KING EDWARD’S SCHOOL
FIVE WAYS, BIRMINGHAM
THE HEADMASTERS WHO SHAPED AND STEERED KING EDWARD’
SCHOOL FIVE WAYS DURING ITS FIRST 75 YEARS (1883-1958)
REV E.F.M. MACCARTHY
A.E. BARKER
C.H.DOBINSON
H.R. ROACH
T.C. BURGESS
M.A. CLARIDGE
(KESFW 1944 -1952)
SEPTEMBER 2012
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King Edward’s School, Five Ways: The Headmasters Who
Shaped and Steered the School During its First 75 Years
Introduction
460 years ago King Edward’s School, Birmingham, was founded by Royal Assent in the fifth
year of the reign of King Edward VI. The Royal Charter is listed in the 57th of the certificates
of his majesty and states that: -
“The saide Town of Brymncham ys a very mete place and yt is mete and necessarye that
there be a Free School erect theare to bring uppe the youth being boathe in the same towne
and nigh thereaboute.”
On the 1st day of April, 1552 Anno Regn. Regis Edwardi Sexto Quinto the charter was
granted and that same year the first King Edward’s School Birmingham was opened in the
Old Gild Hall. The School had its ups and downs during its first 80 years with quarrels
between the Governors and power struggles. There were several legal actions concerning
land, leases, rentals and finances. Details of these various happenings can be found in T.W.
Hutton’s History of KES Birmingham (1552 – 1952) published in its quaternary year.
During the late 1700’s and throughout the 1800’s, Birmingham expanded dramatically as a
result of the Industrial Revolution. The demand for high-quality education escalated rapidly,
giving King Edward’s School, Birmingham, the opportunity to expand. In 1731 the Old Gild
Hall was demolished and what became known as the Great Georgian School was built in
New Street.
The 1831 Act of Parliament caused major problems for the Governors. It authorised the
pulling down of the Georgian Building and provision of a new school for Modern Languages,
the Arts and Sciences They were also required to build 4 Elementary Schools within four
years. Charles Barry’s design was selected by the Governors for the new school. Between
1832 & 1838 the Georgian Building was demolished and the new King Edward’s School
Birmingham was built. The very high cost of these changes was covered in an 1837 Act of
Parliament which authorised new borrowing and fixed the structure of the School for the next
50 years.
In 1878, another Act of Parliament was passed despite strong opposition from the
Birmingham Members of Parliament, Joseph Chamberlain and P.H. Muntz causing further
major changes. It involved a new scheme and constitution for the ‘’Management of the
Grammar School of King Edward VI in Birmingham”. This new scheme required the
Governors to provide a High School for Boys, a Middle School for Boys, an Upper School for
Girls and also and an upgrading of the 4 elementary schools to Lower Middle Schools. The
Headmaster appointed to take charge of the newly-created Middle School was the Rev. E. F.
M. MacCarthy, who was Second Master of the original New Street School, but more of him
later.
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The Foundation’s Lower Schools soon became redundant, however, as a result of rapidly
falling numbers caused by the success of the Birmingham Board Schools, introduced by the
Birmingham Council to ensure that the city would have good and adequate primary
education facilities. Consequently the King Edward’s Foundation changed direction following
the 1883 Act and made the Lower Middle Schools into so called ‘branch Grammar Schools’.
The plan envisaged was to setup a system comprising a: High School for Boys, a High
School for Girls, four Grammar Schools for Boys and four Grammar Schools for Girls.
Education at the Grammar Schools would stop at the age of 16.All pupils carrying on with
their education would then transfer to the High School for further tuition until the age of 19 or
thereabouts. The total scheme was regarded as being beyond the Foundation’s resources,
however, and the number of Grammar Schools was reduced to 3 boys schools: Five Ways,
Aston and Camp Hill, and 4 girls schools: Aston, Bath Row, Summer Hill and Camp Hill, the
first 3 of which were closed between 1911-1916 and replaced by King Edward’s Handsworth
Grammar School for Girls.
King Edward’s Five Ways School was the first of the new Grammar Schools to open on the
16th of January 1883, with the Rev. E.F.M. MacCarthy as its first Headmaster and Founding
father. The Building selected by the Governors for KESFW was the old Edgbaston
Proprietary School built in 1838, which they purchased in 1881 together with the Portland
Road playing fields. Extensive alterations were made to the building during 1882 prior to the
1883 School opening. It remained the home of KESFW for 75 years until the move to Bartley
Green in April 1958.
This is the story of the first 5 Headmasters who shaped and steered the School during this
period. It outlines their backgrounds, strengths, initiatives, achievements, idiosyncrasies, etc.
together with anecdotes/tales of how they were seen by the pupils as recorded in various
Five Ways Old Edwardian Association Newsletters; ‘’ lest all is forgotten with the passage of
time’’.
Original Building of Edgbaston Proprietary School built in 1838
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Headmaster No. 1 – E.F.M. MacCarthy (1883-1916)
Early Life
Egerton Francis Mead MacCarthy was born in Loders, Dorset in 1838. He was the eldest
son of the 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls) born to Francis and Frances Mary MacCarthy. His
father, Francis was born in Nettledon, Buckinghamshire and his mother was born in London,
Middlesex. Francis was an ordained priest and the incumbent of the Parish Church of Loders
from 1835 to 1849. Nine of his children were born there. The 1851 census, however, shows
that the MacCarthy family had moved to 66 Middleton Square, London around 1850 and
Francis was now the incumbent of St. Mark’s Church.
The family was clearly quite affluent. The children were schooled by a live-in governess,
Priscilla Vennel. They also employed 3 servants. At the age of 11, Egerton F.M. MacCarthy
went to The Merchant Taylor’s School, an Independent Day School in London for boys aged
11-18. The school was founded in 1561 by members of the Merchant Taylors Company. It
was listed as one of the “nine great schools” in England. In 1857, he obtained a scholarship
to Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he became a foundation scholar and 27th Wrangler
in 1860. Egerton left Cambridge in 1860 with his B.A. Degree and took up reading
Mathematics at King Edward’s School, Norwich. He chose this post in preference to an
appointment as Professor of Mathematics at the Government College, Boreilly North West
provinces, India. He did not stay at Norwich for very long however, for the April 1861 census
shows him back living with his father in London and no occupation was given. In 1862, he
returned to Cambridge and took up Holy Orders. He was ordained as a Deacon in 1862 and
as a Priest in 1863. He was awarded an M.A. in 1864 and moved to teach mathematics at
Bedford School where he remained until December 1865.
In the summer of 1865, Egerton F. M. MacCarthy married Laura Margaret Vicars in St
James’, London. Laura, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1837, was the eldest daughter of
Hedley and Elizabeth Vicars. Her parents were both born in Ireland. Hedley was a Barrister
with his own practice. Egerton and Laura MacCarthy started their married life together in
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Bedford but moved to Birmingham 6 months later. Egerton joined the staff at King Edward’s
School, New Street. The new family home was No. 47 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, around 100
yards away from the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary School building which became
the home of KES Five Ways in 1883.
The 1871 Census tells us that the family enjoyed an opulent lifestyle at 47 Hagley Road with
a cook, housemaid and domestic. Egerton MacCarthy was described as being as being a
‘Clergyman of the Church of England without Care of Souls – Public School Master (M.A.
passed)’. It further showed us that they had two children: Egerton Hedley D. MacCarthy –
born in the Summer of 1876 – and Mary B. MacCarthy – born in the Summer of 1870. In the
Spring of 1872, a second daughter, Edith Florence MacCarthy was born. 10 years later, the
1881 Census tells us that their son Egerton Hedley D. MacCarthy was 14 and at School in
Eton and that his sisters were both scholars at Birmingham.
Prior to joining Bedford School in the autumn of 1864, MacCarthy had applied for the
position of Second Master at King Edward’s School, Birmingham and was one of five on the
shortlist. The Governors however chose the Rev. Frederick Brown for the post, but he
resigned less than a year later. MacCarthy was then contacted and offered the post of
Second Master under the Chief Master, Charles Evans. He served as Second Master under
Evans until 1872, and then under Albert Richard Vardy. In 1878, he took on the additional
responsibility of Headmaster of the newly- created Middle School. He ran the Middle School
successfully for the next 4 years, with great authority and panache. He put together an
excellent team of staff, most of whom he took with him to KESFW when it started up in 1883.
At his last Speech day at the Middle School on 21st December, 1882 MacCarthy told the
parents “after meeting generation after generation in that building they were going, almost
all of them, to a new home at Five Ways”. So on 16th January, 1883 the first of the King
Edward’s Foundation new Grammar Schools, KES Five Ways was formally opened.
MacCarthy, together with his 12 full-time staff, 2 visiting Masters. and 350 boys were about
to create the first chapter in the history of KESFW.
History of Five Ways Buildings
Now let us take a look at the history of the building that was to be the home of KESFW for its
first 75 years. It was built in 1838 for the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary School on
the north side of Hagley Road, close to its junction with Ladywood Road. Its main entrance,
tower and frontage occupied the area where 3 houses and gardens had stood. The
Proprietary school also owned 7 acres of playing fields in Portland Road. Egerton MacCarthy
would have passed the building every day he travelled to and from KES New Street, so he
would have known it well. It is interesting to speculate how MacCarthy would have made this
journey. It is most likely that he would have travelled by horse-drawn buses which were in
service in Birmingham during this period. The horse-drawn buses were gradually replaced
by steam trams from 1882 onwards. It is hard to believe that he would have cycled to school,
as his successor at KESFW A.E. Barker did during his period of tenure from 1916-1933.
MacCarthy was, however, a very fit and agile person throughout his life.
In 1881, the King Edward’s School Governors purchased both the school building and the
Portland Road playing fields for £9,000. The façade of the building at that time can be seen
in the lithographs published in the book “Old and New Birmingham”. The school building
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then consisted of a Great Hall measuring 70 ft. long, 30 ft. wide and 25 ft. high along with 5-6
classrooms and a main corridor.
During 1882, extensive alterations were made to the building. The Great Hall was extended
by demolishing the dividing wall of a classroom at the rear of the hall, which had been used
for Chemistry. Six new classrooms, a lecture Theatre, Laboratory, Apparatus Room, Library,
and Dining Hall were also built. A large playground at the rear of the school was also
constructed. Lighting was provided by fat-wong gas jets, which remained until 1908 when
they were replaced by incandescent gas mantles. Heating was effected by means of steam
pipes fed by a coal fired boiler.
Staffing at KESFW
The staffing complement that set the ball rolling at KES FW in January 1883 was 12 in
number plus 2 visiting masters. They and their year of appointment were as follows:-
T.H. Nicholls (1882) F.T.S. Houghton (1880)
W. Allen (1870) S. Howell (1870)
W.J. Arnot (1882) F. Julien (1876)
J.O. Beattler (1880) H.H. Munro (1879)
G.S. Brockington (1871) J. Nightingale (1864)
K. Dammon (1859) A. Wiggin (1867)
Visiting Masters – T. Facer, Magness
Eleven of the staff came from King Edward’s Middle School but the twelfth, the Rev. Thomas
Henry Nicholls, was appointed directly from St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge, by
MacCarthy himself, as Second Master. Nicholls, born in Birmingham, was a man of
independent means like MacCarthy and a friend of his. The appointment of an outsider
caused much controversy, which flared up again when he left in 1890 to take up a headship
at King’s School, Pontefract. Nicholls claimed that some unpaid salary was due to him and
MacCarthy supported him. Eventually his claim was upheld and he received payment 6
months after he had left KESFW. Most of the staff were all-rounders and taught a range of
subjects. Only Modern Languages and Science were taught by specialists. MacCarthy
himself was hands-on and was the Form Master of the top class, Year 5.He taught English,
French, Latin, Geography, Mathematics and Religious Instruction.
In the KES FW Magazine of 1948, there is a contribution by Herbert J. Elbourne (alias: Nuts)
entitled “Reminiscences of 58 years ago” which describes his early days at KESFW.
Elbourne was at the school in the period 1890-1895 and sent his contribution from his sheep
farm at Santa Cruz in the Andes in Patagonia, Argentina. He Had emigrated there, aged 24,
in 1903. The listed the School Staff in his time as follows:-
Rev. E.F.M. MacCarthy (Headmaster), M.G. Grant, Percy W.J. Arnot, S. Howell, W. Allen,
C.J. Wood, H.H. Munro, A. Wiggin, W.J.L. Davis, F.T.S. Haughton (Science Master), F. Julien
(German Master), Oscar Pollock, T. Facer (Singing Master), Prof. Hubbard (Gym Instructor)
and the porter Mr F.W. Parish.
Elbourne mentions some of his contemporaries: W.N. Harrison, W.D. John Watkins and
F.J.M. Stratton and some of his sporting heroes – Rugby: the Bryant Brothers (‘Foxy’, ‘Piggy’
and ‘Little Piggy’) – Cricket: Wilkes, Barret and Lemoîne. The records show that Charles
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and Percy Bryant were instrumental in setting up the Five Ways old Rugby Club in 1892.
Matches were played on a pitch next to the school playing field in Portland Road. He also
recalls that each of the masters had “pet” names but that he thought that he should not
repeat them as the Masters “are remembered with veneration”. He also mentions the
performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” and the “Pirates of Penzance” in
which Ralph Hume was the best singer. School plays are also recalled with Sammy Marks
as Splendid “Shylock”, and the adaptability of J.E. Whitaker in the Ladies’ parts.
Teachers’ Nicknames
Well, pupils at KESFW have always christened their Teachers with nicknames and will
continue to do so. Consequently, with the help of the late Frank Greenough (1915-21), Alf
Boggust (1922-29), and others the following is a list of nicknames for the Teachers from the
MacCarthy era:
W.J.L (Booty) Davies – had one leg shorter than the other and wore a cork-soled make-up
boot.
(Bogey) Bowden – an eccentric who taught French, and was known at times to have entered
the classroom on all fours
F.T.S (Necky) Houghton – had a long neck that could not be missed.
C.J. (Chips) Wood – taught Latin.
T.T. (Test Tube) Foster – Science Master and Cadet Corps CO.
A.C. (Affy) Rose – Roses Housemaster taught Maths and Music.
W.H. (Fuzzy) McPherson – McPherson’s Housemaster, taught German.
A.J. (Joey) Rant – Rants Housemaster, Senior Sports Master.
J.L. (Polly) Bates – Bates Housemaster, taught English.
M.G. (Daddy) Grant – Second Master
H.H. (Monkey) Monroe – A KES old boy, taught a range of subjects.
G.T. (Georgy) Holden – MacCarthy’s last appointment, taught English & Modern Languages
Let us now take a look at the achievements and initiatives that Egerton Francis Mead
MacCarthy introduced during his reign as the first Headmaster and Founding Father of KES
Five Ways. MacCarthy was a tall, well-built man with a commanding presence. He had
aquiline features, intense blue eyes and a slightly hooked nose. Although he was a
clergyman, he never wore a clerical collar but was always dressed immaculately. He wore a
high-winged collar and black tie as his school uniform. MacCarthy was a strong disciplinarian
but, unlike the next 4 Headmasters, he did not use the cane. He took great pride in his
undoubted organising ability and behavioural control methods, which are described in a later
section. MacCarthy was entirely devoted to education and was at the forefront of the
development of education in Birmingham. He was one of the founder members of the
Headmasters Association when it came into being in 1890, and he became its President in
1895. His enthusiasm and devotion to KESFW never wavered. At the 1908 “Silver Jubilee”
Speech Day he said that the “School Silver Jubilee” was also his own “Silver Wedding” as
Headmaster.
The 1907 photograph of MacCarthy and his staff gives us the chance to put faces to names
that are part of KESFW’s early history.
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A number of the original 1883 Staff had retired by then, and been replaced by MacCarthy’s
new recruits. M.G. Grant recruited in 1892 was now the Second Master and F.T.S. Houghton
was Senior Science Master. In 1894, A.J. Rant joined the staff as Head of Games. A.C.
Rose, an old boy from KES Aston, was recruited in 1896 to teach Science. Further
newcomers were W.H. McPherson in 1904 and J.L. Bates in 1909.
School House System
These last four gentlemen were selected by MacCarthy to be the inaugural Housemasters
when he introduced his House system in the autumn of 1909. The resolution for this as
recorded in the School Club Minutes on 1st October, 1909 reads:
“It was resolved that the Executive Committee shall consist of four House Masters, the four
Captains and Vice-Captains of Senior Houses and the Captains of Junior Houses. Messrs.
Rant, Rose, McPherson and Bates were the original Housemasters and gave their names
permanently to the Houses”.
A brief historical resume of MacCarthy’s House system and its four Housemasters can be
found in a separate booklet published in 2009. One of the aims of the system was to
encourage participation and healthy competition in games and activities. It became a great
success, and over the next two decades, after initially only involving cricket, rugby, football,
athletics and swimming, it spread to a wide range of activities including: drama, House
plays, poetry recitation, music and concerts, boxing, basketball, chess, cross-country
running, fencing, lawn tennis, table tennis, inter-house quizzes, hobbies, shooting, school
work and performance classes. House colours were awarded annually for outstanding
performance during the season.
