Staff 1947

Members of Staff of Gateshead Grammar School 1947 – 1948
as supplied by Ken Norton (Starting Year 1944) and Peter Miller (Starting Year Group 1942)

GLR BROWN MA (Cantab) Headmaster – History
WR James MSc (Dunelm) Deputy Head – Chemistry
Foggy Coates-Geography/Geology
Miss G Rodgers BA Dunelm – Senior Mistress – English
Miss E Walton BSc – General Science and Biology
Miss EH Ditchburn BA– Mathematics
E Rimer MSc Physics
Miss V Ramshaw BA – English and Drama
Miss H H Otty MA – German and French
F Lamb BA – Geography and Geology
C.C. Ridley BA –History
G Greenwood –Technical Drawing
W Wheeler MA – Mathematics
E Fawcett BA - Latin
T Maine MSc – Physics
J R Brown BA – English and Latin
R Clear BA – History and PE
R Hebron M A – French
Miss E White BA – English
Miss J Kitchen BA German and PE
AJPR Reed BA – Geography and Climateology
G Oyston BSc – Physics
Clayden
Morris
Doxford-Art
Smith (Exchange Teacher from USA)
R. Cleasby
McNaughton-Tech Drawing/Woodwork
Ms Oates
Ms Henderson
Mrs Flintoff-French
Ms Thomas-Cookery
Ms Fox-Needlework
Ms Plews~
Mr Warden-Lab Technician

Pics are from the Long Panora Photo of 1947


Morris, Clear, Warden (Tech), Clayden

Reed

Brown, Doxford

Smith (Supply from USA),  Cleasby, Fawcett, Ridley

Lamb

Oysten, Greenwell, Wheeler, Rimer

McNaughton

Harbron, Maine, James, Foggy Coates

G L R Brown, Headmaster

Miss Rogers, Ditchburn, Ramshaw, Walton

?, White,

Oates, Henderson, Flintoff

Flintoff, Thomas, Fox, Plews

Dr Miller writes
"It may be useful to add a few notes to some of the above members of staff. Whilst the Grammar school was considered by various masters over the years as consisting of the “clotted cream”  or "the cream of the borough" in its composition of the pupils and the quality of the staff, and there was some truth in this since the one former Grammar School of 600+ boys and girls represented something like the top 3%-5%  (the then population of Gateshead of about 115,000, with perhaps 12,000-18,000 of secondary school age )  One does not need to be a statistical genius, to work out the implications of entry policy and subsequent achievements.

The School's staff had some brilliant teachers, but some very odd-balls."

[See here for tribute to this teacher on his retirement http://www.gateshead-grammar.com/staff.html ]


. [Dr Miller picked out these two teachers as ones he disliked]
[Mr James] "was, to my knowledge, disliked by some staff and students and even perhaps by the Headmaster himself.

Whilst the rest of the staff were, by comparison, pictures of virtue, they naturally had their own particular idiosyncrasies, but were never in the league of these"


 
Mr James features highly, and almost affectionately, in the 1947 recollections of Dr Miller