TheALMONDBURIAN

March2012

THE MAGAZINE OF THE OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY

IN THIS ISSUE3 A word from your Editor4 OAS Calendar5 OAS Membership5 King James’s to be an academy?8 What’s in a name?10 An enthusiastic ‘school wife’11 Annual General Meeting 201213 Accounts and Balance Sheet 201213 Executive Officers 201217 Dropped in at the deep end18 New books20 Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day22 Booking a place in British history25 Fred Hudson centenary plans26 Back at the School27 Muffins,Whisky andTeak31 Updates32 Farnley Lines35 Terry’sTeaser36 Cricket37 Badminton38 Tennis39 Soccer40 Golf41 I used to twang, but now I shale44 Obituaries

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The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society

The ALMONDBURIAN

FORmany OldAlmondburians, the big news in this issue is probably the reportson page 5 that the School is looking into the possibility of seeking academy statusand that the Governors have initiated a consultation process to solicit views.

Academies – schools that are directly funded by the Department for Education and areindependent of local government control – were introduced by the Labour Governmentin 2000 and are now supported by all three main political parties. According to theDepartment for Education, there are some 1,500 academies in England at the presenttime.But academies are not without their critics, the view expressed by some being that they

are a move towards the privatisation of education ‘by the back door’. Let us have yourviews at postbag@oas.org.uk or drop us a line (editorial address: back cover).

Editor: Roger Dowling March 2012

ROGER DOWLING

A word from your Editor

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OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDARDATES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEMEETINGS, 2012The Executive Committee of the Societymeets upstairs at the ‘Woolpack’ inAlmondbury, at 7.30 pm.Meetings are usuallyheld on the first Monday of the monthalthough this year, because of the way that theBank Holidays fall, there are three monthswhere the meeting will be on the second orthird Monday of the month.There is nomeeting in August.Any member of the Societywho would like to attend one of thesemeetings will be made most welcome on thefollowing dates:Monday, 5th March Monday, 3rd SeptemberMonday, 16th April Monday, 1st OctoberMonday, 14th May Monday, 5th NovemberMonday, 11th June Monday, 3rd DecemberMonday, 2nd July

QUIZ EVENINGThe Old Almondburians’ Society Quiz will onceagain be held in the Conservative Club,Almondbury, this year onWednesday, 25th April, at7.30 pm.Teams of 3 or preferably 4 are required.Last year the attendance with disappointing; in viewof the effort put in the stage the evening please tryto support it and if possible register your interestin advance with a committee member. Quizmaster,as always, will be Keith Crawshaw, and a lightsupper will be provided during the interval.

CRICKETThe 2012 Season will commence on Sunday,22ndApril, with a round of fixtures for both First andSecond Elevens; wickets pitched 2.00 pm.

BADMINTONThursday evenings from 7.30 pm until 9.30pm, untilThursday, 31st May 2012. Fee: £5 perperson per evening.

GOLF: GOTHARD CUPThe 2012 Gothard Cup Golf Competition willtake place on Friday, 29th June atWoodsomeHall Golf Club.

ANNUAL DINNERThis year’s Fred Hudson Centenary Dinner will beheld on Saturday, 24th November 2012. Full details,together with an application form for tickets, willappear in the next issue of The Almondburian.Thiswill be a very special event marking the centenaryof the birth of former Second Master and Head ofGeography Fred Hudson. Special guests will includeFred’s daughter AnnWalker and other speakerswith appreciative memories of one of the School’sfinest teachers.

It is always good to see members making aspecial effort to stage a re-union of their year atthe dinner and such occasions are alwaysenjoyable, so those with a special anniversary thisyear, members of the classes of 1942, 1952, 1962,1972, 1982, 1987, 1992 or 2002 for example or,indeed, anyone else who takes a notion to do so,should consider starting to organise their class re-union earlier rather than later.

FOUNDERS’ DAYTheTraditional Founders’ Day Service will be heldthe day after the Annual Dinner, Sunday, 25thNovember, as usual. Full details will be announcedlater in the year.

We are already starting to think about this year’s Annual Dinner on 24thNovember, which will be a special occasion to mark the centenary of the birth offormer Head of Geography and Second Master Fred Hudson.We hope that manygeographers or others with fond memories of ‘Soapy’ will make a note of this date intheir diaries. Our thanks to those who have written with their memories of Fredwhich will be published in a special issue of The Almondburian later in the year. It’s nottoo late for any further contributions.For the tallest story in this issue, we can only refer you to the Soccer report on

page 39 where Martyn Hicks complains about the inaccuracy of the team’s strikersand claims that one ball landed up nearly half a mile away in Birks Lane.We wonderif Martyn is also a keen fisherman. �

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MEMBERSHIP has slightlydecreased by seven since thistime last year, due to a

number of deaths and resignations, andit currently stands at 730. This figureincludes 21 life members, 462 fully paid-up members and 166 of last summer’sleavers, to whom we offer their firstyear’s membership for free. It alsoincludes 45 members who are still payingtheir subscription at the old rate of £5.00per annum and who no longer receivethe magazine as part of theirmembership. 17 of these 45 aremembers who have failed to notify us ofa change of address, resulting in theirmagazines being returned, and we havetherefore lost contact with them.

The figure also includes 36 memberswho are in arrears with their subscriptionfor the current year.The vast majority ofmembers now pay their subscriptions by

OAS MembershipANDREW HAIGH

standing order and it would be muchappreciated if those of you who don’t yetdo so could complete a standing ordermandate. If not, please pay promptly.Subscriptions are due on 1st Septembereach year. If you receive a letter with thisnewsletter pointing out that yoursubscription is not up-to-date, please docomplete the updated standing ordermandate that accompanies it and returnit in the envelope provided withoutdelay. Alternatively, you may renewonline, using PayPal or a debit or creditcard, by visiting www.oas.org.uk andclicking on the ‘Join/Renew Online’button.

We are delighted to welcome twonew members to the Society since thelast magazine was published: RichardDonald Oughton (1966-67), nowresident in theWirral, and LukeWalker(2007-11), from Fenay Bridge. �

KING JAMES’S SCHOOLcould become an academy if)the results of present

consultations prove positive.Originally introduced by the Labour

government in 2000, academies are self-governing schools directly funded bycentral government and independent ofcontrol by local government in England.An academy may receive also additional

King James’s to be an academy?ANDREW HAIGH

support from personal or corporatesponsors, either financially or in kind.For the past year, the Governors of

King James’s have been investigating thefull implications if the School were toseek academy status. In the opinion of theGovernors, the key benefits would be:�The long-term future of King James’sSchool would be secure.�The high quality of education that King

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Key points from the Consultation DocumentShould the school become anAcademy?Academy status means that the schoolwould become a state school fundeddirectly by the Department for Educationrather than through the Local AuthorityUnder legislationAcademies have certainadditional ‘freedoms’:� The school would be its ownAdmissions authority and would be ableto set its own Pupil Admission Numberand admission criteria within the legalframework. [This would not affect theadmission of Special Educational Needs(SEN) or LookedAfter Children (LAC)]� The school would have greaterfreedom over the curriculum� There would be discretion to vary theschool day and set holiday dates� The school would employ its own staffalthough TUPE (Transfer ofUndertakings [Protection ofEmployment] Regulations) would meanthat staff would have their pay andconditions protected� The school would have control over allfunding and how it is spent.

Why change?By converting to an Academy we wouldsecure the long term future of KingJames’s School. We would gain moreautonomy and greater opportunity to dowhat is best for our school.We would be

able to have greater control over ourfunding and be able to invest in thoseareas that would enhance the quality ofeducation that we provide. In particular:�We would have the opportunity todevelop more creativity and innovationacross all areas of our curriculum�Wewould have extra funding to investin ICT and capital equipment across theschool�We would be able to provide furtherpastoral support for our most vulnerablestudents�We would provide more specialistsupport for students with special needsor disabilities�We would continue to develop ourwork with partner secondary schools tosupport and develop mutually beneficiallinks�Wewould further develop our alreadyoutstanding links with our PyramidPrimary schools�We would maintain our strong linkswith our local Further Educationproviders�We would continue to ensure that theaspirations of all our students are realised�We would continue to work closelywith the Local Authority although wewould have greater freedom andautonomy on how to run our affairs on adaily basis

James’s School currently provides wouldbe further enhanced.� Funding is likely to be increased andalso its Trustees would have completefreedom over the school budget.Further information is available on the

school website, www.kingjames.org.uk,

and there is also a wealth of informationat www.education.gov.uk/academies.The Governors have initiated a

consultation process and views orquestions may be submitted in writing,either by post to the school or by e-mailto consultation@kingjames.org.uk. �

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�We would have greater control overthe buildings and capital expenditure.

What would not change?�We would retain the name KingJames’s School� The school would remain the same interms of ethos, values and culture�We would continue to serve our localcommunities and retain our currentPriority AdmissionArea (PAA)� Although we would become our ownadmissions authority, we would continueto work with Kirklees�We would continue to admit childrenof all abilities� There would be no changes to theschool day or terms� There would be no changes to theterms and conditions of either teachingstaff or support staff� There would be protection of existingrights underTUPE and national pay andconditions ofteachers would beadhered to.

FundingAs a LocalAuthorityschool, Kirkleesretains a percentageof our budget for theservices that itprovides. As anAcademy thisfunding would bepaid directly to theschool.This increasein funding wouldenable us to closelyscrutinise theservices we needand ensure that we

make the best choices in terms ofprovision and expenditure.

GovernanceThe Governing body would gainadditional responsibilities and powers.These would include the responsibility tomanage the AcademyTrust finances andproperty, to employ staff, to comply withcharity and company law and to beresponsible for the quality of educationalprovision and the performance of theschool. An Academy Trust would becreated with the members of the Trustbeing drawn from the existing GoverningBody.

