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Hi David, I too was in 6G, but only for one term, and at the end of 1962 my dad, in his infinite wisdom, decided the time had come for me to leave school and find gainful employment. Old Man Rumsby was quite concerned about this, and I was very upset at the time, but I don't think it ultimately...

Hi Terry, small point, but the main entrance to Kynock's works and the junction with Holdford Drive were surely on Brookvale Road, as I think Witton Road ended at Witton Circle. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me. Do you remember the huge electric motor on the grounds in front of...

Hello Redpeter, some great memories of GD in your post. It's strange how, more than half a century on, some of us recall some of the teachers with affection, others with pure hatred. I always had a real respect for Wally Walker - he had that way with him that could silence 36 unruly...

My dad was an electrician nearly all his working life, and I can remember him telling us tales of when he wired up houses before the War. From what I recall, he worked on plenty of large houses in and around Brum; in many cases, according to what he said, installing electricity for the first...

Wow, that would be great if it ever comes off! I used to see the SDG quite regularly at Birmingham University Students' Union "Saturday Hops", where they were more or less the resident band in the early 1960's. At the time, I think Steve Winwood was only about 15! If I remember correctly, the...

I find metric problems with nuts and bolts. Today, almost everything is a metric thread, the old imperial type Whitworth's thread etcetera, is now obsolete. As a model-maker I got used to using BA threads, and still do. BA nuts and screws can still be obtained, but not easily. I never got used...

Just out of interest - the Rose Copper Company in Birmingham became the Birmingham Battery & Metal Company, Bristol Road, Selly Oak. The original Rose Copper Co produced copper sheeting for wooden ships, hence 'copper bottomed' as in impregnable. I noticed on "Flog It" the other day a large...

Hello Lyn, just had another look at all the wonderful and evocative photos you posted.....kind of gets me right here if you know what I mean. In particular the shots of Witton Road bring back memories, mostly good. I wonder if anyone remembers the elderly Greek lady who had a chippie on Witton...

I do quite like The Rotunda, but I had a girl-friend who worked there not long after it opened, at an employment-agency towards the top of the building, and she didn't like it at all. Her main complaint, as I recall, was that it was always airless and stuffy, and also full of static! There's no...

Hello Steve, I thought I recognised your name! Have to say, I don't remember the Oxfam collection. I lived in Perry Barr, so could get the No 7 bus all the way home (to Witton Road) from both City Road and Five Ways. I seem to remember that I spent my last term at GD at City Road, when my old...

Hi Steven, I think I remember you - did your parents have a shop in Rookery Road? Unlike you I was never sporty, and avoided such pastimes as rugby and cross-country, but I did sometimes subject my puny body to the rigours of athletics. I never liked Five Ways - always seemed dull and dismal...

The Lanc crew in the photo in Post 23 look absolutely exhausted, as well they might be after probably 8, 10, 12 or even more hours in the air. I wonder if any of those seven brave men survived the War... G

My wife, who is an arty type, is slightly familiar with the name of Henry Stanier. She thinks she remembers a painting of his on the Antiques Roadshow some time ago. There's a lot on the internet about him, and it seems he was a prolific artist. He was also, as the Guardian article states...

Hi David, The only GD name that springs to mind regarding a distinguished rugby career is that of Keith Hatter, who played for Moseley. Whether he played for England at any level I wouldn't know. Another sporty master I remember was called Pruitt, but I don't think he was at GD for very long...

'Butch' Winson was a character, no mistake, and I actually quite liked him - he had a very quirky sense of humour, and he also struck me as being totally aware that hardly anyone had the slightest interest in learning French. He had a little trick we got to know as the 'Winson Touch', when...

Wow...I nearly caught my breath when I saw that picture.... The entrance to the Boys' School is the archway to the left of the photo, which led onto a corridor which in turn gave onto the 'ante-hall' and also the entrance, to the left, of the studies of Mr Rumsby (Beak) and the dreaded Mr Walker...

Have posted on this thread before, but I was at GD from 1957 to 1962. I remember most of the teachers mentioned - most I have to say were all right, but one or two were absolute tyrants. I remember Mr Percy (FAP) who was a nice old boy if rather bumbling, and of course 'Polly' Worthington, who...

The machine-gun synchronisation method was devised by Antony Fokker and first fitted to the Fokker E1 which surprised the British and French pilots at the time. The system was simple - the propellor hub operated a cam which triggered the firing of a round only when the propellor was horizontal...

We drive through Roughley at least once a week en route to Tamworth. Is the correct pronunciation Ruff-ley or Row-ley? It seems a very interesting little spot and one of these days I'll stop and have a closer look around. The name Muffins Den has been mentioned recently on these boards in...

I must have missed this thread, but until I retired in 2011 I was Sales Manager for Naish Felts Ltd, based in Wilton, Wiltshire. We supplied TKS Ltd Bedworth with top-quality wool felt used in the manufacture of embroidered badges. I can't remember any 'names' at Bedworth, unfortunately, but...