The Almondburian July 2020

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The ALMONDBURIAN T H E MAGA Z I NE O F T HE O LD ALM O ND B URIANS’ SOCIETY

July 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

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A word from your Chairman Membership Annual Dinner 2020 Back to the drawing board Coronavirus Diaries Crossword by Hérisson Dave Bush’s final year – and mine No beating about the Bush Every picture tells a story The man who just loved beetles

The room with the Big reputation We support the brave people of Sudan An illustrated guide to Charlie Starkey Apostrophe corner “You’re going to Australia, Leech” New town centre ‘blueprint’ Farnley Lines Two hundred years of fine choral music/Sudoku The day the mast fell down Badminton Tennis/Golf Postbag Obituaries

Opinions expressed by contributors to The Almondburian do not necessarily reflect the views of The Old Almondburians’ Society

(Opposite): This drawing of the Schoolhouse, with the Library in the background, appeared on the cover of The Almondburian in the 1970s.The artist was Charlie Starkey: see feature on page 43.

The ALMONDBURIAN Editor: Roger Dowling

July 2020

The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society

A word from your Chairman WA LT E R R A LEIGH members. At our AGM in January our Treasurer brought to our attention that the cost of sending magazines abroad had risen sharply and it was something we needed to address. In fact the cost of sending our magazine to some members abroad was costing more than our ÂŁ10 annual membership fee. Rather than in-

ELCOME to the July issue of The Almondburian. I hope you are all well and not suffering too much from the isolation of the coronavirus lockdown. This issue of our magazine aims to bring you closer to old friends and memories of happier times. First of all may I thank all our overseas

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creasing the cost of membership to everyone, in order to solve the problem I was asked to write to those members abroad and explain the problem we faced. I was inundated with replies and without exception they all wanted to help out by either increasing their annual subscription to cover the postage or, as some did, sending a cheque to cover the years ahead. May I thank them all now publically for their generous spirit of co-operation. It is at times like this that the Executive Committee realise why they are willing to get involved and work for the Society and its members. And so to the Coronavirus! Although it is introducing a level of uncertainty, the lockdown is beginning to ease as we go to press and we are continuing with our plans for what will be our 100th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday, 21st November. In the last issue I announced that David Morphet had agreed to be one of our principal speakers. I’m now delighted to be able to report that my former colleague and good friend Bob Field has also agreed to speak at the event. For those who don’t know Bob, and there can’t be many, he was already a much loved member of staff teaching French and German when I arrived at King James’s in 1978. He made me feel very welcome and played a big part in helping me organise the football and cricket teams. He was also heavily involved in the OAS Cricket Section. Around 1990 when the School lost its Sixth Form Bob, together with many other experienced staff, took the opportunity to move to Greenhead Sixth Form College, where believe it or not he is still working! I’m sure he will

be a wonderful speaker and be able to relate many amusing stories of his time at the old school. We are also expecting that the annualFounders’ Day service will follow as usual on Sunday, 22nd November. Additionally, we are hoping to introduce a new Friday afternoon event that will involve the School but plans for this are inevitably on hold during the pandemic. We will make further announcements in due course on the OAS website. Another event that is currently uncertain is our annual involvement in the Heritage Weekend in September. As I write, we still await confirmation that this national event is going to take place this year. I should like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have responded to our invitation to be a subscriber to Dave Bush’s diary of his last year before retirement, No beating about the Bush. At the last count over 125 had contacted us and we are delighted by the response. Dave is also pleased with the reaction and is looking forward to attending the Dinner where the book will be formally launched. He was also thrilled when I informed him Bob Field had agreed to speak. As you will know from Dave’s regular Farnley Lines column in the magazine, Bob is one of the most frequent visitors to the Bush household in the Principality. And finally may I hope the easing of restrictions will allow the Premier League and Championship to resume. Many of us have missed them and I’m sure you will all agree that it will give Leeds United the opportunity to return to the top division which is, of course, their rightful place. Keep safe! n 4

Membership A N D R E W HAIGH their subscriptions by standing order, please remember that your £10.00 subscription for 2019-20 fell due on 1st September last year. Thank you to those who have recently brought their subscription up to date; however, if you do receive a letter with this magazine pointing out that your subscription is not up-to-date, please do send your payment without delay. It does make life much easier if you can complete the updated standing order mandate that accompanies the letter and return it in the envelope provided. 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. n

INCE the last issue, we have welcomed just one new member: Neale Wade (1963-70), who worked in Pennsylvania and is now happily retired in South Carolina, USA.We have also been delighted to welcome back former Head Boy Ben Newton (1991-96), with whom we had lost touch for a couple of years. Ben is now living in the Mendip Hills in Somerset. Sadly, we have learned of the death on 24th December, 2019 of Malcolm Halma Mitton (1940-45), resident in Fall River, Nova Scotia, since 1957. An obituary appears on page 65. For the few members who do not pay

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Dates of Executive Committee meetings, 2020 Executive Committee meetings are usually held on the first Monday of the month, although there is no meeting in August, nor in April this year due to the Easter holidays. Any member of the Society who would like to attend one of these meetings will be made most welcome on the following dates: Monday, 6th July Monday, 2nd November Monday, 7th September Monday, 7th December Monday, 5th October During the coronavirus pandemic, Executive Committee meetings are being held virtually by ‘Zoom’ at 7.00 pm. For the Zoom meeting ID and password, please email Andrew Haigh at andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk

Writing for The Almondburian We are always pleased to receive articles for possible publication in the magazine. As a guide, a typical article is around 1,500 to 2,000 words and suitable illustrations are also welcome. Articles should be in .doc, .docx or .pdf format. The editorial email address is: almondburian@oas.org.uk. 5

old almondburians’ society

@oasforyou

Annual Dinner 2020 A N D R E W HAIGH HIS year’s Annual Dinner will be a very special one to mark the centenary of the founding of the Old Almondburans’ Society in its present form. Covid-19 permitting, it will be held at the school on Saturday, 21st November, at 6.30 pm for 7.30 pm. This year’s speakers will be diplomat, poet and author David Morphet (195158) and former teacher Bob Field (Staff, 1973-89).The occasion will also see the attendance of Dave Bush to launch his new book No Beating About the Bush, a diary of his final year at King James’s School. The ticket price this year will be £29.50 and an application form for tickets is included

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with this issue of the magazine.Alternatively, you can purchase tickets online at www.oas.org.uk/buydinner.php. Please be aware that when the Annual Dinner is held at the School places are limited, so early applications are recommended. 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 1945, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 or 2010 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 scene at last year’s successful Annual Dinner when the guest speaker was Prof Judy Hirst

Founders’ Day The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held as usual at Almondbury Parish Church the day after the Annual Dinner, Sunday, 22nd November. Additionally, we are hoping to introduce a new Friday afternoon event that will involve the School but plans for this are inevitably on hold during the pandemic. We will make further announcements in due course on the OAS website. n 6

This year’s guest speakers

David Morphet (1951-58) HERE cannot be many Old Almondburians with as many successful disparate careers as David Morphet. He left KJGS to gain a Double First in English at Cambridge. He entered the Diplomatic Service in 1961 and in due course became a private secretary to Michael Stewart and George Brown. Later he moved to the Department of Energy, working in Paris andVienna, and he was in due course seconded to Midlands Electricity Board as deputy chairman. Joining the private sector in 1989 he held senior positions in Balfour Beatty and BICC. Following the privatisation of British Rail he led the Railway Forum. Today, David is best known as one of the UK’s most highly respected poets. He has published 16 collections of poetry under his own imprint Notion Books.

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Bob Field (staff 1973-1989) graduate of Hull University, Bob Field gained a degree in French and German in 1972. He came to KJGS in 1973 to teach French with Dave Gregson and in 1976 he introduced German. When King James’s lost its Sixth Form in 1989 he moved to Greenhead to teach French and German and, recently, beginners’ Italian. Bob still teaches on a part-time basis. He is a keen sportsman who played to a high standard of non-league football with Bradley Rangers in Huddersfield. He was fully involved with football at KJGS taking over the coaching responsibilities of the First XI and generally assiting sports master Ken Ireland. Bob organised the staff football and cricket teams and was instrumental in the formation of the OAS cricket section.

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Back to the drawing board Roger Sykes (1946-1953) revisits some of his favourite drawings admit to standing in the middle of a road on many occasions to obtain a satisfactory viewpoint.The latter is critical. Also I admit to a far less risky procedure in wandering into interesting places like backyards, to obtain an unusual view. Farms are particularly fascinating as many items are just discarded – a bit like my workshop. So many of my sketches many years ago for the Huddersfield Examiner were spotted from the top deck of a trolleybus – then it was hop off at the next stop and walk. A bicycle was so much more flexible as wandering the byways led to intriguing settings which needed an interest in local history. Old farm buildings and rural halls were, like churches, built with fascinating stonework Wandering round the back yard of Inglewood Lodge was a stunning surprise. What was it? If that was a hayloft entrance then it was a super one. Usually there is a simple wooden door set flush with the wall.This one was worthy of a hall, not a farm. The next problem was to walk about, to judge the composition of the sketch, whilst keeping an eye on what you might step in! But like so many old buildings, there was always an angle that felt right. Sketching it was a rewarding event. Working in black and white means the shadows are most significant. I find that you have to just stare at the drawing for a long time. And a drawing is never finished. l Inglewood Lodge is currently the home of The Cake Studio, a home based cake making and decoratIng business. The premises had previously been occupied by a carpet retailer.

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Inglewood Lodge, Birkby 8

Coronavirus Diaries On 31st December 2019, health authorities in China reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) a cluster of viral pneumonia cases of unknown cause in Wuhan. It spread rapidly around the world and was officially recognised by WHO as a pandemic in March 2020.The UK very nearly ground to a halt. But it was not all doom and gloom. Readers tell us how they coped with the great British lockdown.

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Unprecedented times for King James’s School IAN RIMMER

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l GCSE exams would not take place this year. What a double bombshell! These are indeed unprecedented times, historic even. How often that adjective is overused; so much so, that when it finally becomes apposite, it is rather lost and unimpressive. Yet, historic is where we are, even when one considers King James’s School’s substantial past. This pandemic provides a rather unwelcome addition to our splendid timeline, sponsored by the OAS, at school. Nevertheless, one would have hoped for a little more forethought before the announcement was made; a narrative from government about the implications of all these decisions. Yet there was none.‘Further announcements will be made shortly’ was a rather unhelpful and inadequate postscript. So, alas, it was left to us, like every other school up and down the land, to make sense and react to this announcement. There were so many questions that needed answering:

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Nick Newman/Sunday Times

ELL, we saw it coming.As the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic was being forensically compared with seemingly every other country on the planet and the government-imposed restrictions were being steadily ramped up, repeated questions were asked about school closures. It was only a matter of time, therefore, before the announcement came. Children in school, particularly those inYear 11 who were about to take their GCSEs, had been understandably very confused and concerned for some time, whilst the speculation was building. For Year 11, of course, school closure would have the greatest impact, but it would not be insignificant for any year group and many individuals would find the whole situation extremely unsettling and distressing. However, nobody predicted the precise nature of the announcement when it finally came. Schools would close: l In two days’ time for everybody except vulnerable children and those of key workers

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But what does coronavirus look like?

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For an ‘invisible killer’ Covid-19 has not been bashful at making regular appearances on television and in the press. We pick out a few favourites.

Looking suspiciously like the sort of coronavirus you’d pick up at your local garden centre, this example regularly appeared on BBC TV

Seen nightly on a Sky News animation, this worrying mutation has even grown legs as one overfed specimen (arrowed) crawls across the screen

Researchers at Brunel University clearly got the blues as they captured this colourful version in their laboratories

The microscopes at Imperial College reveal a musical version with trumpets – or are they suckers for ease of attachment to potential victims?

The publication Pharmatimes prefers a yellow floral theme and reveals the powerful inner spring which doubtless gives the virus its boundless energy

According to the team at Cleveland Clinic the virus is lavishly equipped with white satellite dishes. Otherwise they haven’t a clue - like the rest of us 11

l Are all the ‘vulnerables’ required Coronavirus apostrophe corner to attend, or just given the opportunity? l What defines a key worker and how will we establish who is one? l Does it need all parents to be key workers in order to ‘qualify’? l How will we work out who is going to be taking up this offer, who isn’t and who, sadly, might be inappropriately trying to take advantage Stern warning from H M Government: under no circumstances should you visit your rich pal and get free childcare? Spotter: Peter Large l What learning were we expected with several residences. to provide for those children soon to be studying from home and how would that draft list. And then came the announcement work? that schools would be expected to remain l Was our ICT infrastructure up to the open over Easter! At this point I and my colchallenge? leagues felt we had been through 10 rounds, l What about provision for the children only to be told it was actually a 12-round in school, who might span the age and aca- contest! demic ability range? So a frantic, yet hopefully reassuringly l Which staff would we need in school for measured, series of communications with this to work safely? students, parents and staff ensued. It was l Who might be available to fulfil this task, very much the proverbial partially-sighted, given many school workers are in medically leading the blind. vulnerable groups themselves – a fact And thus began KJS’s version of remote which at the time seemed to have eluded learning, step by step refining as we went; politicians. teachers setting work for each class for each I am very happy to promote the notion lesson each day.We didn’t know how effecof school staff being superheroes but, whilst tive we were being; just like everyone else, my colleagues frequently perform ‘mira- this was all very new to us. Fortunately, a cles’, they are actually human! video conference with governors, some of These questions needed answering, fast, whom were parents, provided useful feedwhilst simultaneously still trying to run the back. Whilst they were all extremely grateschool, say goodbye to Year 11, reassure ful for the efforts of staff, what we learned nervous children about the future and was that: communicate with parents.  Some were a little overwhelmed by the More than 24 hours later we received amount of work or struggled to do the work the government’s list of key workers which,  Some mentioned printer issues and othjust to add another layer of complexity, is ers said their children were getting screen different from the previously published fatigue 12

