Blesssynngges Alle
False memory is an accepted fact, but I am convinced that I was present at a near riot at the school.
The year would have benn about 1964. I know this because I had been promoted belatedly to vice-prefect (yellow & black badge which I still posess).
Anyway.... as I recollect it was the end of year (but not 1965 cos I was in Germany hepling to supervise kids on a language trip) or at least a term and some of the 5th formers etc were leaving.
So..... there were a couple of very large scary brothers possibly twins (??names)...wore glasses and used to terrorise the corridors in break. (Wisely I used to limit my attempts to remove them, as was the rule).
Anyway these 2 and others incited the rest of the juniors to some sort of insurrection. All gathered in one of the playground ands began revving themselves into a fury. Part of the cause seemed to be a personal vendetta against a boy called Bristow who used to sit in the librarians chair. He was unpopular as he never played games (health issues), had slicky black hair, was very pompous as librarian and was purported to be especially friendly with Ray Jones. Bristow had a CAR! A brown Morris 8 I think.
Anyway! News of the insurrection reached the Head and also the threat to Bristow.
So! Whilst the other prefects and some staff contained the rioters and tried to defuse the situation, I was part of a group of 5 prefects stationed in the car park between the gym and the railway line. Our job was to protect Bristow or at least aid his escape. Bristow spent the time stting in his car whilst the rest of us waited nervously as we heard the increasing din from theplayground. Members of staff would ocassionally emerge lookig scared and asking if we were all right. I must admit we probably would have thrown B to the horde had it come to that.
The whole enterprise was overseen by Bill Hayman...don't know what part Naylor played.
Anyway! after about 1 or 2 hours of high tension for those who could only hear what was going on, all went silent.
We later learned that Bill H had confronted the leaders of the horde as they stormed down the corridor towards Naylors office. Apparently he simply informed them that they would not get a school reference .....and the whole thing collapsed.
Does anyone else have any memory of this or what happened to the ringleaders? I sometimes wonder if it really happened but it seemed VERY real at the time.
THese days I suppose the police would be called.
Yours heroically
Chris
- 10/26/2009 4:14:05 PM