King Henry VIII Grammar School

We tried to push the limits on hair length, but the other was the length of sideburns/sideboards! I seem to remember the limit was halfway down the ear, but this was always an area of controversy. Regarding flares during my time at KHVIII (I left in 1970), it became quite difficult to actually buy trousers with the regulation size turn-up. My era also saw some of the controversy over drainpipes and winkle-pickers!

Can't remember that. Probably introduced after my time there.

"Pope" Harris had the monopoly on ridiculously big sideburns. Drainpipes and winkle-pickers were in during my junior school time. I left KHVIII in 1971.

Does anyone on here remember Rod Olney and Nigel Chatland and what happened to them and where they are now? I'm trying to get in touch with Nigel for myself and also for Rod Dunnett who I speak to on a regular basis. Online searches are proving fruitless in Nigel's case.

The school used to post the details (including present contact details if they were happy to reveal them) of all former pupils on the alumni site. I can't seem to find them now, I wonder if they've been taken down due to privacy regulations? You could try the F/B page or possibly even the school office?

Same here - I've been trying to trace people myself, especially now Brian Masters. I am class of 55 but he joined later in the 3rd or 4th year, not 13+ but moved to Cov from elsewhere. I have asked the OCA for info and they have said his name is recorded but can't, or won't, tell me anything else.

I also got sent to see Pig many times. One occasion was for smoking. As I hadn't actually been caught smoking my story was I was using the toilet for its intended purpose. A difficult fallacy to maintain when the trough was blocked with half smoked cigarettes. However, my denial was accepted and we moved on to discuss my academic progress, or lack thereof. During this discussion Pig took out a packet of 10 No.6 and lit one, then suddenly said, "Oh sorry," and offered me the packet. Instinctively my hand came from behind my back, but my brain kicked in and changed it to smoothing my hair. The two of us looked at one another, and he nodded, and told me to go. He wasn't fooled. I actually always found him very straight, we both knew the rules and his job was to enforce them. I always found him human.

As a smoking venue, the toilets left quite a lot to be desired. There were regular patrols, and people were routinely 'busted'. We briefly used the new facilities intended for the soon-to-arrive girls (next to room 5); ultimately, though, an off-site location was the answer. During the lunch break, this was under a big tree in the memorial park. Of course, this was too far to go at morning break time; a back alley giving access to garages across the other side of Spencer Road was perfect. Then the cafe at the rail station installed a 'Space Invaders' machine! In those less enlightened times, smoking in cafes was practically compulsory. One lunchtime, surrounded by spectators, I was building up a big score (actually, I never got a high score, but for the purposes of this anecdote, let's say I was 'on fire'). Almost imperceptibly, the crowd melted away until there was just me (cigarette in mouth) and Ted Norrish! Other venues included the multi-storey car park at the station; the footbridge over the railway; and behind the temporary classrooms next to the railway line. Incidentally, a question for other forum members: in my day, there was an annual sixth-form disco. This was always cancelled immediately afterwards (for bad behaviour), and then reinstated after 11 months of pleading and extravagant promises of good conduct! I presume this was a later introduction... anyone else remember this element of school life?

Agreed. When I was there, all the boys went in fear of him, as if he were an ogre. But that was just the general perception of him. I can only remember being late at the gate once, by a mere few minutes, and a prefect who knew me (I was now a senior boy), who was dealing with a young lad who was late, saw me, and nodded me through without a word. I thought ok, we'll forget all about it then. The following week, however, I was summoned to see Piggy, and it became apparent that the prefect had in fact reported me for lateness, probably after the younger lad protested. I explained to Piggy that I was unaware that I had been reported. He asked me what the prefect had said to me, and when I told him nothing, he sided with me and said "I've had this sort of thing too many times before. If a prefect doesn't make it clear to a boy that he's being marked late, then that boy isn't late as far as I'm concerned. I shall be having a word with the prefects. You may go." Looking back, I have a certain sympathy for Piggy. From reading this forum, it seems he was there many years before Walker, and thought he was destined for the headmastership, but was left doing all the day to day, mundane, run-of-the-mill, i.e. non-academic duties, as deputy. I daresay he was stuck in a day job he came to resent, because, at his age, he couldn't get a job elsewhere - we've always had an ageist job recruitment policy in force in this country, and still do this day, as I can attest - a job he needed because he needed a monthly salary. His voice was gruff because he was a) a Yorkshireman and b) a smoker. But his bark was worse than his bite. Firm but fair. And with a wry sense of humour, e.g. biro-marking a boy's face in assembly, calling his hair a tea cosy, and the occasional deliberate ungrammatical term, e.g. referring to lost property "whoever belongs this item collect it from my office!".

