|
THE GOLDONIAN GOLDINGS PERSONALITIES
M A. E. brooks, who is a native of Hertford, served his apprenticeship as a painter and decorator with Messrs. Richard Ginn and Son, and in fact spent the first 10 years of his working life with that firm. Prior to his appointment to the Goldings staff in May, 1935, Mr. Brooks worked for himself, as at that time unemployment was at its peak, and provided one had the initiative it was easier to get a living on your own, than to get a job working for someone else. During the Second World War, Mr. Brooks became housemaster of Cairns; house, and served with the Home Guard (Goldings Platoon), under Sgt. Penny (ex-Printing Department). With the shortage of staff during the war years, many jobs came under the jurisdiction of Mr. Brooks, including games master, tractor driver, and lawn mowing, to name but a few. As with all progressive units, there have been many changes here at Goldings during the past 26 years, and one of the more recent has been the formation of our Painting and Decorating department as a craft teaching unit, and in January, 1957, Mr. Brooks was appointed head of this very popular department. This meant of course that apart from being responsible for the general decorating of the home and workshops, he would also be responsible for the training of boys as future painters and decorators. Already there are quite a number of boys who can thank Mr. Brooks for the start he has given them, also there must be quite a few boys who have realized rather suddenly that painting isn't a job 'anyone can do'. I think all members of the staff are agreed that in a job of this nature, a ready sense of humour is essential, and surely Mr. Brooks is not lacking in this capacity. In fact some members of the staff are not always certain whether the story of the moment is 'fact' or 'fiction'. Mr. Brooks is also a very keen gardener, and it is not unusual for him to be seen working away on his allotment before the majority of us have thought about rising in the mornings. The parish of Christ Church, Bengeo, also has a lot to thank Mr. Brooks for, as he is their churchwarden, and has been lay vice-chairman of the Parochial Church Council since 1953. These appointments do not mean a couple of committee meetings a year, but lots of hard work and the forfeit of many hours of spare time. In conclusion I would like to suggest that should Mr. Brooks ever decide to register a family motto he could do a lot worse than adopt our School motto 'The End Crowns the Work'.
N. T. P. |
