Staff in the final‘buzzer’ round. Cricket, with 62 points, therefore progressed to the final, accompanied by runners-up Staff. Four teams contested the second semi-final: ‘Allsorts’, ‘Badminton’, ‘Football’ and ‘Epic Failures’. After a slow start, Football gradually built up a lead through their knowledge of Yorkshire dialect words followed by good scoring in the final ‘buzzer’ round.Thus Football, with 63 points, progressed to the final, along with runners-up Badminton on 52 points. 5
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Following a break for supper, Cricket, Badminton, Football and Staff contested a very competitive final, in which Football swept into an early lead with some excellent scoring demonstrating an extraordinary knowledge of sweets and chocolates. The team then consolidated their lead through their equally impressive knowledge of American States.The final scores were Football: 69 points; Cricket: 58 points; Staff: 48 points; and Badminton: 44 points. As always, many thanks are due to Keith Crawshaw for all his hard work in preparing the questions, to JackTaylor for acting as scorer, to the Conservative Club for allowing us to use their facilities and to all those who competed, contributing to another very enjoyable Old Almondburians’ Quiz Evening.
And what became of…?
LATEST KING JAMES’S / GREENHEAD LEAVERS
Name
ATKIN Samuel ATKINSON Thomas CARTWRIGHT Jessica COLAGIOVANNI Joseph DAVIES Charlotte DAWSON Harley ELLIS Rebecca EWART Duncan HAIGH Fiona HARRIES Kirstie HAWKINS Daniel HETHERINGTON Lucy INGHAM Luke IQBAL Sanna JOHNSEY Joe JOYCE Joseph LEADBEATER Joe LITTLEWOOD Stephanie LIU Kit Hung MAYBURY Naomi McGINTY Michael
To
Sainsbury plc Leeds Met University Royal Ag’tural College Manchester Met Uni Leeds College of Art Showtec Audio Cambridge University Leeds University Leeds College of Art Year out Manchester University Manchester Met Uni Leeds College of Art Huddersfield University Huddersfield University Year out Year out Nottingham University Huddersfield University De Montfort Uni Lincoln University
Name
Undertaking
MELLOR Andrew MILNER Georgina MONKHOUSE Lucy MORGAN Rebecca MUNRO Joshua MURRAY Thomas PARNABY Thomas PASHAZADEH Dariush PEARSON Daniel ROEDER Ingram SADDIQUE Tazmin SEARBY Kirsty SMYTH Liam SUNTER Mark TODD Cassandra TOTH Jack TURNER Stuart WALLBANKS Luke WARD Lucy WRAY Danielle
Co Training Scheme Psychology and Society Rural Land Mgement International Business Art Foundation Sound Engineer French/Spanish Classical Lit/History Art Foundation Business Studies Fashion Buying Art Foundation Law Drama Higher Education (2010) Sunderland Uni (2010) Genetics Information/Comms Tech Drama Studies Architecture
To
Oxford University Worcester University Loughborough Uni Huddersfield University Kirklees MBC Huddersfield University Year out Nottingham Trent Uni Manchester Met Uni Leeds College of Art Manchester Met Uni Sheffield Hallam Uni Huddersfield University Sheffield Hallam Uni Leeds University Huddersfield University Seeking employment St John University, York Gap year Leeds University
Undertaking
Mathematics Mental Health Nursing Civil Engineering Events Management Electrical Apprenticeship Chemistry Manchester Met Uni (2010) Biomedical Science Chemistry Art Foundation Law Biology Human Biology Criminology Physics Electronic Engineering Physical Education/coaching Care Worker Adult Nursing
The following former King James’s pupils received prizes in the 2009 Greenhead College awards ceremony: ANDREW MELLOR The Miss Margaret Owen Prize for Mathematics CHARLOTTE DAVIES A Cummins Turbo Technology Prize for Achievement REBECCA ELLIS The Schoolhouse Books Prize for Spanish. Information kindly supplied by Gerald Stead 6
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Another issue for ex-Editor
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VICKY TAYLOR
E PASS ON OUR HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS to former editor of The Almondburian Vicky Taylor who has given birth to her first baby Felicity Anne. For those interested in the vital statistics, the new arrival weighed in at Calderdale Royal Hospital on 21st March 2010 at 8lb 5oz (3.77 kg).Vicky is pictured here with the new arrival and proud dad Danny. Vicky attended King James’s School from 1993 to 1998 and continues to be an active and supportive member of the Old Almondburians’ Society executive committee.
Emily and Nicky to wed
I
F YOU THINK you’ve already read about the engagement of OAS committee members Emily and Nicky in the March issue of The Almondburian, you are quite correct. But this time we are not referring to Emily Earnshaw and Nicky Briggs; this particular happy couple is our new‘Joint Chairmen’Emily Comer and Nicky Murphy. They met at an Old Almondburians’ badminton session in September 2007, having both attended King James’s (Emily from 1997 to 2002 and Nicky from 1981 to 1986). Emily is studying and training in theAccountancy profession; Nicky was awarded a degree at Huddersfield University and is an IT Consultant.We wish them well. 7
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Fifty years of Speech Days
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JACK TAYLO R
S I PREPARED for the last Old Almondburians’ Society Dinner on Saturday, 21st November last year, I recollected that on Tuesday, 10th November 2009 I had attended my 50th consecutive Speech Day at the Town Hall in Huddersfield. This coincided with my 50 years of continuous association with King James’s School and the Old Almondburians’ Society, as a teacher, governor and cricketer. The evening was a memorable occasion, highlighted by the announcement by the head teacher, Robert Lamb, of the best set of examination results in the school’s history and the exceptional musical talent of the young pianist and singers on stage. Fifty years ago I can recall sitting on the stage at the Town Hall with teaching colleagues in academic regalia, when headmaster HarryTaylor presented his school report. On one later memorable occasion in his report he had just posed the question,‘as to what the future of King James’s Grammar School might be’, when an uninvited guest managed to gain entry and shouted out, ‘burn it down!’ Fortunately, the person was quickly hustled out, decorum restored and the Head completed his report. An early, most vivid memory of Speech Day rehearsal is of George Beach instructing the pupils (and by inference staff) in the niceties of standing up, sitting down, not chewing and how to dress, particularly with regard to presenting an acceptable tie knot. More recently, Dave Bush on assuming this disciplinary role, guaranteed that the singing of the School Song, to conclude the evening, would ‘sway the massive chandeliers’. Keith Crawshaw’s verdict on the success of the rendition was always eagerly awaited at the next Executive Meeting. Needless to say Keith’s response was to affirm that ‘it had indeed been a moving occasion!’ In 1962 I was ‘promoted’ from a passive role to an active one, to succeed Reg Addy in handing over certificates, prizes and trophies to the guest speaker, who in turn presented them to the recipients. According to Harry Taylor I came to his JACK TAYLOR joined King James’s Grammar School in 1959 as Head of Biology. In addition to his role in the Science Department, he was in turn Head of Sixth Form, Head of Upper School and Assistant Headteacher. Jack also became Fenay Housemaster. He has maintained close links with the School since his retirement and is a member of the Old Almondburians’ Society executive committee and Chairman of the OAS Cricket Club. He is a keen walker and gardener, and an entertaining after-dinner speaker. 8
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Fifty not out: the magnificent scene in Huddersfield Town Hall at the 2009 Presentation Evening
attention when I altered my hairstyle in the previous summer – from a comb back to side parting – following the hirsute fashion prevalent at the time ‘for quick bowlers’. Jenny Ainger By 1996 there were many more certificates, prizes and trophies to hand over, reflecting the increase in the number of pupils and the increase in the number of sponsors for these awards. A permanent feature, however, over the years, was juggling with the huge House Shield; lifting it from its display position and handing it over to the championship winning House Captains.As Fenay House Master over these years it gives me no satisfaction to report that Jessop House were never the recipients in all this time! One of the big attractions in attending a function Nervous: ’Allo, ’Allo star Gorden at Huddersfield Town Hall is the anticipation of Kaye (1952-1958) preferred to hearing the magnificent organ. ‘Happy’ Harry spend his evenings with the ladies Gledhill always looked forward to his playing of the ‘FatherWillis’ organ. Originally installed in Newport, South Wales, Dave Bush relates with pride that in 1861 it was dismantled and dispatched from his adopted homeland and reassembled in Huddersfield. There have been many outstanding Speakers delivering inspiring words to the assembled pupils and parents over the years. I, myself, was honoured to address the gathering in my first year of retirement, in November 1998, a very proud but quite daunting and sobering experience. On recollection, the most nervous speaker I encountered over the years was actually a fellow Old Almondburian – Gorden Kaye, of ’Allo,’Allo television fame. In fact, he confessed that the experience was much worse than appearing in front of the cameras for the popular television programme. Perhaps it was because I attempted to converse with him in French! 9
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Present day pupils must be somewhat envious of former pupils in that years ago, after a morning rehearsal, the afternoon was‘free’. More importantly, the Speaker also asked for a half day holiday for the school – guaranteed to generate sustained and deafening applause. During my years of retirement I have eagerly looked forward to the November Speech Day and taking my balcony seat in the Town Hall along with former members of staff and fellow Almondburians. I never cease to be amazed at the academic talent filing its way across the stage, the quality of musical talent performing, the confident manner and demeanour of the Head Boy and Head Girl when addressing the assembled and the general ethos generated by a capacity audience of former students, proud parents, friends and Almondburians. What are YOUR memories of past Speech Days and Presentation Evenings? Drop us a line at the contact address given on the back cover.
