FROM THE ARCHIVES
ARCHIVES
OLD FRIENDS REUNITED AT POCKLINGTON SCHOOL
OP Basil Christie ( 48-52 ) was travelling on a day out with his daughter and granddaughter when they encountered a sign for Pocklington . Instantly , memories from 76 years ago came to mind , as Basil recalled his time as a boarder in Dolman House . On a whim , they decided to detour and visit Pocklington School .
This decision proved fortuitous , as Basil unknowingly arrived on the same day as Roger Chapman ( 47-56 ), a fellow OP and contemporary . They crossed paths in the School Archive Room , and after a moment ’ s hesitation two old friends were reconnected . It was a heart-warming reunion , and soon , they were immersed in lively conversations , reminiscing about their school days .
Roger commented , “ I have not seen Basil for 72 years yet remember him from the time we were at Dolman House under James Eggleshaw , the Housemaster , and Ma Hall , the Matron , in 1948 . Our memories recalled our time at the Junior School between 1948-50 as if it was yesterday . It was a great pleasure to meet him and also bring my memories of school between 1947-56 before my National Service .”
Whilst Basil and Roger were catching up , Basil ’ s daughter and granddaughter discovered old school photographs laid out on the table . They eagerly searched for their father and grandfather and there he was , a mere 11-year-old , seated in the second row in his school uniform . Their joy was evident in their warm smiles .
The day turned out to be far more extraordinary than Basil had anticipated . It was a pleasure to welcome him back to school with his family and we were thrilled to facilitate his reunion with an old friend .
Pocklington School is privileged to have a catalogued archive that enables enriching experiences for OPs visiting the school . We encourage OPs to contact the OP office beforehand so we can arrange a visit . However , if you find yourself nearby , feel free to drop in ; if we ’ re available , we would be delighted to give you a tour of the school .
Following the issue of this story on the OP Connects website , Keith Wilson ( 46-56 ) reached out to the OP office reminiscing about his school days and his acquaintanceship with Roger and Basil . He vividly recalled shared experiences , saying “ Dolman House , Eggy Eggleshaw and Ma Hall particularly stand out in my memory , although I was rather timid at that stage . I remember being told to eat every scrap of food – even meat gristle by Ma Hall .”
In 1955 , Keith was captain of the swimming team and distinctly remembers Roger Chapman ’ s prowess in the pool . Below is a photograph entitled ‘ School Swimming Team 1955 – Training ’.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW : KEITH HERRING ( 62-71 ), HEAD OF MATHS
Keith Herring and his wife Barbara arrived in Pocklington with their young son David in July 1962 . They lived in Sefton and Isobel Cottom ’ s former house in Sandstock Road at the start of nine very happy years at Pocklington School . Later , they moved to Algarth Road . Keith took over the Head of Maths post from Peter Buckland . Sefton was Head of Music then and Isobel was already working as secretary to the Head , R St John Pitt ’ s-Tucker , and continued throughout their time there .
In addition to teaching maths , Keith enjoyed coaching cricket and rugby and running the Venture Scouts . Outside school , both he and Barbara fully participated in local town and church life . Both were in Tim Rogers ’ ( Head of English ) reading group and Barbara was in the Young Wives and later became involved in the Guides . They were both active members of the Pocklington Tennis Club .
Keith and Barbara left Pocklington in 1971 with their three children , to move to Quorn in Leicestershire , where Keith took up the post of Vice-Principal at Rawlins 14-18 Community College , a large comprehensive school in Quorn in Leicestershire .
After four years there , he was appointed in February 1975 to the headship of the about to be established 13-18 Upper School in Cheddar , Somerset , where
comprehensive education was due to be introduced throughout the twelve schools of the Cheddar Valley in September 1976 .
The site was remarkable in that in 1960 a start was made to the building of a new Secondary Modern School there . However , immediately , footprints of previous wooden buildings were discovered , and a full archaeological dig was authorised , with Professor Phillip Rahtz of York University and his team appointed to carry this out .
This took a whole year , and the footprints of several buildings were revealed , including four large Saxon Palaces from the 8th , 9th and 10th centuries . The site also included the ruins of a 13th century stone church to St Columbanus . Professor Rahtz composed a 400-page report of his work , and stone plinths were placed on the ground to mark the site of the palaces . The new school was built well back from these and was opened in 1964 , a year later than planned .
Keith was thrilled to join a school which shared its campus with such an amazing history and had as a main task in September 1976 the melding together of the pupils and staff , timetables etc of the former Hugh Sexey ’ s Grammar School , situated six miles away in Blackford and the Cheddar-based secondary modern school . The new school was named ‘ The Kings of Wessex 13-18 Upper School ’ because of its amazing history .
Keith worked closely with the eleven other Cheddar Valley Heads for 19 years to ensure comprehensive education was fully established before he retired at Christmas 1994 .
In retirement , Keith continues to support young people in the Cheddar area . For example , he helped to establish the Cheddar Youth Trust , which offers grants to young people aged 5 to 25 using the interest generated on the Trust ’ s funds , which currently stand at £ 164,000 .
Now 87 , Keith is still in contact with several Pocklington contemporaries and their wives including David Norman ( Physics ) and Ann , Geoffrey Currey ( Biology ) and Eila , and Derek Whilesmith ( Classics ) and Sally . He also kept in touch with the late Howard Cox ( Mathematics ), and his wife , Jennifer , who is Reggie Allen ’ s ( Head of Science ) daughter .
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