Any one go to Owler Lane Intermediate school

[Barry Butler]

Fleetwood...I see that you are from Canada...We may be related in that my grandfather's sisters all emigrated to Winnipeg before the Great Depression...Mt grandfather, my father and his family (me and my sister) were from Darnall in Sheffield...Grimesthorpe is not all that far from Darnall...I remember it well...Cheers BB

[fleetwood]

Fleetwood...I see that you are from Canada...We may be related in that my grandfather's sisters all emigrated to Winnipeg before the Great Depression...Mt grandfather, my father and his family (me and my sister) were from Darnall in Sheffield...Grimesthorpe is not all that far from Darnall...I remember it well...Cheers BB

 

Hi Barry - We are not related my surname is not Butler, it's just that quite a few Butlers lived in and around Grimesthorpe where I was born. I didn't live in Winnipeg, I lived in Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoon to be precise before moving to the Vancouver area many many years ago. fleetwood

[Barry Butler]

Hello Fleetwood...I just received the following message from Ron G; we were in the same school in Sheffield...

 

"With reference to Fleetwood's thread regarding the Butlers of Grimesthorpe, as that was my patch from the 40's to mid 60's, I was in the same class as John Butler at Grimesthorpe Junior School. John had at least 2 brothers & their father was one of the great characters of Grimesthorpe organising lots of activities for the kids.

 

Regards

 

 

Ron"

 

It was good to hear from you...BB

[fleetwood]

Hi BB - Your friend is absolutely correct in every way of his knowledge on Johnny Butler and his family. If Ron G wants more info on the Butlers he should search the Grimesthorpe threads, I think there is parts 1 2 &3 with literally hundreds of postings on each one.

[Joannie]

Bloody hell Siren or do you prefer Dennis?I was going to ask him the very same question.I do indeed remember you Alan.My name is Glyn Senior.I left HH in 65.

 

Hi Glyn, My name is Jo

(Evans). I think we were in the same class along with Ann Lawless, Jill Atkin, Melville ... Am I correct?

[parsleydiva]

Just wanted to bring us up front again!! Had a nice Christmas reunion and have met sisnce in January. Would love to see more classmates join us!

[Norrie]

Hello old Owler Lane Intermediates,

I wonder if you'd let me join in for a while. I was at the school from 1945 to leaving at Christmas1949. All of you seem to belong to the two years onwards after I'd left, but you mention many of the teachers when I was there. I started at the same time as Walter Gregory - the phantom fiddler if he hadn't got it with him when walking through the hall.

 

I'll give you a bit of potted history first, than a list of teachers and annual salaries. Here goes:

 

Owler Lane Council School Complex (Including Intermediate)

Opened in 1889 by Rev J. Gilman

Senior mixed opened by Mrs A.W. Warren. November 1901

Infants opened by Councillor S Osborne JP August 1911

Site 14,520 sq yds

 

Accommodation 600. Enlarged 1901 to 1,200 and again in 1911 to 1,650

1926 adapted for use as Intermediate School. Present accommodation for 1,260 scholars viz: 360 Intermediate, 500 mixed, 400 Juniors mixed and infants.

A handicraft centre and combined cookery, laundry work and housewifery centre are also provided.

Cost of site and building: £31,186 -12s -9d (that's old money, twelve shillings and ninepence)!

 

When I started there after passing the scholarship (as it was called before 11+) at Hatfield House Lane Junior and Infants, the staff was as follows and added to as the years went along: Salaries alongside per annum

 

Head: Walter Gregory £511

Anna Jean Snitch (Drawing, Needlework, Music) £288 (retired 1948)

George Croft (Maths, Science) later Principal of Granville College 1955. £183

George Slack (Music) £162

Alfred Moss (French, English, Geometry) £192

Dorothy Hardwick (English, PT, Biology, Science) £198

Walter Drabble (Maths, Music, English, PT, History) £204

Frederick P Glasbey (English, Music, Scripture) £336

Jean M. Murray (Domestic subjects) £420

Thomas E Wales(Handicraft, Geometry, Technical Drawing) £348

Thomas Corley ('The Colonel')( Maths,English,Science,Games,Geography)£366

Charles H Smith (Science, Maths, PT, Art) £288

Harold Hellewell (Boris as in Karloff due to shape of his skull) (Maths) £366

Constance Smith (Geography, Maths, English, Gardening) £288

Mary F Howard-Robinson (Miss Robinson!) (French, History) £468

Hilda Kelly (PT, English) £420

George Warren (Handicraft) £522

Maurice Lupton (PT, General Subjects) £406

Arthur Raper (General Subjects) £428

Mrs Mabel MacIntyre (A Scotswoman) (English) £336

Geoffrey Hook (English) £?

 

Some of the above female teachers only taught girls.

