Master Anecdotes
J. P. COLES - HEADMASTER (1963-1989)
Subject: Mathematics
Nicknames: 'Jasper', 'Jake', 'Bop', 'Handy Andy'
JPC took over in April 1963 (BB)
Andy wrote - "Why 'Bop' Coles? We always called him 'Jasper'." Although originally known as Jasper, his nickname was changed to `Bop` due to his habit of stammering `Bop, bop` when he got so angry, he couldn`t get any words out! (Tony Harrison)
Hartley was considered God. Newth his annointed son and Coles as an absolute prick. (David West)
Friday afternoons were great - the last period (from 3:20 to 4:00 as I recall) was timetabled as a study period. Great for cards - an early departure was pushing it a bit because it was too obvious and I think it was subject to snap checks. Then came the day when we (all of 6B) suddenly received an instruction to assemble in the hall on Friday afternoon at 3:20 (or was it 3:15?). Having done so and taken stock of the fact that three staff members were there - Jake plus Herr 'X', the German Language Assistant, and Mr 'Y', the music master - Jake then proceeded to tell us that henceforth this period was going to be a regular Friday afternoon 'jolly' period where we all sang German Beer Hall songs. AND I AM NOT JOKING!
So we all settled ourselves into chairs set out in regular lines in front of the piano, Herr X handed out Xeroxed song sheets and off we went. Y hammered out the music, X sang lustily, and Jake - God bless his cotton socks - patrolled up and down behind us all offering advice (orders) to those he deemed were not putting sufficient effort into it.
I was one of those to receive 'advice'. Now, I must explain at this point my relationship with music. My father had professional piano qualifications, whereas my mother was a Mrs Mills, she could just sit down and play anything she was asked to. They were both true London east-enders from the era where the piano was the key feature of family entertainment - and we had a piano at home. Needless to say I was expected to be pretty nifty myself. Well I wasn't!!! Music and I are like oil and water - we don't mix. I hav e never understood the theory and have never wanted to. I got 2 out of 100 for my end of year Music exam in 1B and needless to say never continued it as a subject. My singing is just as bad - I can't sing and thus avoid it like the plague. My crap singing embarrasses me. And yet my three children have lovely voices, with my son being offered a place as a choirboy at Chelmsford cathedral. As a result I have hated/resisted any personal involvement in the creation of music or singing from a young age. I enjoy listening to music I like - but it ends there!
Needless to say this bright idea of Jake's really got to me. At 16 years old and as a reasonably senior pupil of the school I was being made to forgo a study period to be forced to do something I hated and to endure a lunatic patrolling up and down behind me ordering me to open my mouth and make an awful noise (i.e. embarrass myself).
Move forward two or three weeks. Each week the same format, Y on the piano, X singing lustily, Jake patrolling. Then one week - no Jake. He was otherwise engaged. Believe it or not X and Y then announced there would be no singing that afternoon - instead they handed out a sheet of A4 paper to each of us and said that we were to spend the rest of the period writing an essay on Music. My opinion - they'd bottled it. Without Jake patrolling in the rear they were concerned they wouldn't be able to keep control.I was bemused. What in blazes did I know about music such that I could write an essay on it. Up went my hand. 'What feature, exactly, do you want us to write about ?' 'Anything' was the answer 'Anything at all to do with music'. Having fumed for a minute I suddenly had a bright idea which I announced to the classmates either side of me. 'Got it - I'm going to write about how ludicrous these bloody stupid singing sessions are'. 'Good idea' was the response from Roger and Roy on either side - so three pens started moving fast.
Sometime in the next week the three of us received a message that our music essays had been passed on to Jake and he was not best pleased. Then we received ind ividual summonses. I knocked, received the 'enter' command and found myself facing an apoplectic headmaster. His face was red. It was a tirade, during which I learnt that I had escaped expulsion only because of my previous good character - and it was a close run thing. He then proceeded to give me three whacks - the first I'd ever received. What puzzled me though was that he held and swung the cane with both hands - and even I knew that pain was proportional to impact speed so a one-handed whip action was best. It didn't hurt! The other two received 3 and 6 whacks respectively - Roy was always good with his acerbic comments! (Geoff Carter)
My recollection, now confident, is that the name of the assistant caretaker concerned was Mr Fowler. Headmasters in the sixties had close to absolute power, and were known to act unfairly with impunity. There were exceptions, where the HT was prevented from sacking all of the female teaching staff after the war, but by and large they were despots, benevolent on good days only. I don’t believe Jake would ever knowingly have been unfair, or do anything he knew to be wrong. He had a sense of mission that has come over to some as fanaticism, but if you’d sat at lunch with him in the staff room, as I did as an assistant at Fred Holmes’ Anglo-French schools, and see the way he involved and encouraged everyone in conversation, you’d have seen an entirely different, collegiate side to his nature, and one that was equally genuine. John Bald
It seems Coles had wildly differing standards of behaviour. I clearly remember him apologizing for his bad language in using the word 'Damn' in assembly, during one of his red-faced, apoplectic rants about something or other. To use the 4 letter alternative for excrement would have been quite something.
Are there any psychologists amongst us who could perhaps give a qualified opinion on his state of mind, or even a plausible explanation, I'm beginning to think he should have been sectioned (preferably in one of our Biology lessons!)
SteveS SNG 66er
HM Martin clearly saw the wrong side of Jake too, and the beer hall story tops the lot. The infamous tale of the bucket in the 6B flat was more outrageous, but this one has an element of humour. Who was the musician, please? If it was the Yorkshireman who succeeded Tony Sharpe, I can imagine what he was thinking. If it had been Tony Sharpe, even Jake would have dissolved in laughter. I can just hear him inserting Tom Bowling or the Sailors’ Hornpipe into the choruses. I’ve defended him because he was kind to me when another head could have kicked me out. The key point may be dissent – I shared his intellectual values and still do. My good and, alas, late friend Adrian Newman did not, and spent more of his time arranging his hair in order to avoid Jake’s inspections, than he did on his A levels, with predictable and sad results. The impulsiveness behind the beer hall stunt is incredible. Fred Holmes would not have done anything like it, but this may have been when Fox was head of languages, and he has form for idiosyncracy on this site. I go with Ged on the first two points – headmaster and leader, no. Mentor, sometimes. There’s a play in this somewhere, and better than the history boys. (John Bald S62-8ng)
Sadly the beer hall story never made its way down to my end of the second form at the time.
The bucket incident I do remember as it was when I was in 6B. The worst thing about it was the embarrassment of the story getting to RCHS as I was going out with one of "Daisy's Darlings" (or was it Miss Mulholland by then) at the time. (Peter Crabb
RNG 62-69)
In the later years of Mr Newth's tenure Sixth-Formers were allowed to wear
a sports jacket instead of the school blazer. Mr Coles halted this, much to
the consternation of cost-conscious parents of the time, by insisting that
all pupils wore uniform. (See the school photos as evidence.) I agree that
JPC was 'creepy', and I'm not particularly a fan, but this was not, I think,
the action of a 'liberal trendy'.(Andy Lee)
John Coles arrived in Mar/April 1962. He was 36 or 37 at the time. He had
previously been Head of Maths at the Liverpool Collegiate School. There were
sadly lapses, well illustrated in your note, when he went beyond the acceptable
bounds of reasonableness. But it was not these that provided the greatest
difficulties he had as a Head. He was committed to Grammar School Education
as a matter of principle. When Havering went comprehensive in 1972 (or was
it 73) and many of the other Heads who were objectors took a line of least
resistance John stood by his principles - and in doing so became unpopular
with politicians and administrators in Havering, because he did what many
good schoolmasters did, which was to challenge people to think about some
of the issues involved.
I remember suggesting to him (in 1974) that he should avoid the serial confrontations
that were developing by moving to other sectors of education where his undoubted
skills as an academic, a teacher and administrator would be valued and recognised.
It didn't happen. These days a sinecure for a couple of years and early retirement
with an enhanced pension has become the way of dealing with awkward misfits
in the public sector.
One suspects that the (self inflicted perhaps) stresses of his careers led
of failing health and early death. At his funeral many of his ex- colleagues
amongst heads and teachers were present to bid him farewell - and his strengths
were inevitably admired, Unusually only a relatively junior member of the
Havering Education service could be spared to join us. I recall a comment
from one head teacher - "Small minds have difficulty with high principle"
The school, it must be admitted, was weakened by the change to a Comprehensive
regime. The final nail in its coffin was the establishment of the Sixth Form
College and making it, and many of the others in the Borough into an 11 -
16 school. After that it seemed to be sliding down the razor blade of life!
(Bill Broderick)
Hair inspection.
I think Jasper had a detrimental effect on lots of us. If you were near the bottom of the ability range there was no encouragement at all and he regarded you as an irritation that he would rather not have around.At the other end of the scale some of the more able lads in my year were pressured into taking more A levels than they either needed or could cope with. All of this seemed to be for the prestige of the school & Coles without any concern for the good of the pupils. He seemed to hate individuality and stamped down on it whenever he could.The infamous incident when boys were sent home to get their haircut just before the A levels shows just how little he cared about us. I don't regret my time at the RLS, good friends and some inspirational teachers made it worthwhile, but this was no thanks to JP Coles. (Harry)
I was lucky enough to suffer very little from JPCs draconian side, being
into neither dumb insolence nor outright defiance. Basically, unlike some
I could name, I kept my head below the parapet; this ability stands me in
very good stead to this day ! I cannot help but agree, though, that by any
normal standards the old bugger was entirely off his chump.
