A
Rollicking Good Time for the Class of '67 Statistical Anomalies
Burton Boys'
Grammar School, Class of '67, celebrate 40 years!!
By John L. Evans
On Saturday 24th March 2007, over 50
former pupils of Burton Grammar School for Boys gathered from around the
globe for a Reunion Celebration of 40 years since passing the 11 Plus and
starting at the Old School. The Class of '67 ('67 Intake) numbered
over 90 boys and building on the Class 5C reunion of 2 years previous, all
but 8 men had been successfully traced and contacted, in advance of the
event, by Keith Large and John Evans. The Class of '67 were the last year
group to pass the whole way through the Boys' Grammar School ahead of
Comprehensive Education being introduced. Many had travelled hundreds
and even thousands of miles returning from homes, holidays and work as far a
field as Peru. Amongst them were Doctors, Teachers, Accountants,
Senior Managers and Company Directors, Businessmen, IT Experts, Government
and Local Government Officers, Builders, Painters and Decorators, Lawyers,
Academics, Authors, Bakers, men from every walk of life. Of those
unable to make it many sent their apologies and good wishes, including
Gordon Berwick from Burton Hospital where he's awaiting surgery, and former
Rolls Royce boss Tony Gott, who was traced just too late to rearrange his
commitments in time. The Doctors, were amazed that it seemed we had
all survived over 50 years and said we were a 'statistical anomaly'.
One chap quipped, "Well I feel alright!"
The Grammar School was founded in
1520 by Abbot William George Arthur Beyne Jr. moving to the Mill Hill site
in Winshill, from Bond Street, in 1957. After a history spanning 455 years,
it became subsumed into the Abbot Beyne Comprehensive in 1975, along with
the Ada Chadwick Secondary Modern and the Girls' High School. At that
same time, the Class of '67 graduated from the Upper 6th to University and
the world of work, and amongst the many successes produced 8 Oxbridge
entrants; believed to be a record.
The Abbot Beyne School gained
specialist Visual Arts College status in 2002 and continues the tradition of
providing quality education in Burton.
The Reunion day began, thanks to
Abbot Beyne Caretaker and former pupil, Andrew Fleming, with a tour of the
High School and Grammar School Heritage Museum, located at the former High
School 'Linnell Building'. A memorable tour of the Old School - now
the Evershed Building - followed. Scheduled for45 minutes, the group
finally left after more than 2 hours exploring and reminiscing.
They visited the abandoned Scout Hut and ACF rifle range, sadly scheduled
for demolition, with their memories of Night Manoeuvres and legendary man
making camping expeditions to Calke, Melbourne, Newton Solney, Repton, and
much further a field, including Iceland, Scandinavia and Europe. Rooms
full of rotting papers and pictures, including the commemorative picture
painted in 1970, by some of the boys including David Setford, celebrating
the450th anniversary of the founding of the Grammar School. David now
lives in Florida where he is director of curatorial affairs at the Naples
Museum, was unable to attend but sent his good wishes. It was
fascinating to see and hear how much, and how little, the school had evolved
and changed over the intervening years. It was particularly good to
seethe school busy being used with many activities going on, even though it
was Saturday.
Grown men remembered being thrown
out of lessons for talking, detention, water bombing teachers, sledging on
corrugated sheets, and snow-boarding on barrel-staves down the steep banks
of the playground, long before the sport had been invented. The
endless games of football, with piles of blazers for goalposts, and
'Rollicks', on the tarmac play ground. No one was quite sure where
Rollicks came from or who invented it, but it was unique involving throwing
and catching a tennis ball against the high wall at the end of the
Demonstration Room and Physics Lab block, in such a way as to prevent your
opponents from catching and returning it; a combination of Squash and
Pelota, with the cry Rollicks!! going up, whenever some strange combination
of impossible events occurred. The game might be even more interesting these
days with the addition of fume cabinet vents, to the 20m high wall,
potentially introducing a whole new aspect and challenge to competitors.
Smoking was ubiquitous; behind the
Scout Hut, the Bike Sheds, the Kitchens, the Pavilion, everywhere!!
We remembered monumental snowball
fights with the kids from the Ada Chadwick on the bottom rugby pitches,
driving them back down the steep bank with giant snowballs like medieval
marauders. Never feeling the cold, with only a blazer and wet woolly gloves,
and maybe a scarf for the lucky ones, to keep us warm and protect us from
the driving wind, sleet and snow on the north-west facing slopes of the huge
and exposed Playing Fields, carved and terraced out of Mill Hill, below St.
Marks Church. Recalling diving into snow drifts only to split our
heads open on a hidden obstacles like the Pavilion standpipe box.
