THE HERR STEIN 90TH BIRTHDAY SPECIAL NEWSLETTER

VERY MANY HAPPY RETURNS GEOFF ON THIS VERY SPECIAL DAY JANUARY 3rd 2009

THE HERR STEIN SONG

With apologies to Rudy Vallee who recorded “The Stein Song” in 1930

Let’s fill the steins to auld Herr Stein Shout till the rafters ring. Stand and drink a toast once again Let every Old Boy sing. Then drink to all the happy hours Drink to the SG days Drink to Sale our alma mater And the very special Herr Stein days. To the School, to your friends, to the words in Deutsches Leben. To the youth, to the fire, to the draw of Oh! Tannenbaum To the Scouts, Lorelei, und wird wohl mein Feinsliebenshen sein. To Herr Stein, to Herr Stein and the joys of our Deutches Raum. So fill your steins to auld Herr Stein Shout till the rafters ring. Stand and drink a toast once again Let every Old Boy sing Then drink to what Her Stein made us Drink to the carefree days Drink to Sale our alma mater And the very special Herr Stein days. Keith Sibbald (Class of 47)

Memories of GRS

Camp at Langdale with Geoff at tent entrance. Mike Highwood is next but one to

the right and the tall guy at the table is Bob Hall I am sure GRS would not mind me saying that he was not “everyone's cup of tea”, perhaps in part because from the moment he arrived at SGS he set standards which

others found daunting. A first class teacher who would clearly go much further in his chosen profession. This drive and ambition, he directed into his teaching combined with a generosity own time - 15th Sale Scouts, climbing in the Alps and recorder classes, to name but a few. In all this he was ably supported by his lovely wife, Joyce. It is 60 years since he introduced the learning of German to SGS. It says something about his teaching methods that, even now, if he says “Highwood – Und”, I can reply “ Und, aber, oder, den, sondern”! I have to confess I cannot remember exactly how these words altered the sentence construction. His other favourite was “Aus”, to which we had to reply. “Aus, bie, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenuber” Sorry about the spellings, Herr Stein! ( Pity I cannot remember my mobile telephone number – a function of age I guess.) There is one point about which I have no doubt, GRS made a major impact on my whole life which lasts to this very day. Through the scouts he introduced me to sailing, an activity in which I am still very much involved. It was also in no small measure thanks the experiences gained in activities led by GRS that I was able to pass the Admiralty Interview Board and gain a place at Dartmouth, leading to a career in the RN. (Out of my entry of eighteen cadets I was the only one from a State school.) Much later in our lives, in recent years, it has given my wife, Christine and me great pleasure to have GRS come and stay with us for a few days at Lee on Solent. On his last visit he woke us very early in the morning to say that he thought he had suffered a heart attack and ought to go home. It was with some relief that problem was put down to a cucumber in a salad of the previous day! As we all knew he would, GRS left SGS to move on and upwards in the world of education. I may be wrong, but I think we can all take pride in the fact that he seems to look back on his time at SGS with both great affection and satisfaction. His last time at the “chalk-face” perhaps? We were very fortunate. Mike Highwood (Class of 46)

HAPPY DAYS If I was only able to say two words to Geoff Stone it would be THANK YOU. I doubt that when he organised a 15th Sale summer camp at Stool End Farm at the head of Langdale that he would have thought he would have had such a profound influence on the life of Brandon Williams. The trip from Sale to the Lake District in the back of a local removal van has long been remembered, but a lot more memorable was my first sight of the Lakeland fells. Prior to this trip the only hills I had seen were those of Derbyshire from a distance of twenty odd miles on a clear day. I think that it must have been love at first sight and I can still feel the excitement of seeing the Lakeland Pikes for the first time and the real sense of adventure in my first ascent of Pike o Stikle with Geoff and a party of Scouts. After this introduction I just had to find a way of getting into the hills. By now John Saunders my Scout Patrol Leader and I had become firm friends, a friendship which is still very much alive to this day. We both developed an interest in rock climbing as well as hill walking, and encouraged by the loan of climbing books from Geoff ( I seem to remember that Colin Kirkus book “Lets go Climbing” was the first) we got Geoff to teach us how to abseil, which he did in the school gym. It was probably a fit of mental aberration Geoff promised to take John and myself rock climbing. However this was not to be as just when we thought we had pinned him down his daughter ( Rosalind if I remember rightly) was born so John and I

decided to take matters into our own hands. So with the purchase of a full weight hemp climbing rope costing thirty bob we set off climbing on our own on the gritstone edges but mainly at Laddow rocks.

