St Bees School Recipe Book

In 1979, to coincide with the St Bees School Fete, a number of masters’ wives and others associated with the school published a forty-seven page booklet of recipes. We have copies of this in the archives, but an OSB recently acquired a copy and sent in the following reminiscences regarding some of the contributors he remembered from his own time.

Gillian Lamping: was my Housemaster Martin Lamping’s wife and as a pretty green and unworldly wise thirteen year old she was, I suppose, the nearest thing to a surrogate mother for a lot of boys and I suppose myself! She once confided to me that she started life in Birmingham as a child minder in the 1960s, so her experience must have put her in good stead. I could never understand how Martin Lamping once caned me for talking after lights out and then made me head of house three years later! 

Lady Corley: was I believe the wife of Sir Kenneth Corley, who was the chairman of the Governors of the school and an Old Boy and Chairman no less of Lucas Industries, the large car and vehicle and battery manufacturing group.

Maureen Francis: was I understand the wife of Major Francis, who taught us Maths. He was very much like ‘Marmite’, you either liked him of loathed him!

Miss S Appleyard: was the Matron of Foundation when I was on Foundation North and had been there since the 1940s. 

Jean Lyall: was David Lyall’s wife and I guess was again a surrogate mother to all the very young boys, who started at Eaglesfield aged nine onwards! Once when I was a junior prefect on Eaglesfield House, she forced me to have a ‘freezing cold bath’ to reduce a high temperature I had! 

Elizabeth Cotes: was Tony Cotes’ wife. I always remember doing first aid with her on a rubber dummy and she asked me whether I was feeling a bit queasy after I had been trying to do CPR on such a thing! 

Joan Edgar: must be Jeff Edgar’s wife. Again Jeff Edgar was another master who caned me during gym, but I cannot remember why!

Lois Howard: was Brian Howard’s wife, the choir master. I remember Adrian Hope and myself were trebles in the choir before ‘certain things dropped’ and our voices got deeper and Adrian used to do a treble solo in certain choral works! How he reached those high notes I will never know! 

Rosemary Hutt: was the wife of Mr Hutt our physics teacher, who whilst he did not cane me erroneously, did send me out of class when he believed I was misbehaving when it was actually someone else! 

Yvonne Wilson: was Keith Wilson’s wife. He was my cricket coach when I was thirteen. He also taught me geography in the upper sixth.

Jenni Payne: is I guess Anthony Payne’s wife. He taught me German. I must have been a huge disappointment to Anthony Payne and my Germanic loving father, having failed my German O Level twice! 

David Marshall: It astounds me that a batchelor like David Marshall would know so much about cooking! 

Charmain Robson: is of course Chris Robson’s wife. 

Joan Lees: was the wife of the Headmaster, Geoff Lees.

Ann Rice: is T.A.P Rice’s wife.

Mary Broadhurst: was Peter Broadhurst’s wife. He was our Abbots Court Housemaster.

Mrs W Fox: must have been our Bursar Bill Fox’s wife.

 

Scans from the pages of the Recipe Book may be seen by clicking here.

 

Home

The St Beghian Society    
St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

         Tel: (01946) 828093      Email: osb@stbeesschool.co.uk      Web: www.st-beghian-society.co.uk