Anyone go to the Gregg School in Broomhill 1952/1955?

[robian 10]

How about Jock Sutherland? Any news on him?

 

I believe that after the school closed he moved back to Scotland.

[L4WEY 10]

Jock Sutherland did indeed return to Scotland and was seen by one of my class mates (of 1959 to 1964) in Aberdeen some years after the school had closed. This he told me at the reunion in 1999. I have no idea what has become of him now, but I liked him a lot and had great respect for him as I always considered him a born leader particularly when we went on trips outside school like up Snowdon etc.

 

Dick ,as we called Mr A, we never felt we could trust. My mind is hazy on some details but I believe he drove a Jag and my dad always used to say "Son, you can't trust a chap who drives a Jag". When my dad said this it was before we ever encountered Mr A. Looking back now though in this instance I think my dad might have hit the nail on the head in terms of stereotyping. No offence to Jag owners BTW just in case you decide to flame me.

 

In spite of Mr A shortcomings with his fags & his G & T I carry gratitude and thanks for the work that Mr Rankin, Jock, Nat Fuchs in particular did to provide me with a standard of education that I believe I have benefitted from in later life. Also thanks go to my family for sending me there.

[L4WEY 10]

Mr Fuchs took physics and maths and was a serious fellow who was held in great respect and commanded great attention. We believe he was of Germanic descent probably Austrian and he had a scar on his neck which in the immediate post war period we would fanticise about as a wound of honour but we never found out the truth. We probably never will know now unless someone out there knows more.

 

We had a nickname for Mr Fuchs we called him "Nat" thinking that his name was Nathaniel or could have been an undeserved shortening of a well known teutonic nationalist political party:roll:. Was chatting on the phone with one of my old school chums Roger Davison found out after Nat died in 1979 that his first name was actually Maximillian. We should have been naming him Max! So this suggests that his nickname might have been a bit derogatory:surprised, when he was such a nice gentleman.

[Harleyman 12]

Jim - the daughter's name was either Margaret or Christine, saw her on Ecclesall Road a couple of days ago, Jessica was Mrs A. Mrs A used to do some teaching too, though I don't know that she was qualified, but things were much easier in those days.

 

As you say Richard A always had a ciggie on the go - Craven A if I remember correctly. Like the idea of him being a spiritualist, but always thought his came from the bottle. On the annual school outing, usually to Blackpool, he had two bottles of gin and two crates of tonic on the coach. He and Mrs A disposed of one bottle on the outward leg and the second bottle on the return. The drink was donated for free by my future father-in-law who ran a pub at that time, 58/59, and had two sons at the school. My wife also recalled that he had a habit of turning up with Mrs A at the pub, loudly announcing that he was there as a guest of the landlord and expecting free drinks for the rest of the night. Sometimes he would take a class himself. Once he decided to give us a maths lesson in Form 3, but he could easily be diverted from the task in hand, and on that occassion he spent most of the period explaining in detail how a fridge worked.

 

Of the students you mentioned only Richard Storrie rings a bell. From my time I can recall Roger Sherwood (of hairdressing fame), David White (owns Slater's Model Engineering at Matlock Bath), the Acaster brothers, Susan Mellor, Geoff Arnold, Harry Wilcockson, Malcom Marsden, Avril Wright, John Murray, Gerald Hall, Gillian Johnson, Paula Savage, David Whitehead, Irene Crossland, David Copley, the Lisham brothers Billy and Roger, Hamish Fotheringham, Watson Thom, Barry Bolton (seen recently on Fargate), Muriel Ainley, Patsy Crawford, Wendy Harris.

 

There was annual football match with the Gregg School at Hull. That all came to an abrupt halt when George Midgley, who was refereeing the match at the City Surveyors ground, was accused by the Hull staff of showing too much bias towards us. The match and the fixture were abandoned for good. The Hull school appears to have gone the way of Sheffield and the only one now showing on Google is at Southampton, which looks to be a success.

 

One speech day, I think 1959, the Master Cutler was the guest of honour, and on a previous year Miss Berry mentioned by Multiparvo was there.

 

I'm not sure about the educational quality, but it was certainly an experience spending five years at Broomfield Road.

