The Almondburian November 2018

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

November 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

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A word from your Chairman Membership Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day From the study Heritage Open Day 2018 100 years on - we remember them My escape to the country Crossword by Hérisson The Gilbert & Sullivan years Old boys on tour: Alicante Class of ’47 in Ripponden reunion Apostrophe Corner Platinum reunion for class of ’48 Eighty years of building the new…

Book Review: Another Planet Earth George Hotel remains closed New building on Castle Hill?

When the average fare was 4p Classroom commentary Meanwhile back at the School Back to the drawing board Farnley Lines New Fellow of the Royal Society Evolution of a school magazine (part 3) Badminton/Tennis Postbag

(Opposite): This fine drawing of the ‘Big’ and Fenay Quad in winter was originally published in 1924. It was the work of Jack Lindley (1920-1924) who, in later life, went on to become an art teacher.

The ALMONDBURIAN Editor: Roger Dowling

November 2018

The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society

A word from your Chairman WA LT E R R A LEIGH duced four new boards in total, showing Head Boys 1945-1976; Head Boys and Head Girls 1973-2018; House Shield Winners since 1916; and the School Charter and Seal.

We were particularly pleased that we were able to arrange for the Charter to return to the School for Heritage Day, and very warm thanks are due to Keith and Bob for producing a splendid display cabinet which we will retain for use on similar occasions in the future.

ELCOME to the November issue of The Almondburian, which I hope you will enjoy.

I have been down in School on a number of occasions in recent weeks. On the first occasion it was to see our new Honours Boards for the first time: the site managers Keith Ramsden and Bob Farrell were getting them in place for the School’s second participation in Heritage Weekend on Saturday, 15th September (report: page: 12).We have pro-

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but is not a member please contact them and ask them to come along and join us.

The intake of 1978 will be coming along in numbers. Darren Hanson has been working with Gary Hodgson, Stuart Sykes and Darren Patterson to contact as many as possible from this year group.Among their number will be Peter Warry who also became Head Boy. He has agreed to say a few words about his time at King James’s and I can’t wait to hear him speak.This group was very special to me as 1978 was also my first year at King James’s. Where have the 40 years gone?

On the subject of dates, it would be remiss not to note that the publication date of thisissue falls exactly 100 years after the First World War armistice on 11th November 2018. By the end of the war, 44 boys of the School had died; we remember them and the difficult days of the war in the article on page 14.

And talking about centenaries, I am reminded that the Old Almondburians’ Society in its present form was set up on 17th March 1920 which means that 2020 will be the centenary of the Society. We welcome suggestions on how we might mark this important anniversary. n

It is easy to think of any school as simply teaching staff and students but for anyone who works in a school they quickly learn that for any school to function well there has also to be a group of hardworking and committed support staff.At King James’s we are blessed with wonderful teaching and support staff, who make sure King James’s remains one of the best schools in Kirklees.

The purpose of another visit to the School was to meet a large group of former students from the intake of 1948! One of their number, John Broadbent, had asked Ian Rimmer, our Principal, if they could take a look round the School and I was invited to join them. It was a wonderful hour spent in the company of the group and their partners, listening to recollections and anecdotes from days long passed. Happy days and I hope to see some of them again at this year’s Annual Dinner.

Talking of the Dinner I hope you have all booked your places as I hope it is one of our busiest.We are in the process of contacting as many of the former Head Boys and Head Girls as we can, as I’m sure they would enjoy seeing their name on the new noticeboards. If we haven’t yet contacted you or you know someone who is on the board

OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDAR DATES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, 2018 The Executive Committee of the Society meets in the ODH. at School at 6 pm, usually on the first Monday of the month, although there are occasional exceptions.

Any member of the Society who would like to attend one of these meetings will be made most welcome on the following dates: Monday, 12th November, Monday, 3rd December.

FOUNDERS’ DAY The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held the day after the Annual Dinner: Sunday, 25th November 2018.

ANNUAL DINNER This year’s Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday, 24th November 2018. Full details, together with an application form for tickets, are included in this issue of The Almondburian.

BADMINTON Members are reminded that we meet in the School sports hall on Thursday evenings from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm, until 23rd May 2019 (see report on page 59).

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Woolpack on 7th January 2019 (see official notice opposite).

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Membership A N D R E W HAIGH deaths of a long-standing life member of the Society, Dr Peter Sykes (1941-49), in Louth, Lincolnshire, and also Dennis Percy Johnson (1934-39).

Please remember that subscriptions for 2018-2019 fell due on 1st September. The vast majority of our members now pay their subscription by standing order, which makes life easy. If you are one of the few who do not pay by standing order and you have already sent your £10.00 subscription for this year, thank you very much for being so efficient!

If you do not pay by standing order and you haven’t recently made a payment for this year, then you will receive a letter with this magazine pointing out that your subscription is not up-to-date. In this event, please send your payment without delay.As I mentioned above, it does make life much easier if you pay by standing order so, if you can complete the updated standing order mandate that accompanies the letter and return it in the envelope provided, that would be even better!

Alternatively, you may renew online, using PayPal or a debit or credit card, by visiting www.oas.org.uk and clicking on the ‘Join/Renew Online’ button. n

INCE the last magazine was published we have been delighted to welcome two new members to the So-

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ciety. l Keith Sykes (1956-63) left King James’s to read Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester, graduating in 1966.

Keith retired from a 42-year career in bridge engineering in 2008, when he moved out of Greater London to Henley-on-Thames in Berkshire. He has two daughters and four grandsons. Keith says that his late brother Peter, and brother-in-law Tony, were both Old Almondburians and kept him informed about matters relating to the School. l Michael Denyer Page (1968-75) left to go to Cardiff to train in medicine and, following ten years of moving jobs doing training and research, he was appointed Consultant Endocrinologist at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. There he worked in emergency medicine and was also involved in postgraduate medical training for the Wales Deanery, becoming Head of the School of Medicine in 2012. Michael retired two years ago.

We have been saddened to learn of the

Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at ‘The Woolpack’, Almondbury on Monday, 7th January 2019 at 7.30 pm.

Nominations for office on the Executive Committee are required by the Secretary in advance of this date, so that the election of officers can take place at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule 7.

All members are urged to make every effort to attend the Annual General Meeting.

Andrew Haigh, Secretary 5

Annual Dinner A N D R E W HAIGH From To Travelling from HIS year’s Annual Name Ainley Richard Nicholas 1968 1976 Derby Dinner will be held Armitage Martin 1968 1976 Nottingham at the School on Sat- Beaumont Timothy Robin L. 1968 1976 Derby urday, 24th November, at Bradley Peter Richard 1948 1953 Bristol 6.30 pm for 7.30 pm.

Crawshaw Keith 1964 1971 Almondbury Ticket sales are going Croft David Gary 1968 1976 Almondbury Roger 1952 1959 Lymm well; those expected to at- Dowling David 1968 1975 Oakes tend so far are shown on the Dyson Simon 1964 1972 Ballaugh, Isle of Man right. The ticket price re- Graley Andrew Mark 1977 1983 Almondbury mains at £27.50 and an ap- Haigh Heptonstall David Anthony 1949 1957 Matlock plication form is included Hirst Stuart 1955 1963 Birkenhead with this magazine. Please be Horsfall Anthony 1955 1963 Hemel Hempstead aware that when the dinner Law George 1951 1959 Fenay Bridge is at the School spaces are Lofthouse John Howard 1952 1959 Sheffield limited, so early applications Moorhouse Robert 1964 1972 Stockport are recommended. Gentle- Morrison David N 1967 1970 Chigwell, Essex Brian Howard 1964 1972 Cheadle Hulme men, why not order, at the Nash Raleigh Walter Staff Almondbury same time, a new Society tie Searby Richard 1973 1979 Lepton to wear at the dinner? Ladies, Sharpe John Franklin 1951 1958 Leighton Buzzard how about ordering one of Taylor Andrew 1963 1970 Bidford-on-Avon the lovely new Society silk Taylor Richard 1954 1962 Ossett scarves when you apply for Thompson J Stuart 1949 1956 Cheadle Turner Ann Staff Lindley your ticket?

Warry Peter 1978 1983 York The Class of 1948 always have a good turnout and, this year, it is their sure as we go to press what he’ll be talk70th anniversary. Gary Croft is well un- ing about, but he assures us that it won’t derway with organising a 50th anniversary be about cycling (see panel opposite).The reunion for the Class of 1968 and Darren younger son of King James’s Grammar Hanson is organising a fortieth anniversary School headmaster Harry Taylor, Andrew reunion of the Class of 1978, so who will started life as a journalist on theYorkshire have the biggest turnout?

Evening Post, so long ago that one of his early reporting roles was covering the arThis year’s speakers rival of the first girls to attend King The principal speaker will be writer, James’s School. After that, he went on to former broadcaster and OAS member Andrew Taylor (1963-70) . We’re not Continued on page 8

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I daren’t talk about cycling now…

Andrew Taylor hoped that his successful completion of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 cycling event in July would give him an ideal topic for his address at this year’s OAS Dinner. But fate had other ideas.

T was all a dreadful mistake. I hadn’t been on a bicycle for well over forty years, and yet here I was on the one cold grey morning in a July of truly Mediterranean sunshine, setting off with thousands of other shivering Lycra-clad figures, to ride a hundred miles through London, out into Surrey and back.

Lycra, by the way, is not a good look when you’re in your sixties.

I’d been asked to sign up for the event by a friend who had recovered from the same cancer that I’d had twenty years earlier. We could raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, a charity that finds donors for people suffering from blood cancers, he said. It would be no problem, he said. Bit of fun, he said. So the couple of pints that I had just drunk agreed without any thought passing through my brain at all. Now there was no going back.

And, as the thousands-strong peloton trickled through the carless London streets, I thought maybe I’d got away with it. I’d done what felt like a lot of training, and everything was going well. In addition, it had occurred to me that the experience would give me some-

thing to talk about at the Old Almondburians’ Dinner a few months later. I’d be able to tell a few jokes, boast about my achievement, and generally show off over a good meal and a drink or two. What could possibly go wrong?

And then, 86 miles in, I got too close to the bike in front, clipped its back wheel and soared impressively over my own handlebars to land with a crunch on my helmet. It’s maybe a good thing that when I tried to set off again, the pedal came off my bike.

My event was over.

I wasn’t hurt, though my pride needed careful bandaging and a brief stay in intensive care.

It wasn’t a complete waste of time. I was in a team of six, and between us – partly because it included a couple of rich bankers with some rich and generous friends – we raised nearly £50,000 for Anthony Nolan. Old friends of mine from King James’s chipped in to take my personal total to around £4,000, which was way more than I’d been expecting.

But the real problem was the Dinner. I still didn’t know what I’d be talking about. But it definitely wouldn’t be cycling.

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work in the House of Commons, for the Daily Express and then as a reporter for BBC Television News.

He left there in 1988, and worked for the next sixteen years for Dubai Television, both in the Gulf and in London.

Since 2004 he has been a successful freelance writer and his many books include biographies of Gerard Mercator, Charles Montagu Doughty and Vernon Scannell.

Also speaking will be Peter Warry (1978-83), who entered King James’s School in 1978 and was Head Boy from 1982-83. His first experience of the Old Almondburians was when he was drafted in as scorer for the OAS Second II Cricket Team – a role he fulfilled from 1980-83. He ventured briefly across the Pennines to study Operational Research at Lancaster University before returning to join the Operational Research department at Rowntree Mackintosh in York in 1986. There he specialised in Production Planning and Vehicle Routing as well as undertaking decision support projects for a wide range of departments, and following the takeover, eventually became OR Manager for Nestlé UK. In 1999 he was approached by a US business planning software company to set up a new development centre in York.

After six years of venture capital funded excitement and transatlantic collaboration, Peter had the privilege of being appointed by the newly arrived Archbishop, John Sentamu as the Diocesan Secretary and Chief Executive of the Diocese of York, the third largest in the country with

602 churches. Since 2008 he has been a honorary lay canon ofYork Minster and is also a trustee of a number of charities including Acts435.

Peter is married to Helen, a GP, and most of his time away from work is spent with his eight year old son, Matthew, or playing with public address and lighting equipment, an interest kindled at KJS on the lighting desk for productions of OWhat a LovelyWar, Pyjama Game and A Man for All Seasons.

Put Saturday, 25th November, in your diary and book your ticket now to make sure that you don’t miss out on a great evening.

