Stockton and Billingham Technical College, Engineering Department, Oxbridge Avenue, Stockton-on-Tees. If you worked at any of the Engineering Companies in Stockton you would have gone to the local Technical College for day release/night classes and probably had contact with some of the lecturers in this photograph.
The photograph shows four lecturers from the college who are L/R: John (Jack) Southern who took Mechanics, Harry Cardwell the college principal at Stockton, Tom Sowler who took Electrics, Joe Harle who took Maths
Photograph and details courtesy of Alan Harle.
Picture Stockton Archive 
Lovely memories of Stockton Tech Where I attended from 1950 to 1956, Starting in the old Stockton Secondary Grammar School opposite the old Hippodrome theatre. culminating in the New College in Fairfield.. One teacher I recall was the English Teacher a Mr Smith , He was so proud of the fact that he had humble beginning’s as his father was Boilermaker and he had now reached the pinnacle of his life as an English teacher. If he could only realise that some of the Students at this Tech College would go on to be leaders in their industries due to the Education they received from this particular College , many being failures at the Ridiculous 11 plus Exams which where a travesty of Justice in that they were labelled failures and only good for Factory Fodder, on the basis of a one off examination, on one particular day. Not only that the number of Grammar School places allotted to Teesside children was five in one hundred, as against Manchester which was twenty five in one hundred as was the case in the South of England just another example of the North of England being being bottom of the list when funds are allocated. Has this inequality been addressed since, I think not. Well done Stockton Technical College I owe you a great debt for educating me to lead a very successful career retiring from the Rio Tinto Group of Companies as Principal Consultant, Cost Engineering and Project Estimating thirty years ago. I now enjoy a financially Sound Retirement all due to Stockton Technical School Education and some lucky breaks in my life. Well done the School .
LikeLike
You got that right Benny. I too owe a lot to those years spent on my further education, becoming a trade teacher in the NSW Tafe system. By far the best job I ever had
I am now giving back, after joining a men’s shed & teaching, not only metal work but now wood turning as well. I find the companionship richly rewarding. I would encourage any in our age group & younger to get involved.
LikeLike
Nice to hear from you Colin a fellow student of my class at Newham Grange Secondary Modern School . I think you would have the same sentiments as myself on the 11 plus examination. Newham Grange School was a very happy school for me in particular the Sports Teacher Ray Irvine who was a great influence on my life although the overall standard of education when we left school at 15 years of age was abysmal compared to the Grammar Schools . This resulted that when the Secondary Modern pupil Registered to attend Night School at the Stockton Technical College as it was known then they had to start at the Junior one level, Northern counties certificate whereas the Grammar School boy Not attending University started at Senior year One Northern Counties Examination. Thus we were two years behind the Grammar School boys in completing the total course of consisting ofJ1,J2,S1.S2.S3,A1.A2. Northern County Exams. The Exam are different now but we were at a great disadvantage due to the poor standard of the Secondary Modern system. I believe the present system of Comprehensive schools has improved this situation and I know of many pupils who are very successful after completing the Comprehensive School system including two nephews who are at present Managing Directors of two of the Worlds largest International Companies. I would say to the present generation of young students never give up there is no ceiling to what you can achieve if you put the effort into it,. even if you feel you are at the bottom keep going, and good luck to you in the future.. .
LikeLike
Correct Benny. You can do anything you want, provided, you want to do it.
LikeLike
When I was at Newham Grange Schoool in 1957 we went to Stockton Technical College, Nelson Terrace & took the 11 in our last year on a Thursday evening.
LikeLike
Harry Cardwell interviewed me for the Technician’s job in 1978. The College did not survive the new era of the modern idea of doing away with manual trades and going for other career subjects instead.
LikeLike
Can any one remember the Geology teacher < physics and the Chemistry teacher at Stockton / Billingham technical college and also the English teacher Mrs. Williams during the years 1964 till 1968?
Many thanks
LikeLike
My dad Ron Sanderson taught electronics at the College from the 50s until early 80s and I used to go over there after school while at Grangefield to wait for him to finish so we could go home. I knew Tom quite well, being aware of his work on Stockton’s history (I have the book). I also met the others in the picture, particularly Joe Harle, and Henry Leake who taught electrical installation. Our family friend Len English worked at ICI and taught evening classes. I think there was a young chap surname Dean also teaching electricians. Then there were the technicians Eddie Petty and Arthur (I’ll remember his last name later).
LikeLike
I went to the college from 1960-65. Took radio/tv servicing. I remember a Mr. Sanderson – was he the principal?
LikeLike
I was in the same class as David Wastell and remember Mr Sanderson well. We also had Mr Reader as a lecturer.
Alan Coyle
LikeLike
Dave Reader took over as head of electronics when my dad retired. Another lecturer Dennis Coulthard taught there as well.
LikeLike
I was taught by Mr Sanderson and Mr Sowler from 1957 until 1961, on day release from Rodbers Radio Service, Richmond and later, Rentaset, Darlington. I can still remember a joke Tom told about a bad conductor!
LikeLike
It was Arthur McLoughlin.
LikeLike
I Took over from Eddie Petty in 1978. It was a rewarding job.
LikeLike
Wrong.I attended Stockton Tech. 1947-49,well Iam now 83.
LikeLike
A Senior Moment Clive as it happens to all of the old codgers. Living a long life has its compensations as people tend to make allowances for your age. I have noticed lately the number of young women who go out of their way to help you and make life a bit easier for you, .such things as taking your shopping trolley back to the rack or offering you a seat on a bus or train. God bless them all there are a lot of nice people out there looking after us old codgers..
