the almondburian: july 2011

TheALMONDBURIAN

March2011

THE MAGAZINE OF THE OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY

IN THIS ISSUE3 Chairman’s Letter4 OAS Calendar5 OAS Membership6 Annual General Meeting

10 Executive Officers 201113 From the Headteacher16 Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day19 Call to Action!27 And what became of …?28 Terry’sTeaser29 Nigel is Solicitor of theYear30 Yekeniyeley, Old Almondburians!34 Kimbolton trounce the Aussies35 In search ofVernon Scannell38 Cricket39 Badminton40 Golf41 Soccer41 Tennis42 Frank Anderson remembered46 Letter from Porthcawl49 Postbag51 Obituaries

OUR COVERThis month, we launch our ‘Call to Action’ campaign to restore and improve the Cricket

Pavilion, which has suffered serious vandalism in recent years.Special feature: page 19

NEXT ISSUEThe next issue ofThe Almondburian will be published on 1st July 2011.The Editor welcomes articles and letters onrelevant topics; emails should be sent to [email protected] or you may prefer to write to the editorial

address given on the back cover.We reserve the right to edit articles as necessary.Views expressed bycorrespondents are not necessarily those ofThe Old Almondburians’ Society.

Closing date for contributions: 18th May 2011

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The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society

The ALMONDBURIAN

THIS year’sAnnual Dinner was again well attended – a fitting tribute to PatrickO’Brien andWalter Raleigh who both retired after many years of dedicatedservice to the school.The traditional Founders’ Day parade up St. Helens

Gate also had a respectable number of OldAlmondburians present, with readings inchurch from the Joint Chairman and the Honorary Secretary.One of our main activities this year is the launch of the ‘Call to Action’ project,

which is featured in this issue and involves a major refurbishment of the cricketpavilion. If anyone would like to be involved in any capacity, please get in touch withone of the members of the Committee.

Editor: Roger Dowling March 2011

EMILY COMER / NICKY MURPHY

Chairmen’s letter

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OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDARDATES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEMEETINGS, 2011The Executive Committee of the Society

meets upstairs at the ‘Woolpack’ inAlmondbury. Meetings are held each monthat 7.30 pm, with the exception of Augustwhen there is no meeting.Any member ofthe Society who would like to attend one ofthese meetings will be made most welcomeon the following dates: 7th March, 4th April,9th May, 6th June, 4th July, 5th September,3rd October, 7th November, 5th December.

BADMINTONWe play in the School sports hall each

Thursday evening during term-time, from 7.30pm until 9.30 pm.Further details fromAndrewHaigh ([email protected]).

OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ CRICKET CLUBThe new season will start on Easter

Sunday, 24th April. Nets: 14th March, 28thMarch, 4th April and 11th April, from 6 pm to8 pm. Further details from JackTaylor([email protected]).

QUIZ EVENINGThe annual Old Almondburians’ Society

Quiz will be held in the Conservative Club,Almondbury, onWednesday, 4th May at 7.30pm. Generally, the contest is between aroundeight teams of three or four people.Members and their guests can enter theirteam in advance, or they are welcome toturn up on the night and participate in what

is always very enjoyable evening. Quizmaster,as always, will be Keith Crawshaw, and a lightsupper will be provided during the interval.

GOLFThe 2011 Gothard Cup Golf Competition

will take place on Friday, 8th July atWoodsomeHall Golf Club with the traditionalpresentation dinner in the club houseafterwards.The tee time is between 4.00 pmand 5.00 pm. Further details from SimonRussell ([email protected]).

ANNUAL DINNERThis year’s Annual Dinner will be held on

Saturday, 26th November. Full details,together with an application form for tickets,will appear in the next issue of TheAlmondburian, due out on 1st July. It is alwaysgood to see members making a special effortto stage a re-union of their year at the dinnerand such occasions are always enjoyable, sothose with a special anniversary this year,members of the classes of 1941, 1951, 1961,1971, 1981, 1986, 1991 or 2001 for exampleor, indeed, anyone else who takes a notion todo so, should consider starting to organisetheir class re-union earlier rather than later.

FOUNDERS’ DAYThe traditional Founders’ Day Service

will as usual be held the day after the AnnualDinner, Sunday, 27th November. Full detailswill be given in due course in TheAlmondburian and on www.oas.org.uk.

Wewere particularly saddened to learn just before Christmas of the death ofAustinHolroyd, a keen supporter of the OldAlmondburians’ Society over many years.Austinwas Social Secretary of the OAS before the war, and in more recent years – living onlyhalf a mile away from the School in Dark Lane - he would often give talks toYear 7 pupilsabout his early years at King James’s during the time ofTaylorDyson.Austinwas a valuablemember of the 400thAnniversary committee.This will be our last Chairmen’s Letter as we have now handed over our

responsibilities to the formerVice Chairman, Nick Briggs. We wish him every successin the coming year and we will attempt to support him and the rest of the committee asmuch as possible when we have time free from our upcoming role as new parents. �

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MEMBERSHIP currentlystands at 737. Only 45members are now still paying

their subscription at the old rate,although 17 of these are members whohave failed to notify us of a change ofaddress, resulting in their magazinesbeing returned. Because we havetherefore lost contact with them, theywill not be aware that the subscriptionrate has changed.With your help we have tracked down

seven of the 24 such members who werelisted in the last magazine and they arenow pleased to be receiving theirmagazines once again, so thank you to themembers who supplied this information.The remaining members with whom wehave lost contact are listed below; theseinclude three fully paid-up memberswhose last magazine was returnedmarked ‘gone away’. If you know thewhereabouts of any of them, then wewould be delighted to hear from you.Thelist has changed considerably since thelast magazine, so please check carefullywhether or not there is anyone on itwhom you know.

OAS MembershipANDREW HAIGH

Name From To Resident inDr Michael Lowis 1950 1955 NorthamptonJohn Goodall 1953 1960 WakefieldDr John Comyn 1953 1961 LeicesterWilliam Nadin 1949 1953 SouthportSimon Charles Hartley 2005 2010 LeptonSally Starbuck 1979 1985 DublinStanley Kilvington 1943 1948 Stockport

Name From ToKathryn E Auger 1982 1987

Anthony John Bradley 1970 1979

Peter Ralph Breach 1972 1978

Matthew S Brearey 1988 1991

Frederick C Bungeroth 1951 1959

Stuart G Carby 1962 1970

John Chacksfield 1967 1973

Name From ToSydney C Edwards 1962 1969

Sarah E Foster 1989 1992

Raldon Ian Gallaway 1947 1955

Carl Maxwell Hague 1955 1962

Michael Haigh 1971 1978

Timothy Jackson 1965 1973

Lucy J Jacob 1990 1995

Name From ToKenneth Richard Massey 1957 1964

Benjamin J Newton 1991 1996

Michael J Rimmicans 1992 1994

Michael Alan Taylor 1965 1973

Gerard N Vinton 1977 1983

Michael Craig Vinton 1985 1989

Unfortunately, we currently have 31members who are in arrears with theirsubscription for the current year.The vastmajority of members now pay theirsubscription by standing order and itwould be much appreciated if those ofyou who don’t yet do so could completea standing order mandate. If not, pleasepay promptly. Subscriptions are due on1st September each year. If you receive aletter with this newsletter pointing outthat your subscription is not up-to-date,please do complete the updated standingorder mandate that accompanies it andreturn it in the envelope providedwithout delay. Alternatively, you mayrenew online, using PayPal or a debit orcredit card, by visiting www.oas.org.ukand clicking on the‘Join/RenewOnline’button. �

NEW

MEM

BERS

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The Annual General Meeting of the Society was due to be held at the‘Woolpack’,Almondbury,onTuesday,4th January,2011,at 7.30 pm.However,due to problems with the availability of the room, the meeting had to be rescheduled forMonday, 10th January, 2011 at 7.30 pm, again at the ‘Woolpack’,Almondbury.

AttendanceNicky Murphy (chair) Richard GreenAndrew Haigh Angela MellingKeith Crawshaw Bryan HopkinsonPaul Balderstone Roger DowlingJohn Broadbent Nick BriggsVickyTaylor Emily ComerRichardTaylor

Apologies for AbsenceApologies were received from Jack Taylor, Martyn Hicks, Ian Walker, Gary

Woodhouse and Nich Briggs.

The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Monday, 1st February,2010, were read and approved and there were no matters arising.

Joint Chairmen’s ReportNicky Murphy gave his report as ‘fine’.

Treasurer’s ReportKeith Crawshaw gave his report as ‘extremely fine’. He went on to present the

accounts for the financial year ended 31st August, 2010. Keith observed thatsubscription income is down following the anniversary year and we must be carefulnot to let membership drop off too much now that the anniversary is over.AndrewHaigh pointed out that, whilst it is true to say that some of the newer members havenot renewed following the anniversary, it is also the case the subscription income wasartificially inflated during the anniversary year, since there were also many long-standing members who brought overdue subscriptions up-to-date during that year.The Treasurer agreed, and noted that the cost of producing and distributing themagazine has also fallen during the last year.The excess of income over expenditurelast year was £514.62, which was also down on the anniversary year but, again, thathad been an exceptional year. He said that all in all it had been a steady year.Acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Richard Taylor and seconded by PaulBalderstone before being carried unanimously.

10 Januar y 2011

Annual General Meeting

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Membership Secretary’s ReportAndrew Haigh gave his report as ‘fairly fine’. He reported that our membership

currently stands at 737, compared with 817 at this time last year,which is a reductionof 80. However, this reduction is largely due to our new policy of being less tolerantof those who are in arrears with their subscription and it has been partially offset bythe recruitment of 13 new members during the course of the year, which means thatit can still be regarded as quite a successful year.Subscription rate for the FinancialYear commencing 1st September 2011

Keith Crawshaw proposed that the subscription rate remains at £10 per annumand that we should continue with free membership for the first year for those leavingthe school.Andrew Haigh seconded the proposal and it was carried unanimously.Election of President

Paul Balderstone proposed Robert Lamb should be invited to continue aspresident of the Society and this was seconded by Bryan Hopkinson before beingcarried unanimously.There were no President’s Remarks, due to his absence from themeeting, but Angela Melling thanked everyone on his behalf.Election of Executive Officers for 2011

Nicky Murphy proposed theVice-Chairman, Nick Briggs, as the new Chairman.He was seconded by John Broadbent and elected unanimously.

Having been elected,Nick took the chair and continued down the list of Officers.He noted that there had been no nominations for Vice-Chairman this year. PaulBalderstone wondered whether John Broadbent might like to stand. John respondedthat he would prefer to leave the post open just now. Paul asked whether this meant‘not now but later’. Keith Crawshaw wondered whetherVickyTaylor might like totake up the post and Paul Balderstone commented that, if she would, then he wouldbe delighted, with her permission, to propose her. John Broadbent noted the recentinflux of younger members into posts on the Executive Committee,which is good andis partly the reason for his reluctance to accept the post of Vice-Chairman, and hefelt that we have to keep the momentum going. Bryan Hopkinson agreed that it isgood to see younger Chairmen.Angela Melling added that, without wanting to putmore pressure onVicky, it would also be good to see a female Chairman again.Vickytherefore agreed to stand and was proposed by John Broadbent and seconded byAngela Melling, before being elected unanimously.

The other Officers were then re-elected as follows:Honorary Secretary Andrew Haigh Ordinary John BroadbentHonoraryTreasurer Keith Crawshaw Committee Martyn HicksMedia Editor Roger Dowling Members Emily EarnshawChaplain Rev Dave Herbert Gerald SteadRepresentatives of the School Angela Melling There are two vacancies for Ordinary(Sue Cope is to be approached to replace Committee MembersWalter Raleigh)

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Any Other Business:Cricket DinnerRichardTaylor announced that this will take place on12th February at Lockwood Park. He said that theyhave splashed out on an entertainer, Billy Flywheel,who will meet and greet, perform magic at thetables and make a speech. He also mentioned thatnets will start on Monday, 24th January.

Cricket Pavilion ProjectRoger Dowling wanted to bring everyone up tospeed on the proposal to launch a ‘Call toAction’ inthe next edition of the magazine, for which MartynHicks will write a piece. He said that he just wantedreassurance that everyone around the table is happywith what we are doing. RichardTaylor mentionedthat the Trustees of the King James’s School Foundation were also very supportivewhen it was mentioned at their last meeting.The Chairman wondered whether theproject could be sponsored by a brewery.

Quiz EveningVickyTaylor asked whether we should set a date for this.The Secretary said that it isusually held on the lastWednesday in April, but that is in the school Easter holidaysthis year. It was therefore decided that it would be best to go into May andWednesday,4th May was suggested, once again at the Conservative Club.

