Extracts from a letter of April 2007 to Mrs Kernon (Secretary) from Frank Gant, D.O.B. 21.10.1921, who now resides in New Zealand, and was at Brigg Grammar School from 1933 to 1939, with some comments about the February 2007 newsletter that was sent to him.
“I started [Brigg Grammar School] late in the autumn term of 1933 in Class 3B. Our classroom was a wooden ex-army W.W.1 hut on the very edge of the playing field. Passed school certificate in the summer of 1938 and then passed a year in Lower Sixth attempting to follow Des Nixon into the Navy via the special entry cadet system - 17 places and about 150 applicants! Failed of course so went to sea with Runciman Shipping Co. Ltd. in September 1939, as apprentice. Suffered a wounding disaster, rose to be second mate and after ten years joined the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand Ltd. and sailed on the N.Z coast about 10 years, becoming Senior First Mate, resigned and entered the catering business without success, so became teacher of Seamanship at the Wellington Nautical School for about 5 years then went back to sea with N.Z. Railways, running their rail ferries across Cook Strait for 5 years.
I now have my own little house, part of the Golden Pond Retirement Village-cum-Old Folks’ Home, where I am very cosy.
Your obituary mentions John Gregory (1929-32), which confuses me, as you mention that he went to the Bluecoats School. We had a Gregory at school for about a year, possibly 1934, who was blessed with a magnificent voice and it was always understood that it was he, possibly Basil, who obtained the scholarship to Bluecoats on account of his voice. Dear old “Praque”. He taught me French for 4 years and I became very good at it, useless as it seemed at the time, but I had a lot of fun with it in Alexandria later. When France collapsed my ship was in Oran and the consul advised the master to get out quick or risk internment and handed him an envelope containing sailing directions, recognition signals and minefield maps for the Med. When opened the whole lot was in French and I, a junior apprentice, was the only one who could translate them.
We never addressed a master as anything but “Sir” but everyone had a nickname. The Head was Duffy Daughton, his deputy Bumper Knight, Bruiser Dodd, Ging Gong Lamb, Harry Pimlott, Cabby Cabourne, Toddy Henthorne, Monkey Pratt, Chippy Morris (boarded above a Fish and Chip Shop) Tigger Richards, Waggon Wheels Wagg (he came to school on a bike), Gazzer Gaze, Dicky Thumbwood. I suppose that tradition is still in full force and probably is applied to Mistresses as well.
You mentioned George Gurnell and the old rifles in the woodwork shop store. They were the remnants of the OTC - Officers Training Corps, which between the wars was de rigeur for every school that had any sort of prestige. The corps was scrapped by the Headmaster JT Daughton when he assumed office. He was a confirmed pacifist and keen supporter of the League of Nations.
Being at sea I rapidly lost contact with my old school mates but about 3 years ago, by a quite extraordinary series of coincidences I discovered that George was still alive and well in Sheffield, and we now correspond from time to time. George, always known as Guzzy, put me in touch with cousin Neville Snowden Gurnell, always known as Sandy. He followed me to sea as an apprentice and eventually became Navigator on S.S. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, migrated to Canada and became Inspector of Marine Accidents. We also write to each other and decry the parlous state of British Merchant Shipping. He now lives in Vancouver.
Looking back over the years and collating all the bits of information re my generation at BGS that has filtered through to me across distance and time I am amazed at the number of old boys who did very well for themselves over the post war years. There was my special friend Bob North of Silverstream who became a Headmaster in the teaching profession; my brother John C.R. Gant who joined David Brown Tractors Ltd. as an agricultural machinery demonstrator and became World Service Manager; Des Nixon got into the Navy as Special Entry Cadet (Engineer Division) and retired with Admiral’s rank; Kenneth Jones, was a Senior Prefect during my last 2 years, entered the legal profession and became Justice Sir Kenneth Jones, eventually sentencing the infamous Kray brothers, London gangsters, to 99 years each in jail; my youngest brother P.G. Gant who followed me to N.Z. pretty well penniless and did very well in farming and property; L.E. Harrison (Lightning) started to train as a teacher, was conscripted into the Army and rose to Captain’s rank, later joined one of the big oil companies as a teacher and was sent out to the Middle East to train company staff.
The thirties at BGS were wonderfully fruitful of good men well and broadly educated by a splendid team of strict masters under the leadership of old Duffy Daughton. I myself have always been grateful to them.“