Founders’ Day As usual, the traditional Founders’ Day Service preceded by a procession up St Helen’s Gate will take place the day after the Annual Dinner: Sunday, 25th November. Details are being finalised as we go to press but full details will appear on the OAS website.n 8

Look your best at the OAS Annual Dinner…

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For him

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OAS TIE If your old OAS tie is crumpled, the wrong length, the wrong width or soup-stained (or possibly a combination of all four) it really is time to treat yourself to the latest design. In navy, with gold diagonal stripes, it features the school crest in colour.

Dimensions 150 cm by 9 cm

Price: £15.00 Packing and postage: 75p (UK); £2.50 (Mainland Europe); £3.00 (Rest of world)

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For her

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NEW: LADIES’ SILK SCARF Specially created in response to requests from lady OAS members. Designed by former Head of Textiles at KJS, Christine Hazle, our new top quality scarf is based on the historic stained glass window by Edward Akroyd in the library (‘Big’). It is specially manufactured by Beckford Silk Ltd, who produce scarves for the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design.

Dimensions 163 cm by 51 cm.

Special introductory price: £42.50 Packing and postage: £1.25 (UK); £3.00 (Mainland Europe); £3.75 (Rest of world)

Order NOW from www.oas.org.uk/buymemorabilia.php or by post from: Andrew Haigh, c/o R D Haigh & Co, Floresco House, Oak Hill Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 1SN

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GCSE 2018

From the study Ongoing changes in the world of 11-16 education are continuing to cause confusion to parents and pupils T’S 10.00 am on 23rd August and Year 11 students are receiving their GCSE results. Overheard in the ILC, one relieved youngster says to her mother “I got one 7, three 6s, two 5s, two 4s and a C”. ”What does that mean?” comes the reply, “Have you passed?”

I helpfully interject that, yes, she had indeed passed all her exams and the girl in question is now happily enrolled at one of our local colleges. But this conversation highlights the levels of confusion that currently pervade the world of 11-16 education.

I reported last year that the English and Mathematics departments were struggling to make sense of new syllabi, new assessment methodologies and a new grading classification.

Most other subjects followed suit this year, with a small handful yet to face all the issues presented by such changes during 201819.

On the face of it, they may appear to be the sort of changes that all organisations face over time, so what is all the fuss about? Surely, as I reported last year,if you know that a ‘1’ is equivalent to a ‘G’, a ‘4’ equivalent

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IAN RIMMER

to a ‘C’ and a ‘7’ equivalent to an ‘A’, you can guess the bits in between and that is that. Isn’t this just the teaching profession resisting change once again?

If only it was as simple as that. These changes have caused teachers significant turmoil. Imagine having the foundations of your practice shaken to the core, practice that you have built up and mastered over many years completely remodelled.

For a ‘4’, which incidentally is described as a ‘standard pass’, is equivalent to a ‘C’ only in terms of the number of students nationally gaining that grade or higher.There is no comparison at all with previous years in terms of assessment methodology, marks required, or standards expected.

In fact, the ‘percentage’ required in any subject to achieve that, or indeed any other, grade remained a mystery until after the results had been published; rather like informing players how many points are required to win a prize once their game was completed.

The reason for this lack of clarity was that the exam boards didn’t have any idea of how students would fair with these 10

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matic s Mathe matic s Englis h&M aths Englis h&M EBacc aths inc E nglish & Ma EBacc ths inc E nglish & Ma ths

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new exams either and didn’t School Performance Measures want to constrain themselves 2017 & 2018 until after the exams, when they Subject and grade range 2017 2018 could work backwards from the numbers being ‘expected’ to English 4-9 77.1 78.0 achieve each grade to deterEnglish 5-9 57.5 62.1 mine the figure at which they would set each boundary.

Mathematics 4-9 75.7 75.7 But even this is only half the Mathematics 5-9 53.8 53.9 story; the removal of many English & Maths 4-9 68.6 70.1 coursework components, an increase in the number or English & Maths 5-9 44.6 47.5 length of written papers and a EBacc inc English & Maths 4-9 18.0 39.5 much greater emphasis on apEBacc inc English & Maths 5-9 18.0 20.3 plying skills, changed the experience completely.

80 So how did we actually do?

70 The comparative percentages 60 for 2017 and 2018, in so far as you can compare for all the 50 reasons stated above, are shown 40 in the panel on the right.

30 There was a more disturb20 ing side issue to this year’s re10 sults. With a grade 4 described 0 as a ‘standard pass’ and a grade 5 as a ‘strong pass’, what sort of message is being sent out to those hard-working students for whom academia is not a strength and who achieved neither. “You couldn’t even get a ‘standard pass’!”

As a move to offer more support for this small but significant co- made way for these ‘soft’ subjects. The hort, we are modifying our curriculum. A demise of Latin is in no way a curriculum suite of vocational courses, which offer al- design decision; it is simply because there ternative methods of assessment, is being are no Latin teachers out there. But the introduced. So Latin, which many have teacher recruitment crisis is a whole other noted has sadly not been offered as a sub- article about which I hope to write in a fuject for the first time in many years, has ture issue. n

Heritage Open Day 2018 WALTER RALEIGH The Charter returns as the School opens its doors to take part again in the nationwide festival to celebrate Britain’s history and culture N Saturday 15th September, the Old Almondburians’ Society worked with the School to take part for the second year in the annual National Heritage Open Days event.

Our participation last year had been a success with more than 50 visitors taking advantage of the opportunity to look round the old School. The new ‘history timeline’ had been an additional attraction last year so our debrief after the event called for something extra this year to attract even more people with an interest in the old buildings.

It was suggested we should try to get the Royal Charter back in school and also extend the tour to include the old Dormitories. And so that is exactly what we did.

We also produced three new Honours Boards listing Head Boys and Head Girls over the years and winners of the House Shield.

Abbi Terry, the Assistant Principal who has been the guiding light in this project, set about recruiting and training theYear 10 students who were keen to be guides on the day. Keith Ramsden and Bob Farrell, the Site Managers, began work producing an exhibition display cabinet for the Royal Charter. The rest of us just hoped for better weather than last year.

The doors were advertised to open at 10.00 am but a group began assembling around 9.30 am so our day began earlier than scheduled. But it was a wonderful day from start to finish. The head of the West Yorkshire Archive Service Teresa Nixon arrived with the Royal Charter and she proved a wonderful ambassador both for the Service she worked for but also for the those more generally interested in local history.

She has also promised to help with the development of our own School archives.

Numbers were certainly up on last year, many with specialist knowledge which they were happy to pass on. One gentleman pointed out that the ODH, rebuilt in 1848, showed signs of the original School stonework. It was also pointed out that the beams in the Head’s Study were earlier than the 1750 date usually attributed to the rebuilding of the School House. He suggested the oak beams probably dated back to at least 1600 and that they had been used in the rebuild as they were still in good condition. The old maxim that you don’t throw away good materials which can be reused was certainly evident. But this isYorkshire so no-one was too surprised at this information.

We eventually called time around 2.30 pm but what a splendid day it had been.

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Photographs: KJS students

Heritage Open Day 2018, clockwise from top left: the Charter in its specially made new cabinet; inspecting the new Honours Board listing head boys and girls since 1976; a discussion on the history of the School; viewing the winners of the House Shield in past years.

to Keith and Bob for getting our new Honours Boards in place in time for this event and of course, for their expertise in producing an exhibition case for the Charter.

The problem now is how we can further improve all this next year? Any suggestions on a postcard or by email please. n

Without a shadow of doubt it had been better than I could have hoped for.

May I send a big thank you to the King James’s students who were, once again, magnificent as guides around School, to Abbi for her work in pulling together all those willing to give of their time for the event and

THE ALMONDBURIAN ONLINE Did you know that every issue of The Almondburian since July 2009 can be viewed on the Issuu website in easy to read flip-the-page style? Just click on the ‘Almondburian’ button on our home page www.oas.org.uk (email us if you have forgotten the login details).

Tip: all pages are scanned by Google’s search robots so a Google search (example: ‘Almondburian Akroyd issuu’ ) will often lead you to the past issue you are seeking.

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WORLD WAR 1

100 years on - we remember them On the centenary of Armistice Day 1918 we remember those 44 Almondburians who left to play their part in the ‘war to end wars’ – and did not return.

IGH on the wall of the Library or ‘Big’ (or Independent Learning Centre if you are studying at the School today) is a large memorial tablet which has probably received no more than a cursory glance from the many thousands of pupils who have passed through King James’s since it was erected 100 years ago.

Erected by the ‘Old Boys’ of Almondbury Grammar School’ in 1923, it records

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the names of the 44 former pupils who nobly gave their lives in the FirstWorldWar – boys who in some cases had entered the School as fresh-faced first-formers and class-mates only a decade or so earlier.

The length of the list comes as a shock in view of the smallness of Almondbury Grammar School a century ago.When Taylor Dyson took his first roll-call as headmaster in 1913 only 56 boys answered to Jenny Sanderson

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mediate effect on School life. Dr Alexander Hans Lubke, a German who had joined the School to teach German and French, returned to Germany in 1913; inevitably, some pupils thought he was probably a spy.

Henry Walton, a lively English teacher, and Ernest Noble, who taught Chemistry and Mathematics, left to join the forces within weeks of war declaration.

The School took the war very seriously, with Captain Taylor Dyson at the helm. A School Cadet Force was formed in 1915, with regular Friday parades with drill, musketry and signalling.Joseph Wilson, the agent of Lord Dartmouth and himself a former pupil, put the Woodsome Hall shooting range at the School’s disposal.There was great excitement one day when a Zeppelin was spotted flying over the School in 1916, but fortunately no bombs were dropped.

It was a great day when the Armistice was signed on Monday, 11th November 1918. Taylor Dyson announced that the School would close until Wednesday, with the promise of an extra week’s holiday after the peace treaty had been signed.The proceedings concluded with the enthusiastic singing of the Marseillaise and the National Anthem. n

They laid down their lives H N Aston W Armitage J W Armitage B Beadon J H Beaumons A E Buller P E Buller G W Barraclough G Barstow S Blackburn R H Booth J W Carter G A Cartwright H Cragg W O Davies N Clayton J B Ditch burn G F Dearnley T A Girling P Gledhill E Haigh E A Hollingworth

H Jerram H H Kaye G C Lunn W A Liversedge C Lawton C L Langrick G F Medley W Naylor R C Proctor G E Pexton F Quarmby L Roebuck G A Ralton R Sykes N Sykes A Stead E H Trimmer F Thornton C H Wilson P Walker H Waite F B Woffenden

‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the Crown of Life’

their names. Those who lost their lives included a number of noted scholars. John Wilfred Carter was a winner of the Dartmouth Medal in 1906 before becoming a modern languages teacher. He lost his life at Gallipoli in 1915.

Ironically, the winner of the Dartmouth Medal winner a year later – Frank Quarmby – also lost his life, in 1916. He had become a Reseach Scholar in Physics at the University of Leeds. Walter Davies, Harry Aston and Harry Cragg were other brilliant scholars to die.

The outbreak of war had an imDigging for victory: this was the scene down the ‘bunk’ in 1915.

Squads worked on Wednesday afternoons but it’s said that the fruits of their labours were often plundered overnight by hungry boarders.

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My escape to the country SIMON THACKRAY (1965-1971) It’s everyone’s dream – to get away from the hectic pace of suburban life and enjoy the tranquillity of life as a country yokel. SimonThackray has recently taken the plunge.

“London life for three or four years and then we’ll think about moving out and having children.” That’s what Jo and I said to one another and it seemed like a good plan.

And now, one month shy of 40 years after that young law graduate arrived on Tim Charlesworth’s doorstep, we have finally ‘moved out’ and escaped to the country! In the interim there have been four house-moves, all in south-east London (the last to Beckenham where we’ve lived since 1986) and the procreation of three children who in turn have given us the joy of six grandchildren.

So how does it feel after 40 years of urban life to be living now in a place where our nearest neighbour is a farm ‘over yonder’; where the vehicular access to our house requires a 200 yard

T’S 1978 and a 24yr-old law graduate (me) arrives in London. Former Head Boy of KJGS Tim Charlesworth (1965-1972), a friend of mine since we started primary school together as five-year-olds, has offered me a flat-share in East Dulwich.

Julian Stafford, another Old Almondburian (like Tim and me, a 1965 entrant) had recently vacated the flat to move to Cambridge, having just qualified as a chartered accountant.

A year later, Jo Mason graduates and arrives in London. She has no connection with KJGS or Huddersfield or even the North. She and I had met at university. True love prevailed and marriage quickly followed, as did our first flat in the much-maligned Penge in south east London (see Rumpole of the Bailey and The Penge Bungalow Murders).

