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Sorry TBI. I really don’t understand why the system was junked - unless it was to bring “ equality”, meaning mediocrity, to every kid. We are NOT equally academically gifted, and thank God. I went to

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I for one loved school.  Grew up on a Council Estate, passed the 11+ and went to Grammar School.  Not a perfect school but always grateful for a good education.  Both my Mum and Dad passed to go to Gr

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Hello again,Blackie here.Thanks for the welcoming greetings. I guess I`m at that point in life where cherished memories are starting to mean a lot to me ( SentiMENTAL old fool ) Have only recently found the site and am not familiar with the protocol for posting comments.Added to that,I`m not that computer savvey,but I get by. I live in British Columbia Canada so some of the phrases etc. are a bit alien to me ( been here since 1976 ) Stick with me,I`ll muddle my way through It.Thanks for the response to my postings ( this site,plus British school and Nottingham transport ( N.T.C. ) Thanks to the people who have responded and I hope that name-dropping is not out of line.Will stay in touch,as and when.Bye for now,Blackie ( Colin )

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Was sad to see the pics.of the pile of rubble.They call it progress ! Have lots of fond memories of the old place.Too bad I never stayed in touch with any of my old school mates.Left in`67 to work for Notts,County Council,then N.C.T.. then emmigrated in `76. I now live on Vancouver Island in Parksville.All the best,Colin.

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Hi there. I have just found this forum which has been really interesting as I was at Mellish from 1957 to 1964. All the names of the staff have brought back memories, both good and bad. There were some who were pretty good such as Clarke (Maths), Dutton who loved his cricket, Bob McCandless, Froggy Marshall but some who were completely off the wall such as Arthur Boddy who went around shouting things like "2 chisels, 1 try square and 1 tenon saw" and "oogy boogy and argy bargy"!! It's a wonder it didn't affect us in later life! Did anyone else in the forum go to the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 on the school trip? That was an incredible experience for a 14 year old plus a week in Finale Ligure on the Italian coast. I remember Bob McC and Morris the history teacher being on that trip. Also had good times in the RAF section of the CCF going to RAF Aldergrove, Wattisham and Kinloss.

When I was there the head was the much feared Houston nicknamed The Whale and Froggy was the deputy. By the way, we called Sutherland Sooty during that period. Look forward to more chat on the forum.

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As above Rob.... Welcome.

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Welcome Rob J. I wasn't a Mellish lad, but I married Bob McCandless's daughter, Janet. She told me about going to Rome in 1960 with all those lads. In fact I've still got all her photos. She died in 1999 and I have since re-married. Bob was a good father in law. Treated me like the son he didn't have.

I remember meeting Arthur Boddy a couple of times. Seemed quite normal, he wan't muttering about tenon saws or T squares. Lol.

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Thank you for all the welcoming posts. Loppylugs - I seem to recall Bob with his wife and family in Italy. Was Janet a little bit younger than myself at that time? - I was 14 in 1960. She was probably a little bit overwhelmed by all those lads. I am sure that she told you what a fantastic experience it was to go to the Olympics. We even saw a British bronze winner with Peter Radford in the 100 yards. I can only say that Bob was a great teacher and person and I am sorry to hear about Janet.

I don't if anyone else has mentioned it but we had a glider on the school playing field near to the rifle hut and over the hockey pitches. It sounds impressive but the max height we got it to was about 10 feet!! Does anyone remember "Luke" Wareham the teacher whose bubble car we put in the biology pond!! He was so called because he used to pronounce look as "Luke" - from up north I think!!

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Hi Rob. Thanks for your memories. Yes, Janet would have probably been 15 in 1960. I met her in 63 and she was 17 turning 18 in December. She did have some good memories of the Olympics. Yours truly has never been to continental Europe, but did get over to Ireland in 1964. Janet's folks took us both over there.

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Just read RobJ's piece. We must have been there at the same time....I was there from 1959 - 64 (I left after the fifth form to move to London). My brother (Pete Wragg was two years ahead of me, and hung around a lot with Finbar Green.

I remember Arthur (Arfa) Boddy well....apart from his role call of tools (2 chisels etc) his main phrase, which I have used freqently to train my own kids was "Both hands behind the blade!"

