My Years At Mobberley Boys School

A Memory of Mobberley.

i was at MBS from 1969 to 1972 i was 12 yrs old when i went there i was in Russell house number 17 we used to wear red mr link was the head house master his wife worked in the kitchen making flap jacks for supper sometimes, they had a dishy looking daughter vanessa, i cant remember many staff names i do remember mr ollis who took us for pe, mrs slack was my teacher i was in 3c the headmaster was mr evans who lived in a house on the grounds. i left when i turned 16 yrs old best thing about mbs was going on home leave thats if you was a good boy also the highlight of the yr was going camping in wales freezing cold at night in a army style tent truding up snowdon in hiking boots working on the gardens was a mr wardle and mr petts both over excitable at times .i remember we had to go to church one week then chapel the following week walking there and back,i only ever tried running away once, myself and a few other lads decided to go we got as far as the little stream across the road in the field some of the other lads knew about our plan to run so as soon as we were off they chased us took us back to the headmaster luckily we all got away with a ticking off no cane for us we did however lose our 5 points we got for good behaviour on the yard at break time. i sometimes wonder what happened to the lads i was there with especially in russell house martin mc'hale the shaffsbury brothers, willie pomeroy,lloyd warmington, i was sent to mobberley for not going to school. im now 58 yrs old but the memories of my time at mobberley boys school still remain i learnt to swim there mr link would try and teach those that couldnt swim or mr ollis would teach us, i hated doing pe to this day i hate it but i remember one time in the gym mr ollis getting the lads to run from one side of the gym to the other while he threw a medicine ball at us if it hit us we was out the winner was the last man standing so to speak after getting a few lads out he decided to throw the medicine ball at me, it got stuck between my legs and i fell forward and smacked the bars on the other wall with such force i split my forehead open i had to go to the nurses room to have butterfly stitches , when i got back to the gym i gave my ollis a right mouthful telling him how stupid a game it was to be throwing a ball that heavy at us i thouhgt id be going to the heads office for a good canning but he didnt say a word just told us all to get a shower get dressed then we all went back to the house. in the local church there is a former member of staff buried there he died while i was there course the entire school had to go to his funeral i think he was in shaftsbury house. does anyone remember the names of the staff who worked in the painting, woodwork metal work departments? the case confrences where a laugh i could never keep a straight face when i had one, only problems i always had was getting back by myself after being on home leave either the cops would take me back or my link would come down to pick me up at my local cop stationdoes anyone who i was there with remember going to the rex cinema in wilmslow to watch that'll be the day?
i hated doing the cleaning, going on cross country runs, going to bed early around about 8pm if i recall, best job i had was working in the kitchen washing up, setting tables for breakfast, tea, supper
id have to get up earlier than the rest of the boys but i had a single bed room not in a 3 boy dorm sometimes martin mc'hale would use my bed room window to escape cos i was at hte back of the house so less chance of him being caught before he got out of the grounds, i did all the other jobs like cleaning the stairs with boot polish, buffing the dining room and hall way floor with a brush head with a cloth over it,cleaning the boot room and toilet, handing out the cleaning equipment, sweeping moping bed rooms and the bath rooms. i only ever went back once that was a few yrs after id left mr and mrs link were still there thats the only staff i saw i left just after my 16th birthday as i was going through the gates mrs slack stopped and gave me a lift to the train station she told me then she was also leaving a few days later well thats a few memories of my time at mobberley boys school so if any of you reading this remember me please feel free to get in touch be great to catch up after all these years