When I first saw IF I thought for a moment that Lindsay Anderson must've been
at school with us without our knowing it, so closely did it resemble certain
events at RLS. The only bit I couldn't identify with was all the prefects
being as bent as nine-bob notes. I particularly liked the bit where Travis
shot the R .E. master with his CCF rifle. How many of us would have taken
the opportunity to put a couple of rounds of .303 through Derek, had the opportunity
presented itself? (John Bailey 1963-70)
What happened to "Jake" all of a sudden ? I blame Byrne for introducing
"Jasper" instead. But anyway, I just wanted to say that, IMHO, Grammar
schools have not noticeably changed in the 30-odd years since. My 17-year-old
lad is in the 6th form at the "other " RLS, and they are pressured
in just the same way. In fact with the league tables and so on that the schools
are measured by nowadays, if anything they put even more pressure on students
to keep up the prestige of the school. In our day, as Harry said, if you were
at the bottom end of the ability range there was no encouragement at all from
JPC. But JPC was hardly unique in that respect - most teachers, in fact most
adults generally, had no sympathy at all for a child who showed any sort of
ineptitude in
any field that those adults cared about. This was particularly rife in sport
- Pete Benson for example disliked lads who could neither swim nor run distances.
The fact that you might have the potential to be the next Don Bradman or Victor
Barna cut no ice at all... (John Bailey 1963-70)
As has been mentioned previously, Mr Olive was a timid fellow. Mr Cole was decidedly not. 'Old King' Cole, as we called him (we were very subtle in IC) was 'Bongo's' predecessor, assisting 'Daddy' Schofield, or rather taking us for PT while 'Daddy' insisted on trying to teach us to box. Despite the typical Anglo-saxon name, Cole had a rather oriental look about him and always had a sort of half-smile on his face. He used to stand around with a size eleven plimsoll in his hand (not his own - he was no bigger than 5'4") which he would bend double every minute or so, ensuring that it was suitably pliable when he needed to use it. And use it he did, when his half-smile almost changed into a full blown one, as he seemed to take a twisted pleasure from applying the large sole swiftly to the buttocks of some poor eleven year-old. I'm not sure how old Cole would have been in 1957, and it's doubtful if he would have served during the war, but he would undoubtedly have relished a spell as a guard on the Burma railway. It was no surprise that he left after one year. I guess that he and 'Daddy' would not have been bosom buddies. (Derek Humphrey 57/62) I have one amusing memory of Cole. In his one year at the RLS, I was in the Second Year of the Sixth Form, in VIA, and in our free periods we occupied the hut by the Upper Brentwood Road / South Drive entrance. That year we had PT on Friday afternoons which, in retrospect, does not seem a brilliant bit of scheduling. On one occasion, Cole walked down to the hut and said: "I don't mind if some of you skive off but I get rather hurt when nobody bothers to turn up." (J. Alan Smith)
...the first time that I was chastised by JPC. Having survived unscathed until
the third year, we were in class learning how to speak French with a
Jake - quite the most bizarre person I have ever met. It was plain to even the most dim-witted that someone who could sap his energy getting in such a tizz over hair length, yet apparently not care tuppence about general educational standards, was sooner or later going to drive the school into a terminal decline. I suppose he epitomised the Peter principle - pretty good as a teacher (which is what he should have stayed) useless as a Head. My Dad was aware, I think, of a lot of the tension at the school and early on gave me the sage advice to just keep out of Jake's way whenever possible, and where not possible, not to make myself conspicuous. I did just that, more or less. (Pete Isaac)
A strong feeling of deja-vu as I recall a very similar incident with J.P. Coles in his first year at the RLS 62-63? Some wee lad had decided to beautify the sign over the drinking fountain in the new (then) toilets with a demonstration of his linguistic abilities via graffiti. J.P.C. called a special assembly, arriving with gown flailing. On reaching the lectern he stared down at us, eyes abulge for effect. An air of expectancy quickly spread thoughout the hall. He started quite gently talking of the disgrace of toilet graffiti and then without warning, raised his voice several decibels and announced the offending text, "Bollocks this piss is fit for drinking". Being used to George Newth and his quiet urbane style delivered with a wry smile it was all most of the seniors could do to stifle a cackle of laughter. He went on to decry the effect of this graffitti and "its likelihood of ruining the innocence of a young life". Of course it was one of the "young lives" who had probably written the graffiti in the first place and J.P.C's shock broadcasting methods only made it worse. My impressions of JPC went downhill from then onwards and it was a relief to leave in July 63. (Peter Moulds)
I also remember this incident and remember the stunned silence and shock that greeted Coles's outburst. I too had no respect for him after 4years of the Newth experience and also left in 63. (Brian Mutton)
When I joined RLS in the second form I was immediately advised that George
believed in self discipline and that if you stepped out of line you would be
sent to stand outside Georges’ office for punishment to be administered. you
would also go to his study via the downstairs cloakroom to pad out your
trousers with the odd text book or two. The school had a great reputation for
both academic and sporting prowess and I distinctly remember that the academic
achievements were compared very favourably alongside Manchester Grammar which
had the reputation of being the best school in the
I found the RLS a run-down place when I arrived there. Dull & dingy
buildings, he original well-worn furniture, dull & dingy staff (?) close to
retirement, a genteel state of decay. I had attended modern primary schools,
and had a modern home, so this was a new experience to me. Self discipline
seemed the order of the day at the RLS. Boys were assumed to know and do the
right thing unless caught otherwise. Hanging down the spiral stairwell outside
Newth’s office was a dusty, fading, fraying Union flag recalling the crumbling
Empire, since it had last flown on independence eve in some African
protectorate.
All that seemed to change with the invigorating arrival of Coles. A new broom.
Apart from the school computer project, the place was rewired and redecorated,
brightening up all those dark corners; new younger staff started, The furniture
was renewed. Fire extinguishers replaced. How much of this would have happened
in Coles’ absence is impossible to know. However, discipline might be described
as hands on. Perhaps a reflection of Coles' difficulty with delegation. This
was shown in the expansion of the school rules from a page in the blue book to
several detailed pages. Perhaps these could be added to the Library, to compare
with the former set already there. Was there no long hair problem before his
arrival? The hair inspections were carried out by Coles personally - no
delegation of authority. However, he did move with the times by relaxing the
cap rule for the 6th form, allowing them black blazers to stand apart from the
plebs. He also allowed boys to leave the premises during the lunch break, and
we would often adjourn to
I can recall the first hair inspection I underwent. At the end of morning assembly there was a request for the 4th year to remain behind. We were then required to form up in class lines down the hall, & Coles moved along, telling one boy after another "Go get a haircut, & don't come back until you do". At first we were all surprised, and then amazed as he seemed to send away two in three boys. It then became rather funny, & people were saying "He'll be sending Perdrisat away next" Perdrisat's hair was a bit of a joke, as the only boy in the school with a crew cut - very closely shaved hair. Well Coles moved slowly down the line until he got to Perdrisat, and sure enough he was told to go get a haircut! Apparently it was OK on top, but the sideburns were too long! After that, no one could take things seriously, much to Coles annoyance. He had a serious point to make about being neat & tidy. Somehow I missed the general expulsion although I had some of the longest hair in the school. I brushed it back as I do today, so it must have looked neat, & trimmed around the edges. Different years stayed back for inspection through the week, & this was regularly repeated over the years. (John Hawkins)
'And also a posthumous thank you to Jake Coles.' Sorry, can't agree with the last sentence. I give no thanks to Jake for anything. OK, he was an excellent maths teacher. But as a headmaster...he treated the school as an exam sausage machine and us as trainee sausages. After I withdrew from UCCA (?), he never said another word to me. Though in a sense, I suppose I should be grateful. If I'd gone to university, my life might have been completely different and I find it hard to believe it could have been much better. You win, John. Thanks, Jake! (Steve East)
Steve, sorry to make you perform mental gymnastics mate! My thanks to Jake were extremely narrowly focussed, hope I didn't give the impression of amore general gratitude toward the miserable old git..... And I'm sorry, I don't think he was a patch on JSS as a maths teacher - the reason we learnt from Jake's teaching was because we were frightened not to! (John Bailey)
Some memories of Jake... If you got told to 'Get your hair CUT, boy', you had been 'BOPPED'. Don't know where the word came from! On your first appearance (first thing next morning at his study), if your hair wasn't short enough, then you were given 2 x School Rules. Next day 4x, up to 16x (I think!), then it was cane time! I remember getting to 16x before I bottled it and got it cut. I went on the School Cruise around the Baltic in 1974 on the S.S. Nevasa. Had a great time. The letter from the school stated that even though it was during the summer hols, hair needed to be short. Jake reserved the right to do 'an amateur trim on the high seas'. Nobody was trimmed though. Remember we had daily dormitory inspections and once we started dropping a few marks, we gave up. Some snotty other school kept getting full marks, so we went and wrecked their dorm. Somehow, they STILL got full marks, but we enjoyed it anyway. Finally, I wonder if anyone remembers Jake's later years. I recall his hair(!) started falling out in patches (alopaecia), which now seems like some kind of poetic justice... Overall though, I found him fair and I could respect his position on appearance.(Ian Puxley)
When I attended the school (69 - 76) Coles' hair policy was very much against the prevailing social trend and a source of much friction. Extensive use of curlers was required in order to get the offending hair off your colour, aide by pulling your shirt so far down at the back that the front button would be above your Adam's apple! I am sure Coles realised the tricks that were being pulled but didn't have the energy to deal with everyone, so just focused on the major miscreants and ringleaders. Haircut inspection was just before assembly, I think, so the curls would usually hold up long enough. My hair actually got very long and was quite frizzy, so eventually I could just tuck it into my collar and it would look like it was 'resting on, but not over, the collar' and so meet the rule. I also recall a famous occasion when three fifth year boys, who were 'opting out' of the school at 15, went and got skinhead crops and turned up with Doc Martens and sheepskin jackets. Coles threw a major wobbler at assembly and sent them all home to get their hair grown!!! I was certainly no fan of Coles and his inflexible imposition of petty rules. It caused much friction and grief and alienated him from the boys and many of the staff. In the end it did him no good and he was regarded with a mixture of loathing and mirth by my contemporaries. (Colin Newlyn)
"On your first appearance (first thing next morning at his study), if
your hair wasn't short enough, then you were given 2 x School Rules. Next day
4x, up to 16x (I think!), then it was cane time! I remember getting to 16x
before I bottled it and got it cut. I got X64 once. Finally, I wonder if anyone
remembers Jake's later years. I recall his hair(!) started falling out in
patches (alopaecia), which now seems like some kind of poetic justice... Yes,
we watched with glee as the original bald spot the size of a shilling grew,
later to be joined by others all over his head. Overall though, I found him
fair and I could respect his position on appearance."
