East/West Ham School Memorabilia - badges, ties, bus-pass etc.

[Stan Dyson]

Hi Alan & Graham,
I always loved history and was probably one of the SWHT ‘odd-s*ds’ who stuck it out in that group.  Despite his vampire looks, with his white complexion and thin frame, eternally covered in that black flowing gown, I quite liked ‘Cedric’ Dove.  Now, I’ve got to tell you a little known secret here…the seemingly ubiquitous historic Besemer Converter lessons were just a trial to ‘weed out’ the ‘non-Dovite’ pupils.  With the reduced class minority in the later SWHT years he really went to town with some very exciting history lessons.  My favourite being the ‘100-years War’ and how, with hugely outnumbered armies in each battle, we decimated our ancient French enemy at Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.  No wonder in these modern times they are always so petty, bad tempered and bitter towards us?

Dovey  also went right back to the cradles of civilisation and pre-dated your previously mentioned Mesopotamian culture with their even more ancient predecessors the Sumerians; the cradle of civilisation where the very first writing was recorded in their cuneiform scripts.  Eat your heart guys – we covered it all and if you hadn’t got so ‘Besemered-off’ in his early ‘Steely Years’ you could have also always got a nod and wink from him as he tickled the ivories each morning in class assembly.  History was probably my favourite subject and my high marks were just tucked away in the folds of my prior posted ‘dubious reports’.  I actually tried to get him to go even deeper into the history subjects, but he just told me to get down to the library get my nose into the books – in a way, he did hold me back.  Nevertheless, just in case you two non-Dovites have forgotten, then look no further than below! - Stan      

[REID-A2]

    Hi Alan and Stan.

   I went to SWHTS 1952-1956 i remember Mr.Baxter headmaster Mr Taylor art (he was a glider pilot ) Mr Baxter maths and form master I think Mr Grinsham mettlework,much i have now forgotten unfortunately,and if there is anyone around on site i wet to Star Lane school 1945-1951 Mr.Dunlop i remember wonderful man.

  Alan Reid

[Stan Dyson]

Hi Alan – Yes, although at the time I’m sure most of us didn’t appreciate it, but looking back SWHT was a good school and despite our determination not to be educated I think the teachers did their very best…despite our protestations!  Ernie (or was it Eric?) Taylor, the art teacher was my form teacher in my last 1961 year.  Funny how he managed to really stay in the job just teaching us how to draw & paint?  Most other teachers doubled up with another subject, or two.

 The Metalwork teacher you refer to was ‘Butch’ Grearson.  A very solid, stocky (almost box-shaped) teacher who appeared to be in charge of the metalwork shops.  He would not hesitate to rap the back of your skull with his clenched fist knuckles if he stood behind you whilst you were talking, instead of working (the sheer force of this attack generally left you with a headache for the rest of the day) and for more serious offences he would suddenly drive his knee into your thigh muscles giving you the most painful dead-leg in your life.  I’ve seen kids collapse to the floor in agony after one of those attacks!  Still, if they meted out that kind of discipline to today’s hooligan school disruptive pupils then perhaps they would turn out better than they do – after all, it didn’t do us any harm, did it? - Stan   

[ALANF]

Stan

I remember 'Butch' Grierson as the teacher who was the 'plumbing' supremo. It was a subject that I looked forward to. I would learn about the hot and cold water systems, and drainage of houses and buildings. Was I disappointed. At the first lesson, we were handed a sheet of lead, two wooden mallets, and shown how to beat it into the shape of a box, that connected a drainpipe to the end of a gutter. Even in the early fifties as it then was, I knew that this was rediculous. The only place where you would find lead being used was in ancient buildings. The lead was very pliable, and of course being young boys, whenever someone managed to form the lead into a box shape, someone would flatten it, and he would have to start again. 'Jock' caught me doing this one day, he threw a wooden mallet at me, which fortunately missed, and then gave me about 25 sheets of fullscape paper, which I had to fill up on both sides with writing. I completed the task that night, and gave them to him the next morning. He looked at them, then gave me a smack on the back of the head. He claimed the writing was different from my text book, and I must have got someone else to do it for me. I tried to explain that I have several styles of writing, but he would not listen, and gave me another pile of fullscape pages for me to complete. I then asked him what style he wanted me to use. Now this really made him lose his temper. He shouted "Use any style you like. I am a handwriting expert and you can't fool me." So I used three different styles of writing, handed them to him the next morning. He looked at them in silence and just walked away.
I rarely went to any of his classes after that episode. Plumbing was a double period from after morning break until lunch time. I used to dodge out of the school gate during the break and return after lunch.
I don't know if it was real lead that we used, or some sort of substitute, but if it was real, then that was some health risk.

Alan

[Stan Dyson]

Hi Alan – yes, I recall all of that.  One of the wooden mallets was called a ‘Bossing Stick’ and you sort of lightly ‘bossed’ (or patted as we would say) the lead from a one dimensional to 3 dimensional object; generally some type of lead gutter flashing.  Then there was the lead piping jobs and the solder that was poured into the joint and wiped with a mole-cloth.  Given the way we all messed about around the small furnaces where you inserted the soldering irons I’m surprised that there were no serious burn accidents.

The one thing I cannot recall is actually having Butch Grierson as the plumbing teacher.  I can only recall him giving us stick in metalwork, like you had done your very best over a period of weeks to make the tin plate oil can (that you intend to proudly present to your father) and Grierson would hold it up, look at you disdainfully and say ‘Rubbish!’, then squash it by whacking it with a hammer, chuck it in the bin and say, ‘Start again!’  I’m sure I must have had him for plumbing, but I just cannot recall him as I can only recall having Mr Stubbs, or ‘Stubsie’ as we called him.  Probably because not a lesson went by without him hollering at me, ‘Dyson, one day you will want to come back here, but it’ll be too late – knuckle down!’  Also, I was very conscious of Stubsie constantly prowling about trying to find who was raiding the scrap lead box to ensure that Jimmy Smith metal merchants could feed and clothe his family.  In case you may have forgotten what Stubsie looked like I have posted a 1958/9 pic of him below with a SWHT football team 2-years below mine.  At the time I always thought he looked quite old, but looking at him from my present perspective I see he was probably in his thirties. - Stan