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Gower Street Boys and Girls Schools

right john go back to the tower road thread and let me know on that thread the numbers of the posts where photos have been posted but you cant view them...it could be that if they are ones posted before sept 2010 they were lost when the forum was hacked and we lost over 66000 images...since then our members have tried to repost them but of course this depends on whether original posters are still alive or indeed still members...

lyn
 
Hi

Well I did it!… And it worked! I slept on it… A bed you might ask?. Well …Yeeeessss.

Whatever it was... I slept on it... And a few things came flooding back.

Here in ‘the land of the great white cloud’ (Aotearoa in Maori) it is morning; and whilst things are fresh in my mind...

Stephen Hinds was another student I remember and John ‘Archie’ Archibald was another. He shared his birthday with yours truly and that unnerved me a tad. He was tall and I wasn’t. He was somewhat of a scatterbrain; sorry John that was my impression.
At that time I had a keen interest in Astrology and he was nothing like me despite sharing my birthday. Later in life I understood why... I digress!

I think the 'Woody' I referred to, in an earlier post, was Steven Wood. He lived in Lozells.

Then there was my year two form teacher, if you are older than me you wouldn’t know him. His name was... And you will have to forgive me for this, I could hardly pronounce his name back then, never mind spell it… Mr. Beswetherick. I am almost certain I got that wrong; I think there’s a ‘z’ and/or a ‘y’ in there somewhere. He was a giant of a man from Canada. Probably six foot fifteen inches. Boy was he fast on the football field.

Then there was my Art teacher Mr. Price. He was a Beatle nut. I understand the correct term should be Beatlemania(c).
He had collages on the classroom walls; one was of ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. He used it as an excuse to play the song in class. ‘Yellow Submarine’ was another. But he was a good teacher as far as I can remember.

He recognized my talent from the get go. One of our classmates (can’t remember who it was now) was clad in only his shorts and modelled for us on top of a couple of desks. Whilst everyone else was sketching side on, left or right, he had me sketch him head on. With his legs stretched out in front; I had the foreshortened view to contend with.

My strongest subjects were Mathematics, Art and Technical Drawing. The latter was taught by Mr. Neville. We used to get reprimanded if we called the straight edge a ‘ruler’. ‘That’s the Queen of England’ he said. It is called a ‘rule’. That always stuck in my mind ever since.

I had a very traumatic upbringing, which I feel is beyond discussion here, but Mr. Phillips saw fit to take my brother and I out of class and whisk us away for a two week holiday at the Rotary Boys Home in Weston-Super-Mare. I told my Canadian form teacher before I went; but he marked me absent every day I was gone. On my return he asked me why I hadn’t been at school.
I explained that he already knew where I had been and I was peeved. Throughout my entire schooling I had never missed a day at school. There went my one-hundred per cent attendance record.

Just before I finished for the night yesterday I saw a post by a guest (Maxwell Bullivant).

I suspect I would not be able to make contact with him as he is not a member. Anyway, it was with regard to ‘Wally Eyton’. Unless the fearful teacher did this on a regular basis; I think ‘Max’ would have been one of my classmates.
I distinctly remember, on the first day of year three, someone being expelled from school. Mr. Eyton was late for class, which was unheard of in the annals of all history books. When he did walk into the classroom you could hear a pin drop. At that time we were all very aware of his reputation.

I never did find out who it was or why he was expelled but we heard the student was now attending the Harry Lucas School.
 
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dont worry john a tad off topic is allowed..actually i was talking to george just the other day..hope you enjoy the forum john there is plenty to read about..oh my brother also went to gower st school but he would have started there round about the time you left..i may have one or two photos of new st but if you are interested i have posted quite a lot of gerrard st prior to demo under the gerrard st thread

lyn
Hi Lyn

You are not referring to New Street, city centre by any chance?
I do seem to remember another very small road with that name; was it just off Hockley Circus? Google maps have quite a few unnamed streets these days.

Anyway, I am on the lookout for photos of the top end of New Street Birmingham showing 'Bogarts' in the 70s in particular.
There is very little in the way of pictures on the net. I have one from '78 but the angle is too acute.
 
hi john no not new st city centre but new st aston which was to the left of the bartons arms pub..put bogarts into the search box i think there could be one or two photos

lyn
 
I mentioned on an earlier post that the students from Holte Grammar had been sitting on their laurels throughout their time at the grammar school.

In fact our form teacher at Holte Comprehensive, Mrs. Wilson, was very impressed with the classes results she couldn’t quite believe it. My fifth form class was made up of all the boys from Gower who decided to stay on and likewise the girls from Lozells girls.

When it came to lessons, however, we were lumped in with the grammar students. Our math’s teacher was Mr. Rodburn. This is only my opinion mind, he was dreadful. He would get us to do an exercise from the text book while he chatted one of the girl students up for most of the period. There was a rumour that they had been seeing each other on the weekends. The whole atmosphere was relaxed and too many of the students just chatted. It was a tad too noisy for my liking.

Mr. Rodburn fancied himself as Tommy Cooper and apparently took on that persona for the Christmas school function. He wasn’t at all funny.

One of the ex-grammar students queried a question from the exercise stating that his answer was different from the solution given at the back of the book. And so the teacher did it on the board.

He got the same answer as the student. He actually said that ‘the solution in the book was wrong’.

As I said before, I used to sit at the back of the class, I just mentioned to my mate sitting beside me that I’d got the answer in the book. No sooner had I said it; an ex-grammar girl sitting directly in from of me blurted out that I had the answer in the book. I was summoned to the front to do it on the board. This girl had a Cheshire cat grin on her mush as I passed by her.

