Headmaster 1958 – 1973

William H Gillion, more affectionately known as ‘Bill’, was educated at Paston Grammar School in Norfolk from where he was successful in gaining a place at Trinity College, Cambridge to read Mathematics. In 1934, he was awarded an Honours degree and he went on to gain an M.A.

Deciding to follow a career in teaching mathematics, he was appointed Senior Maths master at Katherine Lady Berkeley Grammar School, Gloucestershire.

For a six year period as a result of the war, William joined the Royal Navy. He started with coastal convoys but his mathematical prowess was soon put to better use training Officer Cadets in Navigation and Action Plotting and was given the rank of Instructor-Lieutenant. By 1947, he had been promoted to Instructor-Lieutenant Commander and in 1951, he became Head of Mathematics at the Turkish Naval College where he taught through am interpreter.

During interim periods and after the war, William spent time at Melton Mowbray, Tavistock Grammar Schools and Chatham House School in Ramsgate as Senior Maths master before finally arriving at Burton Grammar School, very shortly after it had moved from Bond Street to Winshill, to replace Horace Pitchford as Headmaster. The appointment partly came about through his association with Arthur Blake who was Director of Education for Burton. Another associate was in the same period appointed Headmaster of the other Grammar School in Burton – Dovecliff making for a very successful period in Burton’s education history.

Mr Gillion was tremendously keen as far as academic standards were concerned, and the achievements of the school were never higher than under his headship. In 1960 William, with the co-opted help of Harry Smith, inaugurated a new form 5X. This was a special class that was for the most gifted pupils of form 3A. It meant that group of them would study the fifth form syllabus, with the best available tutoring, in their fourth year to gain a year so that they would be able to study Open Scholarship, which went well beyond normal ‘A’ Level, in their year in the Upper Sixth rather than having to spend an addition year there. Bill’s dream of academic excellence was realised; in a single year, Burton Grammar School achieved fourteen Scholarships and Exhibitions. To put this in context, Repton School achieved eight in the same year!

Sadly there was strong pressure, both internal and external, to look after the lesser able pupils rather than the brightest so the exercise was never repeated.

A stout supporter of the Grammar School System and unable to accept the abolition in favour of a comprehensive school, William retired in 1973. After living in Rolleston during his time in Burton, post-retirement, he moved back to Stroud in Gloucestershire where he retained an interest in education by becoming Chairman of the Governors of Downfields School which managed to survive as a grammar schools.

In 1975, two years after he left, the school closed, and was turned into the Abbot Beyne Comprehensive School’s Evershed building. You could almost say therefore, that his career at Burton Grammar School spanned the time of the beginning and the end of the Winshill school.

His first wife, Frances, died of cancer, and Mr Gillion met his second wife, Edith, during his time in Gloucestershire. He finally died of a heart attack in his garden aged 92 and had a very large attendance at his funeral. William was survived by his wife and daughter, Daphne, who was a pupil at Burton Girls’ High School before leaving for university in Birmingham.

Grammar School Master (Physical Education 1952-1972)

Victor was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire in 1925. He started his secondary education at Maltby Grammar School, one of whose most famous sporting pupils was Freddy Truman.

In 1939, due to a family move however, during his second year, he moved to Stafford where he was transferred to King Edward School. He was ridiculed slightly for his Yorkshire accent but soon established himself due to his success in almost all sports.

In 1942, he attended Loughborough College of Athletics that has produced many of England’s finest athletes the likes of Sebastian Coe, David Moorcroft and Sir Clive Woodward. In his first year, he won the coveted ‘Victor Ludorum Trophy’ (to save you rushing to Google to find out who Victor Ludorum was, as I did, it is in fact, Latin for “winner of the games”). It was the first time that this had been awarded to a middle-distance winner and Vic went on to win it the following; the first time that this had been achieved too. He also won the ‘Freshers Trophy’ for Athletics and Swimming combined. During this time, aside from athletics, he played for the college rugby team and was cross-country captain.

In 1944, his time at Loughborough was cut short with a one year deferment due to the war and was to join the Queens Regiment of the army in Maidstone, Kent. He was soon commissioned to the North Staffordshire Regiment and posted to Northern Italy where he was to patrol the Yugoslav border against gangs of Yugoslav partisans and escaped German prisoners of war. On conclusion of the war and before being demobbed in 1948, Vic played for the Central Mediterranean rugby and athletics team.

