OLD WYVES' TALES
THE ONLINE VERSION
FEBRUARY 2025
EDITED BY DENNIS J DUGGAN
EDITORIAL The recent news that Bill Mann has not been too well recently resulted in a number of emails from ex-pupils, which appear in this edition.
And a polite reminder from your editor: I will not print any material which I consider to be offensive, cruel, prejudiced, unfounded etc, towards teachers or fellow pupils.
OBITUARIES Gerry Johnson writes: Those who attended the school during the fifties may remember my cousins, the Cross brothers - Peter, Alex and James (Jim) Regrettably, they have all passed away. Jim, the youngest, died July 2024, aged 88. Peter remained in the Leicester area all his life, eventually setting up his own woodwork machinery business having worked for Wadkin's. Alex, after his PhD, moved to America and helped found Syntex, a pharmaceutical company. For most of his life he lived in Palo Alto. Jim took a degree in engineering and worked for Rolls Royce, ICI and, for many years at Windscale. All remained keen fans of Leicester City. Good people, good brothers and good cousins.
FROM WALLY PAYNE --1953-58 (Continued from the November 2024 OWT - Ed) I understand that the school owned the Grace Road cricket ground, home of the LCCC. We played all our sports there. The centre square remained sacrosanct, and was roped off. But the outfield was used as football pitches and for athletics. At the beginning of the LCCC's first home fixture of one championship season in the late fifties, Yorkshire were the guests. During the home team's first innings a ball was gently played towards the boundary, and the great Brian Close went down on one knee to field the ball. Just before it reached Brain Close, the ball hit a divot left over from a football match, and smacked him right in the face. The resulting complaints about the condition of the outfield reached the MCC, and a new sports ground was provided for the school. That allowed the ground to be prepared for future first-class matches.
Come rain or shine, Saturday afternoon at 3pm would see me at Filbert Street. If the first team was away, I would watch the reserves with equal interest. One afternoon the reserves were at home to Northampton Town's second string. An old chap was standing in front of me, and as the goals went in against the visitors he kept shouting, 'Come on, the Forest.' By half-time it was five nil in favour of Leicester, and I felt it my duty to respectfully point out it was not the Forest team on the pitch, but Northampton Town. He was outraged, and said, Ay up kid, I've paid my shilling to get in, like everybody else, and I can shout for whoever I want.' He had a point, I suppose!
FROM RICH WAKEFIELD I want to pay tribute to a teacher seldom referred to by anyone else… Mr Stanley Ras Berry. My school career was inauspicious, characterised by a mixture of painful shyness and diffidence, along with what I now realise was supreme laziness. I did not excel!! On drifting into the 6th form, with no idea of what I wanted to do with my life, I elected to study maths, geography and economics. I liked geography, and thought the other two would make a useful set of 'A' Levels.
On the first day of the sixth form, those who had selected economics were summoned out of the classroom to discuss the options. It seemed more people wanted to do economics than there was room for, so a few would have to select something else. We were told it involved a lot of hard work and reading, so I immediately volunteered to change and selected English instead, mainly because it was next on the list of subjects we were shown. So, having read precious little up to that age, I was now doing English Literature at 'A' Level. There were a number of books to study, and a number of teachers involved, and though I remember the books the only teacher I recall in English was Mr Berry.
He had always seemed undistinguished, but here I was unfair and didn't appreciate the man's qualities. He led our group through the poetry of Gerard Manly Hopkins and Emma by Jane Austen. I still think the latter a strange choice for a group of 16/17 year old boys at that time, but that was what we we were studying . I found Emma drab and dismal throughout, just didn't see the point. And Hopkins? A total wimp, as inspiring as watching paint dry. I was far happier with the module covering T S Eliot, who I still love with a passion. I recall a day when Mr Berry walked into the classroom, made himself comfortable and instructed us to take our copies of Emma and open them at a given page and he would read. There were were only five of us in the group, and we all sighed and did as instructed. Mr Berry started reading, kept giggling, and was amazed to see five bemused faces looking back at him and exchanging glances.