KEITHS’S KRYPTIC KROSSWORD Compiled by
Keith Crawshaw
Entries to the Editor by 30th August 2010 Prize: 12 months free OAS membership
ACROSS 1. Competitive structures (6) 8. Quiet bed for School footballer for example (6) 10. After religious lesson I meet topical opening in Surrey (7) 11. Changing, form and class (5) 12. Corn starter for yellow nobleman? (4) 13. In place of 17th century head? (5)
17. King of first Jacobean aspirations we hear (5) 18. Appeal from Jessop leading again! (4) 22. Lesson from a chemistry master returning without head, thus (5) 23. Old Boy, I had a change of head, appointed in 1701 (7) 24. King of Poles as a pupil does (6) 25. Become proficient as teacher (6) 10
DOWN 1. Caught, she swallows a subject, the result of Beaumont’s travel (7) 2. Youngsters, perhaps join endless ruse (7) 3. Nicholas, a petitioner and championship contender (5) 4. Play a role in Brief Measurement and command the School! (7) 5. Head out of Addy’s only lesson (5) 6. Peak emblem (5) 9. Provoke weight of Charity (9) 14. Only cab goes round to Speech Day viewing point (7) 15. Tell it nothing about brothers attending in Griffith’s time (7) 16. Plump girl’s for our ancestors (7) 19. Bend on walk to old room (5) 20. State under centre of best composition (5) 21. Long story over river head (5)
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LOOKING AHEAD …
Back to school for Reunion 2010
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GA RY WOO DHOUSE
EREYOU BORN BEFORE 1962? If so,it means that you attended King James’s in its Grammar School days.You therefore won’t want to miss Reunion 2010 which is specifically aimed at those who attended the School at this time. No watching your table manners or listening to speeches: this is a night to have a few drinks, soak up the atmosphere and if we all still had as much as we did in the old school photos, let our hair down and reminisce with old mates! There will be a very reasonably priced bar in the dining hall and tables set out in the gym where you can join the team quiz with your fellow class mates and listen to music from your school days, but quiet enough not to disturb the conversation – that is, unless we have any budding Frank Sinatras who’d like to get on stage for a bit of karaoke. Old memories will come flooding back r e min eld Exa ddersfi when you take a The Hu wander around the school and chat with former teachers and pupils, some of whom haven’t been in touch since the day they left. Response has been excellent via websites such as Friends Reunited and Facebook where over 100 have already been reacquainted and many have joined a KJGS group, discussing topics and commenting on lots of old photos. Buy your ticket now before it’s too late (online or using the slip enclosed with this issue) as capacity is restricted to 400 which unfortunately means there are no places for spouses. 11
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Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day
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ANDRE W TAYLOR
HISYEAR’S ANNUAL DINNER will be another special one, since the current Deputy Headmaster, Patrick O’Brien, has indicated his intention to retire in the summer after 38 years of loyal service to the school, as hasWalter Raleigh, another long-serving member of staff. 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 you may include your donation with payment for your ticket. 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 please put the date in your diary now 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 issue of The Almondburian. Early applications are always appreciated. It is always good to see members making a special effort to stage a re-union of their year at the dinner and such occasions are always enjoyable, so those with a special anniversary this year, members of the classes of 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, 1990 or 2000, for example or, indeed, anyone else who takes a notion to do so, should consider starting to organise their class re-union earlier rather than later. The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held at All Hallows’ Church, Almondbury, at Retiring: Patrick O’Brien (top) 11.30 am on the day following the Annual Dinner, and Walter Raleigh will both be Sunday, 21st November.Almondburians are invited leaving King James’s at the end to assemble in Big Tree Yard at 11.00 am for the of the summer term 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. 12
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Badminton and Tennis
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AND RE W HAIGH
HE BADMINTON SECTION witnessed another ‘first’ recently, when the current Joint Chairmen of the Society, Nicky Murphy and Emily Comer, announced their engagement. Doubtless it is a ‘first’ for the Society that Joint Chairmen have become engaged, but it was on the badminton court one Thursday evening that Nicky and Emily first met. Congratulations to them both and our best wishes for their future together. I have written before in this article of the international flavour of OldAlmondburians’ Badminton these days.This is largely due to David Parry who, as well as having a beautiful companion called Hazel Pacurib, who hails from the Philippines, also has a number of houses which he is in the habit of letting to French students at the University of Huddersfield. As a result, whilst post-badminton conversation in the ‘Woolpack’ might once have centred on the barmaid and football, it now covers such erudite topics as fine wines.WhenAurélien Guyomar declared that his family wouldn’t drink Champagne, but instead would drink Clairette de Die ‘Cuvée Imperiale’, there was much hasty scrabbling for pens and scraps of paper and a number of members departed in search of cette boisson. Unfortunately, it would appear that the ‘Cuvée Imperiale’ is not available in the UK, although, if anyone knows any differently, we would be pleased to hear. We are now into our traditional extension to the season, which stretches from Easter 13
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to May Spring Bank Holiday. Traditionally, attendances dwindle during this period, although we appear to have plumbed new depths this season, when only three people, albeit different people, have turned up for the past two weeks. Even Neil Gledhill, one of our stalwarts, has been unaccountably missing. If anyone finds him aimlessly wandering the streets on a Thursday evening, would they please return him to badminton, reminding him that we start at 7.30 pm. In fact, we have only one week of badminton remaining before we transfer to our summer activity of tennis. FromThursday, 10th June untilThursday, 26thAugust we will, weather permitting, be playing tennis on the school tennis courts between 7.15 pm and dusk, so please join us if you can. During term-time, it is possible to play badminton in the sports hall if the weather is inclement, although this is not possible during the summer holidays, due to maintenance work in the sports hall.The fee, to cover the cost of balls (and showers during term-time), will be £3.00 per person, per evening. Badminton will resume in the school sports hall on Thursday, 3rd September and each subsequentThursday evening during term-time, from 7.30 pm until 9.30 pm.The fee for badminton, which covers the hire of the sports hall, changing rooms and showers plus the cost of shuttlecocks, is £5.00 per person, per evening.Again, please come along and join us if you can.
Golf: Gothard Cup
T
SIMON RU SSE LL
HE 2010 GOTHARD CUP GOLF COMPETITION will take place on Friday, 16th July at Woodsome Hall Golf Club with the traditional presentation dinner in the club house afterwards. It promises to be the best so far, with over 20 entrants already.The tee time is between 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm and anyone – including non-members of the club – is welcome to play or attend the presentation dinner afterwards. Any nongolfers are also welcome to come along to the dinner in Woodsome’s stunning dining hall Please email me at simon@aimbry.net if you would like more information. 14
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Cricket
T
JACK TAYLOR
HE BEGINNING of the new cricket season saw First and Second Elevens with high aspirations of promotion from their respective sections, A and E, in the Arrow Huddersfield Central Cricket League. Skippered by father and son Old Almondburians, Steve andTom Slack, the two teams were anxious to follow our relative success as runners-up to an Old Almondburian FootballTeam in the preseason OAS Quiz Competition. Against the background of a much colder than usual early May (first excuse!), both teams were still searching for a first victory after three league fixtures. However, team spirit remained high after this initial lack of success and victories ensued for both teams in their fourth fixtures. LEAGUE RECORD AT 16 MAY SECTION A P W L Cartworth Moor 4 3 0 Old Almondburians 4 1 3 SECTION E
Silkstone Old Almondburians
P 4 4
W 4 1
L 0 3
Pts 19 6
Current Leaders 11th position
Pts 24 9
Current Leaders 6th position
On Sunday, 16 May, both teams began their Cup campaigns in the Allsop and Tinker Cup competitions. The First Eleven were at home to Mirfield; their league opponents on the previous day, and duly completed a double to go through to the next round. The Second Eleven were drawn away at Upper Hopton. Old Almondburians and friends are cordially invited to sample the unique Arkenley environs by joining us any Saturday, or the occasional Sunday, throughout the summer. PROVISIONAL DATES FOR 2010 PRESIDENT’S DAY: Sunday, 29thAugust, atArkenley at 10.30 am The club will host Almondbury Casuals CC in the afternoon.