 Some asked if praise/encouragement could be given to those submitting good work.

no appreciation of Bank Holidays and that some of those key workers were on duty through the weekend, I had to think about the wellbeing of my own staff.We must be prepared for the fact that this situation may continue through the May half-term until the end of the Summer term and, whenever there are children in school, many staff including me are on duty.The Easter weekend therefore provided the only extended break in a potentially 21-week long stint. During Easter came the announcement that lockdown will continue for another three weeks.Then it was reported in some singularly unhelpful newspapers, that schools might reopen on 11th May. In almost immediate response, the DfE tweeted that “Schools remain closed until further notice, except for children of critical workers and the most vulnerable children. Schools will only re-open when the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to do so.” This was followed by more information

It was useful feedback that helped us refine our practice. Meanwhile we were wrestling with new methods of reporting attendance daily to the local authority and to the Department for Education, providing essential vouchers to support families with children on Free School Meals and ensuring we met safeguarding standards remotely for children, all whilst adhering to government expectations for those remaining in school, such as social distancing.Teaching whilst remaining two metres apart – an interesting notion, that does not match 21st century teaching methodologies. Not easy! Two weeks later, having established some sort of new norm, we began the Easter ‘holidays’. Except they weren’t ‘holidays’ of course. We made the decision to stay open for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers, but to close on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Whilst we understood that the pandemic has

from Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, who detailed five tests that

Coronavirus ‘Last Post’ - on a cello wonderful thing happened today. Because all Anzac Day ceremonies were cancelled we received a little note yesterday in our letter box. It was from Megan who lives in our street. Megan is a professional musician and plays the cello. She invited everyone in the street to assemble in front of her house, observing social distance, at 6.00 pm bringing a candle or torch to observe a minute’s silence and listen to her play the Last Post on the cello. The whole street turned out either in front of her house or standing silently in front of their own houses with a candle.The weather cooperated – not a breath of wind and all candles stayed alight. And the Last Post played on a cello. Not the brassy sound of the usual bugle but the haunting deep notes of the cello. Somehow much more moving. John Bradley (Frankston, Australia)

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the country would need to meet before schools could get “back to normal”. Speculation of this nature is incredibly unsettling for staff, parents and students. Getting schools back up and running isn’t straightforward. Aside of the obvious practical issues of ensuring sufficient stocks of soap/sanitiser and how to maintain social distancing in a full school, no mention was made of how to staff the school if potentially large numbers of colleagues were self-isolating for up to 14 days. Also, no consideration was given to members of staff who fall into vulnerable groups themselves, or of how to deal with the inevitable concerns, and sadly possible bereavement, of children returning to school, all of which needs careful thought and planning. Fast forward to the start of May and we await further announcements regarding how we will re-open; 11th May, 25th May, 1st June; just Year 10 or Year 7; the whole year group, half, a third; more key workers.Who knows? What we do now know, however, is that the Year 11s, who will not now take their GCSEs, will have teacher awarded grades. Sounds simple, but each subject has to use all the data available to predict the most likely outcome for each student in that subject.The students must then be ranked in strict order from top to bottom; not too bad for a subject with 20 children, but spare a thought for English, Maths and Science who now have to sort 180 children!We also then have to make sure each subject’s performance is broadly in line with its performance with previous cohorts. As you can imagine, that presents no end of further issues. Similarly, we have to make sure the school’s overall performance is also broadly in line with its performance with previous cohorts. So, teachers are strug-

Yorkshire surprise Y local supermarket has a limit of two packs of frozen vegetables during the coronavirus crisis. Imagine my surprise when at the checkout I was told I had three. Apparently Aunt Betty’s Yorkshire puds are regarded as vegetables. I thought I should inform everybody in Yorkshire of this rather interesting fact. Never mind – you will not run out of the Yorkshire delicacy now that they can be cultivated and harvested. John Bradley, Frankston, Australia

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gling with the emotional demands of placing a grade on a student, whilst simultaneously making sure those grades are in line with previous sets of results. Not an enviable task! Crystal ball gazing has become a key feature of my, and every other headteacher’s, role over the last few weeks, and I suspect it will rema so for the foreseeable future. It is often said that uncertainty is not good for the markets. Well, it is not good for schools either. But then none of us can be sure what the future holds! n Stop press Year 10 pupils returned to School from Monday 22nd June,studying English,Maths,Science,and History or Geography, plus a ‘well-being session’ to support any general concerns. 14

A fraught visit to Australia RICHARD TEALE (1961 - 1968) ACK in January, when coron- Health problems intervened for Linda avirus was no more than a blip though; in early January we holidayed in on the distant Chinese horizon, Tenerife for ten days and she picked up a I arranged to visit our family in Australia. nasty chest infection which necessitated a Little did I know the drama that would doctor’s referral to hospital for an x-ray. After our return to the UK some of the follow. Our daughter, Amy, moved to Aus- symptoms persisted and she decided tralia in 2008 on a two years’ work con- making plans for the arduous long-haul tract. As often happens, the attractions of trip to Australia was not advisable for her, the lifestyle ‘down under’ made the move but she still wanted me to go! On 22nd January I booked my flights permanent. She married Mihalis, a Greek national, in 2016 and our grand- with Trailfinders in Leeds – they recomson Benjamin was born in 2018. They mended Qatar Airways from Manchester lived in Sydney and my wife Linda and I to Perth via Doha – little did I then revisited that amazing city on three occa- alise how fortunate this route would be. sions over the years. However, last year I had no hesitation in arranging my trip they chose to move to Western Australia between 9th and 25th March. Through February, coronavirus where property and family life would be much more affordable. Amy was ap- awareness grew but news was confined pointed by the State Fire Service as the mainly to repatriations from China, isotraining manager for a new Bushfire Cen- lated outbreaks in northern Italy and tre of Excellence in Mandurah, 40 miles south of state capital, Perth. Obviously, a Manchester high pressure and essential occupation after Doha the traumatic fires that have raged across Australia in the past few months. We were invited to visit them in their new Perth home for the second birthday of Benjamin in March this year.

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Boat trip: enjoying an outing with grandson Benjamin (2)

among cruise ship passengers, in particular the Diamond Princess which was quarantined inYokohama. So, as my 9th March departure date neared there were no Foreign Office warnings about travel and no compensation schemes in place. If I chose not to leave the UK I would be deemed ‘disinclined to travel’ and would forfeit my airfare. Of course, it was likely that the coronavirus epidemic would escalate during my period away but I did not appreciate how rapidly this would be. I checked in at Manchester for the first leg of my flight, to Doha. The plane was full, roughly split equally between UK and Qatari nationals. A few were wearing the now ubiquitous face masks but there was no room for social distancing. What a difference on the second leg from Doha to Perth, the plane, a massive Airbus 380, was less than half full and I had three seats to spread out on and sleep. I didn’t know what to expect of the Australian Border Force on arrival in Perth. I completed my Incoming Passenger Form showing I had no health issues and after a couple of questions was waved through, though I did notice other passengers were being detained. I was met by my family and taken to their house in Mandurah next to the beach (the Indian Ocean). The first week of my stay was a holiday without many concerns for what was happening elsewhere. I had a day in Perth, my grandson’s birthday party, and hired a car for a two-day trip to the Margaret River wine region. It was while I was in Margaret River

that I received a text from my daughter. She had been on the Western Australia Department of Health website and found that there was a coronavirus case on my incoming flight, six rows from me, and that I should look out for symptoms! Maybe I was fortunate that the seats were sparsely occupied. Two days later, 19th March and nine days into my stay, I was back in Mandurah and received a text from Western Australia Health saying I was considered a CLOSE CONTACT and needed to self-isolate for 14 days from the date of the flight. Obviously, I discussed this with my daughter who didn’t seem unduly concerned that I was staying in their house, but I had been in normal social contact with many other people. I was not showing any symptoms, so decided to maintain close contact with my family and follow social distancing elsewhere. 16

Meanwhile, coronavirus problems were escalating across the world and governments were responding with restrictions. On 17th March the UK Foreign Office advised ‘against all non-essential travel overseas’ but were ‘not currently advising British people to immediately return to the UK if they are overseas… However, British people should keep in mind that flights may be cancelled at short notice

or other travel restrictions may be put in place by foreign governments’. What should I do about the remaining week of my stay? The internet came to life with rumours of which airlines would be cancelling flights and, of particular relevance to me, which Middle East airport hubs would be closing. Phone calls and online checks with Qatar Airlines and Trailfinders suggested that my return flights on 24th and 25th March would still be operating but there was no certainty, it all depended on actions of all the governments involved. The second and last week of my stay was lived under something of a cloud. As I was staying with my family, I would have some flexibility if my return travel plans were disrupted but I did not want to be detained indefinitely – my wife was at home on her own! The state of Western Australia was in step with the rest of Australia (and most of Europe) in its response to lockdown measures. So, I was unable to participate in normal tourist acTop: Perth, the bustling capital of Western Australia with a tivities – visiting cities population of over 2 million, went into lockdown for over a month. and attending events, Bottom: the deserted local beach of Mandurah but I was happy to 17

Family visit accomplished: Amy and Mihalis with son Benjamin

‘All British tourists and short-stay travellers currently abroad should return to the UK where and while commercial flight options are still available’. I was somewhat reassured about my Qatar Airways flights when I was able to go online and print out my boarding passes to Doha and onwards to Manchester. At the airport, the displays showed my flight was leaving on time despite most others being cancelled. I thought it strange that there was no mention of the scheduled Emirates flight to Dubai though there were large numbers of their crew milling about; on going through to the gate I found out why. Emirates had cancelled all their flights out of Australia from that day. It looked like several sets of crew were to be the only passengers on an Airbus 380 returning to Dubai. My Qatar flight had been scaled down from Airbus 380 to a Boeing 787 and all seats were taken, many passengers having rebooked from Emirates. Thinking back, the possibilities of virus transmission from an infected passenger must have been very high! Most of the crew were wearing face masks but probably only one third of the passengers – and some of their masks were improvised: how effective would be the adapted sleep masks that were worn by a couple of young ladies? The transit through Doha went without hitch – there were more airport assistants than passengers. And so on to the flight to Manchester which was almost full. I looked around nervously at

travel short distances to walk and cycle in the more remote coast and countryside locations. After all, the 2.6 million population of Western Australia has 2.6 million square kilometres of land area to isolate itself in! Western Australia made a ‘Declaration of State of Emergency’ on 16 March and the first actions were social distancing on the weekend of 21/22 March when seating areas at restaurants and bars had ‘Reserved for Covid 19’ notices placed on every other table. This was soon followed on 23rd March by restrictions that permitted take-aways only. There were, not yet, any state government restrictions on air travel; however, some airlines were cancelling flights – as I was to experience on arrival at Perth airport for my return flight on 24th March. The day before, the UK government had imposed lockdown and the Foreign Office advised 18

other passengers, in particular a man two rows of seats away who was looking pale and shivery despite wearing a winter coat. I sat next to ‘Jim’ from Scotland who should have been returning to Glasgow from Sydney with Emirates. He had received a terse email from them the day before his intended flight informing him of cancellation and no proposals for alternative travel plans. He had managed to book a flight Sydney to Manchester via Doha with Qatar Airways at exorbitant cost. His wife had fared worse, she had gone on to New Zealand to visit her sister and had been caught in their strict lockdown regime – no flights in or out! On arrival at Manchester we were waved through UK Border Force without any extra checks or tests. I had a return rail ticket from the airport to Huddersfield where I was meeting my wife. The train timetables were much reduced, as were passenger numbers. I

changed trains at an eerily quiet Piccadilly and shared a compartment with two others on the final part of my journey. Would I make the same trip again (with hindsight)? Yes, the purpose of my trip was to see my family and the holiday part was secondary. On departure there were hints that the virus was problematic but the World Health Organisation had not declared a pandemic and there were no thoughts at how rapidly restrictions would escalate. The return journey was the most worrying part, cooped up for 19 hours with hundreds of other passengers in sealed aeroplane cabins. Since that week of my return in March, most airlines have ceased flying, but Qatar Airways are still operating a reduced schedule from Manchester to Doha and Perth! And Western Australia has only recorded five deaths due to coronavirus. n

Coronavirus catastrophes LAUREN NUTTON

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IKE many people, I am not one to be stuck inside without social contact. As many of us are/have been educators or in very sociable roles, it is inevitable that the situation we have found ourselves in, as a society, is somewhat disastrous for our wellbeing. Like many teachers, at first, when there was talk in the staffroom about a potential school closure, my first

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thoughts were: “An extra week at Easter? Fabulous, I can catch up with my marking!” Little did I know how severely naïve I truly was. I’m now kicking myself for those thoughts and would do ANYTHING to be back in that classroom with a room full of smiling faces. As somebody who barely has time to watch television, I did not understand 19

the severity of what was to TO ALL THE NHS WORKERS… hit our country until we fiThe rose is red, nally had to close the The violet is blue, schools. When Mr Johnson Sugar is sweet And so are you! made the announcement, I For all the sacrifices, won’t lie, I cried. I cried for And everything you do, the students that rely on soFor all the lives saved, We want to say ‘thank you!’ cial contact, I cried for my You go to work every day Year 11 students that have Even though it’s not much pay! been robbed of their final You’re working hard to keep us safe and well, months in school, I cried Even though you may feel like you’re living in hell! Day and night, for the students that You put up a fight, worked so hard to improve Just to make sure their English GCSE grade: We’re alright! for it all to be taken away. Lots of love Spread across the nation, However, most of all, I No matter which location, cried because it dawned on We thank you for your vocation! me that it could possibly be Gracie Shaw, Year 9 the last week that I spend with my colleagues and students for at sure to keep in contact with my colleast three months. I had not prepared leagues via email and FaceTime – there is nothing more amusing than seeing for this. However, resilient as we are (a skill your colleague without their hair being most teachers don’t even realise they brushed! To brighten the students’ mood, I possess), we had folders of work prealso set them a task of: writing a letter pared: we had a timetable set up for of thanks to a key worker. I had numerchildren of key workers. King James’s had it all under control, and this made ous responses to this task and it really me feel at ease, knowing that we were was lovely to read through them all. A local newspaper has even said that they prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for was how want to run a story on it and publish lonely I would feel the moment I drove some of the letters. It really does show out of those gates on that Friday. I am how amazing our students are and how such a social creature;I didn’t know grateful they are just to be happy and healthy. how I would cope. I’m taking this time just to be thankI have been coping though. I have been cooking a lot more, I have been ful for everything that I have. Although for a daily walk with my sleepy French it is difficult, I am healthy, I have a wonbulldog Vinny (I can’t say he is im- derful family at King James’s School pressed with having me around so and I am so lucky to be a part of such a n much). I have baked and I have made fantastic community of people. 20

