Thomas Paul Armstrong (FN 71-76).

David (Tilak) Paul (FN 71-76) has shared the following memories of Paul Armstrong:

“Paul was certainly one of the ‘good guys’ at school. Whilst not known for any sporting achievements at St Bees, he achieved stellar success in the classroom.

I vividly recall a maths lesson with David Lyall when he forewarned the class of an impending arrival next term of a pupil in our year who had achieved top marks in a scholarship exam…That was Paul Armstrong! So even before Paul had arrived at school he was heralded as someone very special.

He was incredibly bright and appeared to excel in all subjects especially the science ones. He was helpful and kind and would assist stupid and ‘thicko’ pupils like myself with our homework!

If there was a hifi, or plug, or speaker-system that needed to be connected, Paul was the ‘go to’ man for the occasion. I shared over a period of nearly five years various dormitories and studies with Paul and due to him I was introduced to ‘Bryan Ferry’, ‘Roxy Music’ and the ‘Supertramp’ pop group.

His father had a business importing Japanese electrical products and in the early 1970s he was the first boy I knew at school to have an electronic calculator, which resulted in Joe Croasdale from Foundation South making a foray into the hallowed and sacred Foundation North area to ask Paul for a sight of this new-fangled device.

I also remember Paul’s mother speaking to my late mother on possibly a Speech Day and her driving one of those classic small BMWs with the registration plate ‘ARM1’. Paul explained that the plate had been in the family for many years!

The last time I saw Paul was in 1978, January I think, when he visited my room in the halls of residence in London with Howie Muir, who was an ESU student, who was at school I think in 75/76, when he was visiting another old OSB, E. Paul Tattersall (FN 71-76) who was in the same hall.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

The Abbots Court House photograph of 1976 shows Paul first left, on the back row and can be seen here.

 

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St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

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