He asked if we didn't see it was comic, and as one we all said 'No… can't see anything funny,' and for the first and only time I saw him lose his temper and tell us we were all beyond hope. He marched out slamming the door behind him .
I recall little else of the course, but come 'A' Level my two main essays were on Emma and the poems of Hopkins. I came away with a good grade, so this good man had somehow got through to me, something I will always value and respect him for. Indeed some years later my (soon to be) wife was at Teacher Training College and studying literature, at which point I was reintroduced to Emma as it was in her course work. I found I could talk intelligently (by my standards) and throw light on some of the intricacies, and indeed the humour. I re-read the book, absolutely loved it and all of Mr Berry's teachings became clear. He was right and, somehow, had taught me to see deeper levels than I could ever realise Later, indeed nearly forty years later, I was at a crisis point in my life, very down, when words from one of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems came back to me. It took me a while to realise where they came from, but I had written down about five lines. I was so surprised when I realised where they came from that I went into town and bought a volume of his poems and looked up the one I'd remembered. and in those five lines I had only four, maybe five, words wrong.
Again, I credit Mr Berry for teaching me so very much, even though I didn't see it at the time, and opening my mind to English Literature. So much so that some four years after leaving school I was avidly reading and loving all of the Victorian, Georgian, Regency novelists. And my love of poetry was growing, even after that moment of clarity when I was struggling, now some twenty years ago. Mr Stanley Ras Berry. An unsung hero, a a man to whom I owe so much. He has my undying respect and admiration
FROM ALAN PYKETT 1959-66 Recent OWT's have mentioned the first reunion at the Harrow public house, Thurmaston, in 1998. I well-remember opening the Leicester Mercury and seeing the photo of, I believe, class 2A 1960/61 on the Mr Leicester page. This had been submitted by our editor, who requested responses and, as we know, thus began our annual reunions which lasted until 2023. Remarkably, for a non-photographer, I have some photos of that first reunion, and can identify the following attendees. As was traditional, I will use surnames only,
Staff - Burrows; Witts; Lawson; Mercer; Thompson.
Pupils: Hames; Rowbotham; Davies; Billesdon; Papworth; Weston; Duggan; Screaton; Ward.
I am pleased to say I was ever-present at each annual reunion, but have missed one or two of the lunches. I will also take this opportunity to thank Dennis for instigating the reunions which, as Brian states, are lively occasions with much chat about the times at our old school.
FROM RHYS DAVIES (1972-80) I am looking to trace Mrs Margaret Pooley, who taught French and, possibly, Russian. (If anyone can help, please contact me and I will forward the information to Rhys - Ed)
FROM ROGER GOWLAND 1957-64 When I went from 4 Alpha to the fifth form (1960-61) my choice was 5L, because my best subjects were French and German. Along came the Mock 'O' levels and, apart from English Literature (which I found boring) I passed all the subjects with flying colours.
Messrs Brushe and Newton apparently got together, and said, 'If he can't do Eng Lit, what future can he have with French and German?' And so it was decided I was, after all, a scientist and moved to 5S halfway through my 'O' Level year.
Achieving 70 at German, and 65 at French 'O' Level was balanced by 70 at physics and 65 at chemistry, so I turned out OK as a scientist. The physics 70 was almost entirely down to the enthusiasm of Mr Mann as a teacher, so I add my plaudits to the guy.
I eventually graduated with a B.Sc in physics, and had a career in technology, mainly software development and testing, all thanks to the nurturing received from Bill Mann.
FROM ANDY BENNETT It was Bill Mann who got me through my physics 'A' Level. I always remember how he went out of his way to ensure those of us not taking 'A' Level maths alongside physics were shown how to do the non-calculus calculations (Non-Calcule students, in Bill's parlance)
Without this leg-up I would probably not have achieved the two 'A' Levels needed to land my first job, aged eighteen, in a career which saw me through forty years with a number of employers - who still bank-roll my wife and I as pensioners!
Please thank Bill for his inspirational teaching, and assure him of our affection and respect.
FROM FRED WALKER-SMITH Bill Mann taught me physics for several years. We met up many years later, as we were both Magistrates, based in Leicester for over twenty years.
