The Almondburian: March 2023

The ALMONDBURIAN

(Opposite):

This view of the School as it was in the early 1950s was drawn by Gavin Kane (1949-54). The buildings have been extended many times since then: see pages 32-34.

The ALMONDBURIAN

Editor: Roger Dowling March 2023

magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society

A word from your Chairman

WALTER RALEIGH

IN January the Society held its AGM and you will find a full report on page 17. It was attended by the usual group of members but again this year we had the benefits of video conferencing. Since Covid we have become regular users of Zoom so members can either attend in person or join the monthly meetings on-

line. It has made a big difference and we have had members from all over the country and even the USA join us from time to time. This year members from the Lake District, Cheshire and the Netherlands joined us for the AGM and it made what is always a pleasant evening even better. May I thank all who attended the meeting either

The

in person or via Zoom and encourage even more to give it a try. Please don’t fear that if you join us you will be given a job. If you want to get involved you will be given every encouragement and support to do so but if you would simply like to ‘put your toe in the water’ that is fine as well.

At the AGM we looked back at what we had done this year and it was most encouraging to see the Society emerging from the constricting Covid regulations. The School is now open for meetings and the wonderful extensions are complete. We were able to open up in September for HeritageWeekend and in November the Annual Dinner was held once more in School.

All our thanks to John Hargreaves who spoke at the Friday Church Service and to Jackie Hart née Chilvers and Edward Royle who entertained us at the Dinner. I do enjoy former staff and students recounting their times at School and seeing what they noticed compared to my memories.

Another thing of note for the year has been the understanding we can now have the Royal Charter in School anytime we wish. This is real progress, and my thanks to all who have made it possible. We have also now seen the completion of the new seating area in the Big TreeYard. The Society will be officially handing over the area to Ian and the school on 17th April (see page 35) and we are in the process of designing a suitable plaque listing those who have contributed so generously to the project.

We were also pleased to be able to support the Performing Arts faculty with a contribution towards a new Trophy Cabinet. I’ve seen it and it looks wonderful. Well done to all the staff and students who

worked so hard to win the trophies which are now on show to the whole school.

So what for 2023?

The Committee, at present, has no major project in the planning. Keith is rightly keen to see the bank balance recover after a couple of expensive years!

However, I think after five years all the new noticeboards we funded should be updated. It must be amazing as a student to see your name on a noticeboard and know that it will be there for many years to come. I really feel this is one way students will be encouraged to join the Society when they are a little older.

And finally, may I report some excellent news about our wish to extend our database to include students who have attended King James’s School in more recent years. As many of you will be aware the process of passing on the list of new students joining and those leaving King James’s was halted almost twenty years ago because of concerns about Data Protection legislation. Quite understandably, no Head or Principal wants to break the law and face fines for breaching legislation even though they support the Society’s request for some basic data. But following advice from the Government 'watchdog' School is now in a position to allow student names and year groups to be sent to the Society.  This is wonderful news and we would like to thank the Principal, Ian Rimmer and his colleague in the office, Joanne Hodgson who have been so supportive in our request for Student Data. The data sent gives the Society details of students going back to the intake of 2009. It will now be added to our Data Base spread sheet which will allow our Archives to be far more extensive. n

From your Editor ROGER

DOWLING

INCREASING postal costs are of concern to us all, particularly OAS members living abroad. For example, posting a copy of our latest book No Beating about the Bush to America costs over £20 - muchmore than the cost of the book itself. We’re therefore very pleased to be able to announce that this book is now available to read on-line in ‘flip-book’ style on your computer or tablets for a single payment of just £10. An added bonus is that the book is fully searchable – just add a search word and you’ll be taken straight away to the right page.

You can view sample pages free of charge, or complete your online purchase, on the OAS website at www.oas.org.uk/buy.php. n

Old Almondburians’ Society Calendar

QUIZ NIGHT

Wednesday, 24th May 2023 at 7.00 for 7.30 pm prompt start.

Usual teams of 3; contact Keith Crawshaw (details: back cover) beforehand if you are entering a team; otherwise just turn up on the night.

FOUNDERS’ DAY SERVICE

Friday, 24th November 2023

ANNUAL DINNER

Saturday, 25th November 2023

GOLF (GOTHARD CUP)

Sunday, 9th July 2023 from 2.30 pm (see page 55)

Dates of Executive Committee Meetings, 2023

Executive Committee meetings are currently being held at 6.00 pm in the ODH at School, with a Zoom link for those unable to attend in person. 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 March

Monday, 17th April

Monday, 15th May

Monday, 5th June

Monday, 4th September

Monday, 2nd October

Monday, 6th November

Monday, 4th December

If you would like to join us for any of the above meetings and are unable to attend in person, then please e-mail the secretary Andrew Haigh at andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk to request login details, an agenda and any other documents.

From the study

As we go to press teachers all over the UK are involved in ongoing strike action in support of a pay claim. Ian Rimmer gives some background on its possible implications.

BEING ‘(not) out of the woods’ is an expression that dates from Roman times, but was first recorded in England in 1792. Despite its historical roots, the saying applies as much to our world today as it did 200 or even 2,000 years ago. For just when you thought things were beginning to settle down at King James’s, following Covid, extensive site development and the integration of former Almondbury Community School children, we find yet more obstacles in our way. For King James’s is not impervious to the challenges facing the world of education more broadly at the moment.

Despite our strong reputation locally, and even further afield, recruitment remains a significant issue. I dread to think how other, less ‘popular’, schools must be cop ing. I remember the heady days, when posts would attract tens of applicants. Indeed, I recall when I was first appointed as Assistant Headteacher in 2004, I was one of 87. But now a Mathematics or English teacher post will struggle to attract more than a cou ple of credible candidates and, on occasions, there are none at all.

The much-reported national recruitment crisis has a number of causes, but fundamentally it is about workload and pay. Sadly, I have grown weary over the years listening to the “but you get all those holidays”

argument as a justification for constrained pay and excessive pressure. There are multiple counter-arguments, one of which is that school staff work very long hours during term-time. It is not an ‘8.30 am - 3.00 pm’ job, as some would believe; more like a ‘7.30 am - 5.00 pm and then again in the evening and at weekends’ job.A 55-hour week would not be unusual; particularly notable when all teachers are officially contracted/paid for is 32.5 hours! So, the mathematicians amongst the readership will quickly calculate that the extra 22.5 hours per week for 38 school weeks accumulates to an additional ‘unpaid’ 855 hours or a little over 26 weeks in the course of a year.This clearly exceeds the ‘holidays’. But in any case, they aren’t all holidays. This is simply time not in contact with students, but work still continues. From a teacher’s perspective, there will be plenty of planning, preparation and assessment still happening. Heads of department will have many additional tasks on top of that. So, it is clear that workload is a deterrent for many thinking about entering the profession. And then there is the issue of pay.

Whichever political angle you take, or whichever statistical measure you use, you cannot get away from the fact that in the last ten years, teachers’ pay has fallen behind in-

The teachers’ strike, the unions and the problems

There are two teacher unions: the National Education Union (NEU) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).

The NEU have voted for strike action, but the NASUWT did not achieve the requisite 50% of respondents to their ballot for strike action.

Each school will be affected differently according to the number of NEU members in that school and whether those members choose to support the strike or not.

On top of that there are two Headteacher/Senior staff unions: the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

flation by at least 11% (more if you choose a certain set of statistics). Newly qualified teachers will have seen their friends’ salaries accelerate, whilst theirs stagnates. Hardly an incentive to remain in the profession. I recall when I trained to be a teacher (in 1987) I was offered a £1,250 bursary to lure me into the profession; the first such inducement. I was amused even then that the powers that be thought Mathematics graduates would ‘fall’ for such a miserly incentive. Had I, instead, chosen to pursue a career in finance or banking, I would have a considerable nest egg now. Nowadays these bursaries are commonplace for a variety of subjects. Mathematics trainees get £27,000, Languages £25,000 to name but two.Yet still there are not enough of either in the jobs market.You can draw your own conclusions why.

Teaching has long been about good will, a concept lost on some in private industry where frequently work is remunerated by overtime pay. Overtime does not exist in teaching; going above and beyond is just

KJS senior staff are in the former, who have yet to ballot their members.The latter, which has no members at KJS, as it typically is for primary schools, have also not met the requisite 50% of respondents to their ballot.

Principals are required to keep the school open for as many children as possible. However, colleagues don’t have to say if they are striking, which makes planning impossible.

Equally, other staff are not required to cover for striking staff, which means that if any colleagues are off work, you will struggle to find someone to supervise them.

All in all, even for a Mathematics graduate like me, it is an impenetrable conundrum!

doing your job. But when going above and beyond day in, day out, is met with yet another below inflation pay offer, that sets teachers even further behind, one can hardly be surprised that unrest follows.

Strikes by the National Education Union (NEU) are due to take place in our area on four days in February and March. Schools will be closed to some if not all students. No teacher does this lightly, but as has been said for the nurses, “clapping on doorsteps doesn’t pay the bills”. Like the NHS, schools carried on during the pandemic under incredibly stressful conditions. And schools are now picking up the pieces with children who are behind in their learning and have been emotionally destabilised by the experience.

Only time will tell if the strike action has any impact, but unless something changes the teacher recruitment crisis will continue and schools, even with a reputation as strong as ours, will continue to struggle to recruit.And the losers of course are the children of all our communities. n

Back to the drawing board

Roger Sykes

(1946-1953) revisits some of his favourite drawings

IT makes a most rural picture – what a lovely setting for a school. But this was the rear view of the old School and the view was the cornfield. It was an interesting view of the School from the ancient to the pre-war ‘new’ buildings.

So taking the view from left to right. The oldest building has the Elizabethan stonework over the upper windows and the group of chimneys. Moving right, the next group of chimneys are set above an old dormitory, with chimneys from two floors. Below are the sloping roof-lights of the wash-room, marking a back entrance to the school joining the old to the more modern building.

The next large central building is the art room, the province of Teak Ackroyd. Here the chimneys mark the location of the staff room. The next roof is my favourite – it covers the woodwork room. I still have objects I made there – a jewel box and a stool with a classic woven raffia seat. I enjoyed being trusted to run a lunchtime woodwork class – perfect on a cold wet day! I believe the class became a tradition.

The black section of a wall at the edge of the sketch was the rear corner of the gymnasium, otherwise the assembly hall. And the final item is marked by a flat stone wall top across the bottom corner. This marked the narrow secret walkway round the back to sneak in quietly and avoid being seen at the front doors! l Sadly, this view can no longer be re-created. The cornfield is long gone, as a result of the very major extensions to the School in the 1970s.

View along back of School

Founders’ Day Service

Friday, 25th November 2022

Annual Dinner

Saturday, 26th November 2022

Founders’ Day Service

WALTER RALEIGH reports

FOR the second year running our Annual Service of Thanksgiving for the foundation of the School took place on the Friday before the Annual Dinner. This year the Rector, Felicity Cowling – Green was unable to lead our service as she is on maternity leave caring for her beautiful baby boy and we all wish her well with this new chapter in her life in Almondbury.

Once again the procession from

School was led up St. Helen’s Gate by the Principal, Ian Rimmer. He was followed by some 50 students who were the Form Representatives of the School together with some of the Senior Students.

In the Rev. Cowling – Green’s absence the OAS Chaplain, Graeme Carby led the service. It was appropriate that Graeme took on this role as he has, on behalf of the Society, rewritten the service for use in the 21st century. We are most grateful for all the work he has put into this task.

