Mr Thompson the latin teacher..
(I considered changing his name as I doubt he approves of the internet - a measure of how much respect the man commands years after setting eyes on him)

This incredible man was from the old guard of boys' school teachers. One of the last for sure.

Imagine Captain Mainwarring from Dad's Army crossed with Uncle Monty from Withnail, except wearing battered tweed (he never owned more than two suits - one formal, one informal - that he'd always wear). He was a short, rather large man with Hitler hair/tash, ruddy cheeks, and was famous for his fierce bark when he took his pipe out of his mouth to speak to you.

He smoked in class. He'd frequently set the bin on fire through tapping out the ashes. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed doing this. If any student challenged him about his smoking, he'd glare in outrage and shout at about 40 watts (he was an ex-opera singer) "nonsense boy, the smell is exquisite. If you don't think so, you must be an imbecile".

I'm sure there are plenty of 12-14 year olds he absolutely terrified and possibly scarred for life. Being unable to find the verb in a latin sentence would send his ruddy cheeks purple as he stood up from his stool to hurl invective at the poor, cowering student. A typical example would be, "you are a bloody fool and a disgrace. Why, why.. WHY can you not acheive something so simple? You are an idiot!" He freely let it be known that he found the abolition of corporal punishment extremely frustrating, and indeed he kept a number of canes on top of his desk well into the 90s. There was a fist sized hole in the industrial-strength blackboard behind him. There are numerous stories of kids being so humiliated by him they pissed themselves. I witnessed this happening myself a few times.

It's worth noting, however, that when on the receiving end of one of his firey blasts, if you had the nerve to answer back his countenance would change and he'd become amused. He definitely respected rebellion. He once kept a friend behind after class after said friend called him a cunt. Rather than give my friend a dressing down, he simply said, "Hughes, I have never been called a cunt before. That is all. You may go."

Old pupils have unanimously fond memories of Mr Thompson. Despite the bluster, if you were put in his charge he really would go out of his way to look after you. Out of the classroom you might find him sitting to eat lunch at your table - he'd shun the other teachers to spend time with his students, and when not teaching he was a very pleasant, courteous man, always ready to listen and offer advice with no hint of being patronising. He'd defend students from the injustice of other teachers and kept his finger on the pulse of what was happenening throughout the school.

For GCSE latin classes he mellowed for the older students (we were now 15-16) and would spend every other lesson going through the Telegraph crossword (the cryptic one) with us or reading poetry in his deep, sonorous voice. I don't think he took the concept of GCSEs too seriously.

One thing I wish I'd done was visit him at home, especially since I actually enjoyed and was good at latin. He ran an open house from his dwelling just outside the school gate, a downright dirty building with smashed-up windows and mountains of clutter visible from outside. The story was that he'd been married once but that had ended, along with his opera career, and so he'd poured his heart (and a percentage of his salary, up until girls started being admitted) into the school at the expense of personal niceties. I often wonder exactly what happened to make him who he was.

Every now and again his old pupils sometimes get a letter inviting them to a pint or two, whenever he hears of something noteworthy in their life. It's to my shame that when recovering from a breakdown a few years ago I never replied to his extremely courteous, well-written letter of condolence and offer to get tipsy on him. Perhaps there's still time.

No, he wasn't a paedophile. Perhaps some of the above suggests that he was a bit wrong that way, but just.. no.

I'm told there's a facebook group in tribute to him, if people out there are further curious about this genuine legend of a man.
(raymond "three griddle pans" luxury yacht lovin' the christmas action, Thu 29 Jan 2009, 18:00, 3 replies)

More
of this sort of thing please. Nicely told.

I reckon you owe him a meet-up for a pint.
(anvil, Thu 29 Jan 2009, 22:29, closed)

Sad News
Hi,

I am very sorry to say that Mr. Thompson left us over a year ago. He was indeed a legend.
(chrisdalby, Fri 30 Jan 2009, 1:54, closed)

No way..
..oh well.. I wish I'd visited him since leaving school or at least replied to his letter. Shame. The man was so much more than my words above - I'm sure he'd have taken issue with a few things I've written.
(raymond "three griddle pans" luxury yacht lovin' the christmas action, Mon 2 Feb 2009, 0:18, closed)