Ten generations (1919-1929) of Aston schoolboys, including my father, called their Art master, Bernard Fleetwood Walker, 'Twisty Bill'.

Dad said that, in their first lesson with him, they learnt the correct way to sharpen a pencil. How refreshing to hear of a teacher starting with the basics!

Fleetwood Walker painted the portrait of Mr Floyd which looked down on us years later in Big School. We were told that he did so, not from a live sitting, but from a photograph. This may have been because Floyd had died suddenly in 1912, well before the artist's time at Aston. One of my contemporaries, John Perfect, tells me that only an artist of considerable skill would be able to produce a portrait from a photograph, especially as in this case he may never have seen his subject.

In his autobiography 'As I walked down New Grub Street', AOE author Walter Allen (1922) describes the huge influence Walker had had on him. This comes as something of a surprise. As an author you might have expected Frank Jones to have fulfilled this role. On the other hand, it is clear from that same autobiography that Walter and Frank didn't get on!

It is not possible here to say more about this man whose comparatively short time at the school (by Aston standards!) had such a huge impact. Instead I will refer you to a website dedicated to his life and work. I think its creator, Nicola Walker, must be one of his descendants.