The hair issue seemed to be a real obsession with him - and with many boys as well,
as we went to enormous sacrifices to retain as much of it as we could. It was a
bugger though to be instantly recognisable as an RLS pupil in one's social life
as pupils from the other schools did not have this sort of ruling imposed on
them. (Steve Snelgrove)
As an RLS pupil when J.P. Coles arrived, I remember his impact on the sixth form hut. GRN always accepted some of the strange goings on in the hut, including the card games and the darts. When GRN told us that, playing cards for points was the same as gambling, because we could always settle up afterwards. We were amazed by his insight. He obviously knew what was going on!! Coles took a different approach. He didn't want any of that. He obviously had a goal to clean up hut. I remember one time when we saw him coming, removed the dart board and placed a dustbin lid in its place, to suggest that the dart board was covered. He came in to the hut, read the riot act and made a final point by removing the lid - a short term embarrassment for him, but it didn't distract him from his goal. (Peter Cowling)
(Ad. Coles) He did not have the respect of people in the way that Newth had. I suppose he had to earn it > over time. I wonder if George "earned it over time" before I arrived at the school? The respect was certainly well in place by 1955! George had this aura about him which wasn't menacing or born out of fear - well...it might have been if you were a new first year ...but it also worked with the stroppy fifth years and yet he was only a little fella without even a big voice (like Ernie Pilling!). It wasn't fear of the cane either as once you'd had it you realised it was no big deal! Dare I suggest it was "personality"? (DGM)
John wrote: "It was suggested that the name came from a habit of his to bounce Rapidly along, gown flowing (which he certainly did at times), muttering audibly under his breath "bop, bop, bop ..." (which I never managed to detect)." That was my understanding as well. If he didn't actually mutter thus, he should have done. (Stephen Snelgrove) --- I recall Coles addressing our class in the Hall for some reason about the evils of gambling. He had a religious fervour against it. In response to a boy's question, he confirmed that he held Premium Bonds, which he had never seen as gambling before. He vowed to redeem them immediately (to redeem himself). (John Hawkins)
Jake's missing shirt buttons and the brown overall he used when he taught (and what a brilliant maths teacher he was) (Andy Ellis)
When Coles was under stress his voice would break into a treble pitch, to everyone’s amusement. I remember him once announcing the boys to attend his study after assembly, concluding with Green, P. The room broke up with mirth, & Coles came back with “And I expect the right boy to attend! (John Hawkins)
Ian Puxley wrote: "If you got told to 'Get your hair CUT, boy', you had
been 'BOPPED'. Don't know where the word came from!" You have the manner
and emphasis just right. The word CUT was emphasised and in a higher register.
I always wondered where the nickname "Bop" or "Bopper"
Coles came from. Enquiries amongst the boys at the time suggested that most did
not have a clue and presumably were just copying the prevailing fashion. It was
suggested that the name came from a habit of his to bounce rapidly along, gown
flowing (which he certainly did at times), muttering audibly under his breath
"bop, bop, bop ..." (which I never managed to detect).
Ian went on: "Overall though, I found him fair and I could respect this
position on appearance."
My impression (in hindsight) is that depended on how far you went. If you
didn't go too far too often, he was rather OK. However if you were persistently
too rebellious I think he got pretty heavy. (I didn't go too far too often - or
at least I wasn't caught. The occasional bopping or night in copying out the
school rules didn't seem too oppressive tome at the time.) (John Phillips)
"Does anyone recall Coles in a mini?" or words to that effect. I do recall Coles had a Mr Bean mini at one time, for it was maintained by Turner of my year. It was rather comic that the mini of the head was dwarfed by all the other master's cars parked around Hare Hall. (John Hawkins)
I believed for a long while that it was just a rumour. However - as Mad Max
Bygraves would have said, "I wanna tell you a story......."
When I was at RLS I lived at the other (cheap) end of
Any road up, one Saturday night we were proceeding about our semi-lawful
business, scoffing large bags of chips, when we passed by the local
launderette. This place had large picture windows and was lit up like Wembley
stadium on the inside, making its occupants plainly visible from the road. And
there, in front of a machine, sat none other than the aforementioned Jake and
Flossie.
This visual shock produced a variety of reactions among the RLS lads. Paul
Baker (sadly not a member) , who was walking with me, reacted in his usual
subtle way by shouting "It's that old c*** Jasper!" at the top of his
lungs before legging it off down the road at a rate of knots. Inevitably this
oath attracted the attention of the man himself, who began to peer intently
through the window - an act which resulted in the rest of us scattering
rapidly, while my non-RLS friends stood and wondered what the hell was going
on.
We were all terrified that we would be hauled up before the old git the next
Monday morning - as though we were somehow culpable for catching him – but
nothing more was heard about the incident. Maybe JPC was unable to make out who
was standing in the darkness outside, or (more likely) he felt that any attempt
to find a reason to berate us might result in yet another unwelcome appearance
in the Romford Recorder, as tended to happen to him at the time (see archive
postings on "Bucket of Piss" etc.) Hopefully hon. member Steve East
will back me up on this one as there is a more-than-fair chance he was present
at the time. If not then I will have to wait until
hopefully-soon-to-be-hon-member Steve Byrne gets around to joining our
discussions. (John Bailey)
I wasn't present for the momentous Jasper & Flossie sighting. I do remember the excitement the following week when the story was being told and retold. And for many years after I couldn't go past that laundrette without peeking in. (Steve East)
Mick Lee wrote: "Will somebody remind me who Flossie was?"
Mick, I had to finally go and dig out my 1966-67 Year Book, I knew I had one
somewhere... Mrs M Keslake it tells me - Marion, I think. Laboratory assistant
to Jet Morgan. Commenced 1964/5 ? and I think was still there when I departed
'68.
Not exactly the sort of character that you would expect to be associated with
Jake, which made the rumour all the more appealing. Certainly not an object of
desire. (Perhaps they suited each other!) She was notable for wearing light
summer dresses and leaning over benches whilst undertaking her chores,
revealing a total absence of mammaries but nipples of award-winning
proportions. Not the sort of experience that was sought after. (Peter Robinson)
I don't know about the others, but I always presumed that JPC acquired the name 'Jake' so as to rhyme in the song 'Old Jake Coles was a merry old soul'. (Ian Petitt)
The correct libretto is "Old Jake Coles was a silly arsehole", and each chorus ended "There's none so fair as can compare to the boys of the Liberty." Or at least, that is how it was always sung in the RAF section of the CCF, where the chief archivist (and inventor of new verses) was one Dave Scully. (John Bailey)
Jake may have been a merry old soul in your day but he certainly wasn't in ours, in fact merriment was notably lacking except on special occasions (Steve East)
Steve, sorry to make you perform mental gymnastics mate! My thanks to Jake
were extremely narrowly focussed, hope I
didn't give the impression of amore general gratitude toward the miserable old
git..... And I'm sorry, I don't think he was a patch on JSS as a maths teacher
- the reason we learnt from Jake's teaching was because we were frightened not
to!
Sad to say, but a head teacher running such a sausage machine here today would
be besieged by parents anxious to get their little darlings into the mincer and
the place would be oversubscribed by at least 50 %.
Even the RLS which my son attends exhibits certain characteristics of the
same(before anyone gets excited, that's the Royal LATIN School, it's in
Buckingham !) (John Bailey)
'How was the change from Newth to Coles?` I recall it as sudden but not catastrophic. There was certainly an air of a new broom sweeping clean; a feeling of a leap from the ancient ('post war' - 'looking backwards' - classical languages) to the modern ('swinging sixties' - 'looking forwards' - introduction of a computer) My only concrete example was the insistence that *all* pupils wore regulation uniform - previously older pupils had been permitted to wear a sports jacket instead of the blazer. See the early/mid 60s photographs of full school, and particularly those of pr*f*cts. (Andy)
Name: John Patrick Coles Height: 5'11". Age: 37 on Appointment in April
1963.
Do we have an exact date of birth? And place? No, but I'm sure he was a
Yorkshire man
Hair colour: Dark until allopecia (sp?) took its toll Hair Style: Parted on
left, Short!!
Eyes: Three, one each side and one roving!
Dress: Suit or Sports Coat - never really smart or scruffy.
Scars etc.: Inflicted on others for smoking etc? Was he known to smoke or drink
himself? In the list of masters he is said to have disliked any fun activities
etc. True or false? Never smoked and could not tell a Chateau Neuf du Pape from
a Gerwertztraminer even in day light.
Speech: Clear but with slight hesitation on occasions A stutter or just a pause
before talking? Neither -t was more a matter of making a noise while sorting
his thoughts - I do it myself some times.
Favorite words: Get your hair cut? Was this said with real menace, or in a kind
of jovial way? In the age of the Beatles he was obsessed with the length of
hair – and sometimes the reaction was a bit OTT for my taste. Physical: Slight
Disposition: Life for him was always a bit black and white - probably the
reason why he went OTT on a number of celebrated occasions.
What were these occasions and what happened? What were the long-term
implications? Did outside forces (e.g. governors, The Government) ever try to
restrict him. I don't think history needs the details - they were in the papers
from time to time. I was always sad that such a positive person could not
anticipate the downside of strong reactions.
He was very strong willed - e.g. stuck to his guns over supporting selection
till the day he died. As ever he did the job to be done to the best of his
ability - but that was not the best place for him to be employed. The 1973
changes we brought in, not particularly well planned, and heads were left to
get on with the job.
How did he react when the RLS turned into a comprehensive, then? (Or had you
left by then?)
