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THE GOLDONIAN GOLDINGS PERSONALITIES
LIKE ANY sound master of his craft, Mr. Embleton first served his time as an Apprentice-seven years in the public parks of the County Borough of South Shields. In 1931 he rose to be general foreman to the Borough Surveyor's Department and after six years in this post moved to Plymouth as general foreman and head forester. In 1941 he returned to his native county as general foreman to the Parks Department. In 1943 he began his teaching career as senior horticulture instructor at Herts Training School and later was appointed to a similar post at the Aycliffe School, near Darlington. He holds a Senior Certificate (1st Class) of the R.H.S., a Teacher's Diploma in Horticulture and a National Diploma in Horticulture. For his distinction in winning first place in the British Isles in a Teachers' Examination in School and Cottage Gardening in 1942 he was awarded the 'Banksian Medal'. It will be seen, therefore, that when he joined the staff of Goldings in October, 1945, as principal teacher in charge of the Gardening Department, he had a great deal to offer in expert knowledge and practical experience. To view his article on the cedar trees of Goldings click here The present condition of the Goldings estate, justly admired by hundreds of visitors each year, is evidence of the energy and skill with which Mr. Embleton has directed the work of his department. It would be characteristic of him to wish to share the credit with his staff as well as with the boys, who have made their contribution to the beauty and productivity of the gardens whilst benefiting from the instruction they receive. In 1952 Mr. and Mrs. Embleton agreed to take charge of Waterford Verney and for six years made this house into a real home for fourteen apprentice boys. At the pressing invitation of the headmaster, they then moved back into the main house, Mrs. Embleton becoming Chief Matron and her husband taking responsibility for routine and management of the home life of the boys. In April, 1959, Mr. Embleton was promoted to his present post as Deputy Headmaster of Goldings. The foregoing brief sketch shows how our subject has played an increasingly important role in the life of the School, but an image of the man himself is not so easy to evoke. Brought up and trained in a sphere of life where industriousness was demanded and slipshod work not excused, he has little sympathy with the casual approach. He has the traditional northerner's dourness on the outside and warmth and understanding within. In duty hours there is rarely time for anything other than the job in hand, but in the cricket pavilion he can be vastly entertaining with his dry northern humour, amusing narratives and occasional caustic wit. He knows how to enjoy both work and leisure. Nowadays his chief recreation is golf. Incidentally, retrieving the ball is the only exercise to which his dog 'Andy' will condescend, so that one might expect his master to be a dead shot on the middle distances. At one time he was an expert trumpeter. Even now he is no mean performer on this instrument and in the past worked hard to keep going the Goldings Brass Band. When young he played in a very good class football until a serious knee injury caused him to give up the game. Happily he still enjoys a game of cricket, though his famous off-strokes do not sizzle to the boundary quite like they used to do. Many a time when the regular 'straight up and down' bowlers have failed to dislodge an obdurate batsman one of his sly old 'donkey-drops' has tempted the enemy to a hasty stroke and an early doom. Though billiards and snooker have now disappeared from the scene at Goldings, older members of staff will know him as a keen player on the green baize, very difficult to beat at either game. Our school has done wonderful work for Barnardo boys, mainly because it has attracted to its ranks men of parts who have given devoted service. Of such Mr. Embleton is an outstanding example, and it was a good day for us when he and his family threw in their lot with ours and became part of the larger family of Goldings. The Goldonian Summer 1962 OUR NEW HEADMASTER Our congratulations to Mr. L. Embleton on his appointment as successor to Mr. R. F. Wheatley. It is a great pity that this appointment will be for such a short period, and not an easy period at that, with the winding up of the School generally. It is bound to happen that administration will become increasingly difficult with the steady exodus of staff, and the likelihood of stability in the number of boys until July I am quite sure that Mr. Embleton can rely on the co‑operation of those members of the staff who stick it out to the bitter end, and that all boys will do their utmost to keep problems to a minimum during these last trying months It is to be hoped that Mr. Embleton will be successful in obtaining a comparable position when he finally hands over the keys of Goldings. The Goldonian Spring 1967 Readers of the Goldonian who are not already aware of our loss, will be deeply grieved to learn of the death of our Chief Matron, Mrs. Embleton, in February of this year, after a long illness. She and her family first came to Goldings in October 1945, when Mr. Embleton, now Deputy Headmaster, took up a teaching appointment as Head of the' Horticulture Department. In April 1952, she accepted an honorary appointment at the Waterford Verney Hostel where she created and maintained over a number of years a real home atmosphere for the printer apprentices. Many of them now young men well established in the trade, will have happy memories of the many social evenings and dances she used to organize for the boys and girl friends. In September 1950, she was persuaded to undertake the onerous duties of Chief Matron at Goldings. Those who only knew Mrs. Embleton during the last year or so, when she was making valiant efforts to continue her manifold duties despite the weakening effect of her fatal illness, could not fully appreciate the true quality of the impact she made on life and work at Goldings during the period in which she held this high office. She combined meticulous care and conscientiousness in her duties with a happy and cheerful spirit. She always undertook the lion's share of work in preparations for social events and was seldom absent from any evening organized for the entertainment of the boys. She entered into the fun with obvious enjoyment. In these times, when it is difficult to find residential workers in sufficient numbers to keep a home fully staffed, people in key positions often find themselves doing two person's work. For most of her time as Chief Matron Mrs. Embleton was in the position of having to carry on without a Deputy to share the work. All those who knew the circumstances appreciated how much extra strain this placed upon her. With her husband and family we mourn her passing and the only comfort we can offer is the knowledge that she spent her life in a good cause and left us at an example of determination and perseverance in necessary tasks in the face of all obstacles. The Goldonian Summer 1966 Mr. Lawrence Embleton sadly died in 1984, aged 74 years. In 1944 he became head gardener at Goldings and was responsible for the maintenance and cultivation of many acres of garden. His teaching ability was very marked and this was borne out by the fact that some of his boys passed the Junior General Examination of The Royal Horticultural Society. He had himself obtained a National Diploma in Horticulture of the Royal Horticultural Society. In December 1963 he was appointed Deputy Headmaster at WBTS and a year later Mrs Lilian Embleton obtained the post of Chief Matron at the School. In 1966 Mr Embleton was appointed Headmaster and remained in this post until the closure of the school. For those of you who were at Goldings in 1966 with the knowledge that Goldings may be closing and that Mr Embleton would be taking over as headmaster, he also had to contend with the knowledge his wife Lilian was fighting a fatal illness, that was finally lost in February of 1966. Now that's dedication. F. Cooke |
