CHAPTER 14 - Des’s story

During the 1970s I was a teacher in a Steiner school and at that time education was very different to the world of education today. There were over four hundred pupils in the school when I taught there, and the school was built on the foundations of the old palace of the King of England, in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire.

The brand-new sports hall which I was told was built for me in 1974, became a fully equipped Olympic facility. It was huge and due to the energy and determination of the senior and junior students at the school, and the financial support from the parents, I had been able to create a completely new system of physical education because I had everything necessary for the giant task. That’s when it became a fully equipped gymnasium and sports hall. It was no thanks to the school, but grateful thanks to the children and a few parents.

It was the pupils who got behind this initiative and in particular half a dozen older students who had received a rather bland and trivial physical education curriculum thus far, which probably was at the bottom of the rung. The physical education teacher was without formal qualifications, was quite old and infirm and ran the lessons with his voice, not with his physical ability, which was approximately zero. He was also quite aggressive, and it was always the pupils who were wrong, not the pathetic way he taught. Chastisement was the main principle of his teaching, and for that reason he was feared, but not respected!

Des, at the time I arrived at the school was fourteen years of age and had come to the forefront after two years. He was looking up to three senior pupils who were near adult age and who I had taught for two years, and who had achieved a very high standard of overall performance. Richard Bridgmont, Lindsey Brett and Andrew Belgrove were a few of the school’s sensational performers! There were many more!

The students and parents unequivocally supported me and financed all I needed so that the school’s physical education curriculum could become uniquely cutting-edge and gymnastic-centric, with other sports in support. It was Olympic Gymnastics with the main elements of high bar, parallel bars, floor, vault, beam and assymetric bars that set a fire under each pupil.

When Des took a step and attended gymnastic clubs he had an immediate following, not only from younger pupils who began to look up to him as a leader and a dedicated gymnast, but as a pupil who had put his whole energy behind me and my vision.

Sadly, the rather worn out and unfit group of teachers in the staff at that time dare not often come to the sports hall, except for one exceptional teacher, David Urieli. No other teacher than David came to see the transformation of the physical education programme, possibly because this was a world alien to them all. Many even tried to block the funding given to me by parents for my work, and indeed, even though I was Chairman of the College, some of the founders tried very hard to move me on. They did not, and I spent twelve years creating this new system.

Des was a great inspiration to the school, and perhaps it was something to do with the new and successful physical programme with Des and his fellow gymnasts as the new school heroes that brought scorn towards my gymnasts from the teaching staff.

Des was an upright and physically fit athlete who fell for high bar and parallel bar gymnastics with a determination to engage in everything else I offered, and by the time he was sixteen he was something of a legend, always running to the sports hall in break times. Following behind him and his pals was a trail of children, madly rushing to see what the next step was for their school physical education curriculum.

Des and the few other friends who were in the elite group of responsible pupils, were certainly heroes and every day more and more pupils committed to gymnastics and athletics, replacing the very poor standards of hockey and other games at which the school had proven to be rather pathetic, except for basketball where we became Hertfordshire County Champions in 1977!

Des would have been a great physical education teacher and a great icon for the school, but as with many schools it was the intention of a few teachers to look at the negative side of Des and his pals, centring on whether a pupil was a mathematician, musician or scientist, could act and who was no threat to the school’s status quo. Physical education began to reign in the school.

Onwards now to the story that I want to write while my memory and recall is still strong and accurate.

I have looked back at my records, and I am sure this story is a real reflection of one pupil and how he became a great human being irrespective of the aggression and denigration he suffered from some teachers, and at home.

One of the school’s founders had hit two pupils in front of Des and tried to hit him too, but Des decided he wasn’t going to hit him so he blocked the attempted slap from the aggressive little teacher who ‘upped the ante’ and tried time and time again to make contact with Des’s head, so he ran down the corridor as the violent teacher was swinging at him and trying to beat him. He didn’t catch him!

Des was a very troubled young man who was once told by a teacher that he had no potential, would never achieve his aim to be a pilot and he should leave school at the earliest opportunity. The inner core of this young man must have been seriously damaged and perhaps he began to feel worthless in that arena of education that his parents had enrolled him in, hoping for a very different education than the one he might receive in the classroom. Des was a boarder!

