Old Boy Interviews
My boarding school experience was less than optimal, but that's not to say there weren't some interesting times. Below are some "interviews", my own and some I've conducted with old boys from the various schools I attended.
Q. What's your name?
A. Paul Millward
Q. How did you end up at Pierrepont?
A. My parents retired from their expat work in The Netherlands and moved back to the UK in 1980. We moved to Hindhead and the choice in schools was a choice between Frensham Heights or Pierrepont. My father was all for FH but I desperately wanted to go to Pierrepont as in my heart of hearts I knew I needed the discipline, having run riot at Dutch schools and consequently not having achieved much until then.
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1980-1982.
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. I was in awe of it all, the hierarchical system, the military overtures, the change in culture and language, I loved it and enjoyed a real challenge at school at long last.
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. It was more than I could ever have hoped for and I made some great friends at the time.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. During 'A' levels we had quite a bit of time for ourselves in between classes and a few of my mates had cars so we would get up to all kinds of fun. I also enjoyed the RAF CCF camps and getting my glider pilots licence that way.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. There were two very sad events, one was the car crash on the Hindhead to Haslemere road in which four fellow pupils were killed. The other was the sad death of my German class mate, Robinshaw who suffered terribly with Cystic Fibrosis (edit: Stephen Robinshaw passed away at home 6 November 1982).
(even though Pierrepont was in England, I ask this because I’m interested in the answer)
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. The 'Toubles' I remember most were not to do with Northern Ireland but regarding the Falklands War. It wasn't until I started higher education at Middlesex Polytechnic in Hendon (London) that the full impact of the IRA war against the British became visible to me.
Q. Where are you now?
A. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Note: Great to see you're writing a book in which your time at Pierrepont has a place. Greetings to all the Pierrepont old boys who may still remember me - I for one remember you all!
Thanks for that extra, Paul!
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Q. What's your name?
A. Elliot Morris
Q. How did you end up at Pierrepont?
A. I have an elder brother who I perceived as a goodie two shoes and I felt he always got the best and I got what was left, I used to get really jealous and got into all sorts of trouble..The final straw for me was following my brother through school and being told "I wasn’t like my brother" I used to flip at that. My Mum and Dad had enough and that was that.
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1977-1982.
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. I was petrified and felt abandoned by my family...that changed to relief and a sense of freedom as I realized I was being judged on who I was an not who my brother was.
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. I had no expectations of what it was going to be like but had visions of Tom Browns School Days and Victorian orphan houses mixed with scenes from Oliver. When I left I felt huge relief and never wanted to think of the place again.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. I remember having huge fun in the woods with what friends I had, I remember building rafts on the river and riding it down as far as we dared. Climbing trees and making secret rooms in the farmer’s hay stacks (didn’t realize how dangerous it was back then)
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Every other waking hour being bullied for nothing more than being Jewish.
(even though Pierrepont was in England, I ask this because I’m interested in the answer)
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. I grew up in Kilburn which was called little Ireland, so was always surrounded by sectarian violence. Kilburn had a large population of both Catholics and Protestants. I was outside the Wimpy bar in Oxford St when it was bombed and had been outside Biddy Mulligans in Kilburn High Street five minutes before that was bombed. I seem to remember always being on edge but it was just something you dealt with.
My father went to Belfast on a business trip and got shot by a British soldier with a rubber bullet and I remember him coming home with a purple and black bruise on his thigh the size of a grapefruit. The "Troubles" have always been there and will always be there. There will always be unhappy people that feel that killing innocent people will solve their problems but it wont... It seems that the human race is destined to never learn from its mistakes and will continue to get the innocent in the way of a fight.
Q. Where are you now?
A. London, England
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Q. What's your name?
A. Elliott Eware
Q. How did you end up at Pierrepont?
A. I ended up at Pierrepont because the local comprehensive school which I was attending at the time was pretty dire so the decision was taken for me to attend a boarding with the intention that it would impart some discipline into me.
