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Wigan Album

All Saints School

17 Comments

All Saints Boys Staff, Easter 1950.
All Saints Boys Staff, Easter 1950.
Photo: Brian Acton
Views: 7,599
Item #: 215
All Saints Boys Staff, Easter 1950.

Back Row L-R: "Jock" Shaw, Bill Spencer, Tommy (test tube) Hudson, Davies, Richardson, Clarke.

Front row L-R: Nicholson, Walsh, Rigby (headmaster), Smith, Ernie Griffiths, Mawdesley.

Comment by: Brian Halliwell on 6th February 2009 at 21:49

I left All Saint`s in 1955.(Note correct placing of the apostrophe).Good English teaching.The best teachers to me were Tom Hudson,Ken Richardson,Bill Nicholson,Joint first places were:-Bert Mawdesley and Chris Walsh.Ron Walsh his son is a very good friend of mine.If he were alive now Chris would be 109 years old.

Comment by: Brian Halliwell on 21st February 2009 at 17:15

Bill Spencer became headmaster at the first school that my wife started her teaching career at It was incidently the school that he started at as achild

Comment by: Roy Hesketh on 28th April 2010 at 17:34

Ernie Griffiths was a strict teacher, but a damn good one.
Everyone feared him, but when he was ill in Wigan Infirmary, everyone in the class clubbed together and bought him 50 cigarettes, something frowned on today.

Comment by: Rick Howarth. on 17th June 2010 at 22:16

Ernie Griffiths a good teacher !!? My memory of him was of a short-arsed bully who relished telling you on Friday afternoon he would see you Monday morning for a caning. When everyone clubbed up for the cigs I assume he was in hospital with respiratory problems.

Comment by: Brian Acton on 19th June 2010 at 19:23

I tend to agree with Rick Howarth regards Ernie Griffiths,although when I was at All Saints most of the teachers could be over the top as they say now.i once say a teacher who shall remain nameless hit a lad in our class with his fist on his chest and only the radiator in front of the up stairs window stopped him going through it.Nowadays he would be charged with assualt for such an incident.No doubt many more can recall incidents by the teachers at All Saints during their time spent there.

Comment by: Peter Francis on 20th January 2011 at 23:05

This brings back memories. The teacher I had high respect for was Davies . He didn't use his weight to control the class (lol) He taught maths, every month (most likely when he received his salary) he would arange a mental arithmatic quiz with 20 questions and he would give a 6 pence prize to the winner. It certainly improved my maths.
Ken Richardson was another one I respected,.
Keith Barker a friend in 4A a good guy and very tough aggreed to a boxing exhibition with Ken. Ken just knocked the stuffing out of Keith. Would this be allowed today?

Comment by: Bill Woodcock on 1st February 2011 at 20:29

I was in 4A with Peter Francis and agree the best teacher was Davies. Shaw the scoutmaster,and Spencer,Richardson and Hudson were fine,but Griffiths and Smith were to handy with the cane for no reason.In the main it was a good school and I enjoyed my 4 years there.

Comment by: Peter Francis on 5th February 2011 at 23:20

Bill, are you on the photo showing winners of the Despatch the Trophy. I was friends with Brian Lea for many years but have lost touch with him.
I am liviny near Southampton now.
Do you remember me breaking my arm at PT.

Comment by: Billl Woodcock on 7th February 2011 at 16:38

Hi Peter
I clearly remember you breaking your arm. It was a nasty break.Jim Woodcock was the rugby player. 4A as I remember it was. WOODCOCK (W ) LEA, ANGLESEA,FORSHAW,TROWBRIDGE,KELLY,GRAY,DAWBER,FRANCIS, SEDGEWICK,BARKER,HOUGH,HOLDEN,SPEAKMAN,BEWLEY,WOODCOCK (J),SHAW,TARBUCK,GROOME,BOLTON,BARLOW,BENYON,BIBBY,WAITE, WOODS,HETHERINGTON,UNSWORTH,PENNINGTON, these are all I remember

Comment by: Peter Francis on 8th February 2011 at 22:33

Hi, Bill Yes a good grounding at All Saints, You remember well, I had forgotten several names from the class.
Others I remember are J Benny, D Fishwick, A Swarbrick, C Rickards, K Waller, K Slater, R Ambrose D williams and D Harrison. We have nearly got them all.I wonder if any of them look at this site.

Comment by: bewley on 26th February 2012 at 11:17

Shaw and Jackson were the two biggest bullies in the school.

Comment by: frederick howarth on 15th January 2014 at 13:24

It's not surprising that Richardson beat his pupil in a boxing match he was an ex-army P.E. instructor. I wonder how many of our teachers at All Saints were really qualified to teach in the sense we know today. I liked Richardson because he was my art teacher and I liked the subject but he was only an art teacher by default, PE was his speciality, and I suspect that to him the the French Impressionists were a group of mime artists.
As I understand it, after the war, there was a desperate shortage of teachers and so, to fill the gap, they introduced emergency training which meant that anyone with the old School Cert could qualify as a teacher after a short six months course. If you were a capable, properly qualified and ambitious teacher its highly likely you headed for the Grammar Schools. One of the many injustices of the old two tier system is that it commonly affected the quality of teacher and consequently teaching you received.

Comment by: David woods on 6th August 2015 at 15:52

I was at all saints from 48 to 52. I well remember those listed as in 4a 1951/2. I'.ll never forget when Pete Francis broke his arm falling off the horse in the gym. As I recall he sat on the hall floor until the ambulance came! I remember running in an epic inter schools cross country. Arthur Waite and Roy unworth were leading as the finish line neared, but one of them was suddenly, violently sick and the other stopped to help him. Meanwhile an unsporting lad frm GIclow ran passed them to win. The biggest applause was for Arthur an Roy would crossed the line together!

Comment by: Peter. Francis on 23rd August 2015 at 22:44

Hi David , I would appreciate a chat with you , I remember you lived at the entrance to Haigh Hall, my email address is. Peter.francis240@ntlworld.com

Comment by: doug harrison on 4th January 2016 at 22:53

very strict school under Mr Rigby some name Norman Barlow,David Pennington and Kenneth Autrum (sic) went to Hindley & Abraham Grammar school. Anthony Swasbrick

Comment by: Keith Austin on 25th January 2017 at 21:05

Ken Richardson was my maths teacher 1965 1969. Slapped my head and dragged me up by sideburns. Seen him tup the blackboard and slide to the floor, head in his hands because the class did poor in there maths exam. Seems crazy to me now, but that's how it was, as for Ernie he was a disgrace for reasons I will not reveal.

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