Rev E.F.M. MacCarthy & Staff - 1907
Standing: T.Facer E.Gschwind W.J.Arnot C.J.Wood A.J.Rant W.J.L.Davies H.H.Munrow A.C.Rose
Seated: F.T.S.Houghton M.G.Grant Rev. E.F.M.MacCarthy Mons. F.Julien W.Allen A.Wiggin
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Extra-Curricular Activities
MacCarthy was a strong believer in all-round education. Music and drama were introduced
into the curriculum initially taught by Tommy Facer on a part-time basis. Weekly singing
lessons lasting one hour, half of which was devoted to theory and half to singing, was the
starting point in 1883. Four years later, with Facer as a full-time member of staff, drama and
music had progressed to the point where Gilbert and Sullivan operettas were performed in
1887-89. Class poetry recitations were a regular feature of morning assembly. A group of 6
boys, chosen from the form list of a particular class, would have to stand in alphabetical
order on the platform and give of their best. The singing of the School Song, Forty Years On,
and the School Prayer became a permanent part of the ritual performed on special
occasions such as Speech Day and End of Term Assembly. There was always considerable
speculation during my time at KESFW (1944-52) concerning the origin and author of the
School Song., which prompted some research in that direction. The findings of that research
and answers to those questions are covered in a separate section. They indicate that
MacCarthy was almost certainly involved in introducing the song to KESFW in the 1890’s
and that the author, Alfred E. Hayes was a former pupil of his.
From 1883 to 1898, the Portland Road playing fields were shared with other King Edward’s
Foundation Schools. From 1899 onwards, KESFW had sole use, and in 1901-02 a new
pavilion was built at a cost of £700 together with a house for the groundsman. The
groundsman was one Edward Bate, who had been employed in that capacity since 1882 and
had lived nearby in Stanmore Road. The new house at the playing fields was to be the home
of Edward and Martha Bate and their family for the next 44 years. Edward Bate, passed
away in 1946, at the age of 92. In commemoration of his 46 years of service, a framed
photograph of him hangs proudly in the School Hall at Bartley Green.
Following the Board of Education Inspector’s visit in 1908, further improvements were made
to the school building and to the playing field facilities. A one-storey building in the
playground provided new facilities for Chemistry and Physics lectures and practical work.
The old science rooms were revamped to provide gymnastic, art and craft workshop
facilities. New dressing rooms and bathing facilities were also installed at the playing fields.
The area around the School was also changing at this time. Tramlines were laid along
Hagley Road and Ladywood Road, enabling much easier travel to and from the school; a
welcome addition to either walking, cycling or taking the train to Five Ways station which had
opened in 1885 when the line was extended to Harborne.
School Cadet Corps
In September 1915, the Cadet Corps was founded with Captain T.T. Foster as its
Commanding Officer, and 2nd Lieutenants M.G. Grant and A.C. Rose his seconds in
command. The Company consisted of 99 cadets and 30 others under training.
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A photograph taken in December 1916 survives in the school archives. Shortly after it was
taken, T.T. Foster was called up for military service. G.T. Holden and J.L. Bates soon
followed suit. Their places at the School were taken by Mrs Allen and Miss Harris. All three
men saw active service in France, where T.T. Foster was awarded a Military Cross for
bravery. Holden and Bates were both wounded in action and repatriated to England. The
first edition of the School Magazine in 1916 records that at that time 19 boys had “nobly
given their lives for the Country”.
First World War
By the time World War I ended, the total number of old boys killed had risen to 123. Their
names are listed on the World War I memorial which was transferred to Bartley Green when
the Five Ways school building was closed in 1958. The Commonwealth War Graves
Commission gives details of those who died in action.
So as a token of respect to some of those FWOEs first recorded as being killed in action, let
us see when and where they sacrificed their lives and remember them:
Seated 2nd Row: Lt. A.S. Walker, 2nd Lt. M.G. Grant, Capt. T.T. Foster C.O., 2nd Lt. A.C. Rose, C.S.M. R.L. Colley
KESFW School Cadet Corps - December 1916
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Name
Rank / Service No Date of Death Resting Place
Edward George Leonard Allen
Private 30129 Royal
Inniskilling Engineers
05/06/1917
(aged 23)
Laiterie Military
Cemetery
Frederick Neville Bamwell Corporal G/3041 The Buffs
East Kent Regiment
14/09/1915
(aged 23)
Calvere Military
Cemetery
William Vevers Benoy Engineer Lt. Commander
Royal Navy
31/05/1918
(aged 33)
Portsmouth Naval
Memorial
John Barr Burnside Lance Corporal 356
Royal Warwicks Regiment
30/12/1915
(aged 33)
Carnery Military
Cemetery
David George Harper Private 4243
South Staffs Regiment
16/10/1915
(aged 42)
Lillers Communal
Cemetery
Kenneth John Hinde Corporal 249 Royal
Engineers
27/02/1915
(aged 32)
Longueness (St
Omer) Souvenit
Cemetery
Harold Frederick Livesey Rifleman 1096
London Rifle Brigade
01/05/1915
(aged 20)
Hazelbrouck
Communal Cemetery
William Alfred Ernest Owen Private 2679
Royal Warwicks Regiment
25/04/1915
(aged 25)
La Plus Douvre Farm
Cemetery
Samuel William Tonks Major Royal Engineers 08/08/1915
(aged 20)
Helles Memorial
Frank Holland Richardson Private 474014 London
Regiment – The Rangers
09/09/1916 Thieval Memorial
Retirement
Rev E.F.M. MacCarthy was renowned throughout his 33 years as Headmaster of KESFW for
his outstanding leadership, orderliness and strong discipline. It has even been said that in
his later years he had become somewhat of a martinet to both his staff and pupils. He clearly
had still retained a sense of humour, however, as can be seen from this story from Frank
Leslie Greenhough (1915-21) who was at school during the final year of MacCarthy’s
headship. Frank recalls him coming into “Bogey” Bowden’s classroom and writing on the
blackboard “Pas d’elle yeux rhone que nous”. Frank in his best French accent then had to
read aloud what MacCarthy had written. In an accentuated English accent MacCarthy then
solemnly translated it as “Paddle your own canoe”. The eccentric joker, Bowden had clearly
met his match. Frank Greenough was a regular contributor to the FWOE newsletter right up
until his death in 1994, aged 90. He took up teaching as a profession and was an Infants
and Junior School Headmaster from 1937 until 1969.
Picking up the threads of MacCarthy’s family life again, at the time of the 1891 Census, we
see that Egerton and his wife, Laura Margaret were on holiday at Raglan House, Mathow in
the Malverns, Worcestershire. His two daughters were at home in Birmingham, but his son
Egerton junior had left home and was a Music Teacher. Somewhere between 1891 and
1895 the MacCarthy family moved house to No. 5 Harborne Road. Then what followed was
a mixture of good times and bad times for Egerton. His eldest daughter, Laura Mary B
MacCarthy married in the summer of 1894, but his youngest daughter Edith Florence
MacCarthy sadly died in 1897, aged 25. Worse was to follow when his wife, Laura Margaret
MacCarthy died in 1898, aged 61. The 1901 census showed that the widower Egerton was
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still living in Harborne Road where he has a housekeeper, a chef and a domestic maid in
attendance.
In the spring of 1916, the Rev E.F.M. MacCarthy decided to call it a day and retire. His final
assembly on 16th April, 1916 was a very nostalgic occasion. Raymond (“Frammy”) Frampton
was in his 5th and final year at KESFW at that time. He wrote a report of the occasion which
appeared in the very first issue of the School Magazine. Frampton’s piece, which follows,
says it all and is a very apt epitaph.
Headmaster, the Rev. E.F.M. MacCarthy graced the assembly hall with his noble presence,
which for so many years had commanded respect and obedience from the masters and boys.
Few of us who were present will ever forget that morning when, amid subdued murmuring, Mr.
MacCarthy walked up the room in his customary manner for the last time, followed by Mr. Allen
Edwards, one of his pupils of 50 years ago.
After a short speech by the Headmaster, H.A. Needham presented an illuminated address on
behalf of the scholars and also a large, framed photograph of Class 1, suitably inscribed.
Mr. MacCarthy responded in a touching manner, and then called upon Mr. Edwards to speak.
This gentle man gave us a very entertaining address on the tricks of the boys of his youth, also
mentioning his love of books and English Literature, a love which had been fostered by his old
Headmaster.
Then amid a profound silence, Mr MacCarthy spoke of his retirement and the separation from
us. Many lumps arose in many throats that morning, and on looking round the hall I saw tears
in the eyes of both masters and boys. What more fitting tribute could there possibly be to the
end of a career which has seldom, if ever, been equalled? We were, and are, proud of him,
proud to have been taught by him, and our hearts go out to him in the evening of his days. May
that amazing juvenility, that wonderful healthiness, remain with him for many years to come.”
In the January of 1916, MacCarthy completed an astonishing 50 years of service as a
teacher for the King Edward’s School Foundation – 17 years at KES New Street and 33
years at KES Five Ways. After 18 months in retirement, he passed away on 4th November,
1917 aged 79.
The School Song
The School Song was one of several traditions that MacCarthy first introduced to KESFW
during his headship. It was written by Alfred Hayes, an Old Edwardian himself, somewhere
between 1888 and 1889 when he was Assistant Master at King Edward’s School, Camp Hill.
Thomas Facer was in charge of Music and Singing At KESFW at that time, and it had
wrongly been assumed by many of the pupils in the 1920’s and 1930’s that he had written it.
Singing lessons were a feature of school life in those days. Songs such as “Forty Years on”,
“The Minstrel Boy”, “Tight Little Island” and the School Song were regular features.
Alfred Hayes (Author)
Alfred Hayes was born in 1857 in Wolverhampton. He was the 2nd son of Edwin John and
Fanny Hayes (nee Puddicombe) and had 6 brothers and sisters. His father was born in
Alton, Staffordshire and his mother was from Devon. Shortly after Alfred was born, the
family moved to Birmingham when Edwin took up the post of Town Clerk. The family home
in 1861 was Ashley House, Ward Lane, Handsworth and there Alfred grew up under
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privileged circumstances. A governess / teacher, a nurse, a cook and a house servant were
all part of the household entourage. In 1868, Alfred attended KES High School in New
Street, Birmingham. The Headmaster at that time was Charles Evans, and the Second
Master and Head of the new Middle School was none other than Rev. E.F.M. MacCarthy. So
Hayes would have been one MacCarthy’s pupils and he would most certainly have been
able to follow Hayes’ career until 1876 when Alfred won a Classical Exhibition at New
College, Oxford. After graduation, Hayes had planned to enter the Law and he started
training at the Inner Temple. He abandoned this, however, in 1881 after his father died and
took up teaching. After gaining experience at several schools, he joined the staff of KES
Camp Hill in 1883 as an Assistant Master and stayed there until 1889. The cover of an old
original copy of the words and Music for the School Song shows that it was “dedicated to the
scholars of King Edwards the Sixth’s Foundation”.
Front Cover
Copy of Words
An original old copy of the KESFW School Song’s music and words shows that there was a
fifth verse, which is no longer sung.
viz:- “Then long as goals are reckoned,
And long as Greek is read,
And Wisdom’s name is graven
Above the seat of dread,
Whatever fate betides us,
We need not fear to sing,
Long live the name of Edward
Our founder and our King.
Greek was certainly once part of the school curriculum as the records show and remained so
until the middle 1920’s.Presumably the 5th verse was dropped when Greek ceased to be
taught. The song was first sung at KESFW somewhere around 1890.Whether it was sung
14
pre-1900 by all of the schools in the Foundation is not clear. Presently, the song is only sung
at KES Five Ways and KES Aston. King Edwards High School, KES Camp Hill Boys and
Girls and KES Handsworth all sing another song written much later by Alfred Hayes entitled
“The Iron Heart”.
Alfred Gaul (Composer)
The Music for the School Song was composed by Alfred Robert Gaul who was born in
Norwich in 1838. He was the youngest of 4 children born to John and Maria Gaul. John was
a shuttle maker, and Alfred Gaul’s two brothers, Frederick and Edward, were listed in the
1851 Census as being a Watchmaker and a Shuttle maker respectively. Alfred, then aged
13, was still at school. 12 years later, after finishing his musical education, he married
Charlotte Cory at Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire and the couple moved to Birmingham.
The 1871-1901 Censuses show the family living firstly in Monument Road and then in Gillott
Road, Birmingham, and Alfred’s profession is shown as “Professor of Music”. They have 5
children, two of whom have followed in their Father’s footsteps and are Music Teachers. The
household included 3 full-time staff, a cook, a housemaid and a general domestic servant.
Alfred Gaul was the organist for several Birmingham churches including: St Augustine’s,
Edgbaston. One of his compositions, an oratorio “The Holy City”, was performed at the 1882
Birmingham Festival. He passed away in 1913, aged 76.
After leaving KES Camp Hill in 1889, Alfred Hayes changed careers once again when he
took up the post of Secretary at the Midland Institute. He was appointed Principal in 1912,
and stayed there for some 23 years. During this period he became a well-known figure in the
Literary World, producing high quality poetry and prose for which he received an honorary
M.A. Degree in 1919 from Birmingham University. He was also a keen amateur musician,
(hence his link with Alfred Gaul), a keen fisherman and a mountaineer of some repute. Some
of his literary work was published between 1885 and 1911 including volumes of verse
entitled: “The March of Man and other Poems”, “The Vale of Arden”, and “The Cup of
Kindness”.
In the Summer of 1883, Alfred Hayes, married Edith Mary Chattock, a local girl born in
Shirley. They had two sons Lionel Chattock Haynes and Roben Arden Hayes, and a
daughter Sibyl Irene Hayes. In 1891, the family home was in Charlotte Road, Edgbaston but
by 1901, they had moved around the corner to Carpenter Road. They employed 3 full-time
servants – a cook, a nurse and a housemaid – and were obviously fairly wealthy. Exactly
when Alfred wrote his second School song, “The Iron Heart”, and teamed up with Arthur
Somervell. (1863 – 1937), (the composer of the music), is unclear, but it was probably
around the turn of the century. In 1881, Arthur Somervell was a student of music at King’s
College, Cambridge. By 1891, he was living in Kensington, London, where he was listed as
being a Music Composer. He was an Inspector of Music, working for the London Board of
Education, by 1911. He went on to have a successful career as a composer, for which he
received a knighthood.
Alfred Hayes passed away in February 1936, aged 78. This was some 8 years after the
death of his wife in 1928, aged 66.
15
Headmaster No. 2 – A.E. Barker (1916-1933)
Early Life
Arthur Ernest Barker was born in Tranmere, near Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1872. He was the
youngest of 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter born to William E. and Janet Barker (nee
Taylor). By the time of the 1881 census, the family had moved to Stretford in Greater
Manchester. Arthur is listed as a scholar, aged 9, and was in the charge of his maternal
grandfather, William Taylor, a retired Ship’s Chandler from Ireland. His parents were away
from home at the time, on holiday with his brother and sister. Arthur grew up under privileged
circumstances. His father had his own solicitors business in Manchester. The family home
was staffed with 3 servants – a cook, housemaid and general domestic. Moving on 10 years,
the 1891 Census shows Arthur to have left school and now working as an insurance clerk,
as was his elder brother Fredrick William E. Barker. Shortly after this, he decided on a
change in career. From 1891-93, he studied at Owen’s College, the forerunner of
Manchester University where he passed his London BSc. Matriculation Examination. Arthur
then took up a teaching post as an Assistant Master at Wellingborough Grammar School.
There, he taught for six years during which time he completed his BSc. and obtained a BA.
In 1899-1900, Arthur left Wellingborough and completed a one-year study course at
University College, London. He then joined the staff at Colchester Royal Grammar School.
The 1901 Census lists him as one of eight resident Assistant Masters under the headship of
Henry Edward Matt. Arthur Ernest Barker was then aged 29. Ten years later, the 1911
Census tells us that he was still teaching at Colchester RGS and living in the school’s Gilbert
Boarding House, where he was in charge. In 1913, he left Colchester after teaching there for
11 years and took up the post of Headmaster of Ross-on-Wye Grammar School. In 1916, he
moved yet again to Birmingham to become the Headmaster of King Edward’s School, Five
Ways. There he would be faced with the task of filling the shoes of the Revered E.F.M.
MacCarthy, and the problems associated with the last two years of World War I.
A.E. Barker was a somewhat odd, strange sort of character but more of that later. He was
energetic, versatile and very much a hands-on teacher. He took on the role of Commanding
16
Officer of the Cadet Force for 2 years until T.T. Foster’s return at the end of World War I.