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1981-1984 so three years.
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. I was very nervous especially as I knew my parents couldn't really afford it so the expectations on me were high.
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. The experience I put down to this day as perhaps the best 3 years of my life as it taught me the way to be truly independent and I was exposed to peer pressure for the first time.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. The most fun at Pierrepont ? Can't really put my finger on it to be honest it was all such a lovely experience. I was thrown into an environment mixing with a bunch of guys of different religions. races and creeds where I learnt so much about life.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. The worst experience was leaving and then going to a University which I describe as one of the lowest periods full of racist people in a depressing depraved part of town.
(even though Pierrepont was in England, I ask this because I’m interested in the answer)
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. The troubles in Northern Ireland did not affect me at all.
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Q. What's your name?
A. Brian Southgate
Q. What school did you go to?
A. Pierrepont
Q. When were you there?
A. 1964
Q. How did you end up there?
A. Parents couldn't stand me at the time and got me a local authority 'scholarship'
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, excited?
A. Shit scared!
Q. Was the experience what you expected?
A. Had no idea what to expect.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Pissing about on Frensham Common
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Bullying
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Q. What's your name?
A. Stephen A. Sheil (Tony)
Q. What school did you go to?
A. Both Gloucester House and Portora (Ulster house both schools)
Q. When were you there?
A. 1969 - 1972
Q. How did you end up there?
A. My father was starting up a buisness in NI....it was his choice..
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, excited?
A. Oh, what is the old man thinking, yeah, I was scared, I had never been out of the US before, and certainly never been sent "away" to school before.
Q. Was the experience what you expected?
A. No real expectations....a bit of ...wait and see.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. For the most part it was all fun. I enjoyed the experience.
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. Yes and no. Certainly not during my years at PRS...later I did. We Lived on the Newtownards Pennisula, in the Village of Greyabbey. I traveled into Belfast every now and again (weekends), I have been up and down both the Falls Rd. and the Shankhill Rd. I was robbed once by a kid that could not have been more that 10 years of age, I was not going to risk the fact that he my have had a gun in his pocket, it 10 pounds ..feck it. I got the shit kicked out of me in Netwonards one night at a taxi office. I was searched more times than I can remember.
Other comments: In the end I think my years in NI gave me an awareness of situation ....at all times. This has mellowed over the years. But I am still much more observant than the average US citizen
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Q. What's your name?
A. Simon Lindner
Q. How did you end up at Portora/Gloucester House?
A. My mothers choice, I was born in California USA but my mother was from Ireland, born in Dublin. She chose Portora to quote her " because a lot of nice boys she knew had gone there."
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. Mid 70's around 76 to 79
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. Everything was new to me , not just the school but everything. The country and the countryside , the food was very foreign to me, I still remember not liking that portion of cream on top of the bottles of milk. I also remember being mesmerized that the roofs had hay (thatch.)
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. I really don't remember, too long ago, I was not too keen on wearing a uniform. Funny enough I remember my mother making arrangements so I would not wear shorts with the jacket and tie, all of my pants were full trousers. I probably would have liked shorts being from California and such.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Playing in the swamps during our afternoons off, playing rugby (we won a lot.) Guy Fawkes night when we burned the glider. Staying at my friend Michael’s house for the weekends. His parents and sisters were very good to me. Lots of good memories here, Like Bouncy Island, an area in the swamp that had enough dead reeds on it to let you stand but it would bounce because it was over water. Building a Dam in the swamp, the farmer would come to the school and see the headmaster to get us to stop. The cows on his land would have nothing to drink after we built a dam. That was fun.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Cricket, the most boring sport on the planet. Playing or watching doesn’t matter. Getting slippered, I use to buy the softest slippers I could find, it did not matter they would use whoever’s slipper I got in trouble with.
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. I had very little understanding of it then, I remember you couldn’t park a car in town and soldiers would post a road block at the front gate of Gloucester House, sometimes the soldiers would talk to us and sometimes they wouldn't. They would tell us to get away. I thought they were rude back then but they were just trying to keep us safe from potential harm.