After the war, he took the post of PE master at Dartmouth Street Secondary Modern School in Stafford. During this period, he finished his deferred year at Loughborough and enjoyed much sporting success including Northern Universities Welter-weight Boxing Champion and competed in the Midland Counties and British Universities athletics in 880 yards and One Mile events running against such legends as Roger Bannister (4 minute mile), and John Parlett (European Champion and Olympic 800m record holder). He also narrowly missed out in a trial for the 1948 Olympics.

His next post was at Preston Grammar School which was well known for sporting success and enjoyed the rare luxury at the time of a well equipped gymnasium.

In January 1952, Victor joined Burton Grammar School, Bond Street as Head of Physical Education. Prior to this, the music teacher took PE and exercises were very basic. Immediately, circuit training was introduced with targets to reach bringing a whole dimension that had previously been lacking. Victor was also to develop the existing athletics, boxing, swimming, cricket, cross-country and rugby supporting Jake Hammond, Harry Smith, Jack Adams and Norman Jones. His weekends however, were taken with rugby where as flanker (wing forward in those days).

He was soon to captain Burton and later Staffordshire. Later positions included President of Burton Rugby Club, Burton coach and Staffordshire coach. With a seven year, fairly unimpressive history, in 1970 under Vic’s coaching, Staffordshire were to win the County Championships for their only time as underdogs against favourites, Gloucestershire.

During the summer recess of 1968, Vic was contacted by headmaster at the time, Bill Gillion, and asked if he could teach English in the forthcoming year. Applying some of his coaching techniques, some were somewhat surprised but nonetheless delighted when Vic managed to give form 5b a 100% pass; a feat never previously achieved!

In 1972, Vic left Burton Grammar School and became ‘Secondary Schools Advisor’ for the country borough. Shortly after, he was one of the first four staff coaches for National Rugby Union. A year later, in 1973, Vic spent a few weeks rugby coaching in Poland where he was a little surprised to find that the sport had such a following there. He was later to also spend a short time coaching in Denmark.

By the time of his retirement in 1989, Victor was County Education Inspector with responsibility for 72 schools in and around Burton where he encouraged schools to work together and work to a common timetable for 16 to 19 year olds which would allow them to move between schools for specialist subjects.

Among other sporting acknowledgements, Victor has been president of the Staffordshire Rugby Coaching Society where he gave practical help to both coaches and individual players; president of Burton Rugby Club as well as President of Staffordshire Rugby. He has also served as chairman of Burton Sports Advisory Council and chairman of Burton Rugby Club, where his membership now spans well over fifty years. There is now a suite named after him at Burton Rugby Club. Some PE teacher!

Victor lost his wife Sybil after a short illness, having not long retired as secretary of Edge Hill junior school. Together, they had two daughters; Sally, with a 2.1 honours degree in Sports Science and Administration, has her own business within the field of fitness and aerobics; Anna who gained an Art degree at Watt University, Edinburgh now with her own art business; and son James who, after being educated at Burton Grammar School, gained a degree in philosophy at York University, a post graduation in Education at Nottingham University and has taught English in numerous countries, including Dubai where he completed an M.A. in education. He is currently in Abu Dhabi.

Burton Grammar School Master (Mathematics 1949-1953, 1958-1979)

Harry Smith, affectionately known as ‘Brab’, was born in 1923 in Taunton, Somerset. His Grandfather was the pioneering founder of the Ramblers Autobus company which was to establish routes throughout the West Country. Harry’s father eventually took over the running of the company and they had sufficient means to send Harry to the well esteemed Taunton Public School. To this day, Harry can clearly remember the maths teacher, Mr John Evans, who was to have the strong influence on his life that Harry was himself going to eventually have on so many others.

At the outset of the war, all of the company’s buses were ‘requisitioned’ for the war effort. In 1940, Harry had been due to commence at Bristol University but instead, found himself as a private soldier in the Gloucestershire regiment.

Harry still managed to complete some higher Maths education but in 1941 was transferred to the Royal Artillery and, with the 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, saw some very active service in North Africa and later in Italy. On one occasion, he was subject to such heavy bombardment that he suffered from shell-shock and was found with blood running from his ears. He was to lose most of the hearing on his left side which most Grammar School pupils would have been aware of but without due thought.

Towards the end of the war in 1945, Harry was made an Educational Officer and sent to Perugia College in Italy to re-educate troop in preparation for their return to normal life. By sheer co-incidence, he found himself teaching alongside his old Chemistry master from Taunton Public School.

