His son Robin and I went to see him in his nursing home a few years ago – we were going to take him out to lunch but the staff had forgotten to wake him up and when we appeared at around 12.30pm he was still asleep in a single bed – he was lying on his side and Robin went round to the back of him and I stood where he was facing me.
He didn’t know we were going and he was 90+ at the time but when Robin nudged him to wake him up he just opened his eyes, saw me and said “You’re just as bloody ugly now as you always were!” which I thought was pretty good – there was no element of surprise or time to think, he just came out with it.
Len Clark (5th December 2018)
I was at the school from 1960 to 1965 and will forever be grateful to Mr Barrett for his help in the metalwork shop training he gave me, which enabled me to gain an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce aircraft engines. He was very patient but tough with the level of work he expected us to achieve.
I can also remember him running the “tuck shop” at lunchtime and blowing a whistle to stop the entire playground, when things got boisterous. He would shout “you boy come here” and then describe who it was he wanted to talk too.
From Reg Hardy (1960-1965)
Yes George, F.E. Barrett has the handlebar moustache…
See Galleries – Pupils & Teachers – photo: 024 – Frank Barrett(English)(C)
Howdy,
just catching up and wondering whether the F.E. Barrett mentioned is the fondly remembered English teacher at Kynaston with handlebar moustache who, I heard, participated in the Battle of Britain in 1940?
Is it possible that Len Clark is the teacher (History, British Economic History, English, at a guess, besides other possible subjects), also fondly remembered, who wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions in class about Harold Wilson and George Brown, which made him the Kynaston current affairs commentator of the day? 😉