ANNUAL DINNER: Saturday, 16th October, at Lockwood Park at 6.30 for 7.00 pm. 15
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And back at the School …
TH E L AT E S T NE W S FROM KING J AMES’S
Au revoir to Nicky
NICKY GREEN, clerical officer in Reception, retired at Easter after nearly 20 years at King James’s School. She joined the School as a part-time clerical officer and has also been a Foreign Languages Assistant and lunchtime supervisor. Over the past years she has given a warm welcome to thousands of visitors to the School, including many Old Almondburians returning to the place of their childhood education. She has had a long association with the Old Almondburians’ Society: her late father was a Vice-President of the Society as is her husband Richard. She was a keen member of the OAS 400 Committee set up to plan the events forming part of the 400th Anniversary celebrations, and she has always kept a diligent eye on the School’s historical archives. Nicky was involved in Scouting for over 26 years and she and her husband are both keen singers. In thanking her for all her work for the Society, we should like to wish her well in her retirement.
Excellent English GCSE results
Year 11 students took their GCSE examination in English in November – and 124 (78%) achieved Grade C or better.This is the best result ever achieved, and with resits in June, it could produce a pass rate of 80% or more.
School mathematicians excel
Each year, the School enters a group of students for the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, open to the best 9, 10 and 11 year-olds in the country. This year’s entrants achieved 2 Golds, 18 Silvers and 24 Bronzes – easily a new record for the School.
£1,800 raised for Haiti
King James’s pupils and their families raised £1,800 through a non-uniform day and bucket collections in aid of the Haiti Appeal following the devastating earthquake on 12th January 2010. 16
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TAYLOR DYSON Headmaster 1913 - 1945
The Taylor Dyson Library was formally lodged in the care of the University of Huddersfield on 22nd February 2010. In the following pages, we look again at the ‘Gaffer’ through the eyes of those who remember him well. 17 33
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The Taylor Dyson Library
T
GE RAL D STEAD
heTaylor Dyson Library was formally lodged in the care of the University of Huddersfield at a reception at the university on 22nd February 2010. A gathering of Old Almondburian’ Committee members, past presidents and senior members of the university was welcomed by Prof John Lancaster, director of computing and library services. Taylor Dyson donated his personal library to the School in 1954. Old Almondburians and friends of the School added other volumes of complementary interest, making a total of some 550 books. The collection was first housed in Mr Ash’s bookroom next to the‘Small’. It then moved to the former Prefects’ Study until 1973 when it was transferred to Greenhead College for the benefit of the school’s sixth from students.There it languished in storage, with the exception of a selected handful of volumes on display. The impending 400th Anniversary celebrations, persuaded the Old Almondburians’ Society to seek a more accessible home for the collection.
The Huddersfield Examiner
John Broadbent, who led the discussions with the University, with archivist Hilary Haigh
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Prof Lancaster quoted recent publications extolling the virtues and impact of good libraries upon the receptive and impressonable mind and upon society. The University of Huddersfield Library was, he said, among the best of modern universities regarding the quality and accessibility of its archive section, and he was very pleased to be adding to its resources. John Broadbent, on behalf of the Old Almondburians’ Society, gave a brief outline ofTaylor Dyson himself.Academic, an incomparable teacher, an inspirer of youth and a champion of traditional educational values, he built up the school from just 56 pupils to five times that number during the 32 years of his Headmastership up to his retirement in 1945. “The Gaffer’s greatest lesson,” he said “was to show how to combine the best of the old with the best of the new.” “The university is now the best place for the collection,” said John Broadbent. “As Taylor Dyson would have wished, we hope they will be well used.” In accepting the collection, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Tim Thornton said that he knew that the collection and the works ofTaylor Dyson had a continuing relevance and importance to what the university does today. “Taylor Dyson was an extremely interesting man,” he said. “The university is delighted to have his collection.” Taylor Dyson studied at Huddersfield Technical College, the forerunner of Huddersfield University, for three years from 1897 when he was 14 years of age.
The Cranbrook connection
A
ROGER DOWLING
T THE END of the summer term in July 1945, just two months after the country had celebrated the unconditional surrender of the Germans in World War II, the boys of Almondbury Grammar School assembled for an informal concert.The occasion was the departure of a headmaster who had served the school loyally for 33 years and who had transformed it from a struggling village school with an uncertain future into Huddersfield’s finest grammar school. Taylor Dyson arrived at Almondbury in January 1913. His predecessor, Robert Crump, had done a good job in boosting school numbers from the low twenties of the Griffiths era, and they reached a peak of over 100 in 1908. But after this initial success the numbers started to decline again and were down to just 56 when Taylor Dyson took his first assembly in the ‘Big’. His achievements whilst at King James’s have been chronicled at length in Gerald Hinchliffe’s History of King James’s Grammar School in Almondbury and the more recent Illustrated History of King James’s School*. But what do we know ofTaylor Dyson’s early *Both books are available online at www.oas.org.uk or by post from The Old Almondburians’ Society 19 33
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Cranbrook School, Kent today
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years – the ones that were to mould him into the highly respected and influential figure he was to become in his time at Almondbury? He was born in 1882 in the small, remote Pennine town of Saddleworth, the son of a factory manager Lister Dyson. After modest education locally, he studied for three years at Huddersfield Technical College, now Huddersfield University, before entering Manchester University. He graduated BA Hons in History at the age of 19 and pursued a number of other academic qualifications including a degree in Modern Languages in the years that followed. Taylor Dyson’s teaching career started in 1901 with a year’s teaching practice at Newbury Grammar School. After a spell at Penarth County School, he then taught until 1912 first at Cranbrook Grammar School in Kent and then at Nottingham High School.These latter appointments were to influence profoundly his future career and indeed his whole approach to teaching. Cranbrook School was then, as now, an historic boarding school. It dates back to Tudor times, and its Royal Charter, received from Elizabeth I in 1573, is still in the school’s proud possession. Compared with life in Saddleworth, Cranbrook School must have seemed a different world to Taylor Dyson, still a young man in his early twenties. He himself received board and lodging (valued at £50) while at Cranbrook and had a role looking after the young fellow-boarders. For the first time he saw schooling as a round-the-clock activity in which high quality lessons were supplemented by sports events, school trips, house activities, competitions, school fairs and the rest. It appealed to him greatly. Taylor Dyson took up his appointment at Nottingham High School in 1908, living 20
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in Ayr Street, within easy walking distance of the school. Around this time, he met Ethel Matilda Langley, the attractive daughter of a Northampton commercial traveller Frank Langley.The couple married, on 28th July 1910, at St Matthew’s Parish Church, Northampton. It was in 1912 that Taylor Dyson learned of an almost unbelievable opportunity back in his native county: the headmastership of a small school in Almondbury, only 15 miles from his roots back inYorkshire.What was more, it was an ancient school, like Cranbrook, and even had its own boarders! His imagination ran riot. Perhaps he could transform this struggling school into a major Public School, attracting boarders from all overYorkshire? As he popped his application form into the pillar box, even Taylor Dyson cannot have rated his chances of success very highly.True, he was well qualified; but he was still very young and had only a few years’ teaching experience under his belt. He had no supervisory experience whatsoever. Perhaps it was his new wife, Ethel Matilda – always known affectionately as‘Poppy’ – who reminded him of the old adage,‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ In fact, luck was on his side. His vision for the future of King James’s was fortunately shared by others at the school, notably the Repton-educated President Governor and benefactor John Arthur Brooke of Fenay Hall and his brother and fellow-GovernorWilliam.As they interviewedTaylor Dyson, they clearly saw a young man with a vision, who could steer the school towards an exciting future. As we know,Taylor Dyson made an excellent start in these early years and soon the school had over 200 boys on the roll, of whom over 30 were boarders.Then, over the space of just three years, three untimely deaths occurred that were to have a profound effect on the future of the school. In 1919, John Arthur Brooke – without whose financial support the school would already have long-since closed –and his brotherWilliam, a governor since 1881, both died. So, three years later, did another stalwart supporter of the school: the only lady governor Emily Siddon. The timing was unfortunate.The school was becoming increasingly popular under Taylor Dyson’s headmastership but there was a desperate need for more buildings and better teaching facilities for the ten full or part time teachers and their headmaster. By 1922,Taylor Dyson had to bow to the inevitable, and the school was formally transferred to the Huddersfield Corporation and the days of Almondbury Grammar School as a boarding school were over. ForTaylor Dyson, it must also have been the end of a dream.A lesser man – like Robert Crump before him – might well have called it a day and looked for pastures new: perhaps a teaching position at one of the boarding schools he so admired around the country. But it is to his great credit that he decided to stay, not just to accept the new situation stoically but to turn it into a wonderful opportunity to move the school forward in a brand new direction.The rest, as they say, is history. Taylor Dyson’s honoured place in the history of King James’s is assured. However, I have been surprised by the number of Old Almondburians who – whilst recognising Taylor Dyson’s major contribution to the school – have added the observation that he 29 21
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was something of a ‘snob,’ and that this even influenced school appointments from time to time.There are even those that suggest that some of this may have rubbed off on Poppy, who later in life liked to style herself as‘MrsTaylor-Dyson’ (“Dyson is such a common name,” she is reputed to have said). Of course, it must be remembered that schoolboys can be ready to make harsh judgements about their teachers, and this is not surprising in view of the unequal relationship between the teaching and the taught; but the accusation has perhaps been made often enough to warrant brief examination here. If the definition of a snob were someone who has excessive admiration for his social superiors, I suspect there may be more than a grain of truth in the allegation; and it may well be thatTaylor Dyson’s early experience at Cranbrook fuelled this. For the first time, his eyes had been opened to a different type of life: one which – thanks to the financial resources of their parents – gave advantaged pupils a life beyond a few hours in the classroom each day, with the opportunity to see and experience a richer variety of activities and learning. But in fairness toTaylor Dyson, if he regretted never having been able to enjoy this lifestyle himself, he sought it with enthusiasm for others. He certainly sought it for his son Marcus, whom in 1934 he sent to Giggleswick, the famousYorkshire boarding school, after two years at Almondbury. He also sought it for his pupils at Almondbury: there can surely be no other explanation for his early ambition to make King James’s This photograph, taken in 1916 during the First World War, shows a group of pupils - some in cadet uniform - from Fenay House.The School Cadet Corps was formed in 1915, with the headmaster in the role of Captain Dyson.The school yard was, at times, more of a miniature barrack square.
