King Henry VIII Grammar School

I didn't ever have a problem with Piggy. He was kind enough to lend me my bus fare home after my bus-pass and money were stolen from the gym changing rooms when I was a 3rd former. I paid him back the very next day. He seemed surprised, but always remembered me after that. The mags that were produced were actually quite funny, if rather disrespectful to some of the less than popular staff.

I'd like to have seen those. I wonder what proportion of staff were as you say less than popular compared to those who were popular? Have to be careful about names though, don't want to get in too much trouble. Naming the popular ones should be OK though.

Reminds me of the class reunion, which I believe was 25 years after starting in the main school. The invitation was sent in the post to my parents' house. My old pal and I had intended to go, but my pal was offended because his name had been missed off the list completely. I wrote to Jeff, pointing out several names that I knew of that were missing from our year, and he replied, saying "proof that I have completely come off my trolley". Nonetheless, my friend did not attend, preferring to leave the past in the past. In addition to a student list, there was a staff list; many of whom were by now either retired or deceased. Sadly, two of the boys from our year were deceased within a year of leaving school.

I have belatedly heard that the former Head of Music, J A Barnes, aka Beeb, passed away last month

Beeb was OK, unlike many of the other 'teachers' that prowled the corridors of that dreadful place.

I have always appreciated Beeb's analytical approach to music which made listening to the 'story' so much more enjoyable. As a consequence my range of musical tastes have always been most diverse, covering most genres. I believe he was mostly responsible for a school trip to Ludlow to attend a 'Jazz and Poetry' event which certainly brought to me a real appreciation of the merger of music and prose.

RIP Be Bop Barnes

Interesting that you say that, EK. While I appreciated his passion for music, I always thought I learnt nothing from the Beeb's lessons. He played some Haydn, told us it was wonderful, then played some Beethoven, and told us it was wonderful etc etc. But I don't remember him ever saying WHY they were wonderful. Years after I left KHVIII, I remember a brilliant BBC radio programme about the history of music - they linked it to the changing church architectures, changing musical instrument technology, and finally the introduction of microphones and hifi. That's when I learned why Haydn, Beethoven etc were ahead of their time, and I learnt other things that were closer to my musical interests - e.g. the fact that Bing Crosby, Al Bowlly, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and the like could never have been successful prior to the microphone technology that allowed them to "croon" to an audience, instead of the operatic shrieking and bellowing that preceded them. I later had two other musical epiphanies. In a dingy hotel breakfast room in Paris in 1978, I found that the guy on my left was the music director for an American Theatre group, and I asked him what should have been a simple question - why are the frets on a dulcimer spaced unevenly, but a guitar's frets get progressively closer together? [Answer should have been: - guitar has black and white (piano) notes; dulcimer has only white notes]. The professional musician hadn't a clue, but the young French mathematician on my right explained the whole thing in calculus! The Beeb cannot be blamed for not realising that this was the best way to teach me music! My second was in 1974 when trying to turn a quarter acre of solid clay into a garden, with the radio on in the background. One piece of music drove me mad - it stayed with me, going round in my head over and over again. Eventually I had to ask in a high class record shop in Melbourne - that's Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, they told me when I hummed it. My resulting fascination with all things Ellington taught me about chord structures (all those jazz sevenths!!), and I started to recognise how the Haydns and Beethovens contributed to the development of western music. Again, the Beeb can't be blamed for omitting Duke Ellington from his attempts to educate me - I'm just weird! Fascinating to know that he took a school party to a Jazz and Poetry event - I would never have associated him with such things - maybe I underestimated him!! RIP Beeb indeed!

The changes in technology have really had a great impact on music as you say, JW. The electronic era certainly has allowed a more intimate interaction with the 'breathy' performances of some vocalists to the vocal colourations achieved by singers 'working' the microphone between lip contact and arms length distances. Most entertainment venues can, indeed, no longer work at all in a purely acoustic mode and require intricate control of signal delays and reverberation to allow acceptable sound to be heard by the audience. Regarding Beeb, a couple of instances spring to mind. Firstly, how a dynamic orchestral and conductor combination brought the music of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet to life, evoking the relevant emotions throughout the performance. Secondly, discovering how Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antarctica used female voices to impart the impression of howling winds during Scott's ill-fated expedition. Having said that, I admit that much of classical music went over my head at the time due to my rising interest in the Stones, Beatles and a multitude of one hit wonders until contemporary folk caught my attention and gave me the urge to strum a guitar. Interesting about the dulcimer, I'd never thought about that! Returning to contemporary folk music, the Corries caught my attention when they played their own design of instruments called "Combolins", which produce a particularly distinctive sound. Here's a couple of links which explains much better than I can: Combolin in action The Corries, Combolin

In the fifth year, I think, our form room was the music room. Jack Wrench was our form master, and on Friday morning, we would all be in the music room early for form assembly, and Jack was inevitably late. The doors to the rooms and blocks were unlocked 24/7. Someone would keep watch by the window, as it was a long trek from the main block, so advance warning could be given of a teacher approaching. Some of the lads would bring their LPs in and play them on the Tannoy first thing in the morning. I don't recall the pick-up ever being missing though. I don't think Beeb would have approved of unauthorised use of the Tannoy.

After all these years, I bumped into Pete Jones last night (in a pub). He is very much alive and well and lives in the Kenilworth area. He has now retired, and was still at KHVIII when he retired. He was big enough to admit "I couldn't get a job anywhere else!".

My name is Alan Gibbons and I was one of about 30 pupils from Coventry who passed a 13+ scholarship examination to transfer from secondary modern schools to King Henry VIII Grammar School in about 1955. I believe that this was a unique experiment. I would be interested to hear from others who shared this experiment. For me it was a success and I went on to university after leaving the KHVIII sixth form. For some others it wasn't such a happy experience; I have just read a post from 'Herberts Lad' to this effect. From what he says I cannot identify him, but perhaps he would like to exchange messages - especially since we appear to have transferred from the same secondary school (Cheylesmore). I would welcome postings from members who shared this experience or who could shed light on it. Many thanks. Subsequently, with the help of Brian Stansfield, I have started to compile a list of names in the 13+ class. In alphabet order, we have so far: Kenny Archer ? Cave Michael Cole Bob Cooke Colin England Bob Garrett Alan Gibbons ? Hewitt Bob Jarrett Duncan Jenkins Norman Lines Duncan McGrory Andy Miller Malcolm Miller Tony Poole Alan Riding ? Riley John Smythe Brian Stansfield Robert Toye

Hi Alan Great to hear from you, remember you very well as friends with Hewitt, Duncan Jenkins, other names I recall are Alan Riding, Cave, Duncan McGrory, Alan Davey, Riley, Tony Poole, Colin England, Bob Cooke, Robert Cole, Robert Toye, Kenny Archer, and a few others when I stir my grey matter. Have sent you an email so a catch up is on. Teachers included Bert Wrench, Joe Swan, Alf Crocker, Pop Cork, Bert Stanger, Harry Dunne, Be Bop, Piggy Shaw, Yes I was part of the experiment but did not complete into A level as my calling was to get into Engineering, Alfred Herbert, hence my name.

The School Archive has been asked for information about a teacher in the KHVIII Junior School in the 1930s. Her name was K M Atkinson and by 1944 she was teaching in Wellington. She appears to have been Philip Larkin's junior school form teacher in 1932 and then went to visit him in January 1944. If you have any information, please post it here or email me.