 

School Secretaries:

1942-48 Miss Constance Woodhouse Began with salary of £42 p.a. rising to £178 in 1948

1949-51 Mrs Constance A Chippendale

1951-55 Brenda Race

1955-6 Ann Crow

 

I've got lots of memories and stories plus a variety of retrospective character assassinations if any one is interested. Hope there are some of my era left to read this. There was a bike-shed by the way in the bottom school-yard, but nothing interesting ever took place there - unless you know different...

Just two comments for now:

Charles Smith the science master in the top-lab was the first to use his own transport to get to school; a motor-bike on which he wore a large leather overcoat complete with Biggles helmet and goggles.

 

Tom (the Colonel) Corley, a hated beast of a master in geography classes, was the first to use a car, a brand new Austin Somerset. Interference with either vehicle carried a heavy sentence (compared to which hanging would have been a mercy).

Cheers for now schoolmates,

Norrie

[parsleydiva]

Wow Norrie what a history lesson you gave us even though you were there before most of us. It was interesting to read all your news and many of the teachers you mention were still there for us. Of course we don't mind you joining in, it's great to hear from anyone. It's good to know that Pop Gregory as we called him, was walking around playing his invisible violin when you were there too!!

 

Hope to hear more from you

 

---------- Post added 05-02-2016 at 11:37 ----------

 

Wow Norrie what a history lesson you gave us even though you were there before most of us. It was interesting to read all your news and many of the teachers you mention were still there for us. Of course we don't mind you joining in, it's great to hear from anyone. It's good to know that Pop Gregory as we called him, was walking around playing his invisible violin when you were there too!! Ann Crow was secretary when I arrived at the school.

 

Hope to hear more from you

[Norrie]

Thanks for your invitation to the Forum PD (do you mind the abbreviation?) and for taking the trouble to write.

 

Glad you enjoyed the history lesson, it was a bit different to the history lessons I had at O.L.I. under Miss Robinson. I may as well start with a brief word on that.

She was small and wore a very long skirt and black tin glasses and spoke with a deep 'don't mess with me' voice. She was once droning on about the 100 years war and had reached about year 50 when I went into a trance, gazing at the wall ahead of me thinking about a certain blonde girl in 3G I was hoping to get to know (more another day!).

 

A sudden deafening explosion brought me painfully to my senses. Robinson had stepped in front of me - whom I continued to ignore so intense was my trance - and using the flat palms of both hands whacked me simultaneously on the flats of both my ears to rescue me from Miils and Boone and bring me back to the classroom. My head spun and ears sang with the pain. I couldn't hear for the rest of the day, luckily it was close to home-time. Dear old Pop Gregory got of hear of it (not from me) and I believe a reprimand took place- not of me but the History mistress.(I won't use a naughty word about her except to say 'MOO'. (Sorry Robbo, RIP).

 

A lot of stick was put about by some teachers in those years, some of it extremely painful even drawing blood in one case. Quite Dickensian.

 

I have the whole school history from day one including all the teachers that ever were and their salaries. Incidentally, George Croft one of my favourite Maths teachers was the Deputy Head to Walter G. until Mr.Croft left to take up his post as Principal of Granville College. He gave me a lot of help and advice in after school life re further education and career.

 

I've read all of the memories from your fellow pupils and recognise lots of the teaching personalities; I have so many vivid memories, I shall have to be circumspect and feed them out a bit of a time before I turn into 'Mary F Howard-Robinson' (she dropped the hyphenation for school use) and send everyone into a painful trance.

 

There are lots of references to Mr Glasbey - whose sometimes angry behaviour I don't really recognise (except once in my case).

 

He taught me all aspects of English grammar etc and lots of music, both subjects of which served me well in later life.

 

He encouraged us to go to Halle concerts on Friday fortnights at the City Hall and often came with us (just two or three of us). He would buy the tickets in advance, we paid him later, 1 shilling each to sit on the platform next to the Assyrian lions.

 

There were two of us in my form who were young active instrumantal musicians in an orchestra and a brass band - and when Mr Glasbey was teaching adult 'students' at night school after hours, he would ask my pal and me sometimes to come in to demonstrate certain aspects of musical composition. He never failed to thank us outside the classroom after our demo and always gave us a couple of bob each to get some chips and fish on the way home. By the time he taught your particular years, he would have been getting tired and fed up (been there since 1942), and like Alfred Moss the French teacher, disillusioned with teaching

 

His music room in my day was at the top of the stairs on the girls-school side of the hall that led down to the bottom lab. The bottom lab is where Dolly Hardwick taught me all I know about amoeba's, always encouraging us to read up about such things at home. I read a bit more than was required because I raised my hand and asked her 'Miss,what are fallopian tubes?.' "They're not relevant to this subject she squirmed, showing pink cheeks, better talk to your parents about that." No need Dolly, I already knew, my sister had filled me in!

 

I'd always wanted a propelling pencil and found one in the school yard - intending to hand it in to Miss Woodhouse (school secretary) who had a lost property cupboard.

 

Mr Glasbey saw me fiddling with it under the desk and quietly told me to stop.

