| Born: | 17-Dec-1916 | Derlwyn Howard EDWARDS | Aberdare, South Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parents: | Gomer EDWARDS
Lucie LIMB | |||
| Married: | 12-Feb-1946 | Harriet Marsay HARKER | Henley | |
| Children: | 01-Sep-1946 | Susan Elizabeth | Whitby, North Yorkshire | |
| 29-May-1948 | Robert Howard | Whitby, North Yorkshire | ||
| 22-Aug-1951 | David Malcolm | |||
| 12-Feb-1953 | Peter Graham | |||
| 28-Apr-1955 | Lucie Margaret | |||
| 24-Aug-1956 | Judith Anne | |||
| 25-Jul-1958 | Gillian Mary | |||
| Died: |
Mr Edwards, Headmaster of Hinde House Comp
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Old 30-09-2004, 12:55 AM #1
PaulTansley
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All that knew him would know about the diciplinarian and how he worked.
Is there anyone who really knew this man and could shed light on the way
he worked.
Family members, friends ( If he had any that is ), even little info
about him would help.
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Old 30-09-2004, 01:12 PM #2
samsmum
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Quote:
Originally posted by Cycleracer
All that knew him would know about the diciplinarian and how he worked.
Is there anyone who really knew this man and could shed light on the way
he worked.
Family members, friends ( If he had any that is ), even little info
about him would help.
Cycleracer.
sorry, dont know the guy personally, just remember him glaring at me
once in assembly and shouting cos i was chewing gum!! the one and only
time i ever got into trouble at school! I had to go and sit outside his
office, and when he called me in i just stood and howled!!!!
He lectured me on such anti-social behaviour and then gave me a hug and
a tissue!
I do remember him always wearing a brown suit.
I left in 1983, didnt he die a few years after that??
Or am I thinking of someone else....i recall mr batty.......ew!
sue
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Old 01-10-2004, 11:06 AM #3
timo
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Cycleracer, like you I have always found Edwards an intriguing subject.
I have made clear my opinions of his notoriously sadistic behaviour
towards pupils and staff alike on the Hinde House thread. There is no
point whatsoever in repeating myself here. However, I can supply a few
background details. His christian name was Derwyn, which sounds rather
Welsh to me. Indeed, I always thought he was Welsh, as mixed in between
the Edward Heath- style, pompous tones there seemed to be the timbre of
the valleys. He lived in Fulwood whilst Headmaster in the seventies, was
married and had at least one daughter.
There are many tales which abound about this deeply unpleasant and
misanthropic man. All of the ones I have heard include allegations of
cruelty in some form or other. Frankly, I dare not repeat them [they may
be allegations all along] on an open forum. All I do know is that I
witnessed his behaviour at Hinde House, and it remains shocking and
undeniably fascinating to this day.
Samsmum, I think you are referring to Mr Batty rather than the Vampire I
discuss above. Edwards was not the "huggy" type, quite the reverse.
Batty had to be firm at times, but he was essentially a well-adjusted,
pleasant and kind man. I can easily imagine him offering you a tissue,
and a hug at the sight of your distress. Edwards would have most likely
shouted at you, and with that terrible smile playing about his lips,
reached for the cane.
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Old 01-10-2004, 12:25 PM #4
timo
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Just remembered, Edwards retired about 1977. When I went into the Sixth
Form in Sept 77, he had gone. Hill and Batty were then in charge, and I
think the plump, balding Hill was actually the Head. He was pleasant
enough, certainly a world away from Edwards' warped antics. I remember,
come to think of it, an incident where Edwards was shouted down on Open
Day by the irate father of a boy called Crookes. The caped one had been
boasting about his achievements, and the boy's father gave him a rough
time regarding his bullying treatment of pupils. Edwards, like a typical
coward, got flustered and kept calling to his deputy, Mr Caratt, for
aid. I also recall his ludicrous, moralising speeches at morning
assembly, usually around cliched themes such as, "Don't throw away the
baby with the bathwater", and "The proof of the pudding is in the
eating" etc. In the latter case, he had a huge spoon as a theatrical
prop, which, to the delight of pupils and staff, dropped out of his
hands and crashed on the floor, ruining his composure wonderfully. He
was also rumoured to be colour-blind, and allegedly attacked a boy for
daring to wear a yellow jumper, when he was wearing regulation grey.
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Old 01-10-2004, 08:50 PM #5
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Thanks Timo, interesting stuff there.
Maybe his family may slip onto this forum through some search engine and
put there story in too.
CR
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Old 02-10-2004, 09:16 AM #6
timo
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Cycleracer, one possible explanation for Edwards' behaviour [aside from
neuro-chemical imbalance...] may lie in wartime experiences. A friend of
ours from Newcastle had a Headmaster who behaved similarly to the
sinister, caped one. The Newcastle man had become very disturbed due to
his experiences of torture at the hands of the Japanese. Unfortunately,
I have no information on Edwards' war record. He was probably an
Untersturmbannfuhrer in Das Reich SS Division, anyway! Mind you, re the
case of the ex-Japanese POW, I knew Rupert Cox, the Deputy Head at
Concord Middle School and he was a marvellous teacher who never let his
experiences of Japanese captivity sour his nature. Maybe Edwards was
just one of life's sadists.
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Old 02-10-2004, 10:19 AM #7
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Hi
I don't know anything about Mr Edwards but I was told that men and women
who had been in the forces during the war were allowed to take a short
version of Teacher training. A sort of short cut to employment.
hazel
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Old 02-10-2004, 05:03 PM #8
timo
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Hazel, yes I'd heard that too. I wonder if that was the case with the
terrifying Edwards? I'd love to know where he taught prior to Hinde
House. I'll bet that he spent many an hour in retirement, smiling to
himself as he recalled the beatings and humiliations he'd delivered to
petrified children. I can just imagine him, fondling his beloved robes,
as he recalled the strict canings he'd administered as he sipped a glass
of blood.
Cycleracer, just remembered Edwards' motto, which he would regularly
share with the pupils and teachers as they sat in cowed silence at
morning assembly; "Good manners, common sense". This is actually an
admirable motto, but the Prince of Darkness himself did not practice it.
I do take your point before about how his savagery could be amusing when
applied to the deserving bully boy and "hardcase" types. We ought to
form an Edwards Society, where members swish canes and swap anecdotes,
dressed in black robes. The toast would be , "To Derwyn Edwards, Good
Manners and Common Sense". Pity we can't find out a bit more about the
bugger...