FROM STEVE TAYLOR Bill Mann was the teacher who seemed to inspire many pupils - including me.
FROM DAVID ATTON Bill Mann joined the staff in 1960, and with his happy attitude and style soon became a pillar of the school for thirty years. I left in 1962. I recall he accompanied the junior, second and first XI's football teams to away games, which took up many of his Saturday mornings. Bill was always fun, and the boys had great respect for him. I recall he taught science, but I was never one of his pupils. I wish Bill well, at this difficult stage of his life.
FROM JOHN PASIECZNIK 1971-78 Bill Mann was my form master when I joined the school during Autumn 1971. At that age you think the teachers must be old, but I guess that Bill was 'only' in his thirties. I recall that he commented we were a 'tall year', having been born in 1960. When reading the daily register, Bill had to cope with my Ukrainian surname. followed by the Polish surname Poniatowski. Needless to say, we sat together. Bill enabled me to have the best-possible start at City Boys. I also recall his wristwatch was always fast by ten or fifteen minutes, as he enjoyed teaching so much he did not want the lessons to end! What a teacher! It was great to see Bill at several reunions over the years and, like all Old Wyvernians, I am so pleased to hear he has recovered from the recent bout of ill-health.
FROM CLIVE JACKSON I haven't seen Bill Mann for fifty years, but he taught me. He was in charge of the ATC cadets when I was in the army cadets. I wish him well.
FROM ALAN PYKETT 1959-66 A lovely chap, Bill. He was one of the three teachers on the trip to Paris in August 1965. For me it was my first time abroad, and my first flight, so there was much excitement! It was a great trip all round.
FROM BRIAN McAULIFFE Reassuring to hear that Bill Mann is comfortable in a good home. He taught me 'A' Level physics during 1962/63. Some of the lessons were held in the Prefects' room, off the main entrance hall. Amazingly, I managed to pass, and I put that down to Bill's tuition, rather than my ability.
FROM GEOFF GERMAN Bill Mann was an excellent teacher, and such a kind and lovely bloke.
FROM DAVE POSTLES 1960-67 Let's perhaps be contentious. I refer back to a much earlier contribution by Andy Tear. The obvious candidate for Head Boy in 1966-67 was Richard McMorran. He was the only applicant pretty much expected to be accepted to Oxbridge. He was captain of the Football First XI which won the County Cup in 1967. He had been an excellent player for the chess team and so on. As Andy mentioned, however, he was not appointed. So my question is: how were Head Boys selected, and on what criteria? As far as I'm aware there was no plebiscite or consultation with the 'college of students'. Without being more personal than I have already, it would be interesting to have some analysis of the method of selection. Best wishes to all.
AND FINALLY... What have I learned since arranging that first reunion in 1998, and compiling these regular editions of OWT? I never, for one minute, imagined that twenty seven years later, we would still be going strong! How did an 'ordinary' state grammar school manage to leave such an impression and, one might also say, affection, on so many of its pupils and staff that sixty-plus years later are still fresh. Given my own sorry career at CBS, you might think I would have been the last person to arrange a reunion! But looking back, with the advantage of hindsight, the problems were of my own making. Not the staff, not the other boys, not my parents. Yet I too eventually felt a strange attachment to the school, and perhaps, in some way, I wanted to make amends. In my mind, every pupil fell into one of four categories:
1) A small elite group who effortlessly excelled in both sporting and academic matters.
2) A larger group, who were very good at sport, but weaker academically.
3) A second larger group, who were good academically, but less so at sport.
4) The remainder, which included me, were a motley bunch. Some were out of their depth, some were content to simply keep their heads down until they could leave school and find a job, a few didn't seem to worry about anything at all! Some of us could regularly be seen outside the staff room, proffering our forged excuse notes to Jock Gilman. Homework was rushed, if attempted at all etc etc.
But what I now realise is that the vast majority of staff, at least during my time, were more than willing to give extra help to any boy who they felt would benefit. Some extra tuition, helpful advice and encouragement with their future plans etc. I did not warrant such attention!