CROSSWORD by Hérisson

Special Instructions: All the “Across” clues are of a type, and are not further defined. Entries to the Editor (address/email: back cover) by 30th September 2020. Prize: 12 months’ free OAS membership

l The winner of Crossword by Hérisson (March 2020) was Nick Beaumont (1960-68)

13. I believe Latin is a non-starter – repeat (4) ACROSS 32. Spots passport, perhaps (6) 14. Mission backed U.S. city, a short 1. Could be on base (10) 33. Unfairness, we hear (4) time added (5) 7. Radical source (4) 34. Rattle last playing (10) 15. Listen to the start – it’s beating (5) 9. Shed century (6) 17. Books in the past in New Zealand (5) 10. Boris at shallow end, swimming (8) 19, 31. Power speed reported for some DOWN 11. Listing inclination (7) thing not specified (7) 12. Faithful chap. (7) 2. Hurt, Jack lost temper (5) 21. Choose the French for preserves (7) 16. Spinners or seamers without sides (5) 3. Opus missing from teen network 23. Divert mass or gravity, heading for 18. Talk under construction (9) arrangement (7) climaxes (7) 20. Her mishap, surprisingly (9) 4. Having medic from immersing (6) 24. If ere a confused sprite appeared (6) 22. Way of working, unknown working (5) 5. Wine butler holds up pipe (4) 27. Found in taxi, always lengthwise (5) 25. Best of Yorkshire openers, roughly 6. Hérisson in French! (3) 28. Space in dry shelter (4) excessive (7) 7. Brand of élite academic group (7) 30. Traveller losing memory – no 26. Scorer – not Williams (7) 8. Girl abandons eastern robe, found preference (3) 29. Number in equilibrium (8) in advert, perhaps (3) 31. See 19 Name Email Tel

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MEMORIES

Dave Bush’s final year – and mine BEN NEWTON (1991 - 1996) Later this year, the OAS will be publishing the last-year diary of Dave Bush, our long time contributor to The Almondburian, who spent his entire teaching career at King James’s. Ben Newton, Head Boy at the time, looks back. HE year: 1996 – nearly a quarter no doubt. Whilst it was an absolute privof a century ago now. John Major ilege to be chosen as Head Boy, I don’t was Prime Minister and the land- think I fully realised that the pride I felt slide victory of Tony Blair’s New Labour would be overwhelmed by the terror of was still a year away. Buoyed along by speaking at the Old Almondburians’ DinBaddiel and Skinner’s ‘Three Lions’, Eng- ner in 1995. For those of you present that land swept through to the semi-finals of evening I can only apologise, for it must Euro ’96, only to succumb to Germany have been that same terror that led me to in a penalty shoot-out. 1996 sounds and attempt to end my speech in Latin.To this feels like a very long time ago, but think- day I’m mystified at my decision to swear, ing back to that year it never fails to bring in Latin, in front of my Latin teacher. a smile to my face. I’m glad to say the terror I felt was Having arrived at King James’s School short-lived and it wasn’t long before I was in 1991 five years earlier, 1996 would back enjoying the remaining time I had mark the end of a chapter in my life as I studying at the School. King James’s was prepared to leave the a fantastic learning enschool after sitting my vironment with a team GCSEs. Looking back, of excellent teachers I remember feeling a dedicated to their craft range of emotions; and I thoroughly imtrepidation about what mersed myself in all of the future held after the subjects I could. King James’s, a degree Only now with the of nervousness about benefit of hindsight do the looming exams, I realise just how enbut also an undeniable joyable it was; I was feeling of contentedsimply too young at ness about my five the time to fully apyears at theSchool. preciate it. There were some Enjoying the Mendips countryside: Ben Which brings me bumps along the way, Newton and his wife Helen on to Mr Bush. For

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Presentation evening 1996: Head Boy Ben Newton (left) with Head Girl Laura Cliffe, Andrew Taylor, Head Teacher Clive Watkins, Pat Reid, Dave Bush, Chairman of Governors Jeffrey Woodward and Deputy Mayoress of Kirklees

sense that things would never be the same again, and that turned to raw emotion as the time came to say my goodbyes to the friends I had grown up with, but also to the teachers who had dedicated themselves so altruistically to my own development. I felt this most keenly when saying goodbye to Mr Bush who himself must have been filled with such pain at the recent loss of his mother. It would have been completely understandable if he had missed those last few days, but Mr Bush remained dedicated to the very end and I for one am very grateful. After King James’s I studied my A-Levels at Greenhead College in Huddersfield before heading over the Pennines to read Law at the University of Manchester. I clearly wasn’t finished with learning at that point so after university I decided to train to become an accountant with KPMG, again in Manchester. After another three years of exams it was time to take a break so I left accountancy behind and travelled to Canada where I lived for nearly two years. On returning to the UK in 2006 I moved to London to pick up where I had left off. I joined BDO’s Corporate Finance team on Baker Street and had a thoroughly enjoyable time advising busi-

some members of my school year it would be fair to say he represented a formidable presence; striking terror into the hearts of any would-be miscreants with his booming voice carrying such absolute authority, coupled with an almost mythical ability to appear out of nowhere at the scene of the impending crime. But that is only one side of the story. For a lucky few, and I count myself very fortunate to have been in this group, were granted access to a truly great teacher. No less formidable, but now with a twinkle in his eye he imparted his own unquenchable thirst for knowledge to his small group of Latin students. I remember being completely inspired as we moved nimbly between topics and across subjects, often at dizzying pace, in what I imagine to be reminiscent of the Socratic method. For me, learning had never been so much fun nor so engaging. I too wanted to be as knowledgeable about so many things. As that summer in 1996 approached and my days at King James’s continued to count down, it felt like I was witnessing the end of an era. There was a palpable 23

ness owners how to sell their business, or tween looking after my own garden I find how to acquire other businesses. I subse- some time to volunteer for a local conquently moved to an investment bank servation unit and am helping set up a based in Covent Garden where I contin- local community group involved in plantued to advise on the buying and selling of ing trees in the area. Finally, but most importantly I remain in contact with a companies. It was on an inauspicious evening in number of my closest friends from King London that my life was completely James’s who made the journey to see me changed for the better when I met my for my birthday last year. When I was contacted by Roger now wife, Helen. We rented in London Bridge before buying a ‘doer-upper’ in Dowling about the Centenary, the release of ‘No Beating About The Clapham, South West I reflected on all Bush’, and whether I London and spent our weekends either working that King James’s would kindly write a short article for the magon the flat or heading out to the countryside.We got School, its teachers, azine, I was somewhat married in a little nature and in particular taken aback that he reserve in Barnes on the Mr Bush, have thought readers of The Almondburian would be banks of the Thames. given to me… at all interested in my In early 2013 I was apmemories of 1996 and proached to join a private equity firm that had been founded by what I have been doing since then. I some former colleagues. I joined as an In- admit to also being slightly nervous about vestment Manager and became a partner what Mr Bush may have written in his in the firm a year later. It was a busy time, diary! But then I reflected on all that King and eventually the lure of the countryside James’s School, its teachers, and in parbecame too much for us and we decided ticular Mr Bush, have given to me and I to call time on our life in London and gladly accepted. It is the enduring move out of the city. In 2017 we left Lon- strength of our connections through don and moved down to the Mendips, shared experiences, kept alive by groups such as The Old Almondburians’ Society, south of Bristol in Somerset. Since moving down to Somerset I have that are the cause of such comfort when taken on a number of roles on a consul- we are physically unable to interact, and tancy basis, principally advising small so these achievements should be doubly businesses on how to raise funds. I’m celebrated. Finally then, it is a great honour to pleased to say that I have also returned to studying, and that it involves some Latin! have been asked to contribute in some I am part way through studying Horti- small way to mark such an achievement culture with the Royal Horticultural So- for the Society, and to celebrate such an ciety, so my Latin is coming in handy with inspirational teacher, so it simply remains n the plethora of botanical names. In be- for me to say ‘thank you’. 24

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P a m u f n n y a or m n a t t m h

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No beating about the Bush As part of our centenary celebrations, the Old Almondburians’ Society is planning to publish the final-year diary of a legendary teacher

HERE’S stll time to become a subscriber to our a new OAS book No beating about the MA Bush to be published in November to mark n, who the centenary of the OAS. Unknown to his colal Nelso life. ir m d A is r h te f f o a leagues, former senior Latin master and deputy head ’ d en elson near the ed a ‘N ever in David Bush kept a daily diary as he counted down 1 is call rm and one leg w that Nelson n no ’. ne a ne eye, o eness of history k d one ambition to his final day at King James’s School in July, 1996. an ar etter aw ne eye, one arm Dave Bush – a long-time contributor to the y ‘o fer to sa pages of this magazine – became a legendary figavure who spent his entire career at King 996 rs昀eld Town Hallis. H 1 h c in r y a M wh k h udde l t a H r 5 James’s. He joined the School, then a grammar t o y a y a g a m d in to on Even o state ount of school, in 1961 as a junior Latin, French and resentati an excessive am ings I was in n pose, is sup eed of artaken lour after proc ing day. This, I the hard English teacher. In due course he became the of par llow mayor’s try until the fo t a combination al sense of dedicated House Master of Jessop and, as his n ti u up this e t inebriated; b n inevitable par ight, I was career developed, he became Deputy Heado a n n s s id for I wa austion and plu ed until after m ay. d h b master and for a period Acting Headmaster. x le e to b ora oing of n, plus ite not g i昀cant and mem er, sober light sp e d The diary, with jacket design by Emmy t, a ld n e co nt th ry sig tation t on a ve s I write this in th n my last Presen ns? c e 昀 e r award-winning artist and former pupil y to tio da ly o 0 am an or re昀ec objective Charlie Starkey (1968-75), paints a fasain by 4.0 now re昀ect more Initial reactions id not break y. an s ut, I d a o w e – rning I c n as Speech Da iv t g n cinating picture, warts and all, of the gost no ome now voice did ng tear at one m ink only of y M merly k f. e sip and intrigue of life at the School a trickli ntly th eat reli ne of gr -conscious of a an exam freque thoughts of the quarter of a century ago. We think lf m se h g o it st n fr w o ti as m plan rging yself ents eme g, so I needle m ver a title, and rlour – d you’ll be surprised and amused in u st s a t] pa le o ron a stumb e session in the y got w equal measure. th that the t near the end, of ? ou t the end r! Did she mind y annual The 230-page diary, published as me read f lady friends a M e . p impro last year bsolutely so a he cheek mayoress. How uch better than a hardback, will be priced at £15 and ss le n e ty ets u m the depu ctice went well, not go to the toil the bowels of th to make it possible we’re seeking inia in ive pr Do morning be trotted out. “ ent and was lost l for those mass I tial subscribers who will be the first . a ” w e ready to a Year 7 pupil t is not unusu the school song g I r “ f a in to receive their copies and whose e o , is y n v g . The singin Impro y. Last ree days” ble during the me in 35 years. and safety th names will appear in the book. To r fo all trem rst ti alth ve us to ot there – the 昀 en down for he o b a s subscribe, go to our website r e li en tak they wer ave been me but to r ia www.oas.org.uk or complete il d up and at they must h m th s all so fa e Head ly I said se they fell. agree. It’ impressive. Th and return the slip in this copy of st u m a I c , y ll ns just in did go very we y it was all ver The Almondburian. n parentl evening

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Every picture tells a story

The pleasures of cross country running in the 1966/67 season HAT better time than a coronavirus lockdown to recall with pleasure the days when one could enjoy the open air without the danger of being ticked off by the police or reported by one’s neighbour? Cross country running was taken very seriously by King James’s Grammar School in those halcyon days over 50 years ago – and for good reason as the School was, as today, surrounded by the lanes of the beautiful Farnley Valley. Sadly, the volume of traffic, particularly down Farnley Line, would make such runs impossible today without the attendant road closures that ‘Health & Safety’ would surely require. But things were different in 1967 when the School had no fewer than six teams: Under 12, Under 13, Under 14, Under 15, Under 16 and Seniors, all under the supervision of enthusiastic maths master Bill (‘Sid’) Chapman.

