Hugh Walker, the son of the late artist, composer and Bournemouth School teacher Bernard Walker has been in touch to share his online tribute to his father’s life. The website has a variety of material from Mr Walker senior’s life, including some of his programme designs and playbills from his time at the school that were found among his papers in 2014.
Hugh Walker recently got in touch with the OBA. He had discovered a number of photographs and documents left by his father, Bernard Walker, who designed sets for a wide range of school productions from the 1930s until his retirement in the 1960s.
Mr Walker writes: “They’re a bit jumbled – difficult to identify dates, but at least some of the participants might recognize themselves and have positive reminiscences. I’ve included the stagehands too. I recollect that the programmes were all printed in the art room and particular boys had a hand in this.”
You will find the photographs below. Let us know in the comments if you recognise anybody – or yourself!
Roger Shore has written to us to share a panorama photo (PDF, 2Mb) of the school from 1933. Roger writes:
My father was at Bournemouth School between 1929 and 1936. I followed in his footsteps between 1960 and 1967. There were six masters who taught both me and my father, although I can only identify five of them in that photo at present. That would be Messrs Cushion, Dodds (a truly dreadful man, as I’m sure you already either know, or will have heard!) Walker, Williamson and Wiseman. The 6th – Mr. Dixon (who went on to become deputy head) – I haven’t yet identified…
Roger is surely right that this may be of interest to some of you, although as he notes the very youngest in that photo will be at least 90 by now.
Ms Betty Samuels writes:
I write on behalf of a friend of mine who was a pupil at your school 1939 to 1946. His name is John Douglas Jones who at the age of 80+ is still very active and living in Clifton, Bristol. Doug has only recently had to give up flying his sailplane at the Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club. In the course of a conversation yesterday about schools we attended, Doug said he can remember the names of all his teachers during his time at your school except the name of the English Literature master.
Doug would be interested if anyone might be able to remember this teacher’s name.