Within the first six months of his headship, A.E. Barker lost A.J. Rant (Housemaster) and
F.T.S. Houghton (Senior Science Master) to retirement. He also lost T.T. Foster (Science
Master and Cadet Force CO), G. T. Holden, and J.L. Bates (Housemaster) to the Armed
Forces. In 1918, he lost another Housemaster, A.C. Rose, when he enlisted in the RAF. This
reduced the number of pre-war teaching staff to five. Women and disabled male teachers
helped to fill the gap on a temporary basis. T.T. Foster won an M.C. during the War and J.L.
Bates and G.T. Holden were both wounded in action. All three of them returned to KESFW
on demobilisation.
Staff Recruitment
From 1918-22, Barker put in a tremendous effort to recruit new Staff to supplement the
remaining members of the ‘’Old Guard’’. His choices turned out to be a touch of genius. He
selected mainly Birmingham or London University graduates with a strong sense of duty and
loyalty. Seven of them (Messrs’ T. Bailey, B.J.M. Birch, R. Frampton, R.J. Fulford, H.
Greaves, J.T.W. James and S. Hinton) became legendary and collectively served the School
for an astonishing 265 years. They not only loyally supported Barker until his retirement in
1933, but also provided a solid teaching resource for the next 3 Headmasters C.H.
Dobinson, H.R. Roach and T.C. Burgess. Their family backgrounds and histories are
detailed in a separate section about the “Barker Brigade”.
Prefect System
In 1917, he created a School Prefect system with a Head Prefect which ran a Prefect’s
Court. The Prefect’s Court Constitution was drawn up by the prefects themselves and they
heard and passed judgment on minor misdemeanours and offences committed by pupils.
Generally the penalty was detention but for the most serious offences, the offenders were
reported to the Headmaster. Alf Boggust (1922-29) recalled in his “Memories of King
Edwards Grammar School, Five Ways” that he “was sentenced by Mr. Barker to two half-day
detentions for fighting on the Harborne bus”. Alf also recalled that Prefects were allowed to
wear trilby hats to school provided that they had black and white bands. New boys were
known as “Sherrins” (fresh herrings) and were subjected to mild persecution such as being
penned into corners during recess. The school cap with its black and white hoops led to
KESFW pupils being called “Ringworms” particularly by George Dixons schoolboys. “Daddy”
Grant used to give two detentions to any boys caught eating sweets-- one for bringing them
into the lesson and one for eating them.
Barker also changed the form structure in September 1917 when he introduced a Sixth
Form. Barker took on the roles of Sixth Form and 5A Master himself. For the first few years,
he taught 28 periods of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics per week.
17
KESFW Head Prefects and School Captains Pre-1945
KESFW Head Prefects and School Captains Post-1945
18
Barker introduced a range of other activities and initiatives, many of which still continue to
this day. The School Magazine was started in 1916, followed by the Hobbies Day Exhibition
in 1917. A Literary and Debating Society, Natural History Society, Chess Club, Photographic
Society, Cinematographic Society, School Plays and Music Concerts all came into being
during the first 6 years of his Headship. He was himself a very fit, dynamic and energetic
man so it is not surprising to find that sport also blossomed. Boxing, fencing, shooting,
swimming, lawn tennis and table tennis were added to the Games programme. Participation
in the games of rugby and cricket was made compulsory for “all boys medically fit”.
He was also an accomplished cricketer and rifle-shot as well as a keen mountaineer. Cricket
and rifle-shooting were Barker’s two biggest passions and he personally coached the
School’s teams right up until his retirement in 1933. The Headmaster’s XI versus the School
was the main event of the Cricket Season. He and Tom Bailey opened both the bowling and
batting. Various school magazines show they both had considerable success, particularly on
the bowling front. Frank Greenhough (1915-21) in a contribution to FWOE’s Association
Newsletter recalls that “Barker spent a lot of time in his lessons teaching the L.B.W. rule”. In
the first quarter of 1921, Arthur E. Barker married Alice Mabel Wood. Alice was the daughter
of Edwin B. and Sarah H. Wood. The family lived at 46 Holloway Head, Edgbaston. Edwin
Wood was a surgeon and a London MRCP Chemist, and had his own business. Arthur and
Alice then spent their married life together in a house overlooking the Portland Road playing
fields. It is said that Barker’s wife “was looked on in awe and was not particularly liked” and
that “she used binoculars from an upstairs room in the house to spy on any apparent
delinquencies of boys or staff”. Mrs Barker also provided the teas for the Headmaster’s XI
L-R: E.F.M. MacCarthy A.E. Barker A.C. Rose, “Chips” Wood, M.G. Grant
Sports Day - 1916
19
versus School cricket match and for Sports Day. Legend has it that Edward Bates, the long-
serving grounds man declared her cake to be “uneatable even by his hens”.
The S. Watkins Cup was donated for Boxing and tournaments were held in the School Hall.
Frank Greenhough’s reminiscences tell the story of a boy called Wallace who “had a
paralysed right arm but knocked his opponent out with his left.” The Rugby 1st XV was
coached by Harry (‘Strabo’) Greaves and swimming was the parish of G.T. Holden. On the
Athletics front, the House winning the most points on Sports Day was awarded the Parry
Shield. Birmingham Joint Schools Sports Association meetings were held at the Alexandra
Stadium at Perry Barr and KESFW were the runners-up in 1934 and 1935.
Drama and Music flourished greatly during the period 1920-33. “Affy” Rose, “Bogey” Bowden
and “Frammy” Frampton were the producers. “Polly” Bates, “Fuzzy” McPherson, “The Barker
Brigade” and their wives provided essential back-up for costume design, make-up and the
scenery back-drops. Sam Hinton, a 1925 Barker recruit, greatly increased the team’s scope
by founding a School Orchestra.
A number of older members of the Staff recruited by MacCarthy left the School between
1920 and 1930. First to move onto pastures new was T.T. Foster (Science Master) who left
in 1921. His nickname was not surprisingly “Test Tube”. Foster was the first Commanding
Officer of the Cadet Corps from its foundation in 1915 until 1921, apart from a two-year
break on active service during World War I. The next to leave was M.G. (“Daddy”) Grant, the
Second Master who retired in 1926 due to ill health.
KESFW in the 1920’s
20
In 1928, Fuzzy McPherson sadly died aged 60, of a heart attack. It occurred while he was on
holiday with his family at Snowdon, Borth in Cardiganshire. “Fuzzy” McPherson was one of
the MacCarthy’s four original Housemasters. He was a “testy” sort of character “prone to
explosive outbursts at the stupidity of pupils. These became even more violent when his
gout became troublesome” according to J.H. (“Toffee”) Eyles, who was both a pupil (1916-
24) and a Master (1949-70) at KESFW. Frank Greenough’s recollection of “Fuzzy” was that
“pupils stood shaking with fear outside his classroom door”.
In 1929, Bowden retired to run a Boarding House. He was the last of the eccentrics and
dressed in plus fours, a cravat and a velvet jacket. He was known at times to enter his form
room on his hands and knees. He kept himself aloof from the rest of the Staff, taught at a
private school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and also at the Midland Institute Night School.
He did not like Barker and frequently showed his contempt for him. Greenough (1915-21)
recalls that “Bogey” was famous for balancing the window pole on his chin. Alf Boggust’s
memories of “Bogey were that when he took School Certificate classes he would tell the
whole class “You will all fail and when your parents ask me why I shall reply I told him he
would fail”. He also used to deposit Certificate questions for a weekly test in a locked
cupboard to which someone found a key. For a brief period, very high marks were recorded.
In 1930, Mrs Alice Barber donated the “Senior Champion’s Prize” for the best swimmer at
the School Swimming Sports held at Monument Road Baths and presented the medals.
Sadly, she died on 6th February, 1932 aged 62 after an illness of several weeks. That same
year, Arthur Barker climbed the Matterhorn at the tender age of 60. Whether this was his
way of overcoming his grief is a question that cannot be answered? Suffice to say that it
probably encouraged him to retire. He did so on 30th April, 1933 shortly after the Golden
Jubilee Year Dinner which was held at the School on 24th February, 1933.
I said earlier that Arthur Ernest Barker was an odd, strange sort of character. This is how
David J. Wheeldon described him in his centenary book of 1983.
“He was a cold, austere, lonely man with a high-pitched voice and a “sniff” which paralysed
small boys and junior masters alike. He lacked a sense of humour and was a tough
disciplinarian whom staff and boys alike found remote and awesome. A man of moods, refusing
on occasions to be photographed with prefects. He was also alleged to have refused to see the
Chief Education Officer because he was due to teach a class.”
Another of his traits was thriftiness bordering on meanness, portrayed by Wheeldon as
follows:-
“He made few concessions to the Twentieth Century; he rode a bicycle, had no secretary and
no typewriter. Five ways was the last Foundation School to have a telephone. Barker preferred
to cross Hagley Road and use a public call-box. He gave detailed instructions on the ringing of
the bell at the end of periods, in order to avoid unnecessary ringing and thus save electricity.
Late in the afternoon, he was to be found striding purposefully around the School looking for
boys who could, on their way home, deliver both his personal and school mail, thus saving on
penny postage.”
Barker was certainly an intricate character who made a profound and successful impact at
KESFW during his 17 years as Headmaster. He was a good hands-on teacher and a first-
rate organiser. His belief in out-of-school activities had no bounds. His energetic and
dynamic style may have been off-putting to traditionalists but it worked. In 1924, the Board of
21
Education carried out a “full inspection” of the School. The report was glowing both in terms
of himself as a Headmaster and also of all the Staff. The organisation and work of KESFW
were described as first class”.
Arthur Barker was also a staunch supporter of the Five Ways Old Edwardians Association.
He was prime mover in raising funds for the purchase of the Masshouse Lane Ground via a
series of fetes at the School from 1930 to 1934. The 12 acres of land and a house called
“The Yews” was purchased for £2,000 and opened as the Old Boys Club in 1934. Barker
was President of FWOE Rugby Football Club and took his duties very seriously. He was a
regular attendee at the 1st XV games at Lordswood Road, often in preference to School
Games.
Arthur Ernest Barker moved to Cheltenham after his retirement and died there, aged 67, in
June 1939.
The Barker Brigade
Seven special people, who between them would go on to serve the School for an
astonishing 265 years, were among those that Barker recruited during the period 1917-25.
These seven not only loyally supported Barker until his retirement in 1933, but also provided
a solid teaching backbone for the next three Headmasters: C.H. Dobinson, H.R. Roach and
T.C. Burgess. They became known as the “Barker Brigade”.
This is a look at their backgrounds and characters.
22
Thomas Bailey (1918-1957)
Thomas Bailey was the younger of two sons born to William and Alice Bailey (nee Lomax).
He was born on the 25th August, 1889 at Fleetwood, Lancashire, where his father was
employed as a foreman bricklayer. Thomas was educated at Blackpool Secondary School
and Poulton Le-Fylde Grammar School, Lancashire, and then went to King’s College,
London to study Sciences after achieving London Matriculation in 1908.
After university, he worked as a Scientist at the Oldscomford Hospital from September 1910
until July 1912 before embarking on a teaching career. His first post was at Bridport
Secondary School where he taught from 1912-1913. This was followed by 2 years at
Leominster Grammar School (1913-1915) and 3 years at Chelmsford Grammar School
(1915-1918).
In the Autumn of 1916, Thomas married Ethelwyn Clarkson, the daughter of John and Mary
Ellen Clarkson. Ethelwyn was a local girl from his home town of Fleetwood, and her father
was a Schoolmaster. After living at Chelmsford for nearly 2 years, the couple moved to
Harborne, Birmingham when Thomas joined the staff at KESFW in September 1918.
In his early days at Five Ways, he taught a range of subjects: - English, Mathematics,
Science, Geography and Divinity. The size of the newly introduced Sixth Form, however,
which concentrated on the Science Subjects increased gradually to the point where
specialisation was required. As a result of this Thomas Bailey was appointed Senior Physics
Master in 1929, a position in which he served with great energy and success for 28 years.
The period of A. E. Barker’s Headship in the 1920’s and early 1930’s saw a marked increase
in activity in the School’s sporting and entertainment areas. The Baileys were active on both
fronts. Tom Bailey was quite an accomplished cricketer. He and Barker opened the bowling
and the batting for the Headmaster’s Team in the annual Headmaster’s XI versus School 1st
XI. cricket matches. This event was one of the highlights in the School calendar. A
sumptuous tea was provided by the Headmaster’s wife, Alice and her helpers including Mrs.
Bailey. Tom was a quick bowler. His stature suggests he was probably in the mould of Brain
Statham of Lancashire CCC. The report on the match held in July 1924 says that he took 4
wickets for 21 runs, when the School were dismissed for a lowly 47 runs. Another sporting
highlight was the School Sports Day. The photograph shows Barker and three of his
stalwarts (Messrs. Bailey, Bates and James) officiating at the Long Jump pit in 1932. On the
entertainments front, Tom and Ethelwyn Bailey were enthusiastic members of the team that
made costumes and constructed scenery for the many School Plays and Concerts
performed during that decade.
In the Summer of 1936, Ethelwyn Bailey sadly died, aged 48 leaving Tom to soldier on alone
for the next 32 years at their home in Ravenshurst Road, Harborne. They were not blessed
with any children. His main interest apart from teaching was the Five Ways Old Edwardian’s
Association. He was a regular attendee at the rugby matches held at the Masshouse Lane
ground. In September 1939, he moved to Monmouth with the School, when it was evacuated
there at the start of World War II. At Monmouth, he shared a rented house in the town with
Joe Fulford. The Autumn term of 1944 saw him back in his beloved Physics laboratory at
Five Ways. Tom was very well organised and an excellent teacher who demanded very high
standards from his pupils. Your practical notebook had to be immaculate and was inspected
23
each month. Over the next decade there was a big increase in the number of 6th. Form
Science Students studying Physics and very good results were achieved.
Tom Bailey retired from KESFW at the end of the summer term in 1957, having completed
39 years’ service, shortly before his 68th birthday. He then enjoyed almost 10 years of happy
retirement at Ravenshurst Road before passing away on 14th February, 1968 at the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, aged 78.
After retirement he continued to be involved with the Five Ways Old Edwardian’s Association
and became Chairman of the General Committee, a post he held until 1961. The photograph
taken that year shows Alf Boggust accompanied by “Chunky” Charlton, the FWOE 1st XV
Captain, presenting a tankard to Tom in recognition of his many years of service.
Tom was a person of immense presence which demanded great respect. He didn’t need to
raise his voice to maintain the control of his pupils. One stare from those piercing eyes
beneath his bushy eyebrows, was enough. You didn’t mess with Tom Bailey!
B.J.M. Birch (1919-57)
Bernard John Mellor Birch was born in Hanley, Staffordshire on the 28th July, 1888. His
parents were Edward and Sarah Mellor Birch (nee Massey) and his father was a pottery
warehouseman. Bernard was the younger of their two sons, and was educated at Orme
Boys School, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire until the age of 15. He then attended the
Pupil Teacher’s Centre at Hanley from 1903 to 1906, before going onto Birmingham
University where he graduated with B.A. Hons. In 1909, he obtained a Board of Education
Teaching Certificate. His first teaching post was at Edmondsley School, County Durham
where he worked from November 1909 until he moved to Birmingham in May 1916. He
Presentation to Tom Bailey
24
married Maude Elizabeth Moore, the daughter of William and Anne Mary Moore, In Barrow-
on-Soar, Leicestershire in 1915. Maude was born in Radford, Nottinghamshire on 18th
March, 1887 and was working as a teacher at the time of their marriage. From 1916 to 1918,
Bernard taught at St. Barnabas’ Boys Church of England School in Ryland Road,
Birmingham and then joined the staff of KESFW in January 1919. Their daughter, Kathleen
M. Birch was born a few months later.
Birch taught French, Geography, Latin and English. He was a 2nd year Form Master. He was
a quiet and somewhat shy man, and a teacher in the traditional mould who tended to shun
the limelight. He did not hesitate, however, to use a gym slipper on the backside of any boy
who misbehaved. During the late 1920’s and 1930’s, he was responsible for organising Art
teaching in the school. He was nicknamed “Billy” by the pupils, so it was something of a
shock to find out his first name was Bernard. The Birch family moved to Beechwood Road,
Smethwick close to Warley Golf Course and remained there for much of their married life.
Bernard and Maude did however move to Monmouth in September 1939, when the School
was evacuated there, but their daughter Kathleen, then aged 20, remained in Smethwick.
The family were reunited in July 1944 when the Summer Term at Monmouth ended and the
School returned to Birmingham. “Billy” Birch carried on his teaching at KES Five Ways for
another 13 years until his retirement in 1957, taking his total teaching tally at KESFW to 37
years. He was my Form Master in Class 2A in 1945-46, a real gentleman and efficient
teacher.
Bernard J.M. Birch died at his Beechwood Road home on 6th February, 1962 aged 73. His
wife, Maude Elizabeth Birch lived on for another 16 years before passing away in the
autumn of 1978, aged 91.
