Following up on his photo of 1944′s under-14 cricketers, Len James, who was at Bournemouth School between 1942 and 1947, has sent in this photograph of the under-14 footballers from the same year. Says Len:

[I] Have just unearthed another old photo which I am sure is the Under 13’s soccer team from 1944. Recalling the names of these is a bit more difficult. The three in the centre of the front row are Doug Sherwood, Peter Close and Jim Ridout. I am second from the left in the back row (Goalkeeper). I do hope some of these fellows are still on the right side of the fairway.

Do get in touch if you can fill in any of the gaps, or know the location of any of these Old Boys.

The picture above was sent in by Len James, who was at Bournemouth School between 1942 and 1947. Len moved to Australia in 1952. He emailed us, saying that he had recently discovered the Old Boys website and was fascinated with the memories of past teachers and fellow scholars.

Len played cricket in the Under 14’s in 1944 and has kept this photo ever since. While he says “the old memory is not so bright these days, and at 81 I am struggling to name all those in the photo” he has still made a sterling effort, below:

Front row (L-R)

• Len James
• Peter Close (?)
• Dougie Sherwood
• David Tomlinson
• Gordon Bartlett

Back row (L-R)

• ?
• ?
• ?
• Alan Melly
• Jim Rideout
• Stuart Chalk

Can anyone fill in the gaps?

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.

Graham writes: “They possibly did a photograph like this every few years, because I remember having one taken in about 1994ish, when I was there. It was taken on the field in front of the copse. I didn’t get a copy.”

A full version of the picture can be viewed at Graham’s site.

Norman Martin (1942-47) has sent in this photo of his form group taken in 1946 and featuring the renowned J.J. ‘Jasper’ Dodds. Norman writes:

My only memento of my time at Bournemouth School is [this] photograph taken in 1946 showing the 5th form of that year presided over by J.J. himself and flanked by two of the veterans of that form, Messers Mudway and Hunt. Some of the members of that form had carried over from previous years and as the youngest member, aged 15, (5th from the left, back row) I recall thinking that I had joined a class of young men. Charles Gray was another member of that form but was apparently absent that day. (Charles Gray was to become a famous actor – perhaps best known as Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever?)

Jasper Dodds was indeed unlike any other member of staff at that time. He was a strict disciplinarian. He demanded (and got) everybody’s absolute attention, no one ever failed to hand in homework and his was the only class whose pupils always lined up outside the room whilst waiting for him to arrive for a lesson instead of sitting around larking about! And all this without ever having to raise his voice. Fifty years on, I have to say I count myself fortunate to have come under his wing and to have seen him in his prime.

At the time there were very few private cars on the road, Jasper drove to school in a pre-war Morris 8 registration number CEL 57. The fact that, even today, the number comes easily to mind speaks volumes. Everyone’s radar was tuned to this vehicle and it needed to be because to be spotted by J.J. walking along East Way from the bus stop in Charminster Road without wearing the school cap was practically a capital offence. The sight of CEL 57 appearing over the top of the hill as it approached the school was the signal for the bareheaded ones to make themselves scarce.

Of his own time since leaving the school, Norman says:

I left school to work for Preston & Redman the solicitors in Hinton Road. After National Service I joined the Trust Division of Lloyds Bank and managed branches in Guernsey, Ipswich and Nottingham before retiring as head of financial services in the North West region based in Liverpool.