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Old 14-05-2005, 06:10 PM #9
1234
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Derlwyn Howard Edwards taught maths (& rugby) at Stanfield School in
Stoke on Trent from 1957 to 1963, when he took up the headship at Owler
Lane, which was later moved to Hinde House. Previously , he had taught
at a public school in Musselborough, outside Edinburgh, and before that,
at a school in Belfast.
He was born in CAberdare, South Wales, and had won a schoolboy cap for
Wales before studying at University College, London.
He married Harriet Marsay Harker, born in Whitby and had seven children,
3 sons and 4 daughters
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Old 17-05-2005, 10:13 PM #10
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Dear 1234,
Thankyou for this information. The Edwards Society are most grateful to
you. I shall send you a private message.
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Old 18-05-2005, 04:39 PM #11
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Wow, very interesting 1234, I will PM you when I return to England next
week.
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Old 19-05-2005, 11:11 AM #12
timo
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1234,
I reiterate my gratitude to you here. Did you know Mr Edwards
personally? If so, in what capacity? You have certainly helped to shed
some light on his background. The Welsh International Rugby cap does not
surprise me in the least, as he was an impressive, towering and
obviously strong physical specimen. With no disrespect intended to the
Welsh, Mr Edwards was considerably above average height. I would imagine
that he had some English ancestry too.
The public school connection also does not surprise me. He conducted
himself in the stereotypically aloof manner of a public school Head.
When he swished by in his cape [and he had the disconcerting gift of
appearing out of nowhere when least expected, and least wanted], even
the teachers appeared to freeze with terror.
I have criticised his bullying behaviour [although, mercifully, I was
never a victim of it], and stand by what I said. Edwards went much too
far. However, when one reflects upon the indiscipline in so many of
today's schools, it occurs that a less physical version of Derlwyn
Edwards might do wonders in a 'sink school'. I absolutely guarantee that
his vampiric presence, and cold, hard stare would serve to stop even the
most anarchic and disruptive pupils.
1234, I wonder [I type this with trembling fingers] if you have access
to any photographs of this legendary Headmaster? If so, and we could see
them on the forum, I would be both delighted and terrified.
Regards,
Timo
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Old 22-05-2005, 10:03 PM #13
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Does anyone else have info on our anti-hero?
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Old 15-10-2006, 09:07 AM #14
sirglyn
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I started at Owler Lane in 1960 and our headmaster for the first year
was the most beloved Mr Walter Gregory,known to one and all as
'Pop'.After he retired we had Mr Pashley as acting head for a while and
then Mr Edwards came along around 1962.From the getgo he was a pain in
the tush.it was his first gig as headmaster and,looking back, he was
obviously unsure of himself and compensated by coming on super heavy,He
was always going on about litter and if you as much as accidentally
dropped a bus ticket while taking something out of your pocket he'd
accuse you of littering and make you go round the playground during
break and pick up the non-existant litter.He also had one of those pull
down linen towels installed then forbade us to use it and then he got a
bee in his bonnet about pupils deferring to staff when going through
doors and I even saw the SOB run and drag a lad away from a door when he
was a half length of the hall in front of him.Funny thing is though, I
only ever had him for one class while I was at Owler Lane and he was
ok.Our PE teacher was off and Mr E took it upon himself to sub for the
day.He didn't make us do anything too strenuous and actually smiled and
seemed to enjoy himself.I heard the stories about bullying kids who
couldn't do math and actually saw a friend break down and cry an hour or
two after one of his math lessons.We all moved to Hinde House in '63 and
I think he restricted his teaching to A level math,in other
words,teaching kids who could actually do it,so no bullying stories.
When we had the en masse transfer to Hinde House he did,of course,make
his mark by immediately shutting down Mr Ridgeway's tuck shop using
litter as his excuse and it was from that time that the academic gowns
started to appear.I can only assume that the heads of department were
wearing them on E's orders.Actually,he didn't look very old and I'm sure
he would have been too young to retire in '77.I did hear, though, that
he had gone to Spain for retirement and had advertised for a woman to go
with him.Don't know what happened though.All told he was an unhappy and
aloof person who probably had a pretty crap childhood and was educating
in the way that he had been educated.I'm also guessing that he got the
job through 'social' contacts rather than academic ones.The people who
did the appointing should have chosen someone local,E was just clueless
about relating to working class kids or maybe,as they say these days,he
just wasn't a people person.
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Old 27-12-2006, 03:25 PM #15
jgharston
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1234
Derlwyn Howard Edwards taught maths (& rugby) at Stanfield School in
Stoke on Trent from 1957 to 1963, when he took up the headship at Owler
Lane, which was later moved to Hinde House. Previously, he had taught at
a public school in Musselborough, outside Edinburgh, and before that, at
a school in Belfast.
He married Harriet Marsay Harker, born in Whitby and had seven children,
3 sons and 4 daughters
Wow! I was just updating my family tree documents on my website and
thought I'd do a few web searches to see if any members could be found.
Searching for my grandma I found a reference to her in a thread about my
grandad! He was in the RAF before teaching, and I have a couple of
photos of him in uniform.
Reading the thread about him brings back memories. Don't worry - they
are all correct!
My grandma was also a teacher, and was head at Lydgate Lane school when
she retired.
My family history info is at mdfs.net/User/JGH/Docs/FamilyTree.
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Unread 28-12-2006, 02:30 PM #16
jgharston
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timo
I'll bet that he spent many an hour in retirement, smiling to himself as
he recalled the beatings and humiliations he'd delivered to petrified
children. I can just imagine him, fondling his beloved robes, as he
recalled the strict canings he'd administered as he sipped a glass of blood.
Almost my only memories of my grandad are him sitting in an armchair,
raising his hand and saying "how many fingers?"
My grandparents divorced in about 1977 and he went to live with his new
lady in Thorpe Hesley. I was only about 8, so he is very vague in my
memories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirglyn
I remember your grandma well. She subbed at Owler Lane for a while and taught my class. She was a nice lady. It's very telling that you didn't see your grandfather after his divorce. Was he so aloof that he didn't want to see his own grandchild?
We saw him once, we went to his place in Thorpe Hesley and met his probably new wife.
Quote:
Also, have you any idea of when he was born? Looking back, he didn't seem that old. I'm sure he wouldn't have been due for retirement until the late 1980s.
Check out the family tree at http://mdfs.net/User/JGH/Docs/FamilyTree
Derlwyn Howard Edwards was born on 17th December 1916 in Aberdare, South Wales. He was the youngest of Gomer and Lucie's five children the others being Alan, Bertha, Hazel and Ewert who died aged 7.
Howard (he rarely used the name Derlwyn) went to University College, London, were he met my grandmother Harriet Harker (known as June), who was also studying there. (She was the first girl from Whitby to get a scholarship to go to University.) As mentioned on here Howard won a schoolboy rugby cap for Wales.
