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only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).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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Viewing messages 381 to 390

Edward Forster | r2edforster~AT~live~DOT~ca

Disappointed at the lack of messages to the guestbook, the younger ones must just be texting & using Facebook.
I notice that neither my name & brother William's name are in not in the boys list. He was there from 1943 to 1950 & became school captain & the a chartered accountant & Durham county treasurer, anyway allthe best to you Mike & all from the old school.
Ed. from a stormy Island.

Thu 11-Dec-2014 10:35 - PEI Canada

From Mike T: Thanks Ed

I'm a bit disappointed too, but such is life I guess. As for your and your brother's names not being in the list, that's because you're not on any of the photos. You're both in the admissions register, but privacy laws prevent me from publishing that online (I plan to publish earlier admission details at some point very soon now).

From a blowy and snowy Rothbury.

Wendy Caroline (nee Egner) | gmwkc~AT~telkomsa~DOT~net

Hi just found you website. I am the granddaugher of Mr W E Egner who was the headmaster from 1955 to 1976. My dad, Geoffery Egner, was also a pupil at the school. ( you have a few photos of him on your photos page). Great to see these photo and share them with my children. Thank you!

Sun 30-Nov-2014 18:31 - South Africa

Clive Farmer | clivefarmer39~AT~virginmedia~DOT~com

Re Oxtoby listed as staff in the 1920's . This was Francis Edwin Oxtoby who later taught at Stationers Companys School Hornsey London for most of his career . He Served in WW1 in the KOYLI and later the Pay Corps apparently after he was wounded . His old home address was Murray Street Scarborough .

Thu 6-Nov-2014 17:10 - United Kingdom

Kevin Tighe | Familytighe~AT~btimternet~DOT~com

It was a real pleasure to scan through these pages and the school photos in particular. I was a sixth former between76-78. I don't return often to the North but will make a special visit to the school next time I am there.

Sun 21-Sep-2014 10:07 - Cambridgeshire

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

I know that Mike promised a review and update of the Famous Old Boys section but having just looked through it I recommend all of the regular visitors to re-read the contents.There is a considerable amount of additional information available.

The school really did produce some remarkable individuals in all sorts of fields and that is a great credit to the ethos that continued over the years.

Long may it continue.

Tue 19-Aug-2014 19:40 - Ruskington Lincolnshire

Edward Forster | r2edforster~AT~live~DOT~ca

I've been away from Tyneside for 63yrs.& get a pang of nostalgia when hearing any Geordie taak My sister who went to the girls High School has been away from Shields for 73yrs. & when talking about the weather said "the rain is stotting down" This reminded me of when in 1951 I played football in the Montreal league, I mentioned one day that the pitch was aal clarts, this created a blank stare. What are clarts ? I was asked I told them it was claggy mud, another blank stare.
From a hot PEI.

Mon 4-Aug-2014 22:11 - PEI Canada

Eric Moyse 1946 to 1954 | eric~DOT~moyse~AT~sky~DOT~com

I was in South Shields last week and went to the Customs House to see the Fred Grey exhibition. It made a fitting tribute to him and although it concentrated mostly on Fred's interest and expertise in birds there was enough on his other passions, namely Eng Lit and rugby to show the well-rounded man that he was. The exhibition is finished now but if you are interested you can still pick up a lot of stuff from the Gazette website.

Tue 27-May-2014 19:45 - Reading, United Kingdomm

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

Mike

Your work on WW1 names, memories, etc is to be applauded.

Just a thought. The names of the
deceased listed on the two boards that you mention may just provoke family reminiscences among their descendants. Is it possible to publish a list of those names to (perhaps) provoke a response?

I'm astonished at the obstacles (not just financial) being put in the way of genuine historical research such as yours.

Non illegitimi vos desperandum!!

Tue 20-May-2014 18:58 - Ruskington, Lincolnshire

From Mike T: Thanks, Bruce. It's very frustrating.

I'm told that the admission records are going to be sent off for digitising some time very soon, and should be available online in the future, but I suspect it will be on subscription and may not be for some considerable time.

I've already digitised those archives till in the possession of the school (many of which I still have here at home), and have also transcribed them into a database of nearly 10,000 names! Unfortunately, data protection laws limit what I can make available, so they'll have to remain closed for now.

But the WWI records wouldn't be protected in this way. So I'm planning to put as much as I can online. I've done a lot of research on the High School boys (admission records give me dates of birth and fathers' names, so making it easy to cross-check with military and other records). But there are too many uncertainties (even just with names) with the Westoe boys.

It seems like a good idea to publish the names of those on the Rolls of Honour, or mentioned in other documents. This index (about 280 boys and staff) is almost complete (barring checking Westoe forenames in the archives).

Interestingly, there are several errors on the Rolls of Honour!

I'll see what I can do in the next few days.

Fred Dunmore | dunmorefred~AT~gmail~DOT~com

It is with great sorrow that I have to tell all his old friend and schoolmates that Clouston Chalmers sadly passed away on 28th March. I have just received a message giving me the news from his loving wife Audrey.
I have many happy memories of Clouie particularly when we used to go home together with Arthur Scott who also lived in the Westoe area.
He will be sadly missed by Audrey and his family and all who knew him both in Canada and the U.K.

Mon 12-May-2014 10:02 - South Shields

From Mike T: Really sorry to hear about Clouston, Fred. Thanks for the news.

Neale Backhouse | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Mike
Alex raises an interesting topic, (although I think we have hashed the question out a few times now.) Anyway it's good to test the old grey matter in today's climate of (so it seems)rampaging dementia amongst our generation.
The first thing I recall about this event was lining up outside the dining room in a sort of queue until, I suppose, all was ready inside and then we were allowed to enter and to park ourselves at a military style arrangement of tables(the usual 8ft by 4ft type). After grace, led by the day's duty master, we marched up to the serving counter, one table at a time, where the day's fare was ladled out by Alex's favourite serving lady (and others). Following the main course this routine was repeated for dessert and finally used plates were placed on a separate side table for collection. The staff table was to the right of the entrance door but they sat on forms rather than metal stacking chairs. I remember this because I distinctly recall Ma Goudy swinging her leg up and over the form in an interesting but less than flattering fashion.
On the question of memory in general, I recently read an article about a Russian phenom. named Solomon Shereshevskii who lived in Moscow in the early part of the 20th century and had a memory so perfect that he could recall every minute of his life in graphic detail. On one occasion he was tested by a psychologist who read out lists of random numbers(up to 70) and was amazed when "S" repeated them without error and then repeated them again in reverse order! "S"'s memory capacity was virtually boundless but he became a tragic figure as he was unable to reduce the pile up of images that crowded his mind. He held dozens of jobs until finally earning a living performing memory stunts for paying audiences.
Maybe we're better off if memory lane eventually becomes a little muddy!

Mon 24-Mar-2014 02:32 - Victoria BC Canada

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