14 September 2004
'Recollections of the 40s'
Submitted by Henry Overal, 1941-1946, Delta
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1 February 2009
Three stories submitted by Anton Coy (1958-1965), Delta

Anton says "I hope it brings back a few memories for some people and provides new information to others. I was 1958 to 1965 - the real "baby boom" time: 9 classes of 33 kids, all of the same age - what a nightmare. I started at Scarbrook Road in "1S" then went to 2A4 and 3A4, then to 4A3 and 5A3. I remember that being in "A1" seemed really for the intellectual elite, while if you were in "B5", you appeared almost Neanderthal ! I have at least one class photo from that time with Mr Thomas as our class teacher. I am pretty sure it is from 1959, so that would be my "2A3" year. It's in a big frame with other old photographs, but I'll work on getting in scanned at some stage. I should be able to remember most of the names.

Our Welsh PT teachers
When I became a schoolboy at Selhurst Grammar in 1958 (Form 1S, based at Scarbrook Road), I quickly built up the impression that all PT teachers in the world came from Wales and had those distinctive sing-song accents. We had three at that time. added to that, they all had names beginning with a "T" - Mr Thomas ( my class master ), Mr Tucker and Mr Tasker. I also remember a comedy review that the teachers put on a year or two after that. One of the features was where the three of them performed some lousy song on stage together and were then ritually humiliated by Mr Spratt, the music teacher. Anyone remember that ? The mould of the Welsh PT teachers was broken a few years later, when the English middle-distance runner Mike Fleet joined the staff.

The Pop Group That nearly Made It
Round about 1964, the school had a pop group that actually appeared on national television. They were called Glenn Athens and The Trojans. Phil Saunders was the lead singer. Ken Howes and Tim Guest played guitar. Non-Selhurst medical student John Jestico played bass, (or was it Matthew "Maff" Fisher - later of Procul Harem ?), and I think Steve Sam was the drummer. They appeared on a TV talent show introduced by none other than David Jacobs. They sang two songs - one uptempo and one ballad (can't recall the songs' names), but finished second or third, as I recall it. Lasting fame eluded them, although they DID headline the annual School Dance one year!

Selhurst Makes the National Press
Who remembers the controversy of the "hair dyeing incident" ? This would have been around 1963, I think. Two boys from the Fifth Form, as I recall, one of them with the surname of Allen, bleached their hair, and were promptly suspended by Mr Ackland. One enterprising scholar, whose name I know, but won't reveal, and who later became a Senior Prefect, phoned the local papers and complained about human rights, and then the balloon went up. Suddenly the school was in the national media. Big articles in the tabloids. Smaller coverage in the broadsheets, even in The Times. A special assembly was called by Mr Ackland and we were all warned off talking to the press. Not one of Selhurst Grammar's finest hours, but it did blow over and the two culprits, with hair restored to its normal hue, were reinstated.

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