Date of Next Executive Committee MeetingThe Secretary asked that the date be fixed for the next Executive Committee Meeting.He suggested Monday, 7th February, 2011, and this was agreed.

Vote ofThanksRichardTaylor said that he would like to propose a vote of thanks to all the Officers,since some people put in a tremendous amount of work to keep things going.

The Meeting Closed at 8.43 pm and was followed by the customary pie and peassupper.

(Signed)_:

AMHaigh (Secretary)NMurphy (Joint Chairman)

Opposite:Annual accounts presented byN Murphy & E Comer (Joint Chairmen);

K Crawshaw (Treasurer);J A Swift (Independent Examiner)

New Chairman: Nick Briggs

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2009Printing, Stationery & Postages:

4358 Magazines 4197.85356 Others 446.15 4644.0025 Jessop Prize 25.0040 Young Old Almondburians’ Prizes 60.00

158 Sundry Expenses 50.0043 Paypal Charges 31.496 Quiz Evening Expenses 19.80

KJS Contributions:— Founders’ Day Expenses 80.0069 400 Anniversary Expenses —

400 Speech Day Programmes —— Design Prizes 45.00130 Raffle Prize — 125.00180 OACC President’s Day Sponsorship —

2011 Excess of Income over Expenditure 514.627776 5469.91

20095709 Subscriptions 5319.00

31 Transfer from Life Membership Account 29.27155 Interest Received 5.0718 Surplus on Sales of Ties 3.67

418 Surplus on Sales of DVDs 85.00280 Surplus on Sales of Prints 20.00679 Surplus on Reunion Disco —— Surplus on AGM Supper 0.75486 Surplus on Anual Dinner 7.15

7776 5469.91

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2010

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST AUGUST 20102009

Accumulated FundBalance as at1st September 2009 7104.57Add Excess of

7105 Income over Expenditure 514.62 7619.19Life Membership Account

Balance as at1st September 2009 396.48Add Interest 2.46

398.94Less Transfer to Income

397 & Expenditure Account 29.27 369.67KJS Development Fund

Balance as at1st September 2009 1749.20Add Interest 10.87

1749 Sales of School Histories 20.00 1780.07Net Annual Dinner Receipts

175 in Advance 496.58— Net Reunion Receipts in Advance 217.1350 Subscriptions in Advance 40.00

1643 Sundry Creditors 642.82

11119 11165.46

200918 Trophies 18.0019 Stock of Ties 15.3280 Stock of DVDs —

180 Stock of Prints 175.00Life Membership Account

Nat West Bonus Saver397 Account 369.67

KJS Development FundNat West Bonus Saver

1749 Account 1780.07 2149.74Cash and Bank Balances

Alliance & Leicester Bank:5133 Community Inst Reserve 8138.04

National Westminster Bank:3422 Current Account 467.00

79 Paypal Account 172.4242 Cash in Hand 29.94 8807.40

11119 11165.46

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS 2011

OFFICE NAME ADDRESS CONTACT DETAILS

President Robert Lamb King James’s School WorkTelephone: (01484) 223930Facsimile: (01484) 223934e-mail:[email protected]

Chairman Nick Briggs 17 Fair Street HomeTelephone: (01484) 305734Huddersfield MobileTelephone: (07595) 175835Yorkshire e-mail: [email protected] 3QB

Vice-Chairman VickyTaylor 24Alma Drive MobileTelephone: (07818) 475272Dalton e-mail:[email protected] 9EF

Honorary Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Secretary Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733

Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: [email protected]

Honorary Keith Crawshaw 5 Benomley Drive HomeTelephone:(01484) 533658Treasurer Almondbury

Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01924) 409311Yorkshire e-mail: [email protected] 8LX

Media Editor Roger Dowling Orchard House HomeTelephone: (01925) 756390Oughtrington Lane e-mail: [email protected] 0RD

Ordinary John Broadbent Oaklea HomeTelephone:(01484) 650171Committee 97 Lowestwood Lane e-mail:[email protected] Wellhouse

GolcarHuddersfieldYorkshireHD7 4EW

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Emily Earnshaw 19 Rectory Drive e-mail: [email protected] 0JT

Martyn Hicks 12 Gernhill Avenue HomeTelephone: (01484) 539409Fixby WorkTelephone: (01422) 371751Huddersfield e-mail: [email protected] 2HR

Gerald Stead 60 Holly Bank Road HomeTelephone: (01484) 654406LindleyHuddersfieldYorkshireHD3 3LT

Two vacancies

Chaplain Rev David Herbert The Manse HomeTelephone: (01668) 2195845 Nursery Lane e-mail: [email protected] 7NW

School Angela Melling King James’s School WorkTelephone: (01484) 223930Representatives Facsimile: (01484) 223934

e-mail: [email protected]

Head Boy Jamie Smith

Head Girl Alice Harling

Badminton Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Section Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733Representative Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032

Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: [email protected]

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Cricket Section Jack ATaylor 13Trenance Gardens e-mail: [email protected] Greetland

HalifaxYorkshireHX4 8NN

Golf Section SimonA Russell Phoenix Cottage HomeTelephone: (01484) 685365Representative Upper Hagg Road e-mail: simon@pacific-lifestyle .co.uk

ThongsbridgeHolmfirthYorkshireHD9 3TF

Tennis Section Andrew M Haigh 2Arkenley Lane HomeTelephone: (01484) 432105Representative Almondbury MobileTelephone: (07770) 220733

Huddersfield WorkTelephone: (01484) 400032Yorkshire Facsimile: (01484) 469567HD4 6SQ e-mail: [email protected]

Archivist Nich Briggs 122 Kaye Lane e-mail: [email protected] 8XU

Independent VacantExaminer

Vice-Presidents E Brian Carter M F Dyson Robert BrookK G Shaw Peter L Burns Frederick J SheardD G Armitage J A Ward Richard J GreenGeoffrey Douglas Keith Crawshaw Paul A G BalderstoneJ RichardTaylor John M Drewery JackA TaylorJ AmandaTaylor Malcolm JTaylor James N TaylorDavid Gary Croft David A Bush Graham CliffeRobertWilliams Ian Shaw Bryan HopkinsonEmily Comer Nicky Murphy

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IN the 2010 School PerformanceTables published in January a newperformance measure was

introduced – the English Baccalaureate.Schools were only made aware that themeasure was to be introduced during the

Autumn term 2010, too late to affect theGCSE results for 2010 and too late forYear 10 andYear 11students in 2011 and2012 as they had already chosen andstarted studying their GCSE subjects.To achieve the English Baccalaureate a

student must achieve a GCSE grade A*-C in English,Mathematics, two Sciences,a Modern Foreign Language (whichincludes Latin) and a Humanities subject.Despite the number of students studyingFrench declining it is a measure in whichyou would expect King James’s School todo well.Our results in

GCSE Mathematicsare the best inKirklees, the GCSEEnglish results thesecond best inKirklees and GCSEScience the third bestin Kirklees. Pass ratesat A*-C in thesesubjects are all atrecord levels and wellin excess of 70%. GCSE History andGCSE Geography are popular subjectsthat achieve excellent results and we alsooffer Latin and Classical Civilisation.However our results left us in fifth

position in Kirklees (non-selectiveschools only) in this measure despite

From the HeadteacherROBERT LAMB

One of the best schools in Kirklees – but only fifth in the new EnglishBaccalaureate tables.How can this be?The Headteacher explains.

SCHOOL EnglishBacc % Position

Homfirth High 30 1

Castle Hall 26 2

Shelley College 25 3

Salendine Nook 21 4

King James’s School 18 5

Honley High School 17 6

Almondbury High School 14 7

Batley Girls’ High School 11 8

Colne Valley Arts College 8 9

Mirfield Free Grammar 7 10

All Saints Catholic College 6 11

Whitcliffe Mount 6 12

Moor End Technology College 5 13

Thornhill Community College 4 14

Royds Hall High School 4 15

Newsome High School & Sports College 4 16

Earlsheaton Technology College 4 17

Spen Valley Sports College 1 18

Netherhall High School 1 19

Fartown High School 0 20

List excludes selective schools

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having the bestoverall GCSEresults in Kirkleesfor the secondconsecutive year.

The main reason for this is the freechoice we give our students in the optionsprocess.We offer a wide range of GCSEsubjects, the vast majority being‘traditional’ subjects that even our olderreaders will recognise and more thanlikely will have studied.We do not insist that the students study

a language or a humanity. Instead weencourage them to study those subjectsthat they enjoy and excel in.Consequentlynumerous students achieved in excess of10 GCSEs all withA* orA grades but didnot qualify as Baccalaureate students.Theymay not have chosen History orGeography, for example, so that theycould study GCSE Music or an extralanguage subject. Or, they may not havechosen a language subject, so they couldstudy Physics, Biology and Chemistry.They will have succeeded, at the highestlevel, in four of the five Baccalaureate areasbut unfortunately would not have choseneither a language or a humanity.Thereforethey would not have qualified as aBaccalaureate student. However, all ofthese students will continue to succeedacademically and the vast majority will

end up studying at either Oxbridge oranother of the Russell group ofUniversities.Another reason for our fifth position

was the omission of Classical Civilisationfrom the list of subjects counted as ahumanity. Classical Civilisation is a longestablished and popular subject at theschool and results are excellent. Itsomission is so far unexplained by theDepartment for Education and may be asimple error. No argument has been putforward that the subject is lessacademically demanding or rigorous thanhistory or geography GCSE, nor has itbeen suggested that it should not beclassed as a humanities subject. Theinclusion of Ancient History within theEBacc makes any rationale for theexclusion of Classical Civilisation moredifficult to determine.Latin is another successful subject at

King James’s. In fact we are one of onlytwo comprehensive schools in Kirkleesthat currently offer this subject. Latin isstill very popular with 20 of our currentYear 11 students studying the subject. In2008 we made the decision to offer theWJEC (Welsh Joint EducationCommittee) Certificates in Latin.These

new qualifications are having a massiveimpact nationally with schools reportingdouble or triple the number of studentstaking up the subject to study atexamination level. They are, withoutdoubt, rigorous, academic qualifications

Education secretaryMichael Gove claimsthat the new EnglishBaccalaureate will‘recognise theachievements ofGCSE students whocomplete a broadcourse of studies.’

The Government needs toreconsider its definitionof the Baccalaureate

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with a higher percentage of their marksgiven for language or literature than theLatin GCSE criteria currently allow.Theyare accepted as equivalent to GCSE Latinby universities, including Cambridge.Yetthey are omitted from the list ofBaccalaureate qualifications.This may be asimple error, but it is one that theGovernment needs to be encouraged tocorrect. Until it does, students who takethis course will not qualify asBaccalaureate students and this will notonly affect our figures but may deterstudents from taking the subject.Opposition to the Baccalaureate as a

performance measure is widespread.Many famous and extremely successfulIndependent Schools have introducedIGCSEs (International GeneralCertificates of Secondary Education)which are not recognized andconsequently they have seen their schools’rankings plummet to the bottom of thetables registering lower results than some

of England’s worst-performing schools.The percentage of Baccalaureate

students at Queen Elizabeth GrammarSchool inWakefield – generally regardedas one of the best schools inWestYorkshire– was 0%. Christopher Ray, the HighMaster of The Manchester GrammarSchool, speaking on behalf of HMC, saidthat the English Baccalaureate is a “halfbaked initiative” that fails to recognize the“obvious success of most students in ourschools”.The Government needs to reconsider

its definition of the Baccalaureate andallow schools to respond accordingly.Theearliest that any school can do this will bein 2013. But you can be certain that whenthe 2013 School Performance tables arepublished, King James’s School will haveachieved one of the highest, if not thehighest, rankings in Kirklees. �

�What do YOU think of the EnglishBaccalaureate? Letters and emails to the Editor(contact details on back cover).

…and back at the School�The 43-strong School choir travelled to the Manchester Evening NewsArena on29th November to take part in a prestigious ‘YoungVoices’ concert�The School has thanked parents, guardians, grandparents and friends who spentan incredible £33,356 at Morrison’s, thereby providing the School with 3,356vouchers to purchase equipment for the new allotment�Reflecting the School’s Specialist Science College status, a group ofYear 8students worked alongsideYear 8 students fromAlmondbury High School on aproject to study the life of scientist Marie Curie�Year 7 students took part in a ‘Humanities Enrichment Day’ on 5th November�All the cross-country teams made the regional finals – KJS was one of only fiveout of 1,400 schools to achieve this.

