Grammar school pupils seeking reunion

Nigel Carden and Steven Lloyd attended Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys in Dewsbury in the 1960s.

They have been prompted to try to meet up with old friends again as they and their former classmates reach their 60th birthdays.

Nigel and Steven themselves only got talking again recently after finding each other on Facebook.

Having each kept in touch with a separate group of friends, they are now hoping to bring both groups together and track down the remaining members of their year group, who were first year students at the school in 1966-67.

The photo above from April 1970 shows the 55 boys as fourth formers in amongst the rest of the school’s pupils.

The grammar school was later converted into a mixed high school in the 1980s and its premises are now used as part of Kirklees College.

Mr Carden, a retired headteacher, now lives in Guisborough.

He said: “We thought that with many people perhaps retiring or stepping down from their jobs it’s not a bad time to try and get everyone back together again.

“We’re hoping to get together at a pub in Dewsbury, maybe around Spring Bank this year.

“Anyone from our year at the Boy’s Grammar can get in touch via our Facebook page, Wheelwright Grammar 1966 Starters Reunion, or leave me a message on 07415 861144.

“We’d also be happy to hear from people in the other year groups close to our ages, and from anyone who was at the Girls’ Grammar School around the same time.

“Depending on the response, we’ll do our best to organise something to accommodate everyone who wants to meet up again with school friends they might not have seen for over 40 years.”

The pair said social media has played a huge part in re-connecting with old pals, with a number of alumni finding each other on commonly-liked Facebook pages related to the local area.

Mr Lloyd worked for Foxes Biscuits in Batley until his retirement.

“Like most people, I’ve stayed in touch with a few friends from school,” he said.

“Over the last couple of years, I started noticing familiar names, like David Archer and Nigel Carden, commenting on Facebook pages about Dewsbury.

“This led to the idea of arranging a reunion. We worked out that between us, we had contact details for about 20 people from our school year, and we are now trying to widen the net to find out what happened to the rest of Classes 1.1 and 1.2 from 1966.”

• Here are the first year class lists from the 1966-67 edition of The Boy’s Grammar School Magazine, The Wheel:

Form 1.1

D. P. Archer, G. R. Beaumont, A. Binns, M. Bottomley, K. H. Bowers, G. A. Brough, N. P. Carden, S. P. Chamberlain, N. W. Codman, D. M. Cross, D. P. Crossley, G. Davies, N. Dormand, R. Dudding, A. S. Fisher, P. A. Grace, M. S. Gray, S. J. Hardcastle, P. J. Hardy, I. D. Hargreaves, K. S. Hepworth, J .H. Ingle, A. Kershaw, S. Kitson, R. S. Knowles, A. J. Lightfoot, S. Lloyd, R. A. Lockwood

Form 1.2

M. McDonald, S. R. Millington, S. P. O’Kell, R. Oldroyd, B. Parker, C. A. Parkin, S. J. Peckett, M. J. Redman, P. Rhodes, M. Robb, C. Ryan, P. D. Sheard, M. H. Shepherd, M. Slater, C. J. Sowerby, E. Spink, P. A. Summers, D. G. Sykes, D. J. Taylor, S. A. Taylor, I. M. Terry, G. M. Tomlinson, R. Watson, S. J. Watson, J. M. Wood, M. Wraith, R. N. Collier