 

Hi Robian - Arnold used to carry out spot checks on our school equipment. He would stand in front of the class looking down his nose at us then say something like "Everyone hold up a regulation school ruler". If it wasn't wood and 12 inches long he'd say "Get a new one from the stationery store (A room at the bottom of the stairs). Exercise books that looked tatty had to be replaced. Of course replacements were not free and our parents had to pay.

Richard Storrie and I got busted for cribbing during an exam and sentenced by "Iron Dick" to five hours detention to be worked one hour each evening. Jock Sutherland made us go out and work in the front garden and stood there making sure we did.

He was okay though. Once we went on a boys only day out to the seaside (forget exactly where) and in the evening he and Rankin brought a crate of beer on board the chartered bus and passed a bottle around to each of us and we all lit up and had a good smoke.

I and some others used to sneak a smoke in the boys cloakroom (in the toilet cubicles)

We were all puffing away one day when Shanks came in and yelled out "Who is smoking in here". I panicked and instead of tossing the ciggy down the toilet stuffed it in my blazer pocket burning a nice big hole in it.

Richard Storrie had an elder brother who was a prefect. Never liked the brother much. Caught me not wearing school cap one day on Leopold Street and chewed me out in front of a bunch of people waiting for the bus.

I used to hate that round little beanie. Threw it up into a tree at the end of our street one day at the finish of term thinking that I was finally rid of it then a neighbour knocked on the door an hour later holding it in her hand.

 

Happy days though. Wish they were back sometimes.

 

_____________________________________________

 

Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.

[L4WEY 10]

.........and sentenced by "Iron Dick" to five hours detention to be worked one hour each evening. Jock Sutherland made us go out and work in the front garden and stood there making sure we did.

 

Detention was very inconvenient in my day. I was sentenced by Dick to 3 hours detention on a Saturday morning. Full uniform including cap and short trousers. I think it may have been a uniform infringement seen up at Broomhill by a prefect that did it, but not sure of the details, it was really humiliating to travel by bus there & back across the city. My parents backed the school up so even they made me go through with it. Refused to give me a lift in the car. Only happened once though. Never again. Cannot remember who the teacher was, but it may have involved some remedial schoolwork.

[robian 10]

Up to the time I left in July '59 Mr A always drove a large black Humber, seemed as big as a battleship. Checking on Google the nearest I can find is the 1949 Super Snipe III Saloon. Must have looked impressive when he and the good lady rolled up on their annual visit to Royal Ascot. As for trusting him, never thought about it at the time. But looking back, and taking into account what I have learned since, I suppose there was a touch of the Arthur Daley about him, smoother than Arthur but a kindred spirit nonetheless.

 

The stationery store was a real scam. You had to use the Gregg School pencil too. My mother used to complain that you could get the identical items at half the price from the local stationer. Remember his class inspections all too well. However, he did come slightly unstuck on one occassion with Form 3. Mr Humphrey had taken over as Form Tutor on the sudden departure of Mr Shanks (more on that follows), and after his inspection Mr A expressed his great displeasure at the standard of handwriting in the English Lit exercise books and had the worst offenders pin their books up on the wall as an example. After he'd left in walks Humphrey (who taught English Lit) spots the books and asks for reasons why. On being told he did one of his famous heel spins and stalked out, returned in short order and ordered the books to be taken down, having told Mr A that he was concerned with the quality of the work not the handwriting. A good man was Mr H.

 

Anyway, back to Mr Shanks or Old Herbert as we called him. Was the Form 3 Tutor and we had agreed on an end of term outing to York, for which we all put about two bob a week into the kitty. However, one morning Mr A marches in and announces that Old Herbert has left. Turned out that for whatever reason he had done a runner taking the York trip funds with him. He was eventually picked up by the police in Preston. So we didn't get our trip to York and we didn't get our money back either! At one time his son did a bit of teaching at the school too.

 

Another occassional teacher was a Mr Wright, who married Arnold's daughter. I think he was in the RAF at one time. Anyway, he was enrolled to teach Science, but didn't stay around too long.

 

Never had much to do with Jock Sutherland, but I realised that he wasn't a man to cross.

 

Mr Rankin and I didn't get on, basically because I was useless at French. With Mr R it was the case that if you didn't get it the first time around then, as far as he was concerned, you were a waste of his time. He had a mean aim with a piece of chalk too.