After University Howard served in the RAF during World War II. He may have served in the Far East, as I have some RAF maps of eastern China that I think were his. June worked for the BBC World Service in Paris, and caught the last train out when the Germans entered.
After serving in the War Howard took the demob teacher training course and became a teacher. I didn't know that he taught in Belfast, but I know about him teaching in Musselborough, outside Edinburgh and then Stoke on Trent before coming to Sheffield in the 1963.
While moving around the country they had seven children, Susan, Robert, David, Peter, Lucie, Judith and Gillian.
Howard became headteacher at Owler Lane School, Sheffield, which was later moved to Hinde House. June was also a teacher, and I believe she was head teacher at Lydgate Lane Primary when she retired in 1978.
In the early 1970s he and Robert had a blazing row, the culmination of many, which I understand was about they way he treated June (grandma) and the other children (my aunts and uncles). Robert stormed out saying he would never see him again. We found out a few years ago that he now lives in the middle east.
When grandma died in 1993 the coroner said "so, Harriet was a widow?" to which we all replied "yes", without thinking. I don't know if my grandfather is dead, but he would be 90 years old now.
That's probably more than 97% of what I know about him. They divorced in about 1976 and had been living apart before then, so I only have one composite memory of him - sitting in the armchair asking how many fingers he had.
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Subject: Howard Edwards
Mr Edwards, Headmaster of Hinde House Comp
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30-12-2006, 08:02 PM #21
jgharston
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sirglyn
I remember your grandma well. She subbed at Owler Lane for a while and
taught my class. She was a nice lady. It's very telling that you didn't
see your grandfather after his divorce. Was he so aloof that he didn't
want to see his own grandchild?
We saw him once, we went to his place in Thorpe Hesley and met his
probably new wife.
Quote:
Also, have you any idea of when he was born? Looking back, he didn't
seem that old. I'm sure he wouldn't have been due for retirement until
the late 1980s.
Check out the family tree at http://mdfs.net/User/JGH/Docs/FamilyTree
Derlwyn Howard Edwards was born on 17th December 1916 in Aberdare, South
Wales. He was the youngest of Gomer and Lucie's five children the others
being Alan, Bertha, Hazel and Ewert who died aged 7.
Howard (he rarely used the name Derlwyn) went to University College,
London, were he met my grandmother Harriet Harker (known as June), who
was also studying there. (She was the first girl from Whitby to get a
scholarship to go to University.) As mentioned on here Howard won a
schoolboy rugby cap for Wales.
After University Howard served in the RAF during World War II. He may
have served in the Far East, as I have some RAF maps of eastern China
that I think were his. June worked for the BBC World Service in Paris,
and caught the last train out when the Germans entered.
After serving in the War Howard took the demob teacher training course
and became a teacher. I didn't know that he taught in Belfast, but I
know about him teaching in Musselborough, outside Edinburgh and then
Stoke on Trent before coming to Sheffield in the 1963.
While moving around the country they had seven children, Susan, Robert,
David, Peter, Lucie, Judith and Gillian.
Howard became headteacher at Owler Lane School, Sheffield, which was
later moved to Hinde House. June was also a teacher, and I believe she
was head teacher at Lydgate Lane Primary when she retired in 1978.
In the early 1970s he and Robert had a blazing row, the culmination of
many, which I understand was about they way he treated June (grandma)
and the other children (my aunts and uncles). Robert stormed out saying
he would never see him again. We found out a few years ago that he now
lives in the middle east.
When grandma died in 1993 the coroner said "so, Harriet was a widow?" to
which we all replied "yes", without thinking. I don't know if my
grandfather is dead, but he would be 90 years old now.
That's probably more than 97% of what I know about him. They divorced in
about 1976 and had been living apart before then, so I only have one
composite memory of him - sitting in the armchair asking how many
fingers he had.
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30-12-2006, 08:09 PM #22
darra
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ally68
Are you for real? Do you really think a person like him is really
bothered what peoples' opinions of him are?
How can you feel sorry for someone who was a bully and who got his kicks
out of abusing his authority? OK, a bit of his kind of authority might
not go amiss in this day and age but he definately was out of order in
how he went about things. My brothers and sister had experience of him
and I can only count my blessings that he left before I arrived!
As I said I was one of his victims but it just seems so sad that he is
hated so much even though there are very good reasons why he is.
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06-01-2007, 02:09 PM #23
Falls
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hazel
Hi
I don't know anything about Mr Edwards but I was told that men and women
who had been in the forces during the war were allowed to take a short
version of Teacher training. A sort of short cut to employment.
hazel
Hi,
Yes, people returning from military service did take these short courses
to become teachers. Some of the courses were only a matter of a few
weeks: sixteen seems to stick in my memory. I was at Burngreave (or
"Stalag Burngreave" as it was affectionally known at the time) soon
after the war and most of the new teachers we had were graduates of
these short training programs. They were a mixed bag. Some were first
rate, while others were definitely in the wrong job.
I never knew Mr. Edwards, mentioned earlier in this thread; however, the
behaviour pattern described was common in head teachers of the time.
Infact it was the rule rather than the exception. Obsessed about litter
or the endless rants at Friday assembly about this, that and the other.
Happy days.
Regards
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Last edited by Falls : 06-01-2007 at 02:13 PM.
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08-03-2007, 09:04 PM #24
MikeJ
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what struck me when I was a trainee teacher (summer 1974) at Hinde
House was the shocking disunity and lack of enthusiasm in the staffroom
. Apart from a decent, left wing-ish creative English teacher. Sports
day was a sad affair; few teachers, few parents, and not that many
pupils either bar the contestants.
i would like to publicly apologise to the young lad who I asked to count
the red cars going over the Tinsley Viaduct for 10 minutes, though.
MikeJ
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09-03-2007, 12:42 PM #25
sirglyn
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So,MikeJ, were you there for the riot?If so,tell us about it.
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09-03-2007, 01:52 PM #26
MikeJ
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i was there in the summer term of 1974. I can't recall actually
witnessing ariot but there were some brawls.
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25-04-2007, 08:21 PM #27
JRH.
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Location: Hampshire
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I have often wondered how much of Mr Edward's personality was an act
and how much was genuine. If it was an act then it was very convincing,
especially to kids. He had distinctive moods, good and bad, but the good
moods were rare. He was capable of getting very angry. On the other hand
he relied a lot on stock phrases and techniques, as though it was all
rehearsed a thousand time before. With other adults his personality
could be weak, almost bumbling and a with an awkward sort of grin.
