The Teachers of 1951/1952
by Tony Lawrence – (1951 to 1957)
Back Row – left to right looking at the photo (N.B. there may be some name variances):
1 Mr. Madley. A really good guy; real opposite to "Rozzer" – took PE and Religious Education (Catholic). Treated you like a human. Understood we were not all gifted athletes. Preferred both his lessons.
2 Mr. “Bunny” Warren. Another good guy who, if recall, took Biology and Art. Somehow he got me through Art “O” level. Believe he was a POW in the war against Japan. He told us some horrific stories. Liked music and took some of us to the Festival Hall once or twice. Really helped me in the last couple of my years at school.
3 Mr. “Clinchy” Clinch. Used to catch your eye and point to his clenched fist … (a threat? Of course not!!!). Heaven knows what he taught though – was it history??? Used to take us for football on a Friday morning at some school out in North London (Mill Hill area?) where we did a mornings soccer. He used to tuck his trousers in his socks and try and join in the game. Once we had plucked up the courage we used to try and tackle him. On one occasion I took him down and immediately regretted it as he put me through hell for the next week’s lessons.
4 Unknown
5 Mr. Meyer. I think he taught French and in the second year I actually came top of the class for one term. How the hell did that happen? Anyway, when I left school and filled in my first application form I could actually say I had been taught French….
6 Mr. Brown. Very strict and taught Technical Drawing. Not sure how long he served at all the Barnsbury schools, but he said he remembered my father [Sydney Frank Lawrence] and uncle [Ernest Yetton].
7 & 8 Unknown.
9 Mr. “Rozzer” Richards. Could not stand the man – a real nasty bully!!! We clashed a few times during PE. I wore spectacles, and once I took them off my vision was pretty poor, but he insisted I vault over the box and horse and buck. Trouble was I could not judge the distance properly so frequently made a complete hash of the jump and he loved rubbing it in how useless I was. He also took RE. Could tell a few stories about him.…
Front Row – left to right looking at the photo (N.B. there may be some name variances) :
1 & 2 Unknown
3 Mr. "Pagey" Page. Took geography and I liked him and the subject which he made alive. Gave me the slipper a few times for not doing my homework.
4 Mr. "Bill" Matthews. Deputy head all the years I was at Barnsbury 1951/1957. Hated it when Mr. “Bonk” Davies came to the school as headmaster. Bill was at least 6 feet tall, whereas Bonk was a real ‘shortie’. Bill took us for maths, algebra and bookkeeping; also did evening classes for typing. An avid Welshman, really enjoyed his rugby union. Loved to swing the window pole around the class which hurt like hell if it did catch you. One evening when some of us were doing typing class, he slung a plimsole at me. I saw it coming so ducked and it smashed one of the large windows that overlooked the main playground. Needless to say, I got the blame because I ducked!!! We were not a clever bunch, and I remember one year when he was telling us about our term's exam results he picked on me and gave out my personal “success” % which happened to be 35%. The whole class erupted into laughter until Bill silenced them all by saying, “I do not know what you are all laughing about. He came top!” One of us had the last laugh. I remember I got into an altercation with the English teacher, Harry Hinchcliffe, and the resulting noise carried into Bill’s classroom which was next door. He came charging in. Hinchcliffe lied about the event. Bill grabbed me by the back of the neck, took me out of the class and told me to report to the headmaster’s office. I duly went to the head’s room, but he was not there so, after a walk round the playground to calm down, I went back to the classroom. Bill found about that I had duly “visited” the head’s room and, with a wry smile, gave me a quick clip round the head before simply saying, “Go careful, OK?”. Very strict but fair in his own way. By the way, Bill’s neck grip was like a vice, and you could not easily try and get out of it!
5 Dr. Gerred. Head, but only for a year or two maximum. He was not a well man when I first went to Barnsbury in 1951. Somehow I got into trouble on my first day and was taken to the head. He was a kindly man and I did not get into any trouble with him.
6 Now I think this guy is Mr. Milsom or Milson – took woodwork. He also remembered my father and uncle. He was only at Eden Gove for a short time post 1951/1952 when he retired. After he left we went to another school for woodwork with a guy called “Stinky” Wilson (smoked a foul smelling pipe). Milsom had a bit of a quick temper. Remember one lesson he was helping Don Verea with his woodwork project which, if I recall correctly, was a lamp standard. Someone did something stupid in the class, Milsom lost his temper and smashed the lamp down on a workbench and the lamp promptly smashed into many bits. Poor Don broke into tears and we all jeered Milsom.
