The Reunion Themes

When people sent in their booking forms for the Class of 63 Reunion a number of themes emerged from those "good and bad memories" questions.

Things People Prefer to Forget

For a lot of people the most common bad memory of school is "Gunner" Wright.  He seems to have generated fear in girls and boys alike, even though he was much more of a pussycat with the girls, since his normal disciplinary technique of the cane was not allowed with them!  Who remembers the "Moggy Minor" that he used to drive around in?  On the right is a picture of him in it.  [Sorry, the picture is a copy of a copy, and so you cannot see him]  He did generate a sense of discipline, for all his faults, but he was well over the top by today's standards. 

To read more about "Gunner" click here

There was also a common hatred for the stairs in the Tower and several mentions of things like Latin, Cross Country Running, the bus journeys to get to school, Hockey, Detentions, School Dinners (of course), the Uniform........... 

For girls, there seems to be a very common hatred  -  Green Knickers !

Fond Memories

There are a range of fond memories - Classmates, Playing Hockey, the School Play, Meeting my future husband/wife, Sports Day, School Trips, Playing Rugby for the School, Throwing xxx in the Pond, The Prefects Rooms, Harry Hartwell (several votes), donuts and cream buns from the school tuck shop (now there is a fond memory) and climbing to the top of the Tower to Spot Trains (must have had good eyesight).  

 However, there is one single event that many people have remembered, which will set our Theme Tune for the day.  To relive this memory click on Theme Tune.

A longer list of people's memories is given below.  Some of them contradict each other, but others are 100% consistent.

Fond Memories

Things to Forget

Goodbyee

Saturday morning rugby

The Girls (from a boy)

Good friends

Caring teachers

Tennis

Gilbert & Sullivan

Harry Hartwell

The prefects room

Throwing Fairey in the pond

Boys and girls being taught together

Iolanthe

School trips

Sneaking out of Balfour Rd entrance to cut the corner off.

Eccentric Latin teacher

Boxing for school

Playing cricket for school

school concerts

Drama productions

Sports day

Maths with Buzzer  (editors note: Really?)

Tuck shop

Cream buns and donuts

The Importance of Being Ernest

Harry Bamber

Going Home time

Leaving

Tyrping lessons

The darkroom

Chemistry lessons

School choir

"Gunner" Wright

Green Knickers

The prefects (especially Fairey)

First year Initiation

School dinners

Punishment

Detention

Writing Lines

Litter picking detentions

The tower stairs

The building

Cross country running

The smoke infested staff room

The uniform

Latin

Tiger Timms

Pip Harris

Hockey Lessons

Trevor England

Taking two busses, plus a long walk to school

Bowler hats

Translating Homer's Iliad

Knocking on the headmaster's door to tell him that Assembly was ready and walking behind on stage to read the lesson.

The Headmaster

Rugger on a frozen pitch

The showers