Dennis J Duggan (1959-64)
THE ONLINE VERSION
FEBRUARY 2025
EDITED BY DENNIS J DUGGAN
EDITORIAL The recent news that Bill Mann has not been too well recently resulted in a number of emails from ex-pupils, which appear in this edition.
And a polite reminder from your editor: I will not print any material which I consider to be offensive, cruel, prejudiced, unfounded etc, towards teachers or fellow pupils.
OBITUARIES Gerry Johnson writes: Those who attended the school during the fifties may remember my cousins, the Cross brothers - Peter, Alex and James (Jim) Regrettably, they have all passed away. Jim, the youngest, died July 2024, aged 88. Peter remained in the Leicester area all his life, eventually setting up his own woodwork machinery business having worked for Wadkin's. Alex, after his PhD, moved to America and helped found Syntex, a pharmaceutical company. For most of his life he lived in Palo Alto. Jim took a degree in engineering and worked for Rolls Royce, ICI and, for many years at Windscale. All remained keen fans of Leicester City. Good people, good brothers and good cousins.
FROM WALLY PAYNE --1953-58 (Continued from the November 2024 OWT - Ed) I understand that the school owned the Grace Road cricket ground, home of the LCCC. We played all our sports there. The centre square remained sacrosanct, and was roped off. But the outfield was used as football pitches and for athletics. At the beginning of the LCCC's first home fixture of one championship season in the late fifties, Yorkshire were the guests. During the home team's first innings a ball was gently played towards the boundary, and the great Brian Close went down on one knee to field the ball. Just before it reached Brain Close, the ball hit a divot left over from a football match, and smacked him right in the face. The resulting complaints about the condition of the outfield reached the MCC, and a new sports ground was provided for the school. That allowed the ground to be prepared for future first-class matches.
Come rain or shine, Saturday afternoon at 3pm would see me at Filbert Street. If the first team was away, I would watch the reserves with equal interest. One afternoon the reserves were at home to Northampton Town's second string. An old chap was standing in front of me, and as the goals went in against the visitors he kept shouting, 'Come on, the Forest.' By half-time it was five nil in favour of Leicester, and I felt it my duty to respectfully point out it was not the Forest team on the pitch, but Northampton Town. He was outraged, and said, Ay up kid, I've paid my shilling to get in, like everybody else, and I can shout for whoever I want.' He had a point, I suppose!
FROM RICH WAKEFIELD I want to pay tribute to a teacher seldom referred to by anyone else… Mr Stanley Ras Berry. My school career was inauspicious, characterised by a mixture of painful shyness and diffidence, along with what I now realise was supreme laziness. I did not excel!! On drifting into the 6th form, with no idea of what I wanted to do with my life, I elected to study maths, geography and economics. I liked geography, and thought the other two would make a useful set of 'A' Levels.
On the first day of the sixth form, those who had selected economics were summoned out of the classroom to discuss the options. It seemed more people wanted to do economics than there was room for, so a few would have to select something else. We were told it involved a lot of hard work and reading, so I immediately volunteered to change and selected English instead, mainly because it was next on the list of subjects we were shown. So, having read precious little up to that age, I was now doing English Literature at 'A' Level. There were a number of books to study, and a number of teachers involved, and though I remember the books the only teacher I recall in English was Mr Berry.
He had always seemed undistinguished, but here I was unfair and didn't appreciate the man's qualities. He led our group through the poetry of Gerard Manly Hopkins and Emma by Jane Austen. I still think the latter a strange choice for a group of 16/17 year old boys at that time, but that was what we we were studying . I found Emma drab and dismal throughout, just didn't see the point. And Hopkins? A total wimp, as inspiring as watching paint dry. I was far happier with the module covering T S Eliot, who I still love with a passion. I recall a day when Mr Berry walked into the classroom, made himself comfortable and instructed us to take our copies of Emma and open them at a given page and he would read. There were were only five of us in the group, and we all sighed and did as instructed. Mr Berry started reading, kept giggling, and was amazed to see five bemused faces looking back at him and exchanging glances.
