Author Topic: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys  (Read 133633 times)

Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #75 on: 11:13:46, 22/08/17 »
Hello Michael Gee and good to hear from you!


I believe that you were one year ahead of me at school but we should have shared the Sixth Form common room on the ground floor from September 1961.


There are many interesting posts from people like Charles Lee and I hope to that all these will continue to send stories of their days particularly good times with their friends.  Anthony Marino has just received an e-mail from a student who started his career at the school in 1962 and we hope that he will join the site.


Anthony is not a well person and is trying to organise get-togethers in which we can meet and chat but we are also aware that so many ex-students have moved away from the area, some in other continents, but can be reunited via the miracle of technology and sites such as this.


He is trying to locate two of his friends who were in his time, '61 to '66.  One is John Wooler, from Wyenshawe, as were we and we think moved to Sheffield, and Michael Gee who was Captain of the Under-13 football team.  Does anyone have any information for Anthony?


As you write, you mention the Headmaster, a really nice man who was Officer-in-Charge of the school Cadet Force.  Also was Lieuteneant Wnterbottom who taught me French, a very likeable man.  Mr. Stewart taught me Latin in the 5th Year: a fierce man around the school but not in lesson.  I earned 55% at O-Level and my reward from him was 10 shillings!  He retired in 1961 to return to his tweed fam on the Isle of Harris: we bought him a leaving present but he was very reluctant to accept it.


One of my talents was to impersonate members of staff - including Mr. Stewart - and one day shouted down the stairwell for boys to "get to of school or take a beating".  It was raining outside and a lot of boys got rather wet.


I was lucky to attend Dr. de la Perrelle's leaving celebration dinner, I think it was in Belle View, and met many teachers again and Nigel Bird who was RSM of the Cadets when I joined in the 3rd Year. I was invited to go into school and taken to the staff room.  Little did I know that I was to be asked to do my impressions and how did they know about my 'talent'?


Keep posting, all of you!


Alan D. Jackson.  1056-1963       

Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #76 on: 12:15:29, 23/08/17 »
Dear Michael G,


I'm sorry about getting your Username wrong.  My computer has a habit of adding letters or 'correcting' words which it predicts are wrong.  Pity it did not see that, as I signed out, that I was not of school age in 1056!


I'm sure that Anthony will enjoy reading your first message.


Alan J. 

KeithHawkins

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #77 on: 09:54:35, 27/08/17 »
Hello All,
I too have only just stumbled on this forum.
I was at MCG between 1956 & 1964.
I will post some reminisces when I've collected my thoughts, but just want to thank all those are keeping this thread alive!

Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #78 on: 13:26:06, 27/08/17 »
Dear Keith,
I am certain that you are my good friend[size=78%] Keith Hawkins form school who, with Graham Gooch,Tony Caruana, Vic Heslop and myself were involved with the school guitar group way back in our later years in the school.  There can't be too many boys who matched your details[/size][size=78%]![/size]
[size=78%]         [/size]
[size=78%]My 'A' Level results were nothing special and I left school and went to work at I.C.I. in Blackley and met up with Vic, who was then using his middle name Jim, who [/size]left school after the first year in the 6th to bring money into the home.  Jim has done very well doing research into colour photographic films which the company were carrying out with Kodak or Ilford: his work was written up and presented to a University and he was awarded a PhD so we shall call him Doctor Jim!
[size=78%]
[/size]
[size=78%]By reading through [/size]recent[size=78%] posts you will learn that I have met up with a younger student and former neighbour called Anthony Marino.  We are working on informal get-togethers for site members [/size]and[size=78%] also to encourage existing posters to keep sending stories of their times at school.[/size]
[size=78%]
[/size]
[size=78%]You will be made very welcome.  Do you see any of the old crowd?  If so, suggest that they come on board.  We are getting older every day!  Please reply soon.  Tony has our e-mail address.[/size]
[size=78%]
[/size]
[size=78%]Best wishes to you,[/size]
[size=78%]
[/size]
[size=78%]Alan D. Jackson.  5B and 1956-1973.   [/size]

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #79 on: 20:33:58, 27/08/17 »
Hello all again,
Have spoken to Alan and so will be visiting the courtyard cafe , Monday 5 th September 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. All are welcome, you get to the cafe by using the Wythenshawe road entrance to the park. It is hoped that you will be able to attend, the three usual old boys would be glad to meet any new old boys.
Please try and attend,
Good luck to all..........Tony.

