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Old Wallaseyans Worldwide
Newsletter 46, September 2006 for former pupils of Wallasey School, Henry Meoles, Oxley Schools & WGS
Editor & Chairman: Tony Simpson
Secretary: Vic Green <vic.green@oldwallaseyans.co.uk> Deputy Chairman and Webmaster: Bob Bryans <robert.bryans@oldwallaseyans.co.uk>
Treasurer: Roy Swinbank <rswinbank@tesco.net> www.oldwallaseyans.co.uk
Dear Old Wallaseyan
The OWW 75th Annual Dinner will be held in the House of Lords, Cholmondeley Room and Terrace on Thursday 26th October 2006. Dress will be lounge suits for gentlemen and informal evening wear for
ladies. Our sponsor will be the Rt. Hon. The Baroness Chalker of Wallasey. The reception will commence at 6 pm for dinner at 7 pm. All guests will be required to leave by 11 pm. My thanks to those who
have paid the £ 60 per person in full - this has helped us enormously. For those who have paid the £ 25 per person deposit, please now send to Roy Swinbank the balance of £ 35 per person to reach him by the
30th August 2006 For those who are unable to attend, we shall include a
full account of the dinner in Newsletter No. 47., which we hope will include your news.
With best wishes from Tony Simpson.
News from Members
John Anderson 55-61 <janderson@dreamtilt.com.au>
Would you please register me (for the web update email service.
Geoff Andrews 1949-54 <geohilandrews@aol.com> I was not in receipt of
newsletter no. 45 March this year, however, my brother Neville Andrews has done the honours and included me on his booking form for this year's dinner at the House of Lords. We have been trying to make it for some years
now! I enclose a cheque in the amount of £ 10 for newsletter costs and would refer you to my email address as above.
J Kirk Baird 28-32
£ 5 enclosed for Newsletters.
Alan Bennett
36-40 <alan@bennett25.fsnet.co.uk> Cheque for £ 5 to help with Newsletters.
Roger Burgess 53-60 <burgess.family@btinternet.com> If you are a reader of the DAILY MAIL you will have seen the WEEKEND magazine issued last
Saturday (March 25th). It shows picture of WGS pupils in 1949, dressed in MAROON uniforms. How much more can we take? I imagine the Editor just chose "nice colour" from his computerised
paint box, and said "That'll do, it looks sort of provincial". Is this actually slanderous? Bob, from your exalted position as Correspondent General to the Court of Withens' Lane, I feel sure
that you can bring pressure to bear, and obtain an immediate and grovelling apology from the perpetrators of this travesty. If not we'll all have a good laugh, because it's bound to confuse John Manners Ltd of Liscard
when next asked for an authentic WGS blazer.
Brian Caddock 37-44 <bdcaddock@hotmail.com> I was
most impressed with the OW website which is very easy to navigate and very informative and interesting. I submitted a small contribution to the March 2006 Newsletter and am glad to see that it has now appeared.
Unfortunately there are a couple of typos in this and I wonder if it would be possible to correct them? Firstly my correct email address is bdcaddock@hotmail.com . Secondly, in the list of names in relation
to my cricketing memories, instead of Frank Masterson the text should read Frank Parr, Earl Masterson, etc. [Sorry - Ed.] I find these newsletters fascinating and I must say that the literary standard is excellent, as one would
expect from the ex pupils of a very fine school.
Neville Daniel
(27-30?) Enclosed please find a small cheque (£10) towards your expenses etc. Reading your latest newsletter,
noted Frank Surman still going strong, also noticed the Rev D A Slack mentioned -he was in my year 1927. His dad was manager of Pegroms store in King Street; his brother Ron
Slack was cricket scorer at the school. The old marbles not so good these days. I'm hoping to make 90 years in December. Got a couple of cruises booked - did a very nice cruise up the Black Sea last November; Yalta etc. - most enjoyable. Many thanks for your always-interesting news.
