REGARDING the picture of staff at St Cyres School circa 1970, sent in by Gaynor O'Connell (Penarth Times, September 30).
I can confirm that the teacher standing in the back row seventh from the left, is Arnold Draper, who was the music teacher at the time.
Being a member of the Draper family I have included with this letter the up-to-date whereabouts of Arnold and his work in the music field - which are extensive.
He has just released in Canada a CD of 14 works by Gabriel Faure of which I am proud to have a copy.
Standing in front and to the left of him is an old classmate of mine from the then Penarth County School, namely Glyn Cousins, who was later to teach my daughter in St Cyres - and she informs me that Glyn passed away many years ago.
I hope that this will answer two of Gaynor's questions.
Furthermore, I received a comprehensive list of teachers from Arnold Draper which also dates the picture as pre-1965 (see letter below).
Many of these teachers are familiar to me from my days at Stanwell Road. Penarth County School in the late 1950s.
John Wilmot Dinas Powys I THINK we have the same photograph and on the back I have written Penarth Secondary, which dates it before 1965 when we went Comprehensive.
Now for the names that I can remember: * top row (l-r) Mike Jeffcot, Gareth Rosser, Ron Birkby, Alan Hughes (my best man and fellow Horn player) Roy Rosser, AD (looking more like a student than a teacher!) John Evans and Bert Baker (woodwork).
* 2nd row: Dora ? (Art), ?? (cookery) ??, ??. 4th lady is Avril Brown (English: she married Roger Dibble) ??, Glyn Cousins, ? Thomas (metalwork) and Stan Jones (Art).
* 3rd Row: Mike ? (Science) Noel Williams (Welsh) Miss David, School Sec (Mrs ?) Miss King (needlework) Audrey Jones (who had a senior post when the school went Comp) ?? Sports lady (ginger hair), Jackie Rosser (Roy's wife), Miss Gordon, Gillian Thomas (cookery), Roger Dibble and Rev Lyn Wales * Seated front row: Mike ? (geography) Bill ?, (science), DJ Richards (history) Crystal Tilney (English, wrote a history of Penarth), TJ Thomas (headmaster), ? Evans, Frank Ashmore (became Head when TJ retired) ?? (maths), Jenny ? (French), Bill Simons (science).
Arnold Draper
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