He asked if we didn't see it was comic, and as one we all said 'No… can't see anything funny,' and for the first and only time I saw him lose his temper and tell us we were all beyond hope. He marched out slamming the door behind him .
I recall little else of the course, but come 'A' Level my two main essays were on Emma and the poems of Hopkins. I came away with a good grade, so this good man had somehow got through to me, something I will always value and respect him for. Indeed some years later my (soon to be) wife was at Teacher Training College and studying literature, at which point I was reintroduced to Emma as it was in her course work. I found I could talk intelligently (by my standards) and throw light on some of the intricacies, and indeed the humour. I re-read the book, absolutely loved it and all of Mr Berry's teachings became clear. He was right and, somehow, had taught me to see deeper levels than I could ever realise Later, indeed nearly forty years later, I was at a crisis point in my life, very down, when words from one of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems came back to me. It took me a while to realise where they came from, but I had written down about five lines. I was so surprised when I realised where they came from that I went into town and bought a volume of his poems and looked up the one I'd remembered. and in those five lines I had only four, maybe five, words wrong.
Again, I credit Mr Berry for teaching me so very much, even though I didn't see it at the time, and opening my mind to English Literature. So much so that some four years after leaving school I was avidly reading and loving all of the Victorian, Georgian, Regency novelists. And my love of poetry was growing, even after that moment of clarity when I was struggling, now some twenty years ago. Mr Stanley Ras Berry. An unsung hero, a a man to whom I owe so much. He has my undying respect and admiration
FROM ALAN PYKETT 1959-66 Recent OWT's have mentioned the first reunion at the Harrow public house, Thurmaston, in 1998. I well-remember opening the Leicester Mercury and seeing the photo of, I believe, class 2A 1960/61 on the Mr Leicester page. This had been submitted by our editor, who requested responses and, as we know, thus began our annual reunions which lasted until 2023. Remarkably, for a non-photographer, I have some photos of that first reunion, and can identify the following attendees. As was traditional, I will use surnames only,
Staff - Burrows; Witts; Lawson; Mercer; Thompson.
Pupils: Hames; Rowbotham; Davies; Billesdon; Papworth; Weston; Duggan; Screaton; Ward.
I am pleased to say I was ever-present at each annual reunion, but have missed one or two of the lunches. I will also take this opportunity to thank Dennis for instigating the reunions which, as Brian states, are lively occasions with much chat about the times at our old school.
FROM RHYS DAVIES (1972-80) I am looking to trace Mrs Margaret Pooley, who taught French and, possibly, Russian. (If anyone can help, please contact me and I will forward the information to Rhys - Ed)
FROM ROGER GOWLAND 1957-64 When I went from 4 Alpha to the fifth form (1960-61) my choice was 5L, because my best subjects were French and German. Along came the Mock 'O' levels and, apart from English Literature (which I found boring) I passed all the subjects with flying colours.
Messrs Brushe and Newton apparently got together, and said, 'If he can't do Eng Lit, what future can he have with French and German?' And so it was decided I was, after all, a scientist and moved to 5S halfway through my 'O' Level year.
Achieving 70 at German, and 65 at French 'O' Level was balanced by 70 at physics and 65 at chemistry, so I turned out OK as a scientist. The physics 70 was almost entirely down to the enthusiasm of Mr Mann as a teacher, so I add my plaudits to the guy.
I eventually graduated with a B.Sc in physics, and had a career in technology, mainly software development and testing, all thanks to the nurturing received from Bill Mann.
FROM ANDY BENNETT It was Bill Mann who got me through my physics 'A' Level. I always remember how he went out of his way to ensure those of us not taking 'A' Level maths alongside physics were shown how to do the non-calculus calculations (Non-Calcule students, in Bill's parlance)
Without this leg-up I would probably not have achieved the two 'A' Levels needed to land my first job, aged eighteen, in a career which saw me through forty years with a number of employers - who still bank-roll my wife and I as pensioners!
Please thank Bill for his inspirational teaching, and assure him of our affection and respect.
FROM FRED WALKER-SMITH Bill Mann taught me physics for several years. We met up many years later, as we were both Magistrates, based in Leicester for over twenty years.