William Davies <snowy-davies@tiscali.co.uk> Quite a few boys, including myself whilst at the Central School suddenly were informed that our exam papers had been re-checked and we
had really had passed to the WGS & consequently went there. I can remember some of the names & if any interest is shown, I will be in touch again. William Davies I looked for
my Grammar School photo over the weekend to jog my memory over the names you requested but I couldn't find it (we are moving house shortly and it could be anywhere). Anyway there are some I remember----Frank Williams,
David Costain, Albert MacDonald, ,Bunting, Norman Quinlan, Norman Richardson, Joynson, Seddon, & Johnny Haig. According to my school report there were 24 in the class but I can't say that they all went to the
Central School. I was in form MVB1 at first; my form master was P Oxenbould. In 1949 my form was UVC1 & my form master was J H Spear--the headmaster was F L Allan. I remember getting into trouble
because my parents couldn't afford the school uniform at the time.
Dr Norman Dean
36-46 <alpatrida@btinternet.com> Please note my new address (above). Incidentally I have not received an OW Newsletter since No 44.
Has No.45 been issued yet? [Yes. If you really need a hard copy, due to costs for posted copies, an annual donation of at least £ 2 would be appreciated. However, you will get an email update every time there
is a new newsletter. You can read No. 45 on the net now. - Ed.]
John D Fraser 42-48 I too did the same walk that Bob Leach mentioned in
2003. Seacombe Ferry was like a morgue. I used the ferries nearly every day when I was at Liverpool College of Art in 1951. It was all hustle and bustle then.all the buses coming in then parking up in their
allotted space. I went up to Egremont , its been turned out very nice now but again it just isn't like it used to be. I remember being on the lovely sands there with my gran. I saw the Thetis going out on its
maiden voyage, a very sad voyage! Even when I was young the ferry still went to Egremont. The Sunday walk after church was one of the highlights of my week. One of the groups, Enyd Roberts, a firm friend then
and still a firm friend now. If we didn't walk down from Egremont Baptist Church Enyd and I would go a bike ride instead. Our bike rides were always on a Sunday evening when I had finished my pottery homework
(1948-50). But New Brighton is no longer what it was. The Marine Lake doesn't appear the same, as I knew it. At the end of term a group of us from WGS would go there and hire two boats.
I can't remember all of the groups but there were quite a few including Geof Halsall, Stuart King, Bob Falla and me. We were very badly behaved as when we had overstayed our allotted time we would pull over to the
side nearest the fort, empty the boats and one person would tow one boat back to the landing, get out and scarper. We were all pretty wet too. The beautiful sand between the fort and the lake appears now to be tarmaced
over and the glorified car park looks more like a cattle market. I did not visit the Floral Pavilion but I remember going to my first Jazz concert there given by Harry Gold and his pieces of eight. The
Fair grounds were deserted both times I went 03 & 04. I remember the great times I had with Peter McNicol watching the American Soldiers impressing the local girls with their bravado, and watching the firework
displays from the bowling greens, as we couldn't afford to pay to go into the bathing pool. My cousin, that I stayed with, said to me "Don't you think that Wallasey was a wonderful place to be brought up in, in our
day? Yes it was, of course I have wonderful memories of Wallasey, of childhood memories of living in Arnside Road with the cricket field opposite the house. The memories of the blitzes are still fresh in my
mind. Of collecting shrapnel in buckets to actually be paid for it. Of seeing great water carriers by the police station ready for the fires of the next bombing. I clearly remember carrying two buckets
of water about half a mile and having to step over burnt out hoses in Wallasey Road and up Rake Lane. I was nine at the time. Well, Wallasey is my home town; I still love it but there are parts I never want to go to
again. It really has gone to seed and I find that dreadfully sad.
Edward John Godfrey 59-66 <ejgodfrey@netcabo.pt> Whilst on my annual
weeks visit to Wallasey last week I happened to see, in what now passes for the Wallasey News, an item reporting the death of Neil Mckechnie at the age of 67. If you do a google search on "Neil Mckechnie" you
will find an interesting obituary in the Wirral News, third item down I think. On a slightly happier note I can report that I made a couple of visits to the club and also enjoyed a tour of Theakstons brewery in Masham ,
Yorksire, thanks to the good offices of Will Chipchase.