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THE 2010 Annual Dinner onSaturday, 20th November, was avery special one. It celebrated

the careers at the school of two long-serving members of staff: former DeputyHeadmaster Patrick O’Brien, whoretired in the summer after thirty-eightyears of loyal service to the school, andWalter Raleigh who retired after 31years’ service. Both were Guests ofHonour at the Dinner.

The Dinner was attended by 113Almondburians and guests, considerablybetter than last year’s disappointing 85.Those attending travelled from as faraway as Massachusetts and Germany, as

well as all over the United Kingdom, andthey spanned over seventy years at theschool, from entry in 1936 right up tothose who left in the summer of 2010plus, of course, the current Head Boy,Head Girl and Deputy Head Boys andDeputy Head Girls, as well as former andcurrent members of staff. As usual, theprize for attendance goes to the Class of1947, who mustered nine of their yearfor this year’s Dinner.

The excellent meal consisted ofcream of roasted butternut squash andcarrot soup, roast loin of Howden Farmpork steak with sage seasoning, Bramleyapple sauce, pan gravy, herb roast

Annual Dinner/Founders’ Day

ANDREW HAIGH

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potatoes and the chef’s selection of localvegetables, Wakefield rhubarb, stemginger and apple crumble with vanillapod dressing and sugar topping and teaor coffee with chocolate confections.

The meal was followed by anentertaining speech from former DeputyHeadmaster Dave Bush,who spoke abouthis former colleagues, Patrick O’BrienandWalter Raleigh before proposing thetoast to the School.The Head Girl,AliceHarling, made an excellent speech inresponse and she was followed, in theabsence of the Headmaster, by Patrick’ssuccessor as Deputy Headmaster, IanRimmer, who also paid tribute to hisformer colleagues.

Patrick O’Brien andWalter Raleighthen each had the opportunity to speak,reminiscing about their time at theschool, before proposing the toast to theSociety. Dave Bush had spoken aboutWalter’s reputation for delivering longspeeches, andWalter was given quite ahard time by Dave, who had brought anegg timer with him which went off afterten minutes. Dave then gave him anotherfive minutes and Walter still hadn’tfinished, although he later claimed that,in fact, Patrick’s speech was longer thanhis! Nicky Murphy, Joint Chairman of the

Top: Dave Bush; BrianStahelin (Chairman ofGovernors); Walter Raleigh;Nicky Murphy; Jamie Smith(head boy); Emily Comer; IanRimmer (deputy headteacher); Rev Dennis Handley(Rector, All Hallows’ Church,Almondbury); Patrick O’Brien;Alice Harling (head girl)Middle and bottom: PatrickO’Brien and Walter Raleighrespond

Society, then made history by being thefirst Chairman of the Society to deliverhis response to the Toast to the Societyfrom an i-pad!

There was also a presentation ofsparkling wine made by the Chairman to

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Nicky Green, recently retired aftermany years working in the school office.There should have been flowers for heras well, but your Secretary is quitehopeless and forgot to organize them, sothese were delivered to her thefollowing week.

The formal part of the evening wasconcluded with the traditional lustysinging of the School Song and there wasample opportunity afterwards forpeople to return to the bar to mingleand reminisce.

Once again the Dinner can be

considered to have been a verysuccessful event that was enjoyed, I amsure, by everyone who was there.Morephotographs and a full list of those whoattended the Dinner can be seen on theOAS website www.oas.org.uk.

The 2011 Annual Dinner will takeplace at the same venue on Saturday,26th November, so please put the datein your diary now to make sure that youdon’t miss out on a great evening. �

‘Thank you’ from Patrick and WalterPatrick O’Brien writes:“I should like to thank members for the presentation of the painting of the school. It was avery enjoyable evening and the painting will be in a prominent potition in my house as apermanent reminder of my happy times at the school.”

Walter Raleigh writes:“I'd be delighted if you would pass on my thanks, not only for the present of the picture,which will be put in a prominent position in our home as soon as the decorating is finished,but also for the invitation to speak at the Dinner. It was humbling to hear all the kind wordsspoken by people both publicly and in private conversations.”

The traditional Founders’ Day procession andservice took place on Sunday, 21st Novemberat All HallowsChurch,Almondbury.

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We launch a campaign to restoreand improve an important Schooland community sports facility

The School and the Old Almondburians’ Society were proud in equalmeasure when the new cricket pavilion was erected in 1958 to mark the

350th anniversary of the School Charter. Sadly, it has suffered fromserious vandalism in recent years and now badly needs restoration and

improvement.

In the following pages, Martyn Hicks explains why we needYOUR urgenthelp, and Roger Dowling looks back at that exciting moment over 50

years ago when the Countess of Scarbrough declared the pavilion open.

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Cricket pavilion: a Call to ActionMARTYN HICKS

ALTHOUGH I have always likedthe almost haphazard way thateach generation has added its

bit to the school, for myself I never reallybought into the old part of it.

I appreciated it, yes, but to walk intothe art room with itsglorious big picturewindows, the biologylab, once again light andairy, it was these roomsthat followed form andfunction that made mesince realise that inarchitectural terms Iam a modernist!

That said, thebuilding that did itmost for me was theCricket Pavilion. Justlook at it on its openingday and look howproud everyone was; tome it was like an oceanliner – its sleek juttingangular face seemedeager to please, paintedpale yellow and white,with a score box no(Continued on page 22)

Proudly opened in 1958 to mark the 350th anniversary of the School’scharter,the cricket pavilion now needs urgent restoration and updating

Slowly dying: the cricketpavilion when it wasopened in 1958 and thebuilding – minus itsvandalised score box –today

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The pavilion as it is today(left) and draft proposalsshowing how the pavilion

might be restored andimproved

ChrisWest RIBA

22

less, elevated aloft and even a flagpoleshould any royalty attend. It really was fitfor purpose, way beyond therequirements of a school of 310 pupilswho were lucky to have been educatedin the stunning tree-lined landscape oftheArkenley valley, and lucky to have thePavilion as its crown.

I don’t even like cricket, but I wasalways delighted to be the scorer. I evenmade the potted beef, salmon paste,desiccated coconut sponge teas if asked.I was happy in and around this sun-filledbuilding.

The Old Almondburians’ Societyraised much of the money to build it,together with the Gaffer’sencouragement and the bold plans ofarchitect Brian Pollard. Well done tothem, well done indeed!

And now to today, in one generationcollectively we have all been witnesses atthe crime scene. Even today we stillwatch helplessly as this building slowlydies. It’s the OAS’s only bricks-and-mortar asset, it’s had its head cut off andit’s lying almost dead with a faint pulse,occasionally given a few drops ofnew blood by sympatheticcricketers.

Come on, OAS members!Let’s do something before it’s toolate; let’s breathe new life into thisbuilding that has given us lots andasked for little; let’s make itpurposeful again, for us in the OASand the school and the widercommunity, let’s not be thegeneration that stood back andwatched as it breathed its lastbreath.

We’ve already made a modest start.Big thanks to Architect Chris West(1960-1966) who has produced somesuper plans showing how we mightrestore and extend it to make it moresuitable for today’s needs. And I haveopened an account at the school called‘The Sports Pavilion Development Fund’and I have deposited some money in it toget it started.

I am up to the challenge – let’s forman Action Group. Let’s get off ourgetting-fatter-by-the-minute backsides.Let us not let the Gaffer down.

We need money and we needpractical help: quantity surveyors, treecutters, plumbers, electricians, etc, etcetc. You can email me [email protected] or write tome at 12 Gernhill Avenue, Fixby,Huddersfield HD2 2HR (tel (01484)539409). Alternatively, you can contactme via the campaign’s special webpagewww.oas.org.uk/calltoaction.php,whichyou can also use to contribute donationsby debit card, credit card or Paypal.

A call to action?YOU BET IT IS! �

Martyn Hicks (1970-75) is co-director ofScreenprint Productions based in Brighouse,WestYorkshire. Martyn studied photography atNottinghamTrentUniversity and thenworked for ascreenprintingcompany in Leeds.He worked for threeyears in the USbefore buying intoScreenprintProductions in 1988.The companycurrently employssome 70 staff.

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‘THISpavilionwill serveasamonument to, and arecognition of, the great

devotionofAlmondburians through-out theworld.’By a happy coincidence, I was editor

of The Almondburian 52 years ago, andthese words – in the Editorial of theSummer, 1958 issue – were mine.

Discussions on the best way of mark-ing the 350th anniversary of the RoyalCharter had commenced informally inthe early months of 1955. Needless tosay, the redoubtable Gerald Dobsonplayed a prominent role in these deliber-ations, and he was able to report the fol-lowing year that the inspired idea hademerged to build a new cricket pavilionto replace the dilapidated old woodenpavilion which dated back to the days ofFrancis Marshall.

A sub-committee was formed andsome initial plans were produced by ar-chitect Brian Pollard who had himself at-tended the School from 1946 to 1951.From these, the cost of the project wasreckoned to be of the order of £2,000,and on this basis the OldAlmondburians’Society wrote to the Education Commit-tee asking if they would be willing tomeet half the cost if the Society and theSchool could find the remainder.A posi-tive reply was received from the ChiefEducation Officer: the project had thegreen light.Throughout 1957, many functions

were organised by the School and par-ents, culminating in a two-day SchoolFair held on 31st May and 1st June.Theopening ceremony, on the grass tenniscourt in front of the Library, was per-formed byTaylor Dyson’s daughter Beryl,

making a welcome re-turn to the School.A wide range of en-

tertainments had beenorganised, includingconcerts by the SchoolOrchestra underGeorge Beach, three

That proud day fifty years ago …ROGER DOWLING

The present editor ofThe Almondburian was present when thepavilion was opened in 1958.He recalls a day of excitement and pride

Many will remember theold ‘wooden hut’ pavilionthat dated back toFrancis Marshall’s days asheadmaster

performances of The AGS Follies in thegymnasium, an aerial runway set up bythe Scouts from the bunk to their hot-dogstall at their camp site, and a scenic rail-way for young children.

There were countless stalls, forneedlework, crockery, hardware, gro-ceries, fruit, flowers, tombola, toys,books and the like, ending with a highlysuccessful auction in the gymnasium.The enterprise was an enormous suc-

cess, with 2,000 visitors and a profit onthe day of a staggering £1,000 – equiva-lent to around £25,000 in today’s money.Meanwhile, in the manner of capital

projects the world over, the cost of theplanned pavilion had risen to twice theoriginal estimate. Further appeals to OldAlmondburians helped to bridge the gap,but £200 was still needed with the GrandOpening only a few weeks away. At thispoint, a valiant band of OldAlmondburi-ans decided to complete the work them-selves, and the photograph of two town(Continued on page 26)

The New PavilionOn one side of the school field liesA pavilion of wondrous sizeThat seems so long and looks so highAnd by the field the road runs byAlong byArkenley.Now on a day the captains goTo where the gentle breezes blow,First to the old school there belowKing James inAimbry.

And on the roadway’s broad expanseA car drives up into our glance;The Countess makes a speech so fine,Golden words in every line,About the new pavilion.And at the closing of the day,When to sleep I pass away,I dream about their grand arrayAround our great pavilion.

P E Spencer (Form IV)The Almondburian, SummerTerm 1958

Left:A scale model of the new pavilion wasproudly on display at the 1957 School FairRight: It’s all hands to the brushes as OldAlmondburians put a final lick of paint onthe pavilion.The keen workmen includedtown councillors Clifford Stephenson andKenneth Brooke, both of whom formerlyattended the School

On the opposite page, clockwise from top:1.The Countess of Scarbrough cuts a cakespecially baked for the occasion2. Head Boy David Morphet makes a speech3.The School Scouts form a Guard of Honour4.A speech from headmaster HarryTaylor5.The headmaster receives the key to thepavilion from Alderman John Dawson,chairman of the Governors and theEducation Committee6.The Countess of Scarbrough speaking asshe formally opened the pavilion7. Excitement as the Countess’s limousinedrives across the outfield as the Guard ofHonour lines up to greet her

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’Allo ’Allo! The voice of dissentInevitably, a few non-sportsmen found the proceedings less than gripping. They

were led by the resident japer of the 1950s, Gordon Kaye (1952-1958)

‘The Countess of Scarborough (sic) and the Sheriff of York came in this great Daimlerlimo and drove around the perimeter of the cricket field, where we were all lined up inclasses. We were bidden to cheer and wave and make other applauding noises whilethese high-up folk grandly swept by. Of course, my bunch, young bolshy little yobs thatwe were, decided we would have no part in this. We greeted the limo with resoundingsilence, noses in the air, staring stonily ahead and with a marked absence of clapping. Wewere summoned to the headmaster’s study with alacrity.