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MrsTaylor Dyson, always known as ‘Poppy’, was a much-loved figure who shared her husband’s deep affection for the School
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into a major public boarding school. In later years, after this hope had been shattered, he would give his pupils an annual opportunity to taste the boarding lifestyle by organising summer holidays at various public schools up and down the country. These were immensely popular; he reported in 1933 in The Almondburian (with a splendid degree of political incorrectness that would not escape the blue pencil today): Our 11th Annual School Holiday Party this year was held at Netherhall School, Bournemouth, where we spent a most delightful month in a beautifully fitted up school situated in lovely grounds.The boys all declared that they had had a fine time with never a dull moment,and returned home as brown as gypsies.We were very pleased to see our usual muster of Old Boys,some of whom came for the tenth time… During our stay we had several fine picnics when we hired a private charabanc and toured the surrounding country. As for Poppy’s remark, it has to be said that Dyson is indeed a common name in the Huddersfield area, so she may well have been using the word in an adjectival rather than a pejorative sense.And in any case, was she not entitled to honour in full the name of her illustrious late husband? It is now nearly 100 years since Taylor Dyson became headmaster of Almondbury Grammar School. If there are those who doubt if his influence is still evident, let them only look at the school’s House system, introduced byTaylor Dyson two years after his arrival and based closely on the system he had encountered for the first time back at Cranbrook.As an historian himself, it must have given him particular pleasure to name his four Houses after the school’s great benefactors and friends: the Dartmouth family; the Brookes of Fenay Hall; Captain Jessop of Honley; and Jessop’s half-sister Emily Siddon. The Old Almondburians’ Society too has good reason to remember Taylor Dyson with affection and respect.Although the Society dates back to 1888, it had fallen by the wayside by the early 1900s, a matter of some concern to three former pupils, Harry Aston, George Garton and Harry Sykes. When the trio knocked on Taylor Dyson’s door on his second day in 1913 to seek his support in reviving the Society, they could not have been more warmly received. He became its President when it was at last revived after the war in 1920, and the tradition whereby the headmaster is President of the Old Almondburians’ Society continues to the present day. 23
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Taylor Dyson remembered Bob Goldsmith CMG (1935-1942)
I
OWE A GREAT DEBT to Taylor Dyson. Until the late 1930s the only subjects taught at Almondbury Grammar School at Higher School Certificate level were Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Eventually, and grudgingly, English and French were added to this list. The choice in those days was either three Sciences or two ‘principal subjects’ and three ‘one year’ subsidiary subjects’. I opted to take History and Geography as principal subjects and French, Latin and English Literature (for which there were only ‘passes’ or ‘failures’) as subsidiary subjects. I got a Distinction in History and an Excellent in Scholarship History. My periods for English History were 1783-1914 and for European History 1648-1914. The Gaffer must have written me down (not off) as a pupil of promise.After only four terms in the 6th Form he made me go to Cambridge to sit a scholarship examination. In due course, the Gaffer reported back to me that I had been placed in the Exhibition class - but without being awarded an Exhibition. So, in my 5th term, he sent me to Manchester (travelling on the workmen’s train every morning for five days) to sit their examination. I was awarded a scholarship in Commerce, and a Geography grant to Hulme Hall. I spent an academic year (1942BOB GOLDSMITH was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University in 1947. He entered the Civil Service (Board ofTrade) and spent four years in the US on secondment to the Treasury Delegation. and In due course he became head of the first UK Delegation to the then Economic Economic Community. He was awarded a CMG in 1974. On leaving the Civil Service he became Delegate of the European Commission in Madagascar (where he was elevated to Commandeur de l’Ordre National de Madagascar) and later in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Kiribati. While at Almondbury Grammar School, Bob received one-toone tuition from Taylor Dyson, leading to a Distinction in Higher School Certificate History and Excellent in Scholarship History. He was centre forward in the football First XI from 1939 to 1942 and was school cricket captain in 1942. The top photograph shows Bob from the end of July 1940. He is ringed in the earlier 1940 photograph (Form 5L) on the right.
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43) at Manchester University in the Hons School of Economics, Politics and Modern History, and I also played in the University 1st XI at cricket. I was then called up for wartime service. My mother told me that she received a comforting and sensible letter from Taylor Dyson when I was ‘reported missing’ in August 1944 at the age of 19. A month or so later, thanks to a man in Highlands Avenue who listened regularly to the broadcasts of ‘Lord Haw Haw’, she received the welcome news that my name was amongst those listed as Prisoners of War in the Normandy Campaign. Later, when I wrote to the Gaffer to tell him that I had joined the Civil Service, he wrote back to say that “in course of time you might get an Honour.” I found this comment rather odd but then I remembered that in the pre-war years the Huddersfield College headmaster had been appointed OBE. I suspect that this might well have rankled with our dear Gaffer.Anyhow he was proved right: I was appointed a CMG in the 1974 NewYear Honours list. Mr Dyson was in the habit, in the late 1930s, of giving us details of the progress of his son Marcus at his public school in NorthYorkshire. I can well imagine his extreme sadness when Marcus, who had enrolled at Pembroke College, Oxford, returned from wartime service in India only to die in hospital in Scotland Nothing seemed to go well for the Gaffer on the home front.When his daughter Beryl married in Almondbury Church there was a great get-together of local worthies plus the school choir. Sadly, the marriage ended in divorce*. Taylor Dyson’s wife Poppy was a most popular and industrious lady: everybody liked her. She was an excellent tennis player, and she had an unmistakeable cockney accent, pronouncingTaylor as ‘Toiler’. Many people wondered where the Gaffer had met her. He chose well, and she was a great support for him. Taylor Dyson was passionate on the subject of live-in boarding schools. During all the years I was at AGS he would organise holidays in boarding schools on the south coast. It never seemed to occur to him that pupils like me, whose fathers had modest jobs with wages to match, would never have got to AGS if Taylor Dyson had achieved his ambition of making it‘a famous public school.’As to fortnight holidays on the south coast - not a hope! By the age of 17, I had only had two seaside holidays: one to Lytham St Annes and the other to Scarborough. There was an element of class distinction on the luncheon arrangements at AGS.A favoured and elite group of boys (a dozen or so) had their meals cooked by Poppy and her maid Annie in the Old Dining Hall, for which they paid one shilling [5p] a day; my class-mate K H Livesey (whose father was a schoolmaster in Milnsbridge) was one of these. A second and much larger group paid 10d [4p] a day for meals in the wooden dining room. The supervisors were Mrs Lily Shields and Mrs Hannah Wilde. The latter (a widow) used to live next door to us in Farfield Road.Walter Haigh was in the habit of *Beryl had married W Alexander Law, a pioneer of hip replacement surgery 25
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chatting Lily up in the hope of getting an extra helping of pudding. HannahWilde (not the sort of lady that men would normally chat up) used to describe him as a‘greedy sod.’ The third group used to frequent Mrs Garner’s cottage at the bottom of St Helen’s Gate. She would heat up and serve their modest offerings and was adored by all her customers. She lived to be over 90 and could remember all the headmasters back to the 1870s. The last group, of which I was a member, lived near enough to the school to be able to go home for lunch and get back in time for afternoon periods. In seven years, I never lunched at school even once. Taylor Dyson did not care much for soccer. I was the school centre forward for three seasons, plus one in the Second XI while in the 4th Form. I never saw the Gaffer at any of these games. We had an exceptionally good side over that period; Taylor Dyson would announce in a tone of fictitious regret the score by which we had defeated the College (if it were a heavy defeat) at Monday’s assembly. On the other hand, he was happy with cricket and even attended a Sykes Cup match at Almondbury Cricket Club in which I was playing. Going back to my 6th Form experience at AGS (1940-42), I learned one valuable lesson from the Gaffer who would castigate some of my essays as ‘verbal diarrhoea. He taught me to give five minutes’ thought to every exam question before setting pen to paper; to decide how the first Bruce Law paragraph and the last one should be phrased; and to make the intervening paragraphs flow harmoniously from the opening to the close. This technique served me admirably both at Oxford University (1946-48) and in working life in various Government departments. I took the full course in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford in only six terms and gained a first class honours degree in the December 1947 examinations. Funny fellow, the Gaff.Although it was he who decided who should be Captain and Vice-Captain of the school, House Captains were elected by fellow housemates.The Gaffer sent Mr Addy and Mr Published for the first time, this photograph shows Haigh to see me at the beginning of the Taylor Dyson’s son Marcus in his army uniform. 1941-42 academic year to try to persuade Sadly, he died in a military hospital in Scotland in February, 1946 after returning from wartime me to renounce the possibility of service in India. becoming House Captain of Fenay so that 26
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Ron Edwards
The soccer First XI of 1941/2 poses with Reg Addy (at this time in command of the School Flight of the AirTraining Corps) and Walter Haigh on the tennis court, with Fenay Quad behind. It was a successful year for the team: they won almost every match, butTaylor Dyson did not seem to take much interest. (Back row): Reg Addy; Bob Goldsmith; Pickering; Smallwood; Patsy Mullen;Walter Haigh (Middle row): Darby; Hall; Oxley; Harvey; Smith (Front row): Ron Edwards; Fleming
P W Bean could be nominated without any election.I refused. Why all this fuss? Bean had been awarded a Kitchener Scholarship*. I never found out what this was but it impressed the Gaffer. Bean was no great shakes academically; he played no games; and he was excused all PT sessions throughout his school life. Nevertheless, he became a naval officer and returned to school in 1944, as a midshipman, to give an account of his experience on HMS Norfolk of the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst. . *Kitchener Scholarships, still presented today, were awarded after interview to the children of former members of the armed services.
