From Andy Silverstein (1959 - 1965)

I am one of the old boys who joined the school midway into the 1959-60 school year at the age of 14, transferring with several pupils from another school which had lost its LCC (later GLC) funding and thus all of its non-private pupils had to transfer elsewhere at short notice. I had originally applied to join the school post-11+ but was not then successful. I remember several former staff members and a great many former pupils.  

I had no interest in soccer or cricket (and still don't) but played a little hockey in winter and in the Sixth badminton and basketball in summer, both at the Brady club as there were no on-site facilities at Whitechapel. Latterly, I often assisted the sports master in accompanying the school's basketball team to away matches, sometimes acting as a referee during some of them. 

Earlier, in the fifth year, I was studying English Lit with Piggy Allen.

At a point in time he arranged a theatre visit, preceded by a dinner at a nearby restaurant. Piggy had made all the arrangements, but managed not to find the restaurant so the group of about 20 or so, wandered around New Oxford Street until we eventually found it. Although the meal was somewhat rushed, we arrived at the theatre about 20 minutes or so into the performance and Piggy had to persuade the theatre staff to admit us. Eventually we were allowed in, much to the obvious displeasure of the audience and the cast. We all shrunk into our seats for the rest of the play. 

Once in the 6th Form, I was made a prefect and also took on an after-school job as a Lab Assistant in the Biology lab, that continued until my departure. At the time of my leaving in 1965, in the last term after completing A-Levels I was heavily involved in sorting and packing a great deal of the contents of the biology lab ready for transportation to Loughton, under the guidance of Mike Henton, the then Biology master.

About as much stuff was either returned to the GLC for use by other schools or dumped as was packed for relocation. I also helped do some of the same in the Chemistry lab togerther with Lionel Milgrom who was my counterpart in that lab. 

I remember Mike Henton's arrival, probably in '61 or '62, initially as a temporary fill (I cannot recall who he replaced as we had a succession of supply teachers for almost a full year) but he subsequently took the job on a permanent basis. He was previously involved in some sort of scientific research and was not a qualified teacher, which showed in his uncertain handling of pupils and his lack of properly planned lessons.

By the time I had reached the 6th form he was a little more confident and actually treated some of the older pupils as adults. 

There were occasions when a small group of pupils sometimes popped into an Aldgate pub for a secret half or pint and a Will's Whiff (cheroot), if we felt able to afford one, and there were times when 'Piggy' Allen, Mike Henton and a couple of other staff members would also be in the pub

- it was against school rules for the teachers to drink during school time although I don't think anyone ever thought that the pupils might, and certainly against the rules for pupils to smoke on school premises - and Mike Henton would sometimes stand two or three of us a pint on the strict, unstated understanding that not only were we pupils not in the pub and smoking, but neither were they. 

Several teachers retired at that time or chose not to relocate, including Messrs Newton and Rosen, both of whom were well respected and, in Newton's case, often feared. I well remember Newton's anger when a classmate of mine and a good friend at the time nearly dropped a full winchester bottle of Hydrochloric Acid (approx 2 1/2 litres) which he held between finger and thumb of one hand - even the empty glass container was quite heavy. On another occasion the same pupil almost managed to blow up the Physics lab as, in preparation for some experiment or another, we had been required to fill a beaker with water and heat it under a bunsen burner. However this pupil had attached the bunsen's tubing to the gas tap spigot rather than the outlet nozzle and was steadily filling the lab with poisonous and explosive coal gas. All the windows which had been closed as it was winter had to be hurriedly opened and all the bunsens turned off. 

There was another pupil, in the Lower Sixth when I was in Upper Sixth, whose hobby was collecting and growing poisonous, sometimes deadly, plants and fungi whilst managing to persuade his parents that he grew them solely for their flowers or colour. I believe I was the only one in whom he confided. 

I visited the Loughton premises a few weeks after the school's relocation, primarily to collect my A-Level results, but also to meet a few friends from what was the Lower Sixth in my final year and to catch up with some members of staff. I was shown around the school by a couple of friends during free time, at least that part of the building which was then complete, and it was still very much a building site, with a lot of work then unfinished or to be started. I remember seeing the Sixth Form Common Room and comparing it to ours in the old premises, a former store room or cloakroom. The only facilities we had were an old electric kettle (ex-staff room) and an old car radio and car battery for which someone had rigged a mains-powered charger. The new facilities were spacious and custom-built, had hot and cold vending machines (I think), decent tables, upholstered chairs and excellent lighting. 

