The history of our School - Kings Norton Boys

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Street and conditions were very difficult. The new headmaster was pleased to be in a school where the buildings actually belonged to the school. Mr. Reynolds introduced many new ideas. The first was the introduction of the prefect system of which he wrote in a subsequent issue of the school magazine, they have carried out their new duties with ability and discretion, and their assistance is appreciated by the staff. The second notable innovation, at that time, was the organisation of the school into houses. These, Greves, Jervoise, Lyttleton, Middlemore and Mortimer were named after distinguished families who had, during the years, developed strong connection with King's Norton and Northfield. These names have come to mean much to old boys of the school. Many societies were formed. Mr. T. Welburn and Mr. Ecclestone inaugurated the Scientific Society and it is pleasing to note that this has continued with success until the present time. The dramatic society was formed on a much larger scale; a cyclorama was built into the back of the stage and an efficient switch board and lighting system were installed by members of the staff and boys. The plays presented for the first public performance were Tom Thumb The Great and Under the Skull and Bones produced by Mr. Roach and Mr. Cole respectively. The plays were very successful and were the forerunners of many others, such as Androcles and The Lion, Man and Superman, The Rising Generation, She Stoops to Conquer and The Admirable Crichton. Other new societies included the Model Railway Club, The Hobbies Club, The Lecture and Debating Society, The Natural History Society, The Chess Club, The Wireless Club and the Bee Keeping Society. A Parent-Teacher Association was formed in 1935 and in 1936 a Jubilee Pavilion was built on the school field; the cost of this was borne jointly by the Education Committee and the School. The first commemoration service was held at St. Nicolas Church, King's Norton for the celebration by the school of its 25th anniversary. The service was conducted by Canon T.S. Dunn, vicar of King's Norton, and the address was given by the Ven. J.H. Richards, Archdeacon of Aston. This service became an annual one. In August 1935, the first overseas holiday in the history of the school was organised . Four masters accompanied 72 boys to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany. The party sailed in the troop-ship Neuralia and the cruise was sponsored by The Secondary Schools' Travel Trust. It is interesting to reflect that the total cost including excursions and foreign currency was about £8. 10. 0d. per head. In July, 1935, the school obtained its first state scholarship through R.W. Stanford who subsequently went to Christ's College, Cambridge. At Easter 1939, the school became King's Norton Grammar School for Boys Later in the same year war was declared on Germany and so ended another phase in the school's history. Many staff and boys will always remember Friday, 1st September 1939, the day that the school was evacuated to Gloucester. As a short magazine report so well expressed it at the time - The pelting rain of the morning; the hot sunshine of the afternoon; the foreboding tin hats of the King's Norton A.R.P. officials; the
mellow serenity of Evesham's apple orchards; Birmingham's indifference to our departure; Gloucester's staring multitudes. We were not made particularly welcome by the Crypt School but all made the best of it. Many will recall the spectacle of the Severn Bore, the school's invasion of The Plaza Cinema where the film The Mikado was shown, our lessons in the afternoons only, the commemoration service held at Gloucester Cathedral, our visits to Painswick Beacon and so on. However the evacuation was short-lived; the school returned to Birmingham in March 1940 in time for the bombing which occurred later. During 1940 lessons were interrupted from time to time by air raid warnings and an orderly procession moved to the air raid shelters which had been erected. In April a National Savings Group was formed; by 1945 this had reached the splendid total of £13,111. During December The Pig and Poultry Club came into being. Pigs were fed and slaughtered at the appropriate time. Some of the pork was distributed to the shareholders in lieu of dividend whilst the rest was sold to The Meat Control Board. In April 1941, the King's Norton and Bourneville Squadron of the Air Training Corps were inaugurated under the command of Flt. Lt. W.H. Reynolds M.C., the officers including F.O. L.K. Ecclestone, P/O S.E. Pickering and F/O D.W. Wheeler. The extremely efficient warrant officer was Mr. Frank Waltew, the chief grounds man of the Birmingham Education Committee. The school was the headquarters and much of the work normally carried out at Initial Training Wings was now done by the A.T.C. A very high standard was reached by the 240 cadets and many will recall the winning of the Wing Cup, Church Parades, camps at Tern Hill and Hereford and many other occasions. In May 1942, an Army Cadet Force was formed under the direction of the local battalion of The Home Guard. From July 1942 and continuing for about four years, successful Harvest Camps were held at Offchurch, Near Leamington. The local cricket pavilion provided the headquarters and tents were erected on the field. Much of the organisation was arranged by The Warwickshire War Agricultural Committee, ably assisted by the late Mr. Brian Hindle. After the war, life gradually returned to normal. Functions were again held at the school and societies were reformed. Prefabricated classrooms were erected in the east playground in about 1946 and they were of great help although their heating was always a source of trouble. The late Mr. R.T. Cooling was elected a judge at the 14th Olympic held in 1948 at the White City; this was a great honor for the school. Mr. K.R. Welburn designed the War Memorial to old boys who had given their lives in the first and second world wars. This was dedicated by the Ven. G.C. St. M. Parker, the Archdeacon of Aston, on Sunday 24th April 1949 and was unveiled by Mr. F.W. Wright, the second master of the school, who was at the time the president of the Old Nortonians Association and who had done so much to keep the Association together during the war years. In August 1949, the school began a series of holiday camps at the Isle of Wight. These were held at St. Helens, between Bembridge and Sea View, where an excellent site was shared with Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bristol. Many old boys will remember with pleasure Messrs. Richardson and Brooks from Bristol, The glori-
Page 1: History of our School 1911-1971 Tak
Page 5 and 6: 1960's, the peak was reached when t

The history of our School - Kings Norton Boys

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