SummaryIn September 2009, Ofsted rated theschool as Good with outstanding features.They felt that the school was well on itsway to achieving an outstanding rating.AnOfsted subject inspection in March 2011

rated the school asOutstanding in allareas. SubsequentlyOfsted have featuredour work on theirwebsite. Our exam-ination results haveimproved year onyear and the schoolis oversubscribed.Converting toAcad-emy status willsecure the future ofthe school and giveus curriculum andfinancial freedomto build upon theon-going successof King James’sSchool. �

It’s on the screen: academy status could resultin increased funding for the latest computertechnology

Jenny Ainger

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KING James’s Academy? No, theSchool assures us that the its)name will not be changing again

even if it becomes an academy in the monthsor years ahead (story: page 5).That, at least,is good news for your Editor, alreadystruggling with the five different names bywhich the School has been known over thepast centuries.When it received its Royal Charter, it was

of course proudly known as the‘Fre GramarSchole of Kinge James in Allmonbury’.Then, as the excitement wore off, the

locals doubtless started to regard it as justthe local grammar school, leading to theeveryday name ‘Almondbury GrammarSchool’ by which it seems to have beenknown – at least informally – for most ofthe following 300 years.Even with the arrival of historian Taylor

Dyson in 1913, the name Almondbury

ROGER DOWLING

What’s in a name?

(From the top)Very early school crest; the undistinguishedAGS monogram; the crest used on schooljumpers today

Below)Title page of TheAlmondburian during theTaylor Dyson era

TheEditor ofTheAlmondburian shares a tricky problem of terminology

Grammar School lingered on, though herarely missed the opportunity to slip inoccasional references to the School’sillustrious past.Thus, the Foreword to his classic

Almondbury and its Ancient School opens:‘The object of this book is to placebefore readers a concise account of thedevelopment of Almondbury GrammarSchool…’ Backing it both ways, he thenadds, three paragraphs later, ‘If it servesto bring out the main facts in thedevelopment of King James’s GrammarSchool… the author will be amplyrepaid.’What was the editorial policy of The

Almondburian at that time? Taylor Dysontook a close personal interest in theschool magazine throughout his 32 yearsas headmaster. It is therefore surprisingand inconsistent that the title pagethroughout this period introducedanother variation in the name of theSchool: the inelegant ‘King James’ (sic)Grammar School’. In fairness, the use ofthe single ‘s’ was a typographicconvention of the day; today, we wouldalways use the double ‘s’*.But still the name of ‘Almondbury

Grammar School’ lived on as the nameby which the School was morecommonly known.At some stage, it evenbecame formalised with the introductionof the unexciting ‘AGS’ monogram thatwill be familiar to most OldAlmondburians of mature years.

In 1957, some years after the re-discovery of the Charter, theredoubtable Old Almondburian GeraldDobson launched a campaign toregularise the School’s name.Headmaster Harry Taylor – to his greatcredit – took the issue up with the localauthority and in 1959 a formal letter wasreceived from the Home Office statingthat ‘Her Majesty has been graciouslypleased to command that AlmondburyGrammar School shall be known as‘King James’s Grammar School,Almondbury’.But it was not to last. By 1974, the

School had become King James’s SixthForm College and two years later, afteryet another change of plan it became an11-18 comprehensive and assumed itspresent name of King James’s School.So what is a present-day Editor to do?

Clearly, there is no‘one name fits all’ so-lution that will please everyone. Myelder brother, who attended the Schoolin the 1940s is quite clear: he went toAlmondbury Grammar School. As aproduct of the 1950s, I find myself am-bivalent: I went to AlmondburyGrammar School, but I’m also proud tohave attended King James’ GrammarSchool too. And present-day studentsare, I’m quite sure, happy to be pupils ofthat successful institution known todayas King James’s School.So in terms of future editorial policy,

it seems to me that only one course ofaction is possible – to use whichevername best fits the context. It mayintroduce inconsistencies, but it will atleast have a degree of logic on its side.Which school do you think you

attended? Do let us know. �

*Unless you are being treated at St Thomas’Hospital in London, or are a supporter ofNewcastle United FC at St James’Park.Or happento live inAmerica or Canada,who lag years behindBritain on issues of typographic style.

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An enthusiastic ‘school wife’Graham Cliffe recalls the keen support Joan Bareham give to a widerange of School activities including cricket pavilion fund-raising

AS we reported in the last issueof The Almondburian, Joan)Bareham died on 17th July

2011.Joan was the widow of Francis

Bareham who will be remembered bymany Old Almondburians as the Headof the history department.Francis taught at King James’s

School for more than 30 years, retiringin 1979. He died in 2008.

Joan and Francis were married formore than 59 years and Joan herselfbecame an enthusiastic supporter of

AN APPRECIATION

many different facets of school life, in-cluding the annual play.

In the 1950s and 1960s she enjoyedand helped to supervise a number ofschool trips to France, and in the mid-1950s she was one of a number ofenergetic ‘school wives’ who organisedevents to raise money towards thebuilding of the school cricket pavilion.

Joan maintained an interest in theprogress of the school for many yearsafter Francis’s retirement. She leavestwo children, Paul andAngela, and fourgrandchildren. �

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The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at the‘Woolpack’,Almondbury,on Monday,9th January2012, at 7.30 pm.Attendance

JackTaylor (chair) Keith Crawshaw Walter Raleigh[in absence of Nicky Briggs] Paul Balderstone RichardTaylorAndrew Haigh Angela Melling John BroadbentNicky Murphy

Apologies for AbsenceApologies were received from Dave Bush (in Porthcawl),Martyn Hicks (inAustralia), Bryan

Hopkinson (in Singapore), Nicky Briggs and Roger Dowling.A Minute’s Silence

A minute’s silence was held for members lost during the previous year, including FrederickSheard, Brian Butterworth and Joan Bareham.The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Monday, 10th January, 2011, wereread and approved, and there were no matters arising.Chairman’s Report

There was no report.Treasurer’s Report

Keith Crawshaw presented the accounts for the financial year ended 31st August, 2011,noting that the cost of distributing the magazine has fallen again. He observed that this is oftenaffected by the weight of the magazine, which can effectively double the postage costs.Therehad also been a decrease in the Secretary’s expenses, and the result was an excess of income overexpenditure of £996.06. Everything, he reported, is ticking along OK. He mentioned that, atsome point, we need to make a decision on whether to have any more Society ties made, and wealso need to look at the remaining 400thAnniversary stock and how to move the balance of that.Paul Balderstone suggested asking Gerald Hinchliffe to sign some copies of his book at theAnnualDinner in 2013,which will be the fiftieth anniversary of its publication. John Broadbent observedthat he would like to see printing, stationery and postage separated out into three figures inorder to keep‘tabs’ on it.The Chairman thanked Keith.Acceptance of the accounts was proposedbyAngela Melling and seconded byWalter Raleigh, before being carried unanimously.Membership Secretary’s Report

Andrew Haigh reported that membership currently stands at 730, compared with 737 atthis time last year, a reduction of seven, due to a number of deaths and resignations. 11 newmembers were recruited during the course of last year, which means that it can still be regardedas quite a successful year, and three new members have already joined during the current year,including one of last summer’s leavers.

9th Januar y 2012

Annual General Meeting

Subscription rate for the FinancialYear commencing 1st September 2012Keith Crawshaw proposed that the subscription rate remains at £10 per annum and that we

should continue with free membership for the first year for those leaving the school. AndrewHaigh seconded the proposal and it was carried unanimously.Election of President

RichardTaylor proposed that Robert Lamb should be invited to continue as President of theSociety and this was seconded by Paul Balderstone before being carried unanimously.There wereno President’s Remarks, due to his absence from the meeting.Election of Executive Officers for 2012

Although absent, Nicky Briggs had previously indicated his willingness to stand for a secondyear as Chairman and he was duly re-elected.

Vicky Taylor was also absent, but had previously indicated that she would be unable tocontinue asVice-Chairman and no other nominations had been received.This post was thereforeleft vacant.

The other Officers were then elected as follows:Honorary Secretary Andrew Haigh Ordinary John BroadbentHonoraryTreasurer Keith Crawshaw Committee Martyn HicksMedia Editor Roger Dowling Members Emily EarnshawChaplain Rev Dave Herbert Gerald SteadRepresentatives of the School Angela Melling VickyTaylor

Walter RaleighPaul Balderstone suggested that we need to record our thanks to the Secretary and theTreasurer.Any Other Business:Cricket SectionRichardTaylor mentioned that nets would start on 30th January and that the dinner will take placeon 25th February at Lockwood Park.Annual DinnerThe Secretary said that he had been asked by Dave Bush to raise the idea of taking the AnnualDinner back to the school in order to boost numbers.Walter Raleigh felt that, in principle, it isa nice idea.Angela Melling felt that senior pupils acting as waiters and waitresses enabled themto see everyone having a good time and this would be a way to get new leavers more interestedin joining the Society. It was agreed to explore the idea.Date of next Executive Committee meetingThe Secretary asked that the date be fixed for the next Executive Committee Meeting. Hesuggested Monday, 6th February, and this was agreed.

The meeting closed at 8.58 p.m. and was followed by the customary pie and peas supper.