We were delighted that a former member of staff, John Hargreaves, agreed to join us at this event and speak to the congregation. John was a member of staff at King James’s from 1971 to 1990 before leaving for a larger school and Head of Department post in Batley. John took the theme of ‘Peace’ to speak about the part we must all play in making not only this country but the world a better and safer place to live in. He linked this into the development of education in the area we live and how important School is in the formulation of good citizenship. We all thank John and his wife, Susan, for playing such a key part in our Friday celebrations.

The procession up St Helen’s Gate

Photos: Abbi Terry

We had two wonderful pianists who entertained us with their amazing talent: Doris Li (who had played last year)and Triele Tat.

We thank them both for their willingness to play for us at the Church.

The two lessons were read by Head Boy, Ben O’Brien and Head Girl, Ruby Webb. Again our thanks to both of them for playing a key part in the Service.

After the Service all the congregation were invited into the church rooms for a tea or coffee and biscuits. Once again may I thank Hilary Pollard and the oth -

er members of All Hallows’ who made us all feel so welcome in their church.

May I finally say a big ‘thank you’ to both Ian Rimmer, who has been so helpful in the development of this new initiative and one of his Assistant Heads, Abbi Terry. Without them the event would simply not take place.

The number of OAS members joining us at this Friday Service is still quite small but it is such a lovely service that I encourage as many as possible to ‘give it a go’ next year. I don’t think you would be disappointed.

Clockwise from top left: Students with Principal Ian Rimmer; Head Girl Ruby Webb; Head Boy Ben O’Brien; Student Council and Senior Students in church

Annual Dinner

ANDREW HAIGH reports

AFTER last year’s bumper attendance for the Covid-delayed Centenary Dinner, it was perhaps inevitable that the attendance at this year’s dinner was going to be disappointing and so it proved, with only sixty tickets being issued, not many over half the number that were present last year. However, whilst it is always good to see as many members as possible attend the dinner, one positive from the lower number who were there this year did make for a more intimate occasion than is

sometimes the case. Those attending did span a period of seventy-six years, from those who entered the School in 1946 to those currently students and staff in 2022. There was no-one from overseas this year, so the prize for the furthest travelled goes to Ruth Honeywell (197981) from Godmanstone in Dorset.

The prize for attendance once again goes to the Class of 1961. Following their successful reunion organised by Richard Teale last year, when twenty of them were present to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of their entry to the School, they obviously had such a good time that seven of them came back this year. There were also four members of the Class of 1957 present this year to celebrate the sixty-fifth anniversary of their entry to the School and there were good turnouts from the Classes of 1954, 1976 and 1979, as well as five former or current members of staff. On arrival tours of the school, conducted by one of the current students, were available to those who wanted one, before everyone took their seats.

Christine Stocks, the School Catering Manager, retired last Christmas and her assistant, Linda Hyland, took over. Fortunately, she was happy to continue to cater for our Annual Dinner and Linda and her team from the school kitchen served an excellent meal. To start, they

OAS Chair Walter Raleigh welcomes guests

Who was there?

Surname Forename From To Travel from

Atkinson Liz. Staff Almondbury

Atkinson Rob. Guest Almondbury

Battye Andrew 1979 1982 Almondbury

Beattie Karen Linda 1979 1981 Holmfirth

Beverley Richard 1978 1983

Burrie Anthony J. 1961 1966 Slaithwaite

Davies Gareth Lynn 1954 1956 Sutton Coldfield

Dowling Roger 1952 1959 Lymm, Cheshire

Field Robert Staff 1989 Kirkheaton

Fisher Dennis 1954 1959 Almondbury

Haigh Andrew Mark 1977 1983 Almondbury

Haigh David Guest

Haigh Charlotte 2018 2023 Almondbury

Haigh Eleanor Rose 2018 2023 Almondbury

Hanson Darren 1979 1981 Dalton

Hart OBE Jacqueline 1976 1981 London

Headey David Geoffrey 1953 1958 Thurstonland

Headey John Guest

Hodgson Gary 1979 1983 Lepton

Honeywell Ruth J. 1979 1981 Godmanstone, Dorset

Humphries Allen 1963 1971 Birkby

Jepson Roger 1962 1969 Netherthong

Lee David Malcolm 1946 1951 Birkby

Leventis Nicholas 1974 1977 Nottingham

Makin N. Christopher 1954 1961 Mirfield

Mann Christopher 1958 1966 Hitchin

Milnes Graeme 1957 1965 Cardiff

Mitchell Seb D. Head Boy 2023

Morgan Paul B.A. 1957 1963 London

Nash Brian 1964 1972 Stockport

offered a choice of cream of carrot soup served with crusty bread, or goat’s cheese tartlet with beetroot relish and salad. The main course was a choice of rich cottage pie encrusted in a Yorkshire pudding, a cod and smoked salmon roast, or a vegetarian dish, all served with new potatoes, baton carrots and steamed

Surname Forename From To Travel from

Norris Douglas 1961 1969 Lascelles Hall

O'Brien Patrick Staff 2010 Almondbury

O'Brien Ben Head Boy 2023

Orme Dr. Les J. 1961 1968 Shepley

Pollard David W. 1957 1964 Winchester

Powner Michael 1959 1966 Fixby

Raleigh Paul Walter Staff 2010 Almondbury

Reilly Niamh D. Head Girl 2023

Rimmer Ian W. Principal

Rivett Mei D. Head Girl 2023

Rothery Anais D. Head Girl 2023

Royle Prof. Edward 1955 1962 Royal Leamington

Russell Simon Anthony 1964 1972 Thongsbridge

Searby Richard 1976 1979 Lepton

Sharman Dr. Robin A. 1976 1981 Highburton

Sharp John Franklin 1951 1958 Leighton Buzzard

Smart Dawn Allison 1976 1981 Penrith

Smart Andy Guest Penrith

Storry Michael W. 1961 1968 Holmfirth

Sykes Stuart

Sykes Graham Guest

Taylor Dennis 1961 1969 Chesterfield

Taylor John Richard 1954 1962 Ossett

Taylor Jonathan 1971 1978 Almondbury

Taylor James Andrew 1963 1970 Alcester

Teale A. Richard 1961 1968 Thongsbridge

Walsh Steven 1961 1968 Hepworth

Ward James Andrew 1957 1964 Slaithwaite

Webb Ruby Head Girl 2023

Whittle Caroline 1979 1983 Lascelles Hall

broccoli. For dessert there was a choice of steamed treacle sponge served with custard, or honeycomb cheesecake. The meal was followed by coffee or tea and After Eight mints.

On to the formal part of the evening and after the toast to His Majesty,The King

Continued on page 16

Clockwise from top left: Prof Edward Royle; Head Boy Ben O’Brien; Head Girl: Ruby Webb; Jackie Hart OBE.

Above: Dinner attendees share reminiscences

Below: A group of student guests admire the historic School Charter

Continued from page 13

this year, Jacqueline Hart, OBE. (née Chilvers, KJS 1976-81) spoke about her career after leaving King James’s School (and brought along her OBE), before proposing the Toast to the School. A joint response, including news from the School today, was given by the current Head Students, Ruby Webb and Ben O’Brien, grandson of former Latin master, Patrick O’Brien. Professor Edward Royle (KJGS. 1955-62) then gave an entertaining speech, making many references to ‘Boris’, which turned out to be Boris Yeltsin, Boris Becker, etc, before he proposed the Toast to the Society and the response was given by Walter Raleigh, Chairman of the Society. After a rousing rendition of the School Song, the formal part of the evening concluded, allowing plenty of time for guests to mingle and reminisce further before the bar closed.

Thanks are due to many people for their contributions to the evening. Firstly, to the School for allowing us to use the premises and, in particular, to the Premises Manager, Tony Hyland, for his help in all kinds of ways to make the School ready for the event. To Linda Hyland and her team for preparing a most enjoyable meal. To current member of staff Liz. Atkinson and her partner Rob., for once again running the bar with superb efficiency. To Old Almondburian Nick Briggs, of Mallinson’s Brewery in Lockwood, for

supplying the beer. To Tim Marriott, of Taste Fine Wines in Almondbury, for supplying the wine and other drinks. To my daughters, Charlotte and Eleanor, who spent much of Saturday helping to set-up the tables and chairs and to Keith Crawshaw, who sat and folded all the menu cards. To the Head Students, Ben O’Brien and Ruby Webb, their deputies, Seb Mitchell, Niamh Reilly, Mei Rivett and Anais Rothery and Senior Students

Charlotte and Eleanor Haigh for conducting tours of the School before the meal, for selling raffle tickets with ruthless efficiency afterwards and for being such fine ambassadors for King James’s School. They were so good at selling raffle tickets that the raffle raised an impressive £213.50 which will, of course, ultimately benefit the School. Thank you also to our speakers, Jacqueline Hart, Edward Royle, Ruby Webb and Ben O’Brien for their excellent contributions to the evening.

Finally, a big thank you to all the Almondburians who attended and supported the Annual Dinner to make it such a great success. The date for the 2023 Annual Dinner will be Saturday, 25th November and I understand that Martin Sellens is already making plans to organise a sixtieth anniversary reunion of the Class of 1963, so put the date in your diary now and get together with some old School mates to make sure that you don’t miss out on a most enjoyable evening! n

The raffle raised an impressive £213.50

Annual General Meeting

9th January 2023

The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held in the ODH at King James’s School and remotely by Zoom on Monday, 9th January, 2023 at 6.00 pm.

Attendance

Walter Raleigh was in the chair and Andrew Haigh, Keith Crawshaw, Chris West, Richard Teale, Ian Rimmer and Graeme Carby were present in the ODH. Roger Dowling, Dawn Smart and Melanie Barraclough took part via Zoom.

Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Edward Royle.

Minutes

The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Monday, 10th January 2022 were approved and there were no matters arising.

Chairman’s Report

Another year in post and as Keith would say, another large amount of money spent by the Society under my Chairmanship! I like to think of it as investment for the future. But progress has been made this year in School though it is not all due to the good offices of the OAS.

First of all, the new extension has now been completed and is a very impressive addition to the School. It will serve it well in the years ahead. My only disappointment is no name has been given to it, it will simply be known as the ‘new block’. Perhaps Ian and the Governors may revisit this one by using the death of our queen as a way to commemorate her long reign by calling it the Queen Elizabeth II extension. Just an idea.

We are delighted that after the letter penned by Roger and sent by the Principal to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, who are custodians of the Royal Charter, School and the Society now have access to the Royal Charter and it has been in School for the September Heritage Weekend and for the Annual Dinner in November. Our thanks to all who made this possible, including the Archivist at the WYAS, Robert Clegg.

The return after Covid to School taking part in the Heritage Weekend was most welcome. Once again School students acting as guides did the School proud. Thanks to Abbi Terry for her help in getting this project up and running after the cancellation last year. Numbers were a little down but all who came and

visited or helped as guides had a most enjoyable day. We hope to build on this success next year.

We were asked to help the Performing Arts department a few months ago. The School had had an outstanding year in local school competitions such that there was a lack of space to show off all the trophies won. A new trophy cabinet was needed and we made a £500 contribution to this. The new cabinet is now in a prominent position in the Gallery 1608 area. Well done to all students and staff who managed to win so many trophies.