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SIMON THACKRAY parted company (he says amicably) with King James’s Grammar School in 1971 at the end of the Lower Sixth with ‘six mediocre ‘O’ levels’. After four years in sales accompanied by ‘A’ levels at night school, he then gravitated south to the University of Kent in 1975 to read Law/Social Policy. He graduated in 1978, followed by articles of clerkship in the City of London.

Simon left the City in 1983 to start his own practice in South-East London. He retired from practice in 2011 to become the CEO of Law South, a non-profitmaking company owned by 12 regional law firms across the south of England.

He retired in August 2018 His first love, after his family (of course) remains Huddersfield Town.

Right: In the ‘best football team ever’ in 1970/71

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drive down a bumpy farm track; where people into the world of their own prethe nearest shop is three miles away, liv- ferred podcast.

But I wouldn’t want readers to ing in a house where there is no assume we’ve moved to mains drainage; where we somewhere really rehave no mains gas; mote like the Outer where the broadHebrides! Here band speed is sewe are, only two date and where hours’ drive we can’t get a from our forsignal for our mer home, m o b i l e living in the phones? tiny village of I can tell Linstead (popyou how it ulation:90) in feels – it’s the county of great! I’m like a Suffolk. There is fledgling who has a timezone differbeen itching to Linstead, 2018 ence here – it’s about spread its wings and 50 years behind! We can go fly. Those of you who have out without locking up (albeit we experienced city life will underdo through force of habit); stand that hemmed-in feeling we can hear birdsong of the endless traffic. On without the backpublic transpor t, ground of any trafyou’ll remember fic noise; we no the desire to simlonger view ply stretch out blue tits and your limbs on feral parakeets the underat our bird ground – but table (that’s you can’t benot a mistype; cause of the yes parakeets crush of peohave taken over ple. You’ll resouth-east Lonmember longing don and after the to shout something Beckenham, 2018 initial ‘wow’ of seeing out (anything would them, one gets indo) on the packed but creasingly irritated by their strangely silent commuter trains, heads bowed into newspapers, raucous squawking) and now we need books or Kindles, earphones locking our RSPB reference book (or a ‘birding’ 17

Dave Bush) to identify partridge, I’m ‘Doubting Thomas’), then God did indeed pick the perfect time for us. It moorhen and pied wagtails.

We can also see the stars at night just feels right.

Do we feel cut-off, maybe even with no streetlight pollution and we can relax in total tranquillity without any lonely? Absolutely not. Our first few danger of interruption from a ‘I was just months here have seen a steady stream of family and passing’ visitor. InOur first few friends, all intrigued deed we could befind out where come full-time namonths here have to we are and what has turists (or naturalseen a steady taken us away. ists) and only the two of us would stream of family and Doubtless a few are just making polite know apart, perhaps, from Jason, our Post- friends, all intrigued noises but most man Pat equivalent. to find out where we leave fully understanding why we’ve We now shop, are and what has made this move. clothed, in a short And on top of the pedestrianised high taken us away. old friends there are street where everythe new as we get to one seems to know everyone else and where the quality of know the extremely welcoming ‘lomeat & veg is as good, if not better, than cals’.

As I approach retirement, I know I have ever experienced.

In 25 minutes we can be at the coast, I’m going to struggle with not getting everything on my daily ‘to do’ list ticked and a beautiful coastline it is too. off and that some things can be allowed And if I grow tired of simply walking by the sea or through uninterrupt- to wait until tomorrow or next week or ed countryside, enjoying one of the next month. A working life of dancing many bird sanctuaries, there are golf to the tune of clients combined with the courses, bowls clubs, choirs; really, continual fast pace of London life will make slowing down tricky; but this eswhatever takes your fancy.

So, before this becomes an advert for cape to the country will give me every the Suffolk Tourist Board, the question chance: things simply do happen more has to be asked – do we regret not hav- slowly here.

I can feel some of you thinking “it’s ing done this decades ago? The answer just initial enthusiasm; his joie de vivre is an emphatic ‘no’.

“To every thing there is a season, and won’t last”. I can’t possibly know. a time to every purpose under the Maybe I’ll give readers an update in heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This is our about five years’ time when my piece time. If there is a God (my wife through hopefully won’t be entitled ‘Escape her Christian faith is certain there is, but from the Country’. n 18

CROSSWORD

by Hérisson

Entries to the Editor (address/email: back cover) by 31st January 2019. Prize: 12 months free OAS membership

DOWN 1. Agreement with Ted Ray about earlier time (9) 2. Student King and Queen keep Nag’s Head (7) 3. Follows orders – orders including Yorkshire opener (5) 4. Grant, Barry and us frolicking (7) 5. Direction where you’ll find patients.

(7) 6. Constrain routine, by the sound of it, before crossing (4, 5) 7. Omit empty greeting for play (7) 8. She came out first to see what’s owed (5) 14. Shift a slattern, perversely (9) 16. Dismiss gap as useful for flame ACROSS retardant (9) 1. Shout back – or word broken with 20. Bowl criticized going west (7) 22. They were in the pool, creating 18. Twisted rope for wigging (7) one in 13’s path (6, 5, 4) letters (7) 19 Jesus, footballer with Arbroath 9. Frighten bird – 13’s companion (9) 23. Region from Omagh reborn (7) wingers (7) 10. Hear about second-rate drug 25. A gypsy bouquet (5) 20. Superlatively wet politician instead programme (5) 26. Ever at it, I go round repeatedly troubled (7) 11. She’s home in time (7) (9) 21. Rig vote – badly directed by 27 12. Sifts puzzles (7) (7) 13. She’s confused – too dry and hot (7) 27. Director of ‘Crackled’ excited about obstacle (6, 9) 22. Headless lasso going up on the 15. Snip by-product (7) head (5) 17. Cart reversed to equip part of 24. It’s plotted in Viagra, phallically (5) ship (7) Name Email Tel l The winner of Crossword by Hérisson (July 2018) was Peter Tracey Across 9. A streetcar named 10. Sardine 11. Aurelio 12. Niece 13. Gladiator 14. Centaur 16. Ageless 18. Anaerobic 20. Pupae 22. Eternal 23. Humerus 24. Unsymmetrically Down 1. Samson 2. Sturgeon 3. Desire 4. It beggars belief 5. Mad as a March hare 6. Energise 7. Amulet 8. Adjourns 14. Chateaux 15. Agronomy 17. Expertly 19. Averse 20. Pumice 21. Essays

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The Gilbert & Sullivan years ROGER DOWLING Nearly 100 years ago, the School embarked on a remarkable series of Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera productions which lasted until 1953.

N 4th November 1928, the former the law and the legal profession.William Schwenck music master of Almondbury Gram- Gilbert was able to draw upon his early years as mar School, Arthur Eaglefield Hull, a barrister, while Arthur Sullivan, the son of a bandcommitted suicide by throwing himself under master, had already achieved considerable success the wheels of a train in Huddersfield railway as a composer and church organist.

Trial by Jury was followed three years later by station. A prolific writer on musical matters, he was apparently deeply depressed, follow- The Sorcerer, but it would be with HMS Pinafore ing charges of plagiarism in respect of one of (1878) that Gilbert & Sullivan would achieve their first major international success. Despite his recent publications.

Hull had been a highly respected music their often turbulent relationship, they produced master at the School from 1905 to 1919 and a further ten operattas in the following 18 years, his tragic death shocked all who remembered the final two being Utopia Limited (1893) and The him. He was a colourful character who was, Grand Duke (1896).

Haydn Sandwell was an effervescent characindirectly, responsible for a musical tradition at the School that would commence in 1922 ter. Only 28 years old when he arrived at Aland last for the following 30 years: it was he mondbury Grammar School, he quickly established himself as a who suggested that one worthy successor to of his own music pupils, Hull, not only at the Haydn Sandwell, should School but also at Hudreplace him in 1919 dersfield Parish Church when pressure of other where he too became work made it impossiorganist and choirmasble for him to continue ter. as a schoolteacher. And It says much for the Haydn Sandwell was a drive and ambition of great lover of the comHaydn Sandwell and ic operattas of Gilbert & producer H T Evans Sullivan. that the idea of producStill popular today, ing a Gilbert & Sullivan the long sequence of operetta ever saw light ‘Savoy’ Gilbert & Sullivan of day. The School was operattas began in London with Trial by Jury in Haydn Sandwell, a former pupil of Eaglefield still quite small in 1922, with only some 250 1874, a satire based on Hull, was music master from 1919 to 1930.

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pupils; there was no school stage; no school orchestra; and no female pupils to provide the mixed-sex cast essential in any G & S production.

But Sandwell was undaunted and fortunately had a great ally: Major Ernest E Hirst, a professional actor and producer who was able to bring to the task an unusual combination of artistic creativity and military discipline.

HMS Pinafore was chosen as a suitable operetta with which to launch the new venture, and rehearsals commenced in the autumn of 1921. Three perfomances took place at the Milton Hall* in Queen Street on 4th, 5th and 6th May 1922.

According to a contemporary account in The Almondburian by sixth-former Geoffrey Clifford Archer (1916-1924), the show was a great success: Spivey as ‘Josephine’ made a prety good girl, even if scarcely a “pretty” one. She sang like a Melba – a veritable peach Melba – and accented her words with a real Almondbury accent. Brummitt, as ‘Ralph Rackstraw’ played his part as ‘a living ganglion of irreconclable antagonisms’ very well. Carrington as the ‘Rt Hon Sir Joseph

Porter’ sang like a bird, unfortunately like a crow.

Of ‘Cousin Hebe’ (Percival), the least that can be said is that on her first appearance twenty-three youths on the front six rows immediately fell in love with her.

However, there were a few hitches. One evening, part of Josephine’s underwear began to show above her camisole, much to the embarrassment of young Billy Spivey; and on another occasion the audience failed to encore Buttercup to cover a quick change behind the scenes, with the result that a ‘common sailor’ came on in a winged collar and bow tie.

It would be good to be able to report that

*The Milton Hall, adjacent to Milton Congregational Church, was built in 1883. It is now part of the University of Huddersfield.

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the show was also a great OPERATTA DATE VENUE financial success, but sadly 4, 5, 6 May 1922 Milton Hall this was not the case.The HMS Pinafore editorial of The Almond- The Pirates of Penzance 19, 20, 21 April 1923 Milton Hall burian in June 1922 reThe Mikado March 1924 Milton Hall ported: The Gondoliers March 1925 Milton Hall Unfortunately the financial results have Iolanthe 20, 21, 22 January 1926 Milton Hall not been as good as we The Sorcerer/Trial by Jury March 1927 Milton Hall anticipated and far from making a profit we have The Mikado 29, 30, 31 March 1928 Milton Hall an adverse balance of The Pirates of Penzance 21, 22, 23 February 1929 Milton Hall £7 10s 6d, and this in The Gondoliers 26, 27, 28 March 1931 St Patrick’s Hall spite of the fact that Messrs Broadbent [the Iolanthe 10, 11, 12 March 1932 St Patrick’s Hall lighting contractors] HMS Pinafore 6, 7, 8 April 1933 St Patrick’s Hall have taken £10 off their Patience 22, 23, 24 March 1934 St Patrick’s Hall original account to help us with our difficulties.

The Mikado 11, 12, 13 April 1935 St Patrick’s Hall A loss of over £7 in 26, 27, 28 March 1936 St Patrick’s Hall 1922 is equivalent in The Gondoliers spending power to some The Pirates of Penzance 11, 12, 13 March 1937 St Patrick’s Hall £350 in today’s money, so Iolanthe 24, 25, 26 March 1938 St Patrick’s Hall it is testament to the selfSt Patrick’s Hall confidence of the School The Yeomen of the Guard 23, 24, 25 March 1939 at this time that it was still The Mikado 19, 20, 21 March 1947 St Patrick’s Hall thought to be a very sucThe Gondoliers 11, 12, 13 March 1948 St Patrick’s Hall cessful venture worth reTemperance Hall peating the following The Pirates of Penzance 6, 7, 8, 9 April 1949 year. Indeed, work start HMS Pinafore 26, 27, 28 March 1953 Temperance Hall almost immediately on the next production, The Pirates of Penzance, approvingly that this second School venture was scheduled to take place in April 1923. undoubtedly an improvement on the first, good According to contemporary accounts, The as that was, and a report in The Huddersfield ExPirates of Penzance was an even greater success aminer was equally enthusiastic: than HMS Pinafore. A number of the stars of the So long as work of the quality shown by the first production had leading roles in the second: choir of Almondbury Grammar School in their Billy Spivey was now Major-General Stanley’s production of The Pirates of Penzance continues daughter Mabel; JT Sykes became the Pirate apto be forthcoming, local operatic societies will prentice Frederic; and Arthur Hewer took the have no cause to fear any falling-off. As the Pipart of the Pirate King. The Almondburian noted rate King, Arthur Hewer gave an excellent per22

The Gondoliers, performed in Milton Hall in March, 1925.The teacher on the extreme left is John

Baldwin, who went on to become Headmaster in 1945. Third from the left is art master Edward Akroyd, who traditionally looked after the scenery in these productions, and next to him are Robert Burn and Johnny Hopton. Haydn Sandwell is at the back in the centre of the photograph.