During a staff vs pupils rugby match, a rather short, red-haired teacher, known to the pupils as ‘The Ginger Midget’, inflicted a really harsh and illegal tackle on Des during the match. According to the players who witnessed this attack, it was deliberate! There was no doubt that that teacher had it in for Des and had really hurt him.

The same teacher had once tried to pull Des’s trousers down, pants and all, in front of the whole class to smack him, but didn’t succeed because Des ran from him. No action was taken.

Just after the injury Des had challenged this teacher on the pitch and an argument ensued which was witnessed by scores of pupils, all of whom were on his side. Des was hurt. No doubt about it.

This is another incident. Whilst Des was answering the ‘phone to his father, the teacher in charge of the boarding hostel snatched the phone from his hand, hung it up and tried to hit him. Des ran away heading upstairs, but the teacher caught him at one of the fire-doors, and a tussle ensued. The angry teacher pushed Des down the stairs.

His injuries were a broken knuckle, and his arm was in a sling for a week. There were many other similar incidents whilst Des was in the care of the school and he was hurt many times by the hostel father, the teacher appointed to care for the school boarders, by the management of the school!

One day Des was in the boarding hostel and had been thrown out of dinner for making everyone laugh when the payphone rang, and he answered it out of a sense of responsibility. By sheer fluke it was his father again who very rarely contacted him. He had been thrown out because a few girls were helping him with his dinner as he had a broken knuckle, and it was a bit of fun to laugh about.

Desmond waited a few days to see what action might be taken against him when the two incidents were reported to the College of Teachers.

That week, during the Thursday meeting, the teacher responsible for the aggressive acts on the playing field was supported by other members of staff, even a few who were not on the touch line during the match. The teachers in the meeting, many of who were nowhere near and saw nothing of either incident, decided that Des was to be expelled.

Des’s class sponsor was compelled to act on the word of the College and called Des’s mother and told her that Des may have to leave the school and the boarding hostel and go home because he was engaged in two serious incidents.

I was furious and although I was a senior teacher I gasped at the negative attitude and harsh uninvestigated incidents and attitude towards Des. I had witnessed several other similar assaults on pupils during my time at the school, specifically by the same teachers who had been involved in the two incidents I have mentioned, and I had tried to deal with them all, assisted by my wife, who was then a class teacher. The group of teachers made a strong stand of unanimity, and I was disgusted so I made a plea to the College to ensure that Des would be my sole responsibility into the future. The teachers reluctantly agreed, with the condition that one more incident and Des was out!

Des was severely chastised by his sponsor and when he was told the outcome of the meeting he was flabbergasted and could hardly believe the judgment. He was crest-fallen and came to see me at my home, which was next to the school building in an old priory. We had a cup of tea and I told Des I had made a statement that I would ensure he was kept in line in future.

I undertook to take full responsibility for Des while he was at school and manage his behaviour, which in my presence was always exceptional and respectful. The following day I made Des Captain of Athletics, and his job was to ensure that all equipment, javelins, discoi, shots and hurdles were stored in the appropriate place with military precision and order. They were, and Des never looked back.

After a settled period for Des, when I was a captain in the Territorial Army and Commandant of an infantry barracks in Hemel Hempstead. I had unconditional access to all weapons and ammunition, and it struck me that this amazing, abused and brave young man, who had exposed such violent and abusive acts from two teachers to a pupil, needed something big.

That something big was to test my unequivocal trust in the relationship between teacher and pupil.

One day, I called my caretaker at the barracks and told him that I would be using the indoor range that evening, and he was to arrange for the armoury keys to be ready for me as I would be shooting that night.

“I will be there, sir. Do you need any ammunition? What calibre, and I will get it ready for you, sir?”

I took Sarah and Des to the shooting range and opened the door. Within a few minutes my caretaker appeared at the door with three rifles and handed me the magazine keys. I secured the rifles and left the range to be cared for by Sarah while I grabbed a few hundred rounds of live ammunition.

I carried the ammo. box to the range and for the next hour I allowed Des to shoot volley after volley at the targets, blasting them into smithereens, aided by my fiancé Sarah. Sarah too had had such fun, proved to be a very fine shot and handled the rifle very well indeed. She still does!

What a ball we had and the expression on Des’s face when we were packing up said it all. He was rinsed out completely by this experience, and with a totally satisfied grin, helped me pack up and drive him back to the hostel. I had taken a chance, a huge chance, and perhaps this has never happened before and perhaps never will happen again!