RAYMOND FRAMPTON (1921 – 1958)
Raymond Frampton was born on the 22nd July, 1899 in Birmingham. His parents were
George and Elizabeth Mary Frampton (nee Fackrell) and the family lived at Ryland Road,
Edgbaston. His father was a foreman wheelwright. Raymond attended St. Thomas’ School,
Granville Street for 6 years until the age of eleven. He then entered, and passed the KESFW
entrance examination in 1910. By now, the family had moved to Upper Marshall Street,
Birmingham some 400 yards away from his new school. His elder sister, Amy Frampton was
shown in the 1910 census as being single and working as a shorthand clerk and typist at an
ironmonger. In 1915, Raymond passed the Senior Oxford Local Part 1 Examination with
Honours, and in 1916 achieved a similar result in the Higher Part 2 examination. For this, he
was awarded a Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary scholarship tenable for 3 years. His
final year at KESFW coincided with the retirement of the School’s founding father and first
Headmaster, the Rev. E.F.M. MacCarthy. Raymond wrote a vivid account of MacCarthy’s
final assembly which appeared in the very first issue of the School Magazine.
Three years studying History at Birmingham University were to follow, culminating in the
award of a B.A. with Honours in 1920. During this period, Raymond also attended the
teacher training course at the university. He then taught for 3 months at Moor End Lane
Secondary School in Erdington (from September 1920 to December 1920) and for another 7
months at Smethwick Technical College (from January 1921 to September 1921). He joined
the teaching staff of his old school KESFW in September 1921 when Barker was
Headmaster. He quickly settled into the teaching routine and almost immediately teamed
25
up with “Affy” Rose as a co-producer of the many operettas and plays that were presented
by boys of the school over the next 12 years. Music and drama training became a new and
exciting feature of school life for some 400 boys during this period. The formation of the
School Orchestra in 1925 by Sammy Hilton provided and extra and welcome stimulus.
Raymond Frampton married Winifred M. Frampton (nee Norton) in the Autumn of 1922. She
was also a valuable member of the costume-making team.
Raymond Frampton, or “Frammy” as he was known, was a jovial, somewhat eccentric
character. He was profoundly deaf and his hearing-aid receiver was ceremoniously placed
on his desk with great aplomb before the start of each lesson. Frequently, pupils would be
sent to a nearby Five Ways shop to purchase a new battery. His often-repeated favourite
quotation was “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. His
standard punishment for inattention was that the miscreant has to write out 100 times in their
best handwriting: “Go to the ant thou sluggard consider its ways and be wise”.
In 1935, Raymond was appointed as Head of Sixth Form Arts when the 6th Form was divided
into separate Arts and Science sections. He held this position until his retirement in 1958.
“Frammy” also played an important part in co-ordinating the activities of the Community
Service Corps, an initiative introduced by C.H. Dobinson where boys were trained to be of
service to their community.
The school was evacuated to Monmouth in September 1939. Raymond and Winifred moved
there from Birmingham and opened Cae Elga, a hostel for 20 boys in January 1940. It was a
large house overlooking the Monmow Valley near Osbaston and here, as Gerald E Clayton
(1941-46) put it, “Frammy” reigned supreme. He introduced a Spartan regime of a daily cold
bath at 7.15am, bedroom windows open every night and open-air sleeping in the summer.
The classroom in which he taught was in a fusty basement. Before the start of lessons each
day, he performed a theatrical ritual of de-odourising the atmosphere with a mechanical
spray flit gun. Aerosol cans were not around in those days!
Frammy was very much a paternal figure although he had no children of his own. The
birthdays of all the boys in his charge were celebrated with a special tea, and he held court
each evening at the dining room table after dinner, chatted and told stories. The following
incident recalled again by Gerald Clayton sums up Frammy “to a ‘Tee’”.
“He sat, in good humour, around the table smoking the cigar, and offered the box around. No
boy took one until the box came to me. Now I had been smoking cigars since the age of six,
when I used to steal my father’s, and in those days I bought my own Wills Whiffs which I
preferred to Manikins, out of money I earned by collecting and selling elderberries,
rose hips and so on, or out of my pocket money. I thanked Mr Frampton and reached for
one. “I think I ought to warn you that if you do take one and light it, you’ll get six of the best,” he
warned me ominously. “But Sir, that’s not fair,” I protested. “You didn’t say we could have a
cigar and six of the best with it, you merely invited us to take a cigar.” He pondered for several
seconds. “Quite right, so I did.” His face cleared. “But if you do take one you shall light it now,
and if you fail to finish it I shall give you six of the best anyway for wasting valuable property.”
Everyone was looking at me. “Thank you, Sir.” I said and took one. There was silence at the
table while I smoked it – the longest silence the house had ever known since the School took
over. Attempts were made to resume conversation but they all petered out. “Is it a good cigar?”
asked Mr Frampton “Oh yes, sir, thank you.” I puffed on in contented silence knowing that this
was the first and last time I should ever be allowed to smoke in public while at school.”
26
After the School returned to Five Ways, Birmingham in 1944, Mr and Mrs Frampton set up
house in West Malvern. Frammy travelled in from there daily by train and by bus/taxi for
some 14 years until the school moved to Bartley Green in April 1958. He soldiered on for
one further term at Bartley Green taking the train from Malvern to Northfield and then a taxi
to Bartley Green before retiring in July 1958 after 37 years of service.
Raymond Frampton somewhat sadly passed away after only 4 years in retirement in 1962,
aged 63 leaving his wife Winifred Maud a widow for some 21 years until she too passed
away, aged 87, 1983.
R.J. Fulford (1917-1958)
Reginald James Fulford was born on 8th February, 1891 at Winchester, Hampshire. He was
the third of 7 children born to William and Martha Ann Fulford (nee Hawkins). His father was
a groom and domestic gardener. He was educated at Peter Symonds’ School, Winchester
and St. John’s College, Battersea. He did a 3-year course in Science from 1910-12 which
included a one-year period of teacher training. He was awarded a B.Sc. London 1st Division
Pass which became a B.Sc. Hons (Maths) in 1915 after he had completed 2 years teaching
in Science at the state secondary school Guernsey. He was promoted to Senior Assistant in
1914 and carried on teaching there until December 1916, at which time his degree was
upgraded to an M.Sc. In January 1917, he became A.E. Barker’s first appointee to the
teaching staff at KESFW, shortly after he married Dorothea H. Wallace-Collett in summer
1917. They had 2 children, Yvonne C. Fulford (born 1918) and John C. Fulford (born 1920).
Fulford’s role, right from the start, was to teach mathematics to Sixth Form pupils, following
the introduction of a Sixth Form by Barker in September 1917. This he did most diligently
and successfully until his retirement in 1958. A number of milestones were encountered
along the way. In 1929, he was appointed Senior Maths Master and Head of Sixth Form
Sciences, when the Sixth Form Arts and Science were separated.
When the School was evacuated to Monmouth in September 1939 he decided not to move
his wife and 2 children there. Consequently he was frequently away from his family for the
next 3⅟₂ years, which must have been very stressful. Visits to the family home at Lonsdale
Road would have been limited to half and end of term breaks as well as the occasional
weekend. Travel between Monmouth and Birmingham by train and bus would have been
arduous at that time due to fuel rationing and the austerity measures that were in place
during the War. After 9 months at Monmouth he returned to Birmingham as Acting
Headmaster when the Five Ways building was re-opened in September 1940. Twelve
months later he was recalled to Monmouth to teach Mathematics and G T Holden replaced
him. ’Joe’ spent the next 3 years at Monmouth where he shared a rented house with Tom
Bailey until the School evacuation ended in July 1944.
So next let us look at how Reginald James Fulford was seen by the pupils at KESFW, both
as a person and a character. He was always referred to as “Joe” by us lads or as “Nanky
Pooh” by some of the older brigade. Right from his early days at the school, it was wrongly
assumed that the J in R.J. Fulford stood for Joseph. “Nanky Pooh” would appear to have
come into being much later from a connection to Gilbert and Sullivan’s Operetta “The
Mikado” which was performed by the School in 1938. ‘Joe’ was a heavily-built, formidable
figure whose very presence and strict manner demanded instant obedience. He was
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somewhat awesome and just one look from Joe was all that was needed to ensure full
control. He had an artificial leg as a result of a motoring incident, and this gave him his
particular pivoting gait which was termed “dot and carry one”. In his early days, he was a
prominent speaker in the Literary and Debating Society sessions that took place in 1917-21.
Many topics were discussed with rigour including: Railways and Collieries should be
Nationalised (1919), Trade Unions have done more harm than good (1921), Germany
should be admitted to the League of Nations (1921).
Joe became Second Master (Deputy Head) when W. Luke retired in 1943. He was an
excellent stand-on for three successive Headmasters: C.H. Dobinson, H.R. Roach and T.C.
Burgess during their absences. When deputising for the Head in Morning Assembly, he
would almost invariably choose “The Lincolnshire Poacher” as his choice from the
Gaudeamus Song Book.
Although ‘Joe’ maintained strict discipline in the classroom, he was very well-liked and
respected. He had a sense of humour, and practised the psychological tricks of the trade as
can be seen from the following observations and stories. The late Harvey Gray (1934-40)
related the following tale of an event that occurred in 1943:
“Old Boys of the Monmouth era used the Kardomah Restaurant in Birmingham as a
rendezvous. About six of us were there one day including W.K. Davies RNVR and Ginger Price
of a Scottish Regiment, both newly-commissioned. ‘Ginger’, who was sadly killed in action soon
afterwards, was wearing a kilt, sporran etc. with the traditional dagger in his stocking in case of
emergency. Fortunately, nothing happened to require its use. The Five Ways group were
astonished to see ‘Joe’ an adjoining table, deep in conversation with a stunningly good-looking
girl. Becoming aware of the FWOE table, he rose and said “Good morning gentlemen, I hope
you are well. Lest there be any misunderstanding, my companion is my son’s fiancée”. He then
resumed his seat.
The records tell us that Joe Fulford’s son was John C. Fulford, who qualified as a doctor and
became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. The girl that caught the eye of the
FWOE group, and became John’s wife in the summer of 1943, was Mary R. Bayliss, then
aged 24.
A check of the Commonwealth War Graves records confirms Harvey Gray’s story regarding
the death of ‘Ginger’ Price. He was Lt. Geoffrey Laurence Price (23729&) and was killed in
action in France on 11th July, 1944 aged 20. He is buried in the Bayeux War Cemetery.
Harvey however had embellished his story somewhat to give it more oomph because
Geoffrey is listed as serving in the Royal Artillery and not a Scottish Regiment. A bit of poetic
licence I think!
In 1950-52, our double-period of Maths in the 6th Form Science with ‘Joe’ Fulford followed a
standard pattern. He would demonstrate the ways and means of how to solve various types
of mathematical problems for the first hour or so, and then he set us some examples to solve
whilst he went off to the Staff room for a tea-break. On his return, you could clearly hear the
stomp, stomp made by his artificial leg as it made contact with the stone corridor floor. When
he reached the door, he would stop, cough loudly and jangle his keys before he opened the
door and swept majestically into the class room. A ruse guaranteed to make us silent and
attentive as he took control again!
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One afternoon, in the Autumn of 1951, Percy Lee, a character and a bit of a joker, decided
he would mimic “Joe” Fulford’s ruse. Percy had timed the duration of Joe’s trips to the Staff
Room on a number of occasions as being 15-18 minutes long. 2 minutes after “Joe” left the
classroom, on this particular Friday, Percy followed suit. Joe, however, returned to the
classroom after only 10 minutes on this occasion. 2-3 minutes later, Percy Lee could be
heard doing his take off of “Joe” – the stomp, the cough, the jingle of keys. Suddenly, the
door swung open and Percy with a stiff leg outstretched pirouetted into the room. His face
froze when he saw Joe and, in a panic, he quickly returned to his desk and slumped into his
chair. Needless to say, the whole class burst into laughter and “Joe” joined in. After a few
minutes of frivolity, “Joe” said “Simmer down, simmer down lads,” and normality resumed.
‘Joe’ was a stickler for accuracy and precision as befits a teacher of Mathematics. He also
had a habit of using the word “mind” at the end of a sentence he spoke. A particular fetish of
his concerned the control of stuffiness and the temperature of his classroom via the windows
situated high up on the outside wall. These were opened and closed using a long pole with a
hook, and this was the duty of the person sitting closest to them. In our year, that was the job
of Alan Topham. “Give me 8 inches Topham”, Joe would command, “it’s hot and stuffy in
here”. Alan would duly oblige, but before he had time to return to his desk ‘Joe’, with half a
smile on his face, would then say “I wanted 8 inches, not 9, mind” This routine, which clearly
amused ‘Joe’ as well as us lads, was repeated at regular intervals.
‘Joe’ Fulford’s final acts at the KESFW old School building were to deputise for Tom
Burgess when he was very ill at the end of the final term .Firstly he took the helm at the 75th.
Anniversary and Farewell Dinner on 29th March, 1958, and then presided over the Final
Farewell Assembly on the 2nd. April 1958. ‘Joe’ retired at the end of the 1958 Summer term,
after 41 years’ service at the School. He sadly passed away at his home in Lonsdale Road,
Harborne on 6th March, 1959, aged 68, only 7 months after his retirement. His wife,
Dorothea died 5 years later in 1964.
Harry Greaves (1920-1954)
Harry Greaves was born on the 26th September 1892 in Malvern Links, Worcestershire. He
was the eldest of 3 children born to Frederick Edwin and Annie Greaves. His father was a
public house manager. By the late 1890’s, the family had moved to Icknield Street,
Birmingham, where they were running the Great Western public house, which they owned.
They employed a domestic house servant, a barman and a barmaid.
In December 1902, Harry became a pupil at King Edward’s School, Five Ways, and he
remained there until July 1909, when he transferred to King Edward’s High School, New
Street. In 1910 &1911, he achieved 1st Class Honours in the Birmingham Matriculation and
Inter Science Examinations. From 1911 to 1914, he attended the University of Birmingham
Day Training College, and was awarded a B.Sc. in June 1914.
He was then employed by the Birmingham Education Committee for 2 months, in a teaching
capacity, before being called up for military service in September 1914, shortly before his
22nd birthday. His next 4 years and 8 months were spent on National Service in the Army,
and he fought in the battles at Mons, where he lost sight in one eye. After demobilisation in
April 1919, Harry returned to Birmingham and taught at the Foundry Road School until the
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end of the Summer term 1920. In September 1920, he joined the staff at King Edward’s
School, Five Ways, to start a career there that would last 34 years.
The School records show that Harry Greaves taught English, History and Geography in his
early teaching days, and that he was Form Master of 1A. He was soon christened “Strabo”
by his pupils, a nickname of which he was immensely proud, and that stayed with him for all
time.
At the Dinner at Kunzle’s Café in 1950, which celebrated the School’s 1st XI Rugby Team’s
undefeated season, everyone signed the menu card, and Harry Greaves’ signature simply
reads “Strabo Greaves”! I have often wondered how the name “Strabo” came about, and
after a bit of research came up with the following as the likely origin:
“Strabo” was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher who lived from 64B to 24AD. It was also a term used by the Romans for anyone with squinty eyes/eye defects. If you put together Harry Greaves’ teaching interests in his early at KESFW with his eye disability you have a very good reason why his pupils gave him the nickname “Strabo” Schoolboys would have quickly latched on to this link and hence a lifetime nickname was born.
Moreover Greek was also in the school curriculum at that time. Enoch Powell, the politician,
who started at KESFW in the academic year 1922/23, says in his autobiography that in his
early school days, he found Greek to be very difficult and that he had to be greatly helped by
his Mother. That in itself was a surprising admission for someone who became a very
distinguished, classical scholar. I remember well seeing Mr Powell’s name on the Honours
Board, hanging in the School Hall in my first days at KESFW School.
The records also show that Games are listed as being one of Strabo’s special interests. He
coached the School 1st XV for nearly 30 years. He took over the Cadet Force as its
Commanding Officer when “Affy” Rose retired in 1933, having previously assisted Rose
since 1921. He was a very good rugby player himself, representing the North Midlands at
County level and hearsay says he was also an England trialist. He also played for the Five
Ways Old Edwardians 1st XV.
Harry Greaves was an extreme disciplinarian but nevertheless was well-liked and respected.
Three whacks with rope-ends across the backside was his deterrent. “Chunky” Charlton
recalls that, in Maths classes that Strabo took whilst the School was at Monmouth, any pupil
failing to bring their protractor, set-square and compass with him to class would be
summarily punished.