The grounds of the school seemed enormous, especially in comparison to the cramped, tarmac-covered space in Whitechapel. There was a lot of grass, admittedly then rough and not mowed and a great deal of mud. The only open ground at Whitechapel was a small section that backed onto Davenant Street where those teachers who had cars were able to park them, about half a dozen at most.

 

From Derek Jenkins ( 1949 - 1954 )

 

From Sidney Kay ( Cappleman )

I attended Davenant during the years 1948-52.

Upon leaving school I entered the Printing industry where I spent most of the following thirty years. 

In 1953, my family emigrated to Toronto but after only a short while there, returned to England. 

After my marriage in 1962 I lived in London until re-emigrating to Toronto in 1967 and have lived there ever since. 

My wife and I were to have four children (3 boys and a girl) who are all married and have presented us with four grandchildren to date with another on the way. 

I have been retired for a number of years, due to various health problems, but have kept as active as possible in community affairs. 

In terms of the teachers that I came in contact with during my years at Davenant, they are as follows:

Headmaster:     Mr. Reynolds

Asst. Head:      Mr. Rosen

Physics:            Mr. Geekie

Chemistry:        Mr. Newton

History:            Mr. Baldry

Geography:       Mr Spinks

English: Mr. Robinson and Mr. Harris

French: Miss Groveswright (only in first year)

Music:              Mr. Jones

Woodwork:      Mr. Nichols

There were of course others, e.g. Art, Phys. Ed, whose names escape me at this time.

The only others that come to mind are Mr. Cable – Math and Mr. Kotkin – Math. 

In terms of their oddities, as they appeared to me were the following: 

Mr. Reynolds or “Snowy” as he was referred to due to his premature snow white hair, who we only came into contact with was for Assemblies and the odd time when he sat in for an absent teacher when he would usually give us a general study period during which he seemed to “nod off”.   Other than that, the only time you went into his study was to receive “six of the best” which was made extra painful because they were laid on in the presence of the Blonde and Lovely secretary whose name also escapes me but that she was held in high esteem by the school population, for want of a better description, made the punishment all the more ignominious. 

Mr. Rosen or “Shemmy” as he was referred to, although not necessarily with affection,

Taught Math mainly and Religious Instruction as an extra.

To me he appeared as a rather humourless man, who seemed to take a certain delight in catching you in the street without the obligatory school cap atop your head.   Result = detention and as a result, not a popular teacher by any stretch of the imagination. 

Mr. Geekie was to me something of a dichotomy.   One was never quite sure if he was being serious or humorous much of the time!    He had a penchant for lighting up a cigarette during class on the pretext of making it part of an experiment he was conducting.   Few of us were convinced of it’s necessity.

He would be Master in attendance on Sports afternoons at times, usually during the cricket season and mostly played at the Elms.

He also presided over our team at inter school matches.   (I captained both the school and house (Wise) teams of my particular years. 

Mr. Newton was my family’s enigma.   Even though both my brother and I did well in his subject and did not “fool around” in his class, he seemed to take exception to us and to this day we know not why.           To illustrate my point, after my brother was only one of two students in his matriculation year (as it was then called) to gain a distinction in chemistry, his only offer of congratulation to him was “I suppose you just got lucky”

He once gave me five hundred lines for having the temerity to ask him a question.

Needless to say that he never made our “Chanukah card list”. 

Mr. Baldry was a teacher that I could really relate to given that History was and still is, my favourite subject.      It didn’t hurt the cause either when one realised that he was also our swimming coach and I was a member of the school team.     Good old Mr. Baldry!!! 

Mr. Spinks’s popularity was centred  more around his ability to kick a football at a pace that left most of us in awe, than it was for his ability to teach us what in the world was where.    The scuttlebutt of the day was that he had played pro or semi-pro football for Blackburn Rovers which, whether true or not, impressed us greatly. 

In terms of popularity, Mr Robinson or “Robbo” had it hands down over all of the other Masters.     He always appeared to us to be a more gentle and fair man although certainly no “patsy” than was the general ilk of most Grammar School Teachers of the time.

I was fortunate enough to have him as a form teacher for two of my years and gained a greater understanding of English than I might of otherwise. 

