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Wednesday August 08, 2007

Although I do not live in Derby any more, I was given the details of your website as the details were in the Derby Evening Telegraph. I looked at the site and many memories came flooding back.

I was at Central School from 1950 to 1955 and was an "Athenian". I have many happy memories of the school and "Boss Swaine". He was a very kind man, his office was always open, and he was always ready to help. 

I was in the 126th Scout Troop, and can recall camps at Chatsworth Park, where the bell tent in your picture is very familiar, and Lathkill Dale. I was in the "Owls patrol" and we set up patrol rooms in the basement of school at Darley Abbey Mansion. These were a bit damp and smelly but a great adventure. 

I am on the school photograph of 1954, however I look a bit different now. 

I left Central in 1955 and served an apprenticeship with British Railways at the Locomotive Works, I left them in 1960 and joined the Central Electricity Generating Board at Derby Power Station, next to the cathedral, (the station has long since closed). Also at the station at that time was David Holloway, two years older than me but also an Old Centaur. It was through his influence that I joined the CEGB, the best career move I ever made. Further career moves followed at Hams Hall Power Station , Nr Birmingham, and later at West Burton Power Station In North Notts. This was a new 2000MW station being built, and I spent the rest of my career there until I retired in 1993. 

I now live in Retford in North Notts and have 3 children and 6 grand children who keep me busy.

Not so long ago Pat Garton organised a series of reunions for the class  of 1950 and I went to two of them . He had put a lot of work in and had managed to contact about half of our year. [Email details omitted]  I believe he married an American girl and spends quite a bit of his time in  America. 

August 3rd, 2005:

In the 1954 photo I am immediately above Monsieur  Topliss and slightly to the right, with one more person behind me (Tony Sale), I believe.

I remember at the Lathkill camp we had a very windy night and one of the patrols awoke to the sight of their tent being slowly ripped out of the ground, with the tent pegs coming out one by one! They hastily moved to another tent for the rest of the night. At another camp at Wingfield Manor we camped at the bottom of a hill (we were rather green in those days). Needless to say the inevitable happened and we had a downpour and were flooded out, only to finish up sleeping in the crypt of Wingfield Manor (you could not make it up if you tried) That was a very  frightening experience. My memory is a bit vague about this camp I don't think the boss was there, he would surely advised us about our choice of campsite.

Boss Swaine was a marvellous story teller  at camp. I remember one story where there was an immortal line "And the flames grew higher and higher" at which point [Bernard describes a dental malfunction!], which had us all in stitches. I left Central at 16 and thus did not go into the 6th form although  this was not very well established,  and consequently missed out on going to University, although I obtained 7 "O" levels, to my amazement, but not to Boss Swaine.

I finished up going down the National certificate route and finished up with an HND in Electrical Engineering.

The yearning for a degree remained with me however and I sat down to the books again in 1977 and after a further 4 years of home  study I obtained a Technology degree (BA) with the Open University at the age of 41!, so that ambition was satisfied. It also helped considerably with my career I like you have suffered a divorce and now live on my own, This is the one big regret in my life.

Singing has always been a great part of my life and in 1977 I joined the local Operatic Society Since then I have lost count of the number of musicals, concerts and pantos I have done and it has given me endless enjoyment . Our last show was "Guys and Dolls" which we performed in May at our local theatre. We are very fortunate in Retford, we have a lovely old traditional theatre, seating about 650, all run by volunteers. I was never involved with the Shakespeare plays that we put on at school and was never interested. I believe from memory that you had to be taking English Lit. -  which I dropped at a very early stage. I remember the stage being built, however, with blankets being dyed blue to make the curtains. Memory is a funny thing. I can remember these snippets coming back from years ago but cannot sometimes remember what I did last week!.

If Alan Nixon contacts you could you let me know his details as we used to be big mates at school and I have completely lost track of him.

[Can anyone help make this happen?? - Ed.]