It is a measure of the high regard in which Sandwell was held that the School was well represented at his funeral in Huddersfield Parish Church on 5th July 1930. According to the Huddersfield Examiner: The staff attended wearing academic dress and there were also present prefects representing the boys of the School. Four Old Boys carried the coffin and among the wreaths were six from the School: from the Headmaster and his family; the Staff; the Boys; the Kitchen Staff; the Old Boys’ Society; and the members of the AGS jazzband.

A planned production of The Gondoliers was abandoned: without Sandwell at the helm there was no way it could continue. Its cast members gloomily concluded that it might be the end of the road for Gilbert & Sullivan productions at Almondbury Grammar School.

But fortunately there was a saviour in the wings…

(To be concluded)

formance and put real life into the part [and] MasterWilliam Spivey was also a notable vocalist. Mr Haydn Sandwell, who has trained the choir, conducted the orchestra with his accustomed skill.

The triumph was all that Sandwell needed to guarantee the future of the School G & S productions, and six further operettas were mounted from 1924 to 1929. But then fate struck a cruel blow. Sandwell became seriously ill and after three months in a convalescent home in North Wales passed away ‘quietly and with a smile on his face’ on 2nd July 1930.There was a profound sense of shock, not only at the School but around the local music community. One writer reported sadly: He will be greatly missed by his wide circle of friends, for he held a unique position in the life of our town and district. He had a delightful way with boys and a happy knack of making friends with them.

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TRAVEL

Old Boys on tour: Alicante JOHN ASPINALL (1956 - 1961) In a rare breach of international security, our intrepid explorers gained admission to Spain in June. As usual, the trip was not without event. and a four star hotel at three star prices.

The flight was at 9.00 am. So an early start again, but it proved to be no problem.

If Mike Gibson can get there from Brighton for that time then surely…? We landed on time and were settled in our hotel for about 2.30 pm and ready for a late lunch. One of us nearly didn’t make it: he made the ‘Englishman abroad’ mistake of looking the wrong way before crossing the road. This particular member of our jolly group is not known for his speed off the mark, but found a burst from somewhere.

The hotel NH Rambla de Alicante served

OLLOWING the usual pre-holiday decision meetings at the King’s Head, we decided that Alicante should be ready for us. Most of us had used the airport before, but only one had actually stayed for any period of time in the city. He gave us the ‘thumbs up’ so we again used Travel Experience in Kirkburton, where Claire patiently listened to our requirements: early June (it was too hot in July in Palma last year); two rooms with twin beds, two single beds; breakfast included (withWeetabix available); flying from/to Leeds Bradford at decent hours (none of this returning at 1.00 am);

F

Benidorm Castle Santa Barbara ALICANTE

Murcia

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Lunch on the beach (left to right): John Aspinall, Mike Gibson, Peter Fisher, Mike Hellawell, John Linton, Colin Ainley

of the day.We are a democratic and civilised bunch… well, by 10.00 am anyway. On day two we decided to go on the ‘hop on, hop off’ tour bus to have a look at the area and get a feel of the place. After taking a couple of hours to decide where we were to catch the bus and which direction did it go in anyway, we climbed on board and headed for the Castle Santa Barbara on Mount Benacantil. The castle sits high above the city and has some great views. There was only one bus and it completed its one way circuit of the tour in about an hour.The plan was to alight the bus at the highest point near the castle, and hopefully there would be a cafe/bar where we could have lunch. There was indeed an excellent cafe and we all settled down to have a drink and lunch, and enjoy the panoramic views. It was then that our‘inhouse tour planner' for the day’ announced

our purpose quite well, 5-10 minutes walk to the promenade and beach and a few minutes from bars and restaurants. The rooms were a bit small but were serviced every day and breakfast was mainly of the continental type: a large selection of fruit, cereals, cold meats, etc, plus cold hard boiled eggs, lukewarm scrambled eggs and sausage. Fruit juices, coffee and tea were in abundance.The downside was that it is more of a businessman’s hotel: no balconies in the rooms, no pool, and surprisingly, no bar.

On the first evening we dined well and managed to find a welcoming ‘gin bar’ for a night cap or two. This bar welcomed some of us on a regular basis for the next six nights.

Castle Santa Barbara We usually met at about 9.30 am for breakfast and to discuss our plans for the rest 25

we thought we'd never get there. While awaiting the train at Alicante station, some of us were entertained by our very own self-appointed linguist who decided to strike up a conversation with a Spanish lady. I think she thought that the two of them had German as a common language. Our man gave a good impression of the policeman in ’Allo,’Allo trying to speak English, if you get my drift.

When we finally arrived in Benidorm, we discovered the tram station is about 20 minutes walk down to the sea front, and 30 minutes back up. By now it was late lunch time and we settled on a cafe a little back from the main street and the guy and his wife had obviously been quiet because he was

that he had just noticed on the pamphlet that there wouldn't be another bus for three hours as they stopped for a siesta. So, after a leisurely lunch, some decided to climb up to the castle and return for the bus, while the rest of us walked (downhill fortunately) back down to the town, about an hour’s walk away. So it wasn’t too bad even if it was 31º C. Benidorm The next day, Saturday, we decided to go to Benidorm, having read that it was about 30 minutes away.Well, it may be 30 minutes on a non-stop, high speed express, but on the local tram it was one and a quarter hours –

The bullring, viewed from Castle Santa Barbara 26

(Left) Alicante: the old town (Above) Setting up for the Fiesta

which to sit and view the fancy dress parade.

It was very colourful and obviously there had been a lot of effort put into making the costumes.The music which came over the loudspeaker was the loudest I’ve ever heard – it was so loud we had to move from our regular pre-dinner drinks bar to another one further away.We don’t mind making sacrifices; nothing is too much trouble.

Alicante doesn’t seem to have made its mind up whether it is a business city plus a beach, or a holiday resort with business facilities thrown in.The beach is fairly good except for one area which we managed to find.This area had a backwater next to a small peninsula.The backwater was almost stagnant and not very nice. Funnily enough we were the only ones swimming there.We soon found a better area next to the marina, and the beach bars on the paseo were really very good and we felt obliged to visit them on more than one occasion.

We had a stroll up to the city centre and on to the bull ring – very interesting but not everyone’s cup of tea.We then walked down to the south side of the marina which seemed a little more modern and residential.

very pleased to see six old geezers like us settle down. We dined well before strolling back along the paseo, giving part of Benidorm the once over, before splitting up and returning to Alicante in two parties.

I have to say that once again we managed to find restaurants for the main evening meal which, with one exception, gave us good value for money. On various nights, we had paella, seafood dishes of numerous varieties, steaks, chops, salads with all sorts, and puddings. Someone mentioned that it seemed that every menu offered‘Russian Salad’.Was this another part of Putin's cunning plan?

Service varied from excellent to poor, prices not cheap, but generally worth it. The one exception was a restaurant which served nouvelle cuisine which must be French for‘tiny portions’.

Alicante: fiesta-time Those who have spent some time in Spain will know that the Spanish enjoy their parades and fiestas.Alicante is no exception.

On the Sunday evening the main street below our hotel was lined with chairs from 27

(Top): the marina, viewed from the Castle (Bottom): Modern art on the Paseo

On the whole we once again had a good week, deciding we must be getting old now as we didn’t fall out much at all.We agreed that Alicante isn’t perhaps as ‘classy’ as Malaga or Palma, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Drama at the airport Finally, one bit of anxiety at the airport. One of the smokers in our party was concerned that he had packed three lighters (included free with all the cigs he had bought) in his suitcase and would the x-ray machine detect that they were there and were inflammable?

At that moment his name was announced over the public address system. “Please go to the Information Desk immediately”. Panic wasn’t far away …especially when someone thought they had heard a ‘controlled explosion’ on the runway! Boom, boom!

Our flight number was called and five of us set off for the departure gate while our old friend, school-pal, and travelling companion went to find the information desk, bravely insisting that he would go on his own to face the music. Perhaps we would never see him again, or on visiting days maybe?

But fortunately our fears were unfounded. There he was, at the departure gate, a big smile on his face, sitting comfortably in his wheelchair, attended by a young lady he had met at the Information Desk whose sole purpose was to ensure that her charge was delivered safely to the aircraft.

Phew! n

One of the restaurants, on our second visit, presented our wine tasters a challenge when we were offered a glass each of free cava. Their taste buds were up to it though and they proceeded to order their preferred wine with aplomb. One of our lot wasn’t too stylish when he was caught removing ice from his large, goblet-style glass. When asked why he was doing it he calmly replied, “to make room for more gin.”

The old town is very interesting with churches and artistic murals, steep, narrow, winding streets, all very picturesque. It was in sharp contrast to the marina side of the city. We managed to find our way back to the street below our hotel, Rambla Méndez Nuñez by some miracle. It was also next to the bar where we congregated before venturing out for dinner in the evenings.

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Class of ’47 in Ripponden reunion JAMES CLAYTON (1947 - 1951) I have conjured up a collective noun for a group of 82-year-olds - a ‘gratitude’ as we were all grateful to be able to gather together in such a jovial atmosphere.

David Earles

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’

AP O CO STR RN OP ER HE

N 25th September, twelve members of the 1947 group met for lunch at the Old Bridge Inn at Ripponden.

Four of the group had travelled some distance to be there – North Yorkshire, Hull district, Cheshire and Norfolk. The weather was superb and the location was excellent.

The reunion was so successful that before we left we had booked the venue for a similar time next year. n

Going down well (l to r): Keith Brier, Clifford Newton, Alan Smith, David Earles, Jeffrey Brook, Allan Dobson, James Clayton,Tony Copley,Terry Green, Keith Bellerby, Jim Dye, Norris Bonser

Old Boys’ Association is down to its last member

OWBRIDGE is a small market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, a few miles west of Cardiff. Just under 40 years ago, the local grammar school closed and the building converted into apartments. With the support of South Glamorgan Education Authority, the attractive stained glass windows were transferred into the adjacent parish church and this sign was proudly erected to mark the occasion.

“It’s the close juxtaposition of Boy’s and Grammar (not to mention the ‘Education’ Authority) that is so embarrassing,” says Dave Bush. “I cannot believe it has never been corrected.”

Send your sightings of errant apostrophes to us at apostrophes@oas.org.uk.

We’ll publish the best

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Platinum reunion for Class of ’48 PETER BRADLEY (1948 - 1953) The Class of 1948 have met regularly since their inaugural get-together to mark their Golden Jubilee in 1998.They have now celebrated their 70th anniversary.

O

N 5th September, almost exactly 70 years after they entered what in those days was Almondbury Grammar School with around 320 pupils, the Class of 1948 enjoyed a ‘platinum’ reunion lunch. Sixteen old boys from the original class and a few from adjacent years were able to attend, many accompanied by their partners.

On a beautiful sunny day, 33 guests assembled in the courtyard of Woodsome Hall for introductions over a

fruit punch then settled down to a leisurely lunch. Everyone found it a splendid occasion with the opportunity to renew friendships and enjoy reminiscences of schooldays and later life.

Later that afternoon many of those present proceeded to the School where they were warmly welcomed by the Principal, Ian Rimmer, and the OAS Chairman, Walter Raleigh, and given a fascinating tour of the premises, which have expanded enormously since the

Members of the Class of ’48 and guests, with their ladies. Left to right: John Dyson, Malcolm Arnold, Godfrey Bedford (’49), John Broadbent, Keith Robinson, Peter Bradley, Ian Shaw ('46), Gerald Stead, Peter Shaw, Stuart Thompson (’49). Principal Ian Rimmer is on the extreme right.

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1940s to accommodate almost three times as many pupils.