My other English teacher was Mr. Harris who quite honestly never made much of an impression upon me one way or the other. 

Mr. Jones was a teacher that I regret not paying as much attention to as I should have during his music class.    Most of us at the time, never knew a crochet from a quaver or a minim from a treble clef and could not have cared less.    But, during my life, I have always had a love for a variety of music and have watched with not a little envy, my children and subsequently grandchildren, both read and play music. 

In terms of my year in Miss Groveswright’s French class or as she was unkindly referred to as “Floozie” which could not have been less descriptive of this small but rather shrill lady.    Such is the unkindness that Schoolboys often display. 

Our woodworking teacher Mr. Nichols, appeared to us as rather ancient when we first arrived in his class and in short order felt that he might be senile to boot.

It was not uncommon for example to have a wooden mallet go flying past your head if he felt you were not paying attention.   On one occasion, the missile was a chisel!!!    We were convinced that he was a little bonkers. 

As previously mentioned, our Art teacher whose name escapes me, was what we felt a typical Artsy type should be.     Long haired (somewhat unusual in those days) and only concerned with all things art.    We only saw him for one hour a week. 

Mr. Cable who acted as our form teacher for one year, usually took us for Math.

He seemed a very detached sort of man who was never quite sure that what he wrote on the board, was in fact accurate and therefore would continually erase what he had written.

If one added to that his monotone voice, the result was a teacher that we found very boring and therefore not a welcome sight in front of the class. 

The last teacher that I can remember was the strangest of all “Mad Harry Kotkin”.

This man not only had a rather odd appearance, but had the habit of talking to himself when seated behind his desk.         Of course, you can well imagine the treatment that he received from the boys.    They gave him merry hell and he lasted but one school year with us before moving on. 

The foregoing are those that I can remember and I am sure that there must have been others whose omission I apologise for. 

In terms of the boys that I can remember who were my classmates during most of my schooldays, they are as follows:

Dubby Baldock, Donny Benjamin, Sidney Cappleman (me)

Harvey Cooper, John Day, Ron Edelman, Manny Feldman

Leslie Feller, Geoffrey Fersht, Stanley Goldman, Harold Gordon

Arnold Greenbaum, Maurice Iglicki, Dennis Mitchell, Ron Sharpe

Geoffrey Spiro, Norman Stanger, Brian Winston 

I would be pleased to hear from anyone on that list or from my year. 

Sid Kay (Cappleman)  

                                    

 

 

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Memories of Len Hastings 1951-

I have looked at "davenantreunited" with interest although I  have very few fond memories of the school having left in failure at the age of 15.

I must have picked up a little bit of knowledge though because with the help of the RAF and some hard work I became an aircraft engineer. This enabled me to earn a crust but now, almost at retirement, I do have the occasional "if" thought.
I saw the picture of Mr Newton in a wheelchair at the 2003 reunion and it brought back memories of an experiment that went wrong (c) 1953 and I wondered if anyone else had mentioned it.

This involved ammonia and an explosion that left Mr Newton unscathed but caused quite a number of pupils from my class to be treated in "the London". I can see them now clattering down the fire escape from the chemistry lab, (it was above the woodwork shop), with eyes streaming and faces cut from broken glass.

How harmless those teachers in the old photographs look but I remember the cutting sarcasm of Mr Jones (French) and pain of Mr Reynold's cane although I found him to be a decent sort of Headmaster.

 It was a pity I didn't get on with the physics teacher because I am sure you will appreciate it is a subject that is definitely required in engineering. I did like Piggy Allen, the school scoutmaster who would win any knobbly-knee contest in his scout uniform.

Len Hastings

 

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Wroxham

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Spain 1960

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Memories from Derek Conway 1946-1951

I joined in 1946 and managed to receive a bursary of £45-00 p.a. as I passed some sort of entrance exam I think.

I looked on your site and could not find the name of Mr. Spinks a geography master and a good sportsman, specially at cricket where we used to play at the Elms in Walthamstow. Mr. Spinks also took us for P.T.  He left the school for pastures new and Mr. Bark came in his place. Fifi  (or Fanny) Groves-Wright was our French teacher and would sit on the writing area of my desk (as it was the centre front) and show the bottoms of her long knickers elasticated at the knee. We pretended that we never saw. She would go on for ever telling us how bad we were at her chosen language.             