Gerald Hinchliffe (1933-1940)
Hotel waiter receives his just deserts
VERY SUMMER in the 1930s Taylor Dyson rented a boarding school at some southern seaside resort.He thought it a good idea for boys to have some E experience of boarding school life.The boys paid a modest sum for a fortnight’s holiday andTaylor Dyson made a modest profit. I went on a few of those.They were interesting and enjoyable with plenty of scope 27
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for sport, activities and outings; altogether a new and interesting experience. I recall one such holiday in Torquay. On a lovely summer’s day there was a cricket match between a boys’ team (includingTaylor Dyson) and the staff of the Palm Court Hotel. The latter batted first and scored about 100. In reply we lost five wickets for around 30. I went in. I was no great batsman and when I’d scored 6 I found myself facing a waiter who was reputed to be a demon fast bowler. He pitched the first ball short and it hit me on the chest. “How’s that?” he roared. The umpire – none other than the manager of the Palm Court Hotel – raised his finger. “Out!” he declared. Taylor Dyson was the batsman at the other end. He turned to the manager: “Out? How could he be out? It hit him on the chest.” The manager retorted, “He’s out.The ball could have dropped on the wicket!” Taylor Dyson was irate. Usually his disapproval was one of icy incredulity but this time it was red-hot livid. “Are you giving him out chest before wicket?What if the ball had hit him on the head?” The manager was adamant. I retreated to the pavilion. High drama followed. Taylor Dyson, no mean cricketer, simply thrashed the bowling.Anything short he hooked, anything outside the off stump he cut mercilessly; in particular he made mincemeat of the aforesaid waiter. It was a bespectacled, sparkling performance. Inevitably he was eventually out, but he had changed the game which we duly won.At the evening meal, one boy raised his glass of lemonade.“Here’s to the Gaffer!” Taylor Dyson beamed.
Lumb scores a major victory
WhilstTaylor Dyson invariably had an air of aristocratic detachment from ordinary mortals, he had a strong affection for his School and everyone in it. Every academic achievement, every sporting triumph gave him pleasure, and he was generous in his praise. One particular Friday morning in assembly, he read out – as was his wont – the names of the next day’s Cricket XI. Each boy was expected to acknowledge his availability, and all of them answered in the affirmative.Then he came to the Scorer. “Lumb!” Geoffrey Lumb was GERALD HINCHLIFFE is standing next to me. He well known to every Old Almondburian as the responded, “No, sir.”A deathly School’s official historian. hush followed. He graduated in 1943 with Taylor Dyson drew breath an Honours degree in English from the University and then regaled Lumb with a of Leeds He was formerly reminder that the School Senior Lecturer in Education always came first, and what an at the University of honour it was to be the team’s Nottingham. Scorer. He paused, expecting 28
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Lumb to change his mind; but instead, Lumb produced a classic ‘put-down.’ “I did not realise this job was compulsory, Sir. For the last two seasons I have been a volunteer.” The silence was overwhelming. To his credit, Taylor Dyson did not pursue the matter. He merely said quietly, “Perhaps you would see me after assembly, Lumb.” Lumb duly did so, and explained that his family were celebrating a birthday and were all going to Morecambe for the day. He said to me afterwards, “Gaffer was not contrite – just graciously apologetic!”
The Dizzy heights of one-to-one History tutorials
When I was in the Sixth Form (1938-1940) the Arts side was very small.There were only three of us doing English, and I was the only one doing History.That meant one-to-one tutorials with Taylor Dyson. Often they were extraordinary academic occasions; always they were challenging. It was a new experience for Taylor Dyson. In the main school, his lessons were notable for their rambling style. He loved to digress and was vulnerable to any smart lad who would lure him away from the Crimean War to talk about the Great War. Taylor Dyson could not resist the opportunity to talk about it – how it affected the School and the boys who had lost their lives in it. However, he never shirked his responsibilities. He expected us to read, and we were subjected to short tests if you had fewer than half marks he put you in detention! And now,Taylor Dyson just had me. At our first meeting in the ODH, he put in front of me a hefty tome by a top historian of the day, R C K Ensor: England 18701914.With a wry smile, he said “I do not expect you read all of it by our next meeting, but I would like you to jot down a few questions which we might discuss. Remember, knowing the significant questions is more important than knowing all the answers.” Generally, that is what our tutorials were all about. He was a natural tutor and it must have given him great pleasure to realise that. I think we were trying to impress each other, but I matured under his guidance from being shy and reticent to being confident and not afraid to express my own views.Without doubt he was the best tutor I ever had. He did not neglect the syllabus. He expected regular essays, and was meticulous in his response to them. He taught me to question second-hand, superficial opinion and I became quite adept at evaluating events and people. One day we were talking about Disraeli. I said – rather pompously – that I had just read his novel Sybil. He said he had read a number of Disraeli’s novels and asked me whether I thought he was a better novelist than a politician. I burbled something about it being much better to be a novelist than a politician, and that in any case I thought Gladstone had more imagination and conviction.Taylor Dyson sternly took me to task! At the end of the 1940 summer, the examiners were of the opinion that we had both done well! At our last meeting, Taylor Dyson gave me a battered old copy of Disraeli’s Coningsby, which he kindly inscribed. I still have it. 29
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Allan Dobson (1947-1953)
S I HAVE NOTYETATTAINED MY 75YEARS, I cannot claim to be a part of this A exclusive group of OldAlmondburians who were at school duringTaylor Dyson’s time; however, I do have personal memories ofTaylor Dyson which, I think, make me
and my brother John unique amongst Old Almondburians.The roots of this lie within my family history and my father’s connection with the school. My father Gerald was born illegitimately in Nottingham in 1908, the son of a stockbroker, member of a prominent City family, and an actress, described on his birth certificate as‘of independent means’.As she was the daughter of a working class military family we can only guess the source of the independent means. However, they must have been substantial, because in 1916 my grandmother died and neither family opted to take my father into their care. His guardians therefore had to find a suitable institution to care for him financed by his father’s fortune, which was substantial. (My grandfather died in 1922 leaving more than £50,000, none of which passed to my father). In their considerations the guardians recalled that three years earlier, a master from Nottingham Boys High School had taken the headship of a school somewhere inYorkshire and that the establishment took boarders. So it was that my father came toAlmondbury Grammar School in 1916, placed in the care of Mr and Mrs Dyson.This was to become his home for the next fifteen years for the guardians made arrangements for him to remain at the school throughout the year, even through the school holidays. He spent many lonely periods and claimed to be the only boarder who had ever spent the night in the unoccupied school. It was a Spartan life and he and other boys would raid the adjoining turnip fields for their midnight feasts back in the dormitory. Taylor Dyson was a stern disciplinarian but my father never forgot the kindness and consideration shown to him by the Dysons. This extended beyond his schooling when they gave him his own private accommodation in a tiny room above the head’s house, which is
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Gerald Dobson (left) at the OAS Dinner in 1967, with (left to right): R W Johnson (Head Boy); HarryTaylor (Headmaster); R O Harrison (Editor,The Huddersfield Examiner); L Bleasdale (Chairman, OAS)
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In deckchairs on the beach at Christchurch around 1950 (Left to right): John Dobson;Taylor Dyson; Poppy Dyson; Gerald Dobson; Mrs Dobson
Allan Dobson