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Q. What's your name?
A. Rod O’Doherty, currently living near Lisburn in Northern Ireland, married to Linda (a Lisburn girl whom I met at university in Coleraine) and working as an IT manager in a pharmaceutical company.
Q. How did you end up at Sligo Grammar School?
A. In a roundabout way, it was because of my mother that I ended up in Sligo Grammar School. This had to do with the fact that I was failing to progress well at the local Catholic primary school (St. Columba’s), in my hometown of Buncrana in County Donegal. I was a quite introvert and shy child, struggling in a class of over 30 other energetic and outgoing boys. In response to this, my mother decided to move me to the small Protestant school (St. Mura’s, Church of Ireland primary school) for my final year of primary education. She persevered with her decision despite having to fight off criticism and threats from the local Catholic clergy. I firmly believe this was a highly fortunate and life changing decision for me. In the new school, in a class of only six students, I received the attention I needed to build my confidence, self-esteem which resulted in a great improvement in my academic abilities.
It was the head-mistress of St Mura’s who proposed to my parents that I attend Sligo Grammar School. However, my mum and dad allowed me to make the decision for myself; either to attend the local secondary school in Buncrana or attend boarding school in Sligo. I can’t remember why I chose boarding school, but boy was it the right decision!
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1976-1982
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
It’s a bit of a blur now, but I do remember the first moments in my new dormitory. I recall my mum, dad and I being taken to the dorm by Mrs. Blackmore (The headmaster’s wife). The dorm was a long hall-like room, illuminated by a row of fluorescent tube lights. It had about 30 iron beds (15 or so on each side) with squeaky springs and thin foam mattresses. It had a wooden planked floor (from which splinters regularly penetrated one’s feet), old wood framed windows and toilet/washroom at one end. Once I was led to my bed, my parents said their goodbyes and Mrs. Blackmore quickly ushered them to the door. My mother turned back to towards me and she began to cry - I recall Mrs. Blackmore blocking her way and urging her to leave - I guess so that I would not become upset too. At first I didn’t really feel anything (neither nervous or excited). I spoke to the other two boys in the beds next to mine. On was Nigel Kay from England and the other was Daniel Redmond from Magherafelt.
It was the next day when I became excited. After breakfast at school assembly in the newly-built modern teaching block, our class was addressed by the headmaster. I recall he cracked a joke or two and split our class into 1A and 1B. I recall he said that 1A was no better than 1B and those of us (including myself) in 1B should not read anything into the fact that we were in the ‘B’ class. But as the year went on, it was clear that those in 1A were the brighter ones!
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. I had no idea what to expect - that’s how naive I was. I was just hoping that it would be better than depicted on TV shows like ‘Tom Brown’s School Days’ or ‘Goodbye Mr. Chips’. While one looks back with fondness on those years, in reality it was often quite hard at times. Mostly I can say it was an enjoyable time, and while sometimes there was complete hilarity and tomfoolery, I also recall instances of deep sadness, despair and even fear.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Breaking the rules! Sneaking out in the middle of the night to go to the fish and chip shop to bring back a midnight feast. I recall some nights we used to have drinking parties in an old potato shed on a nearby farm. On another occasion, we went to an exclusive late-night viewing of ‘Apocalypse Now’ in the local cinema (One of our friends was a part-time projectionist there).
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Getting caught breaking the rules. Being bullied.
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. The one thing I do recall was the time when Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated in a bombing by the IRA in nearby Mullaghmore in 1979. His remains were collected from Sligo General Hospital just opposite the school. I have to admit that for myself and the other teenaged boys, the political and historical significance of these events were completely lost on us. We were only interested in one thing; the truly massive RAF helicopters which were sent to retrieve his body. On that occasion, I was reprimanded by the science teacher for leaning too out of the 3rd floor window for a view of these fabulous machines.
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Q. What's your name?