‘It was a place I grew to know well during my schooldays. I remember one occasionwhen I was caught cheating with my French homework, copying from someone else’sbook but still only getting 1/10. As I left the headmaster’s study, having received threestrokes of the cane, he called out: “Kaye.”

‘I turned round, desperate to leave.‘ “Next time, copy off someone who can do it, all right?”‘He was a great headmaster. He appeared to be very stern, but he had a smashing

sense of humour.’René & me/Gorden Kaye (Sidgwick & Jackson)

meticulously recorded in The Almond-burian by fourth former D Billington. The match started at 11.30 am with

the Headmaster’s XI batting first, and ithas to be recorded that Harry Taylorgained an immediate – and some wouldsay unfair – advantage by producing ex-Yorkshire captain Billy Sutcliffe whoscored 87 before being caught. Eventu-ally the Headmaster’s XI were dismissedfor 220.The match continued after the open-

uing ceremony whereupon Harry Taylorproduced another rabbit from his hat inthe shape of Yorkshire bowler Mel Ryan.He achieved figures of four for 21 and theOld Boys’ XI could only manage 124 foreight wickets in reply. It is perhaps fitting to let young

Billington have the final word:The scorebook was closed and anotherrecord had gone into the book – anothermilestone in the long and famous journeyof King James’s Grammar School. A greatand beautiful pavilion to represent 350years of a great and beautiful school. �

councillors and Old Boys – CliffordStephenson and Kenneth Brooke – hardat work with paintbrushes has a treasuredplace in the Society’s archives.The pavilion was opened on 5th June

1958 by the Countess of Scarbrough.Guests included the Mayoress of Hudder-sfield and Alderman John Dawson, chair-man of the Governors and of theEducation Committee, himself a formerpupil under Robert Crump.It was an impressive and moving oc-

casion, with the School Scouts forming aGuard of Honour as the Countess was ledto the pavilion. One fourth former waseven moved to compose a poem to markthe occasion. Two or three amateur dissi-dents led by Gordon Kaye – later toachieve fame in BBC Television’s ’Allo,’Allo! and now a fully paid-up member ofthe Old Almondburians’ Society – failedto gain any measurable support.A cricket match between a Headmas-

ter’s XI and an Old Boys’ XI had been or-ganised to mark the occasion and we arefortunate that the proceedings were

27

Name To UndertakingAARON James York University Maths/Computer ScienceABBAS Shakeela Huddersfield University PsychologyAMPHLETT Matilda Leeds University Classical CivilizationARMITAGE Bethany Huddersfield University Child NursingBARNWELL George Liverpool University Biological/Medical SciencesCLAYTON Sarah Huddersfield University Nursing/Learning disabilityCLEGG Oliver York St John University Sport/Society/DevelopmentCRAWSHAW Emily Vision Express Trainee Optical DispenserDYER Sara Sheffield Hallam Uni MathematicsGARNER Julia Huddersfield University Science FoundationGELLING Simon Liverpool University Music/Popular MusicGRIST Matthew Morrisons Apprentice ButcherHAIGH Jessica Chester University Primary EducationHANDLEY Isabelle York University English Lang/LinguisticsHARRISON Sean Seeking employmentHEAGNEY Sinead Leeds University ChemistryHOLLYHEAD Megan Year out: The Zone Northampton Uni (2011)HOLMES Alexander Bishop Grosseteste UC Primary EducationHONOUR Rebekah Huddersfield University Fashion Design/TextilesHUDSON Keith Year Out Manchester Met Uni (2011)JENNINGS William Central Lancashire Uni Sports CoachingKENDICK Edward Northampton University Accounting/Finance

Name To UndertakingLEWIS Hayden Manchester Met Uni CriminologyMANN Amandeep Liverpool University OrthopticsMARSHALL Mathew Cumbria University Physical EducationMORRIS Andrew KITS Vehicle Mechanic ApprenPEADEN Hannah Leicester University HistoryRENN Patrick Birmingham City Uni Business StudiesSHUTTLEWORTH Laura Edge Hill University Secondary Maths TeachingSIMPSON Amy Middlesex University Early Years EducationSINGLETON Naomi Gap Year: Greece Higher Education (2011)SLEVIN Nicola Huddersfield University PsychologySMITH Alissa A & R Training ChildcareSTEPHENSON Daniel Huddersfield University Computer Games TechnologySTEPHENSON Erica Manchester Met Uni BTEC Dip in Art & Design SWIFT Sally York St John University English LiteratureSYKES Laura Central Lancashire Uni Digital Design/FashionTAYLOR Alexander Louis France Temporary Office WorkTAYLOR James Northumbria University LawWALKER Jack Manchester Met Uni PoliticsWHITELEY Megan York St John University Occupational TherapyWIGHTMAN Jake Year Out Liverpool Hope Uni (2011)WORNE Lucy York University English Lang/LinguisticsYOUNG Dominic Hill Brook Printing Inks Trainee Lab Technician

And what became of …?LATEST KING JAMES’S / GREENHEAD LEAVERS

The following former King James’s School pupils received prizes in the 2010Greenhead College awards ceremony:NICOLA SLEVIN Law PrizeHANNAH J PEADENMedieval History PrizeMEGAN J WHITELEY Project Prize

Information kindly supplied by Gerald Stead

A few words from your Editor��Articles from readers are always welcome, either by email or by post (editorialaddress on back cover). Photographs are also of interest; if sent as emailattachments the preferred format is jpeg (.jpg) with a minimum resolution of 300dpi. Alternatively, send your photographs by post and we will scan and return themwithout delay. When submitting photographs, always provide a caption identifying allpeople shown as far as you are able.

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ACROSS7. Minor disturbance in a china shop?

(5,2,1,6)9. Post vocational option (2,4)11. Ornithological jape (4)12. Leading heavenly body on a decoration (8)14. Taken aback in snatching handbag haste (6)

15. Stroke a female auto? (6)16. End result of hopping (3)18. Guided the cattle? (7)19. Dead beat? (7)20. Is singular in congratulating on

engagement (3)

22. Result of more than one mistake (6)25. Furrow the brow or cadge (6)26. One’s number one (5,3)27. Found north of the border - free? (4)28. ‘C’ is the difference between things

English and French (6)30. Big noises in the Army! (8-6)

DOWN1. One thrice! (4)2. Listen for a change - not a sound! (6)3. Is he the most fit? (7)4. Cancel tickets in respect of the team (6)5. Visually descriptive of the car Lou

wrecked (6)6. Potter (R) and Prosser confused the

pressman (6,8)8. Used to deduce brainwash? (7,7)10. M. Astaire dances round the car (8)13. A search for whip previously found

underground (8)16. Activity in The Mikado (3)17. Wee - could be former lamb (3)21. Net result of no venturing (7)23. About to retry a main route (6)24. Settled a deadly sin (6)25. Sounds of gunfire right in the shrubs (6)29. Two sound Israelis work a charm (4)

TERRY’S TEASERCompiled by Terry Buckley (1948 - 1953)

Please send entries by post or email to the Media Editor (address on back cover)Draw: 30th April 2011 Prize: 12 months free OAS membership

� The winner of Terry’s Teaser (November 2010) was Andrew Haigh

IN THE NEWS

David Anderson on Radio 4David Anderson (1948-1955), Britain’s former judge at the InternationalTribunal of the Law of the Sea, was one of the guests on Unreliable Evidenceon BBC Radio 4 on 12th January 2011. The programme, presented by CliveAnderson, examined the difficulties of achieving justice over three-quartersof the earth’s surface in the face of competing national interests. �

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Nigel is Solicitor of the Year

OLD Almondburian NigelPriestley (1963-1970) hasbecome Solicitor of the Year.

Some 600 leading solicitors and theirguests joined the president of the LawSociety Linda Lee and BBC broadcasterMishal Husain at the Law Society’sannual Excellence Awards event at OldBillingsgate in London. The awards aredesigned to recognise best practice andto celebrate excellence and outstandingachievement in areas that are central tothe law profession today.

Nigel is a Higher Rights Advocateand partner at Ridley and Hall,Huddersfield. He has a specific expertisein holding local authorities to accountfor their treatment of ‘kinship carers’:relatives caring for children who wouldotherwise be fostered and who often lackappropriate support. Amongst his suc-cesses last year, he won two landmarkcases - one involving Kirklees Council –with national implications. He also suc-cessfully judicially reviewed Gateshead ina high profile case where a foster carerhad been de-registered when a Muslim16 year old foster child had become aChristian.

“The judges thought Nigel Priestleyis exactly the type of solicitor whom theprofession should be commending – he isone who demonstrates through his worka passion for correcting the injustices ofsociety,” said the Law Society. “He is anexemplar to all in the legal sector.”

Ridley and Hall is recognised as aleading firm in public law in the UK byspecialist national charities as well as bymany regional support groups whorefer carers for advice. Kinship carershave received over £550,000 in backpayments and significantly improvedfostering allowances as a result of thefirm’s work. �� Nigel Priestley worked closely with fellowOld Almondburian Graham Cliffe and othersto secure a confidential out-of-court settle-ment from Kirklees Council in 2004 follow-ing alleged maladministration of the School’sancient endowments. A reported figure of£800,000 has never been officially denied.

IN THE NEWS

Nigel Priestley (centre) with Paul Doblefrom sponsors DX Group and BBC news presenter Mishal Husain.

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Yekeniyeley*, Old Almondburians!JOHN BROADBENT

UP went the cry on ChristmasDay 2010 as a 60 watt bulbflickered into life in the village

of Adi Eblal in northern Ethiopia,nestling in the skirts of the spectacularAdwa Mountains some 40km from thetroubled border with Eritrea. No-one inthe village had ever seen such a thing, notone but two electric lights in a house intheir own village! Ululations resonatedtheir delight and enthusiastic dancingmarked their joy. We were privileged tobear witness to what was truly a historicday for over 200 village people. For us itwas one of those unforgettable momentsof a lifetime.Throughout 2010 Jean and I were

involved in a project to bring a watersupply and later, electricity to Adi Eblal.We have beenvisiting Ethiopiaregularly since 1997and have travelledextensively to mostparts of this muchmisunderstood land.We have spent moreand more timethere enjoying manyfantastic traveladventures – FredHudson would have

approved! We have met many lovelypeople, most of them extremely poor butall of them warm and friendly towardsus. Most of these experiences have beenarranged by Asrat Kahsay of ImageEthiopia Tours & Travel, now a closefriend and Huddersfield Town supporter.Asrat was born in Adi Eblal, a village

of 51 houses close to the town of Adwa.It is by no means remote by Ethiopianstandards. Although there is a modernwater supply system locally the villagewas not part of it. This includes a largereservoir supplying both Adwa and thefamous town of Axum, visited by mosttourists to the country. There is also apressurised water pipe passing along theroad about half a kilometer from AdiEblal to supply the local barracks. Most

Generous Old Almondburians help to fund a major project to bringwater and electricity to a remote village in northern Ethiopia

John Broadbent (1948-1954) left King James’s Grammar Schoolto become a solicitor and had a successful career in privatepractice for 39 years. He retired in 1993 and was elected Fellow ofthe Royal Geographical Society in 1996. John is currently Presidentof the Huddersfield and Halifax Geographical Association, aposition once occupied by Fred Hudson. An award-winning memberof the former Huddersfield Photographic Society, he regularlyexhibits at its annual exhibition.

John and his wife Jean have travelled widely throughout theworld. Ethiopia is their favouritecountry for many reasons including itsvaried landscape, the hospitality of itspeople, the climate and the cuisine.Over 100 of his photographs ofEthiopia are lodged with thecontemporary photograph archive ofthe Royal Geographical Society. *Thank you!

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recently a factory has been built to bottlespring water and the villagers are nowdeprived of their cleanest available watersupply leaving them entirely dependenton dirty and unreliable river water. The situation seemed both cruel and

unnecessary. Prompted by scenes ofelderly women struggling to fetch waterfrom the river (at least a 45 minute steepwalk each way) it was Asrat, togetherwith his childhood friend, Tesema, whodecided that the people of Adi Eblaldeserved the benefit of clean water. Theydid the necessary legwork – seekingpermissions, commissioning an architectand raising some money to get started.We became involved in January 2010

when we saw the scheme for the firsttime and were impressed by the

organised and professional manner inwhich Asrat and Tesema had approachedthe task. However the distances for someof the pipe runs were hundreds of metersand it was clear that the scheme, thoughworthy, was underfunded. We also saw the route to the river!