I had him for 'O' level maths from 1971 to 1973. It is certainly not
true that he was okay with people who were good at the subject. Nobody
got off lightly. I joined the class halfway through the autumn term. On
Mondays there were two maths periods, one in the morning and one in the
afternoon. I joined at the start of the afternoon class and got the
shock of my life.
Before his arrival one kid was cleaning the blackboard, as Edwards would
never do this task himself. He stormed into the room in full flowing
black cape.
"Sit down. This morning I was dealing WITH...?"
All the hands except mine went up. I was sitting on the front row. He
swivelled round and slowly and silently crept up towards me, lips
tightened, his piercing eyes ending up about two inches away from my
face. What was I supposed to do? It wasn't his intimidating stature, nor
the fact that he was the important headmaster. It was Edwards' ability
to look like a psychopath that did it for me.
"I've just started in this class, so I don't know what you said this
morning".
"Oh yes", as though he had just remembered there was going to be a new
arrival. "Name?"
There was a definite military atmosphere to the classroom, like I was a
raw recruit to the army. The other kids were more used to it. The format
of the lessons was unusual. There was rarely any individual studying or
writing in the classroom. That was to be done at home according to a
strict homework regime. Instead, the lessons mostly comprised of him
furiously scribbling maths on the blackboard, with the class telling him
what to write. Anyone failing to put up his or her hand in response to a
question was instantly singled out for a bullying. I never quite
understood why anyone putting up a hand and then giving a wrong answer,
or sometimes no answer at all, got off relatively lightly.
There is no way that Edwards would get away with his teaching methods by
today's standards, in fact it's amazing he got away with it even by the
old standards. I went through hell for the first few weeks as I had to
catch up with what the rest had been learning in the first half of the
term. On one Monday morning I was dragged out from the desk and
manhandled out to the blackboard. I just didn't get what he was talking
about. My head was then knocked into the board. In recounting this story
the rest of the class would joke that when I turned round I had 2+3
chalked in reverse on my forehead. The man had totally lost his temper.
In the afternoon he came close to an apology by saying something like
"let's not get into a repeat of this morning". It didn't make me feel
any better though.
As has been pointed out on other postings, Edwards' approach could be
quite funny when it wasn't directed at you, but at kids who deserved it,
or when it caused embarrassment to the other teachers. The classrooms
were connected by doors at the back that were not normally used. On one
occasion there was a particularly rowdy class in the room next door
being taken by Mr Short, the economics master. Edwards sneaked up to the
door and a large bunch of keys was produced. After finding the right key
the door was slowly opened and he just stood there in the doorway. The
noise carried on for some time until one by one, each kid in the class
noticed him. Eventually there was total silence, followed by the sound
scraping of chairs (it was the rule that a class would have to stand up
when a senior teacher entered a room). He stood there for a few more
seconds, I image giving the piercing stare, before retreating back into
our classroom and closing the door. So without saying a single word he
terrified that class into submission. Such was the power of his
presence. You could later hear Short moaning to his class something like
"in all my teaching career that has never happened to me before".
One more example: We were waiting on the landing to go into the
classrooms. Some kids were mucking about by the balcony, perhaps some
sort of exchange of missiles between landings. Several teachers had
already passed by and had made comments along the lines of "stop doing
that". Then a warning shout went up "Edwards! [is coming]". There was an
instant scramble to get into line outside the classroom, followed by
quiet. A few seconds later he skipped up the stairs, fully caped,
seemingly totally oblivious to the previous chaos. He saw the queue and
muttered, "oh, its it locked?" The bunch of keys was produced and we
followed him in. He was in one his rare good moods. Typically during
these times the hair would be slightly dishevelled and he would be at
his most bumbling. The class came to recognise the signs and could relax
more in this atmosphere. The accent would often slip and the Welsh
origins would show through.
When he wasn't shouting and not following the script, he would stammer
and find it difficult to find the right word. He was also prone to the
occasional spoonerism. For example "these two circles" became "these
cool turtles" much to the amusement of the class.
Catchphrases:
I mentioned that he relied upon various stock phrases, which to us
became catchphrases. The following are some of my favourites. The first
is the "rubbish" crescendo:
In a whisper "Rubbishhh", followed in a sarcastic half laugh
"Rrrraarbish", finishing in a loud and angry "RUBBISH!", usually
repeated and often followed by "Stand up!"
He would then get the subject to recite a phrase or a formula "Again,
again, again" with increasing speed and finishing with "D'you think
you've got it now into your thick skull?"
"You've seen it before a thousand times. How many times do you have to
say it before it gets into your thick skull?"
[while punching a question printed in the textbook] "...BUT...BUT...".
To the Sheffield ear this sounded more like "bat...bat".
[At the beginning of a reprimand] "I want your full and undivided
attention." Repeated.
"The (results/behaviour/event/etc) was nothing short of disgraceful."
Repeated at least three times in a crescendo.
"Just a bit of backbone, at bit of determination, is what it takes"
Keeps asking "why?" until the subject can't think of an answer, then
goes into attack.
"Sit down please."
"Sorry."
"erhm, you see...erhm, you see..."
Other quotes that I heard him say only once, but are memorable are as
follows:
[To one of the girls] "I think you're an ignorant little slut".
"Jump up and down Taylor. Keep jumping up and down until you've woken
up."
"THIS" (bang bang on the board) "is in square metres, but THIS" (bang
bang) "is in square...oh er sorry, er sorry..." (lots of rolling the
board up and down)..."Pass-on".
"My wife is very fond of Beethoven, in fact she plays the music so loud
we get complaints from the neighbours"
What else do I know about Derlwyn Edwards? Apart from his teaching
methods he seemed to be a clever man. He was a Fellow of the Royal
Statistical Society and seemed to know more about mathematics than would
be needed for just teaching kids. He seemed to have a genuine interest
in the subject. He was a strong advocate of the comprehensive school
system. Perhaps that's what brought him to Sheffield in the first place?
One of his favourite speech day subjects was the abolition of the 11+
exam. I think he believed that every kid had unused potential and that
he saw it as his job to develop that potential to its maximum.
Do I regret having him as a teacher? Well, I hated it at the time, but
at least I passed the 'O' level, and incidentally, so did every other
member of the class.
In front of other adults it was all toned down. In the sixth form we had
Mr Trevor Smith for maths. As head of department, Mr Smith said that he
had sat-in on some of Edwards' lessons, presumably in response to the
many complaints, but that he had not witnessed anything untoward.
Smith left Hinde House a few months before our 'A' level exam in 1975
and Edwards returned to the class for one final round of madness. At
first he tried to treat us like young adults, but that lasted for only
about two lessons, then the patience collapsed and then it was back to
the standard, snarling, bad tempered Edwards.
