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Perry Beeches Secondary School

John your childhood neighbour and school friend Ethel died this week. Sad news I know.
So sad, and at this time of life it is getting all too often. Thank you so much for giving me this news. I always had a a lot of time for Ethel, and she kept me up to date, whenever I came home on leave from the RN, in the 50/60s. She also used to tease me a lot about another girl I knew, but I didn't mind, 'cos she was right about that! :broken_heart: Ethel was a beautiful girl, as you might expect if you ever met her eldest brother, Jim. Thank you again,and I hope it's not too late to send a card to the family.

Regards... John
 
Yane mentioned a Michael Robbins.

I have been sifting my memory for why the name Robbins sounded so familiar to me. I don't think I am old enough to recall Michael Robbins, but yesterday I suddenly remembered another Robbins at Perry Beeches; namely Hazel Robbins. I remember her as a pretty girl, with long, dark hair and a ready smile. She was about my own age of course. Now I am wondering if she could have been related to Michael. If anyone else recalls Hazel it would satisfy my curiosity! Thank in anticipatio.

John
 
John your childhood neighbour and school friend Ethel died this week. Sad news I know.
Thanks Avril. I have spoken to David earlier today. Unfortunately I am a bit immobile at present, but of course have sent the usual condolences. Thank you again; I am most obliged x

John
 
Hi Brian, Did you know a Michael Robbins?
No I can’t say I do remember him,but probably did but can't remember him,I started at Beeches Road School in 1939,the only person who sticks in my mind was the edit ........... headmaster at that time Mr Waterton edit ......... the cruel way he treated pupils.

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No I can’t say I do remember him,but probably did but can't remember him,I started at Beeches Road School in 1939,the only person who sticks in my mind was ..........
One of his successors wasn’t much better, late fifties.
 
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Waterton was the Headmaster during my time in the juniors department. I started at Perry Beeches in 1943, so my time with Waterton would have been about 1946 -1950. I went to senior school at Birchfield in 1950. Waterton was a pig, who caned me for 'fraternising with the enemy'! Namely Italian prisoners of war who had stayed on after hostilities, building prefabs. My actual offence? Just greeting one of the prisoners. I was caught by a teacher from Aldridge Road School, who frogmarched me to Waterton. This teacher looked a lot like Mr. Edge. Maybe it wasn't Edgie though because when I finally returned to Beeches in 1951, he didn't recognise me!

How times have changed.

John
 
Hi,Wobblyclogs,,I also went to Birchfield Road School after leaving Beeches Road & they raised they School leaving age from 14 to 15 the year I was about to leave so it must have been 1948 when I left Birchfield Road School, our paths must have crossed ??
Yes ...edit ........ he was one of the biggest bullies that I ever came across & I met quite a few when I was in the army in the 1950s,hope you are well & still enjoying life.

Moderators note. Post edited.
 
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Hi Oldplumber.

Thanks for the reply. The reason I went to Birchfield Road School was simple. That teacher who took me to see Waterton was one of the staff at Aldridge Road. Hence, I chose to go to Birchfield Road to keep out of the way! I went to Perry Barr in 1950, as I said. Vividly remember Mr. Massinhgam the art teacher having us all paint a representation of HMS Affray, the submarine that was lost in the Hurd Deep that year. I didn't enjoy painting that for obvious reasons and I felt it was a weird choice for subject matter. I also disliked a teacher called Taylor who apparently won WWll single-handed!

I wouldn't say I was a 'hothouse flower', but the stink from the Tufnol works didn't agree with me at all, and my doctor advised I return to Great Barr. In 1951 I transferred back to Perry Beeches, which is where I first met Mr. Edge. Never had any problems with him, but by then I had learned not to rock the boat, and buckled down to getting the best I could out of school! I left in 1954, at 15 and joined the RN in September that year. That was the start of 12 months of virtual Hell at HMS Ganges Boys' Training Establishment. In comparison, Birchfield Road was a kindergarten. Ten years later I had finished my service, and had got married. I returned to Birmingham and here I stayed, living just a mile from my childhood home. I am not as mobile as I'd like to be, but I still keep putting one foot in front of the other! I plan to keep doing that as long as possible, but we all know that fate sometimes laughs at those who plan!

Cheers Old plumber.
Regards John
 
Many thanks John, for your prompt reply, I remember Mr Taylor at Birchfield Road ,but you are, I hate to say younger than me, I'll be 88 in December, my wonderful wife of 62 years died in 2016 & I've been on my own since although I do have a lady friend, also a widow who I get on with very well,fortunately John I'm still in extremely good health so still manage to do most things including driving,we moved to Brixham, Devon not long after finishing my national service in the Royal Engineers in 1957,bought a house up by Barr Beacon but couldn't settle so got a job in Devon in 1961/2, I was a plumber /heating engineer all my working life,the last 25 years working for myself, had two kids my daughter (52) lives in Exeter & my son (49) lives about 200yds away my wife & I had a great life together & I & I know my wife felt the same ,we have travelled to most parts of the world,
I'm still in touch with three old school friends one still live in Great Barr one retired to Norfolk ,the last one lives in Melbourne, Australia,
Take care John & keep in touch
Brian
 
Thanks Brian. Well what's a six year seniority? :)

My wife is 88 also, but she is in full care now. I looked after her from 2010 until 2016, when she finally had to have more care than I could physically give her. She has Parkinson's and Dementia, and aside from that she is in good health; which is typically perverse. I haven't seen her since lockdown, because the home she is at were locked down fully. They have eased to situation now, but that still leaves me struggling to actually walk around the place, to get to her room. My walking ability is improving though, so a couple of months should do it. She doesn't know our children, and it's looking likely she won't know me when I can finally get to see her. But we must wait and see.