Was the change from grammar to comprehensive a sudden change? Or was it planned
well in advance? I have news cutting from the 50s where it was proposed. He was
also very human and warm. He visited sick staff, was careful to relate well to
their partners, and genuinely caring.
Did he still carry out corporal punishment? Yes.
Did he have a sadistic steak at all? Definitely not the motivation for his
behaviour.
Delegation was always difficult for him.
Did he try to do everything himself? And did he ever "muck in," doing
physical work like carrying things when he could have got someone else to do
it? Yes - he certainly mucked in - he got his nick name Handy Andy form a
kitchen cleaning product of the day - because he helped the "Dinner
Ladies" clear and stack plates! The dignity of office was not a currency
he was aware of in the same way that GHRN was.
Profile: Set very high professional standards for the staff and pupils. Like
Newth, a Mathematician - first at
I don't remember "Handy Andy" at all. Maybe that was a staff
thing. "Jake" or "Bop" were the usual ones for us. I
remember one of my contemporaries, one Roy Allen, scratching "BOP" on
his (Jake's) desk during a detention. Quite out of character for Roy, as John P
will no doubt confirm. Roy's parents were charged for a French Polish of the
desk.
With some menace, a sort of patronising, quasi-jovial tone. I think that he saw
it as a minor thing, but at the age of 14 or so, it was a really big deal.
My parents once went to see him to try to persuade him to impose some
punishment more useful than myriad repetitions of the School Rules. No
response. The change was phased in. One year we found that the first years were
a very different bunch than those we were used to. The culture of the School
changed markedly.
I was caned by JPC on two occasions. Did he have a sadistic streak? As I've
posted before, the sight, through spread legs, of a man older than one's father
bearing down in a run-up to hitting you on the backside with a stick stays in
the mind. I think that you have to have something about you to choose to do
that. (Adrian Thompson)
The hair issue was certainly an obsession. I don't remember him as having any other strong interests as far as his interaction with we boys was concerned. (Stephen Snelgrove)
`Drove a little (unkempt) blue Mini (676 FOF?) not very well. `Don't forget the bike! I don't remember the mini but I have vivid memories of him flashing along the drive past the sports pitches and through Gidea Park. It had a small red and white pouch on the back and he parked it in the last bay of the cycle sheds, nearest to High Trees. We often saw him from the chemistry lab. I guess he was going to and from his home. With a little more thought I recall the road name. It is a great personal sadness to me that he seemed unable to demonstrate the warm side of his character that Bill has described, to the school. If he had there would have been at least one less scared little boy.(Graham Lee)
There was a rumour while I was at the RLS that a bunch of 6th formers had somehow lifted JPC's mini onto the roof of the tuck shop. (Steve Snelgrove)
Roger, mate, my only secret was that I was a right wimp who wouldn't say boo to a goose most of the time. And I was never a hair rebel. OK, I did once forget myself and make a "V" sign at Jake's back as he swept out of our English lesson after interrupting it for something trivial. Fortunately for me Vic Slade thought this was funny, rather than insubordinate. So, what did you do to get onto his regular appointment list ? Attitude or academic failings ? Reveal, reveal, reveal..... Actually, on reflection, you should probably make that three visits by me to Jake's study. I have just remembered that I was put on report once, but I can't remember whether this took place in Jake's lair or in the school office. Even less can I remember why it happened. But I was never in fear for the continued safety of my arse - or at least not with Jake! (John Bailey)
Hard to know where to begin. Academic incompetence certainly. The only school report I have shows me as 27th out of 28 which was the norm. My particular favourite is a position of 14th out of 15 in maths set 4, must have been Jack Waxman who stopped me being last in the year. Then there was my inability to arrive at school on time. Jake's remedy for this was to have me report to him 15 minutes early for a week. Unfortunately I was usually late for this which lead to 1 on 1 detentions, just me and Jake, such fun!!! So being on report was a termly occurrence and getting through 40 lessons a week with no adverse comments was usually beyond me, thus leading to yet more visits to his study. As time went on we got to detest each other more and more until our relationship hit its low point in 6B. I had taken to bunking off school and forging absence letters, then one day I was genuinely ill and took in a letter actually written by my mother (I was either too lazy or too stupid to write one myself). Jake, suspicious bastard that he was, spotted the difference and came bursting into Vic Slade's class waving the incriminating documents. Sad to say I wasn't there. I had skipped the lesson (must have been Chaucer) and was idling in the 6B flat playing pontoon. When he found me I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Truancy, forgery, skipping lessons and gambling, he didn't know what to punish me for. Expulsion was mentioned (God knows why he didn't) but in the end he settled for the cane and of course a bloody sermon. (Roger Harlow)
I have loads of reminiscences, often involving ciggies, prefects, "Jasper" (dire psychopath) Coles and sometimes even cricket pavilions and girls (remember "Chopper" Grosvenor?). (Keith Burgess)
The headmaster at my time was affectionately known as "Jake", or "Jasper", and I remember on one or more occasion being summoned to his room for long hair whereby he pulled out a pair of scissors from a drawer and threatened to cut my hair himself. (Cliff Jones)
You remembered the arty farty economics and the arty farty Brit Con. My other A level subject was not so arty farty maths (we had Jake for maths in 6th form). Don't forget that I worked at weekends in a petrol station with Dave Workman (Newth prize for maths). We did that to afford to drive motor bikes to school (which Jake forbade, so we hid them down the lane at the school entrance). I therefore owe all my career success to rubbing shoulders with a prize winning sums man! Hope that you can sign him up. The last time I was in touch Dave he was working in the computer game. He must therefore have access to the internet. My cousin, Alan Simpson would have been at the school from around 1967 or so. He is now a solicitor in Rayleigh Essex and claims to have played on the same football team (Gidea Park Rangers) as Glen Roeder. Alan is currently the more successful of the two! (John 'Mac' McCarthy)
Jasper was less fierce than he looked, and would sometimes drop his authority to share responsibility with people, for example in a run we had organised to pick up hot pies at break time. I was always amazed, though at his indignation over minor details. The swimming gala, for example, "you know that eating is not permitted in school time, but I saw jaws champing all round the pool"...Encouraged Bill Broderick, I think, which was no bad thing. (John Bailey)
There has been some mention of Jakes enforcement of hair length. It was interesting to hear a debate on Radio 4 about whether the 60s were the best time to be a youth. I remember hoping that Jake would tell me off for my hair length and being very pleased when I finally achieved a 'word' about my hair coming over my ears. I am not sure it was what Jake had in mind, but I know the first thing I did when I left school was to grow my hair. It was probably not until my 30s that it was at collar length. I also remember one boy who got sent home for his hair being too long (after a number of warnings), he got it cut the same as John Lennon had at that time, and on his return he was sent home to 'grow it'. (Chris Fribbins)
What was it with Jakie and hair? I was one of the 'long haired freaks', along with Dave Jasper and Ian Ambrose (where are you guys?) who was forever being pulled up over the length of our chosen hirsute fashion.... yet we never found out what an acceptable length was! If we had it all chopped off..... way too short! If we let it grow.... way too long! One of my excuses one year was that I was playing a king in one of the infamous school productions, and as such Miss Belsham liked the look of my regally flowing locks.... it allowed a stay of execution if nothing else! (sorry if I got you into trouble over that, Mary!) (Andy Bellamy)
Favourite teachers :- J.P. Coles, the best Maths teacher (Chris Fribbins)
Jake did allow motor bikes in the school - At least he allowed my 50cc moped - I had picked it up for free from friends of my mothers in Southend and brought it home on the train. For a short while it was the star attraction, apart from the time Jake caught some of my peers driving up and down the outside of the school between the bike sheds and the chemistry labs and geography classroom at an evening event (I think I got off with a warning). I was never very mechanical and the moped did not last too long (perhaps it was the 2/- worth of petrol I put in it). The final end of the moped was when I rode it up to Leyton to see QPR play there, with no effective brakes (and automatic clutch so it would not stop even when I had the throttle back as far as it would go). The heels of my shoes were worn down at 45 degrees. (Chris Fribbins)
It is amazing how you get to know it was not just you who got into these scrapes (30 years on!). I also had (have) a tendency to be late in the morning (with the main entrance doors closing in my face) and the only entrance available through the Hobby/cloakroom under Jakes office and next to the computer room. For a while it was handy being in the choir, because I could sneak into the balcony a bit later that I could in the main hall. Reports were great fun (not), and I did manage to develop a passable signature for my mother. I think I managed 3 weeks on the trot once. My best ruse was getting off 2 detentions on the same night!. I think one may have been P Evans, and the second one Jake. I told P Evans that I had a detention with Jake, so I got let off. When I got to Jake, I mentioned that I cycled to school and had no lights, so got let off that one as well. (Chris Fribbins)
I suppose now is the time to declare visits to Jake. I lost count of detentions (doing the 20 long number added to itself and 'on report'. My cane record was probably 3 x 2 and 1 x 3 as I remember. (Chris Fribbins)
Jake's Study... the door held just as peculiar an aura of fear, to the point where boys passing it on perfectly legitimate and innocent business would at least quicken their stride and often break into a run - hoping all the while that Jake would not see fit to emerge as they did so. Being both an astute and a cussed old bugger - who appeared to possess 360-degree X-ray vision – he frequently did so. Of course we were far better behaved than you old Teds, so a summons to the dreaded inner sanctum was far less frequent. In fact I was only once unfortunate enough to hear Jake intoning my name in Assembly. My brother and I , along with about half-a-dozen others, were hauled up for the heinous crime of failing to hand in a Dinner Ticket. I don't know what excuse Jake was expecting us to give, however I had the great satisfaction of telling him the truth and seeing him completely flummoxed by it ! The reason ?My parents had been so broke that Monday morning (or so they said, anyway) that they had been unable to give us any dinner money - therefore we had not handed in tickets because we didn't have any. Or any lunch, for that matter. After Jake recovered his composure he threw the rest of the miscreants out of his study (which probably saved someone a whack or two, I hope they're grateful !) before dragging the two of us into the office and giving us each a line of Dinner Tickets from school funds. Not to mention a lecture on the importance of having a meal at lunchtime, as if it were somehow our fault. I thought that would be the end of it, but Jake then sent my Dad a snotty letter reminding him of his responsibility to feed his children - which he should not have needed to be told, really - and inviting him to apply for free school meals. Unsurprisingly the result of this was that we never went short of dinner money again ! (John Bailey)
I only expected (Coles) to stay for 7 - 10 years and then move off to a
Pubic School or University Education Department. As we all know this was not to
be.. There were several reasons I suspect.