Signed:

AM Haigh (Secretary)J A Taylor (Acting Chairman)

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Opposite:Annual accounts presented byN Briggs (Chairman);

K Crawshaw (Treasurer);J A Swift (Independent Examiner)

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INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2011

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST AUGUST 20112010

Accumulated FundBalance as at1st September 2010 7619.19Add Excess of

7619 Income over Expenditure 996.06 8615.25Life Membership AccountBalance as at1st September 2010 369.67Add Interest 3.16

372.83Less Transfer to Income

370 & Expenditure Account 21.75 351.08KJS Development FundBalance as at1st September 2010 1780.07Add Interest 15.21

1780 Sales of School Histories 20.00 1815.28— Cricket Pavilion Appeal Fund 1965.00

Net Annual Dinner Receipts496 in Advance —217 Net Reunion Receipts in Advance —40 Subscriptions in Advance 120.00

643 Sundry Creditors 706.9111165 13573.52

201018 Trophies 18.0015 Stock of Ties 15.32

175 Stock of Prints 175.00Life Membership Account

370 Nat West Bonus Saver Account 351.08

KJS Development Fund1780 Nat West Bonus Saver Account 1815.28

Cash and Bank BalancesAlliance & Leicester Bank:

8138 Community Inst Reserve —National Westminster Bank:

— Bonus Saver Account 8143.57467 Current Account 2985.28172 Paypal Account 48.0830 Cash in Hand 21.91 11198.84

11165 13573.52

20105319 Subscriptions 5597.00

29 Transfer from Life Membership Account 21.755 Interest Received 5.534 Surplus on Sales of Ties —

85 Surplus on Sales of DVDs —20 Surplus on Sales of Prints —1 Surplus on AGM Supper 4.897 Surplus on Annual Dinner 132.61

5470 5761.78

2010Printing, Stationery & Postages:

4198 Magazines 3991.63446 Others 256.87 4248.5025 Jessop Prize 25.0060 Young Old Almondburians’ Prizes 60.0050 Sundry Expenses 165.8231 Paypal Charges 24.1320 Loss on Quiz Evening 14.16— Loss on Reunion Evening 228.11

KJS Contributions:80 Founders’ Day Expenses —45 Design Prizes — —

515 Excess of Income over Expenditure 996.06

5470 5761.78

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS 2012

OFFICE NAME ADDRESS CONTACT DETAILS

President Robert Lamb King James’s School WorkTelephone: (01484) 223930Facsimile: (01484) 223934e-mail:clerk.kingjames@kirklees-schools.org.uk

Chairman Nicky Briggs 17 Fair Street HomeTelephone: (01484) 305734Huddersfield MobileTelephone: (07595) 175835Yorkshire e-mail: nickybriggs@hotmail.comHD1 3QB

Vice-Chairman Vacant

Honorary Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Secretary Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733

Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: andrew@rdhaigh.com

Honorary Keith Crawshaw 5 Benomley Drive HomeTelephone:(01484) 533658Treasurer Almondbury WorkTelephone: (01924) 409311

Huddersfield e-mail: keithcrawshaw@tog24.comYorkshireHD5 8LX

Media Editor Roger Dowling Orchard House HomeTelephone: (01925) 756390Oughtrington Lane e-mail: roger.dowling@oas.org.ukLymmCheshireWA13 0RD

Ordinary John Broadbent Oaklea HomeTelephone:(01484) 650171Committee 97 Lowestwood Lane e-mail:oaklea97@yahoo.comMembers Wellhouse

GolcarHuddersfieldYorkshireHD7 4EW

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Emily Earnshaw 17 Fair Street e-mail: nickybriggs@hotmail.comHuddersfieldYorkshireHD1 3QB

Martyn Hicks 12 Gernhill Avenue HomeTelephone: (01484) 539409Fixby WorkTelephone: (01422) 371751Huddersfield e-mail: martyn@screenprint.demon.co.ukYorkshireHD2 2HR

Gerald Stead 60 Holly Bank Road HomeTelephone: (01484) 654406LindleyHuddersfieldYorkshireHD3 3LT

Walter Raleigh

Chaplain Rev David Herbert The Manse HomeTelephone: (01668) 2195845 Nursery Lane e-mail: daveherbert@btinternet.comBelfordNorthumberlandNE70 7NW

School Angela Melling King James’s School WorkTelephone: (01484) 223930Representatives Facsimile: (01484) 223934

e-mail: clerk.kingjames@kirklees-schools.org.uk

Head Boy DavidTunstall

Head Girl Emma Goldsbrough

Badminton Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Section Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733Representative Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032

Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: andrew@rdhaigh.com

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Cricket Section Jack ATaylor 13Trenance Gardens e-mail: jtaylor73@btinternet.comRepresentative Greetland

HalifaxYorkshireHX4 8NN

Golf Section SimonA Russell Phoenix Cottage HomeTelephone: (01484) 685365Representative Upper Hagg Road e-mail: simon@pacific-lifestyle .co.uk

ThongsbridgeHolmfirthYorkshireHD9 3TF

Tennis Section Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Representative Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733

Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: andrew@rdhaigh.com

Archivist Nich Briggs 122 Kaye Lane e-mail: nichbriggs@hotmail.comAlmondburyHuddersfieldYorkshireHD5 8XU

Independent VacantExaminer

Vice-Presidents E Brian Carter M F Dyson Robert BrookK G Shaw Peter L Burns Frederick J SheardD G Armitage J A Ward Richard J GreenGeoffrey Douglas Keith Crawshaw Paul A G BalderstoneJ RichardTaylor John M Drewery JackA TaylorJ AmandaTaylor Malcolm JTaylor James N TaylorDavid Gary Croft David A Bush Graham CliffeRobertWilliams Ian Shaw Bryan HopkinsonEmily Comer Nicky Murphy

Dropped in at the deep endBOB GOLDSMITH CMG

I HAVE kept in touch with thediminishing band of survivors,)classmates of Form 5 (Latin) in

academic year 1939-40.There are six ofus, out of 22 in the Form, though we havenever been able to locate four of them.

Of the remaining 18, 12 have passedon.The eldest ‘survivor’ is Kingsley Fox,who was 87 years of age last December.

He has had a particularly interestingcareer. He left what was then known asAlmondbury Grammar School in 1940,whereupon his father obliged him to fol-low him into coal mining. He went on toacquire a degree of BSc (Min) at LeedsUniversity and aColliery Man-ager’s Certificate,and became aChartered Engi-neer and Fellow ofthe Institution ofMining Engineers.

He married in1947 and went offto Peru to workfor a US-ownedmining organisa-tion. By 1951 hehad progressed tobecome Mine Su-perintendent, andin due course he

became Superintendent of the Coal Min-ing Division.

During this period, he also foundtime to become the mayor (‘Alcalde’) ofthe District of Goyllarisquisga, almostcertainly the only foreigner to hold sucha post in the country.Amongst his otherduties as mayor, he conducted civil mar-riage ceremonies for over 100 happycouples.

Kingsley left Peru in 1962 and, aftera short spell in England, went to BritishHonduras (now Belize) to become gen-eral manager of the colony’s largestcompany,with extensive interests in land,

timber, shippingand agencies.

The finalchapter was backin SouthAmerica,this time with theBank of Londonand South Amer-ica (later LloydsBank Interna-tional), where hewas president ofits subsidiaryAnglo Ecuatori-ana. He was alsopresident of In-ternational BalsaCompany, which

Kingsley Fox OBE attendedAlmondburyGrammar School from1935 to 1940.His contemporary Bob Goldsmith tells the story of anAlmondburian whowent on to have career of great distinction in mining in LatinAmerica.

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produced balsa wood for industry andmodellers.He was appointed Hon BritishConsul in Guayaquil (Ecuador) in 1970and received an OBE in 1974.

Kingsley returned to England in 1981and enjoys what he describes as‘an agree-able existence’ in Surbiton with a widecircle of friends acquired through mem-bership of golf, tennis, bridge and Probusclubs. He and his wife Molly have threechildren, eight grandchildren and fourgreat-grandchildren to date. Four of hisgrandchildren were quadruplet grand-daughters, whom Kingsley arranged tobe christened in the chapel of the Orderof the British Empire in St Paul’s Cathe-

dral – an event that is surely likely to re-main unique in the records of theCathedral.

I am sure that even the long historyof King James’s can give us no other ex-ample of an Old Almondburian who hasdevoted virtually all his career to seniorposts in Latin America; who served as amayor during this time; and who becamean Hon British Consul and received anOBE for his pains.

I remember an exchange of letters inthe 1980s when Kingsley was inGuayaquil and I was in Antananarivo,Madagascar. Even Fred Hudson wouldhave made a note of that. �

SCHOOLS OUT!Freedom in Education and How toAchieve Itby R S ByramAshgrove House Publishing £6.00; pp110ISBN 978 1 908268 35 8(available online from Amazon and Waterstones)

In this compact book Reggie Byram (1946-1954)examines the work of libertarian educators from JohnLocke and Rousseau, through Pestalozzi and Montessori,to John Dewey,A S Neill and Ivan Illich.The author is ledto arguments that learners, of whatever age, must beallowed to participate in making decisions about their lives and learning.

The conclusion is that schools fail learners, and always have failed them, andsomething radical must be done to ensure that this does not continue. In a fast-changing technological age, we finally have the chance to tear down school walls andplace learning where it belongs – with the learner.

Reggie Byram has spent most of his life in teaching – in secondary schools, teachertraining and at university level.After all that experience, and in spite of maintainingdiscipline and achieving excellent examination results, he now concludes thateducation systems fail learners. His solutions are radical, but necessary.

New booksRECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM OAS MEMBERS

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MEDICALISATIONThe Care Industry and How it Fails UsAllby R S ByramAshgrove House Publishing £6.00; pp110ISBN 978 1 908268 37 2(available online from Amazon and Waterstones)

In this book Reggie Byram examines the origins of theWelfare State and the promise of care from the cradle tothe grave.He presents the arguments in favour of socialisedhealth care.

The ways in which theWelfare State has evolved oversixty years, and some high-profile cases – Baby P, neglect of the elderly and conditionsin some state hospitals – are also considered.

The severe critiques of Ivan Illich are presented and the conclusion the authorreaches is that medicalisation is something to be resisted. One conclusion is thathospitals are not fit places for sick people. Another is that medicalisation has madepatients and worriers of us all and even denies us dignity in death.

Although Reggie Byram spent most of his life in teaching, he is also a qualifiednurse and has a decade of experience working in nationalised and in private hospitals.He believes that the solutions spelled out in this forthright book are radical, butnecessary.

This book is a companion to Schools Out! Freedom in Education and How toAchieve It.

LYRICS FROM THE PERIODIC TABLEby David MorphetNotion Books £5.00 + postage/packing; pp48ISBN 978 00954 1573 8 9(available online from www.oas.org.uk)

This new collection of verse by David Morphet (1951-1958) explores the imaginative potential of one of the greatscientific icons, the Periodic Table; this ranks the 118known chemical elements, from hydrogen (which accountsfor the largest part of the universe) to ununoctium (ofwhich only three or four atoms have so far beendiscovered). A poem on zirconium alludes to the recent disaster at the Fukushimapower station.

� A selection of poems from all David Morphet’s previous collections can be found atwww.notionbooks.co.uk.