Pass on...
JRH.
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26-04-2007, 09:24 PM #28
martinC
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: beighton
Posts: 41
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I remember him vividly.I only spent 3 years at Hinde House,from 1967 to
1970 but he still stands out in my memory.
He used to walk into assembly with his mortar board hat on,black cape
and the hymn book under his arm.I think he had super powers like the
characters off the TV series The Champions.If u even whispered he would
hear you and give you a dressing down.
I can remember being late and having to sign the late book.Sat on the
no2 bus coming up Wincobank looking at our watches,urging the bus to go
faster so not to be late,running down the lane past the cemetry.
Mr Edwards scared most people but we respected teachers in those
days,unlike today where the teachers have no control over the kids..sad
but true.
Miss Frohock was another to be wary of as well-she took no prisoners
either.
Happy Days!!
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26-04-2007, 11:25 PM #29
DavidRa
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dronfield
Posts: 872
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRH.
I have often wondered how much of Mr Edward's personality was an act and
how much was genuine. If it was an act then it was very convincing,
especially to kids. He had distinctive moods, good and bad, but the good
moods were rare. He was capable of getting very angry. On the other hand
he relied a lot on stock phrases and techniques, as though it was all
rehearsed a thousand time before. With other adults his personality
could be weak, almost bumbling and a with an awkward sort of grin.
I had him for 'O' level maths from 1971 to 1973. It is certainly not
true that he was okay with people who were good at the subject. Nobody
got off lightly. I joined the class halfway through the autumn term. On
Mondays there were two maths periods, one in the morning and one in the
afternoon. I joined at the start of the afternoon class and got the
shock of my life.
Before his arrival one kid was cleaning the blackboard, as Edwards would
never do this task himself. He stormed into the room in full flowing
black cape.
"Sit down. This morning I was dealing WITH.."
All the hands except mine went up. I was sitting on the front row. He
swivelled round and slowly and silently crept up towards me, lips
tightened, his piercing eyes ending up about two inches away from my
face. What was I supposed to do? It wasn't his intimidating stature, nor
the fact that he was the important headmaster. It was Edwards' ability
to look like a psychopath that did it for me.
"I've just started in this class, so I don't know what you said this
morning".
"Oh yes", as though he had just remembered there was going to be a new
arrival. "Name?"
There was a definite military atmosphere to the classroom, like I was a
raw recruit to the army. The other kids were more used to it. The format
of the lessons was unusual. There was rarely any individual studying or
writing in the classroom. That was to be done at home according to a
strict homework regime. Instead, the lessons mostly comprised of him
furiously scribbling maths on the blackboard, with the class telling him
what to write. Anyone failing to put up his or her hand in response to a
question was instantly singled out for a bullying. I never quite
understood why anyone putting up a hand and then giving a wrong answer,
or sometimes no answer at all, got off relatively lightly.
There is no way that Edwards would get away with his teaching methods by
today's standards, in fact it's amazing he got away with it even by the
old standards. I went through hell for the first few weeks as I had to
catch up with what the rest had been learning in the first half of the
term. On one Monday morning I was dragged out from the desk and
manhandled out to the blackboard. I just didn't get what he was talking
about. My head was then knocked into the board. In recounting this story
the rest of the class would joke that when I turned round I had 2+3
chalked in reverse on my forehead. The man had totally lost his temper.
In the afternoon he came close to an apology by saying something like
"let's not get into a repeat of this morning". It didn't make me feel
any better though.
As has been pointed out on other postings, Edwards' approach could be
quite funny when it wasn't directed at you, but at kids who deserved it,
or when it caused embarrassment to the other teachers. The classrooms
were connected by doors at the back that were not normally used. On one
occasion there was a particularly rowdy class in the room next door
being taken by Mr Short, the economics master. Edwards sneaked up to the
door and a large bunch of keys was produced. After finding the right key
the door was slowly opened and he just stood there in the doorway. The
noise carried on for some time until one by one, each kid in the class
noticed him. Eventually there was total silence, followed by the sound
scraping of chairs (it was the rule that a class would have to stand up
when a senior teacher entered a room). He stood there for a few more
seconds, I image giving the piercing stare, before retreating back into
our classroom and closing the door. So without saying a single word he
terrified that class into submission. Such was the power of his
presence. You could later hear Short moaning to his class something like
"in all my teaching career that has never happened to me before".
One more example: We were waiting on the landing to go into the
classrooms. Some kids were mucking about by the balcony, perhaps some
sort of exchange of missiles between landings. Several teachers had
already passed by and had made comments along the lines of "stop doing
that". Then a warning shout went up "Edwards! [is coming]". There was an
instant scramble to get into line outside the classroom, followed by
quiet. A few seconds later he skipped up the stairs, fully caped,
seemingly totally oblivious to the previous chaos. He saw the queue and
muttered, "oh, its it locked?" The bunch of keys was produced and we
followed him in. He was in one his rare good moods. Typically during
these times the hair would be slightly dishevelled and he would be at
his most bumbling. The class came to recognise the signs and could relax
more in this atmosphere. The accent would often slip and the Welsh
origins would show through.
When he wasn't shouting and not following the script, he would stammer
and find it difficult to find the right word. He was also prone to the
occasional spoonerism. For example "these two circles" became "these
cool turtles" much to the amusement of the class.
Catchphrases:
I mentioned that he relied upon various stock phrases, which to us
became catchphrases. The following are some of my favourites. The first
is the "rubbish" crescendo:
In a whisper "Rubbishhh", followed in a sarcastic half laugh
"Rrrraarbish", finishing in a loud and angry "RUBBISH!", usually
repeated and often followed by "Stand up!"
He would then get the subject to recite a phrase or a formula "Again,
again, again" with increasing speed and finishing with "D'you think
you've got it now into your thick skull?"
"You've seen it before a thousand times. How many times do you have to
say it before it gets into your thick skull?"
[while punching a question printed in the textbook] "..BUT..BUT..". To
the Sheffield ear this sounded more like "bat..bat".
[At the beginning of a reprimand] "I want your full and undivided
attention." Repeated.
"The (results/behaviour/event/etc) was nothing short of disgraceful."
Repeated at least three times in a crescendo.
"Just a bit of backbone, at bit of determination, is what it takes"
Keeps asking "why?" until the subject can't think of an answer, then
goes into attack.
"Sit down please."
"Sorry."
"erhm, you see..erhm, you see.."
Other quotes that I heard him say only once, but are memorable are as
follows:
[To one of the girls] "I think you're an ignorant little slut".
"Jump up and down Taylor. Keep jumping up and down until you've woken
up."