In the Summer of 1926, ‘’Strabo’’ married Miriam Wiseman She was born in Birmingham in
1898. Strabo and Miriam moved to Monmouth when the School was evacuated in
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September 1939 and stayed there until it returned to Birmingham in 1944. They then took
up residence in Balden Road, Smethwick. The Cadet Corps continued to operate at
Monmouth. Under the command of Major Greaves and Lt. E.L Osmend the numbers grew to
over 100. They took part in a number of special parades including War Weapons week
(1940), Warship and Tank week (1941), and Wings for Victory week (1943). They also
liaised with the local Home Guard as part of the town’s defence plan. After the end of World
War II, and the return to Birmingham the Cadet Corps became known as the Army Cadet
Force (ACF). It was attached to the Birmingham 10th Battalion ACF, commanded by Major
D.R. (‘’Pinky’’) Greenhough, himself an old boy of KESFW (1938-43). In 1949, Major
Greaves was promoted to Lt. Colonel. In 1950, he became the Bates Housemaster,
following the retirement of J.L. (Polly) Bates.
‘’Pinky’’ Greenhough and a close school friend, Tony Yates, were at school together, both at
Five Ways and Monmouth. In 1943, after leaving school they joined the ACF and then
enlisted together in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment at the Army recruitment centre in
Broad Street, Birmingham. Tony was aged 17, but ‘’Pinky’’ who was still 16 lied about his
age. They were both selected for Officer training and became commissioned officers, but
were posted to different war-fronts. ’Pinky’ was part of the force assigned to the Normandy
landings. He was wounded on 16th June 1944 (D+10), discharged from duty, and sent back
to England for treatment. Six months later, having recovered from his injuries, the medical
court refused his request to re-enlist, so he re-joined the ACF at Witton as a Major.
Lieutenant Tony Yates (299410) was posted to Italy where he was killed in battle on 24th
July, 1944. He is buried in Arezzo War Cemetery.
From 1945 until his retirement in 1954, Strabo Greaves was the Honorary Secretary of the
Old Boys Association, and the main organiser of the World War II Memorial Fund. The “Roll
of Honour” plaque showing the names of the 54 Five Ways Old Edwardians, who gave their
lives in the 1939-45 War, now hangs at Bartley Green School Hall, together with the World
War 1 memorial. The final name on the Roll of Honour is A.J. Yates.
Strabo retired from teaching in 1954, aged 61. He and his wife, Miriam retired to Gorran
Haven in Cornwall. The couple spent 24 happy years together until Strabo died in 1978,
aged 85. Another 21 years went by before Miriam passed away in 1999, aged 100.
S. Hinton (1925-65)
Samuel Hinton was born on 15th November, 1902 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. He was
the only son of Samuel and Catherine Eleanor Hinton (nee Green). His father was a
brickwork contractor / furnace builder and the family lived at Lodge Road, West Bromwich.
Samuel attended the Lodge Estate School from 1907 to 1915 before obtaining a Free
Scholarship place at King Edward’s School, Aston. He started at KES Aston on 16th
September, 1915 and left on 26th July, 1920 having reached the age limit for attendance at
KES Foundation Grammar Schools. I believe he then transferred to KES High School, New
Street from where he went on to gain a B.A. at Birmingham University.
In 1925, Sam Hinton joined the Staff at KES Five Ways to begin a teaching career lasting
forty years. He taught English, History, and Mathematics. He soon made an impact when he
founded the School Orchestra in 1926. He played a leading role in the various operettas and
musicals that were performed in the next decade. In 1933, he became Roses Housemaster
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when “Affy” Rose retired, a position he held for over 25 years. During World War II, he
served in the Army as a Captain, returning to KES Five Ways to resume his teaching in
1946.
Samuel Hinton was a somewhat fiery character with a sharp tongue. Destructive criticism
was his method of control in the classroom. He certainly did not suffer fools gladly. His
nickname was “tin ribs”. Sam was however a very effective teacher and well-respected
character. In 1958, he was appointed Second Master (Deputy Head) after Joe Fulford
retired. He was also Acting Headmaster from Easter until the end of the summer term 1963
when Tom Burgess was taken ill with pleurisy and hospitalised. After Burgess’s death in
September 1963 he continued in that role for the whole of the School year 1963-64 before
the arrival of R G Mathias.
In 1929, Sam married Winifred Hill, the youngest daughter of Joseph Henry Hill and Phoebe
Hill. Joseph was a Goldsmith and the family lived in Handsworth. In 1931, the Hintons had a
son, Dennis S. Hinton who became a pupil at Holly Lodge Grammar School, Smethwick in
1942. There, he was taught mathematics by Mr. A.L. Haley (known as “Pop”) who by a
strange coincidence had a son, Keith Brian Haley, who was a pupil at KESFW from 1944 -51
and a classmate of mine. Sam Hinton taught him Mathematics and History and never a
word was said of the juxtaposition.
Sam Hinton was a keen, life-long Baggies supporter and a regular attendee at The
Hawthorns to watch West Bromwich Albion. One of the ex-Five Ways pupils that Sam taught
was Charles P. Harold (1934-38) who worked for many years as a sports reporter for the
Birmingham Argus. After reading one of Charles Harold’s reports, Sam was so incensed that
he rang Charles and told him, in no uncertain manner, ‘’I give you 3 out of 10 for your report
on West Bromwich Albion last Saturday, Harold. It was not the way I saw the match!”
Charles Harold sadly died of cancer in 2005. He had a distinguished war record in the RAF,
receiving a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bar. In the citation, he is described as:
“an excellent navigator ........ he has always evinced outstanding keenness for operational
flying”.
Samuel Hinton died on 29th April, 1980 aged 71 in Shropshire. He was the last of the Barker
Brigade to pass away.
J.T.W. James (1922–1958)
John Thomas Walter James was born on the 25th March, 1894, in Ystradgynlais, an iron and
coalmining town situated on the Tawe River in Powys, Wales. He was the eldest child of
John T.W. and Celia (nee Price) and both parents were of farming stock. The 1901 Census
shows J.T.W. James living with his father, mother and two sisters at Pentwyn Farm, the
home of his maternal grandfather, John Price, who was widower. John T.W. was educated
at Ystradgynlais Elementary School from 1899–1907 and then at the town’s Country
Secondary School from 1907–1911 where he obtained the Welsh Board’s Junior and Senior
Certificates. He spent 2 further years at the County Secondary School as a trainee teacher
before going on to University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1914. After 2 years there, he
passed the Inter B.Sc. Wales in Physics, Chemistry and Botany and then joined the Army,
where from July 1915 to February 1919 he had a distinguished military career, winning an
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MC at Passchendaele. John James then went back to his studies at University College,
Aberystwyth and in 1920, obtained a B. Sc. Wales in Botany, Agriculture, Applied Zoology
and Rural Economics.
In the summer of 1918, John T.W. James had married Gertrude Gladys May Williams in
Pontadare whilst he was still in the Army. Gertrude was a local girl from Ystradgynlais, the
daughter of Stephen and Mary Williams. Stephen Williams was a coal miner. Whether
Gertrude joined John James whilst he was completing his studies in Aberystwyth is not
known, but after graduation John moved back to Ystradgynlais and the couple set up home
there. John then obtained a teaching post as an Assistant Manager at Cwmlwrch School but
was only there for a few months before he joined the staff at KES FW on the 1st January,
1922. Their time together in Birmingham was short-lived, however, because in the summer
of that year Gertrude sadly passed away, aged 25.
In the 1920s, under Barker’s headship, John James taught Natural History, Geography and
General Science, which included basic Botany. He also assisted “Affy” Rose with running the
Cadet Force together with “Strabo” Greaves. His nicknames were “Jammy” and “Jimmy”,
and he was Form Master of 1A. “Jammy” was a good organiser and a leading light in setting
up the various activities that took place on Sports Day, which was the social event of the
year. The photograph below shows him smartly dressed in a suit and tie, complete with
pocket handkerchief and frilly hat, together with Headmaster A.E. Barker, Tom Bailey and
“Polly” Bates.
John James lived on his own in Beaufort Road, near the Plough and Harrow, in his early
days at KESFW, during the period 1921–1927. He then married for a second time on the
19th April 1927. His bride was Dorothy Winifred Foster, daughter of Herbert Foster, a
Confectioner. They were soon blessed with children when a son, Albert W.T. James was
born in 1928, followed by a daughter, Josephine James, born in 1930. Sadly his wife
Dorothy died aged 32 years, some 8 weeks later. It must have been a terrible shock to
James, to lose a second wife tragically. Six months later, however, he married again in the
second quarter of 1931. His new wife Cicely Hilda Motteram (nee Purton) was a widow
L-R: T. Bailey J.L. Bates J.T.W. James A.E. Barker
KESFW Sports Day 1932 – Long Jump
33
herself, and had lost her husband in the spring of 1930. She had a son, Geoffrey P.P.
Motteram, aged 6. On the 20th March, 1932, John and Cicely James had a son, Christopher
John James, born at the Whitecross Nursing Home in Hagley Road. In the space of just a
few years, John James had gone from being a lonely widower to having a wife and a family
of 4 children. The family home was in Clarendon Road, Edgbaston, which was at the
junction of Hagley Road and Portland Road.
“Jammy” James’ teaching specialty was Biology, which had grown dramatically in scope,
during the late 1920s and early 1930s, from what was essentially basic Agriculture and
elementary Botany when he graduated in 1922 to become a major Science Subject. It now
involved new areas of Science including Human Biology, Zoology, Genetics, Advanced
Botanical Techniques etc. As a consequence of this, in 1935, C.H. Dobinson split the Sixth
Form into 2 separate sections – Arts and Science – and James was appointed Senior
Biology Master. He held this position for 23 years until his retirement in 1958. As Biology
advanced, John James kept up to date as exemplified by a classmate of mine A.J. Warren
(1944-52) in the FWOE newsletter of July 2008.
‘“Jammy” James the Biology master was surprisingly conversant with current trends in Biology.
He told us of Peter Medawar’s work on transplantation immunity being done at Birmingham
University, work which led to Medawar receiving a Nobel Prize. He also saw to it that issues of
‘New Biology’, a Penguin publication, were in the Biology library.’
The Biology Laboratory at Five Ways was a somewhat dilapidated prefabricated building
situated in the playground next to the wooden canteen building. It was until the new school
opened at Bartley Green that Biology got its true deserts with a state of the art Biology
Laboratory. John James became the Form Master of the Law of Science after he returned in
1945 from Military Service during World War II. His classroom doubled as a
museum/artefacts room and had glass cases with stuffed birds as well as Native American
memorabilia. It was here in 1950-51 that the game “flog” was invented. “Flog” is ‘golf’ spelt
backwards. The game involved propelling an upturned shuttlecock into the air from a desk-
top with an African wooden spoon from the memorabilia collection. Waste paper baskets
placed at various distances from a variety of desks which were the intended targets. Some
of the desk lids were left open to act as bunkers. Shove half-penny football played on a
table-top or desk using a six inch ruler to propel an old one pence coin so that it went into a
marked goal area was also very popular.
On the 31st August 1939, an SOS went out to all KESFW Staff to return to the school to be
ready for the evacuation to Monmouth on the 1st September, as World War II was declared.
John James was on holiday in Cornwall with his family at that time. The call was heeded and
on the evacuation morning the boys and 20 masters marched from the School to Snow Hill
Station and on to Monmouth by train. On arrival, they were allocated to billets at various
locations in the town. The billeting operation was carried out by “Jammy” James from
KESFW and Captain N.C. Elstob from Monmouth School.
Over the next few months the billets were replaced by hostels and boarding houses. One of
these, the largest hostel, Leasbrook, was opened by John James and his wife Cecily in
March 1940. Very soon after, however, the ‘call of duty’ the ‘call of duty’ beckoned and
“Jammy” at the age of 46 volunteered for Army duty where he served for 5 years as a Major.
Peter R.B. Hoult (1940-47) recalls being evacuated in July 1940 to Leasbrook with Mrs.
Cicely James who was Matron there to some 35 boys. On Saturday evenings the boys were
34
invited into her private lounge where she entertained them on the piano. She had her two
sons with her at Monmouth, Christopher J. James and Geoffrey P. Motteram. “Jammy”
James had already left for the War by then. His eldest two children Albert and Josephine
James were not at Leasbrook with their Stepmother. They stayed at home with their
maternal grandparents Herbert and Lizzie Foster, who had a bakery and confectionery
business in Moseley. At the end of 1940, Cicely James left Leasbrook and returned to the
family home in Birmingham, so re-uniting the family. There they stayed for the duration of the
War awaiting the homecoming of “Jammy” in 1946.
After demobilisation J.T.W. James took up the reins again as Head of Biology and taught for
another 12 years before retiring in 1958. He had given 36 years of loyal to KESFW and
served four Headmasters. Before his retirement he had enjoyed the pleasure of seeing his
two eldest children married – Josephine to Ian H Booth in 1955 and Albert W T to Dorothy R
Dawes in 1958. As a devoted Welshman, it was not surprising that he and his wife Cicely
Hilda then left Birmingham and moved to Monmouth. There they spent 12 happy years
together until Cicely died in 1970 aged 71. Eight years later “Jammy” James himself passed
away on the 31st August 1978, aged 84.
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Headmaster No. 3 – C.H. Dobinson (1933-1945)
Early Life
Charles Henry Dobinson was born on 7th October,
1903 in Lewisham, London. He was christened 2
months later on 13th December, 1903 at Hatcham St.
James Church, Lewisham.
He was the eldest of 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls
born to Henry Mark and Florence Gertrude Dobinson
(nee Agate). We have a photograph of Charles Henry
and his 3 siblings, circa 1911, courtesy of his son
Humphrey.
The 1901 Census tells us that his father Mark Henry Dobinson was a plumber, and that,
following their recent marriage, Henry and Florence were sharing a house with William and
Minnie Marsh in Mconock Road, Lewisham. Charles H. Dobinson was a gifted individual and
won a free place at Brockley Grammar School where he was educated. During this period,
his father furthered his own education through evening classes, and progressed to being a
Sanitary engineer by 1911, before going on to work for the South Eastern Railway. Although
he rose to be in charge of the line from Charing Cross to Hastings through Tonbridge,
money was always tight for the family particularly when their son Henry Charles won a
scholarship to Wadham College, Oxford. There he read Mathematics and was awarded an
M.A. in 1924. He then went on to gain a First Class Honours B.Sc. in Geology in 1926, and a
Diploma in Education in 1927. His son Humphrey tells me that:
“his parents were not in a position to give him much, if any, financial support, and he was very
hard up during this period, often opting to eat very simple food in his room rather than buy a
meal out.”
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Charles Henry Dobinson became a Fellow of the Geology Society in 1927. That same year,
he was offered a job as a geologist at the Geological Museum in South Kensington, London.
Instead, he decided to take up a career in teaching and joined the staff at Mill Hill Public
School for Boys. Two years later, he married Dorothy Maude Shooter on 1st August 1929.
Charles and Dorothy became proud parents when their daughter, Gillian D. Dobinson was
born on 13th May, 1932. Dobinson taught Biology at the Mill Hill Public School for 6 years
until 1933. He and his family then moved to Birmingham where he took up the position of
Headmaster at King Edward’s School, Five Ways in April 1933 following the retirement of A.
E. Barker. They set up home at 99 Knighton Road, Harborne in a newly-built house which
they kept until Dobinson left KESFW in 1945.
New Initiatives
When Dobinson took over the reins at KESFW in April 1933, he inherited a very
experienced, well-groomed team of teaching staff. Two of them, J.L. (“Polly”) Bates and
Alfred C. (“Affy”) Rose, had been McCarthy’s appointees and selected by him as
Housemasters way back in 1909. T. Bailey, B.J.M. Birch, R. Frampton, R.J. Fulford, H.
Greaves, J.T.W. James, W. Luke and S. Hinton, all appointed by Barker in the 1917-22
period, had all become very well respected and were very much part of the establishment.
The Sixth Form meanwhile had gradually increased in size during the 1930’s rising from 20
in 1930 to 30 in 1934, and to 50 in 1938. This prompted Dobinson to split it in 1935, into the
two sections Arts and Science. “Frammy” Frampton was put in charge of the Arts Sixth Form
and “Joe” Fulford headed up the Science side. “Joe” Fulford taught Mathematics, “Tom”
Bailey was Senior Physics Master and “Jammy” James’ speciality was Biology. In 1938,
Dobinson appointed Arthur J. Mears as Senior Chemistry Master to compete the science
quartet. Although he was an extremely busy man, Dobinson did manage to keep his hand in
on the teaching front. In 1930, whilst he was teaching at Mill Hill School, he wrote a text book
called “The Earth and the Sky”. This was the subject he decided to introduce into the
KESFW curriculum and which he taught personally right up until he left in 1945. Homework
as I recall was to view daily the night sky and record the phases of the moon, noting any
particular stars that were visible.
