1959

27 Teacher: Mr Bebbington (Biology). He could wiggle his ears!

My wife Doreen has a few suggested names, #5 Raymond Barret, #11 Jimmy Neal, #16 Brian Redpath, #17 Raymond Mack, #19 Chris Watson, #23 Ann Thompson, #25 Ann Nichol, #27 Mr Bebbington, #28 Margaret Slator, #30 Joan ? #31 Ann Brown.

Cheers Vic & Doreen - photo updated. No 30 is the late Joan Hartill.

Foxy - would you say thank you to Jim from Joan Hartill's sister, Sylvia, who now has a copy of the photo. 

Message from Raymond Barrett, via his wife, No 5 not him he was never in this class.

Message from Jim Hardy, Bygone Bedlington = No 2 Rob Dixon & No 3 Harry Common.

Foxy - Bygone Bedlington - comment from No 22 - David Walker -'Is it possible to purchase a copy of this photo please it's the only school photo I have ever seen'.

Sent him two, 1 with the names on.  

Good on you Eggy,

                             aye thats him number 22.....I don't think he's a member on here but his cousin who he hasn't met for more than 55 years is our  friend in  Australia  Brian Cross.  Brian will probably see this pic on his next session on here.

Heh heh!...Nice ti see Davy in this pic!!

My Best Man at my Wedding 50 years gone, last week!

Foxy,if you see Jim Hardy again,pass my regards on to him,he  knew me from 5 years old at the infants school![re:infant school class 2 in this gallery]

Tell him Billy Allison's  asking after him!

Eggy...more names!

No 4 John Moore [Ginger!]?

No 5 definately Norman Taylor [deceased at an early age R.I.P. Norman]

No 6 Jim Bradley ?

No 8 Gordon Parmley - definately![nicknamed "Twiggy",older Brother Brian was "Branchy"-a big strong lad likeable but nobody would tassle with him!!]

No 12 Tommy Tyler ?

A bit of doubt in my mind where question marks appear!

Vic,wheors wor Doreen?..and Ronnie Leyland....and Brian Richmond,and a lot of others from wor Whitley class?....ask the boss if she knaas if they aal  left skyeuul at Easter ,in 1959,cos aa left in the start of the Summer holidays,aa was 15 yrs aad in July 1959

Nos 15 and 26 are bugging me..on thi tip of me tongue.....!

Canny Lass...best way ti stop Mr Bebbington's math's lesson was ti suddenly ask him ti wiggle his ears.....and it was domino!!

Quote.."You know,it takes a lot of practice and a certain amount of skill to do this..."...[as he put down his chalk and started the half-hour long demonstration....while we were in fits of laughter!!]

My older Sisters and Brother educated me on this topic long before I went into his class!!

Great seeing these old pics...wonder if Jim Hardy has any more!..

15 hours ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

 

Eggy...more names!

 

Names updated on the photo HPW and I have posted the updated photo back on the Bygone Bedlington Facebook group site and 'tagged' Jim Hardy. I will see if he replies and see if there are any more updates before I upload here. 

There was also a comment on the Facebook site from a David Walker, and it was him that identified himself, No 22, in the photo. So I 'tagged' him as well using your ear wiggling story to see if he reacts to that.   

Hi Eggy!Thanks for doing that!

Wor lass came inti thi kitchen where me laptop is,and saw Davy Walker before aa sed owt...he's nivvor changed from the infants school...and still a great lad,even though it's a few years between seeing him!

Jim Hardy and me were gud friends aal thi way through school,and even did wor pit training together at Seaton Burn pit in 1959,straight after leaving school at 15 yrs old.

Some of the other pupils are still bugging me!..ye knaa wat it's like when ye knaa sumbody,and just canna get tha nyems!!

Cheers,Eggy,ya still daeing a grand job for aal of us on this site!

HPW, Dot says she wasn't in that class as they are a year older! but if you can pan the camera around to the cemetery you just might see a smoke signals, that would be her....

Vic,aa sat next ti Alan Wilkinson,in the same twin desk,[as they were then],aal me school life till a went inti the Upper Remove at Westridge in aroond late-ish 1957/58-ish.[canna mind exact date]

Doreen sat in the same class as me at the Whitley,ask her if she can remember the times when aad Mouldy-cheese med me sit amang the lasses[directly behind Doreen,for taakin ti Alan in class..[a humiliation exercise on Mouldy's part....unsuccessful seeing as Doreen and a lot of the lasses were me friends and neighbours!!]...

Ask Doreen if she can remember passing a full pack of playing cards to me,in two's and three'ses,[till I had the whole pack],every time Mouldy turned her back to the class!

We were aboot 10 or 11 yrs aad,and she knew we were hard up and we never got pocket money or sweets or toys throughout the year like some of the others did.

[Cue violins.....!!].....Point is,Doreen says she was a year older than this class,but I can count at least sixteen of our Whitley school classmates who went from class to class all the way through.......mind aam not sure if classes were formed from your date of birth,and you could find pupils leaving at different terms in the same year? does that mek sense or aam a taakin stupid....?

Aal a knaa is we were aal the same age give or take a month or two,and a dinna want wor Doreen ti think aam being disrespectful,just trying ti jog her memory,which is one of the great things aboot this site!!

Me like heap big pow-wow any time...noo wheors me tab-leeta and me blanket!!.....[methinks ye are risking a bashing...!!]

Eggy,would a be in order if a was ti put a list up of every single pupil who sat in my class aal the way through the Whitley and Westridge,even though odd ones either moved away or changed schools at some point?

It might help to jog memories in order to help in identifying subjects on the pics..[mind thas a canny few on the list!!]