By now a Captain, he was later sent to Austria where he was involved with the re-alignment of National borders. Addressing locals in Austria, Harry asked for someone to translate. An attractive girl, Helen, was to reluctantly volunteer if he spoke slowly. Not long afterwards, she became his wife!

At the end of the war, Harry was deemed DOV (Deferred as Operationally Vital) and was prevented from returning home, missed his London University place. Taking a teaching certificate in the interim, he was somehow able to later catch up and complete the three year degree in two years.

Hearing about a post at Burton Grammar School from his lecturer in 1949, Harry applied and was appointed by the then headmaster at Bond Street Grammar School, Mr Moodey. His remit was not only to teach his main forte of mathematics, but to also teach Physics and Chemistry. Soon after starting, Harry also found himself in charge of School Rugby. This was in parallel to Norman Jones being in charge of Athletics. Victor Roebuck was soon to join the school as Head of Physical Education but, although also a keen rugby player, his weekend interests were with Burton Rugby club. He was also a Captain with the school’s Army Cadet Corps. along with Major D. Davies. 

Harry put a great deal of time and effort into this and spent his Saturday mornings on the school rugby field. He was slightly perturbed to discover that Norman Jones received an additional allowance for his running of the Athletics whereas he received nothing. He took up the issue with the Headmaster, Mr Herbert (Horace) Pitchford, who had been appointed to replace Mr Moodey after is tragic recent death. Harry was declined which led to a feeling of resentment for which the school would pay dearly.

In 1953, disgruntled, Harry applied for a vacancy at Derby Technical College in the Department of Mathematics where he was enthusiastically appointed. Harry enjoyed his time there because, being a college of further education, there was a link to local industry which led him to involvement with ‘real world’ mathematical applications with companies such as Midland Rail and Rolls Royce, both based in Derby. He was to stay there for six years during which time, Bond Street School was closed to be replaced by the ‘new’ school in Winshill.

Shortly after the Winshill school was opened, William Gillion was appointed as Headmaster. Mr Gillion, himself a Cambridge Graduate of Mathematics, was a strong advocate of academic excellence and felt that the Mathematics Department at the school, then headed by George Cooper, did not offer provision for the most talented students. He was aware of Harry Smith and had received numerous accounts that he should never have been allowed to leave. So, in 1958, he wrote to Harry asking if we would consider taking over as Head of Mathematics and to run the Open Scholarships, which went beyond ‘A’ Level to prepare the most gifted students for places at Oxford, Cambridge and other Universities of Excellence.

The latter proved sufficient enticement to attract Harry back so he took up the post; George Cooper was to retain a position as a Maths teacher as well as Deputy Headmaster.

Harry also worked for the Welsh Joint Education Committee for 40 years from 1957 during which time, he composed a new ‘Ordinary Alternative’ maths paper every year which was somewhere between ‘O’ level and ‘A’ level. This entailed several trips a year to Cardiff. He was thought of with some affection and on the occasion of him arriving there after 40 years service, they had prepared a special ‘maths’ cake with forty candles on.

In 1960, Harry helped Bill Gillion to inaugurated a new form 5X to allow the most gifted pupils of form 3A to jump a year so that they would be able to study for Oxbridge entrance exams in their Upper Sixth without having to spend an addition year there. This proved to be tremendously successful and in their out-take year, the class achieved a record number of Oxbridge places, including Scholarships and Exhibitions, actually out-performing Repton Public School!

Sadly there was strong pressure, both internal and external, to look after the lesser able pupils rather than the brightest so the exercise was never repeated. Harry and other of the school’s most senior teachers saw this as the “start of the rot”.

With a degree of frustration, Harry continued at the Grammar School for a further eighteen years. During this time, he moved house from Scalpcliff Road to Repton and, co-incidentally bought the house from Mr Leech, headmaster of Dovecliff Grammar School and a good friend of William Gillion.

Very tragically, in 1971, his wife Helen, who taught German at the the Technical College and Girl’s High School, was killed in a car accident. He was to mourn for over seven years, unfairly blaming himself, before eventually meeting Diane Bates, an English teacher at the Girl’s High School in 1978 and she became his second wife.

Harry’s time at the Grammar School also included the period where it was to be abolished in favour of becoming Abbot Beyne comprehensive school which led to much greater frustration. Harry himself sees this as “one of the greatest howlers the government has ever made”. His pleas for early retirement were declined so he was to continue at Abbot Beyne for a further three years by which time, he felt that we couldn’t have stood it for a moment longer.

