Thank you

… thank you for bringing back so many memories … I left in 1967 with contemporaries such as Rob Mould, Gordon ‘Jock’ Wright, Martin Lloyd, ‘Froll’, Dave Carter, Janis Thorne, …

I too did German with Terry Newcombe and had quite a bit to do with him throughout my time at Bilborough. I was upset to hear that he died some years ago, of cancer I think, while still teaching at Herriot Watt.

One abiding memory of him was on the way to the Black Forest for the school exchange visit in 1964. A group of us were in the sleeper compartment next to the staff’s – Derek Green is the only other teacher I can remember being there – and were taking advantage of the train bar, some of us drinking beer for the first time. The increasing rowdiness led Mr Newcombe to protest a couple of times before eventually losing patience and threatening the next one to leave the compartment with an early return home. Inevitably, not being able to get out to the loo, the problem then was how to get rid of all that beer. The problem was solved by with an admirable display of initiative through the carriage window. Mr Newcombe was renowned for his smelly feet and was apparently compelled to sleep with his feet close to the window in the staff’s compartment, which, unfortunately, was downwind of ours! I can still remember the pain of trying not to collapse in hysterics as he stood, fuming in the doorway in his wet socks, complaining about boys emptying drinks out of the window.

…

Regards,
Alan Sawyer