memories

This page is a collection of excerpts from the Guestbook and other sources as provided by those "Gallant Few" brave enough to own up.

Lifting Mr. Woodward's 2CV over the small wall and through the gap by the buck shop - does anyone remember this and know how they got it out? Mr Polkinhorne temporary Latin teacher stood in for H.H. for one term. On his last day at school Dave Tressider made a speech about how the class had appreciated his teaching - he then stated that he had made a collection from the whole class and handed over one penny!!!!

Some other "wag" (thanks to Tom Pulling for owning up after30 years or so and for naming names) lit the Bunsen burner tap and tried to set fire to a chap's blazer (no pun intended). The flame from the tap was about 18 inches long and the lad who owned the jacket was sitting on the worktop in front of it. "I (Tom Pulling) was partly responsible for the lighting of the Bunsen burner tap. It was in the Chemistry lab. I along with Dominic Boeck and Nick Pugliese committed the dastardly deed."

Left under a cloud after being caught in a local restaurant working a lunch session when I should have been on English 'A' level free period. How was I to know all the staff room were going out to lunch that day! Most vivid memory? Truro harbourmaster's son, John Lamb, heating up a poker till red hot and then poking it through the wooden wall separating the two sixth form huts...straight into Jack Rider's back who was leaning against the wall on the other side!

Hell, what a shock, and there's me at the back row of the 1970 shot. Who was it who ran from one end to the other and got in twice? My wife had no idea I went to such a stuffy, old fashioned school, all male and with teachers in gowns.

I think the most vivid was when we were larking about in the old huts (Forms 3A and 3B at the time). We fell onto a fire extinguisher no more than 1 minute before the end of lunchtime bell was sounded. We had foam everywhere - in the toilets, cloakroom and entrance lobby to the hut. Taffy Jones was taking the first lesson. You can imagine the panic. Having said that, he was very good about it, and got Buck (caretaker) over to help clean it all.

Lots of memories - like throwing a stone to my mate totally misjudging it and putting it through the music room window. Hunter was in there, but never came out, peculiar!!!

I've been a teacher for 25 years now, and by doing the opposite of the vast majority of teachers at Redruth Grammar School, I've been quite successful! With the exception of Ken Mullis, Jack Ryder and A.G.S.T. (Alfie) Davey, I think the teachers were creations from hell! I spent most of my time either being beaten up, paying protection money or hiding from bullies.

I would like to thank Mr. Hunter Weedon Skinner (if he is still alive) for sparking off my lifelong interest in music, as with most teachers you do not realise how good they are at the time.

Alfie Davey sending me for the "Good Book" so that I could be entered for the party on Saturday morning, usually went to the party (detention as you will rightly recall) with me old mate Martin (Trathe) Trathen.

A newspaper cutting recording my only claim to fame as a student - Winner of the slow bicycle race (contrary to the newspaper report - they also got our names the wrong way around - I'm the one in the Ben Sherman shirt with real metal buttons!). If you look carefully you will see Nick Ball peering over the crowd in the background.

Our first games period, Fernley told one of the boys (can't remember his name) that he couldn't play rugby with his glasses on, then when he was given the ball he ran 30 yards straight into the upright, knocking himself out.

I can also attest to the incident with Tom Pulling, Nick P, Dominic B and the gas tap. From memory, this is probably the first time Tom owned up to anything! Married to Linda, with 2 kids - Matthew 14 and Rebecca 11. None of them believe the stuff on your site - I can vouch for its accuracy! I remember the time when someone (Stuart Dennis I think?) poured paraffin into the coke-fired heater in the 6th-form hut, causing a lake of flames to spread across the floor

"Anyone notice Marcus Trathen appearing on both ends of the back row in the 1973 panoramic photo ?? I remember hearing him frantically running around the back as the camera panned across !!

After reading Tony Freeths' comments above, I wonder if someone tried this on every year !?? "

Geography field trip - Dartmoor. Jolly Jack Ryder plunges like a hippo into the Dart at Two Bridges and comes up with his woolen bathing drawers about his knees. Re. other comments. Had a bit of that submerged forest at Portreath in a shoebox for years. Antony and Cleo., Alfie presiding. Stage instructions - Enter Antony, Cleo.,...with train. (Tony Bunt?) "Chuff, chuff, chuff" Alfie "What are you, Sillybabe?" "I'm the engine, Sir" "Well go to the Head and get a tender behind"

I've got my old school cap, the one that started off pulled well down over the eyes in the first form, worked it's way further back on the head through 2nd, 3rd an 4th forms and by 5th form was in the blazer pocket (to be donned quickly if a duty teacher saw you, otherwise it was detention!

I can remember a trick we used to play on poor old Bill Eathorne in the Chemistry Lab. We used to take the Bunsen burner off its tube, turn on the gas and then blow down the tube as long as we could. Bill would be demonstrating an experiment at the front and all of a sudden, his Bunsen would go out and wouldn't re-light until the CO2 and all gone through. He was also deaf in one ear and somebody I think it was Charlie Coombes would start gently humming somewhere. Bill couldn't stand this but had a job to discover where it was coming from. When he got "warm" it would start up from somewhere else...........The day I and some other miscreants left, we made up some Nitrogen Tri-Iodide in the lab. This stuff is safe when wet, but when it is dry, a fly landing on it will detonate it. We waited until the caretaker had swept the hall that night. I bet it was fun at assembly the next day. Happy days, I was and still am grateful for having been a pupil there.

Was told by a Yorkshire master that 'Cornish dialect was reet lazy'. Once got a hundred lines for something I did not do. Someone threw a plimsole at a prefect; I got collared. Got my own back by giving Weatherill my 100 lines, written on brown wrapping paper. Nearly upset him as much as the time someone stuffed a potato up the exhaust of his beloved car, registered RAF 77.

Adrian Self

Geography field trips - in particular an evening spent at the pub on Burgh Island at Bigbury when Roger Cock asked for a pint of mild in a squeaky voice. "Are you eighteen, son?" asked the landlord. "Oh yes" replied
Roger, his voice getting higher. "And I suppose you've got a wife and two kids at home?" What a daft thing to remember.

My moments of notoriety? Getting caught smoking on the train from Penzance when we went swimming (and getting caned!) and breaking Goldsworthy's nose (Head Butt) and getting caned by the boss eyed head - what's his name?? (Clarence?)

I remember the time I was struck on the head with a rather heavy book in a Latin lesson by Joff Brown. I think that it contributed to my 8% in the exam. In the sports period, one summer term during form games at cricket, I threw the ball in and hit Taffy Jones full toss on the head. Luckily it was only a cork ball and not a standard cricket ball.

I was, for my sins, at RCGS from Sept. 1958 until May 1980, Teaching both Mathematics and later Technical Drawing.

- and with the passing of the years, have attended the funerals of others .. J.P. (Jack) Ryder (Geography), Norman Hall (Art), W. (Bill) Eathorne (Chemistry), W.E.Barnes (English), A.G.Davey (English), R. (Bob) Whitehead (Maths), David Jones (History and Rugby!) Cliff Clark (Geography and Deputy Head), G.P. (Paddy) Bevis (Spanish and /French). There was also of course, Mrs. O. Gilbert, who was the school secretary for many years.