We were informed by Ian Rimmer, our Principal, that School would no longer use the Town Hall for Presentation Day. Initially there was some sadness amongst Committee members as it was seen as another bit of our history disappearing but on reflection it is simply a sign of the times and dare we say, progress. I’m sure the new Presentation Evenings in School will be well received and something students will remember for many years to come. We need to embrace the change and contribute to it being one of the highlights of the school year. I am proud to be able to say I was invited to present the prizes at the Town Hall a couple of years after my retirement and it is still something I look upon as being a high point of my connection with School.

The building of the new seating area in the Big Tree Yard was perhaps our main project this year. For a while, because of Covid restrictions, the project seemed to be delayed and held up for an eternity. Thanks to the drawings of Chris West we knew what we wanted but getting a builder and then the right price stopped progress. Eventually, a break through was made and the construction began with the aim of completion by the time of the Dinner. It was just met but rather than rushing something through and perhaps making mistakes it has been decided to have a formal ‘hand over’ in Spring when a plaque with the names of donors on it can also be in place. We look forward to that. Again, many thanks to all who helped get this project to completion including staff in School like the Principal, Ali the Bursar and Tony, the Premises Manager, who were able to sort out last minute problems which almost halted work on the building of the seating area before it began.

May I also say a big thank you to all involved with the Founders’ Weekend. The Service on Friday went well again with our thanks to John Hargreaves who gave the address. Thanks also to Graeme Carby, Abbi Terry and Churchwardens at All Hallows’ who helped make the event such a pleasant part of our school year. The Dinner on Saturday was again very enjoyable and though numbers were smaller it was an evening to remember by all those who attended. Thanks, as always to Andrew, but also to our two speakers, Ted Royle and Jackie Hart née Chilvers. They were both wonderful contributors to a lovely evening which was added to by the contributions of our Head Boy, Ben O’Brien and Head Girl, Ruby Webb. Their performances belied their ages! Once again thanks to you all.

Finally, this year was Jack Taylor’s 90th birthday and it was fitting that Roger published some anecdotes from friends and staff in the November issue of The Almondburian . It was a wonderful addition but the type of thing we have come to expect from Roger. Well done!

So what for 2023?

l Hopefully progress on the Data Protection issue. I hope to speak to Ian about some ideas I have on this subject.

l The Society needs to look at updating some of the noticeboards we installed a few years ago. The House Competition board and the one with the names of all Head Boys and Head Girls are two we should look at.

And finally! Many thanks to all our regular committee members who take on tasks which need doing all year round every year. To Andrew, Keith, Roger, Graeme, Richard, Chris, Ian and others who have been generous in their time and skills to make the Society as relevant today as it has been in the previous 100 years.

Treasurer’s Report

Keith Crawshaw presented the accounts for the financial year ended 31st August 2022 showing an excess of income over expenditure of just oer £400.

He noted that though the cost of the new seating area, paid for in the current financial year had been just over £8,000, members and other associated organisations had contributed over £5,500 in different ways so the cost to the Society of around £2,500 was significantly less than had been budgeted for.

Once again, Keith felt there was no need to increase subscription costs from the present £10 pa, though an influx of new members would always be welcome.

Election of President

The Chairman proposed that the Principal, Ian Rimmer, should be invited to continue as President of the Society and he duly accepted the invitation.

President’s Remarks

The President reported that progress was continuing in School with all students now on the one campus. He said the new teaching block was now in service and accepted the Chairman’s comments that it might be appropriate to look again at naming the block.

Ian said how proud the Governors and staff were with the excellent recent examination results. The students had experienced a great period of instability as a result of Covid and the new build, and he was delighted with what had been achieved.

He reported that the School population was now at the record figure of 1,050. But of course, this inevitably brings attendant problems of staffing and staff car parking which would need addressing.

Election of Officers

Walter Raleigh agreed to continue as Chairman for 2023 and was re-elected unanimously.

Other officers elected were:

Honorary Secretary Andrew Haigh

Honorary Treasurer Keith Crawshaw

Media Editor Roger Dowling

Assistant Media Editor Richard Teale

Chaplain Graeme Carby

School Representative Abbi Terry

Ordinary Committee Members : Graeme Milnes, Simon Russell; Dawn Smart; Chris West; Mike Powner; Martyn Hicks

Any Other Business

l The Secretary asked for the date and venue for the next meeting of the Executive Committee to be fixed. It was agreed this should take place in School and on Zoom on Monday 6th February 2023.

l Annual Quiz: Keith said he would bring along some possible dates for the Quiz at the next meeting.

l It was agreed that the video-conferencing of the monthly Executive Committee meetings had been a success and should continue.

The meeting closed at 7.00 pm.

A M Haigh P W Raleigh Secretary Chairman

Opposite: Annual accounts presented by K Crawshaw (Treasurer) J A Swift (Independent Examiner)

Classroom commentary

Teachers say that ‘Every day is a school day’ and while that is literally true for me every weekday during term time, the last 18 months have been a huge learning curve.

I’VE been teaching for 20 years now and am still in single figures for the length of time I have been Assistant Principal for Personal Development. This has given me the opportunity to look for ways to develop my skills and knowledge further and so I have been lucky enough to be able to be chosen to train as Careers Leader, Senior Mental Health Lead and UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador. The

last 18 months since I began these courses and the training have been tough but what I have learned has been incredible.

I started the Careers Leader programme first. I have been in charge of careers for the last 6 years or so and inherited it from my predecessor Sean Kelly. He was very successful and pioneering with events such as an annual Careers Fair where:

l he invited local colleges and apprenticeship providers to school for parents, carers and students to meet

l he introduced mock interviews for Year 11 students to help them prepare for post-16 interviews with colleges and employers

l he organised a Business Breakfast that allowed potential apprentices to meet employers offering apprenticeships

l he arranged Work Experience where Year 10 students were able to learn more about the world of work.

The Careers Leader programme taught me how to continue developing Sean’s legacy and look at the impact that these events and a careers curriculum had on our young people. Alongside the Careers Team, we were able to see:

l that the Aspirations Fair (previously called the Careers Fair)

Former KJS student Kacey has now successfully completed her apprenticeship with global turbine specialists Cummins Turbine Technologies

was overwhelmingly rated as being ‘interesting’ and ‘useful’ and made students ‘think about their future plans’ and ‘help them decide what they want to do in the future’

l that the Year 11 Mock Interviews in January 2023 allowed students to move from feeling ‘nervous’, ‘anxious’ and ‘OK’ to feeling ‘proud’, ‘happy’ and ‘surprised’. Nearly all students said they felt more confident about interviews. l that the Business Breakfast was also proving successful. We measured students’ knowledge and understanding of apprenticeships before and after the event: only 31% of students knew how to apply for an apprenticeship before the event and this rose to 89% after the event. Knowing how to find information

about apprenticeships rose from 38% before the event to 92% after the event.

The biggest learning curve for me through the Careers Leader course was not the theory, organising events, or writing a careers curriculum. It was that I cannot do it all by myself. It made me realise that I can often be my own worst enemy as I used to try to just get on with things and get them done, and I was reluctant to ask for help. I thought that a sign of strength as an Assistant Principal was not having to rely on other people. This changed when my mentor Kath told me to stop. She asked me who was actually benefitting from my doing this: was it the students; was it me; was it the school?

It was tough to admit that I was scared of trusting others, but once I did, it blew my mind! The Careers Team has gone from strength to strength and everyone is benefitting now. The team work tremendously hard and this has enabled our students to learn more about the many different career choices they have when they leave King James’s School. It has also increased their confidence when considering their options and has helped them prepare for the world of work.

So, when I referred to the training being tough it wasn’t necessarily the theory, the case studies or the content that

Ex-KJS students Nikita & Callum now work at leading agriculture company Syngenta

was hard (although, that was difficult stuff to get my head around too!). It was the life lesson that I had to learn, in my mid 40s, that I have to rely on my team; and that I am incredibly lucky to be working with such professional, diligent individuals.

I can’t sing the praises of these individuals without naming them, so in alphabetical order:

l Jo Fitzgerald – our Success for All coordinator who supports our disadvantaged students with all aspects of school including what they want to do when they leave King James’s

l Kirsty Flynn – a teacher who is passionate about apprenticeships and supporting the students to consider all options open to them. She also has the best ideas of anyone I’ve ever known

l Janette Haworth – Pastoral Leader to Year 11 and Post 16 link extraordinaire. She is one of the most organised and meticulous people I know and has ensured that all of our students have worked hard with their Post 16 applications

l Jan Jones – our Careers link governor who holds me to account but is there for me when I need any help or support. She works in careers and knows her stuff so she is worth her weight in gold to the Careers Team

l Palwinder Kang – Assistant Principal in charge of Pathways. She is in charge of the curriculum and always

takes the current careers landscape into account when looking at courses and where they can lead

l Sammie Kerrod – my right-hand woman and newest addition to the team. She is fantastic at taking the initiative and is currently hard at work supporting our Year 10s with their work experience placements

l Alice Kleinman – Pastoral Leader who is helping me to support her students to find placements (as well as being a Head of Year)

l Sarah Moore – our Careers Adviser from C+K Careers at Huddersfield Careers Centre and is guru at everything to do with careers. n

Students Leon and Maegan are currently completing their apprenticeships at successful Fenay Bridge-based manufacturing company Reliance Precision.They are shown here with training school manager Robert Farrell.

S P OT T E D

b y A l m o n d b u r i a n s

Above: HAROLD v WILLIAM 1066

Below: HARRY v WILLY 2023

BOLD NEW APPROACH FROM THE TIMES

POOR BUSINESS PROSPECTS IN RUSSIA?

LOCAL VERNACULAR

Spotters: James Clayton, Dave Bush, John Bradley Have you spotted anything in print or on social media that has amused you or given you food for thought? If it’s worth sharing, send it to us at spotters@oas.org.uk.

Meccano: engineering in miniature

JOHN SHARP (1951-1958)

I often wonder how many Old Almondburians share my love of Meccano. And no, it’s not a toy - it’s real engineering for adults.

MY association with Meccano started around Christmas 1947 when my Dad presented me with what was a well-used set of Meccano parts in a sturdy black painted wooden box.A month later he came home with a copy of Meccano Magazine. That appeared monthly and I carried on receiving it until late in 1958.

I was well & truly enamoured with my Meccano. I also inherited with it a well-used instruction manual, which had its cover missing, and another rather tattered book of ‘Standard Mechanisms’.

Very soon I would build models of my own designs and as time went on I began to expand my collection of Meccano by buying more parts. In Huddersfield the main source for these valuable and highly desirable purchases was Barkers’ toy shop in the Market Place. Pocket money was scarce, and Meccano gears, being made of brass, were relatively expensive.

To start with I only possessed a Meccano No.2 clockwork motor, but by

JOHN SHARP left School to study Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, London. After five years with AEI he spent 27 years with BP where, in 1991, he became a California-based project manager at BP Oil in America. After early retirement he became an engineering consultant in the oil and gas sectors where his travels took him around Europe and to Africa and the Middle East. Now retired, he is Deputy Chair and Transport Officer for the Leighton Buzzard Society.

about the age of 12 I wanted – but couldn’t afford – the 12/15 Volt AC/DC Meccano E15R electric motor and its attendant transformer. However, help was at hand from my resourceful neighbour who skilfully removed the electric motor from an old gramophone and gave me a suitable transformer that I still have to this day. He trusted me to use the motor safely by wiring it to the transformer with a multi-way ex-Air Ministry plug and socket.The voltage was 110V AC! Not lethal but could give you a nasty shock. Model building became far more adventurous! Years later I became acquainted with a famous Meccano model builder who had built a model of a London trolleybus that ran off overhead wires energised at the mains voltage of 240 volts! That was asking for trouble.

