The Nifty Fifties:

  Important for social historians, and highly evocative for those of us who were there: pieces on growing up in Burton in the 40s and 50s.   They are gathered under the particular author's name.
 

From Keith Dadley

 Morning break: the rush across Bond Street to the tuck shop and the formidable Miss Rawlins.  Invest threepence-halfpenny for an iced bun and doughnut.  A claw-like hand with a rigid middle digit shoots out and scoops up the cash. 
Cyril Edlin, right cheek darting towards right shoulder: ‘If you do that again laddie, I’ll bat you round the head.’
 Ron Illingworth tilting his chair to a seemingly impossible angle in G Room.  Did he ever fall off?
 The smell of the hot glue pot in Taff’s woodwork room on the day I shoved a chisel through my finger instead of the 2”x1”.  (Still have the scar)
 Head boy Ron Keightley and his cohorts marching across the yard at the end of break to summon us by whistle into form lines, each line supervised by a form prefect.
 First detention.  1A found itself unsupervised in Y Room where I was busily engaged in strangling Cosgrave with the window cord.   An eagle-eyed Jack Adams spotted this activity from Z Room next door and bounded across like Skippy the Kangaroo to chastise the culprit.  Cosgrave was the dt card guardian and handed it to Jack with a supercilious smirk.  A couple of years later, as a fourth former, I was invited by Ezra to enjoy the extra 40 minutes in ‘ditenshin’.
Joey Crowther’s instrument of punishment, a cane enjoying the name of Percy, kept on the blackboard chalk shelf.  Administered infrequently, but those on the receiving end didn’t transgress again.  A character in 4A sat at the front and, before Joey arrived, attached a length of black thread to Percy.  At a suitable point in the lesson, Percy slowly levitated up the board.  Joey might have been amused; it was difficult to tell.
Cross-country round the Ox Hay in the depths of winter.  Future archaeologists may find a plimsoll of mine buried in the mud somewhere.
The Reverend Pippinhead Appleton who could sing any note on the grand piano, but used a tuning fork to locate middle C.
The 3B Yard choir conducted by Alan Coxon and its (almost) melodious, if slightly inaccurate, rendering of The Merry Pipes of Pan.
Chem lessons in H Room where the bunsens were used to boost the heating in winter.  A wag on the back bench blew down the gas tube while the master’s back was turned and all the burners spluttered and died.
Horace Pitchford in assembly, immaculately dressed as always, reciting the roll call of reprobates who have amassed enough detentions to qualify for a Saturday morning stint.
The last day of each term and the enthusiastic rendering of the hymn Lord Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing.  (From Keith Dadley)

From John Smith.

The photograph is of form 1a, entry of 1954. It was taken in the garden at Bond Street to the west of the main building, and I think it was the only time we ventured in there. "Polly" Lowndes was our form-mistress as well as teaching us maths, and I remember that during Form Period on a Friday afternoon she would read us extracts from Nicolai Polakov's autobiography (otherwise known as Coco the Clown).
I was present during the last 3 years of Bond Street, in forms  1a, 2a and 3a, before moving to the new school at Winshill in 1957.
Morning assembly for first formers was held in a building known as HQ, located at the bottom of Bond Street. I think it belonged to the Air Training Corps, as the walls were covered with silhouettes of aeroplanes.
Keith Dadley has already given an excellent description of the Tuck Shop. Only two items were sold - jam doughnuts and iced buns. Both were delicious!
Rugby was played on on Peel Croft, and I still remember the overpowering smell from the paint factory next door. Cross-country was run across the Ox Hay, and when the snow was on the ground the stragglers would be pelted with snowballs as they passed over the stiles. One day some of the boys found a dead body in the Trent.
The form rooms for 1a and 2a were Z and Y rooms - both in a prefabricated building heated by overhead gas heaters. One of these went out once, and the Rev. P.V. Appleton, otherwise known as Pippinhead, tried to light it with a match, only to be rewarded with a large bang - the whole form diving under their desks!
Y&Z rooms were reached via the rifle range. It was here that boys who had offended their peers for some reason had to "run the gauntlet", being hit with folded caps or knotted scarves as they ran past.
3a's form-master was "Sap" Greenwood, and I think we gave him a hard time. We once removed the screws from his chair and replaced them with matchsticks. He was not a happy man when he went to sit on it!
Many pupils walked from Bond Street to catch local buses in Station Street. The TV programme "Midlands Today" recently showed a short piece of archive film of Station Street in the 1950's, and the bus stops and some of the old Burton Corporation buses were shown. The route to Station Street took us past the site of the Statutes Fair, held at the beginning of October, and we were able to enjoy cheap rides immediately after school.
Strangely enough I don't have too many memories of the new school at Mill Hill Lane. I have described on the Friends Reunited website an April Fool's trick which we once played on Ezra Somekh, and I have another memory of a school trip to the theatre in Stratford upon Avon. Five members of Ezra's Astronomical Society had a visit to Stratford Grammar School on the same day, and consequently, and much to "Coddy" Roe's concern, we were allowed to travel with David Knight in his father's Ford Zephyr instead of on the school bus. We had a puncture on the way back, and didn't get home till the early hours. David used to come to school in his Austin 7, ABC337, and some of us used to go into Burton in it at lunchtime. Anyone remember the Mocambo coffee bar?

