Memories of Pitsmoor

[steevie/d 10]

hiya Cycleracer

it was a womans body that the workmen found her torso was at 1 end of the block and the other half of her was found at the other both parts found under the stairs in a little cubby hole i was about 10 at the time and my memory is not what it used to be

[Texas 10]

I presume, gentlemen, that after leaving Pyebank the majority us went on to Burngreave? During my incarceration at that most hallowed of institutions the teachers were Mr Scowcroft, Headmaster, Mssrs Snell, Gosney, Brittain, King, Murray, Fearneough (Metalwork), Needham (Woodwork), and a couple of others who's names escape me. Mr Brittain was Welsh and introduced into the school Rugby, for which I am eternally grateful being useless at Soccer.

[Falls 10]

Mr. Scowcroft was still Headmaster and the staff included:

 

Messrs, Holesworth, Snell, Fearneough, Needham, Holly (second woodworking teacher from Sept.1948), Rawlins, Holden, Shaw, Andrews and two Mr. Thomas. I remember the name "Brittain" but can't remember the face. The rest I can't remember. Does anybody remember Miss King, the school secretary?

 

As we all know, the Secondary Modern System was not one of the British Government's better ideas ( some of the horror stories I've heard about secondary moderns in, say, the London area made Burgreave look pretty good). I don't have any bad memories of my time there. The teachers I had did try to make up for the shortcomings in the system.

[Texas 10]

Hi Falls, I must admit I didn't have any bad times there either, but then again my generation accepted anything they could get, including education. You jogged my memory with the name Rawlins, I remember him, and of course Miss King. I saw her once about 1951, she didn't look at all well.

Mr Murray took a music class, nothing serious, but he slipped up one day. I'd been fooling around with piano for years but I hadn't any talent for it really and I never told anybody I knew the basics. All my family were musicians at some level and I'd been brought up with music so to speak. Anyhow Mr Murray was keeping us interested one day by playing tunes on the piano and having us guess the titles. To make things more interesting he decided he'd do a little variation on a tune and he was so confidant that nobody would know it he put two shillings down for the kid whe guessed correctly.

He went into a very baroque variation on, of all things, Roll out the Barrel, he played it in waltz time too. Guess who got the two bob?

Never give a sucker an even break.

[Cycleracer 10]

Originally posted by Falls

Mr. Scowcroft was still Headmaster and the staff included:

 

Messrs, Holesworth, Snell, Fearneough, Needham, Holly (second woodworking teacher from Sept.1948), Rawlins, Holden, Shaw, Andrews and two Mr. Thomas. I remember the name "Brittain" but can't remember the face. The rest I can't remember. Does anybody remember Miss King, the school secretary?

 

As we all know, the Secondary Modern System was not one of the British Government's better ideas ( some of the horror stories I've heard about secondary moderns in, say, the London area made Burgreave look pretty good). I don't have any bad memories of my time there. The teachers I had did try to make up for the shortcomings in the system.

Andrews was a strict dude but his wife was worse, she worked at Pye Bank School, so did he eventually.

Captain Mannering on Dads army always reminded me of him.

[peppermint 10]

Originally posted by Cycleracer

Andrews was a strict dude but his wife was worse, she worked at Pye Bank School, so did he eventually.

Captain Mannering on Dads army always reminded me of him.

 

 

cycle how could you, I am at home ill and trying to relax, just the mention of HER name makes me cringe. She was awful, every time anyone askes me about Pye Bank she is the first thing that pops into my head. When I get her out its only fond memories I have of my time there, Mr Berzant(cant remember how to spell it) was one of my favorites. When he started at the school my mum told me he was nice, she knew him.. she was spot on lovely man

[Falls 10]

Talking about Burgreave, I'm suprised nobody mentioned Miss Yates. Now there was a larger-than-life individual, in more ways that one.

 

One lunch time, I was walking past Mr.Scowcroft's office when he came out, saw me and said " I have a job for you". The postman had delivered a letter intended for Miss Yates to the boys department by mistake. I was to deliver it to Miss Yates immediately.

 

Now anyone who remembers how those two schools were run in those days will know that going into the Girls department was strictly "Verboten". Something like going from West to East Berlin during the cold war or trying to drive from downtown Baghdad out to the airport these days.

 

All kinds of things could happen to a boy that strayed in to the girls dept.. I coundn't wait.

 

Miss Yates didn't seem to have a large corner office like Scowcroft's but was using a room down the hall that was little bigger than a broom cupboard. When I got there, the door was slightly open and I could hear her yelling at some poor snivelling member of her staff. When the shouting had subsided, I knocked on the door and summoning up my best manners, I presented the letter to her. She asked my name and after a slight pause to indicate that the "Audience" was over, I left.

 

Apparently, I had left a favourable impressions and there after , I was used as a sort of courier between the two dept. heads. I think that everyone in the building was scared of her, even the staff in the boys dept.

 

I know that she always refered to her girl's as "My Young Ladies" and she certainly devoted a lot of energy and her life to turning out students that were, for the most part, a credit to her effort and to themselves.

[steevie/d 10]

i went to burngreave and remeber mr Fearneough and neddy bubble neck needham i bought mr Fearneoughs scooter off him he had 1 of those 2 stoke cars i remember it was bottle green i think it was a whortburg knite i think and german when he started it up it putherd loads of blue smoke out

[KS1234 10]

Mr Berzant(cant remember how to spell it) was one of my favorites. When he started at the school my mum told me he was nice, she knew him.. she was spot on lovely man

 

i agree he was my teacher when i was there, must have been around 1984. also miss chalmers she was quite strict but nice really. mr lingard was the headmaster i didnt like him! and rev don sparkes used to come in once a week, (my uncle married his daughter Lis)

 

i was also in the choir at the church on pitsmoor road.

[Texas 10]

A 'go between' eh Falls? Good start for a romantic novel there.

[Cycleracer 10]

i agree he was my teacher when i was there, must have been around 1984. also miss chalmers she was quite strict but nice really. mr lingard was the headmaster i didnt like him! and rev don sparkes used to come in once a week, (my uncle married his daughter Lis)

 

i was also in the choir at the church on pitsmoor road.

r bezzant and Miss Chalmers were at Pye bank when I was there in the 60s.

Bezzant had a beard and Chalmers was tall, thin with quite large front teeth.

[Gerry 10]

We had a teacher at Burngreave with two thumbs on one hand, I think he taught maths. Must have been a big help to him, for counting that is.