Besides their ‘home runs’ the teams took part in events around the region.The U13 team, led by C G Huby, captured the Huddersfield & District Schools’ Cross Country Championship from very strong opposition, while the U16 team came fourth in the Halifax & District Championship and seventh in the Bradford & District Championship.A P Turner, S J Mellor, D G Rhodes and A D Johnson were picked out for particular praise. The U15 team, led by S C Edwards, gained ‘well deserved success’, with P Cunningham, M H Sellens and D W Harpin being picked out for special mention. As for the Senior team, the report in the Spring 1967 issue of The Almondburian was diplomatic.‘Little can be said of the Senior team,’ it reads.‘Although there was perhaps a lack of talent, there was a surfeit of enthusiasm which on three occasions proved to be an adequate substitute’. n

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Back row: B J Laverick, R E Merchant, G J Hirst, G S Sellens, J L Smith, G J Megson, W J Best, C Duffy, J C Hirst, P Grimes, A R Wortley, C J Huby, D Oates Middle row: Mr G W Chapman, R Jones, P Cunningham, K P O’Connor, R J Helm, A D Johnson, D W Harpin, D M Stead, D R Taylor, D M Garry, G Walker, M H Sellens, R Williams, M Buckley (recorder) Front row: D G Rhodes, S Lockwood, C K Sykes, R W Johnson, S S Duncan, Headmaster, J Sampson, D M Cunningham, J A Heap, S J Mellor, A P Turner Cross-legged: C J Roberts, H L Jennings, R Hirst, D Helm, C Slater, A C Partridge 26

HALL OF FAME

The man who just loved beetles ROGER DOWLING He became an international expert on insects and director of Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery – but his passion for collecting led to court appearances and downfall.Many feel that a re-assessment of his contribution to the science of entomology is now overdue. unlikely forename. The first Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour was born in Catrine, Ayrshire on 16th April 1885. By 1911 he had become a bank clerk in Edinburgh but within a few years war broke out and in due course he became Lieutenant Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Sadly, he was killed in action near Arras, France on 28th March 1918. Elphinstone’s father was a medical practitioner,William McMillan Gilmour, who married Isabella Kelly McCulloch in Toronto, Canada in 1921. The couple returned to the UK in May, 1922 and when

VER the past few years we have belatedly saluted a number of Old Almondburians whose contributions to the world have been inadvertently overlooked. In this issue, the spotlight is on a former pupil who not only achieved great professional success but also, in mid-career, suffered ignominy from which he struggled to recover. His name was Elphinstone Gilmour. Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour – known throughout his life as ‘Elphie’ – was born in the Ayrshire village of Riccarton on 8th September 1922. Surprisingly, he was not the first member of the family with this

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RAF days: having ‘pranged a couple of Tiger Moth trainers’, Elphie had to accept that he was more cut out to be a navigator than a pilot. He had been a member of the Glasgow University Air Squadron.

they produced their first child on 8th September 1922 they had no hesitation in naming him Elphinstone Forrest in honour of his uncle who had so nobly died in action four years earlier.They had two further boys, John and James, born in 1924 and 1926. The family set up a medical practice in Milnsbridge, near Huddersfield and Elphie became a pupil at King James’s Grammar School on 12th September 1933.The following year he was joined by his brother John and in 1936 by brother James. Little is recorded of Elphie’s time at King James’s although we do know that he had the distinction of playing the part of ‘John Wilkinson, Gent of Greenhead’ in the much-lauded School Pageant of 1936. He left in July 1939 to continue his studies at Glasgow University. During this time he developed a growing interest in entomology – the scientific study of insects – and in particular, he became an expert on cerambycidae, also known as longhorn beetles. War service with the RAF followed, during which he trained as a navigator on Sunderland flying boats in South Africa and then became a navigator on Lancaster bombers. In 1946, after demob, he became cu-

rator of the African Gallery of the Imperial Institute, South Kensington. In April 1949 Elphie married Jean Hayle, a domestic science teacher from Birkby. He became exhibitions officer at the Institute, where he became increasingly recognised as an acknowledged entomology expert and became a member of the Royal Society of Entomologists. But only two months after his marriage, when he was still only 26, his career was in danger of coming to a premature end when newspapers carried reports that he had been accused of stealing 160 beetles from the nearby Natural History Museum, for which Elphie held a student’s pass. He had written a magazine article which mentioned, amongst

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erambycidae is a family of beetles with a very large number of species. Adult beetles are called longhorned beetles because of their long antennae; the immature stage of most longhorned beetles is a woodboring larva called a roundheaded borer. The beetles vary in size from ¼ to 3 inches long. Roundheaded borers are commonly found in firewood, and the longhorned beetles may emerge from wood brought into the house. However, the adults cannot bite, sting, attack furniture or damage the house structure.

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other beetles in his collection, one which the Natural History Museum recognised as being unique to its own collection.When police visited his Shepherd’s Bush home they found over 5,000 beetles which the museum claimed were its property, from which 160 were selected as the basis for the prosecution. In the circumstances, Elphie was lucky to get off with a three months’ sentence. It was not a good professional start for a young entomologist with a growing reputation who was already being sent specimens from all over the world. But he bounced back and, perhaps surprisingly, secured a job at Woodend Museum, Scarborough where he was able to enjoy his renewed relationship with Natural History.Then, in December 1952, he moved to Doncaster to take up the post of Curator of Doncaster Museum

and Art Gallery at a salary of £2,100 pa. When he arrived it was located in Beechfield House, a converted Victorian mansion located in what is now Doncaster’s Civic Quarter. We shall never know how he managed to land the job; perhaps in those preGoogle days 70 years ago, Doncaster Corporation were unaware of the unfortunate South Kensington incident only three years earlier. Or perhaps they were simply blinded by the expert reputation the 30-year-old entomologist had by now gained. In 1956, by which time his marriage had ended in divorce, he embarked on a

Elphie worked tirelessly to make Doncaster Zoo a major attraction. 29

Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery: opened in 1964 at a cost of £290,000, it claimed to be the first museum in the country to be funded entirely from the local rates

tect’s team, was finally opened to the public by Princess Margaret on 30th October 1964, accompanied by her husband the Earl of Snowdon. Speaking at the opening Princess Margaret described the new museum as one with “an atmosphere which is fresh, alive, and stimulating”. Its collections of palaeontology, minerals, rocks and fossils were greatly expanded in the years that followed, to take full advantage of the space now available. Meanwhile, Elphie was also continuing to further expand the museum’s entomological collection and somehow found time to continue to write many learned articles on his specialist subject of cerambycidae: by 1964 he had published over two dozen papers on this topic alone. But further disaster lay in wait. It would seem that at some point Elphie decided (and who can blame him?) that there must be more to life than beetles and he sadly sought some extra-marital activities which were inadvisedly photographed. Matters then took a serious turn for the worse when a Doncaster police officer was handed a collection of the 35mm transparencies that he had acquired. But more was to come. Elphie had

second marriage to Dorothy Jones, a secretary at Doncaster School of Art, and the couple set up home in Doncaster. A dynamic and charismatic figure, Elphie threw himself into his new job with enthusiasm. He worked tirelessly to give Doncaster a Zoo with many animals and birds, some of which became well known to the town as their characters developed – Vicky the Himalayan bear, dingos, porcupines and all manner of birds in the aviaries along with a talkative African Grey Parrot. It was extremely popular and he enjoyed showing school parties around as imparting knowledge to a younger generation was very important to him. However it was becoming clear that Elphie had greater ambitions and he launched a plan to build a new and more appropriate building for the Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery. Elphie’s ambition was to create a much larger museum of regional significance and Doncaster Corporation supported the project with enthusism. It took 10 years, but the new building, designed by the Borough Archi30

posted the pictures to his friends and back in 1967 there were very strict regulations on what could be sent through the Royal Mail. To some extent they still apply, for eminently sensible reasons, today, – as one would quickly find if, for example, one tried to post a bottle of sulphuric acid to a friend. But in those Mary Whitehouse days of 1967, there was one thing every bit as corrosive as sulphuric acid: an ‘indecent’ photograph. And so Elphie – by now suspended from his position as Director of Doncaster Museum – found himself in court for the second time in his career. But even worse was to follow. When police officers visited his home they discovered a vast collection of beetles which Doncaster Corporation claimed were the property of the museum. As a result, the charge sheet was expanded to include, amongst of things, the stealing of ‘seven entomological cabinets valued at £224; stealing a 35 mm camera belonging to the Corporation, and stealing more than 20,000 beetles (cerambycids) valued at £850’. The upshot was that on 16th October 1967 Elphie found himself on trial at Leeds Assizes where he pleaded guilty to most

of the charges apart from the theft of the beetles. In his defence, it was pointed out that Elphie’s involvement in the planning of the new museum had involved his working seven days a week, sometimes 20 hours a day. “This affected his health,” said his defence lawyer, “and his moral judgement was clearly affected and he slid into this misconduct.” Elphie’s wife stood by him. “He has been punished enough,” she said. “I have gone through hell but it could not be anything like the hell he has gone through.” The court, it would seem, took the same view and Elphie received the very mild sentence of two years’ probation. Doncaster Corporation were less forgiving, however: he was formally dismissed from his position as Director of the museum. There are still many today who believe that Elphie was harshly treated, though in view of the charges of which Elphie was found guilty it was probably the inevitable outcome. But by the standards that apply today one is bound to ask if the charges should ever have been brought in the first place.Today, the law is certainly more relaxed on matters of morality and would certainly have no interest in that aspect of 31

his prosecution. As for the ‘theft’ of the beetle cabinets and other sundries (though, surprisingly, not the 20,000 beetles for which the Corporation was happy to accept Elphie’s ‘not guilty’ plea), is it not more likely that Elphie – a workaholic and international expert on cerambycidae – was guilty of nothing more than blurring the distinction between his work from home and his work in the office? For Elphie this was all a disaster of the first magnitude. He was still only 45 years of age and he had lost both his job and his reputation. Not surprisingly, the professional interest in cerambycidae to which he had devoted his life was abruptly at an end. Moreover he had to support not only himself and Dorothy but also a 14-yearold daughter.They had hard times ahead but decided to enter into the hotel business and after years of hard work, had some moderate success. In due course the couple retired and moved to Baildon, where Elphie died on 14th February 2008 at the age of 85. Dorothy died, aged 93, on 28th April 2013.

Dave Bush’s new book No beating about the Bush, to be published in November to mark the centenary of the Old Almondburians’ Society. In the book, he records that on Monday, 13th May 1996, a visitor appeared in reception at King James’s School and announced himself as Elphinstone Gilmour. Dave Bush, now within two months of retirement, was notified and went down to greet him, having checked the pupil record cards before doing so. “Elphinstone – how good to see you!” he said. “Your father was a doctor and you used to live in Milnsbridge?” No doubt Elphie was as impressed – as

Postscript And there our story might have ended but for August 2013: excitement in the press as ancient ammonites return to Scarborough after a 50-year loan to Doncaster Museum 32

Elphie’s final wish: ‘Ye who seek a monument, look to my work in entomology’

were most unsuspecting visitors – by his prodigious powers of memory. Displaying typical salesmanship, Dave Bush then records in his diary:

court for stealing 160 of their beetles back in 1949. Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour was without doubt one of the more colourful characters ever to receive his education at King James’s Grammar School. Sadly, his unwarranted fall from grace has meant that his contribution to the world has until now gone largely unrecognised in recent times. At Beechfield House, Doncaster he set up a very successful zoo and then created a new museum and art gallery with natural history collections of national importance. Over a period of 20 years he became a world authority on cerambycidae, publishing no fewer that 73 research papers in 38 scientific journals in 22 countries. It would be a distinction for any researcher to identify a single new species; Elphie identified no fewer than 192. Elphie wrote himself that his one ambition was to be remembered for his work as an entomologist. So in our centenary year, what better time to elevate former pupil Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour to our informal OAS Hall of Fame? n

His name was Dr Elphinstone Forrest Gilmour, an eminent entomologist. It turned out to be another very precious half hour. Charming man, full of stories and appreciation and, of course, even though he is 74 we both knew teachers such as Addy, Gledhill, Hudson and Haigh as they overlapped his going and my arriving. He joined the OAS and bought a History.

Sadly, that is the final formal record we have of Elphie. But what of his collections at Doncaster Museum? In August 2013 there was excitement in the press about the return to Woodend Museum, Scarborough – set up by Elphie back in 1950 – of 55 superb fossils dating back ‘millions of years’. Elphie had arranged for the fossils to be loaned to Doncaster Museum for its opening in 1964 and no-one had remembered to return them. And the beetles? In a final ironic twist to this strange story, there are now plans to transfer Ephie’s magnificnt collection of over 20,000 cerambycidae from Doncaster to be displayed at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington – the very same museum which took the over-enthusiastic young naturalist to

l My thanks to Louise A Hill and Les Coe (Doncaster Natural History Society), Colin Howes (former environmental records officer, Doncaster Museum) and Dean Lomax (University of Manchester). 33

PART 3

The room with the Big reputation By the mid-1990s the Library was back in use as a classroom and all the pioneering work of Leonard Ash looked wasted. But all was not lost…

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tion, who carried out a full inspection of the School in November 1996. Although the verdict was that KJS was a ‘Good’ school, the Ofsted inspectors were not happy that King James’s School was one of the few in the country without proper library facilities and made it clear that it would expect them to be restored before the next inspection that was due in 2002. An ambitious action plan was therefore hastily presented to the Governors that proposed the opening up of the ‘Big’, the ‘Small’ and other adjacent small rooms to form a ‘super-library’ to be known as the ‘Independent Learning Centre’. Recognising the growing importance of the internet, an important feature of the ILC was that there would be a large array of personal computers on which pupils could undertake their

Jenny Sanderson

HE lack of teaching space that led to the decision to convert the Library back into a classroom continued to be a problem. In 1994, a plan was developed in association with Kirklees to convert the loft area above N1, N2 and N3 (and later the old Art Room) into a large new teaching area. Meanwhile, headmaster Clive Watkins informed the OAS Executive Committee in July 1994 that teaching was now taking place in the ‘Big’ and the ‘Small’ “to much hilarity amongst Year 11 pupils.” It was humour that was not shared by many book-lovers both on the staff and amongst the pupils. Nor, fortunately, was it shared by Ofsted, the Government’s Office for Standards in Educa-

2001:The builders move in: a scaffold tower in the ‘Big’ and computer benches in the enlarged ‘Small’ as the new ‘Independent Learning Centre’ starts to take shape. 34

own computer studies. By this time, computers were already in use in various parts of the School and in February 1997 headmaster Clive Watkins tentatively asked if the OAS would consider funding the purchase of the Encyclopedia Britannica on CAD-ROM at a cost of £336, a request which was graciously agreed. He also added proudly that the School would be getting a further 16 computers and that the School would soon be ‘online’ (sic). Sadly, Clive Watkins fell ill the following year and had to retire on health grounds. However, the ILC project gained further impetus with the appointment of Martin Shevill as headmaster in 1998. At last, in the summer of 2001, the builders moved in and the ILC started to take shape. To the dismay of

the OAS an immediate casualty was the £10,000 partition erected only a few years earlier to enable the ‘Big’ to be used as a classroom. Building work was one thing; acquiring the books was quite another. When Martin Shevill approached the OAS for possible funding assistance in May 2001, he initially received a somewhat frosty reception; one member of the Executive Committee expressed the views of them all: It beggars belief that we spent £10,000 on refurbishing the library so that it could also be used as a classroom. We then spent money on refurbishing the attic over the ‘N’s which was going to be a library but then became an IT room. Every time we hand over money for a library it appears to go elsewhere.