Stool End Camp with Geoff standing on the extreme right and Brandon in the back row with the hand cart coming out of his head!

Since those days I have climbed in many countries and different mountain ranges including an expedition to Killimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Just about all my friends are climbers and what great friends they are. And so Geoff I will be ever in your debt and even though I no longer climb, like you, I just love to be in the hills Finally, I would like to add my Birthday Wishes to those of all your other friends on the occasion of your 90th birthday Brandon Williams (Class of 45)

THE ART OF GOOD TEACHING My son John, currently a Deputy Head at a Technology College, tells me that the modern view about teaching is to introduce pupils to as many new experiences as possible whilst concentrating on the main subject. “Oh you mean the Geoff Stone Plan,” I said and, do you know, he hadn’t the foggiest idea of what I was going on about! Well let me explain. Geoff Stone’s job was to get me through the German “O” Level examination which, despite the fact that I wasn’t the best material to work with, he managed to do and that certificate is the pride and joy of the five that I managed in total. In the 4 Upper class that I was in there was only one person who failed. But that is not all.

If German lessons finished early out came Herr Stein’s trusted recorder complete with wooden reed and off we would go into singing German Folk songs. Die Lorelei, Oh!Tannenbaum, Stille Nacht, Lippedetmold and several others spring to mind. (At this stage I trust that my German spelling is correct or else it will be returned with corrections from Herr Stein) This singing improved my pronunciation to the extent that when, in my career in the steel industry, I visited Germany at least four times a year for about 30 years I was told that I spoke German like a Television Announcer! But that trusted recorder along with Herr Stein’s record player introduced me to my lifelong passion for classical music. I can still remember the day when Herr Stein played a record of the German tenor, Richard Tauber, singing Franz Lehar songs. That was it. I wanted to know more about opera, operetta and classical music and to this day I have the same urge. And there is more. Herr Stein would read to us each day news items about any Mount Everest expeditions that were taking place. I think that these were from The Guardian newspaper. Since then I have had an avid interest in mountaineering despite the fact that I do not take part due to having a real fear of heights. I could go on and on but space is the limitating factor. Suffice it to say that Herr Stein was light years ahead of the pack and I feel privileged to have come under his influence. Keith Sibbald (Class of 47)

15th SALE SCOUT TROOP

This piece is extracted from the 1959 Special 21 year Celebratory Issue of the School Magazine and I quote. “In 1948 Mr G. R. Stone took over the running of the troop. He is now the Headmaster of Heanor Grammar School and contributes this account” “Easter 1948, I found that the Scout Group consisted of a keen troop of Senior Sea Scouts under Peter Lee and some twenty-five enthusiastic boys in the main Troop, of which John Wilson had nobly taken charge when Arthur Hall left. There was also a keen Parents’ Committee. As a tangible sign of their willing help, a second-hand sectional wooden hut lay beside the copse, all ready for erection as the new Scout Hut. Work began on this at once, with a number of fathers and senior boys uniting to erect the hut beside the pond. The first effort was not entirely satisfactory so the hut was dismantled, reinforced and rebuilt on brick piers with complete success. Plans were also immediately made for a summer camp in the Lake District, which enjoyed wonderfully hot, dry weather, unlike those which were to follow. Soon the group began to grow again in numbers and its activities increased steadily. The annual camps in the Lake District or North Wales led to the development of a strong mountaineering interest among senior members of the Group. Many minor camps were organized by groups and patrols at holidays and weekends, mainly at Dunham or Sandiway. The Group made its mark in local competitions, and in badge

work went from strength to strength. The first Gang Show was produced for the Annual Fete.

