King Henry VIII Grammar School

Dr Phil, It may be a long shot, but Brian Meads (Meeds?) could possibly be another connection. I was with the CTC (Cyclist Touring Club) in the mid to late 60's and the local group leader could have been Brian. He would have been about closer to your age I suspect, and possible late 30's at the time. The Brian I knew lived in either Mickleton Rd or Stanley Rd, with his father and smoked a pipe which he tapped out on his pedal while still cycling, consequently showering everyone behind him with burning embers which was very spectacular on a night ride. I lost touch after I left the club with knee problems and then moved out of the area. Does this ring any bells, bicycle or otherwise? PS: Just remembered it was Gordon Mead (Meed?) NOT Brian, so not the same person at all!

Hi EK Thanks for the post - Brian Meads is a difficult name to search for as it has so many possible combinations of letters, Bryan was a cyclist but he converted to a Corgi type mini scooter while I knew him and never rode a cycle again. He came from Kirton nr Boston and I rode his cycle from Spalding to Coventry when I returned from a visit. Thought nothing of it at the time (I was very fit then mainly I think from riding to KHVIII three times a day!) When were you at KHVIII may I ask!! I remember Earlsdon Library very well, also my brother Richard owned an office supply shop a little way up Earlsdon high street for quite some years. Regards

Yes Dr Phil, I was at KHVIII Juniors from 1959 to 1963, then Seniors from 1963 to 1970 before starting with the CEGB/Aston University. I was a regular at the Earlsdon Library also particularly after moving back to Styvechale Ave in 1969 (family home). My parents ran Hyde Stores in Providence St until 1960/1 when supermarkets started opening up nearby and later my father was at DH Ward (Shipping) in Albany Rd until he retired so I had a reasonable on and off presence in the area for a while. Cheers!

Kaga being left handed, hence his post name, inspired me to give my view on this as he seems to cope well with the world and his left handedness. Where I come from left handers were called Keggies. When I was playing cricket I was very used to hearing a shout of "Keggy" by the opposing captain as I walked to the wicket, so warning all the fielders to take up new positions when I was at bat, so to speak. I was not however a natural left hander except with sports (Shooting, Archery, Golf, Cricket and Softball, not Hockey!) This came about due to a bad accident when I was six. I had a bad fall which resulted in a badly broken right arm (fracture of the elbow). When I came out of hospital my right arm was noticeably bent and somewhat stiff to move. This had two results on my life which I have to this day. I could not write very easily and as a result my time at school was difficult, I never learnt to write properly and my work was untidy and (ink pens) difficult to read. However things on the sporting front were not so bad, I was learning to play cricket (barrel staves for bats, hard corkies for balls). I found it much easier by batting left handed, I also found out that I could bowl off breaks without any special grip or action as my slightly twisted right arm bowling action applied a spin to the ball whether I meant it or not when ever I turned my arm over. As I progressed through life my right arm became stronger the more sport I played. Now most cricketers (and baseball players) know that a left handed batsman who bowls fields and throws with his right can be a very hard hitter of the ball. this was the case with me as I grew older. However, while my muscular strength improved, my dexterity with my right hand never recovered and my reports from KHVIII were invariably full of "v good in class discussion, but depressingly poor and untidy in written work - could do better". Nobody ever thought of asking why except for one master, Alfie Crocker, also Pop Cork to some extent, who were prepared to forget my poor written work and congratulated me on my knowledge and practical ability. In my future career I really began to blossom when computers with word processors and printers removed this obstacle entirely. Alfie and Pop also helped me develop my skill at public speaking, Alfie by encouraging all of us in VIScII and III to take a whole lesson with the class while he took back seat to see how we did, the class was allowed to criticize too, I soon lost my shyness in the knowledge that I knew my subject and had no trouble at all giving a performance. Pop (he was our form master) took a different approach, each boy was required to choose a subject, prepare it and then give a lecture to the whole class, who could ask questions and criticize the outcome. This funnily enough gave almost everybody fear and lamentations of what their peers would think of their performances. Most of us coped but some did not. Since that time I have never had any trouble in public speaking and in fact earned my living in my later years by writing papers and giving lectures all over the world and achieving a certain notoriety by doing so (hence the name Dr Phil, Americans would understand!). I think that's enough for now, maybe more later!