Harry’s son, Michael, was also educated at Burton Grammar School until 1969 went to Leeds University and is a very accomplished linguist.

Burton Grammar School Master (Geography 1953-1984, Deputy Headmaster 1968-1984)

Geoffrey was born in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire in 1928. He was educated at West Bridgford Grammar School from which he gained a place at Hull University College to take a London BA Honors in Geography from 1947 to 1950.

After graduating, Geoff continued at Hull for a further year to complete his teacher training having already decided that he wanted to pursue a profession in teaching. During this period, he met a girl in fencing classes. Daphne, who was also studying at Hull, was from Stapenhill, Burton-on-Trent. In 1951, they were married but almost straight afterwards, Geoff was to start his two years National Service with the RAF where he served in UK and in Berlin.

In 1953, Geoff and his now wife decided that they would like to move back to the Midlands somewhere near Burton or Nottingham.

In the same year, Mr Pitchford the Headmaster at Burton Grammar School, then at Bond Street, was taken ill and George Cooper, the maths teacher, was to take on the role of acting Headmaster until Mr Pitchford had recovered. This left a temporary vacancy for a maths teacher. Although ideally looking to teach geography, Geoff applied for the post and was successfully appointed. As luck would have it, during this brief period, the geography teacher announced that he wanted to leave the teaching profession and that he would like to leave his post at the end of the term.

Having been pleased with Geoff’s performance, he was a natural successor so at the start of the following term, Mr Pitchford returned, Mr Cooper resumed to teach maths and Geoff Henton was permanently appointed as geography teacher. All could not have worked out better!

Geoffrey was to hold this post from 1954 to 1968 which covered the period of Bond Street School relocating to the ‘new’ Burton Grammar School in Winshill. During this period, he was also very active outside of school hours and happy to assist with rugby and cricket where he was involved with the school teams and acted as referee and umpire. Eventually, he was on the selection board for Staffordshire and Midlands rugby.

In 1968, George Cooper retired as Deputy Headmaster. At this time, Geoffrey was still second geography teacher under Ron Illingworth as Head of Geography. Harry Smith had not too long earlier returned to the Grammar School to take over the maths department. Although thought of as being the most likely candidate, Harry had made it plain that he had no interest in such a position wanting instead, to concentrate on mathematics and the open scholarships which were his passion. Speculation was that Mr Hugh Wood, Head of the languages department, would be likely to succeed above other heads of department. Nonetheless, Geoffrey decided to formally apply and was interviewed.

Geoff clearly made a very strong impression. He was young, very committed and had an excellent reputation for maintaining discipline whilst achieving high results and emerged the victor. A few expressed surprise at his appointment but no-one could deny that he very quickly established himself as a very able and successful ‘second in command’. He also continued to teach geography.

During this period, his son David became Burton Grammar School Head Boy. Each year, there was a football match between the prefects and staff. For the only time in the game’s history, two opposing teams were captained by father and son.

In 1973, William Gillion was to retire as Headmaster in the middle of the year due to external pressures and Geoffrey was appointed acting Headmaster for the remainder of the year until Brian Harris was instated, having been moved from Horninglow Secondary Modern School to oversee the ‘smooth’ transition from Grammar School to Comprehensive. At this point, Geoff reverted to Deputy Headmaster for what was probably going to be the most disruptive period in the school’s history. Geoffrey earned much respect in this period for his strong focus on making sure that the now mixed school students got the best possible education out of the situation as it now was without getting drawn into the politics of either side.

He continued as an effective Deputy Head and geography teacher until he was forced to take early retirement in 1984 due to poor health.

Post-retirement, Geoff engaged himself in a lot of charity fund-raising activities, most particularly for Oxfam for whom he became Chairman of support and fund-raising. This continued while he was wheelchair bound until 1988, when he became paraplegic.

He finally passed away in 1989 and was survived by his wife Daphne, two daughters Val and Tricia, and son David.

Val B.A, M.A (Applied Linguistics) became Head of General Education Programmes for Higher Colleges in the United Arab Emirates. Tricia B.A. (Music), worked with the London Symphony Orchestra before moving to Australia and joining the Australian Chamber Orchestra as Operations Manger.

David achieved B.Sc Hons. first class (Civil Engineering) at Imperial College, London and spent twelve years working in Kenya before much travelling and finally setting in New Zealand where he started an International Communications Training Company.