Scout Gang Show April 1953

As the proportion of older members increased, so that the Senior Scouts included boys who were prefects and sixth-formers and the number of Queens Scouts and First Class badge holders mounted, so the Group showed its maturity in an increasing readiness on the part of the boys to run things for themselves and of old Scouts to return to help with the meetings. In all this, the Group owed much to those who served it so well as Scoutmasters. To Peter Lee, George Wilson, Pat Tuohy, Ken Wild, John Fernie, Dennis Bradbury and finally Gordon Kinder, into whosn able hands the Group passed when I left. It owed much, too, to that stalwart band of boys who provided the nucleus round which grew up the new group which I came to know- Don Openshaw, John Saunders, Dennis Saunders, Pete Smith, Keith Hadley, Bob Hall, John Podmore, Brandon Williams(Big Willy), and later Brian Jackson (Jacko), J.G.Williams (Little Willy), Chad, Heide, Tinny, Duffer and a host of others. The Group outgrew the hut and was fortunate enough to be able to use the gym. It outgrew its camping gear and, thanks to the parents, acquired a fine array of new equipment. Always there was most encouraging support on all sides, from the boys, their parents, the staff and PLN. It was such goodwill which brought the Group the Group the success which it undoubtedly achieved, for I have no doubt that in this period it exerted an influence for good in the development of many of those who joined it.” G.R.Stone

GET ME TO THE CAMP ON TIME

I was one of Herr Stein’s scouts and have many fine memories of that time. I remember Geoff Stone as a bit of a martinet when it came to his scout troop, he tended to run the whole show along military lines and we all loved it.. Whether we were testing our lumberjack skills by chopping down a tree in the copse behind the school or our vocal talents in some scouting roundelay it all made a very pleasant change of gear from the normal school day.

My father owned a furniture removing business and he used to supply one of his vans to take the troop to camp. He took the two rear doors off and just left the tailboard up and we dumped all our kit bags and camping gear in the back. It was mostly ex-army stuff in those days. My father then gave us all a lecture about staring straight out of the back of the van when it was moving, “look towards the side or you will be sick”. Needless to say we all sprawled out on the gear looking straight out of the back at any female in the following cars and making lewd signs. When we arrived at the farm where we were to camp the van was reversed into the farmyard and we immediately up-chucked and added to the usual farmyard mess. The van had to be moved a few yards so that we could unload our gear. I remember the scout hat. I could never get the brim to set straight. The more I ironed it the more it stretched and I used to look like Gabby Hayes. Also that lethal knife that we all carried, I am sure we would be run-in if we were found with one of those in our possession now! Peter Whitelegg (Class of 49)

Hallo lieber „Gottfried“!

