Bill Day continued to teach at Oakbank long after KBGS folded. Then late on in his career he went to Otley GS as head of a department or even higher. Well liked by staff and pupils. I remember him best for his cricket umpiring abilities. The way he signalled out to a bowler was by holding his lifeless right arm with his good left limb and thrusting them skywords in a dramatic gesture to signal another wicket for yours truly. For all his affability I never remember him having discipline problems. No doubt the great umpire in the sky will smile favourably upon one of nature's gentlemen.

Agree with almost everything said about Bill Day. He was indeed a fine teacher and a good guy by and large. You're right in saying he never seemed to have any discipline problems, and I never once saw or heard him use or threaten corporal punishment. Bt, at the risk of being controversial aboout this (I don't want to start a whole thread for hangers and floggers) I do remember him espousing the continuation of capital punishment when it was abolished in the sixties. I, like Steve Earle, always reckoned judicial killing was not a good thing...

I recall David Harrison, head boy, standing on the stage one wet break or lunchtime or similar and commanding total silence from the whole school. I was a first or second former. I remember him saying something along the lines of " and if anyone wants to try me, then he should come up here now." No one did. I don't know if it was ignorant youth on my part, but David seemed to have more control than many of the staff. He was a colossus to me. ( not a member of staff I know, but just a memory).

There was also, dare I say it, a Mr.Leeming ( Nancy Leeming) whom now, on reflection, admire for his perseverence in the face of adversity. ( Did he become a missionary in some far flung corner of the world?)I can picture him now, asking for quiet please.

If Alan is allowed to admire Dave Harrison (who, incidentally, as rugby captain, was a colossus for me, too: I once, in a Keighlians practice match, actually tackled him and have basked in the glory ever since) then maybe I can tell the story of another student I boyishly admired and ask if anyone else remembers the incident and the name of the hero, who surely went on to greater things and probably should be on the list of famous old boys.
It was like this: You remember how in the fifties we were locked in the school yard behind a wall with wire fence above it and not allowed out at lunch-time. Well, one day, four or five kids from the local Catholic school were taunting us from across Alice Street led by a huge lad with buck teeth. We lesser mortals could only stand behind the fence and take the jibes. But from behind us a fifth former, whom I remember as being smartly dressed and studiously bespectacled, but as thick set as Russell Crowe, calmly climbed over the fence, walked across the street, smacked the big kid in the mouth then quietly walked back, climbed the fence again and, without saying a word, casually went about his business.
Anybody know who this was? It must have happened around 1957.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) garethwhittaker99@hotmail.com

Gareth.The incident of which you speak was before my time, but I remember hanging out in the yard,leaning on the wall, and the amazing games of touch rugby.How in heavens name we managed to play touch rugby in that throng amazes me, and I think it enhanced our side-steps. ( Do you know if David Harrison went on to " greater things"? I believe he went to one of the Oxbridge universities...and then.....)

Allan. Can only remember that he studied history at Oxford. We played together for Keighlians, soon to become K.R.U.F.C., for a while. But I finished in 1965 and lost touch. I hope someone else knows.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) garethwhittaker99@hotmail.com

Rhather than 'Bill' Day, wasn't it 'Michael'?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) david.baldwin@maverickeurope.com

Current location (optional) www.maverickeurope.com

Nope Dave, you are taking the 'Michael'. Always referred to as 'Bill'. One thing I should have added was his wearing of the black or brown leather glove on his gammy right hand. Though removed it to umpire at cricket. I believe he drove a green Morris Minor.

He was also a graduate of that excellent university Durham, also my alma mater due largely to Bill's encouragement. Bill went to Hatfield College, a place sporting of renown which produced Frank Tyson, Graham Fowler and Will Carling and, of course, Bill Day. Yes, he was a great guy - a gentleman and one of the few masters at KBGS of whom we were not afraid. Any more Durham graduates out there?

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

Yes Days real name was Michael, but always known as 'Bill'
Anyway on the subject of masters we liked , well for those that taught me I would say Peart, Cullingford, Ben Tren, Stoker Stockdale (These last two because it was they who got me interested in Chemistry) , Sam Riley , Wilby (geography), 'Tex' Mitchell. I also got on quite well with B V Paynes (Music).
Ones I particularly disliked? Vincent Firman, Emery, Crouch, All PE staff, Bill Midgley.