The terrain is extremely rocky underfootand there is a steep gradient down to theriver – how the older ladies evermanaged to climb back up with theirjerry cans of water weighing about 20kgis beyond our comprehension. Then wemet the delightful people of the village,mostly older folk and many widowsliving alone. The situation is typical of anydeveloping country – progress demandseducation and children leave their villagesfor school/college and jobs – the older

1. Looking NE from Adi Eblal 2. Elderly widow 3. Ato Berhe, oldest man in Adi Eblal with one ofthe younger generation 4. Covered pipe trench 5. Looking SW from Adi Eblal 6. Covered trenchclose-up 7. Tap at village edge 8. Ploughing the stony land with bullocks and wooden plough 9. The first running water in May 2010 10. Lady ululating

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therefore knew Asrat, also contributedand from the beginning of March to mid-April we collected over £2,000, enoughto authorise the work to complete thewater supply. The villagers certainlygrasped the chance with both hands andwithin three weeks we had a phone call(mobile of course!) and were able to hearululations from the village ladies tellingus the water was flowing.Fortunately the technical side was

straightforward. We took a line of pipesfrom the pressurised supply in the road,fed this into a new dispersion tank builton a small hill and then laid gravity fedpipelines from it to 4 different points inthe village area. Thus we achieved cleanpotable water, available very close to thehouses, within a very short time. Wewere able to make a quick visit toEthiopia in May and saw for ourselves thecompleted work. In addition to our taps,some families had paid for extra pipes toserve their own houses. The village puton a great celebration for us, the priestsblessed the taps and we danced and sang(in a fashion) to the rhythms of themasinko and drum.The project did not exhaust the funds

in hand and the villagers themselvesdecided they would like to try forelectricity to complete themodernisation of the village. We agreedto try and raise further funds in the UKwhile they would also raise moneythemselves. The new sense of self-beliefin the village was palpable. Now we hadvillagers who were determined tocontinue to improve their own lives. Totheir credit they have raised over £2,500which is a huge amount of money forthem.

generation become isolated at homealone and daily existence is a struggle. Yettheir genuine hospitality, and they havelittle enough to share, resulted in manyinvitations to drink coffee and eatpopcorn and injera, the traditional flatbread. They are very poor but they arealso very proud. We realised that withrelatively little money and some effort onour part, we could make their lives verymuch easier and healthier. It was time torepay Ethiopia for our many pleasures.Thus the begging letters were

composed and my old form mates weredefinitely on the mailing list. We hadnever done this before, and had rathermixed feelings about asking people togive money. However our cause was justand we needed to start somewhere. Thereaction from Almondburians wasexcellent and cheques began to arrive.Other friends, especially those who hadtravelled in Ethiopia with us and

The site of the project, Adi Eblal, is near thetown of Adwa (ringed) about 20 miles from thetroubled border with Eritrea.

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We also needed to raise a hugeamount: £15,000 at least. More beggingletters! We also needed to extend ourmailing list – it is the case that peoplewho have not heard from me often, ifever, were approached, including manyOld Almondburians. The response wasagain magnificent. This aspect of the last12 months has been as satisfying andheart warming as the work in Adi Eblal.People’s generosity when faced with agenuine good cause and knowing that allof the money will reach that good cause,is amazing.The electric project has been much

more difficult to see through. We needed50 9m poles, 1.5km of wire, a 50kWtransformer and 51 house meters withaccompanying internal wiring, plugs andswitches. The difficulties have beenexacerbated by the economic climate inEthiopia making the cost and availabilityof the equipment expensive and difficultto source.In December we saw the arrival and

erection of the poles and wire. The 50kWtransformer is not yet to hand but wehave a 25kW version to supply lighting

for now. Thus the power supply hasarrived in Adi Eblal. The remainingobstacle is the supply and financing of thehouse meters and ancillary fittings. Justto give us a fantastic Christmas present,one house was connected. The electricityauthority hopes to find us another 19meters soon but it will be a little whilebefore the second tranche of 31 meterscan be found. In the meantime thefundraising goes on. At a cost of £45 perhouse we need at least another £2,500.During our visit we were much

encouraged by other developments.Many new fruit trees have been planted –mango, lemon, apple, papaya, banana andguava; vegetable gardens have sprung up– spinach, onions, tomatoes, garlic andchilli, The water infrastructure we put inhas facilitated extensions to another 18households in a neighbouring smallervillage as well as a pipe to the local schoolwhich has over 800 pupils (in two shifts)and had been operating without any cleanwater! These two projects have beenfinanced by a specific donation andhopefully the school will now complete anew toilet block very soon.

Ethiopia: one of Africa’s poorest statesEthiopia – formerly known as Abyssinia – is Africa’s

oldest independent country. Apart from a five-yearoccupation by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never beencolonised. But the nation is better known for its periodicdroughts and famines, its long civil conflict and a borderwar with Eritrea.

Almost two-thirds of its people are illiterate. Theeconomy revolves around agriculture, which in turnrelies on rainfall. Many Ethiopians depend on food aidfrom abroad.

Ethiopia’s population is 85 million and the country isnearly twice the size of the UK. Life expectancy for menis 56 years; for women 59 years. Source: BBC

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Thus there have been many positivedevelopments made possible by the initialwater project. It has all happened becausemore than 150 generous people, togetherwith some local Probus and Rotary clubs,Lunch Clubs, U3A groups and the likehave sent us donations. So far over£3,000 has been raised from 78 OldAlmondburians. I am grateful to have this

opportunity to record everyone’sappreciation – not only Jean and I but thewhole village. We really value yoursupport. ��To find out more about the Adi Eblal projector to make a donation, please contact JohnBroadbent at 97, Lowestwood Lane, Wellhouse,Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4EW (tel: 01484650171; email: [email protected]).

IN THE NEWS

Kimbolton trounce the Aussies

FIRST the Ashes – andthen the Fireworks. Itended a bad year for

our antipodean friends, and it’sall thanks to Dr Calloway, theformer chemistry master ofKing James’s Grammar School.Millions all over the world

enjoyed the spectacular NewYear’s Eve London Eye fire-works display, generally agreedto have trounced Sydney’s dis-play earlier in the day. And forthe first time, the display was by Kim-bolton Fireworks, founded by ‘masterblaster pastor’ Rev Ron Lancaster whoattended the School from 1942-1950. “I developed my interest in fireworks

during my schooldays,” says Ron.“Although Doc Calloway didn’t actuallyencourage us to make fireworks, he wascertainly not discouraging!”Kimbolton Fireworks – the UK’s mar-

ket leader in firework production andoperator fired displays – have been respon-sible for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay display for

several years, but the London Eye displaywas a ‘first’. London mayor Boris Johnsondescribed it as ‘dazzling’.“We were delighted it went off so well,”

says Ron. “It was a tremendous challenge– we only had eight hours to rig all thefireworks around the London Eye, andwe also used three barges and six pon-toons on the Thames.”The nine-minute show used 10,000

fireworks weighing about eight tons. �See the video at http://tinyurl.com/6ktt87dInterview with Ron Lancaster: http://tinyurl.com/yl5lgqa

The Sunday T

imes

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“JUST 900 words or so onhow you spend your day,”the editor of The

Almondburian said. But it’s easier thanthat: when I look back over the last fewmonths, I only need two words, not 900:Vernon Scannell.

Scannell has prettymuch taken over mylife: I eat with him, sitat my desk withhim, even turnover in the night– yes, since youask, I sleep withhim too – and askhim questions.Luckily my wifeshares this obsession– she comes with uson weekend trips toLeeds University, where wepick over his diaries and delve intohis most private and personal secrets.

It’s lucky, too, that Scannell doesn’tquarrel much with us, although thatcould be partly because he’s been deadfor the last three years. Scannell was a

poet who lived for about thirty years ofhis life in Yorkshire – longer than I did, Irealise with a slight shock – and about ayear ago, I started work on his biogra-phy. Since then, as I say, he’s pretty muchtaken over my life, and a large slice of my

wife’s life too. Most of my con-versations get round toScannell within a cou-ple of minutes,which I guess maymake me slightlyless than interest-ing as a dinnerparty guest. Iresent any timeI’m sitting at mycomputer whenI’m not engaged in

something to do withScannell, his family, his

lovers, his friends or – bestof all – his poetry.

So a good day is one spent trawlingthrough his papers, talking to his lovers,friends and relatives, and generallyindulging my obsession. I’ve written halfa dozen books in the last ten years, and I

Andrew Taylor (1963-1970) and his older brother Richard both attended King James’s Grammar School while their father Harry washeadmaster. Formerly a journalist, Andrew is now a freelance writer.His latest book – about schoolboy boxer and poet/novelist/broadcasterVernon Scannell – will be published in 2012.

A LIFE IN THE DAY

In search of Vernon ScannellANDREW TAYLOR

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The unconventional life of Vernon Scannell Poets aren’t often boxers. They tend to use parts of the brain that don’trespond well to being rattled around like ice in a cocktail shaker.

Novelist, critic, teacher, and even journalist are all common enough ways for poets tomake money to live – but professional boxer and fairground bruiser are unusual trades for a

man who was to become one of the finest poets of his generation.A wife, six children, and three long-term lovers: little wonder

that Vernon Scannell sometimes saw relations between men andwomen as, at best, a sort of armed truce. During the war, he wasimprisoned for desertion after battling his way through NorthAfrica, and then wounded in France three weeks after struggling upthe beach on D-Day.

He had two years on the run after deserting again when thewar finished, selling dolls’ heads and dodgy perfume, teaching a bit,and making a few quid as a fairground boxer.

His wounded leg got better, but the war left other scars thatbecame visible over the years as he made a living as a poet and writer – no mean feat initself. His last collection, with some of his best poems in it, appeared just a few weeks beforehe died aged 85 in Otley, West Yorkshire in November 2007. ��Andrew Taylor’s biography will be published by Oxford University Press in autumn, 2012

have a couple more coming out in 2012,but none of them has fired my imagina-tion like this one. Unfortunately, none ofthem has made me rich either, so thegood days have to be interspersed withless good ones writing anything for any-one who will pay me money.

That’s been the case for the last fiveyears or so. Until 2005 I’d worked as ajournalist without a break since I left uni-versity back in the 70s – at the YorkshireEvening Post, the Daily Express, the BBC,and then at Dubai Television, first in theGulf and more recently in London.When they made me redundant, Irealised that I was too old and toogrumpy to work for anybody else anymore, so I had to start thinking formyself.

The jobs I’ve taken as a freelancesince then range from the sublime to theridiculous – researching and writing amagazine article about the destruction ofLord Byron’s diaries in the early 19th

century for the Ritz Magazine, forinstance (good), to putting togetherFacebook advertisements for cosmetics(less so). There’s a strict limit of 160words and spaces for the whole adver-tisement, so I try to make the job soundinteresting, as if I were writing a haiku,but I sometimes wonder if that’s what myfather meant when he used to askwhether I was going to get a proper job,rather than being a journalist.

I do a lot of my work sitting at myown computer in my own house, whichhas its advantages – my commute isabout forty feet, I get coffee breakswhenever I choose, and there’s no prob-lem with taking the odd hour or two offto watch the Test Match. And I can workmy own peculiar hours – up at 5 am,perhaps, because I can’t sleep, and thencatching up on the missing time withwhat my father endearingly used to call‘forty winks’ later in the day. On theother hand, you sometimes get to miss

37

the chit-chat and company that you get inan office, so it’s good every now and thento settle for the sweaty intimacy of theunderground and have the occasionalstint in London.

The trouble is, when there’s plentyof work like that, I worry that I’m losingthe momentum on the Scannell project(see, I told you a couple of minutes wasmy limit). And when there’s not, I worrythat I’m going to starve. There must be away of just being happy and contented,but I haven’t found it yet.

But research for the writing is aboutas good as it gets. My wife and I travelledto southern Sweden recently to talk to afriendly old anarchist in his nineties – arespected designer and painter in hisown right – who knew Scannell just afterthe war (there I go again). And looking

into the Byron story was gripping. I sat inthe actual room where Byron’s diarieswere fed, sheet by sheet, into a blazingfire, talking to John Murray VII of thepublishing family, son of John Murray VI,who was the son of John Murray V and soon all the way back to John Murray II,who actually did the deed on May 171824. Just looking at the empty gratesent a shiver down the spine even of agrizzled old hack!

There’s a fairly obvious problemlooming on the horizon, of course – atthe end of this year or just a little after, Ishall have to hand over a typescript thatwill mark the end of my Scannell project,and life will feel horribly empty. Butthen, I’ve always thought that Dickens’sMr Micawber is sadly under-rated as aphilosopher. Something will turn up. �

A number of articles inThe Almondburian containlinks to our websitewhich includes:�Archive photographs�Audio interviews�Videos�Drawings�Historical information� ‘Buy Now’ pages� and much, much more!

