No . 130
The Trusty Servant
Teaching at Win Coll , 65-69
Richard Gliddon recalls :
In early 1965 , married and coming to the end of my PhD studies ( on a government DSIR grant of £ 450 pa ), it was vital to find employment . I applied for teaching posts and received a telegram : ‘ Come for interview Tuesday 11am . Report to Headmaster ’ s house . Expenses paid . Lee . Winchester College .’
I duly arrived in good time and , as I reported at the Headmaster ’ s house , the postman was handing in letters with the top one clearly addressed to Lady Lee . When the maid answered the door , I explained that I had come for interview but did not know the Headmaster ’ s name . ‘ Sir Desmond ,’ she replied , thus avoiding the potential faux pas of saying , ‘ Good morning , Mr Lee ’! After a few pleasantries , Sir Desmond sent me off to meet the Science department and the Second Master with the parting shot ‘ It ’ s hard to find good biologists , Gliddon : we may have to appoint you !’ There followed a chat with Martin Scott ( Second Master ) and an indifferent lunch in College with the scholars : liver , mash and swede followed by rice pudding with jam . After lunch came the all-important interviews with Michael Baron ( Head of Biology ; Co Ro 56-88 ) and Bunny Dowdeswell ( Head of Science and a biologist ; Co Ro , 51-68 ). I finally left for home at about 5pm having enjoyed the day and quite clear it was the most exciting school , but realising the job was beyond my wildest dream .
Imagine my response when I finally got back to our attic flat in Bristol , to be greeted by Rita asking , ‘ Do you really want the job at Winchester ?’ ‘ Yes ,’ I replied , ‘ but not much chance of that : the staff are all Oxford or Cambridge graduates .’ Rita then explained that Sir Desmond had just telephoned saying , ‘ Tell your husband we want him !’ What followed were the most important and formative years of my teaching life , with a starting salary of almost £ 1,000 pa . We lived in a three-bedroom house at 59 , Kingsgate Street for £ 100 pa with an extra £ 10 for a garage .
We arrived at Winchester ( I as one of two non-Oxbridge staff ) in the autumn and the welcome was truly amazing . Bunny Dowdeswell was away for much of each week , running the Nuffield Biology Project , but he still gave good support , including gifts of books and giving me the opportunity to do book reviews , examining etc . Michael Baron took me under his wing and I regularly accompanied him on Natural History , Botanical Society and Ornithology trips ( including dusk and dawn choruses ) as well as fungal forays , often joined by John Durran ( Maths , 60-92 ) and John Poynton ( Classics , 28-65 ). Highlights of botanical trips included the cut-leaved germander on Popham Beacons and round-headed rampion on Stockbridge Hill . Michael Baron was not only the author of texts on plant physiology but also a keen conservationist and the winner of a major medal at the Flower Show in Westminster ! Mitchener , our Biology technician , was great and , with my own teaching laboratory , I quickly settled .
Biology was at a crossroads in the 1960s with a rapid increase in our understanding of physiology , cell biology , DNA and genetics . Previously , biologists were largely content to collect , describe , draw and catalogue : activities which Rutherford had dismissed with the famous remark ‘ There ’ s Physics and there ’ s stamp collecting ’! We needed to change our approach to teaching Biology in schools and the Nuffield Project did just that . We also embraced the Chinese saying ‘ I hear and I forget , I see and I remember , I do and I understand .’ Practical activities dominated our work at Winchester .
The science department was strong , with John Spice and Martin Gregory teaching Nuffield Physical Science ( John was the National organiser ). I was given four ‘ weaker ’ pupils for extra A-level task times . All four obtained top grades in spite of my best efforts !
On arrival , Michael Baron gave me very brief thumbnail sketches of my VI Book pupils . Two stick in my mind . ‘ May be stupid but plans going up to Oxford next year .’ I spotted that pupil about 35 years later on television , being interviewed outside Chelsea & Westminster Hospital where he was the consultant dealing with the Prime Minister ’ s heart problem ! The second :
Michael Baron
10