Fred Harvey 27-35 <
quadriga5@tiscali.co.uk> We have completed our move to the new flat and have found the whole project thoroughly satisfactory in view of our ages and state of health.
Jack Harwood 26-31 Life in Eyam is fairly uneventful. There has been a fight set up by a building firm and financed by them and
subsidised by the promise of a new sports field and pavilion, to build a new village, of about 36 houses, in the old glebe land (fluorspar and lead site) and this is now in progress with the removal of work tips and bringing
the land back to its original level. The access road is now being built but this will double the population and be a big push towards its transition to a commuter village for Sheffield and Chesterfield.
Derek Hawksley
<gtbrits@astound.net> Where to begin? I finally retired last June and like many of my old
school friends with second homes away from home, my wife Margaret and I have a second home in Hawaii…the Island of Maui to be exact. We vacation there two or three times a year with the odd cruise thrown in generally to
the Mediterranean or South America. We are both in good health and enjoy life to the full. I had a total knee replacement 18 months ago and apart from setting of airport security alarms to the concern of my fellow
passengers, the new knee is doing great. I paid the penalty for an overactive youth and up to the age of 40 was still competing in squash and badminton tournaments - none of which do I regret. My only
regret being that I am now a spectator rather than an active participant. We have not been back to Wallasey since 2003 and do not know when we might return. Patricia Lindsey (nee Patricia Snaith, Wallasey High School) is my point of contact for updates in that unlike me, she has kept in contact with all her old school friends and it is thanks to Patricia that I am again back in touch. If you see Bill Wise [Bob
Bryans], please pass on my kind regards. I think a lot of the old school and the great times we all had there with Youth Hostel trips, fruit picking in Evesham where I learned three very fundamental lessons namely: do not
try to outrun randy cart horses whilst weighed down by a heavy rucksack (John Banks, WGS Head Boy 1958 tried this and narrowly escaped with his life); eating an abundance of Victoria plums leads to dire consequences; and
climbing ladders beyond the point of support is not to be recommended. Such for my education although it did me well in my professional career.
Mrs Lisa James
85-92 < lanceandlisa@btinternet.com> Still living in Wallasey and working as an Area Sales Manager for Pearson Education. I am currently on maternity leave and I gave birth to
a beautiful baby daughter on 18th April 2006. Her name is Emily Isabella James and she arrived safe and well at the Liverpool Women's Hospital. It's wonderful being a new mum and the sleepless nights are totally
worth it!
Brian G S Jones
34-42
Re Brian Ashmore 31-41. On a recent visit to Cumbria, I was reading the "Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 3rd Series, Volume 5, 2005 P303/04"
where I found long tributes to Brian. I do not know whether a copy is obtainable, nor whether it is worth obtaining one for our records. The Secretary is Dr J Turnbull, Fylde College, Lancaster
University LA1 4YF. We enjoyed an excellent ICA "Gourmet & Wine" tour in France in September. Did not do much for my diet but it was very interesting. Several of us preferred
the wines from the smaller family vineyards, rather than the better-known names which we considered well over priced. We had excellent local ladies as our guides of the many abbeys, castles etc, which we also
visited. Have you tried roast ostrich? Don't bother, it is rather like tasteless turkey, but we did enjoy some very good French meals and tastings. In the last few months, son, my daughter-in-law and I have been
chasing the 'JONES' family tree in North Wales. No easy job, but Cathy has been busy on the web, and even translating Welsh books (and now speaks some Welsh). Many of the family we found in the old St Michaels
churchyard in Betws-y-Coed and more in Penmachno. Most were involved in the building the stations and bridges on the Conway valley railway, and built St Mary's church Betws (1873) and the school at Penmachno free of
charge: some say out of the profits they made from the railways. Owen Gethin Jones (a Welsh Bard) and founder of the firm was the uncle of my grandfather - not sure what that makes me. One of the bridges on
the railway is named after him:- All very interesting and good fun. I am looking forward to seeing you in the House of Lords.