KeithHawkins

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #80 on: 09:35:08, 28/08/17 »
Hello Alan & Anthony,
Yes, Alan I remember you and your bass guitar.
In fact, I still have the tape-recording booker you gave me!
Anthony I don't think we met (?)
I'm afraid I can't make any reunions easily as I now live in Well, Somerset.
But I would like to take a city break to Manchester in the near future and will be sure to post the details here in case anyone is around and would like to meet up.
I would want to see the old School in Witworth St as I had my first year there.
I'm in touch with Tony Caruana (now Tony Alexander) who now lives in the S of France and have told him about this forum.
Basically, I left MC to go to university, then met my wife who is from Newport S Wales, and never went back. When my parents retired they moved down south also so little opportunity to come back.
Cheers for now,
Keith

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #81 on: 11:42:58, 28/08/17 »
One day I will get a post right the first time. Thank you Steve yes Monday is the 4 th.
So will be at Courtyard cafe, Wythenshawe park, on Monday the 4 th September.
Hope to see those who can make it then
Best wishes to all........TONY.

TonyC

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #82 on: 14:47:51, 30/08/17 »
Hello old Central Grammar School boys! Just discovered this site thanks to Keith Hawkins. What a joy to find names of school friends and teachers I had lost touch with. My name was Tony Caruana but I changed my surname many years ago to ALEXANDER. Don't ask why - I'll explain in a future bulletin. I remember well Alan Jackson and Vic (Jim) Heslop with whom we had created a little guitar group. Alan was on bass guitar, Vic was on lead guitar and I was on rhythm guitar. We played many Shadows and Elvis numbers and even had a few groupies following us! I remember Alan with his signature phrase "deep joy". We also had John Coxon in our class. He came from a very well off family. Their beautiful house had cost £8,000, which was a small fortune at the time, and John used to come to school in a red and white Mini, which he often let me drive. Keith, John and I all went to the same university after school: West Ham College of Technology in East London. I also remember Terry Fealey, the gentle giant, who won all the swimming medals.
Graham (or was it David) Gooch was another close friend. He used to live in Gorton while I lived in Cheetham Hill - taking the No. 53 bus to school every day. There was also a Roy Fairweather who was always getting into trouble. I'm now living in the French Riviera, between St Tropez and Cannes, and my wife, Florence, is just calling me to go to the beach! So more later.........

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #83 on: 11:47:10, 01/09/17 »
Hello again to all
Sorry to say will not now be able to attend the park on Monday the 4th, but will be there on Tuesday the 5th. The hospital keeps changing my appointments at the last minute by phone, so sorry to mess you about.
I did feel rough before but now thanks to Tony C feel really down. Here I am trying to get time to go to Wythenshawe park and he is on the French Riviera going to the beach. What do they say, as poor as a church mouse, it should be as poor as a vicar. Never mind, hope that Tony and others will inform us when they are back over here and we can try to arrange a get together.
Once again sorry for the change  good luck to all,
TONY M.

TonyC

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #84 on: 15:20:18, 01/09/17 »
Hello again,
Just getting to grips with this site. I just noticed there's a way to add images but I can't work it out. It would be interesting to frighten each other by showing what we look like today!  >:( 
Anybody know how it works?


Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #85 on: 11:50:14, 04/09/17 »
To Tony C
Dear Tony
Hey, less of this South of France nonsense: it's damn cold here today!
Yes, you are quite right.  Master Gooch was called David and Graham was a cricketer of note.  If you go back to Page 4 there is a complete school role for 1962-63 when we were a Head of House or something and we were all Prefects.
There must be some way of posting pictures but we were all such good-looking lads back then it is a pity to spoil things.  Incidentally, don't make spelling errors or corrections because you will be marked 78% for each one.
I am looking forward to the meeting in the Park tomorrow.


Alan Jackson.


P.S. "Deep Joy" became a nickname and came from an actor/comedian called Stanley Unwin who invented his own form of English.

Zyggy

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #86 on: 19:54:08, 10/09/17 »
Found this site by accident, but what memories it brought back!


I was there between 1966 - 1973, being in the last grammar school intake before the name was changed to Central High.


