Starting Year 1956
Gateshead Grammar School
Colin Hay writes
"came upon your web page and I am fascinated with the photos.However I need a bit of time to absorb all of your info.I attended Gateshead Grammar School between 1956-1961 and recognise most of the buildings and locations although not many of the faces.Most of the teachers are familiar.I had many a whack from Slipper Sam's plimsole and do still poccess a class photo with our form master 'Wacky Jacky Robertson' I do recall the incident when Tom Thumb's mini was carried into the courtyard.I believe that was in the summer of 1961. I also used to spend a lot of time with Lee Hetherington during the late 1950's although he probably doesn't remember me these days."
Jack Bickerton started out a buyer and changed to sales, in the fashion business and ultimately in Kitchen and Bedroom Design. Divorced from wife Rosemary; they have a daughter Ruth and son John. For many years Jack played guitar in local groups and cut a record which got into the top ten...
...thousand. Now retired, Jack lives at Heworth, Gateshead. Still an NUFC fan
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John Stoker worked in Local Government for most of his career and has now retired. His wife Pauline still works for Gateshead Council so John has got, not just a part time job, but an M&S part time job. With their son Luke they live at High Heworth. Still an SAFC fan. John played in the short lived football team, described by Jim Farquhar in Starting Year 1952
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Per Friends Reunited, Derrick Noble went into catering and held various management positions including postings to Cyprus/ Tanzania/ Seychelles. Self employed since 1982, owning various catering outlets. Closed last one in 2003, now doing consultancy work. Married to Irene, also from Gateshead. 2 sons, Christopher and Nicholas, 25 and 22 respectively. Now living in Llandudno (North Wales) and have done since 1978.
He left Gateshead Grammar in 1961(at 16) but remember the names of some of those lads who left in 1963 - the brainy ones who stayed on to 6th. form.
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Richard Merelie.
His claim to fame is that he designed and produced the Christmas card featured on the Homepage
Richard writes
I recall knocking in trepidation on the Headmaster’s Office door at the end of the Main Corridor. “Come back with some designs and prices”, he said. So I did. Apart from trying to get the message right, the biggest decision was whether to have a blue or maroon bow on the front! Blue seemed a bit more sophisticated.
The cards were made by Norman Ward Limited on Kells Lane, Low Fell. The company was founded in 1919 and moved to those premises in 1930, but are probably no longer there. I still have a copy of the card, signed by classmate “Gavin”.
I studied Town Planning at Newcastle University, went to Edinburgh for 2 years to do research, then worked in London for 20 years and later in the Bristol area. Recently retired. Married Susan Charlton from the Girls’ Grammar. We both went to Low Fell Primary, where we were taught by my mother, though not at the same time. We have a son and a daughter.
I recall very well the experience of Slipper Sam’s slipper. Also, Music Master’s (Forster) cane – 6 of the best to the assurance that “This hurts me more than it hurts you boy”. Then there was Art Master’s (Doxford?) ¼ inch thick leather horse strap. That stung too.
Not forgetting the art of balancing perilously on a chair trying to decline “bellum” whilst being finger poked in the ribs by Latin Master (Fawcett). The bullying style of swimming teacher Sarsefield (?) put me off learning to swim for many years.
And there were all those detentions and lines. To me, the most memorable was “I must eschew chewing chewing gum in class” x500. The meaning of eschew is still well engrained.
Despite all that, I still have my Student’s Report Book, my blazer badge and my 1961 Long, framed, but not yet hung. Otherwise, I’m reasonably normal.
Incidentally, I appear on the top row of the 1961 photograph, 5 along to the left of Malcolm Burns.
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Albert Victor Watson writes
I was at GGS from 1956-61, and I was in the same class as Mal Burns, your photographer,
who I seem to remember being known as "Man Mountain" Burns. I am in the 1961 panoramic.
I was friendly at the time with Gavin Hugh Kinnaird Christie, George Edward Potts (with whom I'm still touch), Keith Hazlehurst, Everard James Walton,
( a fellow fan of the guitarist Duane Eddy), Edgar Luxton (the only person I knew who knew more about rock'n'roll than I did), Stuie Walton (who was so cool that I got excited when he invited me to go to the pictures with his gang at a cinema in Low Fell)....those are the names that spring to mind.
I left during the first term of Sixth Form and got a job as an office boy in the newsroom of the Evening Chronicle.
This led to 23 years in journalism in Newcastle and London, then at the age of 41 I was ordained as a Church of England clergyman,
and am now Rector of Tye Green in Harlow, Essex.
My brother David was also at the school about six years later than me, and is now retired and living in Turkey. I didn't get into trouble a lot, but I remember being sent to "the Boss" (Dr. Caffrey?) for wearing a CND badge.
Was there a teacher (who lasted only one term) who preached Communism and hit pupils on the knuckles with the edge of a ruler, drawing blood
....or is that a weird nightmare???
If there is any way of hearing from anyone who remembers me, I would be interested.
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