BARNSBURY BOY - Richard jones
I was at Barnsbury from 1951 to 1955.
I remember all those teachers mentioned. Harry Hinchcliffe was from Yorkshire and looked very much like the professor in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Sam Jaffe). He actually wrote plays and one was even broadcast on BBC TV.
Martin the art master was interned by the Japanese in World War II and he had very dark blue 11 o’clock shadows. Another master I remember was Killer Clinch, as well as the woodwork master (I think was Butcher) who used to throw wooden mallets at you. He had an assistant called Lewis.
I think Freeman was the one with the glass eye. There was Zemla the French teacher who actually appeared one night on the TV programme Tonight, speaking on behalf of the teachers’ Union. My elder brother said God, he would not like to have been taught by him. I also remember Mr. Holtz, who had a bald head and a little Hitler moustache.
I remember Left Earhole. He was a Greek Cypriot (our first in the School) with heavy eyebrows. If I remember correctly he was given that name by Madley. His real name was Eleftheriou.
We used to play heading tennis at the back of the Nissen Huts backing on to Georges Road.
The School always smelt of stale cooking smells. The LCC school dinners (I think they cost a shilling) specialized in grey mashed potatoes with black specks in it. The custard also had black specks in it and the meat-pie had a doggie smell.
We used to go to the school playing fields in Colney Hatch Lane (Friern Barnet) some times, on the 43 bus, and you could see the mental asylum from the playing fields.
Having the name Williams must be a prerequisite to qualify as a real School Bully. The resident school bully at Westbourne Road Junior Boys School (four streets away from Barnsbury) was a certain Mickey Williams. There was Lenny Chew at Barnsbury as well.
I used to live in Lesly Street, which has now been demolished, and was about four streets away. I used to be in the cubs (4th North London) up the Cally.
I suppose our most famous (sic) ex-pupil was Peter Shreeves, who went on to manage the Spurs.
I remember all those teachers mentioned. Harry Hinchcliffe was from Yorkshire and looked very much like the professor in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Sam Jaffe). He actually wrote plays and one was even broadcast on BBC TV.
Martin the art master was interned by the Japanese in World War II and he had very dark blue 11 o’clock shadows. Another master I remember was Killer Clinch, as well as the woodwork master (I think was Butcher) who used to throw wooden mallets at you. He had an assistant called Lewis.
I think Freeman was the one with the glass eye. There was Zemla the French teacher who actually appeared one night on the TV programme Tonight, speaking on behalf of the teachers’ Union. My elder brother said God, he would not like to have been taught by him. I also remember Mr. Holtz, who had a bald head and a little Hitler moustache.
I remember Left Earhole. He was a Greek Cypriot (our first in the School) with heavy eyebrows. If I remember correctly he was given that name by Madley. His real name was Eleftheriou.
We used to play heading tennis at the back of the Nissen Huts backing on to Georges Road.
The School always smelt of stale cooking smells. The LCC school dinners (I think they cost a shilling) specialized in grey mashed potatoes with black specks in it. The custard also had black specks in it and the meat-pie had a doggie smell.
We used to go to the school playing fields in Colney Hatch Lane (Friern Barnet) some times, on the 43 bus, and you could see the mental asylum from the playing fields.
Having the name Williams must be a prerequisite to qualify as a real School Bully. The resident school bully at Westbourne Road Junior Boys School (four streets away from Barnsbury) was a certain Mickey Williams. There was Lenny Chew at Barnsbury as well.
I used to live in Lesly Street, which has now been demolished, and was about four streets away. I used to be in the cubs (4th North London) up the Cally.
I suppose our most famous (sic) ex-pupil was Peter Shreeves, who went on to manage the Spurs.