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

There was a woodwork "teacher" who was could hurl a piece of wood at you with reasonable accuracy. Thinking of the bahaviour of many ( most? ) of the staff then, some aspects, notably that of the violent kind, would see most of them suspended today, sacked even.

Wasnt it Fearnside ?

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

Ian Fearnside registered in the Forum's Guestbook quite some time ago. Perhaps he reads these comments and might like to confirm or deny B.M.'s recollection.

Fearnside was known as 'Rusty Guts' presumably because of his ginger hair. Him and Bill Midgeley did keep a fairly tight regime in the woodwork/metalwork dept. When he posted earlier he said he was from Gargrave, same as the posh Harron brothers. I think he is the only member of staff to have admitted reading and posting on this site. Could be wrong.

Rusty Guts says it all.That was him.

Cronshaw, for introducing me to Tolkien - see my comment on the worst teachers thread

As far as I remember (AFAIR) Slim had had polio. Despite struggling with one year of (to me) totally unnecessary latin I had/have great respect for the guy. He pitched it at the right level.

I remember Neil Coux (Sp?) with affection. Teaching us with coffee cup in hand and roll-up in his mouth.

Ben Tren - though I was deprived of being taught much by him by a Belgian? tram.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) bill@bracewel.demon.co.uk

Marcus Stott (Maths) was one of our most respected teachers. One year he had a serious accident,and was off work for several weeks.

On the day of his return for duty we waited for his arrival in Room 58 on the "Cardboard Corridor"

The whole class stood up and sang "For He!s a Jolly Good Fellow" followed by "Three Hearty Cheers!"

Suddenly everything went quiet,and Nev Hind the Headmaster appeared at the door wondering what all the din and noise was all about.

He turned away without saying a word.

This was the only time in my years at KBGS that we ever saw "The Old Man" speechless.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) Davchris@n3946.freeserve.co.uk

Admiration is a strong sentiment. Some of the qualities and even the antics of my teachers at KBGS made me stop and think - and recognise and respect. But I find it impossible to say that one individual commands my admiration. Aspects of their qualities and persona did.
For example, Wilbur's sense of public spirit - and his insistence that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. That got me through A Level Latin.
Frank Wellock's "Never give in - draw, don't lose" turned me into a studied and competitive cricketer.
There were other fragments of example that I picked up and made my own. I think much of the rest that I admired and picked up from KBGS came from the intellectual subject matter that we (and especially me as a working class kid) were exposed to - and that mostly on the humanities side. I also learnt a lot from the other kids in my teaching groups and sports teams - and from the opportunities for sporting competition against my known peers that came through the house system in particular. I suppose many members of staff contributed to this in their own way - especially those who encouraged participation and competition - for the sake of the sport. Or have I grown deceptively olympian as time goes by? I think - at this distance - that it was the mixture of so many influences that made me admire the experience I had at KBGS.

Gareth (Oct 19 post):
I think this might have been a bloke called Dennis Sabey who was almost certainly the toughest person in the school, including Glassjaw Swift. When he was in Form 4 all sixth formers were afraid of him, and I recall he walked across the street one lunchtime and gave someone a fearful spanking. I think he came from Queensbury which I suppose is reason enough to have shit on the liver.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) pedwards@nex.net.au

Back to the original title - staff you admired.
Hughes - Head of Maths in the early to mid sixties
................ and Susan.

Paul. I have only just seen your reply (Oct 30) re tough guy. The name Sabey rings a bell. I am sure you are right. Many thanks.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) garethwhittaker99@hotmail.com

All the 'masters' at KBGS, and every teacher I have had the dubious pleasure of dealing with throughout my childs education, were WITHOUT EXCEPTION ....
'Men in a childs world and children in a mans world!'
Cheers,
Steve.

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

Current location (optional) You do not want to know?

The teachers at KBGS was sometimes good, sometimes moderately competent and sometimes sheer dross. Unfortunately the relatively small number who were either poor or should never have been allowed near children tends to colour our memories.
Much of the teaching would not have been accepable nowadays though.
Having worked in schools and LEA support services for thirty-odd years, I have seen far far more very good teachers than poor ones and the general quality of teaching is much better than it was 25 years ago [despite the incompetent buffoons at the DfES trying to dictate practice they know nothing about].
Some of us will, no doubt, have had bad experiences with our children's education but this if far from typical now.
Sadly, for many of our contemporaries, our experiences at KBGS were streets ahead of what some of my friends encountered at secondary moderns in the 50s and 60s.