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THE GOLDONIAN GOLDINGS PERSONALITIES
Sidney Charles Corbett was educated at Pontypridd Grammar School and continued on to the University of Wales in Cardiff, where he achieved a B. A. degree in English and Hebrew. During the war he had a spell at the De Havilland’s factory in Filton, Bristol, and then attended St Michaels Theological College in Llandaff. On 07 June 1941 he was licensed as Curate in the Parish of St David, Llanddewi, Rhondda. In 1945 he moved to Tonyrefail and this is where he met Betsy who was soon to become his wife. Together they moved to Canton in Cardiff, where he was appointed Curate at St Catherine’s Church. He always enjoyed working with children and after the birth of his daughter Jane; he felt the urge to go into education. As a family the Corbett’s moved to Goldings in August 1947 and for a few weeks lived in the flat above the Headmaster’s quarters whilst Rose Cottage was prepared. Later they moved to the Verney where they looked after the printer apprentices. Finally they moved back into the school grounds to Wych Elm Cottage where they spent the remainder of their time at Goldings. Apart from running the Chapel, the Reverend Corbett taught religious education in the school and undertook many of the duties of the house masters. He was always on hand to offer advice and encouragement to the boys and many of them will remember him with affection. He was very enthusiastic about sport and took a keen interest in the development of the boys in their various activities. He played cricket for the Masters against the boys and loved to watch village cricket. The annual visits to Wimbledon always gave him great pleasure. It has to be said that being a man from Wales his main sporting passion was rugby and unfortunately that was one of the few sports not played at Goldings. There is little doubt that many boys benefited considerably from their association with the Reverend Corbett and he in turn gained great pleasure and satisfaction from his work with them. It was therefore with much soul-searching and a heavy heart that he decided to move on in 1957. He continued to work with children and although he may have missed the boys from Goldings, at least his new boys played rugby. His last appointment in 1976 was Curate in the parish of St Laurence in Ludlow and it was here he suddenly died of a heart attack in 1989. His widow Betsy still lives in Ludlow and we thank her for providing much of the information here. I asked Victor King if he would put some information together about the Rev Corbett. Below is what Victor wrote along with some photos from Mrs Betsy Corbett's photograph album. THE REVEREND CORBETT AND BETSY Twenty years ago I was reading the local Shrewsbury newspaper and I saw a picture of a person I recognised instantly. It was the Reverend Corbett and the article was announcing his recent death. I have always admired and respected the Reverend Corbett since my days in Goldings and having missed the opportunity to see him again, especially as he had lived so close, filled me with sadness. I did however contact his wife Betsy to offer my condolences and I attended his funeral in Ludlow. Since then we have exchanged Christmas cards with Betsy and my wife Kim and I visited her at her home in Ludlow a few weeks ago. I hope she will forgive me for disclosing her age but at nearly eighty eight she is magnificent. She complains at being a little forgetful but she is as bright as a button and has a strong voice which is no doubt attributed to her involvement with the local Coral Society. During the visit we logged on to the Goldonian website on my laptop and Betsy was thrilled to see the many photographs and read the various articles. She was amazed to see the changes that have taken place in Goldings, especially the houses that now surround Wych Elm cottage where she used to live. She had mixed feelings about the fate of the Church, which of course was where her husband held services for some ten years. When we moved on to the Staff pages of the website we were all very disappointed to find that the Reverend Corbett was not included. I made a note that I must contact Frank Cooke on my return home. Having spent a very enjoyable three hours with Betsy, eaten her home made cakes, recalled many memories and surveyed the beautiful views from her window across the Ludlow countryside, we made our way home. I immediately contacted Frank and predictably he said he could only include material on the website which he had been given. He added that he was extremely keen to get information on the Reverend Corbett and to this end asked me to approach Betsy. This I have done and she supplied the following photographs which I am sure will be of interest to many old Goldonians. It will also rightly feature a great man who played such an important part in our early development. Finally I have to mention the fact that Betsy kept talking about a Sidney and it was some time before I realised that she was referring to the Reverend Corbett. To us he was always the Reverend Corbett! How many of you knew his name was Sidney? Victor King
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