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Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day

ANDREW HAIGH

N EARLY 80 Old Almond-burians attended the annualdinner at the Galpharm

Stadium on 26th November 2011.The event attracted members ranging

from those who attended the school 60years ago to those who left last summer.Almondburians travelled from as farafield as Germany to attend the event.The principal speaker was the Law So-

ciety’s ‘Solicitor of the Year’ NigelPriestley, who attended the School be-tween 1963 and 1970.There were alsospeeches by the current Head Boy,DavidTunstall, and the Chairman of theSociety, Nick Briggs.The following day,members of the So-

ciety took part in the traditionalprocession up St Helen’s Gate to attendthe annual Founders’ Day service at AllHallows’ Church, Almondbury. Theservice, which was led by Rev. StuartRoebuck, a pupil at King James’s Gram-mar School himself from 1950 to 1955,also celebrated the 400th anniversary ofthe King James Bible. As part of theSchool’s work around community cohe-sion, sixty year seven pupils from KingJames’s School and sixty year sevenpupils from Moor EndTechnology Col-lege had participated in a week-longproject centered around the King JamesBible, during which they had producedartwork that was on display in thechurch. �

(Top)Chairman of the Old Almondburians’ Society Nick Briggs(Bottom)Patrick O’Brien in conversation with Robert Davidson(1968-76)

(Clockwise, from top left)Head Boy DavidTunstall;JackTaylor shares a thoughtwith guest speaker NigelPriestley; Rev John SeniorOld Almondburian andHead Girl EmmaGoldsbrough; Founders’ Dayprocession up St Helen’sGate; top table guestsDavidTunstall, NigelPriestley, Nick Briggs(Chairman,OAS), RobertLamb (HeadTeacher) andEmma Goldsbrough

Photos: Andrew Haigh

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THE Oxford Dictionary ofNational Biography (ODNB)was launched in 60 volumes and

online in September, 2004. It is asuccessor to the Dictionary of NationalBiography (DNB) which had originatedin the Victorian era as the brainchild ofGeorge Smith, publisher of the Brontësand Trollope. The DNB gained thereputation of a national institution in thetwentieth century and is a standard workof reference on notable figures fromBritish history.And, before you ask, seven notable

OldAlmondburians feature – so far – inthis highly respected compendium. Fourare names that will be familiar to manyreaders: the rugby administrator andformer headmaster of AlmondburyGrammar School, Francis Marshall(1845-1906); the physician, Sir HaroldHimsworth (1905-1993) who was apupil from 1916; the beer and whisky

writer,Michael Jackson (1942-2007)who attended the School from 1953 to1958; and the industrialist Sir DavidBrown (1904-1993) who spent sometime at the School from 1913 beforetransferring to Rossall School inLancashire.Three other prominent former pupils

featured in the ODNB are the artist,Denis Arthur Bowen (1921-2006);the geologist, Ian GrahamGass (1926-1992); and the ecclesiastical historian,James Pounder Whitney (1857-1939).

My association with the ODNBproject began nearly two decades agowhen I received an entirely unexpectedinvitation to co-ordinate Yorkshirenominations of potential twentieth-century subjects who might be includedin the new dictionary, following aconsultation with local and regionalhistorical societies in which I had

The former head of history at King James’s is a regular contributor to theOxford Dictionary of National Biography. He finds it a fascinating experience.

Booking a place in British historyDR JOHN A HARGREAVES

JOHN HARGREAVES taught at King James’s School from 1971 to1990 with responsibility for Religious Education, History and theTaylor Dyson Local History Collection. He obtained an MA andPhD in History at the University of Huddersfield where he is nowVisiting Research Fellow in History. Since retiring from full-timeteaching in 2006 he has taught part-time at the University ofHuddersfield, LeedsTrinity University College and as aWEA tutorthroughoutWest Yorkshire. John is Chairman of Halifax CivicTrust,has written a full-length history of Halifax, and is currentlyworking on a history of the Halifax Choral Society and a newhistory of Huddersfield. He also jointly edited the 400thanniversary Illustrated History of King James’s School.

of well over 50,000 biographies, I havecontributed a mere 37 articles thoughthey have covered figures from all walksof life. They have included saintlyevangelical preachers: John Nelson(1707-1774); Mary Fletcher (1739-1815); Dorothy Hincksman Farrar(1899-1943); and Selwyn Hughes(1928-2006). Popular entertainers oftheir day are also represented, such asWilfred Pickles (1904-1978) andHarry Corbett (1918-1990).

More notorious characters includeDavid Hartley (1731-1770), executed

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participated as Secretary of the HalifaxAntiquarian Society.

I contacted professional historiansand local societies across the county andultimately submitted a list of over 100suggestions, many of which have nowappeared in the ODNB. Indeed I wasinvited to research and write some of thebiographies myself, one of which – onPercy Shaw the Halifax inventor of thecatseye reflecting road stud – wasselected for inclusion in the previewvolume of sample biographies publishedby Oxford University Press before thelaunch of the new dictionary. Shaw wastypical of the subjects the editorial teamwere keen to include in the new volumeas an example of a twentieth-century,non-metropolitan figure, with a strongregional identity, involved inmanufacturing, who had never beenconsidered for inclusion in any of theprevious updates to the predecessorDNB.

As one of over 10,000 contributors

The catseye man: Percy Shaw.His one luxuryin life was his Rolls-Royce Phantom.He died,an unmarried eccentric, in 1976.

(Top) Give ’im the money, Barney: Yorkshire-bornWilfred Pickles was a popular BBC radiocelebrity and actor up to his death in 1978.(Bottom) His nephew, James Pickles, was acontroversial judge whose comments andjudgements often made headline news.

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atYork for his role in co-ordinating a gangcounterfeiting currency in Cragg Valenear Mytholmroyd; and Joseph Kagan(1915-1995),who faced the ignominy ofimprisonment at the end of an otherwisesuccessful business career developing theGannex textile empire based in Elland.

Other prominent figures include therailway bishop Eric Treacy (1907-1978); the Methodist minister,broadcaster and naturalist, GeorgeBramwell Evens (1884-1943); and theBrighouse singer Susan Sunderlandfamous for her rendering of sopranosolos from The Messiah with both theHalifax and Huddersfield ChoralSocieties and her foundation of the MrsSunderland Music Festival inHuddersfield, which has continued intothe twenty-first century.An article about the Yorkshire

amateur athlete and charity fundraiserJane Tomlinson also featured in last

year’s update of the ODNB. Mycontribution on Jane, whose strugglewith cancer and amazing fund raisingefforts inspired so many, was based onpersonal acquaintance. I first en-countered her through her mother whowas one of my departmental colleaguesafter I moved from King James’s inSeptember 1990 to become Head ofHistory at Howden Clough High Schoolat Batley. Indeed, I was introduced toJane at her father’s funeral, which Iattended with other colleagues, after hehad lost his brave struggle with cancer.Jane was already aware at this point of

anxieties about her own health and wecontinued to support her motherthrough her daughter’s terminal illness.Following Jane’s death I was invited towrite an article on Jane for the ODNBsince I was already an establishedcontributor. I arranged to meet Jane’smother to talk about Jane’s remarkable

life and received anappreciative letter oncompletion of the article inwhich she commented thatshe had learned much thatshe had not previously knownabout her own daughter!It has proved a fascinating

enterprise and has extendedmy own historical interestsinto so many new areas. It has

Inspirational: the life andachievements of the late JaneTomlinson, who raised nearly £2million through gruellingchallenges including severallong-distance bike rides,marathons, triathlons and a fullIronman triathlon

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included interviewing Harry Corbett’sson Matthew and his brother Leslie (whoinsisted on demonstrating to me over thephone the reed he had used to producethe distinctive sound of the glove puppetSweep).The Bradford playwrightAndreaDunbar’s younger sister described to meher sister’s upbringing on the notoriousButtershaw estate. Joseph Kagan’s widow,Margaret showed copies of her husband’saccounts of his experiences in aLithuanian pogrom, now deposited in theHolocaust museum inWashington.Mymost recently completed article in

December 2011 was on Champion JackDupree, the Afro-American bluespianist and boxer who settled for a whilein Halifax after meeting a Halifax girlworking as a waitress in a London club,entertaining a succession of blues artists

including Louis Armstrong, BB King andEric Clapton at the council house wherethey lived in Ovenden. Currently, I amworking on the colourful andcontroversial Yorkshire Judge JamesPickles, members of whose family stilllive in Halifax, but am still waiting for theopportunity to research the life of an OldAlmondburian.The hardback volumes of the ODNB,

which include contributions by other OldAlmondburians, notably ProfessorEdward Royle of York University, areavailable to consult in most large librariesor online with access in most placesthrough public library membership. Anysuggestions of other Old Almondburianswho might merit inclusion would I amsure be gratefully received by the editorialteam at Oxford University Press. �

The Fred Hudson Exploration BursaryThis single Bursary of up to £1,000 has now been launched,with

the aim of assisting the successful applicant to fund a journey ofexploration.Any past or present pupil of the School under the ageof 25 on 1st June 2012 is eligible to apply, and a requirement of theexpedition is that it should be to a part of the world that wouldenable the applicant to offer help to those less fortunate thanhimself or herself.Application forms are available from the School or Greenhead

College, or online atwww.oas.org.uk/bursary.php.The closing date for applications is 1st June 2012.

We seek your helpWe hope those who passed through the School, and went on to study geography orbecame involved in geographical activities, will wish to contribute in one way oranother to this year’s centenary events including the special Annual Dinner on 24thNovember 2012. Any geographers who would like to help in any way are asked tocontact John Broadbent (tel 01484 650171 or email to oaklea97@yahoo.com).

Fred Hudson centenary plans

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Back at the School

THE School has taken a major step forward in communications with parentswith the introduction of its new‘virtual learning environment’ (VLE) website(www.kingjames.org.uk).

SpecialVLE workshops have taken place to familiarise parents with its key featuresfrom the perspectives of both parents and teachers.Highlights include a‘My set work’area for students where they will find information about their homework; astudent/parent feed whichgives updated informationabout activities related tothem; a King James’s DailyBulletin for students; andaccess to the ever-increasing range ofresources available throughindividual subject websites.The portal will be

further expanded in thecoming months.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics.The Government believes that it is crucial that all young people,regardless of their future career pathway, have the STEM knowledge and skills

they need to be informed citizens in anincreasingly scientific and technological society.