"THIS" (bang bang on the board) "is in square metres, but THIS" (bang
bang) "is in square..oh er sorry, er sorry.." (lots of rolling the board
up and down).."Pass-on".
"My wife is very fond of Beethoven, in fact she plays the music so loud
we get complaints from the neighbours"
What else do I know about Derlwyn Edwards? Apart from his teaching
methods he seemed to be a clever man. He was a Fellow of the Royal
Statistical Society and seemed to know more about mathematics than would
be needed for just teaching kids. He seemed to have a genuine interest
in the subject. He was a strong advocate of the comprehensive school
system. Perhaps that's what brought him to Sheffield in the first place?
One of his favourite speech day subjects was the abolition of the 11+
exam. I think he believed that every kid had unused potential and that
he saw it as his job to develop that potential to its maximum.
Do I regret having him as a teacher? Well, I hated it at the time, but
at least I passed the 'O' level, and incidentally, so did every other
member of the class.
In front of other adults it was all toned down. In the sixth form we had
Mr Trevor Smith for maths. As head of department, Mr Smith said that he
had sat-in on some of Edwards' lessons, presumably in response to the
many complaints, but that he had not witnessed anything untoward.
Smith left Hinde House a few months before our 'A' level exam in 1975
and Edwards returned to the class for one final round of madness. At
first he tried to treat us like young adults, but that lasted for only
about two lessons, then the patience collapsed and then it was back to
the standard, snarling, bad tempered Edwards.
Pass on..
Congratulations the best reply on a thread I have read since joining the
forum.
The problem with comprehensive education was that after the removal of
the 11 plus. Over a period of time schools such as Firth Park Grammar,
located in a generally poorer area than say Fulwood became problem
schools' OK if you lived at the posh end of Sheffield. The system is
more biased than it was before in terms of ability of pupil's it now
depends where you live on the school you go to. I was someone who
benefited going to the Central Technical School at the age of 13, where
we had a disciplinarian as Head one Mr Wadge the school would have been
closed down today and most of the teachers would be on trial for
litigation trial this that & the other, the political correctness crap
as gone a bit too far one of the guys I worked with who left your school
about 20 years ago ,stated that the teachers who were there were
negative about life and there lack of ambition was installed into the
pupils and they said that the pupils would not amount to much in life,
basically saying what you do is not important.
Teachers can plant that little success seed in your brain even if it
stays subconscious for some time.
DavidRa
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03-05-2007, 01:14 PM #30
econresearch
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Last edited by econresearch : 08-03-2008 at 04:40 AM.
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03-05-2007, 02:17 PM #31
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08-03-2008, 04:36 AM #32
dfs346
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I knew Mr. Edwards slightly over a period of about 16 years. (Was there
anyone who knew him more than slightly?)
As other posts have mentioned, he was born in Aberdare, Glamorgan. I
heard somewhere that he had been at school with Jimmy Young, who became
a well-known singer and later a popular DJ. It seems possible. Young was
born in 1921, Edwards in 1918; Young was born in Gloucestershire, just
across the River Severn from Wales.
Mr. Edwards had the rank of Flight Lieutenant in the RAF. I think he had
trained as a pilot, probably in Tiger Moth biplanes, though I don't know
whether he gained a pilot license. He once mentioned that he had done
parachute training (his wife, who was listening, was quick to riposte,
"They had to push him out of the plane"). Apart from his rugby cap for
Wales, I heard that he had achieved distinction (possibly championships)
in the RAF in tennis and boxing. He probably left the RAF in 1945, when
the war ended, and presumably started his studies at London University
that year. Other posts in this thread indicate that he met his future
wife in London; they married in early 1946, and evidently she was
expecting their first child at that time.
He would probably have entered University College London in 1946 and
presumably lived in London from 1946 to 1949. However his first son was
born in Whitby, Yorkshire, in 1948 (maybe that was during a summer
holiday). If he taught in Belfast, as another post mentions, it must
have been around 1949.
In the early 1950s he and his family lived in a small terraced house on
Eskside East in Musselburgh, Midlothian. During that time he taught at
Loretto School, a well-known boys' school near Musselburgh. He was not
yet earning enough to buy a television set; on Saturday afternoons his
children went to Luca's ice cream shop on the High Street, where they
could buy a threepenny ice and watch "The Lone Ranger". (Luca's still
exists.)
In Musselburgh he was active in the local Air Training Corps (presumably
297 Squadron, whose motto is "Honesty"). I don't know whether he was
commander of the squadron, but as a former Flight Lieutenant, he would
have been of sufficient rank. The ATC hut, festooned with aircraft
recognition drawings, was on Goose Green Crescent on the east bank of
the River Esk, not far from his house.
As a mathematician, Mr. Edwards may have been active in the Royal
Statistical Society. His name is mentioned in a JSTOR citation of an
article in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, published in
1957 and titled "The replacement cost of fixed assets in British
manufacturing industry in 1955".
Around 1958 he moved to Biddulph in Staffordshire. He and his family
lived at the end of Charles Street, in an imposing detached house, at
that time surrounded by open fields, and named "Tall Oaks" after the
eponymous grand trees which lined the drive. During that period he was
teaching in a nearby town (other posts in this thread indicate that this
was Stoke-on-Trent).
He moved to Sheffield in 1961, to take up his new job as headmaster of
Hinde House comprehensive school. None of his children attended this
school; his eldest son went to King Edward VII School and the other
children, I suppose, to local primary or grammar schools. His house was
on Fulwood Road, in a quiet residential district of Sheffield. As far as
I know, he lived there until his divorce.
After his RAF service, he rarely or never ventured overseas. Apart from
Welsh, he was not known to speak any foreign language (although I
understand that his wife spoke French). In the summer holidays, he
usually took his family either to his mother-in-law's house in Whitby,
north Yorkshire, or to a caravan site in Skegness on the east coast of
Lincolnshire.
As a young man, he rode a motorcycle with a sidecar, and later drove
three-wheeler "bubble cars" (as they were then known), first a
Messerschmidt and then a Heinkel. As his career advanced he bought a
series of progressively larger cars, none of which he kept very long.
They included two old Rolls-Royces (I think 1929 and 1937 models).
As to his physical appearance (for example, his reputed resemblance to a
tall Welsh Dracula): his height was about 5'11". He had a strong angular
face. He had thick dark hair and used Brylcreme (is that the right
spelling?). There was a period when he had one false tooth, which he
could protrude to scare or entertain his children (maybe this is the
origin of the Dracula reference). In middle age he had to have all his
teeth extracted and thereafter wore dentures; as I recall, they were of
human rather than vampire morphology. Other than that, he was physically
fit. He never had any major physical illness. He was somewhat stocky in
his 50s but he must have been slim when he was young; I recall seeing
his blue and white striped college blazer, and being astonished that he
could ever have been that thin.