From Barry Bourne

BarryBourne@aol.com
Thought I'd try the latest craze - Friends Reunited and found the BGS old boys web site.  I recognised Toffy Neal's name, who was in the year below me for a while (i.e. I was in 4A, when he was in 2A (there was no 3A !).  I entered BGS in Sept 1949 and left on the closure of the Bond St site in July 1957.  I remember affectionately Cyril Edlin, as my English Teacher, with whom I enjoyed a 'combative', but good humoured relationship.  I remember going to his funeral many, many years ago; I owed him a lot for my life long love of English Literature.  I could do a fair imitation of Cyril and well remember locking him out of the huts as a mutinous member of 5X, with the stove glowing red hot in the middle of the room and Cyril pleading with us to let him in, with no threat of punishment!  I also recall getting Sam Smith sent out in Mr Woods music appreciation lesson in Upper Sixth (Sam emigrated to Canada).  Peter Brittain has remained a lifelong friend and now lives in retirement in Sheffield.  I hear of 'Toffee' through Howard, a former college acqaintance of mine; he tells me that Toffee attends all the Albion's away games; thought I was bad enough supporting Leicester City for the past 54 years !  I do come over to see them on occasions with my 2 sons, who hopefully finish Uni this year.  I still visit relatives and friends in the Burton area on such occasions.

On leaving BGS I was conscripted to HM forces, as my A level grades were not high enough for Uni in those days; could go straight to a PhD these days !  Went to Cyprus during that period and left the Army on Sept 3rd 1959 to take up an unqualified teaching post at Anglesey Rd Sec Mod school, where I had a wonderful year, before spending 3 glorious years at City of Birmingham College of Education, taking English and PE.  Returned to Anglesey Rd Sec Mod for 1 year in Sept 1963, before teaching for a year at Hamilton High School,Leicester.  Then did a 3 years degree course at Cardiff Uni in Psychology, before taking up my first post as educational psychologist to Wallasey Borough Council in August 1968, then became Principal Educational Psychologist for Wirral Metropolitan Borough in 1972, after completing my M Sc at Manchester Uni.  Took early retirement in March 1996, and now work as a self employed educational psychologist, from my home base in Heswall, Wirral and give occasional presentations nationally, on my specialism of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), having subjected numerous teachers at BGS to my manifestation of the disorder !  Have a very long suffering second wife, Laurain, and two equally long suffering sons, Richard and Matthew.  If you wish to publish any of this diatribe, feel free to do so !  Would like to hear from Toff and any former compatriots of mine.  (When my son Matthew comes home, he will show his old dad how to scan a photo of 4A in 1952 to send to you, with the fearsome Jake Hammond as Form Teacher. I can still recall the names of about 2/3rds of the class of 32).