Leeds Central High School 10 - 15

I passed my 11 plus exam when I was 10 years old and I opted to go to Leeds Central High School(boys only) because my Uncle Joe went there. It is situated in the city centre on Great George Street and I had to catch a bus(No.1 Beeston to Lawnswood). My sister went to Thoresby High School(girls only) next door.

It was very strange starting at a new school where I had to wear an uniform but one of my friends, Neil Rudge who lived at 43 Northcote Street, was starting as well. One of my friends from St. Peter's Chuch, Ian Langley, who was older than me went there as well. Each year the pupils were divided up into 4 classes called Faraday(blue), Murray(green), Newton(red) and Preistley(white) which were our houses. My house was Preistley. In my first year my class teacher was Mr Stewart who was also the deputy head. Mr Stewart was a mathematics teacher. The first day we got a timetable which described what lessons we had every week and where they were held. Each lesson was held in different room. Our games were held on our sports field which were about 3 miles away in West Park using private buses to get there on a Wednesday morning and our woodwork classes were held in a different location near Woodhouse moor where we had to use public transport. I knew some other boys in different classes but it was very different than going to Junior school. Each year had four classes so there was about 700 pupils. Another thing that I had to do was homework every night !

The lessons lasted for 45 minutes and the topics were Mathematics, English, French, History, Geograrhy, Physics, Chemistry, Technical Drawing, Art, Woodwork or Metalwork, Religion, Physical Education and Games.
During my first year because I was only 10 I entered the Junior Swimming competitions against my old school. Mr Blakeborough did not like this because I won every event I entered.

Other schools that children from Bewerley Street went to were Cockburn Dewsbury Road, Parkside Middleton Road, Hillside Beeston Road and Matthew Murray Holbeck(my wife went to Matthew Murray).

When I was about 14 our house in Northcote Street was compulsory purchased by Leeds City council to improve the area. We had 2 options which were get about £1,000 to buy another house or get a new council house. We chose to get a new council house, a three bedroom, terraced house, central heating, bathroom, extra toilet downstairs, which was near to Dewsbury Road opposite the police station. Our new address was 5 Moor Crescent Chase. It was a small estate with about 30 houses/flats (2 stories) and 2 blocks of flats (16 stories). Our house was opposite The Moorhouse public house and our family became good friends with the families who lived in The Moorhouse, my mother became a barmaid later. Also around the same time Canning Street Club was rebuilt at the end of our street. The rumour was it should have been built on the opposite side of Dewsbury Road. My grandmother Furness moved into one of the flats(2 storeys) after.

My mother changed jobs and started working at Kays the catalogue company on Marshall Street full time. We still came home for our dinners but when my Dad was on earlies we went to my Grandmother Furness's house for dinner.

I still used to go to Elland Road and went with my new friends on the estate. I also had new friends from school and they used to go as well. I became good friends with Steve Brown who used to go to Leeds Central Swimming Club. Steve lived on Barkly Road off Dewsbury Road about a mile further up. He went to Cockburn School. I can remember going camping to Bolton Abbey with Steve and John Dunn who was also a member of Leeds Central. We camped in a field opposite Bolton Abbey. Steve was two years older than me and bought a scooter when he became an apprentice at the Post Office Telecommunications in 1969.

About this time we changed our shopping habits every Thursday we went to Grandways which was on Dewsbury Road above Tunstall Road. They was a lot of shops in Dewsbury road that we used.

Things that I remember from Leeds Central school, the postman told my mum that somebody was sending me postcards but sending to the wrong address. On the postcard it said I was GAY. My Mum came to school to see my headteacher and he called me into his office. He asked me who I thought it was and I didn't hear anything else' The postcards stopped ! I told the head Rockie that I thought Wade and Mac were sending them because they were jealous.

I remember going camping to Pately Bridge, my Dad took me and my friend Damon Starkey and we were suppose to met other friends when we got there. But they didn't show up. We set up our tent on Saturday and decided to look for them on Sunday. We got up on Sunday but we didn't know the time. We looked all morning after about 2 hours we heard a radio telling us that it was only 8 o'clock. We continued to look for them but at 12:00 we decided to cook our Sunday lunch.
Our friends were taking the calor gas stove but we had two methalated spirit stoves which we used. During the cooking one of stoves ran out so we put some more methalated spirit in but the stove exploded and set our tent on fire. After all the commotion we decided to go home. It took us about 3 hours but when I got home there wasn't anyone in. All my family had gone to Patley Bridge to see me. What they did find was one of our friends from Leeds Central swimming club staying in the same camp site so they stayed all afternoon.