Hallo lieber „Gottfried“! You would be disappointed if nobody wrote to you in German, so here is a modest attempt by someone who thanks to the start you gave is now more or less bilingual, indeed sometimes better in German than in English but best of all, of course, in Denglisch! Damals als Universitätsdozent habe ich meine Studenten öfters gefragt, warum sie Fremdsprachen auf Hochschulebene studieren wollten. In den meisten Fällen kam immer und spontan die gleiche Antwort: In der Schule kamen sie unter den Einfluß eines begeisterten und kompetenten Lehrers, viel begeisterter und kompetenter als die anderen Fachlehrer, die recht langweilig sein konnten und wenig Interesse an den Mitlernenden zeigten. Ich erinnere mich an einige Lehrer an unserem Gymnasium, die mit Humor unterrichtet haben und neuerdings bei Ofsted ohne wenn und aber die Note „eins“ bekommen hätten. Ich denke an die Herren Aldcroft (Mathe), Burke (Naturwissenschaften und Religion. Und wer kann Queenie vergessen? Und Chestnut Drive?), Shepherd (Erdkunde und nachher Französisch), Walton (Latein), Woods (Geschichte). Aber der Allerbeste war meines Erachtens unser Deutschlehrer „Herr Stein“, wie wir ihn zu nennen hatten. Schüler Zwei oder drei Jahre nach Kriegsende war es bestimmt nicht leicht, und ihre Eltern sowie andere Kollegen im Lehrerzimmer für das Fach Deutsch zu gewinnen. Aber Geoffrey oder „Gottfried“, wie er sich selbst nannte und nennt, war so engagiert und begabt und zeigte zudem Interesse für so viele außerschulische Tätigkeiten - unter anderen die Pfadfindergruppe, Bergsteigen, Musik - daß es nicht lange dauerte, bis man bald zu der Meinung kommen mußte, es handelte sich hier um einen außerordentlichen Ordinarius, der mit Recht von allen Seiten hochgeschätzt wurde. Er sprach nur Deutsch, wir Schüler sprachen Deutsch (mein Gott noch mal! Was für eine Revolution!). Deutschlernen war ein Genuß und sehr begehrt als Wahlfach in der Oberstufe. Kurzum: Deutschlernen machte für viele unheimlich viel Spaß; da haben

wir laute Volkslieder gesungen und dazu Bockflöte gespielt. Man denkt auch an den Schüleraustausch mit Soest/Westfalen und am Ende der Schulzeit mit Frankenthal in der Pfalz. Mit meinem Austauschpartner, Heinz Lotz, bin ich regelmäßig in Verbindung; wir besuchen uns gegenseitig ein- oder zweimal im Jahr entweder bei ihm zu Hause in Bad Dürkheim oder bei mir in Berlin oder hier im englischen Seengebiet. Ich genieße das Leben und wie! In England oder Deutschland oder in Namibia/SüdWest und Südafrika. Und meine ganze Karriere als Student, Lehrer, Universitätsdozent ,Schulinspektor und als Berater nicht nur im britischen Entwicklungsministerium sondern auch in verschiedenen Kultusministerien in Deutschland habe ich Geoffrey zu verdanken. Als ich vor mehreren Jahren das Bundesverdienstkreuz vom Bundespräsidenten verliehen bekam und gebeten wurde, eine kleine Ansprache zu halten, habe ich Geoff als einen der wichtigsten Menschen in meinem Leben genannt. A pity I could not invite him to the ceremony but I am pleased to be able to pay this tribute to him on his 90th birthday. He has been a marvellous inspiration. Hoch soll er leben! Don Watson (Class of 47)

A Bridge too far.

I’ll set the scene. 15th Sale Scouts were in Summer Camp at Barbon in the South Lakes, probably in 1951. Every evening after campfire, Brian Jackson (Troop Leader) and I had to meet with the Scoutmaster (a certain “Stony”/”the Fuhrer”/ “the Komandant”/” Herr Stein”) to be told the activities he wanted us to organise the following day. This time he wanted the whole troop to build a rope bridge across the river that ran alongside the campsite. When Brian and I were satisfied it was ready, we asked him to inspect it, but to our horror, ne wasn’t interested in an inspection, he was going to walk across it !! We protested strongly as we could that

(a) It was only built for Scouts and (b) He hadn’t told us he would walk across it. This latter point was a serious mistake on our part, because he silenced all further discussion by saying “If you’ve done your job properly. It will take my weight”. We then rushed off and distributed mallets to all the boys we wanted to stand by the key pegs, with the instructions to hammer them in as far as they would go and to keep hammering at the slightest sign of movement. The whole troop watched in complete silence as “the Fuhrer” set off, but when he was almost halfway across, he realized he was in trouble and looked round to see if he could go back, but it was too late, as so many pegs were being pulled out. Thus it was that our Scoutmaster, still clutching the guide ropes, sank slowly into the river until the water reached his chest. By this time, there wasn’t a Scout to be seen, as we were all laughing hysterically and had to hide behind trees or in a tent. As a result of this Brian and I were “persona non grata”, because all meetings were suspended for the next two days. However, I am happy to tell you that Geoffrey does now see the funny side of all this, which is still one of the funniest events of my school career. Mike Chadwick (Class of 47)

The Auld School Scroll

It was tradition that when a master left SGS he was presented with a Scroll drawn by Pat Touhy the Art Master. This is the one presented to Geoff which he had to read out loud to his collegues.