Keep in touch with the Old Almondburians’ Society

via the website

www.oas.org.uk

38

THE Club AGM, held on Sunday,31st October 2010 at the‘Woolpack’, was very well

attended. Our treasurer reported ahealthy balance sheet, testimony to all thehard work throughout last summer by allconnected with the club.Steve Slack will again take

up the reins of First XIcaptain for the seasonahead and deserves thebacking of everyone toensure success in 2011.Steve made his debutfor the club in 1977whilst still at the Schooland has remained a ‘one clubman’ throughout his cricketingcareer. The fact he is still performing atthe highest level is illustrated by himwinning both the Section A and LeagueCatching Prizes for last season. We are very optimistic for the new

Second XI combination of experiencedcoach Carl Brady and former first team

CricketJACK TAYLOR

captain Stuart Sykes as captain and vice-captain respectively. Having a parent andOld Almondburian leading the‘youngsters’ (apologies to Graham andRichard!) will, we feel sure, enhance ourstrengthening relationship with school

cricket. Against this background, allschool and prospective OACCcricketers were able to availthemselves of theopportunity to sampleexpert coaching at thepre-season nets, in theSchool sports hall, on24th January, 7thFebruary and 28th

February, and further nets areplanned on 14th March, 28th

March, 4th April and 11th April, from 6pm to 8 pm. Recent most welcome news is that

Geoff Headey has accepted the office ofPresident of the Club. Geoff, an OldAlmondburian and recent captain atWoodsome Hall Golf Club, is a former

39

distinguished captain of our Second XI.The Club eagerly look forward to hisvisits to Arkenley and, perhaps, theoccasional playing appearance.John Clutterbrook is to continue as

league representative, and assistantsecretary, during John Headey’s frequentforeign excursions. The Club’s Annual Dinner and

Presentation Evening was held onSaturday, 12th February at LockwoodPark. The change in date from post-season2010 to pre-season 2011 was necessitatedby the unavailability of several key figuresfor our usual September date.We are optimistically and

enthusiastically looking forward to thecoming season, spurred on by the recent

crushing Ashes victory by England inAustralia. The new season starts on EasterSunday, 24th April. We hope that manyOld Almondburians will renew theirassociation with Arkenley, from Aprilthrough to September and rekindle recentand distant memories of our ‘Jewel in theValley’, against a vibrant cricketingbackdrop.At the time of going to press we are

desperate for an umpire to represent theclub, as a consequence of the retirementof our long standing umpire and friend,David Watson. If anyone can help us,either for one or two games or a longerperiod, please contact me as soon aspossible at [email protected] orvia the Editor. �

NOTHING changes veryquickly in the Badmintonsection. We turn up, play

some games (sometimes rather poorly,sometimes, as this week, we enjoy someexcellent games), then we have ashower and some of us retire tothe ‘Woolpack’. So, when youhave written as manyBadminton reports asI now have, itbecomessomething of achore to knowwhat to write aboutnext.

BadmintonANDREW HAIGH

As a result, I asked for ideas whenwe were in the ‘Woolpack’

recently, which perhapsisn’t the best place toask for ideas. Theresult was thatDavid Parrythought thatthe funniestthing to havehappened thisseason was thatNeil Gledhill

had left the ‘Woolpack’one evening leaving his wallet and thekeys to his new car on the bar. A few

40

minutes later he reappeared andcollected his wallet, before leaving againwithout his car keys (which Letitia hadhidden), thus necessitating a furtherreturn to the bar! Of course, whenLetitia started to play, Neil tried to tellher that the showers were mixed, butthen he does that with all the femaleplayers the first time that they play.

Whilst searching for otherinteresting things about which to write,I recalled the occasion that theBadminton report was made moreinteresting by reporting on the effortsof one of the girls to get into her carhaving locked her car keys inside.

Surprisingly, this took theconversation off onto all the methodsby which it is possible to break into acar. I really didn’t know that theBadminton section was full of peoplewith criminal tendancies, and RomaGarnier appeared to know even morethan most about the subject.

However, having failed to come up

with much else that is worthy ofwriting about, I decided that it is timeto share the writing of the Badmintonreport around a bit. I suggested that thenext one could be written by Roma, inFrench, to ‘O’-level standard, thusgiving you all the opportunity to dosome revision whilst reading the OASmagazine.

We play in the school sports halleach Thursday evening during term-time, from 7.30 pm until 9.30 pm. Thefee, to cover the hire of the sports hall,shuttlecocks and showers, is £5 perperson per evening. Our ages now spanschool pupil to retirement and a widerange of ability, so please come along andjoin us. �

Those who have played so far thisseason are: Neil Gledhill; David Parry;Martyn Hicks; Richard Green; AndrewHaigh; Hazel Pacurib; Nicky Murphy; EmilyComer; Craig Watts; Matt Glapinski;Margaret Lauba; Ian Daffern; Adam Daffern;Roma Garnier; Letitia Pelletier.

Golf: Gothard CupSIMON RUSSELL

THE 2011 Gothard Cup Golf Competition will takeplace on Friday, 8th July at Woodsome Hall GolfClub with the traditional presentation dinner in the

club house afterwards.The tee time is between 4.00 pm and5.00 pm and anyone – including non-members of the club– is welcome to play or attend the presentation dinner after-wards.Please email at [email protected] if you

would like any further details. �

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THE 2011 Almondburian Tennis season will run from Thursday, 9th June, untilThursday, 25th August. We shall play on the Schooltennis courts each Thursday evening between

those dates, weather permitting, from 7.15 pm untildusk. During term-time, it is possible to playBadminton in the sports hall if the weather isinclement, although this is not possible during thesummer holidays, due to maintenance work in thesports hall. The fee, to cover the cost of balls (andshowers during term-time), will be the princelysum of £3.00 per person, per evening.Almondburian tennis is purely social, so why notcome along and join us? �

Soccer

MARTYN HICKS

Tennis

ANDREW HAIGH

READERS – things are going well!The Almondburians Football Clubcontinue to sweep all before

them (except Lindley Liberal in theDistrict Invitation Cup 1-2 andThornesians Reserves on 22ndJanuary 3-4 ... ouch!). Apart from thatwe are unbeaten, but mostimportantly we were drawn againstCollegians, four divisions higher than usin the Yorkshire Old Boys Cup. You will

be delighted to know that we sent themback to Salendine Nook with their rears tanned as 2-0 losers.

Magnanimous in victory? Not on that day!We are pushing ahead with plans for the reformation of a Reserves XI next season. �

DIVISION 4 Played PtsColton III 11 28

Almondburians 8 21

Thornesians Res 10 19

Norristhorpe 8 18

Modernians V 8 16

Leeds City OB Res 10 15

Batelians III 11 14

East Ardsley Res 11 13

Hudds Amateurs III 9 9

Centralians III 10 8

Shadwell Res 9 3

Sandal Athletic Res 9 2

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Frank Anderson came to Almondbury Grammar School as Senior English Master in 1950,with a BA degree from Hull University. He spent his National Service during the war inthe Mediterranean in Air Sea Rescue, but modestly claimed to have spent most of his timeasleep in front of a radar set. Before his demob, he made use of his excellent French byrunning a bar in Nice. At King James’s, he was always known as ‘Jock Anderson’ because of his Scottish

antecedents. Caustic in tongue and a terror to the slacker, he could yet display the greatestkindness to a boy in trouble. He pioneered school drama productions using a makeshiftstage in the gymnasium before the present purpose-built stage became available in 1963.In 1964, he left to become Head of English at Dinnington Comprehensive School,

Sheffield. A close friend there, as Head of Art, was Old Almondburian John Mellard (1949-1954); he remembers him as kind colleague, albeit a little distant to some. In due courseFrank became an efficient and thorough Deputy Head at Dinnington.

David Morphet

FRANK ANDERSON consis-tently demanded the full at-tention of his class, fre-

quently dropping on the un-wary. Not everyone liked hisall-too-often sarcasticpromptings or appreciatedhis trademark objects ofscorn (which memorablyincluded the school strong-hold of geography, or‘coloured pencils’ as he putit). But for me he was an

inspirational teacher and itwas certainly due to his in-fluence and encourage-ment that, after considerablehead-scratching, I opted to readEnglish after winning a place to readHistory. Fragments of Frank’s teaching

linger. It is as much due to him as anythingthat Ezra Pound and Louis MacNeice fea-

ture in my latest collection of verse– both poets were prominent inFrank’s literary pantheon. AndI have used an Anderson leit-motif – ‘sincere self-deceit’– throughout my life, havingfound it apposite in allmanner of situations.

Beneath a private,rather guarded, exterior werepowers of sympathy whichsurprised when one saw them

in practical operation, as when hehad some of the Sixth Form helphim with Saturday radio broad-casts to patients in local hospitals.

(It was local news snippets that we hadto read out - the studio was in the oldHuddersfield Tech building.) After a

Frank Anderson rememberedNo teacher has attracted a greater mixture of emotions amongst OldAlmondburians than English master Frank Anderson (1950-1964).Three contributors look back with respect and appreciation.

REPUTATIONS

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gifted Almondburian, John Victor Emsley,died in 1955 at the age of 20 while at LeedsUniversity, Frank, knowing the quality ofhis verse, felt it should be published. I stillhave the slim hardback volume A RemarkableSky.

I kept in touch with him after hemoved to be Deputy Head of the large Din-nington Comprehensive near Sheffield,where I have the impression that he devel-oped a mellower character. I saw him in thisrole when invited to speak at the DinningtonSpeech Day in 1979 or 1980,and on various occasionscalled on him and Vera whenmy wife and I and our threesmall children were on ourway to and from Yorkshire.My strongest memories arein fact of Frank as he nearedthe end of his career. Tragical-

David Heptonstall

ALTHOUGH the school had along tradition of Gilbert & Sul-livan productions, an annual

school play had not figured largely in theactivities at AGS ( or KJGS as it should be)until Frank arrived. His first school playwas Noah by Andre Obey in which he castme as the Tiger; he had been in the RAF, inAir/Sea rescue, and I’m sure that this en-abled him to provide the Tiger with a yel-low/orange thick kapok-lined flyingoverall painted with stripes – I recallsweating mightily in this at each perform-ance!He went on to establish annual produc-

tions, mainly of Shakespeare, and encour-aged my theatrical ambitions; I especially

Frank Anderson’s 1957production of TwelfthNight (left to right): G Bedford (Feste); DavidMorphet (Sir AndrewAguecheek); DavidHeptonstall (Sir TonyBelch); R Pickering(Maria); David Cliffe(Malvolio)

David Morphet(1951-1958) wenton to Cambridge,where he studiedEnglish, French andItalian literaturebefore joining HMDiplomatic Service.He later moved tothe Department ofEnergy and then

the private sector. A successful author andpoet, David publishes his work atwww.notionbooks.co.uk.

ly, the Andersons’ only child Ian was killedon the nearby M1 in a motorbike accident,aged 17 or 18. Frank himself died not longafter retirement.

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(Top): Frank seems less thanengrossed in the proceedingsat the School v HuddersfieldCollege sports day at Aspleyin 1952. ‘Nipper’ Newton inthe foreground is monitoringthe finishing line, whileGeorge Beach (distantcentre) is keeping a generaleye on the race. On theextreme right, Bill Rennisonand a distant mill chimneyare -– like Frank -– enjoying aquiet smoke.

(Bottom): Frank’s mindappears to be more on hisnext Shakespeareanproduction than the longjump in this action shot atSports Day in 1953.

remember David Morphet and I playingAguecheek and Toby Belch in Twelfth Night.Frank was an excellent director and wasparticularly concerned to develop his ac-tors’ diction and volume. His rehearsalswere always well organised and his cast (Ithink!) enjoyed his blend of encourage-ment and sarcasm; I certainly did.In the classroom no-one dared to step

out of line and his lessons on Englishgrammar, especially clause analysis,brought future benefit to many of usthough perhaps we didn’t realise at thetime how worthwhile this was. I know thatsome of his students certainly have no fondmemories of him but equally there aremany of us who owe a great deal to him

After a week as aBBC studiomanager, DavidHeptonstall (1949-1957) became ateacher and in duecourse becameheadmaster ofFrank F HarrisonComprehensiveCommunity School,

Walsall. Having enjoyed acting at school, hebecame a professional actor on retirementand formed his own company at Matlock.

and who remember him with af-fection and admiration. He also gave us a first-class in-

troduction to literature in generaland poetry in particular. Inciden-

tally, before specialist Latin teachers ar-rived (Tich Blackburn – Classics – hadretired two or three years earlier) hestarted us off with Latin in the second year.I had an unusual opportunity of seeing

45

other aspects of Jock. In the Autumn term,1960, I was waiting after graduation totake up a post with the BBC and HarryTaylor asked me to work at the school as ageneral Arts supply teacher; so after onlythree years away from AGS there I was inthe staffroom with all the teachers I hadknown as a student! It seems to me that I gravitated quite

naturally to the more disreputable sectionof the staff and at lunchtimes I found my-self playing bridge with Frank againstGeorge Beach and Walter Haigh! I wasvery much a learner at the game and Frankwas certainly an unforgiving partner buthe improved my game considerably – healso introduced me to duplicate bridge atthe Huddersfield Bridge Club. After somany years I can still hear his voice, usuallyhaving a go at me.He was very much involved in Hud-

dersfield’s hospital broadcasting serviceand on two or three occasions he invitedme to help with programmes. I look back on my time with Frank An-

derson and regard him as one of the threemajor influences on my education – theother two being Jim Toomey and HarryTaylor.