In the fourth year I was bullied, some 'mod' bullyboys chose me as one of their targets particularly at sports. It made me not chose sports as a option in the fifth year. I could revise for my O-levels instead of sports.

As well as school I represented Leeds at swimming in Yorkshire and North East County galas. One year I came third in the North East counties but my younger brother was always winning gold medals. We travelled all over Yorkshire and the North East on a Heap's coach. Our parents sat at front and all the swimmers sat at the back. The oldest sat at the back and we played games. This normally involved kissing !

In 1968 the Gelderd End was formed. The Spion Kop at Elland Road was built in the 1920's and attained its name from a hill in South Africa. During the Boer War 322 British soldiers lost their lives on the hill and many football teams named their stands after Spion Kop hill in tribute to the fallen men. The original Kop was all terracing and built on an embankment, at this time the Kop had no roof. In April 1968 the old Spion Kop terracing was stripped away in no less than six weeks and in its place the new Kop was built complete with a roof and new name. The Elland Road Kop was now known as the Gelderd End. The new stand cost £250,000 to build. In 1994 as a result of the recommendations in the Taylor Report which was published in 1990 the Gelderd End became all seater. 7,000 seats were added to the terrace reducing the stands capacity by just under 3,000. The Gelderd End was the final stand at the Elland Road stadium to acquire seats. The new look Kop was officially opened in October by the President of the club, Lord Harewood and Mrs E Revie the late Don Revie's widow. The Gelderd End was renamed after the great manager himself and the stand is now officially known as the Revie Stand. In the season 1968/9 Leeds played Manchester United early at beginning of the season. Leeds fans used to stand in the scratching shed(Elland Road) and the away supporters stood in the Lowfield Road section. When Geldard End opened all the younger(skinheads, mods etc.) moved but the older fans rockers stayed in the Scratching Shed. When the scum came they decided to go in the Geldard End and they outnumbered the Leeds fans. After that match all the Leeds fans went in the Geldard End.


In 1970 Leeds United played Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup and they drew. The replay was at Old Trafford on the Wednesday evening. I got two tickets for my brother and me. Our school told us we could go because a Special train was leaving Leeds in the afternoon taking all the school children. We had a great time but Leeds lost in extra time.

I met Kathy Dohethry who lived on our estate and I met 2 girls from Nottingham who came to visit their Grandparents. I met a girl from Holbeck called Diane Carter who I went out with her for about 1 month. I used to talk with loads of Girls because I used get along with them unlike my friends who were shy. During this time I went out with my Wife and we used to go in the trains from Middleton Railway that were stored in the yard opposite her house in Garnet Road. I met a girl in Cross Park and we went to Middleton Woods for my first encounter ! When I was Leeds I met girl Janet from Heckmondwike who I went with for about 3 months including going to watch Leeds United. They were banned from playing at Elland Road and had to play teir home games at Huddersfield or Hull etc..

When I was 15 I decided to stop training for swimming because of my O levels and I wanted to go out with my friends on a night. I met my wife at a football match on Hunslet Moor. I started going out with her on and off since 1969.

In the fifth year I took my GCE O-levels in Mathematics, English, Technical Drawing, Engineering Workshop Theory & Practice, History, Physics and French. I passed 6 only failing French. I didn't want to go to school anymore because some friends I had were working already as apprentices. I decided to follow them. I applied for apprentices at British Telecom(GPO), Post Office(engineering) and printing. In printing you had to pass an exam set by the union who found you a post. On the last day of school some of us decided to get our hair cut to the skinhead style which was really short.

During the summer holidays six of us went to Butlins for a week. Damon Starkey, Maurice Hope, Paul Gomersol, Phillip Stringer(his parents run a public house on Rothwell Road) and Stephen Gore. At Butlin's we all started drinking even though I was 15. I was the only one to get a girl who lived Longbenton, Newcastle. I wrote to her a couple of times.  After I found work in a warehouse next to Kay's in Marshall Street. I got paid £5 a week but I knew that I had got an apprenticeship with British Telecom but I couldn't start until I was 16.

One day I went into Leeds city centre where some skinheads began talking to me and we went to a cafe called Lulu's where a lot of skinheads go. I made a lot of new friends who liked watching Leeds United and fighting. Some of my new friends use to go to the youth club in Beeston on Cementry Road. I stupidly got caught shop lifting in Grandways, stealing some spark plugs.