LARKFIELD GRAMMAR SCHOOL 

Bradford-on-Avon

I was born in Langstone in July 1946. Prior to Larkfield I attended the following schools - Christchurch Primary (1951-1954), Langstone Primary (1954-1957), Caerleon Secondary  (1957-1959). In 1959 the Secondary Mods had had enough of me and decided to transfer me to Larkfield. (Sorry folks but the guilty parties are now probably long dead). I attended Larkfield from 1959 to 1963 and my forms were 2b, 3b ,4b and 5c. My house was Wye.  I left after taking  O levels and obtaining a meagre four mediocre passes.In 1963 I joined the old GPO telephones as a trainee telephone engineer and also attended Newport Tech College (1day and 3 nights per week). But after less than a year something rang a bell and I decided telephones were not giving me the right buzz and decided I needed to find something different.      In  1964 I  took a temporary job in a Project Office with contractors constructing the M4 Newport By Pass. This was intended to be short term until I worked out what I really wanted to do. Little did I realise then that I would spend the next 43 years working for Civil Engineering Contractors. Continued working in Newport until the M4 opened in 1967. Then moved to London and from then on moved around the UK from project to project.  My Job Title was Senior Contract Administrator. Companies I worked for were – Sir Lindsay Parkinson (1964-1971), Bovis Group (1971-1979), Balfour Beatty (1979-1980), Marples Ridgway (1980-1985), John Howerd Group (1985-1987), and AMEC group (1987-2007). During my time with”Marples” I spent two years working in Khartoum (1981-1983).  Spent the latter 8 years of my time with AMEC commuting weekly to East London and Kent, so when the opportunity of early retirement was offered in 2007, I ran out of the door faster than Usain Bolt and did not stop running until I had broken Forest Gump’s endurance records!     (I am still pondering what I would really like to do).                                                               I married my wife June in 1969 and our daughter Rebecca was born in 1976. In 1977 we moved into our present home in Bradford- on- Avon.Since 2007 I have done the odd temporary and part time work, including van driving and gardening and also assisting with road traffic counts and rail passenger counts for Wiltshire County Council.We have a dog (West Highland Terrier), who takes me for a walk twice a day. I also cycle when I can and enjoy long walks. We live close to the Kennet and Avon Canal, and the towpath is ideal for walking and cycling. We like to get away to the sun when we can especially to Central Portugal where my wife’s cousin has lived since 2006. We also have a special liking for the Gulf coast of Florida where we will be returning as often as possible.

Reading, Berkshire

I attended Loughborough College when I left Larkfield in 1965, where I trained to be a Primary School teacher, specialising in Mathematics. I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 years there, participating in the various sports activities that Loughborough had to offer.1968-1970 – I taught in a Primary School in Kentish Town in London. This really opened my eyes to social deprivation and disadvantage.1970-1972 – I ventured to Kenya with a friend and we taught in a girls’ school in Nairobi. I had just 12 girls in the class. They were the children of Diplomats and Doctors.1972-1976 – Back in UK, I found teaching jobs in 2 Reading schools working, once again with underprivileged children.1976-1978 – Looking for new challenges, I set off to Ethiopia, where I became Head of the Prep Department of an enormous International school, which catered for pupils from 3 to 18 years. It was here that I met Siraj, my husband.1978-1980 – From Addis Ababa, I went to the Sudan, where I became Head of an English speaking Primary School in Khartoum. In March 1980, Siraj and I married in Khartoum.1981 – 2001 – I worked for various establishments in Reading. I helped to raise standards in poorly performing inner city schools, worked as part of a team assisting in schools to get them off Special Measures and I also worked part-time at Reading University as a tutor in the Education Department. My job entailed working with Student Teachers, both  at the University and in their placement schools. I also contributed to Maths teaching in several schools, hoping to raise the standards at the end of Primary School in Key Stage 2 Standard Assessment Tests.We’ve lived in Reading since 1981 but often visit friends and relatives in South Wales.  Over the years, I’ve studied with the Open University and was awarded a BSc in 1988. Since then, I’ve done a variety of short courses, hoping  to keep my brain active. We also belong to a Health and Fitness club where we swim or go to the gym most days. Our own website 'www.dibabasontour' is for friends and family who are interested in our years of travelling experiences. This is particularly useful to those  who want to know how we plan and embark on long journeys. Travelling has been one of our main hobbies for several years. Because of work commitments, our ventures had been limited to 3 to 4 weeks at a time in the past. However, since we retired in 2001, we have been making the most out of our time and enjoying winter abroad in the sunny climates. The website is designed by Siraj and most of the writing is from his own dairies. You will find some details of our travelling experiences and walking holidays, with lots of photos from various parts of the world. Scroll down and then click mon the button marked 'Our Journey' If this doesn't work type www.dibabasontour.com

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Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Quick thumbnail sketch of time since Larkfield..here goes....I left with a small clutch of GCEs and failed to get into my dreamed of career with Shell Sea Tankers as an engineering cadet, due to slight colour blindness, so took an apprenticeship (goodness knows why) with the Red and White Bus company in 1964 ending up as Fleet Engineer with a sister company (United Automobiles)  in Darlington. In 1979 left and joined the Ministry of Transport, Road Transport Enforcement Division, based in Bristol and held several posts as Enforcement Officer, Quality Control Officer, Instructor in staff Training Centre, Operations Manager and finally ended up as Head of the Vehicle Safety Division responsible for Product Safety matters in both the UK and European automotive sectors and for a team of crash investigators involved with crash investigations for the 53 UK Police forces.