The first and largest reunion of the Class of 1948, to celebrate 50 years since joining the School, was a dinner at the George Hotel on Friday 20th November 1998 attended by 47 former classmates, many of whom had not seen each other for well over 40 years.

The organisers of that event, principally John Broadbent, Gerald Stead, John Dyson and Terry Buckley, succeeded in tracing every one of the Menu card by John Watson Cartoons: Terry Buckley

sixty-five old boys from the class, although they were widely scattered and six had already passed away. Many of the party attended the Old Almondburians’ annual dinner on the Saturday evening and the Founders’ Day service on Sunday morning, rounding off the weekend with lunch at the Golden Cock in Farnley Tyas.

Prior to the 50th anniversary each member of the class had been asked to submit a page or two of autobiography.

From the texts, enhanced with both current and school photographs, John Watson designed and produced a magnificent 72-page spiral-bound document, which is invaluable to this day as a detailed portrait of former classmates, some long gone but none forgotten.

Building on the success of the 50th anniversary, reunion lunches of the Class of 1948 have been held on numerous occasions over the past twenty years, thanks largely to the dedicated work of John Broadbent and his wife Jean, who have endeavoured to keep in touch with everyone and organised suitable venues.

Recent lunches have been held at the 315 Restaurant in Lepton and on a number of occasions at The Manor House, Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, a more convenient rendezvous for those living in the South. Numbers inevitably decline with advancing years, but long may the reunions continue; the date of the next lunch is already set for 15th May 2019. n 31

Eighty years building the new‌ 1938 favourite argument deployed over the years by those opposed to the expansion of the School has been that there was inadequate space on the site for the necessary new buildings and playing fields. A prime example was in 1947 when the argument was used enthusiastically by the chairman of Huddersfield Education Committee Alderman Thomas Smailes (who also happened to be keen to develop a new grammar school at Salendine Nook).

He might well have won the day but for the brilliantly presented counter-arguments of Old Almondburian Gerald Dobson (AGS 1916-1925).

In fact, space for expansion has never been a problem, even though the terrain, like that of much of Huddersfield, is by no means level and requires a degree of architectural ingenuity to maximise its full potential.

The rare aerial photograph below was taken in 1938 by Peter Firth (AGS 19281932) who combined his hobbies of flying and photography. It was taken just before the start of major building work that would result in a new entrance, new physics and chemistry laboratories with classrooms N1, N2 and N3 above, a superb purpose-designed artroom, a woodwork room and a gymnasium with adjacent showers and changing room.

Though welcome, the new buildings inevitably necessitated the loss of familiar, well-loved landmarks. In an editorial in The Almondburian that year, headmaster Taylor Dyson reflected sadly: The view of the back of the School will be a reminder of that grand bank of trees. How old were they, we wonder, when they had to be felled to make way for the new buildings.

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…whilst retaining much of the old 2008 Another sad loss was a building known ‘The Cloisters’ (1868), which was originally built to house the ‘Chemical Society’ and was the first chemistry classroom to be built in the Huddersfield district. It later became a classroom, a gymnasium and finally a cloakroom.

A building that was more readily sacrificed was the ugly brick-built Art and Woodwork room on the extreme left of the 1938 photograph, at the far end of the playground. Described as a ‘monstrosity’ by Taylor Dyson, it had been erected at haste in 1901 as a condition of a grant from the Board of Education when the School ceased to be fully independent in that year.

There was great satisfaction when the unloved building was razed to the ground.

In contrast, the photogaph below, taken by Jonathan Webb of Webb Aviation in 2008, shows how, despite the assertions of Alderman Smailes, the School has grown beyond measure in the past 80 years. Particularly prominent in the later photograph are the magnificent sports hall (1), gymnasium and drama studio (2), design block (3), and teaching block (4).

Beyond the area shown in the photograph. the School also has football, rugby and cricket pitches, a fine ‘all-weather’ pitch and tennis courts.

We are, however, fortunate that many of the older buildings (ringed), including the Grade II listed Schoolhouse, have survived to the present day and continue to play an important role in the life of the School. n

  



33

BOOK REVIEW

Exploring the human condition

U

NDER the title Another Planet Earth David Morphet’s latest volume of poems combines new material with a selection of work already published, intended to provide both a retrospective of his career as a poet since 2002 and an introduction for new readers of his work.

Morphet has always gone his own way as a poet, offering a mixture of meticulous analysis and precise expression. He typically offers an unusual way of looking at familiar things, often tinged with wry humour, as for example in his treatment of chemical elements – A Song for Oxygen, The Charms of Zinc and so on (from Lyrics from the Periodic Table (2011)). Here is his take on oxygen:

Left to its own devices it would latch on to every possible vertical and go right to the top.

And spread out too, taking the whole frontage given half a chance.

And it’s so flagrant, making absolutely no attempt to hide its tracks.

And, worst of all, it gets away with it!

(The ambition of Ivy)

One can think of quite a few political and media careers this covers. Other poems with satirical content include vi-

From our first lift of lung and searching cry to our last moments of relinquishing it’s closer than love, and longer-lasting.

(A Song for Oxygen)

Plants get similar treatment in The Silence of Green (2007). Sometimes the message is satirical: Ivy simply doesn’t know where to stop – it’s all excess and appetite and unrestrained ambition.

Bryan Hopkinson is a former British Ambassador to Bosnia and later worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations in

Kosovo. He is a former Chairman of the OAS.

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gnettes from a life spent in government and business, such as On not meeting Ronald Reagan, a seasoned diplomat’s meditation on how famous people can be just not worth the bother.

As a true native Yorkshireman, Morphet also has poems in praise of the north and its moors and countryside. The Greek Cyclades also feature in two series of short poems.

Criticism of the modern world is most powerfully expressed in his longer poems, such as Purdue’s Tale (2014) and especially Night Train to Utopia (2013), an extended treatment of the individual’s place in society ending with a passionate advocacy of constructive involvement. Excerpts from these are included, which can only give a flavour of the full effect of the poems, but this may be enough to attract readers to tackle the full works.

Any reader of this volume, and Morphet’s work as a whole, will soon see that two characters feature again and again, from the earliest work until the present day. These are Angel and Fox, who personify an internal dialogue between contrasting elements of anyone’s character. Angel speaks for conscience, duty and The Good in general; while Fox advocates heartless self-advancement and personal advantage. Here is how they are introduced for the first time in the 2003 volume The Angel and the Fox:

My counsellors are the angel and the fox the constant listeners-in and whisperers.

At all times they are there, always alert.

They like to do things quietly – a word in the ear – choose not to be overheard.

The angel’s fierce and zealous, makes demands, plays on the keys of conscience and repute, knows well the haste and restiveness of skill, the urge for place, compulsion to outclass, the will to win, the passion to surpass.

The fox is realist; goes step by step.

He worries at the bones of how, not why; sucks at the marrow of possibilities.

He knows for certain where the knife cuts best.

He’s in no doubt of where the blame will rest.

These two influences fight for the poet’s ear and for his soul, and are still at it in the new “Another Planet Earth” poems in this volume, though Angel is somewhat bruised by recent turns in politics and society and is having a hard time making sense of them, while Fox is in his element, making hay while the sun shines. One hopes this is not the end of them, for the Angel in all of us badly needs a comeback. n Bryan Hopkinson ANOTHER PLANET EARTH

New and selected poems Price: £12.50 160 pages Paper-back 196 x 124 mm ISBN 978-0-9575458-5-4 Notion Books www.notionbooks.co.uk

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NEWS UPDATES

George Hotel remains closed A big question mark remains over the future of a former Grade II listed hotel that has a number of close links with Almondbury Grammar School IVE years ago, we reported the sad news that one of Huddersfield’s finest and best known hotels had closed. The George Hotel has several links with the School. lt is generally accepted that the catalyst of the foundation of the modern Rugby League at a meeting in the George Hotel in 1895 was the ‘rugby rumpus’ created by Rev Francis Marshall, headmaster from I878 to 1896. Marshall objected so vehemently to the growing professionalism of Rugby Union that it led to the breakaway professional game. The hotel once formerly housed a display of rugby league memorabilia set up by Old Almondburian Chris Earnshaw, who died in 2012.

More recently, in 2004, the George Hotel was the venue for a mediation meeting relating to the School’s historic trusts, allegedly maladministered by Huddersfield Corporation and Kirklees Council. A marathon session of meetings resulted in a six figure out of court settlement, leading to the setting up of the King James’s School Foundation.

In April 2013 the hotel was bought by dentist and businessman Altaf Hussain for around £900,000 and Kirklees Council gave the green light to his ambitious plans to turn it into a boutique hotel with a health spa in the basement and a dental surgery on the first floor. However, after some initial work on the site, the plan was abandoned and the hotel was put back on the market through the Leeds-based property agent Christie & Co at an asking price of £3 million.We understand from the company that there has been little interest and the property has now been taken off the market.

A Huddersfield Examiner reporter recently toured the abandoned hotel and found it a sadly derelict state. Bizarrely, the hotel website www.thegeorgehotelhuddersfield.co.uk is still active and carries the plaintive message ‘We are waiting for you’.On the contrary – it seems that it is we who are waiting for the George Hotel. n

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New building on Castle Hill?

For many years on the senior cross-country route, Castle Hill has again been a scene of activity. Could this be the prelude to a new building development?

N our March 2017 issue we commented on the unexpected demolition of Castle Hill Hotel in 2004‘for reasons that were never explained’.This summer, an archaeological dig on the site is leading to speculation that there may be plans to erect a replacement structure.

Huddersfield’s most prominent natural landmark, Castle Hill has a long and fascinating history. Its name comes from a castle that was built around 1140 by the powerful De Laci family. For several centuries Castle Hill was uninhabited though the site, 900 feet above sea level, was used for beacons to warn of threatened invasion at the time of the Spanish Armada and again during the Napoleonic Wars.

A tavern was built in 1812 and then reconstructed in 1852 to become the Castle Hill Hotel to a design by architectWilliamWaller who, coincidentally, had been responsible for the George Hotel (opposite) two years earlier.TheVictoriaTower was erected in 1899 to commemorate the 60-year reign of Queen Victoria.

In 1998 the hotel was bought by theThandi Partnership (comprising Mick and BarryThandi) who were given planning permission to build a 10-room extension. In the event, much of the original hotel was demolished during the building work and by the time Kirklees Council issued a Stop Notice the entire building had been razed to the ground. The Thandi Partnership submitted new plans for a 14-bedroom hotel in 2009 which were duly rejected.

Over the summer,WestYorkshire Archaeological Service spent some weeks digging trenches on the site ‘to enable better formed decisions to be made with regard to proposals for replacing the now demolished Victorian hotel with a new hotel/restaurant including a visitor centre’.The excavations found nothing of significance.

Advocates of the proposal, for which no formal application has yet been submitted, draw attention to the present inadequate provision of basic facilities such as shelter, refreshments and public toilets. n

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WORKING THE TROLLEYS

When the average fare was 4p…

It is now 50 years since the Huddersfield trolleybus era came to an end in July 1968. David Beach has some fond memories of his time as a conductor.

DAV I D B E AC H ( 1958- 1966)

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N 1966 I was employed as a tem- around to keep an eye on me.

An early shift would require arrival at porary conductor on the remaining trolleybus routes, which were Longroyd Bridge some time between 5 Bradley to Longwood and Waterloo to am and 6 am, with a finish round about 1pm. A late turn usually started around 3 Outlane and Lindley.

I spent two days in the depot at Great pm, picking up the bus in the town cenNorthern Street, to master the passes, tre, and finishing at the depot between regulations, and money handling. At Lon- 10.30 pm and midnight. The gap begroyd Bridge depot I was instructed in tween the two duties would be covered by overtime and by staff raising and lowering the on spreadover duties. pick-up booms.

I had a cash bag and After two days I was ten shillings ‘float’, and allowed to try things out picked up a ticket mafor real, with an experichine and spare tickets. enced conductress. IniThe average fare was 4d tially upstairs on the and most passengers Bradley-bound trolley, paid in coppers. A board with its cigarette smokon the wall just inside ing workers on the way the depot showed the to ICI for a morning ‘schedule’ number, and shift, so I had no bell alongside it the number ringing duties, then DAVID BEACH trained in London and spent 37 years as a of the trolleybus to be downstairs, so there was prep school master near used and the number of a bell to ring and a plat- Newbury, teaching science and the lane in which it form to supervise. She maths and ultimately as Senior Master and Estates Bursar. Now could be found. We set taught me how to pull retired and living in Minehead, he the destination indicathe roadside handles is kept busy working with the which were needed to National Trust and West Somerset tor blinds, and set off Railway and fund raising for the straight into town. change the points in the British Trolleybus Society.