 

Mr Fuchs turned up in my last year. Very dignified and courteous. We knew him as Nat as well.

 

When I started in Sept 1954 the Form 1 Tutor was a young lady who had recently been a pupil at the school, so she would have been about 17 or 18 at the time. Can't recall her name, but I don't think she lasted long. Likewise the Form 2 Tutor was a lady who taught English, very pleasant and I enjoyed her lessons, but damned if I can recall her name.

 

Don't know if anyone recalls the Caretaker that Mr A employed? A grimy looking character who lurked around in the basement boiler room. It now occurs to me that he was a dead ringer for Rigsby in Rising Damp.

 

A few more names dredged from the memory bank: Russell Beamer, David Aucott, Linda Pearce, Maxine(?) Wragg, David Bray, Michael Procter, Susan Burkin, David Bramall, Christine Harrison.

[L4WEY 10]

Fuchs turned up in my last year. Very dignified and courteous. We knew him as Nat as well.

 

Don't know if anyone recalls the Caretaker that Mr A employed? A grimy looking character who lurked around in the basement boiler room. It now occurs to me that he was a dead ringer for Rigsby in Rising Damp.

 

 

Very dignified and courteous was a very apt description of Nat.

 

The caretaker I remember had a brown coat, bald head & specs and was called Sid.

[Harleyman 12]

Up to the time I left in July '59 Mr A always drove a large black Humber, seemed as big as a battleship. Checking on Google the nearest I can find is the 1949 Super Snipe III Saloon. Must have looked impressive when he and the good lady rolled up on their annual visit to Royal Ascot. As for trusting him, never thought about it at the time. But looking back, and taking into account what I have learned since, I suppose there was a touch of the Arthur Daley about him, smoother than Arthur but a kindred spirit nonetheless.

 

The stationery store was a real scam. You had to use the Gregg School pencil too. My mother used to complain that you could get the identical items at half the price from the local stationer. Remember his class inspections all too well. However, he did come slightly unstuck on one occassion with Form 3. Mr Humphrey had taken over as Form Tutor on the sudden departure of Mr Shanks (more on that follows), and after his inspection Mr A expressed his great displeasure at the standard of handwriting in the English Lit exercise books and had the worst offenders pin their books up on the wall as an example. After he'd left in walks Humphrey (who taught English Lit) spots the books and asks for reasons why. On being told he did one of his famous heel spins and stalked out, returned in short order and ordered the books to be taken down, having told Mr A that he was concerned with the quality of the work not the handwriting. A good man was Mr H.

 

Anyway, back to Mr Shanks or Old Herbert as we called him. Was the Form 3 Tutor and we had agreed on an end of term outing to York, for which we all put about two bob a week into the kitty. However, one morning Mr A marches in and announces that Old Herbert has left. Turned out that for whatever reason he had done a runner taking the York trip funds with him. He was eventually picked up by the police in Preston. So we didn't get our trip to York and we didn't get our money back either! At one time his son did a bit of teaching at the school too.

 

Another occassional teacher was a Mr Wright, who married Arnold's daughter. I think he was in the RAF at one time. Anyway, he was enrolled to teach Science, but didn't stay around too long.

 

Never had much to do with Jock Sutherland, but I realised that he wasn't a man to cross.

 

Mr Rankin and I didn't get on, basically because I was useless at French. With Mr R it was the case that if you didn't get it the first time around then, as far as he was concerned, you were a waste of his time. He had a mean aim with a piece of chalk too.

 

Mr Fuchs turned up in my last year. Very dignified and courteous. We knew him as Nat as well.

 

When I started in Sept 1954 the Form 1 Tutor was a young lady who had recently been a pupil at the school, so she would have been about 17 or 18 at the time. Can't recall her name, but I don't think she lasted long. Likewise the Form 2 Tutor was a lady who taught English, very pleasant and I enjoyed her lessons, but damned if I can recall her name.

 

Don't know if anyone recalls the Caretaker that Mr A employed? A grimy looking character who lurked around in the basement boiler room. It now occurs to me that he was a dead ringer for Rigsby in Rising Damp.

 

A few more names dredged from the memory bank: Russell Beamer, David Aucott, Linda Pearce, Maxine(?) Wragg, David Bray, Michael Procter, Susan Burkin, David Bramall, Christine Harrison.