I have two daughters by first marriage. Married for second time to Margaret in1994. Two grandsons ( 8 and 6) by my eldest daughter. I retired in 2010 and now spend some of my spare time showing people around houses for sale for a local estate agent which is good for my sanity and more importantly... that of my wife Margaret.

Swindon Wiltshire

Staples His Biopic :

The Longest (and Shortest) Day

First Day of the First Term of the First Year of the Class of '58.

Nobody said it would be easy but they could have played down the terrors to come : being chucked in the holly bushes on arrival; the big girls (our Year Girls as well, come to think of it) and even bigger boys; Mr Ball Deputy Head and Mr Smith (our form teacher); being a "baby" all over again (thanks for that, Colonel Webb - it took all year to live that one down); teachers in gowns and looking like giant bats from behind and avenging angels from the front; And what happened to afternoon playtime ?

Short everything : short hair, short trousers, short breaks, short of enough canteen lunch, being extra short if you've only just had your eleventh birthday (so you get to be a pussycat, apparently, - but still a very short one at that time and a lot of time after). 

Introductions : to French - oo la la, n'est-ce-pas ?; to rugby - couldn't even pick the bloody ball up (a huge soaked leather misshapen bag, I ask you ?) let alone throw it to anyone; your School House - honestly, did no one tell them red is such a difficult colour to wear ?; girls' PE knickers - to this day I am still not sure whether they stuffed their skirts into them or they all had big bottoms (luckily, we boys did not have the same issue as not any of us wore skirts - but who knows these days ?); to all the places you had to be in any one day never mind different subjects each lesson you had to remember; homework - homework ? !

OK Enough Memory Lane stuff, my Biopic :

Finally escaped School in September 1965 (don't ask) to go to college in Portsmouth and emerge three years later with an External London University Degree.

Married in 1969 Two kids. Divorced 1995 Re-married to a lovely lady 1996 (she's still a lovely lady).

Family moved back to Kent in 1965 (that's why I went missing). So lived in Kent then Surrey and now Wiltshire.

After graduating, worked in the private sector for English Electric and Elliot Brothers - (as was); 1976 Qualified as an Accountant - then worked for Decca (as was), Racal (as was) and GEC (as was ) Yes, I can see the trend but nothing to do with me.

Moved into public sector in 1989 and worked for Royal Borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames and then finally from 1992 for The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council until retiring in 2011.

Richard Stapley BSc(Econ) FCMA (very retd)

Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Somewhat of a fraud, I hope not, however I will admit to not really being a ‘dyed in the wool’ Larkfield ‘Year of’58’ member. I failed my 11 Plus. It may have been political, at the time, because Caldicot College, one of the new generation of ‘super-sized’ secondary-modern schools, opened in 1958 and they needed at least thirty pupils to fill the ‘Grammar-stream’ classification that they had created for the ‘nearly made-it lot’. I was told I nearly made ‘it’ however I never saw my results! So for my first five years of secondary education I attended Caldicot College. In 1963 having passed all my GCE ‘O’ level exams I transferred to Larkfield GS to study for ‘A’ level Geography, Geology, Physics and Maths! Sadly, many say, rugby got in the way of study and, after being thrown out of both the physics and maths classes, I left Larkfield with two lowly ‘A’ levels, and I may add an ‘Ao’ level in English, not that you’d realise it! I was however accepted by Hull University to study for an External London BSc in Geology/Geography but ended up going to St. Matthias teacher training college in Bristol to follow a BEd. Course. Two years into that course I bailed out leaving me to face a life as a professional salesman! I will however mention that for almost two years I did work for the Inland Revenue training to be an Inspector of taxes, a career, I must confess, I wish I had pursued to the bitter end [well ex-Inspectors of taxes do get a thumping big pension!]. Anyway I digress, I worked for Beecham Foods for two years, selling Ribena and PLJ [remember that stuff!], rising to the heady heights of ‘Key Accounts Manager’ which simply meant that I worked longer hours for the same pay! My next venture into selling came after my wife, Brenda, left University in 1972 and we discovered that I was not earning enough to raise a mortgage on a house costing just £7,000.00. That’s seven-thousand pounds, not seventy thousand, and I know that you’re all old enough to relate to that! I left my £1,500 per annum job in August of 1972 and joined a little-known life assurance company, named Hambro Life, as a commission only agent. By December of that year, just four months later, my wife and I bought a £12,000.00 home in Chepstow, I had a brand new car and life was just wonderful. I left Hambro Life in 1975 and formed my own Insurance Brokerage, namely Ifton Insurance Brokers Ltd. I opened an office in St. Marys Street, Chepstow and became a main agent for the Cheltenham & Gloucestershire Building Society. During my time as a broker I also helped create, and became a director of a few other companies, namely DEB Engineering, DEB Disposal, DEB Construction, Webster Sloane [men’s outfitters] and created the regions first ‘Free’ newspaper – The Bloater - which, after only three issues became ‘Chepstow Free Press’ which is somewhat of a misnomer inasmuch as you had to pay for it! In 1978 I sold all my business interests in the UK and took up a temporary assignment based in Virginia, USA. For more than a year I travelled the length and breadth of the USA selling wall posters to shops who in turn sold them on to all manner of university students who pinned them on their dormitory walls. Posters of Debbie Harry, Roger Dean [Yes album covers], Rodney Matthew [Grateful Dead album covers] and lots more. Back to reality though, the good life could only last so long, being an American ‘road-warrior’ was fairly arduous.

