The Old Almondburians' Society

A new Illustrated History of King James's School was published on 1st December 2007. Here is an extract:

. . . As we have already noted, Taylor Dyson visualised his School as a community and a way of life, and he sought every opportunity to reinforce his vision. He rarely forgot a day for celebration or remembrance – Empire Day, Armistice Day, Shakespeare’s birthday and many others. He made much of the latter in his early days. The School choir sang a Shakespeare song. Masters and boys wore medallions of the bard. What a great idea!

However, what most will recall is Founders’ Day. It was a suggestion made by Taylor Dyson to the Almondburians’ Society in 1929. He envisaged a rally of boys, fathers and masters ‘on the Sunday nearest 24th November’ as a day of thanksgiving and renewal. Thus the first Founders’ Day took place in 1929.

Many will recall Founders’ Day. Many will remember long processions, winding up St Helen’s, passing Kirk Royd, the site of the ‘chapel of old tyme’ which Arthur and John Kaye ‘dyd shifte’ in 1547, past the well, past Wormall Hall, and into the church. A memorable occasion, especially for the fathers, it was honoured for many years by the unfailing appearance of Mrs Garner outside her house opposite the School, herself in so many ways a unique element in the life of the School. Some will recall the procession of 1962 when the good lady, then 93, stood at her window and waved for the last time. She was part of the great continuity.

Historians are sometimes accused of living in the past. To some extent they do, but not at the expense of either the present or the future. Taylor Dyson was particularly active in the present. As a speaker, a writer, a counsellor, or a leader, he was in great demand. In 1937 a full inspection of the School took place. The inspectors recorded many favourable impressions of the staff and the pupils. They recognised an ancient school in need of modernisation and expansion. They were particularly critical of early leaving and the absence of an Arts Sixth Form. They stressed the need for better library facilities.

Within a few months of their visit the process of pulling down the old and building of the new began.

The first phase involved the felling of the trees on the bank at the back of the School: it seemed like vandalism but it was deemed necessary.

‘So farewell to the shade
And the whispering sound
Of the cool colonnade.’