In 1951, Raymond Crowther (Biology) took a group to the Lake District

M. Wilkins, solo abseiling on a cliff face almost opposite the campsite near Watendlath Tarn
He was an experienced rock climber, but the group was very impressed by his display.

Raymond Crowther took the group on several long hikes across country during our stay in the Lake District. The cool and wet conditions we experienced throughout the three weeks meant that his usual linen summer jacket did not appear, but was replaced with the top from his old RAF tunic.

He is seen here paused to recharge his pipe from the ever-present tin of Mick McQuaid tobacco.

The Mick McQuaid tins served a variety of uses as well as for carrying tobacco, as a holder for botanical, zoological or geological specimens and, as here, the lid was handy for scooping up a drink of water.

In 1953, Raymond Crowther (Biology) took the Field Club to the Flatford Mill Field Centre near Colchester, Essex, for an Estuarine Biology course. Mick Tanton, now living in Australia, supplied the photographs and accounts.

The above photograph shows a collected sample being examined for aquatic life. Lying on the ground is John Jones under the watchful eye of Alan Bull, who went on I think to be a Professor at Birmingham University. The two girls from a North London school tended to join the group, which was always very lively. They are Dilys Povah, and beyond Nancy ? standing in the water is David Hopkinson together with Mick Cornes with his back to the camera, and sitting on the bank in the distance, pipe in mouth, is Raymond Crowther, in front of him is Michael Cooke who is difficult to discern but identified by himself over fifty-six years later! The pupil furthest from the camera is Brian Hill.

Alan Bull seated and recording data with Dilys Povah identifying material. Nancy ? is sampling water beyond.

Burton Grammar pupils worked in different groups which included pupils from other schools.
In this photo from left to right is Nancy ?, Dilys Povah, and then three BGS pupils, Alan Bull, (unknown) and A.C. ‘Charles’ Neville.

Samples were washed through in a sieve, and in this photo A.C. ‘Charles’ Neville is sorting through and identifying material.

Finally, Raymond Crowther, back in usual summer garb and inevitable pipe in mouth, inspecting salt-marsh plants at close quarters.

Select item to view:

• 1952 Speech Day
• 1950s Speech Day Programme
• Prize Books

This typical 1950s Speech Day Programme gives some idea of the proceedings and prizes awarded.

1951 was a fairly key year. It was the final year that the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate were taken before they were respectively replaced by GCE (General Certificate of Education) ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels; one taken at aged 16, the other at 18. This had been called for since the minimum school leaving age was raised from 14 to 15 in 1947.

The intention was to cater for the increase range of subjects available to pupils and to revise the syllabus of some subjects to make them more relevant. The greater range of subjects was reflected in the results. In 1951, 50 School Certificates and 18 Higher School Certificates were awarded. The following year, after the introduction of GCE, and with only a very slight increase in the pupil population, 75 GCE ‘O’ Levels and 38 GCE ‘A’ Levels were awarded.

This picture was taken at the 1952 Speech Day, the first year after the education reform. Speech Day took place at Burton Town Hall until the school moved to Winshill where the Hall and Balcony made for a much better venue.

Back Row: Mick Harrison, Terry Bentley, Ivan Laud, B04, Mike Freegarde, B06, B07, B08, J. Tovey, Geraint Evans, Ralph Hodson
4th Row: Brian Woollett, Alan Robinson, Paul Williams, 404, Ted Ufton, 406, Ralph White, 408, 409, Ron Keightley, Bob Lester, Bob Garnham
3rd Row: Stuart Watts, 302, ‘Arthur’ Askey, 304, Tony Parker, Maurice Kersey, Godfrey Cooper, Alf Barber, Les Harrison, Pete Gostelow, Michael Lawrence, 312, 313
2nd Row: Ian Robertson, Laurence Ashley, Dickie Ward, Chris Goddard, 05, 06, Geoff Mortimer, Chris Hopkins, Geo. Moore, Iain Cotton, Ray Gilbert, 212
Front Row: F01, F02, Roger Sharp, Peter Smith, Peter Taylor, Joey Bridges, Dave Batty, Cliff Mountney, Roger Potts, John Ash, John Cotton, Peter Graley, Robin Smedley

Prizes generally took the form of books. In the 1930s and 40s, the Headmaster’s office had a large selection of books laid out for prize-giving.

Two or three prize-winners in order of seniority would go at an appointed time to look over the books and make their selection. The books came from Darleys Bookshop in High Street, opposite what was then Woolworths. At the time, this was the most established bookshop in Burton having been established in 1827 when the Grammar School was still in Friars Walk. It was acted as the first public library in Burton.

If the stocked number of any particular book was reached, it would be removed from the selection. Following this process, the books would have the school crest embossed on the cover and a sticker bearing the prize-winners name, signed by the Headmaster, would be stuck on the inside cover.

