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John Hall
John Hall (1920-2011):
Headmaster of Birkdale
from 1963-83
Almost all John Hall’s
teaching career was
spent at Birkdale. He
joined the staff from
Grosvenor School,
Nottingham with his
wife Dorothy in April
1948.
He became
Head in 1963 on
the sudden death of
Howard Heeley, who
had re-established
the school with 20
boys in 1942 after its
wartime evacuation
to Derbyshire. He retired in 1983.
The school he took over was thriving, with numbers
having grown to around 300. Well known for its
strong Christian ethos, it was academically successful
with the majority of the 13 year old leavers gaining
entry (including top scholarships) to a wide selection
of major independent boarding schools.
He developed the strong academic and religious
emphases of the school whilst faithfully maintaining its
warm family atmosphere. At the same time he quickly
brought much needed reform of its organisation and
development. Ted Hutchins, the author of ‘A Birkdale
History’ and a member of staff from 1958 to 1990,
used to recount stories of porridge for the boarders
being transported by
Mr Heeley on the bus
from his Fulwood
home to the Beech
Hill boarding house,
or PE taking place in
the Oakholme cellar
during
inclement
weather (the usual
alternative
being
an open air tennis
court in Endcliffe
Crescent).
In
1967,
the
Heeley Hall was
opened during his
headship, a Prep
School laboratory and classroom built between
Westbury and the swimming pool, and, in 1975 the
Crimicar Lane playing fields purchased. In 1978 the
Endcliffe building was acquired for the new 13-16
Senior Department,and two laboratories and hall built
between it and the Heeley Hall.
By the time he retired
in 1983, the number
of boys in the school
had increased to just
under 500, and the
reputation of the Prep
School was established
as one of the leading
prep schools in the
north. John Hall on
his first appointment
to
Birkdale
had
quickly
established
a reputation as a
schoolmaster
who
meant business in and
out of the classroom.
He knew what he
wanted and the boys responded readily to his own
enthusiasm, shown in everything he did. He lived
for the school. He instilled in us a genuine love of
learning. Michael Palin once told me (quite seriously)
that his enthusiasm for journeys of discovery had
been spawned by John Hall’s Geography field trips to
Beachy Head!
But it is to his personal qualities which most Old
Birkdalians refer when speaking of him. His presence
seemed to fill the school, aided (like his predecessor)
by a tendency to govern by volume. Yet it was a
warm and encouraging presence, always interested in
every aspect of a boy’s life and ready to give advice
when he sensed it was looked for. There was nothing
pretentious about him. When he appeared for the first
time in the school wearing a wig, he asked in assembly
“
What do you think of it?” He added, though: “You can
laugh today, but if anyone laughs in future ...”
This
humility
–
like so much
else – stemmed
from his solid
personal faith,
about
which
no-one
could
remain ignorant.
It was for him
the touchstone
of all he did,
and countless
Old Birkdalians look back with thankfulness for his
Christian influence on their personal lives. The total
commitment to the school demonstrated by John
and his wife Dorothy ensured that his vision and its
implementation laid a secure foundation on which to
develop the school into the successful 4-18 day school
it is today.
M Hepworth:Birkdale pupil 1942-51;
Headmaster 1983-98