A. Michael Hayes
Q. How did you end up at Portora?
A. Sent there by my parents, all my older sisters boarded, so a family tradition had to be upheld. Dad wanted me to go to his old school Dungannon Royal, but Mum was having none of it, and chose Portora on the advice of a friend.
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
First Impression was that it was a loooooonnnnnngggg way home, and it was a particular piss off to find that we only got home every 4 weeks.
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. Gloucester House was a bit grim, as only a 1970's boarding school experience can be. Portora, however, was outstanding
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Most of the fun things would still render me subject to legal proceedings, and I have no wish to rely on the statute of limitations as an alibi. At it's simplest, the fun I had with my mates, (who are still my best mates some 27 years later), the things we did, the things we said, the piss taking, the moments of madness/lunacy, the comradeship and collective nonsense. Maybe that all pervading approach we had of working out how we could break every rule, screw the system and never get caught.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Getting caught screwing the system. Dealing with arseholes with issues. Freezing cold, damp beds. The food.
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
Ultimately no.......as a boarder you where pretty insulated from the whole thing. Certainly, you where aware of it. There where several bomb attacks on the town, but as the school was a bit on the fringe, it didn't really affect things. Closest I had (while at Portora) was when the fishermen where blown up in the car park behind Paget Square c.1984. At the time I was going out with a local girl from the collegiate (subsequently married to her). We always would have been walking through that car park at that time of day as I left her to the bus station. On that particular day, we had sat and drank coffee and flirted longer than expected and missed the time for her first bus to home. Bomb went off, we ran to see where it had exploded, and turned to one another in the stark realisation that if we hadn't of been so engrossed in one another and walked to the bus station at the normal time, we would both have been killed or seriously injured.. Scary shit.
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Q. What's your name?
A. Charles Berardi
Q. How did you end up at Portora?
A. I was getting into trouble. My mum called the social workers who decided they didn’t know what to do with me. The last straw, I think, was my getting suspended from Boys Model School in Belfast for bringing a bottle of rum to class. I didn’t even tell my mum I’d been suspended but, of course, she found out. I suggested boarding school as a solution, and since I had a friend going to Portora, that’s where I wanted to go.
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1979-1981
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. I thought the place was filled with snobs. I wanted to see how much trouble I could get into, but it seemed no one else was up for any of that.
Academics weren’t my strength. When I saw rugby and rowing, I changed and became motivated. Sports kept me out of trouble.
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. No. I expected it to be something similar to Boys Model, but everyone was too nice in that they wouldn’t do anything wrong.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Oh, lots of things fit that description. I'll lead in with smoking under the projection room (JoJoes). And the time I didn’t do my English homework, so I lifted all the homework papers off the master’s desk. Other fun I'll have to get back to you about.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Sick bay. I didn’t get on with the Matron so I dreaded having to go up to see her, let alone falling prey to some dreaded disease enough to make me her guest for any length of time. I also didn’t like writing “copies” or being gated (restricted to school grounds).
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. Not really. It always seemed pretty quiet, though there was one bomb I recall. I never really dwelled on that aspect of life in Northern Ireland. Too many other things going on, I guess.
I'm from Belfast and now live in Dothan, Alabama.
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Q. What's your name?
Peter McCay
Q. How did you end up at Portoa?
A. My father and uncle both boarded at PRS and when asked if I would like to go, I went with my family for a visit and I agreed to go.
Q. When were you there? How long did you stay?
A. 1966-1972
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. I was a little nervous which lasted for about a day. Another pupil was assigned the task to "look after me." He was called Peter Johnson and we became good friends. My first impression - everyone was very friendly and there were lots of others to play football with!
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I loved Portora and my closest friends at school remain my closest friends to this day.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Haha. Many "adventures" Two that really stand out are a rugby trip to Wales without ANY supervision and cricket tours with Monty Ainsley, our French teacher and cricket coach.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
A. Probably getting a "gating" card and having to hang around school at the weekend having to get my card signed every hour, on the hour, by a teacher..
