121st REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 21st September 2009

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

An example of C0cks's pedantry has just come to mind.  "What are you doing, boy?".  "I'm just lending Smith a compass."  "I don't believe you, boy."  "But Sir, here it is!".  "I knew you were lying: that's not a compass you're showing me; it's a pair of compasses."  A compass is for navigation, a pair of compasses is for drawing circles - a linguistic distinction which I'd guess fell out of common usage in the early years of the 20th century.

122nd REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 17th July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Lots of us on this thread will have school contemporaries in the RUGBY PICTURE in the MUSEUM.  I recognise several as yet unnamed faces.  Please help to put me out of my misery and remind me who they are!

123rd REPLY

NAME: Adam Lines   Then & Now

DATE: 20th July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

I'm pretty sure its Ray Johnston(e) next to Chris Layson, 3rd from left, front row.

124th REPLY

NAME: Chris Mungovan

DATE: 21st July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Rugby team: back row second left Bob Hungate, middle row second left Keith Humphries.  Memories fading now are they Nigel ?

125th REPLY

NAME: Adam Lines   Then & Now

DATE: 21st July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Front row far right - ? Waring - lived in Friars Walk (no 84?) off Monkfrith Way, Southgate (as did David Lowen (Monkfrith Close, No 6?).  I understand David became quite an eminent journalist I believe starting his career writing an unofficial QE journal published by the Bashitout Press which was less contentious than the infamous Isotope ...

126th REPLY

NAME: Stephen Giles  

DATE: 22nd July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Yes I can recognise Ted Hungate - a Borehamwood boy! Who remembers being on the receiving end of his bowling?  I remember sheer terror!!

127th REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 22nd July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Thank you! [see replies 122-126]  I've never been good with faces, and, as Chris M so delicately points out, age probably doesn't help.  For what it's worth I reckon the four latest identifications are spot on: in decreasing order of my confidence in recognition: Ray Johnstone, Roger Wearing, Keith Humphrey, Ted Hungate. Ray Johnstone lived somewhere down Bells Hill and his father did something exciting - or so it struck me - in the ambulance service.

128th REPLY

NAME: Mike Hagger

DATE: 27th July 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1955-61

One character who seems to have drifted in and quickly out of this thread is Sid Clark (Chemistry and Putting the Shot).  If nothing else he had one virtue in that he took cross country running and, for the senior school, would take it on a Friday evening instead of a Saturday afternoon.  This had two special benefits, a) it allowed us to visit Underhill on the Saturday and watch Bobby Brown, Alf and Dennis D'Arcy and others playing for Barnet FC, and b) the evening run usually finished around 5.30 pm, thus being in good time to slip into the back bar of The Mitre for a well deserved pint!

129th REPLY

NAME: Brian Seal  

DATE: 3rd August 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil (allegedly) 1957-63

Goymer; Duncan, Barker?; Sleap, D'Arcy, Cantwell; Welch, D'Arcy, Brown, Harding & Finch actually Mike.  Shame I can't remember my Latin conjugations like that !

130th REPLY

NAME: Mark Lodge

DATE: 21st September 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: 'Tenuous'

I hope you will excuse me for butting in, but Richard Dilley [see replies 7,15,16,28,119,120] was my old housemaster at the school he worked at before QEB.  He was a dear man and (I realise now) probably the best and safest pair of hands to cope with recently bereaved children.  I especially remember his kindnesses and, above all, his tolerance and patience(not the same thing, of course).  Could anyone tell me if he is still with us?

131st REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 22nd September 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

He (Richard Dilley) would have been a very young housemaster indeed if he had had that role before he came to QE - which was in 1957, at the age of 25.  After leaving QE I believe he held at least two headmasterships, one being of the Royal Masonic School (I may not have the name quite right) at Bushey.  The school closed many years ago.  Let us hope he thrives.

132nd REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 28nd September 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

Correction to reply 131: I can't find any evidence that Richard Dilley was ever headmaster of the Royal Masonic School, though he did go there to teach, after QE.  But I do believe he was head of a School in the London area in the 1990s.  Sorry to have misled.