I still remember my first day arriving with my new cap, but that was the only day I ever wore it & my sister took it for her panda bear - nearly 50 years on, she still has it!


A lot of the old teaching staff started to leave, but there were some great teachers still left, but also some who bordered on evil! The music teacher with the aluminium ruler he called "Felix"; the maths guy who would throw a fully chalked board duster with some venom & the one who hit you with the palm of his hand on your derriere!!


Some great characters as well like "Joe" Potterton the English teacher, who if you made a spelling mistake would ring it in red. A second mistake would invoke a bigger ring...& so it went on!!


The PE staff were hard to please, but my favourite was a Mr Gallup who was a decent athlete in his time.

Speech Days at the Free Trade Hall were great as we got half a day off & then straight to Tib street! I still have my Henry Lever prize somewhere, a book called Picturesque Lancashire.


"Jack" Firth was the enormous Latin teacher who would conjugate verbs by punching the wall...amo...amas..!!
He was a very keen cricketer & if anybody walked over his sacred turf, then God help them.


My best mates were Phil Lowe & Steve Turner aka "Ernie" along with Bernie Athy who sadly died at the age of 51. Bernie was best man at my wedding & godfather to my kids; a great guy,sadly missed.


Michael Owen, the brains of the year, who after I took a girl home from the St Joseph's disco asked if she had seen my face in the daylight as my face resembled a pizza. Well Michael...I married that girl & we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary next year!


6th form was great as we could choose ten pin bowling at Belle Vue or conventional sports. For some reason we chose the bowling & the fact that they allowed us to drink beer had nothing to do with it. :)
« Last Edit: 20:15:46, 10/09/17 by Zyggy »

Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #87 on: 10:10:51, 11/09/17 »
Hello Ziggy,
Welcome to the MCGS website and thank you for your interesting first post.  You are a few years younger than I am but I enjoy reading from students who started after I left and this goes for Anthony and Steve too.  I do recall Mr. Firth, the Latin master, although I did Latin with Mr. Wilkinson and then Mr. Stewart who both had retired before you joined the school.  You don't say whether you still live in Manchester and so are "free" to come to our get-togethers.  If you have read the other six pages you will notice that many other posters are really 'old' old boys but don't let that put you off!  We need younger blood to keep the site functioning and I ask if you are still in contact with your contemporaries to invite them to join us?
We hope to hear from you soon.


Alan D. Jackson.

Zyggy

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #88 on: 18:20:43, 11/09/17 »
Alan, thank you for the warm welcome! I returned to Manchester quite a while ago after a bit of a nomadic life!


At the moment I am still working, so free time is a bit of a premium, especially with having two granddaughters.


After I wrote my first post, more memories came back.

 Others have mentioned Albert Winterbottom & his WW2 tales. My favourite was when he was in military intelligence. Suspects were tied to a chair; had a light shone in their face & then interrogated with "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall". If they didn't know the rest they were shot as obvious spies!!


He was also the Careers Officer & the choice he offered was either the Arny or Mather & Platts..


The funniest moment was when one day he was bald & the next he was wearing a ginger wig!


As a Catholic, I was not allowed to take part in the religious part of morning assembly & we, along with our Jewish friends had to stay in the gym before being brought in for notices, etc.


After school we packed into the small newsagents under the block of flats & relished our Barr's light or dark fizzy pop before getting the 53 bus home.


I started off in 1H with Mr Hale & then on to 2x, but found it tough & was "relegated" to 3L the following year.


I hated woodwork & the making of small boats which sank or table lamps. Caldbeck hated the use of sandpaper on joints & insisted that only chisels were used.


Mr Hartley who taught biology was great, but was always taking cigarette breaks while we merrily dissected frogs!


Unfortunately I have lost touch with my past friends, but I do know that guys like Charles (Charlie) Lauder went onto great things like producing Coronation St.


I will regularly pop into this site & if my lifestyle changes, it would be great to take a more active role.

Alan J

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Re: Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys
« Reply #89 on: 22:42:53, 30/10/17 »
Dear All,
Tony has sent me a message that he is preparing for an operation in hospital and would like to arrange another get-together at 'The Quadrangle' cafe in Wythenshawe Park on Tuesday, 7 November from 1130.  He sincerely hopes that as many can make this as he is going through a spell of poor health at present.


Best Wishes


Alan D. Jackson.