Bond St. Competiton

Is it just my imagination, or does most of the nostalgia come from we who enjoyed (!) BGS in the 50s?   Here’s some more.

A question for Old Bondites who have been taking gingko biloba and still have a fully functional memory.  Admittedly it’s trivial, but the omissions have bugged me for some time.  Can you recall the layout of Bond St? 

 Enter through the Bond St arch, turn left through the cloakroom, the office and head’s abode on the left round the corner.  Ahead was A Room with stairs to the left.  Top of stairs to the left was the staff room to the right of which were small double doors into ? Room and from there to Chippy Heath’s art emporium (did that have a letter?). Opposite way down the corridor to Joey Crowther’s lair (letter?) via the homework pigeon-holes on the right wall.  Was there another room behind there?  

Return downstairs, C on the right followed by B on the left and then into the hall with D on the right. Across the hall to E (physics lab) and F (used for dinner by sandwich boys).  Down the dark corridor to Ron Illingworth and G; opposite H, chemistry lab.  Outside to X, Ezra’s habitation and round to the other huts, R, S and T.  There was a classroom in the house but the letter escapes me.  Also in the house was the library where a cheerful Maurice Kersey (sadly died in 1964 or thereabouts) held sway, and the tuck shop run by Maurice Brassington (caretaker) after Miss Rawlins’ shop closed.  Upstairs was the room of the gods (prefects).  Back to the yard and through the rifle range to Y and Z.  At the end of Bond St, opposite the ice factory was the ATC building, home to form 2A.

Corrections and additions please. (Or a full plan of the buildings? Ed.)

 Years later, in 1968, I found myself once again sitting in C Room, studying for HNC Mechanical Engineering, after Bond St was taken over by Burton Technical College.  The ghost of ‘Whisky’ McEwan still roamed there.  And how small the place seemed!

 (From Keith Dadley)

In response to Keith Dadley's challenge regarding form rooms in Bond St., I have set out a plan of the setup at the end of 1956/57, the year that the School was transferred to Mill Hill Lane. I am not absolutely certain that I have Q & R, and Y & Z the right way round despite having one in each of those pairs as a form room during my time at BGS. Also I have guessed that the Biology Lab was designated 'I' room despite it never being known as that as far as I can recall. Perhaps some other 'Bondite' can set the record straight. Rooms O,P & M were originally part of the Headmaster's house, which was converted into classrooms in 1929 when the official residence of the Headmaster was moved to 'Lynmoor' in Stapenhill.

From Les Simpson