Frank came to King James’s on his125cc motor bike in 1950. When I ar-rived in 1953 I found a colleague whowas already established as a ‘character’,very much ploughing his own furrow andsingle minded to a point. He never sought popularity, remain-

ing outwardly unbending, yet in smalland private ways he could be kindness it-self. His lunchtimes would often be spentplaying bridge, with colleagues who sawthis warmer side – at the same time hegave no quarter!

He was a man of great integrity, asstraight as his fast bowling which terrifiedthe First XI.

He did wear a persona in the class-room, but I recall that the mask slippedwhen he was saying goodbye in his last as-sembly. He quoted from John Andersonmy jo, changing it to Jock of course, andparodying Burns in a self-deprecatingway; the school responded warmly. Hehad the last laugh, you might say.

I always regretted that I did not getto know him better, but he was a good, ifrobust, colleague with just that touch ofindividuality which sets apart the authen-tic teacher.

Jim Toomey

FRANK ANDERSON was cer-tainly dedicated to scholarlymatters. This meant that he ap-

pealed to and inspired the more able stu-dents but found it difficult to relatepositively to the less capable unless theyshowed some desire to improve. Hisstandards were very high and pupils hadto meet them.

Dr Jim Toomey(1953-1968) taughtLatin at KingJames’s for 15 yearsand concluded histeaching career asDeputy Head ofBromsgrove CountyHigh School. Hewas awarded aDoctorate by the

University of Birmingham in 1997 and waseditor of Records of Hanley Castle,Worcestershire c. 1147-1547 publishedby The Worcestershire Historical Society.

46

Letter from PorthcawlDAVE BUSH

THE rapidity with which youresteemed editor’s request foranother Letter from Porthcawl

comes around is a disquieting reminderof how quickly my days of retirement arepassing. Two further events in the latterpart of 2010 emphasised this. The firstwas when Margaret and I celebrated ourGolden Wedding with a family gatheringin Scotland. This was equalled, althoughMargaret will say ‘superseded’, by mysecond Golden Wedding in November.She always said that I was married to theschool first and her second! (I slip thatexclamation mark in as I really do wishto emphasise her feeling and secondly toannoy Andrew Taylor who has in the pastdeclared that I use too many). The first week in November 2010

was exactly fifty years since a shy littleLincolnshire lad slipped through the OldKitchen Entrance to begin his teachingpractice from Leeds University. Nowthere I was at the OAS Dinner so many

years on, well retired and a little lessretiring, to propose the toast to theschool but mainly to sing the praises oftwo former colleagues and very longserving members of staff, Walter Raleighand Patrick O’Brien. Both in their turnspoke so eloquently, Patrick managing tospend longer on his feet than thefamously garrulous Walter. There wasalso a very special moment for me as Imanaged to have my photo taken with thethree students whom I considered themost able I have ever taught, Ruth Ainley(1979-1984), Bryan Hopkinson(1967-1974) and Martin Priestley(1963-1971).

The following morning I joined a fairsized party of Old Almondburians on thetraditional walk from School to Churchfor the Founders’ Day service. This wasanother most moving and worthwhileoccasion but where, oh where were therepresentatives of the school? Not asingle one. I cannot believe that if invitedsome pupils, staff and parents would not

wish to attend. My timeat the post servicegathering was brief as Ithen drove over to Snaithwhere the afore-mentioned Ruth Ainleyhad arranged a superb

Most able: Dave Bush withformer pupils Ruth Ainley,Bryan Hopkinson andMartin Priestley

Andrew Taylor

47

spread for some twenty people whoincluded Alan Clayton (1979-1984)Rachel née Nixon(1979-1984) and Bob(1973-1989) and Janice Field.

I must mention that on our way

north we stayed with honorary OldAlmondburian, Dr Peter Griffin and hiswife, Liz. Peter, Vice Principal atGreenhead College, always had a specialregard for KJS and enjoyed his Thursdaynight badminton sessions at the schoolfor many years. Now Peter has a housein the south of France and had told meon the telephone that he was sure that aformer member of the KJS staff wasliving in the vicinity as he regularly sawhim in the market at Lodève. I produceda staff photo and he immediately pointedto Tom Jenkins, our former and larger-than-life Head of Science, classroomraconteur and member of our barbershop quartet. Jack Taylor always said thatthe only sure way of getting Tom topractice was to leave a trail of Mars barsfrom the staff to music room. Peter willnow approach him to learn more.

Two other developments I found

Tom Jenkins (ringed) is now living in the south of France.On this 1996 photograph ofteachers and support staff:1. Sue Cope 2. NickFazakerley 3. Sue Brown 4. Vicky Dawson 5. AnneFerguson 6. Shirley Thackray7. Mike Rattigan 8. Steve McNamara 9. Mary Bell, 10. IanGatenby 11.Tom Jenkins 12. Jay Snow 13. Graham Ormerod 14. Walter Raleigh 15. Dave Bradford 16. Chris Temperton17. Gordon Griffin 18. John Shaw 19. GillianSykes 20. Sheilagh Hunter 21. Patrick O’Brien22. Francesca ? 23. Judith Rushby 24. AngelaMelling 25. Lesley Eaton 26. Sarah Watkin27. Ethel Lumb 28. Ailsa Griffiths 29. SueHacker 30. Ann Turner 31. Carol Duncan 32. Kath Emerson 33. Christine Hazle 34. Lesley Walker 35. Joy Stainforth 36. VickyManchester 37. Dr Roger L’Amie 38. Liz Armitage 39. Pam Breeze 40. Robert Tellez 41. Nicole Green 42. Joan Shaw 43. DaveBush 44. Clive Watkins (Headteacher) 45. Trevor Sykes 46. Bernard Redfern 47. PatReid 48. Jack Taylor 49.Val Lingard 50. LindaWoodhead 51. Lynda Dale 52. Carolyn ThirlwellAbsent: John Eaton, Jo HallOur thanks to Nicky Green for identification

1

38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

2

34 5 6 7 8 9

1011

12 13 14 15 1617

18 1920 21 2223 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 3637

Roger L’Amie

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encouraging over the dinner weekend.Firstly the revived Almondburians’soccer team is defeating all comers -their exploits can be followed on TheYorkshire Old Boys website - and weformer players are so grateful to MartynHicks (1970-1975) for his efforts.Secondly the proposed revised nationalcurriculum in England will include fivecompulsory subjects, one of which mustbe a language. The latter doesnot have to be modern sohere is the opportunity forLatin to become a coresubject at KJS. So many of ushope the chance will beseized .I quote yet againTaylor Dyson’s words from his speech in1945. “Whatever happens …see to it thatthe old school is just slightly differentfrom any other school.” To maintain astrong classical tradition is surely oneway of guaranteeing this.

From optimism to sadness. I heardvia Dr John Hargreaves (1971-1990) ofthe death of Duncan Clarkson*, formerHead of Modern Languages at KingJames’s Grammar School. A Cambridgeman who demanded and obtained highstandards from his charges, Duncan hada great sense of humour and lovedplaying with language. I remember hispinning a found key on the staff noticeboard with a note attached which read ‘aqui?’ When we were having a daily‘Clever Use of Adverbs Competition’Duncan was the master. I recall two.“Ifwages go up prices must follow,” said thesupermarket manager ‘lodgically’”.

[Younger readers please note: Lodge’swas one of Huddersfield’s firstsupermarkets, based on the site of theold Waterloo cinema]. And “That’s thesecond flask you’ve broken,” retorted thechemistry master acidly.

Duncan must also have been the onlyteacher ever to complete his registerwith a ruler. The / and \ marks to denoteam and pm attendance were filled in

every Friday lunch time sothat his records were a workof art.

Inevitably it now seems Imust assume my VictorMeldrew mantle on somematter educational. Last time

it was reports; this time it is exams. It issimply a plea to revert to somethingresembling the old formal way ofexamining pupils. I talk frequently toteachers here in Wales and they confessthat the present system involving teacherassessment, coursework and use of theinternet is widely abused.

This was perfectly illustrated bywhat happened in my daughterCatherine’s GCE French group. A pupilwas required to translate a short passagefrom English into French as part of hercoursework. ‘I’ve done it , Miss. I’vedone it’, said she waving the overduepiece above her head. Catherine lookedat it .’Thank you,’ she said. ’ The onlyproblem is that it is in Spanish’. The girlhad pressed the wrong key. ’Chinese thistime?’ asked Catherine when the secondeffort was produced. She expected acomplaint from the parent forundermining daughter’s self confidence.I rest my case. �*Obituary: page 51

“I must nowassume my VictorMeldrewmantle …”

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PostbagYOU WRITE …

I HAVE only just joined the OldAlmondburians’ Society, and the

magazine has made me aware that therehave been criticisms of Harry Gledhill. Ithought I should add my views.

Shortly after I arrived at AGS (as itwas in 1953) Harry Gledhill auditionedevery boy in the class, who was toldwhether or not he was in the SchoolChoir. I was in, and never had anyenthiasiasm for it, and when my voicebroke I was glad to be out of it.

However at the next Speech Day Iwas fascinated to hear the School Choirsing in four parts; I found it veryinteresting and actually volunteered tojoin; I was warmly accepted. The firstperformance was of Stanford’s Sea Songswith Huddersfield PhilharmonicOrchestra in the Town Hall. I had a verylimited vocal range and found it hard, butenjoyed it.

The School Choir was a highlight forme for the rest of my time atAlmondbury, and the standard achievedwas high. Certainly all the volunteers inthe basses and tenors were inspired by’Appy ’Arry. At the next Speech Day the

From Dr John Comyn (1953-1961)In praise of ’Appy ’Arry

John Comyn (back) in 1959. Coincidentally, his classmate BarryLivesey, who writes about Harry Gledhill overleaf, is front left; JohnGoodall, one of our latest new members (page 5), is front right

whole school sang one of the Sea Songs,with the memorable phrase ‘Drake is in isZammock’. Other memorable itemswere The Heavens Are Telling from Haydn’sCreation at a Founders’ Day Service,Roberton’s All in the April Evening andThe Long Day Closes by Sullivan.

Apart from the six years I spentstudying chemistry, I have been singingever since. I now sing in Leicester BachChoir. It is a great privilege to sing bassin a good choir, and especially toperform such masterpieces as Elgar’sDream of Gerontius, Mozart’s Requiem andBach’s Mass in B minor, just to name a few.

Singing has been a very importantpart of my life, and this owes a lot to theapprenticeship Iserved with’Appy ’Arry. Ifeducation isabout pre-paring pupilsfor future life,then HarryGledhill did avery good jobon me and

50

many of my contemporaries. I shouldadd in conclusion that he played theorgan at Woodhouse Church when I

I READ with interest MartinPriestley’s piece on George Beach

and the school orchestra. I had neverrealised that I seem to have been thefounding timpanist –two performancesat the School Fair! I wasn’t a timpanist atall but George knew that I played a sidedrum in the Milnsbridge Scout band.Would I give it a go? “Yes alright”;

and George took me to two eveningsessions of the Huddersfield YouthOrchestra where I acquired sufficientknowledge to get through the pieces thatwe were playing, one of which wasHandel’s music for the Royal Fireworks.

I have no recollection of beingparticularly grateful at the time for theeffort that he was making for me butlooking back now I certainly should have

From Barry Livesey (1953-1961)George’s orchestra was ‘alright on the night’

George Beach and his valiant band of musicians in 1959

married Greenhead Girl Hilary Brook in1965.

