Memories Index

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not possessed of much humour and the boys would play all sorts of tricks on him in the lessons, but he made full use of every minute of the lesson to batter grammar and literature into our heads. I can remember to this day series of lines from Virgil's "Aeneid" and paragraphs of Gaius Julius Caesar's "De Bello Gallico". Above all Dr Price was a scholar with a particular interest in law. He published one or two standard texts in this field and I understand that his work on 'Maritime Liens', for example, remains an essential aid to the study of maritime law.

"Tiger" James  and "Benny" Boulton

For the first year or two we had "Tiger" James to teach us Mathematics before he left for Aberdare and then came "Benny" Boulton to us. Two who were totally different - while Mr James was a keen disciplinarian, as you might deduce from his nickname, and a Welsh speaker, poor Mr Boulton was form the North of England and inept before a class.

John Williams

Because I had chosen to do Welsh I did not come across the French teacher - John Williams, or "Colonel" according to the boys - a great deal but I got to know him better after leaving school and found him a kind, conscientious man full of humour and yet suffered no nonsense in his classes. We see his widow, Mrs Olwen Williams (the elder daughter of Mr and Mrs Evans, blacksmith, and another deacon of the Plough) every year in the boys' grammar reunion dinner and looking younger each time!

Douglas Inglis

Not everyone could suffer Douglas Inglis, the History teacher. I know of some who found him unfair and even unkind. Perhaps he considered himself a grade higher than the rest of the staff because he studied for his degree and Oxford (M.A.). Certainly in lessons he would raise his voice mockingly when we came across words like "work" or "industry", crying out "and now we come to a word which is strange and unknown to Breconians", or "this is a concept beyond the imagination of Brecon folk". And when he clashed with someone who was especially twp he would turn to the blackboard and beat on it with his fists and shout "Angels and Ministers of Grace Defend us". Some years went by before I discovered where that quotation came from. There was a boy called Mason in that category who was swiftly nominated "monumental" by Doug.

The architecture of the old school in Cradoc Road frequently was derided by him. He maintained that the architect who planned the building started out to build an Indian Temple and  then changed his mind and tried neo-Gothic, finally ending with a Victorian 'folly' - ugly and useless. He hated the headmaster's unceremonious sallies when he exploded into Doug's class without knocking in order to question a pupil about some triviality. He had no sympathy with Wales or the Welsh language, but in spite of all this I liked History and loved reading about the past. I went on to study History in the sixth form and then in the University College, Cardiff, and I found Doug very ready to offer his help and his time and advice always. His greatest interest was books - but in school he had no spare room which would serve as a library. He worked hard to get shelves fixed to the wall of the second floor corridor and he was given gifts of books by many people locally although he himself contributed most. He would add to the collection by suggesting that it would be good were pupils who were leaving school to donate a book or books as a sign of their gratitude and this became accepted.

He organised collections of reading books for each form, keeping them locked in the cupboard of the teacher's desks and these were exchanged every week . In the fourth year - of which he was the form master - he would gather a few pence from each of us and buy magazines such as "The Boys' Own Paper" and "Meccano Magazine" and "Armchair Science" and others and he paid for hard covers to protect them. All my life I have dabbled in books and libraries and I have no doubt that this love started in Brecon Grammar under the supervision and example of Douglas Inglis.

Elwyn Thomas

I have purposely kept Elwyn Thomas to the last. Apart from History my subjects in form six were Welsh and English and the teacher in both disciplines was Elwyn and undoubtedly he was one of the main influences on my life. The Revd R. J. Jones, minister of Minny Street Church, Cardiff, frequently would urge the host of students who filled the gallery on Sunday evenings - "Remember to thank the school teachers and Sunday school teachers and college lecturers while you have the opportunity", and I am very glad that I had that opportunity several times after Elwyn Thomas retired from the BBC to visit him and Dilys his wife in their home in Radyr and to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his many favours.


He was a native of Dowlais, a cousin to Dr M Glyn Jones, the poet and Anglo-Welsh man of literature.

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