Old Boys, Girls and Teachers Guestbook

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Welcome to the Guestbook
Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).

It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to.

Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.

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There are 500 messages in the guestbook
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Viewing messages 451 to 460

Michael Lawrenson 1946 | lawrenson~AT~hollyburn~DOT~plus~DOT~com

Hi Mike

Things have been quiet on the Guestbook front for some time so the other evening I spent a little time on the Harton Technology College site. It’s well worth a visit and old boys will be surprised (heartened? pleased? shocked? dismayed?) to see just how far we have moved from the Boys’ High School days. Even the school day is different. Did we begin at 8.30 with first lessons on the hour? (You can check this out at Home-Pupils-Useful Stuff-School Day.) We certainly didn’t have ‘Proms’ although I can recall a Christmas Party when, very daringly, we were joined by girls from the Girls’ High School.

It was interesting too to see that there had been a trip to New York. Changed days! I seem to recall an organised trip to France but my parents couldn’t afford the Ł20 although I did get to go on school outings to the Ford Paper Mill and the gasworks in Waterloo Vale. The whole setup is light years away from what we knew and the 1947 school photo looks very dated indeed compared with the modern versions.

All in all it’s good to see what it has become although I have a suggestion and a grumble. It would be nice if they held very occasional open days to allow aged old boys the chance to walk (slowly and carefully) through those corridors we once knew so well. And the grumble? It would have been good if they had kept the old school shield and motto. ‘Tradition – Innovation – Excellence’ are all right in their way but seem to lack the gravitas of ‘Nunquam Non Parati’.

Sun 3-Mar-2013 22:53 - Scotland

Jim Davis | JimTDDavis~AT~AOL~DOT~com

Very sad to hear of the passing of John West who was in the same year as me at SSGT.
Condolences to all of his family

Sun 3-Feb-2013 10:31 - Surrey UK

Brian Walker

According to his Wikipedia entry, Jack Brymer attended Westoe Secondary School

Sun 6-Jan-2013 11:19

From Mike T: Thanks ... that's actually because I changed it two days ago.

It used to say South Shields Grammar School, but a couple of days ago I had confirmation from Alan Todd that Brymer was in his mother's class at Westoe Sec.

Ed. Forster | r2edforster~AT~live~DOT~ca

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the gang & especially to Mike for producing this wonderful Guestbook.

Tue 1-Jan-2013 11:18 - Snowy PEI

From Mike T: Thanks, Ed - and a Happy New Year to everyone here-gathered.

Mike Todd

Jack Brymer

I'm on a continuing quest to research famous Old Boys of the school, amongst whom world-famous clarinetist Jack Brymer is frequently listed.

He is often given as having been educated at the "Grammar School" in South Shields, but there were no grammar schools in South Shields during his time.

One source says he was educated at the High School in Mowbray Road. However, he does not appear in any of the High School's admissions records (which I have from 1885 to the 70s, and am currently transcribing)!

This led me to assume that he may have gone to Westoe Secondary School as I have only limited admission information - for boys who transferred to Harton in 1936.

Brymer was born in 1915, so would have joined the High School anywhere from 1923 to 1928.

I wonder if anyone had any information, particularly if they had his autobiography "From Where I Sit".

Sat 29-Dec-2012 10:19

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

Having just watched, and thoroughly enjoyed, the last of this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on BBC4 I was reminded of two things. Firstly, my woefully inadequate knowledge of Chemistry and secondly one of our school Famous Old Boys.

Professor David Phillips was a contemporary of mine at Harton Boys Junior School and in the St John's Scout Troop. He delivered the 1987 RI Lectures (with a colleague) while working at the RI.

As Mike has pointed out he was also recently-ish the guest on Desert Island Discs which you can probably still catch on BBC IPlayer.

Fri 28-Dec-2012 21:17 - Ruskington, Lincolnshire

Neale Backhouse '46- '51. | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

A big Thank You Mike, from all of us,(I'm sure)for your ongoing sterling efforts at the helm of the good ship SS GTS. Long may it encounter fair sailing.
To you and all fellow travellers, have a great Christmas and steer a course free of icebergs in the New Year!

Mon 24-Dec-2012 20:10 - Victoria BC, Canada

From Mike T: Thanks for the thought, Neale ... even at 1020pm on Christmas Eve I'm working on the pupil database :-)

But I'm giving up soon, and will be down in South Shields celebrating on Christmas Day.

A very Happy Christmas to all who visit here!

Alex Patterson, '46-'51 | alexpatterson~AT~videotron~DOT~ca

Hello Mike and all the regular (and irregular) readers,
I’d just like to take this opportunity, before we head out for Toronto tomorrow, to wish you all a Happy Holiday, and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. We’ve already started planning our trip to the UK and perhaps this year’s trip will be uneventful. We’ll be family-tree climbing in Rothbury, Mike, so maybe we can get together to have that long awaited pint.
Best wishes to everyone from a snowy (-21 C windFX) Montreal.
Alex Patterson

Sun 23-Dec-2012 01:08 - Montreal, Canada

Ed. Forster | r2edforster~AT~live~DOT~ca

Just received an e-mail from my sister Ella who was born 1923 $ attended the girls High School. When the girls school was evacuated she was in the 6th. form for a few months at the boys HS I don't recall seein' any females at the school. Mind you I'm pushin' 87 & getin' a bit senile that's my excuse.
Ed.

Thu 22-Nov-2012 21:25 - PEI Canada

From Mike T: Ed - the girls actually came to the boys' school in September 1939 (as far as I can tell, for about a year). They even produced a joint boys'/girls' ATOM.

Jacqui McNeil | mcneil~DOT~jacqui~AT~yahoo~DOT~co~DOT~uk

Hello,
I was recently informed that my late father attended the school in the early 50's. John Henry Pittuck? He unfortunately died in 1994 aged 54 when I was only 12 so I didn't get the chance to share in any 'what I got up to at school' kind of stories! I can imagine he was a bit of a tearaway!! If anyone knew John (who was also known as Harry), has any stories, or even better any pictures, please let me know.
Thank you!

Mon 12-Nov-2012 17:06 - Livingston, Scotland

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