Bright, Ingram C [BGS 1940–50, President 1996 & 2025]
The house in which I was born in 1933, is situated in the upper part of Bideford High Street but within a few years we moved to a house at the top of Clovelly Road. I have clear memories of my grandfather’s blacksmith’s forge at the top of the garden. Typical of those days there was little interaction between young children and grandparents – now with 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren how glad I am that times have changed.
Primary education was at Geneva School with a move to Bideford Grammar School in 1944. Despite the best efforts of teachers such as Basher Bartlett, Dennis Harle and Douglas Tregenza, my academic achievements were modest – I enjoyed my sport!
My father, who had a stationery business in the town, died in my early teens leaving my mother to bring up my older sister, younger brother and me during those post war years – life must have been tough for her.
When I came to consider life on leaving school my thoughts turned to agriculture – where that came from I have no idea as there is no history of farming in the family!
I was successful in obtaining a place at Seale Hayne Agricultural College near Newton Abbott. With the requisite 2 years practical work prior to entering college I made the daily cycle ride to Greencliff farm on the Abbotsham cliffs. Getting home on Saturdays in time to play rugby for Bideford was not always easy. The training at Seale-Hayne was good, as was the sport. From there I obtained a job in the Launceston area and played rugby for the local club, sometimes, playing with Tom Fogarty – an ‘Old Boy’ and useful scrum half.
I enjoyed my time in North Cornwall thoroughly but, for reasons beyond my control, the nature of the farming enterprise I was with changed leaving me to move on to a job with SCATS – Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society, based at their head office in Winchester. Life in that city was great with plenty of rugby and tennis.
I happened to notice details of courses for mature students who had a qualification in agriculture, horticulture or environmental studies which prompted me to think this could be for me and obtained a place at a Teacher Training College in Bath which historically had been for women; this changed when I and 5 other men joined the establishment! While in Bath I had the pleasure of playing rugby for the city.
My first teaching position took me to Hailsham, a town in East Sussex, where I taught for 5 years, enjoying some good rugby for both Eastbourne and Sussex.
From my teenage years I had an eye on Anne Lucas whose father was Bill Lucas, the headmaster at East the Water School, then the newly built West Croft School in Coronation Road. Anne completed her nurse training and staff nurse experience at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We married in 1960 and set up our first home in Hailsham and had the first of our 3 daughters during our time there.
Although life was good in Sussex, I realised my west country blood was too strong for me to live in that part of the country for lots of years. Securing a position in the Secondary School in Falmouth brought me back to Cornwall. In due course, educational reorganisation throughout the country led to the school becoming a comprehensive.
At that time Falmouth School was a ‘split site’ school with the Lower School being at some distance from the main campus. After holding a number of positions within the school, I became Head of the Lower School and deputy head of the whole school, a situation I would never have dreamt of when I left school in Bideford.
My affection for our Old Boy’s Association has always been strong and I feel privileged to have been President back in 1996 and again in 2025. Numbers will inevitably dwindle but thanks to the dedicated hard work of our committee we are still functioning, hopefully for many years to come.
Although Anne and I have been part of Falmouth life for 62 years, I have no reservations about regarding myself as a Bidefordian and Old Grammarian.
