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I was to be friends with Mr Wainwright the Science teacher and visited his farm on many occations were I helped with his animals.

He used to tell me about Edwards and what the staff thought of him, and he was a bully to them to.

Knowing he was feared by the staff as well as the pupils is scarey.

He was'nt a pleasant man in any shape or form and only crossed his path once.

Once was once to often to.

Now his deputy was Turner, a mild mannered man who was approachable and Miss Mason, a happy eldish lady who was as nice as pie but had a temper if you got on her wrong side.

Whatever happened to Edwards and though he will surely be well retired now if he is still around, what would he get away with these days.

He was certainly a disaplinarian in every shape and form but it was'nt a bad thing when you look back in history and think that this kind of disapline is well needed in schools today.

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Cycleracer, your posting is very interesting. I remember Miss or Mrs Mason, a rather nice lady who always called us, "boys and girls" to the amusement of the cynical amongst us. I am not surprised that Edwards bullied his staff as well as pupils; a sadist in a position of authority in a school like this would pick on anyone below him, i.e, everybody. I take your point regarding the lack of discipline in schools [i teach in higher ed, myself], but I must respectfully disagree with your endorsement of Edwards' approach. If I have misinterpreted your point, I apologise. I witnessed the man deliberately single out particular pupils for no reason other than to bully, humiliate and distress them. His attitude to the pupils was absolutely barbaric [and, believe me, I am no liberal with an aversion to discipline and punishment]. My uncle was friendly with the Head of Concord Middle School, John Roch [they served as JPs together in the seventies], and apparently Roch considered Edwards to be a sadistic bully too. If the caped one is still alive, I would reckon that he is around 92 years of age. I think he retired around 1977. The alternative possibility is that we owe a debt of thanks to some, brave Sheffield version of Van Helsing, for doing the business with a sharpened stake.

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Timo,, your absolutely correct Edwards did single out pupils but as we queued up for the assembly outside his office he would sometimes come out into the corridor and you would then hear a pin drop.

I once saw him pull out my best mate from the queue and he was in tears, very frightened and he was dragged by the scruff of the neck into his office.

I was glad that were'nt me but the fear was real.

I regulary saw him pick out the school bullies and hard cases at the time and I personally found that amusing, the hard man of the school put down to a gibbering wreck and they dare not answer him back.

 

I understand were your coming from and although Edwards was a bully his decipline worked and he was feared in a big way.

Ridgeway and Napier were also strict to but they did not bully you like Edwards did and the old Edwards stare was usually enough to get the pupils quiet.

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Cycleracer, yes I can see your point too regarding Edwards' treatment of the self-styled hardmen. The problem was that the man used the same treatment on often usually well-behaved, and sometimes innocent pupils. His treatment of female pupils was as bad as his treatment of the boys. I once saw him drag a girl by the throat. She was absolutely terrified. Her crime? Daring to play a little tune on the school piano at break! If it were not so tragic, it would be almost funny.

Of course, teachers like this leave themselves open to revenge by former pupils. As a tutor myself, I always keep in mind the appalling examples set by those such as our sinister, caped sadist, and I try to treat students with kindness and respect. Although, to be fair, I teach adults who CHOOSE to be there. I have no doubt that Edwards had a daunting task as head of such a large, sprawling school. I know that a minority of the pupils certainly did require firm handling, but he revelled in causing terror. On reflection, such a man deserves our pity just as much as our contempt.

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Funny enough Timo since I left Hinde House in 1975 I have always be intrigued by Edwards and would love to read about the man himself , where and how he lived away from school, what was he like to his family and despite everything bad about him he is an interesting subject.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who knew him outside or maybe a teacher from his generation who could shed light on the man himself.

Edwards has a face you never forget.

I am inspired to open a thread on him.

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Cycleracer, you sound like a good lad to me. The Edwards thread is a good idea. I'll join you in a minute...

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You all have vivid memories of Edwards, does anyone remember the old bus that was bought for school trips.

I only went on a couple of outings, and one was to go to Granville College to see what courses were available etc.

I remember going up the drive to the college, most of us hid on the floor we were so ashamed.

When the fund raising was done we thought it would be a coach, but it was some really old thing, looked like world war II vintage.

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Nadine, I believe that Edwards bought it from his old Kamarads in Das Reich SS Division!

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Timo

More than likely,

I can remember the flapping cape as he went on the stage for assembly in the morning,

You obviously do not remember the bus,

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This thread seems to have merged with my Sullivan's Chippy thread. Never mind, it's all good stuff.

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Originally posted by timo

Nadine, I believe that Edwards bought it from his old Kamarads in Das Reich SS Division!

 

Very funny Timo!

 

No excuse for Edwards - at all.

 

One teacher that gave me some hope was a Bill Firth. Used to teach Eng Lit. Funny guy, liked him alot.

 

According to Hinde House web site they still have a Bill Firth teaching there.

 

Used to take the class to his house for Shakespeare readings and whatnot - showed us/me a different way.

I think he worked in tandem with a Ms. Barwell who used to grind through literature readings with our class every Friday afternoon as I remember.

 

This didn't always go well after our Friday lunchtime sessions at the Horse Shoe, but by god she tried... :-)

 

Also learned alot from a Physics teacher - don't remember his name but was a slender guy with thin white hair - always seemed to wear a white lab coat.

 

Any ideas?

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Originally posted by gettingon

Very funny Timo!

 

No excuse for Edwards - at all.

 

One teacher that gave me some hope was a Bill Firth. Used to teach Eng Lit. Funny guy, liked him alot.

 

According to Hinde House web site they still have a Bill Firth teaching there.

 

Used to take the class to his house for Shakespeare readings and whatnot - showed us/me a different way.

I think he worked in tandem with a Ms. Barwell who used to grind through literature readings with our class every Friday afternoon as I remember.

 

This didn't always go well after our Friday lunchtime sessions at the Horse Shoe, but by god she tried... :-)

 

Also learned alot from a Physics teacher - don't remember his name but was a slender guy with thin white hair - always seemed to wear a white lab coat.

 

Any ideas?

Reading this reminded me of a couple of teachers that have just sprung to mind.

Mr Wardle who did technical drawing, he was strict to and never gets a mention here and also Mr Martin but can't remember what he taught.

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