now the bursar’s office. Here he lived until his job in the bank took him to Stoke on Trent in 1930. He had spent almost 15 years at the school which had become his home, which explains his love for the place and his tireless efforts and work with the Old Almondburian’s Society.When I was born in 1936 my parents invitedTaylor Dyson and Mrs Dyson to be my godparents which they accepted, hence my personal connection with them even though I was never taught by (or received six of the best from) the ‘Gaffer’.Among my books I have a copy ofTaylor Dyson’s History of Almondbury and its Ancient School inscribed by the author to my father offering his “…best wishes for the future on leaving Almondbury after a stay of 15 years.” I have no recollection of meeting my godparents whilst they were at Almondbury, but subsequently we met in Christchurch after their retirement and also during their occasional return visits toYorkshire. I particularly remember spending a summer holiday in Christchurch when I was in the fourth form at the school and, being at that age when relationships with adults could sometimes be fraught, wondered how I would get on with the man of whom I had heard so much. I need not have worried – he was a warm and gentle man, able to connect immediately with a teenage boy as we walked around Christchurch Priory and he quietly and vividly explained its history. He was very fond ALLAN DOBSON was a business development manager with a number of large construction companies including Wimpey and Balfour Beatty before retiring in 2001. Allan's father, Gerald Dobson, played a prominent role in the struggle to preserve the School’s grammar school status in the late 1940s. Allan himself earned his place in the history of the School as a member of a small group of pupils who rediscovered the School Charter at a Yorkshire Archaeological Society exhibition in 1952. 31 33
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of the area and wrote a history of Christchurch, of which I have a copy which he gave to my father inscribed “To Gerald from the‘Gaffer’”. I also have a photograph taken during that holiday on the beach withTaylor Dyson and Poppy wearing an extravagant floppy hat along with my parents and brother. On the occasions I metTaylor Dyson he showed the same gentleness and warmth and instinctive rapport with young people. My godmother was a much more formidable character and I was able to see how she had been able to play such an influential role in the many years at the school alongside her husband. I recall her visiting my parents with her daughter Beryl after Taylor Dyson’s death when I was in my mid twenties and married with children and saying to my mother, “Don’t you really think that Allan should get his hair cut?” The name Taylor Dyson had become so well known in Huddersfield and Christchurch that, after his death Mrs Dyson changed her surname to Taylor-Dyson in tribute to him. The Dyson’s son Marcus died in 1944 of complications arising from malaria caught during active service, and I do not remember meeting him.Their daughter Beryl became a close friend of my parents, being close in age to them both, and my brother and I also came to know her well. She was a flamboyant character with a wicked sense of humour and political leanings far to the right of MargaretThatcher for whom she was a stalwart party worker in the Finchley constituency. My father always maintained that the Iron Lady’s change of heart over the school status in 1974 was influenced by a few emphatic words from Beryl.After MargaretThatcher became Prime Minister, Beryl invited my wife and me to a small gathering of the party faithful at which she was present. After we were introduced to the PM it was clear that she knew Beryl well and appreciated the work she did in the constituency. Maybe my father was right! Taylor Dyson, although passionately interested in history, was, I think, a progressive thinker and one who had great faith in the younger generation. I believe he would be proud of the way the school has developed through the recent years of change and especially pleased that today’s headmaster is leading King James’s to increasing success.
John Senior (1934-1939)
erhaps fortunately, my only face-to-face meeting with the Gaffer was on my first P day in school which – for reasons still unknown
– was in the middle of the Summer Term 1934.Whoever was taking Form 1B at that time simply said “Senior! Mr Dyson wants to see you in his study at once. Don’t forget to knock.” So a timid new boy set out down the corridor, whilst the rest of the class no doubt wondered what I’d been up to.
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JOHN SENIOR
was formerly Assistant General Manager at Ribble Transport. In 1963, he became a priest in the Church of England.
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“Come in.”There at his desk was the man himself. “John Senior, you are now a pupil at Huddersfield’s oldest and finest school. Hold your head up.Address 100 Fleminghouse Lane.” “Excuse me, Sir.The number is 106.” “Thank you for telling me. Now run along and join your class.” I did so, not a little relieved. I had met the Headmaster, come to know something of that ‘presence’ and his striving for what was really important; but also, what I needed at that moment, a caring fatherlike figure willing to listen. In later years, at the first assembly of each autumn term, he would tell us how many boys were on roll (294 by 1938).The tone of his voice would betray his wish that it might top the 300 mark, but not in my time. He taught me History from the second form upwards. Perhaps from that beginning (or now I think more likely when we were in the fifth form preparing for School Certificate) he gave us each a thickish unruled exercise book. “You must put down what you think is important – on the right-hand page.You must learn to make your own notes before you go to university.” That was a challenge, even to 14 to 15-year-olds. But so was his manner of teaching, making us think for ourselves, helping to discover that every action has consequences, and that behind every decision lay a reason.That was the essence of history. It also led to digressions – material for that left-hand page, usually relating some current practice to its origins in earlier centuries. Incidentally, during my last school year, we were each given a new copy of Rayner’s Concise History of Britain 1714-1934. I was delighted to discover a book which set out – in different words – what we were trying to learn at school. I must mention ‘Poppy’ (Mrs Dyson) if only because of that nickname, as we all knew it to be (perhaps because of her roundish face and fresh complexion). I never knew her proper name until a few days ago when turning over thepages of The Almondburian for December 1937 I came across an appeal from Mrs Dyson for contributions to a retirement present for caretaker ‘Jim.’ It was signed E M Dyson. Taylor Dyson – ever striving to make ‘The Free Gramar Schole of Kinge James in Almonbury’ a living, useful and distinctive community in the 20th century – and succeeding. 33
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William Braide (1936-1939)
WAS INTERVIEWED by Taylor Dyson in 1936 for the post of English Master; I there was only one other candidate. The interview was very official, in Huddersfield Town Hall, and I was very impressed by the whole conduct of the
interview and the manner and demeanour ofTaylor Dyson himself. It lasted about 20 minutes and he asked me about myself and my qualifications in a very professional manner but in a kindly one as well. Walter Haigh had his interview on the same occasion, when he was given his full-time post as PE master. I was offered the job immediately after the interview and Taylor Dyson took me in his car to meet the staff at the school, going along the main road up to Almondbury. Quite suddenly we veered to the right down St Helen’s Gate, which took me by surprise, and that was the first time I saw the school. I think I actually started the following Monday. I was very favourably impressed by the buildings and the attitude of the staff. I liked the old buildings, like Dorm 1 and Dorm 2. Fred Hudson was partly responsible for getting me into his digs in Lowerhouses Lane.The teacher who impressed me most was Ralph Hum, the chemistry master – both his physical presence and his cheerful, pleasant attitude. Taylor Dyson was still living in the Schoolhouse at that time. I remember his wife Poppy very well, and I remember having a very tough game of tennis with his daughter Beryl’s fiancé. Poppy was very pleasant but she used to embarrass me: in those days I used to have a full head of ginger hair and she used to come into the staff room at coffee break and run her hands through it! I got to know Poppy and Taylor Dyson better through the holiday parties they organised each summer to schools in the south of England. I remember the staff meeting when Taylor Dyson told us about the holiday parties and appealed for any member of staff to help. Immediately, Walter Haigh and I went to his room to volunteer. Some of the older staff in the staffroom weren’t really very interested at all.On theTorquay trip I was very popular with the boys because I managed to find a really good chip shop and we ended up there most days. William Braide was talking to Roger Dowling. The full interview can be heard on http://tinyurl.com/22qclg9. Now 96 years of age, BILL BRAIDE was born in Warrington. He took a degree in English Language and Literature at Liverpool University before taking up an initial appointment at Ballymena Academy in Northern Ireland. Bill left Almondbury Grammar School in 1939 to take up a position at Hanson Boys' High School, Bradford. He subsequently moved into Further Education and spent the major part of his career with the Inner London Education Authority where he held many senior positions. 34
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Postbag In defence of Harry
YO U WRITE …
From John Eastwood (1950-1958)
NY FAIR ASSESSMENT of Harry Gledhill’s work at King James’s must take into account the curricular framework within which music was taught in the A 1950s, and the constraints on the deputy head constructing the timetable which led