There were the well known incidents which neither enhanced the reputation of
the school nor the professional reputation of the Headmaster. In addition he
opposed the Havering Council plans to turn the RLS Comprehensive - he had his
principles and he stuck to them - the only head who did - whilst others
appeared keener to ingratiate themselves with the administration. His private
life was also very unsettled at this time.
I suspect he read the runes and knew that there would be implied caveats in any
reference form the LEA & Chairman of Governors - so the RLS became the
graveyard of his ambitions. A pity for all parties. John was a good teacher and
argued on educational matters with clarity and insight. If he had missed being
a headmaster out of his career progression he might have been a great
contributor to the educational debates of his era.
Newth’s portrait was done at the time of his retirement, and to the best of my
knowledge so was that of John. (Bill Broderick)
Another Jake story... I don't know if it is old hat but perhaps someone
somewhere can satisfy a curiosity that goes back 30 plus years. Amongst his
more sadistic tendencies was to have whole school detentions for some bizarre
excuse or another.
I reckon that about 1969 he had the whole school writing out lines (or rather
mini essay lines) after school in best handwriting because he was going to
review them all (how sad) and people would have to rewrite if he didn't like
the output offered. This exercise was over 4 lines long and I recall he threw a
wobbly because I had used red ink rather than regulation blue. Why should I
waste good ink on something that was going to be of no benefit?
The reason for this hour of joy for 600 boys?? Someone had scratched the word
f*** on the newly painted toilet walls in the block near the caretakers house.
This was on first or second day of term and despite his ranting in Assembly for
a couple of days, etc. he never found out who did it as they didn't own up. I
reckon he would have throttled the poor culprit. Mind you the 'repair"
wasn't brilliant as you could still read it. Looking back it was a rather daft
thing for someone to do.
The question is who did it so we can now seek recompense from him....lol.
Whilst on the subject is it time for a round of classic school b*gs graffiti to
be circulated. Here's a starter I remember one being "I thought w****ng
was in
On the occasions when JPC would crack down and expect disciplinary action from the Brotherhood of the Silver Badge, along with a surprise cap check, it was a ' soft collar '. I have a faint memory that it was as a result of one of these crackdowns that Doug Newlyn et al turned in their badges. Doug? (GAL)
One morning in about 1969 I was proceeding quietly about my lawful business, walking along the path from the (new) 6A hut towards the school bogs, past the windows of the Chemistry labs, when I espied Jake approaching from the opposite direction. By this stage (VI B) I had lost my instinctive reaction to such situations, i.e. I no longer felt inclined to *£!$ off at speed in the opposite direction , so I carried on in the expectation of no more than an exchange of "Good Morning"s (I knew better than to simply ignore him !)
No such luck - Jake made a beeline for me and bellowed "Bailey ! What have you been doing to me ?" Not having a clue what he was raving about, I did the usual "What me Sir ? Nothing Sir! " while glancing around for possible witnesses/assistance. Jake then proceeded to explain that he had had a very vivid dream in which he and I had a blazing row about something which he could no longer recall - whereupon he broke into what (for him) was a large grin, and strode off again. Why have nightmares about them when you can give them nightmares about you ? (John Bailey)
The recent postings concerning sadistic masters and various school hard nuts and bullies bring back another memory of the same kind. When I was in either 5th or 6th form there was a little skinhead nutter by the name of Warren in one of the lower forms who would take on pretty well anyone, older boys included. He was the first (and I think only) boy I ever saw wearing cherry-red Doctor Marten's with his school uniform. I dimly recall Hon Member Steve East indulging in a "free and frank exchange of views" with this lad on one occasion - I can't remember why, it may have been for the crime of Refusing to Give Way to a Black Blazer or some such. Anyway there weren't too many bruises thankfully Warren seemed to disappear not too long after the above incident, maybe Jake got fed up with him and removed him. What I am curious about is that I don't ever recall seeing his name mentioned in these posts before. I can't remember now whether he was in the 65 or the 66 intake, but I'm fairly sure it was one or other. Do any other Hon Members recall this gentleman ? He must surely have left his mark on some of you (in more ways than one !) (John Bailey)
Chris - 1963 it was, a few months before we joined the school. I think that's why he seemed so vigorous to us - new broom sweeping clean and so on. As for the nickname(s), you're quite right, "Jasper" was the first nickname I heard (an older lad overheard me saying "Mr. Coles" and corrected me very sternly !) The name "Jake" seemed to come a year or two after we joined, but was certainly the only one in regular use by the time I left in 1970. (John Bailey)
GAL wrote "you [JB] refer to JPC as Jake whereas I only knew him as Jasper." Indeed so. Virtually all aspiring members from the mid 60s onwards refer - either voluntarily or in response to the admissions tutor's gruelling interrogation of their bona-fides - to 'Jake' or 'Jakey'. 'Jasper' must have been a very short-lived sobriquet. (Andy Lee)
Jasper/Jake: During my time he was also known as rough neck or, 'RUFF NECK!'. Thinking about it, this was probably attributable to his short back 'n sides ending in stubble...guess where. I personally had a few other names for him but for the sake of our younger listeners I'll keep them to myself! (Alex Rogers)
Being just a young whipper snapper I'm remembering a totally different era to you chaps, but something you may find amusing is that during my time Coles was a role-model for any lad with an aspiring set of side burns, I still wear mine to this day as do others (unnamed to protect the innocent) of this era. I don't know foxy, this would have been during the reign of Jakey/Taffy in the late eighties. Although long hair was against the rules at the time I don't ever remember a movement to 'ban the burnards'. (Alex Rogers)
Jasper/Jake:I remember as part of the 66 intake that, although the most common name was Jake, there were references to Jasper, but this had become virtually extinct by 1970. (Richard Hall)
From what I can remember, it was very much a "personal choice" thing in that some stuck to "Jasper" (which was the first one we heard) and others switched to "Jake" when it became current. I do wonder why people in my year (including me !) switched to the newer nickname, when a boy in our year (Martin Jacobson) was ALSO know as "Jake" ! The potential for confusion was enormous, but I don't ever remember any embarrassing misunderstandings. I think "Jake" gained currency through the CCF as much as anything. It would certainly have been extremely difficult, when the CCF song was called for, to sing "Old Jasper Coles was a silly arsehole, and a silly arsehole was he" - "Jake" scans so much better for that purpose !! (John Bailey)
Let's face it , anyone who taught R.E. in the 1960's/70's was on a hiding to nothing, especially when he was possessed of a chin which looked like a pair of clenched buttocks. DFR's concomitant problem was that he had graduated from the Jake Coles school of humourlessness. Interestingly I have read the messages on Friendsreunited, and also those posted here by some of our younger members, and it appears that in later years Derek became a figure of fun with no ability to keep order (rather like "Bonnie" Jones in our time.) I must say it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke. (John Bailey)
JP Coles was always Jake from '69 to '76 although some called him "the old Yok" - never did understand that one. (I. Kill)
Does anyone recall D Collins who was the head boy and obviously the ringleader of the B.P.s in 1972? I particularly recall an assembly in the first week of my 1st year when he stood by the stage while Jake struggled with order getting redder and redder in the face. When Jake left with the masters he strode onto the stage and told us to 'F***ING WELL SHUT UP' I was impressed! Pr*f*cts were human after all the rumours. My subsequent 5 years only served to confirm the rumours where actually true. (Richard Marsh)
One of my abiding memories of this educational emporium concerns the bizarre and almost surreal habit of pupils attempting to reduce the apparent length of their hair. The marvellous, inventive, yet ultimately futile efforts to hoodwink the wily old fox known as 'Jake' involved the use of pins, clips, sellotape, staplers, and probably blu-tac or industrial strength hair-gel for all I know. Alternatively, it was not unknown for a determined pupil to elongate his neck and pull down his shirt collar, thus artificially forming a miniscule, yet vital gap of some 10 - 20mm between collar line and hair line in order to create the illusion of a short back and sides, so beloved by the aforementioned Chief Hair warden. Perhaps most gifted in the field of AHRT (apparent hair reduction technique) was Ashley Howe, surely a demi-god amongst his peer group. To see him arrive at the school gates looking like an amalgam of Hendrix and Don King after a particularly bad night would cause one to fear a clear Coles’ victory in the hair inspection stakes. And yet within ten minutes, with the help of 12 fully trained assistants and a mountain of illegal devices, Ashley would present himself at the Court of Old King Cole looking like nothing on the known earth. 32 cubic metres of hair would be tucked into a strange mass that projected about half a metre from the neck, and in retrospect, it was hardly surprising that the Quiff-Meister refused to be taken in by this hairstyle from hell!! Thanks for the memories Mr. Howe! You were Head & Shoulders above the rest. (Spencer Pratten)
Once deeply offended Jake during House play night by uttering the immortal line "It's like trying to sell condoms in a nunnery". Complete tumbleweed moment apart from Dave Moore who was in the audience and who laughed like a drain. He had his hair dyed green for the part too (an alien). Jake apologised to the audience which was 90% parents. Priceless. (Andy Ellis)
I don't remember Jake doing that (doesn't mean he didn't, of course.) I do remember one of the H**d B*ys - don't ask me which one - making an announcement which began "The last Grand Joint Mass Debate of the term will be held at........" but we never found out where as he was then drowned out by the great gale of laughter which echoed around the hall for the next several minutes. In my 4th-form dotage I attended a number of these "mass debates" at the RCH, always with Daisy Bubbers in attendance of course. I discovered that the name was actually quite apt, since these sessions mainly featured a collection of w*nk*rs arguing about nothing in particular! (John Bailey)
