King Henry VIII Grammar School

bohica, Yes, I'd previously expressed surprise when James Cooper said he liked some of the teachers. Placing them in the classroom setting, I couldn't think of any who fitted the category of 'like' within that context. Then I dug up this Day Trip memory from somewhere. Unsurprisingly, it is pretty vague. I'm about 75% confident on the itinerary. But I did have the recollection of thinking, on the journey back to Coventry, that Mr. Light had been different from how I'd expected him to behave. I was anticipating the "Follow me, boys!" routine and he didn't do that, which was refreshing.

Will Light was my form tutor in the lower 5th. He inspired me to enter electronic engineering which I've always been grateful for. As for the rest of the staff that I encountered during my 5 long miserable years there, I wouldn't urinate on them if they were on fire. (Actually, perhaps Fred Harris was OK too: he taught Maths and went on to present kiddies TV.) I believe after Henry's, Will went on to Woodlands where he stayed until he retired. I think he still plays the organ for a local church.

I remember the Latin Master, his name was Pip "something. He was extremely short so had to have a booster seat in his Lanchester Car. I fitted new wing mirrors to his car during detention one saturday morning.

I knew Stewart Jones very well. He was never in my form, he was in the D-stream, I think. But he lived in the same road as me and we were friends from the age of about 8. Over the years we were in all sorts of scrapes together, in and out of school, and remained friends until he left Coventry some years later. His father had an old Morris Minor in which he ferried us to school every day. He detested the school and couldn't leave fast enough. I do remember his long hair and ginger beard. He also wore an ex-forces trenchcoat from Riddy's and looked rather like John Lennon at one time.

My father went to Henry's and also had the same teachers as me. Bunny Burrows, Vent etc so someone on the Isle of Man also went to that school lol small world!

Ha ha! A post from Henry's most famous female ex-pupil has sent all the 'boys only' brigade scuttling for cover!! Not even a welcome from our moderators. Poor show! So to correct all that... 'Hello Debee and welcome to the Historic Coventry Forum. May you contribute many interesting posts in the future!!'

Hi all & yes, Welcome to you Debee Beesman maybe correct, as I did see your post earlier & I was a Henry pupil. I was always frightened of the fairer members of our community, & still am. I still cannot get used to the prep school playground now being used as a car-park, or the sight of females in the school uniform. I did visit the Isle of Man once too. Best wishes Debee.

bohica, Thanks for the additional information regarding Will Light. The younger version of myself would have jumped at the opportunity provided by a reference to 'organ playing'. Nowadays, I just think "Hmm - musical as well. What a talented individual." It is good to read that he assisted you in making a career choice. Sadly, I cannot say the same thing with respect to any teacher that I had. I think the caretaker was the person who inspired me the most. Don't ask.

I've been searching through the memory banks again and just wondered whether anyone else remembers the following lesser-spotted teachers at Henrys. On the other hand, they might have taught me in a parallel universe. A history teacher called Farrell? I think he introduced me to the Romans, which was very kind of him. Thanks to his knowledge, I understood the film "Gladiator". And I will have my vengeance. In this life, or the next. For French, a bloke called Haywood. He was also a prophet. He predicted that if I didn't work harder, I would fail my exams. Spot on there. This one is very, very, very speculative. For Geography and maybe P.E - Gerry Barrel??? This sounds like a very efficient fuel container, invented by the Muller engineering firm in 1937, rather than a teacher. It is possible that all three left around 1967 or 1968. Possibly via an underground tunnel, starting in the gymnasium, underneath a wooden horse. Or was that just me?

Hi, Inkers. I think the History teacher you are referring to was actually called Farrar. He was a slim chap with very fair hair and taught in room 104 opposite the caretaker's flat at the end of the corridor. He taught me history in the lower 5th and was one the new generation, quite a decent chap as I recall. I think he was still there when I left in 1971 I don't remember the French teacher you refer to. But I certainly remember Gerry Barrell. He did teach PE, but like many of that ilk did some geography too. He was quite an unpleasant chap who liked physical punishment. He taught me both PE and geography in one year and was quite useless for geography. I seem to recall he died quite young.

Hello Inkers, you are quite correct, there was a master called Haywood who taught French. He was my form master in 2 Alpha in 1967. He wasn't a bad sort of chap at all but I don't recall much of him after my 2Alpha days. He did improve my French though!

Hello Mister D-Di, Thanks for your response with respect to the lesser-spotted ones. I was tempted to propose a nickname for Farrar but ultimately declined, as I would have to force it. I remembered that he was fair haired, but he must have become invisible to me at some point, as I wouldn't have recalled that he was still there into the 70s. Maybe, by then, I was walking around with my eyes closed. I was particularly grateful for your acknowledgement with respect to Gerry Barrell. It was so vague a memory, that If someone had replied that I must be thinking of Geri Halliwell, I suspect I would have agreed.

Greetings Beesman, Once again, congratulations on your memory. My initial reaction to your post was that Heywood was my form master in 2B and so was going to comment that he must have suffered a demotion in order to get 2 Alpha the following year. (Muttley laugh) But now I'm not at all sure who the heck I had as form masters. Scotford, perhaps. Some English teacher called Parkinson (or Parkins!)? This is where possession of school reports would have come in handy. Is it the case that they didn't give them out to pupils when they left? It would have been fun to see the acerbic comments once more. "He is a disgrace to the school uniform. The only thing he can pass is water." No, I'm sure they were not that complimentary. Perhaps they had to be retained by the school under the Official Secrets Act, or something. This is where you tell me that you have all your school reports and that is what you refer to for your information.

"This is where you tell me that you have all your school reports and that is what you refer to for your information" - I have mine! The school had a storage space problem a few years ago and asked if we wanted them. I decided that I'd spirit mine away. If you contact them, they may still have yours. BTW they had the cheek to berate my writing, many of them were little better.