133rd REPLY

NAME: Vic Coughtrey   Then & Now

DATE: 28nd September 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1954-59

Those who remember R.Dilley will no doubt be interested in this extract from FA Confidential by David Davies.  I can't find any reference to his (Dilley's) career after leaving the Royal Masonic.

134th REPLY

NAME: Mike Cottrell  

DATE: 5th December 2010

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64

I give you four more names for discussion [see replies 122 - 127].  I am not 100% certain but here goes.  Back row far left: Tony Tinson.  Middle row centre: Jack Harkness.  Middle row far right: David Brown.  Front row, second from right: John Symons.

135th REPLY

NAME: John Symons

DATE: 21st March 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-65

I believe this to be the definitive line-up in the rugby team photo: back row (l to r): Tony Tinson, Bob Hungate, Graeme Philips, Stephen Giles, Andrew Spence middle row (l to r): Chris Smith, keith Humphrey, Jack Harkness, Biff Padgett, David Brown front row (l to r): David Lowen, Chris Layson, Ray Johnstone, A? Smith (holding ball), John Symons, Roger Wearing.

136th REPLY

NAME: Brian Seal  

DATE: 29th March 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: Ex-pupil (allegedly!)

John, wasn't it MARK Smith holding the ball (or rather, hiding behind it!)?

137th REPLY

NAME: Stephen Giles  

DATE: 4th April 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: Inmate 1957-64

I'm sure that is Colin Smith on the far left in the middle row - he lived next door to me in Lullington Garth, Borehamwood, and became a teacher in the St Albans area my sister tells me. My wife and I hope to catch some polo in Buenos Aires this later this month when we are there between various trips in Argentina - a grand sport if you ever get to a game!

138th REPLY

NAME: S J Hersom

DATE: 14th December 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: Escaped 1971

John Pearce [see reply 64, also other threads] lived with his mother round the corner in Kings Road, not far from Huw Purchas.  As I recall he retired when the school went comprehensive which was about 1971.  When his mother died he sold-up and moved to Newcastle where the former curate of St Peter's Arkley had gone (Poker was a diligent lay preacher but Barnet held nothing for him).  He died not long afterwards.  That just-retired clergyman lives in a house in the Lake District named 'Underne'.

139th REPLY

NAME: S J Hersom

DATE: 15th December 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: Escaped 1971

I had the misfortune to have Sam [see replies 119-121 and many others in this thread] as form master both in the 4th and 5th form.  Obviously we got him for Geography and it's a mystery that anyone passed their 'O' level.  I recall one lesson being devoted to reading out the railway timetable from one side of Canada to the other.  His rendition of 'Kamloops' stays with me.  He also taught us Religious Knowledge at 'O' Level for what I believe was the last year it was done.  The pass rate was execrable - maybe 2 or 3 got through - mainly because none of the questions related to the parts of the Bible that Sam had covered.  We also had Tim Edwards teaching us German with only a slightly better outcome.  Sam's devotion to the Empire edition of the Phillips School Atlas and his refusal to accept that 'his' countries were vanishing from the map was appalling.  His attitude to his charges was contemptuous yet when he retired there was genuine emotion in the packed hall.  He said he would be buying a carpet with the money so that every time he walked on it he would think of the boys.

140th REPLY

NAME: Nigel Wood  

DATE: 19th December 2011

CONNECTION WITH QE: pupil 1957-64

Thank you, SJH, for such an interesting read.  I find C0cks's carpet quip quite distasteful.  Have I lost my sense of humour?  I thought I'd grown out of believing that my school teachers existed only in school but, until your fascinating post, the belief might have lingered on in the case of Poker Pearce.  He was an austere figure, and seemed to take life (and possibly himself) with immense seriousness.  I recall a lesson (third or fourth form) in which he started to read us a story, intended, by the sound of it, for younger children.  There was some slight audible derision, whereupon he abruptly stopped reading and made us write something for the rest of the lesson.  Rather childish, I thought.