... trawling through the archiving on schoolmaster anecdotes I have come across Mr C C Coles the history teacher. It reminded me of a somewhat humourous incident around 1974. One day, around 3pm I tried for a long forgotten reason to gain access to the assembly hall. Finding the door locked I rattled it, and got a small crowd of watchers. Suddenly the door flew open and Piggy Coles appeared framed in the doorway. Inside there was a sex education class in progress. He blurted out, 'There is nothing interesting to see in here' What a liar! Behind him in full and clear technicolour view was a massive screen containing a full and explicit view of a lady's knicker content! (Richard Marsh)
I don't remember exactly what year, but there was a school uniform check whereby prefects were posted by all the school entrances to check that everyone was wearing the correct items of uniform as they arrived for school. I was guilty of wearing an ever so pale green shirt, so I had to report to JPC, along with several others, and had to write out the school rules several times after school. Anyone remember that? (Phil Lovatt)
Phil - I don't remember your lighter shade of pale green shirt but I do remember the uniform checks. At one point I had made myself a badge bearing the likeness of Andy Kopp (Head Boy at the time)with the logo "I'm a Kopp Kid" underneath. I was reported to Bullethead who (politely I must say) demanded that I remove it.(Ian Kill)
Paul Cantle was renowned for lobbing food around at lunchtimes in the assembly hall. I recall one occasion when JPC ended up in a custard speckled suit. At least the young Mr Cantle had the excuse that he was of a somewhat unstable mind unlike some of his predecessors. (Steve Hyde) ...thanks Trev for the name Cantle. I do believe you are correct. He used to hide under Dells desk or in the cupboard and emerge 5 minutes into the lesson. Fantastic! I remember that Jake once threatened a school detention unless the vandal responsible for bending the wheel of a pushbike in the cycle shed own up. Turned out that Cantle had thrown a fit (literally) in the shed and moulded himself into said wheel... (Ian Kill)
Records indicate that Jake retired in 1989. I gather he did not live to enjoy his retirement for a prolonged period. My brother's children were at RLS in the late 1980s, I remember Colin saying on a number of occasions that Jake was ill and taking prolonged periods off school. (John Bailey)
The '64 photo includes, as already discussed, 2 images of (Keith) Copsey, as I remember it, at the end of the camera's sweep, Jake stood up, and said 'Copsey, my study', which was a mystery to me at the time. I later had the opportunity to talk to him about it while waiting to get my first 'Jake' caning (snowballs in the playground). He was very helpful (he had been in the same class as my sister in junior school, so we had a common bond). He also told me if I looked at Jake in the eyes between his legs as he took his approach, it put him off. Whether it did, I am not sure, but I always did this through the next few years. (Rick Tolbart)
Snowballs in the playground? What kind of a fascist regime WAS this? What are playgrounds and snow for, for goodness sake? If that was a "caning crime" there are a fair few pr*f*cts of my era who should be lined up outside that study!!! The more I hear about him the more I am persuaded that I don't think Jake and I would have been on the best of terms! (DGM)
I think it would be fair to say that you would not have lasted many terms under the Jake regime and probably would not have wanted to. His "Regime" was the opposite of the benign toleration of Schoolboy Anarchy by Newth; who allowed us to develop our own characters: Jake wanted to enforce his rules. Philosophically poles apart. (Rhod Jones)
I don't remember Jake doing that (doesn't mean he didn't, of course.) I do remember one of the H**d B*ys - don't ask me which one - making an announcement which began "The last Grand Joint Mass Debate of the term will be held at........" but we never found out where as he was then drowned out by the great gale of laughter which echoed around the hall for the next several minutes. In my 4th-form dotage I attended a number of these "mass debates" at the RCH, always with Daisy Bubbers in attendance of course. I discovered that the name was actually quite apt, since these sessions mainly featured a collection of w*nk*rs arguing about nothing in particular! (John Bailey)
I remember the ' mass debate ' incident as being perpetrated after assembly, by (Head Boy) Dave Butler. (GAL)
It was a head boy who said the 'Mass debate' gag, and I believe it was for the 'does Father Christmas exist' debate. Actually, I rather enjoyed those debates (Rick Tolbart)
The '64 photo includes, as already discussed, 2 images of (Keith) Copsey, as I remember it, at the end of the camera's sweep, Jake stood up, and said 'Copsey, my study', which was a mystery to me at the time. I later had the opportunity to talk to him about it while waiting to get my first 'Jake' caning (snowballs in the playground). He was very helpful (he had been in the same class as my sister in junior school, so we had a common bond). He also told me if I looked at Jake in the eyes between his legs as he took his approach, it put him off. Whether it did, I am not sure, but I always did this through the next few years. (Rick Tolbart)
The reason for me being caned for a snowball in the playground was that windows had been broken by 'ice balls'. However, I was caught red (white?0 handed by Jake himself, on the edge of the playing fields, throwing away from the school. However, in his mind, rules are rules, and I had to be punished. By the way, does anyone remember the whole school detention one Friday evening for graffiti in the newly painted toilets? My mother had asked for me to have a half day off, as I was to travel to Wales for my grandparents golden wedding celebrations, but of course Jake wouldn't allow me to leave early. My mother even asked if I could be kept in the following week on my own, trying to appeal to his better side, but apparently he didn't have one. (Rick Tolbart)
I remember hitting JPC with a snowball lobbed over the hedge between the playing field and the car park. I escaped detection, but I can't remember whether this resulted in a mass detention. (Chris Boivin)
Over the years I got to know Jake's cane on a fairly intimate basis. I recall Jake walking to the far wall on one occasion while I watched him through my legs. This evidently put him off, because as he came charging towards me he managed to whack a nearby chair instead of me. Obliging as ever, I immediately jumped up and moved the offending chair - Jake looked astonished - "what are you doing boy?!" he yelled. "Moving the chair for you, sir, of course!" "Leave it, leave it!" He looked like he was about to have an apoplectic fit, his face was brick red and his eyes were bulging. When he finally composed himself to whack me, his heart wasn't in it. I turned as I went out of the door and I swear he was trying to stifle a laugh. We were always on quite friendly terms after that, even though he still had to whack me a few times. (Neil Miller)
Chlorine escaped and the entire class started coughing up nasty thing: I think, from memory, that this event occurred in a Rog Hammond chemistry session, rather than a Jet Morgan. I also seem to recall that we were in the other lab at the time, in the other chem. group, and actually came round to watch the dying swan acts. Although nobody actually died, we were running a book on the poor pupil who would be closest to death. Callous, or what? (Ashley Howe)
You (Ian Mac) asked "what was the name of the sexy blonde that used to wear white coats around the labs, and a very small bikini in the pool on Saturdays?" The woman you are thinking of was Marion Keslake, a.k.a. "Flossie." Was Flossie cavorting without trunks too ? Shame you didn't have a camera, a photo of Jake au naturel would certainly have made an interesting addition to the web site (if you had escaped with your life that is.) Jake was certainly "seeing" Flossie, of that there is no doubt. (John Bailey)
Re the hair: 'Jake" wanted me chucked out and banned from taking my A levels but my Mum and Dad approached the Governors and the compromise was that I couldn't attend school from that date (whenever it was) but I was allowed to take my exams. I was chaperoned on and off the premises for each exam and was then allowed to attend school for the 'dead' period after the last exam and before the date of that fantastic party you b******s never told me about. (Chris Stratford)
I am privileged to have witnessed the funniest piece of RLS slapstick in my time there bar none. It featured John Tester, JP Coles and an inanimate object. Now John Tester was not a practical joker - he was mild mannered and more than a little shy, all of which added to the beauty of this particular moment. Doug Palfrey (or the cleaner) was prone to leaving a bucket of sand on the wire safety grill that prevented lower 6th formers from plunging to certain death from the very top of the spiral staircase where the banister rail formed the outline of an oval gallery. One evening, John, who was a good 6'2" strode out of the 6B flat on his way home with his giant herring-bone overcoat flung over is shoulder. He was just a bit clumsy (not a lot, just a bit) and the end of his coat must have caught the edge of the bucket of sand. The bucket of sand tipped over. We looked down. All this happened in slow motion. On the half landing below, outside the School office, stood J P Coles. Covered in sand. Within approximately 3 milliseconds Jake was among us, spluttering and demanding a confession. John's hand sort of half went up, it didn't quite reach shoulder height and the fingers just waggled a bit. "Sorry, it must have been me Sir" mumbled poor John as he followed Jake down to his office. The one thing I could not take my eyes off during Jake's outburst was the perfect line of sand across both shoulders as he stood there - purple. Then, alone again and in a silent aftershock, the two or three of us who had been there and seen it went back into the 6B flat where Geoff Kemp, who had watched events unfold from a few feet away was rolling around on the floor, biting the back his hand to stifle his reaction. The explosion of laughter that followed from all of us was an event in itself. (Andy Ellis)
... famous event in assembly was Jake's classic line "Every time I open my mouth, some fool speaks!" Anyone else remember this one? (Cliff J.)
Jake must have always got out of bed on the wrong side. He used to swoosh in
Dracula like with gown flowing, flying onto the dais after the head boys intellectual
chant of 'shut up' 'shut up' 'shut up'... usually so red and furious that blood
vessels were bursting all over the first years. This particular day he swooshed
in with a bucket which he plonked on the piano slopping none other than neat
piss everywhere. The contents of this bucket having been passed in the 6B flat
the day before.
From memory 6B were asked to stay behind and my understanding was that they
were then made to walk round and put their head over the bucket to savour its
delightful odour. When this didn't work they were all trooped up to the Geology
room and locked in with the windows shut until somebody spilled the beans.
