Chris Middleton kindly notified us about his father’s death. Eric Middleton (M 58-69).
“Eric passed away in October 2025 and is much missed by family and friends. Our dad, Eric and mum Pat (1936-2023) thoroughly enjoyed living and working in St Bees, which remains a special place for all our family. They kept in touch with quite a few friends, colleagues, neighbours and students for many years, so many thanks to those who knew them and made them feel welcome in St Bees and beyond.    Eric was born in Newcastle 1935 and lived on the Crossway, Kenton. He first attended the local Edgefield Elementary School there where one of his reports included the line: ‘inclined to fight too readily’. A kind uncle took him on holiday, taught him the Lord’s prayer and encouraged him to apply to the Newcastle Royal Grammar school. Eric there gained a scholarship and he developed a keen interest in science and particularly chemistry - and also joined the school boxing and cricket teams and the strings section of the orchestra (violin). Reading the letters and emails Eric continued to exchange with a whole hive of ‘Old St Beghians’ and other teammates right to the end of his life, these footprints hint at traces of the journeys to follow.
	Pat and Eric Middleton
Following a year at Kings, Newcastle, Eric went on to study chemistry at Pembroke, Cambridge, representing the college at boxing and cricket and playing in the orchestra. Summer posts at Vickers Armstrong, Winthrop Labs and a stint as a Pontins Porter also seemed to add further ‘reagents’ - to his life-path, alongside getting engaged to the love of his life, Pat Brown (1936-2023).
Eric & Pats Wedding 1961 (outside St Georges High Heaton, Newcastle)
In 1958 he joined his first ‘staff team’ as teacher and chemistry master at St Bees. Then in September 1961 the school welcomed Eric and his newly-wed wife Pat, also from Newcastle but who had been teaching at Carlisle High School for Girls. First Eric and Pat lived at 2 Main Street, next to the ‘tuck shop’. Then as a family, we moved into 6 Lonsdale Terrace, becoming neighbours to amazingly kind people like Gerald and Rita Lamble and family and Mr Graham Gow, and what an idyllic place the school and village seemed. My thanks go to Richard Taylor for capturing a family video snapshot of a sunny afternoon in the Lonsdale Terrace garden and sandpit with Eric.      Right - Eric with son, Chris (wearing Eric's trademark deerstalker), outside 6 Lonsdale Terrace
In 1965 Eric and Pat became housemaster - and ‘by default, housemistress’ - on Meadow House up the hill - and the family moved into the ‘Master’s flat’ upstairs. In chats and correspondence with dad, students and other staff recalled the housemasters organising ‘early morning runs’ as Eric did for the 30-ish Meadow House lads with porridge and boiled eggs often on the menu; Eric and Pat having to figure out how to make it all work on a particularly stringent budget, or having to stand in for matron or for the cook at short notice; and also finding good neighbours next door in the Fox family.
	The community was clearly close and supportive, good examples of folk who became life-long friends, neighbours, colleagues and other St Beghian parishioners. Fellow 1960s colleagues and students will doubtless remember Mrs Dodding of Finkle Street, Mr. Gill Fee’s garage on the corner of Finkle Street and Cross Hill and Mr Blenkinsopp and his shop with special ice creams on Main Street among many others in the community.   Chris and Lucy were both christened at the Priory – Lucy’s, after we had moved to Meadow House, is commemorated by a photo of colleagues and friends’ children together with family from Northumberland enjoying tea on the terrace there. On many levels, both Eric and Pat found the village Priory to be a very special place too - both on Sundays and in regular parish events such as Harvest Festivals and marking the terms and seasons alongside village primary school activities, school cricket teas and Saturdays at the beach. Left - Outside Meadow House - Lucy's Christening - Eric, Chris, Pat and Lucy
The village’s seaside setting just lent itself to beach exploration as a school – and family – activity, enhanced even further by being so close to the Western Fells with Eric and with other science colleagues taking lads on many a ‘geology’ field trip, or simply a good hike up in the Western Fells by Eskdale, Wasdale or Ennerdale. What a blessing to live in this corner of the world.
Erics Chemistry Lab at St Bees School (Eric at front in white coat)
In 1969 Eric was appointed deputy head of Wombwell High School and the family relocated to a new parish in St Helen’s, Wakefield in the West Riding. Both Eric and Pat continued their teaching careers alongside Sunday school teaching and raising a family. However, for many summers and half terms we would be back in St Bees or staying in nearby Eskdale to visit friends in Copeland. In 1973 Eric and Pat moved with the family northwards again, this time to the ‘new county of Cleveland’: to work in two new comprehensive schools in Hartlepool: Eric as Head of Brierton Comprehensive, and Pat teaching German at High Tunstall School and later as Head of German at Brinkburn 6th Form college. Dad’s involvement in encouraging students in science, agriculture and the wider curriculum continued.  Last December, Andrew, the son of the then Brierton Deputy Head, Eric Pidd, wrote: ‘those days at Brierton seem like a lifetime ago - a different world almost. I think your dad was a great fit for the Head of a Secondary Modern moving into a Comprehensive school. He brought a whole wider view of the world to kids who wouldn't have necessarily been exposed to music and the arts, let alone ‘Flatland’! I'd like to think ‘the Two Erics’ were a great team who made a difference to the lives of so many people at that time.’ Through all of this time at St Bees, Wakefield and Hartlepool, we remember the house regularly having guests to stay, visiting family or friends or visitors from abroad and neighbours from church or school life. Finally, in 1984 Eric joined a new staff team as Principal of Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough and they moved to this North Riding town in 1987, though Pat continued teaching Hartlepool 6th Formers for several years. Eric’s Guisborough colleagues said he enjoyed working with the staff team at Prior, firmly believing education should open as many doors for young people as possible. Still occasionally putting on his white coat to keep his hand in at the science lab, he encouraged students to explore science and faith. After retirement Eric volunteered with the CFM counselling group in Stockton and for several years acted as chaplain with Bede 6th Form College, Billingham, including co-leading field trips to Lindisfarne, Holy Island – exploring for example what earlier Celtic Christians meant by ‘thin places’, where heaven and earth meet. Eric wrote several books e.g. ‘The New Flatlanders’ which started from discussions with 6th Form students about the origins of the universe. His last book, ‘Surprised by the Spirit’ cites several contributions from St Beghian friends among others who had answered the question, ‘what is your special place?’ Dad really enjoyed these conversations in recent years. EPILOGUE: In one of his more recent writings, Eric described how he had had a dream where he was welcomed into an enormous hall where a very happy atmosphere revealed singing and dancing Scottish reels and jigs: ‘Walking behind the seated guests enjoying their meal, I met a few old friends and suddenly saw my dear wife. We hugged and Pat said she would keep a place for me. I awoke, bemused, and asked ‘What are you saying to me Lord?’ He answered: ‘You may stop looking for her, she is with me in Heaven, at peace and happy in the Holy Spirit in many dimensions around you.’  Next morning Dad was writing down this dream and remembered his final prayer at mum’s bedside: This was the note - ‘Calm me O Lord, as you stilled the storm. Still me and keep me from harm. May all the tumult within me cease, Enfold me Lord Jesus in your Peace. Love and Blessings to you all.’ From Eric and Pat, loving parents to Chris and Lucy, parents-in-law to Helen and to Martin, and grandparents to Michael, Rachel and to Rosie. We hope you were blessed by some of these memories of Eric (1935-2025) and Pat (1936-2023).”
June 1960 - St Bees School Photo - Showing St Bees School Staff
All the above photos, plus others, may be seen here in a slide show.

 

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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