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John Dennet in the DETBygones: December 21st, 1990 Debt owed to dapper DickieWritten By Arthur SatchwellJohn Dennet of Hillsway, Littleover, was interested to see the mention in Bygone Derbyshire of “Dickie” Bryden, P.E. teacher at the former Derby Central School for Boys. |
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 1936 photo of the Central School Banjo Boys. John Dennett is front, third from the left. Picture from BSk. CLICK to view full size. |
John says: I remember him with a great deal of affection
because I was one of the Banjo Boys for several years during the 1930s
and took part in many special concerts. One especially I recall was for
Arthur Barlow, who ran celebrity concerts for charity.
Our concert was given at St. Paul’s, Chester Green. Several names I can recall among the banjos were Pountain, Kemp and Douglas Baker; among the violins |
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Walter Bean and Fred Clark; on piano accordion was Reg Wibberley, later to become headmaster of Quarndon School, and Gordon Mills on the piano. The drummer was Alan Merry, a star tap dancing pupil of the Judy Cholerton Dance School, and mouth organ player was Eric Nutt. “Mr. Bryden was always a dapper figure, often wearing a straw boater and spotted bow tie and sporting a long cigarette holder. He was one of the first to arouse my interest in music, which has been a great part of my life since then, and I would like to put on record my gratitude to him.” Derby Evening Telegraph, December 21st. 1990. John Dennett, of Hillsway, Littleover, gained his love of music from his happy days at Central School As I pass along Abbey Street from time to time it is a matter of some regret that the former Central School for Boys no longer exists. For all the hundreds of boys who passed through its portals our focal point has gone for ever. |
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| I was at the school from 1931 to 1936, having gained what was then known as a scholarship. There was no complete school uniform but the school cap was dark blue with two light blue rings round it and a pin-on enamel badge in the shape of a shield which portrayed the Derby "Buck-in-the-Park". Senior pupils were allowed to wear straw boaters and it was the fashion to have the top broken and sticking up like the lid of a salmon tin. (See in the Virtual Museum.) |
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The headmaster was Horace Hainsworth, who frequently stalked through the building with his gown flapping behind him. The glint of his spectacles peering through the glass panels of the classroom doors was sufficient to ensure class discipline! The staff consisted of Messrs Morris (chemistry), "Tufty" Harris (physics), Westwood (maths and chemistry), Pritchard (maths), Weston (history), "Froggy" Levi (French), Prior (French and German), Forrest (art), Nicholas (geography), Robson (woodwork), AlIen (commercial), Miss Lambe (shorthand and typing), "Polly" Wood (French), "Dickie" Bryden (P.T.), Tretheway (English), Astle (English), "Pop" Jolly (music). There was an assembly every morning and one of the senior boys, Gordon Mills, played the piano for the hymn singing. The school was divided into four houses, Corinthians, Grecians, Olympians and Trojans and each house had its own assemblies occasionally. There were various societies, such as Debating and Dramatic Society, and I remember Mr Weston, who was in charge, put on a play all about the Roman road builders. I was cast as the general and remember my parents helping me to construct a Roman helmet from an old bowler hat. Mr Bryden ran a band which was called The Banjo Boys. The Banjo Boys, consisting of players of the banjo, violin, piano-accordion, piano and drums, and soon after joining the school I persuaded my parents to buy me a banjo so that I could eventually join the band.One performance in particular I remember was given in the Chester Green chapel for Mr Arthur Barlow, a well-known local character who ran celebrity concerts featuring such performers as Paul Robeson and Gracie Fields and many others. I have always been grateful to "Dickie" Bryden for introducing me to musical activity which has played a great part in my life ever since those days. While at school, I met two boys who were to become my life-long friends and colleagues. Gordon Bewley and Norman Bucknall had an interest in theatricals and used to write and perform in concerts for the rest of the school. There was sufficient talent among the boys to put on a varied entertainment and eventually we put on a show for the public at the St James' Institute in Dairyhouse Road. We needed a title for the show and eventually settled for the name of the light musical film which was showing at that time - College Rhythm. Some years later, when Gordon Bewley and I wrote and presented shows for the Technical College Students' Association, we used the same title for the company. Eventually those early efforts at school blossomed into my partnership with Gordon and we produced many musical shows which have been performed by many organisations and schools over the years. (I played the part of Bunkum in College Rhythm's production of Rumpelstilskin - Ed. c.1959) I eventually became school vice-captain and I remember on one occasion when the school captain was ill I had to make a short speech of welcome to the Mayor of Derby who had come to some school function. The Mayor was Alderman Mrs. Petty, who was Derby's first woman mayor. Having no existing school to revisit, it's natural that one loses touch with many friends and acquaintances, and of course after such a long time many will be with no longer. However, I still remember quite a number of names and can even recall faces in many instances: Two fine swimmers who dominated school swimming galas at Queen Street Eric Nutt and George (?) Morley; a fine runner - Whyman (we hardly ever used first names); Clay, Ratcliffe, Ralph, Amatt, Jardine, Waiter Bean, F.C.B. Clark, "John Willie" Smith, Alan Merry (star tap-dancer of Judy Cholerton Dance School). Merry played the drums in the school band and a RAF air-gunner was killed in 1940. Several other contemporaries were war casualties. Hodnett, Chambers and Marien were killed in the RAF and Douglas Baker, a fellow banjo player, survived the war but was killed in a flying accident shortly aft! One of the masters, Mr Prior, died while in the Services. A few more names spring to mind; Millband, Bob Illsley (a fine rhythmic pianist), Marshall (a very good violinist), Slater, Harold Hall, Stacey, Reg Wibberley (former Head of Quarndon School, deceased). Of the non-teaching staff worthy of mention there was the diminutive caretaker affectionately known as "Sarge" Riggins, and the school secretary, Bert Marson. I still have some old copies of the school magazine (Bewley, Bucknall and I each edited it for a while) and books I received as prizes at various speech days, and they remind me how lucky I was to attend the Derby Central School for Boys. Article supplied by
Brian Skeldon, Nov 2005. |
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