I never knew whether Des ever told his pals. I think not, but I know this shoot-out had a significant effect on his life from then onwards!

Des graduated early from school after a very successful period as a gymnast and athlete and was the main pupil in a sponsored walk for gymnastic equipment. He left school a hero in the eyes of the younger pupils because they all loathed both teachers who were engaged in the incidents, and by that time he was ready for the world. Some teachers were negative towards him, but he was much admired by a few who never spoke out at the meetings, probably because they knew that one of the bullies was the school founder! We all knew but there was no way to deal with such atrocities.

Des set up as a car sprayer when he left school and was once commissioned to spray a car belonging to one of his customers at a time when he was building his own business and getting his own work.

One day the spraying area was damp because another competitor was jealous of his success and started spraying water on the floor as Des was spraying the car, with catastrophic results. I ignored the knock on my door when I saw through the kitchen window, three burly paint-strewn chaps aggressively and angrily asking for Des, who was living with us then.

The rest is history, but he continued living with us and I gave him a job as a travelling salesman in my fishing rod company, Dynaflex Tackle Limited. He was a brilliant salesman, but the job was far below his potential. Des worked hard but it was something rather uninspiring for such a talented chap, a fine guitarist and a good all-round human being. At supper one evening in my home, the conversation of his life took place. It was to do with his aspiration to be a pilot!

My suggestion was that he needed to find himself first. He had previously travelled by motorcycle around the UK with his close friend Keith in 1979, so I suggested a European motorcycle trip with his friend Haydn, a pupil from his class and a fellow gymnast. These two brave human beings were about to experience a life-change and were very excited as they rode away into the sunset. So, was I, and so was Sarah?

I heard little from them for months and when they did come back, we sat down to another of Sarah’s chili con carne suppers and reviewed their life-changing journey. They were so happy and enthusiastic about that trip, and so was I.

A few days after they had returned from the road trip asked Des what he wanted to do for a career. He said again that he wanted to be a pilot, an. there was an air of positivity about his statement which shook me!

Lots of thinking and chats took place over the coming weeks and months and Des was noticeably pleased when I said to him.

“Des, you can do anything you want to do if you have the inclination and drive to take the necessary steps”.

Des sat at my IBM Golfball typewriter and wrote a letter which he sent out to all the airlines in the UK to try and get sponsorship. No one would sponsor him, so he approached the RAF, who said he needed 5 A levels, which he didn’t have.

So, in 1983 Des paid for his own Private Pilot’s Licence, and once he had this qualification he wrote to a number of flying clubs and asked for a weekend job answering the phone and booking people in for lessons. I desperately wanted to give Des the few thousand pounds he needed for this training, but with a salary of £52 per week that was out of the question.

In the meantime, he had a Monday to Friday job fitting kitchens and being a dispatch rider, working seven days a week for eighteen months and also began to build up flying time. In the coming months he passed his night and instrument rating with a view to becoming an instructor, which he achieved in 1987 and moved to Liverpool to work as a flying instructor where he taught RAF cadets. It took Des four years to get to that point.

Now, when a young man climbs such giant mountains, something comes from it. Certainly, Des has climbed mountains many times and last month he took off his captain’s uniform and cast it away to leave flying forever. That was the end of Des’s flying.

Last year Des reached the stage where he thought he would end it all. The life he had tried to create had not materialised. Des was single, fifty-eight years old and was a redundant pilot during lockdown. All of his strength and power comes from a very deep place that he, for some reason, possessed from a very early age. Although that statement comes from Des, I saw that in him when he was a teenager. Des is not just a human being with potential, he is a great human being with phenomenal potential some of which was achieved as a pilot.

Where has he chosen to go now?

Des loves sailing and has a 34’ yacht, as sailing is his passion. Planning to sell his house and live on his yacht he is about to engage on a new project helping himself and hopefully some others along the way! Des has always been a giver, a real gentleman and a man who always wants to help anyone who might need his great wisdom.

Des’s life has come full circle and he is an inspiration to all those who know him and has achieved so much. There are many personal statements about Des’s younger life that I have been privy to that would astound all those who read this story, the story of a young child who faced adversity, was hurt and disrespected as a child, a child who was placed in a school which was supposedly a caring place, as a boarder, and have to struggle to overcome and manage bullying from teachers and face that adversity, to become the great man he is now.

I am certain that for Des the best is yet to come!

Watch that space………