David’s father was the Trolleys were getoverhead at some juncting busy by 8 am. Staff tions. On the third day I respected Senior Mathematics Master George Beach (KJGS on Early Turns could get ran the whole show 1949-1973). some breakfast. At Meg while she just hung 38

Lindley: A young David Beach (right) poses in front of trolleybus 618 with his driver. After 34 years, the route finally ceased on 13th July 1968. (Photo: Michael Storry)

Lane a shopkeeper would supply a sandwich and a brew of tea – you would place an order on the previous trip. At Outlane the little sweetshop at the terminus did likewise. At Lindley a housewife made excellent fried-egg sandwiches in teacakes.

The breakfast ‘break’ was normally achieved by a scheduling procedure known as ‘dropping back’. A trolleybus would have twenty minutes or so of extra lay-over while the next timetabled journey would be covered by the following trolleybus and crew prior to returning to depot. So it was often necessary to lower the booms to let them through. On the two surviving trolleybus routes these extended layovers happened at Lindleyor Longwood.

The fun of trolleybus conducting was,

of course, when things went wrong. Occasions when the pick-up booms came off the overhead wires by accident were quite rare, but could be entertaining when they happened. On one journey from Bradley we were forced to slow down to allow safe negotiation of two overhead junctions, and this so irritated the driver of a homeward bound truck that he was banned for what the Examiner – and the magistrate – described as a ‘Near-attack on a bus’. Of moderate amusement was the occasion when a passenger boarding a Longwood trolley contrived to spill an entire four pint tin of gloss paint over the saloon floor alongside the long seats, leaving just a narrow causeway of dry floor.

And so to the end of the day. One tended to dread the late night buses on a 39

Top: At the depot, the conductor and driver check their turn of duty, departure time and allotted vehicle Bottom:The day begins‌

David Pearson

Friday and Saturday night in case there were belligerent drunks on board. Generally I was lucky and had no trouble, though a crew on a Brackenhall bus were so badly beaten up that the staff withdrew late night buses in protest.

The return to depot could be positively exhilerating. With hardly any passengers, it could be quite a fast journey on almost deserted roads. On one occasion, returning from Bradley, I stood in the front of the lower saloon of a speeding homebound trolleybus, with the window through to the cab open, leaning over the control box and watching the road ahead, and the lights shining on the wires. And then cashing up, and a walk home or a lift on the crew bus. n Magical.

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Classroom commentary LAUREN NUTTON (staff) A triumphant ‘Makaton’ performance, the excitement of Results Day and some tips on how to stay sane At first, the students struggled with the idea of performing in front of their entire cohort. However, once we spoke about the importance of raising awareness and celebrating differences within society, they were keen to engage with the performance.

O celebrate the end of Year Seven and the challenges that we overcame throughout the year, I decided to do something a little different with my form group.

I showed them the video: 50 Mums | 50 Kids | 1 Extra Chromosome. This video has Cristina Perri’s A Thousand Years playing in the background whilst parents and children that are born with Down Syndrome sign the song using ‘Makaton’ (a language programme designed to provide a means of communication to individuals who cannot communicate efficiently by speaking).

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July 6th, 2018 The day of the performance Performance day came around quicker than we thought. The students and I were extremely nervous.We were finally going to showcase our months of hard work for the rest of the year group to see. I invited other

The big day: 7LN give their ‘Makaton’ performance to the staff and students of Year Seven

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members of staff to watch,- including the School’s SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) team. One member of staff was reduced to tears and said that the compassion and dedication shown by students who have not yet even reached the age of 13 was truly incredible.

Again, this is just another reason I love working at King James’s; the students and staff always come together and are unbelievably inclusive- at times it can be overwhelming.

could not wait to see my students. I had bought them all cookies- for all their hard work and perseverance. It was such a joy to see how pleased they were with themselves.

I remember how tough school was and the feeling of passing an exam that you thought was impossible, so it really was a momentous morning.

Keeping King James’s happy.

Whether you have worked at King James’s or simply attended the school, you will be filled with fond memories and The longest sleepless night. mostly happy thoughts. It is a wonderful 23rd August, 2018 place to teach; as I stated in my last article, a Results Day. Need I say more? This year very welcoming place of work.

However, teaching does come with its marked the third Results Day that I have experienced as a teacher and I can confidently daily battles. Everyone has those days when say that it does not get any easier. I don’t re- a simple thing such as forgetting your lunch member being so nervous, even on my own because you’ve had to carry 61 books back Results Day. Unfortunately, I was not pre- that you’ve marked over the weekend, sent this year as I was on a flight back from thereby missing that coffee with an old Corfu (the bliss of the six week holidays). friend, can send you into emotional despair.

However, that did not stop me pestering my Speaking from experience, everyone has bad Head of Department for my results as soon days – that’s just part of any job. as I opened my eyes.

Thanks to assistant prinI don’t I often wonder if this cipal Abbi Terry there has has been a common feeling remember being been a huge push on staff for teachers old and new? wellbeing. In September, As usual, the King so nervous, even 2017 Abbi brought in a James’s students managed scheme called ‘Secret on my own to achieve amazing results Angel’: the concept being and my year ten English that each participating Results Day. Literature class outdid member of staff is assigned themselves with some astounding results to another member of staff for whom they and brought a tear to my eye in the airport. must buy anonymous gifts.Those taking part One student (who spent the entire year in the scheme have to choose four small gifts telling me that she could not possibly sit the that they like and write down their birthday. exam) managed to attain a grade 5 (a high Each participant then leaves a gift in their C, in old levels). ‘victim’s’ tray at least once every two weeks.

Coming back to School in September, I A year down the line and the scheme is 42

working really well.The morale in the staffroom is always high because there is always somebody who has received a beautiful gift.

Lots of staff members ask their ‘victims’ what gifts their close friends and colleagues might like so it certainly is a pleasant surprise.

At the end of the term, the angels are revealed and staff members are able to see who it is that has been leaving them such wonderful presents. Having been part A happy teacher: One message from colleague to their of this scheme for the past year, I ‘secret angel’ after receiving a present. (For those feel it is a fantastic way to develop unfamiliar with the foreign language, the second line reads relationships within the workplace ‘Love it, smiley face, ZS’). as you always remember those that made feel good, right? Make a note of it. You soon find yourself looking for positive you feel better when times were hard. things to make a note of. l Lists. Always make lists. It feels so good My guide to being a happy teacher One of the main concerns within edu- to tick things off.You feel that you have accation is the health of our staff- particularly complished so much more when you can their mental health. Statistics show that throw away the completed list. health issues such as depression, anxiety l Embrace nature. I find time every day and stress are increasing year on year whenever I can to go for a walk, either within our schools. Funding cuts, increased alone or with a friend. My Mum always classroom sizes and accountability are a said: “fresh air will do you some good” – daily struggle for teachers so it’s so impor- even if you just use five minutes of your tant to try and tackle stress early. Here is a dinner time to walk around the School. list of things that I do to try and avoid feel- l Smile. Teaching is a performance: if somebody smiles at you, it’s hard not to ing helpless and stressed out: l Talk to colleagues and be honest: we all smile back. Therefore, if you smile, you feel stressed from time to time, it is com- could just be making someone’s day.

It goes without saying, you don’t even pletely natural so it is important that when you need to moan about your computer have to be a teacher to use some of the not loading for ten minutes of your first strategies here.These things are just some lesson that you do. It’s okay to have bad of the things that I do to try and make life easier for myself. It’s not a miracle cure days. l Try to find a positive in each day.The stu- but the small things can make a BIG difn dent who smiled at you today: it made you ference.

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Meanwhile back at the School‌ UKMT Junior Challenge TUDENTS from Years 7 and 8 have won successes in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Junior Challenge organised by the University of Leeds. Gold certificates were awarded to eight KJS students and a further 22 students received Silver or Gold certificates.

Three students qualified for the next round of the competition, the Junior Kangaroo.

The Mathematical Challenges aim to stimulate mathematical

problem solving.The Junior Challenge is aimed at students in Year 8 or below (England and Wales), S2 or below (Scotland) and Year 9 or below (Northern Ireland). It is the UK's most popular mathematics competition with over 300,000 students taking part each year.

Over 20 teams took part from local schools, and King James’s School was represented by two teams, one from each of the top set Maths classes.

Field trip to Castleton HE annual Year 10 Geography field trip to Castleton was once again a great success.90 Year 10 students visited Castleton over two days

to collect vital fieldwork data to be used in their final GCSE exam.

The day involved collecting data in the village and then a walk up Mam Tor.

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Languages trip toYpres and Paris HE History and Modern Foreign Languages departments took a group of 39 pupils to Ypres and Paris on a joint WW1 languages trip. The students visited a variety of battlefields around Ypres including Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest grave of allied soldiers.

The group also visited a German cemetery and noted the stark differences between Allied and German graves, German soldiers not being allowed raised gravestones.

In the evening the students had an opportunity to take part in the Last

Post ceremony at Menin Gate, a deeply moving experience remembering the men that died at Ypres and whose names are all engraved on Menin Gate itself.

After two days in Belgium, staff and very excitable students departed early for Disneyland Paris. There they spent a whole day across the two parks, going on rides, seeing parades and buying souvenirs.

On the final day they saw impressive views from the top of Montparnasse Tower looking out over Paris and even managed a quick pit stop at the Eiffel Tower on the way home.

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A day of Science challenges N June, a group ofYear 9 students went down to Huddersfield University to take part in an engaging day of Science challenges, competing against other schools in Kirklees.

The activities were led by students from the University of Manchester, who took part in a Q & A session about degrees in Engineering, Physics and Medicine.

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The students took part in a circuit of activities, using software and technology not available in school. Circuits were designed and built for robotics, cars designed for speed and reliability, medical diagnosis using technology and application of results, and finally an ‘E-Fit challenge’.

KJS team wins Greenhead quiz ING JAMES’S SCHOOL entered two teams to take part in Greenhead College’s annual Maths Quiz, pitting the best and brightest Year 9 mathematicians against each other. Over 20 teams took part from local schools.

After a gruelling battle that even left some of the teachers scratching their

heads, the KJS team comprising Harry Brooke, Amaad Ali, Violet Connolly, Emanuel Da Silva, Jake Fallows and Joshua McDowell emerged victorious scoring 64 points. The second team – George Brooke, Matthew Chiappori, Charlotte Rawlinson, Alexander Tolley, Numaan Hussain and Eve Haigh – came a very creditable third with 57 points.

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Sponsored reading raises money EAR 7 and 8 students raised £364 to help seriously ill and disabled children across the UK by taking part in Read For Good, a way of raising money for charity by ob-

taining sponsors for reading books. The event took place over the course of a month, finishing on the date of Shakespeare’s birthday – 23rd April.

English teacher, Jacqueline Armitage who organised the event explained; “King James’s places a huge emphasis on the development of literacy and competitions like these are just one of the many ways the School provides opportunities for students to develop their literacy skills. Students have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and helped others in the process.” n

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Back to the drawing board Roger Sykes (1946-1953) revisits some of his favourite drawings OOKING is just directing one’s eyes – it may be a gaze, or it may be a glance. But seeing involves the power of perceiving with the eye, observing. This sketch was an example of the latter.

The village cross is a central issue, blocking the road. Even a roundabout would be a hazard to a lorry.

But there it is.

Now consider the scattered buildings and there is every incentive to pass by!

However, the old stones were full of character and so attractive that a sketch becomes a matter of composition.

After 65 years I can still remember the problem of the telephone box! It demanded to be included as mine was the only viewpoint from which to separate the cross from the background buildings. And a telephone box is so familiar that it is not noticeable.

The tall chimney stack on the left was another issue.

At a strange angle it was not at all clear which building it served – but it did provide a lovely dark shadow in the middle distance, with rough cut stones. Similarly the dark mass of the trees on the right hand edge of the frame help to balance the left hand shadow of the foreground base of the cross.

So much for the analysis – but someone a long time ago decided that a cross with such a large base should be placed just there. It all seems just a little bit haphazard but that’s the way a village grows. The net result was that it stopped me whilst walking by.

It’s a wonder I’m still around – the number of good viewpoints that have involved standing in the roadway. n Far too much traffic these days!

