SHENSTON IAN 88 - Old Silhillians Association

valid far beyond the world of Solihull, of school, or even of social service." Having
now become something of a celebrity in this field, Laurie was invited to speak on
the subject in many parts of Britain and on television. He eagerly seized these
opportunities to spread the word, and so the movement itself spread.
Within the Headmasters' Conference, prompted by Bruce McGowan, Headmaster
of Solihull at the time, he called a meeting in 1972 of almost one hundred
schools to confer on the development of Community Service and as a result a
Working Party was set up, which he has chaired until this year. Annual conferences
of staff and students have been held at Windmill House in Warwickshire and
regional meetings also take place to exchange ideas and foster community work
throughout the HMC.
Surprisingly, he has also managed to find time to pursue a range of private
interests. Solihull people know him as a prominent Methodist preacher and he has
impressed us all with the startingly high quality of his photography, a hobby which
he has only recently taken up.
In all he has done he has been sustained — cossetted, one might say — by his
all female family. Sylvia, his charming wife, has made his life hers and has actively
joined in the schemes and projects which he has initiated, and his three daughters
obviously bear no grudge against the profession which has claimed a disproportionate
amount of their father's time, for they have all become teachers themselves.
In Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons Sir Thomas More identifies those who
will be aware of the worldly Rich's success if he makes his mark as a teacher —
"You, your pupils, your friends, God . . . Not a bad public, that." Laurie Bailey
has surely found such an audience, and has even gone a little further, having had a
founding hand in a movement which has changed the attitude .of many young
people by making them aware of problems faced by others less fortunate than
themselves. In the play More adds, "Oh, and a quiet life" This has not been a
feature of Laurie Bailey's long career at Solihull.
Mr. G.T. Archer
D.H.T.
Trevor Archer was appointed to teach Woodwork and Engineering Drawing at
Solihull School in 1955. Unusually for that time, he was permitted by the
Headmaster, Mr. H.B. Hitchens, to continue working in the evenings as Principal
of the Handsworth Wood Centre for further Education, a centre which he had
started in 1947 and whose student number rose to eighteen hundred.
After gaining his technical qualifications at Loughborough Training College
and before starting his teaching career in the employment of the Birmingham
Education Authority in 1946, Trevor served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force.
Training at the Empire Flying School in Canada, he flew Tiger Moths, Defiants,
Mustangs, Hurricanes and Spitfires during the war years and later engaged in the
somewhat hazardous task of target towing for the Royal Navy and then calibrating
radar equipment at Heathrow Airport. It was his flying training and lightning
assessment of a situation which prompted his famous laconic observation at a Cadet
Force Inspection in the mid-1960's. Two of the school cadets held civilian pilot
licences and had been allowed by their instructor to "fly past" the parade. They
approached simultaneously from different directions and their priority, it seemed,
was to have a good view of the scene below. "Those two are on a collision course,"
Trevor remarked as he strolled under the protection of the trees. Fortunately,
seconds later, the young aviators reached an identical conclusion and turned
abruptly away.
When Trevor came to teach at the School, he brought with him not only his
teaching skills, but also hard earned and priceless experience from his years of
flying. His mature judgement, confidence and masterly organising ability were
quickly recognised and he embarked on a series of appointments which were of
great value to the School. He was Lower School Housemaster of Fetherston, the
Middle School Housemaster of Shenstone; as Warden of the Bookstore, his
simplified system of administration greatly reduced the time taken to issue and
return the text-books at the beginning and end of the year. This post was combined
with the supervision of Lost Property, though here, admittedly, he had less impact
on forgetful students! He was Deputy Head of the Middle School in 1963, with
special responsibility for the Shell forms; in 1967 he became head of the
Department of Technology and presided over its development at the "fort", its new
location at the top of the playing fields. Now, at his very moment of retirement, he
has seen his dreams come to fruition in the new, large, splendidly equipped and
designed Technology Department.
In 1973 his marked organisational ability in the broader aspects of education
led to his appointment as Master of the Middle School. Those who worked with
him during the years that followed will always remember his calm constructiveness
in times of crisis. Without fuss and always with a flexible approach to a problem, he
seemed to reach a practical solution with effortless ease. He always made time to
see colleagues and pupils alike and his judgements were invariably fair, consistent
and firm.
He was not, however, a friend to those with a lame excuse and young
colleagues on the games field, protesting their ignorance of this or that game, were
swiftly lent his copy of the relevant Rule Book. Trevor had the respect of everyone