He did not smoke, although his wife did. He drank bottled beer, rarely
wines or spirits. His preferences in food tended towards traditional
English dishes like roast beef, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.
I don't recall his using Welsh in conversation apart from the occasional
phrase like "croeso y cymru" or "cymru am byth". However, he liked Welsh
songs. He had a good singing voice, I would guess baritone. Somewhere
there may be a tape recording of his rendition of "Sospan Vach". On
motoring trips, he was prone to sing humorous ditties like "The Bear
Went Over The Mountain" and "Riding Down From Bangor", an American
college song (the Bangor in question is in Maine, not Wales).
Did he have a warmer side or a sense of humour? I can't recall his
telling a joke. But he was known to play practical jokes. One such was
to creep up behind his wife in the kitchen and "knee" her in the back of
her legs, which made her laugh.
His relationship with his children could be described as authoritarian.
They did not attend the schools where he taught, so they did not
experience his "work" personality. He was not prone to express affection
for them. He occasionally or maybe regularly administered corporal
punishment to them, both the boys and the girls. He also had a system of
disciplining the children, which he called "penance": if a child did
something wrong, he or she had to do a task such as cleaning the house.
This is apparently a concept that originates from the Catholic church. I
don't think though that Mr Edwards was a Catholic or indeed a regular
churchgoer of any denomination.
He must have hoped for his sons to become sportsmen like himself. I
recall that he gave one of his sons a set of boxing gloves as a birthday
present. The boy was (privately) horrified.
He did not seem to push or influence his children in their studies or
careers, but he probably envisaged university studies for most of them.
His eldest daughter obtained a place at London University but dropped
out in the first year, returning home with a female companion whom Mrs.
Edwards described as "neurotic". Mr. Edwards was secretly proud when his
eldest son won a scholarship to Cambridge University, but never said so
to his son. During his studies at Cambridge, the young man severed all
ties with his father but nevertheless graduated with first class honours
and promptly left the country.
Otherwise, Mr. Edwards seemed to have no close friends, no hobbies or
recreational activities, and rarely went to pubs, bars or restaurants.
He read the Manchester Guardian, a left-of-centre newspaper, but did not
express opinions on politics, sex, religion or current affairs. He
seemed very focussed on his teaching and was prone to take work home.
For relaxation, he watched television. I think he liked the BBC
science-fiction series "Quatermass and the Pit" which was broadcast in
1957. He disliked the 1960 series "The Strange World of Gurney Slade",
which he described as "punk" (an innovative or prescient use of this
word). Among the actors of his generation, he liked Kenneth More, who
typically played stoic heroes such as Douglas Bader. His favourite TV
programmes included "The Army Game" and "Whack-O" (starring Professor
Jimmy Edwards - no relation). Could it be that he modelled himself on
the Headmaster of Chiselbury School?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Last edited by dfs346 : 08-03-2008 at 04:59 AM.
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08-03-2008, 08:53 AM #33
Fareast
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What many modern educational ' experts ' seem to forget is a fairly
obvious psychological condition :- [ Roughly ] The more powerful or
threatening the ' enemy ', the more united and friendly the group,
One can see how this works with the military or with dangerous
occupations like mining or fishing ,[ i.e. a foreign army, mining
accidents, the sea ]. Most of these types of groups are closely-knit and
co-operate extremely well whilst on the job and even outside of it.
The same goes for teaching and schools, I think. The tougher the teacher
or headteacher, the more united the students and the more comradely they
are towards each other. Schools are not democracies or rational
societies. The students are, by definition, immature, and the population
is always changing.
I'm sure the general tendency is that a weak, ' democratic ' regime in a
school leads to bullying and disorder. The ' hard ' or vicious students
simply fill the power vacuum created by weak or non-existent leadership.
This has obviously happened over the last 30 or 40 years in our U.K.
schools.
The Mr. Edwards of this world may not be paragons of virtue and may on
occasions embarrass or frighten some kids but, surely, that is better
than being mugged, robbed, knifed or beaten up in school or on the way
home ?
I think it's also significant how vividly such characters are
remembered. I went to a tough grammar school and I meet 3 friends once a
year if possible, to re-live our schooldays of around 50 years ago, and
it's amazing how fondly and well we remember 'our' ogres and how with
hindsight they were actually just human, interesting, even fascinating
and, above all, had an enormous influence on our lives in many ways.
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08-03-2008, 11:43 AM #34
CHAIRBOY
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"WHACKO" - a word synonymous with the name Edwards!
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08-03-2008, 12:00 PM #35
Pegasus
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I thought Ridgeway was far worse. Edwards was clearly mentally ill
whereas Ridgeway knew exactly what he was doing and clearly enjoyed it.
What a pair of psychotic monsters to run a school
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08-03-2008, 07:05 PM #36
darra
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dfs346
I knew Mr. Edwards slightly over a period of about 16 years. (Was there
anyone who knew him more than slightly?)
As other posts have mentioned, he was born in Aberdare, Glamorgan. I
heard somewhere that he had been at school with Jimmy Young, who became
a well-known singer and later a popular DJ. It seems possible. Young was
born in 1921, Edwards in 1918; Young was born in Gloucestershire, just
across the River Severn from Wales.
Mr. Edwards had the rank of Flight Lieutenant in the RAF. I think he had
trained as a pilot, probably in Tiger Moth biplanes, though I don't know
whether he gained a pilot license. He once mentioned that he had done
parachute training (his wife, who was listening, was quick to riposte,
"They had to push him out of the plane"). Apart from his rugby cap for
Wales, I heard that he had achieved distinction (possibly championships)
in the RAF in tennis and boxing. He probably left the RAF in 1945, when
the war ended, and presumably started his studies at London University
that year. Other posts in this thread indicate that he met his future
wife in London; they married in early 1946, and evidently she was
expecting their first child at that time.
He would probably have entered University College London in 1946 and
presumably lived in London from 1946 to 1949. However his first son was
born in Whitby, Yorkshire, in 1948 (maybe that was during a summer
holiday). If he taught in Belfast, as another post mentions, it must
have been around 1949.
In the early 1950s he and his family lived in a small terraced house on
Eskside East in Musselburgh, Midlothian. During that time he taught at
Loretto School, a well-known boys' school near Musselburgh. He was not
yet earning enough to buy a television set; on Saturday afternoons his
children went to Luca's ice cream shop on the High Street, where they
could buy a threepenny ice and watch "The Lone Ranger". (Luca's still
exists.)