Regards John
 
Thanks Brian. Well what's a six year seniority? :)

My wife is 88 also, but she is in full care now. I looked after her from 2010 until 2016, when she finally had to have more care than I could physically give her. She has Parkinson's and Dementia, and aside from that she is in good health; which is typically perverse. I haven't seen her since lockdown, because the home she is at were locked down fully. They have eased to situation now, but that still leaves me struggling to actually walk around the place, to get to her room. My walking ability is improving though, so a couple of months should do it. She doesn't know our children, and it's looking likely she won't know me when I can finally get to see her. But we must wait and see.


Regards John
John my heart goes out to you. My walking needs improvement but hopefully when I finish my Immunotherapy cancer treatment things should hopefully return to close on what it used to be. Good luck.
 
Thank you Nick. I just had a few days of conjunctivitis, which has finally eased, so that explains my 'time-out'. Instead of bothering the Doc, I wash my eyes with boiled water, and honey. (Gone cold of course!) Seems to work, but too much honey and I get bothered with big flies! :)

BTW Nick, noting you are from Helston: I had 10 months of happiness there, when I was stationed at HMS Seahawk in 1961. The best posting I ever had. Because we were Seamen Anti-submarine ratings, and not Fleet Air Arm types ('Hairy-Fairies') we didn't do station duties and every day was 9-5! Fantastic Floral Day that year!

John
 
Some aerial views of Perry Beeches School. It was the first school I went to half a century ago - it was at the top of our road so that's where I went and after 3 days there I walked to school on my own. It was all constructed from wood, so there were a few 'fire' incidents, but it was repaired. There were woods, fields, brooks, sandpits, water filled quarries, and 'haunted' Booths Farm all nearby.

1945
The school as it was when I was there, all built of wood. We had halls with curved roofs and fully equipped gyms in which we could climb ropes to the roof 40ft above. Air raid shelters from which I saw a German ME110 flying over as we were rushed in during an alert. We had a big sports field, nearby woods with frog spawn and tadpoles. Behind the school there was a Quarry full of water and we often played on the ice in the winter.
School_1945.jpg

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1999
50 years later – the 'temporary' huts are still there. Lots of building replacement in the centre of view. The woods are still there and all of the sports field and two of the original four halls remain. The quarry pool has gone and is wooded over – probably safer and for the best.
School_1999.jpg

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2000
Not much has changed but the huts are still there. The woods look 'woodier'.
Lots of car park spaces but that's how things are.
School_2000.jpg

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2001
It has become a major building site. I wonder how the children coped with it ?
One of the original halls remains, some of the sports field has gone. Only two of the 'temporary' huts remain.
School_2001.jpg

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2003
The 'temporary' huts have gone. The school rebuilding looks to be mainly finished. The last hall has been replaced by a new field.
School_2003.jpg

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2007
Well it looks finished in its modern new form.
School_2007.jpg

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1940s
The huts shown to the right of this WWII photo were 'temporary'. They were separate from the main school. We had to walk over to the main halls for school dinners – Sago pudding etc. They started to issue milk in small bottles and we had 'milk monitors'. We had evening wartime play-school with 'dripping' sandwiches and played 'pirates' in the gyms while our parents worked evening shifts for war work.
The_Huts_Beeches_Rd__School_WW2~0.jpg


A streetview nearly matching the view of the huts in a photo above. In other streetviews the caretaker's old flat roof house can still be seen. The school buildings look very modern in other streetview photos. When I went there early in WWII, on some days after we had spent sleepless nights in air raid shelters listening to bombers overhead and explosions, we still went off to school next morning often collecting fallen anti-aircraft shrapnel on the way.
beeches_road.jpg


Now it is a modern 21st century school and many changes have taken place.
OM 2 of my children were at the school when the building work was going on....it was a nightmare...they started off in the huts

lyn
 
Miss Doogood was a terror. She never did me any good, but to be fair I never ran foul of her. What we must remember is that female teachers of that age, were often old enough to have lost someone in either of the two world wars; so if they were a bit 'sour', they could have had understandable reasons for their dispositions.

John
 
I was a Perry Beeches scholar I was there from 1969- 1974 I remember Mr Edge, Mr Caldicot Miss Lloyd Mr Newel, Arty Varty, Mr Jefferson P.J.McShane Mr Evans Mr Jones Hr Hall Mr Ford a few more whose names escape me. My brother Clifford Commander went there as well 7 years before me and my cousins Linda Salt Jill Gregory and Lynn Gregory
I was at Perry Beeches at exactlty the same time and I remember all of those teachers. This is a photo from when I was in the 6th form in 1965 with Mr Cauldicot in the middle. I'm the 2nd from the right in the middle row - others in the photo include Paul Phipps, Talat Kahn Dave Carnell, Gary Connel, Michael Harris, Paul Langton, Pete Coles, Robert Wood, Fenton Peneydo and a few others whose names escape me for now.
 

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