Memories from Mike Haggett - The Early Days of THS
Buzzer
I have occasionally wondered over the past fifty years or so, why
Mr Howard was awarded the nickname “Buzzer”. The word handed
down when I joined in 1949 was that it was derived from the electro
acoustic devices installed at various places in B corridor at the St
Georges Avenue site to register the cardinal points of the school
day. These were apparently Mr Howard’s brainchild, but were
not in fact buzzers but bells. If staff nicknames were
intended to be derisive, then perhaps “Bel” or even “Belle” would
have would have served better!
Mr Howard did in fact have another short term nickname applied by
aficionados of the “Eagle” comic and the “Dan Dare” cartoon in
particular. Dan Dare’s principal adversary was a small green
being called the “Mekon”. This creature had a large head and
was definitely up to no good, and so for a short time the headmaster
was the Mekon for some of us.
I have in my mind a picture of Mr Howard and his deputy Mr
Tompkins promenading along B corridor from their office to room B16
for morning assembly. The head in his academic gown gliding
effortlessly along, rather like the Mekon on its “anti-gravity”
conveyance, (albeit with a slightly dodgy suspension), and the
rather hefty and venerable Percy Tompkins attempting no doubt to
engage in erudite conversation and breathe at the same time.
The bell it may be said, was not a very reliable indicator and sounded
“more not than often”. I guess it depended how many balls Miss
Wilkinson had in the air at the time.
Mr Howard’s habit each morning was to stand at the top of the
stairs outside his office in order to inspect the boys as they
streamed past him to class. I suppose that he occasionally did
discuss with some their progress or perhaps the lack of it, but the
words that I recall were the administrative gem: “Boy there. Pick up
that piece of paper.” [Editors Note: It had not
changed much ten years later!]
Mr Tompkins controlled his class through “respect”. He was
stern and I don’t ever remember seeing him smile. However I
would myself prefer a stony glance from him to a smile from his
successor. My memory is that if Gunner smiled at you he
probably had something unpleasant up his sleeve.
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