The great days of ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ OR many years, a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica had pride of place beneath the lofty windows at the far end of the Library. Housed in a fine oak bookcase by the celebrated Kilburn-based ‘mouseman’ Robert Thompson, they were a gift to the School from the Old Almondburians’ Society in 1951 as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Second World War. It was dedicated in Almondbury Parish Church at a Founders’ Day service attended by headmasters Taylor Dyson, Horace Moore, Harry Taylor and John Baldwin. Though few could afford it, every school and every home aspired 70 years ago to a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It first appeared in 1770 and grew vastly in size over the years: the School’s 1951 edition had 24 volumes. Eminent contributors included Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Carl Sagan. Sadly, the printed Encyclopedia Britannica could not compete with online search facilities that gradually started to become available; the most prominent of these was Wikipedia (‘the free Encyclopedia’), launched in 2001.The final printed edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, with 32 volumes, appeared in 2010. The online version Brittanica continues to be available today and many regard it as a more reliable source than Wikipedia’s articles that are occasionally of dubious scholarship.

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In the event, the OAS did of course agree to help. At around this time, it had been involved in arrangements to transfer the contents of the Taylor Dyson Library* (a large collection of local history books collected by Taylor Dyson during his time as headmaster) to a more suitable location at Greenhead College. Thanks to the efforts of Pat Reid, certain valuable books that were not appropriate to the collection were sold at auction and raised £1,640.72 which was donated to the School’s library fund. The School’s first-ever full-time staff librarian, appointed in October 2001, was Jenny Sanderson, who had attended King James’s School as a sixth-former in 1976-77. Jenny gained a BA in Librarianship and Information & Communication Management at Leeds University and then worked for Kirklees Education Service and at the University of Huddersfield. With a total initial budget for books of £12,000 Jenny was able to make a start on the major task of filling the shelves so that the ILC was able formally to open on 16th January 2002 – in good time for the Ofsted visit in Septem*See The Almondburian, July 2010. The Taylor Dyson Library has now been transferred to the University of Huddersield.

Top right: the books section of the Independent Learning Centre today Bottom right: the computer area with 30 screens.There are several other similar computer rooms around the School.

ber 2002. She had every right to be pleased by the inspectors’ verdict: The Library/Independent Learning Centre has been open for only one year. Although it is still being developed, it is a large, welcoming and attractive area and represents a good learning resource. It is a considerable improvement over the situation at the time of the last inspection. Senior management and the

Taking it easy (for a change): Jenny Sanderson has been Manager of the Independent Learning Centre since 2001 36

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Children’s writer was big library benefactor HE late MICHAEL HARDCASTLE MBE was a noteable past benefactor to the School library. A prolific writer of children's books, mainly on a sporting theme, he received the MBE in 1988 for his services to children's literature. Michael attended King James’s Grammar School from 1944-51. On leaving school, he spent five years in the Royal Army Educational Corps serving in the UK, Kenya and Mauritius, before joining the Huddersfield Examiner as a reporter in 1956. He subsequently worked on the Bristol Evening Post as a diarist and literary editor, and moved to the Liverpool Daily Post as chief feature writer in 1965. Michael Hardcastle's first book, Soccer is Also a Game, was published in 1966 to coincide with the World Cup. He went on to write nearly 150 more books, mainly about sport, on such topics as cricket, motocross, horse-racing and tennis. He was guest speaker at Speech Day in 1994. A former member of the Old Almondburians’ Society, Michael Hardcastle died in January 2019 at the age of 85.

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outcomes, so access to quality fiction is paramount at KJS. Of course, pupils all have ready access to the internet for factual information.” Today, the Independent Learning Centre is one of the most popular and well-used areas in the School with an average of 350 pupils using the area each day. All Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils have an English reading lesson each week when they exchange their books. During free time at break, lunch and after school the ILC is open access to all year groups, and there’s also a ‘Homework Club’ after School each day. The ILC is probably the best such learning facility in the whole of the region – and Leonard Ash was quite right 82 years ago. The ODH just wouldn’t have been large enough. n

librarian have built it up from scratch and, although the book stock is currently below that expected, much of the stock is quite new: all the fiction, for example, is less than two years old. The area is deservedly popular with pupils and used well by staff, who bring classes into the area for research lessons. Since then, Jenny has continued to build up the stock, which now number some 10,000 books in total, of which about a third are fiction. She has an annual budget for new books from the School, and this was boosted during the early years by a matching contribution from the King James’s School Foundation. “Fiction is my main priority,” says Jenny. “There’s strong evidence linking reading for pleasure and educational 38

TRAVEL

We support the brave people of Sudan JOHN BROADBENT (1948 -1954) With the Ethiopia project* coming to a close, our correspondent visits its neighbour Sudan, now starting to recover from 30 years of repressive rule by deposed president Omar al-Bashir

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capital Khartoum, the country has always been accessible but the political situation over recent decades had dissuaded us from going. However with the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir, and the establishment of a new power-sharing transitional government, security issues appeared sufficiently under control to persuade us that the time was right. If nothing else, by going it would show our support for the many brave Sudanese citizens who took to the streets at great personal risk in order to demand change. The image of 22 year old engineering and architecture student Alaa Salah standing on a vehicle to make her demands was in-

Kerma Karima Jebel Barka Nuri Old Dongola Meroë Pyramid site KHARTOUM Musawwarat

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*The Almondburian, July 2011

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VER the last 20 years my wife Jean and I have spent a lot of time in Ethiopia, both exploring this most fascinating of countries and co-ordinating a project to modernise a village. Many Old Almondburians came on board to support the project and we take this opportunity of again saying thank you to them. It was due to the generosity of many people with School and wider Huddersfield connections that we were able to tackle the work over recent years. Our annual trip to the village last December confirmed that everything is still up and running.The water was switched on 10 years ago, the electricity 8 years ago and the flour mill 5 years ago. Is it any wonder that we can report the arrival of 11 new families in the village, all of whom have built houses and are joining up to the existing infrastructure.The village of Adi Eblal is quite the ‘des res’ area nowadays! As the project workload has tailed off we have taken the opportunity to explore some of Ethiopia’s neighbours. We have long wished to visit Sudan. With a daily flight from Addis Ababa to the

spiring – a young woman, born in a strict Islamic culture, speaking up for human rights and democracy in public, how the world is changing! To most Brits of a certain age Sudan is thought of in the context of the 19th century ‘Scramble for Africa’ and the later Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, but the independent Republic of The Sudan has long moved on from the days of Generals Gordon and Kitchener. There is now little evidence of the era of British influence apart from a few colonial style buildings, the remains of Kitchener’s railway and some wonderful bridges. Rather more poignantly you can still see Kitchener’s gunboat The Melik sadly now confined to a berth of concrete amongst a grove of mahogany trees at Khartoum’s Blue Nile Sailing Club. Khartoum is dominated by the Nile river system. It is the location of the ‘longest kiss in history’, a romantic interpretation coined by Arab poets describing the conflu-

ence of the Blue Nile arriving from Ethiopia, and the White Nile from Lake Victoria and the Ruwenzori Mountains beyond. It is the Blue Nile which introduces 80% of the water which ultimately finds its way to Egypt. For millennia past this river system has inextricably bound together Egypt and Sudan and both countries have become utterly dependent on this supply of water for the survival of their people. In the 21st century both countries must face up to the consequences of changes to the flow of water upon completion of Ethiopia’s flagship dam construction on the Blue Nile to generate electricity. Filling the dam is a cause of great fear in Egypt and much international concern too. Our visit to the confluence was for us not only a geographical ambition fulfilled, but also a moment to reflect on the serious risks of political fallout on one of the world’s greatest international rivers. If only Fred Hudson could have been there.

Omar al-Bashir is overthrown after 30 years udanese student and anti-government protester Alaa Salah (right) played a leading role in the overthrow of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in a coup in April 2019. Protests had begun in December 2018, leading to a new power-sharing transitional government.The country remains poor after years of misrule and civil war, despite major investment by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since alBashir's ousting. Salah, dubbed the ‘Woman in White’ continues to call for judicial accountability and disarmament, and for the political process to be more inclusive of women and ethnic and religious minorities.

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Confluence: the fast-flowing Blue Nile meets the White Nile at Khartoum.The Omdurman Bridge was completed in 1926.

century AD, when the Ethiopian Axumites invaded and destroyed the Meroitic dynasty. Whilst these events may have faded over time, some monuments survive and offer a tantalising glimpse of the achievements and culture of these ancient peoples. At the ancient cemetery site of Meroë over a hundred pyramids commemorate the burials of kings and members of the royal household. They are much smaller than those at Giza, but the sheer number and iso-

North from Khartoum you reach the area once known as Nubia, home to the Kushite Kingdom. Egypt is indeed ‘the daughter of the Nile’, but in addition to the water arriving from the south other very important natural resources – gold, copper, frankincense, ivory and slaves also came via southern neighbours. This trading relationship progressed to one of conquest and occupation so that from l500BC Nubia was a province of Egypt.The Nubians assimilated Egyptian culture albeit retaining some of their own traditions.Thus the decoration on tombs and temples include both Egyptian Gods and Goddesses shown alongside Deities known only to Nubians, for example the lion-headed God called Apedemak. By 730 BC the balance of power shifted and the Nubian Kings attacked and conquered Egypt, thus founding the 25th Dynasty ruled over by the so called Black Pharoahs. Within a century the balance of power shifted again and the Nubians retreated to their original territory south of the second cataract. The Kushitic culture gave way to the Meroitic until, in the 4th A gift from Lord Kitchener: the gun-boat Melik, given to the Blue Nile Sailing Club. Kitchener led the British army in the re-conquest of Sudan in 1898 and became Governor of Sudan in 1900. 41

1. Fish direct from the Nile: the market at Omdurman 2. Kushite reliefs: the Lion Temple dedicated to Apedemak (c 1st Century) at Naqa 3. Meroë World Heritage Site: Royal Necropolis

lated location lend them great dignity. The pyramid structures, up to 30 m in height, with an angle approaching 70°, are grave markers. The body was not interred inside the pyramid but below it in a subterranean tomb. The H structure on the eastern face of each pyramid served as a mortuary chapel, and most of these have been restored with render in modern times. The large site, which we enjoyed to the exclusion of other tourists, creates a serene and spiritual final resting place. It is deservedly a World Heritage site. Our journey took us also to the sites of Mussawarat, Nuri, Karima, El Kurru, Tombos, Old Dongola and Jebel Barkal. All are smaller than you would see in Egypt but no less interesting and evocative for being so. We went on to explore a petrified forest, miles and miles of desert, further sections of the Nile including being tossed around on the 3rd cataract. We enjoyed visits to markets where we were constantly met with warm greetings of welcome. English is not widely spoken but we were left in no doubt that people were pleased to see us. There have been so few tourists in Sudan in recent times that we were quite a novelty! Hospitality was generous, our accommodation very comfortable and the food was excellent.We were so glad that we ‘risked it’ although the security situation remains volatile. Five days after we

flew home the airport in Khartoum was closed because some former military personnel, who had been sacked, took to the streets with rifles to complain. No casualties but a sign that you must always take care. For a safer alternative, we thoroughly recommend a visit to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, or the British Museum in London, where the collections of Nubian artefacts are exceptional, with extremely n good written explanations. 42

MEMORIES

An illustrated guide to CHARLIE STARKEY (1968 - 1975) No issue of The Almondburian in the early 1970s was complete without a few drawings by Charlie Starkey, whose artistic skills were admired by pupils and staff alike. We invited him to look back on his career in London and America. HE most recent septennial in- Modern yobs would become legend. stalment of director Michael While at Deighton Junior School, I’d Apted’s long running documen- won a national Brooke Bond Junior tary series 63 Up aired in the UK last Handwriting Competition and a Silver summer. The first, Seven Up!, was broad- Seagull Essay Award. I arrived at King cast in 1964: “Give me a child until he is James’s a rather studious, bespectacled seven and I will give you the man.” Cue twit and by year’s end shared the First ominous music, and roll credits. Form Prize with some other swot whose In common with that show’s surviv- name I’ve forgotten. Seven years later I ing participants, most of the lads from my was rather less studious and my uniform KJGS intake year will also have reached no longer fits. In common with 63 Up, the grand old age of 63. They’ll re- some of the players have fallen by the member a crisp September morning in wayside and are no longer around to share 1968 when the imposing driveway of their scholastic memories, so with that King James’s Grammar School wel- in mind here are some of mine. comed them with open jaws for the first In the 1990s after a gap of more than time, and a wry smile two decades I reconmight play upon the lips nected with schoolfriend of those who survived David (aka Gary) Croft, the arcane ritual of Tossformer Fartownian and ing New Boys Down fellow attendee of Wood‘The Bunk’. School caps house Infants, Deighton – worn only once – were Juniors, and KJGS. instantly transformed ‘Gary’ was the serving into frisbees on the up- Charlie Starkey left to study Art OAS chairman and he per deck of the Number in Huddersfield and Kingstontempted me to pen a 33 to Almondbury, while upon-Thames.After beginning his tell-all for anyone who career in London he moved to heroic tales of short- New Jersey in 1981.A successful might – or might not – trousered boys and their artist, illustrator and writer, he be interested in knowing dreaded bus stop en- has worked for PBS television where I’d disappeared to and WPIX11 News, New York. counters with Secondary after graduating in 1975.