As time went by I was able to acquire a E15R Meccano electric motor, and my speciality was building motorised road and rail models. I was fascinated by car and bus chassis and their transmissions. I built clutches, gearboxes and the like. In

The story of Meccano

The origin of Meccano was a construction kit ‘Mechanics Made Easy’ invented by Liverpool clerk Frank Hornby in 1901. In 1907 he registered the ‘Meccano’ trademark, and in May 1908, he formed Meccano Ltd.

Meccano was at its peak of popularity between the two World Wars . As well as the famous Binns Road factory and headquarters in Liverpool, Meccano was also made in France, and licensed for manufacture in Germany and the USA.

As Meccano progressed between the Wars the colours of the parts changed. Initially they were all nickel plated, but in due course dark-red plates and medium-green strips and angle girders (the colours of my original set) were introduced. Subsequently a gold/blue colour scheme was introduced, but the early red/green versions

the 1950s there were sophisticated transmissions on some buses (including many Huddersfield ones) and on Daimler cars.These incorporated fluid flywheels and pre-selector gearboxes, and you could go a long way towards re-creating them in Meccano. I used to submit my more successful efforts to Meccano Magazine where they would appear in the ‘Among the Model Builders’ pages, earning me a few shillings in Postal Orders. I still have the complementary copies of the Meccano Magazine that were sent to me. Even today, my original mechanisms occasionally get reproduced in Meccano enthusiast magazines which is quite a welcome surprise.

My ultimate goal was to build a fully automatic transmission. By 1957 I had managed this and was invited to bring it to the hallowed

of Meccano are still sought after by collectors.

Production temporarily ceased during World War 2 but when it resumed medium red and green became the main colours. Lighter shades of red and green followed, together with first metal and plastic flexible plates together with several new parts. Other colour schemes followed, the final one –dark yellow plates and deep blue strips and angle girders – being in 1978.This final and rather impressive combination of colours was short lived as the Liverpool factory closed in 1980; it is highly prized by collectors.

By this time Hornby had already sold the company to Lines Brothers who in turn sold it to Airfix.Today the Meccano business is run by the Canadian company Spinmaster.

Binns Road factory in Liverpool - the home of Meccano. I duly turned up at Binns Road, getting there from Liverpool Lime Street station on one of the few remaining Liverpool Corporation Tram routes, the 6A. Quite an adventure for me as trams fascinated me then and still do.

The transmission worked well but its drawback was that it was too big to build into a car or commercial vehicle model. In the end I was able to use it in a model of one of the latest BR diesel hydraulic locos.

After a tour of the factory I left the transmission with Meccano and they duly returned it to me along with some photographs about a week later. I still have these together with the building instructions and sketches that I made. It never reached Meccano Magazine as

ultimately it was deemed too complicated for publication!

By this time at School I was into my sixth form studies, concentrating on A levels, so my Meccano model building had to go on the back burner for a while.

As it happened it stayed that way for a quite a few years. I kept my precious Meccano set intact, determined to never part with it. Marriage and three children came along but for them Meccano was eclipsed by Lego - much easier to use, no fiddling with nuts and bolts fastenings; you just pushed the Lego pieces together.

I don’t recall ever discussing my Meccano activities at School, although I’m sure that I must have done. No one else came forward to share my interest, my apologies if anyone did, I simply can’t remember.

Fast forward now to 1984 when, during my BP career, I was posted to BP Exploration as a Senior Project Engineer, working on the Wytch Farm Oilfield Expansion Project in Dorset but based in a contractor’s office in Reading. I ended up living in Reading for four years.

Reading isn’t that far from Henley on Thames where in those times an annual Meccano exhibition was held in theTown Hall. Intrigued, I got to hear of this in 1985 and duly went along.

What I discovered was that from about the 1970s there had been a worldwide re-awakening of Meccano model building - but as an adult hobby. I had been isolated from this and so was blissfully ignorant of what had been happening. Meccano Societies, many with the 1920s Meccano-era name of a ‘Guild’ were being created throughout the UK and worldwide, particularly in Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.The orig-

An aircraft towing and cargo handling tractor with automatic transmission. It sits on a dynamometer for demonstration purposes.

inal Liverpool Meccano business had folded in 1980 but the French subsidiary in Calais had survived, maintaining the Meccano trademark and continuing to produce Meccano sets. Replica manufacturers had also sprung up in India and Argentina. Meccano enthusiasts in the UK and Australia had also begun to man ufacture parts. Dealers in used and replica Mec cano had also appeared in the UK, so there were no shortages of Meccano parts.

Through the HenleyTown Hall annual meet ings I soon made new contacts, and in 1987 I joined theWest London Meccano Society and started model building again. In 1991 I was posted to BP Oil in the United States so had to temporarily part company from the WLMS. On this oc casion my Meccano set stayed behind in the UK. Eventually I returned to the UK and re joined the WLMS; I am still a member there and have been Exhibitions Secretary for many years. For a long period we have had a stand at the Model Engineering Exhibition at Alexandra Palace in London which I managed, and we won awards for the best stand in 2019 and 2020.

However the most prestigious Meccano event in the UK is the International Meccano Exhibition held in Skegness every June, organised by the North Midlands Meccano Society based near Mansfield. Some years ago their then chairman had local government connections and was able to secure an advantageous deal with the Skegness local authority to hold the annual exhibition in their main entertainment complex, the Embassy Centre. Although it is the Mecca for Meccano model builders from all over the world, its location in the heart of the Skegness sea front guarantees a strong public footfall.

In 2013 I exhibited a model of a Coventry Cli-

A fork lift truck: this model won the International Society of Meccanomen’s Founder’s Prize in 2013

max Fork-lift truck at Skegness that received quite a lot of attention. I shared exhibition space with the Meccano Society of Scotland and that led to them inviting me to exhibit at their annual exhibition in Perth that September. I duly accepted their offer and was rewarded by being awarded their Challenge Shield for my fork lift truck model.This was immediately challenged as I wasn’t a member of the Meccano Society of Scotland! This was quickly remedied and I’ve been a member ever since, making an annual pilgrimage to Scotland every September and staying invariably with one of my Scottish Meccano friends.

That fork lift truck model subsequently

gained me a lot of publicity as it featured in a Meccano constructors’ magazine, and I was honoured to be awarded the Annual Founder’s Shield of the International Meccanomen’s Society in 2013.

My style of Meccano model building is that I’m a purist who sticks to the 1970s red and green Meccano and uses the traditional E15R electric motors.These days, as you can imagine, there are far more powerful and diverse smaller sized permanent magnet DC motors - invariably from China - and even links to laptop computers! It’s much too complicated for me so I stick with my 1970s Meccano model building era.

As the years have progressed I’ve learned much about the history of Meccano. I have also amassed a large collection of Meccano parts to an extent that usually, if I’ve been satisfied with a model, I can box it up and exhibit it on future occasions. Gone are the days of having to dismantle one model to build the next!

Not only am I a member ofWest London Meccano Society and the Meccano Society of Scotland, but, like many members of the Meccano fraternity, I have joined other Meccano societies in the UK. So that is how we all keep in touch. If not exhibiting, Zoom meetings have become the norm since the Covid lockdown.The Henley based annual gatherings that were one of the original leading adult Meccano events still continue and are well attended but nowadays we meet in a large church hall complex on the last Saturday in August.

Recently I deduced from my

A stiff-leg derrick crane – based on a wellknown 1928 Meccano Super Model

Photographs: Mike McPherson

Meccano researches that my initial collection of Meccano was indeed a No. 5 set from the late 1920s period. I also learned that it had come from a local family in Berry Brow not that far from my home. The two boys of the family had used their Meccano initially but their interest in it had waned.

My fork lift truck has truly lived on and three well renowned Meccano enthusiasts have copied it. Its claim to fame is that all the various drives for the motions such as hoisting, tilting of the mast, motion and power steering are all controlled by friction clutches driven from a single E15R electric motor.

In 2016 I finally succeeded in designing and building an automatic transmission small enough to go into a vehicle.This was for a model of a USA-built aircraft towing tractor capable of pulling me on a trailer. Its E15R motor is powered from a small sealed lead acid battery. I exhibit it on a rolling road type of dynamometer so that the operation of the

transmission can be easily demonstrated.

My latest model is a recreation of a 1928 Meccano Super Model: a Stiff Leg Derrick. In their day the Meccano Super Models were the ultimate sought after item and many are still built by enthusiasts. For this powerful crane, capable of lifting a couple of house bricks if you can anchor it down, like the original it is powered by a Meccano electric motor but this time it is the relatively modern E15R version.The original gearbox is totally replaced by one of my design that has childfriendly controls. Like my fork lift truck all the drives are via friction clutches. It’s a challenge to present-day youngsters who are seemingly obsessed with tablets and the like to have to learn how to operate levers to make things work.

However I’ve had six year olds have a go at tackling the controls without too much trouble and showing off to their pals and parents their new found skills! n

Sheffield Meccano Guild is typical of many such clubs all over the UK and abroad. There is a full calendar of events throughout the year.

KJS continues to grow

Following the opening of the new teaching block, the School now has a record 1,050 pupils.

THE School is on a difficult site and cannot readily be extended, said Huddersfield Corporation when the future of the School was in doubt in the 1970s. These photographs – taken some 75 years apart – show how wrong they were.

The yellow lines show the extent of the School buildings in 1938, just before the old single-storey laboratories were demolished to make way for the present labs with classrooms above.

(Continued overleaf)

Today

Prominent additions in 1979 included the 6,000 square foot (540m2) Design Block, the 2,000 square foot (180m 2) two-storey Teaching Block and the magnificent 5,000 square foot (450m2) Sports Hall.

The latest new teaching block, necessitated by the transfer of pupils from Almondbury Community School, opened last Easter. It provides an additional ten classrooms, four offices and two new sets of toilets; the block is the new home for English and Modern Foreign Languages.

1. New teaching block exterior

2. Entrance lobby

3, 4. Classrooms

5.Corridor with lift on right

6. School crest etched into glass

Photos: Jenny Sanderson

New ‘Big Tree’ seating completed

The new stone seating in Big Tree Yard will formally come into service at a short ceremony on 17th April. ROGER DOWLING reports.

THE premature and unwarranted felling of the ancient ‘Big Tree’ in 1997 shocked OAS members everywhere. It was followed by the loss of the surrounding seating as a result of the much-needed School extensions in Big Tree Yard in 2002.

As part of the activities associated with the OAS centenary in 2020, we launched an appeal to raise a sum of around £5,000 to plant a new ‘Big Tree’ with stone seating at the top of the ‘bunk’, not far from the location of the original Big Tree.

In the event, the project was delayed by the Covid pandemic, but we’re delighted to announce that the project has now been completed.The delay, together with rising costs, resulted in a final cost of just over £8,000. The design was by OAS member Chris West and the contractor was Almondbury-based Greenaway Groundworks. Over 20 OAS members contributed personally to the project; these include Dave

Bush who kindly donated the proceeds of his well-received memoirs No beating about the Bush. The project also received financial support from the King James’s School Foundation.

