King Henry VIII Grammar School

Inkers, I hadn`t realised that hyperbole had become a subject at KHS after I left there. I imagine if the teacher had happened to be "Pip" (J.B. Young-Evans, a darling man) or "Maxie" (Goldstein - not quite so darling) he would have exclaimed "Kiwilitas Detritus" and also feigned disinterest in questions regarding the ruberoid tube hanging on the bush nearby the pond. I`m pleased he didn`t mention the bicycle frame, as I am not sure supermarket trolleys were so plenteous in those days, although if one counted the Swanswell as a pond, Sainsbury`s in Trinity Street was well in reach. Oh! and since the original posting I have noticed there was an entirely suitable pond available in Staircase Lane at that time (look under the thread Staircase Lane)

Hi Roger, Thanks for directing me to the Staircase Lane thread. Ouch. That one would have been relatively accessible to me on my Pond Search. Just a comment to make, if I may. I noticed a member stating that pike were to be found in this pond. Now, being placed under pressure from friends, I took up the hobby of angling from about age 14 to 15 and during the hours spent engaged in this activity, I drew up a mental list which went something like this: Pike, Bream, Dace, Tench, Perch, Unicorn, Phoenix, Loch Ness Monster. The commonality? Mythical beings, the lot of 'em. From memory, my Pond Search took place in the Baginton and Stoneleigh areas. If you locate one there, please let me know. However, I would not be surprised if I missed them, because my I-Spy abilities were about as good as my fishing skills.

Dear All, A few posts back, I noted that people said there were not sufficient schools photos taken. I have a panoramic photo of the inmates of the Junior School in 1971, which I have clumsily scanned as four images - apologies to anyone who is blurry! I can name some of the back row lads, and all but a couple of the staff. The photo was taken in the Junior School playground, panning round past the frontage of the main school, and as far as the trees of Warwick Road. These 45 years have just flown by!

My brother was in the Junior School but I don't think he started until 72 or 73, can't remember which. I'll ask him tomorrow when I congratulate him on his birthday. However young Bob Dodd is probably in that photo, who is my best mates brother and I still communicate with him weekly at the very least. I'll ask him if he would have been there then and if he replies in the affirmative do you think if I gave you my email address you could mail me those scans to pass on to him? Thanks.

It looks remarkably like Mrs Gates in image 2 - but she looks younger than in the 1954/55 photo at the start of this thread Anyone know if it could be her?

Hi M.R, The lady on the right of the three.

Yes

Hi all The last time I can remember seeing Mrs Gates was July 1963.

I was in Mrs Gates's class in 1960/61. I remember her very well as I always liked her. That is definitely her on the photograph. She lived in Longfellow Road and I often saw her on the No.1 bus in the mornings when I changed buses at the Council House. I always spoke to her even years after she had taught me. She never looked any different through those years, presumably because she always dyed her hair the same colour. I left the Junior School in 1964 but there are a couple of other teachers I recognise from the photo. One is DK Adams, who taught 1B. He never taught me, other than for the odd lesson, but I never liked him as he always seemed to have a downer on me. The other one was PW Foster, the Junior Headmaster, who in hindsight was absurdly young to have been given such a position in an antiquated regime. He was generally well liked though. I am rather surprised to see that there were school photographs taken in the early 70s. I was in the Junior School from 1960-64 and Senior School from 1964-71 and certainly never took part in any school photos of any sort. The only sort I would have expected were perhaps a few 'Wanted' pictures on Piggy Shore's office wall!

Hi all, Hi Mister D-Di The issue of the photos may have a bit to do with the closing of the old Coventry Standard newspaper. I understand that one of the principle journalists there, was a former school pupil. He is of a great age & now lives in Horsted Keynes. I do remember the school photos from the prep school, but I cannot recall any from the senior.

Thanks, Mr D-Di, I was going to ask if the gentleman on the right was DK Adams. He was my form master in 1B, and I liked him. He must have been a good teacher, for he held my attention throughout all his lessons, unlike many other teachers. Under him, I went from the bottom third on the class to 6th place, and my parents were very pleased. He was there because he wanted to be there, was interested in his subjects, and was keen to impart that information (as opposed to many of the older ones, who seemed to hate the kids, were only there to get their monthly salary, and couldn't wait to retire). He was a lively person with a great sense of humour, and treated us as young adults (a mistake, some might argue), and not draconian; he was firm but fair, and only on rare occasions did he raise his voice and come down with both boots, and then only when someone was taking the proverbial. He certainly looks older than I remember him, but that picture was taken years later. A younger bloke called Kennedy took 1A, and I got the impression he was very strict. Of all the teachers in the junior school, Adams was, for my money, the best, and the only one I took to. Unfortunately, I was not in Transition, so never had Mrs Gates, but I liked her nevertheless, and feel I have missed out by starting late at Henry's. PW Foster was the head, another motivated teacher, and he took us for RI (RE?), no, Scripture it was called then, and some beginners' French - I can still sing the first verse of En passant par la Lorraine.

PS throughout my whole sentence stint at KHVIII, the only photos I remember being taken were on sports days. Which is why there is no photographic record of me!

The "grim" Mrs Gardner got a mention in one of the previous postings. I never met her - I don`t think, anyway - she was school secretary, probably from 1947 onward and maybe earlier. The reason I remember her is that she lived in Oldfield Rd, just across from where my uncle lived and also where my paternal grandparents lived a little bit further down at 201. I believe she was consulted regarding the entry of my younger brother Jeremy A. Turner into the junior school, he then graduated to the senior school and subsequently went on after me to join the Merchant Navy school ship HMS Conway. One tale he used to tell me was when he was in the junior school, they "associated" on the Top Green, during lunchtime, with pupils from the nearby Coventry Preparatory School - apparently association was by way of a pitched battle. I believe the head of that school was John Phipps, ex KHS and I seem to remember a schoolboy international Rugby player. Can anybody confirm any of this?

My teachers in juniors were Mrs Gates in transition, Miss Hammersley in LPA, Mrs Collins in UPA, and Mr Kennedy in 1A. Mrs Collins sent me to Foster for some reason I never really gathered and he slippered me, so I remember the gratuitously violent, child-beating, spittle-flecked bloke quite well. That was the end of my limited interest in education, attention was thereafter focused on avoiding being caught. Not an easy task for an 11 year old nearly 6ft tall with bright, ginger hair. Mr Adams ran the stamp club, which at the time I was quite keen on, and he used to take us for aptitude tests, these were the sort of logic and grammar questions that cropped up in the 11 plus and were in preparation for that. I got on with him quite well.

I joined after Transition year, and had Miss Poulton in LPB, Mr Dobson in UPB, and Mr Adams in 1B. I remember Mrs Collins only because she lived further up Lake View Rd from our house, and often got the same bus back home. She was a bespectacled middle aged lady who I suspect was a lot younger than she appeared to me - but then, anyone over 21 was old. Dis1, you've reminded me of an incident which made me dislike Mr Kennedy. For some reason, he took our class over the road into the park, the object of the exercise being to determine the height of a large holly tree from the ground, using a sighting device which measured the angle to the ground, and a tape measure. The exercise was so simple and obvious to some of us, that one of my classmates found something more interesting, and I willingly got roped in. We were at the back of the crowd, and mistakenly thought we were out of sight, but Kennedy clocked us, told us off and we had to report to him after the lesson. I can't remember the punishment (probably lines), but even then we thought he went over the top for such a minor infraction. Mr Adams would have made light of it in front of the class, and that would have been the end of the matter. But he was older and wiser perhaps.