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Post by Coopsgirl on Oct 9, 2009 13:13:32 GMT -6
Gary went to school in Dunstable from 1910-1912.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 10:03:17 GMT -6
As promised, pictures and information gathered from my recent 3 day trip to Dunstable, 6th, 7th & 8th October. I will try and recall as much information as was given to me by the wonderful gentlemen I met. Firstly MR NICK SHARPE, HEADMASTER OF ASHTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, " DUNSTABLE GRAMMAR" AND MR JOHN BUCKLEDEE, CHAIRMAN, DUNSTABLE AND DISTRICT, LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY, ALSO A SPECIAL THANKS TO JOHN BRYANT, CHAIRMAN OF DUNSTABLE SCHOOL OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 10:53:03 GMT -6
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Post by montana on Oct 10, 2009 11:48:59 GMT -6
Maggie, thanks for these photos! It's really fun seeing here he went to school. What a change it must have been for him after Montana! And then again when he returned to the US and had to become a cowboy again. Good research work.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 13:21:08 GMT -6
Head Master at the time that Gary and Arthur were students was Mr L.C.R ThringTHE EARLY YEARS OF THE SCHOOL L C R Thring When Dunstable School opened its doors in September, 1888, its first Headmaster was L C R Thring, of the Thring family of Uppingham. Mr Thring had previously been an assistant master at Wellingborough Grammar School, and he and Mrs Thring were to remain in Dunstable until 1921, establishing a firm reputation for fairness and dedication to the school, and a "family atmosphere" which many Old Boys remembered with affection. In a school magazine of 1911, one such Old Boy recalls, "In our Head we have a man who, with his sterling qualities and splendid character, has always set a noble example and appealed to the best instincts of his boys. He has from the first earned their respect and something far greater, that is, their affection..... he is stern enough when occasion desires, as all disciplinarians must be, but to judge him properly, you must see him in school, and then out of school joining in the outdoor sports and excelling at them all in a way that wins the admiration of those privileged to be present." The same writer speaks of Mrs Thring as "a kind and gracious lady". She it was who, with the help of a School Matron, had the job of looking after the gradually increasing numbers of boarders, some of whom, as the years passed, came from as far afield as France, Italy, America, China and India. (see 1901 census) Her husband was a very able and enthusiastic cricketer and another magazine article recalls that "Our heartiest congratulations go to the Head on scoring a brilliant century against Felstead for the MCC." In fact, a favourite early punishment for any misdemeanours committed by the original forty-nine pupils was to man a heavy roller, as part of a team of eight, in order to level the surface of the cricket pitch. Cricket matches are reported in the magazine of 1899 as having been played against St Albans Grammar School, Bedford County School, and Christ's College, Finchley. In 1900 came the first of the Cricket Weeks, involving past and present Masters and Boys of the Dunstable School, in matches against the County and the town. Mr Thring’s name features prominently in these first reports. Head Masters private quarters ( window to the left of the door was his study and was where students were sent for punishment )
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 13:44:37 GMT -6
This is the Science Laboratory built in 1907 and so was a fairly new part of the school when Gary studied his chemistry & physics. The Head Master, Mr Nick Sharpe, very kindly found time in his busy schedule to give a guided tour of the school grounds and beautifully appointed interior, which was as Gary would have seen it. It has not been changed since he was there. They are very proud of their famous Old Boy. The inside of the main door into the Head Masters private quarters. This would have been the view that the boys would have had whilst waiting to be seen. Gary would have been one of those boys. The main school hallIn this trophy cabinet there is an old school cap discovered recently in a cavity when maintenance work was being carried out. The cap dates approximately from Gary's time at the school.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 14:56:35 GMT -6
This wall was directly outside the school tuck shop and the boys used to wait in line to buy sweets ( candies ) You can see the holes that they ground out of the wall with their pennies as they waited there turnIn March 1932, an article appeared in the Dunstable Gazette entitled : GARY COOPER'S SCHOOL REMINISCENCES Hopes to come to Dunstable Gary Cooper, the six-feet-3 film star with the " perfectly sweet " smile, who spent 2 years at Dunstable School, is at present in London where he has been staying with friends since thursday. Gary is very anxious to re-visit the old school, and when yesterday he was " discovered " at Wardour Street, he expressed the hope that he would be able to see his old school master Mr Thring, who retired about 10 years ago and now resides in Somerset. He wonders, too, whether that master who whacked him very soundly on a number of occasions is still at Dunstable School and if so, he would like to meet him, for he admitted that he probably richly merited the canings so bears the master no ill-will Gary has so far evaded " fan-worship" but if he pops down to Dunstable he is certain to be lionised by his many admirers among the fair sex.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 10, 2009 15:27:47 GMT -6
Although this picture has been published before, it usually appears as a cropped version without the lady on the far right, they were all family.
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Post by Coopsgirl on Oct 10, 2009 19:24:40 GMT -6
Great stuff Maggie! Thanks so much for taking the time to go there and tell us all about it. It's so neat to see those buildings that are just beautiful and know that's what they looked like when little Frank was there.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 11, 2009 10:16:52 GMT -6
The White House, Houghton Regis ( far right ), was the home of their father Charles before he left for America. Their cousin Miss Laura Freeman lived next door in the Red House (centre of picture) and where the Cooper family visited during their time in England. The boys and their Mother lived with their aunt Mrs Barton, at 157 High Street North, Dunstable, approx 3/4 of a mile away from Houghton Regis and almost directly opposite the Grammar School. This picture is taken from the tower of All Saints Parish Church.Please Note : John Buckledee has kindly put me right on where the White House was. Quote: "There's a small mistake on the photos of the Cooper family home in Houghton Regis. The White House is the one in the centre of the photo, (NOT painted white!) taken from the church tower. It confuses a lot of local people because the house painted white, on the right of the photo, is where Gary's aunt lived in later years"
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 11, 2009 14:38:32 GMT -6
Garys Dunstable home, 157 High Street North, unfortunately it is now a grocery store. The commerative plaque was arranged by John Buckledee after much research into the exact location, bearing in mind that house numbers had changed since that time, along with parish boundaries. The house above is directly across from No: 157 and maybe how the shop originally looked when Gary lived there. These are the terraced houses in Waterlow Road where Garys school chums lived. He was discouraged from mixing with boys from the "lower classes" but chose to anyway. Good for him
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 11, 2009 14:59:31 GMT -6
As this is a photocopy of a full page of the newspaper, the text where the paper folded is missing. I am hoping for better copies from John Buckledee which I will post later.
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Post by Coopsgirl on Oct 12, 2009 19:42:57 GMT -6
This is great stuff Maggie. That article was very interesting and I'm glad they finally nailed down the location of the house he lived in while he was there. Those stained glass windows are gorgeous and it's so neat to look at them and know little Frank was there.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 13, 2009 1:49:32 GMT -6
There is a section in the paper about the discovery of a file of cuttings about Gary which was found in the library of the Luton News. John Buckledee discovered them and at that time he was the Editor for The Dunstable Gazette. John has a real passion for what he does and he must of felt like a kid in a candy store when he first laid eyes on them.
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Post by maggiejones on Oct 13, 2009 2:42:52 GMT -6
These are entries that appeared in the school magazine at the time both Arthur and Garys were at the school. This is about as good as it gets. The quality isn't good but I'm so glad I got it. All Saints Parish Church Houghton Regis. The family church and where both Gary and Arthur were baptised during their time in Dunstable. In the write up below the copy of their baptisms certificate gives incorrect names for Garys parents
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