To launch a King James’s School STEMClub,a ‘Mega Structures’ event was organised in thegymnasium for 90 students in year 8. Thestudents were asked to build a smallmathematical structure using a few pieces ofwood and elastic bands. These were thencombined to erect a mega structure that almostreached to the ceiling of the gym.

The exercise enabled students todemonstrate their problem-solving skills anddevelop their ability to work in teams. All staffand students reported that it was a rewardingand enjoyable experience. �

27

MY day usually starts between8.00 and 9.00 am. Breakfastis toast or an ‘English muf-

fin’ (a North American productunknown, I think, in England), with achoice of peanut butter, jam,Marmite orcheese.Once a month, I have a full fry-upincluding – as a nod to health – a squarehalf inch of fried bread, lean Canadianbacon and fatless tinned tomatoes.What-ever the food, the essential is a nice pot ofYorkshire Gold tea.I was born in Ed-

monton, Albertabut my father, a uni-versity lecturer,moved to Hudders-field in 1938 when Iwas five.Married with

four children, I nowlive in Fredericton,New Brunswick onCanada’s east coastMy wife Paula is anAmerican citizenand we had fourchildren (two boysand two girls).

I leftAlmondbury Grammar School in1949 because my family moved to Hali-fax. I still have a small collection of AGSmemorabilia – a couple of exercisebooks, a copy of The Almondburian datedChristmas 1947 (then, of course, theschool magazine) containing my firstpublished work, Bird Life on the Bass Rock,still a source of great pride.But mostly it’s stuff from Teak’s art

classes, and I particularly enjoyed the ar-ticle on EdwardAkroyd in The Al-mondburian in July2011. It confirmedmany of my ownmemories.There is alinocut of my cat’shead. Linoleum waseasily obtainable evenin those days of se-vere shortages (Iprobably got a sur-plus piece lyingaround at homewhere lino-coveredfloors were com-mon), and was easilycarved into a simple

A graduate of the universities of Oxford,Nebraska and California,Wallace Brown has enjoyed an eclectic lifestyle embracing academia,writing, film and television acting, broadcasting and a love of fineScotch whiskies.

A LIFE IN THE DAY

Muffins, Whisky and TeakDR WALLACE BROWN (1944-1949)

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design, rolled with ink and printed. I alsohave a number of drawings and water-colours including a ‘Still Life’ painted in1947 and a 1949 masterpiece ‘Monpupitre’ Perhaps most evocative of all isa slim volume, only half bound, of water-colours and a little penned text.In 1949, I was disappointed not to fol-

low myAGS friends into the sixth form,but Heath Grammar School provided anexcellent education which propelled meto Oxford where I read modern history,slightly delayed by National Service.

After I came down I spent an aimlessbut terrific year in London, then driftedto the University of Nebraska when I wasawarded a modest but liveable MA schol-arship. Far from seeking an academiccareer I just wanted to explore the USAfor a couple of years and return home.But the attractions of academia were

such that I ended up at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley where I earned aPhD inAmerican history in 1963.My en-tire career was teaching history atuniversities in America and Canada.

My PhD thesis was on theAmerican Loyalists, thosemany colonists who opposedtheAmerican Revolution andwent into exile in Canada,Great Britain, the Caribbean,Central America, SierraLeone etc. I have writtenthree books and numerousscholarly articles on the Loy-alists and other historicaltopics.I’m also proud of my ex-

tensive popular historywriting in newspapers andsuch magazines as HistoryToday. My book The GoodAmericans – The Loyalists andthe American Revolution is anattempt to combine scholar-ship with what the Frenchcall ‘haute vulgarisation’.Canada is a wonderful,

rapidly maturing countrywith a dazzling future: we

Still a source of ‘great pride’:from TheAlmondburian,Christmas 1947

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have one of the highest standards of livingin the world with vibrant immigration.Even so, if I had my choice I’d probablymove back to the UK – but that’s a pipedream because the Canadian dollar losesabout half its value there. I miss the BBC,pubs, bacon, pork pies, sausages, Jerseynew potatoes, fresh fish, the Yorkshiredales, Edinburgh, London … I could goon and on.In Canada I dislike the short summers,

long harsh winters,mosquitoes and blackflies. The newness and huge size of thecountry are disadvantages as well as ad-vantages. New Brunswick, however, hassome great advantages. It is one thirdFrench speaking and is within fairly easyreach of Quebec and Boston.The borderwith the state Maine is only an hour away.In other words, it provides interesting di-versity.I like to know what’s going on in the

world, so I listen to our excellent CBC(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, theequivalent of a scaled down BBC) and Iread the paper/print edition of The Globeand Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.”On line I scan The NewYorkTimes, and er-ratically dip into the British press – TheScotsman, The Guardian, the Sun, the Hud-dersfield Examiner , the Halifax Courier, etc.I subscribe to the paper editions of Viz,Private Eye, The NewYork Review of Booksand Whisky Magazine.For many years, I was a freelance

broadcaster on local CBS radio, review-ing current cinema films. My interest in

movies goes back tothe Scientific Film So-ciety at HuddersfieldTech, which was runby my father, Dr. A BBrown, who was Headof the Biology Depart-ment.As a graduate stu-

dent at Berkeley Iauditioned for a stagerole with one of myfavourite film direc-tors, Jean Renoir.Fortunately I did notget the part (I’m alousy stage actor) butspent a memorablegood half hour, one onone, with the greatman.Here in New

Brunswick I once haddinner with the actorJack Palance who wasscouting locations for afilm set in Belfast. I told Palance that Iwas a professor ofAmerican history whowas a fanatical American film buff. Hereplied that he was an American filmactor who was a fanatical American his-tory buff.

Early watercolours(Top): ‘Mon pupitre’ (1949)(Middle): Still life’ (1947)(Bottom): ‘My cat’s head’ (lino cut)

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I had substantial rolls in two commer-cial features. At the End of the Day:The SueRodriguez Story (1998) was a CBC‘movieof the week’ about the right-to-die advo-cate; and The Midwife’sTale (1996), for theAmerican Public Broadcasting Network,about the 18th century midwife MarthaBallard who lived on the Maine frontier.For a couple of years, I hosted a local

cable television show Portraits, coveringvarious historical themes. I have also ap-peared in a few television commercials,and for one memorable day dressed up asColonel Saunders touring local malls andKentucky Fried Chicken outlets. Part ofmy pay was a bucket of fried chicken.

In the afternoon, I’ll often spendsome time on my main hobby these days:producing my newsletter Sgt Brown’sTipsfor Better Living. This is emailed free tolovers of food and drink all over the USA,Canada and the UK.We enjoy a drink in the evening, and

twice a week we have a happy hour drinkat a local pub. I joined CAMRA in 1973and always drink a local draft real ale. I’malso partial to whisky, having been

founder of the Whisky Tasting Society(emphasis on Scotch) in Fredericton. Formany years, we’ve run the best-regardedwhisky and spirits festival in Canada. I’vevisited many Scotch distilleries and giventalks all over Canada.From time to time,we’ll perhaps have

a meal out, though good restaurants arefew in Fredericton. Luckily we have anexcellent Mexican restaurant, a goodGreek and an okay Pakistan eatery. Un-fortunately, we have no good British fishand chips shops – they are rare through-out Canada. If we stay in, we’ll usuallywatch some television, including BBCWorld News and a goodly whack ofBritish soaps and comedies – currentfavourites are Coronation Street, FatherTed and Dame Edna.I finally get to bed between midnight

and 1.00 am. There, I’ll probably playwith my new Kindle e-reader. It alreadycontainsThomas Hardy’s poems, BulldogDrummond, Wuthering Heights,Whiskey and Philosophy, and lots ofother poems and songs. All just right toguarantee a good night’s sleep. �

Wallace has recentlyproduced the 52ndedition of his freeemailed newsletter SgtBrown’sTips for BetterLiving, a ‘must’ for anylover of good food andwine. If you would liketo be added to thecirculation, dropWallacea line atmalt@nbnet.nb.ca.

Ale-Lover’s FantasyHere in New Brunswick the search for natural gas engenders fearthat its production method (‘fracking’) will pollute the water supply.Elsewhere people have found that their water became flammable –handy during power-outages, but hardly conducive to a nice cup oftea. However, compromise of drinking water is not always negative.My esteemed English Midlands correspondent sends an anecdotefrom a friend of his who booked into a Wolverhampton hotel locatedopposite a brewery. One morning he started to run a bath andstepped back into his bedroom for a few minutes. Returning to thebathroom he “opened the door, and nearly got knocked over by thesmell and the sight of the brown hot liquid filling the bath. I man-aged to shut the tap and get to the phone. When the manager andporter arrived I was quite giddy. It turned out the brewery suppliedthe hot water to part of the hotel and someone had opened thewrong valves.”

‘’

Sgt Brown’s Tipsfor Better Living

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UPDATES

Call to Action!

AS we reported in the November issue of)The oAlmondburian, two options are cur-

rently being explored: to renovate and extendthe present cricket pavilion or a more ambitiousproposal to build a brand new building with thelatest facilities on the site of the old‘wooden hut’pavilion.Funding will, of course, will be an essen-

tial part of the decision-making process.Discussions are being held with the KingJames’s School Foundation, who are verysupportive of the Call to Action! campaign,and the Foundation will be meeting duringMarch to discuss funding options.Meanwhile, our thanks to those Old Almondburians who have already-

contributed generously to the campaign.

Morning Assembly

OUR thanks to over 50 OldAlmondburians who have subscribed so

far to our planned hardback facsimile of HarryTaylor’s hand-written set of morning prayers.We are hoping to publish this, with additionalbiographical material and previouslyunpublished photographs, during the course ofthe year.Demand is certain to be high,but it’s not

too late to guarantee your copy by subscribingnow at the special price of only £10 + £1.20pp in UK (£2.00 Europe; £3.00 rest of world)To subscribe,please send your cheque,

payable to the OldAlmondburians’ Society, tothe Media Editor (address on back cover). Alternatively, you can subscribeonline at http://www.oas.org.uk/morningassembly.php.