Charles Henry Dobinson was a completely different personality to Barker. He was dynamic,
full of energy and a determined ‘man on a mission’. He strongly believed that a school had a
communal responsibility and was not just an educational institution where academic subjects
were taught. Involvement in a wide range of activities and experiences during their time at
school was a major part of his blueprint for moulding a boy for life. Academic success was
not enough. Consequently, he initiated a wide range of extra-curricular initiatives and
activities completely new to Masters and boys alike. One of those was the formation of the
Community Service Corps, which was focussed on achieving a balance between community
service and academic achievement. Boys were organised in groups of 10. Each group
attended one 45-minute period per week for a term, where they received tuition in subjects
such as food and health, first aid, emergency working, woodworking, local government,
international affairs, Esperanto etc. Over a 3-year period, they were expected to become
proficient in nine of those areas. Practical experience outside of the classroom was achieved
by helping out at aid centres during the Great Slump of the 1930’s and on new housing
estates in the City. A school meals service was introduced run by the boys and staff
together. The profits from the meals service was shared between the School Club and the
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School Travel Fund. The School Club funded the travel expenses for the various school
team sports matches and the School Travel Fund was set up to encourage foreign travel.
Dobinson saw this as the best way of developing understanding between nations. This
period was presumably when the single-storey dining room and woodworking room buildings
were erected in the school playground.
The School was an affiliated member of the League of Nations and over three-quarters of
the boys were members. Under the leadership of R.S. Swale they played an active part in
the Birmingham Junior Council of the League. In 1934, KESFW won one of the three FIDAC
(Federation Interalliee des Anciens Combatants) medals presented to institutions that had
done most for the cause of peace. School trips in the summer holidays linking in with
children of other countries were organised throughout the 1933-39 period to Denmark,
France and Germany. The last trip in January 1939, not long before the outbreak of World
War II was a joint ski camp with a group of German boys at Willigen.
Evenlode
In June 1937, Dobinson put forward to the School Governors what was probably his most
ambitious scheme to date when he suggested that they should purchase Church Farm and 2
acres of land at Evenlode in the Cotswolds, to set up a residential farm school for the
Foundation Schools. They agreed and it was bought for £800 in early 1938. A trust was set
up for the “Edwardian Country School, Evenlode” to be managed by the Headmasters of
Aston, Camp Hill and Five Ways. Part of the objectives of the Country School Prospectus
stated that “it will provide a centre at which outdoor activities may be pursued during term
time and provide abundant opportunities for boys to share in enterprises not readily available
in most homes. It will also provide more contact with reality to supplement book-learning and
fresh air, correct nutrition and physical exercise.” I found it most interesting to learn from
Dobinson’s daughter, Gillian that her father had always expressed the view “that he would
have liked to have been a farmer, but there was no money to buy a farm”. The Evenlode
initiative clearly fits in with Dobinson’s long-held ambitions. Wheeldon in his centenary book
says that Dobinson’s dream was to build “a community school, part boarding, part
agricultural” on the land at Bartley Green that he had found and persuaded the Governors to
purchase.
A lot of effort was put into renovating Evenlode which had been vacant for many years and
was in a poor state. Working parties of boys, staff and parents descended on Evenlode
every fortnight. They stripped and redecorated the walls, turned the attic into a dormitory
complete with a new floor, and laid a new concrete floor in the old barn which became the
refectory. Shower rooms were installed and the wilderness of a garden was cleared and
planted as a kitchen garden. The Evenlode Country School finally became operational in
June 1939 managed by a resident instructor, Laurence Davis. Each week, a new set of boys
would travel to the Cotswolds during term time to experience the ways of country life. After
only a couple of months, however, World War II brought an end to the venture. After the
War, the project as abandoned and the property was sold off.
Golden Jubilee
1933 was the Golden Jubilee Year for KESFW and a 50 Years Celebration Dinner was held
at the School on 14th October. There were a number of Toasts that nostalgic evening. A.E.
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Barker, the recently retired Headmaster, proposed the toast to “The Foundation and the
Governors”. The Bailiff, Councillor R.H. Hume replied. The toast to “The School” was
proposed by Professor F.J.M. Stratton, an eminent F.W.O.E. (1891-97) and Professor of
Astrophysics at Cambridge University. The new Headmaster, C.H. Dobinson then replied.
Another Old Boy, Oscar Deutsch (1904-08) proposed the toast to “The Old Boys
Association” and Alfred Charles Rose (Roses House Master) proposed the toast to “The
Visitors”. S.H. Glover with Percy Bryant and E.T. England with Frank Jones replied
respectively. It was a formal occasion as can be seen from the photograph which shows the
principals and the attendees.
“Affy” Rose retired 3 years later in 1936, after giving 39 years service to the School. He was
presented with a silver tankard bearing an enamelled School crest by the FWOE
Association.
KESFW Golden Jubilee Dinner 1933
KESFW Rugby Colours Cap & “Affy” Rose’s Tankard
39
Evacuation to Monmouth
Moving onto July 1939, we see that the threatened outbreak of war had reached the point
where the Government had issued a leaflet outlining plans and procedures for evacuating
school children away from the likely danger spots, so called ‘evacuable areas’. Birmingham
and Smethwick were among the listed areas. There was also a national plan in which the
areas at risk were allocated to so-called ‘reception areas’, each of which had a link school.
Monmouth School was the link school for KESFW and Dobinson went there several times to
discuss possible plans with its Headmaster, W.E. Lewin. He also held meetings at KESFW
to outline those plans to parents and organised the distribution and signing of agreement
forms by those parents who were willing for their children to be evacuated. So when the war
was declared in September 1939, the ‘great trek’ to Monmouth began.
At 10.30 am, the boys assembled in their Form rooms equipped with rucksacks, gas-masks
and water battles. Identification tags were hung around their necks and each one was given
a bag of iron rations consisting of a block of chocolate, a tin of condensed milk and hard
biscuits. At 11.00 am, after the school bell had sounded they formed up in the playground
three abreast in rows. The procession of boys, masters and lady helpers then marched
along Ladywood Road, Broad Street and Edmund Street onto Snow Hill Station singing
“With a hundred pipers and all and all”. On arrival at May Hill Station, Monmouth the boys
formed up again and marched to Rolls Hall where they were welcomed by buns and cups of
tea.
They were then allocated to their billets by “Jammy” James and N.C. Elstob, the Second
Master at Monmouth School. The allocation was by Form and alphabetical order. This
however was a temporary arrangement and the billets were gradually replaced by hostels
and boarding houses which created an environment that was much more like that of a
boarding school. Cae Elgar, Inglewood, Kingsley House, Leasbrook, Sandroyd House,
Somerville and Weston House were fondly remembered by those who stayed there during
their evacuation to Monmouth. Many nostalgic reunions have taken place at Monmouth over
the past 72 years, and stories abound in the past issues of FWOE’s Association newsletters.
They should be collected together and published by someone who was there, for this is part
of history.
School Life during World War II
The pattern of school life at Monmouth was very different for the evacuees to that they were
used to in Birmingham. The Monmouth School classrooms and facilities were used by the
Monmouth boys in the mornings and by the KESFW boys in the afternoons. School lessons
on Saturday mornings were also a feature of school life, and Wednesday afternoons were
given up as free time to compensate for this.
John E. (“Chunky”) Charlton (1943-50) recalls the two periods of Maths on Saturday
mornings with the “feared Strabo Greaves”. Strabo was a very strict disciplinarian, but
nevertheless was greatly respected. One particular Saturday morning “Strabo” became very
exasperated with a boy called Briggs who made repeated mistakes on the blackboard when
called upon to solve a mathematical problem. Strabo decided he could take no more and
grabbed him by the seat of his trousers and blazer, lifted him up and cleaned the board with
him!
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Prep sessions were held early in the mornings in every available room, church hall
basement etc. The Masters stayed put and the pupils had to make their way to the various
venues. Peter Hoult (1940-47) recalls French with “Billy” Birch in the billiard hall on
Glendower Street, and Art with Mrs Gregg in the basement of an old chapel. The farming
equipment and tools at Evenlode were transported to Monmouth and a farm of 17 acres was
set up across three different sites, supervised by R.G. (“George”) Scudder, Laurence
Davies, A. Burton and John Tanner. Pigs and poultry were kept; cereal crops, potatoes and
peas were grown. Boys worked on the farm during their spare time, and also earned pocket
money working on neighbouring farms at weekends.
The Army Cadet Corps commanded by Major Greaves greatly increased in numbers to over
one hundred, and a scout troop was formed by A.J. Mears and J.H. Wheatcroft. As the War
progressed through 1939 to 1941, staff shortages became a problem as S. Hinton, J.T.W.
James, H.W. Minns, W.R. Swale, R.H. Smith, H.S. Thompson and E.H. Willington were
among eight Masters who left to serve their country. They were replaced by E.L. Osmend
who joined the staff in July 1940, P.C.D. (“Poppa”) Naish, J.H. Wheatcroft and Dennis
Davenport along with three lady teachers: Mrs Lloyd, Miss D. Jessop and Miss M. Jones.
R.G.Holloway R.Barrs Miss D.Jessop P.Gilbert Miss M.Jones D.Davenport A.H.Welti Mrs.Lloyd P.C.D.Naish M.Martin
R.Frampton J.W.T.James W.J.Luke R.J.Fulford C.H.Dobinson T.Bailey J.L.Bates B.J.Birch E.L.Osmend
In 1940, The King Edwards School Foundation decided that all of their schools should
reopen in September 1940. R.J. Fulford then became the Acting Headmaster for the next 12
months, until he was recalled to Monmouth to teach Mathematics. He was replaced by
George. T. Holden the Senior Modern Languages Master. Holden was a MacCarthy
appointee from 1915. He served in World War I as a commissioned Officer in the
Northumberland Fusiliers and was wounded in France. Sadly he had to retire in 1943 due to
ill health and he died in 1949.
W. Luke took Holden’s place in Birmingham and filled the gap until the end of the 1944
summer term when the evacuees returned to Birmingham. Dobinson was quite strongly
opposed to the reopening at Birmingham in 1940 and remained strongly pro-Monmouth
C.H. Dobinson & Staff - 1943
41
throughout the War. “Chunky” Charlton recalls that after the meeting with Dobinson in
Birmingham, following his passing the entrance examination, he and his parents were clearly
told that the real school was at Monmouth although Birmingham was an option. Likewise,
Dennis R. (“Pinky”) Greenough (1938-43), who was one of the original evacuees, recalls a
similar incident. He and P. Hollingsworth returned to school at Birmingham in 1941, and
“Joe” Fulford appointed them as prefects. Dobinson travelled up to Birmingham each week
on Monday morning and returned on Tuesday evening. He saw the pair of them during one
of his visits and told them quite bluntly that “they were not real prefects as they were all at
Monmouth”.
Dobinson however was the consummate professional and dutifully did his best running both
branches of KESFW through five very difficult years. His energy, hard work and idealism,
both inside and outside of school, were almost beyond belief. The Dobinsons ran Leasbrook
from 1940 to 1944 after Mrs. James had returned to Birmingham. The photograph below
shows Mr and Mrs Dobinson and the clan of Leasbrook taken in 1944.
The autumn term of 1944 saw the whole school together again. The next 12 to 15 months
was a period of constant change and staff shortages. W. Luke the Second Master, who was
always known as “Pa Bump” because of the cist on his forehead, retired in 1945 and R.J.
Fulford became Second Master. Nine teachers returned from war service and ten left the
school for other positions. Teachers were in short supply and only four new appointments
made. Consequently, resources became much stretched. In 1945, Dobinson persuaded the
Governors to purchase an additional 100 acres of land at Bartley Green. This was to be his
swan song at KESFW.
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Further Career and Honours
He resigned his Headship and left at the end of the 1945 Summer Term to take up the post
or Reader in Education at Reading University under Maurice Jacks, who had been
Headmaster when he taught at Mill Hill School.
At Reading University, he went on to enjoy a glittering career in Education lasting 22 years.
He was one of four UK advisers to the delegates that established UNESCO. He was a
Governor of the UNESCO International Institute of Education for many years. In 1951, he
was appointed Professor of Education and Director of the Institute of Education at Reading
University. He lectured in Comparative Education in many countries such as Norway,
Sweden, Germany, France, Japan, U.S.A. and Canada. He was a Visiting Professor at many
overseas Summer Schools from 1950 to 1973. In 1969, a year after his retirement, he was
made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in the Birthday
Honours List for his services to education.
Charles Henry Dobinson became seriously ill with meningitis in 1962 and it is thought that
the infection caused the development of epilepsy, which was diagnosed in 1967 and had to
be controlled for the rest of his life. This did not stop him, however from enjoying his main
hobbies gardening and classical music in retirement at his home in Oxfordshire. He
continued to maintain a close interest in Education working as an External Examiner for
several training colleges. He died in 1980, aged 77.
His action-packed years as Headmaster of KESFW, where he breathed new life into the
School with his far-reaching ideas and initiatives, will long be remembered. As Harvey Gray
put it in his vignette on CHD: “his headmastership was something of a golden age for the
School”. Harvey also records that Dobinson had told him that during their last meeting in
1978 that Dobinson “had looked upon his years at Five Ways (1933-45) as a personal
failure”. Maybe that was because his dream of a community school, part boarding and part
agricultural at Bartley Green, never materialised?
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Headmaster No. 4 – H.R. Roach (1945-1951)
Early Life
Harry Robert Roach was born on 4th September 1906, at Lambeth, London and was
baptised on the 16th October 1906 at Lambeth Holy Trinity Church. He was the oldest son of
Harry and Paula Roach (nee Ohl). Roach’s father’s occupation at the time of his birth, was
‘Hotel Footman’, and the family lived in Crozier Street. Harry Roach Senior was of
Bedfordshire stock and after leaving school he became a Grocer’s Assistant and was living
in Stevenage at the time of the 1891 Census. 10 years later the Census shows him as being
a trooper in the guards. Presumably he became a Hotel Footman after he had completed his
enlistment time in the Guards. This seems to have been a stepping stone as he became a
printer as the family size increased to 7, with the birth of a second son, Frederick Robert
Roach and 3 daughters: Marjorie P., Joyce P. and Peggy J. Roach. Harry Robert Roach Jr.
was educated at St. Olaves School Southwark, situated close to Tower Bridge. Whilst he
was still a junior, he recalls seeing a robust Sixth Former, Charles Hill, who became the
Radio Doctor. After St. Olaves he won an Open Scholarship in Classics which took him to
Clare College Cambridge. There he attained a First Class in Part I of The Classical Tripos
and a First also in French and German, as part of the Modern Language Tripos.
After graduation, Harry R. Roach taught at Aldenham School, Hertfordshire for 10 years
(1928-1938), but then moved on to teach at King’s School, Canterbury. When World War II
broke out, King’s School evacuated to Cornwall. From there he was called up for Military
Service (circa 1942/43), joined the Durham Light Infantry and saw service in the Scilly Isles.
From there he was transferred to the Intelligence Corps where he was commissioned. He
then spent the rest of his military service in the War Office in Whitehall. On the 23rd August,
1943, he married Blanche Hortense Sinner at the Register Office in Bath, Somersetshire.
Their marriage certificate tells us that Harry Robert Roach, then aged 36, had only very
recently been called up because his profession was listed as Private 5445357, Duke of
Cornwall Light Infantry (Public School Master). His bride, Blanche Hortense, was aged 23,
some 13 years younger than Harry; her occupation was listed as “Mental Nurse”. Further
archive research revealed that Blanche was the daughter of Edmond Louie Sinner, a
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commercial traveller, and that she was born Cologne, Germany on the 8th September 1919.
The birth was a Consular Registration. This explained the origin of her detectable European
accent when she spoke. This had always been a puzzle when we had met her at various
School Functions. After demobilisation, Harry Roach taught Modern Languages for 12
months at Eton before being appointed Headmaster of KESFW in January 1946.
1944 Education Act
The prime purpose of the Education Act of 1944 was to provide free Secondary Education
for all children. Local Education Authorities had to establish 3 categories of schools –
Grammar, Secondary Modern and Technical. Allocation of children to the various schools
would be on the basis of the results of an examination at the age of 11. The first intake of
pupils at KES FW resulting from this system had just completed their first year when Harry
Roach took charge. It was very much a period of change with food and clothing rationing still
in place, shortages of textbooks and writing materials and constant staff changes as
teachers returning from War service either replaced old temporary teachers or moved on.
The 3 female temporary members of staff, Miss D. Jessop, Miss M. Jones and Mrs Hoyd left
the school for other teaching posts in 1946 and five other teachers also moved to other
schools or retired within 2-3 years after their return from Wartime service. Three of these –
R.H. Smith (OBE), W.R. Swale and H.S. Thompson (MBE) – had very distinguished War
records. W. Luke (“Pa Bump”) a Barker 1919 appointee retired in 1945 and R.G. Holloway
who ran the Inglewood Hostel at Monmouth with his wife moved on to another school in
1947.
The immediate impact of the 1944 Act was that the School fees no longer had to be paid and
that text book and notebooks were also free. Not surprisingly, more pupils decided to stay on
into the Sixth Form and take Higher School Certificate. Demand for school places also
multiplied and in September 1946, the 2-class-intake was increased to 3, making the school
even more crowded and so-called temporary classrooms were erected in the School
playground to cope with the bulge.