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time: “What? You never heard of CANDLES?” And yet, we somehow survived. Some of King James’s masters were respected, some feared, and some taken advantage of for their good nature and/or inexperience. What rotters we were. For instance, Geography master Mr. Walker was far too lenient with us and his lessons frequently descended into chaos, but when illness forced him to retire scores of boys lined the corridor to the Staff Room on his last day and applauded loudly as ‘Killer’ ran the gauntlet of our genuine appreciation. However, I shudder to think how many precious hours of our young lives were wasted languishing in detention: Mr. ‘Pedro’ Jenkins notably kept 2 Alpha incarcerated for an entire week because of some measly little indiscretion. (The prefect’s body was never found.) But I digress. Many would consider it a privilege to have received a traditional British all-boy grammar school education free of charge. Indeed, it was my Dad’s wish for me to one day attend King James’s. Sadly, he was prematurely cut down by cancer before I sat the Eleven-Plus exams. A self-taught *Written by two Danish teachers, TLRSB was a and naturally smart man, Dad was also a “scurrilous” yet handy pocket-sized book that rather good amateur artist and actively endared to assert that British schoolboys actually had couraged my interest in drawing from the ‘rights’. beginning. My earliest school notebooks were filled with doodles of spaceships and The Beatles – some things never change. I was already known as ‘a bit of an artist’ back at Deighton Junior School, where my own hand-drawn week-

In fact I’d come a long way from Fartown in more ways than one, having relocated across the Atlantic to New Jersey, USA. It might come as no surprise to those who knew me back then that I went on to pursue a career in art. However, my ‘whatever happened to’ letter to the OAS Newsletter (October 1998) focused heavily on ‘recounting the grim scenes of horror and character-building carnage we witnessed as various teachers imposed their iron will upon hapless students.’ While a limited degree of boyish insurrection was permitted, punitive measures meted out in response to the bending of school rules were sometimes a little harsh. Lessons were frequently punctuated by stealthy blackboard dusters or hypersonic chalk missiles aimed at our scabby heads, and being caught red-handed with a copy of The Little Red School Book* could bring the wrath of Jehovah down upon you. Even rolling power cuts caused by the strikes and coal shortages of the ’70s were unacceptable as an excuse for not handing in homework on

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ly comic book was circulated among classmates and eventually made its way into the staff lounge. Class teacher Mr Thompson and headmaster Mr Green were largely responsible for my first sniff of success when they submitted my drawings to the wildly popular weekly TV Century 21, a comic book based on those fab Gerry Anderson sci-fi marionette shows such as Fireball XL5, Stingray, and Thunderbirds (but more of those later). I was stunned when TV21’s editor Alan Fennell published my stuff in

the comic, and I fondly remember being called to the stage during morning assembly by Mr Green to be presented with a 10/- [50p] postal order for my efforts. Ten whole shillings! King James’s much-loved headmaster Harry Taylor was equally supportive of my endeavours and in 1970 he sent several of my comics to the producers of the BBC’s Blue Peter programme. In reply, editor Biddy Baxter kindly invited me to tour the BBC art department but at that time I didn’t have sufficient means to travel to London. (Curse you wretched Penia, Goddess of Poverty.) A Blue Peter Badge would have more than sufficed as a consolation prize – any colour, not fussy – yet it was not to be. Incidentally, on a recent return trip to Britain in 2018 I was disappointed, nay outraged to find out that Ms Baxter’s fifty-yearold offer had expired: “The BBC no longer allows public tours for security reasons”, I was informed. Bastards. 45

Art continued to be my ‘thing’ throughout school. It certainly wasn’t sports. I was an abysmally uncoordinated, lanky, four-eyed biped who repeatedly suffered the humiliation of being ‘last pick’ in gym class so it felt empowering to be recognised for at least one nominal superpower. Despite the curse of astigmatism, in blurry hindsight I may not have been as much of a nerdy outsider at King James’s as I once considered myself to be. I was a member of the Locomotive and Astronomical Societies, contributed to The Almondburian, served as librarian for a term or two, was on a team representing us at an inter-schools ‘University Challenge’ quiz, worked behind the scenes on school plays, and on occasions my lilting alto croak harmonised with the angelic voices of the school choir. (Our slightly off-kilter performance of ‘The Daniel Jazz’ at a Moldgreen church hall concert inadvertently had the adult audience in stitches.) Meanwhile, painting scenery for drama productions offered an excuse to avoid the psychological torture of gym lessons so my pal Phil Weavill and I stretched those sessions out for as long as possible. Festina lente, indeed. I should posthumously thank Art master Dusty Binns for seeing to it that I had access to the Art Room and its materials most lunchtimes. In fact, Mr Binns arranged for two Monty Python’s Flying Circus themed posters of mine to be displayed for a time at the Town Library’s art gallery, resulting in a Huddersfield Art Society John Hamer Award. I couldn’t find

much visual reference material for the posters in the pre-VHS, pre-internet stone age, so I had to sit in front of the telly every week and, in between guffaws, quickly sketch what animator Terry Gilliam had wrought on screen. 46

GIRLS was a jarring break with tradition. We also witnessed the decline of a more formal sartorial era as Mr Chips schoolmasters, patrolling the corridors in chalkdusted gowns and mortar boards since the Late Jurassic period, devolved into leatherelbow-patch-sports-jacketed trendies.This coincided with a similar easing of uniform regulations for senior boys, and hair began to creep over shirt collars – although dandruff remained defiantly omnipresent. Throughout Transitus Arts and my final year I became a more ambivalent student. I was impatient to move on to pre-university-status Huddersfield Polytechnic where I had been taking extracurricular life drawing classes since the Fifth Form, but I stuck with my studies and passed the necessary A-Level exams. With the school Napier Prize for Art tucked under my arm, I bade farewell to King James’s in 1975 and began a Foundation Year in Art and Design and Heavy Drinking – yes, the Student Union ran a subsidised bar on site.The Polytechnic’s arts facilities were located in Queensgate’s grand Ramsden Building and in a large glass-encased expanse high above the vendors’ stalls of the new Market Hall. It was liberating to be surrounded by other would-be artists all day, and I learned a lot there. For some students, art school functioned as a kind of gap year until they decided what they wanted to do with their lives, but the busy curriculum soon weeded out those who weren’t seriously committed. To be continued

Around this time I was asked to draw a new cover for The Almondburian school magazine (see page 3 of this issue). I cringe when I look at it now. The perspective was bloody awful, as was my scratchy dip-penand-ink technique. I had yet to discover the magical precision of rOtring* and Koh-INoor* brand technical pens (*available at all fine arts supply stores). However, further illustrations I contributed to the magazine over the next few years were somewhat more skilfully rendered. The mid ’70s at King James’s was a time of change. Ominous threats to the institution’s future as a grammar school bred feelings of uncertainty, and the introduction of

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Full marks to Sainsbury’s – but ‘nul points’ for the Co-op

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adly, the apostrophe has almost disappeared from shop fronts these days so it seems only fair to commend Sainsbury’s for continuing to fly the metaphorical flag. Founded by John James Sainsbury in 1869, the company has some 600 large stores and 800 convenience shops all over the UK, all with Sainsbury’s, Huddersfield apostrophes, representing a depth of commitment to the cause which deserves our commendation and gratitude. Strangely, the company got off to a hesitant start: the original store, in Drury Lane, London (left), simply carried the name ‘J. Sainsbury.’ over the door. However, the signwriter responsible for the larger overhead sign chanced his arm with an apostophe, clearly reckoning that it was Mr Sainsbury’s shop that was providing the quality rather than Mr Sainsbury himself. Fortunately his logic prevailed. Other examples in Britain’s high streets are thin on the ground, though it is pleasing to note that McDonald’s (lower left) continues to retain its apostrophe. No marks, however, for the Co-op who proudly opened a new store at Scholes last year (below). It aroused a lively debate amongst locals, opinion being divided as to whether the sign should have read Scholes’s, Scholes’ or just plain Scholes. But Schole’s received ‘nul points’ and the sign was hastily replaced by the standard green Co-op signage.

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McDonald’s, Huddersfield Send your sightings of errant apostrophes to us at apostrophes@oas.org.uk. We’ll publish the best. 48

MEMORIES

“You’re going to Australia, Leech” KEN LEECH (1947 - 1952) Now settled south of Melbourne, our correspondent ‘down under’ brings his story up to date with an account of his life in Australia and his travels around the world Y last article for this maga- ing a fighter pilot at 21, I would probazine was published in the bly end up at the age of 32 flying a desk November 2013 issue and as my reaction time and other flying related mainly to my entry into regular abilities relative to a fighter plane would military service. Aged 18, everyone had have evaporated. I might possibly proto do two years in one of the armed ceed in the RAF for the rest of my forces; however, in order to enable me working life, but would find the buto complete some of my mechanical en- reaucratic atmosphere stifling after flygineering studies, I was deferred to age ing a fighter. 21. Alternatively, if I volunteered for I was eager to fly and this could only ‘special duties’ I could lead an interestbe achieved by signing on as a regular in ing few years with the option of exthe RAF. I went to Hornchurch to the tending my career afterwards as a aircrew selection centre and underwent civilian, meanwhile travelling the a series of psychological and physical world. “Never volunteer” they say, but I tests followed by square bashing at a did! lovely location near Wilmslow, where I “Leech, you’re going to GCHQ”. had the privilege of cutting the Group “What’s that, Sir”? “You’ll find out when Captain’s lawn you get there with my nail but, before you scissors for the go your security temerity of clearance needs walking on his upgrading and lawn in my you must spend boots. a little clerical In an intertime in Whiteview with some hall”. Off I went gentlemen from to London and the Foreign Ofwas placed in a fice, it was exvery pleasant plained to me Picnic time: Ken and Janine enjoy the sunshine at building, close that by becom- Flinders, on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne to 10 Downing

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Weapons Research Establishment, Salisbury (1955 - 78) HE Weapons Research Establishment was formed in January 1955 from the amalgamation of the Long Range Weapons Establishment and several other defence research facilities. It consisted of five wings; the Weapons Research and Development Wing, the Applied Physics Wing, the Engineering Wing, the Trial Wing and the Administrative Wing. In April 1978 the Establishment was divided into four laboratories, which were known collectively as the Defence Research Centre.

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Street. There were no gates there then and my pass entitled me to move freely in that area, dining in the Civil Service canteen and afterwards taking a walk in Green Park. Meanwhile, some men in trench coats and trilby hats were putting the shivers up my parents and their neighbours by doorknocking in Marsh and Lindley, asking about my character and political affiliations. “What’s your Kenneth been doing?” asked the neighbours. “We don’t know” said my parents, which of course they didn’t, and never did. Clearance complete and upgraded to top secret access, off I went to GCHQ. Quite a different place to the present buildings at the same location. There were no identification signs there and the whole area was surrounded by razor wire. Proceedings there at that time were Most Secret, and although it may be declassified now, I wouldn’t like to go over it in detail because I signed the Official Secrets Act, which is active for the duration of my life. “You’re going to Australia, Leech”. “Where’s that Sir?” I really did know where it was thanks to Fred Hudson, geography master extraordinaire. So, I

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boarded a BOAC Britannia at Heathrow and went ‘down under’. My destination was the Weapons Research Establishment near Adelaide. During the writing of this article, I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to detail any of my activities in the southern hemisphere without contravening the Official Secrets Act. Suffice it to say that approximately two years later I boarded one of the new Qantas 707 jet aircraft and returned to the UK. I wasted no time in going to Australia House and arranging our migration to Australia to live in Adelaide. At that time I was married to an ex-Greenhead girl and we have three children, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren, all still living in the Melbourne environs. A little over 40 years ago we separated and I later met my Australian wife Janine, As a newly arrived migrant I discovered some amazing employment opportunities and opted for sales and marketing, becoming a medical representative in the pharmaceutical industry, calling on doctors, persuading them to write prescriptions for our products and later conducting clinical trials for the 50

listing of new drugs on the NHS. I ended my career in the pharmaceutical industry as National Sales Manager for Merck, Sharpe & Dohme. A mid-life crisis and a great offer saw me switch to Australasian Director of Marketing for American Express Travel, doing some very interesting travelling whilst being based in Sydney and eventually ending my career as CEO of a real estate group. During my working life, I lived in Adelaide, Launceston and Sydney, finally settling in Melbourne. Janine and I retired in 1998, sold our house and travelled to London, where we bought a Swift Kontiki motor home and gypsied around Europe for three years. Upon our return we bought a rural property on the Mornington Peninsula, some 50 miles south of Melbourne where we grow roses, fruit trees and vegetables. It is here in Rosebud that Dave Bush and his lovely talented granddaughter, Anna, came to stay with

us. They were suitably impressed by an ‘old man’ kangaroo, who cleared a six foot fence in one bound at the nearby farm property of some friends. We have also enjoyed several visits by Mike and Alice Powner who regularly visit their daughter and grandchildren who live on the Mornington Peninsula. During my lifetime, thanks to my employment, I have been fortunate to travel the world, visiting every continent for meetings and other activities. Highlights have included London to New York on Concorde, where I was seated next to Barbara (‘Walkies’) Woodhouse. Janine and I travelled a great deal and the highlight for both of us was three weeks in Antarctica in the Ross Sea area visiting both Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts, entering to discover them just as they were left, with food and clothing still hanging up without decay in this wonderful, non-bacterial 2% humidity environment. The downside was the huge elephant seal which seized Janine by the arm and flung her head-first into the undergrowth on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, on our way back to New Zealand. Fortunately she was not badly injured, but has some picturesque scars. I’ve rambled on, but I think my tale is told and Old Almondburians are always welcome to call in when down this way, but maybe email us first at Welcome visitor: Ken with Mike Powner (KJGS 1959-67). Mike and his wife Alice have family members living nearby. yorkdale@aapt.net.au.n 51