Huncote, Leicestershire

been. ‘Scratch orchestra’ is not reallyadequate to describe the miscellany ofinstruments and players that Georgeassembled but he welded it all togetherand as they say it was ‘alright on thenight’ (or actually the afternoon).

I knew little of George’sinvolvement in farming. I took a degreein agriculture and was involved in theindustry for nearly 30 years. When Ilook at photos of George now I see astrongly built broad-chested man whowould have been good to have on a farmin the ’40s when so much was still doneby hand.

He clearly made a very bigdifference to the lives of many youngAlmondburians.

Shefford, Bedfordshire

ObituariesGONE BUT NOT FORGOTTENJAMES MAHONEY (1949–1953)

Fourth year school-leaver who managed the largest taxi firm outside LondonWe are sorry to learn very belatedly of the death of

James Mahoney from cancer in a Hampshire hospice on8th December 2009. Sadly, he was not in touch with therest of his family who only heard of his death towards theend of 2010. He was 71.

Jimmy Mahoney left King James’s School (orAlmondbury Grammar School as it was then known) atthe end of his fourth year and so did not take any GCEs.He was a well-liked class-mate who got on with all hisfellow pupils.

His sister Vicki Hinchcliffe, who attended Longley Hall School, tells us that Jameswas always full of fun and was very popular with all who knew him. He lived formany years in the Portsmouth/Southsea area where, after working in a number ofcommercial establishments, he eventually became the manager of the largest taxifirm outside London, a job he held for fifteen years prior to his retirement.He was twice married and had two children and three step-children. His brother

and sisters all remember him fondly and only regret that he was not good at keepingin touch. David Heptonstall

DUNCAN CLARKSON(1970-1977)

Modern languages teacher who was a stalwart of the model railway societyThe Almondburian learns with regret of the death of former Head of Modern

Languages, Duncan Clarkson. A Cambridge graduate, he will beremembered not only for his effective teaching and able controlof the French Department but also for his many activities outsidethe classroom. Siddon will miss the House Master who led themto many successes during his period of office. The LocomotiveSociety, biggest in numbers and most restricted in quarters of allthe school societies in his time, owed everything to hisenthusiasm. The Almondburian itself, then the official schoolmagazine, could not have continued without his business acumen in raising moneyfrom advertisements.

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52

JEFFREY NEILSON TAYLOR(1966-1972)

Former professional footballer who went on to become an international opera starJeffrey Neilson Taylor died on 28th December 2010 at the age of 80. He had

battled against cancer for some years.Jeff became an amateur soccer player with Huddersfield Town while still at school

in 1943. After National Service from 1947-1949, he gained a BA (Hons) degree inGeography and Geology at University College,London, funding his studies by turningprofessional with Huddersfield Town in adebut match against Chelsea. While at Town,he scored 29 goals in 71 appearances. As hewas studying in London, he welcomed theopportunity in due course to transfer toFulham in 1952. At Craven Cottage, he scored14 goals in 33 games, playing alongside JohnnyHaynes, Jimmy Hill and Bobby Robson. Hethen spent three years with Brentford, scoring 34 goals in 94 League matches beforesuffering a badly broken cheek bone which finally persuaded him to give up footballin favour of a career in music.When he retired in 1958, the Brentford chairmanoffered him an extra £1 a week if he would consider signing a new contract.Jeff had become deeply involved in music making while at university, and spent five

years studying at the Royal Academy of Music in parallel with his footballing activities.His retirement from football presented the opportunity to embark on a successfulcareer as the singer Neilson Taylor, making many radio and television broadcasts,appearing at Glyndebourne with Glyndebourne Opera Company and at CoventGarden. While at Glyndebourne, Pavarotti introduced him to his own voice teacherEttore Campogalliani with whom he studied in Milan. In 1974, he was appointedProfessor of Singing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama whilstcontinuing as a top performer on radio and television.Jeff was regarded as one of the finest baritones of his generation, and was also a

talented pianist, composer and teacher. His repertoire was enormous, ranging frommusicals (he appeared alongside Broadway star Elaine Stritch in Annie Get Your Gun) toGilbert & Sullivan and classical opera. Jeff retired from RSAMD in 1992 but continued to teach privately at the highest

level for some years. He was the elder brother of former Yorkshire and Englandcricketer Ken Taylor.� Jeff Taylor’s memories of his schooldays, together with musical extracts, can be heard on theOAS website at http://tinyurl.com/3alp776. His recording of Procida’s Aria from Verdi’s operaThe Sicilian Vespers has recently been re-released by Chandos on a ‘Verdi Celebration’ CD(CHAN3067).

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DAVID HEPPENSTALL MELLOR(1948-1955)

Consultant Neurologist who became a world registrar for the ‘alternative’ GoonsDavid Mellor, former Consultant Paediatric Neurologist, died in Nottingham on

13th October, 2010, aged 73. He qualified at Leeds Uni-versity as MRCP in 1964 before moving to London’s Uni-versity College Hospital and then to Great Ormond StreetHospital. A job in Philadelphia, USA in the Children’s Hos-pital was followed by a lectureship in Child Health at Ab-erdeen University and Senior Registrar at the Children’sHospital. In 1973 he was appointed the first-ever Consult-ant in Paediatric Neurology at Nottingham’s UniversityQueen’s Medical Centre where he remained until he re-tired as Senior Paediatric Consultant.

While at King James’s, David won the Photographic Society’s Whitehead Trophyand composed poetry and humorous articles for The Almondburian; and in sport, hecompeted for Dartmouth at swimming, shot putting and throwing the discus. He isreputed to have overtaken Happy Harry’s car when cycling down Somerset Road andwas banned from cycling to School for three months. At Nottingham, David organised hospital pantomimes with senior Medical Centre

colleagues in unlikely roles. On retirement, as a charitable stunt, he cajoled the hos-pital hairdressing team to shave off his remaining hair and his beard and he began tosport one ear-ring. He planned to occupy himself with jazz, gardening, clarinet, skiing,hill walking, narrow boating, cycling and photography, not forgetting home improve-ments, cocktails, travel and ‘computering’.David was the best of company, interested in people, a good listener, and ‘saga-

cious, bold and turbulent of wit’, which made for hectic and hilarious repartee andgales of laughter reminiscent of schooldays on the mornings after The Goon Show. In-deed, he joined the ‘alternative’ Goons (the Guild Of One-Name Studies) and becameworld registrar for Heptonstall and similar surnames*, publishing his findings entitledBorn Hep or Born to be Hep. David had four children: Harry, Sophie, Joseph and Polly by his first wife from

whom he separated in 1983. His fifth child, Betsy-Ann Mei, now a teenager, was bornafter his 1986 marriage to Yin, a Consultant Paediatrician.

John Earnshaw and Gerald Stead*Other luminaries include Old Almondburian David Heptonstall (1949-1957) and Huddersfield-bornwriter and radio producer Rayner Heppenstall.

OLGA IRELANDThe Almondburian is sorry to record the death at the age of 79 of Olga Ireland, wife of

former PE teacher Ken Ireland, on 24th November 2010. Olga was very supportive ofthe School and took a keen interest in the Old Almondburians’ Society.

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AUSTIN HOLROYD(1936-1941)

Former foundry owner who became a writer and prolific newspaper correspondentAustin Holroyd, a contributor to The Almondburian as recently as March 2010, died

on 5th December after a short illness. He was 85.Austin was born in Holmfirth but sadly lost his mother when he was five and was

brought up by an aunt and uncle. After early schooling in the Holme Valley, he wasawarded a scholarship to Almondbury GrammarSchool, as it was then known, in 1936. He developeda deep affection for the School and what it did for him;so much so that in later life he often returned to givetalks to pupils about the School in the days of TaylorDyson. He described his decision to go to AlmondburyGrammar School as “one of the best decisions I evermade in my life”. Austin left School after the Fifth Form to join the

Public Assistance Department of HuddersfieldCorporation. Then after a spell as a lorry driver (nolicence being required in those days) he joined the

Navy and spent over three years travelling around the far east. Austinthen joined the family firm of Crowther and Gee, a successful foundrybusiness in Firth Street. The company was sold in 1986, at which pointAustin joined forces with a son and a friend to set up a rubber

mouldings company, Huddersfield Polymeric, which was sold on Austin’s retirementin 1992Austin was a man of many interests. He had a lifelong love of sport, having become

secretary of Thongsbridge Cricket Club while still a schoolboy. He supportedHuddersfield Rugby League Club for many years, and later played golf at WoodsomeHall, becoming club captain in 1988.A keen writer, his love of golf led to him researching the history of Woodsome Hall

and publishing a book Woodsome—The Place and its People. He also became anequestrian columnist for the Huddersfield Examiner, having taken up horse riding andbecome a District Commissioner of the Pony Club.In recent years, he became aprolific contributor to the Huddersfield Examiner letters pages.For many years, Austin was a member of the Freemasons’ Connaught Lodge, and

he was a volunteer with the Samaritans.Austin was an enthusiastic member of The Old Almondburians’ Society and could

always be relied upon to support its activities. He was an active member of the teamplanning the OAS events to mark the School’s 400th Anniversary.� Austin Holroyd’s memories of his schooldays, recorded in 2006, can be heard on the OASwebsite at http://tinyurl.com/3927aza.

Bob Goldsmith (1935-1942) writes:Over a period of several years in later life, Austin and I used to meet in York every

six weeks or so. In the hotel by the station we shared a bottle of wine and had a modestsandwich lunch. He then caught the train back to Huddersfield and I returned by trainto Scarborough. On these occasions we were always properly dressed. We wore our oldschool ties.Austin considered himself lucky to have been admitted to Almondbury Grammar

School. He attributed this slice of good fortune to the fact that Holmfirth had once beenpart of the parish of Almondbury. It also obliged him to submit to a time consuming se-ries of bus journeys between home to school, except in high summer when he could usehis bicycle.We had various things in common. We had both started our long years of education

at Stile Common Council School when we were four years old. We were not contem-poraries: I was the elder by just over a year. My parents moved house to Almondbury be-fore I was five. Austin’s fate was to go to Outer Mongolia (Holmfirth) not long afterwards.We did eventually sit in the same classroom but not until the academic year 1941-

1942. We both belonged to Form 6 (Arts), an exclusive coterie. There were two mem-bers of the Upper Sixth (Philip Bean and me) and two of the Lower Sixth (Austin and‘Dagger’ Lee). Neither of these two completed the academic year; Austin absconded totake up a clerical job with the Town Council and Dagger vanished down south where heprospered in business. The unfairness that can accompany the process of ageing did not spare Austin. From

the age of 70 a driving licence can be renewed every three years if there are no reasonsfor refusal. Austin had some history of eye troubles, which obliged him to submit to anexamination when his licence came up for renewal. Some six years ago, to his chagrin,it was not renewed and it destroyed much of his independence. He did his best to restoresome of it by using a motor scooter with which he could manage to reach his belovedWoodsome Hall in one direction and the village of Almondbury on the other. Then came a further disaster. In trying to cross a ramp near Woodsome he fell back-

wards from his motor and broke a bone in his thigh. This injury meant a long process ofrehabilitation. Eventually he seemed to have recovered. He saw fit to take the train, thistime all the way to Scarborough last October, just before his 85th birthday. He was lastman off the train and tackled the long platform, upright and steadily with a stately gaitand no walking stick to help him. That is how I like to remember him.By that time I knew what a noble part he had played in the affairs of the town in

which he had lived most of his life. He used to send me copies of his contributions tothe Huddersfield Examiner and the Yorkshire Post. Only a few days before he died I receivedhis comments printed in the Huddersfield Examiner on the dislocation visited on the res-idents of Hyde Park in Almondbury by the proximity of a bank cash machine and a lay-by for school buses.My wife always had difficulty in remembering the name ‘Holroyd’. She called him

‘Kilroy’ and he seemed to like this. When he telephoned he said “Kilroy here!” His depar-ture is a major loss to those who knew him well. I am glad to have been one of them. �

ChairmanNICK BRIGGS

17 Fair Street, Huddersfield, Yorkshire HD1 3QB Tel: 01484 305734

Mobile: 07595 175835Email: [email protected]

SecretaryANDREW HAIGH

2 Arkenley Lane, Almondbury HD4 6SQTel: 01484 432105

Email: [email protected]

TreasurerKEITH CRAWSHAW

5 Benomley Drive, Almondbury HD5 8LXTel: 01484 533658


Media EditorROGER DOWLINGEditorial address:

Orchard House, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RDTel: 01925 756390


Website: www.oas.org.ukFacebook: http://tinyurl.com/3ykffo3

The Almondburian is distributed to OAS members free of charge. Price to non-members: £3.00

the almondburian: july 2011

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