Apologies ti Norman,cos a just canna place him at aal,even though we are P.M.'ing at present.

Noo aal them on me list are 100% definite cos a cudn't mek them up if they weren't in me class!!

9 hours ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Eggy,would a be in order if a was ti put a list up of every single pupil who sat in my class aal the way through the Whitley and Westridge,even though odd ones either moved away or changed schools at some point?

It might help to jog memories in order to help in identifying subjects on the pics..[mind thas a canny few on the list!!]

Apologies ti Norman,cos a just canna place him at aal,even though we are P.M.'ing at present.

Noo aal them on me list are 100% definite cos a cudn't mek them up if they weren't in me class!!

Can't do any harm HPW.

I think it you created a couple of topics in History Hollow or Chat Central, say one for each school, then I could 'copy & paste' each separate class list of names into a photo/image/jpg file and add them as individual entries in the Whitley Memorial & Westridge Albums. That way any member could then comment and/or update each Album entry and we shouldn't get the class names mixed up.

Names updated - @HIGH PIT WILMA - Colin Sim, on Facebook Bedlington remembered site, says No 6 & 12 are not Jim Bradley or Tommy Tyler as they were both in his year that followed this lot.

Hi Eggy! Thanks for the update!

No 6 did have a bit of mixed feeling,cos a wasn't so sure after studying the pic over several sessions,and even thought Joe Hale [Deceased R.I.P. Joe.],might have been him,so many memories of classmates,easy ti get mixed up,but No 12,a was so sure of Tommy Tyler,not forgetting there were two lads with that name,a stockier lad,[in later life!] who lived in the Doctor Pit Rows,and who aa worked with at Bates Pit.

That Tommy Tyler used to have a moonlight job,in between shifts at the pit,.......grave-digging with a spade,[no machines in them days, like the council have now!],along at Horton Church,past Bebside,on the way ti Deaton Delaval!

No probs if aam totally wrong,aal we want is the proper names ti gaan ti the faces in thi pics!!

Noo!!What's bugged me since this pic was posted,is the lassie sitting next ti Mr Bebbington,on his left,as we look at it,[No 26].In my mind,a can see a lass caaled Marie Wakenshaw,who was a lovely smiley natured real pleasant lass,and who was Bob Wakenshaws Sister..[or I always remember thinking that when a was at school.]

Remember,Westridge brought pupils from aal thi schools and had a weird way of forming classes,cos when aa started,at least 15 of these pupils were in my class,along with Vic's other Half,[Doreen]and a lot of others who aren't on this pic.

I never took Biology,and never had Mr Bebbington as a teacher there,[but I did have him for Maths at the Whitley School...along with his Ear-wiggling lessons!].

I sat in the same desk with Alan Wilkinson ,[No 1 ] as my deskmate aal the way through school life reet back from the first days at the infant school.

Sometime,when the new school got onto it's wobbly feet,they started shifting pupils aroond,for what reason,still beats me,[age-groups?...education-potential?....],except I do know why upper-remove was created cos I went into that class and it was the biggest mistake of my school life!

So this class has been formed in a shifty-roond,after aa went inti the Remove class.

Mr Bebbington wasn't even up at the school when it opened the first day,and a canna ever mind seeing him,when the teachers aal sat on the stage in a row behind Mr Hemming the Headmaster.

Obviously that's my grey matter torning even grey-er!,cos he was....a see noo!

Aal thi way through school,up ti leaving the Whitley , the teachers used ti come ti us in wor class,then at Westridge,yi had 500 pupils teeming through the corridors,running up and doon the stairs,gaan from end ti end,in the lang corridors,ti change classes and gaan ti thi teachers!!!....Maths wi Mr Freeman at the far end of the school,then after break-time,it was doon ti the classroom nearest the the main entrance,[near the main road...so ti speak...],for History wi Mr Abrahart,or Music with Mrs Nicholson!....thinking back,if H&S existed then,risk assessments wud have had ti be put in place,cos the stairs used ti be like the London Undagrund!!,at shifty-class periods!

Sad to hear that Joan Hartill passed away.She was a real quiet lass in the class,and always very likeable.R.I.P. Joan.

A bit late but it just struck me after reading back through the thread.

On 30/10/2016 at 10:28, Eggy1948 said:

Message from Raymond Barrett, via his wife, No 5 not him he was never in this class.

Ray Barret was in my class aal the way from the infants school as weel!

He aalwis sat next ti Ian Darling,who were considered ti be the two brainiest[!] lads in the class.

He WAS in the class with me and most of these,from the Whitley,[not THIS class!],but would have went straight into the Upper Remove the minute it was formed in the early days of opening.No 5 was Norman Taylor,who,like Alan Wilkie,and others,NEVER changed as they grew older....always instantly recognisable.

It keeps us oot a mischief HPW - wat wud wi de withoot thw www - just keep pressing and guessing and we will get there in the end - I din't recognise myself on the one and only senior school photo that was sent to me! 

Heh heh,Eggy  ya reet there!Nae chance  o' me getting inti mischief!  O.H. , and Lbj see ti that!!

It is queer hoo a lot of people cud be mistaken for others,with nae disrespect intended,like  one of the next pics alang in the gallery,a cud swear one lass was Lorna Barker,but the lass in question was named as Christine ? [aav forgotten aal riddy from a few minutes ago!!],and another was named as Lynda Mathews,who I wudda tuk for Lillian Moore.....!

Ah weel,like ye say,pressing and guessing!!

Does anyone here have any information on Brian Parmley, the brother of Gordon pictured here (No. 8)? Brian went to Australia and I have lost contact with him.

No 20 named by Margaret Collier (nee Slater)