7 Mr. White.
8 Mr. Martyn. Not sure what lessons he taught, but he was an OK guy. Had a limp if I recall. He was one of the teachers who took us on a school trip to Sandown on the Isle of Wight. The other teacher was “Rozzer”. We were divided into two teams for the holiday, and I was in Martyn’s team. I remember he and I played a sort of silly golf game against “Rozzer” and some together kid. We beat “Rozzer” and he did not like it at all.
9 Unknown.
by David Thomas – (1950 to 1956)
I first went there in 1951 having previously attended Alfred Pritchard (Westbourne Road) Primary School.
The Headmaster was Mr. Gerred – a chubby, jovial, gentle man who sadly developed cancer and died soon after I joined. I fondly remember him him reading to us from the “Just William” books, which he did very well and in character. His deputy was William Matthews (known as “Bill”) a tall Welshman who was the main maths teacher. From the time I joined he often called me Dai because of my Welsh name, although I have no Welsh ancestry. The rest of the staff were of pre or immediate post war origin. Those I remember were as follows:-
Art Master – Stanley Warren, whose background is well documented in the School website.
French Master – Mr. Zemla. succeeded later by a Frenchman, Mr. Mayer (nickname “Froggy").
Geography Masters – Messrs. Brown and Page.
Brown was a tall, elegant well-dressed man who retired soon after I joined. I recall him complimenting me on my clean, shiny shoes. It's amazing what rubbish you recall after 70 years. Page was at the school until I left in 1956. He was my form master in my final year. He was plain speaking and amusing. In these politically correct days he probably would have been sacked for regularly calling a boy named Michael Elefteriou "Left earole.”
Music Master – Mr Mitchell. Although I was unaware of sexual orientation in those days, I now suspect he was homosexual and recall him acting inappropriately on many occasions and insisting the whole class stand on their chairs whilst singing!
P.E. Teachers – Messrs, Madley (a bit of a bully) and Richards.
Woodworking – Mr Allard. The only teacher I can remember swearing at pupils.
My early form master was Peter Webb, followed later by Arnold ("Harry") Hinchcliffe. The second was a joke at keeping discipline!
Other masters I recall are Mr. Martyn who specialized in bookbinding and ran the cricket team. Along with Mr. Richards he also accompanied my form class on a week-long trip to Sandown, Isle of Wight. I also remember an excellent teacher named Mr. Freedman who taught History as well as Commerce (Bookkeeping and Commerce theory), which I have found useful throughout my life.
Finally, I must mention fondly my final Headmaster, Tom Davies. He took over some time after Mr. Gerrard died and installed much needed discipline which had been lacking in the interim period.
Back Row – left to right looking at the photo (N.B. there may be some name variances):
1 Mr. Madley. A really good guy; real opposite to "Rozzer" – took PE and Religious Education (Catholic). Treated you like a human. Understood we were not all gifted athletes. Preferred both his lessons.
2 Mr. “Bunny” Warren. Another good guy who, if recall, took Biology and Art. Somehow he got me through Art “O” level. Believe he was a POW in the war against Japan. He told us some horrific stories. Liked music and took some of us to the Festival Hall once or twice. Really helped me in the last couple of my years at school.
3 Mr. “Clinchy” Clinch. Used to catch your eye and point to his clenched fist … (a threat? Of course not!!!). Heaven knows what he taught though – was it history??? Used to take us for football on a Friday morning at some school out in North London (Mill Hill area?) where we did a mornings soccer. He used to tuck his trousers in his socks and try and join in the game. Once we had plucked up the courage we used to try and tackle him. On one occasion I took him down and immediately regretted it as he put me through hell for the next week’s lessons.
4 Unknown
5 Mr. Meyer. I think he taught French and in the second year I actually came top of the class for one term. How the hell did that happen? Anyway, when I left school and filled in my first application form I could actually say I had been taught French….
6 Mr. Brown. Very strict and taught Technical Drawing. Not sure how long he served at all the Barnsbury schools, but he said he remembered my father [Sydney Frank Lawrence] and uncle [Ernest Yetton].
7 & 8 Unknown.
9 Mr. “Rozzer” Richards. Could not stand the man – a real nasty bully!!! We clashed a few times during PE. I wore spectacles, and once I took them off my vision was pretty poor, but he insisted I vault over the box and horse and buck. Trouble was I could not judge the distance properly so frequently made a complete hash of the jump and he loved rubbing it in how useless I was. He also took RE. Could tell a few stories about him.…
Front Row – left to right looking at the photo (N.B. there may be some name variances) :
1 & 2 Unknown
3 Mr. "Pagey" Page. Took geography and I liked him and the subject which he made alive. Gave me the slipper a few times for not doing my homework.