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Village cross in Bonsall, Derbyshire 47

Farnley Lines DAV E BU S H remember Harry Taylor, Headmaster of King James’s Grammar School from 1951-73, telling me to play every game to the very best of my ability as I would never know if it were to be my last. What sound advice! It’s a dilemma every sportsperson faces; when to hang up your boots, hockey stick, batting gloves and, in my case, badminton racket. At times on returning home after a not very good or enjoyable Thursday evening of whacking or missing a shuttlecock, I do consider if it’s time to stop.

Then the next week things improve and there’sVivThomas aged 88 later this year, still playing a decent game… and I think I must continue.

I have often related the story of my playing my last game for the Old Almondburians AFC but it’s worth the re-telling and there may be some among our readers who have not heard it.Aged 46, I played for the Old Al-

mondburians 4th team on a muddy back pitch at Leeds Road Playing Fields. How sad that there is now not even a 1st team. Once home I washed my boots in preparation for the following Saturday’s fixture. Sitting in front of our open fire in Foxglove Road the realisation that it was time to finish my soccer career swept over me. I took a serrated knife, cut my boots into pieces and dropped them onto the fire, burning my boots literally and my boats metaphorically.

Skipper Keith Farrell rang me the following Tuesday with details of our next match. He would not accept my having no boots, insisting he would find some for me.

I held out against his persuasive entreaties. I never went to watch another Old Almondburians game for I knew that I would be tempted.

How often we think we could do better than ‘those out there.’ An excellent illustra-

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LBERT NIGHTINGALE (1923-2006) was born in Rotherham.A professional footballer, he played for Huddersfield Town from 1947-1951, scoring 20 goals in 119 appearances; later he played for Blackburn Rovers and Leeds Utd.At Town, he was a contemporary of Old Almondburian Jeff Taylor.

Sadly, his career was cut short by a severe knee injury and he had to retire at the age of 32.

Always a superb golfer, he won the PFA Golf Championship in 1956 and became greenkeeper at Woodsome Hall Golf Club.This, and work as a driver for Huddersfield Education Authority, would have made him an ideal local figure to co-opt to boost a Staff soccer XI.

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St Sebastien-sur-Loire is Porthcawl’s twin town. A commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, it is the third largest suburb of the city of Nantes.

a day’s mixed nations competition during our five-day stay.What an eye-opener.Those who travel in France are almost certainly aware what sports facilities even small villages possess. The sports hall where we played was enormous with five courts, tiered seating and score ‘boxes’ for every game.Apparently there are four such sports halls in St Sebastien and its immediate environs.

Porthcawl’s population is about 20,000, around 5,000 fewer than our twin town.

Here the future of our club is in doubt as Bridgend Council and Porthcawl Comprehensive School cannot agree who should run‘The Community Sports Hall’.We have a stay of execution until Christmas. I’ll keep you informed.

Meanwhile back to the competition at St Sebastien.TheWelsh contingent performed superbly both off and on the court.They re-

tion of this occurred when we persuaded former Town inside-right Albert Nightingale, who lived in Fleminghouse Lane, to turn out for a staff team. I should like to believe we used him as a sweeper.Though almost crippled by a knee injury,Albert radiated skill. He trapped, cushioned and pushed the ball around with consummate artistry. We watched in admiration as our own limitations were vividly displayed.

A trip to St Sebastien-sur-Loire I shall pursue the sporting theme a little further. We have just returned from spending six days with our French hosts in St Sebastien-sur-Loire. This is Porthcawl’s twin town situated on the south bank of the Loire immediately opposite the beautiful city of Nantes. I am very much involved with committee work and was eventually persuaded to take six of our younger badminton players for 49

How green was my valley So success in France but failure inWales.

As everywhere in the UK the prolonged dry spell meant that here it was a case of ‘How green was my lawn.’ I sent the photo (opposite) of our local green to my daughter saying how tempted I was to creep out one night and cross out ‘green’ and insert ‘yellow’.

Sorry to say my nerve failed me but then again if I had been detected…

ceived cups, gifts, medals and T shirts – and there’s another story.

A couple of weeks before we were due to leave I had a request from France;‘would you send us an example of your club logo?’ Problem: we don’t have one. Or rather we didn’t. Fortunately our treasurer is a graphic designer and he produced what everyone agrees is a brilliant logo. Those who have visited Porthcawl or seen photos in the national press of waves breaking over the lighthouse and breakwater will appreciate it even more.

The picture shows a shuttlecock turned into a wave.Well done, HuwThe Brush. I also received gifts for my part in the organisation but was most delighted by the large‘Medaille en Chocolat’ (opposite) presented to me by ourWelsh participants.We all have seen athletes pretending to bite into their gold medals. Do I eat mine reluctantly or keep it in the fridge? Again I’ll keep you updated.

Daily Telegraph And another failure.

Given the furore surrounding the smuggling into jails of illicit items often by the warders, I reflected how

In March 2010 The Almondburian was unimpressed by Dave Bush’s claims for the Porthcawl weather. Little did we know that waves breaking over the lighthouse would provide the inspiration for Huw the Brush’s logo for the Badminton Club.

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Newton ‘Green’, Porthcawl 2018

modern in so many ways was the Roman satirist, Juvenal. He writes about immigration, government waste and this very situation. ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ he asks.

‘Who will guard the guards themselves?’ A letter to The Telegraph was a must. Disappointment again. How does Reggie Byram (1946-54) get so many printed?

Latin Oh dear. Here comes yet another negative. ‘O di immortales! Ubinam gentium sumus?’ exclaimed that great orator, Cicero.

‘Heavens above. What are things coming to?’ perhaps captures his feelings.The fear expressed in the final paragraph of my last letter has come to pass. Autumn Term 2018 sees no Latin being taught down St Helen’s Gate for the first time in 471 years. So very, very upsetting. One of the things that ensured King James’s School was ‘slightly different from any other school (Gerald Hinchliffe’s ‘History of KJGS’, page 297 quoting Taylor Dyson) has disappeared. I felt I could

not let this transition pass without making some gesture which showed my profound sadness, shared, I hope, by many former students. I have, therefore, withdrawn my Year 10 Prize for Academic Excellence. If ever Latin reappears on the curriculum how happy I shall be to reinstate it.‘Any road up’ as you say in God’s own county, my writing to the headteacher informing him of my decision has not created any great waves, in fact apparently not even a ripple. I have had no response.

Yet if depressed I have another look at the Football League Division 2 and see Lincoln City riding high. My spirits soar. n

6 5 2 4 4 8 1 7 5 3 8 7 3 8 5 8 9 4 6 1 5 4 6 2 9 3 5 2 7 1 9 2

SUDOKU Difficulty: easy

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

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New Fellow of the Royal Society REPORTER:

RICHARD TEALE

Professor Judy Hirst has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her pioneering studies in mitochondrial science when (surprisingly) very few others seemed to. We were taught by a chemistry enthusiast, Robert Tellez. However, he could be a bit gullible – one of our tricks was to induce him to leave the room and then move the clock forward so we finished class 10 minutes early. One of my early awards in science was the Jarmain prize for chemistry at King James’s.

George Jarmain (1824-1900) taught chemistry at the School in the 1850s and 60s and, in the wider sense, was a pioneer in the teaching of the subject. He was also a key figure in the chemical industry in

UDY HIRST (King James’s School 1985-88) is a physical chemist, currently Deputy Director of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College in chemistry. Judy’s biography on the Royal Society website describes her studies in mitochondrial science in esoteric terms – suffice to say, mitochondria are responsible for creating the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support organ function.

Judy was born in Lepton in 1972 and attended junior school there before studying at King James’s School. Judy has fond memories of her time at King James’s:

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I used to cycle to school every day from Rowley Lane, up Woodsome Road and past the golf course. On the return journey we were supposed to walk our bikes down to the bottom of St Helen’s Gate, but who would do that when you could whizz down and have enough momentum to get up the hill to Woodsome Road. I was often told off about this.The Woodsome valley is such a beautiful place and there was such a great view from the school big tree, particularly in autumn when the colours were often spectacular.

I liked chemistry at School at a time

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Huddersfield and invented the wool carbonising process. I have a copy of his book ‘Qualitative Analysis’ and worked in the lab at Jarmain and Son Ltd in Kirkheaton the summer before I went up to Oxford.

I was also a keen musician. I played tenor horn and was working my way through grade exams while at King James’s as well as playing in a local brass band. The music teacher at the time, Jim Morgan, thought I was wasting my time in a brass band and should be playing French horn in an orchestra. I did play in the Kirklees Youth Orchestra on occasions but not with much enthusiasm. One year Jim Morgan conducted a fantastic School production of ‘My Fair Lady’ that I remember very clearly.

Another teacher I remember well was Dave Bush. I was a bit in awe – I liked the academic gown (of which I now have two: one for everyday and one for special occasions). He gave me a love of classical literature but perhaps more importantly he promoted the school as somewhere with a long history. I’m now at a college in Cambridge with an even longer history; somewhere ‘timeless’ that has been part of so much English history and will (presumably) see much more.

After King James’s School I went to Greenhead College and took A levels in chemistry, biology and maths. Then I went to St John’s College Oxford to read chemistry, followed by a DPhil. researching the mechanisms of catalysis in complex enzymes. I then did postdoctoral work at the Scripps Research Institute in California for two years, before taking a position at The Medical Research Council in Cambridge. Currently, I am Professor

George Jarmain

GEORGE JARMAIN started life as a schoolteacher at Almondbury Church School. A chemistry enthusiast, he then changed course and qualified as an Organic and Inorganic Chemist, and in due course became Huddersfield’s Borough Analyst. For many years, he and John Nowell, the owner of Birks Woollen Mill, gave lectures to members of Almondbury Grammar School’s new ‘Society for the Cultivation of Chemical Science’.

By 1902 he had started up a very successful wool carbonising company at Kirkheaton which, as George Jarmain & Son, continued until 1998 when operations were switched with the loss of 90 jobs to the company’s Bradford site.

The company finally ceased operations in 2016.

of Biological Chemistry at The University of Cambridge and Deputy Director of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. I head a research group, consisting of PhD students and postdoctoral scientists, working on mitochondrial complex I - an energy converting enzyme that is central to metabolism and to metabolic diseases.

I am also Dean of College and Director of Studies in Chemistry at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN: PART 3

Evolution of a school magazine ROGER DOWLING The School underwent major changes in the 1970s, first becoming a coeducational Sixth Form College and then a 13-18 Comprehensive. Could The Almondburian – already under financial pressure – survive these changes?

N 24th May 1979, the last of the Grammar School pupils walked up St Helen’s Gate. It was the end of an

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Alan Thomas, it had changed to a typewritten A4-sized publication produced with the help of School secretary Doreen Hinchliffe.

It had also become too expensive to have the magazine printed commercially, as the editors of the day reported: Without the kindness of Honley High School there would be no magazine this year.

We cannot express strongly enough our gratitude to Mr Precious,Mr Sanderson and other people at Honley for making available to us their lithographic department.Thanks must also be given to members of the Old Almondburians who made printing and binding available to us.

Around this time the magazine also acquired a new cover, a crude and frankly unattractive hand-drawn design about which the less said the better (21).

But an even bigger change was round the corner. In the Summer 1981 issue, the editors made a proud announcement: Last September the School acquired one of the new generation of miniature computers,a Commodore Pet*. Shortly after its arrival in School it was commandeered by the staff who

era.

The Almondburian, always under financial pressure, also had to change. Inflation in the 1970s was running at between 18% and 24%, printing costs were soaring, and the magazine was struggling for survival.

By 1977, under the stewardship of teacher 21

*The School was commendably quick off the mark.The Commodore Pet was only launched in 1977 and quickly became a best-seller.Today they are collectors’ items and command a substantial price on Ebay.

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as a result of the urgent need to reduce costs and the editors wondered if buying a 45p [nearer £1.45 today] magazine had become more of a charitable act that few could afford.

Sadly, the market-place agreed and this was the last issue of The Almondburian to be produced in that form.

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The Annals The School recognised, of course, that the end of The Almondurian did not absolve it from the need to record School activities and report them to parents and pupils. The answer lay in desk-top-publishing, which with the advent of affordable small computers and copiers was now starting to become a reality.

In 1987, work commenced on a new annual publication to replace The Almondburian, called The Annals (23), the stated aim of gave it living accommodation in the staffroom, and there it played Space Invaders to Mr O’Brien’s and Mr Hallworth’s content.