Could this be Bruce Dooland who I believe had some connection with Coventry?

Sorry, I don't recall

Hi everybody Doctor Phil Here I am writing a personal article about my early time at KHVIII and am having trouble working out class numbers and orders. I have no trouble remembering my start it was in Nov 49' and I just joined 2A. The headmaster at this time was Mr Burton. I remember him well standing in the Yard for assembly opposite the middle of the front row of pupils where I stood right beneath him, where he stood on a small hop up. I was so close I could see the remains of his breakfast on his waistcoat! My time in 2A was mainly ok but for some fuzzer bashing in the first few days (I stood out like a sore thumb, no uniform or cap, having a broad Yorkshire accent few people understood me). I did however make a friend, Brian Bailey, who was a boxer and nobody messed with Brian. After a few tries at hazing and Brian's help it was ok. The only trouble I had was personal, the toilets in the yard had no doors so one had to get used to this but I managed that. However some of the teachers in 2A did not make any effort to help me catch up so that I was far behind all the other boys and did badly at the end of year examinations. I was thus transferred to 3D at the start of year two. Not a problem really and after a much better performance in the next exam I was transferred back to the A stream in 4A. Now I am not absolutely sure about this and it may have been L5A as I do know I skipped a year and took my O Levels early. I took Latin and English, only passed English. I was in the 6th form before I passed Latin. Then it was U5A, 6Sci I and then 6Sci II. I was at KHVIII 8 years but only 7 classes so I must be wrong somewhere. Can anybody help me?

The form years I remember... 2 3 4 L5 U5 6(1) 6(2) Only 7 years If you joined at 11 the oldest you would be on leaving would be 18. At least that's the way I remember it

Bohica you are a star In one short post you have solved my conundrum at least I think so. the later posts might suggest more confusion on my part I now know where I went wrong; in my post I say "I think I skipped a form when we took our O Levels early". Not so, instead what we really did was to take our O levels in 4A instead of L5A, earlier yes but only because it was in a different form! I remember there was some talk this cost the school less by doing this, never could figure this out if it was true or not! My age now fits the form sequence so I am not going Ga Ga yet! Regards Doctor Phil

I think in my day (61-67) you went from L5 to 6(i) then 6(ii) with some staying on for 6(iii) and re-doing their A levels if they needed top-notch grades.

Bumblyari - so where did Upper 5 come in? I'm glad you mentioned 6 (iii) as I thought I remembered there was that as well

Upper 5 was for those who wanted to leave after O-Levels ie. didn't want to carry on into the 6th form.

I don't remember the class names except for 2a in the first year but I know I started in 55 and left in 61, that's only 6 years. That's because I did take 3 O-levels early, Maths, English, Latin, and went into what was called the lower sixth, I think where I got only a couple more O-levels, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, before getting 3 A-levels in my final year. I went into a student apprenticeship at Coventry Gauge & Tool and to the Lanchester for my first Mech Eng degree.

Hi Bumblyari Dr Phil here again on this subject. I recollect I did my A level Chemistry, Physics and Maths in 6Sci I in '55 and repeated them in 6Sci II in '56 to get better grades and pass Maths which I only got O grade in 6Sci I. I recollect there was a 6Sci III but very few people were in it. I think our year choices and times of the exams were the first time this was done in KHVIII, more of a trial of how it worked, thus later years were possibly different. Cheers.

Having thought about it a bit more, I don't think what I said before was strictly correct. Certainly the U5 form was the route for those who didn't want to do A-Levels but it was still possible to go L5 to U5 then onto 6(i) etc. I think if your O-Level grades were good enough in L5 then you were allowed to by-pass U5 and go straight to 6(i). Rufford - that's basically the same path that I followed but a few years after you. Having a birthday in October I was always one of the oldest in my school year but when I got to university I found I was one of the youngest which I could never quite understand. Since I missed out the U5 year and left after 6(ii) it now makes sense. Believe it or not, maths was one of my A-Levels. Dr Phil - yes, I think 6(iii) was for those who had ambitions to get to Oxford or Cambridge, which wasn't me.