Gill Griffith
Gill Griffith
Gill married Hugh in 1953, they started Daglingworth Manor School together in 1957 and moved to Aymestrey in January 1966.
They “ran a happy school as a successful team”; and together were responsible for the happy times and family atmosphere so many recall with affection.
Mrs Griffith took the juniors for English, maths, geography, current affairs and history, as part of which she taught a lot of stuff about heraldry. Her lessons were usually interesting. I still recall some of the poems we did with her in English. E.g. John Gilpin, Shameful Death, The Listeners, The Way through the Woods etc. She took a strong anti-bullying stance, which was mostly successful in my time, but according to others there were individual instances of it. She would ask Old Boys whether their public schools tolerated bullying and would warn parents against those that did. Des Knox (1966-1970)
In addition to teaching, Gill looked after the domestic aspects of the
school, organizing the weekly menus, ordering supplies, and managing the
kitchen and cleaning staff, at time with the assistance of the School
Matron. She dealt with the many, many daily challenges of running a
school in an ‘extraordinary house’. When the authorities wanted to
install a fire screen at the top of the main stairs Gill persuaded them
the screens could actually be placed much further along the landing, as
she would rearrange the dormitories to ensure they were all behind the
screen.
A number of the domestic staff remember that Gill would do the work, such as cooking the meals, if the cook did not turn up. They say she was a great person to work for as 'you always got praise' and 'you were important to her'. She would sort out any problems so they could get on with the work.
A number of the domestic staff remember that Gill would do the work, such as cooking the meals, if the cook did not turn up. They say she was a great person to work for as 'you always got praise' and 'you were important to her'. She would sort out any problems so they could get on with the work.
|
She prided herself on the quality of the meals served, working hard with the various cooks to achieve this. From 1962 a contract company had been providing catering services and Gill was horrified at the quality (and quantity) of the food, so she soon took over this responsibility. At the school closing party in 1998 the staff insisted they, not an outside company, would do the catering, and there were many comments about how good the food was. |
|
|
Gill died in November 2017. A celebration of her life is being held on Saturday 28th April 2018 - for details contact here. |
I had the privilege of attending Aymestrey School where Mrs. Griffith (known to all the boys as ‘Miss Griff’) was our Mother, mentor and educator. Where most people would shirk at the idea of taking care of just four or five young boys, ‘Miss Griff’ took care of over 50 at a time with an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Her energy, values and traditional attitude helped mould hundreds of boys over the years, many of who have gone on to do extremely well in life. To hear that such a wicked disease has ravaged my Headmistress makes me frustrated and sad. I only hope that scientific research discovers the trigger which sets off Alzheimer’s, enabling mankind to eradicate this evil irony forever. Michael Kent (1978-1980) |