A Mr. Kosky (or similar) was our form master in year one. and after that' for the remaining years at the school was good old Piggy Allen, the English Teacher. A typical English Gentleman.  He had his favourite, old Dougie Turner. And if I remember correctly Dougie worked in his fathers (?) bookies office or as it was known in those days, a commission agent office, on the weekend.

As you came into the school from Whitechapel Road, you entered under an archway. To the right was the kitchen, where we used to go and have our morning half pint of milk, warm or cold. And to the left was the wood-working classroom, Above was the chemistry laboratory, where Mr. Constable, the chemistry master would throw the blackboard duster at you and invariably miss you by an inch or so, and would shout that will make you pay attention !!

I think it was Mr Nichols who was the woodwork teacher. The only thing I ever made was two sets of cricket stumps stuck into two  big blocks of wood. Mr Jones taught French and music and  also German. We only had him for Music and German. How I hated that language !!! with all its different grammar cases. There must have been a dozen endings to each noun and verb.

Mr Geekee taught physics and I remember him saying to me on one occasion when I peeked into a draw in the physics lab. "You'll find sweet F.A. in there Conway and I don't mean Fanny Adams".

Snowy Reynolds was the headmaster He had a fantastic head of pure white hair. Hence "Snowy" I was in form 1b (about a week after joining the school) and our form room was opposite his office. We were rather loud as we had just finished P.T. period I shouted "Up the Spurs" just as Snowy swept into our room to tell us to keep quiet. He looked at me and told me to go to his study immediately. I went. I did know what to expect. About one minute later I knew. I got three mighty strokes of the cane on my backside. He asked me my name and I told him "Derek" not your Christian name boy, your Surname. "Conway" I said.  I shall remember you, You have not made a good start to your Grammar School career. About two or three years later I passed him in the corridor. He stopped me and said " You have improved Conway, I haven't seen you lately". 

 Finally in my fourth year at prize giving I got 90% for my Biology end of year exam. Mr. Biggs told me that i would not be getting the Biology Prize as I was clumsy and careless You see I missed a question out and that carried 10%. I got my own back a little later In the annual school  v  Staff cricket match I bowled him out first ball.

The rest of the staff I remember was Mr. Baldry whose never ending history notes were the bane of my life. Mr. Rosen the R.I. Master (and Maths) There were one or two other masters, one whose nickname was Mad Harry but whose real name I cannot remember. There was another whose favourite saying was "You are a pestulential (hope I spelt it correctly) nuisance" Does anyone in my year remember going to the Peoples Palace to see some show or other and one of the masters accompanying us ( a Mr. Hows or something like that ) died sitting in his seat. He was only a young man just demobbed from the Army and taught Maths. There is so much more now that I am thinking about it.

My two main friends at the time were Alan Palmer, alas he died about 40 odd years ago and Michael Gevelb.

Derek Conway (1946-1951) can be contacted through me on davejacobs@davenantreunited.co.uk

 

Photos from 1962 Sports Day at Eton Manor

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Memories from Alan Smith 1941 – 1946  

I had been attending Sir John Cass Foundation School, a primary school evacuated to Aylesbury since the 2^nd September 1939, but in 1941 I found myself with some 30 other new  Secondary School classmates on the station in London  on our way to Chatteris.  It was the first contact I had with the “Davenant” and it was traumatic.  My parents had decided that having just turned 11 years old I was not ready for “long” trousers, so to my chagrin I was the only new boy in shorts:  the ribbing on the train was quite devastating! 

On arrival in Chatteris, my first contact with the staff was with “Gabby” Evans the Headmaster.  A short but imposing figure whose first task was to advise me that I was to attend RI each Sunday afternoon at the house where he was billeted.   He somehow knew that I lived in the Tower of London (my father was a Beefeater), and that prior to the war I had been the Head Choirboy there. By some strange piece of logic he equated this experience with the notion that I must be well educated in religious matters and that, when he was otherwise occupied, I was to lead the other Gentiles, in the class, in RI.  I was mortified. 

My next, encounter, together with the others in my class was to meet our new Form Mistress: Ms Victoria Groves-Wright.  This quickly turned into a lecture on personal hygiene and gentlemanly manners.   This imposing lady in her tweeds, heavy stockings and brown shoes let us quickly know who was in charge.  Instructions for the class to stand when she entered or left the room, to address her as Madam, the conditions of our fingernails etc were all covered in some detail.   