NEWS UPDATE

New town centre ‘blueprint’ Huddersfield town centre is set for the biggest redevelopment for 50 years following new regeneration proposals launched by Kirklees Council HERE was outrage amongst many when Huddersfield’s much loved market hall and adjacent Shambles Lane were swept away to make space for the ‘Piazza Centre’ 50 years ago. It was an uninspiring name for an uninspiring shopping centre that has never found its way into the hearts of Huddersfield’s residents. Now the Piazza Centre itself is set to

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disappear under new plans formally announced in recent weeks by Kirklees Council. An ambitious £250 million project envisages the piazza being replaced by a ‘hub’ for culture, art and leisure that will become the ‘cultural heart’ of the town. At the other end of the town, Kirklees also have major plans to redevelop St George’s Square. The council recently purchased the long-closed George Hotel – the birthplace of Rugby League – and is now exploring ‘a number of different future uses’ for the Grade II listed building. n Left: Huddersfield Library may gain a new entrance and display area Below:The present library and adjacent Piazza Centre

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Farnley Lines DAV E BU S H

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ORONAVIRUS or No Beating about the Bush? With which to begin? Let’s get the unpleasant one over first. I should say straightaway that, while it has involved many difficulties, particularly being deprived of visits from family members, we have not suffered in the manner of most of the population. A family with three children confined in a small third floor flat must be undergoing enormous strain. We have a large garden and an allotment. I can drive to the latter in about four minutes and can easily self isolate there. I must add that the allotments have never looked in better shape. In the afternoon we drive down to Sandy Bay. Here there used to be a 68 acre caravan park which Bridgend Council cleared the year we arrived in 1996, ‘for development’. Nothing has happened

but complete with roads it is an ideal spot for walking and surprisingly it is frequented by very few locals. Shopping once a week at Tesco at the Vulnerables’ Hour has meant hardly any queuing. Nobody has ever queried my age which I have found disappointing. I have occasionally wondered if we Vulnerables could be provided with a top which sports a large V rather in the manner of some Rugby League teams. As to the future, our grandson’s wedding in Galicia in western Spain planned for 14th August has been postponed until August 2021 while our next Big Birding Trip planned for early September must be in serious doubt.

No beating about the Bush As I write, my new book No Beating about the Bush has reached the proofreading stage. I originally intended entitling it A Deputy’s Diary but wisely, editor Roger pointed out this would have undertones of the mining hierarchy in West Yorkshire. Subsequently he came up with the clever title which the book now displays. This did inevitably lead me Lockdown: plenty of time to keep an eye on the allotment 53

to explore the origin of the expression ‘to beat about the bush’.It appears that the expression is very old. It evolved from the literal meaning when in bird hunts some participants roused the birds by beating the bushes and enabled others to catch the quarry in nets. The phrase first appears in a poem c 1440: Butt as it hath be sayde full long agoo, Some bete the bussh and some the byrdes take. Apparently this makes it one of the oldest non-biblical phrases in the language and certainly adds a little more gravitas to the title. In summary, to beat about the bush means to prevaricate and to avoid coming to the point. Those of you who read the book will, I am confident, agree that for the most part I have skipped the beating bit and grabbed the birds without delay, all of which, as a keen birder, I find a little upsetting! I even researched the expression for my French and Spanish prospective readers. The French is Il n’y va pas par quatre chemins while the Spanish has various options; I have chosen Sin andarse por las ramas. Translations available on request. The appeal for subscribers has been most rewarding and fascinating. We need around 150 to break even and are confident that figure will be reached. The list of names is so diverse. It includes family, Porthcawl badminton buddies, former teaching colleagues and above all

past pupils. These range from ones I remember vividly to others whose names have vanished into the mists of time. In some ways these have more significance, for although at the moment they do not stir a memory, I must have made some impact on their lives. I am particularly keen to hear from members of my last Year11 class, for they were such a delightful group. They are mentioned on nearly every page of the diary. At the moment my only contact is Ben Newton who has written about his activities since leaving King James’s on page 22. I had a photo taken of this special class which was framed and hung in the ODH. After I left, it ‘disappeared’ (I have my suspicions), and I appeal to our archivists to help track it down. It surely cannot have been destroyed. May I appeal to so many others to add their names to the subscribers’ list as it resembles a personal history. The story of ‘JB’ Wilson It has stirred so many memories and none more so than those surrounding Jeremy Brent ‘JB’ Wilson (KJGS 197075). However, some background is needed first. Back in the Grammar School Days, mine included, exam results for every subject listed each pupil’s percentage and form position. I can still hear my Art result being read out: “Bush 17%;32nd”.When all the results had 54

Rock star: palaeontologist Brent Wilson with wife Jacqui traversing the midoceanic rift valley in Iceland

the book and telephoned JB immediately. He went on line and subscribed. Imagine my pleasant surprise on discovering that on retirement he was now living only about an hour’s drive away in Newquay, West Wales . We have already pledged to meet up when Covid-19 permits. I am sure our esteemed editor will be asking him for an article for the next edition of The Almondburian while Andrew Haigh will be chasing him for a membership fee.

been gathered in, each pupil had his position in the class announced. Fine – those near the top but what was the effect on those at the bottom? So it was that I apparently told the talented but languishing JB that unless he elevated his hosiery he was going to achieve little. He adopted an “I’ll show him” (replace ‘him’ by a stronger word if so wished) attitude, and went on to achieve sound ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels at Greenhead College. No further contact until I acquired a laptop. No idea how but the first email I received was from none other than JB, now teaching at the University of The West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. March, 2009 saw me birding in Trinidad and Tobago. A pre-arranged meeting ensured a great trip down Nostalgia Avenue and a chance to meet his lovely wife from St Kitts. We stayed in contact as he worked his way up the academic tree, in due course becoming a professor. Now retired, he retains the title of Professor Emeritus in Geology and Palaeontology. Recently, his mother popped out to buy an Examiner, saw an article about

Keeping in touch –through the OAS I acknowledge that the last two paragraphs are somewhat lengthy but they so richly illustrate the importance and rewards of our wonderful organisation. They are a microcosm of all that is best in the OAS keeping members in touch with each other while supporting their alma mater both financially and morally. Sport – what sport? To conclude. I haven’t mentioned one of the major ‘very much missed’ items. I refer, of course, to sport and especially football. My son Alan suspects some dastardly plot to prevent his beloved Leeds United being promoted to the Premiership while I am perversely delighted by The Imps’ extended, unbeaten run. n 55

Two hundred years of fine choral music AS member and Halifax resident Dr John Hargreaves has produced a new book about Halifax Choral Society which recently celebrated its bicentenary. Entitled Every Valley Shall Be Exalted, it tells the story of Britain’s longest-constituted amateur choral society. Its beginnings go back to the early 19th century when wealthy local wool merchant and musician William Priestley invited friends to his home for music-making evenings.This led to the formation of the Halifax Quarterly Choral Society, which gave its first concert in February 1818. This fascinating and high-quality production delves deep into the workings of the choir, alongside the social history of the Halifax area and its people. John Hargreaves taught at King James’s School from 1971-90, and was Head of Religious Education from 1974-80 and Head of History from 1979-90. From 19902006 he taught at Batley Girls’ High School. John obtained an MA and PhD at the University of Huddersfield and he is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the university. n Every Valley Shall Be Exalted is published by D&M Heritage Press at £25 plus £5 P&P. See halifaxchoralsociety.co.uk.

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SUDOKU

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MEMORIES

The day the mast fell down DAV I D L EE ( 1946 - 1951) OAS member David Lee was in the control room on the day the Emley Moor television mast dramatically collapsed 51 years ago. He gives the inside story. HE weather in March 1969 really was abnormal. The 385m (1,265ft) high Emley Moor television mast, erected in 1964 to provide ITV 405-line pictures and the new 625line BBC2 transmissions for much of the north region, had been designed to withstand the worst weather that had been recorded for as far back as records were held. A steel cylindrical tube 2.75m (9ft) in diameter, the mast was supported by steel guy wires which stretched over nearby roads. But the weather for the previous two or three days was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before or since. The shrubs and trees around the station were like ships in bottles – they were like bubbles of ice, with the branches lying down on the ground. I’ve never seen anything like that. We certainly would have evacuated the station if the ver-

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tical visibility had been reasonable, but obviously the evening shift came in, for two days we hadn’t been able to see though the roads were still closed to local traffic. more than 200ft up the mast. When I got down home about two On the fateful day of 19th March 1969, I was in charge of the day shift at miles away, before I’d taken my coat off, Emley Moor. Earlier in the day we had my wife said “Your mother’s been on heard ice melting and sliding down sec- the phone. She said her telly’s gone off tions and shattering on platforms. In – can you go and fix it?” Of course as a fact one of my colleagues brought in a transmitter engineer you were expiece of ice that had the shape of the pected to fix anybody’s television. So I stay wire through it. He had it in his got the car out, and I was about to set off and my wife called out again before hands, and it weighed 7 kg (15 lb). At 3.00 pm we had to take the deci- I left. She said, “I’ve just heard on the sion whether to open the local roads to radio that Emley Moor has collapsed,” traffic or not, because ice was no longer and I thought as I drove off, “That’s a strange way to anfalling from the stay nounce a technical wires onto the nearby hitch.” roads. I don’t know if Anyway, when I did this was divine interarrive at my mother’s vention but I decided little cottage I soon reto leave it to the alised that there were no evening shift, which signals coming in, so I would be coming on went up to the station, duty at 5.00 pm, to which was only a mile take that decision and or two away, to see what I left the roads DAVID LEE left School to become was what. closed. Post Office telephone When I arrived, at During the after- aengineering apprentice. In 1960 he about 6.15 pm, the ponoon there was a lot joined the Independent Television lice had got the whole of snow about, and Authority (later the Independent Authority) which area outside the station the Post Office engi- Broadcasting needed staff to work at its rapidly cordoned off and they neers had dug out expanding television transmitter were searching undertheir vehicle from sites around the UK. He later became the neath the tubular secjust in front of the Manchester-based Regional new BBC 2 building, Officer (North West) for the IBA, a tions that were lying in the road for any bodies. which was actually regulatory role in which he was for Granada TV and I remember thinking demolished when the responsible the commercial radio stations in that they wouldn’t find mast came down, and the region. David was elected a Fellow of anything because I had they left at about the European Institute for the 4.30 pm. My shift Media in 1990 and retired in 1993. left the roads closed to traffic. Of course that left at 4.45 pm, and 58

wasn’t quite true, because whilst cars wouldn’t go through because of the illuminated signs closing the roads, you’d still got pedestrians who would take a chance. In fact they found two chaps hiding under the pews in the chapel when a stay wire came through the roof, so they’d obviously ignored the signs. If I had opened the roads, as was suggested during the day, the local school bus would have been parked on the corner by the chapel; it always waited for a few minutes from 5.00 pm on school days, and it would have been there just after 5.00 pm when the mast came down on the corner. It did occur to me that, if I’d opened the roads, I could have been responsible for school children being killed, because that was exactly where some of the sections came down.

design of the leg flange which fractured due to oscillations caused by the wind near the top. It wasn’t caused by the weight of ice, which many people wrongly think. The interesting thing for someone who worked there all those years was that the Emley Moor transmitter site had always been a backwater that headquarters staff tended not to visit. After the disaster, however, it became the centre of the universe! Today, Emley Moor controls the UK: if a transmitter goes off on the Isle of Wight, someone at Emley Moor calls out a team on the island to fix it, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Aftermath Of course there were years and years of litigation and arguments about the cause of the collapse. Ultimately it was agreed that it was a weakness in the

Off the air: duty engineers record an unexpected technical hitch ‘1265´ Mast: Fell down across Jagger Lane (corner of Common Lane) at 17.01.45. Police, ITA HQ, RO etc all notified. Fuses removed and isolator locked in the ‘OFF’ position…’ 59

There is still a similar mast to the one that collapsed at Winter Hill, near Bolton and Belmont in Lincolnshire, though they now have heavy chains dangling inside to dampen oscillations in high winds. n

But around 1963 we did finally acquire a television set. It was actually given to us and it was soon apparent why: it only had half a picture. The bottom half was completely blank, so anything on the screen below the waist had to be left to the imagination – though we were quite used to that in those prim and proper days of the early 1960s. And so, my father became a late convert to television. “He doesn’t half enjoy his new TV!” we used to joke. I was a keen tinkerer in electronics in those days and one day I warily took off the back of the receiver in the hope that I could diagnose the problem.Those were the days of the ‘cathode ray tube’ and I immediately discovered that the focusing magnet (a large circular magnet that fitted around the neck of the tube) appeared to be in the wrong position. I corrected it and – bingo! – we had a perfect picture. I was a hero. But not for long. In March 1969, my parents communicated the bad news that they’d lost the picture. No, it wasn’t their TV that was on the blink; disaster had hit the Independent Television Authority (ITA) at its transmitter site at Emley Moor where the main mast had fallen down. My family lived only a few miles away in Almondbury, so the mast was a prominent sight on the skyline. I often marvelled that such a slender structure could remain aloft. It was a miracle that no-one was hurt. Sections of the mast narrowly missed most of the transmitter buildings, though a new BBC transmitter hall was completely demolished. Although the loss of BBC2 was serious for the BBC, the collapse of the mast was a disaster for ITV, which lost all its income-generating television services in the region. The Huddersfield Examiner reported that the managing

l Roger Dowling, editor of The Almondburian, still has clear memories of the collapse of the mast. Television came late to the Dowling household. Even when I left King James's Grammar School in 1959 we were still a radio-only family and we were not alone – there were still some 5.2 million radio-only licences in the UK though the number was starting to drop rapidly. “We don’t need a televison,” my father would loftily say, “when we have all those good programmes on the wireless.” By ‘good programmes’, he meant DownYour Way, or In Town Tonight, or Take It from Here, or Paul Temple, or anything that included his favourite comedian Al Read. He had a fair point.