In Musselburgh he was active in the local Air Training Corps (presumably
297 Squadron, whose motto is "Honesty"). I don't know whether he was
commander of the squadron, but as a former Flight Lieutenant, he would
have been of sufficient rank. The ATC hut, festooned with aircraft
recognition drawings, was on Goose Green Crescent on the east bank of
the River Esk, not far from his house.
As a mathematician, Mr. Edwards may have been active in the Royal
Statistical Society. His name is mentioned in a JSTOR citation of an
article in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, published in
1957 and titled "The replacement cost of fixed assets in British
manufacturing industry in 1955".
Around 1958 he moved to Biddulph in Staffordshire. He and his family
lived at the end of Charles Street, in an imposing detached house, at
that time surrounded by open fields, and named "Tall Oaks" after the
eponymous grand trees which lined the drive. During that period he was
teaching in a nearby town (other posts in this thread indicate that this
was Stoke-on-Trent).
He moved to Sheffield in 1961, to take up his new job as headmaster of
Hinde House comprehensive school. None of his children attended this
school; his eldest son went to King Edward VII School and the other
children, I suppose, to local primary or grammar schools. His house was
on Fulwood Road, in a quiet residential district of Sheffield. As far as
I know, he lived there until his divorce.
After his RAF service, he rarely or never ventured overseas. Apart from
Welsh, he was not known to speak any foreign language (although I
understand that his wife spoke French). In the summer holidays, he
usually took his family either to his mother-in-law's house in Whitby,
north Yorkshire, or to a caravan site in Skegness on the east coast of
Lincolnshire.
As a young man, he rode a motorcycle with a sidecar, and later drove
three-wheeler "bubble cars" (as they were then known), first a
Messerschmidt and then a Heinkel. As his career advanced he bought a
series of progressively larger cars, none of which he kept very long.
They included two old Rolls-Royces (I think 1929 and 1937 models).
As to his physical appearance (for example, his reputed resemblance to a
tall Welsh Dracula): his height was about 5'11". He had a strong angular
face. He had thick dark hair and used Brylcreme (is that the right
spelling?). There was a period when he had one false tooth, which he
could protrude to scare or entertain his children (maybe this is the
origin of the Dracula reference). In middle age he had to have all his
teeth extracted and thereafter wore dentures; as I recall, they were of
human rather than vampire morphology. Other than that, he was physically
fit. He never had any major physical illness. He was somewhat stocky in
his 50s but he must have been slim when he was young; I recall seeing
his blue and white striped college blazer, and being astonished that he
could ever have been that thin.
He did not smoke, although his wife did. He drank bottled beer, rarely
wines or spirits. His preferences in food tended towards traditional
English dishes like roast beef, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.
I don't recall his using Welsh in conversation apart from the occasional
phrase like "croeso y cymru" or "cymru am byth". However, he liked Welsh
songs. He had a good singing voice, I would guess baritone. Somewhere
there may be a tape recording of his rendition of "Sospan Vach". On
motoring trips, he was prone to sing humorous ditties like "The Bear
Went Over The Mountain" and "Riding Down From Bangor", an American
college song (the Bangor in question is in Maine, not Wales).
Did he have a warmer side or a sense of humour? I can't recall his
telling a joke. But he was known to play practical jokes. One such was
to creep up behind his wife in the kitchen and "knee" her in the back of
her legs, which made her laugh.
His relationship with his children could be described as authoritarian.
They did not attend the schools where he taught, so they did not
experience his "work" personality. He was not prone to express affection
for them. He occasionally or maybe regularly administered corporal
punishment to them, both the boys and the girls. He also had a system of
disciplining the children, which he called "penance": if a child did
something wrong, he or she had to do a task such as cleaning the house.
This is apparently a concept that originates from the Catholic church. I
don't think though that Mr Edwards was a Catholic or indeed a regular
churchgoer of any denomination.
He must have hoped for his sons to become sportsmen like himself. I
recall that he gave one of his sons a set of boxing gloves as a birthday
present. The boy was (privately) horrified.
He did not seem to push or influence his children in their studies or
careers, but he probably envisaged university studies for most of them.
His eldest daughter obtained a place at London University but dropped
out in the first year, returning home with a female companion whom Mrs.
Edwards described as "neurotic". Mr. Edwards was secretly proud when his
eldest son won a scholarship to Cambridge University, but never said so
to his son. During his studies at Cambridge, the young man severed all
ties with his father but nevertheless graduated with first class honours
and promptly left the country.
Otherwise, Mr. Edwards seemed to have no close friends, no hobbies or
recreational activities, and rarely went to pubs, bars or restaurants.
He read the Manchester Guardian, a left-of-centre newspaper, but did not
express opinions on politics, sex, religion or current affairs. He
seemed very focussed on his teaching and was prone to take work home.
For relaxation, he watched television. I think he liked the BBC
science-fiction series "Quatermass and the Pit" which was broadcast in
1957. He disliked the 1960 series "The Strange World of Gurney Slade",
which he described as "punk" (an innovative or prescient use of this
word). Among the actors of his generation, he liked Kenneth More, who
typically played stoic heroes such as Douglas Bader. His favourite TV
programmes included "The Army Game" and "Whack-O" (starring Professor
Jimmy Edwards - no relation). Could it be that he modelled himself on
the Headmaster of Chiselbury School?
A fascinating insight to a man who stuck fear into many pupils, me
included.As i've said on here before, in this thread I feel sorry for Mr
Edwards. Yes he was a tyrannt yes he did chastise children for no reason
as he did with me but for someone to have a life where no one has
apparently anything good to say about you and you are only remembered
for the wrong things is sad.
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10-06-2008, 05:12 PM #37
MikeJ
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and what became of Hinde House after his departure?
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11-06-2008, 05:05 PM #38
Charlie Chuck
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I remember an incident where Edwards punched a lad in my year after
morning assembly making his nose bleed just for not wearing the right
tie, the lads father later that morning drove his lorry and skided it to
a halt on the garden outside the lower school , in the meantime Edwards
locked himself inside his upper school head room , took a few teachers
including Ridgeway to prevent the lads father from getting at him,
Ridgeway was another,he seemed to have some kind of kink out of using
the cane on somebody's backside in front of the class, but Edwards
locking himself in his room just shows how much of a coward he was, kept
a lower profile after that but when we left it seems he was soon back in
his old ways.
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11-06-2008, 07:11 PM #39
PaulTansley
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I will add to this thread as I started it as Edwards was a strict
authortarian he remains an interesting man.
What hasn,t been said on here is any mention of his death.
Turner and Mason (miss) are no longer around and shared the neighbouring
offices BUT you could hear a pin drop in the dinner queue when Edwards
ventured out.
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