Notebook

1957 School Play - St.Joan

David Whitton has sent me a PDF version of the programme for this memorable play performed in 1957. Because of space limitations I have created a graphic of the cast list only. It contains a lot of names familiar to me, but I do not know if any of the "luvvies" went on to even greater achievments in a theatrical career.

(RS 15 April 2006)

New Guestbook

The old guestbook stopped working about a year ago. A new one has been set up with a different service provider.

(RS 17 April 2004)

The 1952 and 1956 School Photographs

The school photographs for 1952 and 1956 can be viewed by looking for the links on an extended list of photographs on the 'Home' page. I am immensely grateful to John Crocker (1952 - 1958) who not only sent the originals from his home in Australia but managed to remember so many of the pupils and identify them in a list that must have taken many hours of hard work to compile.

John might be remembered by his contemporaries as the notorious record holder for the "most number of conduct marks in a session", particularly if those contemporaries spent some time in Saturday morning detention! Now I cannot remember the conduct mark system or the existence of Saturday morning detention, probably because I was so well behaved! Subsequently the record was "possibly" wrested from John by a Terrence Baines. Again, those who remember Saturday morning detentions at the time may be able to confirm this. Otherwise I apologise to Baines and unreservedly withdraw the allegation!

What I did remember, as I was typing in and correcting all the names provided by John, was that I did have to write lines occasionally. This was because I took the blame for other pupils bad behaviour! There was a time when Bill Bevan came to my desk and accused me of making a wolf call at the end of a class when all the class opened desk lids to change books. He started hitting me across the head but stopped immediately I stood up (I was taller than him) and protested that "it wasn't me, sir!" (Phil Bamsey should remember that incident!)

John has yet to supply me with anything about his life after school so I do not know for sure whether rumours about his relationship with kangoroos are reliable.

The 2003 School Reunion

I turned up at the Manor Hotel on 4 October for this year's school reunion. I expected to see a few faces I recognised and was not disappointed. I will only mention two people I met that I was especially pleased to see - Barbara Pike (see the 1955 1st VI tennis team) who lived at the bottom of Capel Lane in Littleham - and Peter McMillan, who was at EGS over the years 1932 - 1940 (see below).

Viewing JAVA Applets

If you do not see some of the photographs, such as those at the top of the list of photographs on the 'Home' page, your web browser has not got a JAVA Virtual Machine 'plug-in'. This is needed to show Java Applets. Ask a nerdy friend (or your grandson) to help you get one - or you could contact me and I might be able to help.

A few more names were added to the 1952 photographs by my brother, Terry on 11 January 2004.

(RS 30 November 2003)

Exmothiensis - the School Magazine

The school magazine was published 2, 3 or 4 times a year from the early 1920s until 1960, and then once a year until 1967, when Exmouth School was formed from the Grammar School and the boys' and girls' Secondary Modern Schools. During a recent visit there were still quite a number of copies from the 1920s to 1940s stored in an upstairs room in 'The Grange' - now used mainly as an administration block for Exmouth Community College - but only two copies from 1950 onwards; one December 1955 and the other for 1967, featuring photos of the 'funeral' march. Others copies were said to be in the 'Exmouth Museum', but none materialised.

There are four people to thank for the extracts from Exmothiensis - Moira MacDonald, Joy Price and Sylvia Page of Exmouth Community College - who allowed me to search through the upstairs room in 'The Grange' and made a photocopy of the December 1955 edition - and Des Squire (1952-59), who loaned me copies of original magazines for 1954-60.

(RS 16 December 2002)

Exmouth Grammar School Reunion

The next school reunion event will be held on Saturday 5th October at the Manor Hotel, Exmouth. For details and the latest Newsletter visit the EGS Reunion Website.

(RS 16 August 2002)

1961/62 Hockey Team

Thanks to Carole Searle (nee Lawson) for supplying the photograph of the 1961/62 1st XI hockey team, and all the names of the players. Carole is the one on the extreme right of the front row.

(RS 26 June 2002)

1958/60 School - Albums

The albums have been created from the 1958 and 1960 school photographs - the latter provided by Edna Barlow. There are teachers and other staff whose names I don't remember - nor do I remember their faces! Please let me know if you can identify them as well as any of the pupils. I will create additional albums with the help of former pupils if they will identify themselves and their contemporaries from the 1958 school photograph.

(RS 1 June 2002)

1966 Teachers Photograph

This photograph and the names of the teachers shown were provided by Mrs Edna Barlow, sister of Miss Bardens.

(RS 14 May 2002)

1958 School Photograph

The 1958 school photograph was scanned from an original provided by Richard Cooper (photo 1958). Richard, who attended Exmouth Grammar School from 1957 to 1964, now lives in East Sussex.

The photograph was scanned in 6 overlapping parts. Each part was then divided in 12 - also overlapping - in the form of an approximate grid of 4 cells by 3 cells. These latter files retain the original resolution when the photograph was scanned, but to reduce the size of each file, and therefore the time it takes to display, all were converted to 'grey-scale'.

The names of individuals have been added wherever we are reasonably certain of them. There are many others whose faces seem familiar, but whose names we cannot remember, including some of the teachers. Please help us identify them.

N.B. Those, other than PC nerds, may wish to be reminded that links can be opened in a separate window by 'right clicking' the link and making the appropriate selection from the menu that appears. Opening each part photograph in a separate window may be found a more convenient means of exploring the higher resolution photos for that part than via the 'frame' view.