As we reported in the July 2022 issue, the tree itself is the result of a very welcome partnership with Newnham College, one of the 31 colleges of Cambridge University. To celebrate its 150th Anniversary, the College launched a ‘Global Tree Planting Project’ which aimed to plant at least 150 trees around the world. Former KJS Head Girl Evelyn Surman (pictured) is currently studying Human, Social and Political Science there and her parents generously agreed to sponsor a new tree at KJS to support the project. This new tree will be the centre-piece of the new Big Tree seating. n l A short informal ceremony to inaugurate the new seating, to which all benefactors are invited, will take place in Big Tree Yard on Monday, 17th April 2023 at 4.00 pm

GEORGE BEACH REMEMBERED

The man behind the gown

DAVID BEACH (1958 - 1966)

George Beach was Head of Mathematics from 1949 to 1975. Although some may have found him austere, his son David reveals that he was a thoughtful family man with a wide range of cultural interests.

DURING my time at KJGS [195866] there were I think five pupils who saw a second side to their teachers, because they shared a home. Richard and AndrewTaylor, Niven Mallinson, Nick Addy, and myself were the sons of staff members. It was not always an easy arrangement for the sons or the fathers. My father George Lewin Beach was born in Burslem. His father, a Church of England parson, was married to Winifred Lewin; hence the middle name. Within weeks of his birth the family moved to Tyneside, before eventually settling at a church within the city walls at York where they remained throughout his school and University years, moving house regularly ‘to avoid having to spring clean’ (he claimed), though the arrival of a brother and two sisters might have been a factor. As a teenager he and

a sister were diagnosed with ringworm of the scalp, and the X-ray treatment prescribed left him with an enduring bald patch which he cannot have enjoyed.

His early education was as a boarder at Scarborough College, [his father was regularly behind with the fees] and then on a scholarship at Durham School. At these schools he will have experienced the sort of staff-pupil interactions hobby – activities, sports, etc –which possibly influenced his choice of career and the types of school he chose to teach at.

At Leeds University he studied Mathematics and took an Education Diploma to become a teacher. He also developed rheumatic fever, which is known to cause damage to the heart and probably later hastened his death. Here he met and was inspired by pacifist Jean Inebnit, who was a leading member of the In-

ternational Voluntary Service for Peace, now known as IVS. Founded by Quaker Pierre Cérésole after the first world war, the organisation aimed to foster peace and friendship through multi-national campbased projects where volunteers provided physical labour following natural disasters, or worked to improve the life for people in deprived areas. Through this connection, George took part in a number of such schemes, starting with their first British camp at Brynmawr, where a derelict coal heap was converted into a public park including an outdoor swimming pool. Later he joined in working at a French village called Lagarde, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, which had been devastated by a flash flood, and when we visited there in the 1960s their work was still remembered with much gratitude. He also assisted with at least one of the Duke of York camps set up to encourage private and state school children to mix, and enjoyed telling how he once shared a footbath with the future George VI.

Teaching – and marriage

His first teaching post was at Blandford Grammar School in Dorset, and he became very fond of the school and of Dorset and even considered retiring there at one time. However, the outbreak of WW2 was to put an end to this idyll and in due course he was called up. His father felt he should sign up, but George believed sincerely that to kill anyone was wrong, and when prosecuted as a Conscientious Objector it was accepted that his pacifist beliefs were genuine, his track record of the work with IVS supporting his case. However, he was not allowed to remain in teaching, and was posted to a small village near Cirencester where he became an agri-

cultural labourer. A competent pianist, he became the organist for the village church. When I visited North Cerney in the 1980s some handwritten manuscript he had penned was still in a pile of music in the organ loft!

Early during the war he spent one holiday helping at a house overlooking the River Dart near Stoke Gabriel, where evacuees were being billeted, and here he met volunteer Ellen Eastwood, a Lancashire lass who was a trainee domestic science teacher. She was subsequently appointed to Pendlebury High School in Salford, and when they married in 1944, George was allowed to transfer to agricultural work on Chat Moss in Lancashire, where amongst other achievements he managed to get his tractor totally bogged down. [The builders of the Manchester to Liverpool railway had met with similar problems in that area!] They lodged in

1950: George Beach and young son David enjoy paddling in Grimescar beck:

Swinton with a lady who subsequently became my Godmother.

At the end of hostilities George was very quickly appointed as a Maths teacher at Ackworth School in Pontefract, an independent Quaker school whose ethos he supported, and which still exists, and in 1947 I was born in a staff flat in an old manor house owned by the school. (However he did not fully support my later chosen career as a master in a preparatory boarding school!)

Head of Mathematics at AGS

My father realised he needed to enter the state sector to advance his career as well as to invest in a family home, and in 1949 he was appointed Head of Mathematics at Almondbury Grammar School as it was then known. The location and history of the school would have appealed greatly. He bought a large terraced house in Cambridge Road, opposite the swimming baths, which I found very handy in due course.The house had cellars previously used by a maid for cooking and washing, and her accommodation had been in the attic where I had a model railway! My sister Alison appeared in 1954 though my mother's hopes for a larger family – the reason for buying such a large

house – remained unfulfilled. Recently the house has opened as a small hotel. In the late 1960s we moved to a more modern four bedroom semi in Oastler Avenue, suitably close to Greenhead High School, where mother was Head of Domestic Science.

Aged 12, I had one year of being taught Geometry one period a week by my father, during which lessons I would be referred to as ‘You’ or otherwise ignored. Generally we were able to avoid each other in the classroom situation though not the extra-curricular activities of which more anon. In my early years at KJGS some disgruntled adolescents were inclined to be unpleasant to me as a proxy for my father, so keeping a discreet distance was a good idea, and I would ride the trolleybus bus to and from Almondbury while he drove his second-hand Ford Popular.

Some old boys have remarked that he was a skilled and inspirational teacher of Mathematics, generally respected as being fair but expecting his pupils to listen and learn. I think he was fairly popular with reasonable pupils, but I think other teachers who maintained discipline but displayed more humour were better liked, and he was disinclined to suffer fools or those of devious intent gladly. He had some mannerisms which teenage boys enjoyed mimicking, and his nickname could be described as neither

1959:The School Chess Club. George Beach was a good chess player who was chairman of the club for many years. In 1953, the postal chess team won the Junior Postal Chess League by a large margin , in competition with schools all over Great Britain.

1965/66: Under George Beach’s baton, the School Orchestra won the Edward Wood Cup (Under 17) at the Mrs Sunderland Musical Festival and the York Brewster Cup (Under 16) and the RB Walker Memorial Rose Bowl (Under 19) at the Pontefract Festival.

clever nor flattering. For a time I inherited a junior version.

My father’s politics were, as you might imagine, left of centre but not overtly socialist. He was a keen reader of the Guardian and voted Liberal. I remember at the General Election in 1964, when DonaldWade lost his seat to the Labour candidate, that we provided lifts to polling stations for Liberals who asked for transport. Of course, as a good professional, his political views never showed their face in the classroom as far as I know.

Chess, cricket and music

At King James’s Grammar School my father rapidly assimilated himself into the School life and ethos, as had happened at Blandford and Ackworth. Sometimes this was to my mother’s regret, as she would often be left at home doing the housework and minding the children. One of his major activities was to develop the playing of chess at the School, and in due course the team did really well in National and Local competitions. Chess was in the family genes, both his grandfather and father being very skilled players of the game at county and even national level; likewise, my Uncle John and his son Richard. My father was a capable player but happily admitted he was not at the same level. He was

skilled at teaching the game and inspiring his pupils, and was a very competent organiser but I think it is probable that some senior team members developed to a level where they would expect to give him a very close game. Eventually I achieved board six (out of six) in the team, I hope through merit rather than nepotism.

He was also a keen cricketer, with some ability (competent slow bowling and adequate batting) and much enthusiasm which I did not inherit, and he enjoyed playing in Staff v Pupils matches in the last week of the summer term. The whole School would watch, with varying degrees of interest, no doubt hoping that an unpopular member of staff would make a fool of himself, or that a favourite master would clout a series of sixes.The cancellation of the afternoon lessons was always good news. On one occasion my father’s enthusiasm for the game overcame an abiding interest in what mother scathingly called ‘old stones’, which encompassed Roman remains, Medieval castles, abbeys and stately homes. On a coach trip to Castle Howard from Leeds University, he spotted a game of cricket going on near the entrance, was allowed to join in, and never actually saw the house itself.

In 1957 the School organised a School Fair to help raise funds for the new cricket pavilion. My father offered to organise a scratch orchestra to put on a concert, as the then Head of Music Harry Gledhill had no wish to run an orchestra and was happy for George to do so. Which he did, and he was not beyond a degree of arm twisting when he found he needed a viola player: my arm, of course. As with the chess he was a competent amateur musician, and spent hours writing out manuscript parts when there was no published score that a pupil could cope with.The orchestra gained some particularly talented instrumentalists in the mid-1960s and achieved success in music competitions against other school orchestras from West Yorkshire. In retirement he wrote a number of hymn tunes – sadly, none were published – and the score for a song called ‘Jambo’ which celebrated a gorilla at Jersey Zoo!

My father was a keen member of the Jacobean Society, and in the 1950s frequently refereed school soccer matches on a Saturday morning. And he apparently joined in with games of Bridge in the staff room during the lunch time break. Although a communicant member of the Church of England he was a continuing supporter of Quaker ideals, and for a time was on the committee of the local branch of the As-

Retirement

My father enjoyed DIY, and vegetable gardening, travelling and reading, and after retirement bought a caravan and joined the Huddersfield Glee and Madrigal Society.

As my mother increasingly suffered from health issues he became depressed by the inability of the medics to ease her pain, and the long term effects of the rheumatic fever, and probably the effects of being a long term pipe smoker, resulted in him having two short stays in Huddersfield Infirmary with cardiac and respiratory problems, the second one being when he died in the spring of 1987. My mother survived him for a further three years.

It would be no exaggeration to say that he held headmaster Harry Taylor in extremely high regard, and he loved his family and his school, doing his best for both. n

sistant Masters Association

Time for a cuppa and a pipe: George Beach in retirement

Farnley Lines

WHY should my granddaughter’s acquiring a new dishwasher and a letter confirming a hospital appointment which arrived the same day lead to a severe bout of reminiscing? The letter concerned my ongoing prostate cancer treatment which inevitably reminds me of my mortality; more of this later.The dishwasher, I am told , can be controlled by an app on her phone. Yet again this prompted my recounting to her – how patient she is – how fresh water was a major concern in my formative years and how my family frequently entreat me to put into print some of these recollections before it is too late!

Early days

I was born in the South Lincolnshire village of Billingborough on the edge of The Fens. 8 Burton Lane to be precise and last time I visited the village there was still no blue plaque attached to the property. Although forty miles from the The Wash the intervening land is absolutely flat. So much so that if we dug a hole in the garden three feet deep,which we did from time to time for reasons you later might guess, it began to fill with water. The paths around the house were covered with gravel extracted from the said holes. The associated problems which will appear later – must

DAVE BUSH

keep you reading – meant that we had no running water in the house.Water had to be carried in large buckets from a tap fifty yards down the lane. On frosty mornings the first person to the tap was expected to take a kettle of boiled water to thaw things out. Was it not lagged? I don’t remember. I do remember vividly the day when we had at last water piped into the kitchen.Workmen dug a trench down the lane but because of the

Where it all started: 8 Burton Lane, Billingborough. Dave’s bedroom was immediately above the rarely-used front door.

problems mentioned earlier, piles had to be driven in the sides to prevent its collapse.We still had to dig our own trench to connect the supply, but what a great moment when the tap was finally turned on.