Mr. Rodburn assumed I was going to make a minor change to his working, but I wiped the board clean before I started. I didn’t use the textbook.

I wrote the question from memory and worked it out. All he could say was ‘okay smart arse’ as I walked back to my seat.

Every maths lesson was like that. I was not at all impressed. I would rather have had Mr. Eyton taking class; he would have got some improvement out of them. It would have been interesting to see how he handled the girls.

:)-<
 
We love to hear your school stories. Schooling and education are a significant chapter in our lives. The experiences of school and the relationships with the teaching staff shape us significantly and are part of our history.

A lot of people had very positive experiences at school. Importantly others did not. Together we need to write these stories into history, so that we may celebrate successes and learn from failures.

It is important to remind ourselves that this forum is a public platform that can be viewed by anyone across the globe. We ask our members to think carefully what they write. Tell us and others about your experiences good or bad. But also consider others when you do so there could be living relatives, friends or family who will see the relationship with these people differently from you. Adverse comments could be seen as defamatory, and even give rise to libel claims.

If you have experienced events at schools that you see as adverse, by all means say so, but please ensure you protect the identity of the people involved and in so doing you will protect yourself and this forum. Use phrases like “the maths teacher…” or “Miss X…” etc. If in doubt, the moderators are here to help.

So, lets have your school stories, good or bad. Just remember that it is the story of your school years we want to hear; it is not a platform for revenge.
 
Hi John.

My time was circa 56 - 60. Mainly in the building lower down in Guildford St. Although for a time was upgraded to main block as maths was much better than other subjects. Use to go back of the church for pottery and metalwork classes.

Ray
 
I was there 51-53 before going to MSA. I do recall having a science class, which I believe was on the Lozells Rd. I remember making an alcohol thermometer.
Dave A
 
Hi

The link to the photo appears to be broken.

But... I must ask this... Are you one of the very large Turvey family? I believe several of the lads went to Gower Boys School.
I am reluctant to call it Gower Street as it wasn't even on that road. I went to the school in the early seventies and Steven was in my class.

John
Hi John
TOPSYTURVEY
Is my sister and yes her husband is part of the large Turkey family from Wheeler st.
I knew some of the older Turvey boys but not your mate Stephen....
Anyway I will pass on a note about you to her.

I lived in Hamilton for a year in 1974 before moving on to Australia...

All the best

Albert Clayton.
 
I knew a lad called Paul Rook who said he was at Gower Street School in the mind 60’s. He had a younger brother called Carl.
 
Hi John
TOPSYTURVEY
Is my sister and yes her husband is part of the large Turkey family from Wheeler st.
I knew some of the older Turvey boys but not your mate Stephen....
Anyway I will pass on a note about you to her.

I lived in Hamilton for a year in 1974 before moving on to Australia...

All the best

Albert Clayton.
Yes Stephen is my Hubbys Younger Brother .
 
Hi Lyn you must be up bright and early.
It is 5:51 pm here in New Zealand.
Thank you for the map!
I am afraid you are incorrect about the school being on Gower Street. The map doesn't tell you that Gower Street finishes at Guilford Street and the Annex building was on the corner of Clifford Walk and Guilford Street as shown on the map (attached).

I was using Google maps and looking at the new school without realizing it was 2008. How times change!

I am a little vague on Mark. It sounds as if he would have been in my year and I have a pretty good memory. Maybe he was in a different stream. As I said my classroom was in the main building. Perhaps his was in the Annex building.

Also, Do you remember Carol? Can't think of her surname. She was in the chess team. Gower Boys played at Lozells Girls School (organized by Mr. Philips). I was on board one playing Carol. We already knew each other socially.
She gave me a good game.

I have already attached this map; but I have edited it. I was relying on nearly forty years of memory for the exact position of the Annex building. We often had to walk from one building to the other and I really didn't think it was that far away. :)

I Emigrated from the UK in 1995. I didn't really live locally. I lived in Tower Road, Aston; only part of which still exists today. I heard lots of bad stuff about Upper Thomas Street School from lads in my street and decided to give it a miss.

John.
Hi John, I was there 1957-61. Teachers I remember there were Headmasters Mr Matts & Mr J.T.D Ball, also Mr Williams, Wally Eyton, Mr Dean, Mr Ward and Mr Cross. I made this map a few months back showing where the school buildings were at that time over a 2020 Google view. Gower St extended through to William St then so, at least part of the school was in Gower St.
Where Gower St School buildings stood - copy.jpg
 
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Hi John, I was there 1957-61. Teachers I remember there were Headmasters Mr Matts & Mr J.T.D Ball, also Mr Williams, Wally Eyton, Mr Dean, Mr Ward and Mr Cross. I made this map a few months back showing where the school buildings were at that time over a 2020 Google view. Gower St extended through to William St then so, at least part of the school was in Gower St.
View attachment 155240
Hi Banjo

Thanks for the map.

When I was there the Annex building (the lower of the three shown on your map) was not on Gower Street; but on the corner of Guilford Street and Clifford Walk. Are you saying that Clifford Walk used to be Gower Street?

As you can see there is an angular change at the junction of Gower and Guilford Street. That is where Gower Street ends. I wouldn't be asking except that It always puzzled me why it was called Gower Street School.

Lyn may have provided me with the answer recently. Over the history of the school, which appears to be anything but simple, there were other buildings that have been demolished for one reason or another. Perhaps one of those was actually on Gower Street sometime in the late 1800s.

John
 
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