I returned to the UK in late 1979 and took up an appointment as a branch manager for Merchant Investors, a life insurance company, and then, within two years I joined Canon Assurance as a regional manager followed by stints with Windsor Life and Abbey Life – in those days you followed the money! Finally in 1985 my wife and I sold our 17th Century mill house in Tintern and acquired, on a long term, open-ended lease on a Hotel in West Cork, Southern Ireland. For those of you who have never visited Southern Ireland it is a wonderful country full of wonderful people and wonderful food, well it certainly was in 1985! The hotel was in a very sad state and we spent the winter preparing it for the new season’s travellers who usually started to arrive in early May. Catastrophe struck! The Americans bombed Libya and Colonel Gadhafi, not being happy with that, warned that every American travelling to Europe was now a legitimate target for his assassins! Result, and bearing in mind that in those days 80% of tourists to Southern Ireland were American, instead of the hotel having twenty rooms full of guests for six months we had, in six months, twenty guests – end of the dream. We lost over £5,000 however my wife turned to me and said, “well, where else could we had such a wonderful holiday for twelve months and it only cost five-thousand pounds!” We returned to Wales with our tails between our legs and a lorry load of possessions with nowhere to store them! I went back to selling life assurance for Hambro Life, then renamed Allied Dunbar but after about twelve months I really had had my fill of selling pieces of paper covered in promises. I yearned to be back in Virginia so one morning I simply got out of bed took a bus to Heathrow and caught the next plane out to the USA! Who was it that said ‘if it wasn’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all!’. My aeroplane arrived at Newark, New Jersey, at 3pm local time and, at 4pm, I was due to board an on-bound flight to Richmond, Virginia, where an old friend, from my earlier time in the States, was waiting to collect me. The engine fell out of my aeroplane, literally! Luckily the aeroplane had not taken off, neither did I until the next morning, and I came within a whisker of having to sleep on a seat at the airport because no-one wanted to pay for my overnight accommodation. I eventually arrived in Richmond, where my friend was still waiting, simply because his home was over eighty-miles from the airport and he didn't want to keep repeating the journey! Finally we met up. I spent the next few months drinking cold beer and fixing boats on the Chesapeake Bay and playing ‘Uncle Bob’ to my friend's children until my wife joined me ready to start the next adventure! For the next eight years my wife and I ran the American operation of a British giftware company increasing their sales from hardly anything of note to over £1.4 million per annum. We had a great lifestyle and then disaster struck again, my visa ran out two weeks before the horrendous  9/11 assault on America and contiguously the British company, who we represented, sold out to an American company thus making us an illegal entity in the USA – end of the dream – we were given four weeks to depart the USA never, really, to return again. So 2001, back in old Blighty with only five years to go until retirement, two aged in-laws, and one aged father, all only five years off reaching ninety years of age, all of whom needed care and attention. Five years passed quickly as did the three funerals and by 2006 retirement loomed. It does not seem that many years have passed since 2006 however during that time my wife has set up her own online business which she still operates on a daily basis and likewise I still have a small on-line business, hoping that one day it will be a big online business! We are still having fun, my wife is an active marathon runner and I, in my spare time potter and potter and potter! As of yet, and after forty-seven years of being together, we have not started a family.

Bob Avery

Larkfield GS 1963-1965

Chepstow

Okay, okay so Ron and Sara were not at Larkfield with us however you were so please share your story and e-mail it to bobavery@uwclub.net

Poole, Dorset

You guessed it, neither was this Michelle at Larfield so please replace her with your story and e-mail to me for publication. I look forward to hearing from you.