Headmaster at KESFW
H.R. Roach was a well-respected Headmaster and under his control the School achieved
new highs both academically and in the Sports arena. He was a tall man with slightly
aquiline features, very approachable, but his demeanour told you he was in charge. In 1946,
he formally re-established the Parents and Friends Association (PFA) which gave financial
help to various School Societies and acted as a focus for the social life of the School. One of
their gifts to the Film Appreciation Society in 1951 was a film camera and projector. In a
“blast from the past” occurrence in 2003 at the Bartley Green School a film about KESFW,
shot in 1951-52, with that same camera was found and transferred onto CD ROM by the
School Computer Technicians. A bit more history preserved for the future! The PFA also
provided grants to help pupils going on to University from 1947 onwards as well as paying
for a professional Cricket Coach from 1948-50. The Cricket coach was “Tiger” Smith, a
former Warwickshire and England Wicketkeeper and Batsman. Roach greatly encouraged
the re-emergence and growth of both the old and new societies during his 5 year stay at the
School – Archaeology, Art, Badminton, Army Cadet Force, Chess, Coin Collecting, Film
Appreciation, Geography, Gramophone, Literary and Debating, Music Club, Scripture Union,
Science, Scouts, Fencing and Model Aircraft – aided by a team of dedicated members of the
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Teaching Staff, of whom there are far too many to mention by name. E.L. Osmend was CO
of the Cadet Force from 1948 onwards when he was promoted to Major. He took over from
“Strabo” Greaves. J.H. Wheatcroft and P.C.D. (“Poppa”) Naish deserve a special mention
as they not only ran the Scouts Troop but had founded it way back in 1939.
On the academic front, Roach and his staff had to cope with another major change in 1951
when the School Certificate Examinations were replaced by the General Certificates of
Education at Ordinary and Advanced Levels. This changeover meant that two different
curricular had to be managed and taught in the 2-3 years leading up to the change which
greatly increased work load. In the inaugural 1951 examinations, 37 KESFW pupils passed
at G.C.E. Advanced Level and 49 at G.C.E. Ordinary Level. At his review of the school that
year on Speech Day, the Headmaster described the results as excellent and went onto say
that 17 pupils had been awarded University Scholarships, a record number for the School.
Sixth Form teaching at that time was in the hands of: R.J. Fulford (Mathematics), A.J. Mears
(Chemistry), J.T.W. James (Biology), T. Bailey (Physics), H.T. Woodcock (French), E.L.
Osmend (Geography), J.H. Jameson (English Literature), R. Fayle/J.H. Eyles (Economics)
and R. Frampton (History).
Sporting Success
During the Roach era, there was also an upsurge in the School’s sporting success. The 1st
XV Rugby Team’s performances in particular, under the leadership of H.W. (Bill) Minns,
peaked in the 1949-51 period, and the 1949-50 team set a record, which has still not been
equalled, of remaining undefeated.
Back Row : H.T. Woodcock E.R. Ruhm F.J. Gadd C.S. Checkley J.H. Eyles N.A. Nicholls R.N. Dunn P.C.D. Naish D.
Hasleton J. Burgum J.H. Jameson S.P.V. Bray E.L. Osmend Front Row: W.H. Minns S.Hinton H. Greaves J.L.
Bates R.J. Fulford H.R. Roach T. Bailey B.J. Birch J.T.W. James A.J. Mears J.H. Wheatcroft
H.R. Roach & Staff - 1951
46
Captain J.E. (“Chunky”) Charlton, is alleged to have said: ‘Don’t let the backs have the ball
until we are at least 20 points in front.” The hooker, Jimmy Turner, won two England caps at
U18 Level against France and Wales and over half of the team played for North Midlands. A
Special Celebration Dinner was held at Kunzles Café, at Five Ways, in April, 1950:
KESFW Undefeated 1st XV: 1949-50
Back Row: H.R. Roach J.K. Turner K.B. Haley K.D. Ashton H.W. Minns D.J. Withnall J.L. Webster D.J. Adderley
H. Greaves Middle Row: A.G. Topham J.A. Tonks J.S. Williams J.E. Charlton R.D.A. Wight D. Checkland T.
Rayner Front Row: M.L. Meredith M.A. Claridge
KESFW Undefeated 1st XV Celebration Dinner - 1950
Standing L-R: K.H. Selvester A.G. Topham D.J. Withnall T. Rayner J.L. Webster B.J. Burgum H. Greaves H.R. Roach
J.S. Williams J.E. Charlton A.D. Wight H.W. Minns Seated Left L-R: A.R.B. Freeman K.D. Ashton D. Checkland D.J.
Adderley J.K. Turner Seated Right L-R: R.D.A. Wight J.A. Tonks M.L. Meredith M.A. Claridge K.B. Haley
47
The team met together again 20 years later, in 1970, at a reprise at the Albany Hotel,
Birmingham. Harry Roach, Bill Minns and their wives travelled down from Hull for that
occasion.
Harry William Minns was born on the 14th August 1914 and joined the KESFW Staff at the
start of the 1939 Summer Term. He had just qualified at Carnegie College, Leeds, and his
appointment was as an Assistant Games Manager to “Strabo” Greaves, Head of Games.
After completing one term at Five Ways and one at Monmouth, he was called up for National
Service in the Army. He joined the Royal Artillery Corps and learned to drive tanks, “Much to
the danger of everybody and everything’’ according to a snippet in the 1951 School
Magazine. After he was commissioned as an Officer, he was posted in the North where it is
said “he had more room to avoid people and things and travelled backwards and forwards,
either in pursuit or being pursued’’ In late 1941, before being posted in Africa, he married
Joyce Elliott. They settled in Birmingham after Bill had been demobbed and, in the summer
of 1946, had a daughter – Carole M.A. Minns – a sister to Gay J. Minns, who had been born
in 1944.
Bill Minns was a tall, well-built, athletic man, and wearing tight skimpy shorts to show off his
fine physique, was one of his trademarks. He and Harry Roach became very good friends
and both of them were present at all our matches where they gave us excellent vocal
support. In the autumn of 1951, Bill invited all of the Rugby Team round to his house, to
watch the Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Match on his (then a rare, state-of-the-art) 8-inch
screen television set! The occasion was special because one of the 1947-48 1st XV, David E.
Davies (1941-48) was playing ‘Wing Forward’ for Oxford.
Sports Day 1950 was another day to recall because Harry Roach and his wife Blanche
brought along their two year old daughter Phillipa. Most of us had never seen Blanche
before because Harry always attended Sports Functions on his own. To say we were all
gobsmacked by seeing this very good looking young lady is an understatement! We also had
no idea that Harry had a young child, and as we could not determine whether it was a boy or
a girl we called the child “neuter beak” At that time the term “beak”, was in use as a name for
a Headmaster. Harry and Blanche Roach were obviously very proud parents and Chunky
Charlton recalls the occasion also in 1950, he was invited as Head Boy into Roach’s home
for tea. There was Harry Roach crawling on all fours, teaching Phillipa how to crawl.
“Polly” Bates
John Leslie (‘’Polly’’) Bates retired at the end of the 1950 summer term. He was one of
MacCarthy’s four original Housemasters and had taught at KESFW for 41 years. When he
joined the School in January 1909 ’Strabo’ Greaves and ‘Frammy’ Frampton were amongst
its 298 pupils. He was a KES Camp Hill old boy and had gained his BA at Birmingham
University. During World War 1 he enlisted in the Army in 1916 and his knowledge of French
meant that he was ideally suited for the Intelligence Corps. He was wounded in France and
repatriated to the UK rejoining the KESFW Staff again in 1918.In January 1940, some 4
months after the outbreak of World War 2, he taught 40 KESFW boys who had not been
evacuated to Monmouth at Kings Norton Secondary School. This arrangement ended when
the Five Ways building was re-opened in September 1940 and ‘Polly’ moved there and
carried on teaching until his retirement. He always travelled to School each day from his
home in Knowle by bicycle carrying a well-worn leather satchel on his back—A sight to
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behold! English Language and Literature were his specialist subjects. Chess and Drama
were two of his many interests. He formed the School Chess Club, and he and his wife were
always to the fore when Plays and Concerts were put on painting scenery and making
costumes. ’Polly’ was in charge of make-up.
Further Career
At the end of the 1951 summer term, Harry Roach left KESFW to take up the post of
Headmaster at Hymers College, Hull, which was a public school with some 550 boys,
founded in 1889 by funds from the estate of the Rev. John Hymers who died in 1887. His will
makes interesting reading:
“I give and bequeath all the residue of my real and personal estate
to found a new Grammar School on the model of the Grammar
Schools at Birmingham and Dulwich for the training of intelligence
in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and
varied population of the town and port of Hull.”
One of Harry Roach’s first moves after taking over the Headship at Hymers was to entice Bill
Minns to join him in Hull. Bill said yes and consequently left KESFW at the end of the
autumn term of 1951. Harry Roach and Bill Minns spent the rest of their working lives at
Hymers College. Roach retired in 1971, shortly after the marriage of his daughter Phillipa in
1970 to Richard Gray. Harry sadly had only a short period of retirement of some 8 years
before he died in 1979, aged 73. He was, however, able to enjoy the birth of his
granddaughter Joanne, in 1975. His wife Blanche remained a widow for some 27 years
before she died in 2006, aged 87. Bill Minns retired in 1979 and died in 1990, aged 76.
Class Control & Punishment for Misdemeanours
The methods/systems used by Headmasters and their staff for maintaining discipline and
Class control during the period 1883-1958, give rise to some fascinating stories. Corporal
punishment was then very much in vogue, both in the home and in schools and local police
Farewell to Form Master “Polly” Bates - 1950
L-R: J.L. Bates L.M. Pfingst D.S. Freedman R.A.J. Warren K.M. Cox
49
officers would frequently deal with cheek and horseplay in the street by giving the miscreant
a “cuff” around the ear. Parents too would “smack” their children when they were naughty.
The old adage “spare the rod and spoil the child” was a widely held belief. It was not until an
Act of Parliament in 1987 that Corporal punishment in State Schools was outlawed “in
respect of canes, slippers or a strap applied either to the hands or the seat of the trousers”.
The psychological struggle between teachers and students who like to chance their arm has
always happened and will continue to do so. Let us look at a few examples from the
MacCarthy Era.
MacCarthy was a strong disciplinarian and very proud of his pupils. His body language told
you not to mess with him. In morning assembly, he would frequently preach about the
“shabby behaviour” and “shady fellows” who had shamed the good name of KESFW: e.g.
the un-gentlemanly behaviour of boys on the train coming to school, eating ice-cream on the
island at the junction of Hagley Rd, Ladywood Rd and Broad Street. He did not use the cane
but his method was equally severe as John Roland Hetherington sets out below:-
“One boy was punished for defacing a desk by being deprived of the use of one for a whole
term and was required to carry a stool and all his books in two satchels and then had to sit by
the master’s desk, facing the dais.”
Serious offences were handled by sending Official Reprimand Forms to the parents telling
them that the behaviour of their son was unacceptable and so putting the onus on them to
take action. The forms had to be signed and returned. Even more serious offences were
punished by Saturday afternoon detention. These were recorded in the Detention Book
which the Porter would present each Friday to the Headmaster, who would then inform the
miscreant and send a Detention Note to his parents. A late book system was also used
whereby the Ladywood Road school gates would be locked at 9:15 am. Latecomers had to
enter be the main door, sign the late book and give a reason for their lateness. An
unsatisfying reason or implausible answer would result in a punishment.
Barker was also a tough disciplinarian, who lacked a sense of humour and was subject to
mood swings. His method of control involved being aloof and keeping his distance from both
Staff and pupils in a way that created an atmosphere of fear. His demeanour, high pitched
voice and haughtily dismissive sniff were said to “have paralysed small boys and junior
masters alike”. He was a respected if somewhat unloved figure compared to MacCarthy:
Detentions of two hours duration on a Saturday morning or half an hour each half day or
half-day holiday were the main punishments in his era. A two hours detention involved
standing for one hour and sitting for one hour with arms folded in total silence. A Prefects
Court was also instituted by Barker where boys were tried and sentenced when caught
transgressing the School rules. Caning by Barker himself was the ultimate punishment. The
late Alf Boggust (1922-29) recalls M.G. Grant, Barker’s Second Master, giving two
detentions to any boy caught eating sweets. One for bringing them into the lesson and one
for eating them. Barker was a caning Headmaster and corporal punishment was used as a
control method by several of the staff that he appointed. The Second Master, “Fuzzy”
MacPherson used the cane. He was an irascible man who was subject to violent outbursts.
Alf Boggust (1922-29) recalls the occasion when a fellow pupil broke a window by heaving
his satchel at it and then failing to own up. “Fuzzy” went berserk and made everyone in three
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forms pay for it to be repaired. Billy Birch and “Strabo” Greaves were both typical of the
corporal punishment era. Birch used a gym slipper and Strabo wielded a ropes-end.
C.H. Dobinson’s strong, rather aggressive demeanour was usually enough to prevent
anyone talking or fooling around in class. Harvey Gray (1934-40) in his vignette says:
“Dobinson’s voice carried great authority and his eyes, kindly enough on most occasions,
had the penetrative capacity of a masonry drill.” Dobinson was a cane user too and Charles
Harrold (1934-35) vividly describes the occasion when, at the age of 14, he was thrashed by
Dobbo. ‘’Bend over the desk with your hands on top’’ was the command. Five strokes later
the pain set in. The five wheals, many days later, were observed by his ‘’bewildered ‘mates”
in the bath at Portland Road after a rugby match.
Harry Roach commanded respect by his dignified, somewhat aloof, manner of appearance.
He was, however, a regular user of the cane as a number of my fellow pupils from the 1945-
51 era will recall. One of his ploys was to keep the miscreants waiting in the corridor outside
his study before the deed was done! A particular occasion which stays in my mind was when
most of us last met Roach at the ‘Unbeaten 1st XV Rugby Team of 1949-50 Reunion Dinner’
at the Albany in 1970. He recognised me immediately but not Tony Green who was with me.
Tony instantly came to his rescue: “You don’t remember me do you Sir”, he said. Tony then
turned his back on Roach, bent over and displayed his backside. Almost immediately Roach
reacted. “Yes I do Green,” were the words he uttered. A.M. (“Tony”) Green (1944-51) was
a bit of a rascal in his early days at KESFW and would often chance his arm. As a result he
was frequently punished with Saturday Morning Detentions. Now as a pillar of society,
Tony’s after dinner one-liner is that it was not until he was in 5th Form that his mother
realised there was no School on Saturday Mornings.
Joe Fulford and Tom Bailey commanded respect by their strong, commanding manner and
body language, which said Don’t You Dare Try It On with Me. Fulford did, however, use the
cane when he deputised for both Dobinson and Roach. “ELO” Osmend used the gym slipper
as a deterrent and also a touch of psychology. In 1946-7 he was made Form Master of 3B
who, allegedly, were un-teachable. Tony Green was a member of that class and he recalls
ELO’s first day in charge. Instead of the desks being arranged in rows facing the Master’s
desk, they were arranged so that all the pupils faced the walls. In the centre of the room was
a table piled high with comic books. 3B were then given work sheets and told that when they
had completed them satisfactorily they could help themselves to a comic. 3B dutifully obeyed
and ELO had won the battle. Another ploy used by ELO was when he taught Geography to
Form 4A in 1947-48. ELO used to distribute a Fact Sheet, the contents of which had to be
learned before the next lesson. Then came the test, which involved ELO asking each pupil in
turn, in alphabetical order, a question from the sheet. If they got the question wrong they had
to sit on the floor with their hands on their head until the next round of questions, when a
correct answer would restore them to their seat. The questions began – Addenbrooke,
Booker, Claridge and then silence when ELO realised that T.G. (“Oscar”) Clarke was already
sitting on the floor with his hands on his head, even before the question had been asked. 1-0
to “Oscar” you may have thought, but no. ELO’s response was to miss out “Oscar” from
each of the following rounds of questions and leave him sitting on the floor with his hands on
his head for the rest of period – Game, Set and Match to E L Osmend.
Tom Burgess barely used the cane, but Saturday Morning Detention was still very much in
vogue during his Headship. Tom also had a scheme whereby Prefects could dispense
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Detentions. The gym slipper was used by many of his staff, though, including J.H. “Toffee”
Eyles. Sam Hinton, throughout his 40 years at KESFW relied on public destructive criticism
as his weapon. He was particularly brutal at times, reducing his victims to tears. The
punishment book from days gone by is still inexistence I believe and would make interesting
reading. I recall ELO reading out an entry from this book some 10 years or so at one of the
Founders Day Dinners where Bob Truslove was one of the speakers. In his best Welsh
accent , to Bob’s great embarrassment, he read out with suitable pauses:
“R.S. Truslove, Detention for polishing his shoes in class with a stuffed duck”
The stuffed duck was of course an item from the School’s collection of artefacts and
specimens. To end this Section I have one more story to tell.
