Goodbyee

The Top 30 Chart for July 17th 1965 had, amazingly, no entries from the Beatles but the all-time classic by The Byrds ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ was at number one.  The Who with ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’ were at number 17 and the Beach Boys had just entered the chart at number 28 with ‘Help Me Rhondda’.
 

But for ex-Trinity pupils on the last day of term the most memorable record was Peter Cook & Dudley Moore’s inspired ‘Goodbyee’, a song made famous in their show ‘Not Only But Also’ and in the charts at number 18.  For Trinity pupils it was to lead to probably the best end of term prank ever, and which has been a favourite memory of ex-pupils using this web site.

So what is the real story behind the events?  We hope you agree with the following account constructed by John Ingham and Ian Dow and largely verified by ex-Head Boy John Challen and others (including a member of the staff at that time).

Really it began a year earlier when the preceding upper sixth formers were leaving.  They decided to ‘upstage’ the traditional end of term assembly led by Buzzer Howard.  Traditionally the Head Girl read the lesson from the Bible, and at the end of the assembly Buzzer left the stage, with the Head Girl a few paces behind, as he went along the balcony to his office.  On this occasion the speaker system did not play the usual piece of classical music but Mendleshonn’s Wedding March!  He was apoplectic as can be imagined.

With this in mind he had made it clear that as the end of term 1965 approached there was to be no recorded music at the end of assembly so that a repeat could not occur.  Ian Dow was the prefect that was responsible for playing the music every morning from a tape deck at the side of the stage.  On the last day of term in July 1965 the equipment was to be locked away in the Music Room, so that there could be no access and thus no repeat.

What Buzzer had failed to take in to account was that many Sixth Formers had access to the Music Room in the preceding weeks due to the production of ‘Iolanthe’.  Additionally, no one had considered the ‘dumb waiter’ lift that connected the Music Room to the storage area below the stage and outside the Prefects Room!

It is believed that this lift was used to raise a pupil to the Music Room who was able to put the record on the record player, which was connected to the loudspeakers in the hall at the instant that Buzzer & the Head Girl left the stage.

Thus Pete & Dud boomed out their rendition of ‘Goodbyee’ to the whole school assembled in the Hall, whilst the ‘culprit’ was able to escape via the dumb waiter lift.  To say that Buzzer was apoplectic again would be untrue; he was incandescent and sought out the culprits.

It is believed that sadly a member of staff (thought to be Stan Guffog) had missed assembly and as he walked from the Science area across the Bridge saw the ‘culprit’ making his escape from the Music Room.  After an enquiry a number of Upper Sixth Formers were expelled amongst them being Ken Kendall.

It is also believed that “Gunner” Wright, who was always the strict disciplinarian, felt that this was an unfair punishment on the pupil’s last day, and he and Pip Harris intervened.  It is rumoured that they had the expulsion nullified later in the day.  Former member of staff, David Baker has also recently commented on how harsh this punishment was and how it was totally unnecessary.  He felt that he shouldered much of the blame in Buzzer’s eyes, as he had been told to make sure that it could not happen again, and to play the piano himself that day.  He played the piano, as instructed, but was drowned out by Pete & Dud.

John Challen, as head boy, expected that there would be some sort of end of term prank, but he had expected to get a repeat of the “Farey in the pond incident” of 1963, and that he would get thrown in.  He had engaged Trevor England as his “minder”, but as it turned out, his services were not required.