As I write, early memories and some not so early, flood in.Wash days, toilet facilities or lack of same, bath nights, a bedroom with no light. If of interest to you, dear reader, I could add more in future editions of our treasured magazine. Please let our editor know. An embryonic autobiography? Wild dreams.

And now, strikes!

From Health to Education. I was re cently asked if I would join the teachers’ strikes which are threatened shortly, if I were teaching today. I did have experience in times almost as demanding as the present ones during Clive Watkins’ headship but as my union did not call out its members I did not have to make the decision. However, I am sure I would not have done so as the issue was solely about pay. If it had been about improving pupils’ learning experiences then that would have been a different matter. Measures to improve classroom discipline and the pupils’ desire to learn would have been and still are worth fighting for. Increasing pay is not going to help. I feel deeply for the present cohort passing through the system. Covid was so disruptive. Pupils need and like routine. I have written before how even a one off change from the usual classroom can completely change the atmosphere in a lesson. So having emerged from Covid the reward is …yet more disruption! This is completely

unfair. These youngsters have only one opportunity and it is being denied to them. And now we have the idea of teaching some form of Maths to the age of eighteen. So where are all the inspiring Maths teachers to be found? When I was still at KJ recruitment was difficult and the subject was often taught by science graduates with perhaps a Maths ‘A’ Level. I believe it is no better now*. Similar mad cap schemes for teaching Russian and Chinese were proposed and quickly disappeared. Why are these ideas never properly thought through? Enough. Help this aged body down from his high horse and let’s move on to lighter matters. Football?

The Terriers continue to struggle

A glance at the Championship table immediately dampens that. Huddersfield Town F C continue to languish in the relegation places although their form in January picked up somewhat. I must confess that I have no great passion for Town but I know so many friends who have, that inevitably I want Town to do well for their sake. Should they be relegated then they could be entertaining my beloved Lincoln City in the 23-24 season and I might be tempted to make a trip north.The current season is my 75th following The Imps but I have yet to receive an invitation to visit Sincil Bank ( sorry –The LNER Stadium – How awful!) as a guest of honour.

*KJS Principal Ian Rimmer addresses the teacher recruitment problem on page 6.

Thank you, readers

My revealing to you in the last mag azine that I have prostate cancer em phasised yet again what a wonder ful organisation we have in the OAS. It has been like a warm blanket. I have had so many com forting and encouraging messages it has been quite uplifting; so many thanks to you all.The treat ment is protracted as the cancer is termed ‘aggressive’ but I remain optimistic.The cases described to me are so numerous and similar that I could not be otherwise. The main attack – I see it as a battle – it seems will come in early March with a four week course of radiotherapy. I will, of course, keep you updated.

Jack Taylor’s 90th

Whenever I begin a new contribution to our illustrious magazine, I always have a quick read through of the previous one and decide which article I found most interesting. The choice is often difficult but not this time. The one featuring the celebration of the 90th

birthday of my dearest friend, Jack Taylor meant there was no competition. It’s now 63 years since I first met Jack and our shared experiences could fill a short book. I had a long telephone conversation with him recently and although I know his body is not as strong as it was , his recollections and his wit are as sharp as ever…

What a carry on!

… but I am not so sure about my own. In a short space of time I have acquired a new phone; the battery gave up on my old one. This was followed by a new large screen TV; I needed larger subtitles and a bigger picture. In negotiating a new deal with Sky I was offered a more modern Sky Box. The predictable result was, or rather is, New Technology Overload. An amusing example.The TV has voice control. Margaret told it to pause while she left the room. It obeyed. On her return she was unsure how to ‘unpause’ it. ‘Continue’ did not work so she said ‘Carry on’. Up came a list of Carry On films! We try. n

Difficulty: gentle

Each row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain the digits 1 to 9

TWO NATIONS DIVIDED BY A COMMON LANGUAGE?

A Yorkshireman in America

CHARLIE STARKEY (1968 - 1975)

Things often look different when viewed from afar.We invite our man in the US to give us his personal perspective on some of the issues and questions of the day.

THE quote “We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language” comes from Oscar Wilde in his short story The Canterbury Ghost. Frequently misattributed to George Bernard Shaw and quoted with variations on a theme by such luminaries as Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell, the phrase has become so lazily overused by wits, wags, and wastrels – particularly TV pundits – as to become decidedly old hat. Churchill, on receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University in 1943, opined “The gift of a common tongue is a priceless inheritance, and it may well someday become the foundation of a common citizenship.”

Well, sort of. For over a thousand years Latin was numerus unus in the linguistic pop charts but all good things must come to an end. English, its b*stard offspring, spread around the world with the expansion of the British Empire, eventually outpacing French, German, Dutch, and Portuguese. Empires rise and fall, but despite Britain’s postwar demise English continues to thrive and remains the dominant voice of international trade and modern communications, its vocabulary and quirky grammatical rules constantly evolving: 650

additional words and phrases were included in the OED’s September 2022 digital update. One of its advantages is that it works like a discount kitchen towel, mopping up words from alien languages which can then be wrung out as necessary. Few other vocabularies were so rich with synonyms and antonyms that they created a market for thesauruses.

But why do those pesky Yanks insist on deliberately misspelling and mispronouncing our perfectly fine English words – and worse, making up new ones without our permission? This is partly from sheer hubris, but in their defense (sic) some of their choices might be justified. For example, the differing pronunciations of ‘lieutenant’ have always flummoxed me: “loo tenant” seems to make phonetic sense, so why do we say “leftenant”?

The word itself has a vexing etymology. In days of yore Britain kept getting invaded by darn foreigners who would then rudely thrust their native tongues down our throats. Long after the Romans threw up their manus in disgust and sailed home, in 1066 a Frenchie ne’er-dowell brought some of his tooled-up bullyboys over on a day trip from Normandie and they too overstayed their welcome. Leur langue française had its roots in ‘Vul-

gar’ (colloquial) Latin which over time merged with several European vernaculars and devolved into the ‘Romance Languages’, including Old French. The original Latin term ‘locus tenens’, meaning placeholder or deputy, was likely corrupted to leuf tenant in Old French but misheard as leftenant by the Britons. With the Garlic, sorry Gallic language continuing to mature like a fragrant cheese, leuf changed to lieu but Britain, unlike the rest of the world, stubbornly chose to Keep Left. In the mid20th century, after years of heroically bombarding Britain with their quirky accents via ‘talking pictures’, American soldiers showed up on these shores – at the last minute, as usual – to help us win World

War Two. With regard to military rank hierarchy, these no-nonsense friendly invaders politely declared “It’s spelt lieutenant, you pretentious Limeys, so get with the program”. And that’s merely one brilliant theory deconstructing one single word. Balderdash, do I hear you bellow? Sheer conjecture? Quite possibly.

With the great westward expansion across North America isolated communities were established and regional dialects evolved in much the same way they did across the tracts of ancient Britain. Even when more efficient lines of transport and communication were established distinct local vocal variations survived and to this day residents of individ-

Planning a trip to the US?

Transatlantic grammatical deviations can sometimes lead to confusion. Here are a few variants to review in advance of a trip to the United States:

Angry Pissed

Aubergine

Biscuit

Chips

Eggplant

Cookie

Fries (and don’t even think of asking for mushy peas)

Crisps Chips (yes, sacrilege, I know…)

Curtains

Elastoplast

Estate agent

Estate cars

Drapes

Band-Aid

Realtor

Station wagons

Football Soccer (ha!)

Holiday

Vacation

Honor Jam

Honour

Jumper

Jelly

Sweater

Labour Labor

Lorry Truck

Petrol

Gas(oline)

Pissed Drunk

Politicians stand for office

Rubber

Scone

Trainers

Turn-ups on trousers

Politicians run for office

Eraser (be careful with this one)

Biscuit

Sneakers

Cuffs on trousers

Vest Undershirt

Waistcoat Vest

ual cities such as Minnesota, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and NewYork remain identifiable by accent. In Yorkshire, with the advent of the new M62 motorway in 1970, Huddersfield folk were finally able to leave their mud huts and mingle with villagers from the other Ridings whose voices were even more unintelligible. My late Uncle Colin, bless him, born and raised in the mining village of Silkstone, frequently needed subtitles to make himself understood.

Because of their diverse origins, many English words once had multiple accepted spellings: centre or center, realise or realize, humour or humor. If American English preserves many of the features spoken by 17th century Britons, why does it have a problem with using the letter ‘u’? While compiling his influential Dictionary of the English Language, British bibliophile and writer Samuel Johnson believed the spellings of foreign words should defer to

their origin, therefore the French ‘u’s were retained. But when American lexicographer Noah Webster assembled his Compendious Dictionary of the English Language in 1806, he preferred generally phonetic spellings with a tendency towards brevity, giving Britain the middle finger into the bargain. In other words, screw u. Honour and valour therefore became honor and valor, harbour became harbor, and favour favor, while the willful exclusion of other extraneous letters reduced judgement to judgment, programme to program, aluminium to aluminum, and so on.

From the 1950s onwards, Americanese was adopted by younger generations wishing to set themselves apart from their unhip, uncool parents. There’s a great, possibly apocryphal story that when John Lennon and Paul McCartney previewed their new composition She LovesYou to Paul’s Dad he suggested they might improve it by replacing the “yeah, yeah, yeah” chorus with the more ‘proper’ “yes, yes, yes”. History records that the lads ignored his advice.

Long the victim of British lexical snobbery, America counterattacked by exporting CocaCola, jazz, rock’n’roll, and outlandish lingo undreamed of by Chaucer, Milton, or

Samuel Johnson:“The spellings of foreign words should defer to their origin”

Pennsylvania accent: Kate Winslet

impressed viewers in the HBO series Mare of Easttown

even McGonagall*. I remember my junior school teachers initially discouraging the use of Americanisms until they concluded they were fighting a losing battle. In retaliation, we were forced to study French. Furthering our foreign education at King James’s, we young Tykes began by robotically chanting along to audio-filmstrips, learning how to buy a train ticket at la Gare St. Lazare and watching une Parisienne charmante purchase petrol (“Faites le plein, s’il vous plaît”) but that was nothing compared to our humiliation at being singled out by Mrs Hebblethwaite during lessons in the Wooden Hut’s analogue-tech Language Lab. Ah were frum Fartown, tha knows, not t’bloody Côte d’Azur. As a friend recently reminded me, you can take the lad out of Yorkshire but never take the Yorkshire from out the lad.

When encountering a Brit, it’s not unusual for our American cousins to erroneously mistake one for being a bit posh, even sophisticated. They probably expect to get an earful of FourWeddings and a Hugh Grant because, naturally, we all live in castles and have met the Queen (RIP) but they

don’t often run intoYorkshiremen.The surprising global popularity of Last of The Summer Wine and The Full Monty may have helped break down British stereotypes overseas, but the UK is still regarded as the land of Shakespeare and Jane Austen. I suspect they just find us intriguing because we sound ‘different’.

In days gone by, when an authentic American star wasn’t available for a UK telly production, a homegrown thespian would step in and affect a cartoonish John Wayne drawl with heavily accented ‘r’s. (Stop press: not everyYank is a Texan, y’all.) Hollywood didn’t have much need for Brits to portray Americans. Angela Lansbury was an early exception, ingeniously cast against type as Laurence Harvey's scheming mum in The Manchurian Candidate. Perhaps that was the beginning of the trend to cast British actors as baddies.

