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Farnborough Grammar School

Prospect Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire

Telephone : Farnborough 539

Anthony Tebbutt (Memories) - ? to 1959



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While surfing the web, I was delighted to find your web site for FGS.  I am Anthony (Tony) Tebbutt and both my brother Robert (Bob) Tebbutt and I attended FGS. I left in 1959 and brother Bob, two years my senior, left in 1957. I have some memories of FGS to add and also I may be able to fill in some of the gaps in your journal.

First of all, some brief background on Bob and myself…

Bob remained in England and is currently retired living in a idyllic  country village called Occold in Suffolk. As for me, I was at NGTE Pyestock until 1965, when I emigrated to Montreal in Canada, and then in 1980 moved to America. I am now enjoying retirement in the Pennsylvania countryside. So, on with my memories…

Ian Johnston… Ian’s account of the stay at the Tregoyd Guesthouse where he was made out to have “ruined a wardrobe” is hilarious and I have a vivid memory of Mr. Attree brandishing the tiny fragment of blue painted plaster as if he was presenting “Prosecution exhibit number one “ at the Old Bailey. There were, as Ian states, four people in that room. Ian, Anthony Fish, myself and David Pomeroy.

End Of Term Photo July 23 1959… I believe the photograph titled “Man with no name” is indeed Mike (Chuck) Penrith. [Identification amended.]

Michael Mackey… As noted by many, this was a tragic loss. Michael was a very compassionate person who always made you feel welcome, and showed genuine interest in people, a trait he inherited from his father Bev Mackey.

The Beeb… Ah, what a cornucopia of tales of this character. I was in his choir and fortunately avoided his preponderance for knee fondling by always keeping my back to the wall. One lunchtime choir practice when there was snow on the ground, there was of course a constant barrage of snow balls being thrown at the class room window from below. Finally Beeb made the huge mistake of opening a window to shout at the throwers only to be met with a fusillade of snow balls that knocked him backwards. I also remember another occasion where a boy called Bennet(?) found an old fashioned megaphone and used it call down the balcony though the swing doors. Of course by the time Beeb came bursting out, Bennet was long gone.

Jo Thomas… I note a lot of comments about his mannerisms and I have to agree that he acted like a control freak, however my own father shared a few of Jo’s ‘quirks’ (though not to the same extreme) and my father had a similar military background to Jo’s. Perhaps that was the driving factor. I suffered the hair lifting, the cold water drenching and the plimsoll slap with many others, behavior that at the time was accepted.

Boris Rogers… Again, Ian’s memory about the telescope in the science lab being used by the lab assistant to watch a young lady on Prospect Avenue disrobe is perfectly accurate. The well developed young lady was in my “social group” and was always extroverted to the point of blatant exhibitionism, and was aware of her audience.

Another Boris story....during one science class, Alan “Snodge” Brydges was playing with a flexible ruler and a piece of chalk pretending to shoot the chalk at Boris. Unfortunately his finger slipped and the chalk smacked the blackboard right next to Boris’s nose.

Bobbie Jackson… I see a couple of photos of Jacko but no information. I can add some news here. Jacko was at NGTE when I moved to Montreal and one day Jacko showed up. He had obtained a position at United Aircraft/Pratt and Whitney in Longueil near Montreal working in gas turbine development I think. I lost contact when I relocated to America, but some years ago when doing a patent search, I came across a patent he had been awarded (I think) for some form of turbine blade cooling.

Barry James…I witnessed Barry’s remarkable fall down the stairwell and thought he was severely injured, but he did more damage to the hand rail than he did to himself. Barry must live a charmed life; he was a member of the same cycling club as I was and on one return ride from Windsor, he hit a pothole in the road that destroyed his bike wheel and bent the frame but sustained no injuries himself.

Keep these memories alive… regards T


Anthony Tebbutt : January 2013


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