 

 

I remember that big black Humber very well. I always thought it resembled a Chicago gangster's car from the 1930s. Anyway it went hand in hand with his

overblown ego and I'm sure that if he could have afforded it he would have had a uniformed chauffeur to drive it around (He and Mrs Arnold waving graciously to all and sundry from the back seat).

 

Had a good laugh over Mr Shanks doing a bunk with the funds. I remember him well too. Short statured balding guy with glasses and a moustache. Dressed in a dark pin striped suit. He looked more like an insurance agent than a school teacher. His daughter Heather was a pupil at the school while I was there. Didn't know the son.

There was a Mr Smith who taught art. Like Shanks bald and bespectacled but sort of dried up looking like an old prune. Had a wooden leg and had lived in Cyprus for many years. My mother who was a nurse remarked once on meeting Mrs Arnold that she looked like someone who had heart problems. Guess that was a false assumption in light of accounts that she could put the gin away.

I didn't like French much either but years later I was grateful to Mr Rankin.

When I met my future wife who is French she couldn't speak a word of English at the time so the French I had learned came in more than useful in helping the lovelorn young suitor along in his amorous pursuit.

 

The young Form 1 tutor you mention was Sylvia Watson. She was blond and very glamorous (we boys all thought). Mr Arnold humiliated her quite badly one time during one of her classes but cant remember the details, just the memory of her casting her eyes up to the ceiling with an expression of mental suffering and despair. You mentioned Barry Bolton. He was in my class but the name is more familiar than the face. The class snitch was a fellow named Raymond Blackburn. He had a slight rabbit like nose twitch and the teacher always called him out front to keep an eye on us if he had to leave the classroom unexpectedly. Raymond would stand there clutching his piece of chalk and if he spotted anyone whispering would write the offenders name up on the board for teech to see upon his return

Head girl was Betty Roper and head boy, Barry Moss. His parents had a grocers shop next to Ecclesfield church.

I left the school at the end of the 1955 term so you and I must have seen each other as the school wasn't that big. I was 15 then so probably in a more senior class than yours.

 

After we moved down south I was enrolled at the Gregg school in Croydon. That was an awful place and one year behind the class I had just left in Sheffield. The teachers were useless and came and went like customers through the revolving doors at Harrods. I got ragged because of my Sheffield accent and my short temper at the time got me into a lot of fights and trouble as a result.

 

I was always grateful to my parents however for making the efforts to better my education. They were far from well off and they had to make financial sacrifices to put me though those schools. Anyway happy to say it wasn't all wasted as I have done quite well out of life.

[billhaley 10]

I remember that big black Humber very well. I always thought it resembled a Chicago gangster's car from the 1930s. Anyway it went hand in hand with his

overblown ego and I'm sure that if he could have afforded it he would have had a uniformed chauffeur to drive it around (He and Mrs Arnold waving graciously to all and sundry from the back seat).

 

Had a good laugh over Mr Shanks doing a bunk with the funds. I remember him well too. Short statured balding guy with glasses and a moustache. Dressed in a dark pin striped suit. He looked more like an insurance agent than a school teacher. His daughter Heather was a pupil at the school while I was there. Didn't know the son.

There was a Mr Smith who taught art. Like Shanks bald and bespectacled but sort of dried up looking like an old prune. Had a wooden leg and had lived in Cyprus for many years. My mother who was a nurse remarked once on meeting Mrs Arnold that she looked like someone who had heart problems. Guess that was a false assumption in light of accounts that she could put the gin away.

I didn't like French much either but years later I was grateful to Mr Rankin.

When I met my future wife who is French she couldn't speak a word of English at the time so the French I had learned came in more than useful in helping the lovelorn young suitor along in his amorous pursuit.

 

The young Form 1 tutor you mention was Sylvia Watson. She was blond and very glamorous (we boys all thought). Mr Arnold humiliated her quite badly one time during one of her classes but cant remember the details, just the memory of her casting her eyes up to the ceiling with an expression of mental suffering and despair. You mentioned Barry Bolton. He was in my class but the name is more familiar than the face. The class snitch was a fellow named Raymond Blackburn. He had a slight rabbit like nose twitch and the teacher always called him out front to keep an eye on us if he had to leave the classroom unexpectedly. Raymond would stand there clutching his piece of chalk and if he spotted anyone whispering would write the offenders name up on the board for teech to see upon his return

Head girl was Betty Roper and head boy, Barry Moss. His parents had a grocers shop next to Ecclesfield church.

