As we all know now, and with the benefit of hindsight it is easy to criticise the Governors of the time for making a poor choice, but they could not foresee that Headmaster Frankland would turn out to be a square peg in a round hole, and by Lent Term of 1960 the wheels were beginning to fall off the bus.  

Episode 5 is a tricky one for me as it is plain to see, reading some of my Diary entries, that he and I had a mutual dislike, and we were constantly at loggerheads. However, I will strive to strike a balanced view in my reporting of events as they unfolded at School during the spring and summer of 1960.

Diary entry for 2 February, 1960: Ma Walton is unhappy with Headmaster Frankland.

Whatever criticisms the boys in general, and the two teachers in the Prep Department, levelled at the Headmaster during the years of his tenure at Oswestry School, and as one who lived through the turbulent years of 1959-60, I can attest to the anti-Frankland sentiments of the time. I am sure that in his own way he always had the best interests of the School in mind. The description of Headmaster Frankland's background in the summer 1958 edition of The Oswestrian shows that his credentials on paper were very impressive, and it is a great pity that events unravelled as they did in the face of his growing unpopularity.

Appointment of new Headmaster.

However, there is no way of getting away from the fact that Major Frankland's man-management skills were probably influenced by previous personal experiences of military discipline, and his time as an officer commanding Bromsgrove School's Cadet Force, holding a commission as Major. I believed that his approach to discipline fell short of what was required at Oswestry School and, perhaps rather inadvisedly, I made my feelings known to him. 

I was of the opinion that army-style discipline did not work well in a boarding school environment, and I had the temerity to tell him as much when he called me out as a senior School Prefect, for being too close to the boys. He became angry when I answered him back, and after telling me that I would never make a good leader, he threatened to strip me of my newly appointed role as leader of number 1 platoon. I argued that, unlike himself, I was not the product of a military background, and that I tried to get on with all the boys at Oswestry. Moreover, as a School Prefect I never experienced problems with discipline in School House. He seemed taken aback by this and abruptly dismissed me from his study.

Jack and I receive Valentine's from Miss Watkin, and so does the Old Man.

As Valentine's Day approached I had been thinking of contacting Iris to arrange our long awaited date at the home of Mrs Roberts, but events at School had been so hectic, and with half term looming I had put it on my to do list when returning after the break.

I was aware, and had been forewarned, that Miss Watkin, who worked alongside Ma Walton, Headmistress of the Prep Department, had been planning to send Headmaster Frankland several special Valentine's Day cards containing dead moths. I was fond of the young teacher, and fearing that she would be sacked if found out, I had reassured her that if questioned about it by the Headmaster we Prefects would deny knowledge of who sent them.

Diary entry for 14 February, 1960: The 'moth' is furious.

Everyone at School knew the Headmaster as 'the moth' because of the way his black gown billowed out behind him in his wake as he stalked his corridors of power, and as Miss Watkin had sent myself and Jack Greves more convivial cards we called in to tell her that her cards had achieved the desired effect, and that Mr Frankland was furious. She literally chuckled with glee.

15 February: Jack 'Grevo' Greves and I put Miss Watkin in the picture.

A section of the School photo from 1959. All seated - Ma Walton furthest left, Miss Watkin and Matron together, Jack Greves, D Pickup and CC Moore-Bridger.

As School Prefects, Jack Greves, brother Bernard, and myself were sitting at the Headmaster's table as he entered the dining room for breakfast on Valentine's Day, and the livid look on his face said it all. "I suppose you lot are behind this" he boomed, throwing several Valentine's Day cards onto the table as he took his place directly opposite us. "I will be interviewing you all later". 

A few days later it was half term, and we breathed a sigh of relief, believing that the Headmaster had let us off the hook.This was wishful thinking as on the morning of 24 February, our first day back at School, he interviewed all of us before 9 a.m.. The following extract from my Diary paints the picture, but I cannot recall what thoughts were travelling through my mind as I commented that something might have to be done about rising temperatures at School House. A popular insurrection was certainly not uppermost in my mind. For one thing, I had a date to arrange. 

It could have been that we planned to enlist the help and support of Mr Frankland's closest lieutenants in trying to steer the Headmaster in a different direction. From our standpoint he seemed to be on a direct collision course with School House, and some sort of calming effort was required to stem the tide of animosity surging against his stringent authority.

This extract from my Diary, 24 February, 1960, is self-explanatory.

It was now time to acquaint Miss Watkin with the developing situation as noted in my Diary below, and she very selflessly volunteered to fall on her sword should the Headmaster proceed with sanctions. Thankfully, the whole incident fizzled out and nothing further happened.

26 February, 1960: Miss Watkin agrees to own up.

The annual fair had come to Oswestry, so several of us went into town to join in the fun. Quite by chance we bumped into Iris who playfully chastised me for not getting in touch via Mrs Roberts to arrange a date, and I suggested that as it was Sunday the following day perhaps we could meet during the afternoon at the fair and then go back to see Mrs Roberts. She nodded readily in agreement and I handed her the coconut I had won at the coconut shy. She giggled girlishly, and with a wave she dashed off saying that she had to go and see Mrs Roberts about tomorrow. 

27 February: Fun at the fair and Bernard told Headmaster Frankland to keep his hair on.

As I made my way to the fair on Sunday afternoon a feeling of excitement washed over me in anticipation of meeting Iris and what was to follow. I bought ice creams for us and after enjoying time together at the fair we made our way back to Mrs Roberts' house on the edge of town.

After half an hour Mrs Roberts told us that she had promised to take her grandson to the fair but would be back in a couple of hours. Later that afternoon as I returned to School via the dingle I reflected that, thanks to Iris, I had experienced a truly uplifting moment in my life, and I had a smile on my face that lasted for days, and a memory that would last a lifetime.

It was the start of a brief, but beautiful, relationship but, sadly, I would never see Iris again after the end of Lent Term,1960, as she and her family moved away from the area.