Later I couldn't resist another little twiddle with this marvelous piece of expensive engineering.'I've already warned you about that haven't I? he said. 'I'm going to give you a choice, your name goes either into the punishment book or you can have two strokes of the cane.' I opted for cane, which was painful to me- but not so much physically as psychologically.

 

A confession here; because of being boringly top of the year ad nauseum in English (especially Grammar, Composition and Music) I seemed to have changed the colour of my eyes from hazel to blue. I foolishly thought I was safe from punishments from Mr G., I really enjoyed being taught by him. Being caned by him told me to change my eyes back to hazel; he was teaching me a lesson that teachers don't wittingly have blue-eyed boys or favourites. It really hurt to see him bringing the stick down; serves me right.

 

As for the punishment book, did you have it in later years after my lot left, 1950's onward?. It was kept open on a leather topped desk at one side of the hall along-side another book called 'The Honours Book'. Academic achievements of full marks for homework and neat presentation etc could earn one a small piece of paper from the teacher awarding the honour. This was given to Miss Kelly (I'll just stop a moment to take a cold shower) who entered it into the great book. These achievements were read out at every Monday morning assembly by the head or deputy along with the punishment book entries fro the previous week - a face reddening moment of naming and shaming. Before anyone who knew Miss Kelly are wondering about my eye-sight, remember that Hilda Kelly (with her leather sea-side sandals and wiggle walk) was 5-7 years younger when I knew her.

 

Another question if I may PD. In my years at the school, it was divided into four 'houses', Kelvin, Newton, Shakespeare and Tennyson(Blue, Green, Red & Yellow) I was apportioned to Shakespeare. At the end of the school hall with it's magnificent wooden beams and struts and tie-bars there was small stage. On the wall above it were four armorial shields representing the four houses. To my shame, I can only remember my own house shield having a lance across it in gold I think. Were they there in your time?

 

Our uniform then was navy blue and gold, Blazers had blue and gold piping round the edges and a twisted band round the sleeve ends. The girls wore the old-fashioned navy blue gymslips with black stockings (white ankle-socks in summer) and velour, wide brimmed hats with blue and gold band round. In my final year, these uniforms were changed to grey, the boys blazers having a flaming torch emblem on the top pocket instead if the much more attractive interwoven in gold monogram of O.L.I.S. and the girls much plainer gymslip type of garment. It was intended to rename the school Earl Marshall Technical School, named after the road above and behind the top of the school building. I don't recall that happening.

 

A final word for the mo. Walter G and Dolly H. actually eloped to either Westmorland or Scotland to marry, can't recall which, but my sources are reliable.

All good wishes.

 

---------- Post added 05-02-2016 at 20:08 ----------

 

Sorry to be back so soon, but I've been reading some early posts. In my time and slightly older than me, we had a Jessop (in Shakespeare House) who was a prefect; any relation to you Parsley.

 

Now I'm connected, I'll give the names of 34 of my classmates of 1950 (there were 40, but can't quite recall all of them) just in case some of them come across this post:

 

Rex Paramore (me - hence nickname Norrie as in Bandleader)

Ivan Priestley

Brian Tennyson

Derek Troughton

Michael Harthill

Alan Pidd

Derek Fox

Peter Bacon

Neil Fairest

Tommy Garner

Brian Lilley

Ted Howard

Bernard (Bunny) Smith

Brian Wheatley (school bellringer, you had to be tall, could tell the time and own a watch, he qualified for all three)

Jim Kenney

Brian Oates

Brian Lonsdale

Brian Pierce

Brian Sissons

Terence Bonell

-- Sykes

Dennis Tooley

Peter Myers

Peter Thatcher

Ted Allison

Harry Quanborough

Tony Pounder

Brian Moss

Derrick Bennett

Eric Cottam

Brian Godfrey

George Eardley

Douglass Wright

 

It's time for my bedtime Slippery Elm Food (Nurse - The screens!).

[parsleydiva]

Hello again Norrie, Some very interesting points again, what a memory!! The four houses were the same, Kelvin, Newton, Shakespeare and Tennyson. I was in Tennyson, yellow. The Jessop you mentioned no relation to me as far as I know. Uniform changed, we had grey and burgundy. I remember the music room being at the top of the girls staircase, down to Dolly Hardwick's lab. I always enjoyed music, especially singing and was in as many choirs as I could be! Obviously because we joined OLI in 1952 I don't remember any of your classmates, but some of the teachers were still there, including Alfred Moss, French, and by the time we arrived there was also another Mr.Moss teaching French - confusing.

 

Well thanks again for all your interesting news.

 

---------- Post added 10-02-2016 at 11:16 ----------

 

---------- Post added 10-02-2016 at 11:20 ----------

 

Well Norrie, we had a reunion of our classmates yesterday and I told them about your interesting input on here. They were all keen to hear about it and no doubt will be taking a look for themselves. We meet up every 6 weeks or so for coffee in Sheffield and some of us stay on for lunch. Always good to meet up with old schoolmates.

Edited February 10, 2016 by parsleydiva