I left the school at the end of the 1955 term so you and I must have seen each other as the school wasn't that big. I was 15 then so probably in a more senior class than yours.

 

After we moved down south I was enrolled at the Gregg school in Croydon. That was an awful place and one year behind the class I had just left in Sheffield. The teachers were useless and came and went like customers through the revolving doors at Harrods. I got ragged because of my Sheffield accent and my short temper at the time got me into a lot of fights and trouble as a result.

 

I was always grateful to my parents however for making the efforts to better my education. They were far from well off and they had to make financial sacrifices to put me though those schools. Anyway happy to say it wasn't all wasted as I have done quite well out of life.

I too was in Barry Bolton's class, and now recall the gorgeous Miss Watson. I was there 1954-1957(ish) and spent almost as much time on detention as in class, but detentions of course were Dickie's cheap labour pool!! If you haven't already been there there are photos on friends reunited and contacts if you want them. I have fond memories of the school outings, the swimming galas at the Rising Sun in Bamford, the cross country run from the Surprise, I wagged it to go to Leeds and get tickets for Bill Haley(We had a drawto see who could go as there were only twelve i believe)and going to the concert itself. Going back to the match against Hull in which I played, i thought the parting of the ways was because their dressing room was rifled. I played in Hull and had some of the best fish and chips ever there, Dickie used a bank opposite the Cutlers Hall and I went down there several times for him. Why me I don't know, but he wasn't too keen on me as my dad was invariably late paying the fees!!!

[Harleyman 12]

I too was in Barry Bolton's class, and now recall the gorgeous Miss Watson. I was there 1954-1957(ish) and spent almost as much time on detention as in class, but detentions of course were Dickie's cheap labour pool!! If you haven't already been there there are photos on friends reunited and contacts if you want them. I have fond memories of the school outings, the swimming galas at the Rising Sun in Bamford, the cross country run from the Surprise, I wagged it to go to Leeds and get tickets for Bill Haley(We had a drawto see who could go as there were only twelve i believe)and going to the concert itself. Going back to the match against Hull in which I played, i thought the parting of the ways was because their dressing room was rifled. I played in Hull and had some of the best fish and chips ever there, Dickie used a bank opposite the Cutlers Hall and I went down there several times for him. Why me I don't know, but he wasn't too keen on me as my dad was invariably late paying the fees!!!

 

Yes, would like to see the photos and contacts. Please send PM

Thanks

[dsweetman 49]

I attended greggs from 1956 to 1961 (approx).Dick Arnold drove a mark7 Jag.We used to throw the old firelighters during Ron Shirt's lessons.I recall that he eventually left to go into a mental home!(well he had no control over the class)Names I recall include:Penny Brooksbank,Cathy Ekin,Paul Whittingham,John Tetchner(I still owe him some money!),Geoff Granger(NOGGER),Glyn Atkinson,Micheal Houchin,Robert & Rosemary Reid & many more.

[Harleyman 12]

I attended greggs from 1956 to 1961 (approx).Dick Arnold drove a mark7 Jag.We used to throw the old firelighters during Ron Shirt's lessons.I recall that he eventually left to go into a mental home!(well he had no control over the class)Names I recall include:Penny Brooksbank,Cathy Ekin,Paul Whittingham,John Tetchner(I still owe him some money!),Geoff Granger(NOGGER),Glyn Atkinson,Micheal Houchin,Robert & Rosemary Reid & many more.

 

 

 

I left end of term 1955. I've mentioned quite a few teachers and pupils on this thread but another teacher comes to mind, a Mr Green. Probably long gone before you started. Forget what subject he took but he always had a large glass of water on his desk and took large gulps from it during his discourses. He also had a habit of striding up and down in front of the class in something that resembled a goose step with his hands tucked behind his coat lapels. Kept us all in stitches. Have fond memories of my favorite teacher the lovely Sylvia Watson.

 

Dick Arnold used to drive a big black Humber Super Snipe in my days. Gues he must have been going through a mid life crisis if he traded that in for a MK 7 Jag.