FROM STEVE TAYLOR Bill Mann was the teacher who seemed to inspire many pupils - including me.
FROM DAVID ATTON Bill Mann joined the staff in 1960, and with his happy attitude and style soon became a pillar of the school for thirty years. I left in 1962. I recall he accompanied the junior, second and first XI's football teams to away games, which took up many of his Saturday mornings. Bill was always fun, and the boys had great respect for him. I recall he taught science, but I was never one of his pupils. I wish Bill well, at this difficult stage of his life.
FROM JOHN PASIECZNIK 1971-78 Bill Mann was my form master when I joined the school during Autumn 1971. At that age you think the teachers must be old, but I guess that Bill was 'only' in his thirties. I recall that he commented we were a 'tall year', having been born in 1960. When reading the daily register, Bill had to cope with my Ukrainian surname. followed by the Polish surname Poniatowski. Needless to say, we sat together. Bill enabled me to have the best-possible start at City Boys. I also recall his wristwatch was always fast by ten or fifteen minutes, as he enjoyed teaching so much he did not want the lessons to end! What a teacher! It was great to see Bill at several reunions over the years and, like all Old Wyvernians, I am so pleased to hear he has recovered from the recent bout of ill-health.
FROM CLIVE JACKSON I haven't seen Bill Mann for fifty years, but he taught me. He was in charge of the ATC cadets when I was in the army cadets. I wish him well.
FROM ALAN PYKETT 1959-66 A lovely chap, Bill. He was one of the three teachers on the trip to Paris in August 1965. For me it was my first time abroad, and my first flight, so there was much excitement! It was a great trip all round.
FROM BRIAN McAULIFFE Reassuring to hear that Bill Mann is comfortable in a good home. He taught me 'A' Level physics during 1962/63. Some of the lessons were held in the Prefects' room, off the main entrance hall. Amazingly, I managed to pass, and I put that down to Bill's tuition, rather than my ability.
FROM GEOFF GERMAN Bill Mann was an excellent teacher, and such a kind and lovely bloke.
FROM DAVE POSTLES 1960-67 Let's perhaps be contentious. I refer back to a much earlier contribution by Andy Tear. The obvious candidate for Head Boy in 1966-67 was Richard McMorran. He was the only applicant pretty much expected to be accepted to Oxbridge. He was captain of the Football First XI which won the County Cup in 1967. He had been an excellent player for the chess team and so on. As Andy mentioned, however, he was not appointed. So my question is: how were Head Boys selected, and on what criteria? As far as I'm aware there was no plebiscite or consultation with the 'college of students'. Without being more personal than I have already, it would be interesting to have some analysis of the method of selection. Best wishes to all.
AND FINALLY... What have I learned since arranging that first reunion in 1998, and compiling these regular editions of OWT? I never, for one minute, imagined that twenty seven years later, we would still be going strong! How did an 'ordinary' state grammar school manage to leave such an impression and, one might also say, affection, on so many of its pupils and staff that sixty-plus years later are still fresh. Given my own sorry career at CBS, you might think I would have been the last person to arrange a reunion! But looking back, with the advantage of hindsight, the problems were of my own making. Not the staff, not the other boys, not my parents. Yet I too eventually felt a strange attachment to the school, and perhaps, in some way, I wanted to make amends. In my mind, every pupil fell into one of four categories:
1) A small elite group who effortlessly excelled in both sporting and academic matters.
2) A larger group, who were very good at sport, but weaker academically.
3) A second larger group, who were good academically, but less so at sport.
4) The remainder, which included me, were a motley bunch. Some were out of their depth, some were content to simply keep their heads down until they could leave school and find a job, a few didn't seem to worry about anything at all! Some of us could regularly be seen outside the staff room, proffering our forged excuse notes to Jock Gilman. Homework was rushed, if attempted at all etc etc.
But what I now realise is that the vast majority of staff, at least during my time, were more than willing to give extra help to any boy who they felt would benefit. Some extra tuition, helpful advice and encouragement with their future plans etc. I did not warrant such attention!
Dennis J Duggan (1959-64)