One memory that I can add is the school Christmas carol concert in the Church down the road.....There was a Mr Burton who taught French, but had a great tenor voice, and I recall him singing the solo part of The Three Kings carol.

I also remember the glider, which was always fun to watch the poor 'volunteers' pulling the rubber cable to drag it across the field.

It always seems easier to remember the good times than it is the bad times. I'm sure there were some, but I don't recall them.

CliffW

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Good to hear from you, Cliff. I started at Mellish in 1957 and so must have been two years above yourself but we would have been there at the same time. My name is Rob Johnson and I do remember Finbar but think that he was the year ahead of me and not our year. One vivid memory I have that was a bit scary was the BC Fisher incident! Do you remember it when Geoff Whale told Fisher to go to his study during morning assembly in front of the whole school. He was sent there for a caning after he had posted a poem about Pig Hutchinson and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife! Those were the days when corporal punishment was the norm even from prefects. I feel that the school at that time was based on a public school regime with fags (first years!,) used by the prefects! Madness compared with today in schools. I also remember masters using cardboard rolls in their gowns to clout pupils on the head!! In fact, I have now talked about some of the scary bad times when you think about it but, to be fair, I feel that we got a good education that held us in good stead post school.

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Hi Rob.

Yes, I well remember the Barry Fisher incident. I knew Barry - we were in the senior cross country team together. I was one of the many who crowded round the notice board in the 5th. Form corridor to see the outpouring of vitriol over Eric Hutchinson. "Hutch" was not the pleasantest of masters and there was a measure of truth in what was published. The amazing thing was that Barry had the nerve to pin it up - he must have been very upset about something. He received the statutory thrashing from the Whale and was expelled. I recall it did him no subsequent harm and has done well in his life!

Discipline in those days was instilled by fear and not by a mutual respect. Many of the masters,"Hutch" and Frank Clark for example, were senior officers during the war and we we treated like the "erks" who served under them. I don't think they really wanted to teach but it was a case of finding a job once demobbed.

I kept my head down and avoided any "violence". Some of those guys certainly could not get away with their behaviour today. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Mellish ("spell-check" suggests Hellish!) and am still in touch with a few of my old friends, all of whom have done exceptionally well in their careers.

The majority of the staff were exceptionally good. Bob McCandles and David Sparrow (physics), Pablo Atkins (chemistry), Jim Key and Harry Hadwen (biology), Shad. Adams (english), Froggy Marshall and Freddy White (french), Newton (latin), Brian Brocklehurst (music), Charlie Evans (art) and many more.

Starting to feel nostalgic!

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I have a couple of those stretched photos of the whole school on my wall (1961 and 1964). With the restriction of 50KB per file, this picture of them post-7134-0-81951200-1455275458_thumb.jpwon't be great, but it might give you an idea of some of the faces, and prompt some other memories.

I often look at them, and recall people, wondering how they're doing now.

CliffW

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I had the great displeasure of attending Henry Mellish Grammar School ( Smelly Henry ) from 1952 until 1957. I wasn't one for school at all and was glad when I left. Can anyone remember Mr Houston, the headmaster. Tess the deputy head. Froggy and Chalkie White , the French Teachers, and not forgetting the infamous GEG ( George Edward Goodall) He was the Latin master. My favourite teacher was Mr. Boddy the woodworking teacher. I remember the wood store room at the end of the class room when two or three of us would get a broom handle and insert it through a hole in a tea chest and use it as a double bass. Old Boddy didn't really appreciate that. then there was Hutch, the geography teacher. I think he was a wrestler. One day we were having a geography lesson on the upper floor and someone poured ink over his car from out of the window. He got hold of the culprit and half hung him out of the window, threatening to drop him. Then there was a Mr. Lovibond. Through him, I got six strokes of the cane for being late with my homework, And Mr Adams ( English Literature ) caught a load of us coming out of the snooker hall on Picadilly. We weren't allowed to leave the premises until home time, so there was trouble over that. My favourite day was Rugby day. I hated that game, so I would sneak off and creep under the fence and straight onto the waiting trolley bus to go home. Can anyone remember Mr Sutherland? He was the PE teacher. He used to drive a little Messeschmit bubble car. I'm 74 years old now but those days still seem fresh in my mind

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