The Old Almondburians' Society

Morning Assembly

‘Morning Assembly’: Harry Taylor’s book of morning prayers

The Old Almondburians’ Society plans to publish in facsimile form the unique set of daily prayers compiled by former Headmaster Harry Taylor.

His son ANDREW TAYLOR recalls those morning gatherings:

Everybody has their own iconic memories from their time at school – Sports Day perhaps, or Happy Harry playing the organ at Speech Day, or maybe meetings of the Gardener ’s Shed Club, which were held discreetly behind the green shed at the top of the Bunk, leaving no evidence behind except for a few careless tab ends trodden into the dirt.

But for those who were at King James’s during the Harry Taylor years between 1951 and 1973, one of them must be morning assembly – the whole school drawn up in rows, from the bright-eyed little boys in short trousers (yes, short trousers) at the front to the cynical old Sixth Formers, who were just about starting to shave, at the back. There would be a quiet buzz of side-of-the-mouth conversation for as long as you could avoid the eyes of the staff standing along the side, then a hush as the Gaffer himself approached up the corridor .

Did anyone else notice how his footsteps on the gym floor, echoing in the respectful silence, always sounded slightly uneven, as though he had a limp? Even if you did, you wouldn ’t have dared to say so. There was the morning hymn – ‘Fight the Good Fight’, perhaps, belted out with more gusto than tunefulness, and probably a few announcements. Maybe the cricket team had beaten Huddersfield New College, or some ‘guttersnipe’ had been writing on a wall somewhere, and it had to stop.

And in between, the prayers, Harry Taylor had his own collection of prayers, culled from the School Statutes, from other prayer-books, from historical and religious figures such as Sir Francis Drake, Thomas Arnold, or St Augustine. In those days before WordPerfect, they were all written out in the clear, legible and disciplined hand that everyone would recognise from their end-of-term reports, and gathered together in a small A5-sized file.

Some of them – his favourites, no doubt – I can still hear, in his voice:

“Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest, to give and not count the cost, to fight and not heed the wounds …”

“ … it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory …”

“Make this School as a field which the Lord hath blessed, that whatsoever things are true, pure, lovely and of good report, may here for ever flourish and abound. ”

Now the Old Almondburians’ Society intends to publish the collection as a book. My brother, my sister and I will write brief forewords describing Harry Taylor ’s various connections with King James’s and the village and church of Almondbury, and there will be photographs to give people who came later some idea of the Harry Taylor Years – but the focus will be on the prayers themselves, as he wrote them down and as he said them.

For those who were there, it will bring back memories, and for those who weren’t, it will be a unique insight into the daily act of worship that used to be demanded by law in schools all over the country. Even more than that, perhaps, it will be a glimpse of some of the things that were most important to Harry Taylor himself. And if that sounds rather solemn, it shouldn ’t. There is one prayer in the collection which I confess I don’t remember from morning assembly, but which seems to sum up the spirit of the man.

“Give us a sense of humour, Lord,

Give us the grace to see a joke;

To get some happiness from life,

And pass it on to other folk.”

How to become an official Subscriber

‘Morning Assembly’ will be published as a limited edition next year. It will be a superb high quality facsimile hardback edition of Harry Taylor ’s hand-written original, with additional biographical material and previously unpublished photographs.

Demand is certain to be high, but you can guarantee your copy by subscribing to the publication now at the special price of only £10 + pp. The names of all subscribers will be listed in an Appendix.

To subscribe, simply and submit complete the form below. The payment page will follow.

Tel

Name

E-mail

Address

Subscribers so far (as of 10th February 2012)

Richard Armitage, Cheltenham

Michael N Atkinson, Ulverston

Paul Balderstone, Almondbury

Tom Berry, Knowl Hill

Lucy Berry, Knowl Hill

Bob Brook, Marsh

Norman Burluraux, Germany

David A Bush, Porthcawl

Reggie Byram, Birkby

James Clayton, Norwich

Graham Cliffe, Almondbury

Keith Crawshaw, Almondbury

Roger Dowling, Lymm

John Dyson, Norway

John Eastwood, Sowerby Bridge

Chris Graley, Farnley Tyas

Terry Green, Chester

Andrew Haigh, Almondbury

Dr John A Hargreaves, Halifax

Richard G Hey, Fenay Bridge

Gerald Hinchliffe, Wollaton

Andrew K Hirst, Henley-in-Arden

Bryan Hopkinson, Huddersfield

Bernard Hoyle, Newsome

Ken Leech, Australia

Barry Livesey, Clifton

Christopher Mann, Whitwell

David Matthews, Bognor Regis

Sophie Moodie, Argyll and Bute

Robert Partridge, Sheffield

Alison Roberts, Herne Hill

Stuart W Roebuck, Newsome

Dr Edward Royle, York

J P Senior, Almondbury

E Selwyn Shaw, Almondbury

Ian Smallwood, Nottingham

Gerald Stead, Lindley

Abi Taylor, Knowl Hill

Andrew Taylor, Knowl Hill

Beccy Taylor, Knowl Hill

Denis Taylor, Halifax

Edward J Taylor, Birkby

J Richard Taylor, Ossett

J D Taylor, Almondbury

Jack Taylor, Halifax

Marcus J Taylor, Singapore

Sam Taylor, Knowl Hill

Simon J Taylor, Ossett

Timothy R Taylor, Honley

Dr J P Toomey, Stourport-on-Severn

Peter Warry, York

Mike Wilkinson, Telford

Anthony Withers, Derby