Just remembered, another example of Piggy's mundane duties. He once told the school to be careful not to leave lights on unnecessarily in empty rooms, as he had just received the electricity bill, and for the past term it was over £500, which was a huge sum back in those days.

An interesting tale about being late, Slim. I was never late in my first few years there, but in the last 2-3 years I used to get a lift to school with the father of a lad who lived in the same road. They were notoriously poor at getting up in the morning and sometimes I would arrive and find them having just got up. So it was sometimes after 9am when we arrived. After being collared by a prefect once we decided to find a way in that was not being patrolled, so we went in many times undetected and just went to the classroom as everyone else was leaving assembly. (It was through the Railway Cottages and then behind the gym.) You are certainly right about Piggy's motives. He had been acting head in 1950 and was thought to be a certainty for the post of headmaster. However, the governors brought in Walker over his head despite not having experience as a head or even much as a teacher. Clearly he was seen as a political appointment. They were happy to keep Piggy on to do the day to day dirty work which he did seem to relish. He may have had a kind streak but most never saw it. I'm sure he carried resentment for years and he certainly had a downer on some lads. The only semblance of fairness was that he was equally miserable to everyone so my sympathy for him being overlooked as head is very limited. He didn't do too badly out of it though. He lived in one of Coventry's more desirable addresses, Cannon Close. I love the story about the electricity bill. When you consider the size of the place, the energy used must have been phenomenal. Most classrooms were dark and dingy and so lights were on for every lesson as I recall. Maybe it was a throwback from wartime but many teachers were incredibly miserly with books, paper and so on. It was as if they were parting with their own money.

I never had a particular problem with Piggy, and found him generally fair. I once had my bus pass stolen from the gym and was told to report the theft to him, which I did. Rather cheekily I asked him if he'd lend me the bus fare home as I really didn't want to walk. He lent me the money. I made the deliberate effort of giving him the money back the next day. He was completely surprised, I don't think he ever expected to see the money again.

Yes, much of the school was very old, with little daylight and only old incansdescent lamps, as opposed to the more efficient fluorescent luminaires. I remember one such room, our form room number 8, with its old industrial-looking pan lamps hanging down. They had large lamps, at least 200W each. I doubt their luminous efficacy was more than 9 or 10 lm/W. Compare that to modern LED types! I never knew Piggy lived that near to home (Canley). I remember his car, a dark blue Vauxhall. He had his own private parking space, protected by wooden gates. It was between the new junior school hall and the abutment which included, on first floor level, Joe Soap's art room. There was a story that some of the older lads were messing around one lunchtime in one of the second floor rooms, and that a haversack was hurled across the room and smashed through a glass-slatted window, ending up on the ground next to Piggy's car. The lads allegedly fled, and one of them retrieved his haversack. I have no idea if the story was true. I'm sure Piggy would have said something about it in assembly!

I don't remember Piggy having a Vauxhall. I seem to remember him having a dark Rover P5. I also seem to remember him giving a history teacher, Cazalette a lift into school most days. I don't think we've mentioned Cazalette before but I always found him OK, if a bit of a dandy, compared to the rest of the staff.

I can remember that parking space that Piggy had. It was indeed behind those locked gates in a gap created by the new Junior School hall. Not entirely sure of what car he had but it could well have been a Rover. The gates didn't stop some lads throwing items of food or whatever over it onto Piggy's car if they had crossed him. I do remember Cazalet. He taught me history for a year or two. In the 6th form you did either history or geography when you were in a science stream. As the geography option had been Bugsy Leachman most of us chose history. He was a decent chap, one of the younger, more enlightened teachers who were replacing the old guard. I remember him being very tall, at least 6'6". He lived in Stareton Close which is off Cannon Close, so getting a lift from Piggy would make sense, although I expect he would have needed to open the window!