to Harry being given classes such as RE and geography to teach. The Secondary School Regulations of the time did not require that music be taught at all, although it was normal for there to be one music lesson a week in the lower classes of secondary schools, as there was at King James’s. Harry had Forms 1 to 5 for one lesson a week, in a room with wooden benches, no tables and no blackboard. He had little more than his piano, a few song books and a record player with some 78’s. It is little wonder that David Hirst (The Almondburian March 2010)‘learned less from him than from any other teacher’, although I think it most unkind of David to express it in that manner. Harry was not given purpose built and equipped labs or a specialist geography room as were other teachers who taught David. I suspect, too, that he had little to spend on textbooks or music.This is not the situation today, and no one can say what Harry would have done for music in the school if he had had today’s facilities in which to work, and with a school management committed to supporting music teaching, which he did not. David is dismissive, too, of Harry’s RE lessons, as is another of your correspondents of his geography. Again, to be fair to Harry, this must be placed in context. Once Harry had been timetabled for his music lessons – two forms to each year making ten lessons – Fred Hudson had the problem of what to do with a music specialist for the remaining twenty five periods of the week, less Harry’s non contact periods. Fred would have had to resort to slotting Harry into gaps in the timetable for which there was no other available teacher. Harry would have had little choice in the matter, whether or not he knew much about the subjects the school was asking him to teach. I remember Harry Gledhill as an approachable, kind and friendly man. I remember singing in as fine an unaccompanied male four part choir as you could wish to hear, at Christmas and on Founders’ Day in a packed Almondbury Parish Church. I remember a fullTown Hall on speech days, a faultless performance by a meticulously rehearsed choir, accurate in pitch, clear in diction, pure in tone and full with feeling. I remember that family and friends could not be persuaded to leave at the end, as Harry produced another virtuoso performance on Huddersfield’s mighty organ. I can work my way through the solos and choruses of ‘HMS Pinafore’ as well today as I could in 1952, when I was rehearsed by Harry Gledhill. My introduction to Gilbert 35
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and Sullivan led directly in later years to meatier choral works by Handel and Haydn, Beethoven and Bach. So while I do not ask that we pretend that Harry Gledhill was other than he was, at least acknowledge the 36 years he gave to the school, the enthusiasm with which he worked, and the dedication he had to the production of first rate choral performances from often unpromising material.And David Hirst, you were obviously not in the choir. Sowerby Bridge,WestYorkshire
Letter from Porthcawl
A
DAVE BUSH
CLOUDLESS DAY IN PORTHCAWL but still a chilly wind and a morning frost sent me scurrying down to my allotment this morning to check my early potatoes had not been affected.Yet I noted in New Delhi yesterday the temperature reached 44 degrees. Rather a convoluted way to introduce the fact that I spent sixteen days in India in March. I mention this as I like to delude myself into believing that readers who remember me – I realise that gradually their numbers are declining – retain an interest in my activities and welfare.That trip was undoubtedly the most impressive I have ever made.We – that is four members ofThe Glamorgan Bird Club – travelled extensively in Northern India including some days in the Himalayan foothills. Having gone prepared with heavy boots, woolly hat and thick fleece, we saw not a trace of snow even on the distant peaks. The sites and sights, however, proved aweinspiring. It was as if we were centre stage while moving through a prolonged travel film. The general impression was of a country heaving with traffic and people but no road rage and a courteous welcome everywhere. I believe we should reassess The Black Hole of Calcutta; it seems normal practice to cram as many souls as possible into every space. In, on and around one of the little green taxis, which here would be restricted to four passengers, we once counted fourteen. In another the four at the rear had a 36
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live sheep across their knees while a motorbike carried two riders, various canisters, a crate of chickens and a goat.And birds? 371 different species recorded, a staggering total. And as usual, always being fascinated by avian nomenclature, I selected my top three.Third place to the Changeable Hawk Eagle (I wonder what it changes into?); second to the Aberrant Bush Warbler (did I really skip practice for the Barber Shop sessions organised by former teaching colleague Bernard Redfern?); and first to the Yellow- legged Green Pigeon (simply because that is just what it was). My daughter keeps me in touch with the educational scene although much of what she relates makes me seethe. For example, she was planning to take a party to Barcelona next year in her own time. However, the red tape is so thick, the regulations so demanding, it is unlikely to take place. This led me once more to reflect on our Scout camps in the 60’s and 70’s.Thirty+ youngsters travelled in the back of a furniture van with all the equipment. On site we had hand and felling axes, a six foot cross cut saw with shark- like teeth, dixies of boiling water on open fires, aerial runways across the River Ure, night hikes -the list seems endless. Risk assessment had not been invented.Were there accidents? Minor ones no doubt but First Aid was an essential part of training. Many the ex-scout who has said those days were the highlight of the school year and are still remembered with gratitude. Back to India for a moment. If ‘Health & Safety’ were introduced there, the country would shut down immediately. I have an abiding impression of a bus coming towards us , bright yellow and ‘School Bus’ prominently displayed above the windscreen, if it had one. On the open, seatless top at least twenty cheerfully waving pupils. Daughter’s Spanish students are to be denied a real educational opportunity. It may be a blessing as for her every holiday is so indispensable. She is usually so exhausted by trying to implement a new directive (‘deep thinking’ is the latest!) and admits to being so worn out by form-filling, reporting and devising new schemes of work that she is often too tired to teach. ‘Let the teachers teach’ was my cry in my final years. Obviously unheard. I usually try to find an OAS or KJS connection when reporting my overseas adventures. India provided none but time spent on Lake Como in April provided two. 37
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Firstly did you know that Pliny’s uncle and nephew, were born in Como? No, nor did I. There are statues to the pair outside the duomo in Como. Latin students will remember how we read the graphic account provided byTheYounger ofThe Elder’s death during the eruption ofVesuvius in 79AD. The second occurred on the last day when, during a conversation with a couple with whom we had spent much time, Huddersfield and then Almondbury were mentioned. Sorry, younger members; we are travelling back to the early sixties when Dick (Reg) Addy was Head of French.This lady,Teresa Derrick (nee Byrne) was a nursing colleague of Dick’s daughter, Judy and had attended her wedding in Almondbury. She visited his house in Sharp Lane and remembers his garden. I believe this house was eventually inhabited by Old Almondburian Austen Smith. In a recent ‘phone conversation with JimToomey he recalled how Dick passed on many gardening tips. Each year there was a trip to The Great Yorkshire Show and Jack Taylor and I used to joke that Dick sharpened his fingernails prior to the visit for , equipped with a plastic bag , he nipped off fuchsia cuttings for potting up in his greenhouse . Someone will remind me of the details of his bringing back of tobacco on school trips to France. In my first year I played him at tennis on the lawn in front of the library and was well beaten. Sadly, before he could retire, Dick died suddenly near his home in Sharp Lane and PC Geoff Hilton (Old Almondburian) was one of the first on the scene. Almost up to the editor’s word limit so must be brief. Read recently of the OA’s AFC’s Funds being transferred into the main society’s. How sad. Will nobody resurrect our team? Heard that the school is having a clear out of some of its long serving staff. Let’s hope there’s a great gathering in November to celebrate and show appreciation. Nicky Green has retired from the school office.What a treasure she has been in her dedication to the OAS.Who will replace her? Footnote to 2008. Received recently via AndrewTaylor a copy of John Simpson’s book Unreliable Sources. It contained a flattering dedication … but I would still declare it a superb read. And finally. My Greatest Ever Understatement? Back to India. DB: ‘When we left the Gangetic Plain, what was the name of the last town before we began to climb the hill?’ Fellow GBC member: “Dave, that‘hill’ is called‘The Himalayas’”.
M
A word from your Editor
ANY THANKS to everyone who contributed articles and letters to this issue of The
Almondburian.Articles on topics relating to the School and its present or former staff are always welcome and may be emailed or posted to the editorial address shown on the back cover. Photographs (preferably in colour) are always of interest and will be returned promptly after use. If submitting photographs by email, they should be in jpeg format at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. The next issue of The Almondburian will be published on 1st November 2010 and the deadline for contributions is 17th September 2010.
