The Invergordon Archive

Ah! Lofty MacFarlane! My favourite teacher by some distance and one of the very who communicated a real enthusiasm for his subject (English). He was a big man with very hairy hands but I suspect a rather gentle and kind person.I have a lot to thank him for. Thank you Lofty!

I was a bit wary of his wife titch MacFarlane also a teacher at the academy.

I dont remember learning a thing in Titch's class. She seemed to spend more time leaving the class and having someone look after it until she returned..

Mr Coonie got out his rarely seen belt on my first day in his class. He laid into me ..but I deserved it ..the evidence was clearly carved on my desk ..with a very accurate representation of his nose. Shame as I love France and French people.

When I got the strap I deserved it the down side was you were put out side the class room door and the rector Mr. Clark was on his rounds I got the same number again from him. Did no harm to me in later life.

remember them all, my favourites were annie macrae and betty macmillan, but i hated school. now my granddaughter is training to be a teacher, as my daughter in law is one also

This picture is as ineresting as the photo of our class from the same year. What I find surprising is the ones I don't know - Miss Carmichael? Mrs Macrae? Mr McIver? Mr Lindsay? What did they teach?
The ones I am eternally grateful to are Bill Smith, who amongst other things taught me wood turning which I still do,; Mr Macfarlane who I think had a rough time in the RNVR during the war,
Mr Cooney who built the foundations which served me well in later life working with the French Navy in the air and under the waves (two weeks in a French sub in the north Atlantic in February '92-ish)Father Ross who taught me to work under pressure standing, doing Latin translation at sight under a bombardment of chalk and the occasional blackboard duster and the pretty Miss Macmillen who was so easy to cause to blush (how pink can one young woman get?). Happy days?? maybe.

John, you didn't have them as teachers, they taught 1b 2b 3b, you were in the A's

Miss Carmichael religion and miss macrame cooking can’t remember what the others taught, miss macae was from Milton and miss Carmichael was from portmahomack

The big fellow in the picture, had the nick-name King-Kong, for reasons that are obvious. He taught in the building by the woodwork class..
Mr Lindsay was a substitute teacher when I had him, taught sciences and rode a motorcycle..

Harry, that would probably be Bill Smith. He was a bit tough..rap you on the knuckles with his ruler. But he was a big mate of my Dad and was very kind to him when he was ill.I think he had been a very promising footballer when he was young but suffered a bad break which left him with a permanent limp.

Hi Billy, Smith was as you say rough. Block of wood on back of napper. He never tried it on me though. He also taught Mechanical drawing which I enjoyed and put to use in my Engineering trade..when I took it in college over here, I used Bill Smiths methods of plane view top view etc. that impressed my instructors no end..

Bill Smith had been a ship's carpenter during WW2, I think on the Artic convoys and he had severe rheumatoid arthritis which was the cause of his limp. He also taught me elementary ech drawing during lunch hours. (I may also have learned some interestin new swear words when I made mistakes).
Mr Cooney (alledgedly) was an interrogator of senior German prisoners during and after WW2.
How true these "legends" were we will never know now. But they all had "interesting" careers during the War. The cinema manager Alistair?? was a whizz with sound systems; he once demonstrated to me the new stereo system as I sat in the balcony (Humphrey Lyttelton's "Bad Penny Blues"). He, together with Mr Woodburn (borough surveyor)helped me to build my first record player. Both had been radio fitters in the RAF. John Ross was a radar fitter , even though he was colour blind!
I doubt there are many teachers nowadays with that sort of life changing experience.

Yes, I can remember the sound system in the Playhouse, superb clarity...we were certainly spoilt, such a luxury..

Ah! The Playhouse manager "Ali Baba". Always standing in the foyer as patrons came in. Always had a bow tie and very neat mustache. Was a bit snooty and very rigid about refusing entry if you looked underage.If you entered the Playhouse for the 1st screening and sat near the front you risked being sprayed with bug killer which the staff liberally sprayed around. The local Tinkers always occupied the front rows (I think they thought they were the best seats) and sadly they were considered the main source of flies which always seemed to be jumping around in the seats. Many times I found myself bitten after a night at the "flix".Then there was the smoking...ventelation was not too great and as just about everyone smoked ,the films were watched through a fog of fag billows.

I think Bill Smith was my favorite teacher. Along with Ian (can't remember his surname), the two of us were Bill Smith's first class to take higher technical, he was real happy when we passed. One benefit of this class with Bill Smith was the cookery class next door and the open invitation to sample the results. For the rest "Ah well !!". Mr. Cooney I also heard about his tour interrogating German captives and others. Surprizingly enough he managed to get through to me on the subject of speaking in French. Leakie, I had the pleasure of been bashed on the head with his favorite ruler (not the best way to learn latin) Betty M. didn't own her own belt, so we had to go borrow the rector's one. Seemed a bit unfair having to provide the means of corporal punishment. But really in Betty's class it was worth it. Anyway the years in the academy were worth it.

Hi Eddie, Betty would send me to Leekie to borrow his strap, he always threatened to administer it himself.

Anyone been belted by the jake? I had that honour once...I have forgotten the reason but there was several of us. His office was in the lower block, what a grim and uncommunicative man to be a Headmaster

Does anyone remember the name of the commercial teacher? She taught in a building behind the old primary school, taught book-keeping

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