`ÉÜÇ|ÇzDAILY PRAYERS FOR A YORKSHIRE SCHOOL

HARRY TAYLOR

tááxÅuÄç

32

Farnley LinesDAVE BUSH

SO where were you? Such a lowturn-out forThe Dinner was to acertain extent to be expected; no

special occasion such as 2008, nomarking of the retirement of longservers such as Patrick O’Brien andWalter Raleigh,The Recession. It’s easyto find reasons or excuses but it musthave been so disappointing for theorganisers, especially forAndrew Haighwho works so diligently every year. I hadsuggested that taking it back to theschool might bring more OA’s togetherbut I do not know if this is feasible.WhatI do know is that in November 2012there are plans to mark the centenary ofFred Hudson’s birth.This surely will bean incentive for more to attend.

We meet a brassy-breasted tanagerWriting the above, however, does

bring on a feeling of guilt, for I, too, wasabsent.With a touch of hubris I like toimagine that this caused shock waves toreverberate around The GalpharmStadium, or whatever HuddersfieldTown’s ground is now called. (It’s almostas bad as Swansea’s ‘Liberty Stadium’).Someone did kindly say I was missed butperhaps they were humouring me. I dobelieve it was the first time I have notbeen present.The problem was that the evening

overlapped my latest birding trip andthat fortnight away was the only slotavailable. This time we were in theAtlantic Rainforest in Brazil. Anothergreat expedition including a day in Rio.However, I shall never complain aboutthe rain inWales again. Regular readerswill perhaps recall that I am fascinatedby the avian nomenclature of any area

and always select thethree most impressive.This time third placewent to the Bay-chestedWarbling-finch, secondto the Firewood Gatherer– what a nest! – and toremind me that we didvisit Rio and CopacabanaBeach, first place to theBrassy-breastedTanager.

A somewhat unusualgame of tennisIt’s a somewhat large

(Left)The statue of Christ the Redeemer onthe summit of Corcovado mountain aboveRio.Our intrepid explorer is the one in thegreen sweater(Right) A brassy-breasted tanager

leap from Rio to Joan Bareham whosedeath was reported in the last issue. Onreading this inevitably I reflected onmoments in her company which led inturn to memories of a tennis match. Aphone call one Sunday from AlanGaukroger, Charlie Gill’s successor asHead of Physics, suggested a game oftennis down at school. I accepted but wehad rackets but no tennis balls. Wescoured the local shops - few were open- and eventually secured half a dozen.Next problemwas that the gate to the

courts was locked. For younger readersthe courts were where the bus bay nowis, for older ones down at the bottom ofThe Bunk. Additionally we had no net.Here we displayed our scoutingenterprise. I had a key to the scout storeand the school. So it was that two figurescould be seen climbing over the six footwire fence laden with a length of rope anda goodly collection of staff gowns. Bydraping these over the rope we produceda ‘net’ and an enjoyable session ensued. Iremember recounting our exploits to

Joan and mischievouslytelling her that the balloften disappeared up thesleeve of husband Francis’sgown; she looked quitealarmed. Now if our pupilshad indulged in suchbehaviour… Things didtend to happen toAlan G.Arunaway horse oncejumped on top of his mini,at scout camp he

disappeared for two days supposedlyhaving gone to the local shop, disappearedalso between the changing room and thetop football field when due to play in goalfor the staff soccer team. Some pupilsalleged he wore leather underpantswhich, they claimed, creaked as hepatrolled between the Physics Labbenches. Such imagination!

The ‘beautiful game’brings me no joyI was reluctant to mention football for

my mind then turns inevitably to mybeloved Lincoln City.Those not in lovewith ‘The Beautiful Game’ or who haveno childhood team to follow should nowskip on to the next paragraph. Thoseaficionados still with me will understand,sympathise and console. And you aremany and you appreciate how one cannotdesert one’s first love. Alan Conley, forexample, and Manchester City; BobField,Town and Arsenal; FannyWalshawand Chelsea; Dave Gregson andSunderland; Patrick O’Brien and BristolRovers; Martin Shevill and Sheffield

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Partners in crime: AlanGaukroger (top left) andDave Bush (bottom right).Also picured in 1971 areHarryTaylor and PeteHeywood, head of languages.

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Wednesday; and I hear that present Head,Robert Lamb, has more than a passinginterest in OldhamAthletic. So it came topass that I went to watch the Imps play atNewport County in the Blue SquarePremier League. Lincoln lost and it wasawful. The man next to me – we wereamong the 127 away fans – declared it theworst he had ever seen them play sincefirst watching in 1992. I echoed hissentiments adding that my father took meto Sincil Bank for my initiation in 1947.He looked duly amazed and/orimpressed.At the present rate of declinewe could pass FC Halifax as we go downstill further and they climb.

A trip to Lyons for Yves Gasnier’sdaughter’s weddingHowever, this is one of very few

‘causes for concern’ as our idyllicretirement continues.We drove down toLyons in October for the wedding of thedaughter ofYves Gasnier, former FrenchAssistant. He had been in hospital

previously, seemed to be progressing wellat the wedding but since then has had arelapse and had to return to hospital asecond time.We’re glad to learn that he’snow back home again.This makes us so grateful for our

continued good health. Grateful too thatwe are not teaching today for I don’tthink I would survive. DaughterCatherine keeps me au fait withdevelopments in the stressful world ofteaching.The thought that teachers willnow have to continue working until theyare 67 appals me. I used to say that anyteacher not exhausted by the time theyhad reached 55 either was exceptionallyfortunate or had not been giving their all.No names obviously but I could list KJteachers whom I regarded so highly andyet so sadly declined in their last years inthe classroom.I can already hear other professions

being mentioned, long holidays and thelike; but being‘on show’ five hours a day,five days a week every year of yourworking life, especially facing demands Inever faced in the 1960s, must beabsolutely exhausting.So I shall still think of you down St.

Helen’s Gate and the OAS Exec.meetingupstairs inTheWoolpack but I confess tobeing happy here in SouthWales althoughI do seem to leave it fairly frequently.AsJim Toomey so neatly put it in hisChristmas card, ‘We must meet up in2012 if you are not globally engaged.’Well Jim, not at Easter for I shall be on‘TheTrip of a Lifetime’, one with a verystrongAlmondburian connection. I leaveyou to ponder. �

Yves Gasnier, French Assistant in 1968-1969, pictured at his daughter’s recentwedding in Lyons

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28 29 30 31 32

33 34 35

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ACROSS1. Replaced, Sappho Chillio is pensive (13)9. Make lighter from a gun loader (6)10. Ascending, attack mechanical motion (8)11. Grey sat round wheels (7)15. Stadium a long time back (5)16. A long time in another age (3)17. Come down with a hitch (5)

18. The boy in ‘The Wonderful Adventure’ (3)20. Rod’s legal profession? (3)22. Fugitive not married into the family? (6)23. Marsupial total after back pointwork (6)25. X Dix (3)27. On the windless side, round fish (3)28. Is the girl a problem? (5)

30. In debt? Means nothing to us (3)32. Material found in a Merlin engine (5)33. Man sold dodgy nuts (7)36. Slurred and erred (8)37. Threatened alternative to ‘Le Rose’ medley (2,4)38. Bit part – common or remarkable? (13)

DOWN2. Though shattered, Nell and Beth were

most determined (4-4)3. Strangely uneven adverb (5)4. Raoul caught, out of sight (6)5. More slows one down! (5)6. Wader seen about at cove (6)7. Up to joint six a dislocation is next (13)8. H M W Austin teed off for the London

team (4,3,6)11. Slap-up meal for a legendary sea nymph? (7)12. Indian gauntlet (3)13. Study the timetable and find the bill (3)14. Flourishes parchments (7)19. After one, you and I wonder (3)21. Primate from Cape Province (3)24. He, she, and it, for example – how

remarkable! (8)26. Backward Scotsman or French name? (3)27. In the end, poetically not odd (3)29. Turn loudly in 6 and subjoin (6)31. Drew on devastating amazement (6)34. Lady, I turned round and behold – a lady! (5)35. Garment worn in humid and hot India (5)

TERRY’S TEASER NO 5Compiled by Terry Buckley (1948 - 1953)

Entries to the Editor by 13th April 2012 Prize: 12 months free OAS membership

� The winner of Terry’s Teaser No 4 (November 2011) was Nick BeaumontAcross 7.Annual rainfall 9. Swells 11. Sack 12. Lemon tea 14. Ballad15. Squawk 16. Pea 18. Streets 19. Placard20. Ice 22. People 25. Bigamy 26. Licenses 27. Emma 28. Decide 30.Yours sincerelyDown 1. Bull 2. Closed 3. Manhole 4. Snouts 5. Nassau 6. Clockwork Model 8. Newcastle Emlyn 10. Llanelli 13.Equalise 16. Psi 17.Ape 21. Contain 23. Plaque 24. Ecosse 25. Bedeck 29. Corn

Articles and photographsThe Editor is always delighted to receive articles forTheAlmondburian. Photographsare also welcome; if sent as email attachments the preferred format is jpeg (.jpg) with aminimum resolution of 300 dpi.Alternatively, send your photographs by post and we willscan and return them.When submitting photographs, always provide a suitable caption.

‘IN the bleak mid-winter’ thoughts inevitably turn to the on-field deeds oflast summer, particularly atArkenley. Pure cricketing nostalgia over the pastseveral years was evoked by the guest speaker, former Club opening batsman

Nigel Priestley, at the recent Old Almondburians’ Dinner. In addition to his prowessas a batsman, having participated in a memorable double century opening stand withPhilWhitely atArkenley, Nigel was also a more than useful occasional off-spin bowlerand fearless ‘close to the bat’ fielder – in the days before helmets and other protectivegear was worn. In his speech he reminded us of his love for the game, the manyfriendships made and the memories which resurfaced whenever he talked about hiscricketing ‘home,’ at Arkenley.

Club thoughts also, once having digested last season’s final LeagueTable positions,the statistics of batting, bowling, catching and fielding, then turn to discussions aroundthe proposed plans for the reinvigorated cricket pavilion or new pavilion atArkenley.It was most reassuring, on speaking to a number of OldAlmondburians at the Dinner,

to hear them speaking earnestlyin favour of the suggested newdevelopments alluded to in theChairman’s speech at the Dinner.