Life in the Prefab

In the Autumn term 1951 I entered 2A; the form master was Mr Stone, “Herr Stein”, a tall man in an impressive black gown. None of us could have known then the influence which he so clearly has had on lives, indeed we did not know it that Room 1 of the prefabs was to be our home for three years and GRS was to be our form master - and German teacher - until the end of Autumn 1953 when GRS departed to Northern Ireland . We had an enjoyable time learning German and French. In 2A we began German with “Deusches Leben I” but it emerged that there was more to German lessons than the many declinations of verbs all of which seemed to be at the end of the sentence. What a strange and complicated language! All of us were given German names and I became “Fritz”. But we noticed (looking back it was he who allowed us to discover!) that Herr Stein was apparently easy to distract from serious work; so we learned about mountains, music and German culture in general while the same time we absorbed the language. In 3A French followed German immediately after break and also was taught by GRS so the two lessons often merged and allowed full scope for his enthusiastic teaching as well as more extensive excursions away from textbook toil. Clearly one of his passions was and is mountaineering and climbing so the German and French vocabulary of Alpinism was added to the JMB syllabus. This enthusiasm had an impact on my life for it nurtured a lifelong interest in hills and mountains. It was with great pleasure that I was able to take GRS to see my local Angus Glens on a glorious spring day in May this year: his enthusiasm and joy at being amongst, what was for him, new mountains was wonderful to see. We discovered too a shared passions for the Scottish hills and the Hebrides and chamber music! Which reminds me of German songs to lighten and enlighten study- who recalls ‘Muss I denn’ and ‘Der Gute Kamarad’..? I eventually enjoyed a career in the Sciences, but my modest but soundly taught French and German still brings pleasure to my holidays in the Alps. Another memory of GRS in those years: the store cupboard in Room 1 housed a lot of Scout troop equipment – including a felling axe which was used imaginatively on one occasion to impress upon a late comer the need to arrive at school in time for registration! GRS stood behind the door: we stared unsmilingly ahead: the hapless boy flung open the door and ran in: and the axe fell with a dramatic thud behind him! He turned to confront a beaming GRS and the point was made! Photographs show Herr Stein assuring us that “Ubung macht den Meister”

Roy Partington Class of 50)

1919 Significant Events 1. Prohibition introduced in USA. 2. RSA confirm Einstein’s Law of General Relativity. 3. Major Flu endemic in USA and Europe. 4. Total eclipse of the Sun in Cornwall. 5. Renoir dies 6. Geoff. Stone born. 7.

School photograph from 1948

Herr Stein with a young hunched up Mike Highwood in front of him. Herr

Stein’s knee in the back is the reason Mike claims

School photograph from 1952

Herr Stein sits between (Bob) Hope and (Bill) Shepherd

Editors notes It is less than three weeks ago since I got the idea to mark Geoff’s 90th Birthday with a special News Letter. The way that members have reacted to my requests for content has been nothing short of brilliant. I have sent this News Letter to all members on the email list. Many of you will not have come across “Herr Stein” as he was a Form/German/ Scout Master in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s and this could have been before or just after your time at SGS. Nevertheless I hope that you find it of interest to “taste” the happenings of the 1950’s. Very many thanks to all our contributors which I hope will make it a very special day for a very special man. So even in the quiet of your room as you read this Newsletter please give voice and sing out loud the chorus below. So fill your steins to auld Herr Stein Shout till the rafters ring. Stand and drink a toast once again Let every Old Boy sing Drink to the carefree days Drink to Sale our alma mater And the very special Herr Stein days. Once again, Geoff, very many happy returns on your 90th Birthday from your many admirers.

Keith Sibbald Editor