Britain had been bankrupted by the war effort and the country would feel the effects of the conflict for well into the next decade.

Probably through a combination of factors, namely a shortage of money, lack of opportunity, and possibly a little neglect, all of which were exacerbated by the untimely outbreak of World War II, little thought had been given to refurbishment and expansion of the fabric of the school until circumstances forced the hand of Mr Williamson and the Governors so to do as the war came to a close.

Recovery was bound to be slow, throughout the land, and at Oswestry School Headmaster Williamson realised that as the number of boys was slowly growing, and School House, the sole boarding house, was beginning to overflow, there was now a pressing need for more teaching staff and accommodation to house new boarders.

Accordingly the Headmaster, in conjunction with the Governors, began a process of consolidation and growth which would stand the school in good stead for many years to come.This programme, which started with the acquisition of more male teaching staff, would soon be followed by the purchase of Holbache House and, later, by securing the school playing fields which, hitherto, had been held on a long lease, and the establishment of a fund to build a multi-purpose Memorial Hall.

Holbache House, purchased in 1947.

In 1946 four new teachers arrived at Oswestry School, namely, Mssrs Lewis, Tilley, Gregory, and Ollerhead, three of whom were former pupils. The elder statesman of the quartet, David  'Stoker' Lewis, pictured below in the mid fifties holding forth in class, had no previous connection with the school, but he, along with John F Tilley and DGW Felton, the Headmaster's second in command, would go on to form the backbone of Oswestry School until long after Mr Williamson's retirement in 1948.

David Lewis, in front of class, circa 1954.

Photo, seated left to right, JF Tilley, DGW Felton, R Sale (Headmaster) ,and David Lewis, taken shortly after the arrival of R Sale in 1962.

I am reliably informed by Old Boys from this time that, on his arrival as a resident in School House, part of David Lewis's remit was to fuel up the creaking old solid fuel boiler with coke. He did this each evening and could be heard by boys in the dormitory above the boiler house. This was designed to ease the burden on Joe Peake, who at the time was Mr Williamson's general factotum prior to the later arrival of Tom Little. Needless to say, School House pupils soon capitalised on the situation and, supported by the fact that Dai Lewis had served in the Navy, gave him the nickname of 'Stoker', which followed him until his retirement from teaching.

'Stoker' Lewis soon established a reputation as a Master to be feared... someone not to be trifled with, and an aura of intimidation surrounded him wherever he went. Later on in my time during the early fifties, fear of some kind of retribution in the shape of a cricket stump was ever present, particularly after lights out, and it was deemed better to keep a fairly low profile.

J F Tilley, pictured bottom, second from the right, in charge of a school party to Berchtesgaden in 1958. I am in the middle row, second from the right.

A youthful JF Tilley had not served in the armed forces, but came to teach straight from Cambridge University at the behest of Headmaster R Williamson who remembered him from his time as a day boy when he used to cycle to school daily from his home in nearby Whittington. JFT was aged about 17, shortly to leave for higher education at university when OO David Tomley, now a youthful 90-year old, started as a boarder in 1942, aged 8. Thus, like others, David found himself in the rather unusual position as having been both a fellow pupil of, and a boy who was taught by John F Tilley. 

An early picture of JFT.

From the outset, John Tilley, whose life became inextricably entwined with Oswestry School, was not universally popular as a Master, and he immediately started to antagonise pupils with his abrasive approach to teaching. His propensity for having favourites did not endear him to many, and his later habit of inviting a circle of boys to his home for delicious Sunday afternoon teas brought derision on those fortunate to be included. In my day we were named 'Tilley' boys, and mocked by some of those excluded from sampling the delights of Tilley's parents' bakery.

Another photo of John Tilley, third from left, taken on a school trip in 1966.

Ian Gregory, OO, another of Mr Wlilliamson's recruits in 1946, was ex-Army when he came to Oswestry School at the end of the war and he lived locally, an added bonus for the Headmaster, who had no need to house him. From what I am told, Mr Gregory was a Scot, who did not remain long at Oswestry before moving on to pastures new. Very proud of his Scottish ancestry, Ian would often attend special events at school, such as Remembrance Sunday, wearing the tartan of The Black Watch. Having been in the army, he was very keen to form a branch of the CCF, but this fell on deaf ears with the Headmaster at the time, who probably had more pressing things to consider. It would be left to Major Frankland to revive this idea when he replaced Mr Williamson as Headmaster in 1958. David Tomley remembers Ian Gregory when Ian was a pupil at the School. He was a good cricketer whose nickname was 'Cow'.

The last of Mr Williamson's recruits was Roy Ollerhead, OO, who also did not remain long at Oswestry before moving on to pastures new. During the war he had been a Lancaster bomber pilot who flew his plane and its crew on bombing raids deep into Germany. Roy was so attached to his Alma Mater that he had painted on the fuselage of his aircraft, just below the cockpit, an image of the school shield on either side of which he added a large letter 'O' in recognition of, and tribute to, his beloved Oswestry School.

My impression of what Roy Ollerhead's painting might have looked like.

I am not clear how long Roy remained as a teacher at school, but by the time of my arrival in 1952 he had moved on. What I do know, and this is confirmed by others who were present at the time, is that he attended a luncheon, held at The Wynnstay in 1950, which was hosted by the parents of the Gibbs brothers. The purpose of the gathering which included Mr and Mrs Williamson and other Masters and boys, including David Tomley, Brian Bailey, and Charles Teece, was to hand over a cup to the Headmaster which would be presented annually to a boy who had demonstrated the best citizenship during that particular year. I will delve more fully into this luncheon meeting, and the Gibbs Cup, in a later article.

Having resolved, for the moment, his staffing problem Mr Williamson turned his attention to the increasing pressure on accommodation, and shortly before 1947 it became apparent that Oswestry Cottage Hospital would come on the market. This was an opportunity not to be missed because of its relative proximity to School House and the fact that it would be able to house approximately 40 boarders, and I will elaborate on this and other topics in Part 3.