Our lot now seem to excel at all sorts of regional American accents, fooling audiences and winning awards to boot. Recently, Kate Winslet impressed viewers and critics alike with an impeccable local east-Pennsylvania accent in the HBO

*ScotsmanWilliam McGonagall (1825-1902), author of some of the worst Poetic Gems in British literature.

mini-series Mare of Easttown. Oxfordian Hugh Laurie gained worldwide recognition as Doctor Gregory House in the US television series House. Even the show’s casting director reportedly assumed Laurie was American. After his breakout performance as posh Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited, Jeremy Irons dramatically changed gears to play drug-addicted twin Canadian gynaecologists in the disturbing thriller Dead Ringers. Our repertoire of villainous roles (e.g. Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber in the original Die Hard and Peter Cushing’s Death Star commander in StarWars) has been expanded to include superheroes. Christian Bale switched from a crazed American psycho in American Psycho to portraying broody Bruce Wayne/Batman throughout the Dark Knight trilogy, while Henry Cavill took on the mantle of Superman – although technically Clark Kent is an illegal immigrant from Krypton, not an American. Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland have both swung around New York as Marvel Comics’ radioactive teen Spider-Man, aided by Benedict Cumberbatch as the mys-

Top prize for authenticity: Dick van Dyke in Disney’s Mary Poppins

tical multiverse sorcerer Dr. Strange. And Idris Elba plays just about everybody else.

But what about the converse? No, not the footwear. Which American actors have concocted a convincing measure of Britishness? Both Meryl Streep and Gillian Anderson Britishchannelled Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady and The Crown respectively, and Anderson was equally convincing as DSU Stella Gibson in The Fall. Texan(!) Renée Zellweger was excellent in Bridget Jones’s Diary, and New Jerseyan Peter Dinklage gave it his best shot as generically Englishsounding Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. But the top prize for authenticity must go by default to Dick Van Dyke, illustrious all-round entertainer and Victorian chimney sweep extraordinaire. Dick’s Bert remains to this day an iconic Disney character, the practically perfect foil to his friend Mary Poppins, and the entertainment world's foremost exponent of Mockney. Recalling his film role, in a CNN interview he explained “I was concentrating on the dancing, mostly, and they had given me a (voice) coach who turned out to be an Irishman, and his Cockney wasn't much better than mine.” Nevertheless, Dickie was altogether Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. n

CROSSWORD by Hérisson

Entries to the Editor (address/email: back cover) by 30th April 2023. Prize: 12 months’ free OAS membership

l The winner of Crossword by Hérisson (November 2022) was Andrew Cliffe (1966-73)

ACROSS

1. Code 100 – hyperactivity. (6)

4. James Herriot, for example, grips tail. Thanks for revenge quest. (8)

10. Boat trip with king on spacecraft. (7)

11. Book anaesthetics. (7)

12. A bad actor returns with Irish stew and sage. (9)

13. Spin a groat. No good for this vessel. (5)

14. Autumn fowl, perhaps, and old! (2,6,7)

18. Something on your phone about bird in quest for lack of understanding. (15)

20. Atmosphere in business capital. (5)

22. Clue for stent is unyielding. (9)

24. Owing to the fact that cue base slipped. (7)

25. Late Dover chaos with EU backing. (7)

26. Wind lays tree wasted. (8)

27. Bad cluers can be painful! (6)

DOWN

1. Beware fellow troglodyte. (7)

2. Physics so transformed mental illness. (9)

3. Agree change with enthusiasm. (5)

5. Boredom at night across the channel is curtailed. (5)

6. Curse mother country. (9)

7. Article in room, at first belonging to them. (5)

8. Refrain from bias with Ant working. (7)

9. Peter, on vacation, is one. Right jailbird! (8)

15. Create issue about crops. (9)

16. Oh so nice arrangement created unity. (8)

17. Sharp balance point. (5-4)

18. Weird bra came apart (7)

19. Almond, for example. Margaret’s spices. (7)

21. Cruising around, losing rig, find bone. (5)

22. Ladies not quite in a tizzy. That’s perfect. (5)

23. The girl will shortly find it on the beach. (5)

Sporting success at KJS BACK AT THE SCHOOL

King James’s School sports teams had a successful year in 2022 winning seven Kirklees school trophies. A new display cabinet, part funded by the OAS, proudly exhibits the trophies to students and visitors. Assistant media editor RICHARD TEALE visited the school to discuss with Thomas Day (Head of Boys’ PE) the present-day approach to sport in a busy curriculum.

IN the March 2018 issue of The Almondburian , Peter Tracey (1956 - 1963) recounted his memories of sport at King James’s in the 1950s and 60s. In particular, he enthused about playing for football teams in inter-school competitions at all age groups, usually on Saturday mornings. Peter went on to a teaching career in Newcastle along with organising schools’ football in the North East and becoming Chairman of the Northumberland Schools FA. He explained in his article how, over his career, the importance of sport in schools had suffered, partly due to Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), Ofsted inspections, league tables, Health and Safety and personal development profiles. He con -

cluded by hoping that the demise of sport in schools did not extend to King James’s.

Well, I can assure Peter and all readers that sport at King James’s is in good hands. I met up with Thomas Day, a member of the enthusiastic team of five teachers presenting sport to almost 1,050 students. Thomas is a football coach and a keen advocate of the game. Sport is now part of the School Performance Faculty which includes drama and music.

King James’s students start sport at key stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) with an approach that has changed little over the years. However, there is now less emphasis on gymnastics and more on fitness, accepting that students are less active than in the past. One teaching period of

Thomas Day: Head of Boys’ PE

Above:The cup-winning year 10 boys football team

Below:The cup-winning year 8 girls netball team

fitness is supplemented with one of team sports, mainly football, rugby and basketball for boys and netball, hockey and football for girls. Boys and girls are taught in separate sessions, other than the skilful girl footballers in years 7 and 8 who join the boys. In the summer term, athletics and ‘striking and fielding’ sports are added to the timetable. Cricket is part of the ‘striking and fielding’ sports, along with rounders, baseball and softball. Thomas admits that cricket has somewhat passed him by. Ian Gatenby, who retired last year, was a cricket coach and his lead role has been taken over by Simon Sykes. The demotion of cricket is understandable given that King James’s is a mixed comprehensive school and a maintained cricket field and pavilion is no longer available. Exciting opportunities still arise though and in July 2022 ECB and Yorkshire cricket coaches presented a very enjoyable taster session for year 8 and 9 girls.

Students with any aptitude for team games arrive at King James’s having experienced sport in the community at local clubs. In some cases, their abilities are questionable and in need of correction.

Like in academic subjects, students are now placed in sets in sport according to their capabilities and get more enjoyment from competing with others at their level.

Though there are no weekend matches, inter-school competition is still important. Thomas gives football as an example where afternoon (afterschool) league and cup competitions are arranged across all age groups between September and April. Ian Rimmer and staff are supportive of competitive sport; on occasions they have to agree to students missing classes to travel to away fixtures.

The Sport teaching team at

PE is now taught as a GCSE, or B Tech subject at King James’s. 80 to 100 students typically take a PE option in years 10 and 11. This academic side of the subject enables those interested to move on to take A level PE and Sports Science at university.

Swimming is no longer offered as a sport option at King James’s but students with an ability in it, probably gained from local clubs, can build it into the PE GCSE course. Good swimmers can be entered as a school team in regional competitions.

The standard of

l Kim Clarke (above)

Co-head of Performance Faculty and Head of Sport

l Thomas Day

Head of Boys’ PE

l Simon Sykes

Ex Almondbury Community School

l Richard Lally

l Rebecca Fretwell

KJS

The trophy-winning year 10 boys and girls athletic teams school student sport has suffered due to the restrictions placed by sports academies and competition from local community leagues. Students from the age of seven can now enter the junior ranks of professional football clubs and are often forbidden from competing in school sports due to the consequences of injuries.

The recent provision of new academic teaching accommodation at King James’s has not yet been accompanied by similar improvements to sports teaching facilities. The old gymnasium has been converted to an assembly/ performance area with bleacher seating and the sports hall is now around 30 years old but can be classed as meeting modern standards. The acres of outside

grounds accommodate grass and allweather pitches. Starting from the top of Arkenley Lane, the old cricket field is now only maintained and used for cross-country running, below the banking is a rugby pitch, below that a football pitch and below a further banking is a large Redgra all-weather square. Behind the new teaching block is a four-tennis court sized hard-surfaced area and on the field above is a small grass football pitch used only by year 7 students.

The Redgra surface is much used but being stone based it suffers from dust in summer and mud caused by waterretention in winter. What the school aspires to is an Astro Turf surface, possible benefactors please note!

So, what were the King James’s sporting achievements in 2022? In summary:

l In athletics, KJS won five of a possible eight trophies in year group competition with 20 schools across Kirklees.

l In netball, the year 8 squad won the cup after victories against seven other Kirklees schools.

l In football, the year 9 and 10 boys’ teams both reached the Kirklees cup finals. The year 9 side finished runners-up in a closely fought game and the year 10 side came away with the cup after scoring the only goal of the game deep into extra time.

The enthusiasm demonstrated by teachers and students shows the sporting traditions of King James’s School are as strong as ever. n

Old Almondburians’ Society chairman Walter Raleigh poses with Head Boy Ben O'Brien and Head Girl Ruby Webb in front of the handsome new sports cabinet partly funded by the OAS.

Golf: Gothard Cup 2023

ROBIN MERCHANT robin.merchant@oas.org.uk

THE Gothard Cup 2023 competition will take place at its traditional venue of Woodsome Hall, on Sunday 9th July with the 1st tee reserved from 2.30pm.

As always the golf will be followed by a meal and the presentation of prizes. Last year we enjoyed a wonderful com-

petition, which was won by Mark Slater (pictured), playing in his first Gothard Cup. Let’s hope this is the start of more new players entering the competition.

So if anyone who would like to meet up with old school mates over a drink or two after a game of golf, please do come along and join us.n

Not just a cat – more a purr-sonality

DORABELLA DOWLING (MOUSER)

CHATTING with your editor over a Christmas drink (I do enjoy a festive saucer of mewlot), it occured to me that in all the issues of The Almondburian over the years there has not been a single article about or by an Almondburian cat or dog Frankly, I think that’s a purrfect disgrace.

I’m quite envious of my distant relative Larry, chief mouser at 10 Dowling Street, who gets regular press coverage; but in fairness he does have quite a responsible job there. I hear on the grapevine that he was even running the country for a while last year while they kept changing prime ministers.

So let me begin by introducing myself: my name is Dorabella Dowling –Bella for short – and I’m mouser-in-chief at Dowl ing Towers in Cheshire. I joined the household 14 years ago as a kitten with my brother Elgar, but sadly he was run over within a year so most of the time I have been on my own.Dorabella was, of course, one of the subjects of Edward Elgar’s EnigmaVariations, and I think the Dowlings still regard me as a bit of an enigma in many ways.

My man Roger tells me that his family

have always loved cats. The first cat he can remember, when he was a youngster was a lovely black cat that seemed to be having kittens all the time. I hardly dare tell you the cat’s name: it was N*gg*r – can you believe it? Of course, no-one thought it was the slightest bit racist in those innocent times.

Ours is a fairly quiet house these days. All the boys have left home so I pretty well have the house to myself. It’s bliss –they always forget to close the bedroom doors so I have the choice of half a dozen different beds and I can move around the house depending on the angle of the sun. Of course, they prefer me to use my own room – they call it the ‘utility room’ for some reason. It even has an apology for a bed:a furry object which can be re-configured to make a sort of little house. Never used it once –wouldn’t be seen dead in it! They also gave me what they call a ‘scratching board’ and that’s something else that I have always treated with total disdain. Why should I use that when there’s perfectly good furniture all over the house?