Sadly, Geoffrey only knew two of his seven grandchildren.

Burton Grammar School Master (Chemistry 1945 – 1979)

Norman was born in Swinton, an area of Greater Manchester which was best known for its cotton mills and Rugby League team. His early school days were spent at a local Junior school where his father was Headmaster.

At age eleven, he won a scholarship to enter Eccles grammar School where his various successes, which included colours for athletics, culminated in him gaining entry to Manchester University to read Chemistry.

When he graduated three years later, the second world war was quite well advanced and Norman’s knowledge was put to use overseeing the production at the Government Explosives Establishment in Drigg, south of Whitehaven.

After the war, Norman sought a post in teaching, and was successful in obtaining a post at Burton Grammar School, being appointed by the then Headmaster, Mr H.S. Moodey who was a Cambridge Chemistry Graduate and thus well able to assess Norman’s potential value to the school.

For the first years at Burton Grammar School, Norman lodged with the Binns family in Winshill. When his father began to suffer with his health, his parents moved from Manchester to Winshill and Norman moved in with them. Norman was though, soon to marry and move to Ashby Road where he was to remain for the rest of his life in a home still occupied by his wife, Sheila.

Initially, Norman worked under the departmental Head at the time, Mr E.C. Nicholson. This partnership enabled the department to flourish and many of their pupils performing with distinction in Open Examinations. In 1952 Mr Nicholson retired and Norman was promoted to take over the Chemistry Department. He was to hold this post for a further twenty-seven years until his eventual retirement.

Norman was also heavily involved with school athletics in his early days, having earlier in his life been a promising sprinter. He working together with Victor Roebuck, the appointed PE (Physical Education) teacher, not knowing at this time that the two of them were destined to remain on the Grammar School teaching staff together for many decades to come.

At school, Norman was a keen but fair disciplinarian. He would not tolerate indiscipline in the vicinity of so many potentially dangerous substances. He was known to speak his mind but also, to be warm-hearted and was full of goodness; being generously helpful to anyone he felt he could assist. Under his leadership, the Chemistry Department continued to achieve high standards, and many of Norman’s pupils gained entrance Scholarships or Exhibitions to the top Universities.

Norman taught at both Bond Street and Winshill and had considerable input into the design of the new laboratories. The original benches at Winshill proved to be too large and had to be hurriedly modified before school was back in session.

Hugh Wood, the French teacher whose time also spanned Bond Street and Winshill, became one of his closest friends and colleagues. Together, they ran the school Scout Troop. Hugh also wrote the scripts for gang shows that were held for several years in Bond Street Old Hall in which Norman was to appear. Ballroom dancing was another of Norman’s interests and he and a mistress at the Girls High School ran dance classes, held in the Girls High School. He was also involved with the annual Christmas dances held there which provided many happy memories.

In the nineteen-sixties, Norman and Hugh developed an association with the London University School of Economics and became two of the representative educationalists to travel overseas to study educational systems in other parts of the World. This included multiple trips to different parts of America and Russia. A later trip to China was abandoned. On one of the trips to America, Hugh Wood had a fall and broke his femur necessitating a special seat on the plane home.

With many photographic slides of his travels, Norman presented a number of illustrative presentations to the Grammar School Sixth Form Society, as well as many outside groups and societies which were very much appreciated by those fortunate enough to attend. The experience had given Norman the yearning to travel and subsequently he became a very keen caravanner, travelling very extensively on the continent with his wife and young son during the long school holidays.

Norman found it very difficult to adjust after the changeover from the Grammar School to the comprehensive system. He was very bemused at how much time he had to spend traversing between the three amalgamated sites and perhaps the final straw came when he was asked to go down the hill to Ada Chadwick and take Needlework for the afternoon.

Norman requested early retirement and consequently retired in 1979. Post-retirement, Norman and Sheila led an active and enjoyable life together and made the most of their join love to travel. In what was to be his final year alone, he and his wife travelled to Spain, Africa, and South America. With only minor ailments, his death on June 10th, 2005 came as something of a sad surprise.

Norman is survived by his wife Sheila and his son Graham, who was himself a pupil of Burton Grammar School, and now works as a Consultant Anaesthetist at Preston Royal Hospital.

Winshill (1964) School Photo

Winshill (1960) School Photo

Bond Street 1939 School Photo

Bond Street 1956 Final School Photo

Bond Street 1920 Full School Photo