Could I possibly have got this right?
Rumour always had it that it was the caretakers daughter anyway. Think I was in
the first year so it the 6b’ers would have been 61’ers? (Greg Cooper)
The old Coles' Grammar School RLS was a regime of violent abuse and humiliation. How many of our lives have been darkened by accepting the regular sadistic canings and beating by teachers and pr*f*cts alike? How many of our lives have been disturbed by the war of humiliation, be it snobbery, sadistic hair-rules and meaningless detentions and how many would have been improved by teaching fairness and respect? How many of us would have had a better "Attitude, motivation and behaviour" if we'd gone to a school where these were encouraged? (Ian Macauley)
I offer a counter-example to Ian Mac's portrait of "the old Coles' regime
of violent abuse and humiliation" in order to balance the picture. I
confine myself to comments on school culture and its possible effects on pupils
later lives.
I was never abused violently, nor did I feel humiliated. In general I was
treated fairly and I learned to respect those pupils and staff who earned
it. I tried to earn it myself. I was
encouraged and motivated and I responded accordingly. There may be a few
exceptions (OK ... the meaningless detentions were irritating; the odd clip
round the ear; Daddy Scho's swimming lessons) but the statements above represent
my overall impression.
Call me a goody-goody swot if you will, but life at RLS in the early/mid 60s
didn't have to be as dark as Ian paints. I record the following facts not as a
claim to being the perfect human being but to demonstrate that attendance at a
boys-only school does not necessarily disturb, twist or warp one's later life.
In spite of temptations I have been monogamously faithful (rare it seems) to
the same woman since I met her 33 years ago.
There have been difficult times but I think we can claim to have a
successful marriage. We have three
children who, having been helped over the normal childhood and teenage hurdles,
have grown up to be well-rounded, respectable young adults.
Some may think all that dull - I regard it as something of an achievement. Of
course, I will never know how much of 'me' is attributable to school, how much
to family upbringing, to other factors, to sheer good luck. I am undoubtedly a
mixture of them all. (Andy Lee)
How did Coles go with the teaching staff? Did he have any rebels amongst them that challenged him in hair or dress?
I'm afraid I cannot recall any such staff during Coles early years at the school, although I can remember some nodding their heads in disbelief as he ranted on about some perceived problems at morning assembly. (John Hawkins)
It was certainly a wonder Jake tolerated Dave McClean's enlightened approach and he was the first man to use the word "despot" so aptly. How accurately this described the approach of the regime at the time cannot be understated. Jake was certainly not the benevolent kind. Dave was certainly amongst the first of the "breed" of new Masters along with Neil Tett (who actually did teach English) whose approach and views were of the 1970's and not "goodbye Mr Chips"
I have read the numerous threads over the past 2 weeks or so. We should all reflect and think on ...where on earth could someone get away with caning 17/18 years for some trivial misdemeanour/threaten to stop adults sitting exams for reasons such as growing their hair in the fashion of the day when they could legally be married, buy cigarettes in public, and in some, cases vote. Little wonder in those times of great change so much turmoil arose and memorable vitriol/disaffection is still extant in many members memories. Enough of this.... just who is coming along on 15 December.... time for the register to be opened boys and roll call taken. (Tony Guest)
As for the 'sadistic masters' 'Coles was a b*st*rd' comments; most of the unpleasantness seemed to start at puberty, where many chaps, now solid citizens, and pillars of local society, suffered from testosterone overload to a degree that was, frankly, funny. Probably wasn't to the chaps themselves, of course, and Coles, I agree, was not somebody you wanted to get the wrong side of. Also suffered in the sense of humour department.
Funnily enough, when I was still in primary school (good old
There certainly was a change around that time (of which Tony Guest wrote). To me the first of the "new wave" of teachers has to have been Vic Slade, who I believe joined in 1967.
He was certainly far more "user friendly" than any others I'd come across up to then. As I have written before though, many of the more traditional teachers suddenly became much more avuncular when you wore a black blazer instead of a blue one! (John Bailey)
I do remember weekend visits to the digs of a group of
lecturers living in
I used to clean cars at weekends, and they kindly were on my list. What a great bunch of guys' and great for a 3rd/4th former to be able to relax at the homes of a group of lecturers away from RLS. AND they didn't blow their cool when we nipped into the Spread
Eagle for a pint, or the Napier on the High Street so they could replenish stocks of 'additonal' smoking materials. Nice way to beat off the police age checks - 4 lecturers to vouch for you! (Ian Macauley)
My parents were summoned by Jake in 1970 and were
categorically told that I was not allowed to wear bright apple green shirts to
school in spite of the fact that they were made of the finest silk. They did not know what Jake was talking about
and I remember a somewhat heated situation.
My parents were not aware that I had worn the said shirt to school as I
had left the house in a plain white shirt and changed into the green shirt in
the alleyway next to
As somebody whose schooldays bridged the Newth and Coles years I am astonished at the impact the latter came to have on those who followed me in the mid-late sixties.
Aside from stopping the absolute mayhem that regularly coincided with the end of term in the Newth years, I have little recollection of him at all in my two years in the sixth form following his arrival - I am not even sure that he had a nickname at that time. This was the time when the Beatles were at or approaching their peak of popularity (indeed, I saw them at the Odeon Romford just a short time before I first set eyes on Coles) and I certainly had long hair, as did others, but do not recall this being an issue - or, indeed, my being caught playing poker in the sixth form hut on numerous occasions which, it would seem, he would have viewed with much greater seriousness in later years. (Malcolm Paul)
Having been out of the loop for a few days I am glad to see there is still a Coles thread going because the earlier debate about grammar schools has been occupying the vacuum in my head whilst I've been off-line.
Like us all I was up there in the study having my hair checked each week but Coles’ main crime was the creation of that educational stroke of genius 4f. 4f very nearly did for me. It was a dead close thing 4a 4b .4f. Excellent just what a 15 year old needs to get motivated, fail Spanish, get dumped in 4f, with no way out. If ever there was an example of what is wrong with selection 4f was a microcosm of it. 4 failures. It’s ok if you `pass' its tough if you don't. The reason that selection at 11 is potentially so unfair is not the education on offer, teachers facilities etc, it's the peer group influences and the expectations of you. If you make it across the line and you are with people who want to learn and are expected to perform, you do. Of course grammar schools turned out good results, if you cream off the best, only people like Coles could balls it up for you. It has to be wrong to have some arbitrary cut at 11 which determines that some have failed already. (Greg Cooper)
In your day Coles was certainly known as Jasper to the lower school. I think he only came to be called Jake after you left. As for his personality and increasing unpredictability as the years went on - although I have never seen it suggested in this forum, the break-up of his marriage must surely have contributed to his increasing fierceness? (John Bailey)
Martin wrote: "Funnily enough, when I was still in
primary school (good old
Have to agree with Martin. I remember the ritual bullying
that we received during the first term at the
On
"Dear Mr. Stratford,
I have been waging a continuous and unsuccessful campaign to get Christopher to conform to school rules which require him to keep his hair off his collar ... ..."
Hon. Member Stratford (that's
I still feel the ultimate tutor was JP Coles, who lived and breathed > Maths in a masterly infectious manner, reminiscent of Richard Feynmann and his MIT Lectures On Physics. JPC's stuff was the Roots of Maths and had nothing to do with the syllabus and everything to do with grasping the fundamentals and sparking off enthusiasm to go look yourself. (Ian MaCauley)
Viewing JPC from the other side and you will find many dissenters, he was articulate, urbane, knowledgeable and very human. I owe him a great deal, and ,I hope, I have lived up to his expectations of me. (Neil Tett-Teacher 68-75)
JPC was one of the biggest reasons I had any bad times at RLS. He was a dictatorial ego-maniac, sadistic and bullying to people who could not fight back. Just witness the piss-in-bucket incident, who else would humiliate other humans like that, not to mention his pettiness with hair, rules etc. I agree very much with school discipline, and have no issue with following rules, but I always had the feeling he was enjoying that part a little too much.
His attitude made me less keen to continue my education and go to Univ., and he also "made" me do an A level syllabus that I did not want to do.
My parents also felt he was very much a mini-Hitler, and his famous morals did not stand up to well to those that witnessed the Flossie incident. Sorry but I will never revise that view. When he came round to my mum asking her about window cleaning, I just thought, yes he reaped what he sowed.
I know this is provocative, and I am sorry, but this site is for sharing our OPINIONS, and that is mine. (Steve Byrne)
It's a shame that JPC inspires such negative memories for so many of us including me. I was never one of his favourite pupils what with hair and stuff [though I was never caned]. He did so much that failed to inspire respect [as Steve just illustrated] and did much to make going to school rather less enjoyable than it might have been. I admit I had virtually no experience of JPC either as a teacher or on a one-to-one 'unofficial' basis but I accept other peoples' favourable opinions on these aspects. Makes it all the more of a shame he left such a bad impression as a headmaster. Oh by the way I endorse fellow members' views on the duff history syllabus in the 60s. (Roger Jacobson)
Neil - your response is similar to that which Ian Mac posted some weeks ago, to which I replied that I was, well, not confused really, but concerned that my view of JPC, then and now, was and is wrong. My time at the RLS seemed to founder on the rock of JPC at every turn. Nothing I did seemed to please him, to the point where, quite frankly, I didn't give a toss what he thought. Now that attitude on my behalf, I like to think, did NOT extend to the rest of the teaching staff - and I don't say the following just because you're an ex-member of that brigade. In my experience, and this has to be a totally personal statement, in my seven years at the Liberty, if I showed any interest in what I was being "educated" in, that was immediately reinforced by the member of the staff who was working with me at the time. That stemmed from my early love affair with the English language i.e Vic Slade and yourself, through to the superb A level tutoring I received from the likes of Rog Hammond, Tom English, Jim Hardy, et al. I know full well what the debt of gratitude is that I owe.