The Club’s Annual GeneralMeeting, held at the ‘Woolpack’onWednesday, 11th January,waswell attended.A healthy balancesheet was accepted, generously

CricketJACK TAYLOR

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A proud HarryTaylor with amodel of the present pavilion in1958

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supported by the ‘OACC 200 Club’. Allthe current serving officers were‘unanimously re-elected’; the only changebeing the election of Old AlmondburianJoseph Colagiovanni (universally known as‘Cola’) as captain, taking over from SteveSlack, who has given outstanding serviceto the Club as player, captain andadministrator, in an unbroken associationsince he made his debut whilst still at theSchool, in 1977!

At this time of the year, pre-season,rumours inevitably are rife regarding

possible defectors and their preferred replacements.With a couple of additions to lastyear’s squad and building on last season’s experience, I feel we will be well placed tomount a realistic promotion challenge, aspiring to reclaiming our place in the PremierSection of the Arrow Huddersfield Central Cricket League. Incidentally, ourdetermination to achieve promotion must surely be shared byYorkshire County CricketClub, after their most unlikely relegation at the end of last season.

The 2012 Season will commence on Sunday, 22ndApril, with a round of fixturesfor both First and Second Elevens; wickets pitched 2.00 pm. In addition to Leagueand Cup competitions, the Club will also enter a team in the League’s relatively new20/20 ‘Copymark Cup’.

The Club is anxious to contact would-be scorers for both First and Second Elevens.Also, we would like to recruit a couple of umpires to represent the teams, thus notinvoking League fines on a weekly basis. Any Almondburians wanting a competitivegame of cricket or to socialise at a net session are cordially invited to come along toArkenley. Your support at any Club fixture, home or away, will also be very warmlywelcomed. �

New captain: Joe ‘Cola’ Colagiovanni will beleading the side this season

ANOTHER‘first’ has occurred in the Badminton Section: we have had ourfirst Fathers v Sons badminton game when Neil Gledhill and Ian Daffern)took on Adam Daffern and Tom Gledhill, who made a welcome re-

appearance after a number of years absence.This game was, of course, followed the

BadmintonANDREW HAIGH

DUE to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee holiday, the 2012Almondburian tennisseason will start a week later than usual on Thursday, 14th June and willrun until Thursday, 30th August, although we are still waiting to hear

whether Her Majesty will be including us in her Diamond Jubilee tour, perhaps inbetweenWimbledon and the Olympic Games.Whether or not she turns up,we shallbe playing on the school tennis courts eachThursday evening between these dates,weather permitting, from 7.15 p.m. until dusk, and anyone is most welcome to joinus.During term-time, it is possible to play badminton in the sports hall if the weatheris inclement, although this is not possible during the summer holidays due tomaintenance work in the sports hall.The fee, to cover the cost of balls (and showersduring term-time), will be the princely sum of £3.00 per person, per evening.Almondburian tennis is purely social, so why not come along and join us? �

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same evening by our first Father & Son v. Father & Son badminton game, when Ian&Adam Daffern took on Neil &Tom Gledhill.

Numbers are currently a little sparse, since several of our regular players areaway on long holidays at the moment; one in Australia and two in the Philippines.Another will be travelling to New Zealand shortly. Perhaps we should considerstarting a Pacific Section. In the meantime, now would be a very good time to comealong to the school, since you are likely to have the opportunity to play in plenty ofgames!

We play in the school sports hall eachThursday evening during term-time, from7.30 pm. until 9.30 pm.The fee, to cover the hireof the sports hall,shuttlecocks and showers,is five pounds per personper evening. Our agesnow span school pupil toretirement and a widerange of ability, so pleasecome along and join us -and bring a father or sonor, indeed, a mother ordaughter with you, if youcan. �

Tennis

ANDREW HAIGH

Left to right: Neil Gledhill (1954-59), Ian Daffern (1977-1982),Adam Daffern (Current Year 10)

39

Soccer

MARTYN HICKS

IN the usual Almondburians’ style, despitebeing unbeaten we succeeded in drawingto quite possibly the worst team in

Calverley history. The goal was peppered forpretty much the entire match, yet theirgoalkeeper could have read a damp copy of theRacing Post, written an in depth study of theMaginot Line and had a French manicure suchwas the inaccuracy of our forwards. Balls laystrewn in Arkenley Lane gardens and one waseventually recovered from Birks Lane (fact).

We are currently level-pegging with thisyear’s Division 3 leaders Modernians whoremain unbeaten but whomwe have yet to meet.

Several previous player luminaries havevisited theArkenley Bowl Stadium this season, including Keith Skarz, Simon Russelland Geoff Riley (obviously checking out whether we were wasting money on newkit!).Visitors are always welcome to the top touchline

We are flush with talent this season and on occasions play some sweet passingfootball.We are definitely progressing and we have contacted the League to inform

them that weintend to entera Reserve XInext season.

A quest-ion: this seasonyoung Charlie

Near miss:Martyn Hicksclaims that oneball was retrievedfrom BirksCottage East, adistance of 2,000ft.The team isdeveloping somefine strikers.

DIVISION 3 Played Pts

Col Inst Res 12 26

Almondburians 9 25

Mods Res 8 25

Ealandians Res 8 24

Midd Park 12 19

Grangefield Res 13 17

Heck GSOB 12 14

Batelian Res 13 13

Leeds City OB 11 11

Overley Res 12 8

Cents Res 12 4

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Mitchell has impressed on a weekly basis withthe speed he has adapted to open age football.Initially tentative, he is already scoring for funand playing with real intelligence; it’s a realtreat to see a young Almondburianprogressing: his pace is scaring defenceswitless and his eagerness to tackle back whennot in possession is a real bonus to the team.The question is: does anyone know of aprevious Almondburian who has scored forthe First XI while still only 16 years old?Charlie did.

So onwards!We have some tough gamesahead but recent returns from injury of key players bodes well for ouradvancement onwards and upwards. �

DIVISION 3 GOLDEN BOOT AWARD Goals

Stef Eberharter (Grangefield Res) 21

Gary Lumb (Almondburians) 16

Chris Hicks (Colston Inst) 12

Phil Bryant (Batelians) 12

Sam Turpin (Leeds City OB) 11

Scott Mollet (Ealandians Res) 10

Rodney Adams (Middleton Park) 10

Charlie Mitchell (Almondburians) 9

Adam Binns (Mods) 7

Wayne Johnson (Colton) 7

Matty Campbell (Mods) 6

Paulo Williams (Ealandians Res) 6

Josh Naylor (Colton) 6

(Left) The Golden Boot Award is presented to theplayer who has scored the most goals. Gary Lumband Charlie Mitchell are our present contenders.

Golf: Gothard CupSIMON RUSSELL

THE 2011 GothardCup Golf Competi-tion will take place

on Friday, 29th June atWoodsome Hall Golf Clubwith the traditional presen-tation dinner in the clubhouse afterwards.The teetime is between 4.00 pmand 5.00 pm and anyone –including non-members ofthe club – is welcome toplay or attend the presenta-tion dinner afterwards.Please email me at simon@pacific-lifestyle.co.uk if you would like any further

details. �

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I used to twang, but now I shale

An Old Almondburian is intrigued by the dialects of Almondbury andHuddersfield as collected by former headmaster Rev Alfred Easther

COLIN ROBSON (1946-1953)

SURFING the internet recently, Icame across a free version of for-mer headmaster Rev Alfred

Easther’s Glossary of the Dialect of Almond-bury and Huddersfield first published in1883. It may not sound to be particularlyexciting, but I strongly recommend it asproviding a fascinatingwindow into the life, lan-guage and customs ofVictorian Almondbury.As well as the glossary,there are sections on theearly study of chemistryin the district, bull-bait-ing, football betweenvillages, what the school-boys got up to on ShroveTuesday, and an accountof ‘Feckless Fanny’:‘... in her wanderings shecame with her ten ortwelve sheep to Almond-bury, and lay in thechurchyard with them forone night. She wore aman’s hat and coat, andcarried a shepherd's crook.One of her sheep she calledCharlie, and when she laydown to sleep she placedher poor head on this herfavourite. Some persons,

whom I formerly knew, saw her on this oc-casion and remembered her well. I amhappy to add that the people behavedkindly to her ...’The glossary itself is peppered with

such anecdotes, though I suspect that thelocals may sometimes have enjoyed

pulling the leg of theschool-master vicar fromHampshire.Glancing through the

glossary some words re-main in common use.Wecan still get hooves (a partof the skin on the handmade hard by labour), al-though Easther’s additionthat ‘sometimes hurriersin coal-pits will havehooves on their heads,from constantly pushingthe carts’ happily nolonger applies. Similarlymaungy was and is com-mon (well expressed as‘foolishly fond, senti-mental, peevish attrifles’) though his exam-ple is from a verydifferent time:

Rev Alfred Easther, a graduate ofEmmanuel College, Cambridge,was headmaster of AlmondburyGrammar School from 1848-1876

At a certain weddingwhere the bride wassaluted in church by

42

her female friends,a strong-minded womanlooking on said in my hearing, “Sitha,sitha, they’re kussin’ one another, themaungy things!”It was cheering to find dialect words

I had once known but almost forgotten.Here are a few ‘b’s: to bray (to beat); tobroddle (to pick out, etc: a splinter in thehand is broddled out with a pin or nee-dle); bully bowl (a child’s or boy’s hoop,which is beaten along with a stick. I hadan old iron one which was greatly en-vied); butty (being in league with. If twomen engage to deceive a third, they are‘butty’).I remember going atattas with my

grannie (to go a-walking: a word used tochildren) and have been told that I lotched(to move as children do with the handand thigh) as an infant. In Victorian Al-mondbury it wasalso said to mean totake more spacethan is allowed at agame or to peg toomany holes at crib-bage (perhaps it stilldoes).

Many boysgames are men-tioned, often withpicturesque namessuch as Blackthorne,Cots and Twys, Giltygalty, and Inkumjinkum. Marbles iswell representedwith cries such asDubs (that is, dou-bles: when boysshoot at marbles in

a ring and knock out more than one,they have to put the rest back unless theycry dubs); and Full thee (said when a boywishes another to fire, and not place hismarble in some convenient place withhis hand). Playing hundreds takes him halfa page to explain.We always used furry,secky, thirdy, and lacky, all words used atmarbles,when boys call for the first, sec-ond, third, or last turn.

