Congratulations to Chris Winnard in the Upper Sixth who has been awarded ‘Schools Physicist of the Year’ by The Ogden Trust for his outstanding performance at AS level and continued commitment to the subject. Chris plans to study Physics at university, and this award means he is eligible for an annual undergraduate scholarship worth £1500 per year.
We arrived at 10pm, 30 minutes before the show, to warm up and get prepared. We were excited and slightly apprehensive, as none of us had ever been on the radio before. Linda McDermott, our lovely host, instantly put us at our ease, with offers of cakes, sweets and comic books!
We were dressed all in black, our performance gear. After tuning up and a quick practice in the warm-up area, we were summoned into the actualrecording studio.
I was surprised as to how small the studio actually was! We squeezed past the members of the panel, who were already seated, and set up in the available space.
We were asked to introduce ourselves, and then launched into action! (The rest can be heard on BBC iPlayer.)
We received a host of positive tweets, while the show was still on, including one all the way from Rhode Island.
Here’s what Linda McDermott had to say about us:
“Well what a lovely night with the youngsters – my goodness they are SO good!! What a joy they are to be with and so talented! I was bowled over and listeners have given great feedback on the message boards. Saxpac – you rock! Can’t wait to hear more from them next Friday at the show.”
We would like to thank Miss Chagla and the Breast Team at St. Helens and Knowsley Trust for inviting us to perform at their charity event next week and giving us this fantastic opportunity to play live on the radio.
By Ehren Agarwal
The entire programme can be heard on BBC Radio Merseyside – the Linda McDermott Show – 30/9/16
Deceased 01/07/2016
Francis Alexander Noble, or Frank as he much preferred to be called, was born on July 7th 1916 at the beginning of the Battle of The Somme. His parents lived in Formby and he retained his links to this neighbourhood all his life. He attended Formby College and then Crosby Preparatory School entering Merchant Taylors’ School in September 1925. He won his form prize in 1929, rose to the rank of Sargent in the Cadet Corps and obtained the Oxford and Cambridge School Certificate before leaving school in 1932.
From 1934-39 Frank worked for the Inland Revenue and became a Senior Tax Officer. With the onset of World War 2, during 1939-40 he was recruited to be a driver with the West Lancs RASC, a TA regiment. In 1940 he was commissioned in the King’s Regiment where he served till 1946 rising to the rank of Captain. In 1942-43 he was on the staff of the Isle of Man Garrison as Adjutant and was billeted at The Bowling Green Hotel in Douglas. This is where he met his first wife: her mother ran the hotel.
His son, George, was born before the end of the war and Frank returned to the hotel in 1946 after he was demobbed. For two years he helped to manage the hotel then he returned to his roots in Formby. His wife and son joined him but the marriage did not work out.
Back in Formby, Frank went to work as a Tax Consultant at a Liverpool Firm of Chartered Accountants and started his exams both as a Chartered Secretary and a Chartered Accountant. He became a Partner and was one of the leading Tax Experts in Liverpool, retiring in 1981.
He enjoyed playing tennis and was a member of Formby Lawn Tennis Club for a good part of his life. He was Treasurer from 1954 to 1976 and Captain for 4 years. Later they made him Life President. He was credited with “moulding the Formby Lawn Tennis Club into the successful club you see today”.
Since before the war, Frank had known Jean Mary Scott, a good golfer. They married in 1959. They enjoyed spending time in the Lake District and shared a love of Scotland through which Frank was able to pursue his interest in railways. Frank loved good food accompanied by a glass of red wine and it was sad that health difficulties, including an inability to swallow, eventually deprived him of the pleasure of eating out.
Frank passed away on Friday, July 1st 2016 just 6 days before his 100th birthday and the small party that his son had arranged for him. He had, however, a good long life with many years to enjoy his retirement, a loving wife, good friends and some wonderful neighbours.
With thanks to George Noble, Franks’ son, and Trevor Hildrey, the Boys’ School archivist, for their contributions towards this tribute.
Scholastic book fair visited school this month and with the help of Y4w Mrs Wynne was able to set up the stalls and sell a range of books. This resulted in the school raising over £500 to spend on new books for our library. Thank you to all those boys and parents who supported us.
On Tuesday 4th October Y4W hosted a cake sale in aid of Macmillan, this was a busy morning setting up and selling all the wonderful cakes kindly donated by parents and staff. Parents joined us and we managed to raise just over £300 which when added to our sportathon money gives us a grand total of £4500. This money will now be given to Macmillan cancer support. Thank you to everyone for your support, I am pleased to say this money will make a difference and has been handed over in the same week that we get Miss Hargreaves back.
Last week we welcomed author Brendan King into school to reveal the real woman behind the popular novelist and MTGS Old Girl, Beryl Bainbridge and discuss his recent biography of her.