I also know that you can't have a fire without a spark, but what natural talent or intelligence I may have brought with me into the Lib was certainly magnified out of all proportion to its origins by the encouragement given and interest shown in me by those involved hands-on. And this is where Mac and I, and now yourself, struggle to see things from the same stance. I have NO empirical evidence of any human side of JPC AT ALL.
All of my interactions with him, if you take the tiresome and over-stated length of hair debates to one side, were based on him criticising my approach, my appearance, my attitude, my punctuality - in other words, relating to every damn thing but the one that I thought mattered, the development of me as a thinking, caring person. Christ, I wasn't stupid, and I wasn't shy of studying - I loved it then, I loved my time at university when the informality of the environment really provoked me to some real highs intellectually, and I love thinking and learning now. And all due to the encouragement I received back then - but not from the top.
Why did I get the feeling that JPC was enduring my presence rather than seeing me as somebody whose academic achievements may bring some credit on the old emporium? Some demonstration that the teaching methods were proven in their efficacy? I never once was caned by JPC, I was never suspended, I was never sent home - my transgressions were merely those of the hair length and a pretty laissez-faire attitude. But I always felt I was progressing despite JPC, not because of.
I said before, and I say it again now, that if my view of JPC then was incorrect, it was a view held on the basis of the evidence before me then, and I can't change what I felt then. If other Hon Members have evidence to the contrary, then I shall read their musings and revise my opinion accordingly. But, also as I said to Mac before, if there were to be a trip to lay flowers on JPC's grave, I would be in the vanguard. No matter what I thought then, it was his school that gave me what I consider to be a bloody excellent education.
Enough. You don't post very often, Neil, but it's worth waiting for, looking at the above response you prompted from me. (ash howe)
I think JP Coles as tutor really was "everything to do with grasping the fundamentals and sparking off enthusiasm to go look yourself". His grasp of fundamentals and ability to make me enthusiastic about them was just like Feynmann's effect on me, but JPC was in the skin, a warm, kind, caring man with an exceptional clarity of articulating complicated and abstract ideas to an enthusiastic sensitive teenager, and he possessed the rare gift of "less is more" when tutoring.
I had a background of becoming closer to him through the years. He to took a clear interest in my well-being. For me it started with his help arranging private English lessons, meeting him each lunch-time while I served the masters lunches (there's a tale), my gift at Maths, my rebellious nature causing many a "Mac, see me in my study in 5 mins"! culminating in 'O' level maths by 4th year and selected, with Mick Page, to sit in on some of his 6th form classes while I was still in the 5th. In that environment, I needed him and I badly wanted his confirmation and praise to believe in myself - and I loved his friendship as tutor.
For his part, ignoring the negatives for the moment, he intervened when he saw my parents were not doing their part, and he intervened in the extreme when he saw that I was on a self-destruct course before I pulled out of the nose-dive, partly with his help, and the other good teachers.
Standing in front of you in the Maths class was a formidable man with impeccable dress, enormous presence and oodles of charm and wit. This was HIS class and you were HIS boys in all camraderie and friendship. We were joined together by our enthusiasm for Maths and for learning.
Try to picture him in that spirit... Silence and smiling politeness upon entry into an expectant room. Always a witty aside with someone to start off the show, a swish of the shoulders, a few deft strokes of white on black in silence, then a slow turn of the head, a casual raising of the eyebrows, the start of a wry grin, then waiting... waiting for just you (like no-one else was there) until you saw it. No orders, no humiliation, no excess words. It was all up to you.
Once you were on board, you had a 50 minute roller-coaster ride and at the end you were enamoured with the man and his awesome grasp of the fundamentals and eloquence in helping you understand. You felt alone in his class that he wanted just you to grasp it all.
In the library while tutoring he was a gentle giant, never imposing. He radiated warmth, playful nudges with his elbow if you were dumb or if he scored a classic point at your expense, sidelong glances to check if you were catching on, always a grin and a gentle tap on your hand with his finger, never a pencil, if he wanted you to stop and think before you committed stupidity to paper. If you were wrong he asked you to think it through out aloud so that you found the answer in yourself. He never told me off or made me feel stupid. If he could see you needed a pause for thought or were really ready to forget the syllabus and delve into the fundamentals he would calmly collect a book - never asked you to do it - and away we went into an abstract voyag far beyond my perception of my capabilities.
Messrs Coles and Franklin stretched my own ability to develop myself more than all the other teachers together. And my self-confidence. One mentally, one artistically. Both with a lot of heart & passion. Gents, I've tried to paint the picture from back then. Did it work?
I think he was an awful Headmaster and badly managed large groups of pupils at least. Interested to hear from any teachers about their views on him as Head teacher. Ex-Chairman of Governors, Michael Ward, has promised off-list to talk to us at the July Reunion about JPC in the bridging years, then later adapting to the changes of the '60s and '70s. I wouldn't miss that!
I've tried to make an abstract point. Now I'll say it. I believe that 'what you got' from Mr Coles was due to 'what you gave'. If you as a pupil reacted negatively to his Headmaster style you paid for it by treating him back (subconsciously?) in a negative way. Damage done. If you met him half way, or all the way, and took yourself to him (took the battle to him if you want) then you met a different man, and there was so much to gain from that man.
I suffered under the regime, but never gave in and I won on the deal. John Coles, The Man and Maths tutor gets my vote. (Ian MaCauley)
I have also supported the idea of JPC as an excellent teacher before - probably a lot better than he was a head. I was not too bad at Maths, but he managed to get me a high (for me) grade at additional maths after just one term in the lower 6th.
I was disappointed in him as a head - he only once told me to get a haircut, I thought I had made it at RLS then! It is interesting to see how Head teachers are nowadays. As a school governor at a primary and secondary school, today’s heads need to be much more of a leader at both levels, but also much more of a business-minded leader at secondary schools with budgets on many ?millions... (Chris Fribbins)
I thought I'd stick my oar into already muddied waters and give you my view, for what its worth - I thought Coles was a decent old boy and I liked him a lot.
JPC always treated me fairly and with kindness, even though I was very 'anti-authority' and did my best to upset the system. I was also what has been called in these listings a "hair rebel" - I left the school shortly after entering the VIth form because I wouldn't cut my hair - and JPC was forever on my case. He always looked like he had got the upper hand in a game we were both playing when he caught me with my 'hair down' and invited me to visit him at 'ten-to-nine' in his office the next day - shorn to regulation length, of course. I seldom was, and wonder how he never noticed the absurd hairclips with clippings of my own hair araldited in place to disguise them.
There was nothing wrong with his eyesight, however, when it came to spotting folded-up magazines down the back of my trouser legs on the first few occasions that he gave me the cane. He had to take the cane to me on many occasions, but there was no ill-will involved - I am quite sure that he did not want to do cane me. I feel now that neither of us won on these occasions - we both lost something. It didn't turn us into mortal enemies, though, nor did it assume undue prominence - I deserved punishment and, according to the rules, I got it. It didn't bother me being 'whacked' then and I seldom think about it now, except when I see teenagers who could do with more than the whacking that I ever got.
I don't know much about JPC as a teacher but he did teach us maths sometimes, when I found him both pleasant, easy-going and erudite. He also had a keen sense of humour which I witnessed on many occasions and of which I was sometimes the object. He could take a joke, too - he took practical jokes to his person and good-natured jokes about himself very well.
Both my parents remember him fondly and are incredulous that he could arouse such animosity in some folk. My mother and father remember him being very kindly and concerned for me and both thought him a very decent, honest man. They are both good judges of character, too.
I can't really recall any other people in my class (69 - 74) hating him, other than in that boyish fashion which often comes out at reunions when we regress to earlier years. ost of my classmates had little or no dealings with JPC and the few that got to know him on a very 'personal' basis like I did didn't seem to go into paroxysms of rage against him. At least nobody was vocal enough to stir a chord in my memory and I have got a pretty good memory, despite the ravages of wine, women, song and similar Duryesque persuasions. Maybe JPC had cooled down a bit by my time, I don't know. I just know that when I think about him he stirs only positive emotions in me, not negative ones. (Neil Miller)
Never thought I would say this but I think Ian Mac has a point. I thought Jake was a terrible headmaster. He appeared to have no appreciation of how attitudes were changing in the sixties and just how counter-productive his dictatorial style was. However as a teacher he could be excellent. He never taught me maths (14th out of 15 in set 4 ensured that) but I had the opportunity of numerous one to one sessions during headmaster detentions. Unlike most teachers & prefects he seemed to see these as an opportunity to educate rather than punish and they often turned into discussions about current affairs.
By the way Steve, what is wrong with being a window cleaner? (Harry - aka Roger Harlow)
Mr and Mrs Byrne moved to Hornchurch, near Harrow Lodge park, in about 1987, and even they still had bad memories of Jasper via my time at school, and occasionally saw him after we left school, so they knew what he looked like. Jasper probably didn't recognise them of course, why would he.
Then one day probably early 1990s, knock on the door, there is Jasper asking "Would you like a window cleaner madam, we are coming around this way and would be very happy to add you to our round etc etc"
Mrs B managed to keep straight faced, told him NO quite politely (though would rather have said bugger off you bloody tyrant), then called me to relate said story. (Steve Byrne)
STEVE ... are you sure the window cleaner was not a Jake lookalike? I too find it hard to believe that he would have needed, or desired, such a post. And wasn't this two years before his retirement? (Chris Stratford)
I am not sure of the exact year (sometime between 1986 and 1992 I would guess), BUT it was Jasper definitely, my mun used to see him quite often knocking around Hornchurch, she had dealings with him firstly to argue with him about my schooling, but much later as they were members of the RLS Sequence Dancing thingy at the school, and also via her friend Roy Marshall who was the Old Libs cricket umpire. So she saw him often enough to know the old git. She is 100% certain Chris. He was fronting the round, canvassing, not actually getting up the ladders, so it was quite possible that he needed the dosh - you never know, maybe Flossie was making extra demands of the old boy ? And I wondered what was in the bucket too! (Steve Byrne)