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Handsworth Technical School

R

Rupert

master brummie
Hi,
Anyone attending this great institution in the years 1952/55 care to touch bases
It's ok I'm not Ozzi looking for your late English homework.
regards,
 
It was more likeJackie London thrashing me because no maths homework. I was there 53-55
Mike-g
 
Eng A, most of my class have signed in on Friends Reunited.
See you in a week, off to Southern Ireland now.
 
Hi,
I was at Handsworth County Technical School (the posh name)Building Section from 1948 until 1950 and later Handsworth Technical College from 1950 till 1957 doing HNC Engineering.
I would love to hear from anyone who was there at that time. I have two very long photos.
 
Hi,
Thanks for that. Although I took metallurgy it was definately not my best subject. The lab looks very similar to how it looked when I was there.
 
Thanks for the pic, Cromwell. If I remember rightly the metallurgical lab/metal working shop was in a shed at the back of the Goldshill Road building opposite the gymnasium. Frankly I don't recognise the picture. The equipment shown in the picture is typical of any such lab and 1938 was 14 years before my time there. The sheds have been removed now but the old main building is still there and is posted here by Subee somewhere.
Regards.
 
Rupert, Thats strange you saying that about the sheds, that photo was taken just after it was built with the latest type of gas and electric furnaces, so I will have to check to see if it was bombed in the war
 
Cromwell, perhaps the word shed is a bit missleading and maybe gives the impression that it was a lean-to. Single storey outbuilding is probably a better description. It was a divided building, the other part being the technical drawing department. Another outbuilding at right-angles to it was the wood working shop. It was a great school with talented masters who I am sure inspired many pupils to a lifetimes contribution in industry. When I left the place I missed it and my mates for the longest time.
Regards.
 
Hi,
As far as I can remember the lab was in the shed during the period I was there.  1948 to 1957.
 
Just out of intrest in was not bombed during the war but Baker St (next road to Grove Lane )was obliterated and the school hit in Grove Lane (Soho Rd end)
 
handsworth Tech

hi

Have enclosed my record of Handsworth Tech.
I was there from 1957 to 1959. Sadly I had to
leave but the ols School in Handsworth was a very good School.
Strangely all my Day realease and night School was done there
from 1959 to 1964.

Mike
 
Thanks for the memories Mike. Your recollections of the teachers and the travells between the two schools is super. I was there for three years, including the third year, and remember the masters that you mentioned for the most part. So sorry to hear about Jackie London, he was probably a favourite with most of the boys and was always a great teacher and pleasant man when I was there. Pancho rings a bell and Mr. Stokes the PT master if I recall. Did you have Ossie Osborne (English Goldshill)and Two Gun Tex Flutter (Math Boulton). I remember Mr Whetton being mostly engrossed in the industrial revolution and things like the Spinning Jenny. What a good job I could probably do on his final term (term projrct) now. Ah well it's too late.
Yes there was a lot of walking involved between the schools and the playing fields but time was allowed to do so; just. The swimming bath period was always a bit of a trial to get back from though. I used to have the school dinners there at Boulton Road and by and large used to enjoy them. I know there will be other opinions though. In the early days of the school, the masters used to cook the meals in the upper part of Goldshill Road. We only had lessons on the first two levels.
Like you I went on to industry and day release and being from the Mechanical section of the school I took my HNC in Mechanical Engineering at Aston Tech, never to return to the old school again. In fact, apart from a couple of instances, never to see any of my classmates again. As I have stated earlier, I remember realy missing the old place for the longest time and even now remembering brings a flood of emotion. I got my O/levels before leaving the school and could have stayed on to take H/levels and after leaving often wished that I had done so. I think our year would have been the first to do so at that school. Being from Stechford I expect you would take the outer circle 11 on your way home at the end of the sports day.
It was a very fine place which I am sure gave a good grounding for a liftime of achievment for many of it's pupils. I was there from 1953 to 1955 a little before you.

Regards
 
Just looking around, saw HTS

I was at HTS 1948 to 1950. Was Mr Bryant was headmaster then ?
I remember Mr Osborne, short on sense of humour.
Other teachers names, Ive seen in the posts bring back memories.
The metalwork and woodwork classes I think were at Boulton Rd.
I was high up in the exam results at my previous school, but had a bit of a shock at HTS.
I'm usually in the Ice Rinks thread.

oldMohawk
 
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handsworth Tech

Hi

Taking a guess Bryant was the Headmaster in those years.
Mr Osbourne was there he taught English. Mr Woolley
taught us Wood work.
The Metal work and Wood work Art Room were at Boulton
Road.
The Main School was duel owned with the Technlcal College.
A small annex at Union Row where all Ist years went to under
the infamous Jackie London. A typical Dickensian character.
I was some years later but spent a good year under the split
sites.

Happy Days

Mike Jenks

Mike Jenks
 
The metal work shop in my days was at Goldshill in a single story building opposite the gym. There was also a woodwork class in a similar single story building there. A woodwork class was also conducted at Boulton road. This was 52 to 55. Why was Jackie infamous? I always found him to be a fine teacher and a very nice bloke.
 