This well survived example is ‘Tennyson’s Poetic Works’ and, as can be seen on inside the front cover, was awarded to C.H. May in July 1933 and signed by the Headmaster at the time, Sydney Ernest Wilson.

It is recalled by some that for a pupil’s first prize, the book was C.H. Underhill’s ‘History of Burton upon Trent’, published in 1941.

Speech Day took place at the Town Hall in St. Pauls Square and prize-winners sat on the stage, opposite the choir to make it easier to get to the table mid-stage where the guest-of-honour presented you with your award.

This example shows Ian Pidoux receiving his prize at the 1947 Speech Day, with Mr Nicholson peeping round the guest of honour (unknown).

In later years, prize-winners were allowed to visit Darley’s bookshop and choose their own book upto a maximum value. The winner was expected to choose something vaguely ‘scholarly’, which was overseen at the shop which would, for example, decline the vouchers in the attempt to redeem them for something ‘not quite appropriate’.

The staff can be seen posing in the shop doorway here in 1928. In 1963, Darley’s bookshop was closed and the company moved to new larger premises to concentrate on its printing activities. At the point, the business of supplying prize books was moved to Byrkley books in Station Street, which itself no longer exists. Soon afterwards, ‘Byrkley Book vouchers’ were awarded, to be spent on a ‘suitable’ book.

In the 1880s there was a school magazine called ‘The Lyre’. This was leather-bound and hand-written and illustrated so was not distributed in any number and soon ceased production.

There was another attempt to get a school magazine off the ground was in 1905. At a meeting in the Chemistry Lecture room, H.S. Staley was appointed as its first editor. He left at the end of that year to go to Birmingham Univerisy and later, to Cambridge and was succeeded by Aubrey Baggley. Mr W.T. Jeffcott who taught Latin, French and Shakespeare at the time, contributed an ‘Acrostic’, which were fore-runners of the modern day crossword, but he insisted on it not being published in his name. Despite the initial enthusiasm, it was only short-lived.

The first Cygnet, Spring Term 1919 – Issue 1

The next attempt was following the end of World War I in 1918. The end of the war prompted form 5B to cobble something together using exercise book covers with loose sheets stuck together and sew in. The first issue was signed by all 22 members of the class. Advertising had been offered at 1d for the first twenty words. Rather ambitiously, it was intended as a weekly journal but this quickly faded away and stopped after just six weeks. The magazine had though, caught the eye of the Headmaster of the time, Mr R.T. Robinson who fully endorsed the idea of a school magazine and decided to add some official weight to it and appointed himself as Chairman. Pupil, Waterton was appointed Editor with Richards as Sub-editor and Mr Parkin as proof-reader. Also appointed were a Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Copy collectors (one in each form). The magazine at last had a solid footing and the result was the ‘Cygnet’, Spring Term 1919 – Issue 1.

The first two pages of the first issue

Very soon, it became an integral part of the school and a compulsory subscription required that every member of the school had to pay each term as part of the school regulations.

In 1957, the school crest was changed and the cover was given a fresher colour

This was to run with Spring, Summer and Winter term issues almost until the very end of the Grammar School with the final issue in Winter 1974.

The final ‘Cygnet’ just before the closure of the Grammar School
(* a PDF copy of this is available on request but too large to feature)

The first two pages of the last issue: Foreword by Brian Harris (Headmaster)

The following poem, which has managed to survive trapped inside another item for over 75 years, probably didn’t make it to a 1933 Cygnet although it does provide a fairly clear picture of one boy’s feeling towards Taffy Davies (probably in the wake of being repremanded by him!). Long before my time so I can’t really comment.

Taffy is a teacher,
Taffy is a fool,
You’ll find him talking “tommy-rot”,
At the Burton Grammar School.

But still, old Taffy’s getting old,
So to keep the class in hand,
Just tell him when you see him next,
He needs a “monkey-gland”.

In 1939, just prior to the outbreak of World War II, there were 316 boys in the school.

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It would be fairly natural to assume that the largest man in the centre was the headmaster, but this was in fact, Mr T. Parkin who had recently been acting headmaster for a short period before being replaced by Mr W.D. Fraser, who is next on the right.

A few faces can been seen that would remain on the staff until after the school had moved to Winshill almost twenty years later. Most notably, Herbert ‘Horace’ Pitchford, who would by that time be headmaster, George Cooper, Frank ‘Bill’ Read, Joseph ‘Jake’ Hammond, Ron ‘Ronnie’ Illingworth, Dai ‘Taffy’ Davies and Cecil ‘Chazzer’ Brown.

Sydney Ernest Wilson was still headmaster in 1934 but he was to leave the following year to become the Principal of King William’s College on the Isle of Man

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An increasing number of masters who were to well establish themselves over the next few years are now in evidence.