Beryl was at MTGS from 1942-47. Brendan talked about her time at school and said she struggled academically, he recounted some of her diary entries at the time – 6th Feb entry “Damn it, these teachers”. She was quite a rebel and was known as Basher Bainbridge. In her later years she came back to visit MTGS and admitted that she wasn’t our ideal student. Brendan said that Beryl’s time at MTGS wasn’t all negative and credited some of her writing success down to her former inspirational English teacher Miss Peck. Dame Beryl Bainbridge went on to become one of the most popular and recognisable English novelists of her generation.
Brendan worked for Beryl in the late 80s originally as her proof reader. He said they complemented each other well as Beryl was spontaneous & instinctive and he was logical & disciplined. He worked with her up until 2010 and helped to prepare her final novel The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress for publication after her death.
The talk was well attended by former staff, Old Boys and Old Girls, some who had known Beryl at School. A group of our own sixth form girls also attended.
In his biography Brendan displays a frank portrait of Beryl Bainbridge, revealing the real woman behind her popular image as a quirky eccentric. The biography Love by All Sorts of Means is now available.
Being isolated from their family was a downside to boarding school life but this was compensated by various privileges bestowed by Bugs, Nej and some masters. The Army Training Corps (A.T.C.), forerunner of the C.C.F., was joined by most boys on reaching the minimum age. Boys had their own boots but proper uniforms were issued, together with belt, gaiters and front pouches, which were “bulled”and blancoed to perfection. We were drilled like Army recruits, equipped with a.303 rifle. An important A.T.C. parade was held in 1948, when several Harrison House boys were issued with bugles. We were shown how to respond to various commands but ordered not on any account to try and play them! However, across the road from H.H. was a triangular piece of ground known as Parker’s Piece, which had a small pavilion in the corner. One of the day-boys had a part-time job playing trumpet in a dance band and taught us the bugle. All went well and when the dress rehearsal was held, the bandmaster was stunned to hear three extra buglers – playing! and then recruited into the band. A few boys were allowed at weekends to clean rifles in the armoury, happily pulling “four by two” through and oiling them. The yearly “Field Day” was held at the Altcar Range, when we were marched to Crosby Station and from Hightown to the ranges, where we fired live .303 rounds at targets 50, 100 and 200 yards away.
Sport figured large, with most boys playing rugby and cricket.
Wednesday and Saturday afternoons saw a procession of boys heading for the Endbutt Lane playing field whilst some, unable to take part, had to attend as spectators. During the summer months we were allowed to go, after prep, to Bootle Baths or the plunge pool at Southport for a half-hour swim.
H.H. boys were allowed to leave the house during daylight hours and were officially ‘bounded’ by St. John’s Road and Coronation Road, but this was sometimes exceeded, notably when a rubber warehouse caught fire at Seaforth Docks, seen from the Overhead Railway station, and when the Aircraft Carrier “Ark Royal” was launched in 1950, watched from the New Brighton Ferry.
For several months a few of us published “Harrison House Times”, a single quarto page produced after prep and sold for 1d a time. The master page was written with purple hectographic ink, which was then laid on a bed of gelatine in a biscuit tin lid and it was possible to take fifteen copies before they became illegible. It would be interesting to know if any boy took up journalism!
My visit to Crosby in September 2016 was to join my friend of over 50 years, Andy Oakes, for the celebration of his 60th birthday but a conversation with Doreen Iddon in the Development Office at the School led to me having a look round the school for the first time since I left in 1974 and sharing some details of my subsequent career for Merchants’ Tales.
I spent 12 years in all at Crosby Prep, Merchant Taylors’ Prep and Main School and left very much imbued with the MTS culture. I was rather more successful at the sports and “leisure” side of things than academic excellence so no University for me but straight into the big wide business world. After a brief time in a quantity surveyors’ office I began my 32 year banking career with Midland Bank International Division Liverpool. I rose through the ranks in Liverpool and, after 5 years, I was offered a significant promotion to Bromley International Division which brought my wife and me to the South East where we settled and started a family. After 3 years in Bromley I soon learned that the streets of London were indeed paved with gold especially for bankers working in the City. For the next 24 years I worked for German, Austrian and French banks in the City specialising in finance of international trade and offering trade facilities to mainly medium and large FTSE 100 companies. I ran the UK trade finance offices of these foreign banks. During that time I also set up and ran a trade finance company offering trade finance to small companies secured by the goods being financed.
MTS had given me the resilience, confidence, self-sufficiency and ethic of successful team work as well as the ability to get on with people of all types and cultures. I travelled extensively overseas gaining business. Competition within and outside the City was intense but believe I not only coped but flourished in that competitive environment.