All this on the first day: I was now in total fear.   In fact I found that, with one or two exceptions, most of the staff were intimidating.   “Shimmy” Rosen (physics), “and Mr. Constable (science I believe) were all “no nonsense” types.  In fact Mr.Constable, whose son Peter was also in our class, had the hardest and most accurate aim with chalk – don’t ever be caught day-dreaming in his class!   Mr. Baldry (geography and history), who also had a son attending the school, was perhaps the most approachable. “Piggy” Allen (English, Scout Master and House Master) was both sympathetic and helpful to the new chaps.    Mr.Reynolds was the Asst Headmaster then, but I don’t recall ever being taught by him.  We also had a kindly woodworking teacher who showed us how to make the inevitable book ends and tea-pot stands.   

 This is not to say that any of the above was a poor teacher; it was just that with the disruption in our lives, due to the war, I feel that, in retrospect, they might have shown a little more compassion.  Some of us were billeted with families that really didn’t want us and we had little recourse to discuss our problems “at home”:  We had little or no contact with our parents: no ‘phones or E-Mail in those days. Some four or five boys from Czechoslovakia joined us (their parents were still “somewhere in Europe”) and this made us feel that our circumstances were not quite so bad.  They didn’t move with us when the school returned to London; so I presume they went back to their homes in Bratislava. 

I not sure of the exact year we returned to London and the school building in Whitechapel.  I think we were still in Chatteris on D-Day (6 June 44) but I believe we moved soon after that date.  The first day at Whitechapel was a surprise.  Many of us had never seen the facilities and they were not quite the same as the newer school building in Chatteris. 

We were a diverse group of students in our class.  Roughly half were Jews and half Gentiles.  The smart Jews were always at the top of the class and the others at the bottom, the rest of us Gentiles were somewhere in the middle!  We didn’t mix much outside school since we came from such a wide ranging area of East London.  I know for me personally, going to school from the Tower was quite a hike; of course the fact that I sometimes spent my Underground fare on candy might have contributed to the time it took me to get home! 

I freely admit that my lack of academic achievement at the “Davenant” was mostly my fault.  At about the start of Fifth Form my father, with great insight, decided that I wasn’t going to pass the London Matric exams so with the help of a young math teacher, whose name I forget but who had just returned from the war, I studied for a Civil Service Open Competition and to everyone’s surprise (my fathers mostly) I was offered a position in the new Ministry of Civil Aviation:  where I started work exactly two days after my 16^th birthday! 

In retrospect, my time at the school was a bittersweet experience, but the downside was undoubtedly due to the separation from my family environment. 

My only regret after leaving the “Davenant” is that I didn’t make more of an effort to stay in touch with some of my fellow “evacuees”:  but remarkably, after over 60 years, I still have these fairly lucid and poignant memories. 

As Victoria Groves-Wright might say:  Bon Chance “Davenant”!

Alan Smith ( 1941- 46 )

 

Photos from 1962 Sports Day at Eton Manor

  

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Memories from Leslie Mervish 1942-1947

I joined Davenant in 1942 and spent one term in Chatteris.  I returned to London and attended Raine's until 1945.  One story about Miss Groveswright who was my form-mistress:

 

The boys who rejoined the school from Raine's were doing third-year work but the boys who had stayed in Chatteris, of which there were only seven, were doing the equivalent of fifth-year work.  We were very much behind Miss Groveswright boys in French, she said we had to catch up in our own time.  We were given the option to learn German, and were doing well but because we did not catch up with Miss Groveswright 'blue-eyed' seven she got the headmaster to take us off the German course.

 

Regarding the Maths teacher, her name was Miss White, and as is the wont of schoolboys her shyness and weakness was taken advantage of.  She was a very good Maths teacher.  Unfortunately Miss White passed away at a young age, not too long after she joined the school, before I left in 1947.  The boys in my year were publicly blamed for her demise by Miss Groveswright.

 

I would like to put the record straight regarding Miss Groveswright, although a very good teacher, she did set up her 'blue-eyed' seven as her favourites.

 

Regarding Mr Rosen, he was probably one of the best physics masters that the school has ever had, a strict disciplinarian, but very fair. 

 

Leslie Mervish ( 1942- 47 ). 

 

Photos from 1963 Sports Day at Eton Manor

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