(RS 25 April 2002)

 

From Peter McMillan (photo 1938) : -

Exmouth Grammar School (EGS) was founded in 1922 (or thereabouts) as The Exmouth Secondary School. The house and grounds where it was situated was known as "The Grange" and the school was known as "The Grange School". It was changed to EGS sometime in the 1920's - I do not know when the ghastly name of "Community College" was given. It is on a par with "Peoples Palace of Culture".

NAME	NICKNAME	SUBJECT(S)
Mr D'Arcy Hughes #		Headmaster
Miss Dorothea Flemming #		Headmistress - French
Mr D Civil #	Mr Civil	Maths. The most respected and reveared member of staff. A fine man.
Mr H Heath #	Bullo	English Literature. He tried to give us a liking for- and respect of -English Literature. A task akin to putting toothpaste back into the tube. "Bullo" had been wounded at La Boisselle on the Somme in 1916. He was a gentleman.
Miss Mable Battle		Latin. A talented and able teacher.Left in 1938.
Mr H Bamphfylde	Harry	Woodwork.He would box ears should such action be required. A somewhat distant man but would be very helpful to anyone showing interest in using tools outside the classroom.
Mr Visick	Tom	Physics and Maths. Joined the communist party in the 1940's and left EGS.
Mr Morris		History, PT and Games (not cricket). A breath of fresh air who arrived in 1937 and left to join the army in 1942. He returned briefly after the war and moved to a school on the south coast.
Mr Samuel Goodman	Benny	Maths. Arrived in 1937 and took the lower forms.
Miss Connie Timms		English/RI
Miss Dorothy Morgan	Morgie	Botany. A fine teacher who became headmistress. Undervalued.
Mr Earp #	Prae (Get it?)	Geography. Could easily be tempted to tell the class of his experiences in the 14 - 18 war. Took a group for a tour of Flanders in 1937.
Mr Milton	Pansy	Arrived in 1936 and made form master of 2B, a group who made "(Just) William" look like "(Little Lord) Fauntleroy". Left in 1937.
Mr Scanes	Popeye	Art. Came in 1936 with Pansy and stood no nonsense from anyone, not even 2B. Left in 1938 to everyone's relief.
Mr C P Driver	Dan (Perc)	Art. He messed up the school cap and introduced rugby.
Miss Bartlett		Taught PT and games to the girls. Left in 1938 and later ran the family planning unit in Exeter.
Miss Lee	Flea	Only took the 1st form girls.
Miss Pocock		Domestic Science. Did quite a good job on my sister.
Mr C Walker	Johnny	Botany/Biology/Chemistry
Mrs A Heath (Bullo's wife)	None (we were too polite)	In charge of the "Prep". Tried to make little gentlemen of nasty little boys aged 6-10. The veneer of manners soon rubbed off when the little boys went up to the "Big School".
# These were at the foundation of Exmouth Secondary School, later to become Exmouth Grammar School in 1922.

Peter McMillan (photo 1986 reunion) attended EGS from 1932 - 1940. From 1932 - 1934 he was in Mrs Heath's "Prep" school.

From a newspaper article, published March 1993, provided by Peter: -

Children waiting to be taught at 'the big school'

The 31 youngsters in this week's Peep into the Past had just reached an important stage In their lives. They were about to embark upon their secondary education. The youngsters belonged to the Preparatory School of the former Exmouth Grammar School, and they are pictured here in the 1933 summer term, with their headmistress, and assistant teacher. It is understood that this preparatory school was started in 1928 by Mrs A Heath, the wife of the grammar school's English master. It operated in part of the Grange, the building which housed the grammar school and was later embraced by the present extensive comprehensive school campus. This photograph has been kindly loaned by Mrs Joyce Val Davies of Douglas Avenue, Exmouth. As Joyce Davey, she was one of the youngsters pictured and has provided the names of most of the others as follows (reading left to right): Back Row: not known; Ian Laurie; Kenneth Moass; Brian Walters; Thomas Lee; Donald Hookway; Gordon Hallett; Roy Loveys; Kenneth Alford; Peter Bragg; Geoffrey Earp; Derek Webber. Middle Row: Pamela Dee; Gillian Parkhouse; Betty Hillman; Margaret Pope; Helen Davey; Joyce Davey; Mrs A Heath (headmistress); Miss W Payne (assistant teacher); Margaret Boyce; Beryl Lickfold; Sybil Boyce; Betty Micholson; Molly ?. Front Row: Robert Perry; Leonard Hallett; Not known; Not known; Christopher Thomas; Kent Tucker; James Dixon; Michael Creedy.

From Edna Barlow: -

Phyllis Bardens was senior mistress at the school when she retired in 1969, just as the school was going over to Comprehensive. Sadly she died in 1983. She had come to the school at the beginning of the war from Rochester. The history master at the time was called up and D'Arcy Hughes the headmaster asked her if she would like the job until such times when the chappie came back. As it happened he did not want to return to the school so that of course suited her.

She had started teaching in Budleigh in 1930. We had all been born in Exmouth. There is a book written by Dennis Cozens, an evacuee who went to the school and he mentions Phyllis "who because of her exuberant personality was known by the boys as 'Spitfire' and no boy refused to go into detention if 'Spitfire' Bardens was in charge."

Edna, sister of Phyllis Bardens, moved to live in Cornwall in 2000.