| They helped make us what we are ..... |
"I do not know if you are in contact with him but if so, please pass on my thanks." (Trevor Prior re Stuart McPhee - WHS teacher from 79-84)
The above post inspired me to write the following:
It is so easy to take things for granted, especially when young. I certainly did with my teachers. Of course, I knew that some of them were life-changing, but I never TOLD them that - even years after. I eventually did with Derek, Malcolm Poole, Ben Turner, Merlin Channon, Dick Woollett and Barry Salmon, but not until 2004 or thereabouts when they joined one of our barge cruises. (and Patrick Hutton when I met him separately in Barnes soon after I had left.)
I particularly lament never having told Mr Ward from Brunswick Park Primary School in Camberwell how much I owed to him. He taught me for three years in the mid 50s and was "old school". We did quite a lot of rote-learning (wash mouth out etc ..) with tables and spelling. By the time I took the 11+ I knew my tables up to 12 back to front. We did a spelling test EVERY DAY - and he taught us loads of words - and made it fun. I am absolutely convinced that I passed the 11+ thanks to my competence in English - enhanced by reading a hell of a lot (no electronic devices in those days).
I tried to contact him a few years ago, but it was too late. The proverb: "Do today what will be too late tomorrow." comes to mind. (Actually, I just made that up!)
So I hope Stuart McPhee gets the above message. I think that ageing teachers are always happy to feel they have done something useful!
Here from around 1956 is Mr Ward far left, bless him ... (That's me top right with a silly grin ....)
Roger Friend - Berners/Johnstons 58-63: “As far as I can remember, we never had a class pic done at primary. We were, however, allowed to get autographs off the teachers before moving onto secondary school. I never realised it at the time, but going to Woolverstone cut me off completely from my old classmates!”
Daniel Dave O'Byrne - Johnstons 67-72: “Yes, I gradually became cut off from my old classmates from primary school which is regrettable and was probably unavoidable. We're still friends in my heart - Peter, Billy, Colin. And as I left WH at the end of the 5th year I became cut off from most WH friends. Fortunately I seem to make friends quite easily and the friends I made at 6th form college are still in my life today - though mainly on Zoom at the moment.”
Chris Snuggs - Berners/Halls 58-65: “Happened to me too, made worse by our move from Camberwell to West Norwood a few months before I left primary school in July '58. I could/should have made more effort to contact my primary school pals in the hols, but was busy exploring West Norwood and Streatham Common, though I never made friends in the area. WHS kind of took over everything. During the hols I basically couldn't wait to go back to Woolverstone.”
Ray Brady - Orwell 79-83: “Well as some know what happened to me others?? Mr Hudson actually apologised to me at Doc's memorial, how he remembered me is one thing, the apology - from him and a few others - was never necessary, but he did say to me that a lot of the teachers' hands were tied by Woollett and the board of governors. Some teachers were brilliant, some average and there were one or two arseholes, but only 1 or 2.”
Richard Merghani - Berners 80-85: “Yeah totally agree. I personally feel I owe Mr.Sadler a lot of respect for the way he treated me. When I was misbehaving he didn't just punish me, but took me to one side and explained what my actions were doing and the cause and effect of them; made me grow up a lot.”