Headline news: the collapse of the Emley Moor mast was the lead story in the Huddersfield Examiner for many days. 60

director of Yorkshire TV, Ward Thomas, had the bright idea of commissioning aircraft to circle the area beaming the pictures down to a no doubt grateful audience. “Another possibility would be a barrage balloon which would hoist a transmission cable to a height of 2,000ft,” he helpfully suggested. In the event, the ITA rapidly transported an emergency mast to the site, restoring pictures to many local viewers after four days.The BBC in Manchester erected a temporary aerial to get BBC2 back on the air after a couple of days. There’s a surprising link between the ill-fated mast and the nearby Huddersfield Sailing Club. The club needed an observation tower for observing races on the adjacent lake.As luck would have it,one of its club members – club commodore Roger Molyneux – was engineer and surveyor to the local council responsible for clearing the debris from the site. A deal was done, and the only two undamaged sections of the mast were transported a few miles to form the centrepiece of the club building. “It’s proved absolutely ideal for the job,”enthused club member Allan Brooks when he showed me round a few years ago.“And it has given Huddersfield Sailing Club a very unusual claim to fame.” n

A good view: a section of the ill-fated mast is now part of the Huddersfield Sailing Club’s observation tower. 61

Today, a magnificent tapering freestanding concrete tower provides digital BBC and ITV pictures throughout Yorkshire and the surrounding counties. Erected in1971 and nowadays owned and operated by Aquiva, it stands some 330m (1,084ft) in height and is the tallest self-supporting structure in the UK. It became a Grade II listed building in 2002.

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Badminton A N D RE W H A I G H

andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk

XACTLY like the Olympic Games, Premier League football, Grand Slam tennis and everything else in the sporting world, the Old Almondburians’ Badminton season was curtailed early by that nasty piece of work, Covid-19. Thursday, 19th March saw our final hurrah for the 2019-2020 season, when nine people took a last chance to play before we were all confined by the lockdown. Since then, David Parry has instigated Thursday evening Badminton ‘Zoom’ meetings, immediately following the Clap for Carers at 8 p.m. These have involved various activities, such as on-screen games organised by Craig Watts and a quiz in which everyone contributed a round of questions. However, it’s just not badminton! The new season is due to start on Thursday, 3rd September. Covid19 permitting, we shall play in the School sports hall each Thursday evening during term-time, from 7.30 p.m. until 9.30 p.m., until Thursday, 27th May, 2021. The fee, to cover the hire of the sports hall, shuttlecocks and showers, is £5.00 per person per evening if eight people or fewer are playing, £4.00 per person

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if more than eight people play and £3.00 per person if more than twelve people play. Afterwards, we adjourn to Almondbury Conservative Club for refreshments. Those who ventured on court with us during the current season were: Neil Gledhill, Emily Murphy, David Parry, Craig Watts, Lydia Morton, Joe Schewtschuck, Andrew Haigh, Ian Daffern, Nicky Murphy, Bernie Gately, Robin Merchant and Matthew Booth. We are delighted to have been joined this season by the following students from school: Jake Ling, Keiran Morgan, Charlie Townend, Willow Hunter, Inés Gately, Lucy Walker, Ella McGlynn, Eleanor Haigh and Charlotte Haigh. It’s great that Kym Clarke, Head of PE, encourages students to come along and it is fantastic to see them joining in and improving quickly. Some of those who played this season were GCSE PE students who have now left the School under very strange circumstances and without sitting their exams, of course. We wish them all the best for the future and it would be nice to see some of them return to play badminton with us as fully-fledged Old Almondburians. n

Tennis A N D RE W H A I G H

andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk

N recent seasons, Longley Tennis Club have kindly accommodated us on Thursday evenings. However, they are currently replacing the roof on the indoor court and are also awaiting some work on some of the outdoor courts, which means that only two courts are in use at the moment. Because of this, they are not currently able to accommodate us. In addition, the current Covid-19 restrictions mean that only singles can be played at the present time. Thursday, 28th May, should have seen the commencement of the 2020 Almondburian tennis season but, because of the above issues, it did not. Howev-

er, the work at Longley is due to be completed in the next few weeks so, hopefully, by the time you read this, we might be playing – singles, at least. Renovations, Covid-19 and weather permitting, we play on Thursday evenings until 27th August from 7.30 pm until dusk. The fee, to cover the cost of court hire, balls and showers, is £3.00 for members of Longley Tennis Club and £6.00 for non-members (to cover the Guest Fee), per person, per evening. Almondburian tennis is purely social, so why not come along and join us? Afterwards, we partake of refreshments in Almondbury Conservative n Club.

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Golf: Gothard Cup ROBIN MERCHANT robin.merchant@talktalk.net good meal and have a drink together as well as present the prizes. We are therefore planning to postpone the event until Sunday, 6th September, with the tee reserved from 3pm. We will keep everyone updated and be in contact nearer the n date with further details.

HE Gothard Cup 2020 competition will NOT be taking place at Woodsome Hall on 5th July; although we will be able to play golf again by then, Woodsome Hall would not be able to provide us with a meal afterwards, which is as important as the golf as it gives us a chance to socialise, enjoy a

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Postbag YO U WRITE … Library memories From: Nick Addy (1955-1963) my taste, but it was in the KJGS library that I encountered lifelong friends such as Tarka the Otter, Salar the Salmon, Romany Rye and Emil and the Detectives, and discovered the likes of Henry Treece, Rosemary Sutcliffe and Ian Serraillier. Many thanks for your interesting and sensitively written history of this unique room. I was very taken by Peter Tracey’s account of his experiences at Stile Common School in the sixties, and his lovely memoir of Wally Heap. Nick Addy, Mirfield, West Yorkshire

HANK you for another very interesting magazine. I especially enjoyed your history of the ‘Big’ in its various stages of development, and look forward to reading about its continuing progress in the next issue. I was very privileged while still at primary school to accompany my father [French master Dick ‘Reg’ Addy] to ‘the Grammar School’ when he did his library work, generally at weekends. I had first crack at new library books when he did his cataloguing. Some of these were too improving in a manly kind of way for

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Thank you, our readers abroad We recently contacted our many members overseas regarding the escalating costs of posting The Almondburian abroad. The letters below are typical of the generous response. Our thanks to you all.

LTHOUGH I receive the magazine online I look forward to the REAL Magazine A which arrives a few weeks later. The online version does actually serve a useful purpose, that of warning me that the real version is on its way, and I can look forward to the pleasure of receiving it. Therefore I choose the option of continuing to receive the magazine by snail mail. Accordingly today I doubled my standing order. John Bradley, Melbourne happy to continue to pay a little extra over and above the normal memberIeasyshipamtoquite fee to cover the difference. To ensure that I remain ahead of the curve (it is so forget about about annual subscriptions), I will write to the Bank today to ask them to increase the standing order. It is always a joy when I collect the magazine from the mail box. I really think that we are all very lucky to have such a well presented magazine of such high quality, to be honest. We are also very fortunate that your committee give of their time so freely to keep things going, and everyone in touch. John Bateson, Alicante 64

Obituaries Malcolm Halma Mitton (KJGS 1940-1945) Emigré to Canada who had successful dual careers in property and music Malcolm Mitton, aged 90, has died in hospital in Nova Scotia, Canada after a short illness. Having spent his early years in Rawthorpe, he had moved with his family to Fartown towards the end of the time he was attending what was then more commonly known as Almondbury Grammar School. His entire career at the School was spent during the Second World War when extra curricular activities were curtailed and it was a source of some regret that he was unable to take part in Gilbert & Sullivan shows which were suspended during hostilities. He did manage to represent Jessop at football however. The formidable Taylor Dyson was Head during Malcolm’s schooldays and, not unusual for those days, he was a recipient of corporal punishment on one occasion which rendered him unable to sit down that evening. Family myth has it that when she learned the reason for his painful derriere, Malcolm’s mother, diminutive but certainly not shy in standing her corner, returned to School with him the following day and he was made to display the wounded area whilst she harangued Taylor Dyson in his own office! A fine singer with a tenor voice, Malcolm had been a chorister initially at Moldgreen Parish Church and later at Christ Church Woodhouse. In those days the church was the hub of local social activity comprising societies ranging from Sunday School and Bible class to cricket club, tennis club, youth club and operatic society. Malcolm was a leading light in the latter and it was through Woodhouse Church he met his wife, Dorothy Shaw. In common with many marriages during those years, Malcolm had attended KJGS and Dorothy, Greenhead High School. Upon leaving school, Malcolm attended the Huddersfield School of Architecture for three years before being called up for National Service with the Royal Engineers as an architectural draughtsman, and on return to civilian life he was employed by the Huddersfield Education Architect. After marrying in 1953, Malcolm, Dorothy and their two year old daughter emigrated to Canada in 1957 where they settled in Nova Scotia. After working as Architectural Technician with several architects, Malcolm became property manager with the Bank of Nova Scotia and subsequently this role saw him move with his family, by now with 2 sons and 2 daughters, to Toronto for 13 years. After nine years there he was transferred back to 65

Halifax, NS and later the bank for a similarofrole with the Federal Government PubMyleftimpersonation ‘Skip’ Toomey lic Works until retirement in 1990. From: Tony singing Cape (1963-1969) Malcolm’s enabled him to fulfil a shadow musical career as tenor with The Shantymen and other groups on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV and Radio. He was also AVE BUSH mentions the tenor soloist at two churches in Halifax, NS. I used to do a mean impersonation scout camp at Mold in Skiptrips Toomey andfamily on one memorable After retirement Malcolm and familythe made of several to visit in Huddersfield, last issue of TheaAlmondburioccasion my ‘rounds’ and issued always managing to schedule visit to watch Town with hisdid nephew, Andrew French (KJGS an. demerits to a platoon after 1968-75) with whom he also attended the 400th Anniversary Dinner atfor thetalking John Smith’s I was in at 2008. that dreadful camp, among lights out. They duly confessed this at Stadium several others. In him my recollection, flagfour break the next the great Dorothy survives along with threenoof their children, nine ofday, ten to grandchildren one took photos in those days, cer- merriment of we Senior Scouts. and twelve great-grandchildren. tainly notMitton, we scouts Somerset,New Jersey, USA Malcolm born ourselves. 19th May 1929, died 24th December 1919, aged 90. Andrew French

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It’sGeoffrey an ill wind… David Albert Calvert (KJGS 1951-1959) From: Prof Colin Robson (staff 1946-1953) Former Head Boy and magazine editor who became a respected Methodist minister David Calvert was born in Huddersfield, the youngest son of Beatrice and Norman Calvert and brother to Barbara and Margaret. He joined King James’s Grammar School in September 1951 and played a prominent role in his time there. He became Head Boy in 1958-59 and was a former editor of The Almondburian. David went to Kings College, London where he studiedTheology and also met his wife, Margaret. Later he moved to Cambridge where he trained to be a Methodist Minister. He felt called to God from an early age and worked for the ministry throughout his life as a Chaplain, Minister and Chairman of the District. He was well liked and respected as a preacher and presented a short TV epilogue on a Sunday evening forYTV during the 1980s. David’s ministry took the family to Kenya in 1967, by which time he was married with a young baby. In the late 1970s he travelled briefly to Wisconsin. He received a doctorate from the University of Leeds. David was happily married for many years and had two children, Jan and Tig. He later re-married and moved to London where he lived happily with his third wife, Barbara. He had six grandchildren and was a proud great-grandfather. He died in St Christopher’s Hospice, Sydenham. Dr David Calvert, born 1st July 1940, died 24th July 2015, aged 75. Jan Calvert 66

Four great OAS publications A History of King James’s Grammar School is the official history of the School covering the period 15471963. The author KING JAMES’S of this 284 page GRAMMAR SCHOOL hardback full of reminiscences and anecdotes was historian and former KJGS pupil Gerald Hinchliffe.

An Illustrated History of King James’s School in Almondbury was originally published to mark the 400th anniversary of the Charter in 2008. A full colour hardback recording 400 years of history, packed with illustrations thoughout.

A HISTORY OF

IN ALMONDBURY

GERALD HINCHLIFFE, B.A., M.Ed.

£10 plus P & P

£10 plus P & P

Morning Assembly gives a fascinating and often humorous account of former Headmaster Harry Taylor’s life and includes, in facsimile form, 100 prayers – ancient and modern – which he assembled over the years for use in School assemblies.

No beating about the Bush is the final year diary of former deputy head Dave Bush, who retired in 1996. A detailed day-today account of life at King James’s School with detailed and often amusing accounts of school life 25 years ago.

£10 plus P & P

£15 plus P & P To be published later this year.

Get your copies NOW! All books can be purchased online on our website www.oas.org.uk. If you prefer to pay by cheque, please make it payable to the Old Almondburians’ Society and post it to Andrew Haigh, R D Haigh & Co, Oakhill Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 1SN. Note: No beating about the Bush will be available later this year. If you would like to be a subscriber, fill in the form on our website. 67

Chairman WALTER RALEIGH 15 Thorpe Lane, Almondbury HD5 8TA Tel: 01484 308452 Email: walter.raleigh@oas.org.uk 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 756390/07815 601447 Email: almondburian@oas.org.uk Assistant Media Editor RICHARD TEALE The Sycamores, 239 Huddersfield Road, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth HD9 3TT Tel: 07810 313315. Email: richard.teale@oas.org.uk KJS Representative ABBIGAIL TERRY King James’s School, St Helen’s Gate, Almondbury HD4 6SG Tel: 01484 412990 Email: abbi.terry@oas.org.uk

Website: www.oas.org.uk

The Almondburian is distributed to OAS members free of charge. Price to non-members: £3.00

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