Slipping out the back gates at lunch times to get something decent to eat
from the café© on 'The Level'. Lunatic firework fights throwing
fizzing Bangers at each other in the quarry and the derelict pigsties behind
the Scout Hut. Listening to 'Prog Rock' music at lunch times in
the Demonstration Room, and standing up as one in the middle of the lesson
and proclaiming "Hen!!" to a totally confused Head of Music, Mr 'Jack' Daww.
Memories of metalwork and thrown chuck-keys, slippering, retort stands and
dusty blackboard rubbers flying through the air. The beatings at the
hands of certain teachers, the verbal abuse and bullying, the camaraderie
and the fighting, and worst of all, waiting outside the Beak's Office for
'6-of-Best'. Memories came flooding back, some happy and some sad, and
50 grown men enjoyed their schooldays just one more time, and many were so
glad it was over. One man revealingly said, "I really hated my time
here" and many, though shocked that such a popular boy who was so good at
sports should say such a thing, agreed.
A fine lunch at The Elms, in
Stapenhill, was followed by a trip to Peel Croft to see Burton RUFC 1st XV
win 29 - 16 against Stoke-on-Trent RUFC, in the Staffordshire Cup semi-final
and to bump into a few more old friends.
The main event took place in the
evening, at The Elms, with a fantastic rolling slide show of pictures of
people and places from past and present, some fine short speeches with
apologies and good wishes from many of those who just couldn't make it, a
raffle of Old School memorabilia including a wooden blackboard rubber a
'Trophy' from a long forgotten away rugby match, fine wine and whisky with a
superb 1st Prize, of a week's holiday at his home in the Dordogne, donated
by Anthony Duckworth. John Sharpe made gifts of neckties from his
personal and very special, collection to the organisers and had to hand a
copy of GE 'Fanny' Radford's book, Deus Nobiscum - A History of Burton
Grammar School, ready to resolve any disputes.
Adrian 'Ade' Leese, Landlord of the
Elms and also a Grammar School Old Boy from the Class of '67, and his
excellent staff, provided a fantastic repast of cold meats, fish and salad
which was accompanied by singing of the Old School song 'Deus Nobiscum - God
with us be!' Two fine strong traditional Burton Bitters, brewed
especially for the occasion by Tower Brewery; 'Deus Nobiscum', and Tollgate
Brewery of Woodville; 'Victor Ale', named in honour of guest Vic Roebuck,
were served as well as the usual wide selection of excellent real ales and
lagers. Victor Ale was named after the Guest of Honour, formerly
Grammar School Head of PE and Past President of the Burton Rugby Club,
Victor N. Roebuck, and carried a picture of Vic triumphant in winning the
Burton Rugby Sevens in 1955. Vic was in great form, even though he had
been up since 5 o'clock that morning, to undertake his usual many and varied
Saturday rugby duties. He recognised virtually everyone,
remembering boys' names as well as their particular skills on the field and
in the gym. He left late climbing into a taxi home to Winshill with his own
memories recharged.
Everyone was given a commemorative
polo shirt with the a Reunion Logo especially designed for the occasion by
Jenny Seavers, daughter of Old Boy Brian Seavers. Jenny also designed
the Pump Clips for the Beers and copies of the unique designs were available
as photo-cards.
Robert 'Ernie' Hemingway, was seen
wearing his old school blazer with the yellow and blue Senior Prefects' Tape
and many of the Boys had brought mementoes to donate to the raffle as well
as endless memories to swap.
At the end of the evening, the men
and their memories disappeared into the night, some to stay with aged
parents still resident in the Burton area, others to hotels, and some to
sleep on the floors of the same Best Friend's Mom's Front Room, as they did
in the old days, after a drunken night 'down the 76Club' or at 'The Queens'.
It will never be the same again, but for this group of Old Boys, a fantastic
night with lots of powerful memories has meant they could enjoy their youth
again, just one more time.
The organisers are planning a
bigger and much more ambitious event for next year, in closer collaboration
with the 'Official Old Boys' when, it is intended, Old Boys from every
School year, Teachers and staff will all be invited to a festival of
enjoyment featuring live music, eating and drinking and much more. It
is hoped that the 'missing' 8boys from Class of '67 will be traced along
with as many boys from every other year as possible. This year's event
has been a resounding success, but the team are determined that next year
will be even better!! ©John L. Evans - 2007. Notes to editors:
The Class of '67 Reunion is NOT AN
OFFICIAL BGS Old Boys Association Event.
Burton Grammar School was founded
in 1520 by Abbot William George Arthur Beyne Jr. and, after a history
spanning 455 years, it became subsumed into the Abbot Beyne Comprehensive in
1975, along with the Ada Chadwick Secondary Modern and the Girl's High
School. The Abbot Beyne School gained specialist Visual Arts College
status in 2002 and continues the tradition of providing quality education in
Burton.