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handsworth Tech

Hi

Im sure the metal work area when I was there was at Boulton Road.(1957)
I know when I went back there in 1959 to 1964 at Handsworth
Technical College ONC etc There was a huge Metal Work area at
Goldshill Road. It took me back a little then as I always did my Metalwork
at Boulton Road. Maybe with the move To Hampstead in 1958 things
moved around.
Jackie London well 26 Strokes of the Cane seemed at the time for a
bit of back chat by I can recall his name Gregory seemed a little harsh.
He was alway canning for errors. The better teachers hardly used the
cane but thats my opion.
Sadly after this canning fiasco Jackie London left at the end of that term.
He was due. for retirement anyway. I know he had just lost his wife to
Cancer earlier.
I enjoyed my days at Handsworth Tech I felt the Staff were fair
not like the Mass cannings at my earlier schools. We all got the cane
there. Thats history now.

Mike Jenks
 
Hi Rupert, The woodworking shop takes me back, I still have my anvil, which I I made in the woodworking shop which we then cast in aluminium.
 
hi

Strange how we have memories of that Anvil.
It must have been the mould making in the boxes then pouring the molten
Aluminiumin in. The excitements of breaking out your Anvil in the
cast form.
Strange how life takes you , several years at Hills Precision
Diecastings and a years at Lucas Forman's Diecastings.
Best Casting plant was a GKN plant. A Huge Diecasting plant making
Alloy wheels. The Dies on these were awsome and if I remember
the complete cylcle was 20 minutes. The pouring by machine
was slow to prevent Air bubbles.
That Anvil had a lot answer for

MIke Jenks
 
It's strange how the anvil keeps cropping up. I was parted from mine on my move here. I had the object and paterns for the longest time, I suppose they were small and quite displayable. Anyway if you have one why not post some pictures. I would love to become re-aquainted with the little devil.
Did anyone else stay on for the third year and make the height gauge. The base was cast iron but made elsewhere and supplied rough for us to machine. Then we got to harden and temper the scribing pin...if that is the name for it. Again all lost I am afraid. There are not many of us here.
 
This is the Anvil and its aluminium casting, its not faired to badly over the last 50 yrs. I was at HTS 1956 -1958, this must have been in the final year,
I was in class 4A1 when I made this.
 
hi

Amazing how the Anvil grows. Thought i would
look up my report for 58.
It appears Woodwork was covered by AJW.
I think that was Mt Whetton.
Anyway attached my report for 58 very brave.

Mike Jenks
 
As far as I can remember, it was Mr Woolly, who took us for woodwork. with another teacher, his name I cannot remember but we called him "The Martian"
 
It was Woolly for woodwork with one of the metalwork teachers, cant remember his name.
 
I recall one at the Bolton Road annexe who had a habit of tapping your funny bone if he saw you holding hammer incorrectly.

I also was there from '56 - '58 Goffy. I recall the following fellow pupils - Onions, Peach and Quesen(?), (Robert?) Harvey Gangly lad in the army cadets somewhere) who could not quite pronounce his 'R's a shame really a as he was set on joining the artillery, a Brown. Strange how you think you will remember them all but don't (well I don't). Bates, John Goldsborough, one lad who had a constant cold but I now realise may have been an early hay fever sufferer.

I remember Maths with 'Jacky' London who was was deadly with a board rubber if the warning chalk failed in its task.

Who was the French or English master whose Bond 3 wheeler ended up on the top of the Gas Inlet housing at the new school on leaving day?

Hides scruffy anvil from prying eyes. Thinks - least I still have mine :)

Mike you mention a Gregory. There was a Gregory in my year who I saw many years later hanging off the back of a bus in his Conductors uniform. He had a longish face and slicked back hair? And had Jacky London not already been dragged out of retirement as there was a shortage of Maths teachers?

Blimey this is stirring memories. There was one lad who ran away to join a circus when it was at Swanshurt Park. Can't recall his name but he came to school once in a jacket with gold lurex thread running through it.
 
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Hi

Yes thats Gregory long sticky black hair Bernard.
Spent some time fidling about to atach my report.
Not a very good copy but Woolly name is there and
Whetton. Stokes took us for games I played in the Football
team a few times.
Ill have to dig out my Anvil its amongst a thousand boxes somewhere.
For ages I had my Filler tube we made in the Metal Work room at
Bolton Road. Do you remember the Cafe there amazing Tomato dip
sandwiches.
Pancho Smith took us for Geography. He had some strange moped
He was the last teacher to belt me. Out came that strap I must
have made some noise or something and out the front for 6 of
the best. Fortunately being a mid field player pain was not an effective
way of dealing with us.

Mike jenks
 
Thanks Bernie for those names, they do ring bells, my two mates were John Dudard and Peter Derbyshire, they have better memories than I have these days, As far as I can remember we had a Mr Foster for english, or it may have been Forster. Does anyone remember the ceiling in the history class, covered with balls of mashed blotting paper propelled onto the ceiling with 12" rules.
What was the name of the Technical Drawing master, he took us to Switzerland on an organised holiday in 1957. these were happy days.
 
Hi

tried again the intials of the teachers may spur a few on.
On another report I noticed the Art Teacher at Bolton
road was a Mr Jones.

Mike Jenks
 
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