I was on Prefects Late Day one morning in 1950 stationed at the top of the main staircase
leading to the Big Room. My job was to stop latecomers, record their names and excuses for
being late, and usher them into a nearby classroom. There they had to stay until morning
assembly had reached the point where the hymn/bible reading/prayers procedures had
finished and the Headmaster was ready to read out any announcements/news items that
were on his agenda. They were then allowed to join the assembly. On this particular morning,
the normal tranquillity was disturbed by the sound of frantic activity emanating from the
bottom of the stairs. Looking over the banister, I could see a regular latecomer, who I will call
“Smith’’, scrambling up the stairs, closely pursued by Roach. When they both reached the
top Roach quickly handed me his folder of papers, lifted “Smith’’ by the seat of his short
trousers and the collar of his blazer, and held him over the banister. “Shall I drop him
Claridge” he boomed in a loud voice, before lowering him safely to the ground.“Take his
details and I shall deal with him later” was his next words as he collected his folder and
continued on his way to the Big Room to take morning assembly. “Smith’’ was a first former
who was in the habit of arriving late 2-3 times a week, usually without any reasonable excuse,
and had served several detentions as a result. Following this incident “Smith’’ was never late
again for the rest of that Summer term. There was no letter of complaint from his parents. A
lesson had been learned the hard way! A problem solved by methodology that would be
deemed as a criminal offence nowadays.
52
Headmaster No. 5 – T.C. Burgess (1951-1963)
Early Life
Thomas Charles Burgess was born in 1908 in Salford, Lancashire. He was the second of the
3 children (1 boy and 2 girls) of Charles William and Maria Burgess (nee Cardwell). His
father was a tea warehouse man, and at the time of the 1911 Census, the family were living
at 38 Kent Street, Lower Broughton, Salford. Living with them were Maria’s parents, Thomas
and Sarah Ann Cardwell. Thomas Burgess was educated at Manchester Grammar School,
but when Tom was just finishing his studies there his Father sadly died in the Summer of
1925, aged 52. Tom was then 17 years old. Because he was a fatherless boy the Salford
Education Authority treated him as a special case and awarded him a Scholarship to St.
John’s College Cambridge. There he studied Classics and obtained First Class Honours in
both parts of the Classical Tripos. He was a soccer trialist at Cambridge as well as a keen
golfer and tennis player.
After graduating he took up teaching. He taught at Reading School for two years from 1930-
32 and then he moved on to Birkenhead School where he taught from 1932-35. In 1935, he
joined the staff at King Edward’s School, New Street shortly before it was sold and the old
School (Barry’s building) was demolished. At the start of 1936 Tom Burgess moved to the
new KES site at Edgbaston where he literally underwent a baptism of fire when the
temporary wooden classroom buildings that had been erected there were totally destroyed
by fire, in May 1936. A classroom in a second set of temporary wooden buildings was then
to be his teaching base for the next 4-5 years as planning issues, materials shortages and
labour issues slowed down the construction of the new school buildings. It was not until
September, 1940 that the construction had advanced such that the new classrooms reached
a useable state. By then Tom Burgess had been called up for National Service in the RAF.
Tom Burgess worked in Intelligence during his time in the RAF. Shortly after the Supreme
Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had been set up he moved to their HQ in
London. When SHAEF moved to Versailles in France in December 1944 he moved with
them. Finally in April 1945 he moved yet again to Frankfurt in Germany when SHAEF
53
established what was to be their final base there. John Burgess, his eldest son, tells me that
his Father spoke good German. During the period 1943 -46 Burgess was successively
promoted to Flying Officer, Flt. Lieutenant and Sqn. Leader. In May 1943, Thomas Charles
Burgess, aged 35, married Hilda Holden at St. Ann’s Parish Church, Belfield, near Rochdale.
His bride Hilda was the youngest of three daughters born to Harry and Clara Holden (nee
Butterworth). The Holden family were all Lancashire folk and Harry was a cotton overlooker.
After demobilisation in 1946 Tom returned to teaching at King Edward’s School, Edgbaston.
The family home was in Hampstead Road and there in early 1947 their eldest son John C.
Burgess was born, After that the family moved to Moorcroft Road Moseley, close to Cannon
Hill Park. Tom and Hilda were to have two more children; Elizabeth F. Burgess born in 1951
and Thomas E. Burgess born in 1954. All three children were subsequently educated at King
Edward’s Foundation Schools. Elizabeth attended KES Camp Hill Girls School and the two
boys went to KES Edgbaston.
Tom Burgess became the Senior Classics Master at KES Edgbaston and was appointed
as an Assistant Housemaster in what was called Yellow House. In 1950-51 the KES House
system was revamped and the Houses were named after Chief Masters and Distinguished
Assistant Masters through the ages. Burgess became Senior Housemaster of Heath House
named after C H Heath who was a Housemaster in the original House System when it
started in the early 1900’s.
Headmaster at KESFW
In 1951 Tom Burgess left KES Edgbaston and became Head master of KESFW.I am told
that he was ‘a most reluctant applicant for the Five Ways post and had to be persuaded by
his colleagues to apply.’ Burgess was an altogether different sort of person to the first four
Headmasters at KESFW. He was smaller in stature, much less formal in manner and his
body language oozed both confidence and friendliness. Paul A. Gardner, a former pupil of
his at KES Edgbaston, who was recruited by Tom as an English Master at KESFW in the
late 1950’s recalls his eagerness when teaching as follows:
“Disclaiming the formality of his chair he perched on the edge of a desk, always using his
private manner salting his careful scholarship with wit, imitation and anecdote, but never losing
sight of the larger context. There was the shock of suddenly realising that a schoolmaster cared
very much about your opinions and had taken sufficient thought of them to lend a book from his
own library which would make them more profound. This utter lack of condescension coloured
all of his relationships with people. Of course he was more intelligent and better informed than
the rest of us.”
I had the honour and great pleasure of being his first Head Boy in 1951-52. The help and
encouragement he gave me during that year were beyond belief. It was like having a second
father. I was also captain of the 1st XV Rugby team and 1st XI Cricket side, and yes at every
match there was Tom Burgess mightily cheering us on. He even turned up to net practice
and tried his hand at bowling. He also coached the School under 14’s cricket team. You
sensed that a new age had dawned and that good things lay ahead.
Another Golden Age
The fruits of success achieved towards the end of the Roach era in the academic, sporting
and extra-curricular spheres continued to grow strongly during the first seven years of
54
Burgess’s Headship. The 1951-58 period was seen as a golden age. R.J.Fulford (Maths),
T.Bailey (Physics), A.J.Mears (Chemistry) and J.T.W.James (Biology) continued as the well
grooved driving force on the Science side and R.Frampton (History), J.H.Eyles (Economics),
E.L.O.Osmend (Geography), H.T.Woodcock (Languages), and J.H. Jameson (English) were
their counterparts on the Arts side. Tom Burgess maintained a balance between the Arts and
Sciences with his General Studies lectures.
On the Sports side, KESFW had its second schoolboy rugby international when Ian W
Linnell captained England in 1956-57. ‘ELO’ Osmend was in charge of rugby and also ran
the Army Cadet Force. He received the MBE for his services to Education and the Army
Cadet Force in June 1964. “Toffee” Eyles looked after cricket and Arthur Mears organised
the Annual Swimming Galas, a task he had undertaken for some 23 years. Music and
Drama was the parish of D.Davenport, R.N. Dunn, A.J.Mears, and J.H.Jameson.
P.C.D.(Poppa) Naish, ran the Scout Troop. C.K.Symes formed a Venture Club during this
period. Various Outdoor Pursuits were introduced to the boys including camping/hiking in the
Lake District, Youth Hostelry, and climbing in the Alps. The thrill of sailing in a trawler was a
highlight enjoyed by a group of nine boys who departed from Grimsby to fish off Norway and
Iceland.
Derek Johnson, the Head Boy of 1957-58, describes Tom Burgess a gentle, courteous,
humane, civilised liberal with a genuine concern for, and interest in all members, staff and
boys, at School. He further says that Burgess was an acute and astute leader, a man who
listened, reflected and then made decision.
He dressed formally, often in a tweed suit with a waistcoat and a pocket watch. So, in the
middle of a metal-bashing city he could be mistaken for a country solicitor or a bank
manager, or maybe a doctor up to town for the day. Moreover, he respected tradition and the
views of the “Old Guard”, but at the same time moved the school forward with a mixture of
T.C. Burgess & Staff - 1957
55
his own values and by creating an environment for change taking into account and using the
expertise created by his staff appointments. He certainly would need to use all of those skills
and attributes to deal with the problems that lay ahead, as we will see in the next few
paragraphs.
Planning for Growth
The demand for places at KESFW far exceeded the available space during Burgess’ first few
years as Headmaster. The number of boys staying on into the Sixth Form and going onto
university was growing each year. The School was rapidly reaching its bursting point. As a
result, the Governors decided to resurrect the plan to build a new school at Bartley Green.
S.T. Walker and Partners were appointed as architects and the initial plans were drawn up in
1952. In 1953, however, the Governors started to get cold feet because of the financial
climate at the time and a variety of objections were put forward. Their main worries revolved
around the effects that a move to a “curiously remote district, neither town nor country” might
have on “popular appeal, catchment area and traditional intake”. Tom Burgess was
consulted and agreed with some of their reservations. He was particularly concerned about
the “inaccessibility of the site away from central Birmingham as few schoolmasters
nowadays can afford a motor car of their own.” After a lot of discussion, the sub-committee
appointed by the Governors to oversee the New School Project recommended to the
Governors that the life of Five Ways be extended and that the land at Bartley Green be
offered for sale to the City of Birmingham. The City’s Chief education officer was not in
favour, however, pointing out that a bulge in the number of children requiring secondary
education was predicted for 1958. This prompted the Governors to proceed with the New
School Project without delay.
Detailed design work on the new school buildings was started in 1953, but their final siting
was not finalised until April 1954 due to ongoing negotiations relating to Bartley Farm.
Eventually, the buildings were sited further back from Scotland Road than originally planned.
The amount of glass used in the construction was also significantly reduced, making the
building less functional. An article in the 1956 Autumn edition of the School Magazine
described the building as originally envisaged as “an enormous multi-storey greenhouse
where future generations of intellects would be cultivated like tomatoes”. After numerous
delays, building finally started in June 1955 and was completed in late Autumn 1957. For the
record, the various firms involved were:
Architects: S.T. Walker and Partners (Partner in charge – M. Foreman)
Structural Engineers: George W. Costain & Partners
Building Contractors: C. Bryant & Sons Ltd
Heating Engineers: A.J. Pashler
Quantity Surveyors: Silk & Frazier
In addition to coping with the stresses and strains involved in the building of the new School,
Tom Burgess was also faced with some major changes that lay ahead on the staffing front.
The stalwart Barker Brigade was reaching retirement age, and for 6 out of 7 of them it would
be adieu to KESFW during the 1954-58 period. “Strabo” Greaves retired in 1954, and he
was followed by Tom Bailey and Billy Birch who retired in 1957. “Joe” Fulford, “Jammy”
James and “Frammy” Frampton all retired in 1958. Sam Hinton though, replaced Joe
Fulford as Second Master, and soldiered on until his retirement in 1965. Dennis Davenport
56
and P.C.D. (“Poppa”) Naish, who were two of Dobinson’s wartime appointments also left at
the end of the 1959 summer term.
Farewell to Five Ways
The scene was set for 1958 to be a year of change and celebration. The 16th of January,
1958 was the 75th birthday of KESFW. To honour that occasion a Birthday Celebration and
Farewell Dinner was held in the Big Room on 29th March, 1958. 199 people were present
that evening at what was a very nostalgic event because 4 days later, the school doors at
Five Ways would finally close, and the move to Bartley Green would begin. Sadly the
Headmaster, Tom Burgess was too ill to attend and his Second Master “Joe” Fulford”
deputised for him. Joe expressed his own regret at leaving that fine old building that had
served nobly as an education centre for a total of 120 years, since 1838. I was fortunate to
be present that evening where we dined on celery soup, fillet of plaice mornay, entrecote of
beef, ice pudding and fresh fruit salad. The toast to the “Old School” was proposed by an
Old Boy, Rusty Scorer and to the “New School” by a Governor, Mr. E. Mole. “Joe” Fulford
replied to both toasts.
Final Assembly at Five Ways - 1958
57
The Final Assembly at the Old School of KESFW took place on 2nd April, 1958. “Joe” Fulford
again deputised for Tom Burgess, who had still not recovered from his illness. He expressed
his sadness in leaving the old school where he had been a Master for 40 years. The
proceedings ended with the traditional singing of ‘Forty Years On’. It was sung with extra
vigour and a touch of nostalgia. The Big Room floor reverberated to the effort put into the
‘Stamp of the 31 Men and the end had come! This historic occasion, however, was
photographed, leaving us with a memory of the Old School, the Big Room, and times gone
by.
The old school building lingered on for 8 years as an annexe to George Dixon’s School. It
was finally demolished in 1968 and the site became part of the Five Ways underpass
scheme. A plaque set in the gardens below the elevated roadways marks the post where the
school once stood.
KES Five Ways as it looked in the 1950’s
Commemoration Plaque for Five Ways Site
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Life at Bartley Green
On 23rd April,1958 the first day at the New School at Bartley Green began with Morning
Assembly held by Tom Burgess. The Assembly followed normal practice with a hymn, the
lesson read by Prefect, P R Yaxley, and the address by the Headmaster in which he
welcomed everyone to the new school, and a rendition from the Gaudeamus Song Book.
The school complement consisted of 680 boys and 33 staff. As predicted, the remoteness of
the Bartley Green site proved to be a bit of a travel nightmare for the staff and pupils alike.
The terminus of the only bus route to the school (No. 18) was on the far side of the Bartley
Green reservoir, one mile away from the school gates. This bus service was used by pupils
from Kings Heath, Kings Norton and Northfield. For those pupils living on the other side of
the city, travel was even more difficult as they had to catch another bus and then change
onto the No. 12 bus. Peter Hughes (1955-62) recalls that they could spend over 3 hours
travelling each day, and the only concession was that they were allowed to miss morning
assembly.
Amongst the staff members, Colin Spencer recalls that Tom Burgess himself did not drive
and used the No. 12 bus when he was unable to get a lift from his home in Moseley. Dennis
Davenport, Eric (“Triptan”) Fell, David Hasleton, Arthur Mears and John Wheatcroft were all
regular bus users. “Frammy” Frampton travelled in style by train from Malvern to Northfield
station and then by taxi. Frank Gadd, Theo Fox and Alan Potter all travelled by motorbike.
Sam Hinton, Fred Richards, “Toffee” Eyles, Ray Dunn, Dick Robinson and “Elo” Osmend all
had cars. Stan Bray cycled and Colin himself had a scooter.
The school playing fields were bare earth when the New School opened. The land was
heavy clay and full of stones. Before it could be seeded, gangs of boys were persuaded to
remove as many stones as possible, and as Peter Hughes puts it “we might have cleared
several thousand or so out of many millions, so I doubt it served any purpose except to keep
us out of mischief.” Severe drainage problems proved to be a major problem after levelling
and seeding. The situation was not fully resolved until the 1980’s. Special buses were laid
on to transport the boys to Portland Road sports fields from 1958 to 1962.
The official opening of the New School by the Minister of Education, Rt. Hon. Geoffrey W.
Lloyd M.P. took place on 21st November, 1958. The Bailiff of the Governors, Professor O.
Hood Phillips was in the chair and D. Johnstone, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham proposed
the “Vote of Thanks” and said that it was most appropriate that the Minister of education
should have performed the opening ceremony since way back in 1883, the guest of honour
was Rt. Hon. A.J. Mandella M.P., who was Vice-President of the Committee of Council on
Education at that time.
Conclusion
We have now come to the end of the first 75 years of the history of King Edward’s School,
Five Ways. Some 5 years later Thomas Charles Burgess very sadly died, aged 55 in 1963.
The story of how he overcame the teething problems of starting up the new school at Bartley
Green, and setting it on its way to continued success is still to be told, as are answers to the
questions: Did the remoteness of Bartley Green significantly change the demographics of
the school intake? Who filled the shoes of the Barker Brigade?
59
In Memoriam
In 1993 Headmaster John Knowles reinstated the House System at KESFW and named
the four new Houses after its first 4 Headmasters – MacCarthy, Barker, Dobinson and Roach
– ensuring that their names would not be forgotten. If the future KESFW numbers grow to
the point where the number of Houses needs to be increased, as happened at KES
Edgbaston, Burgess House would be a fitting tribute to Headmaster No. 5, Thomas Charles
Burgess, who set the new Bartley Green School on its way to success.
As a lasting tribute to Thomas Charles Burgess the School Parents Association and the
Five Ways Old Edwardians Association set up a T. C. Burgess Memorial Fund to build four
hard tennis courts in his memory. The work was completed in 1964/5 providing an amenity
which matched one of his favourite sporting interests.