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Obituaries
G O N E B UT NOT FO RGOTTEN CARL GOLDSMITH (1947–1955)
James Clayton
‘Fearsome’fast bowler who became a successful commercial lawyer
Carl Goldsmith died on 3rd March 2010 at the age of 73. He was Cricket Captain in 1954 and deputy Head Boy in 1955; his passing has brought back many memorable recollections of his splendid school career covering so many areas where his talent shone through.Thoughts turn to cricket. School Dinner, Monday, first sitting and Happy Harry andWalter Haigh were not getting started.We had work to do and sooner rather than later. Eventually Dinner having been finished, Carl led half a dozen of us to the cricket field complete with full watering can.There was no running water in what passed for a pavilion – the Shed – where we collected mower, brush and a supply of Derbyshire marl.Two of us went out of the top gate, across the road and over the wall with a big tub and spades for the cow dung and there was always plenty of it. Having selected a pitch for Saturday and top mowed it, two ends were covered and brushed in an exquisite mixture of dung, water and marl. On Friday lunchtime we close mowed the grass, marked out the wicket and heavy rolled it for we needed a shirtfront. Carl masterminded the whole process for two seasons.This priceless knowledge had been acquired at Almondbury Cricket Club and allowed him to demonstrate leadership of a very high order. It needed to be a shirtfront wicket, for Carl was fast and dangerous.Tony Copley, Ian Shaw and Willie Woodward faced no quicker bowlers in our local clubs’ league (U17) on aWednesday night and none in school fixtures either. He may have appeared even quicker for he pounded in, left arm flailing high across in delivery and bowled off the wrong foot (like Proctor and Cairns whom he came later to admire). The ball was on you before you knew it. He was superbly accurate, not much swing or movement off the pitch, wonderful yorkers. He was a fearsome sight, especially when bowling downhill with the wind. (Stuart Affleck bowled at the other end). His second serve at tennis was equally Carl Goldsmith (centre) with James Clayton and Jeff Brook at the ‘Class of 1947’ reunion in 1997 ferocious. 39
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Our years coincided with Harry Taylor’s nudgings toward a new pavilion and improved fixtures on a Saturday afternoon – Doncaster Grammar School, Craven Gentlemen. So Carl’s sweet smelling wickets were essential. Saturday afternoon was not always straightforward for Carl was a highly successful bowler for Almondbury CC on Saturday afternoon. He always made the correct decision for whom to play. He was a very confident batsman. In 1953 not only was he an outstanding bowler but he scored the most runs. A taste of his prowess: Saturday, 6th June v BelleVue, Bradford: 72 runs followed by 2 for 10 Saturday,20th June v Huddersfield College:56 runs followed by 8 for 10 Carl had a fine, keen mind which manifested itself in his A-level results (and at University College, London); the Jacobean Society (that cradle of lawyers and public speakers); George Beech’s flourishing notable chess world (where he had a fine victory in a simultaneous against GLB’s brother); and an infinite capacity for taking advantage of all the opportunities which the school offered including 1st XI soccer, tennis and athletics. He was a confident, effective prefect, companiable and joined at the hip with his fellow 1947 entrants,Tony Copley and Graham Gelder (of whom he wrote in the March 2010 issue of The Almondburian).With the latter he played countless games of chess in the Prefects Study. Rebellion manifested itself in knockout whist in the Shed and swift halves in one unnamed social club in the village whilst on geographical research for Fred Hudson at lunchtimes. His ability to obtain bar service remained all his life, particularly illustrated at the very end of the 1953 cricket season following the match at Baines Grammar School in Blackpool . Carl led the trio to the Bible Class of Moldgreen Congregational Church and a second game of soccer on Saturday in the afternoon along with the usualYouth Club social activities. In later years bridge, golf and table tennis took over. He bowled fast for Pinner CC until he was 50. Sports took up much of his time, especially at the weekend. His wife, Margaret, once posted the notice:‘Bed and Breakfast served here, Dinner Optional’. The trio in 1955, were of course, on the way to becoming pillars of the establishment. After many years as a successful commercial solicitor in London in 1981, during his three years in Hong Kong, Carl enquired of Derry Irvine the chances of a 54 year old acquiring a seat for Labour. Let us hope he will be as appreciated and enjoyed in the Elysian Fields as he was at King James’s Grammar School where we shared a value system of a past age. Tony Copley and Ian Shaw (Thanks also to D H Anderson;Tony Colbeck;TrevorWood; RWWoodward) 40
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ARTHUR PILLING (1928–1931)
Farmer’s son who became a dairy farmer himself within sight of the School
Arthur Pilling died on 27th April 2010 at the age of 93. His family were local farmers and Arthur soon decided that he also wanted to become a dairy farmer, much to the concern of Mr Taylor Dyson at the time. However, Taylor Dyson often visited the farm in Arkenley Lane, only a few hundred yards from the School, and Arthur observed that was he was ‘particularly fascinated’ by the milking machines. Arthur remained a keen gardener all his life and used to grow all his own vegetables in his back garden, which he still regarded as his ‘farm’. In 2007, Arthur Pilling recorded an interview about the School in the 1920s which can be heard on the OAS website at http://tinyurl.com/37uompy.
WILLIAM H BOOTH (1943–1949)
Sports enthusiast who emigrated to Canada and became a top civil engineer
Bill Booth died on 30th January 2010 at the age of 78. It followed a tragic accident in his home in Canada. Born in 1932, Bill left King James’s to study Engineering at HuddersfieldTechnical College. He emigrated to Canada in 1953 and further pursued his studies at McGill University, Montreal where he graduated in Civil Engineering in 1958. As a successful civil engineer, he travelled all over the world, building schools in St Lucia, grain silos in Lebanon, wind tunnels inYugoslavia, a University in Rwanda and many other notable buildings. He was a man of many talents who loved his work and the various teams he worked with in places such as Montreal, Ottawa, Zug in Switzerland and finally in the UK. He loved his new retired life in Duncan where he moved in 2006 from England. In his earlier life, Bill played rugby and tennis, skied, sailed as well as a variety of other activities. He enjoyed having neighbours drop in especially ones who came with his own drink when Bill would ask him if he brought his ‘ice tea’. This always 41
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made every one smile. Bill loved life and lived it to its fullest. He will be missed by all. TB Andrew Killick adds:Better known to all his friends in Huddersfield as‘Willum’,Bill Booth left school at the age of 16 to become a trainee constructional engineer at ABC Fabrications in Leeds Road.At the age of 23,he emigrated to Canada and graduated in Enginering from McGill University, Calgary.He remained in Canada until 1985 when he brought his second wife,Terri, and their son Jean Paul, to Switzerland.After a period there, they moved to England until deciding to return to Duncan, British Columbia in Canada in 2006. As a young man, Bill played football at HuddersfieldYMCA and as a colt and junior team player as a fast winger at Huddersfield Rugby Club.His interests at that time were those of most teenage boys in the town, and he is fondly remembered by those of us who called him our friend.
C J PERRATON (1954-1958)
Biology master who flew the flag as he drove down St Helen’s Gate to school
We record with sadness the death of former biology teacher Chris Perraton who taught at the School for four years from 1954. He subsequently taught at Marling School, Stroud before moving into educational administration. When Chris took over from James (‘Nipper’) Newton, biology had only recently become a serious A-level subject at Almondbury Grammar School. He inherited primitive laboratory premises in the oldest part of the School above the headmaster’s study but played a major role in designing the new biology laboratory facilities that formed part of the major extensions of 1955. A likeable teacher, he was also an Assistant Scoutmaster along with Jim Toomey and Bill Rennison. He had a number of eccentricities, one of which was to fly a union flag on the bonnet of his car as it sped up Somerset Road and down St Helen’s Gate: a possible relic of a period spent as a District Officer in Jamaica after leaving Cambridge University. Chris Perraton pictured with Edward Kilner in 1955
JOHN ALBERT FRUDD (1971–1977)
The Almondburian is also sorry to learn of the recent death of John Albert ‘Albie’ Frudd. 42
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HISTORY
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OAS SHOP VIDEOS
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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 CH OO L K ING J AM ES ’ SDBS URY IN A LM ON 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
ED HISTO RY AN ILLUS TRAT 1608 - 2008
DBURIA THE OLD ALMON
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Joint Chairmen EMILY COMER and NICKY MURPHY 4 Arkenley Lane Almondbury, Huddersfield HD4 6SQ Mobile: 07855 264043 Email: emily@conscious.com nicky01@conscious.com
Secretary ANDREW HAIGH 2 Arkenley Lane, Almondbury HD4 6SQ Tel: 01484 432105 Email: andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk
Treasurer KEITH CRAWSHAW 5 Benomley Drive, Almondbury HD5 8LX Tel: 01484 533658 Email: keith.crawshaw@oas.org.uk
Media Editor ROGER DOWLING Orchard House, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RD Tel: 01925 756390 Email: roger.dowling@oas.org.uk Website: www.oas.org.uk
The Almondburian is distributed to OAS members free of charge. Price to non-members: ÂŁ3.00