Gerald

Gerald was a school servant for some 35 years – to us schoolboys, a best friend. It was he whom we would talk to: "What's for supper, Gerald?" or, "What's the weather for the run, Gerald?" A mine of knowledge, he would glean information from his radio perched on the counter (so lovingly made by William Davey, the woodwork master). 

That radio was, for most, a novelty and something to be admired; he had spent his earnings on something he loved, his own contact with the outside world.

Gerald’s proudest bit of knowledge was all the football results, and streams of boys would invade the Karslake to grab the latest results. "Did Arsenal win, Gerald?", “How was Bournemouth?", each boy voicing his support for his 'home' or 'pop' team. Without fail, Gerald would come up with the results, all scores, with an affection for the boys that never wavered, however persistent they were.

How he managed his job, I wonder, with boys appearing at all hours of the day, but this did not seem to worry him, he just got on: laid tables, cleared tables, washed up, helped serve; who knew when he had his breaks?

His big moment, no doubt, was presiding over dispensing steaming pea soup, a traditional 'welcome home' after the Exmoor runs. How grateful we were.

David Lawton 2014