On the back row is Jim Doherty (he became Headmaster at St. Peter and Paul’s) and the Headmaster, Harry Tompkinson. On the front row is Ray Smith (he became headmaster at St. Patrick’s). Winnie Holmes and Robert McIntosh who went on to St. Peter and Pauls and then headmaster at English Martyrs in Hardwick.
Harry Tomkinson was quite a character, kept pigs in the schoolyard during the war. At dinner times we would all trail across to Portrack for dinner, then when return we would have to stand on a gym bench and he would inspect our shoes to see if they were muddy and had gone across the rough ground!
Robert McIntosh is my father and he is still around – now 97 and still at home in Fairfield!
Names I can remember are: Mick Healey, Denis Higgins, Mark Eaden, Geoff Burden, Owen Goldsmith, Billy Eller, Ken Buckley. Brother Antonius (Headmaster), Ken Popple, John Williams, Paul Griffiths, Barney Brannen, Brother Clements (Sports teacher).
We’ve had some sad news sent to us from David Gibson about one of our regular contributors, Frank Mee.
“My relative, and not infrequent contributor to Picture Stockton, Frank Mee (or Phil as he was known to the family) has passed away at the age of 95.
Regular readers will know that he was both knowledgeable and witty which made his posts entertaining and enlightening. His Knowledge of the ICI at Billingham where he worked for many years was second to none. I know he will be missed on this site and I am am sure you will agree with me that we are all wiser because of his contributions” – David Gibson.
It could be Norton and Stockton Ancients I’m not sure. Second from the left is Norman Bellerby and right in the centre is Peter Bonner. The rest I’m afraid are unknown.
My father played in this football team, but unfortunately he can’t remember the name of the team or what year it was. The only people he remembers start right in the centre of the back row with Steve Strachan, the four before that are unknown then after Steve are Keith Daley, unknown Eric Jones, Norman Bellerby, unknown. First row Tommy Mustard, Derek Overton. Sadly the rest won’t come to him. Can anyone help?
Two photographs from Newtown Infants School. One showing the staff and the other the pupils celebrating the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
I wonder how many copies of the Stockton Darlington: one hundred and fifty years of British Railways book are still around, which was published in 1975 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway? Only recently did I realise that it was written by Peter Semmens, who worked at ICI Billingham. He joined ICI in the early 1950s after doing chemistry at Oxford University. He left Billingham in the 1970s for a senior position at the newly formed National Rail Museum at York. But while on Teesside he set up the local branch of the “British Association for Young Scientists”. Some people must remember him. He must have been quite a dynamic personality.
Peter was an avid enthusiast for the railways, and was one of the four people behind the formation of the National Rail Museum. As such he was more than a train spotter. He contributed many articles to Railway Magazine on the timings of express trains on the East Coast line and was an adviser on the Channel Tunnel. His book on the Stockton and Darlington is more technical than it looks. More important is “How Steam Locomotives Really Work” which Peter wrote in conjunction with Alan Goldfinch, who had been Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer in the Eastern Region of British Railways.
Stockton Malleable Institute Football team, season 1923 – 24 in which they won both the Stockton and Thornaby Nursing Cup and The Teesside League Championship. The names of the team are:
Back row: J. Purcifer, R. Goldsbrough, T. Spacey, W. Boiston, H. Hutchinson, C Atkinson.
Front row: A. Davies, G. Perry, F. Higgins (?) , E. Laskey, R. Nichol.
Photograph and details courtesy of Cliff Thornton.
A photograph of my great great grandfather and grandmother Elizabeth and Thomas Hind with Daughter Catherine on a trip to Whitby c1870’s. Thomas was a Master Printer who lived and had a workshop in Smith Street, Stockton.
My Great Grandfather, Clifford Atkinson may be on the photograph but I am not 100% sure. I cannot find anything else on the web concerning the Malleable Celtic football team. Can anyone help?
The Billingham Branch of the Royal British Legion’s Christmas Party sometime in the 1950’s. Father Christmas was played by my late father John Thompson. My paternal grandmother was an active member of the Royal British Legion for many years and helped to organise the annual party.
Photograph and details courtesy of Michael Thompson.
I’m sure many of us will remember the Christmas Nativity plays from our school days, I never appeared in any of them but I do remember them being produced every year and I believe that they are still being produced to this day.
My only foray into the world of show business was in my final year at Billingham North Juniors, one group of pupils put on a play and the remainder were formed into a choir, I was among the latter, my great friend Brian Storey and myself had the worst singing voices ever, after a few rehearsals the teacher told us to stand in the back row and mime, at the time we thought it was a huge laugh, nowadays we would probably need counselling.
In my first year at Billingham Campus Stephenson Hall there was a Christmas Concert featuring four final year pupils performing Buddy Holly songs, they were terrific, the lead guitarist and vocalist was Alan Harrison, in later years he was in a number of local pop groups and changed his name to Rhett Allen. Great memories of great times.
I have some names of the people in the photos:
First Photo (1954): Saundra Liddle, Edna Griffiths, Sandra Hargreaves, Mary Trotter, Margaret Hodgson, Margaret Newton, Ann Clark, Eileen Robson, Joan Hardisty, Patricia Appleton, Ian Helps.
Second Photo (1955): Edna Griffiths, Saundra Liddle, Margaret Newton, Sandra Hargreaves, Norman Nicholson, Kenneth Smailes, Mary Trotter, Jennifer Patterson, James Hutchison, David Hurst, James Ewart.
Details courtesy of Bruce Coleman. Photographs kindly supplied by Sandra Hargreaves.