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles or what was to become The Troubles? If so, in what way?
A. Yes. I think everyone growing up at that time were affected by the troubles. I vividly remember "Bloody Sunday." That Sunday night the Headmaster, Percy Rodgers prayed for peace. There was a feeling of "civil war" in the air!
I'm from Belfast and I have lived in Missoula, Montana for about 25 years.
Hope this is of some help. I am forever thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to go to Portora. I truly loved my time there.
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Q. What's your name?
Richard P. Nixon
Q. Where are you from?
A. That’s a bit of a tough question for me to answer really. I was born in Libya to British parents of Irish descent, but I lived most of my life in various locations in the United States. I am American by naturalization, but I’m not really “from” the United States. Is that clear enough?
Q. Where do you live now?
A. The United States. Warm, sunny Arizona to be specific.
Q. How did you end up at Sligo?
A. After my brother got into trouble in Alaska, where we lived at the time, he and my parents decided sending him back to Irish boarding school would fix everything. My parents decided they’d send me, too, before I got into the same sort of trouble. We ended up at Sligo because that was just about the only Irish boarding school that would take a chance on my brother, given he was fifteen going on sixteen at the time. Every other headmaster said my brother was too old to adapt to the discipline, and you know what? They were right.
Q. When were you there?
A. 1976
Q. What was your first impression of the school? Were you scared, nervous, excited?
A. Cold and lonely is what I thought of the school, Sligo, and Ireland in general. I was not scared, nervous, or excited, though. I was there, and so was my big brother, and as long as he was near, everything else was “circumstance.”
Q. Was the school experience what you thought it was going to be?
A. No. I knew it would be different, but my previous experience with the Irish kids was pretty good, as was my previous experience with Irish (day) school. Sligo had its moments, both good and bad, but neither extreme there could compare with what came later when I moved to Northern Ireland. I thought I’d feel more at home in the North, but I was very much mistaken.
Q. What was the most fun you had?
A. Tough question to answer as it depends on how you define fun. At Sligo I very much enjoyed the friendship of Caroline, but skipping church to go into town was a lot of fun, too. At Portora, fun took on a different meaning for me, as I considered anything that distracted me from where I was fun. One of the most fun moments I recall was the Italian ski trip. That was over the Easter break ’78. But pouring strawberry mousse over one Gavin Roy while at Portora had to be one of the most satisfying experiences I can recall. Not exactly fun, but yes, very satisfying indeed.
What comes to mind at Pierrepont was the night half the school hiked down to Frensham pond for a party. One (or more) Sixth Formers supplied the alcohol and, well, for several hours that Sunday in early March we had fun. Of course why Sunday I’ll never know, but we had to be up for class just a few hours away. Some didn’t make it while others tried valiantly to pretend they were okay and suffered through the day. Of course on a more regular basis I’d have to say screaming “Moby Dick” and belting out “Roxanne” at the Mariner’s Pub over a pint or two was fun.
Q. What was the least fun you had?
Sligo was more positive than negative. There were a couple of "events" that weren't fun, one of which was my being whipped with a coat hanger.by a prefect, but I considered such simple aberrations. The other was being paddled by the headmaster for fighting - no big deal.
My time at Portora began with, "Just what we need - another fucking Yank," so I'd have to say being singled out for constant, raw hatred for no real reason.
Least fun I had at Pierrepont - maths class with Mr. Smitheram. Although he was a decent fellow, I'd fallen so far behind at Portora that I hadn't a clue and dreaded even going.
Q. Did you feel the effects of The Troubles? If so, in what way?
Yes. I lost friends and family to The Troubles. Of course every time I boarded a plane to Belfast I felt The Troubles due to heightened security. On my last flight out of Ireland, I arrived in Heathrow hungover as hell and in a daze when I found myself surrounded by three men who trained their automatic weapons on me. I actually thought that was kinda funny, even then. I might have thought differently had my cousins been less generous a few hours before.