I’m nearly 16 now, which in your human terms is, I am told, the equiva -

lent of being 80. So not surprisingly I am a bit arthritic these days. And although they call me a mouser, I don’t really take much interest in them these days. Actually, I never used to eat them anyway –it was more the challenge of catching them and bringing them into the house. My favourite trick was to bring a live mouse into the hall, howl loudly to announce my success, and then stand back with amusement to watch them trying to retrieve it from under the piano. Great fun!

Apart from the mewlot, I’m not a big drinker. To be honest, I prefer water but NEVER from a bowl. I absolutely insist on fresh running water straight from the tap – delicious.

I don’t get around much these days, apart from stretching my legs in the field behind the house. But I must tell you an amazing true story about my predecessor called Chumley. The family lived in Yorkshire at the time and my man had to drive 200 miles to a meeting in west London. When he got there he heard a mewing from under the bonnet and it was Chummers! He’d climbed under the bonnet for a snooze and the next minute he woke up to find himself zooming down the M1. He insisted on a proper comfortable seat in the back for the journey home – and who can blame him?

So that’s my story, folks.There must be many of you out there with an interesting tale – perhaps even an interesting tail – so do drop my man a line. n

From the top: Larry at No 10; Me with my teddies; Nectar, straight from the tap; My unspeakable so-called ‘bed’

A climate of fear?

From: Simon Thackray (1965-1971)

Abig thank you to Martin Priestley. Two hundred words, or thereabouts, have rarely made me laugh out loud so many times. I am of course referring to his ‘Memories’ as a tribute to Jack Taylor in the November 2022 issue of The Almondburian

But Martin's words also got me thinking. To quote Martin – Jack had “a metre rule that he would (terrifyingly) smash down on the bench; I never saw him lay a finger on any pupil. The metre rule provided just enough fear so that classroom discipline was effortless.” Amongst the fabulous humour which Jack made his own and Martin has so wonderfully encapsulated, Martin has slipped in a serious point. Did imposing discipline in a classroom of adolescent boys require an element of physicality, or at least the fear of it? I've deliberately used the past tense as I think we'd all agree that in this day and age, corporal punishment would never be condoned and therefore the fear of it dissipates.

But that isn't how it used to be. Parliament only outlawed corporal punishment in state schools in 1986 (private school pupils continued to suffer for another 12 years after that). So those of us educated pre-1986 will probably have witnessed, or even been the victim of, corporal punishment. So we know what it

was like and why, for many of us, the fear of it was real.

Just to briefly personalise this, the biggest beating I ever took was from a teacher I shan't name because it was out of character. It came from an excellent teacher and he was a teacher I liked and I thought liked me. To be hauled out in front of the class, to bend over and be hit numerous times was humiliating, painful and absolutely shocked me. This was a teacher I respected. He was affiliated to the same house (Jessop) as me. He had come out with a few of us at lunchtimes to help us perfect our baton changes for the relay races on sports day. He was a decent bloke; I felt I knew him and him me. So that beating was an experience I've never forgotten which is evidence of the personal trauma it caused me. I bet you’re all wondering the nature of my crime. I had scratched with a compass my name and the date on a desk in D3. It wasn't very clever of me as apart from my younger brother there was only one ‘Tetley’ (our nick-name) so the evidence against me was, shall we say, ‘compelling’? But worthy of a public beating’.

If you date back as far as me, I’m sure you'll have witnessed far worse. The worst I witnessed was my great pal, Alan (‘Chip’) Rogers, receiving a real battering from one master’s shoe which again I won’t forget. To witness physical brutality is almost as

traumatic as suffering it; it is these incidents that create the fear to the point that a crack on the bench from Jack Taylor’s metre rule was sufficient to keep every biology class in total obedience.

Am I being critical of Jack Taylor? Not really. He was so funny, as Martin Priestley said, I can forgive a lot. That said, Jack had a commanding physical presence and had a voice to match, so I'm not sure that the additional fear prompted by the presence of the metre rule was actually necessary. Jack was made for teaching. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen assiduously nor revise for exams nor care what grade I got at O-level (for the record, I got a grade 9 to match the grade 9s I got for physics and chemistry, but in those cases the teaching was so uninspiring that anyone who passed deserves great praise). I was not in a good place at the age of 16 so my grade 9 for biology doesn’t reflect on Jack Taylor’s teaching ability. He only carries part of the blame of collective responsibility that not one teacher took me aside in those troubled years and tried to find out why I was so evidently disengaged and not producing the results of which I was undoubtedly capable. But that’s another story.

So, what has Martin Priestley prompted in my mind? He has brought to the fore what is always lurking in my subconscious that there was a climate of fear that existed in KJGS in the 1960s and it was created by

those who freely administered corporal punishment in all its different forms. Jack Taylor may not wish to acknowledge it but he and his metre rule was cashing in on what was going on elsewhere in the School. Corporal punishment was prevalent and condoned and administered from the top down. To those who can shrug it off and say “that’s just how it was; a beating never did me any harm”, I would merely ask them to remember that some of us may have got through it relatively physically unscathed but we may well be mentally scarred. If one was regularly smacked at home, witnessed or received physical punishment at school, and in a school where bullying was rife, it can cut one of two ways. I now have an abhorrence of violence and bullying; I’m maybe oversensitive to it; that’s one way. The other way is that you’ve seen violence or the fear of violence as part of keeping control, asserting supremacy, the physically stronger abusing the weaker; so you just carry on with what you’ve witnessed. I join with those congratulating Jack Taylor on his 90th birthday and I belatedly send him all good wishes; but I hope he hasn’t forgotten that he was a participant, albeit a very funny participant, in that climate of fear that prevailed half a century ago.

Simon Thackray, Halesworth

lAn article ‘Six of the Best’ about corporal punishment at KJGS will appear in the July 2023 issue.

Contributions to The Almondburian

We are always delighted to receive articles, letters or photographs for publication in The Almondburian. Photographs should ideally be at 300dpi resolution at the size at which they will appear in the magazine, and in .jpg or .png format. Editorial email address: almondburian@oas.org.uk

Memories of the bus terminus - and Michael Pogson

From: Barry Livesey

(1953-1961)

ALMONDBURY terminus (illustration, The Almondburian , November 2022) is a tasteful memory for most, for me it brings back something very different. Roger Mallinson  and I were unusually late for the bus and we were just a queue of 2. We leaned on the wall chatting; some way away was Jim Toomey. The bus came in and a village girl bounded up and jumped on it. Mallinson and myself shouted our objection to queue jumping. Jim  was not happy and next day we were called to Harry Taylor’s study, sentenced to 3 of his best cane strokes for “loutish behaviour in the village”. Head down into his arm chair, trousers tight over the bum.

Harry was of course a big man and he held back nothing and yes it did hurt and left 3 red stripes. Ah well, he eventually made me Head Boy!

Michael Pogson (obituary)

I thought that the piece on Michael Pogson in the last issue was a bit bare and sad.

I may be the only contemporary of Michael; but as I cannot add much a little will have to do.

On the 1953 whole School photo if you drop a line down from Harry Binns, (between George Beech and Harry Gledhill) in the front row is Michael. I assume that the 1953 referred to the year of entry.

I remember Michael as being quite small, quiet and his main interest was steam engines and he could produce detailed drawings quite quickly. Also he was a reasonable cross country runner.

Shefford, Bedfordshire

Right: Michael Pogson (KJGS 1953-61)

Obituary

Peter E Fisher (KJGS 1956-1962)

Businessman and keen traveller who learned the art of pottery at KJGS

My memories of Peter begin in 1956 when we started as 11 year olds at Almondbury Grammar School. We weren’t very close friends at that time. Peter was into arts and crafts, whereas sport dominated my interests.

I left school in 1961, and didn’t see

and wall tiling sub-contract work for several years. We built his new warehouse and renovated his office building. However, we didn’t really socialise until after we received an invitation, initiated by Roger Morgan, to attend the Old Almondburians’ Society Annual Dinner at the John Smith’s Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our Class of ’56. We occupied two tables of ten and had a great night.

The socialising had begun. This was to be the start of annual get-togethers of our small group of Old Boys for a few years; which developed quite nicely from ‘annual’ to meeting every couple of months for a few pints at the King’s Head at the train station. Most of us travelled by bus to the pub – Peter sometimes went on his Segway and parked it outside like a bicycle!

Peter again until I returned to Huddersfield from working abroad at the end of 1978. Peter was running his family flooring and wall tiling business W Fisher and Sons (Tilers) Ltd , established back in the 1860s, and I had a small construction company. We met up and Peter’s firm did all our flooring

Then, in 2012, someone came up with the idea of going to Paramé in France to celebrate 50 years since going there on a school visit. Six of us revisited Paramé: Peter, Mike Hellawell, the late John Linton, Mike Gibson, Colin Ainley and myself.

We really enjoyed ourselves, and the trip set the marker for several more years: Barcelona, Nice, Malaga, Viareggio, Majorca, and Alicante, which, sadly,was to be Peter’s last holiday with us before he had a stroke. The Huddersfield contingent of our beer/travel

group carried on visiting Peter at home after his discharge from hospital, and enjoyed tea and biscuits, provided by Diana, around his kitchen table, while Peter occasionally dozed off. Along came the Covid crisis and our visits were replaced by Peter joining us, between dozes, in Zoom meetings.

In addition to his family and business, I know Peter had several other interests and serious hobbies, including sky-diving, pottery, and wood-turning, achieving a very high level of proficiency in all. He was particularly grateful to Russell Roofe, who taught us Art at school, for devoting time and effort to coach him in the finer skills of pottery. Peter carried on pursuing further excellence in later years and in fact met Diana, his future bride, at a pottery class in 1979. Peter crafted a fine plate to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the School which is displayed in the Independent Learning Centre (ILC)/library. We’ve discussed

Peter’s plate, on display in the ILC/Library, carries the inscription: Handmade Stoneware Ceramic Plate, with thanks for his education which included his introduction to pottery. Presented by Mr Fisher to the school to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Charter.

his involvement in all his hobbies over the years, and I have admired Peter’s attention to detail and desire ‘to do a proper job’ in everything he tackled.

Although we’ve greatly missed his presence and friendship at our gatherings, and will continue to do so, we’ve all kept in touch with Peter and Diana throughout their terrible ordeal battling the effects of the stroke. Diana did a marvellous job in supporting Peter and providing some quality of life for him. Best wishes for the future Diana.

John Aspinall

I remember Peter from pre-Almondbury Grammar School days: Colin Ainley and I first knew Peter when the three of us were sopranos in Newsome Parish Church choir in the 1950s. According to the Vicar – the never to be forgotten Rev Maurice Basil Slaughter – Colin and I were worthy of the cassock and surplice we had to wear twice every Sunday for some five years.until our voices broke. But Peter was outstanding –gifted with a beautiful voice he performed on many higher stages both locally and nationally.

Mike Gibson

Peter Eric Fisher, born 13th April 1945, died 4th October 2022 aged 77

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 of this 284 page hardback full of reminiscences and anecdotes was historian and former KJGS pupil Gerald Hinchliffe.

£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.

£10 plus P & P

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 throughout.

£10 plus P & P

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 the ups and downs of school life.

£15 plus P & P

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.

A HISTORY OF KING JAMES’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL IN ALMONDBURY

GERALD HINCHLIFFE, B.A., M.Ed.

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