After 32 years in banking I needed a complete change from the now 4 hour round commute and all the overseas travel so, at the age of 52, I shifted down from my career to a job as Mayor’s Attendant to the Mayor of the Borough and town of Royal Tunbridge Wells. I have enjoyed this great role for 8 years now. I accompany the Mayors to all their functions and appointments in and outside the Town Hall acting as PA on the road, responsible for security of the solid gold mayoral chains and of course I drive the limo!
Apart from my working career my life has been very full with many highlights. I have a wonderful wife these last 34 years and 3 happy and successful grown up children. I have played a tennis tournament at Wimbledon with Andy Oakes, played football at Wembley in front of 35,000 people and my love of nature / wildlife has led me to snorkelling with killer whales in the Norwegian Arctic, cage diving with Great White sharks off the Southern tip of Africa and trekking tigers on an elephant in India, to name a few adventures.
I meet up with my Old Crosbeian buddies from time to time and my children live in Reading, Sheffield and Liverpool. My Liverpool roots, friends and family may well lure me back to Merseyside to live within the next few years.
Deceased 21st June 2016
Lists of names on the Honours’ Boards are a focal point for visitors to the Boys’ School as this helps to refresh memories of team and class mates. On the Heads of School Board is the name of Donald Peter Iddon, who preferred to be called Peter. During his time as a pupil, both his personal qualities for potential leadership and sporting prowess were identified. In addition to being voted Head of School he was also Head of House.
To describe him as ‘a good all-rounder’ perhaps does not do him justice. His talents and contribution to school life are better appreciated by sharing some of his achievements: 1st XV Colours, 1st XI Colours, Athletics Half Colours, the Fay Challenge Cup (Open 200m), Holmes Cup (shared) for best all-rounder, the Dawburn Prize for Integrity, the Alty Cup (for greatest contribution to rugby, cricket and athletics) and a Mellor Essay commendation. He was also a Sergeant in the Army Section of the CCF and Chairman of the Sixth Form Union. The illustrations show Peter with his rugby and cricket team mates as they appear in The Crosbeian magazine and the word ‘excellent’ is used with regularity in descriptions of his bowling and rugby talent.
Peter gained a degree in Physical Education and Sports Sciences from Loughborough Colleges. His sporting credentials extended beyond school. He played rugby for Waterloo, Loughborough Colleges and Worcester Rugby Club and cricket for English Universities and 2nd X1 for Lancashire. He represented the UAU in both sports.
Peter’s career was spent undertaking a variety of roles at The King’s School Worcester. As you would expect, he was very involved in sport here, as Master in Charge of Cricket and Coach of various rugby XVs, as well as for a time, the U14 Basketball Team. Over the years he had various responsibilities including 4th Form Tutor, Head of Boys’ Games, Housemaster of Hostel House, Special Needs coordinator ….. he was an enormously influential figure at The King’s School. He has been described, by a colleague, as a true ‘Schoolmaster’. He wasn’t one for the latest fad or piece of technology preferring ‘to fulfil his duties in the classroom with a commitment and application that never faltered’. He spent countless hours at the playing fields where he was possibly at his happiest. He was also an inspirational teacher of English, very much a traditionalist, believing that language should be cherished and respected.
Peter, with his much loved wife, Anita, and children Kate and Harry, ran Hostel House at The King’s School for eight years and Choir House in the last year of boarding. He did this with firmness, fairness and emotional intelligence which made these Boarding Houses happy places to be. His great organisational skills were put to use in arranging sporting and cultural activities for both the sports teams and the boarders.
A friend and colleague described him as ‘a true gentlemen’. ‘He was a man of complete integrity who believed that there were proper ways to behave and it was important to instill those values in our pupils’. He was witty, kind and had a great sense of loyalty.
‘Pete was simply one of the nicest people that you could ever hope to meet’.
He passed away peacefully on 21st June 2016.
With thanks to Peter’s colleagues at The King’s School, Worcester, whose words and detail of Peter’s adult life have contributed to this article.
I attended Merchant Taylors 2002-2007, passing my GCSE’s (2 A*s, 3As, 3Bs and a C – cheers Merchants!) and I went on to Formby High for College. After much deliberation, I opted against university and decided I’d try and build contacts and experience in the work place, so I moved down to London and began work in my dad’s music management company. A couple of years into London life, we diversified the company and expanded it into sports and events, where Fusion Festival was born. Fusion caters for young teens and families, where children aged 5 and under can enter free! For the past three years, Fusion Festival has been held in Birmingham’s Cofton Park and has seen international superstars grace the stage, such as Jessie J, Pitbull, Ne-Yo, The Wanted, McBusted and Ed Sheeran, to name but a few.
In 2016, we’ve moved the festival to Liverpool, Otterspool Promenade and Park, on September 3rd and 4th.