Male adults also had their fun. Largesse(pronounced lairgesse) was restricted toPlough Monday.A miniature plough wasdriven through the town, drawn by twomen, and one held it; another, who wasthe driver, had a bladder teed to th’end o’astick.The man who went into the housesbegging was donn’d i’ribbins; and whenmoney was given all the men cried “Lay-ergsss” three times, finishing with a

l o n g - d r a w n“Whoooop”.

References tofemales suggest theyhad a more sobertime. It was alwaysthought a youngwoman was ineligi-ble for marriageunless she were able tobake oat-bread.Manyare negative as indolly, (a term ofcontempt for awoman: “he’s got amaungy dolly for awife”, in otherwords one of littlevalue, either for useor ornament);flizgig (a flighty

A graduate of Manchester University,Colin Robson was the first Head ofEducation at the newly createdHuddersfield Polytechnic in 1971.He waslater appointed to a Readership anddirected nationally funded researchprojects in the field of special educationalneeds.He was appointed as one of the firstProfessors at the Polytechnic and becameDirector of Postgraduate Programmes atHuddersfield University in 1990 leading aMasters Course in Social Research andEvaluation.He retired from his full-timepost in 1995 and was honoured as anEmeritus Professor of the University in

2002.For 30 years,Colin lived in StHelen’s Gate onthe site of theancient chantry; heand his wife movedto Bath eight yearsago to be closer totheir children.

43

her toes, and beingtherefore surprised atthe appearance of her feet as she walked,she was heard to say “Why, what thehangman do I ail? I used to twang, butnow I shale”.

I’m not sure what all the wordsmean, but it’s pretty clear what she felt.

Easther comes over as a friendly andgenial man, with an enlightened interestin the world about him. He was muchloved, with over a thousand people at-tending his funeral. �� A full-text free version which is a facsimile of acopy in the library of the University of Toronto isavailable at http://tinyurl.com/bppdvdq orcopies of a reprint edition can be bought fromAma-zon and other sources on the internet. If this whetsyour appetite, free full-text versions of Canon Hul-bert’s Annals of the Church and Parish ofAlmondbury (1880) can also be found on theweb; one is from a small public library in AllenCounty near FortWayne in Idaho! Not as much funas Easther though.

woman, one adorned with showy, flyingcap-ribbons, or dressed at all out of theway); fluggons (slatternly woman); andfuffle, (a woman with too many flouncesor ribbons etc would be said to have toomuch fuffle about her). Some displayrampant male chauvinism: cocklety (ap-plied to what is likely to tumble or falloff. “A woman a’horseback is a cockletysort on a thing”). A rare example showsfemale wit:

A woman and her servant were trying tocatch a horse, which continually eludedtheir efforts.A man coming by at the timesaid, “Ho! mistress, yon galloway has avarry bad fault; yo cannot catch him.”Towhom she replied, “Ah! master, he’s awaur nor that; he’s nowt when he iscatched.”And finally, one of my favourites.

When a certain woman of Almondburyfor the first time wore a pair of right andleft shoes, she by mistake placed them onthe wrong feet. She habitually turned in

Above: Cricket at King James’s – Rev Easther at the wicket around 1850

Top right:This tablet on the wall in the ODH describes Easther as ‘aguardian of real culture, and a teacher of useful literature and branchesof knowledge’

Bottom right:This bronze bust of Easther still hangs on the wall of theLibrary. It was the work of JohnWilliam Cocking, who was one ofEasther’s pupils in 1866

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ObituariesGONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

JAMES MICHAEL STANCLIFFE(1935-1942)

Director of transformer company who changed career to run a Post Office‘Mickey’ Stancliffe,

as he was alwaysknown during his sevenyears at AGS, was noteven 10½ years oldwhen he first attendedthe class of 1(A). Hisform master was FredHudson.We were thefirst to wallow in thebenefits of Fred’ssupervision.Mickey died on 2nd October 2011.His funeral service was held on 13th October

at Ripon Cathedral.The first of the Desiderata read at this service began as follows:“As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth

quietly and clearly, and listen to others.”That was Mickey to aT as I remember him – straightforward and never seeking

the limelight. Some members of our class may have been a little envious of himbecause he lived immediately opposite theWaterloo cinema.The thirties were thedays when happiness for many boys depended on managing to make visits to twocinemas every week. Proximity was a help.After solid performances in both School and Higher School Certificates at AGS,

Mickey was one of seven members of FormVI in 1942 to complete his education atLeeds University. He took a degree in electrical engineering financed by an Armyscholarship. He then spent several years in the Royal Electrical and MechanicalEngineers.After being commissioned at the age of 20 he was shipped to Palestine in1945, then a very awkward location given our wish to limit the immigration of Jews

44

3345

into Palestine and the determination of the Jews to refuse any such limitation. By theage of 23 Mickey was an acting major. His elder brother, in the RAF, managed tovisit him once. He wrote to their mother as follows:- “You’ll never believe it but ourlittle Mickey is in charge of the whole kit and caboodle.”On his return to civilian life Mickey was employed as a works manager for a

company in Dewsbury that made commercial electrical transformers. He became adirector in it and was at one time Chairman of theYorkshire IndustrialTraining Board.In 1970 he made a decision that few would have contemplated. He decided toabandon his profession as engineer to take over a post office in Queensbury, nearBradford. It must have been a sizeable post office for I recall him telling me that heand his wife employed half a dozen assistants.This change of occupation proved to bea good financial move according to his one and only daughter, Jill.Michael had many outside interests. Charity work was one of them. He received

the Lions International’s highest award for his contribution to humanity, having beenat various times secretary, treasurer and president of the Ripon Lions.He was also anactive member and eventually President of the Grewelthorpe Branch of the BritishLegion. He was even President of the Ripon City Swimming Club and dished outcups and shields to medal winners. Around Christmas time he used to dress up asSanta Claus and take his sleigh round the local streets.Michael’s wife, Sheila, predeceased him not long ago.Their happy marriage nearly

made it to the diamond wedding category but not quite. Both she and Michaelattended all reunions (every fouryears) of the alumni of Form 5(Latin). In order to emphasise thatobituaries should not simply becatalogues of relative success I offera few statistics on the performanceof Latin in 1940 of the 22 scholarsin Form 5 (Latin). Six out of the 22failed in it, more than in any othersubject. Michael was one of the six.Only one pupil achieved an ‘A’ inLatin. But modesty forbids me tomention his name.

Bob Goldsmith

Mickey Stancliffe (top left) withTaylor Dyson andfellow members of the class of 1940. Bob Goldsmithis on the right

3346

FREDERICK JOHN SHEARD(1945-50)

Chartered accountant who was an active member of the OAS throughout his lifeFred, as he was generally known, died on 3rd November 2011 aged 77 at his

home in Foxglove RoadAlmondbury.After leaving school, he very soon became a big supporter of the OldAlmondburi-

ans’ Society He served on the Committee where he was Chairman in 1971 andsubsequently aVice President.

For most of his life he lived within one mile of the school.A keen sportsman, heplayed tennis at LongleyTennis Club where he started as a junior and served the clubas treasurer and first team captainamong many other roles. He was amember ofWoodsome Golf Cluband captained the rabbits’ teamwhilst there. During the wintermonths he played badminton atSchool on Thursday evenings withthe OldAlmondburians.

He was a regular churchgoer,first at St.Mary’s Longley and afterit was closed the mother churchAl-mondbury Parish Church where hewas treasurer of the ParochialChurch Council.

Fred left school after obtaininghis School Certificate and joined the family accountancy practice Fred Sheard & Sonswhich was started by his grandfather in 1903. He qualified and as a Chartered Ac-countant became a partner with his father Ernest and his uncle Percy, both OldAlmondburians.

On 6th July 1963 he married Joanna Dent. She died less than two years beforehim and they are survived by two sonsAndrew andMarcus (both OldAlmondburians)and three grandchildren who will miss them greatly. Fred will also be missed by theolder Old Boys table at the Annual Dinner which he regularly attended.

Michael F.Dyson

HISTORY

An Illustrated Historyof King James’s School:£12.50 inc pp (UK)

A Historyof King James’s School:£12.50 inc pp (UK)

The Royal Charter returnsto its home at King James’sROGER DOWLING tells the strange story of the Charter’s ‘disappearance’ and itseventual chance rediscovery in 1952 by members of the School’s Surveying Society‘THE ORIGINAL LETTERS PATENT do notexist’, recorded Taylor Dyson in his classic Almondburyand its Ancient School of 1926, echoing the words ofCanon Hulbert’s earlier Annals of the Church and Parish ofAlmondbury But they were both wrong: the LettersPatent (‘the Charter’) in fact lay, undisturbed over manyyears, in a strong box at the unlikely location of DenbyGrange Colliery just a few miles away on the road to

Wakefield So how did the School come to be partedfrom its own Charter? And why did it require theservices of the School’s Surveying Society to reunite itwith the School on 6th April 1954?It all started with a planned visit by members of theSociety, led by Geography master Fred Hudson, to alocal history exhibition being organised by theYorkshireArchaeological Society in Leeds Hudson was

Floreat Schola! DVD£15.00 inc pp (UK)

AnniversaryWeekendDVD:

£15.00 inc pp (UK)

China Mug:£10.00 inc pp (UK)

HISTORYHISTORY

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ANNIVERSARY PRINT

Anniversary Print:£25.00 inc pp

ChairmanNICKY BRIGGS

17 Fair Street, Huddersfield,Yorkshire HD1 3QBTel: 01484 305734

Mobile: 07595 175835Email: nickybriggs@hotmail.com

SecretaryANDREW HAIGH

2Arkenley Lane,Almondbury HD4 6SQTel: 01484 432105

Email: andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk

TreasurerKEITH CRAWSHAW

5 Benomley Drive,Almondbury HD5 8LXTel: 01484 533658

Email: keith.crawshaw@oas.org.uk

Media EditorROGER DOWLINGEditorial address:

Orchard House, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm,CheshireWA13 0RDTel: 01925 756390

Email: almondburian@oas.org.ukArchivist

NICH BRIGGSTel: 07771 865330

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