Bob Leach 30-35 My Zimmer Frame and I, and Daphne, wish you all the best for a successful Dinner.
Don Malcolmson 58-65 <donmalc@bigpond.com> Please accept my apologies for my inability to attend the October Dinner. As usual, I plead the tyranny of
distance. I enjoyed reading Bob Leach's A walk on the Prom in the March 2006 edition of the Newsletter. It was particularly relevant as I'd covered much of the same ground during a visit to Wallasey in
December 2005. I too felt as if Wallasey had died. I drove down King Street Egremont and noted that about every shop was boarded up. The Seacombe Ferry terminus was without boats, and Victoria Road, New
Brighton has become a pedestrian mall with no pedestrians. I stopped in Withens Lane, outside the School and peered through the railings. The building looked much the same as I remembered it some 40 years
ago But then I looked closer, noted the current occupants, remembered the 1960's Wallasey Town Hall Soviet's politics of envy and policy of educational regression to mediocrity, and mourned the passing of a great
institution and the great men who taught there. My sister had unearthed a DVD of 'The Magnet' - set in Wallasey in the early 50's - which, when I watched it, sent me into a further maudlin decline. And my one
remaining school friend residing in the locale who graced these buildings in Withins Lane with me for the first time in September 1958, told me that he is retiring to Italy for some dolce vita
before it is too late. Not much of that in Wallasey any more.
Neil Munro 51-58 <neil.mna@freeuk.com> I was very interested to hear
about Malcolm Stowell-Smith. However, I seem to remember reading in one of the newsletters that he died, suddenly, some time ago. I hope that I'm mistaken. I was at WGS at the same time as "Stowie"
(1951-8) and remember great times that we had on the WGS Cycle Touring Clubs trips to Oxford and Land's End. Stowie could play anything on the piano and we monopolized the piano whenever we arrived at a youth
hostel. He and I would sing close harmony duets and lead the community singing for hours on end. Great times!
Keith Panter-Brick
29-37 I am grateful to the Newsletters and regret that living in France most of the year cuts me off from attending dinners etc.
Graham Rogers 73-76 <tolkien.webmaster1@btinternet.com> I went to Henry Meoles from 1973 to 1976. I had three fantastic years there and have not been back to school since 1976
when I joined the Royal Marines Band Service. I recently came across some old press cuttings from 1973 when I was chosen to play the role of Oliver in the school production for that year. Malcolm Stowell-Smith did
the music and Keith Whitely did the direction. It brought back many memories especially of Malcolm Stowell-Smith (who was a great influence on me as I was a music student of his and an avid drummer) and a very good friend
Malcolm Price who played the Artful Dodger. I have often wondered what became of them after all these years. I have recently been in touch with Dave Beecher ( a former teacher at the time) who informs me that
Malcolm Stowell-Smith is still alive somewhere (he is trying to track him down for me.) I came across your site and was wondering , as this is the 30th Anniversary of the production, could you put it up on your site
and see if there any members of the cast still around and could you forward my email address to them so that I can get in touch with them again. I have attached four scans of the cuttings and hope that they are of good
enough quality for your website. Thanks to the influence of Malcolm Stowell-Smith I am now a secondary music teacher myself in Plymouth and have a wife and two grown up girls.
Peter Townsend 49-56 <peter@townsend60.wanadoo.co.uk> Please note change of email. Apols for non-attendance at dinner - will be in Slovenia
(Triglor National Park) running an English Language for Environmentalists course. Not many folk will know that in addition to my geography teaching (I worked with Freddy Porter 1962-7) I taught English to 5C
62/3 and most of them passed 'O' Level English - an unheard of success rate (ask John Stoddart who taught the previous year!)
