Reigate - Mr. Powell Headmaster

[howesd]

We are a history society near Banbury, Oxfordshire currently transcribing our local Elementary School log books and have a certificated teacher by the name of Bernard Powell b Banbury 1914 who circa 1948 moved to teach at Reigate Parish School.  It would be interesting to know if anyone can remember him/the school.

[Plummiegirl]

A good place to look and you can post queries via the webmaster are

1:  The History of Redhill & Reigate
2: Reigate History

Just google and they will pop up.  You may have more luck there as they are dedicated to the area.
 

[howesd]

Thank you for replying - we have already been in contact with Redhill & Reigate website and things are looking very positive - it is a very informative site and well worth a visit for history of the area - lots of information to be gleaned .......... very helpful.  Thank you again for your time.  Much appreciated - can rely on this site eh ! 

[howesd]

Looking for memories of people that remember Mr. Bernard Powell, Headmaster, to add to our Middleton Cheney profile of our school teacher who seemed to be much loved and started his career here in our village !  His family were Banbury people, lived in Crouch St. in 1911.

Transcribing school log books can be very rewarding but it is a hard slog !!  Be warned !! 

[RG-B]

Hello,
I attended Reigate Parish Church School from about 1969, and have very fond memories of Bernard Powell.
He was, as it seemed at the time, a very proud, and very smart man, and was as likely to be found taking time to read with the pupils, as he was strapping on his ancient football boots for a kick around for the PE lessons.
There was a sad element to his story though. His Daughter married the infamous Ronnie Biggs, yes, him of Great Train Robbery fame, and from what I have learned since, he felt incredible shame from this.
Mr. Powell died, from a stroke some years after I left the school.

[Paul19591959]

Mr Powell was my Headmaster between 1967-70 and I remember the school being locked down once by the Police, because it was reported that Ronnie Biggs had been seen in the area. Not being the goody goody type - I had a few 'no tears' dealings with him. (He was OK).
But contrary to someone else who said they saw him wearing football boots, and playing... nothing could be nearer the truth, and I suspect that he was thinking about Mr Williams who took us for football - and I was the school Captain, and according to Mr Powell in an assembly... the first person ever to be sent off in a game representing the school (something I'm proud of btw, because we were playing a Middle School who were kicking lumps out of us).

Sorry I forgot to write this bit;
I heard that Mr Powell was found dead in one of the ponds in Reigate Castle grounds, and seem to remember my father telling me. And he was a Surrey Police Officer.

[neil68248]

Mr Powell was my headmaster from 1966 to 1969.
From my distant memories as a 5-7 year old are fairly vague, but there is one memory I have that is crystal clear, because it was so scary.
I was sent to the headmaster's office, because Miss Pillbeam alleged that I had stolen one brick of lego.
Despite my pleas of innocence, he proceeded to describe to me what prison was like, in an alarmingly animated fashion, and how I was going be sent to prison by the judge. I particularly remember the alarm I felt, when he pretended to call the police; not just once, but twice.
This was very scary for a six year old, and such actions might have got him into trouble if such an  incident had occurred today, but my opinion, looking back, is that he must have been affected by events surrounding his daughter, and Ronnie Biggs, at the time.
Some years later I heard that his body had been found in the moat of Reigate Castle, which was a stone's throw from the school.