The magazine acquired a much improved cover in Summer 1982 in the form of a distinctly feminine design (22) by Rachel Brook (1977-82). Mrs Hinchliffe was still hard at work on her typewriter but she now had a new challenge: We congratulate Mrs Hinchliffe on reading the scrawl that the editors thrust before her whilst wrestling with the new typewriter which is electonic and which right now is producing‘proportional spacing’. Glad you noticed.

But despite her efforts, The Almondburian was struggling. By the Summer issue of 1984, the unsigned editorial reported that sales had reached’an alltime low’. The issue had no photographs and not very much artwork

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The Parents’ Newsletter As The Annals was only published annually, the School also started to produce more regular Parents’ Newsletters which continue to the present day. Initially they were A4 in size, and the Christmas 2002 issue (24) claimed to be‘the first one entirely written and edited by students’.

A curious feature of the early editions of the Newsletter was a variant of the monochrome logo (25 overleaf) with computer-generated lettering and with only two Yorkshire roses, both shown inverted compared with the traditional design.It did not always reproduce well at small scale and is no longer in use.

In due course, the Newsletter adopted a smaller A5 format and for some years carried the new title ‘1608’ (26 overleaf). Copiously

which was ‘to give the reader a glimpse into the “life” of the School.’ Because of teething problems with the new computer technology The Annals had a somewhat lengthy and painful birth, causing the editor, Sylvia O’Boyle in the English Department to open her editorial with words from T S Eliot: In order to arrive at what you do not know you must go by a way which is the way of ignorance. In order to possess what you do not possess you must go by the way of dispossession.

The Annals was a polished large format A4 typewritten publication. By an inadvertent oversight, the School crest on the cover, printed in black over a yellow background, reverted to the incorrect 1953 wording ‘YE GRAMAR SCHOLE…’ rather than the corrected‘THE FREE GRAMAR SCHOLE…’ version introduced in 1958, and this anomaly remained throughout the subsequent life of The Annals.There is a degree of bit-mapping in the early issues, revealing that desk-top-publishing was still in its infancy.

But these are minor cavils. The Annals fully met its brief and gave an extremely comprehensive overview of the daily life of the School. Patrick O’Brien, having completed his Commodore Pet apprenticeship, took over from Sylvia O’Boyle from the 199091 issue with occasional technical assistance from Dr Roger L’Amie, and eight issues of The Annals were produced before its final publication in 1995-96.The publication made excellent use of photographs, and its appearance was greatly enhanced after the first two issues when typescript gave way to ‘professional’ proportionally spaced typefaces.

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Our programme will be very simple.We shall aim at reccording all school events, and shall at the same time find space for original articles from the pens of past or present pupils.

Between them, the present KJS Newsletter and OAS Almondburian largely continue to fulfil this progamme today. In terms of information about the School and its activities, students, parents and Old Almondburians are probably served as well as at any time in its past history.

The Almondburian, now the OAS magazine rather than the School’s, also continues the tradition of publishing ‘original articles’ from its members; indeed, one of my pleasures as Editor is the number of articles that I am offered ‘out of the blue’, not to mention the lively letters and emails submitted to our Postbag.

But where today are the ‘original articles’ from present pupils?When The Annals first appeared in 1987-88 contributions from pupils were conspicuous by their absence; an early editorial makes it clear that the aim of The Annals was just to be ‘a miscellany of items describing some of the many events that have taken place during the year’.This has also continued to be the aim of the School Newsletter, largely prepared in recent years by members of staff rather than pupils.

This is a shame.Whilst it’s true that ‘original articles’ tended to be patchy in quality and were all too frequently the product of perspiration rather than inspiration, they can make fascinating reading in later years.

They often give an unexpected insight into the issues that used to occupy the minds of the young contributors. Events of the day – snowfalls, miners’ strikes, events in Parliament – were regular sources of material, and in 1954, David Lightfoot (4B) was beginning to find it all too much:

illustrated with monc hrome photographs, these newsletters were put together for some years by ‘a team of students under Miss Brunning’.

Today, an excellent full colour newsletter with the title KJS News is produced by Nicola Ramsden (27 overleaf).A typical issue makes one marvel at the range of activities pursued

by KJS pupils today, ranging from maths challenges and science days to charity runs and sporting activities of all descriptions.

In conclusion…

The editorial of the very first issue of The Almondburian on January 1886 set out clearly the aims of the magazine:

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Looking through the newspaper, to pass time away, We turn to the sports page, but it’s so dull That we turn to politics, and they’re full Of the squalls and squabbles that break out each day.

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- July 2018

Of the Indo-Chinese and their rebel troops, Of talks in Geneva, to patch old sores, Of Korea; and Molotov, and war, And of the Big Four talks that open up loops.

Of the Hydrogen Bomb, and of strikes of all kinds, Then riots, and murders, and wanted men!

Yet nowhere in this wide world can we find SILENCE,TRANQUILITY and PEACE OF MIND. Original articles also gave a foretaste of the early literary talent of young contributors that would blossom in later life.Who knows what encouragement fourth-former Alex Danchev received from seeing his poem Desert Death in print in 1970?

A baked and brutal land Sun-blistered and arid.

With organ pipe cactus, Prickly pear and cat’s claw.

With lonely sunsets Flaming and dying, Their shadows bleeding Against the long serrated ridges.

And dawn breaking, Bringing no hope for life— No hope for easy death.

Hard, Bitter, Ugly Are desert deaths.

And long drawn out.

Danchev went on to become a noted writer, biographer and historian.

And of course there were many amusing flights of fancy, such as the curious piece from J Green (1A) in 1947 entitled

Floreat Schola S ~ May the School Flourish

Autobiography of a Telegraph Pole: Day and night I stand here, always in the same spot, never able to move. I never get a minute’s peace because there’s always someone’s telephone ringing.The most boring part of my life is in winter when the wires are broken down and there is no-one to listen to. I think the worst part will be when I am no more good and the workmen will come and dig me up, whilst others carry me away to be sawn up for firewood.When I am on the fire at someone’s home I shall be warmer than I ever was as a telegraph pole.

So I close with a little suggestion to our friends at King James’s: to restore the original article to its rightful place in the catalogue of activities at the School. n

l Nicola Ramsden will be very happy to add you to

the email list for an online copy of KJS News. Con58

Badminton/Tennis A N D R E W HAIGH from 7.30 pm until 9.30 pm. The fee, to cover the hire of the sports hall, shuttlecocks and showers, is £5.00 per person per evening if fewer than eight people are playing, £4.00 per person if eight or more people play and £3.00 per person if twelve or more play. Afterwards, we adjourn to the Conservative Club for refreshments.

Those who played this season are: Ian Daffern Neil Gledhill Andrew Haigh Robin Merchant Emily Murphy Nicky Murphy David Parry Craig Watts Badminton is good fun and good for you, so do come and join us if you can!

HE 2018-19 Old Almondburians’ badminton season got off to a good start on Thursday, 6th September, when seven Almondburians turned out to play. We hope that this number will increase as the season progresses and, in particular, that we shall be joined by some young blood from Year 11 at School, since Kim Clarke, Head of PE, is keen for some of her GCSE PE students to get some match practice with us, which would be fantastic.

Our season runs until Thursday, 23rd May and we play in the School sports hall each Thursday evening during term-time

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URING the summer, the Old season we were most grateful for the Almondburians’ Tennis Section services of our resident ball cat. n once again enjoyed the hospitality and facilities of Longley Tennis Club, playing there each Thursday evening from 31st May until 30th August. We enjoyed an outstanding summer this year, of course, and we didn’t lose one of those fourteen Thursday evenings to rain, which must be a record!

Six Almondburians played over the course of the season: Neil Gledhill Andrew Haigh Charlotte Haigh Emily Haigh Robin Merchant David Parry The usual high number of deuce games were enjoyed by all! During the

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Postbag YO U WRITE …

Confession time: how I killed off the annual cricket match From: Barry Livesey (1953-1961)

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have read with interest the various articles on successful sports teams and their ‘stars’. I can only contribute something that I have always been rather ashamed of: how I managed to kill off the annual cricket match between the prefects and the staff.

I was not a cricketer but I was Head Boy so “…you should be Captain!” I had played once for Dartmouth and was told off for dropping a catch and once when I had a vacation job for Thornton

and Ross (Linthwaite) against John Edward Crowther’s Black Gang (Marsden mill maintenance men).

So I was totally out of my depth. Neither Richard Taylor nor Charlie Hall would be Captain and the rest of my team of prefects did not have long suits in cricket skills. So it was all a very poor show and Harry Taylor, quite rightly decided that there would not be a repeat.

I feel better now!

Shefford, Bedfordshire

Memories of J V Emsley From: David Morphet (1951-1958) N Reggie Byram’s article on J V Emsley, I did not know that Frank Anderson had consulted Larkin and what a gloomy Larkin-esque reply he received!

My 2002 collection Seventy Seven Poems included a poem about Emsley and Sidney Keyes entitled To Two Young Poets ‘silenced in their spring’. Keyes, killed in WW2, was a great friend at Oxford of the blind poet John Heath-Stubbs whose own poem about Keyes is to be found in the Penguin Book of Contemporary Verse and I sent my poem to HeathStubbs, by then a very old man. He was kind enough to write that he found it ‘interesting’.

I have just put the finishing touches to a volume of New and Selected Poems which was published in September. It includes a

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couple of credits by well-known poets. One, Fiona Sampson, has recently published a well-reviewed biography of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. The other is the veteran poet and author Alan Brownjohn. The

book brings together themes from all of my previous fourteen collections published over the past two decades.

London lDavid Morphet’s new book is reviewed on page 34.

The Emsley Cup From: Jack Scott (1968-1976) must report a factual error in the July edition article about J V Emsley. The article lists the years of award of the Emsley Memorial Cup for English Literature, stating there was no award over the years 1965 to 1993.

I can assure you there was an award in 1975, because it was to me – J Stott! There was also an award in 1976, to a good friend of mine P R Martin.

I am sure also I recollect the appearance of the award on Speech Day programmes from my start at School in 1968.

Perhaps reference to these programmes over 1968 to 1976 will substantiate this.

Almondbury, Huddersfield

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l Our apologies to Jack Scott and others who won

1977 A J Miller 1978 S A McNeil 1979 K Redfearn 1980 Not listed 1981 J C Walker 1982 L Jackson 1983 H Thornton 1984 Not awarded 1985 Not known 1986 Not listed 1987 Not known 1988 Lara Fromings 1989 Sara Matley 1990 Sarah Charlton 1991 Jenny Tadman 1992 Cheryl Frith-Clarkson 1993 Abigail Hirst A few gaps remain and we welcome any information from OAS members.

the Emsley Cup during this period.We took the names from the Cup itself, but it now appears that the School omitted to engrave the names of the winners between 1965 and 1993.

We are very happy to correct the record as follows: 1965 M R Woodhead 1966 M R Woodhead 1967 P A Shaw 1968 G R Morris 1969 A G Grayson 1970 J A Taylor 1971 B Hoyle 1972 T A Charlesworth 1973 A Danchev and D J Nunns 1974 J M Whittaker 1975 J Stott 1976 (P Martin won Brooke Prize) 61

Information requested about Frank Micklethwaite From: Claire Napoli am the granddaughter of Frank Micklethwaite (1924-2009). I have recently found out that Frank was a pupil of King James Grammar School, Almondbury. I believe he was a pupil from 1936-1941*. I know he was in class 6B in 1941, when he was awarded the prize for Games (I have recently found the book he was given as the prize). Frank was a keen cricketer.

I was so very fond of my grandfather.

Unfortunately our family have very few photos of his childhood. I see on your website that you have a selection of photos from your archives but sadly I couldn't find Frank amongst those photos. Is it possible to search for any photos that might exist of my grandfather from his time at King James Grammar school?

Maybe a team cricket/sport photo or class photo?

I do have one photo of Frank (with four fellow pupils) which I think was taken while he was a pupil at King James Grammar School in the play 'Mikado'.

I also have a photo of Frank playing cricket with two friends. I think they are wearing the King James Grammar School uniform hats in the photo.

Liphook, Hampshire

[*According to our records, Frank Micklethwaite attended King James’s Grammar School (then usually known informally as Almondbury Grammar School) from 1934 to 1941. He lived at Church Green, Kirkheaton and his brother David also attended the School from 1947 to 1949.

If any readers have more information or photographs, we will be very happy to pass them on to Claire Napoli. Ed.]

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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 Editorial address: Orchard House, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RD Tel: 01925 756390 Email: almondburian@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 Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3ykffo3

The Almondburian is distributed to OAS members free of charge.

Price to non-members: £3.00