I was delighted to hear news of 'Percy' though I always thought his name was David! Come to think of it , I think he was D A Peart, so I suppose Anthony was his second name.
He was my form master in 1A, the year we , and he arrived, and I also had him for English in 2L1 and 3S2, before the 3X 'fast stream' was formed and we ended up with the uncontrolling Crouch.
I always found Percy firm but fair, but he will be mainly remembered for his Railway Society I expect.
Doubt if he remembers me though.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) brianmoate@hotmail.com

Blimey! If Percy really is 65 this year he's only 8 years older than me! Can that be possible? I went to KBGS in 1959 and Percy was already there. Surely he wasn't 18! But a great railway buff he certainly was and I was fortunate to be among those who went off with him on a Saturday to Neville Hill and Holbeck, Doncaster, York and similar places of pilgrimage. It was rumoured that he carried a slipper inside a black bag concealed under his gown for the purpose of instant chastisement. He never hit me; I always liked him and he gave time to us lads which went far beyond what today would constitute 'the call of duty'. I'm please he's still alive - but rising 65? Surely not!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) gwalker@diocant.org

You're right about Percy's age Geoff - I was about to make similar remarks myself. Old 'Tone must have been pulling Keith's leg a bit, but he always did have a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Teaching at KGS in his teens? C'mon!
He taught me (I've no idea how!) to raise my game quite a bit during the 2nd and 3rd years. Up to that point - at primary school and in 1C with Mr.Bowen - I'd been allowed to see myself as one of the best in the subject.
Oh dear - the shock that awaited me in 2A! Covertly, Percy managed to convey the notion that I'd been seriously deluded, without destroying all my motivation.
Yes, he did carry a slipper in his gown and most of us sampled it for the odd misdemeanour but, as you say, he was fairer, used it more sparingly (and then often lightheartedly) and, most importantly, didn't need it for sexual gratification as did one colleague in particular (and you all know who I mean!).

Just to add a further comment now that Percy's plimsoll has been mentioned. He didn't actually keep it in a concealed bag. As far as I remember, the construction of his gown was such that it had a doublefold of material with an open top, forming a long narrow pocket which went right to the ground. His plimsoll was kept there. When he needed to get it out it was quite a palaver, as he had to hitch up the 'pocket' and delve right down to retrieve it.
He arrived at school, as we did in September 1958. As Im sure he'd been to Uni, he must have been 21 then. That would make him minimum 67 now I imagine.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) brianmoate@hotmail.com

I'm forever grateful to Percy for two things: firstly, the nickname he gave me which stuck and prevented other, less kindly, souls from devising a less flattering one; secondly, by reading us stories like 39 Steps and King Solomon's Mines (at the end of each term when, in anticipation of the holidays to com, you were allowed to goof off), which taught me about reading as something you could do for pleasure rather than just for work.

Yes, "Percy" was a thoroughly decent bloke. Every week in the third or fourth form he would have a competition which involved defining 10 words (Percy v. us). He would bring in 5 words (bizarre and rarely heard) and one of the class had to bring in 5 words. The rest of the class had to define each word and if, when, they were unable to do so. Percy had a go. One point for each correct definition. Percy always won - except on one occasion. When it was my turn to bring in the words I chose words such as "pig", "car" etc. Percy was a bit baffled to start with but then cottoned on to the ploy. We defeated him for the one and only time and he accepted it with good humour. What if it had been Vince instead? ....

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) Leeds

Re Shuan's post, I remember one word that came up was 'carphology' which means 'delerious fumbling under the bedclothes'. I guess we've all indulged in that at some stage !

Current location (optional) Wirral

Quite right Brian, and not necessarily with a partner!!

Speak for yourself !!

Current location (optional) Wirral

The online definition is "The movements of delirious patients, as if searching for or grasping at imaginary objects, or picking the bed-clothes"

Not quite the same as fumbling under the bed clothes!

It is also a feature of post-seizure behaviour of some epileptics. (After Trevor's and Arthur's discourses on Physics and now these Peart Pearlers, this Forum is becoming a mini-wikipedia).

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Yep, Chris, that's about right!

Percy was a keen thespian at Keighley Little Theatre. My punishment for handing in lousy essays was to have to stay in at lunch time and read plays aloud so that he could learn his lines. One compensation in "The Long and the Short and the Tall" was being able to use rude words without fear of the pump.
Percy also related tales of his University days in Liverpool when he shared a house with a medic who had a "Bessie Braddock" look alike in the anatomy practicals and spent hours cutting through folds of fat and rarely reached any intersting organs. I don't think 1A produced any medical students!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) Cambridge now; was Farnhill

I remember Percy once returning from a school holiday sporting a temporary moustache, allegedly for some part he was due to be playing.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Just picked up on the emails about Tony Peart, but can't see a reference to his death last year. He died of prostate cancer in September, by which time he had very carefully donated all his railway and bus artefacts, including two buses, to museums. I had met him at a few transport gatherings, where he was displaying his preserved buses, during the 90s and he looked exactly the same as I remembered him from school. A sad loss.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-63

Current location (optional) Exeter, Devon

Very sorry to hear that. He was our Form Master (1A) in our very first year at KBGS, and indeed took us for English also in 2nd year. But I expect he will be best remembered for the Ralway Society.

Read an obituary here:
http://www.sandtoft.org.uk/archive/archive5.htm