David Walker
36-45 We have just returned from visiting 2 of our daughters, one in North Yorkshire and the other in Norwich. Things have been
hectic what with one thing and another. I am very sorry to have to give my apologies for not being able to attend the 75th London OW dinner in October. We had both looked forward to a few days in London but the
diary in October has become very congested. All I can say is hopefully another year it may be possible. It is already June and very soon I will be putting together the 2nd Wallasey Old Scouts Bulletin. The
dinner as you know is on the 21st October. Thank you for putting an advance notice in your Newsletter no. 45. After celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary last year, which was very full indeed, this year is
turning out much in the same way. We had a Mediterranean cruise in April and our taking our caravan on an ICFR (International Caravanning Fellowship of Rotarians) rally in July in Belgium. With all this coming and
going the garden needs plenty of attention when we get back.
Barrie White 39-43 Thank you for sending the Old Wallaseyans Worldwide
Newsletter No.45 - March 2006 which was most enjoyable, in particular the section by Brian Caddock giving much detail of his years at school. I have pleasure in enclosing a cheque for £ 10 to cover costs of sending me the
Newsletter.
Bill Wise
1950-65 (Member of Staff) Thank you for sending me the newsletter. I find it fascinating to be reminded of my years as a member
of staff. I am enclosing £ 5 for future newsletters.
J Rex Wood
Apologies. Thank you for your continuing work. I regret that I am unable to attend [the House of Lords Dinner.}
______________________________________________
Derek Jackson OWC "Just a Common Sailor"
He was getting old and paunchy, and his hair was falling fast, He sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past, Of a war that he had fought in, and the deeds that he had done.
In his exploits with his buddies, they were Heroes every one And tho' sometimes to his neighbours, his tales became a joke All his legion buddies listened, for they knew of what he spoke.
But we will hear his tales no longer, for old Bill has passed away
And the world a little poorer, for a Sailor died today. He'll not be mourned by many, just his children and his Wife, For he lived a quiet and uneventful life.
He held a job to raise a family, going quietly his own way. So the World won't know his passing, tho' a Sailor died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie "in State" While thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great,
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young. But the passing of a Sailor goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution, to the welfare of our land A guy who breaks his promises, and cons his fellow man?
Or is the ordinary fellow, who in times of war and strife, Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life? A politician's stipend, and the style in which he lives,
Is sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives While an ordinary Sailor who offers up his all, Is paid off with a medal, and perhaps a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them, for it was long ago, That the "Old Bills"
of our Country went to battle, but we know, It was not the politicians , with their compromise and ploys, Who won for us the FREEDOM that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with the enemy at hand, Would you want the politician, with his ever-shifting stand? Or, would you want a Sailor, who has sworn to defend,
This land of ours unto the very end.
He was just a common Sailor, and his Ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us , we may need his likes again For when countries are in conflict, then we find the Sailors part Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start! If we cannot do him honour, while he's here to hear our praise, Then at least give him some homage, at the ending of his days. Perhaps a simple headline, in a paper that would say- OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING- FOR A SAILOR DIED TODAY.
______________________________ Obituary
Neil Mckechnie ,(1950-57) aged 67 years, died on the 8th June 2006 ( See Eggleshaw's History of WGS pp 236-238 & Wirral Globe "Olympic Swimming Legend Neil Mckechnie dies" by David Williams)
Attachment to newsletter sent by surface mail.
This newsletter goes out twice yearly to over 300 old Wallaseyans Worldwide - a fascinating exchange of views and news, which becomes more and more lively and unmissable About half of these
O.W.'s get this newsletter by surface mail. If you still wish to receive your copy by this means, please send your cheque of at least £ 2 to the Treasurer, Roy Swinbank, 65 Couchmore Avenue, Esher,
Surrey KT10 9AX. Since we rely entirely on your goodwill for our continuing survival, any donations are welcome. Your letters and articles are what make the newsletters, and
these may be sent to the Secretary, Vic Green via the hyperlink on the Welcome page of this web site.
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