Brighton Avenue Boys School

A Memory of Gateshead.

i left Brighton avenue boys school in the summer of 1953. I was then living at moorfoot gardens lobley hill. Before that I had attended Alexander road school and lived at Chichester street. My favourite teacher there was Mr. Simpson.he had tremendous strength in his one good arm and a good shot with the wooden blackboard cleaner aimed at anyone talking behind his back.the headmaster was Mr.miles who did not spare the rod. I moved with my family to lobley hill in the December of 1949. I started at Brighton avenue school because they had a school bus, and Alexander road school did not. A really good teacher was Mr. Frank merilee, the one that everyone feared was Mr. Martin who taught standard 8 in the prefabs, he could smell cigarette smoke at 100 yards. Each year the school put a play on at the little theatre Gateshead, I believe we put ours on in 1952 or it might have been 1953, it was called ,when did you last see your father, it was about a little boy being questioned by Roundhead soldiers during the English civil war. I was one of the officers, the other officer was a lad called Edward wake. It got good reviews in the Gateshead post, and I did have a photo alas it is now lost. Perhaps someone somewhere has a copy. I enjoyed my school years at Brighton avenue school, even the singing lessons of our headmaster Mr. Botcherby, some of the songs I still remember. I hope there are still people out there who remember me. Fred MUSHAM