4 Mr. "Bill" Matthews. Deputy head all the years I was at Barnsbury 1951/1957. Hated it when Mr. “Bonk” Davies came to the school as headmaster. Bill was at least 6 feet tall, whereas Bonk was a real ‘shortie’. Bill took us for maths, algebra and bookkeeping; also did evening classes for typing. An avid Welshman, really enjoyed his rugby union. Loved to swing the window pole around the class which hurt like hell if it did catch you. One evening when some of us were doing typing class, he slung a plimsole at me. I saw it coming so ducked and it smashed one of the large windows that overlooked the main playground. Needless to say, I got the blame because I ducked!!! We were not a clever bunch, and I remember one year when he was telling us about our term's exam results he picked on me and gave out my personal “success” % which happened to be 35%. The whole class erupted into laughter until Bill silenced them all by saying, “I do not know what you are all laughing about. He came top!” One of us had the last laugh. I remember I got into an altercation with the English teacher, Harry Hinchcliffe, and the resulting noise carried into Bill’s classroom which was next door. He came charging in. Hinchcliffe lied about the event. Bill grabbed me by the back of the neck, took me out of the class and told me to report to the headmaster’s office. I duly went to the head’s room, but he was not there so, after a walk round the playground to calm down, I went back to the classroom. Bill found about that I had duly “visited” the head’s room and, with a wry smile, gave me a quick clip round the head before simply saying, “Go careful, OK?”. Very strict but fair in his own way. By the way, Bill’s neck grip was like a vice, and you could not easily try and get out of it!
5 Dr. Gerred. Head, but only for a year or two maximum. He was not a well man when I first went to Barnsbury in 1951. Somehow I got into trouble on my first day and was taken to the head. He was a kindly man and I did not get into any trouble with him.
6 Now I think this guy is Mr. Milsom or Milson – took woodwork. He also remembered my father and uncle. He was only at Eden Gove for a short time post 1951/1952 when he retired. After he left we went to another school for woodwork with a guy called “Stinky” Wilson (smoked a foul smelling pipe). Milsom had a bit of a quick temper. Remember one lesson he was helping Don Verea with his woodwork project which, if I recall correctly, was a lamp standard. Someone did something stupid in the class, Milsom lost his temper and smashed the lamp down on a workbench and the lamp promptly smashed into many bits. Poor Don broke into tears and we all jeered Milsom.
7 Mr. White.
8 Mr. Martyn. Not sure what lessons he taught, but he was an OK guy. Had a limp if I recall. He was one of the teachers who took us on a school trip to Sandown on the Isle of Wight. The other teacher was “Rozzer”. We were divided into two teams for the holiday, and I was in Martyn’s team. I remember he and I played a sort of silly golf game against “Rozzer” and some together kid. We beat “Rozzer” and he did not like it at all.
9 Unknown.
by David Thomas – (1950 to 1956)
I first went there in 1951 having previously attended Alfred Pritchard (Westbourne Road) Primary School.
The Headmaster was Mr. Gerred – a chubby, jovial, gentle man who sadly developed cancer and died soon after I joined. I fondly remember him him reading to us from the “Just William” books, which he did very well and in character. His deputy was William Matthews (known as “Bill”) a tall Welshman who was the main maths teacher. From the time I joined he often called me Dai because of my Welsh name, although I have no Welsh ancestry. The rest of the staff were of pre or immediate post war origin. Those I remember were as follows:-
Art Master – Stanley Warren, whose background is well documented in the School website.
French Master – Mr. Zemla. succeeded later by a Frenchman, Mr. Mayer (nickname “Froggy").
Geography Masters – Messrs. Brown and Page.
Brown was a tall, elegant well-dressed man who retired soon after I joined. I recall him complimenting me on my clean, shiny shoes. It's amazing what rubbish you recall after 70 years. Page was at the school until I left in 1956. He was my form master in my final year. He was plain speaking and amusing. In these politically correct days he probably would have been sacked for regularly calling a boy named Michael Elefteriou "Left earole.”
Music Master – Mr Mitchell. Although I was unaware of sexual orientation in those days, I now suspect he was homosexual and recall him acting inappropriately on many occasions and insisting the whole class stand on their chairs whilst singing!
P.E. Teachers – Messrs, Madley (a bit of a bully) and Richards.
Woodworking – Mr Allard. The only teacher I can remember swearing at pupils.
My early form master was Peter Webb, followed later by Arnold ("Harry") Hinchcliffe. The second was a joke at keeping discipline!
Other masters I recall are Mr. Martyn who specialized in bookbinding and ran the cricket team. Along with Mr. Richards he also accompanied my form class on a week-long trip to Sandown, Isle of Wight. I also remember an excellent teacher named Mr. Freedman who taught History as well as Commerce (Bookkeeping and Commerce theory), which I have found useful throughout my life.
Finally, I must mention fondly my final Headmaster, Tom Davies. He took over some time after Mr. Gerrard died and installed much needed discipline which had been lacking in the interim period.