Three Headmasters!!

Three generations of headmasters attended Birkenhead School’s 150th anniversary Commemoration Service at Chester Cathedral . The service was one of a host of events to celebrate this key moment in the rich history of the School 

Present Headmaster John Clark was joined by his predecessors Stuart Haggett (1988-2003) who was until recently Head of the British School in Cyprus and John Gwilliam (1963-1988), the former Welsh Rugby Captain who led Wales to their grand slam victories of 1950 and 1952.  In 2005 he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. During his time as headmaster of Birkenhead School the Welsh Captain had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian but clearly had another side to him, as was revealed to the congregation of over 1200 by a former pupil of his, the Rev’d Stephen Ridley. He told the story of Headmaster Gwilliam coming into School one day carrying a kitten which he had rescued and asking his secretary to hide it in case the boys saw him and thought he was ‘going soft’!   

The School was also delighted to welcome Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, who is President of the School, and Old Birkonian Andreas Whittam-Smith, co-founder of The Independent newspaper and former President of the British Board of Film Classification. The service was attended by the Right Rev’d Dr Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, who pronounced the blessing.