LikeLike
I attended Stockton Tech. full time 1949-51 and remember well Jack Southern, “give me 100 Archimedes’ Principle for the morning Wilkinson.” I can still recite it! I also remember Joe Harle.A good teacher.
LikeLike
Tom Sowler was a clever radio enthusiast/specialist after(?) the War.. He was also the Borough’s official historian – the “Town House”, and not St. Thomas or Christopher Wren!
Joe Harle was a very good maths teacher. He would enter the lecture room and commence teaching straight away, no messing around or delay. I owe a lot to SBC. Barrie Braney
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tom Sowler a lovely Man my first contact with Tom as as a schoolboy playing in the Stockton Boys Football team, I think he was the Chairman of the Stockton schools Football Association alongside Harry Rigg, and Ray Irvine I think he taught at the Holy Trinity School in those days. The next time I met Tom was in his Hartburn home when I was visiting Sockton from Australia and went to see him to sign his book about Stockton.. Tom told me about his RAF time During the War flying in Lancaster Bombers over Germany , and that his Pilot was an Australian from Melbourne and could I try to contact his Pilot friend when I returned home,. I do not think Tom realized that Melbourne was a city of over four million people then, and now going towards six million. Needless to say I was unsuccessful in my search.for his pilot friend.. .
LikeLike
Tom Sowler is the author of “A History of Stockton on Tees”.
LikeLike
Joe Harle was one of the very best teachers of mathematics I have ever come across. I owe him a great debt with the help he gave me and many others on the engineering courses he covered .
Jack Southern made the subject of mechanics/ thermodynamics a really enjoyable subject.
LikeLike
Some of my memories are
1) Jack Southern’s ability to write on the blackboard either left or right handed.
2) Tom Sowler’s interest in Stockton History, which led him in to write “A History of the Town and Borough of Stockton-on-Tees”
3) Not even escaping from being taught by my father.
LikeLike
I remember Jack Southern for the same reason & he managed to it so smoothly
LikeLike
I was accepted into the “Tech” in 1947. It must have been newly created then as there was no fixed school facilities. During the class times we wondered all over Stockton to rooms in the Lit & Phil, YMCA, Hume Street near the gasworks & the workshop on Church Road behind Bill Beatties cycle shop and to the mechanical building in the yard of the secondary school. On Wednesday afternoons we bussed out to the edge of Hartburn for a football game. I definitely remember Jack Southern and I think Joe Harle also there was a Mr Smith who taught English.
Acceptance to the Tech was a godsend to those of us that failed the 11 plus exam, It put me into an engineering career that lasted nearly 50 years. After completing my National Service in 1957 I and my family emigrated to Canada where for 30 years I was a Professional Engineer in process mining plant first learned in the late Head Wrightsons Stockton Forge Division.
LikeLike
I remember the workshop behind Bill Beatties. It was still being used in 1952. There was a variety of machines, all run from a line shaft, providing belt drive to the machines. My memory escapes me here… the teacher was an old sea dog with a glass eye. He told us many a tale bout the area, including the number of families who used to live in the building before it became a workshop. He continued to teach maths when we moved to Oxbridge. Fitting & Turning Practical was taught by his nephew. Anyone recall their names
LikeLike
The “Old sea dog” was called Williams. A fund of stories. Noted for his expression
“You get up my Skipjack lad” to naughty boys. A real character.
LikeLike
I remember you.The tallest boy in the class and very bright.
LikeLike
Alan, your Dad was a teaching genius at maths and a lovely gentle man. He used lots of old world terms like “whence” and “thus” and his influence made maths and numbers come alive. I loved maths then, and still do now.
Jack Southern was a rail-man and all his anecdotes related to steam locos from his days as a designer in Derby. A hard task master, but like your Dad an excellent teacher.
Tom Sowler was of course Mr Stockton-on Tees, a widely recognised and well read historian. It was easy to sidetrack him from rheostats, electro motive force et al, as all we had to do was mention something like “How old is the Town Hall, Tom”, and he’d be off on one of his historical adventures. Another gentle man, and incredibly knowledgeable about many things like all of that quartet that taught us to Higher National.
Others worth an honourable mention, but not in the photo, are Sam Henderson (Theory of Structures and Metallurgy) and Harry Henderson (Theory of Machines and Thermodynamics). Harry moved on to be head of a technical college in Hull I think.
Harry Cardwell didn’t teach me but again what a lovely gentle man he was and ran the organisation like clockwork.
All those teachers/lecturers served us well and gave us the tools for a well rounded life in Engineering and I hope they are all resting very easily now from that great college in the sky, they earned it and truly earned our respect.
LikeLike
Well put Den !
LikeLike
I remember both of the Hendersons. I never attended the college – except for a few informal evening classes in solid state electronics – but my dad taught there and I often used to walk across from Grangefield after school and wait for him to finish. Brought me in touch with a lot of the lecturers.
LikeLike
Remember them well from my Tech days. Tom Sowler lived close to me in Hartburn
LikeLike
I remember this lot from my Tech days back in the 60s, especially Jack Southern, who was a great lecturer as well as being seriously scary. He called everyone in our class ‘Bill’, all except me!
LikeLike
John Bennington, ex Metrovick apprentice if my memory serves me right??
LikeLike